Cunard Tavern
"This is the neighborhood I grew up in. I lived here until I was in my early 20's. A lot of it's different, but a lot of it's the same too. I probably walked this block thousands of time in my life. It's kind of like a dream job to come back here and work in the neighborhood I grew up in."
They say you can't go home again. But whoever wrote those words didn't know Chef Anthony Pino.
"This is kind of the corner I hung out on as a kid. You know, you'd say to the kids 'meet me for a game of stickball at the corner', and we all knew that was the corner to go to. So it's really kind of cool to be back in this neighborhood and it's really cool to have the restaurant right here."
That restaurant is Cunard Tavern in East Boston.It's named after the Cunard Line, that would dock their vessels in Jeffries Point, right down the street and there are nautical touches throughout the sixty five seat dining room, like the stunning masthead hanging in the corner, yhe giant illuminated Cunard sign on the wall and the shipping container doors that lead to the kitchen where Chef Anthony captains the ship.
"Guys I need one burger mid-rare. One steak medium with rabe instead of fries."
"One shrimp mac and cheese, one grilled swordfish, one brick chicken, one watermellon salad."
"How long on watermelon salad Scotty?"
"Need a runner for seven."
"Beautiful."
Cunard Tavern is owned by restauranteur Phillip Frattoroli and the space it sits on has been in his family for generations because long before it was a restaurant, it was a business named Oscar's Woodworking...
Where Italian immigrant Oscar Forlani plied his trade.
"My grandfather, Oscar Forlani, owned Oscar's Woodworking here for about 50 years and made kitchen cabinets and bathroom vanities for most of the North Shore it seems like."
So in designing the restaurant, Phillip paid homage to his grandfather's business from the wood facade of the building and hammer affixed to the front door to the wood shelving behind the bar and screwdrivers turned into tap handles. Even the host stand is made from Oscar's old table saw.
"You know, he came here. He settled in East Boston in the late 40s and really achieved the American Dream in this property. So for us to be able to kind of continue the legacy of a small business here it's kind of nice. I think he'd be happy."
The food at Cunard Tavern is as diverse as the neighborhood it serves. And having grown up about a block away, Chef Anthony is well schooled in the area's history, and created a menu that honored it.
"I designed the menu to kind of reflect the way the neighborhood changed over the years. East Boston was always a kind of a stepping stone for immigrants coming into the United States. So I tried to pull as many of the cultural influences and culinary influences from those different communities and incorporate them into American dishes to kind of reflect the changing culture of East Boston over the years."
So there are Bacon Wrapped Medjool Dates stuffed with gorgonzola cheese.
Cider glazed wings tossed in a sweet apple cider and chili glaze.
Grilled Oysters topped with lemon and an herb gremolata.
And Grilled Fish Tacos spiked with sliced mango, pickled cabbage and a zippy chili aioli.
"You get the bright, tangy flavor of the pickled red cabbage. You get the sweetness of the mango. The spicy fish that's got a great texture. And you get a little crispiness of the grilled tortilla. You know just taking some of the cultural influences from some of the Latin cultures that have come through East Boston over the years."
The Latin flavors continue through the menu in the form of Cuban Spring Rolls.
"This is the pork that goes in our Cuban spring roll. It's just slow cooked pork shoulder in beer, and a spice mixture. You shred this up, mix it with diced ham, pickles, and shredded swiss cheese, roll it up in a wonton and fry it."
Seafood is the star of the entree section of the menu, with Grilled Lime Shrimp served over a flavorful chipotle avocado mac and cheese, and perfectly pan seared Scallops presented on a bed of sweet corn and lobster salad.
"We make a corn and lobster salad. It's very similar to the salad you get on a lobster roll. We use nice, big scallops. Get a really hard sear on the outside. And the combination of the hot scallop and the cold lobster salad really makes for a great temperature and texture mix for a bite."
Seafood even makes its way onto the burger. Check out the Samuel Cunard- a burger that's most definitely Boston approved.
"We were thinking of what kind of burger could we make that scream Boston and screams Massachusetts. And to me, a fried clam roll is something that I always used to like to get. So we grill a nice, juicy burger patty. Top it with American cheese. And then we top that with fried, whole belly clams, tartar sauce and shredded lettuce. So you get all the crispiness and creamy tartar sauce of a fried clam roll alongside the juicy burger and it just makes for a really great combination."
For some beef without a taste of the sea, order the grilled flat iron steak with red wine gravy, served with a rather surprising side.
"People ask all the time. They're like, "Did I order sweet potato fries or regular?" We like to mix them 'cause the mixture of the two flavors and textures goes really well with the sliced steak and the red wine sauce."
To finish the meal, nothing says nostalgia like the Peanut Butter and Fluff Beignets.
"You get that whole mixture of like a Fluffer Nutter with a little bit of chocolate, which is definitely a sandwich that I ate all the time as a little kid. So to turn it into a fried dessert was you know, kind of a dream come true for me there."
And for Chef Anthony, it's also a dream come true to bring something new to the old neighborhood.
"What's great to me is I'm seeing locals that I remember growing up with and I'm seeing the people who moved in a month ago and wanted to come to the hot new spot. And it's been a really great balance for me to be able to cater to both of those crowds and keep everyone enjoying themselves and coming back to the new neighborhood bar."
