PKL Boston
This is what happens when paddles meets pasta, and shuffleboard is served with a side of steak. In Boston’s ONLY Pickleball venue. If you’re craving some food AND fun….the only letters you need to know are P-K-L.
Located in Southie, PKL is a 22,000 square foot emporium of good times with a focus on everyone's latest obsession, Pickleball.
“Pickleball is essentially an easy version of tennis, you can be more relaxed. You often have more players, and it almost is a hybrid between table tennis and regular tennis.
It's the fastest growing sport in America and you're hearing more and more about it every day. And it's just fun to watch and fun to be involved with.”
Christopher Walker is the man behind the menu. As a classically trained chef, he brings an elevated cuisine you wouldn’t expect to find in a casual spot like this.
“Growing up in Boston, I remember you went to a bar and you really just got small bites like either just fried mozzarella sticks or pizza. And here we've elevated that menu and on top of that you have the chance to kind of hang out your friends while playing a sport and getting good quality food.”
And just as impressive as the menu, is the space itself.
“When you walk in PKL, you're going to see the shuffle ball court, whether it's your right we have a nice lounge. We have five different pickleball courts, and then a whole bar that sits about 35 people. We hired a lot of local artists do some of the major canvases. The color scheme is ideal for someone who wants to come in and just feel like they're in an exciting place. So we're kind of blessed. It’s a piece of artwork.”
The menu is lined with tasty, shareable dishes to enjoy before, during or after a match.
Like juicy addictive wings, served alongside ranch. An upscale spin on a classic in the form of Wagyu Pigs in a Blanket and light but satisfying Tuna Wontons.
"When you bite into that wonton you get a nice crunch. Tuna has a nice clean taste to it and then you get that umami and nice fresh punch from the ginger. It's a delicious fresh bite.”
Other delicious ways to get yourself energized for a game include these yummy Zucchini and Squash Chips.
“They're fun. They're easy to share with people especially around a court. They come with a nice yogurt sauce with a ton of citrus in that. And they're just a nice crispy element packed with flavor ,juicy on the inside crispy on the outside. Great way to eat your vegetables and also have a fun snack at the same time.”
Or try the healthy AND tasty Avocado Toast.
“What I love about avocado toast is that avocado itself it has great monounsaturated fat so it's really the perfect bite for someone to swap some quick to help kind of feel the energy for the sport.”
When making the menu, Chef Chris made sure a Cheesesteak was included. But this ain’t your average sub.
“Growing up in Boston steak and cheese, were always a thing. You go to a sub shop, I’ll have a steak and cheese. So that is a play on that. We use nice marinated steak tips. We make our own house made cheese sauce. Bell peppers, onions, a nice Chipotle and then it's garnished with some fresh herbs and it's just beautiful.”
Just as pretty to the palette is the Buttermilk Chicken and Waffles.
“Chicken and Waffles. I mean, who doesn't love chicken and waffles. We use a brine to brine the actual chicken pies. We triple bread that with panko bread crumbs, and then we make a nice Belgian waffle. It gets a nice hot honey butter. It gets some bread and butter pickles and some nice pickled Fresno chilies so you get this very unctuous sweet, savory, Fatty, delicious. Boom.”
Other entrees include this Vegan Stir Fry served with jasmine rice and the Pasta Harissa Rotini tossed in a harissa lime cream sauce with roasted peppers, topped with crispy onions, which makes for a great way to carboload for your game.
“It's a nice acidic spicy pasta so you're getting a little a lot of it and not feel like you're being weighed down and gives you a nice energy boost for the courts.”
There’s this marinated Statler chicken breast, served with creamy mashed potatoes and roasted veggies and steak frites topped with chimichurri.
“So the steak frites is not your classic version. We have nice crispy fries going. We have nice thinly cut prime steak with that. It gets a chimichurri sauce. We'll get to like a fresh bite of lime. Nice little bit of cilantro in there and a little drizzle on top of that. It's this packed with flavor”
And you shouldn’t leave before getting a hot order of Ernie’s Pull apart bread, named for PKL’S space suit wearing mascot.
“Essentially this is a nice brioche bun that we score, we soak it in nice house made custard . It has cinnamon, nutmeg, a little bit of mace. And then we roast that a little bit of butter on top. It's fresh, it's juicy, has that fresh cinnamon note to it beautiful dessert. You will want to save as much as you can for this dessert because even if you get one, you're gonna want two.”
And you’ll be able to eat two desserts, since you’ll work it all off on the court, when you’re at PKL.
