John Harvard's: A Traditional Colonial Brew Pub
Written: Mar 01 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great Food and Great Beer
Cons: Too Dark? No More Brewers Platter
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| whatname's Full Review: John Harvard's Brew House |
I’ve been dining at John Harvard’s Brew House for a number of years because they excel in two things that I am quite fond of: food and beer.
John Harvard’s strives to emulate a traditional colonial tavern. The Harvard Square location, sectioned off into several rooms decorated almost exclusively with dark wood, lends itself well to this colonial theme. Conversely, the Framingham location is in an ultra-modern superstore mall (Shopper’s World). Here, John Harvard’s occupies a typical large high-ceilinged retail unit. In an attempt to make the colonial pub theme work there, John Harvard’s has tried to hide the openness by making the restaurant extremely dark. The use of isolated, low wattage lights combined with the dark wood decorum does indeed help to conceal the building’s modernness, but I believe this tactic to be a bit excessive. Yes, the Harvard Square location is also dark, but the Framingham site might run on batteries for the little electricity it uses. A valiant attempt, perhaps, but the Harvard Square site wins out on atmosphere.
As with all brew pubs, John Harvard’s brews all their own beer on location. They have over 40 different brews in their repertoire. They do not offer all these beers at once, but rotate them in and out of a selection of approximately eight that they have on tap each night. Their beer covers a wide range of families, including amber, pale, and brown ales; fruit and wheat beers; lights and lagers; porters and stouts; seasonals; and cask conditioned varieties. Usually, they will have at least one beer from each family on tap. My favorite beers are their wheat varieties such the Dunkel Weizen, which is a wonderfully rich unfiltered beer. If you don’t like wheat beers, I can also recommend the Nut Brown Ale, the American Brown Ale, the Colonial Red, the Oktoberfest, and the Blond Lager. Of course most, if not all, of the beers are very good, and I would encourage you to sample a few of them. The best way to do that is by ordering a sampler tray of five of their offerings.
Although the beer is excellent, John Harvard’s really stands out from other brew pubs by virtue of their menu. John Harvard’s simply offers the best food of any brew pub I’ve attended. Period.
John Harvard’s appetizers include a light lager queso dip (tortilla chips served with a blend of cheeses and their light lager), buffalo wings, calamari served with scallions and cherry peppers with balsamic dressing and pomodoro sauce, and Union Jack Nachos. While these are all fine specimens, I highly recommend skipping them, and instead treating yourself to a cup of their hearty clam chowder. This chowder is among the best I’ve had, and is truly exceptional for a brew pub.
In keeping with their theme, John Harvard’s features some entrees that one might expect to find in a colonial pub. Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie ($8.95), Grilled Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes ($9.95), and Beer Battered Fish & Chips ($8.95) are among these. I’ve tried all these dishes, and found them quite favorable. For some, reason, though, I keep finding myself drawn back to the rack of Hickory Smoked Baby Back Ribs, served with baked beans, cole slaw, and French fries ($14.95).
I feel that I must mention that I bemoan the loss of an entree that John Harvard’s no longer offers on the menu. They used to serve a Brewer’s Platter consisting of a half rack of baby back ribs, an apple smoked chicken breast, and andouille sausage. I felt that this wonderful dish really epitomized brew pub fare. John Harvard’s, though, chose to replace some of their standard brew pub entrees, including the brewer’s platter, with a few more contemporary, if not eclectic, offerings. Why? Well I assume these changes were made in the hopes off attracting a somewhat more diverse clientele. Or they were trying to get rid of me.
But wait! Maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea, after all. It turns out that the new menu is really terrific. A sampling of items that I recommend include the Mediterranean Salad of Green Lentils, Creamy Hummus & Portabella Mushroom with field greens, goat cheese, artichokes, Kalamta olives and pita bread ($7.95) and the Farfalle, Spinach, and Plum Tomato Pasta with roasted garlic, capers, and black olives ($9.95). These are great dishes for vegetarians, although certainly they would be enjoyable to anyone. I also recommend the Fresh Cod with Crabmeat and Spinach ($11.95). The cod is topped with a crabmeat and spinach stuffing before being baked, and then served with saffron rice and vegetables. Also, though I haven’t tried it myself, a very finicky friend of mine liked the Ale & Mustard Chicken ($10.95), which is a 10 oz. chicken breast basted with mustard and herbs, char-grilled and topped with a sauce made of John Harvard’s Nut Brown Ale and mushrooms. Not only does the food taste great, but it looks great too. The presentation put into each plate is unexpectedly elegant. Colonial pub food never looked this good.
In addition to all these specialty entrees, John Harvard’s provides an array of standard sandwiches and burgers ranging in price from $5.95 to $7.25. If all else fails, they also offer a choice of gourmet pizzas.
If you’re going to John Harvard’s for dinner on a weekend, expect to wait about 30 to 45 minutes at either location. While you’re waiting, pass the time at the bar. The atmosphere at both locations is very convivial. Consequently, the noise level can be quite high. The noise isn’t obnoxious, but it’s loud enough that I wouldn’t recommend this restaurant for a romantic rendezvous (even though the dim lighting lends itself to such an endeavor).
In short, John Harvard’s is a great place to go with friends for great food and beer.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
whatname
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Location: Boston, MA
Reviews written: 17
Trusted by: 10 members
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