Anthonys Pier 4 - A Little Bit About a Lot of Things A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

November 18, 2010 Anthonys Pier 4

In its heyday, Anthony’s Pier 4 was the place to see and be seen. Hundreds of famous people came here for the upscale dining experience. Their faces, and the face of the founder, Anthony Athanas (who passed in 2005) are immortalized in the pictures on the wall. Athanas was an Albanian immigrant that came to America and opened a restaurant on Boston’s waterfront that was one of the most successful restaurants in the country.

The restaurant was opened in 1963 and has hosted Presidents, athletes, artists and actors. Anthony’s four sons carry on the tradition their father started. It is located on Boston’s historic waterfront, near the Institute of Contemporary Art. The waiters are dressed in jackets and the women who walk around with hot popovers are dressed in what look like French maid outfits.

It’s a cloudy day, but on a clear day, you really can’t beat the view. The whole back wall of the restaurant is windows-allowing you to fully take in the scenery. The main seating is downstairs, and they have a function room upstairs.

The feel is very nautical-the captain’s chairs and the wooden signs hanging around the room. While there is a nautical theme, there is also an old school charm about Anthony’s.

I come here once a year with my mother, it’s a tradition. Her favorite part about coming here are the popovers. They are light and fluffy on the inside, eggy and moist, and crunchy on the outside.

The best part is watching the steam escape from them when you break them apart-the butter melts instantly on them.

I love the baked clams a la Anthony. They are creamy and delicious-the best part is the crunchy crust that forms on top of them. They are excellent. ($8.95)

I get the large Glover salad with grilled shrimp ($14.95). The Glover salad is “romaine lettuce tossed with homemade croutons, parmesan cheese and garlicky caesar dressing”. I’m not usually a salad for lunch kind of gal, but the other items on the menu are a little too heavy for lunch time (we had a late lunch). The salad had WAY too much dressing on it. I was glad that my mother ordered the same salad, otherwise I would be embarrassed at how garlicy my breath probably smelled. There were 4 grilled shrimp and they came butterflied, but luke warm.

Here’s the Glover salad with crab meat. The salad was quite large, big enough for a meal and then some-my mother took half of hers home.

We split the Pier 4 ice cream pie, French Vanilla Ice Cream with a Swirl of Lemon Sorbet served with Raspberry and Lemon Sauces ($6.95). The lemon sauce is eye and mouth puckering tart. The pie was really refreshing-a nice way to cleanse the palate at the end of the meal. There weren’t that many other people at Anthony’s on the Friday afternoon that we were there, or for a the past few years we’ve been there for lunch. Perhaps they do a bigger dinner seating. There were more waiters waiting around doing nothing than actually working-and when that is the case, there should be no reason why you get a salad with luke warm shellfish on it. For me, over the years, Anthony’s has lost its charm-we go there purely because of tradition. Their dishes are mediocre-they don’t really even need to try because they can live off their reputation-it’s one of those places that when you come to Boston, you have to go to say you went.