Rediscovering Boston and New Restaurant Recipes
I have begun my summertime journey of collecting restaurant recipes, and have made it to one of the greatest cities in the New England area. Boston is a city where you find a bit of America's past on every corner in the downtown area. It is filled with more colleges and universities than many other cities. Boston also has foods that it can call its own, and none more than the food that carries its name: Boston Baked Beans. Though this dish may seem too simple to be included in my file of restaurant recipes, when it is done well it is worthy of serving at any get together of friends or family. I might have a bias since I am a lifelong resident of New England, but both the dish and the pub I am sitting in deserve remembering.
The pub is the Bull and Finch, and was the inspiration for the TV show Cheers. The look is typical of a Boston institution, and the relaxed feel given by the show is exactly how it feels to eat here. Nothing extremely fancy, but exactly what you would want and done exactly right.
Boston Baked Beans, serves eight, start the previous day
1 pound dried pinto beans (2 1/4 cups)
12 bacon slices (about 8 ounces), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
8 cups water
1 1/3 cups chopped onion
1 cup ketchup
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup dry mustard
2 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground pepper
Add water to beans in bowl to cover by 3 inches. Let stand overnight, then drain beans.
Set oven at 350°F. Cook bacon in heavy large pot until crisp, about 8 minutes. Add beans and all remaining ingredients to pot. Bring to boil.
Put pot in oven, and bake uncovered until beans are tender and liquid thickens, stirring occasionally, about 4 hours. Serve, or refrigerate overnight, and simmer and serve the next day.
The Bull & Finch Pub is a favorite in the Beacon Hill area, and has been there since 1969. It was discovered by Hollywood in 1981 during a search through Boston to locate a bar to use as a model for a new TV show. Pictures of the Bull & Finch were used to help design the set for Cheers, which was built on a lot at the Paramount Studios in Los Angeles. When you come into the pub, it doesn't look exactly like the TV show. The biggest difference between the set and the pub is that the bar moved away from the wall and became the large island in the middle of the room.
However, though it looks a little different, the cozy feel hasn't changed, and is a great place to pick up another of my restaurant recipes. Oh yes, by the way, the pub has been renamed Cheers, just so no one will have trouble finding it. You can use the shots of the exterior of the pub to guide you, as those opening scenes were filmed at the pub itself.
