Without a doubt, Summer is my favorite season. It makes me insanely happy. I’m so thankful that it has finally really arrived here in Boston.
One of the best way to spend Summer’s hot, humid days and cooler nights is outside on a patio. You can’t beat great company, food, drinks, and atmosphere on a wonderful summer day. There are so many restaurants in Boston with patios and extra large windows that open up allowing you to soak up that summer sun, it’s easy to over look some. For a very long time I overlooked The Hard Rock Cafe here in Boston.
Located next to Faneuil Hall and Quincy Market, it’s perfectly located for you to grab a bite and a drink while you are sight seeing or meeting friends after work. You can grab a seat outside, along the windows, or up at the bar. You can enjoy live music outside or TV’s with music videos inside. The musically themed memorabilia pepper the walls to make the space come alive.
Price and I kicked off a recent date night at The Hard Rock Cafe with some of their new Summer Cocktails. Their five new cocktails provide you with plenty of options to help you beat the heat! Options like the Hard Rockin’ Mai Tai and Summertime Blues are really enticing with their blends of muddled herbs, sweet juices, and hard liquor. The cocktails are served in fun souvenir mason jars that you can take home too! (They apologized profusely to us for being out of the mason jars, which why our drinks were served in hurricane glasses.)
Price ordered the Summer Splash Daiquiri as he felt the layered frozen drink made it the perfect summer time bevie. It was a perfect “kick off the weekend” type drink too. The fruity mango and strawberry flavor was enhanced with a lot of rum and a splash of amaretto. Even the pretty color looks like a nice Summer Sunset in a glass, and who doesn’t want that.
I’m telling you, that the Back Porch Tea is something special as well. I took one sip and my eyes lit up, I slid my glass across the table to Price while telling him “You HAVE to try this!”. After his own sip he began nodding back in approval. We quickly began talking about how we will have to make it ourselves one day. It’s an experience in a glass.
We enjoyed our drinks and recapping our days and week together until the food came, and then all focus fell on our big, beefy burgers. Be still my heart!
As I am always on the hunt for fresh New England seafood and lobsters it felt like it was a no brainer to get Hard Rock’s recently launched “Local Legendary” burgers. It is one of their classic burgers topped with a scoop of fresh lobster salad. While the burger is typically served with cole slaw and seasoned fries, I opted just for the fries. I like cole slaw, but I knew I wanted to focus my attention on the burger and the seasoned fries. And my stomach is only so big!
This was such a delicious Summer-time meal! The large burger was well seasoned and the large scoop of lobster salad on top was lightly dressed allowing the flavors of the meat and lobster to shine on their own and together. The lobster salad was filled with large chunks of lobster claws and tails. I was really impressed. The accompanying sriracha mayo was served on the side, which I think was a smart choice and I don’t think the burger really needed it. I added it to a few bites but was more and satisfied with the burger as it was prepared.
My burger was slightly under-cooked by a minute or so from my requested medium-rare, but I wasn’t mad about it as I like my burgers under done (aka… ‘mooing’). However, Price’s was a perfect medium.
The current Hard Rock burger and beer pairing caught Price’s eye. Hard Rock worked with Goose Island to create a Tropical Bacon Burger to pair with their IPA.
Price’s burger was a beer glazed 8 oz. patty of Certified Angus Beef atop a pile of lettuce and tomato. It then had a layer of cheddar cheese and Cajun Spiced bacon and to top it off, a slice of grilled pineapple and mango salsa. When he thinks of Summer dishes, it’s always burgers. The sweetness of the pineapple with the savory beef and fresh produce made for wonderful mouthfuls bite after bite. The burger comes with a side of teriyaki sauce which is fitting with the pineapple and meat. The burger is so big that Price had to cover each bite with a little sauce because the massive burger was messy enough on its own.
His original plan was to order the beer pairing as well when his burger arrived, but the Summer Splash Daiquiri packed such a wonderful rum punch that he decided to stick with ‘just’ that.
Just like the choices and attention to detail that was put into the burgers, the fries had their own unique taste and sauce. For an additional $1, you can upgrade to their Savory Artisan Fries. They offer 3 different kinds of fries that are jazzed up with seasonings and are paired with their own dipping sauces. I picked out the Parmesan Romano Fries with the Garlic Aioli and Price got the Herb and Garlic Fries. I loved my fries so much that I am tempted to just go back one day and order a side of fries to munch on at lunch while sitting on the nearby Rose Kennedy Greenway.
We enjoyed our first date night out since getting married at The Hard Rock because they serve awesome food and drinks with a smile in a fun, lively music filled venue.
Hard Rock Cafe Boston
22-24 Clinton St
Boston, MA 02109
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While I received this complimentary meal (minus tip) in exchange for a review, all opinions expressed are my own.
It would be a big bummer if you couldn’t make it to a Hard Rock soon to try their summery burgers and drinks, but at least you can make yourself your own cocktail home by using these recipes below!
Back Porch Tea
Muddle the following:
- 4 each Basil leaves
- 2 each Mint sprigs
- 1 each Lemon wedge
- 1 oz Cucumber syrup
Combine with:
- 1 oz Light rum
- ½ oz Gin
- ½ oz Elderflower liqueur
- 1 oz Lemonade
Summer Fizz
Muddle the Following:
- 1 oz Black cherry infused syrup
- ½ oz Lime juice
- 4 each Fresh raspberries
Combine with:
- 1 ½ oz Light rum
- ½ oz Orange liqueur
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