Place: Boston Market
Items: 1/4 white-meat chicken, cornbread and two sides
Price: $5.99 (varies by region)
We loved Boston Market until it got to the point that we could get rotisserie chicken everywhere, from Safeway to Chevron. Then BM expanded its menu to include some things that weren't as good as the chicken. We were sick of ro-chicken anyway -- and consequently wrote off Boston Market.
So did a lot of other lunch-goers. It declared bankruptcy in 1998 and was bought out, and almost phased out, by McDonald's in 2000. Yet the heart of the chicken was still beating, and Boston Market has pecked its way back. We admire that pluck, so we recently returned as if the rotisserie rise and fall had never happened.
Tom: I like Boston Market for the same old reason: It tells your mind you're eating healthy and your stomach that you're eating comfort food. What's healthy about chicken with skin and the wing plus a few serving spoons of mac and cheese?
This is still the best rotisserie chicken out there. It spins circles (rotates) around that tepid stuff at the grocery store. The key is toget the chicken that is cooked
with my bare hands and primitive incisors. I've evolved past that into the age of the lunch-friendly nugget. I dissected my drumstick and wing with a plastic fork. I gotta type all afternoon with these fingers!
Tom: Chris, evolved isn't the right word here. Evolved eaters go for the mashed potatoes or stuffing. It's almost as good as Thanksgiving. I saw you trying to look civilized at Boston Market but we all know the best meat is near the bones. Go on, pick it up!
Chris: True enough. Thank the lunch gods (and the execs at McDonald's) that Boston Market didn't go down in rotisserie flames. The franchise has really pulled off a solid comeback. I'd eat here at least once a week, though all of those vegetable sides are a real shock to my french-fried system – in a good way.
Rating: The 1/4 chicken and B.M.'s revival, each 5 sporks (out of 5).
Food facts: 1/4 chicken: 280 calories (39 percent from fat), 12g fat, 2g carbohydrates, 40g protein.
E-mail The Lunch Guys:
tomandchris@thelunchguys.com
correctly. Since Boston's rotisserie method maintains moisture so well, you aren't in danger of getting a dry piece of meat. I pick the quarters where the skin is a good dark brown. Then you know it is cooked to perfection, with a slight crispiness that liberates all the flavors from the skin yet still allows the meat to be juicy-moist. Don't let the server pick a section that looks a perfect golden brown; the skin will be soft and undercooked.
Chris: I'm all about the sides. It's the only lunch place where they ask, “Do you want corn with that?” More surprising, I answer, “Yes, please.” Alongside my juicy, crispy 1/4 chicken, I picked the corn and the creamed spinach. Both are like Grandma's, though they've been slightly fast-food-ified with butter, cream and a few scoops of sodium to make them more fulfilling than french fries. But some iron and vitamins buried in there. My main problem with this as a lunch place is ripping the meat off the bone
Boston Market's rotisserie turnaround
