Sweet Caroline's in Fenway - More Than Just a Red Sox Bar

          With a name like Sweet Carolines and the Fenway location, you'd expect a typical sports bar with generic draft beer, burgers, and buffalo wings. While Sweet Caroline's does serve both burgers and wings, the burgers are hand crafted from fresh grass fed beef and the buffalo chicken rangoons are anything but generic. They also have an extensive drink list including craft brews and cocktails designed by one of the city's top mixologists.

          Sweet Caroline's opened about two years ago, but it was within the past year that Chef Joshua Smith (formerly of The Four Seasons and Tico) took over and completely revamped the menu. His farm to table philosophy and creative twists on pub fare make Sweet Caroline's more of a neighborhood bar and grill than a sports bar, although there are televisions throughout the bar so guests can watch the game.

          Blog and Tweet Boston was recently invited to sample the brunch and lunch menu, as well as several selections from the new craft cocktail list.

          We started with a Touchin' cocktail, and learned that all drinks are named for verses from the song Sweet Caroline. This take on a mimosa included Campari, Peach Absolute, Prosecco, and grapefruit juice, and was garnished with a slice of fresh grapefruit.

          We ordered a mix of breakfast and lunch items for the table to share. Some of my favorites included:

          A lobster roll prepared with fresh made in house lobster, celery, bermuda onion, coleslaw, and home made potato chips.This is not something I normally order unless the restaurant offers Connecticut style (hot with butter), but sweet Caroline's version had very little mayonnaise, and the star of the sandwich was mountain of lobster meat on a toasted buttery bun.

          Eggs Benedict with two perfectly poached (runny) eggs, ham, hollandaise, and a lightly toasted English muffin, served with fresh cut home fries.

          Buffalo chicken rangoons: a twist on the crab rangoon, filled with pulled spicy chicken, served with a side of buttermilk blue cheese dressing.

          A grassfed beef burger topped with applewood smoked bacon and American cheese, served on a toasted brioche roll with a side of fries.

           A fried oyster salad with spinach, bacon, hard boiled egg, sliced red onion, and a warm bacon vinaigrette.

 

          Pancakes, which were thin like crepes but still light and fluffy, topped with plenty of whipped butter and maple syrup.

          Throughout the meal we sampled even more of the new cocktails including the Where it Began margarita with simple jalepeno simple syrup and a cajun spiced rim:

          When Spring Became Summer: bully boy white whiskey with cucumber infused simple syrup, lemon, sprite and bitters:

          Angels in the Outfield: Angels Envy bourbon mixed with Harpoon IPA, and a splash of coke.

          My favorite was by far the spicy margarita, I loved the jalepeno and flavor of the cajun spiced rim!
          Although I was stuffed after all of the amazing food, somehow I found room to try a couple of bites of the warm chocolate chip cookie pie and apple crisp.

          In addition to a fantastic meal, the service was also outstanding. The entire staff was so friendly and welcoming, everyone from the owner, general manager, server, and bartender stopped by. They thoroughly explained each dish and drink, the background of the Chef and restaurant, and tipped us off on Chef Smith's upcoming project - a new deli in Waltham featuring USDA prime charcuterie, which I'll have to check out since it is right in my neighborhood!

          Blog and Tweet Boston is a group I co-founded that connects bloggers and local businesses through fun events. If you have a business and are interested in holding a blogger event, email us to get in touch.