jm Curley

 

 

 

 

 

 

The only thing I have to knock about this place is limited tables/seating so its a must getting there early to find a spot. Great place though with an awesome selection of beers

 

 

 

Visited 11:30pm-12:30am Nov 16-17

After dinner with coworkers earlier in the evening at Stoddard's (across the same street, Temple Pl), I walked around a bit and decided to visit jm Curley solo to end the evening. The doorman/bouncer remembered me from the previous night when I'd stopped by to ask a couple questions and he personally took me inside and got me a table (although at 11:30 on a Saturday the place was only about 2/3rds full). Late night, a very cool vibe: thumping hip-hop, busy and chatty bar, drinks flowing. I got a table just around the corner from the bar, where it was quieter, near the sweet bubble-domed Bruins Slapshot game - nobody was playing, sadly. Floors are well-worn auburn, walls are brick, feel is warm, friendly. I noticed a 20s/30s-era poster on the wall for the former Boston mayor and restaurant namesake that read: "Elect CURLEY, The MAYOR of the POOR, Humane Experienced Leadership".

As the midnight hour approached, my only food options were from the "Late Night" burgers and "Sweet Tooth?" dessert items. I got a burger: 5 oz. of beef, drippy cheddar, grilled onions, a good russian dressing and pickles. ($7.50). I though it was a little TOO salty for my liking, but flavors were big enough to pair with the chocolate-y "Porter Square Porter" from local brewery Slumbrew. To top it off, I got a sack of the "Curley's Cracka Jack" - very good caramel corn and peanuts mixed with bacon fat and bacon bits ~ damn! (so good that I went back on Monday afternoon just before heading to the airport and snagged two more bags!). Overall cost for food & beer was about $22. I looked at the dinner menu and saw a good mix of smaller snacks (most $10 or less), a couple soup/salad items and meats like the burger (a larger version, pork chop, fried chicken and steak frites - a pretty short list but all sounded good to me. Next time.

For beers, the list of drafts was only six deep and included the Slumbrew Porter, DFH Indian Brown, Maine Mo, Lagunita Lil Sumpin Wild, Uinta Wet n Wyld and Weihenstephaner Dunkel. The bottle list was longer and consisted of about three dozen choices, subdivided into categories like "Yeasty Delights", "Hop Heads", "Fruit of the Loom" and "Sippin' Suds" (plus the tongue-in-cheek(?) "Chef's Private Stock": Genny Cream, Tecate, High Life and Full Sail Session). Drafts are typically $6.50-7 and bottles range from $3-5 for the "Private Stock" up to $24 for a 750ml of DFH Theobroma. Overall, the bottles are good mix of East Coast (DFH, Maine, Jack's Abby, Smuttynose, etc), Midwest/Mountain (Hoppin Frog, Avery, Founders, etc) and West Coast (Bear Republic, Firestone Walker, 21st Amendment, etc), plus a handful of imports (Brasserie Dupont, Van Honsebrouk, Moa, etc). Good diversity, something for everyone.

I really enjoyed the hour or so spent here and would love to return for lunch or dinner some day. Cool place - Recommended.

Probably one of my favorite bars to hit up late night, always lively. Tight 6 tap draught selection changes over frequently. Bottle and can list are always diverse enough. Wish they kept up with the branded glassware. Food is always ultra creative, bartenders know their stuff. Pricing is not too high either.