Phantom Gourmet: Southern Food At Loretta's Last Call
BOSTON - Bostonians, get ready for a little taste of the South in your mouth! Brand new to the corner of Lansdowne and Ipswich Streets, Loretta's Last Call brings real Southern food and hospitality to our neck of the woods.
"Loretta's Last Call is a Southern influenced restaurant in the heart of Fenway Park, focusing on live music, cold beer, and great fried chicken," explained head chef Zak Lindgren. "The place is packed full of people dancing, singing along, and having a great time."
If they like it down South, you're going to find it on the menu. That means this kitchen is not afraid of butter, bacon, or deep fryers. In fact, fried chicken is First priority at Loretta's Last Call.
Appropriately crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, the fried chicken is available in four different styles including classic Southern, extra crunchy herb buttermilk, and something with a little more of a kick.
"We do a hot chicken," said Zak. "It's a brined chicken. It's picked up seasoned flour, and then it's rubbed with a spicy cayenne oil, and it's served with white bread and pickles. So you get that white bread on it; you eat it; that and the pickles kind of cuts the acidity, cuts the heat, and allows you to eat more of it.
"That's the key to our fried chicken. We brine it, marinate it, so it locks in that moisture. It's a really juicy piece of chicken. Nice crust. Very good all around."
For the ultimate south of the Mason-Dixon line experience you can order your chicken over a fluffy, golden, fresh-baked waffle.
"Chicken and waffles is a knock out. That's probably one of our best sellers," Zak said. "Just get that nice, fluffy waffle. The way we do our fried chicken breast, it's a large piece of chicken on top. It's a meal. It's maple barbecue sauce on top, served with a whipped butter and fried parsley. So all the flavors put together, you get that savory-sweet."
Just like the food, the atmosphere at Loretta's Last Call is down-home and downright all American. There's live country music just about every night. The dining room is decked out with honky tonk decorations, along with a patio outside and long bar inside that serves classic brews from Schlitz to Shiner Bock, along with moonshine-inspired cocktails.
From there, you can sink your teeth into some comforting Pimento and Bacon Grilled Cheese bites, classic Fried Green Tomatoes with bacon ranch dip, southern style Steak Biscuits topped with caramelized onions and sharp cheddar cheese, or some authentically delicious deep fried Hush Puppies.
"Essentially, a hush puppy is a corn meal fritter, and we serve them with a honey thyme bourbon compound butter," Zak explained. "You can eat them with a knife and fork; you can drip them in half and dip them. However you feel most comfortable."
For those looking to dip into something a bit heartier, check out the slow-cooked, smoked barbecue brisket, or the Southern fish fry packed with battered catfish, shrimp, and crinkle-cut fries. If you want to go all-in, slice into the 12 ounce salt-cured Ribeye steak that's seared and served with a massive mound of crispy tobacco onions.
"Thinly-sliced, white onions that are picked up in a spicy flour and fried so it looks almost like shredded tobacco," Zak described. "Ribeye is personally my favorite cut of meat. That with the onions, nice spicy, crispy onions on top - it's perfect."
If it's possible to improve upon perfection, dessert brings some standouts like fried biscuits with maple butter, and melt-in-your-mouth Angel Food Cake with strawberries and bourbon-infused whipped cream.
When you can't possibly eat another bite, or take another sip from your mason jar, you'll leave knowing that this probably won't be your last time at Loretta's Last Call.
You can find Loretta's Last Call at 1 Lansdowne Street in Boston, and online at lorettaslastcall.com.
Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.
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