Abby Park

After our Blue Hills Brewery adventure last Saturday, we decided to make a South Shore day of it with dinner at Milton’s Abby Park. Like many suburban restaurants, Abby Park graced us with the convenience of a parking lot, a little luxury that is always a nice surprise.

Even though we were there for a fairly early dinner at 5:30, the restaurant was starting to fill up, and while we didn’t have a reservation, we were seated but told that our table did have a reservation for 7:30. We both knew we were in the mood for appetizers and drinks and figured we had plenty of time.

The inside of Abby Park is really nice, dimly lit with lots of dark wood, a large square bar that was completely full of people, and tables sprinkled throughout the upstairs and in a smaller room downstairs. We had a cozy table for two, and while it felt a little close to the other two top next to us, being a little crowded on a Saturday night is to be expected. Although, when they people sat down next to us, they introduced themselves and said they were having dinner with us. Ha. Ha.

Ever the fan of bubbly, I started with a glass of Prosecco while the husband had a Blue Hills IPA in the spirit of our Blue Hills Adventure.

As predicted, we decide to share two salads and two appetizers for our meal. I started with the grilled Caesar salad. Ever since my first grilled Caesar salad at Diavola in Geyserville, CA, I have ordered this dish whenever I see it on the menu. I am huge when it comes to temperature and texture contrasts, and the mix of cold and hot, crunchy, and soft bits of lettuce are pure salad love for me. The creamy dressing was garlicky and smooth, dotted with briny bits of white anchovies (optional), and crunchy, buttery croutons. I wish I could say that I shared this entire head of lettuce with my husband, but he didn’t get more than a bite. It was SO good.

He ordered the roasted beets salad with feta and pistachios. The bite of beet that I had was sweet and cold with a hit of feta and a pistachio which brought up a discussion about why we don’t buy pistachios more often. I decided it is because they are addictive, and we would eat them all in 10 minutes.

For our hot courses, we split the BLT&C Pizza which was phenomenal. It sounds kind of weird, but it brought together cheddar cheese, bacon, fresh juicy tomatoes, lettuce, and a chive mayonnaise. I can not wait to order this pizza again.

We also shared the lobster dip with flatbread which was very good, but not good enough for me to stop eating the pizza, for the most part.

We decided against dessert as the meals we had were really filling, but I will return for the chocolate bread pudding.

The service at Abby Park was really great. The restaurant manager (or owner) was around checking in at tables really frequently, maybe a little too frequently. By the crowds inside the restaurant and those in the small waiting area and bar, you could tell that Abby Park is a local favorite for families, groups of friends, and couples out for a nice date. As you would expect, the prices were reasonable, less than those in the city. Sometimes going out in the burbs is just the laid back experience we are looking for.

If you live in the city, do you often get out to the suburbs for restaurants? If you live in the suburbs/country, do you get into the city often?