In the shadow of the Boston Garden...

Now the Fleet Center (it will always be the Garden to me)...

Some of the RRR's Bryant College gals got together to celebrate their collective March birthdays. Mitch chose Anthem, a "modern American bistro" for our gathering.

We started with a few appetizers for the group: the hummus platter, pulled pork dumplings and chickadee chick Chinese chicken. The hummus had a decent consistency and a nice hint of orange zest; a welcome change from the lemony standard. Crisp pita chips and assorted olives rounded out the platter. It was a fine take on hummus, nothing special but I've definitely have had worse.

The pulled pork dumplings were lager-lime battered and came over an avocado mousse and a green apple-tomatillo relish. I found the relish a bit too tart for the pork and while I certainly appreciate deviating from the culinary norm, this appetizer didn't quite hit the mark for me (and you know how much I love all things swine!).

The chickadee chick Chinese chicken however, really hit the mark. The menu said it was "sweet & spicy soy marinated wings" but in reality, they were meaty drumsticks. The soy and I'm sure sugar gave the chicken a nice crunchy outside and the soy added just enough salty goodness to balance out the sweet. The chicken was juicy and it was hard not to overindulge - but there more to come.

Here's how the entrees rounded out:
RRR: Cubano Sandwich - Anthem added salami to the usual roasted pork, ham and Swiss cheese standard and some chipotle mayo for a bit of heat. Not bad, but once you've had the real deal...

SeeSaw: sirloin burger with applewood smoked bacon, mushrooms, onions, blue cheese and fries. SeeSaw's Orange Julius cocktail was delightful reminding me of one of my favorites a 007 (Stoli O, orange juice and 7-up) - the touch of whipped cream on top was simply adorable! Sorry kiddies, this drink's for Mom!

Rhodey: pepper crusted rare seared tuna salad - Rhodey really enjoyed this dish which she ordered on the recommendation of our server. The sesame-soy dressing added some Asian flair while the mesclun greens, avocado and egg "American-ized" the dish.

O.E: grilled vegetable baguette - this came with a goat cheese spread and some great shoestring sweet potato fries. Oh the sweet potato, so underrated and overshadowed by its less than stellar tuber relatives!

Mr. RRR & Mitch: grilled flat iron steak with mushroom risotto. I told you my bro-in-law was a meat & potatoes man! I had a piece of Mitch's (cause boys don't always share) and it was a nice cut of meat!

Foodie: mighty meatloaf with beef, chorizo & Italian sausage over grilled Texas toast. I wasn't quite sure what Texas toast was but they had me at chorizo. The panko bread crumbs that coated the top of the mashed potatoes were an extra special crunchy treat. And such a great spice to the meat; I will certainly be trying chorizo in my next meatloaf!

For dessert we were intrigued by the fried Twinkie and the molten chocolate cake. The Twinkie was my first in at least twenty years but one bite brought me back to the spongy cake that I loved as a child. The batter was lighter than most I've had and didn't overwhelm the cake which was surrounded with a garnish of assorted berries.

The chocolate was really nice with a molten center and creamy peanut butter ice cream. I believe there was some sort of bourbon sauce but honestly, I'm not quite sure since I was busy concentrating on commandeering as much dessert as possible.

While we are not talking about haute cuisine at this restaurant but if you are looking for a nice, casual, reasonably priced restaurant with a decent menu (before a Bruins game perhaps?) then why not give Anthem a shot?

NOTE: As the over 30 set were walking out, there was a growing college crowd in the bar area so probably not a bad singles scene either!