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City’s Best Comfort Food, 2005

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City’s Best Burgers, 2005

Stuff @ Night
What’s Hot?  Try the veggie burgers at Christopher’s in Porter Square.  If you’ve never had one, you’d be surprised by how good a veggie burger can be. 

Boston Globe Calendar
Brunch Punch:  who says brunch cocktails aren’t good for you?  At Christopher’s, the Sunrise Smoothie features what the restaurant calls a “tempting, thick, healthy blend of fresh strawberries, bananas, and orange juice.”  For a quick trip to the Caribbean during these harsh winter days, Christopher’s recommends adding Captain Morgan’s rum to the mix.  The result is a glass of creamy goodness that goes down quick and stands on its own.  “For some people, drinking on Sunday continues the party from Saturday night,” said Christopher’s co-owner Holly Heslop.  “And then there are those who have no intention of having a cocktail with brunch until they see one go by and say, ‘Damn, that looks good!’” 

AOL  Boston Guide
Talk about character.  If you’re looking for a place with any kind of character, Christopher’s effectively dominates the bar/dining scene in Porter Square.  From urban sophisticates to college students, everyone seems to love this American bar and grill.

Boston Globe
At Christopher’s Restaurant veggie burgers are … made up of all wholesome ingredients – grilled vegetables, oats, and fresh herbs among them, and the burgers are mixed and shaped fresh by hand.  The accompanying garlicky pesto and a roasted red pepper, probably too fancy for an ordinary burger, are splendid and appropriate here.  Be careful whom you tell, or at your next barbecue all your vegetarian friends will want one. 

Improper Bostonian
“Boston’s Best Burger”
Few foods can rival the hamburger in its popularity and prevalence, and few places can rival this Cambridge spot in terms of quality and taste.  The burgers here are all-natural beef patties, with no hormones or preservatives, and most of the toppings are organically grown.  Six types of cheese and unusual accoutrements like vegetarian chili, guacamole, and caramelized onions add to the allure, as does the fact that the burgers can be ordered on a toasted English muffin.  If you’re going to indulge, you might as well do it in style, and while Burger King might do it your way, this place does it right. 

Best Vegetarian Restaurant, Boston Phoenix
The new-American menu turns the tables on carnivores, offering vegetarians the majority of options, yet without turning meat eaters away (burgers and chicken still beckon); for once, no one in mixed (dietary) company has to go home hungry.

Phantom Gourmet
Christopher’s is one of Phantom’s “Great Ate” for Hamburgers.  Phantom’s Favorite:  Veggie Burger. 

Boston Magazine
This Porter Square bar may seem far too casual to be romantic, but it has to get credit for having the biggest, most blazing fireplace I found anywhere in the commonwealth. 

Boston Globe “Cheap Eats"
Christopher’s prides itself on offering a wide variety of dishes that mirror its neighborhood and cater to its tastes.  That’s an ambitious undertaking when you’re located in a multicultural mélange like Porter Square, but this place has remained popular because it rises to the task – and then some.  The consistency of both seasonings and preparation runs through everything.  We were skeptical about the prospects for the nachos, which added goat cheese and sun-dried tomatoes to the traditional chips and cheddar, but we were wrong.  The combination of tastes and textures raised a routine bar dish to a level that even the junk-food detractors among us appreciated – and appreciated, and appreciated.

The setting at Christopher’s is warm and inviting – very Cambridge, in the best sense of the phrase.  Exposed-beam ceilings, a comfortable bar, tongue-and-groove floors, roaring fireplace. You get the idea. 

And there’s more.  Charlie Christopher and Holly Heslop, the owners, have chosen to use meat only from animals that are raised on natural foods.  The result is better-tasting food and, presumably, greater appeal to some of their customers from the neighborhood.  Another bonus is that the menu is full of appetizing possibilities for vegetarians, who often get short shrift when dining at restaurants that cater to the carnivorous majority. 

Weekly Dig
Many months ago, a few friends and I started a citywide search for Boston’s best nachos.  The search, while triumphant, didn’t last very long.  The third restaurant on the list was Christopher’s, and with that visit, Boston’s Best Nachos had been found.  Many people call Christopher’s a vegetarian restaurant, but it’s not.  Although there are many vegetarian items on the menu, Christopher’s does make meat dishes, so that everyone can be accommodated.  In fact, the Improper Bostonian named it “Best Vegetarian Restaurant” and “Best Restaurant to Take a Non-Vegetarian.”  Back to the nachos.  They serve four types, and depending on your appetite, each comes in three different sizes:  big, bigger, and feed the whole damn family.  Whichever kind you get, they are warm, crisp, gooey, and never, never soggy, a nacho faux pas.  So, if you are looking for an eclectic menu with comfort food, bar food, fancy food, or just plain food, and a warm-up-to-the-fire atmosphere where you can eat dinner then belly up to the bar, Christopher’s is your place.  And if all you want is an ice-cold beer and some killer nachos, this is the place for that, too.