Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Hard Rock Cafe... Not just for the Tourists anymore!

Okay, let’s get honest for a second; if I asked you to describe Hard Rock Café in a few words, I’m sure the following would be said: “too touristy”, “tourist trap”, “boring food”, “ I only go there when I’m out of town”. Until recently, I would completely agree with you; I myself have said those exact same words many times before when I thought of Hard Rock Café- “been to a few on vacation trips”, “way to touristy for me, especially in Boston”, and “I only take my out of town friends there…gives me a good excuse to get another guitar pin”.

My attitude of Hard Rock Café all changed after a recent BlogandTweetBos event I attended, where we would be among the first to try Hard Rock Café’s all new revamped menu, and might I say, “this place ain’t just for the tourists anymore”!

A group of Boston Bloggers gathered together on a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon at the Hard Rock Café in Boston, where we were greeted to our own private dining area and given a full view of all the delicious food we were about to enjoy.






Before we got down and dirty with our enchanting lunch feast, we were introduced to Jordan, head of marketing for Hard Rock Café Boston and their executive chef, who would guide us through each course and explain a little more about Hard Rock Café.





First Course Salad

Mini Grilled Chicken and Arugula Salad- a small starter salad (which is good since the actual entrees are a very decent size), with a fresh blend of different tastes including spicy pecans, oranges and crumbled feta cheese.




Barbecue Sampler

A generous sample of hickory-smoked ribs, smoked barbecue chicken and mini beef brisket sandwich, with a side of cowboy beans were laid out in front of me and all I could think was, “Oh, My Napkin!”. Although they can be ordered separately, the sampler had everything I would want when my taste buds were craving a taste of the South (minus a cowboy).




Legendary Burgers and Sandwiches

Small and packed with lots of taste, our plates had a trio of mini burgers, which included:




Fiesta Burger- if Southern tasting isn’t your thing, but Mexican is, the Fiesta burger would be in order, a burger topped with jalapeños, Jack cheese, guacamole and pico de gallo, the taste will be like a firecracker to you mouth.

Tango Burger- described as a ‘Sloppy Joe’ this burger has actual Sloppy Joe mix, Jack, American and blue cheese and tangy bbq sauce on top of your burger…you may want to ask for extra napkins.


Fresh Vegetable Sandwich- this sandwich is a great option whether you’re not a fan of meat or looking for a healthy alternative, this sandwich combines Portobello mushrooms, zuchinni, yellow squash, roasted red peppers, asparagus and Jack cheese all in between a grilled sourdough bun.  


Hand Crafted Legendary Entrees

These dishes are not for the faint of heart or stomach, especially the Cowboy Rib Eye, a 16 ounce, 28 day aged bone-in rib eye grilled to they way you like it, with a side of hash brown waffles and asparagus, you might as well ask for a to-go bag when you order this guy.


Grilled Norwegian Salmon- personally, I’m not a fan of salmon, (I don’t like fish that tastes like fish), the salmon is presented in a unique way that actually gives it a different taste of fish. The salmon is wrapped in cedar paper, (which to my surprise, you don’t actually eat the paper…oops), served with mashed potatoes, if you are like and not a salmon person, you may want to at least give this one a try.

Sweet Desserts

As if we didn’t have enough delectable food in our stomachs already, we had to make room for what had arrived right in front of us, dessert. Like the trio mini-burgers, we were given a sample of three of Hard Rock Café’s most popular desserts; cheesecake made with Oreo cookie pieces, fresh apple cobbler and hot fudge sundae- anyone of these choices is a good choice.



Hard Rock Café Drinks

Of course, no blogger event would be complete without drinks…and Hard Rock Café was no exception! Along with all the amazing food we tried, we also tried a slew of different types of drinks for all different types of pallets.

Air Mexico Tequila Flight – a mix of three different types of margarita drinks with flavors including watermelon, blue curaçao and wildberry.



Red Berry Press- fruity tasting drink including strawberries, raspberries and lemons, which are actually pressed in a French coffee press giving this vodka drink more summer flavor.


Twist & Shout- a very unique taste in my opinion, this drink had a strange concoction that included Guinness Beer, spiced rum, chocolate syrup, salted caramel syrup, ice cream and topped with whip cream and bacon, this drink may not please all taste buds, buy I say, ‘don’t knock it, til you try it’.



Salted Caramel Café- a great tasting dessert drink which mixes Irish Cream, salted caramel syrup and fresh hot coffee, is a great way to end a delectable meal.


Photo courtesy of Hard Rock Cafe Boston
I really need to give props to Hard Rock Café for their revamped menu; I was genuinely surprised by the array of options and flavors that each dish had to offer. Next time your in the Faneuil Hall area, stop by and see and taste what I’m talking about…never know, you might be having drinks with your co-worker and rubbing elbow with the family from Toledo, Ohio! 


Photo courtesy of BlogandTweetBos



Note: I was not paid to do this blog post. All opinions, whether you like them or not, are all my own