Boston Market’s rotisserie chicken is as close to homemade as you can get without opening your oven door. Same for the roasted sirloin. When our family needs comfort food, but nobody wants to cook, we head to Boston Market for mashed potatoes, gravy and individual side dishes for each of us.
Dad loves the steamed green beans tossed in garlic butter. Mom indulges in the cheesy creamed spinach. The 10-year- old always chooses the spiral macaroni and cheese, a bright orange blend of American, cheddar and blue cheeses. Teenage sister prefers the Caesar side salad. But we toss the cornbread, which is too sweet and pasty for us.
We all love the homemade- tasting gravy, moist, garlicky chicken and lean sirloin, which recently won a restaurant industry award. It’s USDA choice top sirloin meat, aged 21 days and slow-roasted. The sirloin comes in 5- and 8-ounce entrée servings; thinly sliced in the Sirloin Dip Carver sandwich with caramelized onions and Swiss cheese; and chopped over salads.
No arguments over dark or white meat, as you can specify which you want, or order a whole chicken and a couple of extra legs, thighs or breasts. And, like the beef, the chicken also appears on sandwiches and salads. For a limited time, you can get a whole roast chicken for $1.99 with the purchase of a family meal.
In addition to the chicken potpie, roasted turkey and meatloaf, part of the appeal of Boston Market is its variety of side dishes and desserts. If Mom and/or Dad don’t feel like cooking, they certainly don’t want to hear whining about the choices. Here, there are so many, it’s hard to decide: Cinnamon-sugar-glazed apples or cranberry-walnut relish? Steamed veggies or vegetable stuffing? Chicken tortilla soup or chicken noodle? Coleslaw or fresh fruit salad?
And if that’s not enough, Strawberry Bliss (vanilla cake, strawberries and whipped cream) and Chocolate Fudge Bliss, a brownie topped with whipped cream, fudge and semi-sweet chocolate shavings) have joined the apple pie, chocolate cake and cookies on the dessert menu.
The company has responded to consumer requests for more natural ingredients by revamping its recipes to remove artificial colors, flavors and preservatives. It also offers fundraising coupon booklets for charities and fundraiser nights for schools.
The wholly owned McDonald’s subsidiary has individual and family meal packages ranging from $4.99 to $35.99. Catering packages are also available, and you can order the food hot or cold to cook later. If you want a closer look, call the company headquarters in Golden to make an appointment to tour its kitchen. You might just get a free lunch.
Food editor Kristen Browning-Blas can be reached at 303-954-1440 or kbrowning@denverpost.com.
| Boston Market
American|20 Colorado locations, main office 1-800-365-7000, bostonmarket.com|$1.49 (soup or salad) to $34.99 (10-person meal)|10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. all stores
Front burner: Homey, well-prepared comfort food with plenty of choices.
Back burner: Cornbread is way too sweet. Macaroni and cheese leftovers aren’t appetizing.
