The Coast Cafe — Restaurant in Cambridge

I had high hopes for The Coast Cafe after seeing the mention in Boston Eater’s “Best Fried Chicken In Boston” article. The rice&beans with gravy is great. The cornbread soft and sweet, with a distincive muffin shape, and my wife loves it. We saw fresh sweet potato pies right out of the oven back in the kitchen while ordering, and we were tempted. The fried chicken has a crispy crust that’s divinely seasoned and crunchy… but that’s where we “ran off the road” (so to speak). The chicken had gone way too long in the fryer. The meat of the fried thighs was hard, tough and dry, and had been basically destroyed by overcooking. It’s a delicate balance, getting a crispy skin and crust, that takes getting the oil hot enough to get that done without cooking all the juice out of the chicken. It takes monitoring the product, measuring the internal temperature with a meat thermometer - and monitoring the oil temperature with a candy thermometer, and getting the timing right for the conditions. It could be the restaurant doesn’t want to run afoul of Department of Health regulations regarding internal temperature for cooked chicken (which are way too high in many places, although don’t know the Boston regulations) and overcompensates- but whatever the thought process is should take into account that chicken is best when cooked to 165º internal temperature at the bone. The chicken on my plate appeared to have been cooked to at least 225º - way overdone. The string beans were also fatally overcooked, which may be a question of regional style, but they were mushy and tasteless, not unlike other Southern vegetables I’ve experienced. I would rather have had a conversation about all this than putting it in a public review, because I want them to succeed and do better, but the opportunity didn’t present itself. If I see a reply noting my observations, we’ll give em another try....

If you’re like me and you just moved up to Boston from the South, you might be craving some fried catfish and no other fish will do. This is the first place I found so far that didn’t serve fried catfish as a sandwich or po’ boy.

ORDER: Fried catfish with 2 sides: macaroni and cheese, and green beans. Also came with cornbread.

PRICE: Given the portion size and quality of the meal, $22 is a reasonable price that is comparable to those of other restaurants. I ended up making 2 meals out of a single order.

FISH BREADING: Even after a 30+ minute transport home straight from the restaurant, the cornmeal coating was still crispy. Not too thick or doughy.

FISH MEAT: The meat was soft and flaky; it had absolutely no fishiness or toughness that catfish can have. The restaurant was not stingy on the size of the fish, serving it as actual fillets (I had 1.50 fillets) instead of narrow strips. And portions of it were thick; in the picture I took, the piece was as thick as my thumb, a little less than an inch. No part of it was chewy, remaining consistently soft and fully cooked throughout.

SIDES: The green beans were fresh and perfectly soft. More importantly, the flavor was well-balanced and not too vinegary. Not sure if it was the time it took to transport it home, but the mac and cheese was a bit dry. But the noodles were still chewy, and not mushy despite the travel time. The cornbread muffin was soft and sweet and not a crumbly mess.

SERVICE: Take-out is the only option at this time. But the person who took my order was pleasant and efficient.

CONCLUSION: YES, I would definitely go back. And YES, I would recommend it, at least for the fried catfish. I have no complaints about the restaurant (other than the double set of doors that was a bit tricky to maneuver) or the food. 5...

Solid spot for Soul food/Fried chicken cravings.

First heard about this spot a year ago from my friends dubbing it the best soul food restaurant in the GBA. With limited opening hours, it took me some time to finally make it here, but this week, I managed to visit for lunch

The restaurant was quite small, with just seven seats squeezed into its modest space. Most people seemed to know the drill, grabbing their orders to go, but with a menu learning heavily on fried options, we decided to dine in while everything was still hot and crispy.

We opted for the Fried Chicken Thighs and Fried Catfish combo plates, and both delivered on flavor. The chicken thighs were our favorite—perfectly seasoned, not overly greasy, and juicy. The catfish was also nice with its tender and flaky meat. However, the portions felt a bit small for the price, and while we dove in as soon as the plates hit the table, everything was lukewarm.

Among the sides, the Mac N Cheese was our favorite. The other offerings—Candied Yams, Collard Greens, and Rice & Beans—were solid but fairly basic. From the hot oven display, we tried the Beef Patty. The flavors were there, but it was a tad dry. It really could have benefited from a good dipping sauce.

Not entirely sold on my friends’ claim that this is the best soul food spot in the area. Yet, with limited options for Southern soul food in Cambridge/GBA, I would probably come back if I’m craving for good fried chicken and Southern...