• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close
  • BECOME A MEMBER

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

WINTHROP ARMS

Written by MARC HURWITZ Posted July 6, 2016 Filed Under: Eats, LIFESTYLE

 

EA_WinthropArmsMacCheese_728

Let’s talk macaroni and cheese for a moment. While the Greater Boston area isn’t exactly the best place in the world for it (and it isn’t a regional food like bar pizza or roast beef sandwiches), it isn’t exactly the worst, either. With places like Harvard Gardens in Beacon Hill, Silvertone in Downtown Crossing, Ashmont Grill in Dorchester, and the Publick House in Brookline, there are definitely places to find excellent versions of this classic comfort food dish. But one of the best places for it is a dining spot in Winthrop that is as about hidden as they come—and ironically, the restaurant doesn’t even have it on the menu. Never heard of the Winthrop Arms before? Well, you’re definitely not the only one.

 

The town of Winthrop itself is a bit on the hidden side; even though it borders Boston (East Boston, to be exact), it sits on a peninsula mostly away from public transportation and it has no malls, huge office complexes, busy highways, or anything else that might attract crowds of people. And within the community is a smaller peninsula that sticks out from the main peninsula where quiet residential streets and jaw-dropping ocean views can be found—and right in the middle of it all is the Winthrop Arms, a hotel and restaurant that dates back to World War I. The interior of the place is gorgeous in an old-world kind of way, with a lobby full of mahogany and a sprawling, comfortable dining area that oozes charm and elegance without being stuffy. A relatively new addition to the space is a long outdoor porch that overlooks the street and is a great spot to be on a warm summer night.

 

The restaurant at the Winthrop Arms focuses mainly on classic American fare and Italian-American dishes, including good takes on bacon-wrapped scallops, a Caesar salad, chicken cordon bleu, crab cakes, veal and chicken parmigiana, baked stuffed scrod, shrimp scampi, chopped sirloin with mushroom gravy, and pork chops, along with a fair selection of beers and wines. But it is the macaroni and cheese that is king to many here, and for some strange reason, it isn’t on the menu, so you need to ask for it. For those in the know, the mac and cheese at the Arms is something special, with cavatappi (a kind of corkscrew pasta) used rather than the more common elbow macaroni. It’s mixed with several types of cheese and a good amount of cream, then baked until the top is browned. To some, this is the best macaroni and cheese in the entire Boston area, and also one of the cheapest (and perhaps the only off-menu version around).

 

The Winthrop Arms restaurant remains well under the radar after all these years, in part because it’s in a residential neighborhood whose roads don’t really go anywhere, and also because it is located in a town that generally isn’t considered a dining destination (which is too bad, because the community has a number of impressive restaurants). If you’re jonesing for mac and cheese and have a car—and a decent map app or GPS—head to this charming seaside spot for a true sense of discovery within the local restaurant scene.

 


WINTHROP ARMS. 130 GROVERS AVE., WINTHROP. WINTHROPARMS.COM

MARC HURWITZ
+ posts

Marc is the founder of @hiddenboston, a textbook editor, a hike leader for @AppMtnClub, and a food and travel writer and commenter for DigBoston, NBC/NECN, WBZ, WMFO and indie617.

  • MARC HURWITZ
    https://digboston.com/author/marc-hurwitz/
    Into the Wild: Finding Solace Along a Free-Flowing River a Half-Hour South of Boston

Filed Under: Eats, LIFESTYLE Tagged With: mac and cheese, Winthrop Arms

WHAT’S NEW

State Wire: Mass Legislation Aims To Improve Language Access For All

State Wire: Mass Legislation Aims To Improve Language Access For All

State Wire: Mass Launches Free Legal Advice Hotline Regarding Abortion Care

State Wire: Mass Launches Free Legal Advice Hotline Regarding Abortion Care

State Wire: Mass Bill Would Tighten Restrictions On Facial Recognition Technology

State Wire: Mass Bill Would Tighten Restrictions On Facial Recognition Technology

Mass Higher Ed Advocates Urge More Investment In Students 

Mass Higher Ed Advocates Urge More Investment In Students 

Guest Opinion: Promoting Metal Detectors In BPS Perpetuates Dangerous Narrative

Guest Opinion: Promoting Metal Detectors In BPS Perpetuates Dangerous Narrative

State Wire: Mass Leads Nation In 'Green' Building Development

State Wire: Mass Leads Nation In ‘Green’ Building Development

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • Think Massachusetts Cannabis Prices Are Low Now? Just Wait Six Months!
  • A New Beginning For Formerly Incarcerated Women
  • Jerrod Carmichael Has First Show After Coming Out—At the Wilbur In Boston
  • Why Are Cannabis Prices Really Crashing?
  • Dig This: Thousands Of Furries Flocking To Anthro New England 

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com