Looking for the best steak in Greater Boston?
Skip those luxurious big-city steakhouses and head instead to the City of Sin. You’ll find the best steak in Boston at The Blue Ox in Lynn, a neighborhood gem in the heart of an up-and-coming downtown that has drawn rave reviews since opening in 2009.
Chef-Owner Matt O’Neil’s smoked filet mignon is, well, sinful: a perfectly charred steak with black crust that contrasts beautifully with the red tender, juicy beef inside. The steak is accompanied by a port wine demi-glace and choice of sides ($32).
Oh, and the best part: The filet is cold smoked in-house with bourbon-barrel oak from Ryan & Wood Distilleries of Gloucester. The smoke adds great depth, complex flavors and intoxicating aromas – not to mention a great little local culinary storyline. You smell the steak before you cut into it.
“It’s a man steak with a lot of smoke and tons of flavor, but still simple to prepare. It’s our signature. People love it,” said O’Neil, who worked for Boston chefs such as Anthony Caturano (Prezza) and Barbara Lynch (No. 9 Park).
O’Neil and his staff go to great lengths to ensure that the steak is cold smoked – the goal to add only aroma and flavor without first cooking the beef. They pack the smoker with ice, which keeps the temperature low and produces a moist steak.
The bourbon-barrel wood-smoked steak dovetails nicely with the restaurant’s great beer and cocktail program, highlighting local spirits such as Berkshire Mountain Bourbon, Bully Boy Vodka and Privateer Rum.
The Lynn food and drink scene will soon have another great addition: O’Neil expects to open a brewery, Bent Water Brewing Co., in the near future. He’s currently scouting out locations in Lynn.