It had been years since I was last in Boston, but I had it on good advice that I needed to make sure I stopped in at No. 9 Park while I was there, which thankfully was only a couple blocks away from my hotel.

It was still slightly early in the evening when I stopped in, but the bar was already doing a good business, with what appeared like a good collection of regulars who were enjoying both the cocktails coming out from behind the bar, as well as the wonderful food coming out of the kitchen.

Barbara Lynch is the celebrated owner/chef of No. 9 Park, and her attention to well executed cuisine thankfully extends to the bar as well, where Ryan and Andy served me several great drinks over the course of the evening. Far too often I find that restaurant owners place all of their attention on the kitchen, and treat the bar as simply a waiting room where they can perhaps score a few extra dollars by serving mediocre drinks. At No. 9 Park however, it was a welcome relief to find that the chef, while not directly involved with the cocktails, was very supportive of the crack team she had hired, and encouraged them to make their own culinary statement through liquid cuisines.

Oh, yeah, and I highly recommend the Prune gnocchi, which is one of their signature dishes.