Last Wednesday, once the weekend was definitely in sight, MJD and I started talking about our weekend dinner plans. We both wanted to try some place new to us and somewhere outside of the South End. Living in our neighborhood has it’s perks with so many great restaurants available, but it also makes it super easy to go to our old faves over and over again. During our brainstorming I remembered a post from my fellow Boston Blogger, Meghan, about Moonshine 152. Moonshine 152 had availability for us at 8 PM on Friday night- and just like that, our plans were set!
Moonshine 152 is located in South Boston, near the Broadway T Stop. I lived in Southie several years ago and don’t make it back over often now, but each time I do, I am super impressed with all the restaurants that have opened up, including Moonshine 152. Gone are the days of only the Beer Garden and Playwright as your restaurant options in Southie. Moonshine 152 is the creation of Chef Asia Mei who previously worked with The Franklin Group at Franklin Café and most recently at Sam’s at Louis. In a prior interview with Boston Magazine, Asia mentioned wanting to be a part of the neighborhood. After our visit, I can say she has definitely accomplished that. Our visit to Moonshine 152 was delicious, cozy, friendly and I think it’s a great addition to the Southie scene.
We started off the night with an order of the Smoked Shrimp Dip (seen in first picture above). It was different from the type of appetizer MJD and I would typically order and we both really liked the smoky flavors. A few minutes into eating it, however, the hostess came by with a complimentary order of the chef’s Tamago. I had never heard of Tamago before and was very interested in trying it as soon as I saw it. Tamago is a sweet egg omlette and in Chef Asia’s preparation it sat on top of a crispy rice cake and then was topped with roasted shishito peppers and a homemade ginger aioli. The combination of soft, crunchy and sweet, spicy flavors was amazing. I’m pretty confident I wouldn’t have ordered that dish unless it had been brought out to us and I would have missed out on something seriously delicious. If you make it to Moonshine 152, I’d absolutely recommend ordering the Tamago appetizer.
Moving on to entrees, MJD and I both went for some of the more “comfort” type entrees on the menu. I should set the scene by saying it was a cold and rainy night and something warm, filling and cozy was just what I was looking for. MJD ordered the Skirt Steak Nachos, which we both thought was such a cool idea. Is there a better way to eat steak than on top of nachos? It seriously is genius. I went with the Statler Chicken Breast- serious yum! I don’t think I could have dreamed up a more perfect meal to eat on a rainy night. The chicken breast was paired with a warm kale and farro salad topped with pecans. I love kale and this side already had me thinking of how I could recreate it at home. I loved it!
I can’t forget dessert! We ordered a special, but I hope it is available once you make your visit. It was a double chocolate bread pudding and as chocolate lovers, we both loved it. MJD was hesitant on ordering dessert, but he typically goes along with me and says he’ll have a bite. Well, after proclaiming that he just wanted a bite, he definitely helped me out a bit more with this dessert which I think shows just how tasty it was.
Overall, we had a great dinner at Moonshine 152- the food was delicious, the atmosphere cozy and casual, and the staff was friendly! I am hoping to go back sometime soon for brunch or to try the menu again as it changes seasonally. I hope you’ll consider venturing outside of your typical Friday night dinner routine and trying some place new soon too… maybe Moonshine 152?
xoxo, Jenna