Boston Beer Works   

With a location right next to Fenway Park, Boston Beer Works certainly has an edge over other restaurants on game day. The place fills to capacity, with lines sometimes just to get in. It's the kind of place you love or you hate, or maybe you just tolerate until the game starts (or after the game, when you're waiting to get your car out of the lot). Boston Beer Works is, as the name suggests, a brewery, and the room is filled with the distinct aroma of hops. You will find such homebrews as Beantown nut brown ale, Boston red ale and Bunker Hill bluebeery ale. The menu is broad, with everything from fried pickles (yes, really) to filet mignon. Whether you're looking for a quick pregame snack or a long, off-season dinner, Boston Beer Works can accommodate most every need. Appetizers include boneless Buffalo wings, sticky chicken stix, barbecued ribs and the aforementioned fried pickles (with ranch sauce). Entrees include the usual burgers and sandwiches, as well as beef tenderloin medallions in buckeye oatmeal stout and mushroom ravioli. The room is pretty much what you'd expect: large and cavernous, with baseball paraphernalia gracing the walls and giant copper beer vats off to the sides. Prices are all over the board; suffice it to say that there is something to fit everyone's budget. -- K.F. Murphy