Boston Globe North - Dining Out

The Black Cow in Hamilton, a popular restaurant and watering hole on the town's main street. It's a tony, grown-up sort of place. This is fine dining that's understated. An appetizer of warm mini-turnovers made with crispy phyllo leaves and stuffed with goat cheese and wild mushrooms ($9) was a good start, delectable and pungent.

Portions here are generous without being super-sized; you have a decent chance of finishing what you order. Thus we had room to split one of the restaurant's half-dozen $8 desserts: a tasty dish of rich strawberry-flavored crème brulée.

The Black Cow has a sister restaurant in Newburyport, and a third version is planned for the old waterfront McDonald's site in Beverly near the Salem bridge.

COCO McCABE AND DOUG STEWART

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Zagat
With one branch providing “the closest thing to a scene you’ll find in Hamilton”, and the other known for its “friendly crowd” of Newburyport “thirtysomethings” gathered “for drinks on the deck”, this American bar-and-grill duo guarantees fans “a fun night out”

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Boston Globe
“...get to The Black Cow Tap & Grill, where a contingent of servers all too ready to please will deliver interesting plates of great-tasting food in an attractive, relaxed, fun atmosphere. ... all we could say to toast our good fortune in finding this place was, ‘Moo, moo, Black Cow.’”

Anne Driscoll

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North Shore Sunday
“Everything in The Black Cow is done right, from the service to the bar, from the appetizer lineup to the dessert menu. And the decor is the crowning touch. It’s simply a great place.”

Hank E. Campagne

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whatsthesoup.net

This is the perfect time of year to head to the Black Cow in Newburyport , MA – the crowds are minimal, but the views of the river are still breath-taking!  I enjoyed a quiet evening  there with my husband recently; we started with some stellar soups.
 
I can’t get enough pumpkin and squash bisques this fall, so I was excited to try a Pumpkin Coconut soup – a combination I’d never tried and won’t soon forget.  It was a perfectly pureed pumpkin bisque with many of the traditional seasonings, but the addition of shredded coconut added a lovely texture to the smooth puree, and an unexpected sweetness.  I could eat this soup for dessert – it’s not cloyingly sweet, but pleasantly so, as well as being rich and thick.  Our friendly waitress concurred that she’d happily eat this soup every day.
 
My husband ordered the soup of the day, which was a Southwestern Meatball soup.  It packed a little bit of a spicy punch!  It was reminiscent of a chili except for the meatballs.  It was full of onions, corn, beans, jalapenos, and tomatoes – warm and comforting.  Two perfect fall soups on one lovely night

Kathy Karp

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