Sunday, October 23, 2011

Great Drinks, Great Tapas and Great Vibe at Masa's Southwest Grill

With our office being located in Burlington, there isn't much of a selection when it comes to "After work" lounges compared to Boston, which has a plethora to choose from.  There are the usual chain restaurants like Chili's or Uno's where one can get good appetizers and cheap draft beers or the higher end restaurants like Legal Sea foods which caters to the older businessmen-type group.

Usually, we head over to the Scoreboard in Woburn for drinks and wings but since we were celebrating a birthday, we headed to Masa's Southwest Bar and Grill where we celebrated the last two birthdays of people in our office, including mine.

We left right after work and got there early around 5:30 PM and got our usual seating at tables by the entrance.  It was still quiet and we were among the first ones there.

Habenero Watermelon Margarita
Since we have been there before, we already had drink preferences.  The Habernero Watermelon Margarita was at the top of the list.  Although its usually best served on a warm sunny day on their outdoors patio, its still is delicious in October! The drink has a nice authentic watermelon flavor without the fake syrup crap and just the right amount of spice from the habanerno that makes your lips tingle. 






Jalapeno Margarita and
Special Margarita with
Vanilla 

This time, I wanted to try something different so I got the drink special of the night which was a Reposado tequila margurita with a hint of vanilla liqueur.  At first, I was a bit hesitant, who mixes lime, salt and vanilla together? The waitress assured me it would be a great drink, so I decided to try it.  The drink was delicious! All the flavors balanced each other out and it was a smooth margarita.

For food, we shared the "House Chips" with salsa and guacamole.  When we first starting going to Masa's, we mistakenly assumed that the "House chips" were free and "on the house" so we kept them coming. Little did we know, those tasty chips costs $8.75 each.  

Most of us each got a combo tapas platter which offer 10 heavenly bites of food which ranges.  

$5.00 Tapas Combo Platter
Tonight's platter included:
  •  Grilled chourizo with cranberry chutney
  • Poached Shrimp on Tostones 
  • Cucumber with Dill Cottage Cheese 
  • Vegetables with Poblano Ranch Dressing
  • Chicken Taquito (x2)
  • Jalapeno Empanada
  • BBQ Pork Spring Roll
  • "Bruschetta" like Toast with cheese and tomatoes
The combo platter usually comes with a delicious bacon wrapped stuffed date, but they didn't have any tonight.

On Thursday nights, they offer the combo tapas platter for $5.00 all night long and between 5-7PM on the other nights.

Shipyard Pumkin ale with
Cinnamon/Sugar Rim
Around 7:30PM, the restaurant picked up.  The lounge area was crowded and the dining area had groups sampling the same tapas and chips as we were.  The popular choice for dinner here is the 3 course specials for a set price that changes seasonally.

One can sign up for their mailing list and receive emails on the new menus and specials.

Currently they are offering an "Octoberfest" special that features 3 courses paired with local beers for $35.00.



Mojito




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