TCM Drinks: Green Street

Green Street does something that few other places accomplish - it goes over unanimously with our board game group when we’re on the hunt for a post-gaming bar. Moreso, every time we suggest Green Street, eyes light up, and little chirps of “Flips? Flips?” arise from the masses.



We huddled in on a chilly Tuesday night to find Green Street (unsurprisingly) bustling. This was no surprise, however, because Green Street is AMAZING.

We Drank:

New York Flip



Ol’ Dirty Bardstown



Hawaii Cocktail



Earl Grey Marteani



Founders Brewing Co. Backwoods Bastard Ale



Angela’s Thoughts

I harbor a deep love for Green Street (peep my “Faves” on the site for proof), and have been here so many times that I could rattle off my list of favorite drinks on their menu on command. I’ve never had a bad drink in the place; it feels like the bartenders are always on their game.

One of the things that I love about Green Street is their extensive cocktail menu. When you first sit at the table, you’ll get a short, double-sided cocktail menu… but I’ll let you in on a secret. That’s not the whole thing! Ask your waitress for the “long-form menu,” and you’ll be met with a gigantic trifold full of boozy deliciousness. When looking over the long-form menu, you might notice that some drinks are underlined – those are the raw egg cocktails (or “flips”). Green Street likely does this as a courtesy to those with egg allergies, but it practically serves as a homing beacon for everything I’d want to drink! Green Street does a lot of raw egg cocktails, and their richer ones are like boozy milkshakes, in the best way!

The New York Flip is one of my favorites. It features rye whiskey and ruby port with cream, simple syrup, nutmeg, and a whole fresh egg. If you’re as much of a fan of rich, creamy, whiskey-based drinks as I am, I’d highly recommend it (along with the Colleen Bawn, Lazy Man’s Flip, etc, etc).

Two of my friends, also egg cocktail fans, were kind enough to share their drinks with me.

One, the Earl Grey Marteani (yes, the punny spelling is on their menu), is an old favorite of mine. An Earl Grey-infused gin-based cocktail, it is sweet and sour from the lemon and simple syrup, and the tannins of the tea play off of the creaminess of egg white beautifully. In the 10+ times I’ve had this cocktail (either myself, or a sip of someone else’s), it’s never been bad. *Never.* It’s crisp and refreshing in all the right ways.

The second cocktail I got to taste was the Hawaii cocktail, another gin and egg white-based cocktail. The most notable ingredient here was the pineapple juice – the drink was a pale yellow and smelled like a can of pineapple cocktail. The taste, however, was more nuanced; the sweetness was much mellower than expected, but still clearly fruity. It kind of reminded me of the Dole Whips (pineapple flavored soft serve) that they make at Disney World.

I generally come here for cocktails (I don’t think there’s another bar in Boston that serves so many delicious egg cocktails – if I’m wrong *please* let me know!). What really impressed me during my most recent visit was their beer. Green Street has about 10 beers on tap, 7 resident beers, with rotating a IPA, Stout, and Draught of the day. One of our companions ordered the “Stout of the Day,” which was the Founders Backwoods Bastard Ale. It was a dark and magnificent scotch ale. I won’t spend too much time talking about the beer (that’s what Untappd is for), but I was pleasantly surprised that they seem to put the same effort and quality into curating their tap list as they do their cocktails!

As you could probably tell from my gushing review, I love Green Street. So much. So, so, so much. I love it even more because I generally go on Tuesday nights when it’s crowded, but not *packed*. Though I can’t fully advocate for it as a dinner date spot (one day I’ll eat there…), it’s dim, chill vibe is perfect for drinks; their cocktails are nearly unmatched in Boston.

Matt’s Thoughts

Green Street is a bar I feel lucky to know about. Though I’ve never had their food, I am regularly impressed by not just their selection of cocktails, but also the quality of ingredients and craft that goes into them.

When you go to Green Street, you may be given a 1-page double-sided menu of signature cocktails. You may think - damn, I see several things on here that I want… What do I do?

Do not be fooled! What you do is you call over your friendly server and politely ask to see the full cocktail menu. Then you ready yourself.

What comes next is a near-overwhelming wave of avarice as you browse through the pages and pages and pages of delicious cocktails and drinks. From your standard fare (martinis, manhattans) to your fancier stuff (aviations, sidecars), to the creative (several different flips, one of which uses a whole egg), Green Street is sure to have 5+ things you’ll want to try.

I got the Ol’ Dirty Bardstown - Rye, Fernet, Ginger, and Uncle Sam’s Bitters. Not a drop of disappointment was to be found in that glass (assuming you like more bitter, medicinal cocktails (which I do)). Every sip I felt like I discovered a new layer of flavor - the rye was spicy, bready, warm. The complex, earthy, anise/mint Fernet faded in and out throughout a taste, the ginger lent a refreshing spice, and the bitters grounded and balanced the drink with a dark tartness that would have been sorely missed otherwise.

For me, this is an excellent cocktail. 4 ingredients, only 2 of which are actual liquor, coming together in a way that elevates, blends, and separates each, challenging your palate to keep hunting for new dimensions while never muddling flavors enough that you can’t tease anything worthwhile out.

Definitely go to Green Street. And definitely do it on a weekday night… that place was crowded even then (but rightfully so).

Overall:

Neither of us can speak to the strength of their food menu, but that won’t stop us from singing the praises of Green Street’s phenomenal drinks! We both think Green Street is all-caps AMAZING. If you’ve never been, put this one on your short list *immediately* and prepare yourself for an incredible experience.

We give Green Street 5(!!!) shaken, foamy egg whites out of 5.