East Coast Grille, Cambridge, MA

I first heard about East Coast Grille through its "arch-rival" in Carribbean cuisine, Green Street Grille. The two restaurants were having a jerk smackdown of some sort. Since I couldn't think of anything that could beat the sweet maduros of Green Street, I put East Coast Grille on my list.

A few months later I took a friend there as a thank-you present for dog-sitting. Inman Square was hopping with college kids on a Friday night, and the line at East Coast was out the door. We lucked into a couple of seats over by the raw bar, ordered some food, and were soon joined by a curious British traveler out to get some tips from the locals on Boston sightseeing. He bribed us with a round of drinks, dinner flew by, and we were cajoled by the bartender into ordering a grilled banana split sundae with mango ice cream made by local chain Christina's.

The sundae was simple. Grilled bananas--not to sweet, but also not too plentiful. Strawberry coulis, chopped pecans, and a giant mound of mango ice cream. It was tasty but incomplete, overdominated by the mango ice cream, with one giant scoop leeft long after we'd polished off the bananas, nuts and sauce.

I gave East Coast Grille a second chance a few weeks later and was not disappointed by the Chocolate Pecan Pie. The pie was gooey inside, with caramelized nuts on top. Every bite was like a classic Southern pecan pie had been drizzled with loads of melted chocolate. The flavors mingled seamlessly in my mouth, the perfect combination for a chocolate and nut lover, with a dash of whipped cream on the side for contrast.

Definitely pie worth going back for.