Boston Bits: Free Lunch at Turner Fisheries

I love the word “free.” Also the word, “lunch.” When put together, it’s like music to my ears. Get Facebook involved, and the whole thing starts to resemble a nerdy dream I once had.

During the last week in March, The Westin Copley Place had an exclusive deal reserved only for their fans on Facebook. To celebrate the re-launch of the lunch menu at Turner Fisheries, the first 100 fans to call the restaurant and make a reservation for April 2nd between 11:30 - 2 pm would get to eat lunch…FO’ FREE. My thrifty co-worker Molli almost had a heart attack when she found out, and called to make us a reservation immediately.

April 2nd was a beautiful day in the city, but I was still a little doubtful as we walked up the steps to Turner Fisheries. I’ve run social media-based contests before, and I know they get tricky. I’ve gotten jipped out of sweepstakes and competitions because of fine print (damn you, Tiger Beat!). I figured there would be some kind of catch to this. For instance, maybe my Facebook picture had to match my license picture (wouldn’t that be interesting?) for them to let me in, or perhaps by “lunch” they meant a piece of lettuce and a shot of water. If it seems too good to be true, it usually is.

My worrying was for nothing. Without even checking our IDs or any kind of presumptuous-looking list, we were seated in a booth and treated like queens for the rest of our visit. I believe Turner Fisheries just had some work done, and the inside looked brand new. The walls were painted a really deep blue, with fish shapes floating hazily on the wall and beige paper lamps dotting the ceiling. A large glass window put Dartmouth Street on display, and it was so calm on the inside of the restaurant that I almost felt bad for all of the harried people dodging traffic outside (almost).

Word on the street was that Turner Fisheries has some of the best clam chowdah in Boston (it’s actually listed as “Turners ‘Hall of Fame’ Clam Chowder” on the menu). I had to find out if it stood up to the hype.

It was definitely pretty tasty. I would have preferred it to be a wee bit chunkier though, with juicier clams. You know what I really want to talk about? THOSE CRACKERS. Turner, I don’t know where you get your crackers, but I need to know all about it. So good! No more of that Saltine nonsense for this girl.

Next up were our entrees. Molli had the Wild Salmon with Fried Rice, Mango Green Papaya Relish, and Tamarind Reduction. I got to sneak a bite of the fried rice, delicious.

I got the Lobster and Crab Cobb Salad, and I’ve been dreaming about it ever since. Probably the best-tasting lobster I’ve had in a long time. It even photographed well.

I would just like to say that I had no idea we’d be enjoying a full three-course lunch that afternoon, but dessert soon followed. I’d also like to say that my normal week-day lunch usually consists of a Pineapple Chobani and maybe an apple I found rolling around in my purse, so this was like a super big day for me.

Behold the beauty of my Creme Brulee and Molli’s Warm Apple Pie:

I’m still in shock that something that we found on Facebook could have been this much fun for $0. It just proves how powerful social media has become. Turner Fisheries is a wonderful restaurant, and I would highly suggest anyone coming to visit Boston to take a peak for some really authentic seafood and a relaxing atmosphere.

Also, big ups to our server Guillermo from the redhead and the girl who didn’t want to eat the skin of off her salmon.

- Alison