Southwestern Dining at Cottonwood

A few weeks back we went to Cottonwood Cafe. This restaurant has an interesting history with us. When Alex first came to Boston for his med school interview, Cottonwood was the first restaurant he ate at in Boston. After I moved up we went there. I ordered a great dish, but it was a great dish for Alex not for me. It was a platter of grilled steak, pork, and chicken. That was too much meat for me and I left the restaurant feeling like a T-Rex (not a good feeling). We hadn't returned to Cottonwood because of this experience, but Alex insisted we give this restaurant another try. I obliged and I don't regret it. The restaurant was particularly lively and there were glasses of margaritas at every table. We ordered a carafe of margarita and that gave us about 4 glasses of the good stuff.

For the appetizer we ordered the Chips and Four Dips. The dips are green salsa, red salsa, guacamole, and chili con queso. My favorite dip was the guacamole because it creamy, chunky and natural tasting. Alex's favorite was the chili con queso because, well, the man loves cheese. It was a little spicy but nothing that overpowered the taste of the cheese. I really liked that they included the two types of salsa because I am a bigger fan of green salsa than I am of red salsa.
Alex ordered the Angus Ranch Strip and, as a steak lover, was in heaven. The steak was topped with a jalapeno butter and gorgonzola cheese and this made the steak extra juicy. The steak came with garlic mashed potatoes, which were creamy with a subtle taste of garlic.
I ordered a chicken BLT sandwich. I absolutely loved everything about this sandwich, from the presentation to the serving size to the taste. I was only able to eat about 3/4 of the sandwich because it was the size of my forearm. The chicken was grilled to succulent perfection. The sandwich came with a wasabi mayo that made my nose burn up and it was served with sweet potato chips that were a sweet contrast the the savory and spiciness of the sandwich.
We didn't order dessert because we were beyond full, but I intend on going back. Cottonwood Cafe is located in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood and is average priced considering Boston's restaurant scene.