Lynn’s new Blue Ox Restaurant has done a great job pulling together all the right ingredients for a great culinary experience.
Written by Anna and David Kasabian
Photographs by Anthony Tieuli
Good food? check. Cozy room? Got it. Professional staff? Yes.
Yet as we sat amid the cheerful din in the bustling dining room, we couldn’t help feel that there’s something else going on here-something bigger and more important than just another new restaurant.
Indeed, what we witnessed was the ongoing gestation of a nascent neighborhood institution. One established and operated, its founders will tell you, for the express purpose of weaving its way deeply into the fabric of an old city, offering an oasis of casual congeniality and unexpected quality amid the frayed grayness of Lynn’s downtown. From the looks (and taste) of things, it’s already succeeding just seven months after opening, and the chance to breathe in this cheery neighborhood spirit is reason enough to go. But so is the grilled flat bread pizza featuring the chef’s own artisan dough baked beneath tasty, imaginative toppings which change daily; ours was made with applewood-smoked bacon, basil, Asiago cheese, and diced fresh tomatoes.
Another reason to go is the baked stuffed zucchini appetizer with spicy sausage, mushrooms, tomato, and fontina cheese, a hearty dish chock-a-block with familiar comfort food stars.
You should also consider the classic French onion soup, redolent of deeply flavored beef broth, patiently caramelized onions, and a splash of sherry, served piping hot in traditional glazed crockery, with bubbly Gruyere oozing over crisp edges of a baguette crouton. Very satisfying.
The herb-roasted half chicken entree comprises boneless chicken dredged in a secret melange of fresh and dried herbs, pan-seared until the skin crackles, then roasted. This sits aside a pillow of mashed red bliss potatoes and very fresh sauteed spinach. Washed down with a glass of pineapple- and melon-infused Italian Ca’ Stella ’08 pinot grigio, we declared this chicken a winner and on its way to fame as a Blue Ox signature dish.
The spice-brined grilled pork tenderloin entree was pleasingly lean and tender with excellent flavor. It is served 
with the unusual choice of mashed sweet potato, plus grilled asparagus and grilled red onion vinaigrette. For this, we chose the Balletto ’07 Russian River pinot noir, clean and tight with a plum and raspberry finish.
Finally, dessert. If you like tiramisu, you will love the Blue Ox version. Made in the classic style, it is extra creamy, but not too sweet, and exquisitely rich. In contrast, the giant slice of chocolate layer cake delivers plenty of drama on the plate, but too little chocolate and too much sweet for our taste, perhaps, in part, because it was still cold from the fridge.
Presiding over the kitchen is Chef Matt O’Neil, whose culinary odyssey took him from Italy to South America and from the renowned Culinary Institute of America to the kitchens of Boston’s prestigious No. 9 Park, Prezza, and Copia. Finally, Chef O’Neil has arrived here in Lynn to help create the friendly, informal, embracing neighborhood restaurant for which he and the rest of us have all been waiting.