Branch Line, Parsnip, and More: Reviewed

Nestor Ramos visited Watertown's Branch Line for the Boston Globe, voicing his thoughts on the restaurant's signature rotisserie chicken. The restaurant's chickens "twirl in an oven engineered to the standards of a luxury car," Ramos wrote, and they are "outstanding," albeit with a certain amount of labor in enjoying the meal. It's worth it, he wrote, as the bird is "moist and rich and carefully seasoned," and "the skin and sauce provide a savory punch." He also praised the sugar snap pea salad, cauliflower, branzino, fried potatoes, and roasted carrots.

Also for the Globe, Sheryl Julian checked out the new Max & Leo's location at Game On, finding a menu of "well-made snack food, sometimes the best you've ever had." The coal-fired nachos and wings deliver, and the calzones show no signs of doughiness, she wrote. While the meatballs in a sub were not very good, Julian wrote, the pizzas were best with fewer toppings and with a thin dough that "has enough chew at the edges to be satisfying." The Steve's Old-Fashioned pizza "is a beautiful, simple pie," according to Julian.

The Improper Bostonian's MC Slim JB swung by Parsnip in Harvard Square to explore chef Peter Quinion's menu. The relatively new restaurant boasts a roulade of quail and hazelnuts that "is lovely and delicate by itself, but the dish sings with its side of al dente farro risotto and a concentrated pan sauce," he wrote. On the entree side, there are perfectly cooked monkfish filets, beautiful potato and artichoke terrine, and a skillfully balanced cornish hen. Meanwhile, the work of pastry chef Courtney Staiano is "oddly pretty, witty and delectable: not to be missed."

Boston Restaurant Talk's Marc Hurwitz visited Costello's Tavern in Jamaica Plain for Dig Boston, stopping by to check out the neighborhood spot and assess its "pub grub and comfort food." The charbroiled burgers were the highlight, Hurwitz wrote, and the toppings like guacamole, chili, cheese sauce, and jalapeños "only add to the goodness of these oversized hunks of meat." He added that the "pizzas...hot dogs, steak tips, wings, and reubens are all good options," along with some outstanding hand cut fries.