Marliave, The Rising, NewBridge Cafe: Reviewed

The Boston Globe's Christopher Muther visited Marliave in Downtown Crossing, finding that the restaurant's menu catered "to both the bar crowd and those more buttoned-down, white tablecloth-loving diners upstairs. Muther described the mac and cheese starter as "elegant" and the escargots "convincingly French." He wrote that the use of cheese backfired in the roasted beet dish due to the thick cut of the vegetable and the "copious amount of cheese," but the Wellington "dazzled with medium-rare tenderloin...and a buttery pastry crust." The rabbit "was moist and easily pulled away from the bone," and the Berkshire pork chop brined in cider was hearty. As a finale, Muther wrote: "If you pass up [chef Scott] Herritt's butterscotch pudding with candied ginger, you will be denying yourself one of Boston's greatest pleasures."

The Globe's Ellen Bhang popped up to Inman Square to check out the newest Irish gastropub, The Rising Bar. The spot is a combination restaurant-gastropub-sports bar that "melds all three genres with ease," Bhang wrote. "The full Irish breakfast is a proper meal indeed," and the Irish eggs Benedict come with poached eggs atop corned beef hash and soda bread. Oh, and potatoes. While the Inman veggie burger falls apart, "the grilled pork chop is thick-cut, bone-in, and delicious," she wrote, and the large-portioned appetizers are enough for a meal. The Maine mussels, in particular, are doused in a liquid worth sopping up with crusty bread.

Boston Restaurant Talk's Marc Hurwitz continued his reviews for Dig Boston this week at NewBridge Cafe in Chelsea. Here in the heart of "steak tip country," he found a number of other favorites, including the antipasto served with the restaurant's house dressing, along with the house-made meatballs that he wrote were "among the best in the Boston area." The chicken parm has a "marvelous" red sauce, and the secret marinade for the steak tips "brings out the flavor of the beef without overwhelming it," Hurwitz wrote, making this an ideal destination for meat lovers.