Review: JM Curley

(TV Diner) - Fairly new to the dining scene in Boston's Downtown Crossing, JM Curley is one cool brick-exposed room, with minimal, but quirky décor - yes, there's bubble hockey in the side corner - amazing brews and a small menu of comfort food designed to bring out the kid in you.

For starters, we dug into the fried pickles. The thin lightly battered rounds were absolutely addictive.

Also enjoyable was the pita and Greek salsa. Crisp pita triangles were the perfect vessel for the fresh minty salsa.

JM Curley prides itself on its burger and for good reason. Nine ounces of beefy goodness, cooked to order, topped with pickles, grilled onions, and Russian dressing on a sesame roll. Oh, yeah! But the shoestring fries could have used more time in the fryer.

JM Curley offers just three entrees, so we went for the fried chicken platter…six pieces of slightly dry seasoned and coated chicken, served in a cardboard box with several interesting dipping sauces and some seriously good coleslaw. And to wash it down, a glass of sweet tea.

The fun continued with dessert. Aptly named "Concrete"…ice cream is served with just about any "mix-ins" you want. We enjoyed the rum raisin. The golden raisins soaked in rum were downright delicious! Service was spot on. Our waitress was friendly, efficient and seemed genuinely engaged in making our experience a good one.

The average bill at JM Curley's is pretty easy on the wallet, with appetizers $5 to $15; burgers $14; entrees $14 to $20; and those enormous desserts landing between $5 and $10.

Fair warning if you're looking for a quiet dining spot: The noise level at JM Curley's can be loud, but we'd gladly strain our ears again for another one of those burgers! And restaurant Manager Patrick Maguire let us in on a little secret. There's a backroom labeled "for adults only" where a few cozy booths and a small bar provide an intimate corner to enjoy all that this funky pub has to offer.