Remembering more than two centuries of old-fashioned Yankee cooking with a final meal at Boston landmark Durgin-Park.
By Julie Tremaine|Jan 10 2019|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan
Just a few days into the new year, Durgin-Park’s parent company announced that the restaurant would be closing its doors on January 12. Photo Credit : Julie Tremaine
Durgin-Park, the stately old restaurant in Boston’s Faneuil Hall Marketplace, proudly boasts on its facade that it was “established before you were born.” The “you,” in this instance, could refer to anyone reading it, certainly, but also 26 American states and practically every present-day country in Africa and South America. When Durgin-Park was founded in 1827, its surroundings were very different. The restaurant was in the middle of a noisy, smelly marketplace. There were no skyscrapers and no taxis, and if you were proclaiming your support for the Patriots, you were having a very different conversation than you’d be having today.
But one thing is the same as it was back then: the old-fashioned Yankee cooking at Durgin-Park. When Ark Restaurants announced on January 3 that it would be closing the venerable eatery on January 12, it started a wave of public outcry — from those nostalgic for a restaurant that’s been a beloved gathering spot across generations, and from hungry customers wanting to have one final meal.
The Sunday night after the announcement, hundreds of people were lined up outside in the cold, waiting for a table. Gina Schertzer, a 43-year veteran of the restaurant and head waitress, showed me a picture of that crowd when I went for my final family meal the next day. “This is how it was in the ’70s,” she said. According to the managers, business is up 300 percent in the past week or so, after years of declining profits.
“Where your great-grandfather dined a century ago!” Photo Credit : Julie Tremaine
One of the many unique charms Durgin-Park has offered over the years is a letter, filled with an article from the now-defunct Collier’s Magazine and several of the restaurant’s iconic recipes, ready-made for you to write at your table and mail to a loved one. On the front, it says “Durgin-Park in Boston, where your great-grandfather dined a century ago.” The history is this: John Durgin, Eldridge Park, and John G. Chandler purchased Faneuil Hall’s food hall in 1827. In 1877, after the death of his two partners, Chandler changed the restaurant’s name to Durgin-Park in their memory. First his family and then two other families ran the restaurant for more than a century, until it was purchased by the corporation in 2007.
The menu has expanded a little over the years — adding pasta in 1997 for Boston Marathon runners who needed carbs, for instance, and offering some smaller cuts of prime rib than the original 32-ounce Durgin Cut — but this is a place that has honored its history and is intensely proud of its 192 years of service.
That history is important not only to the restaurant and its staff, many of whom have worked there for two to four decades, but to the guests as well. As I was talking to Gina, a customer came over to say good-bye; he said he first came to the restaurant in 1956 as a kid on vacation in Boston with his parents. As for my own family, our connection to Durgin-Park began with my grandfather, who started dining at the restaurant in the 1950s when he was a student at Boston University, and he brought us all back there many times over the years. “There are so many people with stories like this,” said Felix Hernandez, a manager who started as a busboy 28 years ago. “Sometimes my job is to sit and listen to stories.”
In the past week, people have come from all over to pay their respects, some from as far as Canada. One 97-year-old man, Gina told me, had his family drive him in from the Cape for one final meal. People may not have been coming in droves the way they used to, but when faced with a future that doesn’t have more of that Yankee cooking in it, they got in the car, and fast. The restaurant has been closing by 7 p.m. simply because they’re running out of food.
Durgin-Park’s hearty Yankee pot roast with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Photo Credit : Julie TremaineA final bowl of the famous Durgin-Park Indian pudding. Photo Credit : Julie Tremaine
What are people coming for? Prime rib, of course. Yankee pot roast. Steamed lobsters, clam chowder, and steamers (which the menu warns are sometimes sandy — but any real New Englander knows that already). Boston baked beans, served in crocks and made in such vast quantities that the restaurant has employed a “chief bean man” over the years. And baked Indian pudding, that unbeautiful concoction of molasses and cornmeal that’s by turns sweet and savory, and is the marker of a truly authentic meal at the restaurant. You may have been to Durgin-Park and ordered something else for dessert, like the coffee Jell-O or the apple pandowdy, but unless you’ve tasted the Indian pudding, you haven’t really been to Durgin-Park.
When the restaurant closes, Felix said, “everything will be auctioned off, and that will take the beauty of the place. You can’t replace that.” There may be good news on the horizon, though: Ark Restaurants says it’s in talks with two potential buyers. The staff is extremely hopeful that someone who loves the restaurant’s history will come in and save it, and preserve the jobs of those who have been instrumental in creating that history.
Durgin-Park will definitely close on January 12, maybe forever. But maybe not. As Felix says, “This place is too beautiful to let it go.”
Durgin-Park. 340 N. Market St., Boston, MA. 617-227-2038; durginparkrestaurant.com
I had only eaten at Durban Park once, but I do remember the experience. Today there are many more restaurant choices and competition for diners, but Durban Park is an institution. Hopefully, a Boston individual or group can save it for posterity. Because of it’s age, it could be put on the National Historic Register, but that would take time and someone willing to follow through.
I am shocked by the news that Durgin-Park is closed. I first went to the restaurant after WWII with my family and continued dining there whenever I was in or near Boston. We sat at the long family style tables with the butchers and other workers from the market and endured the wonderful abuse of the waitresses. For me, it was the astonishing portions of roast beef that overlapped the plate, the wonderful vegetables, the incomparable Indian Pudding that I can never forget. I hope that the current owners can find a buyer to save this historic eatery.
Notice that those coming long distances to the restaurant “drove in from the Cape” and other distant locations. There’s only one problem with Durgin-Park, and that is the problem all inner-city businesses have. Adjacent to Quincy Market, the restaurant is well placed for tourists and those living within the radius of the T, but how many suburban families are willing to park on the periphery of the city and ride the T to Gov Center and walk? They ought to be willing but they’re not. So I have a solution: (1) Relocate the original restaurant to a location with ample parking; there are dozens inside and outside the city’s limits. (2) Sell the downtown location to a willing retailer that caters to tourists. (3) Set up a “Durgin Downtown” stall in the Quincy Market that will still enable tourists to partake in the restaurant’s historic fare but perhaps at a price commensurate with lower overhead, so that such tourists will willingly take their plate over to an open table in the Court and happily mange there. If Target Stores can succeed with mini-stores, certainly Durgin-Park can operate out of stalls. Who knows? Durgin-Park could become a staple of malls and “Main Streets” throughout the world. Only one group will lobby vehemently against such a scenario: Chick-Fil-A’s cows.
I am broken hearted! The waitress gave me the baked bean recipe when I was 10 and I made it ever since. The Prime Rib hanging off the plate, the shared tables, the food, Indian Pudding with vanilla ice cream, Boston Baked Beans, the food, The saw dust on the floor, oh yeah and the food! Please, please save this historic landmark and … the food!
I loved Durgin-Park so much as a kid I took my daughter when she was young and friends when we went to see the Tall Ships. We live out of state but family history brought us back to Durgin-Park and the glorious, fabulous food.
I was certain Durgin-Park would outlive me. There are countless restaurants, but few can match the rich history of Durgin-Park. I’ve eaten there several times and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m a New England native currently living in Illinois, and what may be my last visit there was a number of years ago, returning from a trip to New England. I stored my luggage at Logan and took the MBTA into town for lunch, then took the T back to the airport to catch my flight. None of my visits, alas, included sampling the Indian pudding. If someone does successfully revive Durgin-Park, I’ve got to return and try that!
I moved from my beloved city of Boston when I first married at age 23 . I am one of the lucky ones who still have most of my family there even though I now live in DC .
I love everything there .The last ime I ate there was 5 years agowhen we stayed to the custom house and Durgin-Park was so accessible. I had eaten there many times through my college years at State College at Boston and I loved the history ,
ambiance, service and the food. Indian pudding was on the menu at the early
Howard Johnson’ as well , but only New Englanders are familiar with this
unique dish . I was so sad when the Copley plaza hotel now Fairmont changed the handsome Oak room. These familiar landmarks are precious to someone like me.
I hope someone will buy the rights to Durgin Park and it will continue. I was taken there as a child and have taken my husband a couple of times when in the Boston area. We now live in the Caribbean, but have wonderful memories of our times at a long table with delicious food. Would love to bring our grandchildren, they would love it.
Oh, Durgan Park….one of the places I miss so much now that I’m in California. A required stop on each visit back to New England, we will miss you all the more.
SAVE DURGIN PARK……..It’s like the train station that was torn down in the early 60’s in Portland, Maine! People didn’t appreciate it until it was torn down and a strip mall with asphalt was put there. A beautiful granite building gone but certainly not forgotten. There should be more people appreciating these historic places, not closing or tearing them down. I used to go there with my family when my father was stationed at the Coast Guard Base. Durgin Park and Regina’s Pizza two landmarks of Boston, great food and atmosphere. Please save it!!
I am heartbroken at the loss of Durgin Park! I ate there many times when I lived in Boston, but my favorite memory is when I graduated from college and my family took me and my seven siblings for dinner there and we feasted on lobsters, prime rib, baked beans and Indian pudding. They were all delicious! Durgin Park is part of Boston’s historic charm. It is like no other restaurant in the world. I hope that Bostonians will come to their senses and save one of their iconic symbols.
My theory about Durgin-Park’s closing? It’s gone the way ofValle’s Steakhouses. It fell out of favor with Millennials who aren’t that historically-minded, might think of the spartan decor as too blue collar, and the rickety climb up the narrow stairs to dining room was tough with fancy, stiletto heels. In short, Durgin-Park wasn’t a dress-up place to eat, which seems to be in vogue today.
None of the news accounts that I’ve read have mentioned Durgin-Park’satellite location on the second level in Copley Place. It didn’t catch on, and closed quickly.
I am so sad to read the news about Durgin-Park. The very first time I visited Durgin Park was the day I made my First Holy Communion. My parents drove into Boston from Lowell to take me to Durgin Park to celebrate this very special occasion. I got to eat my first lobster here. This was in 1945!! I eventually went to school in Boston and also work there. On many occasions, my friends and I would go to Durgin-Park to celebrate birthdays, pay raises, just for fun times, etc. I am now a transplanted New Englander living in New Jersey. I no longer have family living in Massachusetts, but whenever I have an opportunity to take a trip to Boston, Durgin-Park is on the list. I am heartbroken to read this news. Boston, to me, will not be the same without my favorite place to eat!
Oh, no!! I’m so sad to hear this!! I grew up just north of Boston and my parents took us there back in the 1950/60’s. After they moved to Florida, they always went there every time they came back and visited our New England relatives. I live in another part of the country and can’t get there right now! I hope and pray someone comes forward who will really love the place and rescue it. Corporations are a curse!! They buy things and then close them down!! Durgin- Park is an institution that should not die!! Thanks for letting us know!
Being from NJ my husband and I have only been to DP a couple of times……the first time was about 38 years ago. We were seated across the table from two young ladies from Michigan, and upon introducing ourselves, one of them remarked that she knew only one person from NJ, and she lived in Bay Head — a relatively tiny shore town. Ironically, my parents had a summer cottage there. So in a way, we already knew one another! We have also dined at communal tables in Amish country, and it seems to me that you will always find friendly people there who you will never forget. Deeply sorry to hear that this landmark is in danger. Hopefully a buyer will recognize it’s value and keep it going. It’s been around for nearly 200 years and there has to be something special in that!
Another short sighted corporation captured to good name, ran it aground and ride off into the sunset on the good name – and profits – of the great name of this establishment. Best to avoid the rest of the Ark Restaurants altogether.
Remember my first time at Durban Park. Our ship was in Boston Naval Shipyard for repairs, and a few of us went over for the prime rib. The waitresses were gruff and great. A lot of fun. The prime rib was enormous. This place needs to be saved!
I’ve been to Durban-Park several times many years ago and my favorite was always the Indian Pudding. I remember the tale about the gentleman who ate lunch there every day, followed by a dish of Indian Pudding topped with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. One day he announced to the waitress he wanted something different: Indian Pudding with two scoops of vanilla ice cream.
I just went into shock! It is 4:25 PM, PDT, on Thursday, June 20, 2019; and I just found out that Durgin-Park closed in January 2019! I live in the California Gold Country now, which is probably part of the problem. My husband and I still tell people about the time I took him there in December 1979, when we were engaged and he was “back East” meeting my family. I first went there during my February Vacation from fifth grade, with my mother, in 1956. I’m just sick over this. Corporations have no soul!
It breaks my heart to have this wonderful Boston Restaurant close it’s doors Miracles do happen and someone may take over and make it shine again like in days of old. I worked in Boston in the late 50’s early 60’s and Durgin Park was the place to warm your tummy. My parents and I would take the train from Hyde Park to Boston to dine in Boston’s famous restaurant went I was in my late 20’s.. What wonderful memories that will stay with me the rest of my life.
So sad to learn belatedly that this Boston icon is gone. The Indian pudding was— to use a gently old-fashioned phrase— just the ticket! I also have memories of pot roast.
A trip into Boston was not complete without lunch at Durgin Park. My favorite memory of DP was the waitress who told my friend who was trying to swat a fly with his spoon, “You can’t do that! That fly is part of the atmosphere.” The waitresses may have appeared rude, but it seemed like it was mostly an act that became part of the DP legend.
I have had a food service business in Quincy Market since 1993. “Ken’s Steak Carts”
I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that Durgin Park is no longer part of Boston. I love history, especially Boston’s history. Durgin Park will no longer be part of Boston’s history. No longer will tourists be able to experience its colonial atmosphere, its fabulous old-time menu serving the famous “Captains Cut” prime rib. God how I’ll miss that landmark and the amazing food!
I only ate there once, with my Aunt who brought me in from Lawrence for some occasion that I can’t remember. I was probably 12 or 13 and am now 81,
but I still remember that day as being a wonderful day, not only because I was treated as a “grown-up” but I can still remember that wonderful Indian Pudding. I never had the opportunity to return to Durban-Park but wish I had. I now live in Wyoming and as much as they have to offer here, there is nothing that compares to my memories of that day. I hope and pray they will continue to serve the people of New England (and the few remaining relatives I have in the area) as well as the many visitors to New England. They are, after all, an institution like the many good teaching hospitals and schools in the area.
After moving back to my home state of Massachusetts, after spending 20 years “abroad” (mostly in California), I discovered Durgan-Park. After avoiding Boston for most of my life, due to traffic, etc., I now had a reason to go downtown (I live about 20 miles outside Boston)! From about 2013, whenever I went to Boston, I ALWAYS ate at Durgin-Park. Commonly, I would go into Boston specifically to eat at Durgin Park! That meant maybe a dozen times a year. I LOVE local history, including Boston history, and I LOVE yankee food, which is becoming harder to get, even in this singular bastion of yankeedom! I was SHOCKED when I learned that Durgin-Park would close, and made a point to eat there one more time; I recall I had the roast beef dinner… Finally, I went there their very last night, and had a few drinks in the bar. That was IT! I’ve been to its namesake at Logan, which is, most emphatically, NOT Durgan-Park. I can’t believe it’s gone.
I’m glad I look up Durgin Park every 5-10 years. Today I read an article about an effort to rename Faneuil Hall and remembered! In 1980 I endured culinary culture shock trying to order this pudding off the lunch menu.
My first time, the waitress gave a rude reply that I, a Marylander (now a Californian), couldn’t parse. After several more requests, she lost her temper and snapped: Yah__Dant__Wannit! With that she slammed my check on the table, pivoted on her heel, and stalked off!
I returned the next day and after the meal I was chatting with a businessman seated adjacent. He looked like a Yankee used car salesman wearing a 3-piece suit in an orange-ish Madras plaid. I remarked that I was going to order the Indian Cornbread Pudding. With an expression of sadistic joy, twirling his ‘stache, and a mock-evil grin, he confided, “Son, in these parts we call that ‘Moose Sh*t Pie’!” Well, this time I lost my appetite.
On the third day, I hit Durgin Park in mid-afternoon hoping to avoid the staff’s lunch shift and extraneous wise-cracking locals. I successfully ordered my ICP. I don’t remember an a la mode option.
Well, after 43 years, finally, I can make it as Durgin Park did. AND WITH ICE CREAM! Thank you, Yankee Magazine and helpful contributors!
I had only eaten at Durban Park once, but I do remember the experience. Today there are many more restaurant choices and competition for diners, but Durban Park is an institution. Hopefully, a Boston individual or group can save it for posterity. Because of it’s age, it could be put on the National Historic Register, but that would take time and someone willing to follow through.
My parents brought me to Durgin Park 75 years ago (I’m 92) I remember waitresses being rude. It was part of the charm & I missed that later on.
I am shocked by the news that Durgin-Park is closed. I first went to the restaurant after WWII with my family and continued dining there whenever I was in or near Boston. We sat at the long family style tables with the butchers and other workers from the market and endured the wonderful abuse of the waitresses. For me, it was the astonishing portions of roast beef that overlapped the plate, the wonderful vegetables, the incomparable Indian Pudding that I can never forget. I hope that the current owners can find a buyer to save this historic eatery.
Superb article. Thank you so much!
Uh OH. Is the Union Oyster House owned by a “corporation, too?
Alma, Paul, Mark, Danny Wahlberg. Please, you are Boston just like Durgin Park.
Notice that those coming long distances to the restaurant “drove in from the Cape” and other distant locations. There’s only one problem with Durgin-Park, and that is the problem all inner-city businesses have. Adjacent to Quincy Market, the restaurant is well placed for tourists and those living within the radius of the T, but how many suburban families are willing to park on the periphery of the city and ride the T to Gov Center and walk? They ought to be willing but they’re not. So I have a solution: (1) Relocate the original restaurant to a location with ample parking; there are dozens inside and outside the city’s limits. (2) Sell the downtown location to a willing retailer that caters to tourists. (3) Set up a “Durgin Downtown” stall in the Quincy Market that will still enable tourists to partake in the restaurant’s historic fare but perhaps at a price commensurate with lower overhead, so that such tourists will willingly take their plate over to an open table in the Court and happily mange there. If Target Stores can succeed with mini-stores, certainly Durgin-Park can operate out of stalls. Who knows? Durgin-Park could become a staple of malls and “Main Streets” throughout the world. Only one group will lobby vehemently against such a scenario: Chick-Fil-A’s cows.
I am broken hearted! The waitress gave me the baked bean recipe when I was 10 and I made it ever since. The Prime Rib hanging off the plate, the shared tables, the food, Indian Pudding with vanilla ice cream, Boston Baked Beans, the food, The saw dust on the floor, oh yeah and the food! Please, please save this historic landmark and … the food!
I loved Durgin-Park so much as a kid I took my daughter when she was young and friends when we went to see the Tall Ships. We live out of state but family history brought us back to Durgin-Park and the glorious, fabulous food.
Can’t imagine Boston without Durgin-Park! :(((((
It’s always the almighty buck!
I was certain Durgin-Park would outlive me. There are countless restaurants, but few can match the rich history of Durgin-Park. I’ve eaten there several times and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m a New England native currently living in Illinois, and what may be my last visit there was a number of years ago, returning from a trip to New England. I stored my luggage at Logan and took the MBTA into town for lunch, then took the T back to the airport to catch my flight. None of my visits, alas, included sampling the Indian pudding. If someone does successfully revive Durgin-Park, I’ve got to return and try that!
I moved from my beloved city of Boston when I first married at age 23 . I am one of the lucky ones who still have most of my family there even though I now live in DC .
I love everything there .The last ime I ate there was 5 years agowhen we stayed to the custom house and Durgin-Park was so accessible. I had eaten there many times through my college years at State College at Boston and I loved the history ,
ambiance, service and the food. Indian pudding was on the menu at the early
Howard Johnson’ as well , but only New Englanders are familiar with this
unique dish . I was so sad when the Copley plaza hotel now Fairmont changed the handsome Oak room. These familiar landmarks are precious to someone like me.
Is the indian pudding recipe going to be available? I’ve never been there. Is Nick’s No Name still around?
Yankee Magazine has a recipe for Indian Pudding. You can Google it.
I hope someone will buy the rights to Durgin Park and it will continue. I was taken there as a child and have taken my husband a couple of times when in the Boston area. We now live in the Caribbean, but have wonderful memories of our times at a long table with delicious food. Would love to bring our grandchildren, they would love it.
Oh, Durgan Park….one of the places I miss so much now that I’m in California. A required stop on each visit back to New England, we will miss you all the more.
SAVE DURGIN PARK……..It’s like the train station that was torn down in the early 60’s in Portland, Maine! People didn’t appreciate it until it was torn down and a strip mall with asphalt was put there. A beautiful granite building gone but certainly not forgotten. There should be more people appreciating these historic places, not closing or tearing them down. I used to go there with my family when my father was stationed at the Coast Guard Base. Durgin Park and Regina’s Pizza two landmarks of Boston, great food and atmosphere. Please save it!!
I am heartbroken at the loss of Durgin Park! I ate there many times when I lived in Boston, but my favorite memory is when I graduated from college and my family took me and my seven siblings for dinner there and we feasted on lobsters, prime rib, baked beans and Indian pudding. They were all delicious! Durgin Park is part of Boston’s historic charm. It is like no other restaurant in the world. I hope that Bostonians will come to their senses and save one of their iconic symbols.
My theory about Durgin-Park’s closing? It’s gone the way ofValle’s Steakhouses. It fell out of favor with Millennials who aren’t that historically-minded, might think of the spartan decor as too blue collar, and the rickety climb up the narrow stairs to dining room was tough with fancy, stiletto heels. In short, Durgin-Park wasn’t a dress-up place to eat, which seems to be in vogue today.
None of the news accounts that I’ve read have mentioned Durgin-Park’satellite location on the second level in Copley Place. It didn’t catch on, and closed quickly.
I am so sad to read the news about Durgin-Park. The very first time I visited Durgin Park was the day I made my First Holy Communion. My parents drove into Boston from Lowell to take me to Durgin Park to celebrate this very special occasion. I got to eat my first lobster here. This was in 1945!! I eventually went to school in Boston and also work there. On many occasions, my friends and I would go to Durgin-Park to celebrate birthdays, pay raises, just for fun times, etc. I am now a transplanted New Englander living in New Jersey. I no longer have family living in Massachusetts, but whenever I have an opportunity to take a trip to Boston, Durgin-Park is on the list. I am heartbroken to read this news. Boston, to me, will not be the same without my favorite place to eat!
You did not mention some of the owners of Durgin Park for many years! Why?
Oh, no!! I’m so sad to hear this!! I grew up just north of Boston and my parents took us there back in the 1950/60’s. After they moved to Florida, they always went there every time they came back and visited our New England relatives. I live in another part of the country and can’t get there right now! I hope and pray someone comes forward who will really love the place and rescue it. Corporations are a curse!! They buy things and then close them down!! Durgin- Park is an institution that should not die!! Thanks for letting us know!
Being from NJ my husband and I have only been to DP a couple of times……the first time was about 38 years ago. We were seated across the table from two young ladies from Michigan, and upon introducing ourselves, one of them remarked that she knew only one person from NJ, and she lived in Bay Head — a relatively tiny shore town. Ironically, my parents had a summer cottage there. So in a way, we already knew one another! We have also dined at communal tables in Amish country, and it seems to me that you will always find friendly people there who you will never forget. Deeply sorry to hear that this landmark is in danger. Hopefully a buyer will recognize it’s value and keep it going. It’s been around for nearly 200 years and there has to be something special in that!
Another short sighted corporation captured to good name, ran it aground and ride off into the sunset on the good name – and profits – of the great name of this establishment. Best to avoid the rest of the Ark Restaurants altogether.
Remember my first time at Durban Park. Our ship was in Boston Naval Shipyard for repairs, and a few of us went over for the prime rib. The waitresses were gruff and great. A lot of fun. The prime rib was enormous. This place needs to be saved!
I’ve been to Durban-Park several times many years ago and my favorite was always the Indian Pudding. I remember the tale about the gentleman who ate lunch there every day, followed by a dish of Indian Pudding topped with a single scoop of vanilla ice cream. One day he announced to the waitress he wanted something different: Indian Pudding with two scoops of vanilla ice cream.
I just went into shock! It is 4:25 PM, PDT, on Thursday, June 20, 2019; and I just found out that Durgin-Park closed in January 2019! I live in the California Gold Country now, which is probably part of the problem. My husband and I still tell people about the time I took him there in December 1979, when we were engaged and he was “back East” meeting my family. I first went there during my February Vacation from fifth grade, with my mother, in 1956. I’m just sick over this. Corporations have no soul!
It breaks my heart to have this wonderful Boston Restaurant close it’s doors Miracles do happen and someone may take over and make it shine again like in days of old. I worked in Boston in the late 50’s early 60’s and Durgin Park was the place to warm your tummy. My parents and I would take the train from Hyde Park to Boston to dine in Boston’s famous restaurant went I was in my late 20’s.. What wonderful memories that will stay with me the rest of my life.
So sad to learn belatedly that this Boston icon is gone. The Indian pudding was— to use a gently old-fashioned phrase— just the ticket! I also have memories of pot roast.
A trip into Boston was not complete without lunch at Durgin Park. My favorite memory of DP was the waitress who told my friend who was trying to swat a fly with his spoon, “You can’t do that! That fly is part of the atmosphere.” The waitresses may have appeared rude, but it seemed like it was mostly an act that became part of the DP legend.
I have had a food service business in Quincy Market since 1993. “Ken’s Steak Carts”
I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that Durgin Park is no longer part of Boston. I love history, especially Boston’s history. Durgin Park will no longer be part of Boston’s history. No longer will tourists be able to experience its colonial atmosphere, its fabulous old-time menu serving the famous “Captains Cut” prime rib. God how I’ll miss that landmark and the amazing food!
I only ate there once, with my Aunt who brought me in from Lawrence for some occasion that I can’t remember. I was probably 12 or 13 and am now 81,
but I still remember that day as being a wonderful day, not only because I was treated as a “grown-up” but I can still remember that wonderful Indian Pudding. I never had the opportunity to return to Durban-Park but wish I had. I now live in Wyoming and as much as they have to offer here, there is nothing that compares to my memories of that day. I hope and pray they will continue to serve the people of New England (and the few remaining relatives I have in the area) as well as the many visitors to New England. They are, after all, an institution like the many good teaching hospitals and schools in the area.
After moving back to my home state of Massachusetts, after spending 20 years “abroad” (mostly in California), I discovered Durgan-Park. After avoiding Boston for most of my life, due to traffic, etc., I now had a reason to go downtown (I live about 20 miles outside Boston)! From about 2013, whenever I went to Boston, I ALWAYS ate at Durgin-Park. Commonly, I would go into Boston specifically to eat at Durgin Park! That meant maybe a dozen times a year. I LOVE local history, including Boston history, and I LOVE yankee food, which is becoming harder to get, even in this singular bastion of yankeedom! I was SHOCKED when I learned that Durgin-Park would close, and made a point to eat there one more time; I recall I had the roast beef dinner… Finally, I went there their very last night, and had a few drinks in the bar. That was IT! I’ve been to its namesake at Logan, which is, most emphatically, NOT Durgan-Park. I can’t believe it’s gone.
I’m glad I look up Durgin Park every 5-10 years. Today I read an article about an effort to rename Faneuil Hall and remembered! In 1980 I endured culinary culture shock trying to order this pudding off the lunch menu.
My first time, the waitress gave a rude reply that I, a Marylander (now a Californian), couldn’t parse. After several more requests, she lost her temper and snapped: Yah__Dant__Wannit! With that she slammed my check on the table, pivoted on her heel, and stalked off!
I returned the next day and after the meal I was chatting with a businessman seated adjacent. He looked like a Yankee used car salesman wearing a 3-piece suit in an orange-ish Madras plaid. I remarked that I was going to order the Indian Cornbread Pudding. With an expression of sadistic joy, twirling his ‘stache, and a mock-evil grin, he confided, “Son, in these parts we call that ‘Moose Sh*t Pie’!” Well, this time I lost my appetite.
On the third day, I hit Durgin Park in mid-afternoon hoping to avoid the staff’s lunch shift and extraneous wise-cracking locals. I successfully ordered my ICP. I don’t remember an a la mode option.
Well, after 43 years, finally, I can make it as Durgin Park did. AND WITH ICE CREAM! Thank you, Yankee Magazine and helpful contributors!