Less than a year after opening, McGonagle’s (gastro) Pub in Dorchester was named to the NYTimes Best Restaurants in the U.S. A bit more upscale but the menu looks like a good mix of Chinese, Indian, and Irish, including Spice Bag.
Jody Adams’ La Padrona is also on the list.
That NY Times list makes an interesting read but the list is so idiosyncratic it’s hard to take it seriously as “the 50 best places in America right now”. The menu at McGonagle’s looks interesting but on it’s face not enough for me to make a 30-minute drive. Perhaps if some Onions weigh in with endorsements…
Take Yelp with however many grains of salt as you like, but seeing a newish casual neighborhood place with a mere 34 reviews and an average score of 3.8 get included on a “50 best in the US” list is, in my mind, rather questionable.
I’m also wondering why neither of the choices made the publication’s best of Boston list.
I’ve not eaten there. Based on this WBZ article, McGonagle’s is owned by the same folks as The Dubliner in Boston (which I have not eaten at either). The Dubliner made the Best Of list for Boston Magazine in 2023. The chef, previously also at The Dubliner, apparently has “worked in Michelin kitchens”.
Here’s an article local to Dorchester with some more background:
He worked for Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck in Bray, England. So that’s a good background.
Yeah, I reached a point where I reached saturation with my use of Google for this 
Close; here’s his LinkedIn profile. He in fact worked at Blumenthal’s London restaurant, Dinner. (Still pretty impressive…but only 2 stars, so not quite up to pub standards 
)
Hmmm…he also misspelled “Blumenthal”.
Apologies @LindaWhit! It’s too late to edit my post above but I just realized that my reading comprehension was poor: You wrote “of The Fat Duck”, not “at The Fat Duck.” So you were not just close, but 100% correct.
Thx. I hadn’t yet scrolled down on my phone to see your 2nd post and was about to say I wasn’t noting where he worked; just who he worked for. 
I’ve not heard of the restaurant Dinner, but while it’s out of my price range and most certainly WAY out of my dining style comfort zone, I definitely know of Blumenthal’s name and his restaurant The Fat Duck, where he made made his name.
