Restaurants in Chelmsford

After ten hours of slow-cooking, the barbecue ribs at Joe’s American Bar & Grill land on tables tender and ready to fall of the bone. Served with fresh-made coleslaw, these ribs are the centerpiece of a menu overflowing with upscale comfort food. Chefs cut potatoes by hand to accompany bacon cheeseburgers topped with aged cheddar and bread-and-butter pickles made in-house rather than flown in by a talking stork. Grilled pizzas are made fresh to order and never frozen, and hefty sandwiches and hand-cut steaks stack plates with sustenance. On the weekends, brunch dishes come out of hibernation to sate guests with made-to-order omelets and specialties such as eggs benedict and prime-rib hash. Diners enjoy the fresh air on the outdoor patio or cluster around the bar to keep track of sports scores or find out who really got married on Days of Our Lives.

Mexican chefs prepare Mexican food that's served in a dining area enclosed by walls decorated with Mexican art. Wooden hot plates keep tile-topped tables and overzealous servers' heads safe from fajita skillets that emit the sounds and scents of sizzling chicken, beef, or shrimp. Patrons may enhance their authentic meals with sprinkles of salt and pepper shaken out of repurposed Coronita bottles and complement their cuisine with oversized margaritas—crafted at the wraparound bar with a selection of more than 40 tequilas.

The chef twirls and spins his carving fork and spatula in a percussive rhythm atop the grill. He continues the show, slicing and seasoning meats and vegetables as part of a choreographed spectacle for guests lined around the perimeter of a hibachi grill. In addition to freshly seared dishes, the chefs also man a sushi bar, where they work with ingredients such as fresh salmon and deep-fried sweet potato. They prepare plenty of vegetarian items as well as a selection of Chinese dishes. Every dish is available for delivery within a 5-mile radius, which Kyoto's staff demarcates by drawing a large chalk circle around the restaurant.

Michael's Market is part deli, part restaurant, and part catering company. That means that sometimes customers visit one of its two locations to lunch on crabmeat salad on focaccia bread or chicken cordon bleu on a baguette, and sometimes they pop in just to pick up some fresh marinated meats. If patrons are hosting a morning meeting or a business lunch, they also can pick out a platter of stuffed finger sandwiches or pastries from the corporate menu so attendees won't start gnawing on their laptop power cords for sustenance. The catering menu is full of variety: chefs can prepare a platter of hand-rolled swedish meatballs, a tray of lasagna with house marinara, or a spread of seafood au gratin—baked shrimp, scallops, lobster, and shrimp pieces with cheese and Ritz Crackers crumbs.