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Boston's well-known "mysterious" food critic has honed his compendium of restaurant knowledge into his selection of the Boston area's best restaurants. The Phantom lists his favorite eight (also known as the "Great Ate") restaurants in 60 categories from comfort food and fried clams to Chinese and Italian. There are also lists devoted to neighborhoods and regions, from the North End to the North Shore. The nearly 500 restaurant reviews are also catalogued in alphabetical, geographical, and cuisine indexes for easy reference.

Unlike the competition, this book has a voice and exhibits the well-respected local expertise of the Phantom Gourmet himself. Moreover, rather than list every restaurant under the sun, the Phantom selects the places he feels are worthwhile and explains why, giving restaurant-goers more guidance when they're looking for a place to eat.

"A must-read for foodies all over Boston." --Pat Purcell, President and Publisher of Herald Media, Inc. (The Boston Herald)

"In its second year, the Phantom Gourmet Food Festival on Lansdowne Street next to Fenway Park became the premeire food and restaurant event in Boston. When the Phantom speaks, the people have spoken." --Patrick Lyons, President of The Lyons Group and Boston's "nightlife guru" according to The Boston Globe

“With the syndicated television marketplace loaded with silly reality shows, Phantom Gourmet stands out as local relevant and compelling content that connects the viewer to fun places they may want to experience.” --Julio Marenghi, President of CBS4, UPN38, and UPN28
“The Phantom Gourmet understands what makes restaurants tick and knows what each one does best. The Phantom Gourmet's Guide to Boston's Best Restaurants is a wonderful resource for locals and visitors alike.” --Jasper White, Chef at Summer Shack and James Beard Award-winning “Best Chef in the Northeast” in 2004

The Phantom Gourmet is an anonymous New England restaurant critic who dines in disguise, never revealing his identity and always paying his own bills. He is thus able to serve up the most honest and trustworthy restaurant reviews through his television, radio, and newspaper outlets.

Introduction 
As the Phantom Gourmet, Boston’s most trustworthy restaurant critic, I’ve guarded my top-secret identity like a sacred family recipe. I always dine in disguise; I have enough aliases to fake out the CIA; and I never leave a crumb of evidence in my path. Because I’m so mysterious, I get no special treatment. The experience I have is the same as you’ll have when you dine at the restaurants in this book.
 
Thanks to my boss, I’ve been on a belly-busting eating spree for the last decade. I’ve converted all that caloric energy into writing reviews for The Phantom Gourmet TV show on UPN-38, the CBS-4 News, WBZ News Radio 1030-AM, and the Boston Herald. Millions of people see, hear, and read my reports on the dining scene, then post their comments in the FEEDback Forum on www.PhantomGourmet.com.
 
The thing I hear more often than the clanging of pots is the pressing need for a restaurant guide “to go.” The market is flooded with all-you-can-read buffets on where to eat out, but this book is the ultimate menu of the most “Phan-tastic” restaurants in Boston and beyond. I’ve compiled a Great Ate list for every major food group (yes, French fries ARE part of the Phantom food pyramid) and neighborhood. Eight of my favorite places are singled out for each delicious category like Fried Clams, Fine Dining, and the Theater District. If you’re hungry for a certain something, I’ll tell you my eight favorite places to get it. If you’re headed to a particular neighborhood, city, or region, I’ll point you to the area’s eight greatest dining destinations.
 
Forget aimless searching; this guide gets to the point so you can eat what you want. You can still search the A-to-Z index for your favorite spots and the page on which they’re listed.
 
I spend more time eating out than most people spend even thinking about food during their everyday lives, and I’ve got the gut to prove it. A big THANKS goes out to all you masters of the kitchen, for keeping me employed. To my “Phans,” I give a super-sized salutation. And to anyone who operates a restaurant, treat every customer like a critic . . . because you never know which one could be THE PHANTOM GOURMET. Until I’ve eaten my way through every restaurant in the land, consider me out to lunch.
 
—The Phantom Gourmet
Mysterious Restaurant Critic
 
Copyright © 2006 by Phantom Gourmet, Inc.