Anthony's Pier 4

Anthony's Pier 4 one step closer to disappearing

The BRA last night gave final approval to plans for the first of three new developments on the pier, a 383-unit apartment building, the Boston Business Journal reports.

The BRA has more details on the project.

Might want to get that visit to Anthony's Pier 4 in relatively soon

The Globe reports construction's set to begin next spring on a 21-story residential and retail building on Pier 4. The restaurant named for the pier and founder Anthony Athanas is slated to eventually be torn down, its land turned into a waterfront part; developers say the restaurant may be moved into another building slated for a later part of the pier project.

Now why would Anthony's Pier 4 hire George Regan?

Oh, right, because the restaurant owes Boston $822,000 in back property taxes, making it the largest delinquent on the books. Regan says it was a simple "bookkeeping issue," won't happen again and the bill will be paid in full by the end of the week.

According to the city assessor's office, the restaurant is supposed to be paying roughly $550,000 a year in property taxes, which would seem to indicate the "bookkeeping issue" has been going on for more than a year now (interesting side fact: The city values the actual restaurant at only $212,000, but the land it sits on - and its parking lot - at $24.3 million).

If you go to Anthony's Pier 4, skip the grilled salmon

A few months ago, we were driving along the South Boston waterfront on the way home, when we decided to try dinner at Anthony's Pier 4. The kidlet fell in love with the thing - from the view to the popovers to the general ambiance - and she decided she wanted to go out for her birthday dinner there.

So last night, with grandparents in tow, we did just that - and learned an important lesson: Anthony's has exactly two ways to grill a salmon: Charred and overdone or Barely cooked and raw on the inside. Didn't help that the waiter disappeared after he brought Nancy's salmon the first time (then again, he seemed constantly irritated with us; I had some nerve asking for the rice I'd ordered instead of the potato he gave me). Finally, after the third time, when the rest of us were all done, she just gave up and sort of ate around the edges and had some of my sauteed halibut (which was just fine).

Ah, but what of the kidlet?