A little Hot Spot on the brinks of the South End

Last Friday night my friend and I were romping around in search of a new place to try out. We were in the mood for something easy and casual with a social atmosphere. After a brief moment of deliberation and a quick inventory of our surroundings, I remembered a little place called Coda situated at 329 Columbus Ave. between Clarendon and Dartmouth.
This place had been on my radar for a while now and I have walked past it enough times to know that both its drink and dining menus appealed to me. As it so happened, that night I particularly wanted a good burger. So in we went and Coda proved to be exactly what we were looking for. It is really great when things work out so nicely!
As I found out once we were greeted and seated at a neat little make shift bar stool table, Coda’s burger is so well known that it qualifies as a ‘secret’ burger. By secret I mean that it is not on the main dinner menu handed to you once you sit down. People regularly come in with nothing but the Coda burger on their minds and so Chef Charlie Redd has no need to advertize it. Instead, he tries to entice the guests with the numerous other mouth watering dishes like the Mac and Cheese with pancetta or the Cape Cod Fisherman’s Stew. Tempting as these other menu items were, my friend and I both settled for the infamous ‘secret’ burger.
Boston is a great place for burgers and it is difficult to find the necessary touch that sets yours apart from all the others. Coda manages to do this with its great price (10$) as well as its homemade pickles and the option to add your own cheese free of charge. I got mine with blue cheese which I think is a great compliment to most burgers. The burgers arrived while we sipped on our drinks; my friend got the sangria; a pleasant mixture of fruity red wine, rum, Brandy, Cointreau and the traditional fruits while I tried out the Grapefruit Summer Press: Ruby Red vodka, St. Germain (a personal faveJ), grapefruit juice and fresh lime. The drink menu is inspired and costs average at about 8 dollars the cocktail!
As always presentation is a must and Coda nailed that as well: two beautiful open faced burgers were presented to us with all the fresh fixings and a generous side of shoestring fries.
The waiter was very friendly and informative and by the time our tummies were full the bar had filled and there was a comfortable buzz in the air.
Coda is a gem, one worth seeking out more than once and next time, I will definately be trying out something on the menu!