Located in the normally grimy section of town outside the shadow of the TD Banknorth Garden, Anthem is the replacement to "The Commonwealth", which succeeds where its predecessor failed. Breathing a little life into the North Station area, Anthem offers a trendy feel with floor to ceiling windows giving view to the Courthouse and Haymarket Parking Station. The restaurant has fun with itself throughout the menu description and choice of meals. Despite the humor, the atmosphere remains posh and sleek using a theme of dark rich red and brown, creating one of the nicest waiting areas Bostonist has seen.

It was hard to resist some of Anthem's signature drinks, so Bostonist ordered an Espresso Martini and Anthem's own Hendricks Gin and Lemonade. The espresso martini was good, but the lemonade was sensational with virtually no bad alcoholic aftertaste, making it a dangerous drink if not consumed in moderation. For appetizers, we ordered the Double Roasted Yukon Potato and the Roasted Beet Carpaccio. The potato dish was good, stuffed with a cheese sauce and mixed with blue cheese, but the Beet Carpaccio was superb, featuring three different types of beets with a salad in the middle. Never expecting that much from beets, Bostonist was surprised that this appetizer was the best part of the meal.

We chose two entrees to try, the Steak Fritas and Seared Swordfish. The steak was cooked to perfection, though it lacked anything unique. Included on the plate were two sidedishes: some sort of french fries and kernel corn, which tasted like it came right off of the ear. The swordfish plate was much better, stacked in three layers with a grilled eggplant compliment on the bottom and sautéed vegetables surrounding the dish.

While Bostonist has heard about Anthem's fried Twinkie being a delight, that dessert wasn't available to sample; we opted for the Hazelnut Coffee Brulee and a Blue Flower Earl Grey Chocolate Cake. The brulee had a good consistency with a mild sweet finish. The chocolate cake however was not so great. The cake was likely made with bergamot oil giving more of bitter tea taste than a more desired chocolate taste. The dry cake was completed with a sickeningly sweet lemon sorbet. While the theme of having a "tea and coffee" dessert was clever, Bostonist would prefer a sweeter ending.

Anthem is an excellent restaurant for eating out and offers two menus: a lunch menu with significantly lower prices (appetizers $8-$12 and entrees $9-$15) and a dinner menu (appetizers $9-$16 and entrees $14-$25).

Bostonist gives Anthem 4 of 5