We recently popped into Frenchie Boston on a chilly afternoon. We had been trolling around Boston looking for a place to grab a snack and remembered how a friend recently gushed about the awesomeness of the place.
With our love of French food and a solid recommendation, we stopped our search and headed to the South End restaurant.
It had been a decade since we last stepped into Frenchie’s garden-level space; back in the day when it was Pops restaurant.
As we stepped down into the galley-style dining room, a bright neon sign rested on the white brick wall illuminating the faces of content diners. We immediately recognized the glowing wall, exclaiming in French, “In Wine There Is Truth.” The site has been a popular shot among other blogosphere compadres. Besides the fun brilliant wall, chic French wallpaper grabbed our eyes next. Big white flowers, perhaps peonies, were in full bloom on this March day. Our eyes next followed to the right and the open kitchen.
We opted for a seat at the modest white marble bar. We immediately dug the open kitchen and a glimpse into what could be a very ambitious nana’s stove. Creamy onion soup and other delectable items simmered on the gorgeous open flames, sending mouth-watering aromas into the air. We were ready to eat.
But first, cocktails! On the wall aside of the liquors hung a chalkboard delineating the cheeses, charcuterie, wine specials, and the cocktail of the day. On the afternoon we visited, they dubbed a pear martini, “Grow-A-Pear.”
As much as we loved the sassiness of the cocktail, we opted for a Barrow Hill Gin and tonic and their specialty tequila cocktail Smokey Napoleon. Our bartender, Nicole, was adorable and eager to help us find the right drink to kick off our Thirsty and Hungry Thursday! She even gave us a quick tutorial and taste of the different gins.
Next up – food choices. The first easy choice was the ham croque monsieur- melty, cozy, and gooey cheese dripping over salty ham with bechamel sauce. Besides the delicious French ham & cheese, a side of piping hot, well-salted fries accompanied the sandwich.
Our next choice, but definitely not second, Frenchie’s mussels in a butter and wine sauce. We were slightly wary of the chorizo involved in the dish. No one wants to look like a mess when having to sloppily shove chunks of food into their mouth. However, when we received the bowl of aromatic garlicky French goodness, we were delighted. We imagined the chorizo in slices. To our delight, Frechie Boston finely chopped the spicy dry sausage, making for zero awkwardness when trying to achieve the perfect bite of mussel, sauce, chorizo, and handsomely tasted bread. Oh, and that tasty bread has rouille sauce delicately dolloped on top of it. This dish was so perfect we were briefly silent during the time it took to inhale it.
Everything about Frenchie is fabulous. Nicole, the bartender was so attentive and clearly loved everything about the place. She pointed out their cute little patio and how fun it will be to sip rose in the sun while enjoying perhaps foie gras or one of Frenchie’s other signature dishes. We don’t want you to think this is a completely biased review, so here’s our only complaint. The bathrooms are in a deep and dank basement, so they smelled a little musty. Not a deal-breaker, but we’re just trying to be 100% forthcoming.
All jokes aside, consider making Frenchie your next lunch/dinner destination.
Bon Appetit!
The Haute Life
