The South End is home to an eclectic mix of cuisines. Here are our picks.
Anna Kushnir
Flour: a new meaning to fast food
Another late night at work does not have to mean another dinner of unappealing cafeteria or fast food. For not much more money, Flour is a better-tasting alternative that is just as fast. In addition to its usual sandwiches, quiches, and soups, Flour now offers take-out dinner specials.
One of the specials is penne pasta with smooth feta cheese, crisp zucchini, sun-dried tomatoes, and a sweet balsamic dressing. Fresh and light, it tastes as good cold as it does warmed up. A goat cheese and roasted tomato tart has a layer of silky herbed goat cheese spread on a flaky and buttery crust, topped with tomato slices. Accompanied by mixed greens, it is a satisfying light meal.
Pasta with zucchini and feta from Flour helps avoid the dinner-at-work doldrums.
Don’t neglect the baked goods and desserts. The ginger molasses cookies are thick and chewy, with a spicy kick. The almond biscotti are thin and perfectly crisp, with a mild almond taste and large chunks of roasted almonds. Take-out dinner and dessert from Flour makes working through the evening a less painful proposition.
1595 Washington St.
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 267-4300
Baked goods: $1.25-$2.50
Sandwiches: $7.25
Dinner specials: $8.95
Franklin Café: Hearty food for the hipster
Scientists who want to shed their geek image can up their coolness quotient with a meal at Franklin Café in the ever-trendy South End. Franklin Café is small, with a long bar, dim lights, deep booths, and a hip yet unpretentious clientele.
The menu is eclectic and the list of wines by the glass boasts some excellent selections. The duck quesadilla appetizer is not for the faint of heart—rich, tender duck is tucked inside a crispy tortilla, topped with melted cheese and a slightly sweet chipotle sauce. Delicious, but heavy.
Bring a large appetite for the rich duck quesadilla at Franklin Café.
Among the entrées, the buttery smoothness of fork-tender braised ribs is complemented by a crunchy horseradish celery root slaw, but the dish feels incomplete without a second side. The cioppino is a lighter choice—chunks of tender fish, shellfish, and shrimp are immersed in a fragrant tomato-based saffron broth.
Franklin Café is one of a handful of restaurants in Boston that continues serving food until 1:30 a.m., so stay out late, eat well, and show them what scientists are really made of.
278 Shawmut Ave.
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 350-0010
Appetizers: $8-$9
Entrées: $15-$19
Seiyo: a relaxing sushi experience
The atmosphere at Seiyo is quiet and calming; the restaurant is full of light, beautiful wood, and the tinkling sounds of metal chopsticks touching down on white plates.
The chefs use traditional and nontraditional ingredients in the sushi rolls and pay a great deal of attention to presentation. The kohaku maki is a colorful combination of sweet peekytoe crab, avocado, asparagus, and two kinds of tuna and roe, with the pieces carefully arranged in an alternating pattern. The Seiyo Special roll mixes flavors and temperatures with warm tempura shrimp, cool cucumber, and peppery radish sprouts, topped with tuna in a spicy mayo.
Kohaku maki is beautiful to look at and even better to eat, with crab, asparagus, avocado, and tuna.
Many fully cooked rolls and appetizers are available for those who do not consider raw fish appealing. Ume-shiso, a vegetarian roll with plum paste and basil, is a surprising burst of salty and sour, with a crunchy cucumber middle.
While Seiyo does not yet have a liquor license, it runs a wine shop adjacent to the dining room that hosts weekly wine tastings and offers wine and sake to take home.
1721C Washington St.
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 447-2183
Appetizers: $3.25-$7.50
Rolls: $2.75-$12.95
Combo plates and entrées: $10.50-$22.95
Orinoco: Venezuelan cuisine, both old and new
Orinoco has a split personality: it offers authentic Venezuelan and high-end fusion cuisine. Fortunately, it does both equally well.
Orinoco is so small that the tables have to be pulled out to allow diners to sit down on the banquette, at which point the table is pushed back into place. Once the food comes, however, you won’t want to move. The long list of small dishes and appetizers is a nibbler’s dream. For a small pre-dinner snack, the smooth, rich decadence of warm almond-stuffed dates wrapped in bacon cannot be beat. Try the arepa, a grilled cornmeal biscuit stuffed with pulled beef or black beans and cheese.
For your main course, choose between traditional dishes, such as a slightly sweet shredded beef stew with creamy fried plantains, ham-tinted beans and plain white rice, or the more interpretive dishes listed under the specials, such as a half-chicken infused with a tangy marinade, served over gnocchi in an earthy wild mushroom sauce. Orinoco’s identity crisis results in a bold exploration of traditional and inventive Venezuelan cuisine.
477 Shawmut Ave.
Boston, MA 02118
(617) 369-7075
Appetizers $4.50-$7.95
Entrées: $12.95-$14.75
Specials: $16-$20
If we didn’t review your favorite South End restaurants, post them here. And you can read our reviews of other restaurants in the Longwood area, South Boston, and the Kendall/Central Squares area.