Okay, so I know I promised to update more, but I've been entering crunch time lately here at school. Had 2 papers to work on this week, and now finals are coming up, so I'm not gonna promise much! I'll note that I do have a stockpile of photos sitting on the computer that need to be posted. Here are some pictures from Sonsie on Newbury St., which I've been to a couple of times this semester. I went for dinner a while back with Mike, his girlfriend Mishi who was in town for a little bit, and her friend Amy. Sonsie by virtue of its location is considered to be a bit of a touristy spot. I guess there's some truth to that, but it really is an excellent Newbury St. people-watching spot on warm afternoons. At night, the dining room is dark and naturally has a bit of a less casual atmosphere. It's crowded anyway even when the big doors to the sidewalk are shut.
stewed black mussels fra diavolo with toasted bread fingers - $11.5
flash fried calamari with lemon parsley gremolata & roasted garlic mayo - $10.25
Mike and I both ordered two courses each, intending to eat them ourselves, but when the apps came out we just had to share. These plates were huge, and both were actually quite good. I get the feeling Sonsie does a pretty good job with these table-style appetizers. The mussels weren't very spicy but still had a nice flavor and texture. I don't recall any bad mussels in the lot, except one that was pretty much closed shut. The bread and broth were great, as is common with mussel dishes like this. The fried calamari was a well-executed version of a very normal dish. The squid was tender and the batter was crisp.
grilled loin lamb chops with creamed spinach & truffled potato croquettes - $27
I elected to go with the lamb chops (I was largely convinced by the spinach and the potatoe croquettes), and I was pretty happy with my choice. The lamb chops had a nice gamey flavor, but were perhaps a bit too charred. The sides were all pretty good, but didn't sit too well - they got cold pretty quickly, and had I known, I would have eaten it all up quicker. It was a decent dish but nothing special.
I made another quick stop at Sonsie a bit back on an afternoon with Keith, Steph, and Felicia. The cafe menu during the afternoon is pretty limited, with just a soup, sandwich, a couple of salads, and the full list of pizzas. The front section of the room is open to the sidewalk, and you get a great view of the activity on Newbury.
traditional boston clam chowder with hand made crackers - $7
I just wanted a snack anyway, so I decided to give their clam chowder a shot. $7 is pretty hefty for a bowl of soup when a decent-sized pizza is just a few bucks more, so I was taking a bit of a risk. Unfortunately, the chowder didn't turn out very good. It didn't have too much flavor and was too creamy and thick. The cracker thing was alright, but it was kind of like a biscuit/cookie type of thing more than a cracker - I would have preferred good oyster crackers.
Basically, I think Sonsie is a great place to sit with some decent food. If you need a place to just chill when the sun is out, Sonsie is a good bet. Just make sure to get a pizza and not the soup. The food at dinner wasn't good enough to make me want to go back there given the number of places I still want to try around Boston, but if I need a break while shopping or something it's a pretty decent choice.