Anyone been to The Franklin in Southie yet?

[bluesjack]

Any reports on the food or ambiance?
Thanks

[lissy]

I can only give you a second hand report since I haven't been yet. I've been told the food is a bit more refined and less homey but still at the same reasonable prices. The restaurant in Southie is much bigger than the South End location. Both people who I know that have gone thought their food was good and one has already been back again.

[Food4Thought]

Perhaps I can offer a first hand account, I went there for dinner tonight.

First of all I gotta say thank God for a "real" restaurant in Southie. It is indeed a larger dining room the the Franklin Cafe, easily 2-3 times the tables. Nice long bar as well. It is a dark room (my eyes aren't great so I had some difficulty reading the menu), but a nice, contemporary and very clean in the design sense.

I've always felt that the plates the The Franklin Cafe were pretty refined so my impression is that the style of the dishes here are pretty similar. Some interesting house cocktails ( all $9.00) some quite familiar, Sazerac, Aviator, Manhattan, etc. but some unique to The Franklin (as far as I know) I had a "Station 6" which featured vodka and pickle brine and it had a "market skewer" as a garnish which included a pearl onion stuffed inside a large green olive, a grape tomato and a cornichon. It reminded me of summer. I also had a "relax" margarita served in a martini glass featuring a salt foam. I'm usually a no salt margarita guy, but this really worked for me. My wife is a Grey Goose dirty martini freak and she requested extra olives, it was served w/ 2 skewers of three large olives (I was horrified at the alcohol displacement factor) and she really liked it.

We got there pretty early, a little past 7 and I'm glad we did, it filled quickly, but we were fortunate enough to be seated immediately. Just like the Franklin Cafe-no reservations.

Four of us shared two apps the Short Ribs and the Pan Smoked Mussels. Both were winners, the short rib was very tender as expected, and had a great glaze which was on the sweet side, which is usually not my cup of tea, but it worked very well with this dish. I had never had pan smoked mussels and I'm accustomed to what I think as the more traditional preparation of mussels served in some sort of broth. This was served much more like steamers are, including drawn butter. I loved this dish, the mussels were plump and sweet and there was indeed a smokey flavor. I found combining the mussels and drawn butter and a few drops of the provided lemon really made the flavors pop.(Hey I sound like Tom Colcchio)

Entrees for the table were a duck leg confit with sausage and a cassoulet side, lightly poached salmon with a (I think) butternut risotto and my wife had the sunchoke ravioli. I had the Lobster Bisque and the vitello tonnato app as my entree. This interpretation of vitello tonnato had a sort of tuna tartare component and several slices of grilled, very tender veal medallions. The bisque had a great lobster flavor, with a generous use of the tamale as a base and no overly cloying use of sherry. It was VERY salty though and I like salt. Our waitress noticed that I hadn't really touched it so she asked about it and I gave her my honest opinion. She immediately volunteered to take it off the bill. I was fortunate enough to sample a bit of each dish and I liked them all.

A few of the soft touches: They served a carafe of water with lemon slices which was left at the table, great idea. They provided a fantastic focaccia with a hummus or bean spread which had a great garlic presence, and was addictive, our server was quick to ask if we wanted more after we quickly polished off the first round. This may sound minor, but I was really pleased to see salt and pepper on our table. These seems to be disappearing in may Boston restaurants and it's kinda a pet peeve of mine.

The service was really spot on and frankly (excuse the pun) I was pretty surprised, given that they have been open maybe only 3 weeks. I was expecting training wheels. When our server dropped off the bill she sincerely thanked me for my feedback on the bisque and she urged me to come back and try it again. Like the Franklin Cafe in the South End, I don't think there is a dish over twenty dollars, I didn't really pay attention to the wine list, but they had a nice selection by the glass, I don't think any were more the $10,00. Also because of the larger dining room, they don't seem to be as anxious to turn tables so the staff didn't seem to have any issue as we lingered a bit to finish our cocktails (I sometimes feel we have gotten that sideways glance at the South end location if we took too long). Oh and they serve full menu until 1:30, not that I see myself out at that hour much any more, but there aren't that many late night options in Boston, so that in itself might be worth the trip.

I'll be back and I'm thankful that we finally have something of this caliber in the neighborhood.

[MC Slim JB]

Thank you, Food4Thought, for that outstandingly-detailed review! Now I can be more generic with mine.

The new Southie Franklin is a lot like the South End Franklin: very good bartending (actually better than I've had in the original lately); terrific, value-priced food in the fancy-comfort vein, nothing over $20 on the menu. It's more spacious, about twice the capacity, and is new enough to not have big waits at the times that the Shawmut Ave location would be quoting you an hour-plus.

Instantly the best food in Southie (assuming you don't count the Seaport as part of Southie -- I don't), and also the best place for real cocktails. A nice modest wine list, very low markups, lots of bottles in the $25-45 range.

I walked, but parking has to be easier than in the original's very residential, heavily BTD- patrolled part of the South End. As you might expect, the crowd looks a little different, with a more older folks (some groups in their 50s), largely a Southie/Dot crowd. (We weren't sure, but we thought one big-haired girl at the bar might be a pro.)

An interesting gamble to open this place in this spot at this moment, considering the tenor of the times. My projection, based on a couple of visits, is that it will pay off. It fills a real void in Southie, and is good enough and conveniently located enough to be a destination for folks outside the neighborhood.

Given that the original is one of my favorite places in Boston in the past ten years, I hope they succeed. I know many of my Southie pals will be grateful for it. If you like the old Franklin and don't want to deal with a long wait there some night, consider walking the 15 minutes up Shawmut and down E. Berkeley and over the W. 4th Street Bridge to the new one.

[Food4Thought]

Thanks, MC, for pointing out a few distinctions which I missed. I don't consider the seaport district Southie, either, though technically it is. There is indeed an eclectic crowd which seems to draw from outside of Southie (Hey maybe I'll even spot some of the purported "yuppies" whom are taking over Southie) and parking is indeed less of a hassle. It's also just a block from the Broadway station on the Red Line.

I can't question your possible "Pro" spotting at The Franklin, but if that's the case my friend, as Bob Dylan would say, "Times they are a changin' "

[MC Slim JB]

In this economy, no one is safe, but certain jobs are recession-proof.

[Wursthof]

I tried to go last week but surprisingly the parking was much harder than trying to find a spot on Washington Street later at night. This was after 1130. I just left after circling a few times.

[Devout Sal]

Wurst - that's so sad! If you drive there again try parking on the other side of west broadway - what would be the east side closer to fort point. There is a decent amount of 2-hour parking on West third - which goes to overnight parking after 8 p.m. There's also a lot of turnover on west broadway itself. as you may have discovered since, the restaurant is so close to the Broadway Red Line stop which could make your next trip easier.

When you do make it - I recommend the vitello tonnato app that Food4 mentioned. one side of the plate with the raw tuna and capers, and on the other side some nicely grilled MR veal. it's such a classic franklin-type dish - simple ingredients and food pairings (food w/ food; not food w/ wine) that elevate the overall dish. A great item to share since it's very much like two smaller dishes on one plate.

anyone tried the brunch yet? can't wait!

[bluesjack]

Isn't your apparent "pro" sighting more suitable for a different "hound" board? wink

[mtm7654]

Ha! If you want to see the purported "yuppies" just take the #9 bus during the morning or evening commute!

That said, it's great to have this option in Southie. A little more upscale than what we have currently but at a good price point. Which reminds me that I have to get back to St. Alphonzo's Kitchen before too long.

[Richard Hurts]

I think this place will be a draw for Quincy residents as well. There's not much to eat between Boston and Hingham.

[Wursthof]

We visited over the weekend. The ambience is pretty nice. The wine glasses are a huge improvement over the Shawmut Ave location and the martini glasses are bigger too. Wine prices and menu prices seem to be identical.
We had oysters which were shucked properly and tasted nice and briny with just a squirt of lemon and a drop of tabasco.
The rest of the food was pretty mediocre in my opinion. Actually the bowl of peel and eat shrimp were pretty tasty with tons of old bay all over them. They were a pretty good bar snack and I would probably get them again.
The heralded vitello tonnato didn't do much for me. The tuna was fresh and diced nicely but woefully flavorless and underseasoned. The veal flank or skirt or whatever it was might as well have been shoeleather because that's what it tasted like. Dry as a bone and not seasoned. A ton of smashed capers all over the plate too.
The polenta and vegetable torte with goat cheese was pretty mundane but not offensive. The polenta was fairly flavorless and I kept getting the flavor of what seemed like too much oregano from the vegetables. I could be wrong on that but wouldn't order it again anyway.
The slow cooked shortrib seemed like it had been deep fried for reheating which I am okay with but it was dry as a bone and shredded like paper. The salsify puree was pretty tasty though. This dish could be good with a bit of work.

All in all it was a pretty comfy visit but I think the food needs work or I have to go later at night when there aren't any other options. The place was packed at 7:30 and once again parking seems like an issue, although this time I found a single spot closer.

[kristinayee]

No flashy signs, no loud banners, in fact you would never even know it was there. Located on Dorchester Ave. in one of the newer building complexes, just steps from the Broadway T, is where Franklin Café makes its home.

Upon entering the restaurant we were greeted warmly, but told we needed to wait for our 3rd guest to arrive in order to be seated. Given the allotted extra minutes, I took the opportunity to look around and take the restaurant all in. The bar was just about filled with a professional after work crowd and many of the dinner tables were already full. The lighting was low, the music was trendy and there was a lit candle (yes, a real one, not one of those fake flickery ones) on each table giving the quaint restaurant just the right ambiance.

After being seated in one of the last booths available, we were welcomed by a pleasant waitress and decided to start off with a bottle of Truchard Syrah, which was just fabulous. Along with the wine the waitress also dropped off a warm plate of homemade breads with hummus. The waitress was excellent, she gave us plenty of time to look over the menu, enjoy our drinks, and chat, never trying to rush us. She had the knack of “timing” down well, which is always a huge plus.

We started off with a plate of their Smokey Skillet Roasted Mussels, served with warm butter. I personally am not a fan of mussels so I didn’t dive into this course but my two guests, sure did. And when the large plate was left with nothing but empty shells, they both commented on how the smokey flavor of the mussels made their taste unique and delicious.

After an appropriate amount of time, our main course arrived and all three meals looked absolutely fabulous. We had the Prime Sirloin Steak, with an Onion and Portobello stuffed Potato and the Café Chicken with Smoked Bacon, a New Potato and Shallots sitting on a Cider Sauce. The chicken was absolutely delicious, tender and juicy topped with a very light breading. The Broccolini was some of the tastiest I’ve had, with a hint of just enough garlic sauce to excite the palate. Needless to say, when the waitress arrived to drop off the after dinner wines she had three completely empty plates to clear.

Prices are not bad. You are not going to break the bank, and the food coupled with the warm ambiance and professional staff make Franklin Café in Southie worth a try. Overall it was a great night out filled with fantastic company, delicious food, and a little restaurant you may have never known was even there.

Franklin Café has two other locations besides Southie; one in Boston and one in Gloucester. You can check them out at http://www.franklincafe.com/ . Bon appétit!