My search for the next great Sunday brunch continued today. After writing down all of the suggestions I received from the last post, I decided to head over to Dorchester today. Since I hardly ever have a reason to visit that area, brunch seemed like the perfect reason to go. So, the boyfriend and I drove over to Savin Hill to try McKenna's. Johnny wasn't kidding when he said it was next to the Savin Hill MBTA station. We drove down Dorchester Ave from Columbia Road to Hancock Street before I figured that the diner was a few blocks away. Business was hopping, but I was too hungry to wait in line for a table to open up, so we jumped in the car and headed back down Dot Ave to the Ashmont Grill.
Ashmont Grill is one of those places I've always passed by but thought would be a good place to eat, so I was excited to go today. Free off-street parking, ample seating, and a spacious, loft-like design were a fantastic start to the visit. However, I can't really say that I was thrilled by the experience after that. The Maitre d' was weirdly aloof, I couldn't tell if our waiter was unfriendly or just sleepy because of the overnight change to daylight savings time, and the food was just OK. Well, actually, I can't speak for the boyfriend. He liked his order, whereas I thought my omelet was so-so. We agreed, however, that the portions were too small, especially given the price. Can you believe that a small pot of herbal tea costs $4?! Maybe the locals can forgive the prices in exchange for having a stylish eatery nearby, but I've been spoiled by the portions and prices at Victoria's.
Anyway, my search for the next great brunch continues. There were 3 suggestions for Somerville, so that just might be the next destination.
Oh yeah, McKenna's is good. I forgot about it. There's also a place called Ashley's on Bowdoin Street in Dorchester. Their home fries are BOMB!
Posted by: POPS | Sunday, March 25, 2007 at 12:02 AM
I just found this post; I was clicking around in your brunch tag! My faves are Haley House, Centre Street Cafe in JP, and Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown.
I enjoyed Ashmont Grill when we went for a work brunch, but then, we had the place to ourselves and I wasn't paying for it, so not exactly representative.
I didn't like McKenna's. The waiter and the cook both didn't have much of an idea of what was in stuff (and she didn't offer to get the cook to ask; I had to ask if there was someone who might know), and seemed irritated that I was asking. I'm definitely not one of those customers who asks a million questions or talks down to the staff, but I am vegetarian, so I want to know what's in things. Hey, when you went there, did you encounter a crowd that appeared really really white American and straight? This seemed to be the case when I went, and always skeeves me out a bit when it's not in the rural midwest or somewhere where there's a logical explanation for it.
Posted by: eeka | Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 03:18 PM
I actually liked McKenna's. I went just before New Year's and thought it was good. The crowd was very diverse when I was there, although I have no idea how straight/gay people were. I can see it being tough for vegetarians, too. It seems like a meat-and-potatoes kind of place.
Posted by: 3D | Sunday, January 06, 2008 at 08:44 PM
Yay! I'm glad you finally went and that you liked it.
Breakfast places usually aren't tough; I tend toward vegan in my own cooking, but I'll eat eggs and dairy, so as long as the place knows what's in stuff, omelets and pancakes and whatnot are totally OK with me. I'm not so strictly kosher/vegetarian that I need them to have a separate non-meat grill, but I won't eat things that they're cooking in meat grease. McKenna's was just frustrating because they wouldn't tell me what was in anything and they had this attitude like I was the first person who'd ever asked and they couldn't understand why someone would not want meat in their food. It strikes me as odd when somewhere is in a big city and they act like they've never had a vegetarian and/or Jewish customer.
Maybe I just happened upon a particularly homogeneous crowd. Sure, you can't tell how gay/straight people are by looking, but it was like, I glanced around and every table had one male and one female who weren't sending any dress/grooming/mannerism cues that they were queer. My friend also remarked that she felt like we stuck out as the only people in the place with piercings, not carrying purses, etc.
I think I'd be willing to give the place another try.
Posted by: eeka | Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 01:09 PM
WHOA. I was browsing a copy of Boston Spirit Magazine in the doctor's office the other day, and it mentioned McKenna's as a brand new hip gay gathering spot. There was the usual pro-gentrification language one expects from these publications, you know, about how it never used to be anything like this, etc. Hmm.
Posted by: eeka | Thursday, January 17, 2008 at 03:46 PM
I read that article too and thought about our on-going correspondence and my visit there. McKenna's is definitely no Mike's City Diner. I would think that it even rates lower on the gay brunch scale than Victoria's Diner. Then again, with Savin Hill becoming a gayborhood, McKenna's probably gets more gay patronage than one might expect. I guess you and I just went on the wrong day or at the wrong time.
Posted by: 3D | Friday, January 18, 2008 at 09:25 AM