Sunday Morning in the South End

Sunday was bitterly cold with gusting winds, but my husband and I intrepidly ventured out of our home and spent the morning exploring the South End, a part of town that we don't make it to very often. It's quintessential Boston: gorgeous old brownstones, tree lined narrow streets, and cute little shops and restaurants tucked into every nook and cranny. 

The first order of business was breakfast at Mike and Patty's.  It's a tiny place, and it was packed. The one six-seater table was full, and the rest of us piled on top of each other in front of the counter, happy to be out of the cold. The phone was ringing off the hook with call-in orders, and the cooks were making sandwiches as fast as they could manage. The wait was 30 minutes, which apparently was a pretty slow Saturday morning for them. 

We're normally not fans of crowded spots, but we loved this place. Everyone pitched in to help. People with free hands passed sandwiches from the kitchen to folks at the table. A gentleman standing by the coffee station was on cardboard sleeve duty, passing them over as customers got their coffee.  Those who lived in the neighborhood got their sandwiches to go, while the rest of us waited for seats to open up at the table. We finally squeezed into a spot just as our sandwiches came out of the kitchen. This beauty is the breakfast grilled cheese: salty bacon, a runny egg, and cheddar and american cheese all between two buttery pieces of toasted white bread. This might be the perfect breakfast sandwich.

After finishing our sandwiches, we gave up our coveted seats and headed over to a new shop called Farm and Fable, specializing in kitchen antiques and vintage cookbooks. We had so much fun poking around the shelves, flipping through the books, and admiring all of the pretties. 

I came home with a set of green cut-glass glasses. Aren't they lovely? I can't wait to use them for Thanksgiving!

Across the street from Farm and Fable is the South End outpost of Formaggio Kitchen.  This place is a treasure trove of local and imported food and beverages. Shelves are packed with honey, jam, chocolate, pickles, spices, pasta, wines, craft beers, you name it. One case holds delicacies like foie gras mousse and duck confit while a case in the back is filled with wheels of cheese. A person could spend hours in here!

We sampled a couple wines and cheeses, stocked up on some rare beers, and picked out drinks for Thanksgiving (a Spanish white wine and cider from Normandy). Then my husband dragged me out of there before I could try to buy the entire store!

We then headed back home, spoils from the morning's excursion in tow. It was a fun morning, but we were glad to come in out of the cold. We spent the rest of the day where it was cozy and warm: on the couch watching football!