Restaurant Fridays - Franklin Cafe South Boston

Welcome to Restaurant Fridays - my weekly review of the gluten free restaurant options in Boston and the surrounding areas. 


Franklin Cafe South Boston

I decided to try Franklin Cafe in Southie because it was rumored on yelp.com to have a gluten free menu. I had also frequented the South End Franklin Cafe in my pre-celiac days because they had really great cocktails. 


Mike met me at Broadway Station after work and we headed over to grab some dinner and some cold beverages. The restaurant wasn't very crowded when we arrived so we got a nice big booth to ourselves. I asked for the gluten free menu and they printed me out a fresh copy. I was excited because they had a pretty sizable selection of tasty looking dinner entrees, apps and even deserts. I read down the menu when I noticed that they had a warning at the bottom that said "food fried with gluten containing items". Really? That means that the deep fried food is in fact, not gluten free and does not belong on the gluten free menu. I was mildly grumpy about this. I take Celiac Disease and my gluten free diet pretty seriously and I don't understand people who only do it half way.


My grumpiness was soon assuaged by the most delicious cocktail I have ever had. The French Laundry keeps me up late at night dreaming of it's crisp goodness. It's made with two different types of gin, maraschino liquor, lime juice and grape fruit bitters. I gladly paid $9 for it and that's something you'll never hear me say.


For "dinner" I had the smokey skillet roasted mussels, a field greens salad and mushroom risotto. I know Anthony Bourdain warns people to never order mussels in a restaurant,  but I can't help myself. I'm gross and I love them. These had a nice smoky flavor to them and I actually got Mike to eat a bunch of them, which is a huge feat. 

Smoky Skillet Roasted Mussels

The salad greens were crisp with a light lemony vinaigrette. The risotto, after all the mussels had to be brought home after a few bites. It was a little more al dente than I'm used to, (probably because I frequently overcook my risotto), but it was very flavorful. It had a nice woody flavor to it and it actually reheated really well.

Salad Greens

{I'm sorry the picture of the risotto came out too dark to post*}

All in all it was a good experience, the waiter was very nice, we got a good seat and I didn't get sick from anything I ate. I plan on returning to have another French Laundry in the near future. Anyone interested in joining me?


* A note about the pictures. I love taking pictures of my gluten free food finds, but I feel bad using my flash in a restaurant where I will surely disrupt most of the other diners around me. I will try my best to take pictures, but sometimes it just isn't going to happen.