Boston Restaurant Blog -- July, 2008

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Early Summer Food Trip South of Boston

Last weekend, a friend of mine and I went on a last-minute food trip, this time going south of Boston. We went to two places that I have been to before, and two places that neither of us had been to. And by the end of the trip, we were extremely full but very happy, since each of the four places offered some good eats.

Our first stop was at Emma's Pub and Pizza in West Bridgewater. I had been to Emma's a couple of times over the winter and fell in love with their bar pizza. And once again, the individual-sized pizzas were fantastic, with the cheese and sauce extending all the way to the edge of the slightly chalky crust, with lots of oil adding to the goodness of the pie. We also happened to hit it right, as the small cheese pizzas at Emma's were only 99 cents on the day we went. So our two pizzas and two drinks came to a grand total of $6.00, more or less. Not a bad start to the day, indeed.

From Emma's, we traveled north one exit and got off at Route 106 to head over to Montreal French Fries. This, in my opinion, was the highlight of the trip, and is one of those places that truly makes me love what I do on this site. The place is like no other in the Boston area; a poutine stand along the side of the road that looks like a cross between a clam shack and a used car dealership. We ordered a few items at the counter and grabbed one of their metal tables, taking in all the hockey paraphernalia on the walls. The poutine was excellent, with cheddar cheese curds sitting atop tasty fries and all mixed together with dark gravy. The cheese curd tasted just a bit like feta cheese, being a bit milder than I had expected. I also ordered a corn dog and a basic grilled hot dog, with the corn dog being a bit greasy and the grilled hot dog being very good, with the bun pressed in a panini maker just before being served. I will certainly be back to this friendly little roadside spot, perhaps next time ordering the burger with Montreal spice.

After leaving Montreal French Fries, we traveled through Brockton, almost stopping at Cape Cod Pizza, but opting instead for a completely unknown roadside joint near the Stoughton border called Frank's Restaurant. Frank's was basically a dark, rather gloomy place with no personality whatsoever (and its location next to a strip joint make it even more depressing), but they sure had some good hot dogs there. The dogs reminded me a bit of those at Simco's in Mattapan, as they were nearly a foot long, grilled to perfection with plenty of grease on them, and placed in regular-sized grilled buns, making much of dogs stick out beyond the ends of the buns. The folks behind the counter seemed like they had been doing this forever, and the place just felt like a serious (albeit no-frills) place for comfort food. I did notice as we were leaving that the chicken baskets and burgers looked very nice, but we had one more place to stop at, so we left and were soon on the road once again.

We drove through Brockton, Avon, Randolph, and Braintree on our way to our final destination, soon entering Quincy where we stopped at Grumpy White's in Quincy. My friend had never been to Grumpy's and had heard a lot about their boneless fried chicken, so we both ended up getting fried chicken sandwiches. The chicken, of course, was just like that which is in their boneless fried chicken plate (which is to say they are really good), and though we were nearly full by this point, the sandwiches were gone in a flash.

As we left Grumpy White's and called it a day, I knew that this would not be my last time at Grumpy's, or for that matter, at any of these places. All in all, it was a very satisfying day.

3 COMMENTS:B said:
You should have going to the Cod (way better pizza), Wendell's for the wings, Texas Road House for ribs, Maguires in Easton for anything on their menu 'cause it's so good.Posted on 1/9/08blackthundermoon said:
In this area again and hungry for Thai food try Chatta Box in Bridgewater - rt 28/18 in Winter Place....yummy.Posted on 3/31/09Julie - East Bridgewater said:
My family and I made our first ever stop at Montreal French Fries today on our way home from a walk in a state park with our dog. We left the dog in the car, going in to order regular fries for the kids and chili cheese fries for my husband and I. The fries were great and worth going back for, but the best surprise was that the outdoor picnic tables have attached dog leashes. Our dog was very happy to get out of the car and sit outside with us while we ate. Better yet, our dog was spotted by the cook who came outside to offer her a free hot dog! I highly recommend Montreal French Fries to all dog lovers and my dog would definitely recommend their grilled hot dogs to her furry friends.Posted on 8/9/09