As much as I love excellent food, I do not need it to be dressed up. I don’t need a fancy atmosphere or ostentatious wine list to regard the food I eat as brilliant. In fact, I often search out the new places around town that are the opposite of fancy. There are a lot of reasons behind my feelings on this subject. For one, I am a Southern guy with simple, even unsophisticated, tastes in many ways. I’m impressed by good food alone. Secondly, nothing is fun about walking into a restaurant and feeling like you don’t belong. While I see the use and enjoyment of finer establishments, if I can’t walk through the front door in jeans and a pair of Chucks, then I will probably save that particular place for a ‘special occasion.’ Most importantly, a huge red flag goes up any time that a restaurant tries to distract from what is on the plate in front of you. I don’t care if the tables are made out of gold, the chandelier was imported from the lost city of Atlantis, and P Diddy eats there twice a week. The food
should be the focus.
With those disclaimers out of the way, I have to say that I love living in Boston. This city is unofficially known for its laid back feel. In fact, I hear New Yorkers’ call us “flannel shirt-ish.” That means I can go almost anywhere in my jeans and Chucks and have incredible food. At the end of the day, I win.
Recently a Talbot’s clothing store in one of the busiest and oldest parts of the city closed down. Immediately, a new restaurant seemed to have
moved in the empty space and minutes later it seemed to open for business. Enter Scholar’s American Bistro and Cocktail Lounge on School Street in Downtown Crossing. From the street, the space looks a little boring. However, the inside gives way to much, much more. The interior is actually expansive. It is modern yet warm, inviting, and elegant. Here you can wear jeans and feel equally as comfortable as you might in a suit or somewhere in between. As if proof of that fact, there must have been every state of design and dress within the building on the evening we went. On the ground floor there is a bar, booths, and a couple of tables. Toward the back of the space is a staircase leading to the 2nd floor, where
another bar, lounge area, and a surprisingly large billiard room live. The space just keeps growing the further you press on, yet it never seems out of context or gratuitous.
First stop, as expected, was finding something good to drink. The draft list in this place is fun and local with some added regional and international stars. Though I felt the taps were a little hop heavy, what American gastropubs taps aren’t hoppy now-a-days? I went with a Goose Island Matilda, (eh) but it is the cocktail list where Scholars did the majority of their studying. They specialize in “old school” cocktails with a twist. My husband got “The Movie Star.” This fun concoction was what would happen if a mojito and a dark n’ stormy had a love child in a pine tree (gin, mint, ginger syrup, lime juice, and ginger ale.) It was just sweet enough, just sour enough, and looked like a salad.
Once our thirst was quenched our focus turned abruptly to food. Luckily, the dinner menu had plenty to choose from. I ended up settling on the Lavender Half Chicken, which is odd for me. It isn’t odd because of the chicken element, but more because I don’t always like to work around bones. However, the bartender said the chicken was great and so I decided to follow her recommendation. I was not disappointed in any way. First off, the kitchen had de-boned the half-chicken for me yet left the chicken meat itself basically untouched or marred. This slow roasted, slightly herbal chicken was literally mouth-watering. Rosemary was the taste theme on this plate, pairing perfectly with the lavender rub on
the chicken then transferring to the crispy polenta. Oh, and the polenta!!! It was firm, but in a good way. Cut into planks, it was individually stacked like Lincoln logs on the side of the plate. I must have squealed with joy upon seeing it, and again once I was able to try one. Though I generally think of polenta as less ‘crispy’ and more ‘creamy,’ the polenta planks were fun and deliciously executed. The herbs were present but not annoying and it tasted great. My only gripe about this meal was that the “seasonal vegetable” they paired it with was grilled corn on the cob with jalapeno butter. While I love corn on the cob just as any Southern boy, corn on the cob AND polenta was a little much.
Scholars is still new. In fact, I think you may be able to smell the paint on the walls. This is fun because you get to try them out before they get an attitude, a crowd, or a rep. I will definitely look forward to going back to this cozy yet sophisticated place once there is a foot of snow on the
ground. Maybe then we can curl up next to the firewall in the lounge and curl up to the “Mackin’ Cheese Al Forno” made with Linguica.
Disclaimer: Please do not judge by my horrible mobile phone photos. I will be upgrading my device in September so that foodie “pics on the go” look more appetizing. Thank you for your patience.
drufoodie 