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North 26 / Sonsie, Boston

Boston, Day 2. Pretty exhausted from all the walking on Day 1. Relieved that Day 2 was low key: brunch, sister’s graduation, reception, dinner. Lots of sitting and waiting.

North 26
Randomly wandered into North 26 for Saturday brunch. We had brunch at the Quincy Market food court the day before and wanted something nicer/better. We got a nice table inside. Enjoyed the sunshine and people watched without the unpleasant heat. Look, mini bottles of Heinz ketchup! How cute! North 26 - BrunchNorth 26 - Brunch - Vegetarian BenedictI ordered the Vegetarian Benedict (Eggs Florentine, $12). At first, it looked like there was too much butter on the English muffins, but it tasted great with the spinach, asparagus and eggs. Perfectly poached eggs, and these guys sure know how to make a good hollandaise sauce. Home fries had bits of caramelized onion mixed in – yum! Look at those beautiful runny yolks! North 26 - Brunch - Vegetarian BenedictWen and Dad both enjoyed the Bostonian Benedict (Eggs Benedict, $14), but the slices of Canadian bacon looked a little wimpy. I wouldn’t exactly call that thick cut. I’m glad I went with the veggie version. North 26 - Brunch - Bostonian BenedictJohn ordered the Three Egg Omelet ($13) with bell peppers, onions, cheddar AND swiss cheese. Pretty legit and filling omelet. Also came with the yummy home fries with bits of caramelized onions. North 26 - Brunch - OmeletThis restaurant belongs to Millennium Hotels, but the brunch foods were priced very reasonably. Lovely space, attentive servers, excellent food. One of my favorite meals during the Boston trip.

Sonsie
I almost didn’t include Sonsie in this entry because the restaurant was too dark to get any photos and the experience was pretty disappointing. My sister suggested Sonsie for dinner after her graduation. My sister’s roommate said it was a pretty hip and happening spot. It was packed when we arrived at 8:30pm on Saturday. Thank goodness we had a reservation.

First impression? Cozy, but elegant. Clearly this is a very popular spot on Newbury Street, but why was it so loud?! Loud music, loud conversations, plus awful acoustics. UGH! I’m usually pretty tolerant, but this was miserable. The front of the restaurant was open even though it was pretty chilly out. I was relieved when we were seated further inside. Unfortunately, it was not any quieter there. It was impossible to hold a conversation with anyone on the other side of the table. My sister was sitting right next to me, and I basically had to yell every time I wanted to talk to her. It was so loud our waitress had trouble taking our order. We had to point to items on the menu.

Our entrees: roasted chicken, seared salmon, grilled trout, and a brick oven pizza. Our food was warm, not hot when it arrived at our table. We all agreed that the food wasn’t bad, but nothing really stood out. Overall, my taste buds were not wowed, but I was pleased with the trout. Smaller portions would have allowed us to share an appetizer and/or dessert. Also, it would have been nice if we could actually see what we were eating. That’s part of the dining experience. I love candle lit restaurants with a warm glow, but the area we were seated in was too dark. There’s romantic candle lit restaurant, then there’s dark bar/lounge/club. Sonsie seems to have confused the two.

My sister had just graduated, so we decided to pick out a bottle of (overpriced) wine. We’re here to celebrate. Let’s splurge a little! The small type on the wine list and the horrible lighting made it difficult for my dad to read the wine list. My sister and I picked something out, and the waitress asked for our IDs. Apparently, Dad being at the table wasn’t good enough. Permanent residence cards aka green cards are not acceptable forms of ID here. Seriously? I’m 26, I have a green card, I rarely get carded anymore, so no, I don’t carry my passport with me. SF and NYC are cool with the green card, but Boston? Nope. No celebratory drinks at Sonsie.

We walked past Sonsie during the day. Pretty crowded during the daytime, too. Maybe their brunch/lunch is better? Sonsie

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