On a cold, bleak, Boston day, there is nothing better than a warm splash of color and some comforting, satisfying eats.
Fortunately, after years of making waves across the river (and over the NH border), The Friendly Toast has finally come to Downtown to bring all its delicious fun to Boston.
With its kitschy collectibles, vintage vinyl seating surfaces, and art and ads from bygone eras, the Toast is a throwback in many ways and on many levels. Most notably, however, is the tradition of serving honest, homemade, and most of all good food with warm and friendly service.
While it may be hard to get past the carb-heavy breakfast menu – loaded as it is with a mini menu of homemade breads that includes cayenne cheddar and their famed, New England-born Anadama (made with cornmeal and molasses and good on its own!) and a similar sideboard suggesting pancakes (made with pumpkin, coconut, orchard-fresh apples, and other healthily-sweet treats) or waffles (regular or Carribbean) topped the Toast’s signature syrup imported from Fuller’s Sugarhouse in NH- there is plenty more to try and always something new to tempt you back. For those in the mood for something “fit and friendly,” the Toast offers oatmeal, homemade granola, or the Fab Five sandwich (with scrambled egg whites, baby spinach, and turkey bacon on toasted gluten-free bread). For the more protein-hungry, a set of Benedicts ranges from traditional to smoked salmon to BLT and more and the omelette set includes the Sklarmageddon (with sausage, bacon, ham, red-chile pecans, jalapeño-jack & swiss cheeses), Sam’s garden (mushrooms, asparagus, spinach, garlic and goat cheese), Kate’s tofu (veggie sausage, mushrooms, feta, provolone, and roasted corn salsa), or the Greek (tomatoes, feta cheese, kalamata olives, baby spinach , and black pepper), as well as any make-your-own combo thereof. There are also breakfast burritos, hole-in-ones, piles of homemade homefries and more traditional morning fare, any of which can be further enhanced with homemade biscuits, muffins, corned beef hash and other opulent options.
Moving more towards lunch, the Toast tees it up with amazing apps like their towering veggie nachos, the “kitchen sink” quesadilla (complete with a quartet of coconut shrimp, spicy pecans, jalapeño-jack and cheddar, spinach, fried red onions, & sweet potato fries), chorizo-corn gravy-topped poutine, and their pop-em-like-candy (which is what they become when allowed to cool) sweet and hot Orleans fries. Another sure-fire firestarter is the bulgar wheat-based chili or the “enduring” New England clam chowda. And the Port William salad (lettuce, baby spinach, smoked salmon, goat cheese, spicy pecans, green peppers, cucumbers, and scallions) is worth pulling into as well.
- Fancy a burger? Well, the Toast has them “plain” or fancy- and all delish! From the half-pound traditional and the Thousand Island-topped “Classic” to the balsamic-glazed avocado burger and th roasted mushroom and bulgar veggie option, they all make your mouth water and send you back out into the world satisfied and ready to go (as does everything else on the menu). The sandwich board also includes Silly Sally’s BLT, an open-choice deli meat offering and similarly selected grilled cheese made with pretty much any kind you want. While any Toast sandwich is special there are also such “special” sandwiches as the D.G.G.C. (damned good grilled cheese), the “perfect” steak (roast beef grilled with fresh mushrooms, red onions, cheddar and american cheeses), the vegan Valhalla (baked Asian-sesame tofu with mushrooms, brown rice, scallions, spinach, and tahini), a fish burrito with black olives, spicy tartar sauce, lettuce, plum tomatoes, and red onions, and a traditional falafel with a shot of Sriracha. Oh yes- there is also a vegetable stir fry and mac and cheese served four ways, including with grilled chicken and broccoli, Buffalo tenders, or real of veggie bacon. So to say the menu is broad would be an understatement, yet the Toast is able to pull off that rarest of restaurant ruses by truly having something (many things, in fact) for everyone!
To wash it all down, the Toast offers toast-worthy libations including a fistful of taps, a brief bevy of bottles, raft of reds, a whisper of whites, “blllodies and bubblies,” sweet shots of high test (including the Tullamore Dew-kissed Irish and the hot or cold cocoa-coated Caffeine Machine), and such signature sippers as the Back Bay Breeze (with apricot liqueur, OJ, and cranberry), the Frenzy (Prairie organic Vodka, Chambord, house berry purée, and RIPE Sour Mix, with a Pop Rocks rim), and the great Two Evils (featuring Four Roses Bourbon, Downeast Cider, triple sec, Angostura orange bitters) and their house-made Sangria. For the more literary among you, there is also The Catcher in the Rye (made with Rye Whiskey, Lillet Blanc, grapefruit, and RIPE Sour Mix), The Call of the Wild (Bird Dog Peach Whiskey, iced tea, honey and simple syrup), the parole-worthy Crime & Punishment Martini (with Vincent Van Gogh Double Espresso Vodka, Bailey’s Irish Cream, and Kahlua), and the epic War & Peace (house-infused jalapeño tequila, RIPE Sour Mix, and mango purée, with a honey salt rim). For the non-alcoholicly include (you are on a work lunch, right?), there are also a menu of milks, a cavalcade of cocoas, juices, smoothies, tea, coffee, or Gifford’s premium frappes.
We did say something for everyone, yes?
If you are in the mood for an adult beverage and do not want to be seen through the floor-to-ceiling front windows, the downstairs Boom Boom Room offers a secluded hideaway where you can still enjoy all the Toast has to offer without having to answer to it to your colleagues (who are probably somewhere in the place as well). The BBR is also a great spot for after work or just for a change of scene within what may quickly become your new scene. After all, with all the delicious offerings and an equally broad feast for the eyes, the Toast is surely a place you can (and will want to) come back again and again and again.
35 Stanhope St Back Bay, MA (617)456-7849
Also at…
1 Kendall Square b3101, Cambridge, MA 02139 (617)621-1200
113 Congress Street Portsmouth, NH (603)430-2154