By Linda Chen, News Correspondent
On one of the few 80 degree October days Boston sees this time of year, maybe my friends and I should have taken our time before entering Parish II Café to enjoy a rare perk of global warming. However, our stomachs, in synchronized protest from a day of frenzied shopping tromping up and down Newbury Street, demanded instant seating – and instantly seated we were. Ushered into the cool, dim and cozy interior, the four of us practically pounced on the delightfully uncomplicated menus while simultaneously chugging down glasses of cool water.
Parish II, like the original Parish Café on Newbury Street, is without a doubt most renowned for their ever-evolving sandwich selection, carefully curated by various local, equally renowned chefs. Of course, I flipped straight to the sandwich section. Certain items grab the eye at once. The “Pudding Portobello”, for example, is the curious moniker for a focaccia sandwich with portobello mushrooms, Cacio de Roma cheese, walnut pesto and onion marmalade. This along with a few other sandwiches being the only vegetarian options, I ultimately decided on the “egg sandwich lyonnaise” without the applewood smoked bacon it came with.
Despite “eggs fried over easy” being stated clearly in the menu, I was entirely unprepared for a very literal interpretation. Although the eggs were slightly runnier than what I would have preferred, the bread more than made up for it. This bread was simple, white, toasted to perfection and smeared with a creamy dijon mustard aioli. The side of fresh, homemade potato salad fully rounded out the feel-good, comfort food effect a good sandwich should have.
However pleased I was with my vegetarian attempt at a hearty meal, all the meat-eaters out there should rest easy knowing that out of 19 sandwich options, 14 of them are centered around various succulent compilations of either turkey, duck, beef, pork or chicken. My friend, who is possibly even more of a foodie than I am, ordered the “Oleana”, a slightly riskier choice with beer-battered mussels, deep fried Hungarian peppers and Turkish almond sauce. I took her complete silence throughout our meal to mean that the sandwich was deeply satisfying.
Needless to say, four fulfilling sandwiches and an equal amount of well-complemented sides later, our previous starvation was more than alleviated. Parish II Cafe has enough options to keep carnivores, omnivores and herbivores alike happy, but steers well clear of an overwhelming array of dishes. The sandwiches and sides are well thought out, well matched, and most importantly, well made.
Located not too far from the Northeastern campus at 493 Massachusetts Ave., Parish II is still close enough to walk to, well worth the extra mile. Charging $6 to $10 for appetizers, $9 to $11 for salads and $10 to $13 for sandwiches proves that although Parish II certainly does not boast the cheapness of in-and-out chain restaurants, it is most definitely reasonably priced for a unique meal of superb quality and taste.
