The Channel Cafe

Sunday, January 10, 2010 at 04:28 PM | Posted by caroloc

300 Summer Street
Boston, MA 02210

by Justin Cambria

Atmosphere:
The Channel Cafe sits in a spacious, exposed basement off of Summer Street in South Boston, just a few paces from Fort Point Channel. Upon entering, patrons get a bird’s eye view of the dining room and bar area, thanks to a clever design work, wherein the first floor has been cut out over the restaurant area. This spacious restaurant exudes a vibe that’s simultaneously artistic, hip, and funky. A deep, natural wood floor manages to contrast harmoniously with furniture that is both mod and industrial, and the bar itself has the charm and feel of an old tavern, yet manages to work with the overall setting. There are seats both at the main bar and another side espresso bar, in addition to more than twenty tables around the dining room.

My friend and I dined on a Friday evening that was one of the most bitterly cold of the entire winter.  There were not many patrons, as most sensible folks would have opted to be cozy by a fireplace on such a night. All the same, they had a DJ playing tunes in a booth adjacent to the bar (this is a regular feature on weekend evenings), and I could envision a lively, Bohemian atmosphere on a less frigid night. They also showcase live acoustic music on certain Saturdays. It was still a very comfortable place to share a quiet meal and a conversation, though the spirit of the place is clearly for the hip and artistically inclined to congregate over beers, food, and conversation.  There is artwork scattered around, and the tables and room are laid out in a way that is conducive to interaction among all patrons. The venue is part café, part bar, part restaurant - an all neighborhood hangout.

Drinks & Appetizers:
Along the lines of adult beverages, this place is a beer and wine specialist. As any good hipster-patronized establishment should, they serve Pabst Blue Ribbon, but here it’s on draught, which is a true rarity. They offer an assortment of Harpoon selections on draught, too, and in bottles they have a bunch of artisanal selections from brewers like Magic Hat, Flying Dog, and Abita. The wines are generally modestly priced, and they offer several domestic and imported reds and whites by the glass. Though we are not drinkers and thus didn’t imbibe, I was impressed that they offered an assortment of wines at very reasonable prices.

We tasted three appetizers: Homemade Lamb Sausage, Sweet Corn Gnocchi, and a special mixed green salad served with bacon wrapped diver scallops and goat cheese. The lamb sausage was essentially a meat bruschetta. It was served on sliced baguette atop a dollop of whipped feta and garnished with roasted red peppers. I would call this dish hearty and satisfying, if somewhat unremarkable in terms of memorable flavors. It didn’t pop for me, but I still enjoyed it. The salad and scallops were delicious. If I were to offer a criticism, it would be that the two didn’t really need to go together, but both components of the dish were tasty. The scallops were wrapped in a perfectly crisped bit of bacon and were cooked perfectly – warm and flavorful and not at all dry or tough, and there was not much to find fault with while eating bacon wrapped scallops with goat cheese. The gnocchi was probably my favorite dish of the whole meal. It was served with a heavy sauce, but was slightly sweet and satisfying. This was an a dish to enjoy on such a cold evening. The little crisped bits of pancetta provided a constant, savory crunch that punched through the sweet, honey flavored sauce, and the gnocchi themselves were well prepared – none of the unpleasant gumminess of amateurish gnocchi, just smooth and appetizing hand-crafted pasta.

Entrees:
Our first entrée was a special that also featured the diver scallops.  The scallops had been pan-seared and served on a bed of pesto spaghetti. This dish was hearty, with a large portion of pasta and quite a few scallops. The scallops were outstanding, and I would have preferred more scallops in this dish than the pasta. The pesto had a lot of olive oil in it. Yet the dish was good and satisfying, with an exceptional element – the scallops – but it is something that I would probably opt not to order again as I enjoyed the scallops more in the lighter salad based dish. All the same, it’s hard to criticize a place for serving a large portion, and while the sauce may have been prepared with a heavy hand with the oil, the dish was flavorful and enjoyable.

The Moroccan Lamb and Chickpea Stew was a unique, flavorful, and memorable offering that I would order again, especially on a cold night. It had the comforting quality of a great homemade bowl of chili. Bits of fresh and perfectly stewed lamb commingled with tomatoes, vegetables, and a yogurt sauce over a bed of rice that was the perfect bed with which to sop up the savory sauce. You won’t leave hungry if you choose this dish – we took some home and I enjoyed it for lunch the next day! The spice character of the dish was less hot than I had expected; it was a complex blend of flavors that did not overwhelm the palette.

My overall impression of the food was that it was nice to see a neighborhood restaurant use fresh, local ingredients to cook food of this nature. They have a number of vegetarian options available, and are clearly setting a goal for themselves to create unique dishes that reflect the bounty of what is available in the Boston area, and the hip nature of their space. It is a menu that can stretch to please both the artistic and more corporate type of folks that make up South Boston.

Dessert:
We were simply too full to eat dessert, but our server very kindly brought us some homemade sugar dusted doughnuts that had clearly come right out of an over or fryer – they were so warm and tasty! The overwhelming sweetness was simply a decadent stamp for the end of the meal. I would highly recommend saving more room than we did for a few of these, and will do so on my next visit.

Assessment:
The Channel Café is a lovely combination of café, gallery, bar, and coffee house that fits perfectly in its neighborhood and which I hope finds a niche and a local customer base. It is great to see owners putting this much effort into a café, doing ambitious, unique, locally sourced dishes, a thoughtful drink menu, and offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner in a space where people can come and linger over a cup of coffee or get a full meal. It’s a fun, hip place that I would love to visit again.

Address: 300 Summer St., Boston, MA 02210
Phone Number: 617.426.0695
Website: http://www.channel-cafe.com
Cuisine: Contemporary American
Price: Lunch $10-$25; Dinner $20-$30
Recommended Dishes: Sweet Corn Gnocchi, Braised Moroccan Lamb and Chickpea Stew
Hours: Breakfast: Mon-Fri 8am-11am; Lunch: 1130am-3pm; Dinner: Wed-Sat 5pm-10pm
Public Transit & Parking: Nearest T Stations: Courthouse (Silver), South Station (Red). Parking on Street and several lots within a 5 minute walk.
Reservations: accepted
Payment Options: Visa, MC, Cash