When thinking about brunch places in town, my brain can’t help but go to Sonsie or Gaslight, perhaps Aquitaine every now and then. However, sometimes Abe & Louie’s creeps in a little, especially when I remember their bread basket offering.
Hailed a mainstay of the Boston Steak scene for many many years, Abe’s has been on Boylston Street for as long as I remember. The usual mature crowd at the bar, the serious red meat eaters in the restaurant and then there is the brunch crowd, which brings in families, friends, baby showers and those on a first date who are not ready to do the evening thing.
Dining with my good friend BosGuy on an easy going Sunday we arrived, with reservation, always good to have one with Abe & Louie’s, to a very busy brunch crowd. Seated in the center of the restaurant at an immaculate white table-clothed little square table. I do think the tables are a little too close together, however this particular Sunday we had no-one next to us, which was good.
Menus were places in front of us and the white shirt and black-vested waiters busily milled around giving us time to peruse the menu. A large selection of salads, burgers, steaks and of course the usual egg dishes are on offer. I don’t really need time with a brunch menu as I am the ultimate creature of habit and almost always pick Eggs Benedict.
A few moments later the best ever bread basket arrived with mini butter croissants, blueberry muffins and a selection of other morning breads. You have to be really careful not to overdo this part of brunch because the next part is virtually impossible to finish, at least for me. I do really like the croissants with a little added salted butter though. My friend, had no trouble devouring the rest of the basket of goodies.
I ordered an orange juice and coffee. The juice is without a doubt fresh squeezed and you can tell the difference. It’s a wonderful thing when they say fresh squeezed and it is. Coffee is strong and mildly bitter, very much to my liking for a Sunday morning.
One of the items I absolutely loved on their brunch menu was the Smoked Salmon Benedict, which to my very sad disappointment is no longer on the menu. I asked why and I was told it was just taken off. What was also wonderful about this dish was the lovely, salty addition of caviar they added to the top of the eggs… oh well, distant memories. I still picked the Eggs Benedict anyway but this time with Crab Cake and was again very happy.
Sometimes an English muffin can be very difficult to cut with a knife and you have to practically tear it, not this one, every bite of muffin, crab cake, egg and the perfect amount of hollandaise fit perfectly onto the fork and then was mine to enjoy, which I did. Due to my intake of croissant, I could not enjoy the whole plate of food but was nevertheless incredibly satisfied. My friend ordered the Newbury Omelette and there was no disappointment there either. His enjoyment of the perfect fluffy omelette was apparent by the empty plate. Both dishes are served with crispy hash browns.
While I don’t frequent Abe & Louie’s that often for dinner, rarely actually, it is definitely a place I enjoy for brunch. Although it is now getting to the colder weather, they do have a lovely dining patio, perfect to watch the passers-by while enjoying that well deserved Mimosa. Perhaps next summer.
