Brunching at Gaslight (now closed), Shopping at SoWa

My friend was in town from Houston this past weekend so after a fun dinner at our friend’s new home on Saturday evening we decided to have a lazy Sunday morning followed by brunch and then a walk around town.

As I wanted to show Jen around SoWa I thought Gaslight on Harrison Avenue in the South End would be a good choice for brunch.

We arrived without a reservation and the place was packed.  We were told it would be 30 minutes for a table so we put our name down and decided to wait.  No sooner had we done that when two seats opened up at the bar.  We hopped up onto the high stools immediately and made that our brunching home. 

Gaslight is a fun French brasserie with high ceilings and subway tiled walls, which make for a very loud, bustling atmosphere – and one that I quite like.  The seating is a mix of high and low-top café tables and chairs and a more formal (but still casual) dining area.  This is a big space.  I love the wood floors and nicotine stained walls with large mirrors.  It makes Gaslight feel very Parisian.

We ordered some coffee and orange juice from the friendly and chatty bartender while we looked at the menu.  They have updated their brunch menu a little and I noticed quite a few new and interesting offerings.  Delicious looking delights such as Truffled Scrambled Eggs Tartine, Croque Madame, Spice Crusted Yellofin Tuna and a large selection of Fuits de Mer are all on the brunch menu.  As I am such a creature of habit when it comes to brunch and nearly always go for Eggs Benedict, I was determined to try something a little different.  There was one dish that seemed quite intriguing called Poached Eggs Vigneronne.  It was also a dish that was recommended by the bartender as something new and different.  I decided to order it.  Jen settled on the Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon.

My dish definitely looked intriguing.  Three poached eggs smothered in a red wine sauce with mushrooms and strips of ham.  The aroma was mouthwatering and I couldn’t wait to dig in but was also a little skeptical of this unusual pairing.  I was right to be a little skeptical.  The eggs were great; poached perfectly and still slightly runny when you break into them.  The sauce was deliciously flavorful, slightly sweet with salty bacon and meaty mushrooms.  Separate they were good, together they were just strange – at least to my palate.  The sauce would be wonderful with meat and the eggs with; well I have to say it, hollandaise.  It was just different.  I did eat it but tried to keep the eggs separate from the red wine sauce.

Our late morning continued with more chatter, endless cups of coffee that we didn’t even have to ask for and some brunch people watching. 

Gaslight is a great place for brunching with friends, sitting at the bar alone to people watch, a birthday party at the long table in the restaurant or a get together with parents when they are in town.  A great South End location.

After brunch we took a walk around SoWa Open and Indoor markets.  Sunday was glorious to walk around.  A little brisk but nice and fresh.  Not much time left for the outdoor market, in fact just one weekend left – so hurry for a visit. 

The SoWa market is a really cool experience… a superb farmers market offering lots of great fresh produce and gorgeous flowers and plants and of course all local.  Fun accessory stores of woolly hats, gloves, great jewelry, fashion trucks and many more stalls.  Also not forgetting the large selection of food trucks and the cool vintage indoor market.

A really super fun day out.