Photograph courtesy of Cafe Madeleine
Morning in Boston
By Chef Michael Lombardi
My favorite time of day is before 9am, especially on Saturday and Sunday. I love when the whole city is still asleep and I can walk around without hearing noisy traffic and there are no people crowding the streets. When the weather is nice, I walk to work (which takes about an hour) and I have a cup of coffee and a pastry on the way. The Biscuit in Somerville is closest to my house, but I enjoy any neighborhood, independent coffee shop. Render Coffee on Columbus Avenue is a go-to when I'm in the South End and Cafe Madeleine, the newbie on Columbus, is great for French-style pastries.
Photograph courtesy of Eastern Standard
Early Lunch
I think the slower pace and relaxed attitude of an early weekend morning reminds me of when I was living in Europe. There was never any rush to get anywhere and an espresso and a pastry was needed for any day to begin. If it’s my day off, I like to extend my stroll into an early lunch. The city starts getting busier and when it’s nice out it’s fun to sit on a patio like Eastern Standard's and drink some light white wines and eat oysters. Another great option is grabbing a burger at The Butcher Shop. During the week their lunch service tends to be quiet. It’s a great time to chat with Steve who works the bar and look through the cases of butchered meat as part of their retail program. After a morning around the city I go back home and nap. That's pretty much the ideal day for me.
Photograph courtesy of The Butcher Shop
THE BISCUIT
406 Washington Street, Somerville, MA 02143
T: 617.666.2770 | www.visitthebiscuit.com
RENDER COFFE
563 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02118
T: 617.262.4142 | rendercoffeebar.com
CAFE MADELEINE
517 Columbus Avenue, Boston, MA 02118
T: 857.239.8052 | cafemadeleineboston.com
EASTERN STANDARD
528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
T: 617.532.9100 | easternstandardboston.com
THE BUTCHER SHOP
552 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02118
T: 617.423.4800 | thebutchershopboston.com
Chef Michael Lombardi of SRV
Lombardi is the chef de cuisine at The Salty Pig in Boston and will soon be the co-executive chef of SRV in Boston's South End. Before coming to Boston, he worked with chef Mario Batali's Del Posto restaurant in New York City. He worked alongside The Salty Pig’s Executive Chef Kevin O’Donnell in Europe for the opening of L’Office in Paris, and in Brooklyn at Gwynnett Street.
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