West End Johnnie's: In my Hip Pocket ...

A must see if you are in the Boston area ... and, if you're not?  Road Trip!

Next West End Johnnie's Appearance is April 24th, from 7-9:30pm:

TL

Just What We Needed ... Another Holiday

A Good decision for Nat'l Lager Day

The calendar is full of 'em, but there is room for one more.

Yes, one more holiday - and it should be a holiday celebrated by everyone in the Commonwealth because we need to salute the most important company in all of Massachusetts - the Boston Beer Company, brewers of Sam Adams Beer.

Monday, December 10 is National Lager Day

From the brewers, our buddies from cross town, who keep the kegs and bottle supply at West End Johnnie's stocked with the best of the best, the freshest of the freshest, and they help our staff monitor and serve the beer at its peak.

That is their craft. They like the beer lines kept at PREMIUM levels - so recently, West End Johnnie's re-engineered every beer line in the joint to be state-of-the-art in terms of cleanliness and efficiency, resulting in the freshest brew in the West End of Boston.

It’s no secret that all of us here at the brewery love lager. And we thought – what better way to celebrate National Lager Day on December 10th than with the brew that gave Jim his start back in 1984, surrounded by friends. So on Monday, we encourage you to raise a pint with us as we salute our favorite family of beer – lager!

How do you celebrate with the folks at Sam?

"For those of you not familiar with this style, lager is a type of beer that encompasses a wide variety of styles ranging from light pilsners to rauchbiers to darker bocks. So what links them together?  Lagers are fermented and conditioned for longer aging times than ales at lower temperatures which yields clean flavors and allows the malt and hops in the beer to shine. Our Samuel Adams Boston Lager is brewed with two-row malted barley to give the beer its body and flavors ranging from slightly sweet to roasted, and Bavarian Noble hops which impart floral, piney and citrus notes. To take our brew a step forward  we age Boston Lager longer to maximize and enhance the complex flavor combinations.Now back to National Lager day. To help pay homage to this style of beer, we’re hosting The Great Samuel Adams Boston Lager Log Off on Monday night. We want you to close the computer and put the phone away for a few hours and kick back with a delicious craft lager at your favorite watering hole in celebration of good beer and good conversation."

West End Johnnie's - The Secret Sauce!

Yes, we share the goodies - this with Sarah French at ABC TV - See Chef Juan - the star!

WHDH-TV -

Phantom Gourmet LOVES "Johnnie's on the Side" in Boston...

Boston's great Phantom Gourmet TV show visited Johnnie's on the Side and aired the following review (2-28-09)

Flashing signs, traffic lights, street signs. Johnnie's on the Side is a hot new restaurant packed with old school artwork. Before he became a restaurateur, Owner John Caron was Property Manager of Fenway Park, and everything you see on display is from his personal collection: sports memorabilia, relics of city history, even original Boston Garden seats.

As for the menu, it's a tribute to Boston’s old West End, a neighborhood known for its delicious diversity.

John Caron - Owner, Johnnie's on the Side: “The West End is Italian, African American, Irish, Portuguese, Jewish, Polish, Lithuanian, just a mixture of great people.”

So, phantom tasted it all to find the perfect meal.

Starting out with appetizers. You have your choice of traditional Italian meatballs simmering in Sunday gravy. Or, grilled chicken wings in a sweet and spicy molasses glaze. But the perfect appetizer is the Kettle Chips: homemade potato chips piled high with crumbled bacon, caramelized onions, and plenty of blue cheese.

On the sandwich side of the menu, you might want to order up the Italian Panini packed with salami and melted provolone on toasty flatbread. Or, the hand-packed West End Burger layered with pancetta and fontina cheese with a side of crispy, fresh-cut French fries. But the perfect sandwich is Johnnie's Famous Reuben with homemade sauerkraut and Russian dressing on grilled pumpernickel.

John Caron - Owner, Johnnie's on the Side: “The Reuben, we wanted something like your mom would make you at home, it's thick cut meat, it's not shaved on a machine.”

Moving on to entrees, Johnnies on the Side offers an herbed roasted chicken with creamy mashed potatoes, and a tender grilled strip steak topped with buttermilk onion rings. For perfection on a plate though, you should order the Baked Gnocchi and Lobster. Like a grown up version of mac and cheese, it's warm and bubbly with big hunks of lobster in a lip-smacking sauce.

Kettle chips, a Rueben, and Gnocchi with Lobster. That's the perfect meal at Johnnies on the Side.