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.
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