Finding Comfort in Potbellies Kitchen
February 2, 2007
For some strange, unknown reason, healthy diets are always harder to stick to in the winter. A frigid bed of lettuce and other assorted raw vegetables coated in a light and acidic dressing just doesn’t seem nearly as appealing as a gargantuan bowl of something hot, creamy, rich, and preferably covered with cheese. In the blisteringly cold winter months, a barren plate of lifeless vegetables just doesn’t cut it; it doesn’t satisfy that animal urge in us to amass as much caloric content as possible to stave off the cold. If seals and whales were given a layer of blubber to fend off the frigid weather, why shouldn’t we store up some winter fat as well? Essentially what we’re looking for is steamy, artery clogging, stomach warming, comfort food. Food, that as our grandmothers would say, “sticks to your ribs.” Although in this day and age of ever shrinking models and celebrities, food that “sticks to your ribs” might not exactly be desirable…
As I said earlier, nothing warms you up like good comfort food during the cold winter months, and a great place to satisfy this desire is Potbellies Kitchen, located near Broadway, one stop past South Station on the red line. It’s a five minute walk from the T station to the restaurant and even in this Bostonian weather, the food more than makes up for the walk in the cold. Upon entering I was struck by how small the couple-owned restaurant is. I counted only enough space for seventeen patrons in the cozy little establishment, so it’s definitely not the place to go if you have a large group of people, or if you hate waiting. If you’re planning a visit, I definitely recommend getting there early; by 6:30 all seventeen seats were occupied. The atmosphere was, on the whole, quite homey and comfortable, lacking the pretentious mood of many cafes and bistros of similar stature and price. Gentle Beatles and Beachboys music piped through the speakers, and paired with cheery candles on every table, the restaurant was quite the contrast to the 15-degree temperature outside.
In terms of food, the menu and specials were written on big chalkboards suspended on the walls and there was a wide selection to choose from. The diner-inspired food ranges from sandwiches to pasta to steak to seafood, all very reasonably priced. Sandwiches run from $6 to $8, while the other entrees run from $9 to $16 (for the steak). Entrees (not sandwiches) come with a choice of two sides (salad, potatoes cooked in assorted ways, soup, or the vegetable of the day) while sandwiches come with a side of fries.
I ordered “The Cuban,” a sandwich containing roast pork, ham, swiss cheese, pickled onions and jalapeño peppers on rye, grilled in a diet-destroying amount of butter. My friends ordered the pasta marinara and the daily special of chicken, broccoli and penne in lemon pesto. All three were excellent; the simple marinara was flavorful and garnished with freshly shaved parmesan, while the penne in lemon pesto and “Cuban” were fireworks of perfectly mixed flavors. The lemon pesto added a fresh zing to the penne which was creamy without being heavy or overly rich and the pickled onions which I initially eyed skeptically melded perfectly with the rest of the sandwich. Contrary to my preconceptions about unsatisfying salads, their caesar salad was delicious, the greens were fresh and the dressing was unlike any I’d ever tasted. After devouring this salad, I fully retract my previous statement on the lack of satisfaction from salads; I would gladly eat Potbellies’ caesar salad three meals a day for at least two days of the week. Generally speaking, the food was a more gourmet version of home cooked meals, preserving the comfort of home, but also heightening the complexity of flavors and ingredients.
After my experience at Potbellies, I’m warm and full of gastronomical happiness. Maybe I’ll call it a night and spend a few hours with the cast of Grey’s Anatomy before curling up in bed. After all, there’s no better way to spend a cold, winter day than to fill up on comfort food and then submerge oneself in one’s gloriously warm bed. And so it is with great conviction that I urge you: Get thee to Potbellies Kitchen.
Potbellies Kitchen is located at 87 A Street in South Boston. They can be reached by phone at (617) 269-2233. The kitchen is open Monday through Friday from 8 AM to 10 PM and Saturday from 5-10 PM.