When they moved here from El Salvador, the Funes brothers found work where so many immigrants do -- the restaurant business. They bused, prepped, and cooked in the North End, inevitably itching to open a place of their own. "It was time to have my own headaches," Miguel says cheerfully, sounding wise in the ways that running a restaurant can consume a life.
With limited funds, they focused on upgrading the kitchen, not the decor, which hasn't changed much in the past 10, maybe 20, possibly 30 years. The walls are an unfortunate pinkish purple, the tables an unsightly swirled green. Suffice it to say no glossy food magazines will be calling to arrange a photo shoot.
For their menu, Miguel and Reinaldo chose a cuisine they had come to know well from their years in the North End: Italian. Over time, the offerings have expanded to burgers, fried seafood, and mainstream Mexican foods such as tacos and burritos. The end result is a something-for-everyone menu so broad it's a touch overwhelming.
Primavera sells lots of subs and salads at lunchtime, and heaps of pizza -- really good pizza, especially the super-garlicky one with grilled chicken ($8.50) -- particularly on weekends. Evenings are slower. On one dinner visit, we were the sole customers, save for a highly agitated man who stormed in frantically asking directions to Forest Hills Cemetery (Uh, sir? Did you notice the headstones across the street?), then stormed out. We hope he wasn't late for the funeral.
Warning: Service can be rough. One teenage waitress seemed only fleetingly familiar with the menu, forgot to order one of our entrees, and had no clue what was in the scarola soup (escarole, it turns out). So who would have expected the stylish presentation, like a decoratively splayed grilled onion, artistic dustings of parsley, and excellent chicken soup ($3.95) with a rainbow of minced veggies that looked like edible confetti.
That sort of flair hints at the kitchen's potential, and I don't mean that euphemistically. What we found at Primavera, more often than not, is high-quality, home-cooked food prepared with love, attention to detail, and talent. But the onion rings ($3.25), battered in-house, should be sweeter and crisper. Garlic bread ($1.95, or $2.95 with cheese) cries out for more butter and garlic. But Caesar salad ($3.95) with bright-green romaine, outstanding homemade dressing, and a handful of romano is one of the menu's shining stars.
Thin, tender veal parmigiana ($9.95) is covered with bold marinara, fragrant with basil and oregano; while delicate describes the subtly citrusy white wine-lemon sauce in the chicken margherita ($9.95), which is an egg-dipped boneless breast sprinkled with mozzarella and tomatoes, and served with broccoli and pasta. Rich, creamy alfredo chicken broccoli ziti ($8.95-$10.95 depending on the sauce; it's also made with marinara or garlic and olive oil) is sublime. The grilled salmon ($13.95), simply seasoned with pepper and salt, tastes prefrozen, though.
Tacos ($4.50), three per order, arrive in soft flour tortillas heaped with tender cubed beef or chicken and warm tomato-onion salsa, sans cheese. Overly dry boneless pork loin ($10.95) is revived by an earthy balsamic vinegar that enlivens the meat and soaks into the roasted potatoes. It's a better choice than the meat combo ($8.95) of dried-out Italian sausage and a few measly steak tips.
Chocolate cake ($2.95) with gummy frosting is as mediocre as we expected, given that it comes from a wholesale supplier. For truly worthwhile calories, try the homemade cannoli ($2.95) with sweet ricotta filling spiked with lemon zest, or homemade raspberry-amaretto cheesecake ($3.50) on buttery graham-cracker crust. It's so good, so smooth, and so voluptuously rich that I've abandoned my previous conviction that cheesecake isn't worth the dietary damage. My new conviction: The damage can be fixed later.
All Cheap Eats reviews may be retrieved from Boston.com at ae.boston.com/dining Firefly's Bar-B-Que & Beyond 235 Old Connecticut Path, Framingham. 508-820-3333. Don't be misled by the strip mall location, the slick decor, and the fancy menus. This is real barbecue, cooked low and slow, by a man who approaches the art with the exactitude of a vintner. Besides well-executed Southern sides and entrees, Steve Uliss's menu covers much of the barbecue map. Choose from ribs (St. Louis, spare, or baby back), pulled pork, brisket, or chicken and five excellent sauces: North or South Carolina, Memphis, Beelzebar (spicy), or Texas. (12/04/03, D.T.)
Patou Thai 69 Leonard St., Belmont Center, Belmont, 617-489-6999. The best-looking place in town has walls the color of young banana leaves and sea blue, a coveted wine and beer license, a genial staff in plum mock turtlenecks, and a terrific menu of modern Thai food. All that with lots of seats and plenty of parking should make this new spot a big hit. (11/27/03, S.J.) Merengue 156-160 Blue Hill Ave., Boston. 617-445-5403. This Dominican restaurant is authentic, from the chef to the owner to the Red Sox players who frequent it during baseball season. Try the Spanish rice and fried plantains, the mofongo (or mashed plantains), salmon, bistec Merengue and don't miss one of the tropical shakes or fresh-squeezed juices. Wrap it all up with the tres leche, or "three milk" cake. The dining rooms are vividly painted and the food comforting and tasty. (11/20/03, B.E.)
Peking Cuisine 72 Bigelow Ave., Watertown. 617-923-2222. You may enter this Chinese restaurant with takeout in mind, but it will be a shame to miss the sit-down experience. The ambience is pleasing, the assistance from manager Eric Lo is warm, and the food is memorable. Fresh ingredients dominate, from appetizers such as steamed vegetable raviolis to entrees like the shrimp with ginger and scallions. Don't forget to ask for the Chinese menu as none of those items are on the English one but definitely worth trying. (11/13/03, A.S.)
Buk Kyung II 151 Brighton Ave., Allston. 617-254-2775. At this stylish Korean restaurant, everything from the exquisite fresh noodles to the hand-pinched dumplings is made in-house. Owner/chef Seung Ki Lee's Chinese-influenced take on this bold and sometimes spicy cuisine turns out light and crispy scallion pancakes, lucious soups, superb black bean sauce (good slathered on anything), and some of the best sweet and sour pork we've tried. (11/06/03, D.T.)
O'Naturals 149 Great Road, Acton (at Brookside Shops). 978-266-0222. It's fast food without fries, burgers, or diet soda. Instead, O'Naturals serves healthy, sustainably grown food at excellent prices in due haste. Wild Alaskan salmon in Asian "glass" noodles; hormone- and antibiotic-free steak sandwiches on homemade flatbread; rich clam chowder; organic fair-trade coffee with organic cream (or soy milk!). No, O'Naturals is not your typical fast-food joint. It's much, much better. (10/30/03, B.B.)
Byblos 678 Washington St., Norwood. 781-762-8998. For a healthy, tasty meal, stop at Byblos, named for the Lebanese port city. Start with the light, lemony hummus and the smoky baba ganoush, scooped with grilled pita. Don't miss the tabbouleh salad, which is light on the bulgur, heavy on the veggies and herbs. The kebabs are excellent: good cuts of meat nicely grilled along with the requisite vegetables. For a sampling of it all, go for one of the combo platters. And end with one of the homemade sweets. (10/23/03, B.E.)
Kashish 61 Leonard St., Belmont Center. 617-484-5111. Kashish in Hindi means attraction and a desire for the finest things in life. And you can fulfill that desire especially with the tandoor dishes at this Indian restaurant. Salmon tikka and the naans (breads) are executed with flawless precision. Homemade ice creams such as the Doaba kulfi and mango bahar are also a must-have. The menu asks you "to give in to Kashish" and it will be hard to resist. (10/16/03, A.S.)
Pho Lemon 228 Broadway, Cambridge, 617-441-8813. Much of the menu at this casual Vietnamese storefront has a softer Americanized edge, but the light, herb-packed dishes of true Vietnamese cuisine make the cut, too. The motto here is the customer knows best; request more or less spice, or more or less authentic preparations, and the chef is happy to oblige. (10/9/03, D.T.)
DeVille Restaurant and Lounge 10 Scotia St., Boston. 617-266-2695. Whether you bowl or not, you should stop into Kings and try the food at the DeVille Lounge. It's a big, airy room, done in retro style, and boasts food that you don't ever find in bowling joints. Try the fontina fondue (veggie or meat version) and follow up with the chocolate and butterscotch fondue for dessert. Roast chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy is great comfort food, and the Cobb salad is a meal in itself. The pizzas are portable, inventive and delicious; you can carry them right to your lane. Then you can work off the calories by heading for the lanes. (9/25/03, B.E.)
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