Thursday, January 01, 2009

Globe Article on St Alphonzo's Kitchen

There's a nice article in the Globe on St. Alphonzo's (nee Potbellies Kitchen). If you haven't tried it, it's a great little restaurant with simple, homemade food. They're at 87 A St., just past Artists for Humanity.

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Slice of life
By Elizabeth Bomze, Globe Correspondent | December 17, 2008

Taking shelter from the cold at Peter and Natasha Irving's pint-sized, affordable South Boston restaurant feels just as homey as sitting at your own kitchen table. St. Alphonzo's (originally called Potbellies Kitchen) is the kind of place every neighborhood should have, with straightforward, well-executed fare that feeds the need for a quick bite when you don't feel like cooking. As such, you'll find classics like pasta Bolognese, baked scrod, and a seared flatiron steak, not to mention a recipe for meatloaf that Peter Irving adapted from "Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook."

This particular take on an all-beef loaf is probably not the version your mother made. Onion and green pepper go in, a ladle of marinara sauce lends brightness, and milk moistens both bread crumbs and rolled oats, and keeps the loaf light and fork-tender. "If you know what happens when you cook oatmeal - it puffs up - the same thing happens when you add it to meatloaf," Irving explains. "Once the oatmeal's incorporated, you get a fuller, lighter flavor."

Occasionally Irving runs the meatloaf as a special with gravy and a heap of mashed potatoes; a thick slice seared on the grill and served on light rye with red onion and provolone is a staple of the hearty sandwich menu. One Alphonzo regular orders his meatloaf sandwich cold, doused with ketchup, between two pieces of white bread.

St. Alphonzo's Kitchen, 87 A St., South Boston, 617-269-2233.

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