If you want to find a good bookstore, talk to a writer. If you want exceptional late-night dining and drinks, follow the industry crowd. Any place you find servers, line cooks, and bartenders chilling after a long shift is bound to be tasty and value priced. The South End’s Franklin Café has long been an industry after-work haunt, serving food till 1:30 a.m. and cocktails till 2 a.m. Its new sibling, the Franklin Café South Boston (152 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, 617.269.1003), follows the same formula in a spacious, spanking-new location: solid bartending and a carefully executed menu of simple, eclectic American cuisine with no entrée over
$20.
One fine example of how this kitchen outclasses many pricier restaurants is the café chicken with smoked bacon, new potatoes, shallots, and cider ($17). A big boneless breast is skillfully roasted so it remains juicy, then turned into something heavenly with chunks of superbly smoky bacon and a thick pan sauce of cider, sherry, and fresh thyme. A crunchy crust elevates the roasted potatoes beyond the pedestrian, making this dish even more substantial and comforting. Add a golden, slightly peppery glass of Sepp Moser Grüner Veltliner ($8), a lemony Austrian white, and you have a dinner that even a discriminating local chef might savor, especially after 15 hours of preparing food for other folks. It’s little wonder that the Franklin Southie has quickly garnered an industry following of its own.
