Charbroiled steak au poivre and creamed spinach with roasted garlic and white wine at DW French.EMILY KAN
Openings: Chef Douglass Williams (MIDA) says bonjour to the Fenway with DW French, inside Pierce Boston (1391 Boylston St.).
Settle into a red leather banquette and enjoy French onion soup, escargot in garlic butter, steak frites, trout almondine, a croque madame, and crème brûlée, paired with small-production French wines.
Williams says that he’s eager to bring a warm, cozy brasserie with nostalgic flair to the Fenway area, rife with students, tourists, local baseball fans, medical professionals, and curious wanderers. It’s a stark change from the more subdued, flatter Fenway of a few years ago.
“Everyone has this visceral reaction. It’s like walking into Jurassic Park. You can’t look up high enough,” he says of the changing neighborhood. He hopes DW French is a refuge.
“I can only equate it to feeling lonely in Europe. A [city] can feel big and barren, but if you know one person, it can feel as small as your hometown. I hope this restaurant feels like that friendly little beacon, where you can come in with a reservation or stumble in as a tourist,” he says.
Williams was a Food & Wine Best New Chef in 2020 and earned a James Beard Outstanding Chef nomination in 2022. The brasserie replaces Tiffani Faison’s Italian restaurant, Orfano, which closed in 2022.
Brunches: Craving midweek omelets? The Back Bay’s Rochambeau (900 Boylston St.) launches weekday brunch starting Wednesday, Oct. 18. Enjoy eggs Benedict or perhaps a croque monsieur washed back with rosé from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m.
A banner at the entrance to the Seaport's Snowport holiday market.WS DEVELOPMENT BY LINDSAY AHERN
Pop-ups: Snowport returns to the Seaport (100 Seaport Blvd.) starting on Friday, Nov. 10, with local holiday shopping and plenty of cold-weather treats, with 17 al fresco vendors and an après-ski-themed lounge, fire pits, and a heated tent. Try the Baked Cheese Haus, serving traditional Swiss-style Raclette; Cheese Wheel Pasta, offering made-to-order pasta in giant cheese wheels; Bluefin bisques and chowders; ZaZ food truck, with hush puppies and jerk chicken; North East of the Border tacos; The Nada Cart empanadas; Tuscan Kitchen’s Neapolitan pizza; and lots more. Browse Monday through Thursday from 3 p.m. and Friday through Sunday from 11 a.m.
