Gritty Boston: French dip and cold brews at Doyle’s Cafe

Emily and I met as undergraduates at UCLA in the Christian ministry we were both a part of. She is two years ahead of me in school and at one point lived right across the street from me.

She’s quite a catch, and once you get past how wonderful she is on the outside (current Harvard law school student, spent a summer doing social justice work in Bolivia, hikes and runs and is so much fun) you can quickly and easily see what I love most about her: Emily is one of the most caring, intelligent and loving people I’ve ever had the privilege of meeting.

You can see why I was a little bit ecstatic to see her while in Boston.

Anyway, my second night with Emily, we joined her sweet sweet roommates (two of them named Jen and one Jenny) the next night for Jen’s birthday.

Enter: Doyle’s.

Doyle’s is one of those places someone would take you when you really wanted to see the real grit of the city — where tradition is and where the natives go.

A piece of advice so you will actually enjoy your meal: this is bar fare, so don’t waste your time ordering anything with an even slight resemblance of health — go straight for the sweet potato fries (those count as healthy, right?), pastrami on rye, burgers and the beer. Guests are happy to order the Sam Adams special edition beers Doyle’s has on tap as well.

I ordered the French dip with fries, which was a winner; someone else with us had a pizza which looked delicious if not gourmet (it was also huge). The waitress advised us to skip the buffalo chicken sandwiches because the patty preparation involved only unthawing.

The service when we were there was helpful but not the best I’ve ever had, sometimes forgetting to return with our condiments but always good-natured and pleasant. Doyle’s is perfect for large parties — it’s loud so you can be loud, the place is all dark wood and paper placemats, sort of grimy-casual. Its strength, by far: good cold beer for cheap.

And while it looks like Yelp reviewers say breakfast fare is also hit or miss, the eggs Benedict (above) looks pretty darn delicious, if I do say so myself.

Have you ever been to Doyle’s? Tell me what you like about it.

Top Photo: Eggs Benedict at Doyle’s. Used under Creative Commons license from: stevegarfield Bottom Photo: Doyle’s taps, which include Boston beers Samuel Adams and Harpoon. Used under Creative Commons license from: jpc.raleigh