Have you been to the Parish Cafe? It's a little restaurant on Boylston St. in downtown Boston. Everytime I pass it, the outside tables are packed. I decided that many people couldn't have bad taste, so I decided to check it out.
I met my dining companion there on Thursday night. For some reason, they have a bouncer out front who cards everyone. He wasn't very happy that I didn't have an ID (I don't drive to work, I take the T!). The person I was meeting was already inside, I explained. The bouncer gave me a look like, "Yea, right!" but decided to let me in anyway. Could it be my experience of living 43 years on this planet that gave me the privilege to enter?
Having seen people flock to this place, I was really looking forward to dinner. I ordered the special -- Chipotle Meatloaf. I love spicy foods, so I was looking forward to this interesting combination. What I got was regular, plain, old, almost dry meatloaf. Oh, and I got some mashed potatoes. On top of the meatloaf was half of a grilled red onion. Let me tell you, that onion didn't look at ALL appetizing. I almost sent the dish back thinking they had given me the wrong plate. The onion looked a cross between raw liver and a very large, living sea creature.
I immediately scrapped the onion off my plate. My dining partner, who likes onion, could get past the look of the thing and ate it. Said it wasn't anything special, other than being a red onion, which I've never seen served in this way. So, the onion thing is probably my own issue. But the meatloaf...that's a whole other thing entirely. It had absolutely no kick to it. I would think it was my mother's meatloaf (which is good, but contains no spice at all) if I had been blindfolded.
It's not that the food was bad, it just wasn't great. And, at the price I had to pay, I was looking for great.
I noticed as I left that the inside of the restaurant never had more than 5 tables with people at them, though the outside tables were packed. And the people outside were all drinking....not eating.
My conclusion? Parish Cafe is a place to sit outside, people watch, and drink. Don't worry about the food.
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There is a place downtown Guelph called Capistrano Cafe/Bar, which is actually more of a cafe, but they do have a liquor licence. Now THAT PLACE IS GOOOOOD!!! My only complaint is that they close at 6 and aren't open Sundays. LOL
Now you know where to go in Guelph, and I know where NOT to go in Boston.