Restaurant Review: Cutty’s (Brookline, MA)

We experienced the most hellacious week two weeks ago. It went like this: youngest one had a bad case of croup (again). Oldest one came down with a high fever and nasty cough. I got hit with a nasty head cold. And to top it off, we got hit with another N’oreaster, making our sickly cabin fever that much worse.  By week’s end when we were beginning to feel better, we saw the light at the end of the tunnel – and it was shining on a little sandwich shop in Brookline Village just a few blocks away from the pediatrician's office.

Cutty’s is a small joint with a walk-up counter and seating for about 16 people, including high chairs for wee ones. The simple and clean décor reflects Cutty’s mission: No bells and whistles, no gimmicks, no pretentious fancy-pants silliness, just honest food served quickly. What family wouldn’t want that?

Cutty’s is owned by CIA trained and Cooks Illustrated veteran Charles Kelsey. His menu mainly consists of hand-crafted sandwiches that would make any sandwich snob swoon. We ordered Grilled Cheese ($3.85) and Tomato Soup ($3.65) for the boys to share. Umdaddy got the house specialty – Roast Beef 1000: slow-roasted beef, crispy shallots, 1000 island, cheddar, on brioche ($7.95). I ordered the Eggplant Spuckie: eggplant, hand-pulled mozzarella, olive-carrot salad on ciabatta ($7.25).

It wasn’t long until everything came delivered and thoughtfully split for the boys. The boys devoured their buttery, cheesy grilled cheese sandwiches. I loved watching my oldest dip his sandwich in the velvety tomato soup – something I used to do as a kid. Our youngest had no interest in the soup, which was just okay by us since that meant we would *have* to finish it for him.

The Roast Beef 1000 was, I dare say, the best roast beef sandwich I ever had. And this coming from a loyal Kelly’s Roast Beef patron. The roast beef is cooked to a pink perfection and sliced paper thin. There is just the right balance of buttery brioche, dressing and cheese. The crispy shallots provided the perfect crunch for the sandwich.

The grilled Eggplant Spuckie (Spuckie is an old-school name for Italian subs) was the perfect combo of cheesy goodness, tangy veggies and crispy ciabatta.

I only had two regrets after our dining experience: 1) not ordering the house made chips and 2) not coming on a Saturday, the only day when the Pork Rabe or Pork Fennel sandwiches are available.

I really hope there won’t be any more visits to the pediatrician's office this winter, but if there are, I can bet we will be stopping at Cutty’s as our elixir to whatever ails us.