My Boston Trip--Chapter 4: Breakfast at Thornton's

After checking out of our hotel for noon, we were happy to find out we could keep our parking spot at the hotel until 3 P.M. for no extra charge. We decided to tour the Christian Science complex because (#1.) it was right across the street, (#2.) the tour was free, and (#3.) we'd been by it several times, so why not just go in? But, of course, we couldn't tackle the tour on an empty stomach!

We ate breakfast at Thornton's, a small establishment in the Greenhouse Apartments building, directly across from the Christian Science complex. Thornton's serves breakfast and lunch, and we were in time for either. The decor is sunny Caribbean colors of yellow and peachy pink, with framed Impressionist prints on the walls. The side facing Huntington Avenue is essentially a sunroom, letting the sun shine in from above too, making the small restaurant feel more open but also like a cheery warm greenhouse. The tables were topped with glass over plastic "lace" tablecloths. They should seriously consider getting rid of the plastic tablecloths, because they have discolored to a dingy yellow that looks dirty, unappetizing, and mars the otherwise fairly nice setting.

Chris got the eggs benedict, and I got a twist on that: the "Italian Benedict". Instead of a poached egg over ham on an English muffin, covered in hollandaise, it was a poached egg on grilled focaccia bread with prosciutto, topped with creamy pesto sauce. It was definitely a unique dish. It was a little complicated to eat because thin prosciutto doesn't yield to a steak knife as well as a slab of ham would, instead squirming out of the way. I found myself disassembling my meal and eating it ingredient-by-ingredient, rather than in bites that had a little of the different ingredients and their tastes together. By the time I got to the focaccia at the bottom, it was soggy from the sauce and meat juices. However, the "Italian Benedict" was delicious.
My dish was served with melon, and both dishes came with home fries. The home fries were over-spiced, too much heat, not enough flavor, and an unpleasant after burn. Unfortunately, I've had too many home fries with this flaw; too many cooks make the same kind of errors with home fries, perhaps big-batch cooking makes it harder to season them just right.
Some of the other patrons were enjoying lunch, and what they had looked delicious, so we may very well come back to try out the lunch menu.