Nashoba Brook Bakery

Top-notch sandwiches and sweets in the South End

by Rob McKeown

on the cheap

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"The #5 is so good on Friday," enthused my friend Jill when I pressed her for Nashoba Brook Bakery sandwich recommendations. "Only on Friday?" I asked, confused. "They only have certain breads on certain days," she explained.

That's the kind of quirk that's typical at this South End café and bakery. Although it's part of a mini-chain, Nashoba Brook Bakery is personable and warm, and it fits right in on this food-obsessed part of Columbus Avenue. The first-floor storefront is all classic city row house, with a long room, views of a courtyard in back, and high ceilings. But the country-casual vibe keeps people coming back.

So does the food. That #5 sandwich ($5.50; there are nine sandwiches in all) wraps turkey, dill havarti, cucumbers, romaine, hummus, and Dijon mustard into one satisfying package surrounded by whole-wheat sourdough -- on Fridays, of course. But I prefer the aggressiveness of the #2 ($5.50): pepper-jack bread smeared with horseradish mayo and filled with an offensive line of progressively bigger tastes: tomato, cheddar, and roast beef. Veggie-lovers also do well here. The #8 ($5) is a Club Mediterranean weave of goat cheese, tapenade stained with sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach, the flavors reinforced by olive bread. Other specialties feature ingredients as exotic as wasabi mayo, and lots of daily-made soups and salads round out the menu.

And who could forget the bake-sale beauties? There are English cream scones ($1.50), cinnamon-peach muffins ($1.25), too-sweet-for-me (but not for some, I'm guessing) almond croissants ($2.25), and fine biscotti ($1), to name just a few. The point is this: you'll simply have to come back more than once.

Nashoba Brook Bakery, located at 288 Columbus Avenue, in Boston, is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Call (617) 236-0777.

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