Since moving to Watertown, I haven't been able to hang out in Brookline as much as I used to. I'm a huge fan of Coolidge Corner and Washington Square so when a friend suggested we meet for dinner at Jimmy's Bar & Oven on Beacon Street, I leapt at the chance.
The night we met it was pouring rain, but the Jimmy's awning is impossible to miss, with its tangerine fabric punctuating an otherwise gray block.
The sign at the door read, "The best pizza in Boston." Not to set high expectations or anything.
The minute I stepped into Jimmy's I was captivated by their unusual light fixtures. The glass pendant lamps are extremely oversized, but somehow they work perfectly in the space.
Along the back wall, the fixtures illuminate a black and white photo that I swear is Frank Sinatra.
Our bubbly waitress swung over to deliver us menus which start with a list of delicious sounding specialty drinks including a pomegranite margarita and a spiked lemonade.
When our ice waters arrived they were sporting mustaches! This trend is out of control.
To drink we each ordered a glass of wine - sauvignon blanc for my dinner date and chianti for me. We were both very please with our selections and the pretty stemless glasses.
To start we shared the fried zucchini appetizer. Unfortunately, the dish was disappointing. Though it was a generous portion and came topped with parmesan cheese, the zucchini coating wasn't cooked long enough. It was so soft that the coating would slide right off and the zucchini spears were still limp. Not even the garlic aioli could save them.
Next we decided to share the pesto pizza, a mix of artichokes, mushrooms and grape tomatoes. The crust of this pizza was thin and super crispy. I loved this pie so much I stopped early so I could take the rest home for lunch the next day.
Toward the end of our meal, the manager came by to alert us they would be opening the front window to the street since the rain had stopped. We had seats right in the front so all of a sudden we had an open view to the street. On a nice night, this would have been sublime.
I was really impressed with Jimmy's. The hostess allowed me to sit at a star table, even while my friend was still MIA, the restaurant has great energy, our wines were delicious and the pizza was top notch.
Other than the zucchini, the only other disappointment was that our waitress disappeared after the pizza arrived and it took a good 20 minutes to track her down again to ask for the check.
Have you been to Jimmy's? What pizza pie should I try next?
