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What to eat at The Lineup, Boston’s newest food hall
Michelin-starred chef John Fraser's new food hall The Lineup is now open at Winthrop Center in Downtown Boston.
Downtown Boston is adding another food hall to its ranks: The Lineup, a new concept from Michelin-starred chef John Fraser, opens this week at Winthrop Center (115 Federal St.), offering office workers another option for lunchtime sustenance.
The food hall, which is smaller than others in the area like High Street Place and Time Out Market, is located within a space at Winthrop Center known as “The Connector,” which is billed as an “urban living room” in press materials.
Fraser’s Michelin-starred spots in New York City, Dovetail and the now-closed Nix, were geared toward a seated dining experience. The five restaurants at The Lineup, on the other hand, all target fast-casual customers who want to elevate their lunch breaks.
Fraser told The Boston Globe he would be opening a sit-down restaurant at The Connector in the spring, but right now he’s “super bullish on workers showing up at the office and joining us for lunch.”
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From smash burgers at Big Grin to Mexican street food at Ariana, The Lineup has something for most (if not all) tastes. The lunch spots will be open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., while Day Shift, which offers breakfast fare, operates from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Here’s what you’ll be able to eat and drink at every restaurant at The Lineup in Boston.
Day Shift
The Day Shift menu has all of your standard breakfast favorites, but peppers in a few fun options like shiitake and goat cheese egg bites, a bacon and alpine cheddar quiche made with roasted leeks, and sweet treats like a tropical pineapple rum braided babka.
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The lunch menu is more of the same, offering standbys like a ham and cheese panini with intriguing combos or elevated ingredients. The cobb salad, for example, is made with gem lettuce and marble potatoes, and the porchetta sandwich is topped with fennel rosemary aioli.
Big Grin
Fraser calls Big Grin a “fun, playful, and nostalgic take on a burger joint,” and the menu reflects that, offering a mix of burgers (including a veggie option), chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and a Maine lobster roll.
If you’re feeling adventurous, substitute the crinkle-cut fries for duck fat waffle hash browns (served with chili-cheddar cheese), or grab a miniature pickle martini.
Gatto Pazzo
Gatto Pazzo is all about pizza, offering everything from a basic margherita pizza to the titular Gatto Pazzo (Italian for “crazy cat”), a pie made with marinated shrimp, golden vodka sauce, caciocavallo (a cheese from Southern Italy) and scallions.
But the Gatto Pazzo menu offers non-pizza choices as well, with antipasti choices like burratta and stuffed peppers, as well as sandwiches served on sourdough bread fresh from the same oven that’s cooking up its slices.
Iris Mezze
Fraser’s (half) Greek roots are on display at Iris Mezze, with build-your-own pita pockets stuffed with your choice of minted pea falafel, za’atar spiced shrimp, saffron yogurt chicken, lamb leg chermoula, greek porchetta, or pomegranate beef brisket.
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As the restaurant’s title suggests, the Iris Mezze menu also has plenty of snack options, with plates of hummus, tzatziki, whipped feta, or other spreads served with pita bread, veggies, or pita chips.
Ariana
For vegetarians, Ariana is the spot to visit at The Lineup, with a menu of Mexi-Cali street food made with zero meat. Instead of carne asada, burritos come filled with paprika fried avocado, blackened carrots with hibiscus, or sweet potato and chorizo spiced tofu, among other options. You can also grab vegan tortilla soup, or if you’re ordering a group, vegetarian nachos served in a pizza box.
“I’m pretty excited by nachos in a box,” Fraser told the Globe. “These are nachos baked into a pizza box, which is a good way to make some friends in the office.”
The Lineup (115 Federal St., Boston) is open weekdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. or 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. for Day Shift. lineupandeat.com
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