Crazy delicious stuff at Frigo’s Gourmet Foods in the South End. Photos from Frigo’s site
I went with my family to Frigo’s Gourmet Foods on William Street, which is always a treat for us. My daughter had never been there, but had heard tales of the place from her brothers. She eagerly anticipated the tightly-packed store where delicious, free samples were allegedly set out, and where her parents were likely to buy a small chocolate treat after shopping, a reward for good behavior. Plus, she’s a real cheese fan, like everyone in the family—she especially likes goat cheese—and our cravings for a variety of hard cheeses are satisfied here.
When we got into the store, naturally we had to consider what we wanted to buy from the deli counter, and the children explored. We ran into a friend we hadn’t seen in a while, who updated us on some news in his neck of the city and lamented the status of his neighborhood association, which feels too much like a tight club.
He asked if I really thought the Urban Land Institute report’s recommendations were going to be followed through, and then we talked about how Frigo’s is a little lonely on its stretch of William, a side street tucked between Main and East Columbus Streets, which of course sidles right next to and cowers in the shadows of I-91. Yet there is lively foot traffic just up the block on Main, and Frigo’s has so much going for it, like a lot of this bustling commercial area of the South End.
Later, as we drove up William to Main, and then left along Main, we saw colorful storefronts like Mom and Rico’s and Boston Seafood intermixed with small storefronts for white-collar types, all seeming to bubble with activity as people walked around. I pictured a specialty cupcake and cookie bakery nestled among the storefronts. Then one of my children commented, "This is a nice place. Have we been here before?"
We’ve brought the kids to Red Rose, but haven’t been down to visit La Fiorentina in a long time, not since they were babies.
"We could live here," another one of them said.
"These look like nice stores," the first one said. "Can we come back here again sometime?"
