G4 The Boston Globe WEDNESDAY, JULY 31, 2019
By Kara Baskin
GLOBE CORRESPONDENT
Frank “Kiko” Dutra, 37, is a familiar face at
Boston Chops in the South End. The saucy serv-
er and bartender has been there since it opened
six years ago, after waitering jobs at the Franklin
Restaurant Group. He came to the United States
from Brazil in 2002, joining family members
and enrolling in ESL classes. His first job was at
Boston Market — “I ate a lot of stuffing and mac
and cheese and gravy,” he says. Next, a friend
suggested he apply to work at Michael Schlow’s
now-closed Italian restaurant, Via Matta. “Then
I started dating someone, and so I stayed in Bos-
ton!” he says, much to the delight of his loyal
customers.
What’sthefirstrestaurantyoueverateatin
Boston?Via Matta at 79 Park Plaza. This was in
- I want to say I ordered aglio e olio con po-
modoro, a pasta. I loved it!
What’sonethingyou’dliketofixaboutthe
restaurantindustryhere?I feel like there are so
many restaurants coming up all the time. So
many get opened and don’t live. They somehow
die after a little while. The lack of staff is hurting
Boston because there are so many people who
want to open restaurants, but they don’t have
the staff, knowledge, and experience to make
them live.
Howhastherestaurantlandscapechanged
sinceyouarrivedinBoston?The industry was
so different then. There weren’t as many restau-
rants! Now, there are so many, the competition
is so high.... Also, you know, the neighbor-
hoods in Boston are so different now. Now, you
have the waterfront, which is a destination. You
have Back Bay, which has been through the
years where tourists go more, and also you have
the South End, which has been expanding. And
Somerville, Dorchester. Boston is just growing,
and therefore, there’s more space for restau-
rants. When I first moved here, I felt like I was
in a bubble. I never explored going to different
places. Now, we have more options. I lived in
Allston and hung out in Brookline!
Whatotherrestaurantsdoyouvisit?I like go-
ing to Bar Mezzana. I hang out at places I can
get to toward the end of the night. I go to the
Franklin, Moonshine 152, and I go to Anchovies
a lot. That is definitely a destination — I go a lot,
a lot, a lot! I should explore more of Cambridge.
IdogotoHarvest.
What’syourearliestfoodmemorythatmade
youthink:Iwanttoworkinrestaurants?So, my
dad was a pastor and also he owned a butcher
shop in Brazil. My mom was a librarian and
mother of seven. She helped my dad a lot. Not
just helped — she actually worked with him. So I
remember my mom one day making chips out of
tripe. I was like, “What? I had no idea what you
just made was tripe! I thought it was chips!”
That day I was like, you know, I’m going to serve
this to my friends. If my mom could trick me, I
could trick my friends. They thought they were
delicious. I told them, and they were grossed
out. But, you know, they were delicious! There’s
something there. That’s how I felt I should be in
the restaurant industry.What’stheworstrestaurantexperienceyou’ve
everhad?Recently I went to a restaurant. I got
there with a friend of mine, a manager at Boston
Chops, and we specifically told the person be-
hind the bar that we wanted to order food. [This
was] 20 minutes prior to the kitchen closing.
The bartender was busy, forgot to take our order,
then came up to us and said, “I’ve got to take
your order.” Yeah, we’ve been waiting for 15
minutes! The food was not good. For having a
late-night menu, the purpose of the place being
there, catering to the industry late at night, I
just felt like I was neglected and rushed to order.
The food was bad. The service was bad. I or-dered scallop ceviche, which had no citrus.
What’s a ceviche without citrus? I had bone mar-
row that was served as brunch — with maple
syrup, with almost French toast on the side.
Maybe if I’d smoked a joint I would have under-
stood it.HowcouldBostonbecomeabetterfoodcity?
That’s a hard question! It’s grown so much; it’s
already becoming a better food city. Boston can
become better by letting itself grow. Let more
opportunities appear, and different styles and
types of people. It’s always the same people
opening the same restaurants. That’s possibly
why some of them don’t live, which is sad.NamethreeadjectivesforBostondiners.Oh,
God, I’m not getting salty at all! Generous, and
needy when they expect me to know exactly
what they’re going to order. I use a cheesy joke:
“I didn’t bring my crystal ball in today!” I can’t
know what you want automatically. Can we just
communicate here? I’m trying to get salty. I’m
being too nice! Fun. I have fun with my guests! If
I’m not having fun, why even do it?What’sthemostoverdonetrendrightnow?I
grew up with a mother who made anything out
of avocados. I’m a little over avocados, eventhough they’re good for you! Avocado toast, avo-
cado anything, done! I see it in every restaurant.
Anything avocado bugs me!Whatareyoureading?Oh, my God. I’m reading
a dinosaur book. I was at my doctor the other
day, waiting for the follow-up, and some girls
came by with a bunch of books. This dinosaur
book caught my attention. I also have “The Joy
of Mixology.” But really, a dinosaur book. I don’t
know. I’m being nerdy. They were giving it away!How’syourcommute?My commute is absolute-
ly amazing. I live two blocks away from where I
work, and I still somehow manage to be late
sometimes. I walk to work.What’stheonefoodyouneverwanttoeat
again?Oh God, this is so bad. I’m going to say
lamb racks. I’m not a huge fan of game. Too
gamey for me. I can think of a million things I
want to eat.WhatkindofrestaurantisBostonmissing
rightnow?More barbecue. Even lamb racks!What’syourmostmissedBostonrestaurant?
Pho Republique. I loved Sage, Radius, Great Bay.
But I’ll say Pho Republique — when the South
End, especially Washington Street, was just hid-
den. I’d get out of work from Bay Village and
shoot over to Pho Republique. It was such a
beautiful place, the atmosphere was great, and I
loved going there with my friends. I miss Pho
Republique.Whowasyourmostmemorablecustomer?
This lady named Judy who works for the city of
Boston, and she walks in with all these bracelets,
all this flair. She’s just amazing, and every time
she shows up, people know her. She’s so positive
and so beautiful. She tells me, “Oh, I’m coming
from Stella. I’m on my way to Mistral! Earlier I
was at No. 9.!” She has one glass of wine, one
glass of pinot grigio, everywhere she goes. She
has a bar comp tab at my bar, and I think she
has it everywhere she goes. She lights up the bar.IfyouhadtoeatyourlastmealinBoston,what
woulditbe?Wow. This is crazy, but I’d go to
Chinatown and have tempura fried lobster at the
Golden Leaf. I had it last week; I ordered it, and
it was magical. As I was going through the
cracklings, part of my crown was missing. I had
swallowed half of my crown! Which I was totally
fine with. I was satisfied with the lobster.Kara Baskin can be reached at
[email protected].Growing up with avocado dishes, he’s done with them now
GETTING SALTYFRANK‘KIKO’DUTRAOFBOSTONCHOPS
Fromswip
ingth
roughe
ndless
photost
othe
dreadeds
et-upsan
dmore,
MeredithGo
ldstei
n
tackle
show
tomeet
someone.
liSte
nT
othe
fulL
seAson
Stitcher
hoWdoyoU
meEtsoMeone?
SummeR
Binge
APODCASTFROM PRESENTEDBY