Yes, Chef: When this Bar Volpe chef isn’t running, she’s eating at these Boston spots

Restaurants

Molly Dwyer heads to Somerville for Greater Boston’s best croissants, while the perfect dish is located in the Seaport.

Michette danishes on croissant dough. Josh Reynolds for The Boston Globe

Boston foodies love chatting about their favorite restaurants, dishes, food neighborhoods, and chefs. But what about the people behind the scenes — the people in the kitchen preparing your food?

Yes, Chef: A marathon-running chef gives his Boston Marathon weekend picks

Yes, Chef is a series from Boston.com that asks local chefs where they eat when they actually have time off to eat a meal that’s not at their place of work.

Our series often includes a list of breakfast, lunch, dinner, and nightcap options. And for this edition, these recommendations come from not only a busy chef, but a Boston Marathon runner.

Molly Dwyer.

Molly Dwyer, chef de cuisine at Bar Volpe in South Boston, is running her second Boston Marathon this year. A charity runner, she’s running for Spoonfuls, a food recovery organization that Bar Volpe and other restaurants have worked with before.

She’s been a chef at Bar Volpe since it opened four years ago, but her love for running goes back to the days when she was cooking on Nantucket, back in 2016.

“I got into running kind of by default,” Dwyer said. “I was cooking on Nantucket, and gyms there are like [thousands of dollars] a month. So I was like ‘OK, I’ll just run.’”

Now she’s run five road marathons, one of those being a 100K marathon.

“Running for me is kind of like the calm before the storm in my day,” Dwyer said. “Working in a restaurant, a lot of things come at me throughout the day, but running in the morning is a calm time to be with myself and my thoughts.”

When Dwyer isn’t doing a meditative run or cooking in one of Boston’s Bib Gourmand kitchens, here’s where she’s eating and drinking:

The American Classic sandwich on an English muffin and iced coffee from Vinal Bakery in Somerville. (Vinal Bakery)

Breakfast: Awesome English muffins and croissants

The place I always go back to for breakfast would be Michette in Somerville because they have the absolute best pastries. Their croissants are just the best in the city.

My other place would be Vinal Bakery in Somerville. I just think their English muffins are awesome.

Michette: 164 Broadway, Somerville

Vinal Bakery: 222 Somerville Ave., Somerville

Isabella sandwich at The Linden Store delicatessen in Wellesley. John Blanding/Boston Globe

Lunch: We’re going sandwich centric

In Boston, the actual going-out-to-lunch scene is nonexistent. I just think of sandwich places. My first one, along the Marathon route, is this sandwich place in Wellesley called the The Linden Store. Now I have to be honest: I’ve never actually been in there, but one of my good friends who I work with lives in Wellesley, so she brings us sandwiches from there to work all the time, and they’re amazing. I don’t know the name of [my favorite sandwich], but it’s got roast beef, swiss cheese, and coleslaw (The Ryan).

And if we’re going sandwich centric in Southie, Rondo’s Sub Shop — a block away from Bar Volpe — is a Southie institution for classic sandwiches. Rondo’s is definitely [good for] a chicken cutlet sub.

There’s also Fresh Boston, which is in South Boston. I love them because they’re friends that I met on Nantucket, and the original Fresh is on Nantucket. They opened the second location in South Boston. [I go for] their BLT.

The Linden Store: 162 Linden St., Wellesley

Rondo’s Sub Shop: 134 W. Broadway, South Boston

Fresh Boston: 232 Old Colony Ave., South Boston

Aged prime NY sirloin at Abe & Louie’s restaurant in Boston. (Craig F. Walker/Globe Staff)

Dinner: Old-school steakhouses

My number one, which is also close to the finish line, is Moon Bar. I love it there. The food is amazing as well as the cocktails, and they also have a great wine list. It’s sad because they are closed on Sundays and Mondays, which are my days off. But if I’m ever able to sneak out of work early, that’s the place I’m going to. I think they just changed the menu, so I feel like I’m going to say things that aren’t actually on the menu, but I feel like they usually have a halibut [dish] and ceviche.

Also along the Marathon route, Mahaniyom is a favorite that I always keep going back to. There’s this one dish that’s like a Panang curry with beef that’s delicious, with roti on the side.

I love Nautilus Pier 4 in the Seaport — another Nantucket transplant. Probably one of my favorite dishes in the city is their calamari. It’s crispy fried calamari over this cabbage salad that’s dressed in a Nuoc Cham that has a bunch of herbs. The calamari is crispy, and the salad is cool and acidic and salty. It’s just the perfect dish.

I’m a sucker for an old-school steakhouse, like The Stockyard in Brighton or even Abe & Louie’s near the Finish Line — just classic, no frills. I feel like I’m ordering the same thing at both places: a wedge salad, I’m getting a ribeye, and some form of potatoes. At The Stockyard, the onion rings are always a favorite.

Moon Bar: 129 Columbus Ave., Back Bay

Mahaniyom: 236 Washington St., Brookline

Nautilus Pier 4: 300 Pier 4 Boulevard, Seaport

The Stockyard: 135 Market St., Brighton

Abe & Louie’s: 793 Boylston St., Back Bay

Guinness tap at JJ Foley’s with instructions on how to pour the perfect Guinness – Kelly Chan

Nightcap: Top-rated Guinness in town

I can’t say I go out for drinks a lot, but when I do, I’m usually going to J.J. Foley’s Cafe for a Guinness.

I used to go to Anchovies in the South End all the time. Being served a Negroni in a pint glass is always an experience.

Also, Trina’s Starlite Lounge. My wife and I had our wedding party there over the summer, and their hospitality is unmatched.

J.J. Foley’s Cafe: 117 E. Berkeley St., South End

Anchovies: 433 Columbus Ave., South End

Trina’s Starlite Lounge: 3 Beacon St., Somerville

Katelyn Umholtz

Food and Restaurant Reporter

Katelyn Umholtz covers food and restaurants for Boston.com. Katelyn is also the author of The Dish, a weekly food newsletter.

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