Five Horses Tavern – Davis Square, Somerville, MA

Five Horses Tavern

 

I think basically the only reason I’m going to be somewhat meh on Five Horses in this review is that I ate here in the wrong order.  One of our friends had recommended brunch both here and at the Painted Burro, stating that they were both good but that the Burro kind of blew this place out of the water.  Like fools Talls and I went to the Burro first, and after that amazing food-based love affair were kind of spoiled for other Davis Square brunches that were trying to be in a similar league.  If I’d done Five Horses first I feel like I would’ve liked them more because I wouldn’t have been having flash backs to fucking candied bacon.  Let’s be honest: no one can compete with that.

kfc-style chicken breast, bacon marmalade, fried egg, cheddar, frisée. cornichons, creole mustard on toasted waffles with fruit salad

kfc-style chicken breast, bacon marmalade, fried egg, cheddar, frisée. cornichons, creole mustard on toasted waffles with fruit salad

I got the breakfast club, which was a club-style sandwich thing made out of breakfast foods.  I ended up having to take some of the layers apart to eat it without making a giant mess, but it was delicious all the same.  The do some very fine fried chicken at this place.

black beans, eggs, potatoes, carrots, scallions, jalapenos, red peppers, served in a fried tortilla with salsa, guacamole and goat cheese sour cream

black beans, eggs, potatoes, carrots, scallions, jalapenos, red peppers, served in a fried tortilla with salsa, guacamole and goat cheese sour cream

Talls got the Chimichanga which was much less blurry in real life.  My phone camera skills have been lost!  It was full of tasty things as advertised.

So yeah, the food was good, there was a tiny line when it opened (Like six people for a huge place.  I am usually a line stickler and there was a woman in front of us who was all “I believe we got here first!” and I rolled my eyes at her back because seriously, there are plenty of seats and every damn one of us is going to be served at the same time.  This is a time when lines do not matter.), and services was nice a quick.  But it was not the Painter Burro, and this made me sad.

The Burren – Somerville, MA (Davis Square)

The Burren

Pub Brunches are to be found all over the place, I’m sure, but I associate them closely with Boston and its surrounding towns because that’s where I’ve eaten them most frequently.  I also spent a year of undergrad in Lancashire, England, so I have some pub brunch feelings left over from that.  Basically I would like there to be a lot of meat on the menu.

The Burren in Davis Square is an Irish pub that has benches and tables that remind me strongly of my week in Dublin.  They do great food, drink, and music during non-brunch times, and some pretty solid brunch Saturday and Sunday mornings.  They are also THE place to go in this area for a full Irish breakfast.  What is a full Irish breakfast you ask?  From their website:

  • 2 Irish rashers
  • 1 Irish sausage
  • black & white pudding
  • 2 eggs
  • grilled tomato
  • Irish baked beans
  • Irish brown bread

Neither I nor my lovely brunching companion order this as we and our stomachs are small.  But if you’re a tall person with lots of space in your legs, please order this and chow down.  I’ve stolen parts of this from others, and it is all delicious.

The Farmhouse Omelette

The Farmhouse Omelette: cheddar cheese, ham, onion, tomato, and onion

Although they have french toast I decided to branch out and go omelette.  It was delicious and perfectly cooked.  I didn’t even touch the toast and potatoes because the omelette filled me up so well.  The Burren is a place to arrive hungry.

The Black Bean Burrito: Scrambled eggs, black beans, onion, green pepper, spinach, avocado & salsa, rolled into a fresh tortilla & served with homefries or grilled mash

The Black Bean Burrito: Scrambled eggs, black beans, onion, green pepper, spinach, avocado & salsa, rolled into a fresh tortilla & served with homefries or grilled mash

My friend went for the above, and although I didn’t steal a bite whilst challenging myself to defeat my omelette, I have it on good authority that it was super tasty and also very filling.  Said friend is an avocado authority, so if they gave this a thumbs up they definitely nailed that aspect.

They also have a kids menu (with a mini Irish breakfast!), french toast and pancakes both come automatically with real maple syrup, and vegetarian dishes.  As far as I can tell, all of the servers also have real Irish accents.  I’ve always gotten great service here, and that combined with lovely food makes this a nice place to grab a simple but very filling brunch.