Tag Archives: omelette

Main Streets Cafe – Concord, MA

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Main Streets Cafe

 

We went here with my friend Julia who has managed to be her on undoing because she is so hard core that the only person worthy of being her nemesis is herself.  This meant we needed to pick her up if we wanted to have brunch with her, and since she’s so fucking incredible we obviously did.  She lives in the Concord area, so Talls and I packed her in our motorized chariot, begged her to try to rein in her glory so she didn’t accidentally destroy the car, and sped over to Concord center.

MSC has hella great drinks – good coffee, good tea, great fruit juice, and a mango smoothie that I believe Talls is now clinically addicted to.  They also have incredible muffins that are huge and have some very interesting flavor combos, so if you’re passing through stopping to grab a muffin and a drink before heading on your way would be the appropriate thing to do.  But we were there for brunch.

A buttery waffle

A buttery waffle

Brunch was… okay.  It was a pretty standard affair, so if you like a basic, no-surprises brunch you’ll be fine here.  I was bored.  Helen’s across the way (which I have covered before) also does brunch basics but it isn’t dull the way it is here.  Lots of Market Streets’ non-brunch fare is great: if you want lunch, skip the sit down restaurant and walk down to their burrito kitchen.  Even their basic burritos are amazing.  Brunch, on the other hand, is not their thing.  I felt like they were just going through the motions.  Their heart wasn’t in it.

Omelette. Hash.

Omelette. Hash.

It was fucking “meh” that when I looked at the pictures this morning to write this post it took me ten entire minutes to remember where the hell we had eaten.  What clued me in?  The chairs.

So yeah, this is not a rave review.  It’s not rant of horribleness.  This is a serviceable brunch, but if you have a choice go elsewhere.  Or stock up on muffins and drinks and then go have brunch in one of the local graveyards.  100 extra fucking weirdo points if you do this while dressed up as a ghost!

Highland Kitchen – Somerville, MA

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Highland Kitchen

 

My first exposure to this place was wandering over from the Armory where Talls and I were going to catch a charity music performance (which was awesome), and learning that there was at least an hour wait for dinner.  Shit!  We ended up having some tasty Thai food down the street instead, but obviously I had to look this place up.  Their menu online looked fab AND they did brunch.  Talls and I agreed that we would try again for brunch some time… and promptly forgot.  We tend to be somewhat early brunchers for Sundays, and so a place that doesn’t open til 11am kind of fell off our radar.  FINALLY we focused our sights back towards the Armory and got our asses (plus one friend’s ass!) over to Highland Kitchen.  We were parked and in line at 10:45am and got a table as soon as they opened.

So why wait in line before a place unlocks its front door when there are plenty of other places to go?  Because food, baby.  Because food.

There were two other hushpuppies prior to our descending upon them.

There were two other hushpuppies prior to our descending upon them.

Food exhibit A: they have goddamn brunch appetizers here that included gloriously golden hushpuppies.  Those tasty little fucks didn’t stand a chance.

Chicken liver and bacon omelet. I'm not normally a liver girl, but I was interested in all the other bits. And it still delicious-ed my face off.

Chicken liver and bacon omelet. I’m not normally a liver girl, but I was interested in all the other bits. And it still delicious-ed my face off.

Neither Talls nor Jenn were into the liver bits, but that was cool because it meant more for me.  Also?  Those home fries were perfectly salted.

Jenn opted for a pork hash that came with BBQ sauce on the side. I have decided this means pulled pork hash needs to become a THING.

Jenn opted for a pork hash that came with BBQ sauce on the side. I have decided this means pulled pork hash needs to become a THING.

My companions both went for a hash, and they were both different and nummy.

A gentleman's hash.

A gentleman’s hash.

Talls wasn’t happy that they used home fries for the potato part of their hash without changing anything, which is a fair complaint.  Surely shredding taters isn’t too much extra work?  Also, they charged him an arm and a leg for a very small amount of orange juice.  If it was bottomless like the coffee (which was seriously good – Jenn agreed with me on this) then the $4 for a small glass wouldn’t be too bad, but that wasn’t super clear.  Best to ask.

Highland Kitchen was definitely good food, but not so fucking amazing that I’m itching to go back and brave a line again.  It seems to be the only brunch or dinner place of note in its immediate area, so that may contribute to how packed it gets.  If I were a local and got up later on Sundays I suspect I’d spend a lot of time here, but being able to walk to several places that are at least on par with no line means I don’t think we’ll be getting back here prior to opening time any time soon.

The Burren – Somerville, MA (Davis Square)

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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.