Cafe Luna, Cambridge MA

This weekend I went with my friend Mahnaz to Cafe Luna, in Central Square, Cambridge. We had been discussing places to go near Central Square, a neighborhood in which I thought I had exhausted all brunch spots.

I was clearly wrong as, far from being a hidden gem, Cafe Luna is located in one of the most popular corners of central square (Mass Ave, Columbia St, and Main) and people are eager to wait up to two hours to get a bite from some of their delicious plates. Fortunately for me, Mahnaz was in the know and had called a couple of days ahead to make reservations. Because everyone who "knows" calls ahead, it is almost impossible to try to get a table on the spur of the moment. In fact, there was a fare share of empty tables, despite the large crowd waiting outside.

The place has almost no decor, just a couple of framed photographs here and there and a small mural of a vineyard. But this is perfect, as the food is clearly the protagonist here. There were three pages worth of very creative dishes (as opposed to some places where there are many pages, but mostly listing every possible combination of omelet ingredients!): one with the daily specials, another with fall specials; and one with the regular menu which had "traditional" fare and specials. The menus include stuffed berries or raspberry hot chocolate and berry french toast (Mahnaz order), goat cheese, leek, caramelized onion, and fig omelet (which I'll probably order next time), or surf and turf Eggs Benedict (steak tips on one muffin, lobster on the other).

I went with an item from the Cafe Luna specials: the Western home fries. This is my new favorite brunch dish! Perfectly golden roasted potatoes with green peppers, onions and ham. They had the right amount of oil to give them a slight crispiness on the outside but not so much as too saturate one's palate with grease. This is particularly important as the ham also contributed to the plate's fattiness. And it gave it a touch of saltiness and flavor that goes really well with the beautifully seasoned potatoes. The home fries come with scrambled eggs and cheddar cheese, but I though it was too much and I did without the cheese.

The portions are so abundant that when you first seen them, you think there is no way you'll ever finish them. But after trying the first bite you realize you'll eat it all even if your stomach aches afterward! I was so stuffed throughout the day that I could only have a very light meal about 12 hours later.

The weather was awful, so we sat inside. But Cafe Luna also has outdoor seating. People watching can be very interesting here, with all the hippie bohemian MIT students parading on the sidewalk. I'll definitely take Diego to Cafe Luna next time. And if he likes it, and if it's sunny, and if we seat outside, we may have found the perfect brunch.