The OTHERSIDE Cafe, Boston, MA

We had some shopping to do around Newbury St. It was warm and sunny so we said why not try Stephanie's? We made a reservation through Opentable.com. We thought we would beat the crowds. We were wrong.
It turns out Stephanie's on Newbury does not accept reservations for street-side brunch. This was not pointed out anywhere, either on their site or on Opentable. So, we got there, were treated really badly and were told to put our names down the 45-min waiting list. We had been walking around for an hour already, waiting for our reservation time, and so we were in no mood to wait for another hour. For some reason both Diego and I got in a very bad mood, and we both thought the afternoon would be ruined. Then we had an epiphany.

We suddenly remembered there was this cute little place on the other side of Mass Ave. we'd been meaning to take a shot at. We sat at the OTHERSIDE cafe and our day was automatically fixed. It was perfect; outdoor seating, great smoothies and super relaxed customers and servers. It is on "the other side" in

every aspect. Geographically, it is located on Newbury, but across Massachusetts Ave (facing I-90). Style-wise, it has a bohemian feel in contrast to the posh eateries on the lower numerals. The servers were great, with a big smile on their face, super helpful and down-to-earth. Not like the pretentious bunch on the other side, who feel superior just because they can decide when or where you sit. Granted, if what you want is people-watching, maybe this is not the place (well, it depends on the type of people you want to stare at...). But if you want to have a nice brunch with friends, or maybe a cool beer on a summer evening, you should definitely venture to the Otherside.
We both happened to have the banana, orange and strawberry smoothie (made with non-fat yogurt, ice and honey), but the entire smoothie list sounds delicious. Ours was great. The sweetness of the banana and honey placated the acidity of the strawberries and oranges and the texture was perfect.

I went with my usual. The smoked salmon platter. All I have to say is that the bagel was too big for the amount of salmon. And, I wouldn't call it a "platter". It gives you the idea of a lot of food (and they certainly thought so, as it was the more expensive item on the menu), when in reality it was just ok. Other than that, the fish tasted fresh and the bagels were ok.
Diego had the real treat. A mushroom, bacon and brie omelet. They have an open kitchen and you can actually see the hippie looking servers cook your omelet. It was really enticing; I didn't try it but I was dying to do so! It came with homefries -which I did try. They were ok.

We were so relaxed and the atmosphere was so pleasant that we ended up staying long after we were done with our meal. They even have WiFi available and we were able to surf the Web for a bit. Time seems to fly at the Otherside!

People at the the Otherside really came thru for us last weekend after that failed attempt at Stephanie's. We will definitely be back to repay our debt...

Ryles Jazz Club, Cambridge, MA

Ryles is a symbol of Inman Sq., much as S&S -the deli across the street, of the same owners- is. It is THE place to go to listen to jazz musicians (known and unknown), and to go dancing on its upper level dance floor. On Sundays, they hold a Sunday Jazz Brunch, which features the same menu as S&S (an S&S-specific review will come in the near future) but on a more somber room, with plenty of space between the tables and a calmer and more relaxed atmosphere. This tranquility is created, paradoxically, by the live jazz band that is playing. On the Sunday we went it was the Yoko Miwa trio. And they were so good that, even though people kept chatting and brunching, the noise level in the room was ridiculously low. So, it was possible to have a nice and lively conversation without rising one's voice (not bad, considering we were less than three feet from the stage) and without being constantly interrupted by loud laughs from the next table (as it is sometimes the case at S&S). This is particularly surprising as there were large parties brunching and many kids running around. Apparently, jazz seems to have a hypnotic effect on the kids, and they were most content with open-mouthedly staring at the stage without interacting with the other brunchers.
In addition, the waiters were pretty inconspicuous and non-intrusive while, at the same time being perfectly attentive and aware of the tables' needs.
So, what did we have? By now, you should know what constitutes the usual for us... well, at least for Diego. He had "Eggs Copenhagen" which replaces the traditional bacon or ham in Eggs Benedict with one slice of thickly-cut smoked salmon. They looked great:
but Diego complained of one egg being slightly runny. His plate also came with homefries, which I found to be on the dull side, as they were closer to have been boiled and then sauteed with onions rather than actually being fried. Diego explained that they were in the jewish tradition, S&S being a New York-style deli and all. He still did not convince me.
But, I got to have my favorite brunch dish; which is everywhere in New York, but a rare find in Boston.... I had bagel and lox!
The salmon was great. Being a deli, they have such a large demand of cold cuts and smoked fish, that everything is super fresh. What else can you ask from lox? On top of this, I ordered a strawberry mimosa which seemed as if it was prepared with fresh OJ and strawberries (I did not ask if this was indeed the case) and tasted delicious. My only criticism, if any, is that I was not asked what type of bagel I wanted... I really did not care, but maybe someone else will.
So, I guess that while it was not the perfect brunch, they do have pretty decent versions of our perfect brunch plates and a really nice atmosphere. We are getting closer...

Airplane Light Brunch at the Friendly Toast, Portsmouth, NH

The weekend before last Ani was still in Colombia and I had no particular plans. Luckily for me, Analia (not to be confused with Ani...) and Julian came to my rescue and invited me to this airplane show in New Hampshire (NH). A friend of them, Marcial, was visiting and the four of us took off for Portsmouth, NH. So, Saturday morning they picked me up, half hour after we had originally planned but, according to Julian, at least it was "en punto". When we were no more than 20 miles from the airport where the show was taking place we hit ridiculous traffic and could not make it in time. We decided to go to the show on Sunday instead (it was awesome, by the way), and go to Portsmouth to have brunch. I suggested we should try The Friendly Toast. Ani and I are regulars at their Kendall Square location in Cambridge, MA and I knew their original spot was in Portsmouth, NH so we decided to pay their flagship location a visit. I have to say that the experience in NH was very similar to the one in MA modulo the creepy MIT students and the 1 hour wait that is unavoidable in Kendall Square. They have the same menu (which I really like) and eclectic decor. Not to be forgotten, they offer the same type of home made toasts including flavors like Jalapeno, Pepperjack and Cheddar cheese. Best of all are their daily specials, which have never let me down. Analia and Marcial had different versions of the ubiquitous brunch classics: Eggs Benedict. Julian went for a very interesting looking omelet called Sklarmageddon. I am sure you can imagine the potential damage this type of culinary option can cause to your arteries. In my case, I decided to go with one of the specials. This is what they were offering:

Can you make out what's written on the board? Not surprisingly I decided to give #2 a try. After all it was a weekend and I needed something out of the ordinary to make up for the air show fiasco. #2 stands for B&B Homefries. This means: Brie and Bleu Cheeses melted into homefries with artichoke hearts, roasted yellow peppers and tomato. All of this was served on top of a bed of baby spinach and basil. As if this was not enough, the dish included your choice of a home made toast (Pepperjack and Jalapeno in my case). I really can't describe the effect of this calorie bomb on my health. It was awesome! You can see the picture and reach your own conclusions. I may not have been able to see the air show on Saturday but at least I had and airplane light - as in as heavy as a plane - Brunch experience instead.

City Girl Cafe, Cambridge, MA

The best homefries ever. I really didn't care much for the rest of the plate, but, OMG.... next time, I'll just order several sides of homefries and call it a brunch! There is a funny story around this... On a previous brunch at City Girl Cafe, we arrived almost at closing time, and they told us they had run out of homefries. My look of utterly sadness and disappointment must have worked on them, because they ended up bringing some they had scraped up from the pan. But apparently, the waiter "made a mistake" and brought the order that belonged to the woman in the next table, who had also begged for some homefries -and had arrived before us-... I realized what had happened before anyone else, and I proceeded to put my fingers all over the plate and eat as many homefries as possible before the poor woman could even say anything... So, you've been warned! I'm willing to go to war for City Girl Cafe's olive oil and rosemary roasted potatoes!!!
As for the rest of the meal.... I ordered the sandwich montecristo. Turkey and prosciutto with fontina cheese and fig aioli between two slices of unsweetened french toast. The prosciutto was paper-thin and barely there. The bread would have been ok, had I known it would be soaked up in egg and milk. I was looking forward to a crispy ciabatta or baguette, rather than a soggy loaf. Having said that, though, a special mention to the fig aioli which had the perfect combination between sweet and savory, and accompanied the sandwich without overpowering it.
The other brunchers seemed to be generally happy with their choices. They were all items from the new brunch menu, so hopefully there will be many more weekends to enjoy them. Diego had a scrambled egg and goat cheese sandwich, Sean French toasts, Jacob a brunch sandwich and the adventurous Jenni ordered brunch pizza (fried eggs, bacon and potatoes on top of a pizza crust) that was described as "weird", "interesting" and "out of this world" and was eaten until the last crumb. In addition, Jacob had the auspicious rosemary lemonade, but he wasn't able to taste the rosemary infusion at all. Luckily the lemonade was very nice as it was, so he did not feel the need to send it back.

The prefect brunch? Maybe not... But the perfect homefries? You bet!

Continental Breakfast, San Andres and Cartagena, Colombia

Alright. This is not about one particular brunch spot. Is about my daily breakfast experience while vacationing in the Colombian Caribbean this past week. It turns out that mid-range South American hotels offer full-scale breakfast included in their fare. The idea is that you would have a hearty breakfast that should keep you full until dinner time. But if you don't do anything else than laying on the beach, it actually lasts until the next breakfast!
Eggs any style? Check. Pancakes, waffles and bacon? Check. Loads of fresh fruit, fresh seafood, baked pastries and open bar? Check, check, check, check. To top it all, there were breathtaking views of the ocean and I had not a worry in the world. If this is not the perfect brunch spirit, what is it??

Variation of a Classic: Brunch at Jane's, NYC

So, after Ana left for Colombia (hopefully she'll write a post about some Brunch-like experience there) I decided to spend the weekend in New York City with Vicky and Pablo. I was taking the 3pm bus back to Boston, so we made plans to have a go at Brunch before leaving. After all, New York is, by all accounts, the Brunch capital of the world. We set course for Jane's on Houston. Is this place in the Village or in SoHo? I guess it's on the north side of street, so probably the Village... In any case. We met up with our friends Melany and Alejandro and the 5 of us had Brunch while it was pouring violently in the City.

I have to say that I have been many times to Jane's and it has become one of the places in our usual rotation of Brunch spots in NYC. The atmosphere is pretty relaxed and the dining room is quite large. This means the waiting time is slightly less than the average in New York. They have a pretty solid Brunch menu, with all the fundamentals, and you get a free drink with your dish. What more can you ask for?

Pablo and Vicky went old school and ordered the French Toast, an absolute favorite at Jane's. As always, it looked massive and cooked to perfection. They come here often too and always get this dish, so you certainly can't go wrong with it. Melany and Alejandro were more adventurous an went with the Salmon Scramble. It looked very nice and well presented. I decided to order a variation of the conceptual cornerstone of the Brunch experience, Eggs Benedict. They call this dish Benedict Johnny (see picture) to distinguish it from the classic dish and from another creation of theirs, Benedict Jane.

The Benedict Johnny is a great twist of a classic. It consists of two circular pieces of corn bread (I am sure Ana is regretting leaving for Colombia before Brunch now...) topped with two chicken sausage patties, poached eggs and tomato hollandaise. You starting to get hungry now, right? It's a great dish that is served with house roasted potatoes on the side. Simple, innovative, effective. I highly recommend it, although one of my poached eggs was slightly undercooked (it's so hard to get them exactly right... I should write a post on this subject). I ordered a Bloody Mary with it, as no Brunch endeavor is complete if your Eggs Benedict are flying solo. Although it was not memorable, the drink was not bad at all. I especially liked that they serve the drink with some kind of pickled tomato. Yummy!

So, if you happen to be lost somewhere in between the Village and SoHo you should definitely try Jane's for a classic New York Brunch experience.

Centre Street Cafe, Boston, MA

After "sandwich brunch" on Saturday we decided it was time for something more traditional for Sunday. Our friends were still in Boston, but had already visited the more touristy parts of city. So we took them to one of the city's best kept secrets: Jamaica Plain. We promised them a walk around the neighborhood and the beautiful arboretum, but Diego and I knew that the main reason for the trip was to brunch at the Centre Street Cafe. This small and cozy cafe right in the middle of JP's commercial district offers amazing food made with high quality organic and seasonal products. It's so popular that there's always a line outside (even in winter) but it's worth the wait (and the 40min. T-ride, in our case!). Vicky and I had the potatoes Santa Cruz, perfectly seasoned red bliss potatoes with -as the menu said- "a mountain of veggies" on top, finished with shaved cheddar and salsa cruda. The broccoli was the best of the plate. Cooked to perfection and lightly sautéed, I am considering having just them next time (I know, it wouldn’t really be brunch…). I will probably accompany them-as I did this time- with a tall glass of half OJ and half carrot juice; absolutely delicious!
Diego had "summertime bennies" - CSC's take on eggs Benedict. The eggs were scrambled rather than poached and had two half-inch slices of heirloom tomatoes (one red and one green!). The ham was thick cut to match the tomato slices.
But it's not only about the food... The staff is incredibly friendly. Even if they may not hug you as they do with their friends (also waiting in line) they treat you right as if they had been waiting for you to come looking for the perfect brunch.

Brunch Sandwich in the Bay Village

Last weekend our friends Vicky and Pablo visited us in Boston. The weather was perfect for a long walk around the city so we set out to walk from the South End to the North End. At some point during this promenade Brunch time would be upon us, so we had to carefully plan where to go to fulfill our weekly ritual needs in a satisfactory way. We remembered there was this little sandwich shop in the Bay Village - this is a small wedge of peace in between the South End and the Theater District in Boston - we've been meaning to try for a few months now: Mike and Patty's. They open only for lunch time, so weekend Brunch seemed like our only option to visit the place. Now, if this is a sandwich shop that opens for lunch... Why am I writing this post about a Brunch experience? Without getting into the fundamentals of Brunch (which I keep promise to discuss in a future posting), I claim that our experience at Mike and Patty's was certainly Brunch like. They have a couple of small tables outside, where we sat, and we peacefully enjoyed great food in a relaxing manner. If that is not enough to convince you, just take a look at my sandwich: brunch bliss packaged to go! I had this great sandwich that included eggs, bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado and chipotle mayo. It was just exquisite. Ana had (not surprisingly) a grilled cheese sandwich. It looked amazing and original. Besides cheese, it included grilled green collards, tomato and ham. Our friends went with more adventurous options that, I am ashamed to say, drifted from the platonic Brunch ideal (e.g. Pablo had a sort of Taco). In any case, the experience was certainly very pleasant. Sandwiches were made to order in an open kitchen literally two steps from where we ordered. Mike and Patty's has a very homey and neighborly feel that we greatly appreciated. More importantly this excursion of ours made it clear that there is nothing wrong with eating Brunch between slices of bread.

Brunch at Olsen, Buenos Aires style

Hello, brunch enthusiasts! This is your other host in this attempt to find the perfect brunch. Even though I think we should discuss the theoretical basis for brunch in detail, I decided that my first posting should be about a particular brunch experience. We'll get to the fundamentals in a future posting.

During the last couple of weeks I've spent some time in my home town: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Although brunch culture is not dominant there (yet...), there are a few places that offer the possibility to indulge in this God given right. Most of them are located in the area of Palermo and Olsen is my favorite. The highlights of this establishment are the peaceful zen like decor and the argentine-nordic fusion culinary creations. I have to say that every time I visit Buenos Aires I make it my duty to spend some time chilling in their relaxing atmosphere while sipping wonderful drinks. So this is what I did, with my friend Anastasia, last week.

Let's get to the low down. Their brunch menu offers many options for brunch, including Pork Bondiola (if you don't know what this is, you'd better start googling...), Yogurt and Cereals and, my favorite, home-made Salmon Lox. The picture above shows an open Salmon Lox on top of Scrambled Eggs Sandwich. It was, as always, delicious. Not to be forgotten are the remarkable Papas Rotas (broken potatoes). According to Ani, these are just reason enough to visit Olsen. I agree: you would have a hard time finding any form of potato based side dish in any US brunch serving establishment that compares to them.

Even though Buenos Aires does not seem like the place to go on your Quest for the Perfect Brunch, you'd be mistaken not to spend some hours (days, weeks, etc...) enjoying life and food at Olsen in a brunch state of mind.

Counter, East Village, NYC

This is an organic and vegetarian bistro on 1st ave and 7th st in New York City. To be perfectly honest, I was not convinced that veggie brunch was such a good idea.... In addition, the lack of waiting that many of my friends argued as a positive quality was, to me, a bad sign. I have to accept now that I was just prejudiced against a meatless meal; the food was delicious! The lack of a crowd was probably due to the neighborhood being widely associated with nightlife (11 am seems too late for the after-club crowd to wait awake for).
We started off with a basket of pastries (it came with three of each type, which was perfect because there was three of us, but I don't know whether the number would change depending on the number of brunchers). A blueberry loaf, a biscuit with home-made nutella on top and a mini blueberry Madeleine were served with a side of nutella (small pieces of nuts could be seen in the mix) and soy berry butter. I was starting to get the hang of the place. However I was not ready to commit to the organic/veggie style one hundred percent. I cringed in disgust when my request for a tofu-free frittata was met with a "without tofu there's no frittata" response. Apparently, the tofu replaced the eggs and would hold the frittata together. The waitress was very friendly about the whole thing. She could have snarled at me for my ignorance on all things vegan but she very patiently made sure I understood how the dish was made. I have no idea how they gave it a sponge-like texture that only eggs can give, but it was really good. It came with perfectly caramelized leaks and roasted red peppers. It also had ripe grape tomatoes and a delicious and slightly sweet tomato sauce. It was accompanied by a potato and a carrot hash and a mesclum of baby greens. These looked and tasted as if they had just beenpicked up from the upstairs terrace/garden where they grow most of the vegetables used in the restaurant's meals.
The two other brunchers (Pablo and Vicky, Diego being in Buenos Aires on his own brunch experience) had biscuits with gravy and veggie burger with French fries respectively. The biscuits were great, although the gravy was a bit heavy. The French fries that came with the burger were amazing. Hand cut and perfectly golden, crispy but not burnt. They had the exact amount of saltiness to make you keep eating them despite drinking coffee rather than water.
I cannot bring myself to think of this as the perfect brunch just because I have been raised to associate meat and perfection together....
But maybe it's just a matter of coming back to Counter a few more times!