Happy New Year!!!!

         Happy New Year Everyone!!!!  That's right.....the Ladies who brunch are back in action and taking the new year by storm....literally.....Boston got blasted this week by a huge snow storm, but Laura and I weren't going to let some snow get in our way.  It was time to start up our weekly brunch tradition and get Sundaylicious up and running again.  Since it is gross, messy, and nasty out due to the storm (and Laura's car is still covered in 15 inches of snow), we opted to stay close and go to a new place in Harvard Sq. called The Beat Hotel, http://www.beathotel.com/.  The Beat Hotel is a brasserie, a bar, and a live music venue....and just AWESOME!!!

        The Beat Hotel is in the old Tannery spot under The Gap, which sounds weird, and we didn't know what to expect....but once you open the door and walk through, you are submerged into a different world.  A world of groovy wall paintings, and beaded chandeliers, and live Jazz.  It felt like we walked into a bohemian, under water garden.  It sparkles, like when the sun shines on the ocean and the light glimmers around underneath the surface, and the beaded chandeliers look like jelly fish that have come out to play.  The paintings are super trippy, making each wall beautiful and unique.  It was mesmerizing, and we immediately fell in love with the place.  The live jazz just adds depth to the ambiance, making this a brunch spot to remember.

          The menu has so many amazing things to offer, from the groovy Sun-Ra bowl to the jumbo shrimp bowl, all palettes will find something to their liking here.  We started with Sophia's homemade yogurt bowl which came with fresh strawberries and granola.  The yogurt was Greek, and while it tasted great, there was too much of it.  Once you got through the top layer of granola and berries, you could not eat it anymore...which felt wasteful.  We also got the grilled blueberry coffee cake, which came with honey butter.  This was served warm, and was delicious.  However it was a bit dry, and the piece itself was cut a little thick.  It could have used some sort of sauce, or maybe even some honey drizzled on top.  The honey butter was a nice touch though.  We also got Mimosa's which were very yummy, however a bit pricey for their size (coming in at $12.50 each).  For our main course I got the Veggie Omelet which came with broccoli, spinach, and feta cheese....and it was super delicious!!  It came with frites and a side salad.  Laura got the Duck Confit Hash, which also came with frites and a side salad.  It was very good, but Laura pointed out that everything was a little too salty....even the salad (weird right?).  While we both appreciate salt, this was a tad too much.  I have to say that I would always prefer too much salt to too little salt myself...but it did come across as a bit aggressive.  We thought overall everything was very tasty, but nothing was perfection.

     

   

         Overall, we give the Beat Hotel a 10 out of 10 eggs for atmosphere, and a 9 out of 10 eggs for food.  The place is super cool and unique, and has so many different vibes to it.  From the painted white brick walls to the beaded curtains hanging in front of the ladies room, this place has so much to look at.  Add the live music, and you could just chill there for hours...it is that cozy and warm inside.  The food had a couple of things that made us dock an egg off (from the thick yogurt to the extra salt), but overall it was really good.  Laura won out with the dish of the day with her Duck hash...but everything we had was tasty.   We will definitely be going back to the Beat Hotel...for dinner, for drinks, for music...you name it!!!  This was a great place to bring in the new year, and a new year of Sundaylicious!!!  Happy brunching!!!

Garden Party

     Last Sunday, Laura and I were going to go on a road trip, but the weather was not that great so we cancelled that plan last minute.  We didn't have a Sundaylicious restaurant in play....so I scrambled to find a place close by on our brunch list.  We chose to go to Garden at the Cellar, which is on Mass Ave in Cambridge (near Harvard Sq), www.gardenatthecellar.com.   We were feeling a bit tired, so I am glad we did not hit the road...it would not have been a good trip with us feeling slightly cranky (we both had a busy work week, and were feeling the after effects on Sunday).  Garden at the Cellar turned out to be the perfect fit for our Sundaylicious outing.  It was close by, and it ended up having some pretty killer food!!
    

      Garden at the Cellar is a bit nondescript on the inside. It had no theme, and was a bit bland.   The tables were made of copper and were really fancy, but other than that nothing stood out.  It is nice inside, but small.  We were lucky, on the day we went it was not crowded at all and we got seated right away.   There is a nice brick wall on one side that makes it cool, and they have some lights strung up which must look dazzling at  night.  In the day light, however, it was just a plain room.  Not bad, not good...just fine.  The music they played, however, was awesome!!  We were enjoying the musical ambiance very much!!! It featured bands such as Pink Floyd, Pearl Jam, Led Zeppelin, and John Lennon.   This made up for the bland atmosphere and added some spice to Garden at the Cellar.

      For cocktails we ordered a Mimosa for me, and a Bloody Mary for Laura.  Our drinks were just right...refreshing and made to perfection.  For my entree I ordered the Egg Sandwich, which came with bacon, a fried skillet egg, and cheddar cheese......YUMMY!!!!  This sandwich was perfectly seasoned with salt and pepper, and was super tasty!!  It came with Rosemary truffle fries which were AWESOME!!  It was the perfect size sandwich, with the perfect side of fries...I was a very happy camper :-)    Laura got the Duck Confit Hash.  This came with a potato scallion pancake, a fried duck egg, and kumquat marmalade.  She LOVED it!!!  It was one of her top duck dishes...which seems to be slowly taking over as her favorite brunch dish...better watch out Eggs Benedict!!  Her Duck Confit was crispy, the egg was perfectly runny, the potato pancake added a nice crispy/salty element to the dish, while the kumquat marmalade added some sweetness.  Both dishes were THE BOMB!!!  It was just what we needed to pick our spirits up :-)

      Overall, we give Garden at the Cellar at 10 out of 10 eggs for food, and a 7 out of 10 eggs for atmosphere.  It was a cute place with some killer music playing, but nothing insanely special in regards to ambiance.  The food, however, makes up for that!!  The food was perfect, and we ate every last bite :-)   Laura won dish of the day with her Duck Confit Hash....but just by a slim margin because my Egg Sandwich was soooooooooo good!!!   We would totally check this place out again, and were pleasantly surprised by our spur of the moment Sundaylicious pick. 

The Sleeper hit of the Summer

       Last Sunday, Laura and I decided to stay close to home because we wanted to see a particular movie at the Kendall Sq. Cinema.  So we were looking for a place near Kendall Sq....and I came across Catalyst, http://www.catalystrestaurant.com/.  This is a place we have never been to before, and have never heard of before...and what a hidden gem we have found!!!
       When we arrived we were pleasantly surprised by how cool this place is.  It is a very large and open space, with an industrial farm house meets rustic elegance feel to it.  There are all sorts of textures inside, from wood to glass, and the giant windows allow so much light in.  There are fancy chandeliers that look like glass grapes, a wall made of wine corks near the bar, and tables and stools that look like they have been chopped right from a tree.  It has a fancy feel, but it also has a causal air about it and the prices are very reasonable.  Our friend Deb came along with us for the Sundaylicious journey, and we were all blown away by Catalyst!!

      We started off with cocktails and tea.  Laura and I got the Mimosa of the day, which was made with champagne, St. Germain, and grapfruit juice....we will be recreating this cocktail sometime this summer!!!  Talk about a perfect Summertime drink to enjoy while sitting on your porch and chilling out :-)  Deb got Earl Grey tea, which came with a very cute set up.  For appetizers, we ordered the strawberry scones, which came with cinnamon whipped cream to spread on them....these were SCRUM-DILI-UM-TIOUS!!!  We also got the yogurt and granola parfait, which came with a homemade cherry compote...OOOOH MY GOSH!!! This dish was A-MAZ-ING!!!!!  I can't tell you how delicious it was in words, but I can tell you that I wanted to lick the bowl clean...and I basically did!!!  I was dreaming of this yogurt dish later that night...that's how good it was!!

       For my entree I ordered a roasted red pepper, mozzarella, and aspargus omelet.  It was the perfcet portion size, and it was seasoned just right.  It came with home fries, and they were just as awesome.  They were cooked to perfection, and again seasoned perfectly.  Laura got a fried egg sandwich which came with a fennel sausage patti, aged cheddar cheese, arugula, and pickled onions.  She loved it!! She said it had a good balance of sweet and savory, and it was properly seasoned. Laura did think it had a little too much sausage, but overall it was AWESOME!!  Our dishes also came with their home-made ketchup which was sweeter then the average ketchup, and a very nice touch on Catalyst's part...anything special and home-made gets two thumbs-up from us.  Deb got the pulled chicken and potato frittata, which came with an arugula salad.  This dish was so filling that Deb could only eat half, and she took the rest home...and Deb got to eat it for dinner later that night....score!!

     Everything was so delicious, and we were so content with what we ate and the wonderful place itself.  The dish of the day was the yogurt parfait and the delightful cherry compote...what can I say, I am still dreaming of it now :-)  Overall, we give Catalyst a 10 out of 10 eggs for food, and a 10 out of 10 eggs for atmosphere!!  We were so blown away by the whole experience...everything was perfect!!!  It really knocked our socks off!! What a pleasant surprise :-)  After brunch, we went to the movies to see "Frances Ha", which was a very cool independent movie about two friends making their way through life in a big city....how perfect for a Sundaylicious ending!!

A little too common

     This past Sunday, Laura and I went to brunch with my Husband Tommy, and his brother Tim.  We chose a local spot called Cambridge Common, http://www.cambridgecommonrestaurant.com/main.html.  It is on Mass Ave. in Cambridge, and we have been there before for dinner and brunch.  It is always a good choice, filled with good (but not great) food.  It is a local favorite, and I have to say it is a solid place to go for food and beer.

     To start brunch off, I got a Mimosa.  Laura had to work after brunch so she could not indulge in a cocktail today...no biggie.  The Mimosa was good, but nothing out of the ordinary.  The price of the mimosa was amazing though, coming in at $5.95...the best price we have ever seen!!!  Go Cambridge Common!!  Thanks for making this drink very reasonably priced and delicious at the same time!! Laura and the gang (myself included), got a cup of coffee.  The coffee was quite tasty also, and I was pleasantly surprised.   The funniest part of brunch was watching Tim fix his coffee.  Tim douses his coffee with cream and sugar to the point that it is barely coffee at all, but a whitish cream colored liquid.....to each his own....but maybe he should stick to Dunkin Donuts next time...hehe!  For our entrees I got the Pancake Breakfast, which came with four small pancakes, scrambled eggs, bacon, home fries, and fresh fruit.  It was good...solid..but not knock your socks off.  Laura and Tommy got the same thing...KC's Omelet which came with three eggs, avocado, asparagus, roasted red pepper, spinach, and fresh mozzarella, served with home fries, fresh fruit, and buttered toast.  Tommy got his with egg whites...he is on an egg white kick these days.  They both liked it...but again it was good, not great.  Timmy got the Power Brunch which came with two scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage, served with home fries, fresh fruit, and buttered toast.  He enjoyed it, but the same theme...very common food that you can get anywhere.  the best part of brunch to me were the prices.  Everything was very reasonably priced, and this is one of the draws to the Cambridge Common.  You know when you go there, you will get good food for a good price...you can't beat that overall!

We gave Cambridge Common a 7 out of 10 eggs for food, and a 7 out of 10 eggs for atmosphere.  It is a nice place, and a solid choice to go and eat brunch (or any meal).  The pros: you get great prices, and good food.  The Cons: it was a little too dark inside for brunch, and the food is just ok.  It is not the best of the best....but after the last two AMAZING places we have gone to for Sundaylicious, Cambridge Common just can't compete.  However, if you want good beer and a good place to hang out, then the Cambridge Common is perfect for you.

You had me at CHERRY BUTTER!!!

      I just want to warn you, my dear eggheads, before you begin this weeks entry.....this post will contain a lot of exclamation marks and a ton of over the top adjectives...so get ready!!!! This past Sunday Laura and I went to Mistral for Sundaylicious.  It has been on my list of MUSTS for awhile now.  It is one of those fancy spots (and more expensive than some brunch spots), that we wanted to keep on the back burner until the time was right.  We picked Memorial Day weekend figuring it would be our way of celebrating this holiday.  Since the weather was going to be crappy all weekend long, and we couldn't go to some nice place with outside seating, we thought this was the time to pull out our Ace and check out Mistral.  Let's just say this was the sunshine of the weekend....the highlight of our day...the silver lining in the dark grey stormy skies...get the point?  IT WAS A-MAZ-ING!!!!!
       I had been to Mistral years ago with my brother for one of his work events...and I was blown away then.  I have not stepped foot inside there since, and I still remembered the place all these years.  That's how nice Mistral is, and how good their food is...it stays with you.  Laura had never been there, and I really was only there for cocktails and apps....so I was excited to take her there, and actually get a sit down meal.  We had a guest bruncher with us as well.  Sarah (who was a guest bruncher before, featured in our post "Fraunch Fries, Fraunch Bread, and to drink..Peru") came along for the ride....boy did she pick the best day to join us!!!  We drove into the South End, and found a spot right near the restaurant....you all remember what I said about this last week right?  When you score a spot like this...it is an omen on how good your day is going to be...and the tradition continues :-)
       Mistral is located in the fancy South End, http://mistralbistro.com/, and we had a 1:00pm reservation.  We were seated right away, and from the moment we walked in we were welcomed by the lovely decor and warm atmosphere.  Mistral has a French, farmhouse, chic vibe to it.  The walls are butter yellow, and the big windows allow the sunlight to stream in.  It has a wonderful sense of warmth and sophistication about it, but you feel comfortable there and not out of place like you don't belong.   Honestly we could have sat there for hours and hours, and been super content...it was that comfortable!!!  The menu itself is full of sooooooo many delicious choices it was hard to decide what we wanted to eat.  In fact we kept asking our waiter for his opinion because we literally could not decide.....so we ended up getting a lot :-)  What can we say...carpe diem!!!

        For starters Mistral gives you a lovely crumb-cake muffin, and that came with cherry butter...yes I said CHERRY BUTTER!!!  Think apple butter...but cherry instead....AWESOME RIGHT?!!!!  I could have eaten this like ice cream it was sooo yummy.  I had to remind myself that it was actually butter I was eating so I didn't eat it all....but seriously this stuff was GENIUS!!  I also think that the fact that they give you this delicious muffin for free was top notch!!  You want to win over my heart.....give me free delicious muffins...I am easy to please like that :-)  Laura and Sarah both got Bloody Mary's as their brunch cocktail, but I chose the Mistral Sangria as my drink.  It was a holiday celebration after all!!  Everything was delicious, and this was only the beginning.....

     For our first course we got the Greek-style yogurt panna cotta, which came with pistachio granola, native honey, and fig glace.  Let me just say this was the most delicious, make you dance in your seat, yogurt I have ever had!!  This was better then our most favorite and beloved yogurt parfait from Temple Bar....we were ecstatic just eating it...dipping our spoons in again and again!!!   For my main dish I got the egg white, oven-cured tomato, Vermont creamery goat cheese, and basil Frittata.  It was delicious!  The goat cheese was the best part of the dish, adding a creamy texture and taste that melted in my mouth :-)   For my side dish I choose applewood smoked bacon, which was scrumptious!!  It was thick cut, and crispy...and everyone at the table helped themselves to it :-)  Sarah got the foraged mushroom, spinach, and Gruyere cheese Frittata which she thought was wonderful and she cleaned her plate (skillet actually, hehe).   She also added a side of ham, which she thought was the best ham she has ever had!!  WOW!!!  That must be some good ham!!! Laura got the confit of duck and root vegetable hash, with farmfresh sunny side eggs on top.  It was one of her favorite dishes ever!!!  It looked amazing, and she was very very happy with her choice.  She also added the Rosemary Frites as her side dish, and they were delightful!!  We all helped ourselves to them :-)  Somehow we scored a side of their lyonnaise potatoes for free, and they were also awesome!!  I liked the Frites better though:-)

This was a ton of food to eat, but we handled it with grace.  We topped this meal off with a cup of coffee...and it was just as tasty as the rest of the dishes we got that day.  It was strong, and came with the cutest set up: a special double dish filled with different kinds of sweeteners, and our very own pot of warm frothed milk to add to our coffee...CHERRY BUTTER and WARM FROTHED MILK!!!!...this place does not miss a single thing!!!  We could not even pick a dish of the day, because everything was sooooo bloody good!!!  Every dish was the dish of the day!!!!  Since we didn't have a special dish we chose the star of the meal....The star of the day was ROSEMARY!!!  It was in everything from the Bloody Marys, to the fries, to the main courses as well.

Everything was wonderful at Mistral, and done to perfection!!  We give Mistral....drum roll please....a 10 out of 10 eggs for food, and a 10 out of 10 for atmosphere!!  It was PERFECT in every way!!  The food was sublime, and the place itself is so warm and inviting!!  It makes you want to stay there for ever, and continue to eat and eat and eat....with all their delicious choices you probably could :-)   So Mistral joins the coveted 10 out of 10 perfect restaurants on our Sundaylicious list....we welcome you with open arms!!