This past Sunday was absolutely gorgeous out. I love those first few days of Spring when everyone emerges from their apartments and living rooms after a long hibernation to try and soak up some glorious sun. Somerville was bustling, and the bloody marys were calling. This week we were to have Tommy as a guest bruncher again. His band was leaving for a short tour out west, so he wanted to get some extra time in with his lady ( as well as score some yummy chow!) I unfortunately had to work Sunday evening, so we decided to keep it local this week, especially after our last two trips across the river.
I scooped up our couple at about 11:30am, a time we all felt a fair split. I know Alex has thrown in some digs about my sleeping in late on Sundays haha, but I work super late! To me, brunch is all about lazy mornings, relaxing, cocktails, and eating breakfast whenever you damn well feel like it :-) To be fair, we have certainly compromised, and I know they have been super patient with my frequent late starts. Anyhow. Back to the brunch. Our initial pick was Trina's Starlight Lounge in Inman Square, as it was super local and we had all heard good things about it. However, it is bizarrely NOT open on Sundays. None of us could figure out why, as it is such a key brunch day, but apparently Trina's does a killer Monday brunch instead. (I am keeping this information in my back pocket, should we somehow not be able to make a Sunday one of these days.) Weird, weird, weird. And your loss, Trina's. Soooo, we decided to walk further into Inman and came upon the East Coast Grilll. (eastcoastgrill.net)
We had all also heard great things about the spot, so after checking out the menu, we took the plunge to see how long the wait would be. Fifteen minutes? Awesome! It was way less than we had expected, and they have benches out front so we could hang and get some of that lovely vitamin D. The wait was not even the full fifteen minutes, and we were graciously escorted to our table after about ten. The place is adorable and fun, super kitschy in a Florida/grandparents kind of way. We were seated in the "Lava Lounge," a fun little room behind the bar that you would barely notice from the front. Tiki torches, plastic fish, hula girls, and even a giant painting of a volcano with lava that lights up, adorned the walls. The skylights also added to the theme- it almost felt as if we were eating outside or on a boat. I loved it.
.JPG)
.JPG)
.JPG)
Now, apparently E.C.G is known for their raw bar, which personally I would LOVE to get busy on one of these days, but for brunch we were to stick to a general breakfast theme. Alex and I agreed that for breakfast/brunch, we like to sort of ease into the day a bit. I love love love raw bars and seafood, but don't necessarily want it as the first thing I eat. Agreed? Tommy brought up the good point that some of the things we do eat for breakfast are probably very odd to other cultures/people, which is very true. But for Sundaylicious, we like keeping it relatively traditional.
So back to the food. ECG has a pretty intensive brunch menu. They have a good selection of small plates, "Platos Pequenos," which is personally one of my fave ways to eat- sharing family style. We decided to split the cornbread with guava butter ( to die for!) and plantains with queso fresco and banana-guava ketchup. BOOM. Off to an amazing start. The cornbread was delicious and moist, and the guava butter heavenly..Alex made the good call that it was almost like water ice. So sweet and yummy. The plantains were amazing, too. Sweet and perfectly cooked, with the banana-guava ketchup as a weird, but perfect dipping sauce.
And oh, before i forget...the drinks. OH, the drinks. There was quite a senses overload as our meal began, but if you know us at all, you know this is a very important part of the meal. Alex stuck with her usual mimosa ( if it ain't broke, don't fix it, girl) We were able to choose our size drink, 16oz or 22oz. We all played it safe and went with the 16oz, which ended up being plenty. Alex enjoyed her drink, but we think the OJ was fresh squeezed, which is fabulous, but it does leave for that thick, pulpy juice that may not exactly be the best for mimosas. She liked it, but perhaps not the best we've had.
Tommy, my bloody mary partner in crime, and I decided to go for the "build your own bloody mary bar" which is genius across the board- who doesn't like fun, interactive drink making? And as a bartender myself, I know this saves the bar staff there TONS of time on their brunch shifts. Totally brilliant. The bloody mary bar was amazing- your choice of three diffferent bloody mixes, tons of fresh veggies and pickled onions etc. Loads of salsas and sauces, including their house-made, infamous "Inner Beauty" hot sauce made from the ghost pepper, one of the hottest peppers on the planet. (This information would have been appreciated before I scooped two huge spoonfuls into my drink however, as I literally took a sip of the stuff that made my brain want to scream :-) We loved it though. And the plastic, neon blue dolphin stirrers made me smile. God I love this place.
So back to the food. After enjoying our drinks and yummy appetizers, out came the main courses. Alex went for Amilcar's Omelette, a fluffy omelette with black beans, jack cheese, salsas verde and roja, queso fresco and guava paste. Al is allergic to avocados so those were left out. She really loved the flavors and the eggs were cooked perfectly, although I have a feeling it may have been a bit too heavy for her for breakfast, as discussed above. But I stole a bite and it was, in fact, delicious. She made the point that it would be an amazing dinner, and it would be. I would eat it every day if i could :-)
Tommy, our house vegetarian, went for the Breakfast Platter "in the style of the yucatan" with 3 eggs, black beans and rice, mango-avocado-hearts of palm salad, fried plantains, rojo and flour tortillas. DE. LISH. What a plate of gorgeous colors and yummy flavors. This plate was immediately in contention for Dish of the Day, as it was perfectly cooked, presented, and portioned. Tommy said there was nothing he could think of that would make the dish better. Bravo, ECG.
I decided to go for the Conchintita Pibil, "roll your own breakfast taco" with garlic- lime smoked pork shoulder, fresh tomato salsa, acar's guacamole, black beans, runny egg, and warm corn tortillas. YESSSSSIR. I almost always go for the savory, salt dishes, and this was pretty effing fabulous. The pork was tender and super flavorful, and the egg just kind of dripped all over the plate ( in a good way) and blended all of the spices and creamy avocado. The corn tortillas were delicious, but almost unnecessary. I was happy to just sop the whole plate together and eat it like a stew. Good manners? Maybe not. Ridiculously delicious? Yes.
.JPG)
This also brings us to our first official tie of Sundaylicious for Dish Of the Day. I have thought and thought and thought, and truly could not come up with a clear winner between Tommy's dish and mine. So while I have the reigns here for this one week, I am giving it to both of us.
Overall, we gave East Coast Grill nine eggs for the amazing food, and nine eggs for the fun and quirky atmosphere. Our waitress was lovely and helpful, never overbearing but always at hand, and always there to fill up our waters as we got down with that Inner Beauty sauce. ( which by the way, she said they do sell by the half pints) A fun and surprising, wonderful brunch.
So cheers to you all. Please send some good vibes Alex's way, as her family has truly been through the ringer this past year and I'm sure would appreciate any and all good thoughts . She will be back in action next week, and we look forward to sharing our continued adventures with you. Now everyone put down your computers and GO OUTSIDE.
Til next Sunday!
No comments:
Post a Comment