Thursday, May 16, 2013

First Impressions: Bronwyn

As a Union Square resident, I've been eagerly keeping an eye on Bronwyn's progress in the old Ronnarong space for months now. It's finally open, and I was fortunate to be able to get reservations last night to see if it would live up to everyone's expectations. I had a great experience, and I'll definitely be back. My detailed opening night report is posted on Eater, and my photos with a few quick thoughts are right here:


Brot: Oat-honey Challah, Rye Roggenbrot, Bauernbrot, juniper-sesame crisp, butter, sea salt. We were really curious about the "Giant Haus Bretzel," but we ended up settling on the bread basket to try a few different things. The clear winner was the challah, and if they packaged and sold it separately, I would buy a loaf every Friday. And I'm not even much of an observer of Shabbat.


Augustiner Brau Lager. When I almost ordered the Weihenstephaner Hefeweissbier Dunkel, which I've enjoyed in the past, the waiter recommended that if I wanted to try something new in the same vein, this was the one. It was a perfect recommendation. I was also a fan of the wide honeycomb-like beer glass, which I had to hold with two hands!


Knödel (bacon bread dumpling, fiddlehead purée). Quick, go and try this before fiddlehead season is over. They describe it as a dumpling, but it's really more like bread pudding, and it is absolutely amazing. I'm still thinking about this one. And the fiddleheads were sauteed just right.


Bavarian Roast Chicken (citrus-pineapple cure, grilled red cabbage). This was my mom's dish, and she said it was the best chicken she's had in recent memory. They were kind enough to substitute sauerkraut for the cabbage on request. There's grilled pineapple as well, which is my favorite thing to eat from the grill. This dish is not only delicious but will even appeal to the most picky member of your party, most likely.


Blutnudeln (Trentino blood pasta, spring onion, citrus). Stunning colors and flavors. There were small, tender bits of pork in there as well. Even if you're a little weirded out by the blood, this is worth a try.


Kaiserschmarrn. The Kaiser's pancake! This Austrian dessert was a surprisingly small portion, but every bite was full of delicious apple flavor. It paired perfectly with an apple Schnapps that came in a tiny stein-shaped shot glass.


German chocolate cake. Or whipped cream with a side of cake? A little dry for my taste; I'd get the Kaiserschmarrn again or try out the Berliner (doughnut) next time.

Overall impressions: Welcome to the neighborhood, Bronwyn! I can't wait to bring Joel and others here, and I really can't wait for the biergarten to open. There are plenty more things on the menu I'd love to try, too. My mom and I didn't even get to the Wurst section because there was so much else we wanted to eat. Based on the huge, excited crowd on opening night and the high quality of everything I tried, I'm guessing Bronwyn will do quite well in Somerville.

Click here to read my full report of opening night on Eater.

Bronwyn on Urbanspoon

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