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.

New Eats in Union Square: Donuts and Ramen

I've now lived in Somerville for more than two-and-a-half years, the last six months of which I've spent in Union Square. I've loved the food in this neighborhood since before I lived here, and I'm excited that a couple of new treats have popped up in the last few weeks.

Two tenants of the Kitchen Inc. community cooking space, Josh Danoff (Culinary Cruisers - my kombucha obsession - and Ocean Ave Pops) and Heather Schmidt (City Chicks), began baking donuts a few months ago and selling them at farmers' markets, and they just opened up a retail shop in the front of Kitchen Inc., right across from Target on the outer edge of Union Square.

Union Square Donuts opened on Valentine's Day, and I was there right at opening to grab some photos for Eater Boston. Of course, there was no way I could go home empty-handed, so I bought two chocolate chipotles, a maple bacon, and an orange ginger cream to split with Joel. The chocolate chipotle was my favorite: light and airy with just the right amount of chocolate. I'd love more heat, but as you probably know, I'm a bit addicted to spicy things. The others were great as well, although a little more decadent, so I wouldn't recommend trying too many at once!

At $3 a pop ($3.50 for the maple bacon), these aren't your average Dunkin' Donuts donuts (but there's one of those down the street if that's what you're after). I found them to be worth the splurge, but I wouldn't make a frequent habit out of it. If you want a taste, be sure to keep an eye on their Facebook page for announcements as they've been selling out pretty early most days. They're open from 9 AM until selling out on Thursdays through Sundays, and they also carry dulce de leche cinnamon rolls, Ocean Ave Pops (fun-flavored popsicles!), coffee, and Spindrift sodas.



The other new treat is at Backbar (which itself isn't new): ramen! It's available between 4 PM and 6 PM every day (except for Tuesday, when the bar is closed). The catch is that there are only 10 portions available each day. Kathy and I checked it out Saturday, arriving about 15 minutes early with one couple ahead of us in line. By 3:58, eight of the 10 portions had been claimed.

From Backbar's website:

"One of the head chefs of Journeyman Restaurant, Tse Wei Lim, has been working on this ramen recipe for many many months. Although he’s constantly in the pursuit of perfection, he has finally deemed it good enough. And let me tell you this far exceeds my definition of “good enough.” I personally think it is the best ramen in Boston. The broth is made from pork and duck stocks, with scallops, miso and soy sauce. The noodles are made fresh daily and topped with shredded pork, runny duck eggs, scallions, and bamboo shoots. Then you can personalize by adding on kimchee, pork lard, garlic, extra noodles or just some bacon!"

I haven't had nearly every ramen in Boston, so I can't verify Backbar's claim that it's the best, but it was certainly enjoyable (not to mention close to home). The egg was absolutely perfect, and I loved the housemade noodles, which had just the right amount of chewiness. I'm not sure if I'll be willing to battle hungry customers for one of just 10 helpings once the secret's out, but I'm glad I got to try it. Plus, I love spending time with Kathy, and I love Backbar, so this was a triple-play of an afternoon!

Meanwhile, more delicious ramen lurks less than two miles away. My go-to spot is Sapporo at the Porter Exchange, and I suspect that I will fall in love with YumeWoKatare, also in Porter Square, once I finally get around to trying it.

But getting back to Union Square, there's more excitement on the horizon as well. Bronwyn, from the owners of T.W. Food, is getting ready to open in what used to be Ronnarong, plus the adjacent space. I miss Ronnarong terribly (Thai tapas!), but it sounds like Bronwyn could be pretty awesome, from a beer garden to hand-twisted Bavarian sausages to artisan breads. Here it is in its under-construction glory:

And it looks great under a few feet of snow, too!

A Bacon-y, Cake-y, No. 9 Park-y Birthday

The dreaded September 1st move has kept me away from the blog for a few weeks; there are still boxes to unpack, but we're making progress! Aside from unpacking and cooking a lot, we've been playing as much Cards Against Humanity as humanly possible, because we're horrible people. (Think "Apples to Apples" but offensive. It's pretty much the best game ever.)

Since I've been gone awhile, I'll use the next couple weeks to catch up on some long overdue posts and some very long overdue posts. I had a very delicious birthday weekend back in June, so I might as well start there and relive the glory.

On the day before my birthday, I was invited to attend a bacon competition and judge a cake competition. Not a bad way to kick off the celebration, right? Here are some photos from the Bacon Takedown in Somerville, part of a series of nationwide "takedown" events. (More recently, Somerville also hosted the Heaven and Hell Takedown - ice cream and hot sauce, two of my favorite things. I'm not sure how I didn't manage to squeeze this one in my schedule.) It was great to run into some other bloggers there: Sarah from Can You Cookie, Jessica from Oh Cake, and Leah from Oh Baby, Boston, who were all competing, as well as Katie and Rich from The Skinny Beet, who were judging the bacon dishes.

In the end, it was a bacon caramel that won both the people's choice and the judge's first place award. It was definitely one of my favorites. (In fact, in general, I definitely preferred the dessert uses of bacon.)

Just a few hours later, I found myself on stage at the Middle East Downstairs, being presented with cake. Lots of cake. Happy birthday to me. It was the Boston Cake Experiment, part of another national tour of cook-offs, and it was kind of insane being a judge as I had to sample something like 20 cakes.

Photo from Brooklyn Food Experiment on Flickr 

I've been on stage at the Middle East Downstairs one other time, but under very different circumstances: my band was releasing our debut album to a sold-out crowd in early 2011.

Both experiences were pretty awesome.

That wasn't it for the birthday festivities, though. The real feast was still to come. A few days earlier, I had heard that Google+ was giving away some tickets to a Zagat-sponsored six-course cocktail dinner at No. 9 Park, one of those restaurants that's always been on my "I'd-really-like-to-try-this-but-it's-out-of-my-budget-and-there-are-probably-other-fancy-restaurants-I'd-try-first" list. I got to work on a reviewing spree on Google+ in order to enter the contest and ended up winning a pair of tickets to the event, which conveniently took place on my actual birthday. (Joel was really let off the hook planning anything this year!) Turns out our dear friends Jon and Kathy (Kathy Can Cook), also horrible Cards Against Humanity-loving folks, were also attending.

The menu was challenging for me; one course, for example, was a terrine of foie gras. Ethical issues aside, I really don't like the taste or texture of foie gras, and more generally I can't get by the revulsion I feel towards the texture of terrines, pates, and the like. I think it might have something to do with the time my grandfather tricked three-year-old me into trying a scoop of chopped liver. He told me it was chocolate ice cream. It did not end well. Overall, though, the food was quite good. My favorite course was dessert #1 - or a palate-cleanser, I suppose - a Pimm's Cup-inspired concoction of sorbet and gel. The pig's tails were also amazing.

The cocktail pairings were intense. Some of my favorite ingredients made an appearance in the earlier drinks (Hendrick's gin, Chartreuse, mescal, root beer). With later courses, the drinks entered into the brown, bitter realm, which seemed very appropriate for the restaurant and the menu; I'm just not really into the ryes, bourbons, and bitters.

LANGOUSTINE EN GELEE ~ American caviar, summer vegetable consomme, XO sauce
Paired with a cocktail of Hendrick's gin, tomato, Chartreuse, Bisol Prosecco

TERRINE OF LABELLE FARMS FOIE GRAS ~ hops granola, bacon jam, pain au moutard
Paired with a cocktail of Del Maguey Vida mescal, root beer, falernum, Helles Schlenkerla Lagerbier

GLAZED PIG'S TAILS ~ macerated watermelon, fresh chili, hibiscus
Paired with a cocktail of Tequila Ocho Reposado, truffled sangrita 

GRILLED VERMONT QUAIL ~ corn, chicken-fried duck liver, buttermilk dressing
Paired with a cocktail of bourbon au foie gras, bittered Old Monk rum cordial, Campari 

VEAL LOIN EN CREPINETTE & WILD BLUEFIN TUNA ~ artichokes en barigoule, sauce tonnato, olive oil crushed potato
Paired with a cocktail of "La Gitana" Manzanilla sherry, Willett rye, Velenosi Visciole, Cynar, ponzu 

PIMM'S CUP ~ lemon, cucumber, ginger

AMARETTI CHEESECAKE ~ strawberry, rhubarb, tarragon
Paired with a cocktail of Old Overholt rye, Kubler Absinthe, Peychaud's bitters, egg

Not a bad way to celebrate the unexciting, non-milestone birthday that puts me squarely in the mid-to-late twenties zone.

Disclosure: My admission to each of these events was free. I was invited to attend the Bacon Takedown as a blogger and the Cake Experiment as a judge, and I won my way into the No. 9 Park dinner by writing a large quantity of reviews on Google+ Local. Nonetheless, everything expressed in this post reflects my honest opinions.

The Bearded Pig: First Impressions

After shooting some interior photos at The Bearded Pig yesterday for an Eater story, I knew I wouldn't be able to stay away for long. It soft-opened today at 11 AM, and by just past noon, I had dragged Joel there. We currently each live about a mile away, but in September, we're moving in together just minutes from Union Square, so news of a new nearby barbecue spot was particularly exciting for us, especially considering that there's really no good barbecue in Somerville. (Don't get me wrong; Redbones is a fun place for a drink, but my meals there have ranged from uninspired to downright disappointing. I'd rather drive out to Blue Ribbon, Black Strap, or beyond. My reigning favorites for barbecue, though, are even farther away: Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Syracuse and Rochester (can't vouch for the newer locations), Fette Sau in Brooklyn, and Franklin Barbecue in Austin.)

It's not really fair to review a place on opening day, so I'll write more once I've returned in a month or so, but I will say that there's a lot that we liked. The sides, in particular, blew Redbones and even Blue Ribbon out of the water. (We got the mac and cheese, cornbread, and collard greens.) For now, I'll just leave you with the food porn. For the less-sexy-but-still-snazzy interior shots, check out my story over on Eater.