A New Cambridge Restaurant

The "To Tide You Over Dish"

After Tuesday Night’s wild time watching the Celtics Game, Last night I was looking for a quite, and slightly upscale dining experience. After doing a little Internet Research I found a place called Hungry Mother in Cambridge. The restaurant just opened in March and as I walked up you could tell that they have been filling the tables.

The small ownership group had planned on opening this restaurant 18-Months prior in Bay Village Neighborhood as the “Village Table”. The space they original planned fell through and they reorganized to open this small and cozy restaurant. The name comes from a Virginia State park in Marion a place where one of the owners grew up. The restaurant blends traditional French cooking with Southern food of the Appalachian region.

Being a single diner had an advantage on this evening; because they had a table open and I was able to avoid the 25 minute wait. This small space has two dining areas and a bar. The restaurant is a converted home and has all the charm of a period home in this Kendall Square neighborhood.

Hungry Mother has a number of House Mixed Drinks they list by number not name. I started with the no. 8, as my pre-meal cocktail. The no. 8 is tequila, curaçao, fresh lime, orange bitters, pep up for $9. Most of the house cocktails are between $8 and $9. Hungry Mother does something you see rarely in restaurants they list all of their liquor by type and name. So if you do not have to guess if they carry your favorite libation.

The dinner menu has four sections: To Tide You Over, First Course, Main Course, Can You Pass That. To Tide You Over is small plates that are served to right after you order. The plates are: SPICY PIMIENTO CHEESE celery hearts, toasted pain de mie $4; DEVILED CHIP-IN FARM EGGS & hm bacon $4; BOILED VIRGINIA PEANUTS grey sea salt $3: WARM BEEF TONGUE CANAPÉ gruyère, dijon $3. I tried the Deviled Eggs they had a nice mustard tang and were a great comfort food.

The First Course or Appetizers, range from $7 to $13, include oysters, pate, shrimp and grits and smoked barbeque pork rib. I went for the ribs, great flavor and the smoky sauce was excellent.

They have five main courses to choose from chicken, beef, catfish, bluefish and a pasta dish. The entrees range in price from $16 to $27. My choice for the evening was the French style Gnocchi with mushrooms, spring peas, tendrils and large parmigiano shavings for $17. The dish was served in a vegetable broth with all the fresh produce accenting the dish. Each bite was full of flavor and had a buttery element. I was pleased with the selection.

One of the owners, John, came by to ask about my meal and how I had heard about the place. I did mention to John, that the wine list needs a little improving, I ordered Oreana Pinot and it was not a great glass of wine. He took my comment with professionalism and concern. The attention at Hungry Mother shows, you can tell how much they care about the restaurant. Naomi, my server, did an excellent job and the pacing of the meal was perfect.

This would be a perfect restaurant for nice evening out. The patrons dress casually as well as the staff. Hungry Mother has a home feel.

Hungry Mother (Open Tuesday to Sunday)
233 Cardinal Medeiros Ave
Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02141

http://www.hungrymothercambridge.com/main.html

Back on the Wagon an a Maverick

The Cozy Maverick

Okay I have been off the blogging wagon for a while, new job obligations and mucho traveling the last few weeks. So here we go to get the blog jump started. Today a restaurant in San Francisco and in the next couple of days some really great out-of-the Bay Area places that I have visited while traveling. Just a heads up I will be doing a lot more traveling in the next eight weeks so if you have tips for Phoenix, Boston, Philadelphia, Virginia Beach or DC drop me a note.

The wife and I really love the Mission and all the great places to eat and have a drink. We now have a new place to have dinner or brunch. Maverick, (3316 17th Street, San Francisco) is American comfort food with a fine dining twist.

With side plates Collard Greens, Mac n’ Cheese, Grits and Gravy the southern influence hits you right in the face. The Southern Fried Chicken looked awesome, and was flying out of the kitchen, but I passed on it for the Grilled Wagyu Beef Bauvette Steak and my wife had the Butter Braised Sturgeon. Both dishes were very taste.

Maverick does not have a full bar, but the wine list is very good. They bill themselves as an eatery and wine bar and succeed on both levels. The offer 15 wines by the glass and there is a varietal for almost every person. If you are more a hops and barley person, Maverick offers 14 types of beer. One of my favorites Trumer Pils is served.

We have also had brunch at Maverick and that experience was even better than dinner. The chorizo and eggs is house made chorizo with scrambled eggs, green onion and cheese grits, cornbread muffin with Marshall’s Farm honey. The cheese grits are awesome and I am not a big grits fan. The biscuits and gravey and cornmeal pancakes are worth the visit. Add a blackberry mimosa and it is a great brunch.

Make a reservation! This is a very small restaurant and it fills up very quickly. Maverick is on OpenTable.com for reservation convenience. The staff is very attentive and helpful.

http://www.sfmaverick.com/

Http://www.opentable.com/

Cocktails and Movie

Forget the popcorn, give me a Patrone Margarita before the show. This exactly what you can get at the new Sundance Cinemas Kabuki. Yes, same Sundance of the Film Festival and Robert Redford fame. When I read the San Francisco Chronicle article announcing the opening I new that this was a must for this weekend, so I venture out for their Grand Public Opening Friday Night.

For San Francisco’s Fillmore District this is a perfect new addition to the neighborhood. The former AMC Theater is in the heart of a neighborhood that is one of San Francisco’s greatest neighborhoods and has entertaiment venues such as Bill Graham’s Rock Palace “The Fillmore,” John Lee Hooker’s “Boom, Boom Room” and the new Yoshi’s at the Fillmore Heritage Center, but over the years this theater had become aged and an afterthought for film goers with the opening of AMC 1000 Van Ness and Metreon. Sundance did a excellentjob renovating and creating an upscale Cinema that no longer has to take a back seat.

My experience started with online ticket purchasing for this adult oriented theater, Adult as in age not content, and I am so glad that I bought ahead of time. In my opinion, this is the best feature of the Kabuki, the ability to reserve seating in the over-21 balcony section. I strongly suggest using this feature we walked straight through the full lobby of people waiting to purchase tickets and straight to our theater. With San Francisco traffic, which I experienced in full force Friday, you can breath easier knowing that your seat is saved and waiting for you. My wife and I saw Juno, very funny and a great measure of the type of films that the Kabuki will book.

The Kabuki has three dining areas with full bars. A downside is you cannot move from one dining section to another with alcohol, so in the adult only balcony the bar is slammed before the movie starts. The service was a bit slow, staff getting to know the bar and one cash register, but being a veteran of sporting events and concerts I just bought two drinks so I would not have to get up during the movie.

I dined after the movie. Take my advice please; plan to eat after the show. The Kabuki shows no ads and only two to three previews, the show start almost at the publish time. The menu and wine selection has a wide variety to select from for almost any taste. My food was good, the attempt is a fine dining experience, but what it is well presented pub fare.

I would definitely go back, Theater 1 w/balcony is very comfortable, and a great place to watch a movie. The design is really to make you feel a different movie experience.

For another place to get a drink, food and a movie try a trip across the bridge in Oakland. I am a big fan of Oakland’s Parkway Speakeasy. The owners treat like hanging out in you best friend’s basement. This is a totally different experience than the Kabuki, but this is the first time I was able to have a top shelf cocktail at a movie theater. Alameda plans on having an adult only section in it’s newly renovated theater that is to open this Spring.

Parking: Try Japan Town Garage ($2.75 for three hours with theater validation)

Sundance Kabuki
Address
1881 Post Street at Fillmore
San Francisco, CA 94115

Phone
415.929.4650
http://www.sundancecinemas.com/kabuki.html

SFGate Article (Thanks for the Photo)
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/12/12/DDIETS6M3.DTL&hw=kabuki+cinema&sn=001&sc=1000

Parkway Speakeasy
http://www.picturepubpizza.com/