The Breakfast Club in Allston - Not the Movie!

We were in Allston on Saturday to say goodbye to one of our cars. Sniff, car we will miss you. As we drove past The Breakfast Club, it looked fairly crowded so we decided to stop in for breakfast.



As the name suggests, The Breakfast Club is 80s themed complete with Madonna playing on the sound system. The menu has a school theme with items named "The Jock" and "The Janitor". We enjoyed sitting at the counter and watching the cooks at work. It was fascinating how they had the technique down to a science.



I got "The Jock" though I'm not sure why it's named so. "The Jock" is a healthy egg white omelette with tomato and broccoli. Wouldn't a jock have beef or bacon or something?




Chomp Meter:
This diner is pretty good if you are in the area. I liked that the eggs and home fries weren't too greasy so I didn't feel like I'd get a heart attack after leaving. As far as diners go, I still prefer Deluxe Diner in Watertown however which has more creative and better tasting fare.

The Breakfast Club
270 Western Ave
(between Riverdale St & Speedway Ave)
Allston, MA 02134

Deluxe Town Diner - A Modern Take on Diner Fare

Hey, the weekend is almost here! One of my favorite things to do is head to Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown for breakfast. They serve diner food that's definitely less greasy (a big plus) and a lot more creative than most.

In fact we were just there last weekend. I so greedily dug into my meal that I forgot to take photos until the end, then gasped in horror when SO reminded me.

This is no substitute for food photos but here's the inside (we sat at the counter):



I highly recommend the potato pancakes here. They are crisply fried and thin, served with a generous portion of sour cream and apple sauce. The ployes are very good too. I haven't tried many of the items, since I usually stick with the eggs. For lunch I am fond of the Apple Curry Turkey Burger that has apples yogurt and spices and feels healthy. Not sure if it actually is :P

Deluxe Town Diner
627 Mount Auburn Street (East Watertown)
Watertown, MA
Phone: (617)926-8400
Open daily from 7am-10pm



Chomp Meter:
This is a great place for breakfast: pancakes, eggs, omelettes, french toast. There's also a variety of other foods from sandwiches to meatloaf for dinner. Traditional American style diner food but lighter and with a "city dweller" twist. There's also an assortment of teas if coffee is not your thing. Get here early though, there is a line on weekends.

Leisurely Brunch Places

I resisted merging my Blogger with Google Account to the detriment of this blog. Turns out I really didn't have a choice...

Anyhoo my latest obsession is slow weekend brunches where you can sip a latte or mimosa (if you're in the mood) and chill with friends or catch up on the week's news. Here are my favorite finds, coincidentally all French. There're no long lines so you won't feel the pressure to leave!

---Gaslight---
Gaslight is in the South End. You can take a stroll after breakfast here to the cute little stores around. And the other great part is there's free parking in a big lot next to the restaurant. This is my favorite of the three!

Oeufs Poches Vignerrone with red wine sauce, jambon cuie and mushrooms. This was good but a tad too vinegary.

Yum, especially the fries. Croque-Monsieur with ham, gruyēre and bechamel:

Gaslight
560 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
617 422 0224

---Petite Robert---
There're 2 locations now. One in the South End and the original in Kenmore Square. Save room for dessert!

Petite Robert Bistro
468 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02228
(617) 375-0699

---Eastern Standard ---
I would not recommend going to Eastern Standard when there's a Sox game since it's near Fenway. Great place otherwise with outdoor seating in the summer. Here's a photo of my yummy poached egg salad with sweet breads. The only complaint about this place is portions run small.

Eastern Standard
528 Commonwealth Avenue
Kenmore Square
Boston, MA
617 532 9100

Chomp Meter: I'll definitely be back to any of these places. Would love to try dinner at Gaslight too!

Johnny's Luncheonette

Sunday brunch was at Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Center. We'd originally arranged to meet T and S at Chung Shing Yuan in Newtonville but the line was literally out the door and 20 people long (the students are back!) when they got there at 2pm so we decided to switch venues.



Johnny's is always a good place to go for brunch. In addition to breakfast fare, they have a whole lunch menu as well.

I like the corned beef hash at Johnny's but T's promised to take us to a place in Brookline with the BEST corned beef hash.


S and I shared the Blintzes. It was delicious, though it's hard to go wrong with lots of cheese, isn't it? :)


Belgian Waffles. This actually looks better than it tasted. The waffles could have been left on the pan a little longer.


Home fries, turkey links, and eggs over easy. Always a good choice.


Chomp Meter:
We frequent Johnny's quite a bit since we live in the area. The line isn't as bad if you go later (around 2) and parking is also fairly easy to find.

See Johnny's Luncheonette and other foodie finds on a map on Chompster.com

Johnny's Luncheonette
30 Langley Road
Newton Center MA
617 527 3223

Petit Robert Bistro - Paris in Boston

Pacman and I finally made it to Petite Robert Bistro in Kenmore Square last Friday. Our attempts to eat there have always been foiled. Several times the Sox were playing and it was impossible to find parking. Another time the wait was more than an hour.

Surprisingly, the place was pretty quiet when we got there. Perhaps because it's summer now and all the college kids are gone. We started off with the steak tartar classic with croutons. The flavor of the beef actually reminded me of spicey tuna for some strange reason. It was nicely salted and garnished with a cherry tomato. The croutons turned out to be the toasted baguette.



For the main course, I got Scallops in their Own Shells “Parisiènne”. And no the scallops did not have shells. Pacman got the Duck Confit and Grilled Duck Magret with Braised Cabbage. He's more of the carnivore while I snack off his plate. Both came with a side of buttery sauteed vegetables (cabbage and carrots). I enjoyed the scallops (also cooked in butter), though the butter theme got a little overwhelming during the last couple bites.

The duck dish was way better (it was actually cooked hah)! The skin on the duck was nicely fried and the meat tender. Damn it was good. Not knowing what "Duck Magret" was, I also did a little research on the definition. Turns out that magret is the breast of duck specially raised for foie gras.

The Duck:


Dessert was a must since Petit Robert has its own pastry chef. I spied several desserts going to the other tables and they all looked too delicious. I couldn't decide what to get and let Pacman do the honors. Of course he had to pick the most difficult thing on the menu to pronounce so he could flaunt whatever little French he knew. That show off!

We got the Ile Flottante. Our waitress told him (I don't know if she was humoring him since I can't speak French) that we should get a discount since he was the only person to pronounce it right all day. I bet she wanted a bigger tip! Anyway, needless to say Pacman floated out of the restaurant that night ;)

I found the Ile Flottante a little odd. The meringue wasn't chilled enough neither was the cream, but I'm willing to let that slide given the other yummy desserts I saw going by.



See Petit Robert Bistro and other foodie finds on a map at Chompster.com

Petit Robert Bistro
468 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA02215
617-375-0699

See their menu here

Chomp Meter:
We'll definitely be back. This place is a hit with the French in Boston and the "Most Liked" restaurant in the Boston area on Chompster.com for good reason. Good home style french cooking at reasonable prices! The Gâteau Petit Robert (chocolate cake with a miniature Eiffel Tower) also looks mad delicious. Will have to get that the next time.

PS. I also recommend reservations because they can get really crowded.

Breakfast @ Sound Bites

We wanted to try a new breakfast place last weekend. Our choices were Blue Room in Kendall Square, Stephanie's on Newbury, or Sound Bites in Somerville. We eventually settled on Sound Bites (the cheapest hah).

Pacman and I got there a little late. As we drove past, we saw that a line had already formed outside. I was surprised that our friends managed to get seats for us. Well, turns out that they had to order for us as well!

I found the experience quite stressful. Yes, the whole 20 minutes we were there :p. The place is really small and the wait staff like vultures. You have to watch for them. Seriously. They swoop in to grab your plate before you're even done. I noticed this one waiter eyeing our friend, J's plate, waiting ... just waiting for him to put his fork down. No kidding!

Anyway, I digress. The food was yummy and the friends made excellent choices on our behalf! French toast stuffed with figs and cream cheese for me, and chocolate chip pancakes with eggs for Pacman.

My french toast. Delicious!


Chomp Meter:
This is a toss up. Though the breakfast was quite delish, I wouldn't go back because 1) I don't think it's worth the wait 2) my stomach disagrees with me inhaling my breakfast and 3) there are so many other places to try!