Brunch At Lord Hobo

A simple idea to have a monthly breakfast with friends was thrown out casually in conversation at a blogger dinner and soon blossomed into a monthly Boston Blogger Brunch. Renee took the helm, inviting us to vote on a place and setting up a date and time, and soon enough a group of about 12 of us found our way to Lord Hobo in Cambridge, Mass., this past Sunday.

We were seated at the large community table in the center of the bar. Perched on bar stools, we scoped out the scenery, mingled with each other, and perused the menu.

Some people ordered breakfast cocktails like Bloody Marys, mimosas, and greyhounds. I, a mess with seasonal allergies, went with an iced tea instead.

Then menu ranged from fried Duxbury oysters to a breakfast sandwich on a croissant to a mushroom ragu. I was intrigued by the pork belly hash. I ordered it with poached eggs instead of the sunnyside-up eggs typically served with it because I don't really enjoy the hard yolk on the bottom of a sunnyside-up egg and I firmly believe hash should come with poached eggs. I also like to see what restaurants around Boston can actually make a decent poached egg.

When the hash and eggs arrived, they came in a cast iron skillet and looked delicious, but a few bites in, I wished the meal had been executed differently. There were large chunks of pork belly and potatoes that needed to be cut up (and I was only armed with a butter knife) and a small pile of finely diced green peppers, corn kernels, and caramelized onions. I wished the pork belly and potatoes had also been diced, so I could mix everything together (like hash) and not have to work so hard to eat my meal. I was also disappointed that my yolks were mostly hard.

The peppers, corn, and caramelized onions were so good eaten with a bite of egg. The potatoes, while a hint too spicy (and even the non-wimps at the table pointed out that they were spicy) were cooked well. And the pork belly was, of course, amazing.

I gathered that everyone really enjoyed their selections. The first Boston Blogger Brunch was a success, and I'm looking forward to the next one. There's now a Twitter group if you're interested in keeping up with the group or joining in on the next brunch.

What is your favorite place for brunch, and what's your favorite thing to order?