Weekend Trifecta: Lord Hobo

It's all about the neighborhood eats this weekend; from Washington Square in Brookline, to the North End in Boston, to somewhere in between Kendall and Inman Squares in Cambridge. Respectively, The Abbey made a great first impression with their fried halloumi cheese appetizer and Bison bolognese entree, Taranta kept me in her good graces with a hearty fall butternut squash and sage ravioli and a Pisco Sour that could rival any mixologist's in the city, and Lord Hobo, bringing up the rear in a weekend of fantastic eats with an inventive brunch menu and creative breakfast cocktails to boot.

The first official Boston blogger brunch commenced in a cozy residential neighborhood outside Kendall at the dark hip Lord Hobo. Lord knows I wasn't the only one nursing a hangover that morning. Sometimes all the body needs to kick it is a stiff bloody mary and some greasy eggs and toast. So the question of the hour begged, could the Lord save my Sunday?!Before:

[Side note to those of you who commented on the pumps - Steve Maddens I got at Macy's for $18 on some ridiculous clearance rack marked down 9 times over. Originally a $100 some odd dollar pair of heels. Score.]

After:

Hot mess x2. Help.

An edgy hipster vibe emits from the industrial meets funky atmosphere with exposed metal pipes, low hanging bare light bulbs and walls painted red with black trim, lined with clean brightly colored canvas prints.

The water is served in mason jars and the mimosas in non-traditional champagne glasses.

Ice cold and very necessary.
Also very necessary was a Bloody Mary ($7)

Deliciously spicy and full of vodka. That's no ordinary celery stick, it's actually a pickled celery. It was briny with a hint of sweetness and much softer and mushier in texture than your classic stalk of crisp celery.

I'm sensing a trend. I ate pickled peaches in my salad the other night at Market, and now a pickled celery stick in my bloody mary?! If this is a new frontier in salad courses and drink garnishes, count me in!
Between all the bloggers in attendance, we had the brunch menu covered. Check out Justin's Eggs Benedict ($12) poached eggs, speck, spinach, hollandaise

And Renee's Cuban braised pork ($13) salami, swiss, pickled veg, fries
Both worthy choices. I stepped outside my comfort zone and chose the Pork Belly Hash ($14) sunny side up eggs.
I usually forgo the hash option in favor of the eggs benny. But I do love a rich tender pork belly. The presentation in a Staub cast iron skillet with two bright yellow eggs staring up at me was all it took to convince me I made the right choice.
But I definitely had to work for it, the cuts of pork belly were massive! The homefries were no bite-size picnic either.
Despite the extra effort involved, I no doubt got my monies worth. The roasted pork belly were exceptionally moist and delicately fatty, combined with onions, spinach, corn, runny eggs and greasy homefries I could feel the hangover subsiding. I don't eat eggs in the style of sunny side up often so these were embraced along with the Lord's insanely generous portion of hash. I ordered a side of wheat toast & jam (before I knew the size of my meal.) A little sweet to go alongside the savory makes brunch for me.
Stomach: full. Hangover: cured. Buzz lingering from the Bloody Mary: something like that.And it was off to the next adventure!