Fun and Fearless Sunday Adventures

Yesterday was an incredibly beautiful day and I spent a lot of it walking around the city.  I had plans to meet friends in the South End for a late brunch so I snapped a few photos during my walk there.

We had a lovely brunch on the patio at Stephi's on Tremont.  I love that it is patio weather again.  I sipped on a glass of sparkling rose.

I usually opt for breakfast dishes when it comes to brunch but since it was a late brunch, I couldn't resist a lunch dish.  I chose the Reverse Chicken Parmesan Sandwich, which had grilled chicken breast, fried breaded Parmesan cheese, and marinara sauce on garlic toasted sourdough bread.  You cannot go wrong with fried breaded cheese.  I did try to make this dish a little healthier by having a side salad instead of the usual fries.

After brunch, I strolled through the city and headed back home.  Bret was waiting for me outside our apartment and we jumped on the T to Kendall Square to meet some friends for a movie.  We saw Super, which unfortunately ended up being a disappointing movie despite the stellar cast.

After the movie, we went to Lord Hobo for some dinner and drinks.  I was still pretty stuffed from brunch so I just nibbled on a cone of fries with their Thai curry sauce.  After dinner, Bret and I walked home to enjoy the last of the beautiful weather.  It was the perfect ending to a jam-packed but relaxing Sunday.

I logged in over 12,000 steps on Sunday and was so glad to be out and about on Sunday.  Did you get to enjoy the beautiful weather outside this weekend?

Bloggers Who Brunch: Lord Hobo

During a blogger dinner last month at Ristorante Villa Francesca, the topic of brunch came up.  For the record, there is nothing food bloggers like more than talking about food, especially when eating food.  We were all in agreement that brunch is one of our favorite activities during the weekend and that it would be great for a group of us to get together for brunch sometime.  Renee of Eat.Live.Blog. took it upon herself to organize our first brunch this past Sunday at Lord Hobo.

After the previous night where I indulged in way too many cocktails, I was desperately in need of brunch on Sunday morning.  Since significant others were welcome, Bret was also coming along to the brunch.  We took the T to Kendall Square and walked over to the restaurant.  It was a gorgeous fall morning and the fresh air definitely felt great.

I have never been to Lord Hobo before and I was ecstatic to see that there is a rooftop garden.  I couldn't tell if the garden was used by the neighboring building or by Lord Hobo but I'm always happy to see people participating in the local food movement.

When Bret and I arrived about fifteen minutes early, Renee was already there at a high top for twelve people.  Even though Lord Hobo had some awesome brunch cocktails (including a bacon-infused Bloody Mary), I spotted one of my favorite hangover drinks on the menu and I couldn't resist.

Our server offered me a glass but I said I'd "drink it like a man" and straight from the bottle.  The water, on the other hand, I eagerly gulped from mason jars.  I think everything tastes better from a mason jar.  

Soon the others arrived, and we began looking at the menu.  Actually, Bret and I read the menu earlier at home since I like to read the menus ahead of time.  The menu had a lot of interesting hearty brunch dishes but there was one that was particularly appealing to me - the mushroom ragout.

The porcini mushrooms were served on top of a slice of toast and topped with a poached egg.  While I ate every last bite of this dish, I must say that I was hugely disappointed that the egg was overcooked and lacked the runny goodness of a poached egg.  The yolk would have really added a great element to this dish and it was severely lacking.

My mushroom ragout also came with more toast and there was a decent selection of bread choices but I went with boring old wheat.

I also ordered a side of fruit.  I know, its a lot of food and most of the fruit salad and toast went uneaten but you can't help but over-order when you are hungover!

Bret ordered the pork belly hash and he told me that his brunch hit the spot to prepare him for a lazy Sunday on the couch.  I was insanely jealous of the runny egg yolks in his dish.

Thanks again to Renee for organizing this brunch.  We had a great time and I can't wait for the next Boston bloggers brunch!  In fact, Renee and I have already been emailing about possible locations for our next brunch outing.

What are some of your favorite places for brunch and why?

Lord Hobo is located at 92 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, MA.