My MA Plate: The Friendly Toast, Boston, Mass
The Friendly Toast in Boston has a lot of so-bad-it’s-gooood-type things about it:
- The Hansel and Gretel Waffle (below - a gingerbread waffle topped with pomegranate molasses and real whipped cream…so naughty, but so deliciously tangy and spicy - something waffles never are)
- The King Cakes (two pancakes with bananas and chocolate chips inside and peanut butter in between, with real whipped cream on top, encircled by a size of bacon - like eating a giant cookie for breakfast, according to my friend Shelby)
- The Ole Miss (cayenne-cheddar toast topped with sausage, smashed chipotle sweet potatoes, two scrambled eggs, and mango sour cream - I barely saw this before my boyfriend had cleaned his plate)
- old-timey fun-to-look-at Americana collectibles like Shell Oil posters, Nancy Drew books, and other advertisments on the walls (I know it sounds like a T.G. I. Friday’s with that description, but it’s not, trust me)
-different sugar cups for every table (ours was a glass Basset Hound, with the top of its head hollowed out)
-extra spicy bloody marys with big, fat, green olives in them
It’s so good. It’s so bad for you but so, so good. From the happy, artifact-covered walls to the delightful, colorful, ridiculously indulgent menu, the Friendly Toast lives up to its name, and blows most NYC brunch places right out of the water. The only major downside, which is way too common in NYC as well, is the frickin wait. We knew what we were in for, thanks to my pre-trip research (the restaurant was named Boston’s Best Breakfast for 2009 in Boston Magazine) and our hotel concierge, but after an hour and a half of waiting to be seated, plus (seriously) about another hour (at least) of waiting for our food to come, cold spam sandwiches would have tasted amazing. The other downfall, but not dealbreaker, is the location - it’s tucked inside a group of newer-looking glassy bio-tech buildings near MIT and Harvard. It’s in Cambridge, but probably along the least charming couple of blocks. It would make a lot more sense to be closer to Harvard Square or in Back Bay, but, good for those hardworking techies who get to eat waffles and scrambled eggs and milkshakes every day! They probably work really hard. They deserve it.
It’s a short walk from the restaurant to Harvard Square and other fun parts of Cambridge, so don’t let the weird tall buildings deter you. Saddle up to the bar, grab yourself a bloody mary, and work up an appetite reading the kooky menu and making deals with your friends about what they’re ordering, and what you get to sneak a bite of. You won’t regret it. You’ll absolutely love the Friendly Toast.
Photos courtesy of thefriendlytoast.net
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