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Volume CXXXII, Number 14 |
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Having a hunch about brunch
KERRY ELSON
COLUMNIST
Bored of Moulton's lunchtime butternut squash? Want to grab a bite off-campus for a change? This third installment of the Foodie's Maine Street restaurant scene summary tells you all about the delis, diners, and coffeeshops that dot the Brunswick landscape. Meals at these establishments cost roughly no more than five dollars per person and service is quick.
Head over to Broadway Deli, Big Top, or Grand City Restaurant if you're in the mood for old-fashioned diner food. Grand City finds a place in the Foodie's heart for its unapologetic attitude towards fried food. One dines at Grand City not to find new-or even good-taste sensations, but rather to observe the social practices of Brunswick's eldest generation. As the Foodie described ealier this school year: "The appeal of Grand City is not its food but its atmosphere. Strike the Foodie's claim in the year's first review that Estes Lobster House provides the quintessential Maine experience! She now contends, admittedly from a non-Mainer perspective, that Grand City restaurant is the epitome of Maine dining culture."
And which performing arts-themed deli, Broadway or Big Top, serves the best breakfast and lunch on Maine Street? Split your time between the two: Broadway serves more elaborate breakfast plates, but Big Top serves up a mean sandwich. Make a sandwich to order at Big Top or opt for one of their menu selections.
The Foodie still has a weakness for Big Top's cheddar melt, which she described in her review earlier this year: "Toasted bread sandwiched a pile of thinly sliced ham, a delicate layer of cheddar, discs of tomato and red onion, and shredded lettuce. The bittersweet onion, spicy mustard and tart cheddar complimented each other, as do peanuts, crackerjacks and elephants under a tent." A few weeks later, the Foodie swooned over the western omelette at Broadway Deli. While Big Top might have faster service, Broadway's intimate booths are more appropriate for lingering.
In the mood for coffee and a donut? Head over to Frosty's, Dunkin' Donuts, or Bohemian Coffeehouse. Although the Foodie has heard of Dunkin' Donuts coffee devotees, she would choose an espresso or cappuccino at Bohemian over a Dunkin' cup any day. Cheap, gooey, artificially flavored donuts abound at Dunkin' but those guilty pleasures pale in comparison to Frosty's compact, crusty donuts that come, to the Foodie's reassurance, only in "natural" colors. However, scones, muffins and cinnamon twists at Bohemian outshine offerings at either donut joint. Bohemian not only bests Dunkin' and Frosty's in coffee and pastries, but it also has the most comfortable atomosphere; like Broadway Deli, Bohemian's intimate setting invites lingering. And, like Grand City, Frosty's would be an appropriate subject for ethnographic study, but not a place to "hang out."
More substantial meals are avaliable at The Kitchen, Rosita's and Wild Oats. The Foodie requests that those in search of Mexican food steer clear of Rosita's and settle for the mediocre enchiladas and fajitas at Pedro O'Hara's. She would like to spare her readers from Rosita's bland refried beans and the soupy, homogeneous chicken burrito she picked over during her first, and, she must conclude, last visit. The Kitchen offers copious varities of salads, sandwiches and wraps in a brightly painted church-basement space. The Kitchen's funky setting and interesting ingredient pairings make it a fun place to take visitors. Wild Oats will impress friends and parents even more than The Kitchen, however, for its health-conscious, vegetarian-friendly offerings, hearty soups and delicious cookies. The Foodie now tips her Wisconsin cheese hat to the restaurants of Maine Street and prepares to experience the cuisine of Pleasant Street.
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