Remembering Yesterday

Recipe for a most excellent Sunday:

1 invigorating hour - MIT Flea
1 generous heap - B-side brunch
2 folded bundles - Sunday papers
1 shared pint - fro-yo at Café Kiraz

Prep your appetite with a stroll through the Albany Street garage during one of MIT’s legendary swap-fests. Who can pass up a cache of vintage Furbies for five bucks apiece? The Flea does offer sustenance by way of sausage sandwiches, chili, and hot dogs, but please, avoid temptation. If you must indulge in the al fresco meat products, talk someone else into buying and then scam a bite or two - once you motor over for a round of B-Side brunch, you’ll be glad for the extra room in your stomach.

With a reinvigorated menu coming from Jim Whelan's expertise in the kitchen (he used to be at Saint and Tremont 647 among others) the B-Side's portions are huge, and the quality of food unparalleled. The blue cheese fries ($7.50) boast enough sustenance for a table of five, and after trying a bite of the Windsor Sandwich ($8), you’ll never look at McMuffins the same way. Other smart moves include their near-perfect pancakes ($5 for a short stack) or steak and eggs (a worthwhile $12 – Bostonist is not a habitual carnivore, but when dining with a companion who orders this dish, we'll claim half the filet every time.)

Although it is Sunday, and, by some Puritan standards, too early for drinking, don’t overlook the B-Side’s selection of expertly mixed cocktails. Buck those antiquated blue laws and try something new – the Bee Hive martini ($8) is a sure winner, with Barenjager honey liqueur cutting the bite out of the Jameson’s Irish Whiskey. A traditionalist can’t go wrong with a jumbo mimosa or signature bloody mary. If you’re not into hard stuff, the B-Side also offers a wide selection of beer and a few choice wines by the glass, as well as delicious fresh-squeezed juices and, of course, good strong coffee. After the drinks and food start to work their magic, you’ll need some time to recover. While you metabolize, why not relax and peruse the Boston Globe or the New York Times? There’s several copies at the bar, right next to the rack of hard-boiled eggs. For those of us that simply like to flip through the pages, there’s usually a healthy stack of glossy Impropers and Weekly Digs as well.

Once you’ve regained your strength, take a stroll down the street to Café Kiraz for some custom-made frozen yogurt. Bostonist shared a pint of vanilla-and-skor-bar ($2.39), while sipping on cups of their dark-roast coffee, but the flavor choices are almost endless. Carob? Peppermint Patty? Tofu-and-M&M? They blend it to order, so the world is your oyster.

Speaking of oysters, Bostonist has been told the B-Side also offers champagne and oysters on Sunday evenings, after brunch has been cleared away. So check a movie at Kendall Square Cinema and then head back for round two.

B-Side Lounge is at 92 Hampshire St, Cambridge – somewhere between Kendall and Inman.
Café Kiraz is a few blocks away at 119 Hampshire Street, Cambridge

Post contributed by Erin Anguish