is that the ghost of michael douglas?
the place: eastern standard, 528 commonwealth ave, kenmore sq.
the date: sunday, 05.03.09
the plan: pre-romcom brunch
the first time cspan ever came to visit me from indiana, it was july and she could not reconcile the idea of new england summer heat + new england lack of central air. I tried to explain that it’s not that hot that long and that all the buildings are very old, but she just stared at me and demanded we go to see a movie. the only things playing were a disney thing and reign of fire. if you’ve never seen reign of fire and you like bad cgi, bad accents, unintentional gay subtext, or weird cults, you’re missing out. that’s not the point here, though. the point is that matthew mcconaughey has a rather central place in our friendship. it’s weird, but it’s a fact. years after that fateful visit, we spent a lot of time walking around our shared apartment whispering “failure to launch,” and we were probably one of twenty-five people who saw fool’s gold opening weekend. so, obvs, we were planning to see ghosts of girlfriends past. especially because we also love bad romcoms (clearly), jennifer garner, and scrooge pastiches. we’ve also learned from experience that the best thing to pair with a movie confection like this is a fancy brunch. this time, cspan picked eastern standard and I was not complaining.
drinks, of course: romcoms require booze, even at 10:30 am. cspan had a harvey wallbanger, I had a pom-75. mmmm…booze in the morning. and coffee. always coffee.
the main event: we were each torn between the quiche and the blueberry corn pancakes, so we just got both and split them. the quiche had peppers and onions, and was deliciously light and just salty enough. the eggs were moist— almost too wet, actually, but just on the right side of the line. it came with a side of lightly dressed greens, which added just the right touch of bitterness. the pancakes, though, I think carried the day. they weren’t really that noticably corn-like, but there was a bit of a different texture. I don’t actually like cooked blueberries, so I tried to avoid them as much as possible, but when I did have them, I enjoyed the sensation of the warm fruit popping in my mouth. the pancakes weren’t overly sweet and while they maybe didn’t melt in my mouth like the best pancakes ever, but it was close.
the only complaint was that the service was not awesome. after the food came, the waitress never came back to offer more coffee or inquire whether we might want another cocktail. I always find that to be the cardinal sin of waiting tables because not only does it annoy me, but if asked, I will almost always have another drink and run up that tab. but to deny me a re-fill on my coffee is a large strike against any brunch spot. coffee is key, here, people. I’ve never had amazing service at es, but I’ve never really noticed it as bad enough to comment on, so I was definitely a bit disappointed. she tried to make up for it when cspan commented pointedly about my empty coffee cup, but it was probably a bit too little, too late. still, that’s certainly not enough to take away from the delicious food and the fantastic atmosphere— I always like the space and decor there, but there’s something about brunch in that space that’s just better than average.
