the friendly toast (cambridge)

My friend Emily and I had lunch at the Friendly Toast in Kendall Square last week. It was my first time at the restaurant, and I was blown away by the kitschy decor inside. It has a fun, diner-esque atmosphere with an all-day breakfast menu. They also have a location up in Portsmouth, NH that is actually open 24 hours on weekends.

We both ordered tea and I love the little pots that they arrived in (I'm pretty sure I've seen these at Davis Squared, right?), not to mention the plastic mugs that they gave us. So cheeky and retro, yet so cool! I forgot what kind of tea Emily had but I had the minty green tea and it was really good.

The sugar holder on our table reminded me of the kind of stuff we'd find at our Auntie Tita's house when we were growing up near Vacaville. She had something exactly like this in her house - and it was probably an ash tray - but just as quirkily cool, know what I mean?

Emily had the Matt sandwich which was made with anadama bread ( ),cream cheese, avocado, black beans, salsa, and cheddar. It was a huge sandwich! They serve sandwiches with your choice of either pretzels, homefries, or chips. Em went the healthier route and boy, did they pile on the pretzels!

I had an egg sandwich on a grilled croissant and goat cheese. It was a little surprising when the waitress asked me how I wanted the eggs done because I'm so used to egg sandwiches being made with scrambled eggs. I went with her suggestion of sunny something (why can't I remember?! sheesh! I know it wasn't sunny side up because she said they flip it over a little bit, otherwise it would be super runny ... sunny medium? is that what that style is called??) and it was perfectly done so that the sandwich held up enough but the egg yolk was still nice and runny. I know, not everyone likes their eggs quite that raw but it's so delicious to me!

I must admit that I had heard mixed things about this location and mostly that their non-breakfast items weren't that great. I hear they do awesome pancakes and waffles, so I might be inclined to go for something like that next time. It seems like a good family place and also good for small groups of people. It's located near a lot of the bio-tech companies in the square, so it's not wonder it was pretty full at lunch time. The service was kind of slow, but then again, I think she was one of two wait staff on at the time.

I have to say, the area that we walked through (by the Cambridge Brewing Company, Flat Top Johnny's, the Blue Room, and the newest restaurant called Think Tank) was boasting with crowds of people at lunch time, and seems like such a fun area to work near. There was a lot of outdoor patio dining - I think I may have to convince my coworkers to do lunch there a couple of times this summer!


The Friendly Toast
1 Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA
617.621.1200
http://www.thefriendlytoast.net