11/12/09

Chose this place for have my wedding dinner!

by rmunive

Delicious food while being transported to another time and place! You'll love it. Try the catfish and an old fashioned cocktail!

02/24/09

amazing food

by lvedogs

wow loved the food amazing experience grab a friend and enjoy a great meal together! the parking was a little tough but to be expected

• Pros: very yummy
• Cons: parking

01/20/09

The cuisine at this Kendall Square eatery is a hybrid: part down-home Southern, and part up-scale French.

by hardinghouseinncambrdge

The cuisine at this Kendall Square eatery is a hybrid: part down-home Southern, and part up-scale French ? all made with fresh ingredients from local New England farmers. Chef/Co-owner Barry Maiden grew up in the land of Dixie ? he?s from Marion, Virginia ? and the name comes from nearby Hungry Mother State Park. The restaurant?s eclectic influences are apparent when you walk through the door: on the wall is a photo of the park alongside pages from The Virginia Housewife and Mastering The Art of French Cooking. Start with the boiled peanuts in the shell; deviled eggs with smoky bacon; or the Dijon beef tongue canapes on toast. For entrees, try the Creole shrimp and grits (the crustaceans are Fed Ex-ed fresh from the Gulf daily); or the pan-fried catfish with caper buerre blanc and garlic collard greens. Also notable is the rich "French style" gnocchi with spring peas, mushrooms and parmigiano. Wash everything down with perfectly sweetened southern-style iced tea served in Mason jars. And don?t forget the incredible desserts, including the Buttermilk pie with graham cracker crust; and bourbon-flavored pecan sticky buns. Located next to the Kendall Cinema (diners before 6pm get $6 tickets), this delightful gastronomic experience makes the perfect dinner-and-a-movie night out.

07/23/08

Just not what it could have been

by grill

The service was good, the food was not. I am a big fan of both french and southern food. This was neither. I ordered shrimp and grits- the grits were not grits. The shrimp- fresh from a can at best.

i sampled my friends entrees as well and its not worth even writing about. The Bar is cute the atmosphere is great. The wine list is nice as well as the cocktail list. But the food is horrible. If they hired a new chef i would go back. It is a great idea, just not excuted correclty.

• Pros: Bathrooms!
• Cons: the food

07/04/08

great food, but you can't eat there

by curious1150

No, No, NO. So interested in great food and service, restauranteurs forget the basics. When eating out, its implied that I will not be poisoned, that I will be protected from the rain by a roof, that the employees will not mug me, right? Equally unstated, for a pricey restaurant, I expect a) to be seated (with a reservation) in a reasonable time, and b) to be able to talk to, and hear, my guests at dinner. Doesn't everyone? Is that too much to ask?

The noise both upstairs and downstairs (at the bar) in this place (visited July 3, 4 persons) is intolerable. It begins with thoughtlessness by the owners, who, for instance, have covered the walls upstairs with porcelein subway tile and have nothing sound-softening elsewhere. So the place echoes and multiplies sound by its design. Then, since people have trouble hearing each other, they raise their voice, creating a snowballing cacaphony of shouting across the table. I could not hear the waitress, 4 feet away, list the specials.

The management could solve this problem (for pete's sake, put a RUG on the the wall!) by paying attention to it and investing in simple noise abatement. Otherwise, the food and service are great, but you can't actually eat in this place, so maybe they should offer take-out. I'm sure that would be a success.

We were seated 40 minutes after our reservation.

Oh, by the way....another thing a frequent patron of fine dining expects is that I CAN READ THE MENU. One of these days I am going to hand it to the service person and ask he/she to read it to me! The type is miniscule, the font is courier, the background color has little contrast, and the lighting is poor. Advice to owners: Fix this simple problem; so-what if the menu is 2 double pages instead of 1?

• Pros: yeah food is great, service too
• Cons: come alone with a book, earmuffs, binoculars and a flashlight

06/21/08

Overrated

by tobiasfunke

Was so excited to try this place and though there were some things I liked, It fell way short of expectiations. Ambience is lacking. Entire dining room slopes down hill. Restaurants can't decide it it wants to be elegant or rustic. Accoustics are terrible....very loud, bad echo. Could hear people at the other end ot the dining room better than the people at my table. Food was pretty good though not great. Preparation was excellent. Foot came out right temperature and cooked well, just not that tasty. We tried almost everything on the menu. Deviled eggs had too much horseradish. Salad, ok. Ribs were ok. Steak pretty good. Chicken opretty good. Catfish (the signature dish) flavorless. Service was very very good. Waitress was attentive and friendly. Everyone was very nice. Some recipes need tweaking I'm afraid. Would't hurt to add fried chicken and some biscuits into the mix. Best bet, have them turn the shrimp and grits appetizer into an entree. That was very very good. Also, very affordable.

• Pros: Shrimp and Grits/Service
• Cons: Food not that great

Contemporary Southern American comfort food comes to Cambridge.

by Gerrish Lopez

A cozy, intimate dining space with butcher-block tables, water served in mason jars, a funky bar, kitschy décor, and southern flair combine to give Hungry Mother a down-home yet upscale vibe. With ingredients leaning towards the organic and sustainable, and in-house cured meats and smoked fish, the kitchen's southern roots shine through. Pre-appetizer "tide you over" items include boiled peanuts and a beef tongue canapé. A skilled chef's touch is added to comfort foods such as shrimp and grits, barbecued quail with fried green tomatoes, roast chicken with sweet potato spoonbread, and cornmeal catfish with collard greens. Buttermilk pie, bourbon pecan sticky buns and more round out the meal.

Photo by Christine Liu