independent love, grand, and a sunday afternoon in pictures.

(photo snapped by yours truly while walking down somerville ave. this morning.)

get ready for some reeeeeeeal local love, right here.

somerville: bear my children.  i love you so very much.  today, heather came and met me at my humble abode and we walked down to union square in hopes of securing a much coveted table at the neighborhood for brunch.  we weren't surprised to see a crowd of at LEAST 15 hopeful brunchers standing outside on the sidewalk waiting for a table at union square's popular breakfast spot, and opted to keep walking in order to find a calmer meal at a less crowded joint.  

enter: the independent.  i was at the indo a couple of nights ago with the fellas, but i had no idea that they offered up a tasty brunch on sunday afternoons.  i mentioned that the drinks were great, heather was sold, and we stepped inside.

i'm just gonna put it out there: the beehive has NOTHIN' on the independent for sunday brunch, and i love the beehive. a lot.  the independent's brunch menu is incredibly affordable, eclectic, and serves up ample portions.  the drinks are exceptional:  i had the earl grey manhattan (jessie, you would've swooned), which consisted of jim beam that's been steeping in earl grey tea, honey liqueur, bitters and a splash of lemon, and heather was enamored with her classic bloody mary.  here's the two concoctions pictured below:

we both ordered the french toast, which was iggy's brioche prepped with orange zest and served up beneath a cloud of whipped cream and legit maple syrup, and we split a side of the frites and garlic aioli.  i'm kind of a french toast freak, and seriously, this was the best french toast of my liiiiiiife. just LOOK at it.

i think it goes without saying that we didn't finish everything, but we left the independent completely, utterly and head over heels in love with the establishment.  somervillains: forget sound bites, the broken yolk, and dare i say it, the neighborhood for sunday morning brunch.  the independent is where it's at if you want fancy schmancy food on the cheap and drinks that taste as good as they look.

on the way back to my apartment we passed by grand, which is my favorite neighborhood shopping stop to date.  i was just planning on look shopping while heather browsed through the witty screen-printed t-shirts and black and white photo prints, but i couldn't resist picking up these beauties before heading home:

they're shellacked lace earrings made by cursive.  i'm a sucker for bright jewelry and these babies match my mood perfectly at present.

leaving grand, i couldn't help but snap a shot of the store's outside wall on the corner of washington street.

reason for this photo:  i need to get to the ICA stat so that i can check out the shepard faerey supply and demand exhibit.  i know, i know, faerey's  now iconic billboard/street propaganda will be on display in town until halfway through august, but i'm totally that cool kid who waits until the last minute to see shows and collections and frequently forget about them until they've long since departed (the ansel adams photo exhibit at the mfa in 2005 being a perfect example of that. le sad.)  the ICA is free on thursdays and the museum is open 'til 9.  who's down?

tonight: dinner in allston rock city with this little one and then off to precinct for my weekly dose of sea monsters and pints of allagash. 

Kendall Square: You confuse me.

last night, after a lovely couple of hours spent drinking limca (indian keylime soda, look into it as it's DELICIOUS and i'm going back to shalimar to get some more in a few) and smoking some rose and mango shisha with mike and matt, we opted to head over to kendall square to shoot some pool.  on the way there, i realized that my friends and i, uh, NEVER go out in kendall. ever.  know why?  because kendall is a royal pain in the ass and one of the most awkward areas in cambridge or boston to navigate, on foot or otherwise.

here's my beef with you, kendall: you're humongous.  and nothing of interest, with the exception of buildings important to MIT and all that, is situated anywhere near your T stop.  when i say "everything of interest", i mean everything that's not legal sea foods or the harvard coop satellite store, both of which are located on main street.  i mean the kendall landmark theatre, which is one of the best cinemas around for international and feature releases; i mean flat top johnny's, where we were last night; and i mean the garment district, which is the reigning champ when it comes to procuring vintage clothing and costumes in the greater boston area.  the fact that you gotta GoogleMap your kendall-bound destination before you even leave your house is enough reason to refrain from heading anywhere near that part of cambridge for the night.

with that said: i wish your layout was a little more sympathetic with the needs of boston/cambridge nightlife, kendall, because your location is ideal.  you're right over the bridge, for chrissakes! you've got movies, booze, pool and decent shopping! why can't you just be a little more accommodating when it comes to organizing a bar crawl or shopping on a rainy day?  

we wound up ditching flat top johnny's for the independent in union square, which is way closer to our respective homes and open until 2am on fridays and saturdays.  the food is awesome and the drinks are fantastic, and it's one of the few bars around that serves legitimate cocktails: i'll bet you $20 that a faneuil/causeway/comm ave bartender has no idea what an aviation cocktail is, let alone how to make one, and they shake up a mouthwatering aviation over at the independent.  union square, i fall a little more in love with you every day...

so, yeah. sorry, kendall.  you're kind of awkward, which is too bad because you've got some real potential. and now, i'm off to central (which beats kendall in every single solitary sense for food, nightlife, entertainment, shopping etc. anyway) to pick up some canvases, limca and some more paint.  i think i'm gonna walk there, too, seeing as it is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS OUTSIDE.  seriously.  get off your computer and take yourself for a walk, just be sure to leave the jacket at home and bring your shades.