Last night, I went with a restaurant food group and our latest haunt was Hungry Mother (233 Cardinal Medeiros Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02141 -(617) 499-0090 ). (Granted I had not attended a lot of the restaurants lately, then again I have other friends who are game to visit tons of places with me all the time.) It was a lovely Sunday night and the 10 minute walk from Kendall Red Line "T" stop was lovely. It was not too cold or hot on an early spring night. I admit I am not an expert of Southern cuisine, but I found this little cute restaurant to be a gem. Since Bob's Southern Bistro (formerly of the South End) closed after 50 years of business, there has been a big void in the Southern Cuisine scene. This restaurant was under my radar of places to check out after catching a movie at the Kendall Theater two weekends ago. Then barely a week later, I got an evite to check out this restaurant-I was totally on board to come and check out this restaurant!
I was the first to arrive out of our group for dinner at 6pm and I was greeted by the friendly hostess. Very simple design with black floor, cute wall hangings with one photo collage which I saw had "Hungry Mother Park" listed and other cute images. I bypassed on the libations and got the Sweet Tea. (I loved it! Not too uber sweet but had a nice flavor and it was just refreshing!) The ice water was poured onto Mason canning jars- a nice cute touch. It was a tag team effort with our main server and her helpers. Overall we had great service and everyone was friendly and attentive.
I decided to start out and get the items under "To Tide You Over" Beef Tongue Canape (Gruyere, Dijon), Spicy Pimiento Cheese (Celery hearts, toasted pain de mie), Deviled chip-in farm eggs (and hm bacon) were a treat. My favorite hands down in the group was the lovely Beef Tongue (it was halved) and just tasted perfect. The Dijon and the Gruyere were in perfect harmony of flavors with the Beef Tongue. Every savory bite was heaven! Another item I just adore (because I love love eggs) were the deviled eggs. I thought there were well done and delicious. The bit of bacon atop not too much mayo filling proved just right. The most disappointing of the three was the Spicy Pimiento. I found it not too spicy at all (it is because I am used to spicy food?) but it was fine but paled when contrasted to the Beef Tongue and Deviled Eggs.
Compliments of the kitchen, we got an order of Boiled Virginia Peanuts (topped with grey sea salt) and an extra order of the Beef Tongue. The Boiled Virginia Peanuts were interesting as everyone at the table never had it before. It was nice and much more peanut but softer flavor and a bit mushy due to being boiled. I think I will stick with roasted peanuts.
For my main dish, I got all the items under the "Can you pass that?" section: Baked grits with Tasso Ham and Cheddar, Sauteed Collards, Hoppin' John with Green Tomato Chutney plus the special side of Corn Bread. The Hoppin' John was very good with the wonderful slice of ham and the sweetness of the chutney contrasted well together. I did not know what to expect but it was good. The Collards were just to my taste-still a little chewy (I dislike mushy veggies) and very flavorful. The slight bitter tang always gets me. One diner in our group thought it too chewy, I thought it was just perfect. The Grits with Tasso Ham and Cheddar was a winner. Admittedly, I have had it only a handful of times before. I love cheese and the cheddar was nice and strong paired with the lovely salty Tasso Ham served with the almost thick almost rough mashed potato texture (if it had a grainy texture). Once I ate all the ham and cheddar, the grits were kind of plain. All together, it was a pow wow of flavors and taste. One big surprise was the corn bread. Corn bread is another fave of mine. I have had it many ways (many times being dry too) but this was unbelievably good. Who would have thought of this warm, gooey goodness topped with maple syrup would be a hit?
Others got the Cornbread encrusted Catfish, Roasted Chicken and Shrimp and Grits. Everyone loved their meals. Very healthy portions and lots of starchy carbs. Yummy! I had to package my food to go in order to have some room for dessert. I shared with with my neighbor and it turned out to be the table fave---Chocolate Cardamom Pot of Creme with Lemon shortbread. I am glad I shared and it is great for any chocolate lover (who adores quality chocolate plus the lemon shortbread when dipped into the chocolate-sweet!) Everyone cleaned up their plates and their dessert ramekins. We all agreed that was a lovely meal.
Food: 9 forks (out of 10 forks)
Service: 9 forks (out of 10 forks)
Prices: Reasonable $30 and under
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