Every now and then, brunch on a lovely weekend morning sounds nice. Get some tasty eggs benedict or French toast or what have you, maybe a glass of freshly squeezed OJ or a mimosa, and some great friends to enjoy it with. And The Roost, a restaurant down on Mass Street, is just the perfect place to enjoy brunch with some friends.
Details
The Roost is located on 920 Massachusetts Street, and is open daily from 7AM-3PM.
Website: http://www.920mass.com/
The Wait
I came here with some friends on a late Sunday morning because we were sick of crap dining hall food and wanted to have a nice brunch. Now, I had read Yelp reviews about how it gets crowded for weekend brunch, so I decided to call a few hours ahead to reserve a table; however, the person who answered my call said that they didn’t accept reservations until 30 minutes before our schedule time of arrival. Okay, cool. When I did call later on, lo and behold, the line was busy. My friends and I ended up going without a reservation. When we did arrive, we were told that we would have to wait about an hour. It was kind of a pain, but we were really eager to try out this restaurant, so we sucked it up and wandered Mass Street. We returned an hour later, and when we were told our table was ready, it was like we won the lottery. I don’t know whether it was the hunger speaking or the whole having to wait an hour (maybe both), but we screamed with joy and almost ran to our table.
Smoked Salmon Benny w/ Avocado and Pecan Wood-smoked Bacon. OH YES.
The Food
The food. The food. Oh sweet baby Jesus, THE FOOD. My friends and I waited more than an hour in total just for that glorious moment when food was set in front of me, but man, was it worth it. We each ordered different dishes, and every single one was just as delicious as the last.
I ordered the Smoked Salmon Benny (eggs benedict with smoked salmon and a side of breakfast potatoes), with an additional side of avocado and 3 strips of bacon. That cost me about $13.50. Kinda pricey, but given how tasty it was, definitely worth it. The smoked salmon wasn’t overly fishy and went really well with the eggs benedict. I decided to add my avocado on top of all that, and it tasted even more amazing. The English muffin was toasted perfectly, the poached eggs were runny, the hollandaise sauce was tasty: it was everything that eggs benedict should be. The side of breakfast potatoes was well-seasoned yet not overpowering in flavor and tasted perfect with some ketchup. The bacon was perfectly crispy and tasted amazing. I had never heard of pecan wood-smoked bacon, but man, that was SO GOOD.
One of my friends ordered a full order of biscuits and gravy with a side of bacon for $9. Now, I’m normally not a biscuits and gravy person; I mean, it’s okay, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get some. However, for the sake of all things food and this article, I had to try it when he offered me. He decided to crumble up the bacon and mix it into the biscuits and gravy. Bacon makes everything taste better, right? So anyways, when my friend and I took a bite… IT WAS A RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. The flavors and textures just blended perfectly in my mouth to create a mouthgasm. I closed my eyes, opened them slowly, looked to the heavens, and achieved nirvana. Trust me, I’m really not a huge fan of biscuits and gravy, but if I had to recommend one place to get it, it would be The Roost.
My other friend ordered The Roost Breakfast Sammy (eggs, lettuce, tomato, red onion, chipotle mayo, provolone, pecan-wood smoked bacon/sausage/ham, all served on sourdough) for $7. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to sample it because he pretty much Hoovered it. However, based on how fast he downed that sandwich and his personal testimony, I will say that it must have tasted really delicious.
Overall Impressions
All in all, this is a place that I would definitely return to. The food was great, the prices were reasonable, the servers were friendly, and that’s really all I need. I will say that the long wait and lack of reservation system is a major reservation of mine (HA! Get it?). It’s one thing to have a policy to accept reservations 30 minutes before arrival. However, when the phone lines are busy no matter how many times I call, that policy might as well not exist. I honestly think The Roost and its customers would benefit from having a reservation system in place (i.e. OpenTable). It won’t stop me from returning, it just means I won’t be coming as often.