A Little Bit About a Lot of Things

I was invited to have lunch the other day at Vine Brook Tavern, located in historic Lexington. Vine Brook Tavern is owned and run by Marcus Palmer, who has worked with an amazing array of talented chefs, most notably, Jean Georges Vongerichten. Palmer has worked in some of the top restaurants in Boston, including: Market in the W Hotel in Boston, Smith and Wollensky, Morton’s, Olive’s and Legal Sea Foods. The kitchen is run by Executive Chef Chris Frothingham, who has worked at places like Sel de la Terre, Bonfire and Kingfish Hall.

Vine Brook Tavern has two floors and offers a number of different dining options: shown above are two of the upstairs dining rooms, perfect for a private party.

Top left, one of the upstairs semi private dining rooms; top right, the large bar located downstairs (they have several tvs so you can come in and catch the game while grabbing a bite); pictured on the bottom are the upstairs windows that face the street.

Vine Brook Tavern will serve lunch 7 days a week, with an express lunch Monday – Friday, a menu focused on those that only have an hour for lunch, with a spotlight on salads, panini press sandwiches and burgers. Pictured on the right is the “secret” pizza menu, offered at dinner time only, and only available for pickup – you can choose from 4 options or choose to create your own.

Pictured on the top left: the cast iron eggs ($12), loaded breakfast potatoes, caramelized onions, bacon, two eggs over easy, topped with sausage gravy. The gravy is what did it for me, really flavorful – it made this dish special. Pictured top right: the crispy challah French toast ($11)  served with maple pecan butter, blueberries and maple syrup. Here is what makes this dish so delicious, the custard cream center of the toast and the “crispy” is frosted flakes cereal…just to add a little extra sweetness. Pictured on the bottom is a flat bread with proscuitto, fried eggs and pea tendrils. The dough is delicious, stop in and pick up a pizza today, you don’t want to miss it!

Other great things about Vine Brook Tavern: they have a chef’s table, once a month, on a Tuesday or a Wednesday, you and 8 of your friends can come in for a 6 course meal, complete with pairings, for $99 per person. Vine Brook Tavern also offers a wine class once a month, each one focusing on a different varietal. The classes are $30 per person. They have previously had beer and tequila classes too – stop in and check out a class, they last about 2 hours.

Disclaimer: Vine Brook Tavern invited me to be their guest and provided me with a complimentary lunch. All opinions are my own.

Vine Brook Tavern

20 Waltham Street, Lexington, MA

http://vinebrooktavern.com/

Tags: brunch, casual dining, restaurant