It was the second day of my long Boston weekend and that afternoon I headed just over the Charles River to Cambridge where Alden & Harlow serve brunch on Saturdays from 10:30am to 2pm. The restaurant was pretty busy and I was able to get a seat at the Chef’s Table as a walk-in.
Alden & Harlow
I had a nice view of the open kitchen and all the yummy looking food that came out of it.
Chef’s Table
The brunch menu consists of several dishes, a few cocktails, and some sides.
Menu
I started things off with the Harlow Cafe – a tasty coffee cocktail with rum, smoked, jalapeno, walnut falernum, and lime. Falernum is a spiced sweet syrup commonly used to flavor tropical and Caribbean drinks.
Harlow Cafe
While all the dishes sounded great, I had to try their famous Classic Secret Burger. The not-so-secret burger is one of their most popular menu items, simply described as “Our 8oz. House Creekstone Grind, Your Faith, House Made Roll”.
Classic Secret Burger
Well I had faith that it would be a good burger. I must have seen dozens of them being sent out of the kitchen since sitting down.The burger came with a generous side of housemade chips that were lightly salted and very crispy.
Chips
It was a great looking burger. In between the house-baked bun was a nice salty cheddar crisp, moist burger patty, shredded lettuce, onions, and a delicious sauce. It was served with some butter pickles on the side.
Cheddar Crisp
The burger was really good. All the flavors and textures came together perfectly. It was simple and far from complex like some other gourmet burgers. It may not have been the very best burger I’ve ever had, but it was still a solid burger.
“Secret”
Finishing up the burger, I tried another cocktail. The Old Thymey is made with Old Tom gin, vermouth, Gentian liqueur, lemon-thyme honey, and orange salt. It was strong, but smooth.
Old Thymey
I enjoyed the burger and cocktails at Alden & Harlow. Service was excellent and I loved sitting at the Chef’s Table. I would like to come back to try their other brunch dishes such as the smoked pig tails and pickled corn pancakes. It all looked so good!
Alden & Harlow
40 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 864-2100
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