Lunching in Davis Square, Somerville, MA

Somerville is known as the city with more artists and creative types per capita than anywhere in the U.S., with the exception of New York (City, not State). Davis Square, then, is always a happening place, but perhaps more particularly in the summer months. Not surprisingly, we decided to spend a couple of hours there, lunching at our favorite, very local (just two sites: Back Bay/Boston and Davis Square/Somerville), independent burger joint: Boston Burger Company (37 Davis Square - at Highland Ave. and Elm Street; (617) 440-7361 - and, yes, you may call ahead and order for pick up).

Boston Burger Company, or BBC as they - and their fans - call it, is located at 37 Davis Square, Somerville, MA. Though small (even after they expanded about two years ago into the space to the left next door), it's like having windows on the world: you can see all the happenings in the Square!

Wednesday happened to be a great day to go as it was not crowded. This is the first time we've come here and not had to wait in a long line (sometimes out the door, even in winter) to be seated - that's how good the food is: people will actually wait, sometimes even longer than half an hour, for a bite. As I was saying, today we happened there at about 1 o'clock in the afternoon and were seated immediately. We studied the daily specials and, as we had a friend who had never tasted the BBC's delectable delights, chose the appetizer sampler to start.

The appetizer sampler, after it was heartily raided by two 12 year old girls.

The sampler included 3 of everything (I wonder if they give you one per person in your party?): buffalo chicken, fried mozzarella sticks, jalapeño poppers, fried pickles, and the BBC's signature fried mac-ancini (little fried macaroni and cheese balls). This came with three dipping sauces: marinara, inferno habanero, and a cool ranch. The sampler is $10.50 and three of us ate the whole thing. The buffalo chicken, though, is all breast meat and was very dry, so, unless you're ordering the chicken as a tool for soaking up as much sauce as possible, you should probably pass and get an order of french fries for dipping instead. The fried pickles, cut length-wise, are to die for - very tasty (and I, as a rule, do not like pickles of any kind, from any culture). The mac-ancini - an American take on the Sicilian arancini (fried rice balls filled with meat sauce and cheese) - are very crunchy. My kids love them but I find that you can't really taste the mac and cheese.

After all that fried food, I decided to have a light lunch and ordered a plain Caesar salad with no meat. I chose it because it was the only salad that featured a real lettuce (in my not so humble opinion) rather than iceberg (which has lots of fiber and crunch but less nutritional value than romaine). Considering that it was packed with romaine lettuce and shredded Parmesan cheese, it was also the best value for the money (the cheapest salad on the menu) at only $5.95. I felt like I'd won the trifecta: no waiting, excellent service, and a great price!

My girls took a while to decide which burgers they wanted. It is quite a list:

all their burgers are made from 100% angus beef (except their veggie burger, of course!)  

 and are chock full of mouth-watering - and surprising - ingredients:  a fried egg in their Kitchen Sink burger, mac and cheese in the Mac Attack and even peanut butter and fried bananas in their King (think Elvis) burger! 

Considering all the exciting, exotic options on the menu, the girls finally settled on a rather basic choice, the All American burger plate. All their burgers are definitely require both hands to eat and a very hearty appetite. The only downside to this happy mealtime story? You have to order a separate plate of fries (approximately $7) and that plate is really too big to eat unless you have a larger party than 1 adult and 2 kids. 

The Boston Burger Company All American Burger plate comes with crisp homemade chips and your choice of either cole slaw or baked beans. (However, if you or your kids don't like cole slaw or beans, you can ask for an extra side of chips instead!)

If anyone is still hungry after your meal, the famous JP Licks handmade ice cream shop is right next door (all I could manage was a kiddie size)!

On the JP Licks' About Us page, owner and founder Vince Petryk describes his ice cream as "love in a cone." He is definitely right about that!