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B-Side Lounge
In the music business, the B-side is the companion song to a newly released single. While the A-side song gets the publicity, the B-side sometimes turns out to be a real find.
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B-SIDE LOUNGE
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Where: 92 Hampshire St., Cambridge.
Telephone: 617-354-0766.
Prices: Appetizers $4-$10, sides $2.50-$5, entrees $10-$15.
Good choices: Steamed mussels; roasted chicken breast; steak tips; marinated asparagus; lobster-scallop sausage; chocolate fondue.
Hours: Lunch: Tue.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner: Sun.-Wed. 5:30 p.m.-midnight, Thurs.-Sat. 5:30 p.m.-1 a.m. Brunch: Sat.-Sun. 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Noise level: Moderate.
Credit cards: All major cards except Discover.
Access: Fully accessible.
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So it is with the B-Side Lounge, a chic, sleek little spot at the corner of Hampshire and Windsor streets near Kendall Square in Cambridge. The lighted sign atop the building says "The Windsor Tap," the B-Side's previous incarnation.
The B-Side gets crowded on the weekends - at all hours you can find the regulars sitting on the chrome-and-vinyl barstools, sipping beers and eating, yes, hard-boiled eggs. The dining area gets full, too, with an eclectic crowd gathered around the black-topped, chrome-trimmed, '50s-style tables. Noise tends to bounce off the old-fashioned tin ceiling, but you can carry on a decent conversation in between bites of great food.
Steamed mussels ($6.50, plenty for two people as an appetizer) were tender, spiked with fresh lemon, and came with two spears of crusty bread for sopping up the garlicky broth. The pan-seared fois gras ($10), served on toast points, was rich and savory. It came with a heap of red onion and watercress dressed in a vinaigrette that was cherry-sweet and balsamic-tart (though the watercress that night looked and tasted suspiciously like arugula, but was cool and crisp).
While I found some of the food a little on the salty side, it didn't bother any of my dinner companions on several different trips. The roasted chicken breast ($12) was juicy and well seasoned; it came with a generous portion of salt-roasted potatoes and seared greens. Steak tips ($10) arrived, as requested, perfectly medium-rare, with mashed red-bliss potatoes and fried onions. The lobster-scallop sausages ($15) were delicate, succulent and flavorful, in a rich broth with grilled littlenecks and baby carrots, accented by bursts of fresh sweet corn. Pair this dish with some white wine (a glass of R.H. Phillips Barrel Cuvee Chardonnay is $5) and you could want for nothing more.
Except, perhaps, dessert. The chocolate fondue ($9) is meant for two people and could easily serve three. A small pot of melted semi-sweet chocolate came surrounded by cubes of pound cake, dried apricots and figs, toffee, and fresh apples, pears, bananas, and strawberries. Heaven.
- Lylah M. Alphonse
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