The Gospel Brunch at the Original Location of House of Blues
Written: Nov 10 '02 (Updated Sep 06 '04)
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Pros: Good mix of music, food and decor
Cons: Really, really cramped seating, cost
The Bottom Line: Fun to try once, but the cost and cramped seating will probably prevent us from going back.
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| modernmarvel's Full Review: House of Blues |
*** This Location Closed in September 2003 ***
We just enjoyed a gospel brunch at the House of Blues in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was the first location of the chain and it is much smaller than other locations I have seen. Overall, the brunch food was fine, the music inspired and it was a decent experience.
The Gospel Brunch is served in three seatings: 10am, noon and 2pm. To be safe, you should order tickets in advance through the box office although you can probably show up and still get tickets. You are in the venue for about 1 ˝ hours. The first 45 minutes is dedicated to standing in the buffet line and eating. The second 45 minutes is live Gospel music.
DÉCOR
The décor is similar to other restaurants in the chain. It can best be described as a very busy, very tacky ode to the blues. There is a lot of primitive art, a disco ball, plaster reliefs of famous blues artists on the ceiling and religious icons among other things. Every surface is covered.
THE FOOD
You might want to bring your cardiologist, or at least some EKG paddles. The food is served buffet style and includes: grits, eggs, sausages, potatoes, fried chicken, fried catfish, biscuits, spicy greens, corn bread, Asian sesame noodles (Alabama meets Japan?), pasta salad, French toast, melon, pineapple and roast beef. There is orange juice and coffee already on the table when you arrive. There is cream for the coffee. No water, no milk.
The food was decent. The greens had a weird taste and were very, very spicy. The French toast was a little dry. The cornbread was a little greasy and a little spicy. All of the food was lukewarm, probably because it was on the buffet. I wouldn’t go for the food alone.
THE SQUEEZE
Imagine sitting in coach class in a 3rd world airline. Now imagine a tighter squeeze and you can imagine our experience. We were squished closer to our fellow diners than could possibly be allowed by fire codes. It was almost surreal. Every move brought contact with the wall, table or my neighbors. There were 4 long tables that seated about 30 each. We sat in the middle of the table and couldn’t even get past our fellow diners to get to the bathroom. They each had to stand up and fold their chairs and even then we were practically intimate. This is not for the claustrophobic and really detracted from the experience.
THE SERVICE
There is practically no service. There are already plates, utensils, orange juice and coffee on your table when you arrive. You take your plate and get in the buffet line to serve yourself. There was one waitress for the whole place. We asked for milk for the kids and then never saw her again. I noticed that most people had their plates cleared away for the show. Since we were sitting in the middle of a long table against a wall, they left our dirty plates on the table for the whole show.
THE MUSIC
The show started off with the hostess. She sang one song. She asked if there were any birthdays and sang happy birthday. She read some scripture and introduced the band. The band, Joyful, sang a few gospel songs. The hostess rejoined them and they did a few more. She asked everyone to stand up and we rocked back and forth and waved our arms around for a few more songs, which was all that was really possible in the teeny space. Then it was over. The music was pretty good. Waving your arms was pretty hokey.
CHILD FRIENDLINESS
Children pay a reduced fee. There is plenty of food to appeal to even picky eaters. There are high chairs. On our visit, only one other family had brought children. We were both seated to the absolute back, although the venue is so small, you can still easily see the stage. The other family got the end of the table. We were squished in the middle, against the wall, which seemed weird because the kids were claustrophobic and we had to get up a few times to deal with small bladders.
GETTING THERE
Parking: Forget it. There is a minimal amount of parking on the street and it is almost always taken. The signs are confusing and even if you find parking, you will get a parking ticket for violating some obscure, unposted rule. There are some lots. We paid $19 to park on Sunday for a few hours. The House of Blues will validate a ticket, but at our lot, it only saved $2.
Public Transportation: Your best bet. There are several bus lines and the T’s Red Line Harvard Square Stop is a few blocks away.
OTHER INFORMATION
Tickets for adults were $28, kids 6-12 were $15, kids 5 and under were free but still needed a ticket. This price includes everything except liquor. Beers were around $4, coffee drinks were $6 and up.
Handicapped accessibility: I can’t believe this place is reasonably accessible. There are a lot of stairs and I didn’t see an elevator. At the gospel brunch, it was so packed, there would be no room to maneuver a wheelchair.
Web site: www.hob.com
Phone number for tickets: (617) 497-2229
FINAL RECOMMENDATION
We had a decent time. The food, music and decor all complimented each other. The cost was too high for the experience. Being squished into our table really bothered me and I am not claustrophobic at all. I am going to recommend this because it was fun and there is really nothing else like this in the Boston area. However, I don't think we will return soon because the cost was high and since we have already seen it, I don't think it would be as enjoyable the second time around.
HUNGRY FOR MORE? TRY THESE BOSTON-AREA RESTAURANTS:
BOSTON: Radius; Caffe Vitoria; Excelsior.
BROOKLINE: Mr. Sushi; Fugakyu; Takeshima; Tsunami; Anna's Taqueria; Zaftigs Delicatessen; Bangkok Bistro; Golden Temple.
NEWTON: Appetito; India Paradise; Blue Ribbon Barbeque; Ice Cream Works; Baker's Best; Bill’s Pizzeria; Cafe Nicolas; Union Street; O’Hara’s.
CAMBRIDGE: S&S Restaurant; The Japanese Mall; Jasper White’s Summer Shack.
WEST ROXBURY: Café Misono.
BRIGHTON: Tasca.
ESSEX: Woodman’s.
SAUGUS: Kowloon.
CHAIN RESTAURANTS: Not Your Average Joe’s; Bertucci’s; Legal Sea Foods; Cheesecake Factory; Rainforest Cafe; Fire & Ice.
Recommended:
Yes
Kid Friendliness: Yes
Vegetarian Friendly: Yes
Notes, Tips or Menu Recommendations No choice on the menu - everything is buffet
Best Suited For: Friends
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modernmarvel
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