It's never too late in the night to think about breakfast... In fact I'm already thinking about what I want for breakie tomorrow. So grab a late-night bowl of Special K and enjoy two Cambridge breakfast reviews in one, thanks to Foodie Guy! 

Sarah's Market & Café
200 Concord Ave.
Cambridge, Mass. 02138
(617) 876-5999

&

Hi-Rise Bread Company
56 Brattle St., Cambridge, Mass.
Phone: 617-876-8766

Based on the skew of reviews from Foodie Guy, it’s probably apparent to you, dear reader, that I enjoy the first – and of course – most important meal of the day. Breakfast is the meal of kings. OK, I made that last part up. But, my complete enjoyment of rich breakfast food may certainly lead me to the king’s disease – the gout!

Sorry, enough of the gout talk.

So, when Foodie Chick agreed to wake up for a weekend breakfast it didn’t take much for this kid to rise out of bed for some early caloric bliss.

Riding on the bus to work, Foodie Chick’s culinary radar was piqued by the crowds at Cambridge’s Hi-Rise Bread Company on Brattle Street. Day-after-day she noticed the eatery packed with carb-curious consumers. So, that was our first planned stop. Being the contentious diners, we know to arrival at any busy breakfast place before 8 to assure expedited seating.

Much to our dismay, High Rise was not an “early rise” type of place. Doors at 8. So, we had a few minutes to kill. And, I’m quite glad we did.

Taking a stroll around the block we ran into a small establishment called Sarah’s Market & Café. The markings on the outside indicated eggs, omelettes and the like was served. But, to be honest, the place looked like the bodega the producers Seinfeld used for the cockfighting episode. I was half expecting to see Little Yerry Seinfeld getting pocked to pieces in the back. But, there was one sure fire indicator that this place was top notch – and a hidden gem.

Cops.

That’s right. Cambridge’s finest packed the joint and were streaming in and out of Sarah’s at a very respectable clip.

Now, general rule of thumb HAS to be if there are cops eating at a place, it has to be good. They know the area, they know the prices, they know the terrain. Cops = good food.

So, FC and I decided to give it a shot. Getting to the dining area is a bit tricky if you’ve never been there. You have to walk through the small market to get to the seating area in the back. But, once you are there, you’ll find ample seating for a good meal. The chalk boards on the wall serve at the menus and you order at the counter. So, if you are looking to get waited upon on a Sunday morning, this place is not for you. If you are looking for a helluva breakfast, this place is.

FC was in the mood for some form of omelette. She went in for a cheese. This two-cheese delight was fantastic. Fluffy and filled with cheese. The dish was flanked by a generous helping of home fries and some of the freshest honey dew and cantaloupe I’ve had in a while.

FC will have to vouch for the coffee selection. It looked to me like they had a wide array of coffee flavors, from hazelnut to light roast to dark roast, etc.

Still burned from my last pancake meal FG doubled down on the blueberry pancakes and a side of whole wheat toast. Extreme carbo-loading. The cakes were jam-packed with blueberries. So stuffed that one of FC’s bites turned out to be about 98% blueberry, 2% cake.

The other stand-out item here was the toast. The caliber of the toast left me to speculate that a small part of our meal was actually furnished by Hi-Rise Bread Company. Just pure speculation, but the bread was of the texture and quality of a bread company type place. Dense and doughy.

By the time we were done noshing and chatting, every seat in the joint was packed. Sarah’s is good for families or a place to pick up the paper in the market area, then order some food and grab a window seat for a quiet meal. No better place to scour the box scores.

Now, we didn’t want to leave the Huron Village area without giving some attention to High Rise. So, a prudent decision to grab some “dessert” after breakfast was made.

Look, dessert should be had after EVERY meal. My Mom and Dad said so. Look at the Europeans. They nutella, crepe and pastry out their breakfasts. We can learn a thing or two.

So, over to Hi-Rise we strolled with out minds set on splitting a small item. Without cash and a $10 minimum on credit card orders we just HAD to buy more than a Hamilton’s worth of treats. Oh, woe is me. Twist my arm, would ya.

So, we went in with two “cookie sandwiches” for $1.50 each. A round rice krispie treat with dried fruit baked in for $2.00. A hunk of Banana bread for $2.50. But the Pièce de résistance was a chocolate brownie that literally looked like a brick. Huge slab of brownie for $3.00. Outta there at $10.50 and about 6,000 calories.

Like two kids on Christmas or Hanukkah, FC and I sat down and opened the box with much enthusiasm. First up, one of the cookie sandwiches. Went down smooth, but tasted more like an Oreo than an interesting bakery cookie. Next up, Krispie. Again, a bit bland for our tastes. A more gooey, marshmallowy treat would have been better received. The banana bread was the best of the lot. This was moist and tasty. Lastly, the hunka-chunka-monster brownie. You really have to see this thing to believe its girth. Unfortunately, bigger is not always better. A bit on the dry side, this brownie has a tangy taste. It didn’t stop us from devouring half of it. But, a FC baked Ghirardelli box batch is leaps and bounds better. And much more cost effective.

The last thing I want to do is judge High Rise only on the merits of its desserts. So, a return trip will be necessary to sample the breads. Be wary if you want a bigger breakfast, signs posted tip that the full kitchen opens at 9 am.

To recap: Sarah’s excellent. Hi-Rise, let’s call it “inconclusive.”

Happy dining!

FG