Brunch at Foundry on Elm

Last Sunday, I joined the Boston Brunchers at Foundry on Elm in Davis Square for…well, brunch.

I’d been to Foundry on Elm twice before - and only one of those visits included eating. The first time Z and I went was almost right after they opened, and we weren’t that impressed. Nothing specific happened, we just didn’t fall in love with the place. However, we heard so many great things about it for months following our first visit that we recently went back and had dinner there. Needless to say, our second visit did not fail to impress.

On the morning of our blogger brunch, Foundry was launching their brunch buffet. We were given the option of ordering off the blogger brunch menu (which featured many of Foundry's regular brunch dishes), visiting the brunch buffet, or both. While we all contemplated what to do, one of our waiters brought two plates of warm French Beignets with lemon curd and chocolate sauce to our table to share.

Light and airy on the inside, crispy and perfectly sugary on the outside, these were some damn good beignets. And dipped in the lemon curd and chocolate sauce? Borderline heaven.

Our blogger brunch menu also included a complimentary Mimosa or Bloody Mary. Being a Bloody Mary gal, I went with the obvious option.

Foundry’s Bloody Mary is delightfully spicy, but I do wish it came with more garnishes. I love Bloody Marys that are basically garnished with an entire salad (although, just olives and celery would also do).

A few of us bloggers decided to take a peak at the buffet (and sample a few of the items – it’s research, afterall). The buffet had an impressive display of pastries, savory breakfast dishes (Eggs Benedict included), as well as fruit, granola and yogurt, to name a few.

I sampled a few bites of Foundry’s Pain Perdu Pudding, made with roasted apples and pecan caramel. The photo I took is atrocious, but trust me when I say it tasted divine. Sweet, comforting and incredibly flavorful.

Once I finished gorging on sweet beignets and pudding, I decided to go for a more savory option for my entrée. After finding out that the Vol-au-Vent could be made without bacon, I immediately decided to order it.

Served with spinach and a poached farm egg vol-au-vent (a small hollow case of puff pastry), and smothered in a creamy mornay sauce, this was one decadent dish. Although the spinach was slightly oversalted for my taste (I added more pepper, which helped), I loved almost everything about this dish. The rich egg and flaky, buttery pastry combined with the silky mornay sauce was a lovely combination of textures and flavors. If I had had a hangover, this would have cured it.

The atmosphere at Foundry on Elm is slightly upscale (marble bar countertops, rich colors, more upscale menu options), while still having a casual feel (red leather booths, open kitchen). Oh, and they have a pretty impressive beer list, too – when we went for dinner, no one at our table had a hard time finding a brew they liked.

I will definitely be making a return visit to Foundry on Elm soon (thankfully, I live close enough to go there anytime). Between the friendly waitstaff, quality food, and extensive beer options, this might just become one of my new favorite neighborhood spots.

Which do you prefer: Brunch buffet, or sit-down? Personally, I prefer sit-down...but only because I'm lazy.

All of my food and drinks were complimentary (I just paid gratuity), but as always, the opinions expressed in this post are honest and 100 percent my own.

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