Brunch at The Elephant Walk

Over Labor Day weekend, Z and I took advantage of a late morning (and one of our GroupOns) by having brunch al fresco at The Elephant Walk in Cambridge. I never even knew this Cambodian/French eatery served brunch, but after perusing their menu online, I knew we were in for a fancy treat.

To start, we both ordered a Cambodian Bloody Mary ($7.95), made with Hangar One Kaffir lime vodka, tomato juice, chilies, and a touch of soy sauce. 

You could order the bloody marys mild, spicy or extra spicy - I went with spicy, while Z braved it with the extra spicy. Both of our drinks had a wonderful kick to them, and there was the perfect ratio of tomato juice to citrus to spice, which made for a refreshing morning cocktail.

Before our meals came out, Z and I also split the Fresh Fruit Plate appetizer ($5), which came with fresh kiwi, strawberries, pear and apple slices, and chunks of pineapple.

The fresh fruit was an ideal way to begin our meals. Every single piece of fruit on this plate was incredibly fresh and juicy, and it was the perfect portion size for two people to share before having a meal.

For our entrees, I ordered the Crepes Gourmandes Aux Champignons ($8.95), which consisted of French crepes filled with wild mushrooms, creme fraiche and scallions.

Z ordered the Omelette Gourmande A l'Avocat ($8.95), a French omelette filled with avocado, plum tomato and button mushrooms.

Z and I actually had a hard time picking our meals because the choices were so tempting (I couldn't decide on the crepes or French toast served with a cinnamon cider maple syrup), so we split both of our entrees. My crepe was beautifully crisp, light and airy, and the wild mushrooms provided juicy, welcomed bites of wonderful flavor. Z's omelette was also light and cooked to fluffy perfection, and I love the combination of avocado and eggs, so I was impressed even before I took my first bite. Z's omelette came with bacon, which I ate for him, and the bacon was also cooked beautifully - very crispy, without being burnt.

I also really liked how both the crepes and the omelette were served with a side salad of lightly dressed mesclun greens. This side dish, in lieu of potatoes or toast, made our dishes feel that much healthier, and forced me not to leave the restaurant overly stuffed and useless for the rest of the day.

In all honesty, The Elephant Walk's brunch menu is a little too pricey for me, but we had a GroupOn for the eatery, which ended up making our bill $0. I definitely think their brunch is worth the extra splurge, though, even if you don't have a GroupOn.

What's your favorite place for brunch in the Boston area?

Side note: Eversave is having a great deal today for Savino's Grill in Belmont. The Save is that you pay $20 for $40 worth of food and drink, and 10 percent of the proceeds go to the Foundation for Belmont Education. Savino's is an Italian/Mediterranean restaurant, with a great wine selection and a menu chocked full of fresh, local ingredients. 

Gettin' our GroupOn at Kathmandu Spice

If you're not gettin' your GroupOn, you are missing out on 50-90 percent off restaurants (and other businesses). Zach has been a devoted GroupOn groupie lately, and his most recent score was 50 percent off at Kathmandu Spice in Arlington. Z spent $20, and we got $40 worth of food and drinks. Hooray! The only catch: A certain number of people need to buy the GroupOn in order for you to get the deal; otherwise, you end up being out $20.

I am a huge fan of Indian food, and since Z studied abroad in India in college, sharing the country's cuisine is one of our favorite things to do. The bonus at Kathmandu: Their menu boasts both Nepalese and Indian cuisine. Kathmandu was next to empty on the Monday night we dined there, which is understandable since - well, it was a Monday. However, our waiter was friendly, eloquent, and informative, and the menu included one of my favorite items that any oddly-named restaurant menu can include: A history on where the name of the restaurant comes from.

To start, we both ordered a light, crisp, ice cold Kingfisher Lager (notice Z's attempt to get in the spotlight here).

For an appetizer, we split the Vegetable Momos ($6.25), which are Himalayan dumplings stuffed with mixed vegetables and served with a spicy tomato sauce.

The momos were perfectly soft and slightly chewy on the outside, with the well-spiced vegetable filling providing most of the flavor.

As an entree, I failed at jotting down the name of my dish - you'd think after six years of food writing, I wouldn't forget to do this anymore - but, I did. The dish isn't listed on the website's menu, either, but it was basically a Nepalese curry dish chocked full of perfectly cooked veggies (the price was around $12).

This dish was bursting with curry and fresh herb flavors, and the sauce was thick enough to coat the vegetables in a nice, warm blanket of deliciousness. The sauce also had a fantastic kick to it (I ordered it extra spicy). I sopped up any leftover sauce with some fresh, warm naan.

Neither Zach nor I have big sweet tooths, so we skipped dessert - but Kathmandu has a pretty decent dessert selection, including mango ice cream and Sagarmatha Rolls, which are bananas wrapped in a crispy roll served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. Another perk: Kathmandu serves a number of goat dishes, which most American-based Indian restaurants don't serve, even though goat is prominent in India.

With or without scoring the deal from GroupOn, Kathmandu was reasonably priced, and we enjoyed a relaxing, satisfying, and flavorful meal.

Random query: Would you eat goat? Why or why not?