Connecting to Your Community - Inman Square

Posted: 11/30/09

By: Meg

At Launch we believe it is important to connect with your community and make your neighborhood feel like home. Last weekend I decided to take a little of my own advice and met a friend for brunch in Inman Square, a neighborhood near me that I don’t always go to. Inman is located at the intersection of Cambridge, Hampshire, and Prospect Street in Cambridge, halfway between Kendall Square and Porter Square.

Because Inman does not have a stop on the Red Line it is a bit off the beaten path and trickier to get to. With no car that morning it gave me a reason to use the very cool new application on Google maps that gives directions using public transportation.

I met my friend at the East Coast Grill. I had seen the episode on Man vs. Food that featured Hell Night, and heard rumors of a make-your-own Bloody Mary bar and fried plantains. Could there be a better combo? The East Coast Grill has an unusual theme of seafood and BBQ with a southern flair; think grilled avocados, fresh oysters, cornbread french toast and smoked brisket.

The downside of meeting at a place like this on a warm Sunday in November is that there was destined to be a wait. But the nice hostess took our cell number and said she would give us a call when our table was ready, giving us freedom to check out the cute shops up and down the block that we had been eyeing.

Inman Square has a very individual vibe and is full of independently run stores. It boasts a wide range of restaurants, from dive bars to Ryles jazz club and the S&S Deli which opened in 1919. Inman is also home to the original Legal Seafoods when it opened as a fish market in 1950.

We hit up a cool boutique called Boutique Fabulous that was full of great gifts where I found all of my mom’s stocking stuffers in one store, which is unheard of before December 23rd!

A quick 20 minutes later the cell rang and we were making Bloody Marys like pros back at East Coast Grill. We had a fabulous meal with chili lime cornbread, fried plantains with queso fresco, smoked pork shoulder with a fried egg in a tortilla, and black beans and rice – delicious! I will definitely make an effort to come back for dinner, although I don’t think I am brave enough to try Hell Night quite yet.

It was a delicious adventure and I encourage you to explore a different neighborhood or try a new venue to help you connect to your community.

For more information about Inman Square and other neighborhoods in and around Boston, contact us today!