Tucked away in the bottom level of the 40 Brattle Street building in Harvard Square, Alden and Harlow could be easy to miss but with it's quickly building reputation for amazing new American style tapas, it's definitely no secret. The bf and I went in for dinner this past weekend and tried a good portion of the menu.
The cocktail list is as creative as the food, and though I wanted to try a couple of drinks my first (McGregor's Garde) I didn't want to try anything else.
McGregor's Garden with bourbon, spiced parsnop puree, benedectine, and lemon
We ordered several dishes to share including:
Charred broccoli, squash hummus, montasio and cashew crumble
Smoked cashews, currants, and rosemary
Pickled Verril Farm Corn pancakes, buttermilk, maple, shishito
Nantucket Bay Scallop Crudo, cauliflower kimchee, chilli oil, and uni aioli
Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly, Anson Mills grits, kumquat, bergamot cure
Chicken fried local rabbit, celery, apple, blue cheese, and chili oil
House made rye pasta, confit chicken thigh, crispy skin, fig and liver butter
I truly enjoyed all of the dishes, but my favorites were the broccoli, corn pancakes, and pork belly. The broccoli was the best I've ever had, I loved the char paired with the sweet flavor of the squash hummus. The corn pancakes were so creative, and I appreciated the addition of popcorn as a garnish. The pork belly was done just right, and had that perfectly cooked fat cap with crispy skin and the melt in your mouth layer just below the skin. The most creative dish of the night had to be the chicken fried rabbit which seemed to me a take on a buffalo chicken wing.
My only regret about my meal at Alden and Harlow was that I didn't go with enough people to try even more dishes. There was not one thing on the menu that didn't sound good. I'll definitely be back!
