centre street cafe!!!!

hey, so i must have biked past this place on my way to Fiore's bakery (one of my fave coffee/delicious pastry haunts) without ever knowing it was there, but today, whilst pontificating over where to enjoy a delicious brunch, my roommate suggested Centre Street Cafe, on Centre Street (duh), in Jamaica Plain. when i informed him that i had never heard of it, let alone enjoyed a breakfast there, he laughed and made fun of me. apparently this place is legendary.
soooo, a short bike ride later (its only like a quarter mile down the street from Sorella's), we're outside. for starters, this place is pretty tiny, so expect a wait. but its worth it. the wait staff are super nice, and come outside to check on you and reassure you that yes, you're waiting in a long line, but its going fast, and you should be inside in no time. you can even go inside and grab a coffee to sip while you're waiting. there are only a handful of tables inside, so they can only accommodate like 35 people, but that's ok, more face time with wait staff.
first, coffee. yum. and serve yourself. so you get up, get a mug, fill it, pour it into your belly, then get up and get some more. do this as much as you want, for 1.95. sweet.
next, food! the menu is nice, not too big, not too small. there are the basics, and then some more extravagant dishes (breakfast burrito, wacky wild omelettes). a little pricier than your usual greasy spoon fare, but well worth the extra moolah. i got the french toast for 11 bucks. now, usually i would put up a fight about that, BUT this french toast was made from delicious sourdough bread AND came buried under a mound of fresh fruit. seriously. buried. i had to use my fork like a backhoe to unearth my french toast. delicious bananas, strawberries, grapefruit? mango, pineapple, regular apple (granny smith, snitches!), grapes, kiwi... i think that's it.. usually i get french toast as a supplement to a breakfast staple (eggs, or an egg sandwich), but this meal filled me up. yum! and the sourdough FT is magnificent. add in real maple syrup and you can't even go wrong. plus their butter pats are by Beaver Meadow. random.
heather got the basic breakfast: eggs (scrambled) with wheat toast and home fries. she said the eggs and toast were good, and the home fries were magnificent. if you are a potato connoisseur you should check them out.

grand total was 22 bucks. a little more than we're used to for two people, but still won't break the bank. and for the quality (and endless coffee!) you can't go wrong.

ps. soundtrack is awesome, some kind of 80's madness
pps. to make the wait in line less tedious, there is a gadget store next door that sells overpriced knickknacks and cookware, so you can gaze in at things that you might want, but not at that price. and the girl that works there is a bitch. yeah, ok, the line for the cafe goes in front of your shop, get over it. that's no reason to come out and smoke cigarettes in the doorway just to piss people off. sorry we're not buying your 260 dollar cookpot. roar.

-t

pros: super friendly staff, good tunes, better food, bottomless coffee!

cons: the angry girl at the knickknack shop, long line, costs more than you really wanna pay for french toast but you'll do it anyway cause its that good and you get fruit
bottom line (1-5): 4.87