On Sunday morning September 30th, the morning after my 28th birthday, I assembled a group of girls for a post-party brunch. Grub and gossip is after all, my favorite combination.
It was a rainy morning and we arrived at Cafe Luna in Central Square before their doors opened to try and get a table. Sadly, about 20 other people had the same idea and we were told it would be a 90 minute wait. The birthday girl does not wait 90 minutes. Not even for Cafe Luna.
So, in need of a plan B, we waddled across the street to Mariposa Bakery. I'd never been to Mariposa but every time I drove past it I thought, "I should really go in there sometime."
"Mariposa" is the Spanish word for butterfly and that is the exactly what you'll see on their front windows.
Inside the butterfly theme continues with at trio of paintings mounted on a melon green wall.
At Mariposa you order at the counter from the chalkboard menu that hangs above the register.
The cafe has a ton of space with a combination of tables and a coffee bar. The space gets great light from the front windows, even when it's raining!
To start the post-birthday gab session I ordered a cafe mocha. It was delivered piping hot in a butterfly mug with a haphazard swirl in the foam.
I also ordered a scone to nibble on and share with the girls. From all the varieties (and there were many) I chose the cherry walnut. The scone was firm on the outside and nice and doughy on the inside. The cherry flavor wasn't as strong as I would have liked, but every bite with a walnut was an extra tasty one.
The first meal to arrive was one of the specials, the sunrise sandwich. It was egg, cheese, turkey bacon, arugula, tomato and pesto. The girl who ordered this sammy was quite pleased! Mariposa bakes all their own bread and their seeded multigrain is delicious!
Next out was the breakfast sandwich served with egg, cheese and sausage on a sesame bagel. It was a big sandwich! Tough to take a bite!
One of our gals wasn't feeling so well and wanted something comforting. She ordered the oatmeal which came in this pretty presentation and topped with fresh berries.
Two of us ordered poached eggs which were available with multiple toppings. One friend chose the avocado variety:
And I chose the combo of mixed greens and parmesan cheese. The parmesan was fresh and really made the dish. A bite with the greens, cheese, egg and toast all on the fork was total brunch heaven.
Though it wasn't the gluttonous feast that is Cafe Luna, Mariposa is a great place for a casual brunch. People were reading the paper, doing work on their laptops, having coffee after a run, it really felt like a neighborhood cafe.
Be advised, the service at Mariposa leaves a little something to be desired. The line to order moves slowly and they often don't get your order exactly right. Two of us were waiting for a long time for our drinks (they never put the order in) and two of the meals arrived not as we had ordered them. The staff are perfectly nice, just kind of space cadets.
Have you ever been to Mariposa? What did you think?
