The Fireplace, Brookline

I met up with a couple of my high school friends last weekend for an impromptu lunch. There aren't so many places that offer brunch on Saturdays, though, so we ended up at the Fireplace in Washington Square in Brookline. I live close by, but I've heard not such good things about the dinners there, so I was a little hesitant to try it. The more I researched, though, the more it seemed that brunch was enjoyable there, and I decided that would be fine.

First off, I have to say how entertaining our waiter was. He was joking around with us the whole time, and we made him laugh as much as he made us laugh. Also, the space was very nice with lots of natural light from the big windows. We had a corner booth that was nice and comfortable.

For my meal, I had a hard time deciding on what I wanted. I settled on the beet and orange salad over Boston lettuce with goat cheese, parsnip chips, and citrus vinaigrette. I'll admit, it was the parsnip chips that pushed me in this dish's favor. When it arrived, I was surprised at the vast expanse of beet. While everything tasted good, there were just way too many beets on the dish, overpowering everything else. There's a lot of potential with this dish, but the balance issues just threw me off. (Don't worry, the parsnip chips were delicious.)

The brunch menu has lots of other good-looking treats, so I'm sure I'll give it a try again... but not for beets.