Cafe Beatrice Opens at the Lexington in East Cambridge – Eater Boston

Will Gilson and his Puritan & Co. team were supposed to open the Lexington a hotel with no rooms, a multi-restaurant project in a multi-level new construction in Cambridge this summer, including a cafe, a casual restaurant and bar with an outdoor terrace, an Italian restaurant, and private dining space. Of course, nothing about 2020 has gone according to plan for anyone, and aside from a summertime outdoor preview of some menu items, the Lexington hit delays.

Parts of the building, tucked away amid the endless construction across from East Cambridges Lechmere MBTA station, are still being finished, and the upstairs restaurant and bar (the Lexington), Italian restaurant (Geppetto), and private dining space are still in the works. But Caf Beatrice debuted on October 17, getting the ball rolling on a project that Gilson says was ambitious in the best of times.

Its been around four years since Gilson was initially asked to be part of the project, which is located within the in-the-works Cambridge Crossing development, 43 acres of retail, residential, and science and technology space. Caf Beatrice has already lived several lives, having popped up in Allston for a six-month run last year and also getting several previews via big sibling Puritan & Co. Now it has its own space, where its currently offering takeout (there are some outdoor tables available, too) and showcasing a taste of whats to come for the project as a whole.

Caf Beatrice centers around pastry chef Brian Mercury. Everything that Brian makes is great, Gilson says. He and I tried for years to figure out a way to work together, and I kind of dangled this in front of him for what we were going to be able to do. It took a lot longer to get here, and the world fell apart in the meantime, but we finally got here, and I think the baked goods that hes doing have turned into a really great, unique, different way that people will experience pastries.

As for Mercury, he describes his baking philosophy as: If it doesnt need to be fussy, we dont make it fussy.

Heres a closer look at some items on Caf Beatrices opening menu.

Salted hazelnut sticky bun

No need to coin a new hybrid pastry term la Cronut, but this sticky bun starts with a croissant-style laminated dough (instead of the more traditional brioche) that gets rolled in espresso powder, sugar, and salt before getting covered in a spread of brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. Its then proofed and baked to a crispy texture and topped with a caramel that has heavy cream, salt, more espresso powder, and toasted hazelnuts.

Mercury doesnt want to make things more complicated he understands that people have certain expectations of what a sticky bun should be but, inspired by a laminated cinnamon roll he ate at Cambridges Broadsheet Coffee a couple years ago, he decided to take a different path than the standard brioche. I think that sometimes you can do that with certain things.

The Italian grinder croissant goes a few steps further, starting with the same laminated dough, which gets spread with mayonnaise and whole grain mustard and rolled up with salami, capicola, mortadella, and provolone. After slicing, proofing, and baking, its topped with hot relish, sweet peppers, and a cornichon.

Cookies

Mercury is featuring several cookies on the menu, including the pictured salted toffee chip cookie and breakfast cookie. (Also keep an eye out for Earl Grey cookies and half moons.) The salted toffee chip is straightforward, with salted toffee broken up and added into chocolate chip cookie dough, while the breakfast cookie is almost like a granola bar, says Mercury, inspired by the oatmeal raisin cookies his grandmother made when he was a kid. Mercury swaps in dried cherries for the raisins and adds oats, cocoa nibs, peanut butter, flax, and pepitas an acceptable cookie choice for breakfast, as the menu says.

Pan pizza

Mercurys pan pizza inspired by Sicilian and Roman styles features sourdough using a starter named Siouxsie that Mercury began back at Harvest about eight years ago. Keeping with his desire to avoid fussy things, Mercury tops it with just San Marzano tomatoes crushed by hand with a bit of salt, ricotta, mozzarella, and fresh basil.

Sandwiches and more

We wanted breakfast sandwiches that were more than just bacon, egg, and cheese, says Gilson. Enter combinations like Spanish serrano ham with Gruyere and basil or broccoli rabe with hen-of-the-woods mushrooms and Muenster cheese.

There are lunch sandwiches, too, including a Cuban, a vegetarian miso-roasted broccoli melt, and one of Gilsons favorites, the nioise, featuring really great Italian canned tuna with a hard-boiled egg, olive-artichoke tapenade, green beans, and roasted peppers. Its also available in salad form, along with several other salads.

Caf Beatrices bagels are sourced from Lexington-based Wicked Bagel, teas come from Mem Tea in Davis Square, and coffee is from La Colombe.

The team is working on plans to offer beer and wine in the future, possibly by winter. The vision is for a European-style cafe, where customers can come by in the evening for snacks, wine, and space to hang out. It doesnt have to be fussy; it doesnt have to be a production, says Gilson.

To start, the cafe is open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Order online, if youd like. Find Caf Beatrice at 100 North First St., Cambridge; if youre surrounded by construction, youre in the right place. (Theres also a more peaceful pond area on one side of the cafe and lots of green space nearby.) Upstairs, the Lexington restaurant and bar could open in early November, while Geppetto wont make its debut until 2021. Watch Instagram for updates on all parts of the project.

The Puritan & Co. Team Will Soon Open a Trio of New Restaurants, Including a Rooftop Bar [EBOS]

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Cafe Beatrice Opens at the Lexington in East Cambridge - Eater Boston