Highland Kitchen

[vtexposfan]

Having heard about their monthly spelling promotion (conducted at 10 PM on the first Tuesday of each month), I was able to pay this Somerville spot a visit this week (150 Highland Avenue.)

The ambiance is decidedly hipster, as the bar offers both PBR and Narragansett (on tap, no less!) At $3.50 for the former, the price points are in line with Allston/Brighton bars. The bar has a limited selection of beers on tap and appears to have a shallow selection overall, based on the size of the cooler.

The menu only takes up two pages, but is surprisingly diverse and lengthy, but in the right places. Rather than try to force 20 entrees a la Applebees, the restaurant lists only a handful of sandwiches and entrees (including a goat dish!), with the depth coming in their exotic snack and appetizer offerings.

I made my selection from the specials list: jambalaya with andouille sausage and shrimp. Never has a jambalaya aroused my taste buds so much. It was billed as a $9 appetizer, but sufficiently filled this skinny reviewer.

The spelling promotion was as engaging as a typical spelling bee format could be in a bar. It's difficult to hold somebody's attention in a bar game when their direct involvement in it may be limited to the one word you spell incorrectly at the beginning of the game. To that end, many of the patrons that crowded the bar when I first arrived had departed before the end of the game. The male and female hosts bantered well both with each other and with contestants. The words were of varying degrees of difficulty, with definitions, sentences, etymologies, and origins at the ready to aid players. The game may come across tedious to the casual observer, but anybody who wants to enjoy a show will enjoy this one.

[lugnutz]

Spelling??? I'd be out fast hahaha

[Boston]

jambalaya with andouille sausage and shrimp

and when are you adding to the Crumple & Fold thread?

[mcm]

lol @ price points. Unless you go somewhere that beers are $8 and mixed drinks are $15 its all the same.

[Jackie Treehorn]

$3.50 for a PBR doesn't even seem that cheap for Winter Hill/East Somerville. I've heard the food at this place is good though, haven't been yet but would like to check it out.

Does anyone know the name of the dive bar that used to be in that spot? I remember going there like 7 years ago when I lived over there but can't remember the name.

[Boston]

Madison's

[Jackie Treehorn]

That doesn't sound right. Was it something else before that?