Cristina R.
Yelp
Hip(ster), local, quirky, chaotic. Flatbreads is Somerville epitomized.
You have to really want it though. Once I had plans to go with a friend on a Thursday at 8, so I tried calling ahead for dinner reservations. They let me know nuhuh that wasn't gonna happen. But I could call in about half an hour before showing up to hopefully get a better spot on the list and not wait as long. Alrighty then. That's what I did, and it actually worked out great! We got seated right away. The hostesses always seem to be in a rush and a bit stressed, but I can understand - what with the food and the bowling and the hipsters - there's a lot going on.
Unfortunately, I've never gotten the chance to bowl. Another time, I signed up my group around 7 PM on a Saturday and was told there was a super slim chance that we'd get a turn. We were a bit disappointed, but the tasty food cheered us up, and we moved on. Then I get a call at 11:30 PM saying we were next on the list if we were still up for it! Too late, Flatbreads. You were being flaky, so we went with Plan B for the night. Even if you don't get to play, however, the candlepin bowling is a cool, very New England backdrop. I dig it.
As for the food, my recommendation is to try the pizza. Any pizza. Being a pretty carnivorous chick, I often find veggie options at restaurants boring. Not here! Their creativity makes even a veg crave-worthy. The last time I came, we ordered their veggie special with sweet potato puree, goat cheese, figs, and carmelized onions. The sweetness of the toppings was perfectly complimented by the chewy, slightly charred crust. I'd call that pretty special indeed (Although admittedly it would have been out of this world with some prosciutto to further counterbalance the sweetness. Sorry my meat-lover is showing again). Skip the salad, though. It made be made with local ingredients and all that jazz, but I found it to be pretty tasteless.
Oh and don't forget the beer! They offer a great number of local options (served in the brewery's own glasses) at super affordable prices (around $5). Drink decisions can often be a challenge for me, so I let my server know that I don't like hoppy beers and asked for her recommendations. "Well this is Davis, after all, so most of the beers are pretty hoppy. That's also why there's so much whiskey in our mixed drinks." See, they don't even try to hide how hipser they are. Hilarious. She then goes off and brings me four (4!) samples of different beers so that I can make an informed decision. This was much appreciated, as even the "non-hoppy" beers felt hoppy to my palate. I ended up going with a watermelon one that was served with a huge chunk of melon on the rim, and it was a great decision.
Don't leave this Davis dive withing indulging in dessert! Last time, we got the special on the chalkboard which was pound cake a la mode with a blueberry compote. The cake was warmed in their wood-fire over so was slightly charred. A solid summer sweet, to say the least. My favorite dessert there is the brownie sundae, which is also warmed up in that oven. I recommend ordering it with one scoop vanilla and one scoop pumpkin ice creams. Any place that serves pumpkin-flavored things outside of fall earns high marks in my book.
Come over to Flatbreads to have some locally-produced pizza, hoppy beer, maybe bowl in a few hours if you're lucky, and get the true Somerville hipster experience.