We’ve extolled the virtues of Source, with its balsamic-drizzled pepperoni pizza done New York style and rich pasta plates, and we were a huge fan of the brunch menu’s deconstructed grilled cheese (a delicious, giant fried mozzarella patty with tomato sauce and a fried egg, sadly not on the menu anymore). But Source, when it opened just before the pandemic, was to be something more than just pies and penne; it was to have an entree slate balancing land and sea with meat, poultry, fish and vegetarian offerings. Now that we’re well out of the worst of Covid, Source has gone back to that plan, changing up the menu and expanding its hours, and now offers lunch and a revamped weekend brunch. It’s re-Sourced, if you will.
You can still get that New York-styled pepperoni, but the pizza and pasta sections have been parred back a tad. Of those seasonally rotating mains you can now get grilled swordfish, roasted squash with eggplant quinoa, a pork schnitzel and a half-chicken wood fired under a brick. That sword steak is on my to-try list, and I can testify to the chicken’s moistness, offset nicely by a perfectly crispy skin and served atop a bed of truffle risotto with crispy parsnips.
Some other notable additions are the expansion of the salad section, where a wedge salad with whipped blue cheese and crispy bacon joins Source’s impressive classic chopped (romaine, crispy chickpeas, bacon, cucumbers, aged cheddar, red onions and red peppers, mixed with a creamy oregano dressing). You can get either salad in half- or dinner-size portions, with additional protein add-on options.
The appetizer (“sharable”) slate gets more playful as the menu evolves. Bit bites that intrigue are the wood-roasted cauliflower with chili flakes, nachos made of pizza crust chips, scallop crudo and “not yo grandma’s pigs in a blanket” – chicken sausage and foie gras in a pizza dough hot dog bun. You get comfort food and fanciness in one bite.
Lunch and the dinner menus offer pizza dough sandwiches, including a chicken Parm or chicken caprese (I’ve had both, and they hit the spot) as well as a panko eggplant Parm. You can get any pizza turned into a calzone (for lunch only). For brunch, there’s a bucatini carbonara with a poached farm egg, hangover pizza (sausage, pepperoni, bacon and scrambled eggs), avocado waffles, essential steak and eggs and pancake tacos (with scramble and sausage), as well as your classic eggs Benedict with some of the leanest, most prosciutto-thin ham I have had.
Source is an open, warm and inviting meetup or hangout spot, an excellent weekend brunch outpost especially if you’re into sports watching (it has two big TVs) – though who’s still really watching the Patriots’ dumpster fire of a season? The open kitchen is built around a wood-fired oven that adds to the cozy vibe.
Source (27 Church St., Harvard Square)
Cambridge writer Tom Meek’s reviews, essays, short stories and articles have appeared in WBUR’s The ARTery, The Boston Phoenix, The Boston Globe, The Rumpus, The Charleston City Paper and SLAB literary journal. Tom is also a member of the Boston Society of Film Critics and rides his bike everywhere.
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