Tuesday’s at Vinal Bakery and General Store have become an event on par with the block-wrapping lines at BerryLine and the weekend curb waits at Bagelsaurus. I ventured over last week for a burger — the Miso Maple, cheddar cheese, thick-cut bacon, bread and butter pickles, and of course, miso maple butter — and there had to be over 40 people milling along Somerville Ave. All the bench seats in the Ken Kelly Park across the street were filled and the General Store had a wrap-around line waiting for soft-serve.
Vinal proprietor Sarah Murphy is used to lines. She worked at Bagelsaurus and launched her signature English muffin concept in the Porter Square bagel shop as a pop-up, then opened Vinal Bakery and Cafe in 2019 and the General Store next door in 2022, naming them after the avenue in Somerville where she lived and hatched her muffins.
The interiors have a retro 1950s soda shoppe vibe. The menus update daily. The Bakery, which shutters at 1 p.m., sells mostly breakfast sando fare (the Ham Jamboree is exceptional as is the house-made turkey sausage). The Store offers healthy-leaning (turkey and tuna) subs and sandwiches, bodega snacks (Haribo gummies at the fore), beer and wine and soft-serve ice cream and closes most days at 4 p.m., except on Tuesdays for Burger Night and Thursdays and Fridays for Ice Cream Socials.
You can’t enter the Bakery on Burger Night. You order online and pick it up at a sliding window. It can get backed up and when it does, it shuts down the online ordering until it catches up again. In fact, when I arrived the system was off, but they told me it would be back up in five minutes, so I sauntered over to the General Store for a glass of wine (Avinyó Blanc Petillant, so refreshing). I had to wait in line there, too. Eventually I got my wine and was able to place my burger order. Only the wait was 50 minutes, so plan ahead, because the wait is well worth it. The signature English muffins are fluffy but dense (they make mini pizzas on them on the Bakery menu), the burger, nicely medium, lean and not greasy at all, with well-cooked bacon that was crisp yet pliable, and the miso maple, a shot of heaven. Size-wise, it’s just right, a one-hander that sates without overfilling.
The five-burger slate includes a classic Wimpy (American cheese and ketchup) and the Woo, Baby! (griddled onions, American cheese and a black pepper/Worcestershire “woo” sauce).
A note on that pocket park across the way: it’s named for the local restaurateur behind The Independent, Foundry on Elm, P.J. O’Ryan’s and others. Kelly passed away in 2015 after a protracted battle with throat cancer. The park is a fitting memorial: an impressive urban oasis beautifying what was an abandoned lot, and the perfect family gathering spot to enjoy cold swirls and sprinkle topped cones al fresco.
Burger Night runs through August and also for you summer convenience, Vinal sells Beach Boxes — a General Store sando or sub with a side of tri-color pasta, chips and a summertime gummy mix packed up for excursions to the sea.
Vinal Bakery and General Store
220 & 222 Somerville Ave., Somerville
$ (out of $$$$)
Have a favorite dish or dine out spot that we’ve not covered, and you think we should? Email Tom at tmeek@cambridgeday.com.
A stronger
Please consider making a financial contribution to maintain, expand and improve Cambridge Day.
We are now a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and all donations are tax deductible.
Please consider a recurring contribution.
