Middlesex has minimalist vibe, tasty treats
The arrival of Middlesex in the Cambridge void between Central Square and the MIT village might finally give the neighborhood yuppie-hipsters a bar/chill spot to call their own. No more not fitting in with the indie-rock sloths up at the Middle East or slumming it with internationals at the Enormous Room. Now they can feel superior to everybody in a space seemingly designed to induce a sense of cool superiority.
In the few short months since its arrival, Middlesex has cultivated a sort of velvet-rope mystique that makes people feel lucky to have gotten in, although all you need to enter is proof of age and tolerance for waiting in line.
Inside, said yuppies are asked to do a little more mixing with goons, glamazons, and nerds. It's what passes for multiculturalism in these parts. But after a few Bombay Sapphires, and once Saturday night's knowledgeable retro DJ breaks out the Hall and Oates, everybody looks the same, anyway.
Middlesex occupies an open space with high ceilings, and its ubiquitous shape is the rectangle. Benches make efficient lines along the walls, and the tables and chairs are wheeled, allowing sitters to be inventive in how they choose to express the exclusivity of their party.
When the milky, translucent shades are lowered, the widescreen windows make a movie of Massachusetts Avenue. On Thursday through Sunday nights the feature could be called "I Don't Care What the Guy Manning the Door Says, This Line Hasn't Moved" or "Obnoxious Cellphone Namedropper" or, simply, "Expletives!"
Named after the Massachusetts county, and not, presumably, for the gender condition of the hero/heroine of the Jeffrey Eugenides novel, Middlesex is decorless enough to be everything to everyone. Are you nostalgic for the minimalism and secret extravagance of the dot-com era? Have you ever wondered how expensive Ikea furniture might look? Are you a Scandinavian currently in a relationship with someone Japanese, and you're both looking for ways to overhaul your loft? Or do you just want a Miller High Life?
If you've answered yes to any of these questions, Middlesex is your bar. If you answered yes to all of these questions, you might want to look into buying this bar. And if you do make a purchase, please be sure you employ a waitstaff that can tell a patron what's in the dipping sauce that makes the jerk chicken skewers so good. The answer is mango, but to get a response requires asking someone to make the arduous trip back to the kitchen to bug the chef.
Under the minimalist circumstances, the menu is small and the portions smaller. (The wall coverings and doors, meanwhile, are huge and heavy.) But most bars in this town would be lucky to have anything half as delicious as Middlesex's "ten tiny tacos," shrimp shumai, or porcini mushroom ravioli in garlic cream sauce.
The showstopper is the Kobe beef burger, which comes on grilled sliced bread. It's so uniquely flavorful (juicy and rich) that you'll want to give the ketchup and mustard a night off; the grilled chopped onions are all the condiment this sandwich needs.
Incidentally, it's served in the Middlesex house shape: rectangular.
315 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-868-6739, www.middlesexlounge.com.
