Friendly comforts in the middle of Cambridge
 The front parlor of the Harding House in Cambridge is a good spot to curl up with a magazine (David Lyon for the Boston Globe) |
CAMBRIDGE - The Harding House isn't shy about proclaiming itself "The best li'l guesthouse in Cambridge." The motto is even painted above the door of the 1860s Victorian-style home in our mid-Cambridge neighborhood. We were glad when new owners bought the down-at-the-heels property in 1997 and transformed a sad rooming house and apartments into a 14-room bed-and-breakfast. When acquaintances who would rather not crash on our sofa bed ask about Cambridge lodgings, this is one of the places we suggest.
When we decided to try it for ourselves, Lauren Summer, who took our phone reservation, couldn't have been more friendly. "We try to take care of you," she said, reeling off a list of inn amenities. When we showed up on a weekday afternoon, she offered us a choice of rooms. "I was planning to give you a first-floor room with a view of the yard," she said referring to a room near the kitchen and breakfast area. "But it will probably be quieter upstairs."
We settled on Room 24 on the second floor, a large square room with beige walls, blue drapes on the windows on two walls, and small Oriental-style rugs on hardwood floors. The queen bed was covered with a slightly faded, well-washed, blue-and-white bed spread, while a single bed in a corner had a mismatched floral cover. Traditional dark wood furnishings included a round table and two chairs by a window, nightstands, headboard, and armoire with TV.
A few small pieces of art and a mirror hardly enlivened the walls in our room, but the Harding House compensates by mounting exhibits featuring artists from nearby Out of the Blue Gallery. A series of landscapes made with a camera obscura lined the upstairs hallway, while landscapes and florals with bright Caribbean colors were a surprisingly nice complement to the Victorian decor of the parlor.
We had barely settled into the deep parlor couch to peruse the interesting magazine selection on the coffee table when a woman arrived to check in. Summer was unable to find her reservation and they eventually determined that the visitor had booked a different Cambridge lodging - and that the reservation had been mistakenly canceled. Summer was all calm assurance. "We'll take care of you," she said, winning an instant convert - and paying guest.
"I'm really glad I ended up here," the woman told us later as we shared a bottle of wine. On Thursday night, the inn has a wine and cheese social hour, but will prepare a plate of cheese and open a bottle of wine any night upon request. It's one of the nicer touches of hospitality, along with guest refrigerator and coin-op laundry. And though we strolled over on foot, we envied the free off-street parking, a luxury many neighborhood residents, alas, don't enjoy.
We were most impressed with the inn's $5 passes for the Wellbridge Athletic Club and Spa in Harvard Square and free passes to a number of local museums. Located about halfway between Harvard and Central squares, the Harding House makes a good base for visiting Cambridge and (on the Red Line) Boston.
Staff direct guests to Central Square for dining and seem especially keen on the stylish Central Kitchen, where the walls are decorated with wine bottles, the lighting is low, and the music loud. We took the suggestion, wandering in around 8. We studied the menu by flickering electric candlelight before we settled on a grilled chicken breast with tamarind-blood orange reduction and Orleans parish rice, and a molasses-glazed pork chop with smoked ham grits, fava beans, and grilled ramps.
Both dishes proved to be contemporary flourishes on basic American comfort food, which was just right. We could quibble - a little more sauce with the slightly dry chicken would have been nice, and ramps, alas, turn the texture of twine when grilled - but we were impressed by the broad and slightly quirky choice of wines by the glass. (No Kendall-Jackson chardonnay or Fetzer merlot, praises be.)
Perhaps because Harding House attracts business as well as leisure travelers, it begins serving breakfast at 7:15, early by B&B standards. When we arrived shortly thereafter, Summer had already made coffee, set out juice, yogurt, fresh fruit and a selection of breads and muffins. Soon she had whipped up waffles and brought us several kinds of syrup and chopped pecans for garnish.
We passed the maple syrup on to a young German couple on a US tour. We also congratulated them on the strength of their currency - then told them not to miss out on the Harding House's free museum passes.
Patricia Harris and David Lyon can be reached at harris.lyon@verizon.net.
