Henrietta’s Table, The Charles Hotel, Cambridge, MA USA

Ordered at Henrietta's Table at The Charles Hotel in Cambridge, Massachusetts, just steps from Harvard University.

The Microsoft Outlook Calendar invite arrived in my inbox with a date, time, and place for our meeting: 12:30pm at Henrietta’s Table.  Excellent. I had never dined at Henrietta’s Table, but had heard fantastic reviews. My only excuse was that I went to high-school in Cambridge and after graduating, tended to avoid the Harvard Square area because it was where I had spent my youth.

That was changing though, and thanks to The Charles Hotel, it looks like I would be in this area more and more… and that isn’t a bad thing: Harvard Square is incredibly diverse, rich in shopping, fun to explore, and best yet, The Charles Hotel is in walking distance from the area’s best sites. So I took an hour stroll through the area taking it all in, eavesdropping on the many conversations in Chinese floating around the area, and simply working up an appetite. I was ready for our lunch meeting.

Henrietta’s Table was packed for lunch. From business meetings, to families, to couples, to the solo diner, this restaurant had an extremely diverse clientele that I hadn’t seen on my lunch meetings in the Back Bay. I loved that everyone wasn’t wearing a suit. But moreover, as we sat down, I loved their menu. An iced-tea menu; out of all of the times I’ve ordered an Arnold Palmer, why had I not seen this before? I was so happy Henrietta’s Table had a drink menu that catered to non-alcoholic beverages. I went with the cranberry iced tea. Yum.

Now normally I would ask the waiter questions about the menu, but lucky me I was sitting with members of The Charles Hotel team who had eaten nearly everything here before… and low and behold, the club sandwich came highly recommended not only by Team Charles, but also by the other people at the table who had joined us for the meeting. The decision was quickly made: I will be eating the Rotisserie Roasted Crystal Farm’s Chicken Club.

I’m not too familiar with the Crystal Farm backstory, but I do know Henrietta’s Table sources incredibly fresh, local ingredients, so I just assumed it was one of the many different farms that Henrietta’s Table works with. Again, normally I would ask the waiter, but due to our meeting I didn’t have much time to focus on that subject… and of course, it didn’t matter: the proof would be in the pudding (errrr, the club sandwich… can we get that phrase changed?).

We talked, we laughed, we spoke about online booking engines and Chinese tourists, and we all waited patiently for our entrees to arrive. And there she was, on a simple plate next to a fat pickle, sitting pretty without the fancy garb that other hotel restaurants dress her up in: my club sandwich.

At first glance, I was hesistant. It really wasn’t the fancy look I was accustomed to in a hotel. So many hotels focus on the look and feel of a club, rather than its most important aspect, taste, but this a restaurant felt a bit more like its own, independent establishment than a “hotel restaurant,” so the same rules didn’t really apply here. Time to bite in.

Oh. My. God. I never knew chicken could taste so incredible. Was it the freshness or the roasting that made it this good? Dining establishments worldwide please take note: sliced chicken breast isn’t the better option for a sandwich! If you got fantastic poultry, chop it up like the photo below and allow your guest to enjoy all of its natural flavors that come out in the roasting/cooking process. I guess this is what eating farm fresh chicken is like… absolutely delightful.

2 layers of sliced tomato – now I knew the chef here was familiar with sandwich ratios. Each bite was full of moist tomato and chicken; combined with the very lightly applied mayonnaise, you can be sure this club sandwich didn’t have one dry bite. The greens added extra texture and extra flavor, and the bacon, while unnecessary because the chicken was just mind-blowing, added a nice crunch full of crispy pork flavor to the meal that made you think this was the king of clubs. So unsuspecting too; its presentation simply did not live up to its deliciousness… an unpretentious club. There was something to absolutely love about that.

And so that must have been it: probably the most delicious chicken club sandwich I’ve had to date thanks to simply incredible ingredients that were in the correct ratio, all playing together nicely. With the sandwich being $12.50, this was a great deal at such a high-scale restaurant and hotel. I will absolutely be back and I look forward to doing my part so the hotel invites me for more lunch meetings…. What a treat!!

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