Music to My Ears: One Kendall Square Music Lab Boston

By: Marico "Mari" Corbin

A stream of jazzy notes and raspy lyrics float up to my ears as I approach the One Kendall Square Music Lab last Wednesday. The band, 3rd Left, is the featured entertainment for the evening. Hailing from Plymouth, MA, the rock and jazz inspired four-man ensemble creates the perfect mood for an evening of food, drinks, and mingling.

The One Kendall Square Music lab combines restaurants in the vicinity with local bands to create a sampling of talent via food and music. Talk about a taste and sound orgasm. Wandering through the crowd of khaki wearers and beer-filled cups, I scouted out my initial point of contact. First stop: The Blue Room.
Give me seafood and nine times out of ten I’ll love it. Such was the case with The Blue Room’s dish: grilled shrimp and chorizo. A gusto of flavor presented in such a small skewer, this was the perfect appetizer to start with. The spice coated the shrimp to a tee, while the chorizo was a great complement. Not too overzealous, but enough to linger on your taste buds.

Next up: The Friendly Toast

Cheers! This sangria was definitely friendly and ideal considering I tasted more red wine than any fruits or juices. I love red wine, so I’m not complaining. It was a nice tart refreshment after the ambrosial goodness that had just entered my mouth. Strolling along and sipping on my new found friend I discovered my next target: The Cambridge Brewing Company.

I was in pulled pork heaven as soon as my mouth sank into the tangy, tender meat that saturated the toasted bun. Relief overcame me when I saw that the sandwich was not drenched in barbeque sauce. Had it been, I’m sure I would have had to make use of my napkin as a bib. Although I felt my food meter slowly creeping up to full I had room for one more stop. On to Tommy Doyle’s.

Pasta salad just bellows out, “I’m a summer food. Devour me in the hot weather at your neighborhood barbeque.” Crowning ingredients encompassed this salad: olives, feta cheese, tomatoes, peppers, and ziti. The vegetable and chicken kabob was satisfactory. The chicken was tender and savory. The vegetables weren’t a highlighting factor.

I left full and with a new band to add to my iTunes. August 19th is the last and only day that the One Kendall Square Music lab will take place. It is definitely worth meandering through.