I’ve heard a lot about Mercer Kitchen — I’ve heard how fantastic the brunch is and how unbelievable the dinner is. The only problem is, I can’t see myself eating brunch in a basement… especially on a gorgeous saturday afternoon! But I can see myself getting cozy in one of the booths on a cold winter evening.

The ambiance in Mercer Kitchen is relaxing even though the restaurant itself is a busy, crowded, trendy sort of joint. The menu though was a bit problematic to me — I honestly could have ordered one of everything!

We ordered several appetizers including the butternut squash soup with black trumpet mushrooms, salmon with crispy sushi rice with chipotle mayo and ponzu, and the crab cake with avocado, cucumber, lime and crystallized ginger. The butternut squash soup was incredible! There’s something about butternut squash this time of year that really hits the spot. I loved the crab cake — the meat was very moist and very flavorful with splashes of lime in every bite. The avocado also added interesting texture in addition to the moist crab meat and the crunchy exterior. And I was shocked when I tried the salmon with crispy sushi rice with chiptole may and ponzu. I honestly hate salmon, I can’t even stand the smell of it. But I have never had raw salmon before and of course there is a first time for everything. The chipotle mayo added a nice kick to the salmon too! I was pleasantly surprised and now I can say I enjoy raw salmon.

For my main course I ordered the Mercer Burger that comes with pepperjack cheese, avocado, crunchy red onions, russian dressing, and french fries. I was surprised when the burger arrived because it is rather small. But for me, it was perfect. I laughed when I noticed that the ingredients were “upside down” (you’ll see what I mean in the photo). I loved the textures of the moist beef and the crunch red onions. The bun was such a basic hamburger bun too — which I was shocked. It wasn’t on a brioche, it was more like a potato roll — at least the texture was. The french fries though, were more like McDonald’s fries — except less greasy.

The experience at Mercer Kitchen was amazing — and I can’t wait to go back for dinner again. I need to be sure to order the second half of the menu!