M3

My suspicious have been confirmed. I walked by 10 days later and found the restaurant closed, with black plastic covering the windows.
A quick web search shows that it was seized by the state for not paying its rent. Not a good sign.
RIP M3. You will be missed.

Well, this might explain why the reviews of this once wonderful place, have changed over the last few months. I knew something was up, because it use to be great. Sad to hear. I hope they get back up and running again.
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Tuesday, August 12, 2014
M3 in Somerville’s Davis Square Has Been Seized by the State
A Southern-​style restaurant on the edge of one of the busiest sections of Somerville has been shut down by the state.
A Twitter post from @mlissabos mentions that M3 on Highland Avenue is closed, with a «Seized» sign out front. A picture posted on Twitter by @zachad confirms this, with the sign saying that the dining spot has been shuttered per court order for judgement issued and it is now in the possession of the Constable’s Office of Massachusetts. At this point in time, it is not known exactly why M3 was seized, nor is it known whether it could reopen.
[August 13 update: According to a post in the Davis Square Live Journal blog, M3 was seized because it owes $ 25,238 to the landlord.]
M3 first opened in June of 2012, offering «meat and three,» or a main course of meat along with three side dishes. Its menu includes such items as fried catfish, chicken and waffles, meatloaf, roasted pork shank, and a duck fat burger.
The address for M3 is 382 Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA, 2 144.
Thanks to Drew Starr for initially bringing this to our attention.

A Southern-​style restaurant on the edge of one of the busiest sections of Somerville has been shut down by the state.
A Twitter post from @mlissabos mentions that M3 on Highland Avenue is closed, with a «Seized» sign out front. A picture posted on Twitter by @zachad confirms this, with the sign saying that the dining spot has been shuttered per court order for judgement issued and it is now in the possession of the Constable’s Office of Massachusetts. At this point in time, it is not known exactly why M3 was seized, nor is it known whether it could reopen.
[August 13 update: According to a post in the Davis Square Live Journal blog, M3 was seized because it owes $ 25,238 to the landlord.]
M3 first opened in June of 2012, offering «meat and three,» or a main course of meat along with three side dishes. Its menu includes such items as fried catfish, chicken and waffles, meatloaf, roasted pork shank, and a duck fat burger.

Going downhill big time!!!
My girlfriend and I have gone to M3 for a couple years now. It was one of our favorite brunch places in the Boston area. Amazing food, cool place, and always busy/​full of life!
Sadly, this place has gone downhill big time and rather quickly too. The last few times we have gone it just gets worse and worse. We decided to give it one more try last Sunday and it was a horrible experience. We walked in and the place was dead. There were only two other tables sat there. The floor and tables were gross, very sticky and everything on the table seemed dirty. There was a huge long hair on top of the sugar caddy and the chairs were sticky/​dirty as well. The staff was horrible, they simply do not know how to be good servers. They used to have cream in a tin with the coffee, but now they give you those cheap plastic half and half’s. Also, they had sugar in the raw before, but now have cheap domino sugar packets. During our time there, we had fly’s buzzing around us and our food.
I ordered the chicken/​biscuits with gravy like I always do and there were some major problems!
1. I have ordered this about 5 or 6 times before and it always came with fresh fruit, but this time there was none… Kind of strange they took it away.
2. After a few bites I felt something hard and weird in my mouth. I thought it was a fingernail, but turned out it was a piece of metal from the scrub brushes they clean pans with. Gross!!!
3. The gravy was clearly microwaved as it was intensely hot, but had a gooey, hard layer on the top.
At this point I sent it back and did not want anything else as I was grossed out at this point. My girlfriend always gets the pancakes and she too thought it was a pale comparison to what they once served.
We ended up paying our bill and sadly agreed it was out last time at M3. Such a shame because we loved this place and now will never go back. There was some strange guy behind the counter we never saw before. We could only guess that the original owners sold the place to someone else and now the new owner is focused on cost over quality. If you want to go here, go soon because I truly believe that M3 will be another closed business soon enough. It’s only a matter of time. I remember when the rating on Unilocal was 4.5, but now it’s only 3.5. It’s going down hill and has no signs of stopping. Sorry M3, you once were a great place, but not anymore! :O (

Solid, reasonably proved BBQ. No big standouts for me, and although I should have known better — the wine selection was limited, as in were out of all the reds and only has one white.
Service was good, but also basic. Tasty but not sure is head back again.

M3 is the perfect little Southern joint just far enough outside Davis that you can probably find parking nearby. The food is beyond bad for you, but it tastes really good. Fried chicken (16 $) came with 3 sides and a piece of their peach cornbread. I figured for 16 $ a tray full (literally) of food something had to be a miss or have little effort. NOPE. Fried chicken was done then and there, the breast meat was a little dry, but that’s because it was a very large piece of breast meat and had to be cooked through. There was nothing wrong with it. The thigh and drumstick were juicy and delicious (the fattier parts). I love that they serve all pieces of the bird for you to enjoy. The sides were another meal themselves, oozing with cheese mac and cheese, well done collard greens, and a super sweet, sweet potato casserole (with fluff). The waitress was spot on saying this was very sweet and too sweet for her tastes, my wife loved it but I didn’t like it at all, it was way too sweet. The peach corn bread was moist (most corn breads are dry), the fruit must keep it that way. There was a piece of a peach in my cornbread and it worked surprising well in there. My wife had the duckfat burger and it was delicious. The duck fat gave it this awesome crust around the beef patty. The burger was so good it didn’t really need cheese or ketchup. When in Rome… we had already gorged ourselves and my wife couldn’t resist the fried oreos for dessert. I begged for mercy but still tried one. Had to eat a second. Think Warm mushy oreos with a fried shell. They provide a nice blueberry sauce that provides a really nice pairing. At 6 $ these 6 fried oreos were a nice way to finish the meal.
Service was good and friendly.
We would definitely come back if we were in the area or looking for some fatty southern food.

M3 is generally fine. I’ve eaten here a handful of times and the food is fine. The service is fine. The décor is cute. It’s all just… fine. Which is probably the problem. i’ve certainly never gotten up just craving their food.
What I would say about M3 is don’t eat here if you’re from the south or you’ve been there recently. The food won’t work for you.
I find that there’s always something wrong with a plate – either the chicken is bland or the waffles are chewy or the biscuit is hard or the apple butter is burnt – but not usually more than one thing is wrong, but usually one thing.
The service is generally all right. They don’t like it when you read at the bar. And usually there is one waitress definitely working harder than the others. But nothing awful. No one has ever been supercilious or rude.
If you go for breakfast, its definitely better food and a better value than Supreme Kitchen, for example, but much less good than the places in Ball Square.

Ahhhh! What happened to this place??? It was such a gem!!!
I noticed it wasn’t as busy as it used to be. I’d always walk by and see it packed but not anymore.
The food is still stellar. So kudos to the cooks.
The service is horrendous! I was a waitress for a long time, so I am more often than not forgiving of poor service because I can understand if you’re understaffed and weeded. But my waitress had 2 other tables and she didn’t bring anything I asked for since I arrived, I asked multiple times. I give up. I mean – you have 2 other tables! The whole place itself probably sits 30 plus the counter seats. Get your shit together!
Also – dress code? Yeesh. It’s like sweat pants and belly shirts.
Did the ownership change? This is not nearly the same place it was and it shows.

Man, I really wanted to like you M3… but you have let me down. #sadface
I goto Davis Sq. quite frequently since I live in the area and I drive past M3 almost every other day. I’ve wanted to eat here for the longest time and I finally got to a few days ago. I went with a friend and we managed to snag a parking spot right across the street from it. As we walked up to the door, we were greeted by a hand-​written sign that said «SORRY. CASH ONLY» (or something along those lines). Um, what? I really hope that their system was just down or something and that this was just temporary. I’m a person who rarely carries cash. Anyways, my friend and I sat down and we perused through their menu. I opted for the buttermilk fried chicken with three different sides, while she got the grilled chicken sandwich. I’ll get straight to the point. Our food sucked. Hardcore. These were the things we ordered:
Buttermilk Fried Chicken — Bland bland bland!!! Ever heard of salt? The meat was extremely dry. They definitely did not fry it to order.
Collard Greens — Average.
Fried Okra — The batter was a bit too thin. Desperately needs some sort of dipping sauce to accompany it.
M/​3 Hand Cut Fries — Average.
Fried Pickles — Good, but I’ve had better. The dipping sauce was tasty.
M/​3 Grilled Chicken Sandwich — My friend said it was OK. Apparently, Chic-​fil-​A has a better grilled chicken sandwich.
Cornbread — Tasty, but you really shouldn’t put a big whopping tablespoon of butter on it. My friend and I scraped ours off. Leave the butter for Paula Deen.
Interior’s pretty neat, even though it’s kind of small. The lighting fixtures are cool. There are additional things you can order on the chalkboard walls. Also, the service REALLY sucked. We waited what seemed like forever to order our food and the place wasn’t even packed. We made eye contact a couple of times with the waitresses, but they all seemed too engrossed with dancing along to the lame playlist that was on or gossiping about their lives. As of right now, I don’t think I would want to return after such a disappointing first visit.

The lighting in here is blue because of all the neon signs in the window, which is not my favorite type of light to eat in but oh my when they bring you out a big tray of barbecue and set that down in front of you… GURRRL! Everything becomes all rosy. M3, you light up my life.
So I’m looking at the prices and thinking it’s kind of expensive for BBQ, but then I see that each dinner comes with THREE sides and a choice of a biscuit or cown-​bread. (You know it hasta be the cownbread.)
So I order myself the fried chicken because that’s what I’m feelin’ and I order mac’n cheese, jalapeño tots and mashed potatoes with that because I am an adult and no one can stop me from triple-​carbing it. The chicken was probably the best fried chicken (I just typed «friend» chicken instead of «fried» which I think illustrates how I feel about it well enough) I’ve ever had. It was crunchy and the chicken was moist and I got 3 huge pieces of it. FRIEND CHICKEN.
The ‘mac was hot and super creamy and thick, and I got just enough to force myself to finish the whole bowl. Best mac i’ve had in a BBQ place in Boston, and that includes Sweet Cheeks, Soul Fire and Redbones.
The Jalapeño «Tots» are not tots. Not tots at all. They are actually goose egg-​shaped fried balls of wait, what is this? Mashed potatoes with jalapeño inside a fried shell? Pssh, ok. You get about 3 – 4 in an order and I could only take down 2 of these bad boys in a sitting. Calling these tots is a serious misnomer though.
The mashed potatoes were actually super delicious as well and I’m sad to say I somewhat neglected my jalapeño tots in favor of le classique, which is rare for me, especially whenever jalapeño is concerned, but that just speaks to how great these were.
Some delicious vinegary bbq sauce came out with my chicken and vittles too and I was liberally dunking and dousing it everywhere.
The cornbread had peaches in it and I don’t know how I feel about that.
The service was friendly and I think I can safely say If I had to choose 1 bbq place in Boston, this would be it, blue lighting and all.

M3 is unbelievably small. There are probably 10 tables max, so be ready to wait in line. Their food, however, is tasty southern cuisine and well worth the wait. I ordered the turkey meatloaf smothered with gravy, and it came with corn bread and three sides. I chose brussell sprouts, pan fried corn and the mac and cheese. Not only was everything delicious, but it came on a lunch tray. How. Awesome.
They have some beers on tap, and they’re pretty solid choices. I approve. Also, the walls are covered in blackboard paint, so there’s a ton of great chalk art and writing on the wall. The best part is that the tables are covered in blackboard paint as well, so while you’re waiting for food you can make a most excellent masterpiece with the colorful chalk that’s provided. Again. How. Awesome.

At the recommendation of Eater.com’s Brunch Heatmap we tried M3 this morning and were very underwhelmed. That’s surprising because Eater rarely leads me astray.
The buttermilk fried chicken and biscuits consisted of two fried chicken sandwiches served with a side of white gravy. The chicken itself was done technically sound, nice and crispy, but it lacked any flavor. No salt, no heat. Really quite boring. The biscuits were nothing special and sort of crumbled apart when picked up. I hoped the gravy would redeem the meal, but it was pasty and pretty tasteless too.
Fried chicken and waffles looked promising, but the chicken wings were also underseasoned. The waffles were fine but didn’t really stand up to syrup. All in all, pretty unimpressive. I grew up in the South, so maybe my standards are unusually high, but I thought this food was bland even judged by its New England competition.
I could probably have looked past these shortcomings if the service was any good, but we saw our server exactly three times. First when we were greeted, second when we vigorously waved her down to take our order, and third when we were brought the check. Oh, and it’s cash only. I’ll pass.

Holy crap. I’m in love. With M3’s brunch. And also with my manpal for bringing me to this wonderful brunch oasis. Brunch brunch brunch.
We ambled over at about 11:30am yesterday – the perfect brunch time, as evidenced by the big unruly cluster outside Highland Kitchen as we passed. Rolled up to M3, waited about ten minutes. Not bad, considering the itty bitty size of the place. I did almost knock over someone’s mimosa with my tush as I squeezed into my chair, but 1) I didn’t and 2) that’s their problem. L.A. face with an Oakland booty. No apologies.
We started with a secret off-​the-​menu item: chicken fried in waffle batter. I’m pretty sure I actually had a DREAM about this menu item about five years ago, so yeah, way to read my innermost thoughts and make them a reality, M3. Well played.
The bloody Marys were da bomb, starting with the lack of olives. I hate olives. Keep them out of my drinks! Instead we got a nice little skewer of pickled carrots, cucumber, and cauliflower. Delicious!
Manpal got the chicken hash and eggs, and when they say chicken hash, they mean chicken pieces in some kind of delicious cheesey gravy sauce. Slather that on the biscuit with apple butter served as a side, and you are in for quite the hoe down, ladies and gents. Hold on to ya butts!
I got the shrimp and grits, and WOW. Wow. Sorry to be that guy, but WOW. So good. The grits were a little soupier than I like, but the dish made up for it plenty by being chockful of okra, tomato sauce, big old shrimps, and half a grilled jalapeño (which I later transplanted to my bloody Mary as a mixer). Words will not do this dish justice, but it did my tummy good.
For dessert, as if all of this weren’t impressive enough: fried fluffer nutter. And let me tell you, they are NOT messing around. We’re talking ample amounts of fluff and PB, plus bananas, deep fried together into beautiful little sandwich triangles and then topped with raspberry compote and powdered sugar. If I get married, don’t expect there to be cake. Expect there to be fried fluffer nutter.
Two thumbs up for a brunch well ingested. Can’t wait to try dinner.

A mess of meat and a threesome on the side? I think I just met highland kitchen’s skanky cousin. Baby’s got grit (s), and canned beer two notches below PBR in price and quality.
Everything we tried here was Paula Deen-​licious (imagine the dean of Greendale Community College saying this). I particularly liked the jalapeño tater tots. They were more like 3 ice cream scoops of mashed potato that were rolled in spices and then deep fried. I also appreciated how prominently okra is figured into the menu here. It’s featured in several dishes and sneaks its way into the pickle/​garnish pile in many others.
I’ve had better chicken and waffles, but I compare every other fried chicken to French Laundry’s and that’s just not fair, because Thomas Keller is a poultry god.
I wanted desperately to save room for the deep fried fluffernutter, but adding anything more to our orgy of deliciousness would have killed me. Fluffyfoofoo, I promise I will come back for you. And for brunch too!

After spending a year away from M3, the restaurant seems to have lost a bit of its shine. The catfish is still the star of the menu, and I’d recommend it over and over. I wasn’t as happy with the sides as I was in my earlier visit — the mac n’ cheese was great, but the grits were a little too plain and the pan fried corn just felt greasy. Canned beer list and overall vibe is still awesome, and I’m sure I will try it again next time I’m in Davis (August, 2014?).

Came in for a second time for brunch during the winter. While I still found this place to be too cramped I thought the food was better and our server was great.
Maple Sausage — This item was awful, it may be organic, locally sourced and made in house but it was the most bland sausage I have ever had. It lacked both maple and sausage flavor.
Chicken and biscuits — Brunch highlight! They make these mini sliders out of the biscuits and put their fried chicken in the middle. I could order this as my meal.
Duck Fat Burger — Great tasting no frills burger. I’m guessing they finish this burger by flash frying it in duck fat which gives it a delicious and flavorful crunch.
Omlette — While not the most complex dish, I really enjoyed the omlette here. Mine came with fresh proscuitto and cheese.

After a slightly disappointing visit, I’ve return two more times since and found the place much improved on all levels, from the service to the food. Sure, the place is still a bit cramped, especially since it’s often packed at the peak of service but that’s not really their fault.
The menu has changed and evolved a bit and I’m a sucker for their Kurobuta pork chop which is crusted in some delicious spice blends and cooked to a perfect medium. Juicy, full of flavor and pairs nicely with the three sides that you get to pick. Furthermore, their beer selection has also been pleasant and has also included some specials! Yes!
Lastly, my fiancée and I are quite fond of their pickles, which they sell in jars for $ 8. Worth it and very tasty.
My next mission: to check out their desserts. I’ll get there eventually.

I think I’m in love with M3’s brunch. Or maybe it’s lust. Seriously, I’m getting hot and bothered thinking about it again.
I’ve never been one for this strange breakfast/​lunch hybrid, but M3’s cinnamon bran french toast is one reason I will happily drag my ass out of bed on Sunday after a night of heavy drinking. It’s crisp, yet it’s doughy… it’s sweet, yet it’s savory… it’s just… EVERYTHING. Top it off with some delicious maple syrup and fruit compote and you have yourself one of the best brunch dishes I’ve ever had the pleasure of consuming.
So why not five stars? Well, if I were to base my rating on the french toast alone, M3 would easily warrant ten, but I’ve also had their dinner, which was nowhere near as impressive. There are people on here who are proclaiming M3’s fried chicken as the «best ever.» To them all I can say is «Have you not lived?!?» Mine was dry, and the skin wasn’t particularly flavorful. Andrea B. and I sat at the counter, and saw that there is a giant bucket of fried chicken just hanging out at any given time (they obviously go through a lot of it), so I don’t imagine what I got was particularly fresh.
The sides, of which there are many to choose from, are pretty hit or miss. They all sound amazing on paper, but what actually comes out on the plate is a different story. Between Andrea and myself, we managed to sample the brussel sprouts, pimento cheese fries, fried okra, sweet potato casserole, jalapeño and cheese grits, and biscuit with apple butter, the only one I’d really like to have again was the casserole. Then again, I’m just a sucker for sweet potatoes and butter.
Still, M3 is incredibly affordable for the amount of food you get, and if I return outside of brunch, it will likely be for appetizers and dessert, both of which outshone our entrees.

M3 has good southern comfort food, a fun menu, and tons of personality! I came here last weekend for dinner and ploughed through practically the entire menu… It’s easy if you are with someone who likes to share. We got the Fried Chicken, which came with some sides and the the Mother Hen… which means you get to choose 4 sides as your entrée… My kind of place!
The Fried chicken was really good as was the mac and cheese, fried brussel sprouts, fried okra, and sweet potato casserole. Not as crazy about the biscuit and apple butter or the lime garlic chili fries. I washed this all down with a «classy» wine cooler spritzer and the Fluffernutter dessert. I left horribly full, but terribly happy!
A few other notes:
Our server was great and gave us excellent, honest recommendations
annnnd, they serve Beer Can Chicken!!! I have never seen this served anywhere else except for white trash BBQ’s. I didn’t notice it on the menu for some reason, but that thing had me mesmerized and food stalking a nearby table the entire time. Getting that next time! and yes… there will be a next time!

4.5 stars with the extra bump up for the best French Toast I’ve come across in Boston and, as far as I can remember, ever.
Named after the Southern tradition of «meat and three (sides)», M3 is off to a very strong start amidst the slew of great eateries in Davis Square. My friend and I came for some brunch after a good session of hitting and we went with some Shrimp & Grits, a Chicken Salad Club and those wonderful pieces of toast. The shrimp were plump and delicious, but the accompanying grits could use some work when compared to the likes of Hungry Mother and Tupelo. We agreed that the chicken salad was well done with great seasoning and just enough mayo to add some creaminess. I normally don’t give mention to fries, but M3’s had some awesome spicy, lemony flavors to take them beyond otherwise yawn-​inducing saltiness.
Now a little paragraph for the French Toast. Dense, lightly chewy Country bread dipped in egg and then coated in wheat bran and cinnamon sugar. Crazy delicious! The spice from the cinnamon provided complexity to the sweetness and when you add some butter, marmalade and bacon (!) to each bite… it’s just heaven in your mouth. Not a hint of blandness or sogginess to be found here. And did I mention that this awesomeness will only set you back a mere $ 8? My favorite brunch spot in Boston charges nearly double the price… and it’s not nearly as good.
In addition to our picks, M3 has an exceptional selection of Southern-​inspired fare including oyster po’ boys and chicken & waffles as well as charcuterie and an extensive list of canned beers. The portions are mad generous too and I really dug the unique interior, ie. chalkboard here, there and everywhere.
The staff are all very friendly and definitely rounded out our brunch experience. It won’t be very long at all until my next visit =D