Sweet and Sour in Boston

This past weekend definitely had a Latin flare.

Merengue

Saturday night we didn't quite know what we wanted to eat, but we definitely wanted another "Cafe Cesaria experience". Something ethnic and delicious and not expensive. After searching all the usual websites, Abby found Merengue.

Located on Blue Hill Ave, a short 7 minute drive from our condo, we arrived to find easy street parking. (Crossing the street though wasn't as easy.) We entered in to find a bar area on the left and a dining area on the right. We get seated in a booth but are quickly asked to move to a smaller table because the entire booth was reserved. No biggie. The dining room is very colorful and there were plenty of people enjoying drinks and hanging out. This is definitely the type of place that it seems everyone there knew each other. (Sure enough, in the middle of our meal, a large group came in and the couple sitting next to us gave them all hugs and hellos and moved tables together so that they can eat together.)

The menu is big and with tons of options. Abby went with Filetillo (Steak Tips Cooked in Creole Sauce with Green Peppers, Red Peppers and Onion) and I went with Chuletas a la Jardinera (Fried Pork Chop Garden Style, Topped with Green Peppers, Red Peppers and Onion). We probably should have gotten the Mofongos, but completely forgot to order it. That was ok though because our sides (Spanish rice and white rice with beans) were plenty huge and both dishes came with a small salad too. We also ordered a drink that was very reasonably priced.






Our meals were fantastic. The pork, while a couple of bites were dry, was perfectly cooked with a nice crust. The white rice was plain, but I cut up the pork along with some of the peppers and onions and ate it all together. Very nice. The beans also were delicious. Abby's steak was in a nice tomato-y sauce and was perfectly cooked as well. I didn't think the Spanish rice was anything special, but she definitely did. Also, the portions for both were huge. This was a great dinner.

Merengue met all expectations and is a spot I'd come back to again. The service and the food was fantastic and well above average. The whole fish that our neighbor got looked amazing and I'd like to give that a try next time. The prices were also in the sweet spot, with most items around $10. I give Merengue a very, very strong 3 and 1/2 out of 5. (Probably bordering closer to a 4 than a 3.)



Our good friends Heidi and Tony invited us over for dinner. This is what they cooked up:



As you can tell from Tony cutting her up, Lilo was very juicy and tender.




Heidi just sat there drinking a beer, not defending her "best friend".



For a starter, they had some homemade goat cheese rolled in some herbs. The condo is so big, we couldn't find the goat.




The "chicken" was indeed very tender and juicy. Rosemary and some other herbs and spices, quickly sauteed and served over a salad.






We also had apple pie and ice cream, but were told not to post the ugly looking pie even though it was very good. Having friends cook you dinner is always nice and will always make it on the blog.