Sweet and Sour in Boston

Quick Hit Reviews (Tu Y Yo, Lower Depths, Russel House Tavern)

2011-01-03T18:28:00.005-05:00

Happy New Years! Haven't posted since Thanksgiving, though not much has really happened to us culinary-wise. We did hit up a few places and here are quick hit reviews of them.

Tu Y Yo

We went with a big group to celebrate our boy Noah's birthday. They accommodated us but allowing us to take over the entire middle. They even separated checks out to us based on what table we were in, which is a great touch if you've ever been out to dinner with a large group and some people never know how much to pay. You won't be able to find guacamole here or other Tex-Mex treats. What you will find is authentic Mexican food which is absolutely delicious. I went with the Bisteces en salsa “Borracha” and it was fantastic. The portion was huge, the rice and beans that came with the dish was the perfect complement. In fact, I think I could eat their rice and beans by themselves for dinner. There are many items on the menu I want to try, especially their seafood offerings. I'll definitely be back. I give Tu Y Yo a 5 out of 5.

Lower Depths

Abby's brother has been telling us about this great beer bar with good hot dogs for a few months now. We finally went with Mike and Sam to check it out and it lived up to expectations. Tons of beer on draft and bottle/can form. A knowledable bartender that could tell us about all the beers. And a menu that includes hot dogs. I went with a couple of dogs, one with chili and one with kraut and pickles. Abby went with a specialty dog that had mac and cheese on it. We also go some tater tots. Everything was great. The dogs are $1 each and you build upon them with toppings that are mostly $1 each but some fancier ones are $2. Good cheap eats. I give Lower Depths a 4 out of 5.

Russel House Tavern

A gastropub with a good beer menu and a mixture of traditional pub fare with slightly more adventurous options. Service was great, our waiter being very attentive and knowledgeable about the beers and food offerings. We ordered some small plates to start: Crispy Pigs Head Parmigiana, Redondo Black Serrano Ham, Brandt Farms Marrow Bone. All of these were delicious. The pigs head came out looking like an arrenchini ball, but with pigs head meat instead of rice. Crispy and savory and surprisingly light. The serrano ham was salty with just the right amount of sweetness. The bone marrow was straight buttery goodness. The only problem is that the bread that came with the bone marrow was buttered and overpowered the bone marrow at times. Switching the bread that came with the serrano ham fixed this problem for us. For out mains I got the burger that I've heard a lot about (which when I ordered, the waiter told me it's on an english muffin and alot of foodies have been slamming the chef about using the muffin) and Abby got the duck. Both were great, though my burger seemed to have been seasoned a little too much with pepper. The fries were plentiful too. Overall, this is a place I definitely want to come back to and eat everything else on the menu. Service was good, though slowed a little towards the end of the night, but we weren't in a hurry so no biggie there. I give Russel House Tavern a 4 out of 5.

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T14:11:00.007-05:00

Thanksgiving was held in our tiny condo. I did the Alton Brown brine, but with a few different ingredients and the turkey turned out fantastic. In fact everything turned out great.

Chicken Korma and Huevos Rancheros

2010-11-15T20:10:00.005-05:00

Some home cooking pics.

Chicken Korma

Bought from Costco for $9, ready in 5 minutes and surprisingly really, really good. It's not going to replace getting take out from Mela or anything like that, but getting this and having it ready in the fridge whenever we don't want to cook is a nice option. Trader Joes naan is also a nice $2 option.

Huevos Rancheros

Making the refried black beans was easy. Just simmered the black beans from a can on the stove top with a half a can of water. Then on a non-stick skillet, heat some oil and garlic and then add the beans and a little of the water and cook over medium high heat. Use a potato smasher and smash beans, adding water it was simmered in slowly until you get a consistency you like.

I made a guac and the ranchero sauce was really just diced tomatoes and garlic with a little hot sauce added.

Plating was simple. Refried black beans on the bottom, baked crispy tortilla on top of that, some cheese, some ranchero sauce, two sunny side up eggs, and a little guac on top.

Long Time No Post (Quick Hits)

2010-11-15T18:14:00.005-05:00

Holy crap I haven't posted in a long time. It hasn't been that we haven't gone out to eat anywhere, just been lazy. Here's some quick hits reviews.

Koreana

We got reservations for four on a Friday night for 8pm. Was told that if we weren't there by 8:15pm they were releasing our reservation. I can see why. When we arrived, it was freaking packed. The bar was packed, the sushi bar was packed, the entry way was packed. Our notoriously late friends (island timers) weren't there yet and it was only a couple minutes before 8. Luckily they showed up right on time and we were seated immediately. We ordered a lot of food and all of it good. Pros: bibimbop and bulgogi. The ok, but not as good: Wine Sam Gyup Sal and shrimp. Overall: a great night of food and friends. Definitely get a reservation when you go. I give Koreana a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

EZ Grill

The greatest invention of all time? Maybe not, but it's close. The EZ Grill is the greatest tailgating accessory ever. Cooks fast, hot, and cleanly. I highly recommend. A 5 out of 5.

Pops

Went here for brunch. Not the cheapest spots for brunch, maybe a couple of dollars too much on each item, but the portions are huge. Huevos Rancheros had a nice touch with refried black beans and the Manwich was just crazy huge and filling. I give it a 4 out of 5. (This review is for brunch only.)

McRib

This is the greatest invention of all time!!!! I am so glad the McRib is back. 1 Million of out 5.

Home Cooking

Made bo luc lac and a Vietnamese fritatta with canned spicy tomatoes. Turned out really good.

I started buying sardines because Alton Brown said it's good for me in helping me lose weight. I made a sardine paste and put it on some toasted bread. Not a bad dinner.

Urbanspoon rocks

2010-10-18T19:36:00.002-04:00

To claim our blog on Urbanspoon, I have to create a post titled: Urbanspoon rocks.

Pumpkin Pie Martini

2010-10-13T18:04:00.001-04:00

I love fall for its resurgence of pumpkin related products. I love pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin beer, etc. This past weekend, I came up with my own version of a pumpkin pie martini. The caramel syrup is a little tricky, but it's very worth it. You could use leftovers in coffee for a yummy treat.

Pumpkin pie martini

2 oz vodka
2 tbsp pumpkin puree
1 tsp caramel pumpkin pie simple syrup (recipe follows)
1 dash vanilla
2 ice cubes
A cocktail recipe from our Libations Liaison:

Combine in a cocktail shaker and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Caramel Pumpkin Pie Syrup

2 cups sugar
1 cup warm water
2 tbsp pumpkin pie spice

Heat about 1/4 the sugar in a sturdy pot over medium heat. Once it begins to caramelize, add more sugar, stirring to incorporate. Once all the sugar has caramelized, remove from heat and add water. Be careful, the mixture will sizzle (I wear an oven mitt). Add spice and stir to incorporate. You may need to return to heat if the caramel starts to stick. Allow to cool, then strain into an airtight container.

Washington DC Trip (Ben's Chili Bowl, Oyamel, The Diner, Martin's Tavern,Gordon Biersch, Woodley Cafe, Capitol City Brewery)

2010-10-12T18:52:00.009-04:00

Our recent trip to DC gave us some good eats. What we learned: there are at least two 5-star places in DC, breakfast is hard to come by, and a good bartender makes all the difference.

Ben's Chili Bowl

I've been here before. Abby hasn't. We are in DC, we had to go. There was a line outside the door. Ben's apparently has opened up a nicer place right next door which was empty, and since they serve the same food I'd probably go there if I lived in the area, but you just have to go to the historic location if you've never been. The line moved slowly, but was ok. There was a mix of locals and tourists in the crowd. Once we got to order we went with a chili dog, half smoked with chili, fries, and two chocolate milk shakes. When we paid we picked up two buttons that had the owner's face on it who passed away recently. We sat down in the middle back room and waited for our food to come. It didn't take that long, but it felt it because we were both hungry. Finally our food came and it was just as good as I remembered. Better even. The chili is a great beef/no beans chili and we knew right away we made a mistake not to put chili on the fries. The milkshakes were thick and rich and delicious. Sure we felt like we should run up and down the National Mall to make up for our lunch, but it was soooo worth it. I give Ben's Chili Bowl a 5 out of 5.

Gordon Biersch Brewery

A blah beer at a blah brewery. However, the restaurant itself is pretty nice looking with the columns and the ceiling. I give Gordon Biersch a 2 out of 5.

Oyamel

I must admit, I've had a Jose Andres chef-crush the first time I've ever seen him on TV a couple of years ago. His passion and love for food is just infectious, even from on the screen of my TV. I've been wanting to eat at one of his restaurants for years. Now I royally screwed up and was one-day off on trying to make reservations at Mini-Bar. So we "settled" for Oyamel, his Mexican small plates restaurant.

Everything, I mean EVERYTHING, was absolutely delicious. The service was incredible and nice and fast. We ordered the famous margaritas with salt air and it tasted like a regular margarita just with very fresh components. The salt air was nice and light and added just the right amount of salt to the cocktail.

We ordered the cactus salad, papas al mole, and four different tacos (baby pig, pork belly, beef, and grasshopper) to start. The mole was fantastic and sweet and savory. The cactus salad was a pleasant surprise...I've never had cactus before. This was a very palate cleansing salad. But the greatest items on the menu are the tacos. The grasshopper was spicy and crunchy, pork belly was buttery, the beef taco was the mother of all beef tacos, and the baby pig...well that was just a religious experience.

Abby had to order a second baby pig taco, so we got that along with a tuna ceviche and the huevos with pork belly. I also asked if they could give us a small plate of the pork rinds that came with the baby pig tacos and they said sure. Now here was the problem...we were stuffed. I scarfed down the pork rinds (which are second only to the pork rinds at Publican in Chicago in my book) and Abby wolfed down the baby pig taco. They accidentally sent out a red snapper ceviche along with the tuna ceviche. Abby liked the former better, but I preferred the latter. Finally the egg and pork belly came out and it easily could have been the best thing I ate that night, but I was too damn full to take more than 3 bites.

I had very high expectations for a Jose Andres place and I was not disappointed at all. I will be back to Oyamel next time I'm in DC. I give Oyamel a 5 out of 5.

The Diner

The Diner was just ok. I got the croque and dagger, which was a great name, and Abby got an Egg Sandwich. Both were ok, but nothing special. I give The Diner a 3 out of 5. (Again, like most places in DC, the architecture inside the restaurant was pretty neat.)

Martin's Tavern

Apparently a famous bar that we just happened to walk into for a beer and a snack. We got the crab cake sliders that were actually really good. Bartender was nice and personable too. I give Martin's Tavern a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Woodley Cafe

It wasn't that crowded when we went in for breakfast but service was very slow. While we were waiting for our food, the line out the door grew and grew. The place was severely under-staffed for a Sunday morning. Eventually a few more servers arrived and started seating all the people waiting. However our food took forever to arrive. Refills on coffee and water also took forever. Our food was luke warm when we got it. I won't be coming back to Woodley Cafe next time I'm in DC. I give it a 1 and 1/2 out of 5.

Capitol City Brewery

The beers were better than average. The prices for food were actually decently priced. But it was our bartender was fantastic. We talked NFL football and traded fantasy tips. He quietly slipped us two free beers and told us not to worry about it. I liked it. I give Capitol City Brewery a 4 out of 5.

Homecooking (Making Banh Xeo and Meatballs)

2010-10-12T18:34:00.005-04:00

This was one of the best meals we've made in a long time. Homemade meatballs with homemade pasta. So freaking good. Plus I finally used the immersion blender we got as a wedding gift. I'm going to have to recreate the meatballs this weekend, so let's hope I can remember how I made these. All beef meatballs, some bread crumbs, chili paste, parsley, garlic...I'm sure I'll remember it.

On October 2nd OU beat Texas and we attempted to make Banh Xeo at home. It turned out ok, but for some reason the texture wasn't quite right. A little too rubbery instead of crispy. Maybe needed to thin out the batter with more water...However, it did taste pretty good.

Battery Park, Ames Plow and Stoddards (Annie's Review)

2010-10-12T18:21:00.002-04:00

Friday was a pretty gross and rainy night, but Jason and I ventured out in town to grab some drinks. I had a Groupon to Stoddards which was about to expire, so that was our first stop. It's a newish place that opened in late summer, located in Downtown Crossing on Temple. The space is very beautiful, with an extremely ornate carved wooden bar. There's not a lot of room by the bar, and it was packed with a bustling after work crowd, so we decided to come back later when (hopefully) it would be less crowded.

We decided next to try Battery Park, which was having its soft open. Located on Batterymarch in the Financial District, it's a nice, but kind of expected space. Pretty much like most of the new bars in Boston, it has lots of dark wood, a few flatscreens behind the bar, and current pop music soundtrack. It's not very big inside, but it has a large outdoor space (which I didn't see). We sat at the bar and chatted with the bartender, who told us that the kitchen wasn't fully operational, but offered us some free appetizers to try. I didn't see a drink menu, so I decided to try Hex Octoberfest, which is a Magic Hat product. I'm normally not the biggest fan of Octoberfest, but it was such a cold, rainy night, it seemed appealing. I enjoyed it a lot, it didn't seem as heavy as other Octoberfests, with a nice spice to it. They brought us some chicken tenders (very standard, which is not to say they were bad in any way, there's just not much to do with them) with a delicious spicy ketchup, and buffalo chicken wontons which were extremely tasty. We saw them bring another couple down the bar a plate of calamari that looked delicious. I'll definitely check it out again sometime, I'm interested to see what their menu will look like and how they manage cocktails.

After Battery Park, we went to one of my favorite haunts in Boston, Ames Plow. Located under Ned Devine's in the Quincy Market Building, this place is very no-frills and pretty divey, but I like it for the jukebox and $2 PBRs. Maybe as libations liaison, I shouldn't admit that so readily, but I'm also Abby's cousin, so there you go.

Finally, we headed back to Stoddard's. It was still really busy, but as luck would have it, we managed to grab two seats at the bar. This place has both extensive beer selection and craft cocktail list. The cocktail list has drinks from different time periods, such as an Aviation, Sazerac, etc. Since I was ordering a burger (which was very tasty), I had a BBC Steel Rail Pale Ale to start. If you haven't tried this western Mass brewery, I'd suggest it, they make some great beer. The pale ale is their flagship brew, and it's a great tasting, refreshing beer. It was perfect with the burger. After I ate, I ordered a Blood and Sand cocktail. This was phenomenal. It consists of whisky, vermouth, cherry brandy, and orange juice. It was garnished with orange peel and a dried tart cherry. It was an amazing balance of tart and sweet, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. There are a lot of drinks on the menu I'd like to try, so I'll probably go back. The drink prices are actually not bad for the craft cocktails compared to other higher-end places in Boston, each are $9. The only thing that bothered me is that the beer menu doesn't list prices. You don't want to order an interesting sounding beer and have it be $15 or some such, and it's sort of awkward to ask for the price first. But all in all, I liked the space, and the staff was friendly. Very worth a try.

Portland, OR (Voodoo Donuts, Salvador Molly, Blue Pig Cafe)

2010-10-03T17:38:00.008-04:00

We went to Portland and the Oregon Coast for a friend's wedding a couple of weekends ago. while there, we hit up the famous Voodoo Donuts, learned that Portland has an incredible food truck scene, and somehow ended up at a Man Vs Food restaurant without planning for it.

Voodoo Donuts

We've been wanting to go to Voodoo Donuts for the past year or so. I'd like to say it lived up to expectations, but I'm not sure it did. The selection of donuts is pretty intense. We went with the famous maple and bacon and the signature voodoo one, along with an oreo one for my little niece and also a fruit loop one to try.

The donuts themselves were very good donuts. The frosting was just a bit too much on the sweet side. I had to take a sugar induced crash nap immediately after eating one. The filling of the voodoo donut was really good though, a home made raspberry jam. Overall, I'd probably brave the lines to go back to Voodoo if I lived in the area from time to time, but I'd make sure I had a big glass of milk with me.

Food Trucks

So I did not know the City of Roses had so many food trucks. When we found this out, we knew we were going to have to go and check it out for ourselves. Various blocks have anywhere from 3 to 15 different food trucks just waiting for us to come and try. We found parking very easily and everything smelled so good. Walking past a BBQ joint, a man asked us if we wanted a free sample. We said yes and it tasted good enough for us to want to split a sandwich. We had a couple of their homemade bbq sauces combined over our sandwich and it was pure tastiness. We scarfed that sandwich down before we even had a chance to walk to the next stall.

We got some cafe su da at the Vietnamese place next door to the BBQ spot and continued to walk and sniff at all the other places. At the end of the block was a sign for some Polish food, and Abby had to get herself a platter of pirogies. While Abby ate her platter, I stopped into a Korean taco truck and got two tacos, one beef and one chicken. Both of our meals were delicious and cheap.

We started getting full but I did not want to stop at all. We went to another block and ended up getting my brother some Banh Mi Sandwiches, but were too full to get anything for ourselves. Why can Boston not have food trucks like these? I'd be a happy food blogger.

Salvador Molly

So my brother suggested Salvador Molly's for dinner because he heard good things about it. We didn't realize that this was a spot that Man vs Food went too. Apparently you can do the Great Balls of Fire challenge if you like, but we didn't partake. However, we did get a spicy cheese fritter to see what it was all about. Tino, Abby, and myself had troubles with our small little bites. Lina and her sisters, who grew up eating spicy food in Indonesia, didn't even think it was all that hot. They would have done the challenge if the cheese fritter tasted better, but alas, the ball of fire was needed to hide the lack of taste.

I can't really remember much about my meal. I ordered one of the pork dishes because our waitress recommended it. It wasn't bad, just didn't wow me. Food did take a while to come out, but they were quite busy that night.

Not sure I'd go back to Salvador Molly's very often if I lived in the area, but it was a neat experience once.

Blue Pig Cafe

Portions huge. Food good. Bacon in bloody mary.

Introducing Our Libations Liasion

2010-10-03T17:31:00.004-04:00

There has been a big hole in our Sweet and Sour in Boston blog (well, there's many holes including my horrible english and lack of posting) and that is that while we discuss lots of restaurants and good eats we are leaving out bars and good cocktails. Enter in our new Libations Liasion, Annie. Annie went to the other OU (Ohio University) and is Abby's cousin. Unlike us lame-o's, she actually does go out to get drinks and can tell us all the wonderful places to go. Also, she's linked with our good friend Crawl In Boston who organizes the best bar crawls in Boston. So we are expecting big things for her. Here is her first post:

I am definitely the kind of girl who prefers savory drinks over sweet. As it stands, one of my favorite drinks is a Bloody Mary. Not just as a hangover cure, but my favorite drink in general. Sadly, it's only acceptable to have them in the morning or early afternoon, so I don't get to enjoy them too much. So this past weekend, on a getaway to Milwaukee, I had the pleasure of enjoying two fabulous bloodies.

The first and best one, surprisingly, was at Jerry Remy's in Logan airport. We were flying Airtran, which is the crappiest place to fly from in Boston. It's this little mini terminal with three gates, a Hudson News stand and nothing else besides screaming babies and other social miscreants who are also cheap enough to actually fly Airtran. So we got to the airport early, there was no one in the security line, and Remy's was right there. In we went. Bloodies were ordered. I was shocked when the affable bartender, while making pleasant small talk, started pulling out a bottle of Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and real, actual horseradish. I was completely expecting Mrs. T's at best, canned tomato juice at worst. I guess only the best for Jerry? It was delicious, and perfectly spiced. It should have been for $9, but it definitely exceeded expectations. If you're ever stuck in the Airtran terminal in Boston, grab one of these bad boys before you go through security to make it bearable.

The second one was at a bar in Milwaukee called Major Goolsby's. This is not a dining destination by any means, but it had the Sunday Ticket, so it was a good place to catch the Pats game. Jay and I both got a bloody, and finally, what seemed like 30 minutes later, they finally came out. The first thing we noticed was that the waitress gave us each a dixie cup full of beer with our drinks, but turned away before we could ask her about it. Do people in Milwaukee put it in their drinks? Shoot it? We never found out, so maybe someone out in the blogosphere knows. The second thing we noticed is that there was a stick of meat in our drinks. Meat? In a drink?? I'm usually psyched when I get an olive. I mean, drink AND snack? Score! This was like a really big slim jim of some sort of spicy, delicious sausage. The bloody itself was spicy and good. Not as good as Remy's, but the novelty of the sausage made up for it. Most of our other drinks in Milwaukee involved $1 domestic drafts and rail drinks, so this was most definitely the best of the bunch.

Teranga (JP Review)

2010-08-29T10:09:00.004-04:00

Been wanting to go to Teranga since they opened last year. Finally went a couple of weekends ago and was not disappointed at all. We were greeted with the friendliest of smiles and sat down at the bar. After looking at the menu, I was slightly surprised (I say slightly because I read in passing earlier in the day about some Vietnamese influence in Senegalese cuisine) to see a few items that clearly had a Vietnamese twist to them. I asked the waitress how that came to be and she replied that as both were French colonized the mixture of cultures is evident in Senegal, which has a large Vietnamese community. Hm...learn something new everyday I guess.

A plate of toasted bread came out along with a dipping sauce that had hints of curry. We devoured this in seconds, not only because we were both starving but because the dipping sauce was highly addictive.

I had to order the Nem, which is Teranga's version of the egg roll. This came with a nuoc mam (fish sauce) dipping sauce. I have to say if you replaced the beef with pork you might be able to have this egg roll in a Vietnamese restaurant. Ok, the texture of the wrapping was a little different. Instead of being a lighter fried wrapper it had a chewier, ricey tasting wrapper. Not that this was bad, in fact, it was very, very good. Any future trip to Teranga has to include an order of Nem.

For our mains, I went with the national dish (Thiebou Djeun) which is a herb-stuffed white fish served with jasmine rice and some root vegetables. The fish came out looking a little dry, and it did taste a bit overcooked. The flavors itself were good, but I think I was expecting some bigger flavors. I've never had Senegalese food before, so my expectations might have been wrong to start, but I was thinking bold, spicy flavors. The rice was nicely cooked and the portion was huge.

Abby, who lately has been ordering a lot better (maybe luckier) than me, went with the Brochettes. This was grilled cubes of beef with yucca fries. Perfectly cooked beef with great flavors. She enjoyed the yucca fries a lot, but I thought they needed a little salt.

We weren't sure about dessert until our waitress described a rice pudding-esque one that comes with fruit. We both agreed that sounded fantastic and ordered it. The "sauce" of the rice pudding was very good and sweet and was complimented nicely with raisins and other chopped fruit. The "rice" was couscous and I wasn't a big fan of it, but Abby didn't mind it at all.

Service was very friendly and treated us great. Water was refilled in a timely manner, even though there were only two people working the entire restaurant. Some people had to wait because they had a large group (9 people I believe) but other than that it seemed like people were getting seated in a timely manner. Overall, I really enjoyed Teranga and want to come back to try other items. I do have to take half a point off because my fish was dry. I give Teranga a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

JNJ Turo Turo (JP Review)

2010-08-29T09:54:00.003-04:00

JNJ Turo Turo is a very quaint, family operated authentic Filipino restaurant located in Quincy. They have some premade items you can choose from right by the cashier along with some made to order items that are listed on the wall. The menu changes daily.

We ordered the fried fish (I forget the name of the dish) and we got the last one of the day. The family ordering after us also wanted the dish and we were so very close to just giving it to them, but we really wanted to try it and I'm glad we did because it was the best dish of the night. We also went with the crispy pork belly, the pancit (stir fried noodles) and the beef BBQ on a stick.

The crispy fish was definitely the best dish. It was a milk fish, I believe that's what they said, and it was fried whole with a very nice crispy skin and tender flesh. The very soft bones were edible as well, so you didn't have to worry about that. It did have a bit of a vinegary taste, but I kinda liked that as a compliment to the dry white rice that we received with our dinner.

The beef bbq and pancit were just alright, nothing special. In fact the pancit was a little flavorless, but I added some of the fish sauce that was on the table to it and that helped it out.

The lechon was a bit disappointing though. They looked overly dry and tasted like day old pork chop. The dipping sauce, which I swear has some apple in it, was actually quite nice though.

I think we did this restaurant a disservice by coming in an hour to closing time. We probably got the dregs of the day since they weren't going to whip anything new right when they are closing shop. I'd come back and give it another shot if I was ever in the Quincy area again. I give JNJ Turo Turo a 3 out of 5.

The Butcher Shop (JP Review)

2010-08-16T18:06:00.004-04:00

I can't believe that we have not been to a Barbara Lynch restaurant in all the time we've been in Boston. We corrected this huge culinary hole on Saturday by going to The Butcher Shop for lunch. I have never, ever seen less than 20 people inside this restaurant. It always seems so busy that we always discount it as a place to go to for dinner because we think there's no way we will be seated quickly. While walking past on Saturday, we only saw on table taken and a list of lunch specials that sounded absolutely delicious. We walked in and sat down at the bar.

The restaurant itself is a very stylish layout. There's a large bar with a few high tops along the window and a large butcher block in front of some refrigerators filled with meats and other items for sale. All the servers in black t-shirts and jeans making for a very casual feel (we were nervous about eating here because we were just in t-shirts) and the butcher in his whites with a tie breaking down some meats.

Abby went with the duck hot dog and I went for the BLT. Some Italian soda bread was placed in front of us along with some butter (topped with salt) and organic honey. The honey was no ordinary honey...I forget the process it went through that our bartender explained to us. However, after one small bite, we both were hooked. I think all restaurants should provide this honey and salted butter to be served with bread. Fan-freaking-tastic.

After a short wait, our mains arrived. The tomatoes in my BLT stole the show of my sandwich. One would think the massive amount of bacon I got would be the main attraction, but the tomatoes were just so fresh and so perfect in this sandwich that that is all I can remember. The only way I think one could prefect this sandwich is to replace the Helman's mayo with Miracle Whip...however, maybe that's not a good idea because the tangy MW might take away from the sweetness of the fresh tomatoes. Abby's duck hot dog was likewise "to die for". I definitely enjoyed how little of a bun she got so there was no mistake that the duck hot dog was the star of that plate. And that was one damn good hot dog. I was very surprised that the sweetness of the brioche bun didn't make the entire dish too sweet (what with the duck and all) but it was perfect. The homemade potato chips earn my highest praise because it reminded me of my own potato chips. (This is not to say these chips were amateurish in any way, it was just that they were seasoned with a lot of pepper which is how I do it at home.)

At the end of our meal, we purchased a little 3oz jar of the honey for $3. The meal was decently priced too, with both entrees being $10 or less. And for the quality of our food, those prices might have been bargains. We will definitely be back to try their salumi's and charcuterie and give dinner a try too. Based on our lunch experience, I give The Butcher Shop a 5 out of 5.

M&M Ribs (JP Review)

2010-08-16T17:41:00.003-04:00

Hey JP, you wanna wait in a 2 hour line for M&M ribs with a bunch of annoying yuppies complaining about how there's no T in South End (false) who are constantly bumping into you while you stand there not being able to move because you don't want to get out of line? Do you want to wait 2 hours and try your hardest not to punch the pretentious jerks behind you talking about how they shouldn't have to wait in line and that they can just get better bbq elsewhere, but just stand there and continue to annoy you? Not even if you will be rewarded for your patience with a friendly server that sadly does not have much food left, not even their famous ribs? No? Not again, you say? Well, how about driving 2 minutes down the street, parking in a sand lot, and walking right up to the nicest BBQ Truck lady ever and ordering cheap BBQ and taking it back home in under 10 minutes?

That's basically what we did this past Friday night. Once again we were in a very indecisive mood, neither of us able to make a decision on where we want to go eat. Finally, the wife reminded me that M&M Ribs are open late on Friday. So after looking on the interweb to figure out exactly where it's located, and seeing that's it's a stone's throw from our condo, we were out the door faster than you can say "food truck festival".

We arrive and there's a family eating on some picnic tables to the left of the food truck. The menu is listed right underneath the window of the truck, along with some specials listed right at window level.

After some tough decisions, Abby went with the ribs dinner with mac and cheese and spicy beans and rice and I went with the ribs/chicken combo dinner with spicy beans and rice and candied yams. I also added an order of fried chicken wings. Once of the nicest ladies ever, who was all smiles, took our order and just seemed genuinely happy to be sharing the food with us. After a short wait, we paid and got our food. ("You'll be coming back soon, dear." How right she will be...)

We got home and unpacked the goodies from the bag. The chicken wings were the kind of wings you'd expect from a family cook out. Perfectly fried, a little greasy, with a great crispy, flavorful crust. The candied yams were sweet and succulent. The spicy beans and rice didn't look like what I was expecting, but were also delicious and with a nice little kick. The BBQ chicken looked dry, but wasn't at all. There was a little white meat and some dark meat all mixed together. The famous ribs had some bites that were more tender than others, but were fantastic. The BBQ sauce wasn't the best I've ever had, but did what it had to do without over powering the meat, which is key.

M&M Ribs is not the best BBQ I've ever had. However, it is by far the best value (very large portions over very good food) I've ever had in the Boston area. Both times I've eaten from this food truck (at the food festival and again this night) I've been left wanting more, in a good way. There are tons of specialties I would love to try (like the jerk chicken and rice) and since I know how close this food truck is I will most likely be back often. I give M&M Ribs a 4 out of 5.

Boston Food Truck Festival

2010-08-16T17:27:00.003-04:00

Oh, Boston Food Truck Festival...what can I say about you that hasn't already been said. Yes the lines were long and yes it was very, very warm that day in the parking lot...but the food was good (what we could get at least) and the idea is very, very sound.

I love me some food trucks, and I guess there are laws in Boston that makes it tough for food trucks to be prevalent all through the city. However, I do like how these food trucks are getting together to not only have this festival, but also try to change some of the food health regulations.

We got there around noon, and there were huge lines everywhere. Luckily for us, we already had Speed's the weekend before at it's location in New Market Square, so we didn't have to wait for that delicious hot dog. I wanted to try M&M ribs soooo bad for the longest time. That was the first line I had to get into...sadly, that was also the last line I got into. We waited for over 2 hours, and once we finally got to order, Mighty Moe was out of ribs and most sides. We were able to get a chopped BBQ sandwich and a side of potatoes and onions. The sandwich, while flavorful and cooked nicely, was a little bit on the cold side. The meat was probably smoked in advanced and held at room temp or a cooler until it was needed and quickly heated up on the skillet.

While waiting in line, we missed out on some pickles and fried chicken and waffles that we also wanted to try. Luckily for us, our friends Ian and Female JP were waiting in the Fillbelly's line and got us some empanadas to try. These were very good, with the beef being better.

All in all, the Boston Food Truck Festival was probably a success, and I'm glad it was a free event at the SoWa open market, minutes walking distance from my place. Too bad the food trucks didn't plan accordingly (too their credit, I didn't even anticipate that many people at the festival) and have enough food for the masses. Maybe next time this happens they will know how many people to expect, or maybe I'll just camp out the night before with a few friends and each one of us gets into different lines and grab whatever is available.

Coppa (JP Review)

2010-07-29T17:37:00.008-04:00

Coppa opened up a little while ago and we've been dying to go. We were a little put off with the horror stories of the long waits since there's no reservations available. We figured going on a Wednesday with just the two of us was probably the best chance we had at being seated in a reasonable time. Just our luck there was one table for two all empty, just waiting for us to show up. Perfect. We were seated opposite of the bar along the wall heading towards the kitchen. At the bar you can see the salumi selection laid out by some sort of slicing machine.

The drink list is quite extensive with tons of cocktails and lots of wine though the beer selection is quite small but does include some beers we've never had before. I went with the cheap $3 man-can of Naraganssat and Abby went with the 21st Ammendment. It does seem to take some time before our waitress brings us some water and take our drink orders, but it was busy and we weren't in any sort of hurry. It gave us more time to formulate our plan on how to order.

At Coppa there are small plates, a selection of salumi and cheeses, salads, pizzas, pastas and entrees. We decided on four small plates and a pizza. If we were still hungry, we could always order more. This seemed to be the modus operandi of the other patrons because both parties next to us would finish whatever was in front of them then look over the menu and order another item, rinse and repeat.

The first item to arrive was the beef heart crustini. This was absolutely incredible. Imagine the best roast beef you have ever gotten in a sandwich. Got it? Well the very delicately shaved beef heart is that but a million times better. So beefy, so tender, so delicious. A very good start to our meal.

Next came the white anchovies. I am a sucker for oily fishes, and these did not fail to live up to my expectations. Very succulent, laying in oil that had just a little spicy kick to it. I wished this was the oil that came with the bread that preceded the meal because I just kept dipping our leftover bread into it.

Meatballs were next. At first bite I just thought these were very good meatballs, but nothing special. Bite after bite that followed made me realize that these were not your ordinary meatballs. I don't if it was the lardo or the tomato sauce, but I wanted more and more meatballs. A restaurant could serve these balls of meat over pasta as their only dish and make a fortune.

Our last small plate was the veal sweetbread. This had a nice crust with a very tender middle. I've had sweetbreads before but that was almost always deep fried. Coppa adds a rhubarb sauce that was just ok.

Finally the pizza came out. We went with the spicy pork sausage one and added an egg on top. When our pizza was placed in front of us, our neighbors immedataely looked on their menu and contemplating ordering the same pizza and egg even though they had half a pizza left on their table. The pizza was fantastic with a crispy thin crust and a subtle tomato sauce. The sausage wasn't really that spicy, but the egg did add a little something to the pizza.

We were stuffed, but still wanted to eat more. I asked our waitress what was for dessert and she said a homemade blueberry and strawberry sorbet. We went with one scoop of both. The strawberry sorbet was incredible...the blueberry not so much. It wasn't bad at all, just wasn't as good. Next time I'd just get two scoops of the strawberry.

Our bill came and that was the biggest surprise of the night. While Coppa is not cheap by any means, it won't hurt your wallet either. Everything is priced pretty well, with maybe the pizzas $2 too much if you want to nit pick. The sorbet was surprisingly expensive at $6, but that balanced out with the cheap beer I got. Also, I now understand why there's a seating problem: no one seems to want to leave once they are seated. You can sit and talk and have cocktails and when you want another small plate, you just order it. The two parties next to us were well into their dinners when we arrived and both were finished at the same time as we were. I like that the servers weren't being pushy and trying to get people to leave. Overall, a very positive experience at Coppa. I definitely will be back because there is so much more on the menu I want to try, including the pig's ear which was not available to us that night. I give Coppa a 4 out of 5.

Lester's Roadside BBQ

2010-07-18T16:14:00.003-04:00

Chronicle did a profile of Lester's Roadside BBQ and when they said it was located in Burlington, I immediately thought it was Vermont, not MA. After a quick interweb search, this BBQ joint was indeed located in Mass, so I knew we'd be taking a short road trip to try it out. Today was that day.

First, there's ample parking in the rear. As you walk in, you see a very cute restaurant with gas station type of memorabilia on the walls. It's done in a nice manner too. (This is something some restaurants just don't get. There is a very thin line between "ultra tacky kitsch" and "well theme decorated".) You order to the left of the counter and wait for your number to be called. All the BBQ staples are there: pulled pork, ribs, brisket, etc. They do have some specials in sliders and blackened catfish too. Abby went with the pulled pork sandwich and I went with a 2 BBQ combo plate with pulled pork and ribs. I wasn't sure what I wanted between ribs and chopped bbq beef, so I asked our very friendly server what was best and without hesitation she said the ribs. The cook standing next to her nodded as she said that, so I knew that was the way to go. (Again, I like when servers answers questions like this without hesitation. I hate when they say things like, "I dunno..depends on what type of mood you are in" or something similar, basically deflecting the question back to the customer. You work there and obviously know what's good and what's not as good...please, I want your opinion.) For sides, Abby got the potato salad and I went with baked beans and mac and cheese.

We took a seat and the server brought over our $2 beer. It was just PBR, but $2 is $2 and that's a good price for a nice cold beer on such a hot day.

Right along the main counter there are the various homemade BBQ sauces. Hot, Sweet, Sweet and Tangy, North Carolina Vinegar, and Habenaro Vinegar. Though they were a little watery, they were all really good. My favorites were the Sweet and Habenaro Vinegar, but I dipped my pulled pork into all of them.

Speaking of pulled pork, our food was ready in a short time and we dug in. The pulled pork was so tender and juicy, not dry at all. (You could tell how juicy the meat was because the piece of white bread under the pork was soaking through.) The ribs were also cooked perfectly, not dry at all and extremely tender. The sides too did not disappoint.

Overall Lester's is a must hit if you live in Burlington. The portions are good and the prices are really good. Sandwiches are about $7 and platters range from $10-$15. I will definitely be back for more BBQ. I give Lester's Roadside BBQ a 4 out of 5.

Bar Louie

2010-07-18T15:53:00.003-04:00

Bar Louie

We hit up Bar Louie before a concert at Showcase Live in Patriot Place because Annie could not quit raving about their tator tots. There's a nice patio space outside and a huge roof patio but it was way too hot for us to be outside. We sat inside the massive bar/restaurant on one of the many hightops. As we walked pass the bar I noticed Boddingtons and Allagash White on tap...so far big points in my book. We sat down and our very chatty waiter comes over even before we could look at the beer list or menu. I ordered a beer while Abby and Annie just got water while they looked over the extensive list of beers. The menu has the typical sports bar/chain menu items and priced accordingly. Appetizers are $10 or less, mains are $15 or less basically. We weren't starving so we just went for a few apps to snack on. The loaded tator tots, the pretzel sticks, and the chips and dip.

The pretzel sticks were pretty good. They tasted like they were fresh baked, but I don't know if they truly were or not. I liked the cheese dipping sauce the best, the others being a honey mustard and a cinnamon butter. The tater tots weren't bad either, just not anything more than tater tots with cheese and onions and bacon on top of it. I guess I was expecting tater tots like those at Garden in the Cellar just not normal tater tots. Likewise, the chips and dip were a handful of stale chips with a guacamole, salsa and queso dip (the same one as the pretzel sticks).

Overall...a decent spot, but nothing to get excited about. I like the extensive beer list and if I was in Patriot Place I'd come back for a drink or two. And maybe if I was really hungry for a snack I'd order the pretzel sticks. Oh, something has to be said about the "uniforms" of the servers. The female servers all wear short black shorts with black tank tops and have their bras just popping out of the tanks. I don't know if one server decided this was a good look to make more tips and so the others went along with it, or if management actually encourages it. This was neither a plus or minus in my books. I give Bar Louie a meh-tastic 3 out of 5.

Some Cheap Eats Reviews (Pourhouse and Rosebud Diner)

2010-07-18T14:37:00.004-04:00

Pourhouse

Located on Boylston, Pourhouse boasts cheap eats and cheap beers. The specials changes daily, and on the night we went (Thursday) it was border bargains. All their Mexican dishes were half off. We both went with the soft tacos and two large beers. The tacos weren't anything special, but weren't bad either. They had decent enough flavor, but they were what you'd expect for $3.50 tacos at a bar. The rice and beans were fairly standard as well. The best part of the meal was definitely the price. For having two beers each and dinner, we were able to enjoy dinner without breaking the bank. Pourhouse is a good spot to go when you are looking for cheap eats and a good cold beer. I give Pourhouse a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Rosebud Diner

Rosebud Diner can't be missed when driving around Davis Square. It's the large classic dining cart. We sat in a booth that had all their reviews and awards displayed above us. The menu has all the normal diner items (club sandwiches, burgers, etc) and there was Harpoon beer on tap. I went with the bacon burger and Abby went with the BBQ burger. Both were alright, with the burger being slightly dry. Abby's went with the potato wedges as fries and really liked them, but my fries were kinda bland and needed some seasoning. The prices throughout the menu were really good though. Burgers and sandwiches $7 or less. Entrees for $10 and less. The waitress was the type you'd expect at a diner: a little older and sassy. The dessert menu looked good too, but we were so full that we didn't get the Boston Cream Pie that I wanted. I'd like to give this place a try for breakfast, but for dinner it was just ok. I give Rosebud Diner a 3 out of 5.

Links

2010-07-12T19:24:00.002-04:00

A handy website that tells you how to store food. (Stilltasty)

A tale of 2 McNuggets (CNN Health)

Beer Stimulus (WSJ)

I can't believe that Grimaldi's in Brooklyn didn't make this list, but at least they had one Boston spot, even though it wasn't Ernestos. (delish.com)

Not food related, but my high school needs help. (News9.com)

And finally, follow our blog on facebook. (Facebook)

Black Jack Pasta (JP Review)

2010-07-11T18:25:00.003-04:00

Lazy and not wanting to cook or leave the house to grab dinner, we opened up the laptop and searched foodler.com for possible dinner delivery options. Under their sponsored links I saw Black Jack Pasta and "free delivery", so I immediately looked at their menu. Fresh, home made pasta and wings and subs. Sounds good to me. I checked yelp and saw only 1 review from 6/30/2010. Either no one visits this place or it's brand spanking new. The wife looked at the menu and saw the Chef Jack's Special Dish (Ziti pasta w/ pesto sauce, prosciutto, fresh tomatoes, homemade fresh mozzarella
w/ a splash of balsamic vinaigrette) and knew what she wanted. However, both their online ordering system and foodler.com did not have this entree listed. So I just called them up and gave our order. I went with the buffalo wings and the potato gnocchi with papa's meat sauce. 45-60 minutes later our food arrived.

Abby's meal came with a side salad and a cookie. The chicken wings were a little soggy, but most delivery wings are. They did taste great and were pretty spicy. I believe I was only suppose to get 8 wings, but I ended up with 11. (I really hope I wasn't suppose to get 12...) The pasta (which I guess is what you should order from a place calling itself a pasta bar) was really, really good. I admit I was surprised, mainly because I didn't know what to expect. I've had pasta dished delivered from sub shops that seemed to have similar menus and they were over cooked and plain and boring. Here though, the pasta tasted very fresh and the sauces weren't slathered on, but added as a nice compliment to the pasta. Portions were a good size too. I first thought they were small, but upon eating the potato gnocchi I realized it was just the right amount. Not to say that the gnocchi was that heavy, but I was getting full eating it.

Prices are pretty good too. Roughly $10 for pasta dishes, a few bucks more if you go for one of their "full meal" dishes. This is definitely a place I'll order from again. I give Black Jack Pasta a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Links

2010-06-27T18:35:00.002-04:00

Strange Food Combos (6rounds)

Some Hot Food (Becks.com)

Beers for breakfast (Phoenix New Times)

Finally, a list of Vietnamese food related blogs:

Viet World Kitchen

Playing with My Food

Simply Vietnamese

The Gallows

2010-06-27T17:35:00.005-04:00

If you follow this blog, you know I've been dying for a good burger and beer joint in the South End to come and be a place I can go to once a week when I'm not feeling like cooking. To be honest I wanted the famous Spotted Pig to come and open up right down the street from me. I knew that wasn't going to happen, but The Gallows sure comes close.

First, let's give a moment of silence to Sage who gave it's restaurant life for The Gallows. Maybe it's just because JP the bartender at Sage was always so nice and friendly to us any time we came in that made us really love Sage, but the food was really good too. Such a shame it had to go...

But, if it had to be replaced by any restaurant, I'm glad it was The Gallows. A gastropub that serves many different beers ranging from Natty Light to Bud Heavy was just what the doctor ordered. Neither of us ordered such high class drinks that night, but we did stick with the other items on draught. We sat at the bar, which is the best seat in the house in my opinion, and had two great bartenders take care of us while we were there. (We also met a couple waiting for their friends that talked to us when they saw me take pictures of the food. They were food blog readers, so I hope you guys remembered what our blog was and read this review.)

The menu has a lot of interesting items, with most items $25 or less. We started off with the Scotch Egg, which I thought was just a soft boiled egg. What comes out is a soft boiled egg that is wrapped in sausage! Good lord that was some good eating. The sausage had just enough salt that went perfectly with the runny yolk of the egg. I want this for breakfast every freaking day. I want it for lunch and dinner too. Hell, I want it when I'm completely bombed on a Friday night to help me with my drunkeness. Basically, if you come to The Gallows and don't order the Scotch Egg, I hate you and your family.

In all seriousness though, the one menu item I had the most hope for was the $9 burger. It comes with lettuce, onions and pickles and cheese and you don't have any other options. I love that. I don't need to be able to order 500 different toppings for my burger. The burger itself is a "California Flat Patty" whatever that is. It is served with fries and homemade ketchup (you can ask for Heinz if you like, but we didn't.) The burger comes out and there's a nice little layer of grease already on the plate. Before I pick it up I knew this burger was going to be incredible, and it was. Sadly, I also knew I would probably never order anything else on this menu whenever I come in after my first bite. The burger went down perfectly with my nice cold beer.

The menu has poutine, which I know tons of people love...but to me it's a bit un-American. I mean, I love gravy and cheese, but I can't put it over my fries. Maybe one day I'll get the foie gras poutine, but I'll stick to good old American style French Fries any day.

If there was one small complaint I had, it was that I only got a small handfull of fries with my burger. Luckily Abby didn't eat too many of her own, so I could munch on her leftovers but maybe next time I'll order an extra side of fries for myself. I don't know if they allow changing the burger at all, but I'd love to see if they could put a fried egg on top of it just for me. Next time I go, I'll ask and see what happens. I give The Gallows a 4 and 1/2 out of 5.

***UPDATE -

Went back in last night and asked for an egg on my burger and they obliged. Asked to see if they would name the burger after me, but no dice. Abby went for the lobster salad, which looked small, but filled her up. Got dessert, the fluffernutter banana foster thingy, and it was good, albeit very sweet and rich. For adding the egg on my burger, it's enough to push The Gallows to a 5 out of 5.

Quick Hit Reviews (Channel Cafe, Bogies, Garden at the Cellar, Case De Luca, Pho Hoa Quincy)

2010-06-27T16:59:00.009-04:00

I've had a bunch of reviews I've been meaning to get to, but have been too lazy to do a full write up on each of them. So I decided to clump them all together into one post.

Channel Cafe

Located on Summer Street in South Boston in the Fort Point Channel area, Channel Cafe is a very quaint cafe located on the basement level of a artist studio condo building. Basically, this place is a lot better than it needs to be. There's a DJ in the corner by the bar with tons of small tables in the open area of the basement. We started with the cheese plate which was accompanied by apples and honey. Abby got the veggie burger and I went with the carnitas tacos. Both were excellent. Finally, even though we were both stuffed, I just had to order the doughnuts for dessert. Hot and fresh, it was a great way to end the meal. Prices aren't bad either. I give Channel Cafe a 4 out of 5.

Garden at the Cellar

A place we've been dying to try for the food for a long time and it seems like every Friday night that we've come here, it was over 2 hours to wait for a table. I've been here before for just drinks and any bar that serves Boddingtons on tap is my type of place. Finally, during a birthday bar crawl for our friend Heidi, we stopped in to get a quick bite while the rest of the crawl continued on their drunken way. I ordered the cuban sandwich with the famous tater tots. Good god was that a great sandwich and the tots were as good as advertised. We will definitely be back to try out dinner one of these nights. I give Garden at the Cellar a 4 and 1/2 out of 5.

Bogies

We had our hopes up to try out this great BBQ joint near Abby's parent's house in Great Barrington called Route 7 Grill. Sadly, it was 3:30 on a Saturday and it was between lunch and dinner so we were out of luck there. Down the street was Bogies, a bar that Abby used to frequent often in her younger years. On it's premise was a driving range, which I thought was pretty neat. Too bad the rest of the bar wasn't as neat. It was cheap, I'll give it that. But the food was medicore and the service was a little slow, especially since there was only us 4 and a group of people watching the World Cup. The driving range and the games in the back adds 1/2 a point and I give Bogies a 2 and 1/2 out of 5.

Casa De Lucca

If you are in Beverly, MA for some reason and are looking for dinner, you can do a lot worse than Casa De Lucca. Very above average Italian fare with extremely generous portions, Casa De Lucca is basically an Olive Garden run by a family. (And I mean that as a compliment, I really do.) There's the never ending breadsticks and salad that comes with every pasta dish. There's the older lady waitress that's super sweet and smiles every time she comes to our table. There's wine that's a good price for a whole bottle. I ordered the Southern Italy tour which comes with full portions of lasagna, linguine bolognese, and chicken parm. (It really comes with eggplant parm, but I asked to have it switched out and they did it with no extra charge.) Try as I might, I couldn't even put a dent into this plate. I'll be having leftovers for the next two days. Casa De Lucca won't come close to the best North End restaurants, but it doesn't have to. The prices are dirt cheap and the food is good. What else do you want? I give Casa De Lucca a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Pho Hoa Quincy

Recently profiled in Boston.com Cheap Eats, Pho Hoa in Quincy is another in the famous Vietnamese chain. The prices are a bit cheaper than in Boston and I thought the pho bo broth was tastier. The place was clean and the service quick and friendly. I give Pho Hoa Quincy a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Vietnamese Frittata

2010-06-21T20:32:00.005-04:00

My mom used to make this dish for us to eat with rice all the time. It's simply a ground beef frittata. A good recipe can be found here.

I took some liberties with the recipe and made it my own. I used ground beef, black beans, rotel tomatoes and lots of eggs. We served it over rice.

It turned out to be way too much food for two people. but wasn't that bad tasting at all. Maybe next time I'll leave out the black beans though because that took to be the dominant flavor.

Greek Fest

2010-06-15T07:03:00.002-04:00

Woburn Greek Fest. The Gyros were good and the pastries were even better

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Indomei with Fried Egg

2010-06-08T20:31:00.001-04:00

Some of the best instant noodles is the brothless Indomie brand. A great way to gussy it up is to add a fried egg on top.

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A Tale of Two Small Plates (Rocca and Savant Project Reviews)

2010-06-06T15:23:00.009-04:00

The last couple of weeks we had dinner at two places that specializes in small plate eating. Tapas basically so that you can eat different plates and share with your dining companions. When done right, a diner can usually be in for a good and fulfilling meal. When done wrong...well, let's say you might order 2 or 3 items that you might not like and are stuck with it. Here are two examples, one from each category.

Rocca

I've been to Rocca a couple of times in the past. Mainly for drinks only in the very large lounge/bar area, but I have dined there previously and I really enjoyed their pasta dishes. I'm not sure why they changed chefs, but recently from Top Chef fame, Tiffani Faison has taken over the helm at Rocca. We met her very briefly at the Bacon and Beer Fest and she seemed very nice and her ultra crispy bacon was a fantastic treat so we had high hopes for Rocca.

The meal started out with some nice crusty bread and olive oil. This was followed by our first item, the Gnocchetti with lobster in an uni broth.

Man, what a start to dinner. The gnocchi and the lobster were perfectly cooked and uni broth was some of the best pasta broth I've had in a long, long time. I used the bread to soap up all the uni goodness. We seriously thought we were in for a meal of a lifetime sort of moment. Oh how we were so wrong.

Our next dish was the lobster butter garlic bread and this was the start of a chain of disapointments. The bread was burnt in places and was very greasy. There was very little faint hints of lobster, but really unless if you knew there was suppose to be lobster on the bread I don't think you could have figured it out.

Next up was the Tre Calor pizza. At this point we both realized we ordered too many bread-like items because we were getting full, in an unsatisfying manner. The pizza itself was just ok. I liked the egg on top, but really couldn't taste any pork at all and there was way too much "greens" on the pizza.

Our last dish was the monkfish and shrimp sausage. It tasted like any other seafood sausage I've ever had...and that's not really a compliment. It wasn't bad tasting by any means, but I guess I was hoping for it to taste like monkfish liver for some reason.

Overall, I think I liked the old Rocca better. The food here isn't bad at all, but you aren't going to get anything that will wow you (the Gnocchetti being the one exception). Service was spotty at times too, with our waitress ignoring us at times while she talked to another table in between dropping off plates to the other people in our section. If she was routinely checking up on each table then I could understand this, but she ignored most the other tables just to chat with this one particular foursome for most the time we were there. I give Rocca a 2 and 1/2 out of 5.

Also, not that it really matters, but Harold's place (review here) was better.

Savant Project

Abby picked up a groupon for the Savant Project a while ago and we finally decided to go eat there. We were planning on taking the T, but after looking on their website I saw there was plenty of spots for street parking and we decided to drive there. Sure enough we found a spot half a block away. We were early for our reservation by about 20 minutes, but the host didn't care and sat us immediately. It wasn't that crowded in the main dining/bar area, but the outdoor patio was packed.

Once we sat down I noticed a gentlemen at the bar drinking Yuengling, a beer that you never see in the Boston area. I asked the waitress about it and she said it's a bit pricey because they have to go out of state for it, but that doesn't shy me away and I order Pennsylvania's finest. Abby goes for the chocolate bacon martini. I wasn't the biggest fan of that drink, but she seemed to enjoy it. Along with our drinks came chips and salsa. The salsa was pretty good and I wished they gave us more. The pieces of apples was a very nice touch.

We started with the tasting menu to share, which was basically all four seafood tapas on one plate with a pairing of drinks.

On the plate was Tuna Sliders, Tuna Sashimi, smoked salmon and a shrimp ceviche. The tuna sashimi was a very nice delicate piece of tuna laying on a salad bed. The salad had just a little too much dressing on it, but the wasabi peas that garnished it was a nice complement. The smoked salmon had creme fraiche and capers and fried pita. I quite enjoyed this. The tuna sliders and the shrimp ceviche were both tasty as well and we had no problems eating everything on the plate. At $27, with the drinks, this would be a nice little meal for a single person.

Next came the spare pork ribs. These ribs were cooked perfectly and fell right off the bone. The Asian styled BBQ sauce was good, but not great. I think I would have preferred a regular smokey BBQ sauce, but that's just me.

Finally, we finished with the beer battered fried tofu tacos. These came out and it looked like fried twinkees in a tortilla. I was expecting the tofu to be the fried triangles that you see at Thai restaurants, but instead they just cut a log of tofu, battered and deep fried it. AWESOME! The tacos were messy and hard to eat with my hands, but that didn't stop me from devouring it. The coleslaw and avacado added the Mexican flair to the tacos.

Even without the groupon the entire dinner was a reasonable price. The service was slow at times, but was also very friendly and nice. There were other items on the menu that I would love to try, especially the churros and chocolate for dessert. I will definitely be back. I give the Savant Project a 4 out of 5.

Links

2010-06-02T17:38:00.003-04:00

Been a long time since I've written anything. Here are some links:

Bourdain interview. (Slate)

Joel Stein eats a KFC Double Down (Time)

Speaking of the Double Down, here's some food worst than it. (SFWeekly)

Some pimp rides (gunaxin)

Random national foods (Nokia)

Thomas Keller

2010-05-09T17:45:00.004-04:00

Chef Thomas Keller was in Boston doing a signing of his Ad Hoc at Home cookbook. We couldn't miss this opportunity to go and meet the legendary chef ourselves, so we got to the William Sonoma an hour before the signing to get in line with fellow foodies. While waiting in the middle of the mall, random mall guests would walk up asking what the line was for. We ended up waiting a little under 2 hours, but was able to get him to sign not only the book, but also our menu from Bouchon and napkin from Per Se. Also, we grabbed a photo with him.

Chicken Chili/Chicken Stew ?

2010-04-27T19:26:00.004-04:00

Not really sure what to call this dish. Basically we had veggies leftover from the previous night and some frozen drumsticks. I seared the drumsticks and then took them out to rest. Then I quickly cooked some onions, shallots and garlic. Next, I put in a can of tomatoes and the leftover veggies along with a little chicken broth. Brought everything to a boil, then took put the drumsticks back in and covered and put in the oven for about 40 minutes. Turned out pretty good, but I probably could have seasoned it a little better. It's not quite a chili, so I guess it's just braised chicken with veggies. Whatever, it's super easy and a good cleaning out the fridge type of dish.

Beer and Bacon Fest 2010

2010-04-26T19:34:00.003-04:00

Quick! What are your two favorite things? If you’re anything like me, those two things are BEER and BACON. So you can imagine my delight when I discovered eatBoston’s Beer and Bacon Festival! It started at 2 so at around 1:45 we walked over to the Trolley Barn and got into line. The line, btw, was ridic. Can’t say I’m surprised, who doesn’t love beer and bacon? We ended up getting into the barn around 2:30ish and by 3:45 the line had all but disappeared. So what to do first? Eat? Drink? We ended up drinking first because that was closest. We tried a tasty organic beer by Peak Organic and then made our way to Gaslight’s table for beignets dipped in mustard. SO tasty. Since we were in early enough, every table still had food. We tried pork belly BLTs, bacon with potato chips, and then my second favorite, chocolate covered bacon. Heaven. We made our way around and tried Fisherman’s beer from Gloucester, pork belly Viet syle from 51 Lincoln, beer from Moby D (“it’s just beer”), and then wandered around some more. We tried Myers and Chang’s “Banh Mi”.I wouldn’t consider it a banh mi, per se, but it was still very tasty and very spicy and the bread was right. This is where things begin to get fuzzy. I blame the Narragansett…We tasted these awesome steamed buns stuffed with egg, cheese, and bacon and topped with candied bacon. If I could eat these every day for breakfast I’d be a happy girl. I’d also, however, be the size of a house and probably die from cardiac arrest.
Next up, a giant line. What is this line? We have no idea, but since it’s long it has to be something good, right? We waited for an eternity…or at least after all the beers I’d had it felt that way. Seriously though, what are we going to eat? No one knows. And those walking by just keep saying, it’s totally worth it. We get to the line and it’s…RIBS! Scrumptious. I ate them in about 30 seconds all the while wishing I had more, but not wanting to wait in the line again.
We noticed Tiffani, the newest chef at Rocco, and Top Chef Season 1 finalist. I had heard she was the new chef and, to be honest, upon hearing it, I wasn’t that impressed. She was mean on that show and I wasn’t sure if her food could trump her attitude. Amazing what Bravo’s editing can make you believe. Anyway, so we see her table and try her bacon. It’s DELICIOUS and by far my favorite bacon of the night. It was perfectly cooked bacon, crispy with a bacon ranch horseradish (I think) aioli on top. We chatted with her for a bit and she was very pleasant. Now that niceness could be an act, but it was enough to make me want to at least try her cooking at Rocco.
We hung around a little bit more and ate and drank what was left. While standing there, we people watched and I found some of my favorite T-Shirts. The winners are:
3. A slab of bacon with a “Hello my name is Kevin” tag.
2. A hamburger with a voice bubble that says “I want to be inside you”
And then my favorite of the day:
1. Reelect Clay Davis – Maryland State Senate

While people watching, our attractive and hilarious friend Sarah laid eyes on a handsome chap. He was wearing a gray cardigan with a green and yellow design piping the button area. By the time she got up the courage to speak to him, he was gone! He was with a taller gentleman in, I believe, a blue shirt. If you are him, or know him, get in touch! You should meet my friend!

I definitely had a BLAST at BEER AND BACON Fest. I hope they have another one next year because I would definitely attend again! Thank you eatBoston for a great event!
I give it a 4.5 out of 5!

Photos:

"Beef Wellington"

2010-04-26T19:23:00.006-04:00

Dinner last night probably couldn't be truly considered a Beef Wellington because we didn't use pate or foie gras or mushroom duxelle, but it turned out pretty good. I substituted a spinach, cream cheese, and caramelized onion mixture instead. Turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. Next time I'll follow Gordon Ramsay's recipe (found here) and wrap the beef with parma ham and let it sit while I roll out the dough. This would make it a much tighter package.

Recipe is as follows:

1. Sear your beef. I had a nice piece of Chataubriand left over from portioning the whole beef tenderloin that was just sitting in the freezer.

2. Take the beef out and let it rest.

3. Saute onions, garlic and shallots until nice and brown and caramelized.

4. Mix frozen spinach (thawed and drained) with cream cheese and onion mix.

5. Rub mustard over the beef.

6. Roll out the puff pastry.

7. Spread down a layer of the spinach mix over the puff pastry and lay the beef down in the center. Roll it up.

8. Score and egg wash the whole thing. Sprinkle with salt.

9. Cook 30 minutes in the oven at 400.

10. Take it out and let it rest for 8-10 minutes.

11. Cut into thick slices and enjoy.

Things I would have done differently:

1. Sprayed the aluminum foil with non-stick spay.
2. Used parma ham as stated above.

Otherwise this turned out pretty good for my first try.

What To Order At A Vietnamese Restaurant

2010-04-18T17:24:00.004-04:00

Ever been to a restaurant and you look at the menu and are completely terrified/confused at to what to order? Since you don't know what's good and are too afraid to just point to a table next to you and order what they are having, you end up ordering something that is familiar even though it might not be something the restaurant (or cuisine) is known for. I believe this happens a lot at Vietnamese restaurants, because I see items like Pad Thai and Chicken Fingers and Pork Fried Rice on menus. While it's not bad to order something just to be safe, don't you want to order something that the cooks in the back are more likely to make for themselves? Or maybe you are just curious about Vietnamese food and want to know what some good dishes are to order. Here's a little guide to help you along.

Pho

Probably the most popular item at any Vietnamese place. It's the greatest noodle soup ever, at least in my mind. Perfect for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It's simply just rice noodles in a chicken or beef broth with some onions and meat of your choice. Served with bean sprouts, mint leaves, lime, chili sauce and hoison sauce, it's the most personable meal in the world. No one eats their pho the same way as anyone else. You add whatever you want and slurp it down. (Don't be afraid to slurp, it's not considered rude. In fact, the more slurping the better.) For the meat, Pho Ga is simply Chicken Noodle Soup. Pho Bo is the beef version, but you can get different types of beef cuts. For example, Pho Tai is rare flank steak that is cut very thin. You can tell the quality of a Vietnamese restaurant by how rare the meat is when it comes out to your table. The broth is so hot that it cooks the meat when you mix it all up right before you eat it. The rarer it is, the better it is. If you don't like to see rare meat in your noodles, you can order Pho Chin which is well done beef. Bo Vien is beef meatball and you can have it alone in the pho or add it to any other Pho Bo choice. I normally do and I judge most restaurants by how many meatballs I get. For a $1 or $2 more per bowl, I like it if I have more than 4 pieces of Bo Vien. If you are feeling adventurous or just love various types of beef, get Pho Dac Biet, which basically is the kitchen sink in Pho Bo. You get tripe, tendon, flank, brisket, tripe and bo vien all in your bowl. This can also be called Xe Lua, which literally translates into "Large Train" in Vietnamese. This is the XL, or extra-large bowl size. If this little write up on Pho still confuses you, a better write up can be found here.

Appetizers

Of course, everyone has heard of Cha Gio (Egg Rolls). The Vietnamese version are normally smaller and thinner than the Chinese versions, but made in the same way. A filling of pork, mushrooms, rice noodles, carrots and other vegetables are placed inside a wrapper and rolled up and deep fried until crispy gold, brown and delicious. These are normally served with lettuce, pickled carrots and Nuoc Mam, fish sauce. I like to wrap the lettuce around the egg roll, add some of the pickled carrots and dip into the nuoc mam. If you are afraid of the nuoc mam (and I know it doesn't smell like the greatest thing in the world; be sure not to spill some on your clothes.) Just eat the egg roll plain or try the Goi Cuon (Spring Rolls) which are served with a peanut flavored dipping sauce. The spring rolls are shrimp and/or pork rolled into rice noodle wrappers with some lettuce, rice noodles and some mint.

Banh Xeo is a fried crepe dish that can be a meal for one person or an appetizer for multiple people. Shrimp, pork, bean sprouts are pan fried in a crepe batter and flipped over like an omelet. Similar to the egg rolls, lettuce and pickled carrots and nuoc mam are served with it and the banh xeo can be wrapped up and eaten with your hands.

Bun and Com (Rice)

I put bun and com into the same categories because they are served basically the same way, except one is in a bowl and the other is on a plate. Bun is rice noodles and com is rice. You can order Bun Thit Nuong, which has grilled meat (either chicken, pork or beef) served over the rice noodles that lies in a bed of veggies (carrots and lettuce mainly). A side bowl of nuoc mam comes with it that you can add however little or much you would like. Mix it all up and eat. I normally like to add a Cha Gio to my order, which means that the restaurant will add an egg roll that is cut up into 3 or 4 bite sized pieces and added to the bun. Com Thit Nuong is basically the same thing, except the meat is not cut up into smaller peices. So normally you'd get a grilled pork chop served over a bed of white rice.

Banh Hoi

Let's say you like both the Bun Thit Nuong and the Goi Cuon, but can't decide which one you want. Well, you can order the Banh Hoi. Basically, it's the Vietnamese version of fajitas. You get rice noodle wrappers, a bowl of hot water, a plate of cooked chicken or pork or shrimp, and some rice noodles and veggies. You dip the rice noodle wrapper into the hot water, lay it on your plate, add some meat and veggies and rice noodles and roll it all up. Dip it into some nuoc mam and you are all set. Very simple and a fun meal to order for a group of people to try it out. Remember, Vietnamese food is not fine cuisine dining. It's slurp, get messy, talk to your friends and enjoy your meal dining.

Family Style Options

Whenever I used to eat out with my family, my dad would order 4 or 5 different dishes and some white rice. This is a great way to try out different Vietnamese items and it again is a much more fun option than everyone having their own dish. Here are some of the dishes I love to order: Bo Luc Lac, cubes of beef sauteed in fish sauce, Canh Chua, a Vietnamese sour soup made with seafood and pineapple, Tom Rang Mua, fried shrimp (with head on of course) in a salty spicy covering, and Ca Kho To, fish cooked in a clay pot.

So there you have it. A quick little guide to ordering Vietnamese food. And don't stop at just the dishes I've listed, try whatever sounds good too, or ask your waiter what they think is good. Or, if you are still afraid to order something different, just got the Banh Mi. You can never go wrong with a good sandwich. (You do know what banh mi is, right?)

Top Chef Masters II

2010-04-18T17:05:00.004-04:00

So of course I'm a big fan of Top Chef Masters. I loved the first season and was very happy that Rick Bayless (a dude originally from the Sooner state) beat out some great chefs to win it all. I'm also very happy that Bravo decided to do a second season. However, why do the magical elves feel the need to induce drama? I dunno, maybe I was in the minority, but damn wasn't I giddy over the fact that these best-of-the-best chefs were acting like long lost best friends? They were all smiling, joking around and just enjoying the competition. And were they ever into the competition, fighting for a charity they all believed in. This was very refreshing after the crap show that the regular Top Chef was becoming. All these cheftestants should take a look at how some real chefs treat each other with respect. Now that we have watched two episodes of the latest season of Masters, Bravo is trying their hardest to make these chefs reduce to the same level as their less experienced counterparts. By making these elite chefs work together is probably the easiest way to induce some drama and that is what they did. Luckily so far the most drama we've seen has come from Marcus Samuelsson admitting that he was too focused on his own dish to help out others. However, in the upcoming previews they show chefs bickering and yelling at each other just like in the regular Top Chef. Here's hoping that's just editing for a trailer and there's not much more that what we see in the future episode. I for one enjoy watching the best chefs at the top of their game actually being cordial and nice to each other.

Home Cooking Vietnamese Style

2010-04-17T17:29:00.006-04:00

One of my favorite dishes that my mom would make is Bo Luc Lac (Vietnamese Shaking Beef). We would eat this with rice and also with french fries. So good. I've made it a few times before and while it's turned out great, I've never been able to recreate my mom's dish. Food and Wine had a recipe from the Slanted Door and we tried it out one night. We used the side roast from the whole tenderloin I broke down a couple of weeks ago. Probably should have used one of the filets too, but I didn't realize how little beef I had until the end.

The next day I tried again to recreate one of my mom's best dishes, Ca Ri Ga (chicken curry). I've made this many times before and each time it turns out good, but not as good as my mom's. I just don't know what she does to make it so perfectly, but I really need to pick her brain on this.

Latin Weekend Eats (Merengue and Heidi/Tony)

2010-04-13T17:55:00.006-04:00

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.

Market (JP Review)

2010-04-13T17:37:00.004-04:00

We went to Jean Georges' Market in the W Hotel for Abby's B-day. I've never eaten at a Jean Georges restaurant before and was pretty excited for it. The space, just like the lobby of the W hotel, is very modern and contemporary. I didn't like the outfits the hostesses and waitresses were wearing, some sort of Asian inspired dress that was not flattering at all.

We both went with the Market Menu, $55 for 5 courses. Abby asked to see if she could substitute another dish for the lamb chops and was told by our waiter that they normally do not allow it but since it was a quiet night the chef would cater to our needs. That was nice.

Bread came with butter. I liked the salt that was at our table, but then wonder how many previous diners have put their fingers in the salt cellar.

I was going to go through every dish and explain it all, but really there's no need. For me, everything was good to very good, but not exceptional. (Abby did say the foie gras brule was one of the best things she's ever eaten though.) The entire meal can be summed up by the dessert course, a chocolate molten cake, which was perfectly made but just did now blow my socks off.

Maybe my expectations for Market were too high, but what else should I expect from the Jean Georges brand? Can you get a very good meal at Market? Yes you can, and at $55 it can even be a bargain. Just don't expect to be wowed with something new and exciting and you'll have a great dinner. I give Market a 3 out of 5.

Easter (Woody's Grill & Tap Review and Family Eats)

2010-04-12T19:24:00.007-04:00

The day before Easter we went to Jillian's to go bowling for Abby's B-day. Before we did that, we had a couple of pizzas at a place Michael, Abby's brother, have been raving about. Located a couple of blocks from their apartment, Woody's Grill and Tap is a simple pizza joint with a wood fire oven. It's smelled great as we were walking down the street, but when we arrived the door was locked even though their were people inside eating. A waiter quickly unlocked the door (apparently they had the door open and just closed it and it locked itself) and we were quickly seated. Woody's has a nice beer list and decently priced wine. We ordered two large pizzas, a BBQ Chicken and the Kitchen Sink. They came out quickly on a steaming hot thin crust. And sadly, they were quickly devoured. This pizza was good. Was it the best I've ever had in Boston...no. But how many places can live up to Ernesto's? Was it just as good and cheaper than Upper Crust...the Kitchen Sink definitely could stand against any of their pizzas. Woody's is a very good spot, probably really popular with the college kids in the area. The prices are just right and the warm, inviting bar can easily draw in passerbys for a drink and a pizza. I give Woody's a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

For Easter, Michael and Sam made a stuffed tenderloin, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Abby made her red velvet cupcakes, and Amanda made a cheesecake. All was fantastic and all was eaten.

Relaxing Sunday

2010-03-28T16:45:00.010-04:00

Took a trip to Costco to get a whole beef tenderloin. Along the way, we picked up a few items that we just couldn't pass up.

Sure it'll probably take us months to finish the cheesballs and years to finish the panko, but those are good values. And the vanilla extract from Kirkland is the same price for a smaller glass vial at Stop and Shop.

But the main event is the beef tenderloin. Tonight we are making cheesesteaks out of the chain meat, but I got plenty of steaks for a while. (My previous post on breaking down a whole beef tenderloin can be found here.)

Before I could get to the cheesesteaks, Abby made some red velvet cupcakes. Absolutely amazing.

To make the cheesesteaks, just trim the chain meat of any fat and pound into flat pieces. I seasoned the meat like I would a steak, with salt, pepper, cumin, Montreal Steak Seasoning, and some oil. Then I browned both sides on a griddle. I also sauteed some peppers and onions while the steak was cooking.

I took the meat off the griddle and placed into some aluminum foil, which I left there while the bread was in the oven toasting. Normally we use Vietnamese baguettes, but tonight we tried Portuguese Sweet Rolls. When the bread was done, I chopped up all the meat and put it back on the griddle with the onions and peppers. I added some cheese and then placed it all into the sweet rolls.

And because we wanted something healthy as a side, we steamed some frozen broccoli.

Of course we topped off the night with a cupcake or two. Not a bad Sunday at all.

Weekend Eats (Toraya, Burlington Mall Food Court Review)

2010-03-28T15:52:00.005-04:00

Toraya

Located outside of Arlington Center, Toraya is a very, very small sushi restaurant that apparently caters to a huge Japanese clientele. Or so says all the reviews online I could find. My GPS unit took us through Arlington Central and there was no parking to be found. Thinking it'd be the same in front of Toraya, I took the first parking spot available .3 miles away. This was a mistake. Not only was there plenty of parking in front of Toraya, but apparently there's parking in the back too. This will be good to know for next time.

Like I said earlier, Toraya is very small. 3 4-seaters and 3 2-seaters along with 6 or so seats at the sushi bar. We were next in line behind a family of 4 and we stood in the doorway and tried to stay out of the way. After a 20 or so minutes, we were seated slightly before the family because a 2-seater opened up.

While we were waiting I noticed one of the specials was tempura soft shelled crab for only $8.50. That took care of my appetizer. I wasn't really feeling sushi that night, so I went with the Udon noodles, sans chicken because it is still lent. Abby went for the Maki deluxe special as well as some edamame and an extra order of Philly Maki.

My tempura soft shelled crab came out with Abby's edamame and miso soup. The crab was one of the best things I've eaten in a long time. The tempura batter was light (like all tempura batter) and covered the crab just enough to not over power the wonderful delicate meat. Abby devoured her edamame in no time but neither of us really touched the miso soup. (I'm not the biggest fan of miso in general, so it wasn't like the soup was nasty or anything like that.)

My udon noodles were came out and had a very strong mushroom flavor. Inside the soup was a whole egg. I broke the yolk up and mixed it all around. The flavor the yolk gave to the soup was very nice. The noodles were typical udon noodles, thick and lacking of any real flavor other than the broth they laid in. The tempura shrimp were just like like my soft shell crab earlier, perfectly fried in just the right amount of batter. A very good noodle soup.

Abby's sushi came out and they looked great. She thought they were fantastic and just the way she liked it. I tried one of each type and thought the sushi was good to better than good, but nothing ground breaking. My main problem was that the other ingredients took away from the fish. For example the avocado was such big pieces that all I couldn't get over the buttery creamy taste to get the flavor of the eel at all. This could just be me though, because Abby loved every single bite.

Overall, Toraya is a very nice little sushi restaurant. You could do a lot worse. The chef/owner, Mr Toraya, was behind the sushi counter carefully taking his time to slice every piece of fish correctly. He seemed like the type of sushi chef that would gladly trade shots of sake with customers at the bar. Maybe next time we come we can sit and the bar and find out. The prices were pretty good too. However I ordered a coke and when I got a refill I had a feeling that it wasn't free. Sure enough I got charged $1.75 twice for both drinks. I just wish I could have gotten the coke in a larger glass the first time so I wouldn't have needed the refill, but now I know. Toraya gets a 3 and 1/2 out of 5, good and better than average but not exactly great.

Burlington Mall Food Court

A huge mall that was crazy packed on Saturday, we were in the area and wanted a snack so we decided to go to the mall. It took longer than it should to find parking and walking through the mall to the food court was an adventure all to itself. Once we got to the food court, there was a plethora of choices. I couldn't believe there was a Chick-fil-a! I'm so glad that it was Saturday instead of Sunday so I could get the greatest chicken sandwich ever to grace a mall. Being from Oklahoma, I took Chick-fil-a for granted since they were everywhere. This has to be the only one in New England. Abby, still skipping out on fried food because of lent, went for Appleseed, a healthy crepe joint that had quite a bit of customers waiting in front for their crepe.

While my chicken sandwich was not nearly as healthy as Abby's crepe, it was probably more amazing and fantastic. So crispy and so tender and juicy with just two pickles. God I love chick-fil-a for not changing their main sandwich to include lettuce or tomatoes. Sure you could add them, but why would you. And the waffle fries...if you don't get the polynesian sauce to dip the waffle fries in, then you aren't living life correctly. Sure my meal was probably 15000 calories, but who cares. I'm never in this mall (might have been the 2nd time I've been there in 5 years since moving to Boston) so I had to take advantage of the opportunity. Abby seemed to enjoy her crepe, saying it wasn't that healthy because of the salad dressing, but I know she was jealous of the fried chicken goodness that is Chick-fil-a.

As for the rest of the food court, I guess it's a good selection. No Taco Bell, but they had the typical Chinese and Japanese joints, as well as a Thai and Indian one. So pretty good selection. I give it a 3 out of 5.

Quick Hit Reviews (Gaslight, Scollay Square, Lanna Thai Diner)

2010-03-21T09:35:00.007-04:00

Gaslight

My original review of Gaslight can be found here. And really, nothing has changed still fantastic as ever. You can always rely on a good meal at not too bad prices. We went during restaurant week with no reservations and were able to sit down immediately in an area that is basically an extension of the bar. Those seats are first come first serve and I actually prefer them over the booths. (You get more of the French Brassiere feel in my opinion.) I got what I always get, the Steak Frites. Abby went with the Tuna Nicoise salad. Our orders took a while, and our waitress apologized for it, but really, it wasn't a big deal at all. We understood it's during restaurant week, so things will be a bit busier and more hectic than normal. No biggie. Our meals were as good as always. I'm glad we have a place like Gaslight a few steps from our front door.

Scollay Square

Friday night, about 6:30pm, and we had no idea what we wanted to do for dinner. It being Lent, we knew we had to go to a place that served seafood. I browsed opentable for a while and was not getting any inspiration from the places we saw online. Either no reservation for the night or places that seemed too expensive for a simple Friday night. Abby, on her iphone, saw some good reviews for Scollay Square on yelp and I noticed that there was plenty of reservations. So I quickly got us a spot and we left the condo for Beacon Hill.

We arrived to see that Scollay Square had a nice outdoor area and there were still some after work crowd having beers and loud conversations. The weather had been great so we decided to sit outside. The hostess and waitstaff were all very friendly. It being restaurant week we quickly looked over their priced fix menu special. Not a bad offering actually, with Kobe Sliders and grilled salmon as options. However, we weren't in for a big meal, so we ordered off the regular menu, which consisted of classic pub eats. Abby got the goat cheese appetizer and a pear salad. I went for the fish and chips.

Our food came out quickly and everything was delicious. The goat cheese, a cheese I am always 50/50 about, was very smooth and creamy and was laid in a nice complimentary tomato sauce. Spread this cheese and some of the sauce onto the toasted bread and you have yourself a very nice starter. Abby's pear salad came with candied pecans that she couldn't stop raving about. The salad also was not drenched in dressing, which was nice. The pears, which may be out of season, were just ok though. My fish and chips were cooked perfectly. The fries were lightly battered and were very crispy. The fish, cut into small pieces instead of coming out as one huge piece, was very flaky with a batter that did not overpower the fish at all. The tartar sauce was nothing special, but wasn't bad either. Same with the coleslaw.

Scollay Square either just hired new chefs or redid their menu or both apparently. I do not know what it was like before, but the night we went the food was definitely way above average and probably better than most standard pub fare. I'd like to go back and try other items on the menu, especially in the summer when the outdoor area will more than likely be really busy. (The next day I got a call from Scollay Square asking how our meal was. I told them everything was great, just like I said in this review, but I was a little nervous that this was some scam afraid someone just wanted to check my phone number to match my credit card I used or something. Then I realized I paid cash for our meal and that the phone number that called me matched the phone number on the website. Guess they just wanted to make sure we had a good dinner.) I give Scollay Square a very strong 3 1/2 out of 5.

Lanna Thai Diner

I was browsing through Boston.com's list of Best Diners when I saw Lanna Thai Diner listed. There is no way, no how a tiny Thai place inside an actually diner exists in New England and I didn't know about it. So of course this place became a must eat for Abby and I. All the reviews rave about how great the food is and how great the owners are. Chalk us up just like the other reviewers because we came away wanting to become regulars. While Woburn isn't that far, it's probably a good thing Lanna's isn't just around the corner in South End or I'd be there 4 or 5 times a week.

We parked on Main Street and walked in on a quiet Saturday evening. There was only a family that was just seated on the left side, and we sat down on the right side at a table for 2. There isn't really much space if you have a party of more than 4 or 5 I think. There are about six or so seats at the counter as well. When we sat down a regular came in and chatted with the owner for a bit and then sat down at the counter with his partner. I envied those two, because they clearly came here often and were friends with the owner. Our table had a couple of rooster figurines on it and also some printed copies of reviews that Lanna had received.

The menu itself is quite large and had all the regular Thai dishes as well as some specialties. I inquired if they had "mee krab" a Thai dish that we made in a cooking class in Phuket but the owner said that he doesn't make it because it's too unhealthy. (It's rice noodles that are deep fried, so he probably has a point about that...though it's so damn good.) Abby went with the special of the night, a stir fried egg noodle dish, and I was lame and just went with the Pad Thai. (I know, I should have tried something else, but I haven't had pad thai in a very long time and was sort of craving it.)

The pad thai came out within minutes of us ordering. We both started devouring the plate not caring that Abby's dish hasn't come out yet. This was some damn good pad thai. The noodles were perfectly cooked and weren't dry or mushy. The chicken, as so usually is, was not dry or overcooked. And the bean sprouts and carrots added just the right amount of freshness and crispness to the plate. The flavors had just the right combination of savory and sweet and with just a little bit of heat. Next time I'll probably ask for it to be a little spicier, but otherwise this dish was perfect. Abby's stir fry came out just a few minutes later and was likewise perfect. Where the pad thai had some sweetness, this egg noodle stir fry was more savory. Again the fresh veggies added just the right amount of crunch so that the dish wouldn't just be soft noodles. And the portions were huge. You could probably have just shared one of these dishes for two people, but they were so good we couldn't stop eating until both plates were clean.

For desert we had to get the mango sticky rice. The owner, in an apologetic manner, stated that the mangos aren't going to be as good as they will be until next week or so. It didn't matter to us. The mangos, even though not quite in season, were perfect. And the sticky rice had just the right amount of sweetness from the coconut milk that my sweet tooth was definitely satisfied.

Everything about Lanna's is fantastic, from the fact that it's a diner to the amazing food, to the friendly owners. You feel like you are just eating out with friends that happen to be making Thai food in the back. We chatted to the owner about our trip to Thailand and how we wish there was mangosteen available in Boston. He told us about how much mango he ate just a couple of weeks ago when they went back to Thailand for vacation. Needless to say we had a great experience for dinner and will be back often. I give Lanna Thai Diner a 5 out of 5.

March Home Cooking

2010-03-21T09:10:00.005-04:00

Some pics of recent homemade meals.

Abby made this breaded chicken dish after my brother-in-law Co made it for us in San Francisco. He's a big America's Test Kitchen fan like we are and luckily this recipe was in the 10th anniversary cookbook that we got for x-mas. We had it with a salad mix that we got a Costco. That salad mix probably serves 25 people, so we had plenty of salad for the next few days.

I made the steak tips (from the New Bridge recipe) and we served it with some more of that salad. Recipe can be found here.

We recreated one of my mom's dishes for dinner one night. The original recipe (here) calls for macaroni pasta, but we decided to make our own egg noodles for it. Turned out fantastic.

Good God....

2010-03-10T08:09:00.000-05:00

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/check-out-the-secret-mcmenu-item-thats-sweeping-sf-the-mc1035.html?

I am not sure if I want one or if I want one....

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

2010-03-07T17:31:00.009-05:00

Rewind a few weeks ago to San Francisco. Since I'm lazy and I don't update as much as JP, or ever really, I didn't write about my love for The Alembic. I found it on Yelp and Suzy and Co both said it was a great bar. Suzy's friend dropped us off so JP and I could put in our name. Now here's the best part...the hostess said "What's your phone number? We'll text you when your table is ready". What? Seriously? We don't have to wait around and try to stay out of the way? This bar is too cool for the buzzers, and plus you can't go very far. So, to me, this is the greatest idea ever. I can wander around Haight as far as I want because you'll text me when you're ready. Awesome. We ended up going back and finding 5 seats at the bar, but the texting is still a great idea. I highly recommend this bar. I had two of the best drinks I've ever consumed. See JP's review for pictures and descriptions.

OK back to the present. Yesterday was the first nice day of the year. JP and I were trying to figure out where to go to enjoy the weather so we settled on Freeport, Maine. They have outlets, it would be a nice drive, and JP had never been. Before we went we did what we always do, we looked up the area restaurants. One, Buck's Naked BBQ, came highly rated; it received 4 stars on Yelp. Never one to turn down barbecue, we decided this would be our lunch destination. 2 hours later we arrive at Buck's. I'm excited. I love pulled pork. JP tells me it's naked because it comes out bare, no sauce whatsoever. We walk in and they ask us if we want to sit at the table right by the door. We pass and decide we'd like to sit in the bar area. We're seated and I order a diet Coke. They only have Pepsi. Strike one.
We look over our menu and I decide on the pulled pork. I then get to choose two sides. Since I've given up fried food for Lent, I decided on the potato salad. I couldn't decide if I wanted the coleslaw or the corn bread. BTW, what BBQ place doesn't automatically provide corn bread? I thought it normally came with every order. It came with JP's meal, but I thought most joints will serve it with every order. I also decide to order a cup of the gumbo. It has pulled chicken, sausage, & crayfish. The waiter comes back and I order, but ask him what's better, the coleslaw or the cornbread. He looks at me like I have two heads and then makes a motion like flipping a coin and shrugs his shoulders. OK? So you, who works here, and, presumably, eats the food, can't tell me what is better? Maybe I was wrong to assume he eats the food. I can't say I would eat it if I worked there.
Gumbo comes. I remove the crayfish and give it to JP. He's been craving it for a while so I figured I'd share. My first bite is good. I tell JP if this is any indication we're in for some good food. Then I continue to eat. The pulled chicken is very tasty, but that's it. I keep eating and it's actually becoming more bland. How is that even possible?? I actually have to add salt and pepper, which is very rare for me.
Ding! Food is done. I can see them put up two dishes. And I can see them sit there. And sit there. Oh and sit there some more. The dishes were up there for about 3-4 minutes while numerous employees walked past. Strike two.
Food is eventually brought over. We test out the different sauces. JP likes the skinny sauce and I like mustard/vinegar based sauce.
So here's the thing, their whole restaurant is based off of being naked. So when your BBQ is naked, the bare meat should speak for itself. Buck's doesn't. Some bites of the pork were dry, others were juicy, but there was no flavor. It was bland. I found myself looking for flavor and having to add copious amounts of the provided sauce. I tried the potato salad. It too was bland, yet covered in mayonnaise. So I guess even the mayo was bland. OK so what's left? The corn bread. More like corn dead? Seriously. It wasn't good. It was dry. Again, I found myself wanting to add something. Everything they served made me want to add something. Their naked just wasn't good enough.
Eventually we paid and left. On our way out, the hostess didn't thank us for coming. Strike three.

The one plus was they give you huge portions at a good price. But do you really want a huge portion of not really great food? Yeah that's what I thought.

I give Buck's Naked BBQ, 1 out of 5.

Buck's Naked BBQ

2010-03-07T16:19:00.004-05:00

We decided to take a quick road trip to Freeport, ME to walk around their outlet shops and enjoy the nice weather. Searching for places to eat lunch online before heading out, I saw Buck's Naked BBQ and after looking at the website and menu, I knew that was where we were going to have lunch. Needless to say, we had very high expectations for Buck's. Sadly, those expectations weren't met.

Buck's Naked BBQ is aptly named because the BBQ comes out naked. Meaning with no sauce. Basically, the slow cooked meat should speak for itself. This, in theory, is usually the best practice for any type of cooking. However, Buck's does provide 4 types of BBQ sauces for you to add as much or as little as you like. The sauces are all at the table, which is nice. The last place we had BBQ only gave us a small portion of sauce on the side of our BBQ and charged us if we wanted extra. So that was a definitely a plus at Buck's.

Abby started with the gumbo. I enjoyed the crawfish that came with the soup, but the one spoonful I had was somewhat bland. Abby enjoyed the pulled chicken that was in the gumbo and even remarked that this was a good sign that the rest of the BBQ that we ordered would be really good.

As we were waiting for our main entree (I went with the smokehouse sampler, which consisted of babyback ribs, beef ribs, and chicken wings, and Abby went with the pulled pork sandwich) we heard the ding from the kitchen bell that indicates to waiters and servers that food was ready to pickup. Abby noticed that the food sitting under the heatlamps appeared to be our lunch. It sat there. Servers walked past the kitchen not even caring. It continued to sit there. One of the managers, or maybe the owners' son, was sitting at the bar with legs up over multiple seats not really caring about anything other than his laptop. Our food continued to "die" under the heat lamps. Finally, after several minutes someone noticed our food and brought it over to our table.

My ribs were big and covered in the dry rub that was used over the meat. Neither babyback ribs or beef ribs were "fall off the bone" tender, but weren't completely dry either. Each bite though was so overpowered by the dry rub, it was hard to really get the flavor of the ribs. I thought that was the whole point of the naked BBQ. I did add some sauce though, choosing the WNC Skinny Dip. This was my favorite sauce of the 4 and I thought was a pretty solid BBQ sauce. The babybacks were the better of the ribs, as it should since they are listed as "award-winning". While the ribs were naked, the chicken wings most definitely weren't. I had the wings in Jerk sauce, and they came slathered. I had to scrape the sauce off the wings before I ate them. That being said, the wings were cooked perfectly and were very juicy. The jerk sauce, once I took the majority off, was better than average, but still nothing to write home about. Abby's pulled pork was like my BBQ, slightly dry and needing sauce. The sides weren't bad, but weren't great either. I didn't like the cornbread much, but did like the baked beans.

Bottom line: Buck's Naked BBQ isn't the greatest BBQ I've ever had. It's not even on the list of best BBQ in New England. Not sure if we went on a bad day or not (the couple sitting behind us didn't seem to be enjoying their lunch either) but there wasn't anything worth coming back to. I give Buck's Naked BBQ a 1 and 1/2 out of 5. (Probably closer to a 2 than a 1 since the portions were pretty big and the sauces weren't bad either.)

Kinda Disgusting

2010-03-07T09:28:00.001-05:00

Can't believe he put it on the menu. (inhabitots)

Bored with Kraft Mac and Cheese? Kick It Up A Notch.

2010-03-03T20:30:00.004-05:00

A while ago we showed you how to take good, yet boring, Ramen and turn it into something fancy. In the same way, you can take mac and cheese from the box and turn it into something more. For example you can brown some ground beef and make your own cheesy, beefy, macaroni. Or do like what Abby came up with: chicken and tomato mac and cheese. Here's how we made it.

Ingredients:

Chicken breast. We've been getting these freezer packs from Costco. Not only are they priced very well, they come in pairs in sealed freezer packs. Take out the night before and place in the fridge and you are ready to cook by the time you get home from work.

Canned Diced Tomatoes with Green Chilies. These are fantastic to have in the pantry. Can be added to just about anything. The generic brand from our local grocery store is cheaper and tastes just as good.

Instant Mac and Cheese. Kraft of course. There is no other brand to choose from.

How you do it:

First cut the chicken breasts into bite sized portions. Season with salt, pepper and chili powder. Saute in a hot pan with some butter. While the chicken is cooking, bring some water to boil in a pot.

After the chicken is done cooking (I slightly over did the chicken tonight but it wasn't as dry as it looks) drain the tomatoes and add to the chicken. Heat the it all together over medium heat while you finish the mac and cheese following the directions on the box.

Add everything together and mix it up.

Put in a bowl and eat.

This is a great "clean out the pantry" dinner. It's also a simple easy meal to make to help you become more confident in cooking. Just be creative and don't be afraid to give different combinations a try.

Lazy Sunday Links

2010-02-28T17:10:00.005-05:00

It's a lazy Sunday. We got pulled pork going in the slow cooker which is almost done. I got a big pot of Chao Ga (chicken congee) cooking as well. That should make about 3-4 bowls of it so I can have breakfast this week at work.

Here are some links I've found in the past couple of days I'd thought I'd pass along:

*A list of kitchen essentials. (latimes, courtesy of Dine or Death)

We have the dutch oven and creme brule torch as wedding gifts and while we love and use the former quite a bit, we haven't busted out the torch just yet. We also have a rather boring (but effective) thermometer, but I really want one of these. At nearly $100, I haven't yet justified the costs. We have a few of the other items as well, like the microplane and the nice knives, but our roasting pan was really cheap and is very useful and our nonstick pans were expensive (more wedding gifts) and I'm very, very careful with how we use them. The mortar and pestle is something we've been wanting for a while too to make guacamole with.

*In case you love burritos and never saw the calorie counts. (divinecaroline)

*Some really cool food art. (noupe)

*This brought back some memories. I might have to ebay the Star Wars tumblers as an early b-day gift to myself. (miami new times)

*For those of you who hate Wal-Mart (which I personally love), the produce apparently can compete with Whole Foods. (lifehacker)

*Food from Hong Kong. (cnngo)

*Again, more proof America is behind in Vending Machine technology. (phoenix new times)

*McDonalds from around the world. (like me)

*Bourdain on Yo Gabba Gabba (EW)

San Francisco Treat 2 (Gary Danko, Turtle Tower)

2010-02-25T19:18:00.008-05:00

Gary Danko

I was a little nervous about our reservations for Gary Danko, a Michelin rated restaurant and listed on countless top 50 restaurants in the USA lists. I didn't pack any really nice clothes or any other shoes than my dirty Pumas. Then as we were driving to the restaurant, I remembered that I was in California and that the locales consider putting on an Ed Hardy shirt with plaid shorts as dressing up and I'd be fine in my button up shirt and jeans and sneakers. (After we were sat a customer was seated near us wearing a hoodie and hat, so I really had nothing to worry about.)

We ordered a few drinks and while we were looking over the very extensive menu, our amuse came. It was a fried piece of hen over potato salad. Now the potato salad was actually very good but the fried meat on top, which I would not be able to pick out of a meat line up, had a batter that reminded me of Van De Kamps Fish Sticks. Needless to say, this was not a good start.

As I said before, the menu is quite extensive. Probably the neatest part about Gary Danko is that the 3, 4, or 5 tasting menus are really up to the customer to create. Even though the selections are separated into starters, fish, meat, cheese and dessert, you can choose any combination you liked. If you want only fish, you can pick 5 fish dishes. Likewise if you only want dessert, then you can get 5 desserts.

After we all ordered, some very boring bread came to our plates. This didn't matter as I wasn't going to be dining on bread alone.

Abby started with the "Dungeness Crab Salad with Grapefruit, Asian Pears, Mint and Yuzu Rémoulade" and I went for the "Pancetta Wrapped Frog Legs with Garlic Purée, Potato, Lentils and Parsley". Both were great starters. Abby's had huge pieces of crabmeat and the Asian Pear was a nice touch. My frog legs were tiny, but was enough for a nice starter. The pancetta gave the frogs a nice salty bite and I had to try the hardest not to pick up the little legs and eat with my hands. I was given a small plate for my "refuse". (The waitress could have just said "bones" but she didn't. I don't know why I found this so funny, but I did.)

My brother-in-law's starter was the "Seared Ahi Tuna with Avocado, Nori, Enoki Mushrooms and Lemon Soy Dressing" and definitely had the best presentation of the night. The seared tuna was laid out like wings of a butterfly.

Next Abby got the "Horseradish Crusted Salmon Medallion with Dilled Cucumbers and Mustard Sauce" and I went for the "Roasted Pork Belly and Tenderloin with Brussels Sprouts, Bacon, Parsnip Purée and Maple Cider Glaze". The tenderloin was cooked perfectly and had great flavor, but the pork belly was the star of this plate. It had a nice seared crust and melted in my mouth. The only problem with my plate was the brussel sprouts and jalapenos that the pork was placed on. It just didn't make sense to me. The sprouts were cooked well and I can kinda get the fact that BBQ sometimes has hot sauce but the plate just seemed halfway there. Abby thought her salmon was "very good".

For our third course, Abby got the "Lemon Pepper Duck Breast with Duck Hash, Celery Root-Garlic Purée and Cardamom Poached Pears" and I got the "Seared Filet of Beef with Spaetzle, Butternut Squash, Crimini Mushrooms, Bone Marrow Butter and Shallot Marmalade". Abby's duck was fantastic, with the duck hash being the best part. My steak was cooked perfectly and the Spaetzle (a very fun word to say) was a nice side. I just couldn't taste the Bone Marrow Butter that I assume was melted over my steak. I think when I saw the menu, I just assumed a shank of roasted bone marrow was going to accompany the filet. Oh well, it was still a great dish and I was definitely getting full.

Our final course was next and Abby got the "Trio of Crme Brlée with Assorted Cookies" and I went for the "A Selection of Farmhouse and Artisanal Cheeses Presented Tableside". Abby's dessert portion was huge. I was expecting three shot glass sized creme brulee, but three full size desserts came out. They all had a great crispy top and Abby had no complaints. My brother-in-law got the same dessert and likewise was pleased with his choice. My sister went with the "French Macaron Ice Cream Sandwiches with Three Sauces" which looked really cute on their plates. I would have just eaten them with my hands, but she tried to use the knife and fork and they just broke apart when she tried to cut them neatly. I had to go with the cheese though, because I saw the Gary Danko cheese cart earlier in the night and I really wanted a runny, stinky cheese to finish my meal. I forget the names of the cheeses I got, but I don't think I could have gone wrong with the selection.

Finally we were presented with a small plate of sweet treats and the ladies were given some sort of cheesecake treat to take home. While I was stuffed, I still ate most of the little desserts that varied from chocolate peanut butter to lemon squares.

I could easily see myself coming back to Gary Danko. There are endless combinations one can have while choosing their tasting menu. I'd love to taste the venison plate I saw or the red pumpkin soup. Overall, a very good dinner with great company. I give Gary Danko a 4 out of 5.

Turtle Tower

(Doesn't the name just make you want to scream, "Turtle Power!" No? Must just be me.) Anyway, Turtle Tower has the best Pho Ga I've ever had in the states. They specialize in Hanoi-style Pho, which means no bean sprouts and no hoisen sauce apparently. (This didn't surprise me after reading it on the menu because the best Pho Ga I've ever had was in Hanoi.) My sister and brother-in-law were raving about this place since we arrived and it was only after my mom gave it her seal of approval that I really wanted to try this place out. (My mom of course said that while the noodles were good, she believes she can get the same noodles in San Jose.) Anyway, the noodles were as good as advertised, though maybe a little softer than I would like. The broth though was incredible. So chicken-y (only way I can describe it) and so fresh. I only squeezed some lemon and added a small squirt of siracha. I love me some pho and this was one of the best bowls I've ever had. Immediately I was jealous that Turtle Tower was only a couple of blocks away from my sister's condo.

I give Turtle Tower a 4 out of 5.

San Francisco Treat (R&G Lounge, Alembic, Pancho Villa Taqueria, Brenda's and Burger Meister Reviews)

2010-02-24T20:09:00.010-05:00

Some quick hits on our recent trip to San Fran.

R&G Lounge

Seen on Bourdain's show, my oldest brother Kim suggested we hit this Chinatown spot for lunch. We were seated downstairs right by the fish tanks.

We had to order the famous Salt and Pepper crab and it lived up to it's billing. The crab was for the most part cooked perfectly, though I did have a few bites that were a bit over done. The best part though was the crispy fried bits on the shells. So yummy. And the crabs were broken apart before frying so that the guts and everything were fried too. This meant fried crab roe! Amazing!

The rest of the dishes weren't as great. I'm pretty sure we could have gone to any other Chinatown restaurant and have gotten pretty much the same thing. The R&G Special Beef was nicely cooked but tasted very much like meat on the stick you can get anywhere else. The Princess Chicken wasn't anything to write home about either. The chicken barely had any meat on it. The snowpea leaves with garlic was a nice veggie dish, however I'm sure I could get that same dish in Boston.

My adorable nieces, the wonder twins, seemed to enjoy the meal very much.

If I lived in the area I'd probably come back for the crab from time to time. I give R&G Lounge a 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Alembic

A small and narrow gastropub with a really laid back feel, the Alembic was definitely a surprise to us. We sat at the bar, after kindly asking two ladies to slide over to make room for the 5 of us, and received the cocktail menu. While we were all waiting to order, we were able to witness the bartenders and their meticulous manner of making cocktails. It's a lost art, it seems, for a bartender to really pay attention to details and make a drink the right way. (Maybe it only seems that way because the bars I go to in Boston where the bartenders are trying to turn as many drinks as possible because the bar is crowded 4 deep.) The bartenders at Alembic could care less if there are customers leaning over the bar trying to order; they are just going to have to wait until the correct number of stirs or the right amount of mint is added to the current drink the bartender is making is completed. When we finally ordered, Abby went for their supposedly famous Mint Julep and the rest of our group ordered various cocktails from the menu. I went for the beer, for no other reason than I really wanted a beer. Abby's Mint Julep came in a metal container with a lot of ice and a big handful of mint. She said it was delicious.

The menu at Alembic is very limited, but each item is very intriguing. We went with the duck hearts and a pork slider. I'd never had duck hearts before, and I'm so glad we ordered this dish. Multiple duck hearts were skewered and cooked to perfection. I was expecting a chalky consistency, but it was juicy and flavorful and tasted like duck. Fantastic! The pork slider likewise was very juicy and had a nice special surprise: little pork rinds! I love me some pork rinds and I just wish there was more.

Alembic is the classic "I wish this place was in Boston". I'd come back for the cocktails alone, but the menu would make me a regular. I give Alembic a 4 out of 5.

Pancho Villa Taqueria

We just left the Warriors game (where we got to sit in box seats) and just downed a couple of very large beers. We entered Pancho Villa with empty stomachs and a slight buzz. Instead of doing like my sister and her husband and sharing 3 tacos, Abby and I ordered 3 each. These were not small tacos. The carne was definitely the best, but the carnitas was not that far behind. Prices weren't bad for all 3, but did seem expensive if you just ordered 1 taco.

If I lived in the neighborhood, I'd come back routinely. I give Pancho Villa Taqueria 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Brenda's French Soul Food

Located in the Tenderloin neighborhood, right around the corner from my sister's condo is a very small restaurant apparently known as one of the best breakfast spots in all of San Francisco. Of course we had to try it out. We started with the flight of beignets, which consisted of a plain, an apple, a chocolate and a crawfish beignet.

We only ate the plain and the crawfish ones, and were not disappointed at all. (We had the other two wrapped so I could bring my dad something.) While they were not as light and fluffy as I thought they were going to be, the beignets were still perfectly cooked and very good. Especially the crawfish flavored one, which I could easily see myself eating 3 or 4 of them for lunch. Salty, with a nice hint of heat and with a crawfish filling was better than I had expected. Great start so far. For our main breakfast, Abby went with the adouille omelet and I went with the biscuit and gravy special.

Both were very filling and with great flavor. The gravy was had a nice hidden sweetness to it and when placed over the biscuit made for a delicious breakfast. Abby had no complaints on her dish at all, other than the potatoes were just above average. However, as much as I can gush over how great our dishes were, I cannot tell you how good their homemade strawberry jelly was. (So good in fact that we wanted to purchase some, but were sadly told they don't sell the jelly yet. I'll have to have my sister get a jar for me when they do start selling the jelly.)

Come to Brenda's and have a great breakfast. Hell, come for lunch were their specials included a crawfish and andouille pot pie (which I wish I could have ordered). Just make sure you get a biscuit and some of their jelly. Plus, the music playing was great: nothing like some old Ray Charles to start your day. I give Brenda's a 4 out of 5.

Burger Meister

A good burger and a good milk shake. Nothing more, nothing less. A 3, bordering on 3 and 1/2.

New Blog Layout

2010-02-19T13:07:00.001-05:00

Updating our blog to a (hopefully) cleaner, better look. Got the template courtesy of btemplates.com.

Myers and Chang Date Night

2010-02-03T17:54:00.007-05:00

The wife and I didn't feel like cooking Monday night, and it was our 6-month-i-versary, so we decided to make it a date night at Myers + Chang. We haven't been here in a while (you can read my review here) and have been saying that we'd hit up the date night one Monday or Tuesday night, so this was the night.

We got seated at the bar (the best spot in the house) where we were able to watch the chefs at work. I started with a beer and we decided to try to take some artistic pics.

Date night at Myers+Chang is a $40 per couple set dinner menu. There are a few different menu types, but we chose with the "blind date" option, meaning it was up to the chef to pick our plates. Who would know better on what to pick than Chef Chang herself? What came out was a bargain. (Really, it was 5 dishes and white rice, but it definitely was a bargain.)

First was a plate of pickled veggies (cauliflower, beats, cabbage to name a few) and an edemame salad. The pickles had some heat and the edemame had a very flavorful sauce that I thought was some sort of fish sauce but was really rice wine vinegar and sugar.

A salmon dish came out next on a bed of rice. The salmon was cooked perfectly and seasoned wonderfully.

Finally we got the famous tea smoked ribs along with wok roasted brussell sprouts. The ribs were falling off the bone and had a wonderful savory and sweet flavor. The brussell sprouts, and item I normally don't like, had nice color and some heat to it.

All in all, a wonderful, perfect date meal. Chef Chang even came over to ask us how everything was. This seems to happen everytime we dine at her restaurant, but it's probably because we sit at the bar in front of her kitchen instead of her actually remembering who we are. I highly recommend the Monday/Tuesday date night option at Myers+Chang. It really is quite a bargain (saving about $16 or so if you ordered the plates on their own) and it's the perfect amount of food for 2 people to share. And if you do go, sit at the bar and give Chef Chang our best.

Restaurante Cesaria

2010-01-24T16:15:00.007-05:00

Every once in a while you find a place that you just don't want to tell others about. You want it to be your little secret so that the next time (and the countless times after that) you go to this restaurant there will always be a table waiting for you. Last night we had dinner at Restaurante Cesaria and it was one of the best meals out I've had in a very long time.

Abby had a hankering for something different and cheap (so we were looking for a place outside of Boston) and after a long time on her laptop browsing yelp and urbanspoon, she finally settled onto Restaurante Cesaria. We quickly glanced at the menu and both started drooling. Sure we didn't know much about the cuisine (North African with hints of Portuguese) but the descriptions had us salivating.

A short 10 minute drive from South End to Dorchester had us in front of the restaurant with plenty of street parking available. Walking by the large windows we could see there were only a couple of tables already taken and the rest of the restaurant empty. This didn't make us feel hesitant at all.

We were seated in the booth and the first thing you notice about the menu (both drinks and food) are the prices and how low they are. Since I was driving, we just got the $7 half bottle of Borba, a Portuguese red. We also got the linguica appetizer to start.

The wine was a nice sweet, wet red and had great flavor for such a cheap bottle. The linguisa was split in half and grilled with some tomatoes and laid on top of some greens and peppers. I love linguisa and this was dish was simple, yet perfect. The heat of the linquisa and the juiciness of the grilled tomatoes just worked. A great start.

For our mains, Abby went with a sear beef dish that had shrimp and mussels as well. It had a tomato influenced broth and was absolutely fantastic. (Abby called it the best dish of 2010 so far.) I went with the Cape Verdean style roast chicken with fries and it also was perfect. The chicken looked like it was going to be dry, but was juicy and tender and seasoned nicely. The fries were good fries, nothing more. The rice was moist and had good flavor too. You can just imagine yourself eating this chicken on a beach in Cape Verde with sand in your toes. (I'm assuming Cape Verde has beaches and sand, but I really don't know. The video they were showing on the projector screen showed nice green islands.) This dish is a great entry dish, meaning it was so good I want to try other items on the menu know.

We were too stuffed for dessert, though will try the flan next time we come back. I love the fact that we were the only diners who spoke English. Everyone else was speaking another language and enjoying their meals. You sometimes have to put your faith into a place to show off their culture and food and Restaurante Cesario does it as good as any other place. I give Restaurante Cesario a 4 1/2 out of 5.

A Couple Of Quick Reviews (Post 390 and Bombay Club)

2010-01-20T19:54:00.009-05:00

Some quick reviews from a couple of places we recently visited:

Post 390

A very warm and inviting space, I can see why this has become a trendy spot to grab drinks in the Back Bay. We went there for lunch on a bitter cold day and was seated upstairs by the huge windows facing Clarendon. The service was at times spotty. The waiter didn't bring our drinks out at the same time, me having to wait for my Coke until after our meals have arrived. I got the deviled eggs and hamburger and Abby got the Turkey BLT. My burger was very salty, but the deviled eggs were awesome. Best thing about the lunch. Abby's BLT was a complete dud. Why? Because it didn't include the B or the dill cream cheese it was suppose to come with. The couple sitting next to us had ordered the same plate and they got bacon and the dill cream cheese. When we told the waiter about this, he said that he didn't think there was bacon in the sandwich but he will go check with the chef. (What would the B stand for then? Such a strange response.) Sure enough the chef messed up the sandwich and it was suppose to have both bacon and the dill cream cheese. Major props for the manager to come out and take the sandwich off our bill. Overall...eh. I'd come back for drinks because both the downstairs and upstairs bars seem nice, but I'd probably eat somewhere else first. I give Post 390 a 2 and 1/2 out of 5.

Bombay Club

Taking the space of Pho Republique (one of our favorite spots to get a drink in our neighborhood) is the Bombay Club. I've apparently eaten at their location in Quincy Market, and I remember it being pretty good, if not expensive. We were meeting our friends Vivek and Mahima for dinner and we arrived to a relatively empty restaurant. It was kinda early, 6:30, and by the time we finished our meal a few other parties had entered. Normally I'd judge an Indian restaurant by their chicken tikka masala (I know, it's the national dish of England and not really an Indian specialty...but I just love the stuff) but this night we both ordered new-to-us items. We started with the Somosa Medley and Abby got the baked stuffed zuchinni and I went with the Punjabi Dhaba Chicken aur Naan. Everything tasted wonderful and fantastic. There was not a wrong step at all. Even the heat of my dish fit perfectly with the rest of the flavors and didn't drown out the subtle spices in the chicken. I forget what our friends ordered, but they were pretty pleased with their dinner. Normally we go to Mela for Indian food in the South End, but now we'll most likely have to flip a coin. I give Bombay Club a very solid 3 and 1/2 out of 5.

Our friends Vivek and Mahima:

Home Cooking

2010-01-20T17:46:00.007-05:00

Some dinners we've made in the past few weeks.

Abby made baked ziti (really penne). Turned out really fantastic.

We joined efforts to make home made spaghetti and meatballs. Meatballs needed a little more seasoning, but otherwise a pretty decent meal.

To help with not wasting herbs anymore, we started our own little herb garden (thanks to Abby's parents we got Chia Herb Garden for X-mas).

Finally, we recently tried Ad Hoc Fried Chicken (a wedding gift from our buddy Nabeel). It turned out with the best crispy skin I've ever made on fried chicken, but it could have used a little bit more spice. Next time I'll add chili powder to the batter mix.