Earlier this week, Aujourd'hui announced its closing. This was a little sad for me, as Aujourd'hui is one of the few truly classy joints left in this city. As the restaurant for the Four Seasons, it catered to the rich and privileged, and not so much for me and my people, but it was still the kind of place where you could show up in a ballgown.
But the truly sad news came just a few minutes ago: Great Bay is closing its doors on Saturday. According to the Herald article, the statement was made today by Michael Schlow and Christopher Myers. This is really heartbreaking for me -- this is the place that spawned my love of real food and wine, and taught me everything I know about food. I made great friends there, and learned a lot about the industry and the difference between good service and excellent service.
While the current economic climate makes it hard to keep a restaurant like Great Bay open, at least it went out on top, as the best seafood restaurant in this city. What's shocking is how sudden it is -- Aujourd'hui is closing at the end of June, whereas Great Bay is closing on May 30. I can't imagine making the phone calls to cancel future reservations. So many good memories in that place.
I wonder if this is the beginning of other well-established restaurants beginning to fall from the economy...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sel de la Terre -- Mandarin Oriental
As a surprise, my boyfriend took me to dinner at the new Sel de la Terre on Boylston Street, in the Mandarin Oriental hotel (how sweet, I know).
I've been to Sel de la Terre before, but only the one on the Waterfront, and this one had a much cooler set up -- hostess greets you on the ground floor, sends you up to the second floor to get seated. The space wasn't anything special, but it was certainly nice. We were seated by the open kitchen, but weren't bothered by noise or heat.
To start, we had the rosemary pommes frites. If you've never had the french fries at Sel de la Terre, you need to go get them right now. They're cut extra thin and dusted with rosemary and salt. They are definitely in my top 3 favorite French fries in the city.
For the main course, I had pan-seared salmon with a fava bean and pancetta succotash, along with lavender honey cornbread. The salmon was perfectly cooked -- I do not like salmon cooked all the way through, and the center was perfectly cool and raw. The skin was crunchy and flavorful, and the fish basically fell apart as soon as I dug my fork in. The succotash didn't really seem to be a succotash. It was a couple of chunks of onion, with a bit of pancetta, in what I guess was a fava bean sauce. I expected REAL Southern succotash, with actual corn and fava beans, not this limp sauce with a few pitiful onions. It tasted good, but wasn't succotash.
The real highlight was the lavender honey cornbread. Oh. my. It was heaven in a cupcake shape. I don't think it necessarily fell under the category of real cornbread, as it was very dense -- it seemed more like a heavy pound cake, and wasn't as bouncy as I like my cornbread. I think the honey may have had something to do with that. But the flavors, combined with the fish, were excellent. I wish the succotash had been better, and it would've felt like a classy Southern set with a perfectly cooked piece of fish.
My boyfriend's red snapper was also delicious. The generous portion of pan seared fish was atop a bed of red peppers, chick peas, pickled onions and olives. The Mediterranean flavors really complemented each other.
The service was generally good. Our server was excellent. As I was draining my glass of the last few drops of ginger ale, she put down another glass, as if she could read my mind and knew I wanted another one. I suppose had I been drinking an alcoholic drink, this wouldn't have happened, but still, that requires a certain level of attention and care on her part. She was also very personable and knowledgeable about the menu.
The only hiccup in service came towards the end of the meal. I had taken a piece of my fish with some of the set and put it on a side plate for my boyfriend to try. He waited until he finished his meal to start in on the side plate. So picture this: two empty entree plates, but he's clearly eating from the side plate. Then the bus boy came by, and he started to clear the empty plates! The server came by and saw him and gave him a dirty look, but because he had already begun to do so, she had no choice but to help.
This may be my biggest pet peeve in nice restaurants. It is EXTREMELY awkward to either be the one who's still eating or the people who are finished if there are no other plates or anything left on the table but the person who is eating. Worse than that, the only plate left on the table was the small side plate! So my boyfriend is eating off of this tiny plate while all silverware, everything, is being picked up around him and the table is empty, save for this tiny plate.
All in all, it was a good night. For the most part, the service was good, minus that one hiccup. The prices were reasonable, entrees are in the high 20s and the quality of the fish was excellent. The pommes frites are infallible, and the location is great. We walked around the Mandarin Oriental after, and it was quite pretty. While I wouldn't say Sel de la Terre is the best restaurant in the neighborhood(being right next to L'Espalier will cancel pretty much anyone out), I would say it's one of the better values compared to the prices and quality at places such as the Palm or Turner Fisheries.
I've been to Sel de la Terre before, but only the one on the Waterfront, and this one had a much cooler set up -- hostess greets you on the ground floor, sends you up to the second floor to get seated. The space wasn't anything special, but it was certainly nice. We were seated by the open kitchen, but weren't bothered by noise or heat.
To start, we had the rosemary pommes frites. If you've never had the french fries at Sel de la Terre, you need to go get them right now. They're cut extra thin and dusted with rosemary and salt. They are definitely in my top 3 favorite French fries in the city.
For the main course, I had pan-seared salmon with a fava bean and pancetta succotash, along with lavender honey cornbread. The salmon was perfectly cooked -- I do not like salmon cooked all the way through, and the center was perfectly cool and raw. The skin was crunchy and flavorful, and the fish basically fell apart as soon as I dug my fork in. The succotash didn't really seem to be a succotash. It was a couple of chunks of onion, with a bit of pancetta, in what I guess was a fava bean sauce. I expected REAL Southern succotash, with actual corn and fava beans, not this limp sauce with a few pitiful onions. It tasted good, but wasn't succotash.
The real highlight was the lavender honey cornbread. Oh. my. It was heaven in a cupcake shape. I don't think it necessarily fell under the category of real cornbread, as it was very dense -- it seemed more like a heavy pound cake, and wasn't as bouncy as I like my cornbread. I think the honey may have had something to do with that. But the flavors, combined with the fish, were excellent. I wish the succotash had been better, and it would've felt like a classy Southern set with a perfectly cooked piece of fish.
My boyfriend's red snapper was also delicious. The generous portion of pan seared fish was atop a bed of red peppers, chick peas, pickled onions and olives. The Mediterranean flavors really complemented each other.
The service was generally good. Our server was excellent. As I was draining my glass of the last few drops of ginger ale, she put down another glass, as if she could read my mind and knew I wanted another one. I suppose had I been drinking an alcoholic drink, this wouldn't have happened, but still, that requires a certain level of attention and care on her part. She was also very personable and knowledgeable about the menu.
The only hiccup in service came towards the end of the meal. I had taken a piece of my fish with some of the set and put it on a side plate for my boyfriend to try. He waited until he finished his meal to start in on the side plate. So picture this: two empty entree plates, but he's clearly eating from the side plate. Then the bus boy came by, and he started to clear the empty plates! The server came by and saw him and gave him a dirty look, but because he had already begun to do so, she had no choice but to help.
This may be my biggest pet peeve in nice restaurants. It is EXTREMELY awkward to either be the one who's still eating or the people who are finished if there are no other plates or anything left on the table but the person who is eating. Worse than that, the only plate left on the table was the small side plate! So my boyfriend is eating off of this tiny plate while all silverware, everything, is being picked up around him and the table is empty, save for this tiny plate.
All in all, it was a good night. For the most part, the service was good, minus that one hiccup. The prices were reasonable, entrees are in the high 20s and the quality of the fish was excellent. The pommes frites are infallible, and the location is great. We walked around the Mandarin Oriental after, and it was quite pretty. While I wouldn't say Sel de la Terre is the best restaurant in the neighborhood(being right next to L'Espalier will cancel pretty much anyone out), I would say it's one of the better values compared to the prices and quality at places such as the Palm or Turner Fisheries.
Friday, May 15, 2009
Cilantro! Yeah!
Cilantro is definitely one of the foods I love way more than I should. Cooked, fresh, whatever, you can put it on anything I eat. When I go to the grocery store, I always stop in the produce aisle to sniff the cilantro. There's something about the smell of freshly rubbed cilantro that makes my heart leap. Does anyone know of a cilantro perfume out there?
Anyone who's had my award-winning salsa (seriously, it won a salsa contest) knows that I load my salsa with chopped cilantro, along with other goodies. I'll put the recipe up here someday. I love cooking it with lime juice and onions and adding it to fish tacos. Or in noodle soups, letting it simmer in the broth before diving in. I love adding handfuls of it to guacamole. My favorite is perhaps my mom's use of cilantro -- she stir fries it with beef, so there's an amazing garlicky beefy cilantro gravy in it. Yeah, it's amazing.
I'm a little irked I didn't think of it myself, but there is in fact a blog about how amazing cilantro is, at http://fuckyeahcilantro.tumblr.com/. I could almost smell the tangy sweetness of the cilantro looking at the pictures.
What are some of your favorite uses of cilantro?
Monday, May 11, 2009
Red Sox Nation has to eat too...
As any good Bostonian, I love the Sox. I spent my college years living right outside of Fenway Park and loving the smell of the Sausage Guy emanating from Lansdowne St.
But before you head to Fenway Park to catch a game, it makes sense to stock up on food and drink in your belly, rather than shelling out $20 to get a snack and a drink at the park. Here's a rundown of some Fenway Park restaurants and bars:
Cask 'n Flagon. Man, I can't stand this place. Overpriced, crappy food, always filled with too many people. Great place to hang out if you're a "ya dude."
Game On. The yuppie's answer to the Cask 'n Flagon. While the big screen TVs are pretty close to unbeatable, the food and drink are most certainly beatable. Adding blue light to a bar does not make it any nicer, and you'll meet plenty of "ya dude" guys here, but with chips on their shoulders.
Eastern Standard. I've said it before -- I LOVE this place. When I worked next door, I closed out every night with a cocktail and a burger at ES. (I gained 15 pounds over those years.) The employees are absolutely fantastic and the drink list is the best in the city. I've spent many a penny here, and each one of them completely worth it. However, it gets VERY crowded before a game and after a game.
Lower Depths. This place is really great. Great beer (they sell 40s, which, by the way, I take credit for. When it first opened, I was sitting at the bar, and drunkenly told the bar manager that if he really wanted to get the college kids in here, he should sell 40s. Lo and behold, they now stock Colt 45), and $1 Fenway Franks with all sorts of awesome toppings. It's not the best hot dog I've ever had, but for $1, you can't really go wrong. I personally am a sucker for bacon and baked beans on my dog, or bacon and cheese, or baked beans and cheese, or guacamole. The sweet potato fries are also awesome -- thick, steak cut fries with a maple sour cream. Definitely a fantastic pre-game location. If you get here early enough, you'll beat the crowd.
Great Bay. I hate to talk too much about it, as I have often said that I worked here and this place actually launched my love and knowledge of food so I'm quite a bit biased, but I can't mention Fenway without mentioning the only really nice restaurant in the area. Delicious drinks (nothing like a Fenway Streaker before a game), friendly people, amazing service, and what I firmly believe is the best damn seafood in the city. And not everything is pricey -- the Sand dollar bites menu includes $1, $5, and $10 snacks, and the Island menu includes sashimis, tartares, and the best fish tacos you have ever had for under $20. Of course, the dinner menu does come with a somewhat hefty price, but you also have to keep in mind the quality of the seafood and what you're getting. It's also not suffocatingly packed in the bar area at night, an extra plus.
Cornwall's. This was my college hangout to start with, but it's also great for before and after a Sox game. Excellent beers on tap, pool tables, a juke box and darts... how can you go wrong? It also has decent food, such as the burger or any of the sandwiches. All for a reasonable price. I think you can actually see Cornwall's from the picture I uploaded. It's not a nice bar, but it's a nice place to hang out.
And my personal favorite... drum roll please...
Audubon. It's one of my favorite restaurants in Boston to begin with, and will get its own review up here one of these days. For now, I'll touch upon the highlights: Good beer selection (they carry the giant bottles of Saison Dupont -- who doesn't want beer served in a wine bottle size?!), awesome food, low prices, and it doesn't get very crowded before or after a game. Do yourself a favor and get the white bean puree. I have dreams about it. I'll write a full review in the next coming weeks.
There really are SO many more that I could've listed on here, but I'd like to hear what you have to say. What are some of your favorite and most hated pre-Sox game hangouts?
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Chowdah! Chowdeur... however you say it.
One of my favorite Simpsons moments ever, involving one of my favorite foods ever.
I really love New England clam chowder. Don't give me this Manhattan crap. It's gotta be rich, creamy, and flavorful. Last night, while waiting for my boyfriend's plane to arrive, I decided to treat myself to a cup of clam chowder at Legal Seafood in the airport.
Now, understand that I don't love Legal. I think it's overrated, and the chowder just isn't that great there, but it's still nothing to sneeze at. I don't love it, but I enjoy it. Unfortunately, memory must have served me incorrectly. I had what was possibly the worst clam chowder of my life.
The clams had no flavor. This usually means the clams were boiled off into the broth to sap the flavor into the broth. A big no-no, but usually bearable, except that in this case, the broth had no flavor either. Where the hell did the clam flavor go? It might as well have been chicken chowder. On top of that, the broth was gritty and you could taste the flour or corn starch that they used to thicken it -- another big no-no in chowder. People mistakenly believe that the thicker a chowder is, the better it is. But when you add things like flour and corn starch to a chowder while it's boiling, all it does is make it chalky and deaden the flavor of the clams.
I'm not saying I like a very thin chowder, but that's why restaurants need to use heavy cream and simmer it for the right amount of time. I'll be the first to admit that I am slightly biased, as I used to work there, but I truly believe that Great Bay in Kenmore has the best clam chowder in the city. I've seen the painstaking detail put into each bowl of chowder. To prove to you that the clams in the chowder are NOT the same clams used to make the broth, the clams are arranged with potatoes and bacon and all sorts of good stuff at the bottom of the bowl. Upon serving, the yellowed cream broth (read: full of flavor) is poured on top of the display. Go give it a try and tell me if I'm wrong.
What are some of your favorite places for clam chowder in Boston?
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Grilled corn!
I love spring. It's really fantastic. My favorite part of spring is the beginning of grilling outside. BBQing is one of my favorite ways to cook, as it is for many others. I occasionally make excuses to barbecue. My favorite spring grilling involves grilling vegetables. I love using just plain Italian dressing to marinate some zucchini or squash, then grilling them in a vegetable basket. My favorite, however, is grilled corn. See below for recipe.
Ingredients:
-4 ears of corn
-Feta cheese
-Black pepper
-2 limes, juiced
-Butter
-Salt
First, remove the husks from the corn. Then boil for about 15-20 minutes.
Run corn through cold water, then slather with the butter and a pinch of salt. Put onto the grill, and let sit for a minute until you can see grill marks start to form. Start slathering with the lime juice while on the grill, using a brush to apply evenly. In a separate bowl or plate, add crumbled feta cheese with lots of black pepper. Once you have grill marks entirely around the corn and corn is nice and hot, remove.
Roll the hot corn through the feta cheese and black pepper, making sure to allow the butter and lime juice on the corn to pick up small chunks of cheese and pepper. I will often pick up the cheese and pepper mix and rub it directly onto the corn so that the cheese/pepper gets into the spaces between the kernels.
Serve, and add more feta and pepper on top of corn as garnish. I also like to add some lime zest over the garnish.
This is a really easy and delicious way to eat corn. For extra zest, add some paprika or chili powder. Enjoy!
Do you have any grilled vegetables ideas?
Ingredients:
-4 ears of corn
-Feta cheese
-Black pepper
-2 limes, juiced
-Butter
-Salt
First, remove the husks from the corn. Then boil for about 15-20 minutes.
Run corn through cold water, then slather with the butter and a pinch of salt. Put onto the grill, and let sit for a minute until you can see grill marks start to form. Start slathering with the lime juice while on the grill, using a brush to apply evenly. In a separate bowl or plate, add crumbled feta cheese with lots of black pepper. Once you have grill marks entirely around the corn and corn is nice and hot, remove.
Roll the hot corn through the feta cheese and black pepper, making sure to allow the butter and lime juice on the corn to pick up small chunks of cheese and pepper. I will often pick up the cheese and pepper mix and rub it directly onto the corn so that the cheese/pepper gets into the spaces between the kernels.
Serve, and add more feta and pepper on top of corn as garnish. I also like to add some lime zest over the garnish.
This is a really easy and delicious way to eat corn. For extra zest, add some paprika or chili powder. Enjoy!
Do you have any grilled vegetables ideas?
Monday, April 27, 2009
Boston foodie girl heads to NYC
NYC is close enough to Boston that I think it warrants an entry, especially with the amount of food I consumed while in the city.
First stop was Kampuchea in the Lower East Side for dinner. I love Cambodian food(if you've never had it, think of it as a Vietnamese/Thai hybrid), so I was pretty excited. However, the menu was a bit ridiculous. The noodle soups were around $14-18, which I find exorbitant. I can get better noodle soup in Chinatown for half that price. My friend's ox-tail stew came with two pieces of ox-tail, barely any broth, and cost $18.
On the other hand, my sandwiches were excellent. I got a sampler of the ox-tail sandwich, the tiger shrimp and coconut sandwich, and the veal meatball sandwich. The ox-tail was rich and flavorful (and came with more meat than came in the stew), the shrimp was complemented perfectly by the shredded coconut, and the veal meatball had hints of hoisin and ginger throughout the moist meat. Each sandwich came with chili mayo, pickled carrots and cilantro. The only drawback was the chef's refusal to make my sandwiches sans mayo (I'm not a huge fan, most places slather it on and I only like a little bit). While I understand that the mayo is part of the experience, if I'm paying $17 for three sandwiches, I should absolutely have it done the way I like it.
For dessert, we headed to sugar Sweet sunshine for cupcakes. My friends raved about it, and I got the black and white cupcake (dark chocolate cake with vanilla frosting), spicy pumpkin cupcake, and the sassy red velvet (red velvet with vanilla frosting). They were delicious, and I took special note of the red velvet. I knew we were heading to another bakery the next day and I wanted to compare the red velvet cakes. The black and white was phenomenal, and the pumpkin was also delicious, but I wasn't too impressed with the red velvet. My friend had a red velvet with chocolate frosting and enjoyed it a lot more, but mine was not great. One dish I wanted to try was the pumpkin trifle, which had pumpkin cake, eggnog pudding and whipped cream. Perhaps the best part of the whole experience was the price -- each cupcake was only $1.50.
The next day, we headed to Harefield in Brooklyn for some of its famous brunch. Each dish is $12 and came with coffee/tea, and a mimosa/Bloody Mary. I fell in love with the Harefield eggs, which was basically Eggs Benedict with salmon instead of Canadian bacon. The hollandaise sauce was light and creamy without being overpowering, and the dish came with just the right amount of sauce. More often than not, I find most brunch places pour entirely too much on the dish and my eggs end up swimming. The Bloody Mary was wonderfully spicy and peppery, with a nice lasting kick. For $12, it was a great deal and a great meal.
In the afternoon, we tried out the bakery my friend works at, Amy's Bread. I tried the red velvet cake and the black and white cupcake. While I'd say sugar Sweet sunshine had better black and white, the red velvet cake was by far, the best I'd ever had. The cake was light, fluffy, yet rich in flavor and incredibly moist. What really made the cake was the whipped buttercream frosting. It had the flavor of a heavy buttercream frosting, but the light airiness of whipped cream. I could have eaten an entire cake in that one sitting.
Later that night, we had dinner at Balthazar. I had heard great things about it, and I was not disappointed. While I felt their cocktail list could have been a little bigger, the food was excellent and had very generous portions (without being ridiculous, like the Cheesecake Factory or something). My homemade fettucine with wild mushrooms and spinach filled me up halfway through the dish, and my friend's spinach and ricotta ravioli was delicate yet filling. My boyfriend's trout was a surprisingly large portion, which I did not expect with fish. It came with two large filets of trout grilled with a balsamic dressing. And with none of our entrees coming above $25, it was well worth the money.
Balthazar was incredibly similar to one of my favorite Boston restaurants, Eastern Standard. It had similar decor (red leather with gold accents and buttons), the menus were extremely similar (compare online menus and you will see what I mean). However, while I adore Eastern and everything it has to offer, I have to give it to Balthazar for being the better restaurant. Eastern has a significantly better drink list, but Balthazar's food is better.
You can't go to NYC without getting some real NYC pizza. We decided on Bleecker Street Pizza, an extremely busy pizza place known for catering to the drunk and the famous. It certainly lived up to its reputation. I could not believe how crispy the thin crust was! Most thin crust pizza sags when you pick it up by the crust, but not this deliciousness. We polished off an entire pizza between the four of us and could have gone back for more. They also serve beer here, only adding to the allure of the place. It was easily some of the best pizza I've ever had in my life.
Were there any spots in NYC that we missed? Let me know!
First stop was Kampuchea in the Lower East Side for dinner. I love Cambodian food(if you've never had it, think of it as a Vietnamese/Thai hybrid), so I was pretty excited. However, the menu was a bit ridiculous. The noodle soups were around $14-18, which I find exorbitant. I can get better noodle soup in Chinatown for half that price. My friend's ox-tail stew came with two pieces of ox-tail, barely any broth, and cost $18.
On the other hand, my sandwiches were excellent. I got a sampler of the ox-tail sandwich, the tiger shrimp and coconut sandwich, and the veal meatball sandwich. The ox-tail was rich and flavorful (and came with more meat than came in the stew), the shrimp was complemented perfectly by the shredded coconut, and the veal meatball had hints of hoisin and ginger throughout the moist meat. Each sandwich came with chili mayo, pickled carrots and cilantro. The only drawback was the chef's refusal to make my sandwiches sans mayo (I'm not a huge fan, most places slather it on and I only like a little bit). While I understand that the mayo is part of the experience, if I'm paying $17 for three sandwiches, I should absolutely have it done the way I like it.
For dessert, we headed to sugar Sweet sunshine for cupcakes. My friends raved about it, and I got the black and white cupcake (dark chocolate cake with vanilla frosting), spicy pumpkin cupcake, and the sassy red velvet (red velvet with vanilla frosting). They were delicious, and I took special note of the red velvet. I knew we were heading to another bakery the next day and I wanted to compare the red velvet cakes. The black and white was phenomenal, and the pumpkin was also delicious, but I wasn't too impressed with the red velvet. My friend had a red velvet with chocolate frosting and enjoyed it a lot more, but mine was not great. One dish I wanted to try was the pumpkin trifle, which had pumpkin cake, eggnog pudding and whipped cream. Perhaps the best part of the whole experience was the price -- each cupcake was only $1.50.
The next day, we headed to Harefield in Brooklyn for some of its famous brunch. Each dish is $12 and came with coffee/tea, and a mimosa/Bloody Mary. I fell in love with the Harefield eggs, which was basically Eggs Benedict with salmon instead of Canadian bacon. The hollandaise sauce was light and creamy without being overpowering, and the dish came with just the right amount of sauce. More often than not, I find most brunch places pour entirely too much on the dish and my eggs end up swimming. The Bloody Mary was wonderfully spicy and peppery, with a nice lasting kick. For $12, it was a great deal and a great meal.
In the afternoon, we tried out the bakery my friend works at, Amy's Bread. I tried the red velvet cake and the black and white cupcake. While I'd say sugar Sweet sunshine had better black and white, the red velvet cake was by far, the best I'd ever had. The cake was light, fluffy, yet rich in flavor and incredibly moist. What really made the cake was the whipped buttercream frosting. It had the flavor of a heavy buttercream frosting, but the light airiness of whipped cream. I could have eaten an entire cake in that one sitting.
Later that night, we had dinner at Balthazar. I had heard great things about it, and I was not disappointed. While I felt their cocktail list could have been a little bigger, the food was excellent and had very generous portions (without being ridiculous, like the Cheesecake Factory or something). My homemade fettucine with wild mushrooms and spinach filled me up halfway through the dish, and my friend's spinach and ricotta ravioli was delicate yet filling. My boyfriend's trout was a surprisingly large portion, which I did not expect with fish. It came with two large filets of trout grilled with a balsamic dressing. And with none of our entrees coming above $25, it was well worth the money.
Balthazar was incredibly similar to one of my favorite Boston restaurants, Eastern Standard. It had similar decor (red leather with gold accents and buttons), the menus were extremely similar (compare online menus and you will see what I mean). However, while I adore Eastern and everything it has to offer, I have to give it to Balthazar for being the better restaurant. Eastern has a significantly better drink list, but Balthazar's food is better.
You can't go to NYC without getting some real NYC pizza. We decided on Bleecker Street Pizza, an extremely busy pizza place known for catering to the drunk and the famous. It certainly lived up to its reputation. I could not believe how crispy the thin crust was! Most thin crust pizza sags when you pick it up by the crust, but not this deliciousness. We polished off an entire pizza between the four of us and could have gone back for more. They also serve beer here, only adding to the allure of the place. It was easily some of the best pizza I've ever had in my life.
Were there any spots in NYC that we missed? Let me know!
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wings galore!
Chicken wings are awesome. How can anybody not love them? They're gooey, flavorful, crispy... they're really the only reason I look forward to the Super Bowl every year. I have a friend who is completely obsessed with wings and inspired me to write this entry. Let's discuss some of the local places to get wings.
1.) Wings over... -- The "Wings Over" chain has a lot of popular followers. Having had Wings over Somerville and Wings over Brookline, I've gotten sick pretty consistently from them and am not a fan. I like their variety, but the execution is just not that good and not worth the price.
2.) Wing-It -- Wing it is my all-time favorite. I started eating these when I was 8, and I've never found better wings in Boston. The honey barbecue is absolutely killer -- perfectly sweet and salty with a nice crispy skin. In fact, every year, instead of going out to a fancy restaurant on Valentine's Day, my boyfriend and I order Wing-It and picnic on the floor. It really is the best way to spend the holiday. I also recommend the pterodactyl and the Parmesan garlic.
3.) Buff's Pub -- I never knew about Buff's until I saw them on Phantom Gourmet. This small pub in Newton Corner is a bit off the beaten path, but well-worth the trip. While the entrees weren't really anything special, their wings were fantastic. Amazing buffalo wings -- not too spicy, not too mild, just enough tang to match perfectly with the blue cheese. A great spot to have a beer and some wings.
4.) Hooters -- How can you talk about wings without talking about Hooters? Now, it had seemed all was lost in Hooters-land when the majority of the chains in New England closed down. But hope was renewed when the one in Saugus opened up pretty recently. Their wings are cheap and delicious, and hey, you get to look at boobs.
Do you have any favorite wing places or feedback on the above?
1.) Wings over... -- The "Wings Over" chain has a lot of popular followers. Having had Wings over Somerville and Wings over Brookline, I've gotten sick pretty consistently from them and am not a fan. I like their variety, but the execution is just not that good and not worth the price.
2.) Wing-It -- Wing it is my all-time favorite. I started eating these when I was 8, and I've never found better wings in Boston. The honey barbecue is absolutely killer -- perfectly sweet and salty with a nice crispy skin. In fact, every year, instead of going out to a fancy restaurant on Valentine's Day, my boyfriend and I order Wing-It and picnic on the floor. It really is the best way to spend the holiday. I also recommend the pterodactyl and the Parmesan garlic.
3.) Buff's Pub -- I never knew about Buff's until I saw them on Phantom Gourmet. This small pub in Newton Corner is a bit off the beaten path, but well-worth the trip. While the entrees weren't really anything special, their wings were fantastic. Amazing buffalo wings -- not too spicy, not too mild, just enough tang to match perfectly with the blue cheese. A great spot to have a beer and some wings.
4.) Hooters -- How can you talk about wings without talking about Hooters? Now, it had seemed all was lost in Hooters-land when the majority of the chains in New England closed down. But hope was renewed when the one in Saugus opened up pretty recently. Their wings are cheap and delicious, and hey, you get to look at boobs.
Do you have any favorite wing places or feedback on the above?
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Bacon feature of the week -- Bacon alternatives?
We all know nothing can really touch bacon. Bacon is crispy, delicious, and the smell of it cooking is one of the most heavenly scents on earth. There is no real way to replace it. But sometimes, for health reasons, religious reasons or what, some people can't have it. So what are some alternatives? Here are a few, as well as what I have to say about them.
1.) Canadian bacon -- What a pitiful excuse for bacon. It's nothing but small ham. However, my Canadian boyfriend swears by it. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I lump Irish bacon into this category as well.
2.) Turkey bacon -- Surprisingly not that bad. It's certainly nothing compared to the original, but if you're in a bind, turkey bacon is a decent choice.
3.) Bacon salt -- While it's great at adding bacon flavor to dishes, I wouldn't consider it an alternative. It's certainly a tasty addition to dishes that need some zest, but it's not like you could have it as a side for breakfast. At least, I'm not willing.
4.) Tofu bacon -- I have never had it. However, I am going to go with probably disgusting.
5.) Proscuitto -- This is my personal favorite. This is the alternative that actually really tastes like bacon. Now, I'm not talking about proscuitto straight from the package. It requires a bit of work. I heat up sliced proscuitto in olive oil in a frying pan until it's brittle, and it really tastes just like extra crispy thin bacon! The only difference is you don't have the greasy fatty parts. While those tend to be my favorite parts, this is a great alternative. I like to crumble it up and sprinkle on salads or pasta for a perfect bite of crispy saltiness.
What are some of your favorite bacon alternatives? Or perhaps you prefer sausage (teehee) to bacon?
1.) Canadian bacon -- What a pitiful excuse for bacon. It's nothing but small ham. However, my Canadian boyfriend swears by it. Whatever floats your boat, I guess. I lump Irish bacon into this category as well.
2.) Turkey bacon -- Surprisingly not that bad. It's certainly nothing compared to the original, but if you're in a bind, turkey bacon is a decent choice.
3.) Bacon salt -- While it's great at adding bacon flavor to dishes, I wouldn't consider it an alternative. It's certainly a tasty addition to dishes that need some zest, but it's not like you could have it as a side for breakfast. At least, I'm not willing.
4.) Tofu bacon -- I have never had it. However, I am going to go with probably disgusting.
5.) Proscuitto -- This is my personal favorite. This is the alternative that actually really tastes like bacon. Now, I'm not talking about proscuitto straight from the package. It requires a bit of work. I heat up sliced proscuitto in olive oil in a frying pan until it's brittle, and it really tastes just like extra crispy thin bacon! The only difference is you don't have the greasy fatty parts. While those tend to be my favorite parts, this is a great alternative. I like to crumble it up and sprinkle on salads or pasta for a perfect bite of crispy saltiness.
What are some of your favorite bacon alternatives? Or perhaps you prefer sausage (teehee) to bacon?
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Passover!
I love Jewish food. While I can't get down with not eating bacon, there are some really delicious Jewish foods that I love -- yes, even gefilte fish. Even when shopping, I prefer to buy kosher chicken because I find it much fresher and better tasting than regular ol' Purdue.
There are some great places around Boston to get Jewish food. First and foremost, Zaftig's in Brookline is stellar. Their brunch is unbeatable, though I've never been there without having an hour long wait to get a table. Well-worth it -- absolutely phenomenal brunch food.
Then, there's the awesome JP Licks. I was unaware ice cream could even be not kosher, but apparently there is a lot of room in the ice cream-making process that can contaminate the ice cream. Here is a great article on it. JP Licks has locations all over Boston, offering kosher ice cream. I'm not sure what it is about the koshering of ice cream, but I do believe it to make it creamier and smoother. In my neighborhood, there's a JP Licks right next to a Coldstone Creamery, and I choose JP Licks 100% of the time.
Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Centre is another great destination Jewish food. They offer french toast made with challah bread, as well as sandwiches made with challah bread, as well matzo ball soups. Their potato latkes are my favorite. I always tell myself that I will try something new when I go there, but I always order the latkes and slather them with applesauce.
I hope all of my Jewish friends had wonderful Passover Seders. These are just a few of the options I can think of -- does anyone else have any other ideas?
There are some great places around Boston to get Jewish food. First and foremost, Zaftig's in Brookline is stellar. Their brunch is unbeatable, though I've never been there without having an hour long wait to get a table. Well-worth it -- absolutely phenomenal brunch food.
Then, there's the awesome JP Licks. I was unaware ice cream could even be not kosher, but apparently there is a lot of room in the ice cream-making process that can contaminate the ice cream. Here is a great article on it. JP Licks has locations all over Boston, offering kosher ice cream. I'm not sure what it is about the koshering of ice cream, but I do believe it to make it creamier and smoother. In my neighborhood, there's a JP Licks right next to a Coldstone Creamery, and I choose JP Licks 100% of the time.
Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton Centre is another great destination Jewish food. They offer french toast made with challah bread, as well as sandwiches made with challah bread, as well matzo ball soups. Their potato latkes are my favorite. I always tell myself that I will try something new when I go there, but I always order the latkes and slather them with applesauce.
I hope all of my Jewish friends had wonderful Passover Seders. These are just a few of the options I can think of -- does anyone else have any other ideas?
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