We Serve Breakfast All Day!

The Hen House - Boston, MA

http://www.henhouseboston.com/

     Sometimes as I'm biking to school I get too into my music and miss the turns I need to make. On

Chicken and Waffles!

this particular day, it was an acceptable mistake because it resulted in me biking past a place called The Hen House down near the industrial area by Dorchester. As soon as I saw it I thought of Zack because he's been craving chicken and waffles for 3 years apparently. So one Wednesday we met up there for lunch. The Hen House is a little restaurant specializing in soul food. Yup... fried chicken, waffles, mac n cheese, collards. They've got a bunch of other sandwiches, pizzas, wraps and such if you're not into the artery clogging business.
     They've got a cool menu where you can choose 1) the type of waffle (cornbread, buttermilk, banana) 2) the type of chicken 3) type of sauce and 4) type of butter. I went with the cornbread waffle, chicken tenders, their honey bbq sauce and the regular whipped butter. The waffle I got didn't really taste like cornbread at all so I'm wondering if it was actually their buttermilk waffle. Either way, it was tasty, but a little more soggy than I would prefer. In the end I decided it was ok because the chicken had that little bit of a crunch that I was looking for. The chicken was really juicy too and on the darker side. I love dark meat, and I was surprised that it didn't seem like completely white meat. As far as the sauce, I ended up getting little cups of all of them and sampling them. I was a big fan of the honey bbq and the regular syrup. It's important to construct each bite appropriately when eating chicken and waffles. You need a little chicken, a little waffle, and a little sauce and butter. With so many sweet and savory flavors, I wonder why this isn't more of a staple. Oh yea... because we'd all be 5,000 pounds.
    After Zack and I finished our first waffles, we were still a little hungry so we got two fried chicken legs and a breast. Such a fabulous idea. This chicken was actually better than the tenders I think because it wasn't breaded. It was just fried with the skin on. Again, super moist inside and that crispy skin just killed me.
     I also got a side of collard greens which were great. There was some sort of shaved ham in them too which added a little saltyness. They were simple though and were actually a great palette cleanser after the chicken and waffles. 

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Amrheins - Boston, MA
http://www.amrheinsboston.com/

     So, my first impression of Amrheins is not a very good one and it bums me out! Mary has always raved about this place. She goes goo goo over their pumpkin risotto (which is literally cooked in a pumpkin) and loves their pretzel rolls they serve in their bread basket. So when Andrew came in town from the Netherlands and I had a Groupon that was expiring, I thought it'd be the best place to go. A) They didn't serve any pretzels rolls (big bummer) and B) it was about 2 weeks too early (seasonally) for the pumpkin risotto. Shoot.
     I really did like the atmosphere, however. It was very simple inside. Beautiful old style banisters and booths. They first opened their doors in South Boston in 1890 and boast the city's oldest hand carved wooden bar and the cities first draft beer pump. So they've got a great reputation and history backing them up, which makes me hesitant to be unimpressed.

     Either way, the rolls and olive oil/parmesan cheese dipping oil was delicious. They were soft and fresh just as expected. The appetizer we ordered was probably my favorite part of the meal, but this poutine was very different than the standard Canadian poutine (fries, gravy, cheese curds). These hand-cut fries were topped with pieces of braised short ribs, short rib gravy, Vermont cheddar cheese, and horseradish cream. I loved the big hunks of meat, the saltyness of the gravy and the sharp bite of the horseradish to balance it all out.

Shepherd's Pie

     For my main course I went with the shepherds pie and was rather unimpressed. It was served in a circular dish and was basically a mush of really small gritty beef, peas, green beans, corn and gravy and was topped with mashed potatoes. I thought the insides were a little too salty and really rich. But Jimmy said it needed salt, so either I'm crazy and can't identify salt or the powerful flavor I was tasting was coming from something else. The mashed potatoes on top were less than lack-luster too. They were clearly homemade (with the skins on which I like) which is good, but they were rather bland. Nothing special.
     I tried Jimmy's seafood alfredo and Meagan's seafood fettuccini and both were just meh. Andrew's lobster pie was tasty, but he was dissatisfied. So all in all, just a mediocre experience and not worth the money spent. But I'm still hesitant to say that. I'm not ready to give it a thumbs down yet. Maybe going back for that pumpkin risotto will change my mind.

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Revere Center Cafe - Revere, MA

http://reverecentercafe.com/

   

The Denver omelette 

    After hours and hours of dreaming of Ihop, David and I slipped in to a minor depression when we pulled up and the place had been torched and was closed. There's nothing worse than breakfast plans falling through (except dinner plans falling through when you're trying to get one last meal at Veggie Planet before they close their doors for good. I'm still reliving that nightmare). Luckily, thanks to my hawk eyes, I had spotted a small sign a ways down the street that said "We serve breakfast all day!" David has lived here for years and has never seen the sign or head of the place. Sometimes it pays to be constantly on the lookout for food. So we headed back to Revere Center Cafe to get our breakfast fix. 

     Revere Center Cafe is just a tiny, cute diner with a pretty intense menu. I ordered the Denver omelette and it was totally the best omelet I've ever gotten in a restaurant. Why? Because it so closely resembled the kind of omelet I'd make at home, but on a higher level. I say this namely because a lot of restaurants tend to serve greasy omelets with terrible cheese. It's a sad, sad story. I was so happy with this omelette because it had small pieces of bacon it, so you'd get the bacon flavor in every bite, but it wasn't greasy at all. Inside it had melted, shredded cheese and was chocked full of red, green and hot peppers and onions. It really wasn't spicy at all, it was super fresh, hearty and filling. It was so great. I couldn't get over it. They served it with their big hunky homefries, and I chose the marble toast. Both were great. The homefries were perfectly done, not deep fried and not overly salty. My only complaint was that it took a pretty long time to get the food, but it was well worth it. Return trips are definitely in order. 

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The Very Best Brownies - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

This is far from appetizing looking, so don't judge
taste by my photo skills.

     How can you NOT try making a "Very Best Brownies" recipe when you see it? Beats me. I found these on Cookie+Kate, and at first I didn't really know what would classify them as the best brownies. It wasn't until I tasted that batter that I was beginning to be convinced that this would be a life changing evebt. She really just uses standard ingredients and a touch of coffee. But I think it's browning the butter that really makes the difference. That's a key step if you do it right. 

     Also I used pastry flour for my first batch (yes... they were so good that my roommates demanded another batch two days later) which gave them an awesome and thicker consistency. What I mean by that is that when you'd stir the batter it held together quite nicely, almost more like a dough rather than batter. Maybe like a sugar cookie dough. When I used all-purpose flour for the second batch, that more closely resembled a batter. These aren't cake-y brownies, but are rather dense, fudgey and incredible. When I baked them, a nice thin crust formed on the top. That was something I have never experienced before in my own homemade brownie. These were really the best brownies I've ever made you should probably make them right now. 

The Very Best Brownies

10 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch slices
1¼ cups pure cane sugar
¾ cup natural unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon espresso powder or very finely ground coffee
2 cold large eggs
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
⅔ cup pastry flour (or flour of choice)
2 ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped (or ⅓ cup chocolate chips)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the lower third of the oven. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with two criss-crossed pieces of parchment paper, making sure that the paper is long enough to go up the sides a couple of inches. Grease the parchment paper.

2. Brown the butter: Melt the butter in a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, while whisking constantly, until it’s a pale golden brown and the particles suspended in it are reddish brown. This usually takes about 10 minutes.

3. Remove the pan from heat and stir in the sugar. Then add the cocoa powder, sea salt, baking powder and espresso powder. Stir until the ingredients are thoroughly incorporated. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.

4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating vigorously with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula after each one. When the mixture looks thick, shiny and well blended, add the vanilla extract and the flour. Stir until you no longer see streaks of flour. Then beat vigorously for 50 strokes with the wooden spoon or spatula.

5. At this point, the mixture should be no more than slightly warm (if not, let it cool for a few more minutes). Fold in the chocolate chunks or chips.

6. Spread the batter in the lined pan, then use a knife to make light swirls in the top of the batter. Bake on the lower rack for about 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Cool the brownies in the pan on a baking rack.

7. Once the brownies are completely cool, lift the edges of the parchment paper and transfer the brownies to a cutting board. Use a sharp chef's knife to cut the brownies into 16 or 25 squares.

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Al's - Boston

http://www.alscafes.com/

 
   We did it. Joan and I met for lunch at Al's. We have been planning this for months because people
at her work rave about it all the time and apparently it's cheap. Well... we found out why they're all raving about it.

     First of all, the bread they serve their sandwiches on is super soft and lightly crisp on the outside. Second, it's all just amazing. We got the meatball parm sub and the hot pastrami. Their meatballs were enormous and juicy, and the marinara sauce they were bathed in was light but sweet. The hot pastrami was my favorite. I'm a sucker for pastrami. Especially when it's hot and is covered in melted swiss cheese and a little spicy mustard. I wouldn't say it quite reaches the same level as the pastrami sandwich from Katz Deli in NYC, but it came damn close

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Carrot Salad with Lemon and Tahini - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

    Smitten Kitchen has so many good ideas. Some of her recipes are really complex and I just don't
have the energy. But sometimes they're simple and fresh and I love them. Like this one! Other than shredding the carrots, this is super easy and really delicious. It has a couple different parts (roasting the chic peas, shredding the carrots, making the dressing), but it's a really flavorful and filling salad. I found that when I shredded the carrots they got really juicy and were maybe a little too thinly shredded to eat like a salad. But if you bought them pre-shredded or found a way to cut them differently I'd say you can eat it as a salad. I really enjoyed putting it into a leaf of lettuce and making a lettuce wrap or throwing it into a tortilla. The toasted chic peas and pistachios added a great crunch to the rather soft salad. I found that if I let my chicpeas sit a few days, they got a little moist, so I'd have to re-toast them if I wanted them crunchy each time. 

Carrot Salad with Lemon and Tahini

Chickpeas
1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas, or 1 15-ounce can, drained
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

Salad
1 pound carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/4 cup shelled pistachios, coarsely chopped

Dressing
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and red pepper flakes to taste

Roast chickpeas: Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Toss chickpeas with one tablespoon olive oil, salt and cumin until they’re all coated. Spread them on a baking sheet or pan and roast them in the oven until they’re browned and crisp. This can take anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the size and firmness of your chickpeas. Toss them occasionally to make sure they’re toasting evenly. Set aside until needed.

Make dressing: Whisk all ingredients together until smooth, adding more water if needed to thin the dressing slightly. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Assemble salad: Place grated carrots in large bowl and toss with parsley. Mix in 2/3 of the dressing, adding more if desired. Add more salt and pepper if needed. Sprinkle with a large handful of chickpeas and pistachios.

I Wish Every Week Was Restaurant Week

Osaka - Brookline, MA

http://brooklineosaka.com/

    

The Money Bag

     I wish every week was restaurant week. What does that mean? During restaurant week (or technically “Dine out Boston,” various restaurants around Boston offer a price fixe menu where you get a specific number of courses and options. I’ve never participated in restaurant week before, so this trip to Osaka with Jimmy and Coree was a new one. Osaka is a Japanese sushi / hibachi style restaurant in Brookline. For restaurant week they offered you one appetizer, a choice of an entree, and a dessert for $23 dollars or something. Not too shabby! 

     We all ordered a different appetizer so we could sample each others. Coree ordered what seemed like deconstructed sushi. It was a bed of ice topped with various raw fishes. It was interesting to sample the flavors of these fish minus all the other ingredients of sushi. Jimmy ordered these raw tuna sacks. They were literally raw tuna slabs wrapping up avocado and surrounded by swirls of various spicy, sweet, and herb-y sauces. 

    My appetizer was my favorite. It was called the Money Bag. Instead of triangular shaped rangoon, they were crab meat and cheese wrapped up in a wonton wrapper, fried and tied. Kind of like a little baggie. They were incredible. The crab cream cheese mix inside was slightly sweet and was served with plum sauce.  

    For my meal I ordered the sushi plate. The first sushi was called the Hot Lover roll and was served in the shape of a heart. It was very unique in that each piece was in the shape of a tear drop and was wrapped in a pink soybean paper. Inside was shredded spicy tuna, shrimp tempura and avocado. This sushi roll was light and a good contrast to the other roll. I don't remember the name, but the second roll was stunningly gorgeous and was served on a big leaf. Inside there were tempura flakes, grilled avocado, all wrapped in seaweed, tuna, and topped with roe (my favorite), a couple different types of sauces, sprouts, and some sort of little white balls. With 10,000 components, it was hard to identify all the flavors, so I found myself taking little bites to find them all. All the flavors. I know this is a sushi faux pas, but I do not care. It was incredible. I loved the flavor of the slightly charred, grilled avocado. That was a new experience for me. 

    

    For dessert, they served vanilla mocchi balls with smears of chocolate sauce on a larger than life plate. There wasn’t anything outrageously delicious in the mocchi dish, but I do love that gooey, chewy rice coating that the balls are coated with. I’d like just a dish of that goop please and thank you.

     A lot about this place was about presentation. From the food to the modernistic and artistic decor, these really aren’t the kinds of places I frequent often, so it was fun to experiment with all the tiny flavors hidden on each plate.

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Trina’s Starlight Lounge - Somerville, MA

http://www.trinastarlitelounge.com/

My dog of the day!

     It was my last day at Gentle Giant (tear :’[) and Frances and I decided we were going to head out to Trina’s Starlight Lounge because I’ve been talking about wanting to go forever. Trina’s is Rob’s favorite bar, so it wasn’t hard to convince him to come. And it was a bar so… Victor was in (haha). David and his sister, Rachel, showed up too along with a couple other GG fellas. It was a small but casual get together/send off, and I was just so grateful to spend the last couple months with this family. 

     From the website, Trina’s seems like a colorful but “riskay” 1920s kind of bar, but I was still confused as to what it might look like. In all actuality though, Trina’s seems like quite a few other bars. It’s nothing like your standard dark wooden Irish bar, but isn’t quite the modern douchey downtown bar. It’s got a relaxed and casual yet refined feel to it. 

     Trina’s does a “dog of the day” so… being the adventurous soul that I am… I went with it. I applauded myself later for this decision. So they must’ve taken the hot dog itself and split it down the center… hot dog style… and grilled it. I’ve never had a dog cooked this way and initially I would’ve guessed I wouldn’t enjoy it as much because it doesn’t allow for the dog to explode from all the hot juices inside. But I was delightfully surprised by this splitting action because it made for 4 different surfaces all with a crisp outer texture. The toppings on this bad boy were fried chunks of ham, melted white cheddar cheese, sour cream and chives. It was like a loaded baked potato on steroids. Obviously minus the potato and plus meat. In my opinion, 100 times better. I could’ve eaten 10. Frances agreed. Hands down one of the best hot dogs I’ve ever eaten… ever. Must try more hot dogs of the day. 

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Midwest Grill - Somerville, MA

http://www.midwestgrillrestaurant.com/

     Karl eats very few things. I don’t know how he survives. One thing he does eat is meat. So

naturally, we opted for a meat filled birthday dinner for him. Jimmy, Meagan, Dave, Karl, Kate, Ellis and I headed to Saloon in Davis Square for some drinks (AND INCREDIBLE PRETZELS AND QUESO) before heading to Midwest for Brazilian BBQ. The moment you walk in you’re overcome with the mind-numbing smell of roasting animals over a fire. That’s what it is. Don’t hate the verbage. The place wasn’t fancy, but made me feel Brazilian. The live bossa-nova-esque music set the mood (even though the woman playing the tambourine was texting at the same time), along with the Brazilian flags scattered among every foot of the building.

     So if you’ve never been to a Brazilian barbecue place before, how it works is you pay a flat fee and you have access to a full “salad bar” and waiters come around to your table with meat on big long sticks. You can either accept or decline the meat, and they’ll move on. I’ll start with the salad bar. I didn’t touch the salad. How could I? There were a ton of other delicious options like a pork hock stew and a bunch of other types of meat + beans + rice concoctions/stews. It was tough not to load up on those things though when you knew what was coming on the long sticks. My favorite part of the bar was the scoop your own ice cream. 

    The first meat to the table was a well done sirloin. I was hoping a medium or a more rare sirloin was coming, but it never showed. Regardless, I got one of the crispy edges of the hunk of meat which takes on that sought after grilled and partially charred flavor around the marbled fat,

     My favorite meat by far was the lamb (no surprise here). Roasting lamb over a fire is the number

So much birthday hatred

one way to prepare it. It’s just the best. It’s simple and the fire gives it a primal flavor. I just love it. Their garlicy buttered rolls were cooked over the fire too and came out piping hot and crisp. The bacon wrapped chicken was mediocre, the pork loin was a little dry, the chicken hearts were tasty little nuggets but a little over cooked. The kielbasa was nothing to write home about and the Portuguese sausage was delicious but super salty. The beef and lamb stole the show for sure for me. 

     Since I was at a Brazilian place, I had to order my favorite drink: the caipirinha. This is the same one I raved about from Muay Queca when I went with Zack. I think I liked the previous one better than this one because it was less sweet and tasted a little bit more fresh and less sweet. These were cool though because they had a glowing green ice cube in them. So fancy. 

     The second best part of the night was when a large portion of the staff came out signing happy birthday to Karl, the lights flickered along with the music, and the band switched over to happy birthday and played 2 variations of the song. If you know Karl, you know that he HATED every second of it and made sure to tell us all how much he hated us after it was over. It was one of the finer moments of my life:]

     

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Tilt’n Diner - Tilton, NH

http://www.thecman.com/restaurants-and-menus/tilt-n-diner.aspx

Liver and Onions

     Nature is my favorite. Food is my second favorite. So the appropriate reward after summiting a 4,135ft mountain is a delicious meal. Zack mentioned that this diner had some great home-cooked soul food. He had me at home-cooked… and soul food. Tilt’n Diner has the look of your standard diner. Lots of silver, lots of pink and teal. Lots of great long-term waitstaff and a home-y feel. 

     I don’t know if I have ever seen liver and onions on a menu at a restaurant before, so I was all about it. This dish is always reminiscent for me of afternoons spent at my grandpa’s house. He always had a wheel/roll (or whatever you call it) of liver and I loved it. We didn’t have the full liver and onions meal often, but I knew I loved liver, so it was worth a shot. The liver came (probably) lightly grilled and in thin sheets/shavings and was topped with bacon and onions. It’s really hard to describe the flavor of liver. It’s not like anything else. It’s not like any other meat, and the texture turns almost pasty once you start chewing it. This had the same flavor I remember from my childhood (and from the stellar liver patte my Aunt Joanne makes every year for Chirstmas Eve). The sautéed onions and the homemade mashed potatoes WITH THE SKINS STILL ON made for a delicious, savory, rustic home-cooked meal. There were no frills. It was just simple, hearty flavors. 

    To compliment this masterpiece, Zack and I split a side of sweet potato fries and he introduced me to the magic that is sweet potato fries and maple syrup. Holy mother of mercy I don’t know how I’ve gone 26 years before dipping my sweet potato fries in this sensual syrup. You might think that’d be too sweet, but you’d be wrong. Gotta give it a try. 

Sweet potato fries

    To end it all, we split a black and white milkshake which was just magical. Food and sugar comas ensued on the drive back. Struggle city. For me at least. Zack was an all-star alert driver. 

Wing It - Allston, MA

http://wing-it.com/

Honey bbq chicken tenders

     After eating our weight in froyo, Ian and I decided to walk it out… and found ourselves walking in to Wing It off Comm Ave. I’m helpless when someone asks me if I want to get additional food. There's always an empty pocket in my stomach where I can fit something else. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve run by Wing It and been overwhelmed by the sensual aromas. It was finally time. We got 6 regular honey bbq chicken tenders to split. After sweet froyo, it hit the spot. Absolutely nailed it. The chicken was so moist and lean. 

    Ok so here's my moronic analogy...You know how each individual orange slice is made up of small, fleshy, juice-filled capsules? I want to say polyps, but that’s not it. Either way, this chicken broke apart into thick, moist fibers that reminded me of each one of those little pockets of juice that comprise an orange slice. I really like the honey barbecue sauce because it was only lightly sweet. Oftentimes I think honey barbecue can be too sweet for me and takes away from the savory experience of the wings. I also really enjoyed the breading because it was thick and meaty. By that I mean that it stuck heartily to the chicken and wasn’t uniform all around the strip, so there were thicker crispy corners (just like when you get an apple fritter donut).Those are my fave. That’s my kind of night cap. 

The Ice Creamsmith - Dorchester, MA

http://theicecreamsmith.com/

     I have found my new favorite ice cream shop in Boston. After a short but sweaty hike, David and I went on the hunt for some ice creams… of course. Since we were down by the Blue Hills, I had no idea where anything was so we headed straight for the first ice cream shop that came up on google maps. The Ice Creamsmith is this tiny little shop on the border of Dorchester and Mattapan. They opened their doors in 1976 and have been serving up their homemade ice cream on hot days ever since. I loved the feel of this place. They had antiques hung on the wall and everything was simple, as ice cream shops should be. They were the hometown version of a Coldstone Creamery if you’ve been to one of those before. 

     For my two scoops, I went with chocolate and chocolate chip. Deciding on a mix-in was proving to be quite challenging. The the woman behind the counter heard me murmur that I wanted a cookie too, and she said the magic works “I can mix the cookie in if you’d like.” The glow of my smile started to melt all the ice creams. So… in went a big chocolate chip cookie all mixed up and mashing into my ice cream. It. Was. Amazing. And not only because it was a super hot day. The ice cream was delicious and simple, and the addition of the cookie pieces was 10x better than cookie dough ice cream (crazy, right?). Way better than Coldstone and way better than Ben & Jerry’s Cookies and Milk. Definitely the best ice cream experience I’ve had here in Boston. 

Chocolate and chocolate chip with a cookie :]

A Donut A Day

Life Alive Cafe - Cambridge, MA

http://www.lifealive.com/index.html

     Life Alive is a place that is totally up my alley, and it really shouldn’t have taken me this long to get there. Joan and I met there one evening to catch up and the line was out the door from the moment we got there. Behind the counter, the shelves were lined with herbs, spices, and teas, and all of the workers totally gave off the hippy vibe. I loved it. It was awesome to see such a focus on health from their menu, hear the fresh juices being pressed and watch people enjoy whole, healthy foods. Life Alive strives to "renew your energy and connection to life by soulfully serving you the most fantastic, vibrant, organic, therapeutic, whole food you could ever imagine in an inspiring environment that honors local artisans, the community, and our global ecology." That might sound a little lofty to some, but it touches on a lot of things I have a passion for. 

The Swami

   For my meal I ordered The Swami. As a base, they served brown rice unlike any rice I've seen before. It was more round and sticky than normal rice. Much like little footballs. Tossed on top was a mix of tamari almonds, raisins, shredded carrots, broccoli, dark greens, & pearl onions all saturated with their sweet curry miso sauce. All of those ingredients fall within my list of favorite things. I loved the sweetness that the carrots and raisins brought (especially mixed with the sweet curry), but I also enjoyed the balance the rich greens and broccoli brought to the dish. As an added bonus, they sprinkled the dish with some nutritional yeast which I have only had once before on some kale chips Joan had one time. I really like the flavor of nutritional yeast! If you haven't tried it, don't be afraid. It's got a little bit of a cheesy flavor, even with the slight sharpness that some cheeses have. I enjoy it.

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Brandano’s - Everett, MA

Don't judge me for my half eaten ice cream photo

     After an hour of some serious bounce time at Skyzone, I suggested ice cream to David and Michael, and they were all in. We headed to some place in Everett called Brandano’s. They had it all. Ice cream, soft serve, slush, sundaes, Spanish flavored things. It was crazy. Now one of my favorite cereals ever is Grape Nuts, so when I saw a Grape Nut custard, I had to have it, and it was fabulous! It had the rich and smooth flavors of custard, but also had these literal grape nut nuggets dispersed throughout. The nuggets had softened up a bit, so it wasn’t the stark contrast in texture between smooth custard and crunchy nuts. Ya know? Those things are normally super hard. After experiencing Grape Nut custard at this place, I’ve since seen it at one or two other places. How did I not know this was a thing?!

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Union Square Donuts - Somerville, MA

http://unionsquaredonuts.com/

They're bigger than they look

     Anytime you see an article for Best Doughnuts in America, Union Square Donuts is bound to be on that list. Everyone and their mother in Boston raves about them, and I’ve been meaning to try them

Oh how convenient... 

someday. Well… one day I needed to make a Post Office run from work, so I went to where I the Post Office used to be in Somerville. At first I was so mad when I discovered it had moved. However, when I arrived at the new location, I was no longer mad. Why? Directly next door to Union Square Donuts. It was a message from the universe. It was time. I went in and immediately consumed 3 donut holes. Best donut holes I’ve ever had. How can one perfect a donut hole? Not a clue. But the rich buttery nugget melted in your mouth, and the slightly thicker than normal glaze caressing the fried outer shell sealed the deal... literally.

See... enormous

    The actual donuts themselves are literally twice the size of your average Dunkin’ Donuts donut. They’re wider, taller and fatter. I went with the toasted coconut, and it rocked my world. I swear I sat wide-eyed at my desk for 15 minutes in shock. The flavor in these donuts was powerful. I’m not sure how to describe it. But in comparison to Donuts with a Difference in Medford, the flavors were on another level. Much stronger and richer. The texture of these donuts were lighter and more airy than Donuts with a Difference, so they squished down a bit more. I think I truthfully like when my donut holds it’s shape a little more, so in that respect I favored Donuts with a Difference. However, taste always trumps texture, so in that case USD takes the cake (or the donut for that matter). 

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The Druid - Somerville, MA

http://www.druidpub.com/

Toasted cheese sandwich and the best fries ever

     Ok, I’ve been to The Druid in Inman Square a couple times but never really blogged about it because I’ve never ordered a meal. I’ve always just picked at other people’s plates. It was my last payroll, and Frances and I had a post payroll date. It was time for my formal introduction to the famous Druid (it’s an authentic Irish pub and half of the people at Gentle Giant are Irish). The inside is pretty dark, with dark woods surrounding the bar and a creepy celtic light statue that hung from the ceiling. It’s all very mysterious and fairytale like. Something that needs to be experienced rather than explained. 

     We started with some Old Fashioned drinks which I have never had before. It was really tasty, but I wasn’t even 3/4 of the way through it before my face started to feel a little tingly. Frances said they may have a heavy hand when it comes to pouring her and her party's drinks (she’s good friends with the bar tenders there). 

     I think The Druid may have won two titles for Best of Boston in my opinion. One… is their fries. They’re incredible. They’re the perfect texture (you know, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside), but it’s their flavor that takes them to a new level. Rosemary is the key ingredient here. Rosemary and pepper I believe. The spices just make them so fragrant and savory. It’s outrageous. I can’t believe that the fries from Saus keep getting named as the best fries in Boston when you’ve got these babies kicking around. 

     The second title I think The Druid should get is the Best Bread Basket (I know that's not an actual title, but it should be). They serve some sort of darker Irish soda bread. It’s incredibly moist and chewy inside, but the outside has the texture like that of a scone. It seems dry, but the inside is such a treasure and treat. It’s not sweet or rich as though there’s butter in it. It’s just hearty yet simple. Plus they serve their bread with room temperature butter, which always earns a gold star in my book. 

     For my meal I went with the toasted cheese sandwich WITH bacon (Frances said it was a necessity). It was melted Dubliner cheese (which is the best), tomato and bacon on simple white bread toast. I did wish the cheese was a little bit more melted, but they dropped my first sandwich, so I think they felt bad that I had to wait and tried to rush the second one along a little. Either way, you can never go wrong with a grilled cheese, especially from an irish pub. Best Irish place in Boston I say :]

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Sunset Cafe - Somerville

http://thesunsetcafe.net/

     This was date number two for Frances and I my last week at GG. I was ok with getting food, but sad that it was my last week. Sunset Cafe is a decent sized place on Cambridge Street that literally never has anyone in it. The entire time we were there, no other customers came in. Sunset is a Portuguese and Mediterranean restaurant that is fairly fancy inside with a creepy painting of a man that seems to stare at you no matter what angle you look at him from. Shortly after we sat down, the one waiter brought over this beautiful plate of olives, pickled vegetables, butter and an oil and balsamic dip for this basket of what seemed like fresh baked rolls. Considering they probably get one customer every other day, I’m sure it couldn’t have been freshly baked, but I was still impressed at how delicious it was.   

Fried calamari

     As an appetizer we ordered the fried calamari. I’d say it was just mediocre. It was overcooked, making it difficult to chew and there was a bit too much breading for me. It kind of took away from the flavor of the calamari. Overpowering if you know what I mean. 

     For the meal I ordered a sandwich (that I can't remember the name of) which was literally marinated and grilled pork on a french baguette. The pork was delicious, the baguette was delicious, but the two together seemed a little silly. I think maybe the addition of some veggies, some sort of sauce or some other completing component would’ve made the sandwich more substantial. Like I said, the parts had great flavors. The pork was moist and rich and the bread was fresh with crisp edges, but together they made nothing splendid. Regardless, it all came at a great price. For five dollars, I got the delicious bread basket, the plate of olives, dips, and veggies, and an enormous sandwich that I had to take home to finish. Frances got a huge sandwich called the steak bomb with steak, prosciutto, mushrooms and cheese on a baguette all for eight dollars. You really can’t beat that. I’d definitely recommend Sunset Cafe if you’re looking for a decent amount of food for your money, but as far as an authentic Portuguese experience, I’m not sure if this is the place. That being said, we didn't order the standard authentic Portuguese dishes. Nah I'm sayin'?

Can You Ask The Chef Please?

The Pier Patio Pub – Old Orchard Beach, ME
http://oobpier.com/

Old Orchard Beach. The pier Patio Pub was at the end. 

     But really…who builds a waterpark in Maine? Finally… a Sunday in Maine that didn’t have rain in the forcast. Meagan and I had been waiting forever for this day because it meant we could try out Splashtown Funtown. I bought this groupon for the waterpark eons ago because… well, who doesn’t like waterparks? We really had no idea what to expect. It was a beautiful drive up, but after about an hour and a half in the tiny park in cloudy, cool and windy conditions, we called it and headed to the beach. Old Orchard Beach. Similar to Salisbury Beach in that it’s a super long beach and the surrounding area kind of reminds me of the Jersey Shore. There were tons of restaurants, arcades, ice cream shops and even a ferris wheel. One thing that was kind of funny was that the beach was packed! It was not a warm day, it was not sunny, and the water had reached Arctic proportions. These people were crazy… or just confused.

My lobster roll and rings :]

     Either way, we had warmed up a bit, so we walked out on this long pier that was full of shops and food stops and happened upon The Pier Patio Pub. It wasn’t anything fancy by any means, but it was perfect and exactly what we had in mind. We sat on the very end of the pier looking out into the ocean with waves crashing under our feet. It was beautiful. The oldest Hanson brother (in my opinion) was our waiter.
     To start we both ordered a Seadog Sunfish beer which, we both agree, was quite possibly the best beer we have ever had. It had grapefruit and peach flavors in it, but didn’t have the sweetness that some fruity beers sometimes seems to have. It was so refreshing and delicious. For dinner I ordered the lobster roll (when in Maine…) and onion rings. Everyone had the rings. I needed them. They were so good too. Medium sized slices, battered and fried to oblivion. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten something that took that many years off my life, and it was worth it. The lobster roll may have been the best one I’ve ever had too (not that I’ve had many). It wasn’t loaded up with mayo like most are and it was served with lettuce in the bottom of the bun. While the lettuce may seem insignificant, I think that’s what put it above the other lobster rolls I’ve had before. It made the roll complete. It made me complete.

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Gingerbread Construction Company – Winchester, MA
http://gingerbreadusa.com/muffins.html

   

Look at all the varieties!

     So now that I’m not rowing anymore, I’m finding fun ways to still stay active. One way I make them more fun is by including delicious rewards at the end (or the middle in this case). Zack had mentioned that Gingerbread Construction Company in Winchester was deadly and not too bad of a bike ride if I wanted to make a trip out of it. Genius idea. So I did it a couple days after he told me about it. I hopped on my bike with the intention of biking up to the Middlesex Fells reservation, tooling around a bit, grabbing a muffin and heading home. A 2 hour round trip I’d guess. Well… thanks to Google Maps thinking I could ride my road bike on hiking trails, I got a little lost, made some wrong turns, and finally made it to Gingerbread Construction Company two hours after departure. In all honesty, it was a great ride, I had great tunes, so all was well. I was just hungry and thirsty.

Look at all this fruit

Stupid good, stupid looking

 

Raspberry Blueberry muffin, Double Chocolate Chunk
Cookie and Oatmeal Raisin Pecan Cookie

     I’m pretty sure my jaw hit the ground when I walked in because I was blown away with the kajillion different varieties of muffins staring me in the face. Some with crumbles, some stuffed, some with icing. The line only got longer and longer the more time I spent debating and asking the lady behind the counter a million questions. In the end I chose the raspberry blueberry muffin and two cookies. This muffin wasn’t even a muffin. Of all the muffins I’ve had before, there has never been anything like this. It was super soft and moist inside, but not sticky or tacky on the outside. It had an awesome crust on top and was loaded with fresh juicy berries. I wanted another. I wanted 5 more.           

     Thankfully I had the world’s best cookies left to eat. I’m not kidding. Gingerbread Construction Company had the best cookies I have ever had in my life, and I’ve had a lot of cookies in my time. What was so good about them? I’m sure they were loaded with butter, and they literally melted in your mouth. The flavor of the oatmeal raisin pecan was so rich and nutty. I love the flavor pecans give to cookies. This was the one I could really feel melt in my mouth. Oatmeal cookies. I can’t get enough. The double chocolate chunk cookie had these enormous chocolate chunks in it as well as big white chocolate chunks. It was just oozing love. The 2 types of chocolate chunks plus the cocoa in the cookie itself all had different flavors and made each bite unique.

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Bella Vista – Boston, MA

   

It's grainy, but there were basically no lights on in the
restaurant, so I had to make do. This was my Chicken Villanese

     These posts aren’t in order, but I do not care. I forgot to write about the Italian place we went to when Marissa and Jess visited! It’s hard to pick a place to eat in the North End because they all seem the same. I mean… I guess they kind of are. Anyway, Bella Vista looked promising, and we’re easy to please. The place was really dark, tiny and cute (minus the party bathroom Marissa accidentally discovered in the basement). The walls had your typical fake ivy hanging from them and catholic pictures and statues sat situated all around you. Our waitress was an old Italian lady who I’m sure has worked there since the dawn of time. I always like seeing that because it makes me feel like the place is more authentic. I’m sure that’s what they aim for though.
     

     My main meal was great, but my favorite

The first of two incredible, warm bread baskets. 

part may have been the rolls with butter. The rolls were big and football shaped and came to the table nice and hot. They were soft on the outside, but had a thinner crust that you could easily tear. I had at least 3 … maybe 4.
     For my main course I ordered the Chicken Villanese because I didn't feel like eating a ton of pasta. It did come with a side of spaghetti and tomato sauce though, which was a bonus. That was a little bland though. The Chicken Villanese was two flattened chicken breasts with shrimp, mushrooms and clams in a white wine sauce. Normally I’m hesitant to order things in a wine sauce, but I was feeling adventurous this day. Oh and it was such a great choice! The bite that I normally associate with wine wasn’t prominent at all. The white wine sauce was light and thin, but gave all of the seafood and the chicken a powerful flavor. It almost had the sharpness of wine, but not that rotten taste I dread so much. I was so pleased that it went well. I was nervous. The mushrooms were another unique element of the dish. They were a couple different varieties of wild and meaty mushrooms with a hearty chewiness. They were like sponges for that sauce. Bella Vista did not disappoint :]

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Grafton Street – Cambridge, MA
http://graftonstreetcambridge.com/

    

BBQ American Lamb Pizza

     Jimmy and I can’t help it. When we get a butter dish that has a unique flavor and little red specks in it, we will look like morons trying to assess the flavors. And we will not hesitate to ask the waitress to ask the chef what’s in the butter. Grafton Street in Harvard Square had some tasty butter with lemon, red pepper and cumin to go with their awesome sliced chewy and sticky bread. After a big upset about not making it to Veggie Planet before they closed on their last day of existence, Jimmy, Meagan, Liz and I headed to Grafton Street to take advantage of their really nice outdoor seating area. To start we got a pitcher of Sangria which was one of the best red sangrias I’ve had. Since I’m not a big fan of red wine, sangria made with it often makes me want to hurl. I think this had more juice in it or something… or whatever else they put in sangria that isn’t wine.

     For my main meal, I stuck with the pizza idea since that was what I had set my mind on when Veggie Planet was in my future. Grafton Street had a awesome sounding BBQ American Lamb Pizza. This was completely different than I expected. I thought I was getting a normal thick crust pizza with tons of cheese and bonus shredded lamb on top. Instead, this crust had a light smear of tomato sauce and was sprinkled with smaller sized lamb chunks, equally sized chunks of feta cheese, and cilantro. So each bite you took had to have some strategy for fear of not getting a little bit of each topping and of them tumbling off. It was served on a beautiful, thick wooden cutting board and was quite pretty. I loved the savory and salty flavors of the lamb and feta balanced by the fresh cilantro. That cilantro was essential. Parsley would've been good too. It was very simple and tasty, but not filling. I love lamb, so there wasn't really going to be any way I would've been dissatisfied, but I would've liked some more meat and cheese.

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No Name Restaurant - Boston, MA
http://www.nonamerestaurant.com/

     After spending the day out on Spectacle Island in the Boston harbor, Meagan, Madalyn, Jimmy and I were in the seafood mood. I had heard about No Name before, so I thought we might as well give it a try. It’s in a super odd location though on a wharf amongst what looks like a bunch of other fishing loading docks within a brick building. It wasn't quite the waterfront, open air dining experience we were looking for, but it was apparently the first restaurant in Boston to start serving seafood back in 1917. The inside resembled an old seaside restaurant with sea-worthy wooden furniture and art.

Sauteed Seafood Plate

     To start, they sent over a garlic bread basket. I was starving so it tasted good, but it honestly was just like the pre-made garlic bread you can get in the store that already has the garlic paste spread over it.
     For dinner, I went with the seafood platter with sautéed veggies. I was so happy with that choice. I wasn’t ready to feel the post-meal misery of a fried seafood plate, and I really enjoyed being able taste the simple flavors of the sautéed scallops, shrimp, swordfish and calamari. The swordfish was my favorite part of the dish. So simple and tender.  This also came with a heaping side of great coleslaw that I couldn’t finish.

Look at that coleslaw mountain

     I shared Jimmy’s seafood chowder and it was excellent. With a bunch of different types of seafood in the chowder, it had tons of different flavors, and it was the perfect consistency. I’m not a huge fan of runny chowders, nor am I fond of the super thick ones. This was right in the middle and allowed for a rich flavor without being overbearing in consistency. Jimmy’s broiled Scrod was simple and delicious because of the light buttery flavor and slightly crisped up edges of the fish. They cooked it perfectly without drying it out at all. Overall, a decent place, but not one of the better seafood experiences I’ve had here in the city.