Regina, who are you and are you looking for a roommate?

Bazaar - Allston, MA
http://www.bazaarboston.com/

     For my post 6k treat I went back to Bazaar, the Russian grocery store I fell in love with not too long ago. I was on the hunt for a potato. Not your normal potato. I asked the ladies behind the counter what was in it. They conversed back and forth for about a minute and came back to me with "cocao moose thing." I said, "I'll take one." It was a painful ride home. I wanted to wait to eat it. In my first bite I knew there was something in here they weren't telling me about. Rum. There had to be rum. I swear. The chocolate tower was super dense. More dense than chocolate moose, but less dense than fudge. Ok, that's a rather large range... but still. The outside was covered in slivered almonds and on top there was a dollop of a sweet cream with what I think was a white chocolate/chocolate swirly chip thing resting against it. The cream was so delicious. I kind of wish there was more of it. It was a nice light, sweet contrast to the dark, dense chocolate it was on top of. I have no idea why this was called a potato. Maybe it's time for some research.

Tasca - Brighton, MA

http://www.tascarestaurant.com/

   I've always heard so much about tapas, but I've never had it before. Basically, tapas are small plates of food originating from Spanish cuisine. This sounded ideal to me because when I go out to eat, everything on the menu always looks so good and I hate deciding. This way, you get to order lots of different things in smaller portions. Malcom knew the bartender, so we were hoping for a sweet deal. 

     Simply walking into Tasca was a treat. The lighting was very very dim (I couldn't really take pictures) beautiful music played in the background, Spanish style paintings and decor adorned the wall, and all the classy people really set the mood. For drinks we started with Sangria. I'm not a wine person, but seriously... this was the best sangria I've ever had. This had red wine in it and was even better than the white sangria from Ecuador. It was deliciously sweet, but not too sweet. Chunks of apples and oranges floated on the top. Malcom got nearly all the fruit though. Unfair. Ann continued refilling out mishapen clay pitcher over and over (and we didn't pay a dime). 

     Onto food! There were 34 options to choose from. I am not kidding when I say every single dish sounded mind blowing. To start, we knew we had to get the Gambas al ajillo. It had mini shrimp that came in a sizzling tiny cast iron skillet. The shrimp were drowning in a garlic oil with slivered garlic cloves and a red chili pepper. It sounded amazing. Smelled more amazing. And tasted even more amazing. There was so much flavor in each little shrimp. I'm sure it all had to do with the heavenly liquid they had been cooked in. We kept dipping bread in the oil and topping it with chunks of garlic. Sensual breath ensued.

     Another dish in our first round was the Confit de pato; fall off the bone succulent roast duck leg served over braised red cabbage and apples. The meat was so amazingly moist but not greasy and.... well... fell right off the bone. Not sure what it was braised with, but the red cabbage and apples added a slight sweetness to each bite of duck. Definitely the best duck I've ever had, even thought I haven't eaten much duck. 

     Grilled brie. Who has ever eaten grilled brie? I wouldn't have ever thought of it. A mammoth chunk of grilled brie was served with a homemade raisin and apple chutney and a grilled baguette. Supposedly the chutney was something the chef just came up with one day and decided it was so delicious, that it is now served with numerous dishes of theirs. It was sweet, cinnamony, and was delightful when you topped it on a smooshed chunk of brie on the bagette. The brie took on a whole different taste and texture than any other brie I've had before. It was warm (warm cheese, weird? naw) and slightly gooey, yet held a rather solid consistency. Easy to spread. Mmm...

     At this point, it was time to order more. I had delicious escargot at Clarkston Cafe in Clarkston, MI once, but I hadn't tried it anywhere else. This dish was called caracoles and was just as amazing. I love the little dish it comes in with the tiny hole. I also love salt. The escargot were baked in a garlic herb butter with cognac. I can't say I knew there was cognac in it at the time so that flavor wasn't too prevalent. The garlic however... very noticeable. And you can never go wrong with butter. Each little guy was just a flavor bomb. 

     Our next dish was a sort of flank steak in a red sauce. Not your typical pasta sauce though. It was creamy and full of onion slices and portobella mushrooms. Truth be told, nothing super special about the meat other than it was so tender. The mushrooms were actually my favorite part. Mmm fungus. 

    Two more. Another dish we got was the Pulpo a la Gallega. Octopus. I thought I had octopus before, but once the tube feet started falling off the meat into my mouth, I knew this was a new experience. This had definitely never happened before. It was served with olive oil sauteed potatoes. There was a slight "smoked Spanish paprika" flavor but not too much. The meat seemed a little bland (especially in comparison to all the other things we had eaten) and seemed to be missing something. Once we added the lemon juice it was a little better. My favorite part was, however, the chewing on the little tube feet. 

      The final dish was the lamb sausage because... well I love lamb. You can never go wrong with lamb. It came in the form of a long slice. I think it was the type of lamb you get when you order a gyro and they shave it off that block of lamb meat. What's that called? Either way, this was different. They edges were a little crisped. It gave a little burnt/browned flavor. There was also an AMAZING mint paste or something on the meat. The freshness of the mint mixed with the lamb was simply phenomenal. I seriously couldn't believe what was happening  in my mouth. The lamb was also served with an Israeli couscous. It was different than normal couscous in that each little call was larger and more mushy. Sounds odd, but the flavors they added into it were delicious. Let me tell you... I feel like some serious science of flavors and thought was put into this dish. Perhaps jesus himself was an influence. Had to be. 

     Overall.... ABSOLUTELY AMAZING RESTAURANT! Ann gave us such a great deal, I was full, I had tried a million different things, and everything was downright delicious. Five stars Tasca. 

Treats on Washington - Brighton, MA

    A muffin from Dunkin wasn't going to cut it. I started off on a walk down Washington looking for a cafe with a nice pastry selection. I happened upon Treats on Washington. My dreams of a muffin quickly vanished as soon as I saw their cinnamon rolls. They had one covered in icing, but I went with the sticky pecan one. The nice man behind the counter warmed it up for me. It was so amazing! I noticed there was something different about it though. Turns out there was some sort of orange zest/marmalade in it. It added such a neat citrusy taste to such a sweet roll. Inventive! 

    I also got a peanut butter cookie, but it was dry. No big deal. 

Cafenation - Brighton, MA

http://www.cafenation.com/

My muffin hunt turned more into a cafe hopping adventure. Believe me, I was satisfied... but I had to walk across the street to Cafenation. The place was jam packed and I had to see what the deal was. Looks like they made some bomb breakfast sandwiches and crepes, but I got some rosemary roasted potatoes. They came steaming hot and were cooked perfected. Not too done, yet slightly crispy on the outside with a hint of rosemary. Carbo-load. 

Boca Grande Taqueria - Brighton, MA

http://bocagrande.ypguides.net/

    I'm telling you... I gained six pounds in a day and a half due to my post 6k weekend. And it was worth every pound. Finally had to try the homemade tamales from Boca Grande everyone raves about. Generally, when I think of tamales I think a tiny tubular things with a pork paste in them. Still delicious, but nothing like what I was just about to consume. I asked for the red pork chili tamale. The man pulled out a small football shaped tamale out of the steamer, unwrapped the string tied around each end, cracked open the corn husk, and cut down the center of the tamale. Instantly heat and aromas escaped the cornmeal covered pig. I was pumped. Inside was an abundance of what looked like shredded pork. He proceeded to pour on a mild salsa different than a normal salsa. It wasn't chunky really. More liquidly than anything. On the side he added some diced tomatoes and onions or something. The cornmeal surrounding the pork was literally a good inch think. Thousands of calories I assume. But when you mixed the cornmeal, pork, salsa and a little dollop of sour cream.... mmm! Ridiculous.   

Pizzeria Regina's - Boston, MA

http://www.pizzeriaregina.com/

    Finally! Pizza time! I could've gone a million different places. But this had to be good. It had been eons since I had pizza, and I had wanted to go to the original Reginas in the north end since the first week I moved here. The original opened in 1926 and is considered the original curbside to go pizza place. It was 2pm on a Saturday, and the line wrapped around the building and I thought I may not make it in time for work. Malcom and I were literally almost at the back of the line and there were HUGE parties in front of us. We thought we'd never get in. After about 25 minutes, one of the workers went down the line looking for the next party of two. We got to cut in front of, I'd say.... 30 people. It was sweet. 

     We quickly ordered the Sausage Caciatore. It had sliced sausage links, mushrooms, roasted onions and peppers and fresh parsley over their own marinara sauce with pecarino romano and mozzerella cheeses. THIS WAS THE BEST PIZZA I HAVE EVER EATEN. Hands down. How do I even describe this?? Hmmm well, the crust wasn't super thick on the bottom, but the crust around the edges was nice and thick and full of bubbles. I love the bubbles. Supposedly they're still using their 80 year old recipe with a special natural yeast. Whatever it is, it's godly. The sauce was mildly sweet but had a great zing to it at the same time. The sausage slices were huge and plentiful. One thing that made this pizza stand out more than any other pizza I've ever eaten was the size of the peppers and onions. They didn't cut them up small... at all. Sometimes the pieces of pepper were large enough to be considered a full bite in itself. On one piece, 5 chunks of onion were slightly fanned out spanning the entire slice. The whole milk mozzerella cheese was just full of flavor and seemed to have melted differently than most cheeses you see on pizza. Everything about the pizza was amazing. I had to pick up each slice by sliding it onto my hand. My hands have never been so dirty  from eating pizza and I was 100% ok with it. It was completely possible to just get lost in each bite. So many great flavors and textures. Regina... who are you and are you looking for a roommate?

Sometimes I take post racing treats too far...

Shelburne Farm - Stowe, MA  
http://www.shelburnefarm.com/

              All week I've been battling with myself about this 6k we were having on Saturday morning. I was trying to eat the right things, drink enough water, take multivitamins in addition to my normal butt kicking at RBC. One thing that was helping me get through the week was knowing Saturday also meant cider and donuts. Emily planned a trip for the HPG women to go to Shelburne Farms in Stow, MA. Supposedly it was 20 miles inland, but I had no idea where we were going. It turned about to be a really cute farm with a bunch of stuff for kids to do and rows and rows of apples. I think it may have been the first you-pick orchard I had been to, so that aspect was pretty cool. We picked a bunch of apples including Empire, McIntosh, Fuji, Macoun and Cortland. I'd say around half of the apples I picked didn't make it to the bag... because my mouth got in the way every time. Odd. I think my favorite were the Macouns. Anyway, considering this blog sticks to kitchens, I must say that the cider donuts here were probably some of the best I've had. They were different. I'm not sure how they incorporate the cider part into the donut (in the batter?) but however they do it works. These were freshly fried, covered in cinnamon and sugar and handed to you in a super hot bag. Maybe that's why they were so good. They were perfectly warm and fluffy. I ate 3. I also got a granola raisin cookie. It was awesome. It was more chewy than cookies I normally make, but I'd like to try making something like that one day.

Boca Grande Taqueria - Brighton, MA
http://bocagrande.ypguides.net/

     Dave keeps raving about the tamales at this place on Washington. There's always people in there, so as my second reward for the 6k, I wanted a big, fat, stupid burrito full of rice and meat. I knew I had to try a tamale... at some point... but the lack of anything fried in my diet for the past couple weeks needed to end today too. I already had second dinner plans. So I just went with the normal size burrito. They had so many different kinds of meat you could choose from including Pineapple chicken, carnitas, chorizo, grilled stead, etc. Chorizo always seems to intrigue me. It was in those stuffed quahog clams my mom and I got at the Barking Crab that one time. It was great. I love the spicyness. Not too much. Yet, I still don't really know what it is. Sausage? Pork sausage? What spices give it that flavor? What processes does it go through? One day I'll remember to look it up. Either way, the chorizo they put on this burrito was....not soupy... but not like chunky of chicken. It was kind of in a thick stew form with chunks in it. I was confused but not concerned. It was still probably going to be good. It was. It gave the burrito such a good flavor as the juice ran through out, soaking into the rice and such. I had the man add lettuce, a tomato herb salsa, rice, and beans. It was simple, but just what I wanted. Such density wrapped up in a steamy tortilla... mmm! Once the brick was securely in my gut, I moved on to location #2.

The Proper Slice - Brighton, MA

        Recognized by their unique logo and black pizza boxes, The Proper Slice was always happening every evening. Malcom had gotten a chicken pesto pizza from there once before but I only tried a tiny tiny piece. I needed to experience it on my own with more substance at some point. This wasn't the time though. On my way to the Boca Grande I checked out their menu and they had fresh cut french fries tossed in sea salt for $4.  I ordered them to go so I could eat them with my organic ketchup. I opened the box at my kitchen table and the steam rolled out. I was pumped. This was happening. They were amazing. Generally I think my favorite french fry type is crispy on the outside but fluffy on the inside. But then I have fries like these and get confused again. Some were crispy, but some were.... not. Yet still awesome. A lot of them had browned giving them that burnt flavor, similar to burnt cheez-its minus the cheese (I love the burnt ones). One thing I liked about these were that they were real. They really did freshly cut them. They had fried this whole batch just for me and it had to be 5 potatoes worth. I had to force myself to stop. They tasted like potatoes... not like fries. Does that make sense? It's kind of how the watermelon flavored candy doesn't really taste like real watermelon. Sometimes fries don't actually taste like potatoes. They taste like fries. Weird I know. But some part of the flavor of these brought me back in an instant to the broasted potatoes from The Chicken King in Pontiac, MI. My dad and I used to go there all the time in my middle school years. It was our place and the broasted potatoes were our favorite. I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a little sentimental while eating these fries because the flavor took me back to a different time.
         Malcom said he was going to have salad for dinner, but I heard him ordering pizza from his room. Sneaky. He told me I had to have some. He had ordered the one pizza I was drooling over while reading the menu and waiting for my fries earlier. It was bacon and potato with a garlic oil base, shredded sharp cheddar cheese with bacon, red bliss potato scallions and a sour cream drizzle. This wasn't pizza. It was art I tell you. First of all, the crust was phenomenal. It was on the thin side but not soggy at all like some other thin crust pizzas come. It was crispy and almost crumbly. No not crumbly, just perfectly crispy. I want to say it was airy, like a sponge but that's probably completely wrong too. Anyhow, it was perfect and mind boggling at the same time. Then the bacon. This wasn't the generic crumbly/itty bitty chunks of bacon you get normally on pizza. This bacon was cut into CHUNKS. Nice size chunks. It made biting off a piece with bacon on it so much more enjoyable because you had to chew it longer. Had more time to enjoy the flavors of the bacon. It seemed like quality bacon too. Not very greasy or fatty. Mostly meat. I had noticed while in the restaurant how they seemed to use a lot of quality oils and seasonings and such. You didn't see the milky white plastic containers full of mysterious yellow goo that most pizza places use. It made me proud to be supporting these people. The entire pizza was also covered with slices of the red bliss potatoes. They were done just right and made the pizza twice as filling. The scallions added a refreshing freshness to the pizza and the sour cream brought it all together. It seems to do that a lot. Or maybe when it just comes to bacon potato pizza and burritos. Maybe the crust was a little crumbly. Ugh... I can't figure out how to describe it. Needless to say, I was very excited and appreciative that Malcom made me eat some of his pizza because I had been dreaming about getting pizza there since we moved in.