But It's Complimentary...

Tupelo - Cambridge, MA
http://tupelo02139.com/

Southern fried chicken with collard greens and jalapeno mac and cheese.

     Inman square is so full of restaurants I want to write about and places I want to do well. So many of them are small, have great food and inspiring stories. Tupelo is one of these places. They opened in 2009 and served southern food that has a New England influence. Their menu changes seasonally, and they locally source a lot of their products (yay!). Damon (one of my CREST REU kids I'm working with this summer) got a few people together one weekend and invited me along, which was pretty cool a) because they must think I'm ok and b) because I've been wanting to go to Tupelo forever. After a "45 minute wait" (that was more like 20 minutes) they were pouring our waters into mason jars. I drink out of mason jars not because it's hip nowadays, but because I have since I was little, so when it happens at restaurants it makes me feel all nice and fuzzy inside.

     Jackie (another REU student) is too cute because every restaurant she goes to she asks what their best seller is. That's a really great idea. I think I might start doing that. She asked and the waiter listed off all 4 things I was trying to choose from which was especially unhelpful because their menu is so small (not that that's a bad thing). I ended up going with the southern fried chicken because people at all the tables around me were eating it, and there really was no other option once I saw it. Great choice. Go me. It was incredible. I'm going to go ahead and make the bold statement that it may have been the best fried chicken I've ever had. For real. The breading was solid and crunchy but flaky at the same time, in that when it broke apart some would flake off like oatmeal or in oatmeal sized pieces (but I don't think there actually was oatmeal in it). The chicken was also super moist and hot. But it stayed hot, which isn't always the case. It was perfect, and I was upset that it had to come to an end.
     The chicken was served on top a pile of the best collard greens I've ever had too. Sometimes restaurants make collards too sweet perhaps because most people don't like them so adding sugar helps? I don't know. But Tupelo got them just slightly sweet with a little zing (which Austin and I decided was apple cider vinegar) without the vinegar punch. You know what I mean? They were so good and perfectly steamed. Sometimes collard greens are more limp and steamed to much making them stick together and be wilty, but these were more stiff and hung out around each other more like shaved parmesan cheese does sitting in a tub (don't hate on my analogies).
     The second best part of the meal though was the jalapeno mac and cheese. I like spicy sometimes, so I was a little worried this may be too much, but it wasn't at all. The mac and cheese had a jalapeno flavor throughout without the heat of jalapenos. Not to mention, they mastered the cheese sauce to noodle ratio meaning that it wasn't too runny or too gooey to the point that you're practically eating cheese noodle soup. Each noodle was coated in just enough cheese so that you could get all the flavors and ingredients on a fork without scooping.
     I highly recommend Tupelo for southern food in Boston, for a nice meal out, or for their free complimentary cornbread (which they gave us three servings of because Damon wouldn't stop asking). Sometimes southern food can leave me feeling fat, salty and in general relatively unhealthy but this didn't. Incredible food engineering.

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The Asgard - Cambridge, MA
http://www.classicirish.com/asgard-home.php

The world's saddest potato skins.

    So Jimmy and I set a date to go get sushi to use my birthday coupon. However, we realized that day that it was actually his birthday, and we should/could do something else for his actual celebration. The sushi place I had a coupon for was downtown, we were hungry and transportation down there just made me want to throw up, so we opted for some place with better parking. Plus Karl came along, and he doesn't like sushi.
    I walked into the Asguard a couple years ago while on a run because I wanted to check out the menu. It sounded so good with a bunch of different Irish foods and the interior was a big open, dark bar/restaurant. This had a different feel than most Irish pubs because of its size, and that was slightly intriguing. Jimmy went to Ireland once, so I thought this might be a great place to go.
     For a lack of better words, it was disappointing. Not awful, but just nothing exciting, and almost irritating. For example, the service was not good. The man seemed really rushed and tried to take our menus before we even ordered. It was confusing. What was also confusing was that they only offered their 25 cent wing deal if you ate inside verses on the patio. What? Why? Who thought that made sense? Either way, we ordered the wings anyways, and Jimmy asked for them to come naked with the sauce on the side. A pretty standard request I'd say. So how did they come? Not naked with the sauce on the side. Of course. And as far as the taste, they were just your standard wings. Nothing crazy.

Chicken Pot Pie

     For the other appetizer we had to have the potato skins which were stuffed with bacon, beef, lamb, melted cheddar jack cheese, and guiness gravy. There were 2 issues. One potato skin and the other. Yea ... 2 tiny potato skins made from the world's smallest potato to split between 3 people. They had minimal amounts of all those things in them, and I couldn't really taste the lamb. Lamb has a lot of flavor. What the heck? The gravy was good, but I don't want super delicious gravy to cover up my lack-luster potato half-skin. I want good potato skins. Oh... AND they came out cold. Clearly cold because the melted cheese had already started to solidify. The worst part? $10. Blew my mind.
     Finally for dinner, I ordered the chicken pot pie; Something I'm not going to make myself (especially in this heat). This was served like most chicken pot pies in restaurants in that it's a bowl with the pie ingredients and a puffy piece of dough on top. It wasn't bad, but I'd say it was 75% cream. There were not enough peas, carrots, celery or chicken. So (75% of the time) I found myself just taking scoops of cream as I worked my way through. Waste of time. I didn't order a cream pie. The puffy dough on top was great though. The only thing that really required no skill to cook. Congratulations.

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Haru Sushi - Boston, MA

http://www.harusushi.com/

     Two days later, we actually got sushi, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Haru Sushi is a swanky place downtown with a delightful waitstaff that doesn't laugh at me when I'm overwhelmed by sushi menus and terms I don't know. This place was very clean, crisp and dark, making their sushi chefs who were illuminated by bright lights seem like they were angels. I mean... they pretty much were angels because the food was delicious. 

Chicken dumplings (after we ate one).

     As an appetizer, Jimmy and I got the chicken dumplings. They had chicken and shredded veggies in them and were topped with thin green onions and served with a spicy soy sauce which was something new for me. I really liked it. They were so flavorful and salty. 

Spicy Tuna (front left), Kamikaze (front right) and the Lobster roll (back)

     For our rolls, we ordered a spicy tuna (you can never go wrong with a spicy tuna), the kamikaze, the Super Dynamite, and the Lobster roll. The kamikaze is similar to the spicy tuna except that it has yellowtail and tempura flakes in it and the little red roe on top. That's my favorite part. It was good and served as one of the simpler rolls that I like to have to help balance out the special rolls. The Lobster roll was something I had never heard of or tried before, and I thought it was fabulous. It had lobster, boston lettuce, spicy mayo, avocado, cucumber, mango and tobiko (the same red roe). My favorite combination was the mango, lobster and avocado together. The mango added an awesome sweetness. The whole concoction was a great idea. The Super Dynamite roll was my favorite. It had tempura style tuna, freshwater eel and asparagus with sriracha, spicy mayo and eel sauces. Any sushi I've ever had with eel I've loved. When looking at the sushi, however, I can never tell which fish is which, but it's all delicious. The asparagus was really good in the sushi too because it added a crunchy texture. Overall everything was delicious, fresh and quick. Plus... they give you a $20 coupon for your birthday if you sign up for their email list. It got me in the door!

The Super Dynamite roll

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Red Mango - Boston, MA

http://www.redmangousa.com/

     

Froyo from Red Mango

     After sushi, Jimmy and I naturally gravitate towards the nearest place with sugary treats. I wanted to try this froyo place I haven't been to before called Red Mango. They have locations all over the country, so I feel a little odd writing about them, but whatever. It's a sushi/smoothie place with a crepe bar (which is totally awesome) down on Mass Ave near Northeastern. I ordered their small cup which they charge you two something for, and then they charge you for each additional topping. I'm not about that because most of the time I just want a couple of each topping because I like variety. They didn't have as many options as Yogurtland or 16 Handles, so that was a bummer. But the froyo itself was good, if you like more ice-like froyo. My ideal consistency is a little bit more creamy.... ie more like ice cream. Yogurtland has this down pat, so whenever I try other froyos like this one from Red Mango, it turns me off. Especially when it comes to things like chocolate, which in my mind shouldn't be so icey. Their mango froyo, however, was really tasty and the texture/consistency fit the flavor. It was ok, but not worth the $$ I'd say. Why don't they have self serve ice cream bars with unlimited toppings? I mean... that's what most people go to froyo place for, right?

 CANDY

Froyo. I Need It Three Times A Week To Heal My Broken Bones.

Yogurt Land - Cambridge, MA
http://www.yogurt-land.com/

There is yogurt down in there somewhere.

     Well, you-know-what pretty much hit the fan. Some external force was telling me not to go to camp. My body was freaking out, making me immobile and unable to breathe. Joanie was nice enough to take to the ER on Friday night, and afterward, we treated ourselves to some AWESOME froyo at Yogurt Land in Harvard Square. This place is definitely in my top 3 favorite froyo places here in Boston, up there with Zinga and Mixx. Self serve is totally the way to go. I really liked their flavor options here because they had a good mix of refreshing fruity ones, standard ones, and unique ones like bananas foster, pecan pralines or new york cheesecake. I made sure to try most of the ones I knew I wouldn't get. I know this is kind of the opposite of what most people do, but I don't care. I wanted to sample the red velvet cake, pecan pralines and New York cheesecake because deep down, I knew I'd want the dutch chocolate, a fruity one (that was bound to be good anyway) and a unique one. I ended up going with the chocolate, passionfruit guava, bananas foster and double cookies and cream. Topped that sucker with some brownie pieces, cookie dough (which was absolutely perfect), resses peanut butter cups, reeses pieces, malt balls and a frosted cookie. Their topping selections though were phenomenal. Tons of kinds of fruits, chocolates, gummies, syrups, cookies, etc. It was overwhelming. I've been 4 times now. It's becoming a problem. I wonder if they'd let you just buy a bowl of toppings?

Not Your Average Joe's - Watertown, MA
http://www.notyouraveragejoes.com/watertown/

Pulled Pork Pretzel Bites

   Being practically bed ridden is not fun. I had to get out of the house on day two of my muscle flair-up.
Jimmy picked me up and we headed to meet Dave, Karl and Mr. and Mrs. Harshe at Not Your Average Joe's in Watertown. The place had a really neat modern vibe full of bold colors and simple wall decorations.
You would definitely describe it as classy casual. I wasn't super hungry but they offered the most amazing bread dip to go with their onion bread. The dip was basicaly mashed up garlic, parmesan cheese, and olive oil with red pepper flakes. It made it a little bit spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. Just garlicy and cheesy with a touch of heat.
     Instead of getting a meal, I ordered two appetizers. The one I split with Jimmy were these Pulled Pork Pretzel bites. Oh my gosh. They must've taken a big slice of a pretzel stick, topped it with this delicious bbq pulled pork, added some coleslaw on top, and covered them with thin crispy onion rings and sprouts. Shoot... the different kinds of flavors and textures in these babies were out of control. The warm pulled pork had a lightly sweet bbq flavor that was balanced with the light, cool and refreshing coleslaw, and the onion rings gave it and awesome crispness. So many flavors and textures in each bite.

Buffalo Caribbean Chicken Tenders

     For my second appetizer I got the Buffalo Carribean Chicken tenders. Oh man... they were incredible. Each tender was tossed in a buffalo mango barbeque sauce. They were a tad sweet but spicy, and you could really taste the mango flavor in the sauce. Another bonus was that the breading underneath the sauce was still a tad bit crunchy, as in, it hadn't softened up and gotten soggy when they covered it in the sauce. The whole dish was served with a little bit of pineapple jalapeno salsa and blue cheese. The salsa was nice to finish with because it was light and refreshing. Both of those dishes had such unique flavor combinations that I wasn't really expecting from a classy casual American cuisine restaurant.


UpStairs on the Square - Cambridge, MA
http://www.upstairsonthesquare.com/

     Well, this place was ... interesting. If something wasn't pink, it was purple. If it wasn't purple, it was a

Mexican Street corn... and Meldrim

zebra. The decor in UpStairs on the Square was definitely unique and out there. Oddly shaped tables and zebras all over the walls. Aside from horrendous service, it felt like a treat to be in such a strange place. Meagan's grandparents took us out to dinner there the evening she moved in. The menu was pretty small, and most dishes were complex. Complex in that I had no idea what they meant. Jimmy and I decided to do the whole splitsies thing.... again. It was some special grill night, so he got 1/2 a grilled lobster and an ear of Mexican street corn. The lobster was pretty decent, but nothing extraordinary. I thought maybe grilling it might give it some awesomely different flavor, but it really didn't. It was still delicious obviously... because it's lobster... and because they filled half the shell with butter. I had a bite of his corn and that was incredible. It had some sort of chipotle mayo, some kind of cheese and a bunch of spices on it.
   

Pizza d'oro

I ordered the Pizza d'oro, which was this crazy pizza with a "type of bacon" (which I swear I never tasted or could find), hedgehog mushrooms (which were marinated in something), and a "pullet egg," which is basically an egg cracked on top and lightly cooked. I thought the pizza was fantastic. I absolutely loved the fluffy crust and the mushrooms, and dipping the slices of pizza in the cracked egg was just incredible. I also tried a piece of Todd's White Pizza, which was duck fat potatoes (oh ... I know), caramelized onions and wine grapes. I can't say I tasted the wine grapes or was really even looking for them because the duck fat potatoes stole my attention. I still want to go back for that Rhubarb Brown Butter Tart.



Cambridge Brewing Company - Cambridge, MA
http://www.cambrew.com/

Famous CBC nachos

     Dinner #2 with Babcia and Poppy. They wanted a diner... so I took them to Cambridge Brewing Company. That is not a diner. I knew that. I also knew before I got there that I had to get the CBC nachos. If you recall, Cambridge Brewing Company was on my list of the top nachos in Boston from my "Nacho Average Run." Apparently these babies were huge and delicious, so I couldn'tnot get them. They were just that. HUGE and delicious. They looked like a mountain. An enormous pile of multicolored chips with layers of a seriously awesome cheese, vegetarian bean chili, green onions, salsa, sour cream and jalapenos. They did it the right way and did a layer of chips, toppings, chips, toppings, etc. I definitely could've eaten the entire plate.


Legal Harborside - Boston, MA
http://www.legalseafoods.com/restaurants/boston-legal-harborside

     Legal Seafoods is one of those restaurants I hear people talk about a lot in Boston. Apparently there are

Crispy Montauk Calamari

a bunch, but I believe they started here in Beantown. Dinner #3 with Babcia, Poppy and Meagan was at Legal Harborside. After taking them on our self-guided tour of Boston and visiting the ocean, we were in the mood for seafood. I couldn't believe how crazy this place was, but oh my was it beautiful. I never went upstairs, but the main level looked right out onto the harbor and they had the huge bay doors wide open, letting the smell of the sea roll in. We had a seat by the carry-out section because there was no wait, as opposed to the hour and a half wait for the main dining area. First of all, the rolls they brought, were probably the best rolls I've ever had at a restaurant. Each one was like a freshly baked loaf of bread that's crispy on the outside, but super hot and fluffy on the inside. I couldn't believe it. I could've eaten zillions (with endless butter of course).
     I ordered some calamari for the table as an appetizer, and it was better than I expected. A lot of times when you order calamari it comes, in only the little rings, but this dish had the little rings as well as full little fried squids. They were adorable... and delicious. They were lightly breaded and fried along with a few pieces of hot peppers. A really unique addition I've never heard of in standard calamari dishes.
   

Looks like a cheese pizza, right? Far from it. 

     For my meal, I had to order the Crab and Pepperoni Pizza. Sounds weird right? That's why I got it. Crab and pepperoni. I had mixed feelings and needed to sort them out. It. Was. Amazing. I'm not kidding. This thing wasn't overloaded with either the crab or pepperoni, but had moderate sized pieces of crab interspersed among the pepperoni. So it wasn't overly seafood-y, but definitely not your standard pepperoni. It smelled deadly and tasted even better. The mozzarella cheese they used was also amazing. I think it picked up a bit of the crab flavor, so even though there wasn't a ton of crab all over the pizza, the crab flavor was throughout the entire thing. Of course, I also helped Meagan finish her fish tacos, which were pretty good. I wished the fish had been a little bit crispier (it was fried), and I wasn't a fan of the corn tortillas. I'm trying to like them. That pizza though... oh man.


Slutty Cheesecake Bars - Antonia's Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

This really is a beautiful thing. 

     Ok, I have no idea why they're called Slutty Cheesecake Bars. Everyone kept asking, but I have no Wallflour Girl and needed them. Definitely a treat meant for those in love with sugar. Beware, this is rather involved. A two person team makes it a lot easier.
answers. And truthfully, it doesn't matter, because once you taste them, you'll forget about their name... and practically everything else in your life at that moment. In short, these guys were a chocolate chip cookie layer, a layer of oreos, a cheesecake layer, and then a heafty topping of crumbled oreos and chopped malt balls. You can't breathe. I know. Serious sugar overload but SO worth it. Antonia and I made these for Joan's birthday because she had shown me the recipe  a few weeks prior from a blog called

Chocolate Chip Cookie Base:

• 3/4 cup butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 egg, room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream together softened butter and both sugars until fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg. Mix in flour, baking soda, and salt until just incorporated. Gently fold in chocolate chips.
2. Set bowl aside and make cheesecake layer.

Cheesecake layer:

• 12 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Cream together softened cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; beat in until completely smooth, but be sure not to overbeat.
2. Set aside cheesecake layer as you assemble.

Assembly:

• 21 Oreos (16 whole Oreos and 5 chopped Oreos, divided)
• 5 oz. Whoppers, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8×8-inch baking pan.
2. Spread cookie dough evenly across the bottom of the prepared baking pan. Your cookie dough layer should be about half an inch thick–if you have leftover dough, you can bake it immediately as individual cookies or simply toss it into the fridge for baking at a later time. Bake for approximately 10-12 minutes, until the dough is just cooked through and firm. Remove from oven.
3. Layer 16 whole Oreos on baked cookie crust. Pour cheesecake filling evenly over Oreos. Sprinkle 5 chopped Oreos and 5 oz. chopped Whoppers over the cheesecake.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until cheesecake is pretty well set. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely in pan before cutting. Best served chilled from refrigerator (but make sure you store it in the fridge either way).

Banana Soft Serve - Jimmy's Kitchen, Brighton, MA

     Since Jimmy wouldn't make Meagan and I brownies (something about it being over 90 degrees and not Chocolate Covered Katie. Love.

Banana Soft Serve. Hard to capture how delicious it was. 

wanting to turn on his oven... I don't know), I decided I was going to make us all this banana soft serve I'd been wanting to make for a while. It is literally frozen bananas, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Put it into a food processor and it comes out just like soft serve ice cream and tastes amazing. If you have a super freezer, you may have to add a little milk to get the bananas chopped up, or let them thaw a tad. I also threw in some chocolate chips, because honestly, there's no way they'd screw anything up. The recipe I used was off of

Chocolate Banana Soft Serve

• 3 chopped medium bananas (the riper the better)
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/16 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp cocoa or cacao powder
• optional: sweetener (depending on your tastebuds and ripeness of the bananas)
• optional: 3-5 tbsp peanut butter or another nut butter of choice

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender or food processor. If you want the look of ice cream, freeze about 10-15 minutes and the texture will also become a bit firmer. Done!

Long Beach Dairy Maid - Gloucester, MA
http://www.longbeachdairy.com

     I'm not sure if I've blogged about these guys before, but I just have to bring it up anyway. After a visit to

The "small" portion

Good Harbor beach, Jimmy, Meagan and I stopped at Long Beach Dairy Maid. They have 24 flavors of soft serve, 8 flavors of frozen yogurt and literally 60 flavors of "Super Premium Ice Cream." I was so overwhelmed. I was even more overwhelmed when I saw Meagan's "small" ice cream in a waffle cone come out the window. I got a regular cone assuming that I wouldn't get as much. Nope. Still more than a pint of ice cream. I am seriously not kidding. Not one bit. It was outrageous. I got a "small" peanut butter oreo cookie and finished every bit. Totally could've eaten a second one. By far the best value and selection I've ever experienced at an ice cream shop.