Burrito Tetris

Lulu's Restaurant and Bar - Allston, MA
http://lulusallston.com/

Lulu's Burger     

     This Head of the Charles was definitely my favorite to date for two main reasons. 1) The number
of old teammates in town and 2) the food. Because I wasn't racing lightweight (and honestly wasn't sure if I would be racing at all because I was a spare), I was able to partake in activities I normally wouldn't, like spending hours and hours walking around the course, getting dinner and drinks with friends and staying up until 4am. I just really enjoyed the relaxing weekend of endless and spontaneous fun. I could write a novel with all of the stories from this weekend, so I'll try to stick to just the food.

    The first new place I tried was a restaurant/bar called Lulu's here in Allston. Meagan and I had both heard this place was good, and it seemed like the perfect, relaxed atmosphere we were looking for. So Jim, Cory, Kevin, Courtney, Meagan and I walked over and happily took the table reserved for our man Dennis who failed to show up for his reservation. They sat us at their "VIP" table tucked away in a little corner with its own private tv. The dining area itself was a darker, open space that gave off a modern, hipster vibe. The table we were seated at was one irregular shaped, thick slice of a tree. Such a beautiful piece of work.

Mexican Cheetos

     I was really impressed with their menu too, as it was much more intricate and unique than I expected from an Allston bar. In a way, this restaurant seemed a little out of place (but in a good way). Dissecting the menu options was difficult and fun, and we tried many things. For an appetizer, I was debating between the curry, caramel popcorn with pumpkin seeds and the Mexican Cheetos. I ordered their Mexican Cheetos. Never have I ever heard of someone making their own homemade cheetos, let alone a restaurant offering them. To be truthful, they were definitely a little weird. They weren't as flavorful as regular cheetos (obviously because they weren't chocked full of chemicals), and while the texture was crispy and airy like a cheeto, they didn't taste like much more than a lightly powdered, cheese covered air. They came in the shape of pumpkins and were served with a spicy hot sauce called Tapatio. Definitely worth a try, but I wouldn't get them again. Upon further investigation, I just realized they were vegan. Perhaps that's why I was only slightly more than unimpressed. Hmm...

     I opted for the Lulu's burger. It just looked so good as I walked in. Natural beef with herbs and butter, local cheddar, secret sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions on a brioche roll. The burger was a little too well done for me, so I wanted some more juice to the whole ensemble, but it was still delicious. I loved the herb-y flavors, and I was also a huge fan of the brioche roll. It was really different in that the outer layer of the roll seemed almost separate from the insides of the roll. I compared it to a soccer ball being wrapped in wrapping paper and no one understood my analogy. It was a big, wide, warm roll, so it was nice to not fear of running out of bread. You know how sometimes the buns are so small and the insides get all pushed around? This was not the case here. The burger was served with their hand cut fries which were stellar. They reminded me of the fries from b.good, but were less crispy, and that was fine. Just very irregular shaped and sized and dusted with coarse grains of salt. So tasty.

     Friends who love food are great because they always let you try their food. So Jim let me try his herbed tots, which were super crisp on the outside and salty. I love love loved them! And I loved the garlic mayo they were served with. His short rib mac and cheese was tasty too. It was definitely a homemade cheese sauce, making the whole dish seem less gut busting.

     Lulu's had so many delicious looking and sounding dishes coming out of their kitchen that I'm definitely coming back. It helps that it's right down the street from me too. Can't wait!

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Totto Ramen - Allston, MA
http://tottoramen.com/

Look how happy and cute Jim is with his ramen.

     This New York ramen joint just recently moved to Boston, and I had never even heard of them until Jim suggested the place in response to an evening Asian craving. I've only had ramen once before in Portland, and I loved it. Jim and I both loved this experience at Totto Ramen so much that we came back two days later with seven more people :] Not only was the food delicious, but the wait staff was super friendly and the food came out quick.

Pork buns

     In contrast to a lot of other Asian food restaurants in Allston, this one is pretty modern and doesn't give you much of the Asian vibes you might get in a more traditional restaurant. Or maybe this is more representative of a younger and more modern Asian dining experience.

     Anyway, in our first trip, we ordered the pork buns as an appetizer. These are really simple. The put a thick slice of what I think is pork belly in a steamed flat, folded bun with some lettuce and tartar sauce. The pork had such a great, salty (and fatty) flavor, and the bun was soft and spongy. It seemed more like a dumpling texture. During our second visit, I ordered the congee which is basically rice cooked in chicken broth that had a texture similar to that of porridge or oatmeal. On top they cracked an partially fried egg and shredded scallions. When I cracked the yolk of the egg, however, I was really confused because the yolk itself was ice cold. I have no idea how they got the whites of the egg cooked and warm while keeping the yolk cold. Either way, using one of those big scoopy spoon things, you'd get the best bite when you got a little rice, egg and some scallions all together.

Congee

     For my meal on both trips, I order the Paitan Ramen, which included their long homemade

Mochi

noodles cooked al dente style in a whole chicken and soy sauce based soup. It was topped with scallion, onion and a nori (dried seaweed). The first time I added the Kikurage Mushrooms, which were actually harder than normal mushrooms and came in these short brown shreds. They were good, but didn't add much to the dish overall. I was much happier the second time when I added the fresh seaweed and the seasoned soft boiled egg. The seaweed was soft but chewy, and I really liked the soy flavor that permeated the white of the egg.

     For dessert, I tried many different mochi balls. If you're unfamiliar, mochi ice cream balls are a Japanese dessert that consist of a ball of ice cream covered in a soft, pounded rice layer. I love that rice layer. I could eat just a
ball of that. We tried the red bean (which was the sweetest of all), the black sesame (which tasted like sesame seeds... duh), vanilla (meh), mango (sweet but refreshing,) and the green tea (refreshing and light). Green tea and red bean were my favorite.

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Commonwealth Restaurant and Market - Cambridge, MA
http://commonwealthcambridge.com/

   
     Well... I've got to say that it's honestly been nearly 3 months since I blogged, and even since I touched this one post specifically. So I'm jumping in, head first, attempting to remember my food life.

     Zach and I went to Commonwealth forever
and a year ago, but that doesn't by any means mean that I don't remember it. Commonwealth is near Kendall square by MIT in cambridge. I found it unique because even though it's situated within a very modern, technology-centric area, walking in the front doors transports you to a more rustic, farm or marketplace atmosphere. With the mission to provide local produce and farm fresh eggs and dairy, Commonwealth's entrance boats a little market area with a bunch of fruits, vegetables, grains, and treats scattered among a bunch of beautiful antique stoves, chairs and desks. It's adorable.

     When we were led to our seat, we headed into a room where the walls and ceiling were made out of wooden pallets and had large-bulb incandescents hanging from them. It looked so cool and gave the room such a fun ambiance. The food was nothing short of spectacular either. To start, they brought out this tiny ramekin with fluffy pull apart bread. It was so soft and warm inside, and the sweet butter was delicious. I seem to recall they make their own butter. As an appetizer we ordered these pork short ribs that were to dieeeee for. They were probably my favorite part of the whole meal. It was one of those dishes were you can't possibly pinpoint all the flavors because so much is going on. They had some sort of spicy light brown sauce on them, but wasn't like a barbecue sauce at all. I want to say there was a chili taste, with lime and cilantro. But there was also some sort of caramelized sweetness to it, and they were dusted with a cashew dust. Weird, right? But so so good.

   
     For the entree, we got one and a bunch of sides to split because we wanted to try all the things. This place is a little pricey, so I was hesitant at first, but then I gave up. Zach was in the same boat. He was super pumped about the duck before we had even gotten there, so we ordered the half Long Island duck with cranberries. The meat was really tender and juicy, and I loved the complement of the cranberry and... mint? There was an herb in the cranberry mixture on the side and it was fabulous with the duck. We both agreed at the end that while it was delicious, it wasn't worth the $25, especially considering how small the portion was.

Duck Fat Fries (top left), Oyster Mushrooms (top right), Mac n' Cheese (bottom right), Long Island Duck (bottom left)

     For me, the mac n' cheese side was non-debatable. It was GREAT. It was definitely a homemade
mac n' cheese and boasted a unique blend of local New England cheeses. It was thicker too (which I like). You know... like velveeta thickness but actually cheese and delicious. (That comparison should be considered a sin. Shame on me.) Anyway, it was a very, very rich dish with a special touch of some sort of toasted cracker crumbs on top. I love that additional texture within creamy mac n' cheese.
   
     The duck fat fries though. My second favorite. If you're confused, what I mean by duck fat fries is that they cook these thick cut wedge fries in duck fat. Don't ask why... just know that they'll be some of the best fries you ever eat. They were very rich, heavy feeling, and salty. Oh so salty. It was lovely. They came piping hot and crispy on the outside, just as every fry should be. These could be a meal in themselves.

     The last side I ordered was their oyster mushrooms. I'm not sure I'd had that variety before, and they were awesome. They were soft and chewy, light and garlicy. A necessity, I think, after all the other super rich dishes.

     We weren't going to get dessert... but then we came to our senses. Their dessert menu is cool. You pick an ice cream, pair it with a building block of sorts, and add a sauce and/or another topping. We got the butter pecan ice cream with a blondie as the base, topped it with "notorious P.I.G. tracks" (chocolate peanut or chocolate almond clusters maybe?) and a peanut sauce. Health. It was stupid good. That blondie was so warm and a tad gooey still, the clusters added a nutty crunch, and that ice cream was probably some of the best butter pecan I've ever had. Smooth and simple, but rich. They make their own homemade ice cream here, and now that I think of it, that was the original reason I wanted to come here. Now I want their breakfast. I want it all.

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Cactus Grill - East Boston, MA
http://www.cactusgrillboston.com/

   

     Cactus is David's happy place. I've never met a man who loves burritos as much as he does, and it's endearing. I had a steak quesadilla from there once, but there was no photographic evidence, so I didn't write about it. Regardless... it was so juicy from the steak and so cheesy it pleased me (rhymes).  This time, David brought me home a burrito, and I'm proud to say I'm on the Cactus bandwagon. Easily the best burrito I think I've ever had in my life... not just in Boston. Look at the photo. You see how the rice and the vegetables are around the entire burrito and the steak is in the middle? I have no idea how they do that. But either way, it ensures that each bite gives you a little bit of everything so you're not stuck playing burrito tetris and strategizing your next bite. The steak inside was just like the steak from my quesadilla; all super juicy and flavorful. Oh... and the deal sealer... was the grilled tortilla outside. They don't just wrap it up and send you on your way. They press it, so the tortilla has a thin, browned exterior. This isn't only delicious, but it also seals in your burrito contents so the tortilla doesn't go exploding and releasing the tsunami of innards all over your pants. Props Cactus.

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Sushi Station - Mission Hill, MA
http://www.sushi-station.net/

     Writing about sushi is sometimes obnoxiously difficult. If you've ever eaten it, you can pretty
much assume why. Anyway... Meagan, Jimmy and I went to Sushi Station in Mission Hill a couple weeks back because I had this restaurant.com gift card, and I chose to take it there. Sushi Station is a mini restaurant with only a couple tables. We were the only people dining in there the whole time, but the waitstaff was super friendly and offered us complementary edamame! Bonus! I love seaweed salad (mainly because of the texture), so I got that and shared it. I love its sweet and sour flavors. Reminds me of my grandpa's three bean salad he used to make with vinegar and sugar. We ordered a bunch of different rolls to hit out $25 minimum. Honestly, I'm not all that sure which rolls we got, but they were all great. We got a range of spicy and mild rolls, a few with shrimp, crab, and tuna. I don't think they were as fresh as they could be, probably because of a slower stream of customers in the door, but it was still delicious, cheap and we left stuffed, satisfied, and it didn't break the bank. Definitely worth it if you're looking for a good bang for your buck!


Spike's Junkyard Dogs - Allston, MA
http://www.spikesjunkyarddogs.com/

Spike's Junkyard Dog

     Spike's was (admittedly) one of the first restaurants I wanted to go to when I got to Boston. A restaurant that sold mainly hot dogs was different, and I could only imagine how good they had to be if that was basically all they sold. After the Relient K concert down at Paradise Rock Club, David and I were walking home hungry. We kept walking and walking and he was getting impatient, but I assured him I had a place in mind (I always have a place in mind).  I didn't realize that Spike's sold more than hot dogs though! Apparently they have burgers, chicken fingers (which we got and are pretty good) and a few other things. I had to get the dog though. I ordered the junkyard dog, which is their main act. It came with Spike's mustard, tomato, hot pepper rings, and chopped scallions. Wowiezowie. This was goooooood AND huge. The hot dog itself was really thick and plump with juicy (got ahead... laugh), and the bun was like a soft baguette with little grits of cornmeal dusted around the bottom. It was like a real bun, not the standard one ounce white hot dog bun you normally get. The hearty bun and thick dog made just one hot dog pretty filling. That didn't mean we didn't get chicken fingers too. It felt so good. It felt amazing to be able to just want to eat something late at night and do it without remorse (<<< reflections on my lightweight days).

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 :]