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.

----------

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. 

---------

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:]

     

----------

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.

----------

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?!

----------

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). 

----------

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 :]

----------

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'?

Ice Cream Is Hard

Souper Roll-Up Cafe- Cambridge, MA
http://souperrollup.ucoz.org/

Chicken Tarragon Salad Wrap and Mushroom soupz!

     I'm terrible when it comes to getting lunch with coworkers. No matter where I work. They always ask me to go. I always say no. Why? I'm poor, nervous, and ... well... the lightweight rowing thing. However, as some of you might not know, I've decided to take some time off of rowing/retire my elite rowing career. I'm not about to get into the details about it, but I think it's just what's best for me right now.
     Regardless, this means I now feel like I can say yes to things like getting lunch and dinner with friends. So after David made fun of my puny sandwich, I said said yes to going to get lunch with him at Souper Roll-Up. This tiny little restaurant is really close to Gentle Giant, and is run by a cute asian couple. Everyone at GG knows them and apparently they give us discounts? I had no idea. Meh.
     I was a copycat and ordered the same thing as David. He goes often. He knows what's up. We got the chicken tarragon salad wrap and one of their homemade soups. This half and half deal was something like $7! Stellar. Their soups are always changing and always made fresh. It's like going to Trader Joe's for the sample. You never know what it's gonna be. Mastering soups is an art. I got their cream of mushroom soup which was thicker than any I've ever had before. It was so delicious. Real big chunks of mushrooms interspersed among a thick soup of smaller mushroom bits. I also really liked that it wasn't actually very creamy. The appeal of soups for me is generally that they're light and mildly refreshing, which you often lose in creamy soups. Not this one. It was on the lighter side of cream soups and had a nice peppery kick.
    It's hard to beat my stepmom's chicken salad, but this one came close. I can't say I know exactly what tarragon tastes like, but if it gave this chicken salad its incredible flavor, then I love tarragon. The chunks of chicken were so moist and small, so you weren't pulling hunks out of the wrap with each bite. The chicken salad itself was nice and peppery and full of celery. Celery and fresh lettuce is key in chicken salad. The mayo in the chicken salad was speckled with something orange too. It wasn't spicy, and I'm inclined to think they were really small pieces of carrots. That was the flavor I thought I could suck out of each little speck. There were so many flavors and feelings put into this wrap. Then again, there are only so many weird people out there that can be as blown away by chicken salad as I can. Oh! Plus, the wrap came with a nice big hunk of a baguette. Bonus bread is the best. Forever and always.
     As we left, the little asian man (I forgot his name) told us to "tell everyone I said have a good day!" Adorable.

----------

Cherry Chocolate Stracciatella Ice Cream - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

All of my tools I attempted to use to pit cherries.

     Let me just say that making ice cream is the hardest thing I've ever had to "cook." Harder than granola. I really just suck at it. Tempering the egg? I can't do it apparently. No matter how many times I try, I always end up with scrambled eggs in half boiling milk and cream. And then when I put the mix all in my ice cream maker it never sets up... leaving me with flavored ice once I freeze it. Ok, that's an exaggeration... because this cherry chocolate stracciatella ice cream from Closet Cooking wasn't half bad. It was a little crystally, but I think that's because it didn't set up in the ice cream maker, and I had to strain out all of the scrambled eggs. It was a complicated process, and I'd be here for years trying to explain. Not to mention I'd be full of rage when I'm done. However, I can give you some pointers regarding how it's SUPPOSED to work. Maybe I just am not meant to make ice cream... or maybe I should use rock salt like every recipe on the planet says to use. Yes, I admit that I attempted to use regular salt the first couple times I tried ice cream, and I'm almost 100% sure that's why it didn't work. Egg or no egg. 

     Anyway, the flavors in this ice cream are incredible. I'd suggesting making it when cherries are in season to get the freshest fruit. The chunks of cherries in the ice cream are key, so don't be afraid to chop your cherries in larger chunks or add more than the recipe calls for. I could only nail the flavor, but if you can figure out how to achieve a smooth and creamy texture, you'll make friends wherever you go. 

Notes: 

-Pitting cherries is miserable. I used a chopstick. Good luck.

-Use rock salt in your ice cream maker. No exceptions.

-Make sure you chill the mixture fully before you put it into ice cream maker. I suggest overnight.

Cherry Chocolate Stracciatella Ice Cream

1 cup cherries (pitted and chopped)
1/2 cups sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup milk
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup dark chocolate

1. Heat the cherries and sugar in a small sauce pan until the sugar is dissolved and the cherries are tender, about 10 minutes.

2. Heat the cream and milk in a sauce pan until it almost boils, about 5 minutes.

3. Reduce the heat to low. Add one tablespoon of the cream mixture to the eggs to temper them.

4. Add the egg mixture to the sauce pan. Cook at low heat until it thickens and can coat the back of a spoon.

5. Remove from the heat and stir in the cherries and vanilla extract.

6. Chill the mixture in the fridge overnight.

7. Start freezing according to the instructions for your ice cream machine.

8. When the ice cream is almost done melt the chocolate and pour it into the ice cream in a thin stream. If you can't pour in the chocolate as the ice cream is churning, make sure you're stirring the mixture at the same time (otherwise all of chocolate will freeze in one big clump like mine did). 

----------

Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

 

PB&J Ice Cream

       I got frustrated with my cherry ice cream and had some cream left over, so I figured I'd give this peanut butter and jelly ice cream from Fat Girl Trapped In A Skinny Body a try. PB&J is one of my favorite things ever, so I figured it'd be great. Well... I was in for another roller coaster of an ice cream experience. This recipe didn't have egg, so I didn't have to worry about screwing that up again. However, I used crunchy peanut butter which I wouldn't advise if you also plan to not follow the recipe instruction to use rock salt. In doing so, your ice cream won't set up and all of the peanut chunks will just fall to the bottom rather than being dispersed throughout the ice cream. The texture of this one was even worse than the cherry one. I really need to learn to follow directions. It was just super ice crystally. However, I got a ton of compliments on the flavor. I used a raspberry jam instead of the blueberry syrup that she suggests, and I think that substitution was actually a success. Again... rock salt. Please. I think if you do this, it will set up in your ice cream maker and layer it like Julia suggests.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Ice Cream

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 1/2 cups 1% milk
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/2 cup jam or a fruit sauce

1. Bring the milk, cream, sugar and salt to a roaring bowl.

2. Remove it from the heat and whisk in the peanut butter. Whisk the pb in until it is smooth and completely incorporated (it takes a couple minutes). Transfer to a glass bowl, cover and put in the fridge until it is chilled completely (I suggest overnight).

3. Churn/Freeze according to manufactures instructions.

4. Layer in a container with the jam/fruit sauce, ice cream, jam/fruit sauce, ice cream, jam/fruit sauce, ice cream. This will give it the swirl when it is scooped out.

----------

Donuts With A Difference - Medford, MA
http://www.donutswith.com/#!/splash

Please excuse my mediocre photo of this lemon
filled donut. Excitement got the best of me.

    Union Square donuts couldn't have been pleased when Donuts With A Difference took Best of Boston's title for Best Doughuts this year. I truly can't compare the two, because I've never had Union Square Donuts (terrible... I know). The day the Best of Boston magazine came out, my coworker Carrie came down to the accounting department and talked donuts with us for a bit. She raved about Donuts With A Difference, so when she offered to bring some in the next day nearly all my thoughts and actions the rest of the day and the next morning revolved around the promise of donuts. Don't make fun. It was an exhilarating time.    
     The next morning, however, I got in late and was terrified I missed the donut train. I did. She had come and gone, but LUCKILY I have great friends. Zack grabbed a rogue donut that another coworker didn't want for me. It was a lemon jelly filled donut. Now normally I'm not a huge fan of filled donuts and lemon isn't my flavor. However, this donut may have changed my perspective on such treats. My opinion on lemony desserts is evolving. The lemon jelly inside was very simple and sweet. I really enjoyed it much more than I had anticipated. The donut itself was very moist inside and springy too. I love when donuts have the springy texture rather than a crumbly cake-like texture.

Blueberry Donut

 
     Zack also gave me the word when Carrie got back from her lunch so I could ask her if she had any others left. Oh she sure did. My third favorite kind of donut is a blueberry donut, and that was one of the very few she had left. Jackpot. I'd definitely say that it was the best blueberry donut I've ever had. It was the outer crust that made all the difference. The crispy fried crust on the outside was much thicker than normal donuts, but I don't think this was because they fried it for a long time. Apparently Donuts With A Difference dips their donuts in honey, and I'm inclined to say that's what gave it such a stellar crust and made each bite melt in your mouth. It was like walking across frozen snow. You know when it rains a little and freezes the top layer of snow to the point where you can almost walk across it? Sometimes you take a step and your weight crushes that outer layer of snow and your foot falls down into the soft and fluffy snow beneath, right? That's what this donut was like.

Ice Cream for Dinner. It's Fine.

Muqueca - Cambridge, MA
http://www.muquecarestaurant.com/#!menu/ckwa

     Finally! I finally found a restaurant in Boston that makes a Caipirinha. It's my favorite. It's the national drink of Brazil, and I was introduced to them and learned how to make them when I went to Ecuador. They are made with cachaça, sugar and lime. So simple but so delicious... and naturally I forgot to take a photo. Whatever. 

Frog Legs

     Zack really enjoys trying new things (and wanted to try a caipriniha because I had talked them up so much), so we headed over to this Brazilian restaurant called Muqueca on Cambridge Street near Gentle Giant. Muqueca is unique because they cook the majority of their dishes in shallow clay pots which is a traditional form of cooking in Brazil. The owner, as well as each pot, is native to Brazil, and his goal is to provide his customers the feeling of being in Brazil when they visit Muqueca. 

 

Coconut Shrimp

     On to the food! We knew right away that we had to try the frog legs because both of our first experiences were not all that exceptional. The frog legs were deep fried and came arranged quite provocatively. I'm hesitant to say it tasted like chicken, but it really did. The meat is a little bit more stringy, has zero fat, and has a slightly different ... pond flavor. What does that even mean? I have no idea. Take it or leave it. The second appetizer we got was the coconut shimp. They were piping hot and so delicious, especially dipped in the mystery, creamy dipping sauce. I really liked that their batter was dense, but not thick, and a dark brown. They really fried those puppies.

Mariscada with Yucca flour

     For the entree we chose the Mariscada, "A Must Try!" This delicious pot came with shrimp, crab meat, mussels and squid in a cilantro, tomato, onion and coconut milk broth. They served you a plate of rice as a base for your entree. The mariscada was absolutely incredible. There were so many different types of seafood, which made each bite different from the next. I really enjoyed it because, often in American seafood cuisine, the dishes are very salty and rich. This dish didn't rely on salt to be appealing, but rather on the different spices they used and fresh ingredients. It was all very light. The broths weren't heavy and the tomato and coconut made it taste almost refreshing. To garnish, they served a tiny little clay pot with farofa, which is yucca flour. It had a very mild flavor, kind of like that of cornmeal. But added a fine crunch to each bite. The other mini clay pot was plantain moqueca, which had a similar base as the mariscada, but had hunks of plantains in it rather than seafood. It was a very small dish, so you only had a couple bites to experience it, but it played second best to the mariscada for sure. 

     As a second entree, we ordered the banana lasagna, which was actually plantains, a 3 cheese sauce and oregano. Yea... oregano. I failed to read the description fully and didn't know there was oregano in it. So obviously it wasn't loaded with oregano, but I would've like to hunt for the flavor. This lasagna was so good though. There was a layer of melted cheese on top that covered the sweet plantains that were bathing in the cheese sauce. Because it was cooked in a clay pot, some of the cheese on the sides of the pot crisped up and were like gold. All of the cheeses were some sort of white cheese, but I'm unsure what kinds. I was surprised at how well the sweet plantains went with the cheese. It was so unique, and I figured they'd make it delicious, but admittedly I was a tad skeptical at first. It just seemed like two opposing flavors. It was definitely along the lines of a savory dessert, so we finished the meal with that, and it was perfect. So many unique and tasty things. Next stop, Brazil!

Banana Lasagna and Plantain Moqueca

----------

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies - My Kitchen, Cambridge

     This month, I've been trying not to buy groceries... which means using up a lot of things in my fridge. One of those things is a bag of cranberries I bought... eh... maybe a year and a half ago. They looked fine, so I figured I'd use them. I found this recipe for cranberry oatmeal cookies a while ago on Undressed Skeleton with the intention of using these stone aged cranberries, and I finally got around to it. I omitted the Truvia she uses, but I think they still turned out fine. They're super simple, very basic, but an awesome, tasty and healthy "treat." I wouldn't really even say they're a treat because there's nothing bad about them. They're whole grains, unprocessed sugars, fruit and a touch of chocolate. I ate them as a pre-workout snack, and they were great!

Cranberry Oatmeal Cookies

4 cups fresh (or frozen) cranberries

1 extra large ripe banana
4 cups whole grain oats
2 tbsp ground flax seeds
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp honey

1) Add 4 cups of fresh cranberries to a pot with 4 cups of boiling water. Boil on high, until berries start to pop and foam.

2) Remove berries from boiling water. Let them cool for 30 minutes in a refrigerator.

3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

4) Combine the oats, banana, flax seeds, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla and honey in a medium sized bowl. Mix thoroughly. Squeeze the remaining juice from the cranberries back into the bowl. Add cranberries to the dough. Lightly mix them in, using your hands.

5) Add in 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips or chopped chocolate, using your hands.

6) Grease a baking sheet or line with parchment paper and scoop tablespoon sized balls onto the baking sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes. 

----------

Bon Me - Boston, MA
http://www.bonmetruck.com/

My precious...

     It seems like every summer I tell myself to go to SOWA. I know you probably have no idea what that is, but SOWA stands for "South Washington," and it's this big open market down on Washington St in South Boston. They have a farmers' market, a huge vintage/antique area, an artsy/craftsy market and a section dedicated to food trucks. I was definitely most excited for the food truck area, but there were so many cool things in all the different sections. I found this awesome blueprint of an old airplane that I'm going to have framed and will put up in my home when I finally have a place of my own. It's beautiful.
     Anyway, Mary, Brandon and I headed down to SOWA this past Sunday. After browsing through the markets for a while, we headed over to the food trucks to see who all was there. Man... it was overwhelming. I'd say there were about 11-12 different trucks there including some of the big names like Roxy's, Bon Me, The Dining Car, The Taco Truck, Stoked Wood Fired Pizza, Bone Daddy's Burgers, M&M Barbeque, The Paris Creperie, Grillos Pickles, and Batch Ice Cream in addition to a few others. This would be a tough choice for anyone. But for Mary and I? Nearly impossible. I've always wanted to try Bon Me and Roxy's, but everything looked so good. Everything SMELLED so good. The sight of the baguettes that were coming out of the Bon Me truck were what finally got us in the end.

Miso-braised pork sandwich

     So the story behind Bon Me is that it was a husband and wife duo that entered a food truck contest on a whim and won! They've been winning over the hearts of Bostonians with their authentic Bon Me sandwich inspired Vietnamese cuisine since (bon me, or bánh mì, is a Vietnamese term for all kinds of bread). At the truck, these guys allow you to select one of three "mains" and decide whether you want it in a sandwich, as a noodle salad or with rice. Of course, I wanted to try all three... but that bread though...
     I'm sure we picked the longest line, but it was Sunday, we had no other plans, and we had our minds set on some pig in a bun. Unfortunately they were out of the Chinese bbq pork (which is apparently their best seller), so we both got the Miso-braised pork sandwich. This pork... was stupid. It was so stupid good. I mean... it was so juicy. You know when you're making a roast or something and all the drippings come out of the meat and end up becoming a bath for your lump of meat? I could just picture this pork soaking up all the delicious flavors these juices have to offer wherever Bon Me does their cooking. Some of the juices were soaked up by the bread, so at the end you had a hunk of juicy pork bread. Incredible. Sometimes pork can be over salted at restaurants too, but this wasn't. It was perfect. The sandwich also came stuffed with some pickled carrots and daikon (a type of radish), house made pork pate, house made spicy mayo, cucumbers, red onion, and cilantro. The cilantro and pickled carrots were key. I can't say I noticed the spicy mayo or the pate. I'm sure the sandwich would've tasted different without them, but they didn't steal the show.
     Oh and the bread! The bread! It was like a fresh beautiful baguette fresh from the bakery. It had the crunchy outsides, but soft insides so that when you took a bite of your sandwich the insides just collapsed a little, but the outside kept its form and held in all the goodies. I had never been so ok with getting food on my clothes. I had pork juice all over my shorts. It was so worth it.

----------

Frozen Hoagies Truck - Boston, MA

http://frozenhoagies.com/

     Mary and I have been talking about Frozen Hoagies since the dawn of time. It's Boston's original ice cream sandwich truck that started in 2011. Their cookies are homemade, and they get their ice cream from a company called Chilly Cow right outside Boston.

Chocolate Fudge Brownie cookies and
Mint Explosion Ice Cream

     She had this great idea to run to the truck after a workout or as a workout sometime if it was far enough away. This past Wednesday, it had to be at least one trillion degrees in the erg room, and we were soaked after a weight circuit. The Frozen Hoagies truck was supposedly parked right across the BU bridge, and closed at 7pm. It was 6:45. The stars were aligning. It was perfect, so we scuttled on over. They have so many ice cream and cookie options. Unfortunately (not really), they were out of the large cookies so the man working the truck had to give us a double decker triple cookie sandwich instead. Bummer. I went with the chocolate fudge brownie cookie with the mint explosion ice cream. The cookies were the perfect stiffness to hold together the sandwich, but were still soft and chewy. Ideal. As far as the ice cream, I swear this man put a pint of ice cream on my sandwich. It was the size of my head. It was so refreshing and had these mini mint cups in it. They were kind of like mini peanut butter cups, but they had mint in them instead (like and Andes mint). I had never seen anything like it. Mary got their chocolate chip cookies with chocolate covered strawberry ice cream. Also amazing. This treat was not only dinner, but cooled me down immensely. I discovered that they're there in that same location every Wednesday. Danger Will Robinson.

Until next time lover...

  

Like Normal People Do...

Atwood's Tavern - Somerville, MA
http://www.atwoodstavern.com/

     Someone said to me the other day, "You only blog about restaurants if they're good, right?" I had to take a moment to think about that one. On one hand, yes, but on the other, no. It's a real rarity that I go some place I don't like, or that I eat something that is bad. I like all things... and I really don't have super high expectations, so I'm generally pleased. If there is an aspect of the meal I'm not fond of, then sure... I'll say so. Also, if I go to a restaurant and order something like a house salad or some roasted veggies, I'm not going to blog about it. No one wants to read that. There's only so much excitement one can derive from 5 grill asparagus spears. I also won't blog about a place if I go and just sample someone else's food. That's not my food, and I don't have a full plate's worth of experience and knowledge about it to write about it. Which brings me to my point.

Don't be fooled. They're not as good as they look.

     I went to Atwood's in Somerville with Melanie and Frances a couple months ago, but I brought my pb&j that I had packed for lunch with me because A) I was in weight cutting mode and B) Well... pbj is pretty much the best thing ever. I did, however, sample their salads and their sweet potato fries, which were one bajillion times better than the sweet potato fries I had there most recently. No joke.  I went to Atwood's again with a bunch of people from work, and we got some sweet potato fries for the table to share. They were absolutely the worst sweet potato fries I've ever had. I haven't a clue why they changed how they made them because they were incredible before. Lord knows what they covered them in, but they had been dipped in some sort of batter that looked like paste (the kind you used in grade school). The only thing good about them was their texture. They were a good level of crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. But the "batter" was flavorless, the sweet potatoes were flavorless, and I found myself eating them just because they were a vehicle for the garlic aioli that came with them. That's the wrong reason to eat fries... for many sad reasons.

Mediterranean Plate

     Aside from the fries, I ordered their Mediterranean plate and was very happy with it! It was a
combination of a "cucumber salad" (basically marinated or pickled cucumbers), marinated mushrooms, olives, pita triangles, hummus and a roasted eggplant goat cheese. Gosh, let me explain that cheese first. At first I had forgotten what the menu said was on this dish, so I kind of assumed it was baba ganoush based on the color and texture. However, this had a much more rich flavor and was creamier. It was delectable. I was confused because it was much much finer than the hummus, but I hadn't even thought of it being goat cheese because it didn't have that bite and was softer. Regardless, it was the best part of the dish...even if it looked like poo.
     Their hummus was great too, and more along the lines of homemade hummus because of its grittiness, unlike the smoother stuff you buy in the store. It was fun to just pick and choose your spread on the pita and throw in some of the cucumbers or mushrooms. Finger food. I love it. Of course I'm still working on liking olives, so I still ate them. I'm not fully to the point of enjoying them yet, but I'm on my way there. Trying hard. Real hard.
   

----------

The Bent Spoon - Princeton, NJ

http://www.thebentspoon.net/BENTSPOON/home.html

Coconut and Mint Chocolate Nib Ice Cream
from the Bent Spoon

     Sometimes one serving of ice cream just isn't enough... even if it's frozen yogurt. After our last race at trials, Joan and I scouted out a place for frozen yogurt. It was called Fruity and was in downtown Princeton. They had a lot of different fruity flavors I'd say it was a little bit below your standard frozen yogurt, and therefore I'm not going to write about it. I am going to write about The Bent Spoon however. Alyse raves about this place all the time, and every time I go to Princeton, I intend to find it and try it out. This was my moment. While meandering around the city, we turned down a small street, and I saw the simple sign for The Bent Spoon. It was a very tiny little shop with a wide variety of unique and pretty expensive ice creams. I went with the small and got one scoop of coconut ice cream and one scoop of their fresh mint nib. The coconut ice cream was probably the smoothest ice cream I've ever eaten. I tried comparing the texture to something else, and the closest thing I could come up with was like a chocolate mousse but without all the air (which I realize is why mousse is mousse). It had a lightly sweet coconut flavor and was absolutely delicious.

     The fresh mint nib was definitely my favorite,  however. Never have I ever tasted a mint ice cream like this. It had a completely different flavor than any other mint ice cream. This tasted like actual peppermint. Like they took peppermint leaves fresh from the garden and infused an ice cream with them. It was so refreshing, light and only mildly sweet. Instead of chocolate chips, they used cocoa nibs which, if you're unfamiliar, are pieces of cocoa beans that have been removed from their husks and roasted. The nibs have a mild chocolate flavor, but are not sweet. Regular chocolate is made by combining these nibs with sugar (and in some cases a bunch of other stuff). Anyway, the fresh mint ice cream had a bunch of the crunchy nibs throughout, giving it a really unique texture. The small scoop I got wasn't nearly enough. If you're ever in Princeton, you must go to The Bent Spoon. Alyse was right!

----------

Peach Yogurt Muffins - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

Peach Yogurt Muffins

     I hadn't been in the door ten minutes after returning from trials before I had preheated the oven. My excuse to make a batch of muffins was that I wanted to make something for Natassya for letting me borrow her boat cover. I mean... truthfully, I really did want to do that. I also wanted to try these muffins for myself. They were super simple to make, very moist and I loved the hunks of fresh peaches inside. They weren't overly sweet either, so I'd say they were definitely healthy muffins. I found this recipe on a blog called Savory Simple. Totally worth a try!

Peach Yogurt Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¾ teaspoon cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup plain greek yogurt
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
¼ cup nonfat milk
1½ cup frozen or fresh peaches, chopped

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a large muffin pan or line with paper liners.

2) In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. 

3) In a separate bowl, vigorously whisk together the eggs, greek yogurt, coconut oil and milk.
Immediately pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients along with the chopped peaches and mix together with a spatula until just combined. Do not overmix.

4) Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake for 20-23 minutes. Allow to cool in pan for 5 minutes and then gently move to a cooling rack.

----------

Ole Mexican Grill - Somerville, MA

http://www.olerestaurantgroup.com/olecito

Not the most elegant of photos, but it's still worthy
of display. The taco on the top was the carnitas,
the middle was the arrachera and the bottom was the baja.

     I love how much my coworkers delight in getting lunch for me when I can eat. They seem to get almost as excited about it as I do. Right after trials they wanted to get food with me, so I chose Ole in Inman Square because I had been craving Mexican food for months. Ole is a larger restaurant that is part of the Ole Restaurant Group. They have another location in Brookline too called Olecito. We ended up getting it delivered because people were busy, and that was just fine with me. I still wanted to try all the tacos (and the world cup was on). They may not have looked as appealing, but they tasted great. 

     All of the tacos were served in 2 corn tortillas. I loved the corn tortillas so much more than I had anticipated. I had only had them once before and it was some random brand in the grocery store. They were awful. But these tasted like real corn and were soft because they were warmed. Stacking two on top of each other made eating the taco much easier because your contents weren't busting through the tortilla. Smart. The carnitas taco was braised pork with salsa verde, pineapple salsa and pickled cabbage. Aside from the pork being a little dry, I loved the combination of the savory and salty pork with the sweetness of the pineapple salsa. And they sure didn't skimp out on the meat. That thing was loaded. 

     The arrachera taco was marinated steak, pinto bean spread, jack cheese, avocado sauce and lettuce. This one was my second favorite. The bean spread together with the jack cheese was a deadly combination. Everything was so warm and melty. The avocado sauce was basically guacamole, and it added the formulaic cool component to the warm taco. 

     My favorite was the baja taco. This one had battered shrimp, picked cabbage, chipotle mayo and cilantro pesto. I love shrimp. I love cabbage. I love mayo. I love cilatro. This one had all the best things. The shrimp were battered nice and lightly and I think they had a mild lemony taste. However, that bite may have been the pickled cabbage. I am unsure. The chipotle mayo added a very mild heat, and when it blended with that cilantro pesto it was just incredible. There were so many different flavors, but they all complimented each other so well. 

----------

Georgetown Cupcakes - Boston, MA

https://www.georgetowncupcake.com/index.html

Chocolate² and Peanut Butter

     Talk to any cupcake connoisseur in Georgetown, Bethesda, New York, Boston or LA or Atlanta, and they'll say that Georgetown Cupcakes has some of the best cupcakes in the country. And now...I can confidently say that I agree. It was Joan's birthday, and she wanted some form of cake. I had to work all day, so when I got out we decided to go try out Georgetown Cupcakes because neither of us had been there before but had heard so much about it. We wanted to get cupcakes and go eat them at the park (where I proceeded to look like a fool and skin my arm trying to climb a tree... but that's irrelevant). If you know me, you know I love chocolate. I love chocolate, and I love peanut butter. So what did I get? First I got the Chocolate² which is "Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a whipped Callebaut chocolate frosting topped with a fondant flower." Valrhona and Callebaut are both different brands of chocolate, and I think this made all the difference. You could taste the quality. The cake part was so moist, and full of a rich chocolate flavor. But the frosting was a noticeably different chocolate flavor. It was a little deeper. The frosting was so smooth but very thick. Not as tough as a ganache, but not airy like a mouse. It wasn't buttery, and I'm guessing it's made similar to a ganche though. I'm not sure how they make it, but that really was just "the icing on the cake."
     My second cupcake was the peanut butter banana. This was a completely different experience than the Chocolate². The texture of the banana cake itself was similar to the chocolate cake; moist, fluffy, and held it's shape nicely. But the frosting was much lighter. It had almost a whipped texture. It was very airy and was more sweet but less rich (if that makes sense). Peanut butter and banana is one of my all time favorite combinations, so this cupcake was out of control delicious.
     I really liked the ratio of cake to frosting at Georgetown too. Sometimes specialty cupcakes stack the frosting so high that it makes it nearly impossible to eat effectively or cleanly. Also, Georgetown posts a secret flavor of the day everyday on their facebook and twitter, and it's free if you ask for it by name! Can't wait to go back for more... especially if they're free :]

----------

Grendel's Den - Cambridge, MA

http://www.grendelsden.com/

   

Nachos Supreme

     Well... I've been to Grendel's Den before but didn't write about it because the food memories are rather non-existent. I'll leave it at that. This time, after a trip downtown (and post cupcakes), Joan and I headed back to Cambridge and went to Grendel's to sit outside on their patio. It's a pretty small area, but it runs along a tiny little park which facilitates some great people watching and a great atmosphere. For her birthday, she just wanted to sit and have some drinks and food... like normal people do (we could debate what normal means here, but we won't). It was a beautiful evening and felt so nice to just sit and relax. Before Lauren and Joan's friend Austin showed up, we ordered some nachos to start, and they were great. I'd say some of the best I've had here in Boston. Definitely better than Hill Tavern in Beacon Hill. Not as loaded as Cambridge Brewing Company or Coolidge Corner Clubhouse. Anyway, what I liked about them was that they threw on four huge globs of guacamole, sour cream, their meatless chili and house-made salsa. The cheese was distributed nicely, but other than that, I liked that there were plenty of the toppings to go around, so you could find a chip and dip it until it satisfied your topping needs. These weren't the kind of nachos where things are falling off your chips constantly and you struggle to get all the flavors in one bite. They were simple and a unique approach to presenting nachos.

----------

Mass Ave Diner - Cambridge, MA

http://www.massavediner.com/

   

Chocolate Chip Cranberry Pancakes

     If you've been reading my blog for long, you know I'm not the kind of person to just see a place I want to eat and walk in. Only in my dreams would I and could I do that. I put a lot of thought into what I eat, where I eat, and when I eat because of my lightweight rowing status. I realize that it's all part of the package, but sometimes, I long for the freedom to just grab an ice cream cone while out and about just because it sounds good. Well... a couple of days after trials I was walking towards Central Square in the morning, and I passed by a tiny little diner I had never seen before. As soon as I saw it, my tummy rumbled, and I shamelessly bee-lined for the door. Mass Ave Diner is a very small diner with your standard (but not so standard) breakfast fare. They make their own homemade corned beef hash (which I'll have to go back and try sometime), and they have some of the BEST pancakes I've ever had at a restaurant. I'd have to say PJ's pancakes in Princeton takes the cake on that one (haha... that was a pun). I ordered their chocolate chip cranberry pancakes, and they were ... perfection. Perfectly golden on the outside, these pancakes boasted a stellar flavor combination of the fresh tart cranberries and sweet mini chocolate chips. I had assumed they would use dried cranberries, but these were fresh and insurmountably better. I also really liked that they used mini chocolate chips. Sometimes chocolate chips in pancakes can start to get overwhelmingly sweet if you're sitting down and attempting to demolish a hefty stack. These mini ones provided just enough sweetness and chocolate flavor to contrast the cherries and make for a very flavorful pancake not needing any butter or syrup. Mmm mmm!