Honestly, I Maine-ly Go For The Food

Bronwyn - Somerville, MA

http://bronwynrestaurant.com/

Beer 'n Bretzel

     Before heading to Maine, we had one other food stop to make. Bronwyn in Union Square up in Somerville. I'm a sucker for German food, my Mom is German, David is German, and it's October (>>> Oktoberfest activities).      

     We headed up to Bronwyn a little later than planned and ended up waiting quite some time for a table, but it was ok because that made time to relax and take in all the Oktoberfest festivities they had going on. I'm not sure if this is commonplace or not, but all the waitstaff were running around in lederhosen and other traditional German garb. For their Oktoberfest event they also had a live band playing in the main dining area. They were awesome and really helped set the mood. The bar area was rather dimly lit, but seemed very authentic and typical of a German bar. 

       

     While we waited we ordered one of their Bronwyn Bretzel with spicy mustard and a large glass mug of beer. How could you not? I could eat pretzels until I explode. I could eat Bronwyn Bretzels until I explode. It was delicious. Kind of a crispy outside and a hot and soft inside. Moderate course grained salt. So so tasty!

   

Haxe - Braised pork shank, riesling sauerkraut,
roasted apples and potatoes.

     They finally sat us at our table, which was just a section of a much longer table (kind of like community style seating). Each of the chairs were an older style and unique. They reminded me of King's and Queen's chairs. By the time we had sat down, David and I had already decided to split the Haxe, which was a beer braised pork shank, riesling sauerkraut, roasted apples & potatoes. Beautiful presentation and a beautiful taste. The pork shank came to the table piping hot and was presented in a way that kind of looked like a teepee and kept all of the other ingredients in the dish warm. The sauerkraut, apples and purple potatoes were all full of the pork flavor as if the pork shank was cooked on top, as to let the juices flow out and cook into the fruit and veggies. I absolutely loved the addition of the sweet, roasted apples to the salty, savory pork (similar to the ham - pineapple combo). 

German Chocolate Cake

    

     They had one dessert on the menu, and lord have mercy was that ok. It was their version of a German Chocolate Cake, but it was in no way like any german chocolate cake I've ever had. I asked the waitress and guessed that it was made with oats instead of flour and was right. It wasn't a layered cake, and it didn't come with the gooey, mysterious caramel/nutty layer that turns me off sometimes. This was just like a regular slice of cake, but still had that rich caramel and walnut/pecan flavor throughout the oaty texture. It was all sitting in a light pool of sweet icing. By far the best and most appealing german chocolate cake that has ever graced my tongue. I hope it's not only an Oktoberfest special :/

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Boothbay Lobster Wharf - Boothbay Harbor, ME

http://www.boothbaylobsterwharf.com/

     When my mom comes to Boston, I think half the reason she visits is for the lobster, and I don't blame her one bit for that. Jay is apparently the same way. They both had wanted lobster all week, but I didn't take them any place with lobster because I knew it would be fresher and cheaper in Maine. 

     Saturday evening we scurried up the coast to Boothbay Harbor to get our first lobster meal of their trip. We made it just in time. Just in time to experience a Maine country show... and lobster. Lobsters and I... we are friends (minus the fact that they're dead). I dissect every ounce of that creature, and 9 times out of 10, I'll tear apart other people's lobsters when they run out of stamina. It's a challenge and I like a challenge... and lobster meat. 

     I'm not sure how to describe a steamed lobster. You've got to try it for yourself. You can always tell when they're fresh. They've got a more rich flavor. And the restaurant is doing it right if they're serving it with real butter. Boothbay Lobster Wharf had the experience and the unique waterfront cooking station to boot. It was a beautiful nighttime landscape. 

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Eventide Specialties - Boothbay Harbor, ME

http://www.eventidespecialties.com/

Pastries and sunshine :]

     Sometimes I'm impressed by my own sniffer. We were walking down the street around all the little shops in Boothbay Harbor when I got a whif of what I thought was apple pie, but I saw no bakeries around. I was perplexed. Perplexed until we walked in a little specialties store called Eventide Specialties. This little shop featured a bakery bustling with a bunch of cute older women who do nothing but bake and take in a gorgeous view of the harbor all day. What a dream. Low and behold, they were just pulling out baked apples in a cinnamon sugar dusted puff pastry. This was a need. The scone was a need too. My mom bought me one of each and we walked to the water to enjoy them in the sun. The puff pastry was golden brown and sprinkled with sugar to compliment the perfectly baked and tender apple inside. I'm not quite sure how they were able to bake the apple long enough to let it soften without burning the puff pastry. Maybe some pre-baking was necessary. The apple itself was also stuffed with butter and walnuts. Does it get any better? The scone was pretty good too. Moist and full of fruits.

Baked apple inside of puff pastry. 

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Shannon's Unshelled - Boothbay Harbor, ME

Look how pretty

     Another day, another lobster. We worked up a little of an appetite as we walked around the town, and there was honestly no way we were leaving Maine without a lobster roll. We walked by a little one room shop called Shannon's Unshelled that sold one thing. Lobster Rolls. It was their last open day of the season, so we thought it was meant to be. This lobster roll was different than any other roll I've ever had in that instead of tossing the lobster meat in a type of creamy sauce or mayo, it was just tossed in melted butter. I reeeeeeeeeally liked it. It helped isolate just the lobster flavor. I would've liked to have some lettuce on there, because the last lobster roll I had from The Pier Patio Pub. But this roll was still fabulous. I believe the conversation went something like this:

"I wish it wasn't over." - Me

"What?" - Jay

"My lobster roll." - Me

"Haha it is an event!" - Jay

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Gilbert's Chowder House - Portland, ME

http://www.gilbertschowderhouse.com/

Garlic and Onion Steamed Mussels

     One seafood item they hadn't had yet was chowder, so on our drive back to Boston we stopped in at Gilbert's Chowder House right on the water for chowder... or so I thought. As soon as we sat down though, they became subject to the spell of lobster and next thing I know I'm elbow deep in all their lobster parts. I wasn't upset. I, myself, got their mussels which looked and smelled great. They must've cooked these mussels in loads of garlic because there was minced garlic everywhere. Again... not displeased. They were steamed with some onions as well which I've never seen before, and were served with an awesome lemony, garlic butter. It was simple, but delicious nonetheless. When I think of the best mussels I've had during my time out here on the east coast, I'm still taken back to The Fat Cat in Quincy. Mussel heaven. 

Rekindling My Spontaneity

Surfside at the Pavillion at Salisbury Beach - Salisbury, MA
http://www.surfsidesalisbury.com/

Salisbury Beach

   

If I was an arcade game...

     One thing I've started to value more this summer is spontaneity. I'd consider myself a very spontaneous person, but I've lost quite a bit of that in the past 3 and a half years since I've been here in Boston. This is undoubtably due to my elite rowing lifestyle and lack of free time. But this summer I've definitely opened things up a bit more and allowed myself to say "This is what I want to do, so I'm going to do it."
     When Zack mentioned the idea of heading up to Salisbury beach for the afternoon, I threw all my other plans to the wind and jumped on board. It was awesome. I had never been to Salisbury beach before, and it was absolutely gorgeous. The beach itself stretched on for miles and included some of the Massachusetts shoreline as well as the New Hampshire shoreline.

Lobster Grilled Chee
   

   
          After getting tossed around by some decent sized waves, we decided to check out the "little" town of Salisbury. This cute beach town was packed, and there were tons of things going on. It kind of reminded me a little of the Jersey Shore (at least what I've seen on TV). There was a band playing along the water, tons of little shops, bars, ice cream stands, and arcades. Lots of flashing lights. Lots of noise. But it all fit the fun-in-the-summer bill.
     For dinner, we snagged a table on Surfside's deck that faced the ocean. The deck had an absolutely gorgeous view, was super spacious and had an huge dance floor that must be kickin' at night.
     Being on the water like that always makes me want seafood (as with 95% of the rest of the population)... so seafood it was. To start, we shared the mussels which were in a wine, herb and butter broth. I'd say they were mostly in butter, and I was 100% ok with it. I really liked the way these mussels were prepared because it was so simple. Sometimes it's nice to have mussels bathing in a ton of spices, vegetable based broths, or coconut milk. But other times I like something more simple like this wine and butter because it lets the salty mussel flavor shine though.
     For my meal I went for the lobster grilled cheese. I don't think I had ever seen that on a menu before, so I was definitely gunning for it. First of all, I dug the bread. Why? Because it was just texas toast, slathered in some kind of butter or oil and crisped up on the grill. Since the bread is so thick, it's easier to get the crisp outsides of the bread and maintain a soft interior. The sandwich was basically just huge hunks of delicious lobster meat held in place by melted cheddar. Again, very simple but almost gourmet because... have you ever had a lobster grilled cheese? Didn't think so.

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Kelly's Diner - Somerville, MA

http://www.kellysdiner.net/

     I'll say... this whole weekend was just great. Saturday turned into a beach day, and Sunday I had a ticket to the Mad Decent Block Party with some big names in electronic/trap music such as DJ Snake, Flosstradamus, and Diplo. I had been geeked out of my mind for months. I was going with a bunch of my coworkers, so a few of us met up for breakfast first at Kelly's Diner in Somerville. Kelly's is super cool because it started in 1953 as a two piece dining car in New Castle, Delaware. Now it sits become one of the top diners in New England and has been seen on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. It's one of those diners that looks like a big long toaster from the outside. The walls and the ceilings seem like the same colors they must've been painted the day they opened their doors; a salmon pink and turquoise. 

#2: Two eggs, homefries and Scali toast

     I wasn't outrageously hungry, and didn't want to stuff myself (for once) so I just got their #2 with 2 eggs, homefries and toast. The eggs were... well... eggs. Can't really screw those up. The homefries were cooked until perfectly tender, and there were those few fought over crisp potato pieces that I would've been battling Jimmy for if we were sharing. I also learned something new that day. I opted for the Scali bread when asked which kind of toast I wanted. I had never heard of it before, but apparently it's an italian style braided loaf that's covered in sesame seeds. It was delicious! Admittedly, it was basically a type of white bread with a little bit of a different flavor, perhaps from the sesame seeds. The only downside was the same downside you'll find at 99% of restaurants out there. The "butter" on the toast. I want butter. Not margarine. Not any kind of spread. Just real, plain and simple butter. Still searching.

Such a riot. Note: Not a clue who these girls are in the front. 

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Lemon Chia Seed Muffins - My Kitchen, Cambridge, MA

     Well... I'm not quite so sure I've ever failed this much at muffins. Muffins are generally fool proof. They're not difficult. But I apparently think I can alter entire recipes without repercussions. On that note, these little buggers sure were delicious! My main issue here was that I decided to replace the oil with applesauce. Generally you can do this when baking, but I was using paper cups for the muffins rather than a greased muffin pan. So literally all of the bottoms of each muffin had to be cut off and thrown in the trash because there was paper stuck to it. I'd definitely suggest replacing the oil with applesauce as long as you're a) not using paper cups or b) you spray the inside of each paper cup. I think using the applesauce made these muffins very moist. That being said, I wasn't all about the chia seeds. I think I'd rather have the poppy seeds because they provide such a unique flavor. Lasty, I'd like to note that these aren't super sweet, so if you'd like sweeter muffins, feel free to up the sugar addition. 

     From: The Corner Kitchen . Makes 9-12 muffins.

Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil (or 1/2 cup applesauce)
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup lemon Greek yogurt (I used plain yogurt with a little extra lemon juice)
Juice and zest from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 tablespoons chia seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add 9-12 liners to a standard-size muffin tin and set aside.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil/applesauce, sugar, yogurt, and lemon juice and zest, until fully combined. Add the egg and vanilla, and mix thoroughly.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients in two additions, stirring until just combined.
Fold in the chia seeds.

5. Add batter to the muffin liners, filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 13-15 minutes, until the muffins are golden on top and a toothpick comes out clean after inserting it into a few muffins.

6. Remove from the oven. Cool and enjoy as soon as possible!