Salchicha!

Babbo Pizzeria - Boston, MA
http://babbopizzeria.com/

Salsiccia

     So I swam across the Boston Harbor for an event called Sharkfest. It was wavy, salty, nearly a mile across and therefore exhausting, especially after not having swam more than 30 minutes all year. David and his mah, pah and sister came to watch (which was super sweet of them), so naturally, the next course of action post-race was an afternoon feeding. Babbo opened back in 2015 and is owned and operated by world renowned chef Mario Batali. As soon as it opened I put it on my food bucket list. It was finally time.
     After the race we all headed over to Babbo. It is a very large space on the main floor of one of the brand new skyscrapers down in the seaport. With bright lighting, marble countertops, and crystal wine glasses on all the tables, Babbo had a very vibrant atmosphere that was on the fancy side. We were maybe a little underdressed but no one seemed to mind. There were two small open kitchen areas where people were making pizzas, slicing meats and roasting things. I had never seen bar chairs  and place settings surrounding the open kitchens anyplace except sushi restaurants, so this seemed to add a little bit more of a casual element.
     I was so excited for pizza and a little nervous that it might be on the smaller side because it was more upscale, but I was proved wrong. First we ordered the chopped salad to split, which was surprisingly amazing. It was full of different ingredients including "Bibb, Radicchio, Mortadella, Prosciutto Cotto, Castelveltrano, Ceci, Montasio" or in other words bibb lettuce, radicchio (a purple leafy vegetable), Italian sausage, Italian cooked ham, olives, chickpeas and Montasio cheese. It was lightly and evenly dressed and was full of goodies rather than mostly greens. Everyone loved it.
     Now for the pizzas. We got the Margherita pizza which was phenomenal. It was very light and fresh, and I loved the sauce. Because Margherita pizza is only tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese and basil, the sauce really needs to be on point, and it sure was. It wasn't sweet but was full of fresh tomato flavor. I also loved that they put full basil leaves on it rather than the little strips that seem to be the norm. The second pizza was the Quattro Formaggi which had four types of cheese including mozzarella, gorgonzola, smoked mozzarella, and grana (an Italian hard cheese similar to parmesian-reggiano). I honestly couldn't say I could detect more than three different cheeses. I definitely could taste the mozzarella, and the smoked mozzarella seemed to be a little overpowering, but perhaps because I'm not a big fan of the smoked flavor. I couldn't find the gorgonzola, but I definitely could taste some sort of other nutty flavor that I'd guess was the grana. Either way, the cheeses brought such a rich flavor to the pizza, and went perfectly with the eggplant and summer squash.
     Then came the Salsiccia (or "Salchicha" as David called it because he says everything with a Spanish accent). The third pizza was my favorite mostly because of the fennel sausage. You can always tell my sausage is homemade because it's done right. It's more like little sausage exploded balls on top of a pizza, and it's not greasy. It has a very simple flavor and a simple feeling in your mouth. This sausage was amazing and was nestled atop buffalo mozzarella (yes... apparently "Mozzarelle di Bufala" is made from an Italian water buffalo...haha), basil leaves and fennel pollen. You could see the pollen sprinkled on top, but I didn't notice its flavor. Either way, this pizza was amazing. All of the pizzas were amazing. I loved the organic wheat crust. It was thin on the bottom but the edges had a little chewiness to them that was awesome. It seemed to have a little bit of the sourdough zing. I don't think I was making that up, and I hope they do that on purpose because it was great.
     Everyone left not feeling gross after four slices of pizza, but rather feeling satisfied and enriched with a new culinary experience. Definitely try out Babbo if you're down in the Seaport. Mario won't disappoint.

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Grass Fed - Jamaica Plain, MA

http://www.grassfedjp.com/

Strange looking, but delicious - The Cali

     Every time I do a job down in Jamaica Plain I get real excited because I think maybe we might get to stop for lunch, and I can go to one of the kajillion amazing looking restaurants down on that side of town. This day was my lucky day because the house we were moving was right near Grass Fed, a burger joint that uses 100% grass fed meat from Walden Local Meat Co in Carlisle, MA. Happy cows, happy planet. 

     The restaurant itself is rather small with only a few tables and bar stools along the windows, and they have a chalkboard menu with doodles everywhere. I knew right away I wanted the Cali, which had a grass fed beef patty, spicy avocado spread, mesclun, pepperjack cheese, red onion, and cilantro-lime mayo. I asked them to keep mine a little pink, and they did just that. It was perfect. The burger was a little small (as I anticipated) but it had that homemade, hand pressed burger feel. The meat was juicy, not greasy, and rich with flavor. The best part about the patty was the crispy edges. Sometimes when you grill a burger at home, the juices and fats come out and form little crispy nubs around the edges of the burger that melt in your mouth when you eat them. This burger had a little skirt of these nubs. It was fabulous. And my two favorite elements to compliment the patty? The red onions and the cilantro-lime mayo. That mayo was sooooo good and light and delicious. I don't know what it was about the red onions but I loved them. Maybe because they were really thinly sliced, and I wasn't pulling huge onion chunks out? The mesclun was a cool deviation from the normal lettuce too. I liked that. Oh and let's not forget the bun. I have never had a burger bun like this before. It was a little bit sweeter than most (not nearly dessert-like), but its texture was so different. It was compressible kind of like a croissant, and chewy and moist almost like those Hawaiian sweet rolls (again not nearly as sweet). It was delicious. The whole thing was exceptional and left me feeling not gross (unlike the burger I ate at TGIFridays a couple weeks ago. Big mistake). 

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Blue Ribbon Barbeque - Arlington MA

http://www.blueribbonbbq.com/

The kind of beautiful presentation you get when you
order take out. Pulled pork, mashed taters and cornbread.

     I'm not sure if I should write about Blue Ribbon yet because I didn't get the full experience. But for Karl's post birthday celebrations, Kevin ordered some Blue Ribbon as take out and we all got together and ate it. It was delicious. I was starving. Maybe those two things are related. Either way, we got some pulled pork which was some of the juiciest pulled pork I've ever had. With our take out orders they gave us three little bottles of different vinegar-based sauces for the meat (apparently these sauces are more typical of those found in North Carolina). These were definitely my kind of sauce because they had powerful flavor but weren't sweet, thick or syrupy. I hate those store brand types of bbq sauce. Get out of here with that. These were much thinner, and my favorite sauce was the Blue Ribbon Gold which had a subtle hint of heat. We also got a tub of mashed red potatoes (the one and only best kind of potato to use) which definitely had the dairy and the butter one always wants in some good quality mashed potatoes. And the cornbread. I've got a new #2 best cornbread I've ever had. Dave, your cornbread has now slipped to #3 on my list. Sorry. This cornbread had great moisture preventing it from crumbling to pieces, and it had the perfect amount of sweetness. Amazing with butter. Amazing without. 

     I feel like I'm doing Blue Ribbon a little bit of an injustice simply because I can't write about their physical restaurant and because I didn't have full exposure to the menu and options, but this will have to do until now. Until next time...

Who Throws A Muffin?

Blue Frog Bakery - Jamaica Plain, MA
https://www.facebook.com/The-Blue-Frog-Bakery-100867203291726/

Bread Pudding Muffin

     I admittedly hate delivering boxes alone on Box Express days. One benefit though is seeing a delicious bakery and immediately stopping without needing to consult the crew. I had just dropped some boxes off in Jamaica Plain and was waiting at a stoplight when I saw this enormous blue frog sculpture popping out of the side of a red brick building. I love frogs, so I was instantly intrigued. I was in the door before I even finished reading the word "Bakery" on their sign.

The Ciabatta

   
     Blue Frog Bakery is a tiny little shop with standing room for only a couple people. They had some incredible looking pastries and a bunch of fresh, organic breads. I saw a muffin that looked like a morning glory muffin (the ones with carrots, raisins, pineapple, apple, coconut and who really knows what else) so I asked for "the crazy looking muffin." She says "oh the bread pudding muffin?" Um... excuse me? Um yes. Give me this godly bread pudding muffin. It was incredible. It was clearly fresh because it was still warm. It had chocolate chips throughout that were still melty. It had a stiff muffin top crust supported by its incredibly dense, and moist core. It was just like the kind of bread pudding you scoop out of a casserole dish. I lost my mind eating it in the van. "Having said that, I do have some thoughts." (name that reference) While I loved the inclusion of chocolate chips, I think they may have detracted from the uniqueness of the muffin. No one makes a bread pudding muffin, so I wanted to taste more of the bread pudding. The chocolate chips were rather abundant throughout the muffin and were very sweet. Their sweetness and abundance seemed to mask the bread pudding flavors. As a suggestion to Blue Frog Bakery, I'd suggest fewer chips or more bitter chips, so they're not as overpowering and masking your ingenious and inventive bread pudding muffin.

      I intended to only get a muffin, but then I read that they won "Best Bread" in Boston for 2015. I got a loaf of their Ciabatta bread which was incredibly soft and delicious. It was so simple and didn't have this distinct mildly crunchy shell you picture most fresh breads having. This bread was so good. Good to the point where I could easily just sit there and eat it plain.  I couldn't stop with the bread and butter. Then again, ciabatta generally has a decent amount of holes inside which make the best little receptacles for your melted butter. No shame.

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Michael's Deli - Brookline, MA

http://michaelsdelibrookline.com/

Michael's Corned Beef Sandwich

     So excited. I've wanted to go to Michael's Deli for a long time, and the time finally came! Cecil and I were out on a Nippon Express job and Nobu dropped us off in Brookline to forage. I brought my lunch, but as soon as I saw Michael's I knew there was no point in trying to fight the urge. Michaels is a tiny New York style deli in Brookline with a delightful staff. The man behind the counter was quite charming and super patient dealing with my indecisive self. I needed the corned beef sandwich though. That's what they're known for. They're a pretty famous name in Boston, as they've been named to Boston's "Best of" list many times and featured in countless magazines and award lists. 

MEAT

     It was delicious. It was rich, succulent, salty and had that little sour hit from the sauerkraut.  I'm trying to compare this corned beef sandwich to that of Katz's Deli in New York, but they're different. Let's start with the meat. Michael's meat was thinly shaved whereas Katz's was thick cut. I think Katz's meat was more flavorful and richer, but I also liked the thin shaved meat at Michael's. It was unique and different, and oh man they loaded it up. It held together in the sandwich better, and I think they layered the sauerkraut and thousand island dressing throughout the layers of meat. Genius. That was the coolest part of the sandwich. I love inventive sandwich makers. Because they dispersed the sauerkraut and dressing throughout, it never got pushed out, which is clearly one of the worst things to happen whenever you're eating a sandwich. The one downside to Michael's sandwich was the bread. Because the meat/kraut/sauce combo was rather juicy, the thin sliced bread got soaked and fell apart quickly. I would've loved a more hearty slice. 

     I also got a spinach kanish to go and had it for dinner the next night. I'm not sure if I've had a kanish before, but it's basically like my grandma's sfeeha; a hunk of dough stuffed with anything you desire. The spinach kanish was pretty tasty, but I wanted a lemony bite with the nutty flavor of pine nuts, like that of grandma's spinach pies. 

     I love Michael's Deli, and I want to go back for that sandwich... or the conversation. 

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In-House Cafe - Allston, MA

http://in-housecafe.com/

     This past Sunday was one of the best Sundays and most "Sunday" Sundays I've had in probably 2 years. What I mean by this is, I woke up, made myself some toast, Jimmy called and we went to breakfast, and I returned home to watch some shows and movies with various people filtering in and out the rest of the day. I did run down to the park to kick a soccer ball around with Tresser and her kids later in the day, completing the great Sunday picture. Anyway, it was just really relaxing because I submitted my thesis the day before and had no guilt (ok minimal guilt) about not doing anything all day. 

     Back to breakfast. Jimmy and I went to this little cyber-cafe looking place over on Harvard Ave which is not really a cyber cafe at all. Idk why I thought it was. I think just because their logo looks like it has a play button in it. I chose them because they had a "fourteen page breakfast menu" which would've been 2 pages if they had put more than 3 items on each page. I'm not mad, it was just kind of funny. Anyway, it was a cool little place in that there were random sized tables and chairs scattered throughout, kind of like you'd expect to see in someone's living room. Maybe that's why it's called In-House Cafe? Anyway, I ordered the Soprano Omelette, which was decent. It had sliced Halal Italian sausage, provolone cheese and caramelized onions. I think I would've liked more onions, more caramelized, and I would've liked them in strings rather than diced up so small. You didn't really get the unique caramelized onion flavor because they were just cooked (if that makes sense). The sausage was tasty, but had the texture of a hot dog. It wasn't a hot dog, but I like when breakfast sausage has that chunky texture.  I felt like the omelette overall was missing some substance. It had a ton of cheese, but I'm thinking the addition of maybe some multi-colored italian peppers would've taken it to that next level and complimented the italian sausage. It was served with some really delicious home fries and toast. However, I wished the toast was buttered. All it had was this little dime sized squirt of who knows what on top. Weirded me out a little. We were going to go for the banana caramel and pecan french toast, but we decided to wait until we got our first breakfast before ordering our breakfast dessert. However, in true Jimmy and Laurissa fashion, we were too full by the end and not patient enough to stand in line to order the french toast. Next time. 

     Overall, In-House was a decent little breakfast joint. Nothing fancy. Nothing special. But a cute little place to pop in for a quick order at the counter breakfast. 

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Dumpling House - Cambridge, MA
http://www.dumplinghousecambridge.com/

     I have a confession. I briefly considered quitting On High Heat. Sometimes I just want to go out to eat or cook something and not take a picture. Sometimes I just want to enjoy the food, and I did just that for the Dumpling House. Long story short, I don't think I'm going to give up just yet. So here goes... Dumpling House is stuck in that mysterious area between Central and Harvard Square in Cambridge. It doesn't get as much as attention as the squares, but it boasts some pretty amazing restaurants like Zoe's, Mass Ave Diner, and Dumpling House.
     I've seen this place quite a few times, and it's always full, so when Alyse came to town and suggested meeting at Dumpling House, I was beyond excited. Not to mention I was coming from work and was starving. I was so surprised how big this restaurant was! And boy did they need all the space they could get. It was packed. We sat at one of the big circular tables with the spinning center table thing. What the heck are those called? Either way, it was great because we got everything family style, meaning we could all share everything and spin it around to each other on the swively table top.
     I want to apologize though, as I have a very limited idea of what we ate. I was starving, got there late and never looked at a menu. Nor did I snap a photo. Either way, we had one plate of some sort of lo mein with chicken which was tasty. Salty. I needed it though. We also got another plate of some sort of fried chicken in sauce (that same food court style asian food you know you crave sometimes but hate yourself after eating) which was delicious and a higher quality than Panda Express type fried chicken. The best part was the dumplings. Hence the name I'm assuming. We got two different kinds. The first serving were seafood dumplings which came steamed in these silver stackable containers. I'll admit I have no idea what's going on when I eat dumplings. You can never see what's inside, so it's always a surprise. These seafood dumplings were good though. Pretty simple, but tasty.
     The other dumplings we got were soup dumplings which Alyse has mentioned many times before. She says they take a cube of some sort of condensed soup, put it inside a dumpling, cook it and it liquifies so that when you bite into the dumpling, it's filled with soup! How cool is that? These were delicious, savory and bursting with flavor. Like chicken soup in a dumpling. Probably my second favorite next to the sauce fried chicken nonsense.
     I wish I had some sort of photo to show them to you, but I don't. You'll just have to trust me when I say, if you're looking for good dumplings, you don't have to go all the way down to Chinatown.

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Punjabi Grill - Cambridge, MA
http://www.punjabigrillma.com/

     Rolando made me do it. Or I could blame Guillermo or Rob. For lunch once day in the middle of a job out in Davis Square, Rob decided he wanted to get Indian food. I brought my lunch, as always, but I agreed to go with them anywhere. We ended up at Punjabi Grill in Davis for their lunch buffet. Buffet. NEVER get a buffet for lunch when you're moving furniture all day. NEVER EVER get an Indian buffet for lunch when you're moving furniture all day. Or maybe just have some self control. Or just don't go to a buffet. We were all dying after, but it was delicious.
     Again, this was during my "I'm not going to write about food anymore" phase, so I have no pictures. Only memories. And because it was a buffet, I have no idea what I ate. So, I'll write about Punjabi Grill from a general standpoint. Everything was super fresh, delicious and exploding with flavor. Their samosas were fresh out of the fryer and the naan was fresh out of the oven. It was incredible. Even the rice pudding was excellent. What made it even better was that my bill maxed out at $10 for unlimited delicious food. This experience just reminded me how amazing lunch deals can be. Forget getting dinner... wanna go get lunch?

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Brown Jug - Revere, MA
http://brownjugrestaurant.com/index.php

     So it's funny because the other day David and I were talking about my food blogging and how some people go to a restaurant, try one thing and then just assume the restaurant is total junk because the one dish they happened to try was not so good. What's funny about it was that quite soon after that we went to The Brown Jug in Revere and had the absolute worst pizza I've ever had. It was their taco pizza. Now I've had an exceptional taco pizza before in East Lansing at Georgio's Gourmet Pizza. Brown Jug's pizza was so far from exceptional. On the menu it said it had hamburger on it. Well... it sure did. They cut up hamburgers and put it on the pizza. If you're going to make it a taco pizza, use ground hamburger and at least add some taco seasoning or something that even remotely resembles the taste of a taco. They used shit cheese. There were a couple chunks of obnoxiously large tomatoes through on top milling about with shards of white iceberg lettuce. Literally nothing about the pizza was good. Not even the crust, and I'm easy to please when it comes to crust. It tasted like trash and made you feel like trash. Tacos would never be that mean.

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Chickpea Sauté - My Kitchen, Allston

Full disclosure: This is not my picture. It's from Girl Versus Dough.
But I couldn't not show you how pretty this dish is. 

     Yes, I'm finally writing about something I cooked! I've been so unenthused about the things I've made recently. However, this chickpea sauté got me out of my funk. I found this recipe on Girl Versus Dough and tweaked it a little to fit my Lebanese heritage with zatar instead of caraway seeds. I think it turned out exceptional and I'd suggest following my recipe. The mint is key. Don't skimp. This is a nice light, but filling dish that's super satisfying. And don't be scared of the olive oil, pepper, yogurt mix. It's a strange but great addition to the whole dish when you dollop a little bit on top.

Chickpea Sauté

1 bunch (about 8 cups) Swiss chard, leaves separated from stems
1/3 cup olive oil, plus more for garnish
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
1-2 tablespoons Zatar
1 can (15 oz) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Toss in a small handful of sea salt, then add Swiss chard stalks. Blanch stalks for 3 minutes, then add leaves and blanch another 2 minutes. Drain and rinse chard under cold running water. Pat dry with paper towels, then transfer to a cutting board and chop roughly. Set aside.

2. In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add carrots and zatar and saute for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chickpeas and chard; cook another 6 minutes. Add garlic, herbs, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat; add more salt or pepper, if desired.

3. Stir together Greek yogurt, olive oil and some salt and pepper. Transfer chickpea mixture to a serving plate and top with yogurt mixture, an extra drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You made cookies? Ugh wait...are they healthy cookies?

     Cooler temps mean more time spent in the kitchen, and it's my favorite! I feel like I can finally cook again after many months of living in the hot-box that is my apartment.  I kind of came out the gates running and was making many new things a week, but then I realized... that's expensive and I have way too much schoolwork to be doing that. So I toned it down a little and am here to share some of my favorites. Also, you'll have to forgive my lack of pictures. I was in this I'm-too-busy-for-anything phase where I thought I wouldn't write about the cookies and things, so I didn't make the effort.

Asparagus Gruyere Pizza with Garlicy Ricotta - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

Asparagus Gruyere Pizza

     This pizza recipe was surprisingly the only one on my pinterest, so when Eric agreed to making a pizza with me, this is what we went with. I was nervous it would be kind of bland, but it was far from bland thanks to the Gruyere cheese and the panchetta, which Rach from Spache the Spatula didn't use. The panchetta (Italian cured pork belly) was Eric's idea, so we cooked it up in a pan and tossed in the asparagus for a few minutes before adding it to the pizza. The gruyere cheese took the pizza to another level far beyond that which mozzarella has the capability to do. It has a very rich and nutty flavor that was just outstanding. Normally I'm not a big fan of ricotta, but once it was whipped up with some garlic and lemon, it was light and delicious. The garlic, lemon, asparagus combination is something I'm quite familiar with and am a big of. Eric approved. Also... never measure cheese when making a pizza. It's all about feel. 

Asparagus Gruyere Pizza with Garlicy Ricotta

1 cup ricotta cheese
2 garlic cloves
juice of 1 small lemon
salt & freshly ground pepper
4-5 ounces gruyere cheese, shredded
1/2 lb. thick asparagus spears (1/2 a bunch), shaved or sliced longways
Mozzarella cheese, shredded

1/2 cup panchetta, cubed

1 lump of pizza dough, pre-made or homemade

1. In a food processor, combine the ricotta, garlic, and lemon juice. Blend for a few seconds until whipped. Season, to taste with salt and pepper. Spread the ricotta mixture onto your pizza.

2. Top with the gruyere, the asparagus, panchetta and the mozzarella. 

3. Bake for 30-40 minutes until the cheese starts to brown, and the crust is cooked through.

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Pecan Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - My kitchen, Allston, MA

The insides of a pecan butter oatmeal chocolate
chip cookie

     These cookies by Ambitious Kitchen were honestly much better than I had expected. Last time I made a nut butter based cookie recipe, they were good, but you could tell they were mainly peanut butter; just a little heavy feeling and crumbly in a slightly dried out peanut butter way. Anyway, this time I got some pecans, roasted them, threw them in a blender (my food processor sucks) with a little maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla and salt and presto... it was gold. I wish I had roasted the pecans a little longer to get a more roasted flavor, but the pecan butter was still delicious regardless, and I wish I had made more for things other than cookies. Also, I used Ghirardelli chocolate chips and I feel like this is one of the best choices you'll ever make in your life. They're exceptional in cookies.
     What make these cookies exceptional was their texture and form. The bottom crisped up, but not from the oils in normal butter, but from the oils in the nut butter and it tasted richer. The edges had a slightly caramelized flavor and feel to them, while the insides were slightly chewy (from the oats?) and steered the cookie away from a dry nut-butter cookie (like I mentioned earlier).

Pecan Butter Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup homemade pecan butter
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 large egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup gluten free oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup coconut flakes, optional

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

2. In small bowl mix together the oats and baking soda; set aside.

3. In a large bowl beat pecan butter, brown sugar, egg and vanilla with an electric mixer until smooth. 

4. Mix in dry ingredients with a wooden spoon. Fold in chocolate chips.
Drop cookie dough by tablespoonful onto prepared cookie sheet, leaving 2 inches of space in between. 

5. Bake cookies for 9-12 minutes and remove when edges barely begin to turn a golden brown. The cookies may look a little underdone, but they will continue to cook once you remove them from the oven. Makes 20ish cookies. Store in airtight container.

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Chewy Carrot Cake Cookies - My kitchen, Allston, MA

     Another cookie recipe from Ambitious Kitchen! She does good work. While I think the pecan butter cookies earned a higher grade, I couldn't stop eating these. They tasted healthy, but were by no means lacking in flavor like some other cookies that try to be healthy and tasty at the same time. I've had plenty of experience with those in my lightweight days. This was the real deal. Now I know looking at the ingredients list may be overwhelming, but it's not that bad. They're easy to make, as long as you don't mind shredded carrots all over your kitchen (or you're more graceful than me). My favorite part about this cookie was the influence of the coconut. Anytime I've ever had a dessert made with coconut oil, it's always blown my mind, and this was no exception. The cookie had a subtle coconut flavor from the oil, but you'd also catch very distinct nibs of it when you'd bite into one of the coconut shreds. It was irreplaceable. I loved the fall-like spices, the roasted and nutty pecans, and moisture that the carrots brought to the cookie. 

Chewy Carrot Cake Cookies

3/4 cup whole wheat flour (or all-purpose)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup shredded carrots
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup raisins

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. 

3. In a separate large bowl mix together coconut oil, brown sugar, egg and vanilla until well combined; next fold in shredded carrots. Add in flour mixture and mix with a wooden spoon until just combined. Fold in oats, coconut flakes, pecans, and raisins.

4. Drop by tablespoonful on prepared baking sheet. Gently flatten with your hand. Bake for 9-11 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Cool cookies for a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring to a wire rack to finish cooling.

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Quinoa Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash - My kitchen, Allston, MA

(insert beautiful picture here)

     OH boy. These are so pretty looking. Go check them out on Daily Garnish. I feel like I made a meal for the first time in forever. I say that only because this dish seemed like it was more than just a side dish that I've turned into dinner, which is normally the case. However, I took this over to David's family's house for dinner and it was indeed eaten as a side dish, David thought it was dessert, and most of his siblings were too afraid to try it. Hmph. However, it inspired his mom, and I was super happy with it and would definitely make it again. This dish was on the fence trying to decide if it wanted to be savory or sweet. The quinoa, squash and onions brought the savory, and the apples, cinnamon and cranberries brought the sweet. It was a beautiful blend. It was very easy to make too, as long as you have a couple hours. According to Daily Garnish, this makes two large servings, but I used acorn squash the size of my head so it made many more. Also, I used apple cider vinegar instead of the orange champagne vinegar because I felt like it was a better idea (and because I wasn't going to spend the $ on the fancy stuff). My only other alteration was that I screwed up the balsamic glaze and turned it into glue practically, so that part of my recipe was omitted. She includes it in her recipe, but I feel like there are already so many flavors going on, that adding another may make it more complex than it needs to be. 

Quinoa Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash

2 large acorn squash
1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
1 large onion, diced
1 large apple, diced
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. 

2. Cut a slice off the bottom of each squash so that it can stand up on its own. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds (I roasted the seeds separately - like pumpkin seeds - and they were fabulous!). Drizzle a bit of olive oil and salt into each squash, and then place face-down in a baking dish. Bake for 45 minutes, or until fork tender inside. 

3. While the squash bakes, prepare the filling. Rinse and cook. Set quinoa aside.

4. In a large saute pan, cook one diced onion on medium heat until brown and softening. Once the onion has cooked 10-15 minutes, add the diced apple and cook until soft. Add the cranberries and the cooked quinoa, and turn heat down to low.

5. Whisk olive oil, vinegar, cinnamon, and salt together into a dressing. Pour dressing over quinoa mixture, and continue to stir over low heat.

6. Once the acorn squash has cooked, flip them right side up and fill the squash with the quinoa mixture. Pack tightly!

7. Bake 10-15 additional minutes, until the tops of the quinoa is golden and starting to get crispy.

We'll Take the Toucan Pizza Please.

Classic Cafe - Arlington Heights, MA

http://www.arlingtonclassiccafe.com/index.html

The Albanian Omelette 

     I started "training" for a triathlon back in January, and today was race day. It was great. David, Rachel and Catherine came as my little cheering section, and it was perfect. It was a super hot day, but I was ready and super excited for it. Before I knew it, it was over, and I took second in my age group! That was fun. My most proud accomplishment I think was taking third out of all the women competitors for the swim portion. The swim was the hardest part for me to train for because I was slightly over it after swimming in high school for so long. So swimming laps again... alone... with no music or things to look at... wasn't easy from a motivational standpoint. Anyway, this has nothing to do with food. However, after the race we went to the Classic Cafe in Arlington Heights for brunch. This cafe was in a cute little section of town on what seemed to be a main street, but was relatively quiet. It was a family neighborhood restaurant with maybe 15 little tables and had a cute combination of young girls working their first jobs and older ladies who've been waitressing for eons. 

Appleman Tri, Littleton, MA

           Our toast came out first, which was kind of funny. I've never seen that before. I mean, it came out way early, way before the rest of our food, kind of like an appetizer. It was just your standard store bought "wheat" bread with real butter packets (yay!).  For the meal I ordered the Albanian omelette because it had leeks in it! You rarely see leeks at restaurants. Now that I think about it, I'm not quite sure why. They're delicious and add a really unique flavor to egg and potato dishes. This omelette also had meatballs and feta cheese in it. I liked that there were meatballs rather than sausage because sometimes I feel like sausage can make an omelette greasy and that's not what I wanted post race. My only complaint would be that I felt like the feta cheese may be on its way out. I know it can sometimes have a little bit of a bite, but this was definitely sharper than it should've been. The home fries were good. Big chunks of potatoes, slightly cooked with no intention of crispiness, which is fine. They just needed a little salt and pepper. What in the world is that reddish seasoning everyone and their mother puts on homefries? Cajun? Paprika? I need to know these things. 

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Wicked Restaurant and Wine Bar - Dedham, MA

http://www.wickedrestaurant.com/

The Tuscan

     Now that I'm not a lightweight, I generally enjoy going to restaurants when given the opportunity. So when David asked if I wanted to go to this Wicked place to meet a couple of his friends, I happily agreed! Wicked is a very trendy little spot in a big shopping plaza out in Dedham. They've hopped on the band wagon when it comes to locally-sourced, organic ingredients which I think is awesome. It was pretty dimly lit inside, but there were a lot of red, yellow and orange lights and accents throughout giving it a real fire-y feel... appropriate for the pizza focus.

     For an appetizer, we ordered two little baskets of french fries which were so delicious. I don't eat fries often, so when I get them and they're fabulous it makes me happy and feel like they were worth it. They had tons of salt on them, and I like salt. There were a bunch of fry nubs, and I like fry nubs. They were hot. I like it hot. I just really like when there are a bunch of smaller fries and nubs because that means more crispy surface area within a certain volume.

     For dinner, David and I split a pizza. I was in the mood for your standard greasy cheesy pizza, but what we got was much different, but really interesting. We ordered the "Toucan pizza".... well that was David's first attempt at the Tuscan Pizza. It was adorable. Anyway, this pizza had roasted garlic and white bean puree, mozzarella cheese, house smoked pork belly, tuscan kale, red peppers, roasted fennel and a fig glaze. There were so many different things happening on this pizza that it became a little overwhelming for me. The white bean puree didn't bring much flavor, but it added a pastey texture to the base of the pizza that I wasn't real keen on. The combination of the smoked pork belly, kale, peppers and fennel was the best part, in my opinion. You know, pork belly is loaded with fat, so it added this salty, rich flavor to the lighter veggies. As far as the fig glaze, I definitely could've done without that. It was really sweet, and it didn't seem to mesh with the rest of the ingredients on the pizza, especially the salty pork belly. I like figs, but it was almost adding a dessert-y element to it. It could've gone really well with the rest of the ingredients (minus the pork belly) if the pizza had goat cheese on it instead. Don't get me wrong though, the pizza was delicious and unique, the crust was simple, and had the perfect amount of tearability. That's not a word, but I don't know how else to describe what I'm thinking because I'm thinking of tearability. The fries were awesome and the atmosphere was lively and inviting. If you're out that way, I'd definitely recommend a stop at Wicked. 

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The Galley Diner - South Boston, MA

http://thegalleydiner.com/

Kielbasa, homefries, eggs and toasts

     Sometimes I add restaurants to my list for some reason, and then I forget why. Maybe I read about them someone, maybe someone told me about them. Who knows. In this case, I think I read that they were voted Best of Boston in 2014 for something. After my trip home to Michigan, David picked me up from the airport and took me to breakfast (but I chose the place). Since I was heading to school, we stopped at the Galley Diner in South Boston. On the way there, we both definitely thought we were going to wrong way because we were heading down some slightly run down residential streets. We turned the corner, however, and there she was. A white cinderblock building with an old sign out front. This place was your typical back alley diner, with a few tables and a long bar with stools, where the workers have been on deck for 25+ years. They were super nice and the food came really quick, which is always a plus when you're getting breakfast. No time for messing around. 

Outside of The Galley Diner

     I ordered the kielbasa, 2 eggs, homefries and toast. The kielbasa was good, but it was much more fatty than I'm used to and not as good as the kind my family gets. I'm a little spoiled in that respect though because my grandpa knows where to get the good stuff back in Detroit. The homefries were pretty good, but I would've liked a little bit more of them, and more of them with some crispy edges and things. In the most lame way, my favorite part was the pumpernickel toast. Why? Because it was real butter. They used real butter on the toast which wins you HUGE brownie points from me. You just don't see that all that often. Overall, the Galley Diner was good, but nothing crazy special. Admittedly, I did order your standard run of the mill breakfast, but I think it's safe to say they're a good place to go if you're looking for a quick, satisfying breakfast when in the area. 

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Fire+Ice - Cambridge, MA

https://www.fire-ice.com/

     Birthday. It's my birthday. Well, it was and for your birthday, Fire+Ice gives you a free meal (if you sign up for their newsletter... which I did... along with nearly 10 others in order to get free birthday food). So on my birthday, I went there with David, Mary, Jimmy and Eric. Fire+Ice is very similar to Mongolian Barbecue in that you fill a bowl with meats, veggies and things and take it to a big circular stone grill where they cook it in front of you. Basically it's a big stir fry station and it's amazing. Plus, it's unlimited, so you're meant to feel almost miserably full when you leave (right?).

     The Fire & Ice we went to in Harvard square is one of 5 locations throughout the country, so it's not as big as the Mongolian Barbecue chain. The restaurant itself was in the basement but the general atmosphere is pretty lively as people are wandering around grabbing food and the chefs are situated in the middle cooking up 10-20 dishes at a time. Because each bowl is different and unique, it's tough to describe each. However, overall, I didn't think it was as good as Mongo. Fire and Ice had a decent amount of meats, but most of them were coated in some sort of marinade or spices. Normally this would be fine, but there's a station with a bunch of other sauces you choose to throw in to the whole dish, so it was tough to choose a sauce that would go well with, for example, the "chili lime chicken." Honestly I can't remember if that was a flavor of chicken they offered, but there were a few meats with very specific flavors that made me question how you'd pair that with a sauce. They had a bunch of different sauces, but many I wouldn't have thought to put with this kind of food, like alfredo or honey mustard. I assume, however, that this allows for more customization, in that, you don't necessarily have to get a typical stir fry like dish (more like Mongolian) but that you can also create a dish like a chicken, broccoli alfredo or something. I was bummed though that they didn't have as many shaved meats, like shaved pork. I like them thinner, and I think that's more typical of a lot of authentic stir fry. And they didn't have lamb. That was the saddest part. 

     All the dishes I made were very tasty, and I loved the fresh fish options they provided, like big hunks of tuna. They also had a sandwich bar, where you could get full burgers and other things if you wanted to. I didn't partake in that (or the salad bar) but this place provided a huge variety of cuisine options. I'd definitely go again, and maybe take a photo next time. Until then, this old, blurry picture from an MSU Crew fundraiser at Mongolian Barbecue will have to do. Go Green!

You Don't Even Like Me

Soul Fire - Allston, MA
http://www.soulfirebbq.com/

David so very excited for some bbq. Loog'at that brisket. 

     What is it about barbecue that makes you feel like you're going to die? Maybe it's just my body, but the overwhelming incredible flavors, sauces and sodium are like a sucker-punch straight to the gut. I ate nearly 4 hours ago and it feels like I'm just getting up from the table (well... I guess I did have a brownie... or two when I got home... but still). Anyway, David and I both finished up work around the same time + I forgot lights for my bike + we had hunger ----> the bbq. He's all about bbq food and when we walked by Soul Fire a couple weeks ago in Allston he asked me why I had never taken him and accused me of not liking him or some nonsense. So today was the day we would try it. I'd heard that this was one of the better bbq places in Boston, and it sure smelled like it. It was relatively slow inside probably because of the snow and lack of a) parking, b) driving skills, and c) patience in this damn city right now because of the snow. Don't get me wrong. I love the snow. It's the people that are bonkers.
     The dining area was relatively large, the servers were pretty quick and so was the food. I ordered the sliced brisket platter. The brisket itself was beautiful and presented on a piece of worthless Texas toast. I'm not a fan of it when bbq places do this, and I'd say a bunch of them do. I always wonder who actually eats that. Anyway, this brisket was full of a rich, smokey flavor and the fat layer on top had an awesome, super seasoned crisp exterior. There were some slices of meat that were a little more dry than I'd like, but I loved the flavor of it all. Some of the more dry pieces I dipped in their sweet barbecue sauce which was really different. It had a very pronounced apple flavor, which was really tasty and unique, but I don't honestly think it fit with the pork.
      My first side was the collard greens, which were good, but a little too sweet for me. I mean, I'd definitely get them again, but I generally like getting one vegetable side to "balance" things out or at least make me feel less like an overweight, out of shape elephant. These weren't as refreshing as, what I'd consider, standard collard greens with the little bits of ham. This had some sort of meat (probably ham) in it, but the sweetness made it a little odd. Oh well.
     My favorite part was probably the mac and cheese. They used little shells and their cheese sauce was super thick and heavy. It was incredible. Exactly what I had in mind. And the best part, or the best addition, was the crumbled barbecue potato chips they threw on top. The texture change was great and it added a very, very subtle barbecue flavor to the whole bit. Such a good idea.
     The cornbread was my second favorite thing. Oh man... I'm trying to recall all the cornbreads I've had in the city and I think this one comes out as number two, behind the infamous Union Oyster House. Soul Fire's cornbread was incredibly moist, held it's form as you ate it, and had actual corn chunks in it! This is a big deal for real. You neeeever see this, and I don't understand why. It just adds some more texture and small bursts of the true corn flavor. Perfection.
    Overall, this place really hit the spot, and I was so glad we could finally try it out. The meat is the most important part and the flavors in my brisket and in David's pulled pork were fabulous. All the other goodies were icing on the cake. Well done, Soul Fire.

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La Hacienda - Somerville, MA
http://www.lahaciendasomerville.com/

Chicken pesto and roasted peppers pizza.

     Well, shucks. I have the best coworkers. So these last two weeks I've been filling in for Frances because she's in Africa. Yea... Africa. Tuesday was payroll processing day and Adrian was out of the office, meaning it was on me, and I was ready for it. 4 o'clock came around and by 5 it was just me. But right after she left, Melanie popped back in, set a fresh, hot pizza down on my desk and said "here's some dinner in case you have to stay late." It was incredible and SO SO nice of her! She had grabbed this pizza from La Hacienda, which is a tiny little Italian restaurant on the corner right down the street from Gentle Giant. You'd barely know it was there if not for their little sign because there really aren't many windows at all and it's just a short, squatty little place on the first floor of this taller residential building I think. It always smells heavenly outside, and I've wanted to go for a while. What also always gets me is their front door. It's got to be ages old and is solid, carved wood. It's magnificent.
     So the pizza. She got the chicken pesto with roasted peppers and it was amazing. The smell was out of this world. It came topped with a bunch of pieces of chopped (lightly breaded) chicken, soft roasted red peppers and a powerful pesto base. Honestly I didn't recognize anything out of the ordinary about the cheese because the pesto, chicken and peppers stole the show. They were a great combination and a fabulous end to a long payroll day... before going to my first Boston Bruins game that night :]

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La Cascias' Bakery and Deli - Burlington, MA
http://www.lacascias.com/index.php

I don't 'sub'pose you want a bite do ya?

      OH man... one of the best deli subs I've ever had. We were doing a move for a lady the other day and she bought us lunch! It was the best. This was the first time this had happened to me, but then again I've only been on the trucks a couple weeks. This chic went to a deli called La Cascias' Bakery and Deli in Burlington. I have no idea what it looks like really, or what it's all about, but I do know they make a mean sandwich. I got a large Italian sub, and I kid you not it literally had and inch of sliced deli meats on it. I know it had salami and probably a bunch of other standard Italian sub meats. Not sure. It was basically meat, provolone cheese, and the best part which was this mix of very finely chopped hot peppers, pickles, and tomatoes. It was this incredible confetti they sprinkled on top. I loved the pickled flavors and the hot, spicy with the cold meats. The Italian bread it was served on was great too. Very soft inside, but harder in order to provide structure on the outside, with the little corn meal granules. Mmmm... I was so grateful.

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Idaho Sunrise Potatoes - My Kitchen, Allston, MA

     I'm not quite sure why I've never made these before, especially after I've done essentially the same thing with an onion. Either way, I stumbled upon this idea on a blog called Our Best Bites. These were amazing, super easy, and a great way to use up some left over baked potatoes. I think you could either crack a full inside the potato (which is what I did) or scramble up some eggs with your veggies and toppings and put them inside. It's a really fun way to eat breakfast (if you're into the whole eating-as-an-experience thing) and looks pretty too.

Idaho Sunrise Potatoes

Baked potatoes, slightly cooled
Butter
Salt and black pepper

Shredded cheese of choice
Eggs
Additional fillings of your choice (vegetables, meat, etc)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Slice a layer off the top of each potato and scoop out the insides, leaving a thin layer of potato against the skin and avoiding puncturing the bottom. Reserve scooped potato for another use.

3. Brush the inside of each potato with melted butter or drop in a small pat and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Throw in a little bit of shredded cheese and some of your fillings until each potato is about 3/4 full. Crack one egg into each potato. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper, and top with additional cheese and toppings.

4. Place potatoes on a baking sheet and cook for about 20-25 minutes or until egg whites are set and yolks soft.

Can You Ask The Chef Please?

The Pier Patio Pub – Old Orchard Beach, ME
http://oobpier.com/

Old Orchard Beach. The pier Patio Pub was at the end. 

     But really…who builds a waterpark in Maine? Finally… a Sunday in Maine that didn’t have rain in the forcast. Meagan and I had been waiting forever for this day because it meant we could try out Splashtown Funtown. I bought this groupon for the waterpark eons ago because… well, who doesn’t like waterparks? We really had no idea what to expect. It was a beautiful drive up, but after about an hour and a half in the tiny park in cloudy, cool and windy conditions, we called it and headed to the beach. Old Orchard Beach. Similar to Salisbury Beach in that it’s a super long beach and the surrounding area kind of reminds me of the Jersey Shore. There were tons of restaurants, arcades, ice cream shops and even a ferris wheel. One thing that was kind of funny was that the beach was packed! It was not a warm day, it was not sunny, and the water had reached Arctic proportions. These people were crazy… or just confused.

My lobster roll and rings :]

     Either way, we had warmed up a bit, so we walked out on this long pier that was full of shops and food stops and happened upon The Pier Patio Pub. It wasn’t anything fancy by any means, but it was perfect and exactly what we had in mind. We sat on the very end of the pier looking out into the ocean with waves crashing under our feet. It was beautiful. The oldest Hanson brother (in my opinion) was our waiter.
     To start we both ordered a Seadog Sunfish beer which, we both agree, was quite possibly the best beer we have ever had. It had grapefruit and peach flavors in it, but didn’t have the sweetness that some fruity beers sometimes seems to have. It was so refreshing and delicious. For dinner I ordered the lobster roll (when in Maine…) and onion rings. Everyone had the rings. I needed them. They were so good too. Medium sized slices, battered and fried to oblivion. It’s been a while since I’ve eaten something that took that many years off my life, and it was worth it. The lobster roll may have been the best one I’ve ever had too (not that I’ve had many). It wasn’t loaded up with mayo like most are and it was served with lettuce in the bottom of the bun. While the lettuce may seem insignificant, I think that’s what put it above the other lobster rolls I’ve had before. It made the roll complete. It made me complete.

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Gingerbread Construction Company – Winchester, MA
http://gingerbreadusa.com/muffins.html

   

Look at all the varieties!

     So now that I’m not rowing anymore, I’m finding fun ways to still stay active. One way I make them more fun is by including delicious rewards at the end (or the middle in this case). Zack had mentioned that Gingerbread Construction Company in Winchester was deadly and not too bad of a bike ride if I wanted to make a trip out of it. Genius idea. So I did it a couple days after he told me about it. I hopped on my bike with the intention of biking up to the Middlesex Fells reservation, tooling around a bit, grabbing a muffin and heading home. A 2 hour round trip I’d guess. Well… thanks to Google Maps thinking I could ride my road bike on hiking trails, I got a little lost, made some wrong turns, and finally made it to Gingerbread Construction Company two hours after departure. In all honesty, it was a great ride, I had great tunes, so all was well. I was just hungry and thirsty.

Look at all this fruit

Stupid good, stupid looking

 

Raspberry Blueberry muffin, Double Chocolate Chunk
Cookie and Oatmeal Raisin Pecan Cookie

     I’m pretty sure my jaw hit the ground when I walked in because I was blown away with the kajillion different varieties of muffins staring me in the face. Some with crumbles, some stuffed, some with icing. The line only got longer and longer the more time I spent debating and asking the lady behind the counter a million questions. In the end I chose the raspberry blueberry muffin and two cookies. This muffin wasn’t even a muffin. Of all the muffins I’ve had before, there has never been anything like this. It was super soft and moist inside, but not sticky or tacky on the outside. It had an awesome crust on top and was loaded with fresh juicy berries. I wanted another. I wanted 5 more.           

     Thankfully I had the world’s best cookies left to eat. I’m not kidding. Gingerbread Construction Company had the best cookies I have ever had in my life, and I’ve had a lot of cookies in my time. What was so good about them? I’m sure they were loaded with butter, and they literally melted in your mouth. The flavor of the oatmeal raisin pecan was so rich and nutty. I love the flavor pecans give to cookies. This was the one I could really feel melt in my mouth. Oatmeal cookies. I can’t get enough. The double chocolate chunk cookie had these enormous chocolate chunks in it as well as big white chocolate chunks. It was just oozing love. The 2 types of chocolate chunks plus the cocoa in the cookie itself all had different flavors and made each bite unique.

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Bella Vista – Boston, MA

   

It's grainy, but there were basically no lights on in the
restaurant, so I had to make do. This was my Chicken Villanese

     These posts aren’t in order, but I do not care. I forgot to write about the Italian place we went to when Marissa and Jess visited! It’s hard to pick a place to eat in the North End because they all seem the same. I mean… I guess they kind of are. Anyway, Bella Vista looked promising, and we’re easy to please. The place was really dark, tiny and cute (minus the party bathroom Marissa accidentally discovered in the basement). The walls had your typical fake ivy hanging from them and catholic pictures and statues sat situated all around you. Our waitress was an old Italian lady who I’m sure has worked there since the dawn of time. I always like seeing that because it makes me feel like the place is more authentic. I’m sure that’s what they aim for though.
     

     My main meal was great, but my favorite

The first of two incredible, warm bread baskets. 

part may have been the rolls with butter. The rolls were big and football shaped and came to the table nice and hot. They were soft on the outside, but had a thinner crust that you could easily tear. I had at least 3 … maybe 4.
     For my main course I ordered the Chicken Villanese because I didn't feel like eating a ton of pasta. It did come with a side of spaghetti and tomato sauce though, which was a bonus. That was a little bland though. The Chicken Villanese was two flattened chicken breasts with shrimp, mushrooms and clams in a white wine sauce. Normally I’m hesitant to order things in a wine sauce, but I was feeling adventurous this day. Oh and it was such a great choice! The bite that I normally associate with wine wasn’t prominent at all. The white wine sauce was light and thin, but gave all of the seafood and the chicken a powerful flavor. It almost had the sharpness of wine, but not that rotten taste I dread so much. I was so pleased that it went well. I was nervous. The mushrooms were another unique element of the dish. They were a couple different varieties of wild and meaty mushrooms with a hearty chewiness. They were like sponges for that sauce. Bella Vista did not disappoint :]

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Grafton Street – Cambridge, MA
http://graftonstreetcambridge.com/

    

BBQ American Lamb Pizza

     Jimmy and I can’t help it. When we get a butter dish that has a unique flavor and little red specks in it, we will look like morons trying to assess the flavors. And we will not hesitate to ask the waitress to ask the chef what’s in the butter. Grafton Street in Harvard Square had some tasty butter with lemon, red pepper and cumin to go with their awesome sliced chewy and sticky bread. After a big upset about not making it to Veggie Planet before they closed on their last day of existence, Jimmy, Meagan, Liz and I headed to Grafton Street to take advantage of their really nice outdoor seating area. To start we got a pitcher of Sangria which was one of the best red sangrias I’ve had. Since I’m not a big fan of red wine, sangria made with it often makes me want to hurl. I think this had more juice in it or something… or whatever else they put in sangria that isn’t wine.

     For my main meal, I stuck with the pizza idea since that was what I had set my mind on when Veggie Planet was in my future. Grafton Street had a awesome sounding BBQ American Lamb Pizza. This was completely different than I expected. I thought I was getting a normal thick crust pizza with tons of cheese and bonus shredded lamb on top. Instead, this crust had a light smear of tomato sauce and was sprinkled with smaller sized lamb chunks, equally sized chunks of feta cheese, and cilantro. So each bite you took had to have some strategy for fear of not getting a little bit of each topping and of them tumbling off. It was served on a beautiful, thick wooden cutting board and was quite pretty. I loved the savory and salty flavors of the lamb and feta balanced by the fresh cilantro. That cilantro was essential. Parsley would've been good too. It was very simple and tasty, but not filling. I love lamb, so there wasn't really going to be any way I would've been dissatisfied, but I would've liked some more meat and cheese.

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No Name Restaurant - Boston, MA
http://www.nonamerestaurant.com/

     After spending the day out on Spectacle Island in the Boston harbor, Meagan, Madalyn, Jimmy and I were in the seafood mood. I had heard about No Name before, so I thought we might as well give it a try. It’s in a super odd location though on a wharf amongst what looks like a bunch of other fishing loading docks within a brick building. It wasn't quite the waterfront, open air dining experience we were looking for, but it was apparently the first restaurant in Boston to start serving seafood back in 1917. The inside resembled an old seaside restaurant with sea-worthy wooden furniture and art.

Sauteed Seafood Plate

     To start, they sent over a garlic bread basket. I was starving so it tasted good, but it honestly was just like the pre-made garlic bread you can get in the store that already has the garlic paste spread over it.
     For dinner, I went with the seafood platter with sautéed veggies. I was so happy with that choice. I wasn’t ready to feel the post-meal misery of a fried seafood plate, and I really enjoyed being able taste the simple flavors of the sautéed scallops, shrimp, swordfish and calamari. The swordfish was my favorite part of the dish. So simple and tender.  This also came with a heaping side of great coleslaw that I couldn’t finish.

Look at that coleslaw mountain

     I shared Jimmy’s seafood chowder and it was excellent. With a bunch of different types of seafood in the chowder, it had tons of different flavors, and it was the perfect consistency. I’m not a huge fan of runny chowders, nor am I fond of the super thick ones. This was right in the middle and allowed for a rich flavor without being overbearing in consistency. Jimmy’s broiled Scrod was simple and delicious because of the light buttery flavor and slightly crisped up edges of the fish. They cooked it perfectly without drying it out at all. Overall, a decent place, but not one of the better seafood experiences I’ve had here in the city.