I love finding a good place to just hang out and have a beer and a snack, and Galaxy Hut, one of the first places I ever went after moving here in August, has been a favorite ever since. The bar is tiny, just one room that holds less than fifty people for their twice weekly concerts (Sunday and Monday nights), along with a great little outdoor patio that has a few small tables and one larger table in a corrugated tin hut at the back. Sitting outside is great during the warmer months, but it does get a little loud inside when it's full, though not so loud that you cannot have a conversation.
The beer list is extensive and impressive, about thirty rotating taps with seasonal, local, and other assorted craft brews, grouped by category. They have some spectacular options, regularly having some of my favorites, like Bell's or Founders, and always something I have never heard of. The beers are available in a variety of pour options, and are not super expensive for this area, but would be expensive back in non-Boston Massachusetts.
Food, on the other hand, is both cheap and delicious. I originally went there (and, quite frankly, returned each time) because they have tater tots, and they are delicious. It is like being a child again, except better, because there is beer now. Plus, these tater tots are delicious, served fresh and hot (they probably started life in a factory, but hey, who cares, they are freaking awesome), with a couple of different sauces available, with the best being their honey mustard. I also tried the eggplant fries a couple weeks ago, and they were really good, but only for about the first ten; after that, I was bored of them, especially because they have no real textural contrast. I have yet to have anything, because I tend to go there when I just want
a snack (aka, tater tots) and a drink, but I intend to have real food
there soon, and I have no doubt it will be good.
The menu is heavily vegetarian or vegan (in fact, a couple years ago they eliminated meat from the menu entirely, only to reverse themselves upon realizing it was cutting into sales. Everything can be made to suit vegetarians or vegans, and they use different equipment to make the meatless meals. Gluten intolerant diners need not fear either, as they do appear to offer the ability to make much of the menu gluten free friendly.
Showing posts with label Vegetarian Friendly. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarian Friendly. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 3, 2015
Thursday, January 8, 2015
Chez Albert (Amherst, MA)
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*****
On my final night back in western Massachusetts prior to returning to Virginia for the new semester, my mother, step-father, and I dined at Chez Albert, Amherst's lone restaurant serving French cuisine. I had long heard that the food was solid, but that the restaurant was overpriced and served small portions. This may well have been true in the past, but it was not my experience; now, they serve generous portions for reasonable prices, and the food is both well presented and delicious.
Sunday through Wednesday, the restaurant offers a three course prix fixe menu, priced at $35.00, which includes a choice of three appetizers (Butternut Squash, Simple Salad, or Pate de Foie), three entrees (Chicken Fricassee, Monkfish Cheeks, or Pumpkin Gnocchi), and two desserts (Creme Brulee or Chocolate Mousse). The servings, as I said, are quite large; I had the Pate de Foie, the Monkfish Cheeks, and the Creme Brulee, and I barely finished my dessert--though, I did have a large chunk of my step-father's pork and a tremendous amount of bread.
We ate on a Tuesday night, and I believe the restaurant had not planned on having a full house; only one bartender and the owner were serving, and I suspect the kitchen was short staffed as well, so everything took a little longer than it should have to come out. That said, bread was never far from hand, and the wait did not seem overly tedious. We were initially given a basket of bread (which was a thick, crusty variety, and quite good) along with a white bean spread that was tasty, though we did have difficulty identifying it; honestly, I thought it was something involving butter, or possibly rendered fat of some variety.
When my appetizer finally came, it was a large rectangle of pate, which had a rich, meaty flavor, and a consistency that allowed it to be spread but was not so soft as the foie gras I had in France. It was served with a very good mustard that reminded me of some of the good stone ground mustards I had in France, as well as a thoroughly delicious dried cherry chutney that was just the right level of sweetness and tartness each. There were also a couple of cornichon, which is traditional, but in this case added little. The bread, again, was a good vehicle for the pate and its accompaniment. This was among the better pates I have had, and the cherry was just absolutely perfect with it.
Following up the foie was my entree of Monkfish Cheeks with Lobster au Jus. The cheeks, lightly batter and fried, were very good, though one piece was just very slightly undercooked; that was easily overlooked due to the quality of the remaining pieces, which were each substantial. Cheeks are known to be the most tender part of many fish and animals, and the monkfish is no exception; these particular cheeks were no exception. Served with very good mashed potatoes, as well as a truly decadent lobster sauce (along with a small piece of lobster itself), this was a fine main dish, and the one minor flaw was easily overlooked. My step-father's confit pork was also spectacular, moist and succulent, though my mother's gnocchi, which had a texture as if they had been flash fried, were only okay.
The creme brulee for dessert was very good, with a thick, hard crust of nearly burnt sugar topping a light, creamy custard that was as good as any I have had before. I do truly love creme brulee, it is among my favorite desserts when made properly, especially since it tends not to be overly sweet; kudos to the restaurant for doing this so well.
All in all, a fine restaurant, and a fine meal. It does appear to be vegetarian friendly (I suppose you would have to be to exist in Amherst), and the prices are distinctly reasonable, especially considering the enormous portions you get. Both my step-dad and my mom had leftovers.
*****
On my final night back in western Massachusetts prior to returning to Virginia for the new semester, my mother, step-father, and I dined at Chez Albert, Amherst's lone restaurant serving French cuisine. I had long heard that the food was solid, but that the restaurant was overpriced and served small portions. This may well have been true in the past, but it was not my experience; now, they serve generous portions for reasonable prices, and the food is both well presented and delicious.
Sunday through Wednesday, the restaurant offers a three course prix fixe menu, priced at $35.00, which includes a choice of three appetizers (Butternut Squash, Simple Salad, or Pate de Foie), three entrees (Chicken Fricassee, Monkfish Cheeks, or Pumpkin Gnocchi), and two desserts (Creme Brulee or Chocolate Mousse). The servings, as I said, are quite large; I had the Pate de Foie, the Monkfish Cheeks, and the Creme Brulee, and I barely finished my dessert--though, I did have a large chunk of my step-father's pork and a tremendous amount of bread.
We ate on a Tuesday night, and I believe the restaurant had not planned on having a full house; only one bartender and the owner were serving, and I suspect the kitchen was short staffed as well, so everything took a little longer than it should have to come out. That said, bread was never far from hand, and the wait did not seem overly tedious. We were initially given a basket of bread (which was a thick, crusty variety, and quite good) along with a white bean spread that was tasty, though we did have difficulty identifying it; honestly, I thought it was something involving butter, or possibly rendered fat of some variety.
When my appetizer finally came, it was a large rectangle of pate, which had a rich, meaty flavor, and a consistency that allowed it to be spread but was not so soft as the foie gras I had in France. It was served with a very good mustard that reminded me of some of the good stone ground mustards I had in France, as well as a thoroughly delicious dried cherry chutney that was just the right level of sweetness and tartness each. There were also a couple of cornichon, which is traditional, but in this case added little. The bread, again, was a good vehicle for the pate and its accompaniment. This was among the better pates I have had, and the cherry was just absolutely perfect with it.
Following up the foie was my entree of Monkfish Cheeks with Lobster au Jus. The cheeks, lightly batter and fried, were very good, though one piece was just very slightly undercooked; that was easily overlooked due to the quality of the remaining pieces, which were each substantial. Cheeks are known to be the most tender part of many fish and animals, and the monkfish is no exception; these particular cheeks were no exception. Served with very good mashed potatoes, as well as a truly decadent lobster sauce (along with a small piece of lobster itself), this was a fine main dish, and the one minor flaw was easily overlooked. My step-father's confit pork was also spectacular, moist and succulent, though my mother's gnocchi, which had a texture as if they had been flash fried, were only okay.
The creme brulee for dessert was very good, with a thick, hard crust of nearly burnt sugar topping a light, creamy custard that was as good as any I have had before. I do truly love creme brulee, it is among my favorite desserts when made properly, especially since it tends not to be overly sweet; kudos to the restaurant for doing this so well.
All in all, a fine restaurant, and a fine meal. It does appear to be vegetarian friendly (I suppose you would have to be to exist in Amherst), and the prices are distinctly reasonable, especially considering the enormous portions you get. Both my step-dad and my mom had leftovers.
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Zengo (Washington, DC)
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*****
Anyone who knows me knows that I love brunch; breakfast foods, mixed with lunch foods, at a reasonable time of day (aka, not breakfast time) on weekends with delicious champagne drinks? What is not to love? Well, I am living in the right place apparently, because the DC Metro area is saturated with, and Richard Sandoval's Asian-fusion restaurant Zengo is a great example of how good brunch can be. I went with a friend from school, and we both enjoyed ourselves, though there were a couple small hiccups.
The brunch menu is all-you-can-eat, and all-you-can-drink; what a great combination! Drinks include standard and tequila-variant Bloody Marys, a sangria made with Sake, and four different Mimosas; you can hope back and forth between the offerings, or simply stick with one if you find one that you like. The food includes three categories, all of which are "small plates" (an annoying trend that actually works for brunch): "Ceviches/Sushi/Salads;" "Dim Sum & Antojitos;" and "Brunch Plates." The list of dishes we ordered was, to say the least, extensive, and I did not take notes or anything, so combined with a few mimosas, my memories are not as crisp as they could be, but I can point out a few highlights, as well as the issues I saw.
To start with, I had the Guava Mimosa to start, and after a refill or two, I switched to the Traditional Mimosa. The guava variety does not really taste like a mimosa, as it is much sweeter, and the alcohol is not strong enough to get much taste of it; on the other hand, the traditional, orange variety is quite boozy, just the way I like it! As for the food, I have listed the dishes we ordered below, in in order of how they appear on the menu.
Angry Zengo Roll: Tuna, avocado, and cucumber are the primary ingredients, with a little sauce dabbed on top, it was certainly far from traditional (and traditional is my preference, to be sure), but it was very tasty, and I finished the meal with two of these. The fish was fresh, which is always the key.
Vegetarian Roll: I hate vegetarian rolls, but this one was pretty decent; it was not simply some cucumber and carrot shavings wrapped in rice, but rather had grilled asparagus, red pepper, and even some mushroom, so it was quite tasty.
Edamame: On the menu, it actually says "Edamame Salted," and holy crap, are they serious. I love edamame, and I love salt, but this was maybe a bit of overkill with the sea salt. Still tasty, though.
Bacon & Scrambled Egg Steamed Buns: We ordered these first, and had to ask multiple times to get them, and I was really looking forward to them. Sadly, they were...blah. The buns were too dense, not the light and airy steamed buns I love, the egg was similar in texture (though admittedly not flavor) to the egg in a Dunkin' Donuts breakfast sandwich, and the bacon was barely there. Highly not recommended.
Shrimp-Vegetable Potstickers: Really tasty, but not a ton of shrimp flavor. I would have preferred a bit more of a crust on the potstickers, maybe just another thirty seconds or so on the flattop, but otherwise, very good.
Angus Beef & Pork Meatballs: Probably my favorite thing of the day, the meatballs were juicy, flavorful, and just incredibly tasty. Highly, highly recommended.
Thai Chicken Empanadas: Very tasty, crispy dough and tender filling, though I would not have said "Thai" was the dominant flavor profile.
Achiote-Hoisin Pork Arepas: This was not an arepa, but was tasty; the pork especially was good, though it was just on top of the "arepa" which was dense and a little dry.
Lobster-Chipotle Grits: Bad texture did nothing to ruin this ridiculously delicious dish; I love grits, regardless of the quality, and though the lobster did not come through that well, the chipotle did, and the chunks of bacon were just freaking amazing. My second favorite dish.
Peking Duck Chilaquiles: Why do chilaquiles keep disappointing me?! Not nearly so bad as at The Brass Buckle back home, I had higher hopes this time, and while the duck was reasonably tasty, the overall dish was nothing to write home about.
Bacon Roasted Brussels Sprouts: Apparently I like Brussels sprouts a lot now; who knew? Pai Men Miyake may have been the first to really convince me, but they were certainly not the last, and these were very solid, tasty sprouts. They may have been the slightest bit undercooked, but the crunch of the interior was quite pleasant.
Plantains: Well, what is there to say; they were delicious, duh. Platanos always are. The sauces, a crema and a chipotle, were both cook, though I preferred the crema to the slight heat of the chipotle.
House Cured Bacon & Eggs: Over-easy eggs always get the better of me when I try to make them, so when properly cooked I am always a bit impressed when they are well made, and these were. The bacon, however, was too crispy for me, and less flavorful than I was expecting. Nothing you could not get at any decent diner.
All in all, this was an expensive, but enjoyable, experience, one that I would repeat again, though because of its cost it would likely be a very, very rare thing. I would recommend it, though with the caveat that while the service was pretty good, the kitchen was somewhat inconsistent. Kudos to the concept though.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Jetties (Washington, DC)
So as my consistent readers know, I have primarily written about western Massachusetts, the Boston area, and the Portland, Maine area over the life of this page. Now, however, I have moved, as I decided to go back to school, and thus find myself for at least the next two years a resident of Arlington, VA. This will give me a huge amount of new opportunities to try restaurants and beers, though seeing as I am now a grad student and no longer gainfully employed (for the time, at least) my options will be limited. That said, I can't wait to try all sorts of new places, and I am incredibly excited to review them for you!
*****
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*****
Jetties is a small, four location local chain of sandwich shops in and around DC, with locations on Foxhall Rd, Macomb St, in downtown on Eye St, and in Bethesda on Fairmont Ave. I had lunch today at the Foxhall location, and despite arriving at the tail end of the lunch hour, the place was absolutely packed; good sign. With ample outdoor seating, a clear dog-friendly policy (several people had their dogs there, and they clearly did not mind if someone filled up a dog bowl with water), and a nice location near Georgetown University, the French Embassy, and American University, this is a great place for college kids, tourists, and locals alike. Everything seems to run like a top, as their system of ordering is quite simple: you grab a pre-printed "menu" for either sandwiches, salads, or kids sandwiches; write your name on it; and either select from their list or design your own. You then hand it to the check-out person, pay, and await your sandwich.
I selected the Surfside (the whole place actually is "surf-inspired"), with roasted turkey, Havarti, bacon, avocado, and whole grain mustard, on sourdough. I was instantly impressed when I saw the roasted turkey breast sitting on a butcher's block, and someone slicing off large hunks of it for sandwiches. This was clearly no ordinary compressed deli "meat," but obviously roasted in house, and it looked absolutely delicious, as did all the other ingredients, most assuredly fresh as well. The giant hotel pan of bacon was not a bad sign either.
When I got my sandwich (after a wait of about five minutes, I would say; not bad, considering the number of people still ordering a little after 1:00pm), and grabbed a seat, it was all I could do not to just destroy the sandwich. Thankfully I was not alone, and thus forced to savor it, and boy am I glad I did. The turkey was perfect, not entirely overcooked like most poultry (though I would have cooked it a little less, but that is true of almost everything, and would make serving it to the majority of people difficult) so it was not too dry, though being white meat it was not exactly moist either. The bacon was crisp but not crunchy, perfect for a sandwich where you do not want to risk it disintegrating on the first bite, while the avocado added a smooth, creamy texture and fattiness that was just fantastic. While Havarti is among my favorite sandwich cheeses, it was a little lost here; something more prominent, like very sharp cheddar (Cabot Seriously Sharp, anyone?) or even a (gasp!) Swiss would have been better choices in my mind.
Bread being a key ingredient of any sandwich, I should mention that the sourdough used in this sandwich was really good, very fresh tasting, with just a hint of that classic sour flavor. It held up well to the sandwich, not falling apart of becoming soggy in the least, and it had a nice crust that provided just the right amount of bite. Less successful, though not for any real reason other than getting lost (in much the same way as the cheese), was the mustard; I barely tasted it, and while it was not needed necessarily, a good spiciness would have been a good addition. I suspect it was simply an issue of not having enough applied because many people would not want a huge amount of it, but for me, it lacked the mustard flavor.
All in all, I had a great sandwich, which could have used some minor alterations, but nothing earth shattering, and the menu looks like there are several more I should be trying, not the least of which is the "Nobadeer," a Thanksgiving themed sandwich with roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo on sourdough. There are also several vegetarian items and a lobster roll, though having lived part time in Maine for most of my life I have an issue ordering them south of Kittery. There are more than enough options between salads and sandwiches to make just about anyone happy, and I highly recommend checking it out.
*****
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*****
Jetties is a small, four location local chain of sandwich shops in and around DC, with locations on Foxhall Rd, Macomb St, in downtown on Eye St, and in Bethesda on Fairmont Ave. I had lunch today at the Foxhall location, and despite arriving at the tail end of the lunch hour, the place was absolutely packed; good sign. With ample outdoor seating, a clear dog-friendly policy (several people had their dogs there, and they clearly did not mind if someone filled up a dog bowl with water), and a nice location near Georgetown University, the French Embassy, and American University, this is a great place for college kids, tourists, and locals alike. Everything seems to run like a top, as their system of ordering is quite simple: you grab a pre-printed "menu" for either sandwiches, salads, or kids sandwiches; write your name on it; and either select from their list or design your own. You then hand it to the check-out person, pay, and await your sandwich.
I selected the Surfside (the whole place actually is "surf-inspired"), with roasted turkey, Havarti, bacon, avocado, and whole grain mustard, on sourdough. I was instantly impressed when I saw the roasted turkey breast sitting on a butcher's block, and someone slicing off large hunks of it for sandwiches. This was clearly no ordinary compressed deli "meat," but obviously roasted in house, and it looked absolutely delicious, as did all the other ingredients, most assuredly fresh as well. The giant hotel pan of bacon was not a bad sign either.
When I got my sandwich (after a wait of about five minutes, I would say; not bad, considering the number of people still ordering a little after 1:00pm), and grabbed a seat, it was all I could do not to just destroy the sandwich. Thankfully I was not alone, and thus forced to savor it, and boy am I glad I did. The turkey was perfect, not entirely overcooked like most poultry (though I would have cooked it a little less, but that is true of almost everything, and would make serving it to the majority of people difficult) so it was not too dry, though being white meat it was not exactly moist either. The bacon was crisp but not crunchy, perfect for a sandwich where you do not want to risk it disintegrating on the first bite, while the avocado added a smooth, creamy texture and fattiness that was just fantastic. While Havarti is among my favorite sandwich cheeses, it was a little lost here; something more prominent, like very sharp cheddar (Cabot Seriously Sharp, anyone?) or even a (gasp!) Swiss would have been better choices in my mind.
Bread being a key ingredient of any sandwich, I should mention that the sourdough used in this sandwich was really good, very fresh tasting, with just a hint of that classic sour flavor. It held up well to the sandwich, not falling apart of becoming soggy in the least, and it had a nice crust that provided just the right amount of bite. Less successful, though not for any real reason other than getting lost (in much the same way as the cheese), was the mustard; I barely tasted it, and while it was not needed necessarily, a good spiciness would have been a good addition. I suspect it was simply an issue of not having enough applied because many people would not want a huge amount of it, but for me, it lacked the mustard flavor.
All in all, I had a great sandwich, which could have used some minor alterations, but nothing earth shattering, and the menu looks like there are several more I should be trying, not the least of which is the "Nobadeer," a Thanksgiving themed sandwich with roast turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo on sourdough. There are also several vegetarian items and a lobster roll, though having lived part time in Maine for most of my life I have an issue ordering them south of Kittery. There are more than enough options between salads and sandwiches to make just about anyone happy, and I highly recommend checking it out.
Monday, December 30, 2013
Maine Trip #1
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all! This is my favorite time of year, despite my recently acquired aversion to cold, because I absolutely love Christmas. I am, without a doubt, the worst Jew ever, but since I grew up celebrating Christmas in Portland, ME with my step-family, I came to love it not as a religious holiday, but instead as a time to get together with family and friends, exchange gifts, tell stories, and of course, eat lots and lots of great food. This year, in addition to the great food we had at family dinners, I went out and tried a few new places in Portland and the surrounding area. I also hit up an old favorite, Pai Men Miyake, which has become a requirement for my Portland trips over the last year.
*****
First up was Local 188, a fairly high end restaurant that specializes in fresh, local ingredients. Now, before I go any further, in the interest of full disclosure my sister and her boyfriend are both managers there, front and back of the house respectively, and this meal was essentially comped. That said, I did greatly enjoy it, as I had a classic favorite of mine (steak tartare), a classic Maine dish (mussels), and an innovative take on a true Italian classic (gnocchi with lobster).
I started off with a cocktail, the "Bergeron Sidecar," made with house infused vanilla and fig bourbon, Cointreau, and lemon juice. Ordinarily I am not a big cocktail person, preferring either to drink beer or straight spirits, but at my sister's suggestion I went with this, and it was really tasty. The bourbon did not overpower me, nor did it entirely mask the other ingredients, though it was definitely the dominant flavor. I do not know what kind of bourbon they used, but it was at least decent, though I doubt it was tremendously high end. The lemon juice added a nice citrus note to it, but since I have no clue what Cointreau tastes like on its own, I could not tell you whether it added anything. It would probably have been a better option as a pre-dinner drink, but it was fine during the meal as well.
Since I had never been to Local 188 before, despite my sister having worked there for quite some time now, I decided to sample a few different dishes, and they were all successful, though one clearly stood out above the rest. The mussels in red sauce were incredible, perfectly cooked (and cleaned, which even in a restaurant is no small measure of success) and delicious. They are plump, juicy, slightly briny delights that on their own would have been delicious, but when served in the incredible red sauce were legitimately delectable, one of the best dishes I have ever had in a restaurant. I have no clue what they put in the sauce other than that it is tomato based, and according to my sister Moroccan inspired, but my lord, it is delicious. I ended up using the endless supply of bread my sister kept grabbing for us (also really good) to sop up all the sauce, because there was no way I was letting any of it go to waste. Everything else could have been terrible, and this dish would have made going there worth it.
Next up were the gnocchi, which threw me for a bit of a loop. I am used to, and partial to, light, pillow-y, but deceptively dense gnocchi, which soak up sauces and provide just a little bit of a bite, that perfect al dente. These were definitely not that; they were absurdly light on the inside, but because they are pan seared, they have a little bit of crispness to the outside. They were extremely flavorful, and the lobster cream sauce they are served in is great, with a pretty significant amount of lobster piled on top of the gnocchi. All in all, I liked this, but it definitely was unlike any gnocchi dish I've ever had, and I think I would have liked it even more if they were not seared. That said, it is nice to see a restaurant do something a little different, and the sear was perfect on each of them.
The final dish, the steak tartare, was both awesome and disappointing. The steak itself was perfect, uniformly diced and formed beautifully into a classic disc, with capers and truffle oil mixed in that gave it the perfect saltiness and umami flavor to go with the clearly high quality steak. My issue, however, was the quail egg on top; rather than serve it traditionally, with a raw egg yolk on top, they fried the whole egg sunny side up; this created a textural and process issue for me, as I neither enjoyed the texture of the fried white or having to cut through it while trying to get a bit of the egg with the steak. Soft egg on top of malleable steak does not cut easily or cleanly. Additionally, who is eating steak tartare, but has an issue with raw egg? I would rather have just had the steak itself and no egg on top, because the steak itself was amazing, but that egg was incredibly disappointing.
Overall, I had a great experience, I really enjoyed my food, and I look forward to going back in the future to try some more things. The paella gets raves from the variety of people I know who have tried it.
Local 188 is relatively vegetarian and gluten-intolerant friendly, with several items on the menu that are one or both already, and the ability to retrofit some others to meet dietary restrictions.
*****
Saturday, after a delicious lunch at Pai Men, my sister and I took a quick trip up to Freeport, a town best known for the Maine staple L.L. Bean, but also now the home to Maine Beer Company. While they do not offer a brewery tour, they do have a small tap room that overlooks the heart of the brewery. They offer eight beers on tap at a time, and sometimes (including when I was there) have beers that are "Pilot" brews, not offered for sale anywhere else. Offering 5oz and 10oz glasses, or four and eight beer samplers of 5oz pours, you can try an old favorite or some new specialties. I went for the four beer sampler, trying three new-to-me beers, and of course, my all time favorite, the Lunch.
The new beers I tried were Weez (7.2%, American Black Ale), Lil One (9.1%, American Strong Ale), and Pilot 5 (5%, American Lager). The Weez was dark, heavy and very hoppy, but like all of MBC's beers, that hoppiness did not manifest in much bitterness. The Lil One was anything but, an absurdly strong, vibrant ale that even in a 5oz glass nearly knocked me on my ass. I would not want to have more than one of these at a time, but it is very, very good. The Pilot 5 was a nice, light, hoppy lager, and I hope they end up producing it, because I think it would be a great session beer, in a craft world sometimes too crowded by higher ABV offerings. Lastly (and I did save it for last, so I could savor it), the Lunch, that perfect, delightful, hoppily bright and effervescent IPA; as much as I love Ballast Point's Sculpin, Dogfish Head's 90 Minute, or any of the other truly great IPAs I have had in my life, none of them quite match up to Lunch. I keep saying it deserves its own review, and it does, but its so hard to find, and when I do, I end up just drinking it without taking the time to sit down and write a review because it is just so freaking good.
FYI, just down the street a short ways is Maine Distilleries Inc, the producer of Cold River Vodka.
*****
I always try to grab lunch or dinner with one or more of my dad's old friends when I make it up to Maine, people who have been very, very good to me in my life and were dear to him in his, and this trip I was able to make it to brunch with his old friend Doug and his wife Ann, who are some of my favorite people in the world. We tried initially to go to Flatbread, a small chain restaurant that Doug swears by, but they had actually had a small fire that morning and were not opening up until after I needed to leave town, so we ended up at Ri Ra Irish Pub, another small chain that has ten locations throughout the east, plus a new Las Vegas restaurant. Somehow I had never been there, despite their proximity to the Casco Bay Lines terminal, but since they are right next to Flatbread as well, we decided to pop in.
They are definitely a bar heavy restaurant, and with a pretty decent drink selection at that. We were there right around noon, so we ended up, at the suggestion of our waiter, ordering brunch. I had the Irish Benedict, an interesting play on the traditional dish wherein the English muffin is replaced by potato cakes (essentially home fries mashed together and then pan seared) and the Canadian bacon with a large rasher of regular bacon, with house-made Hollandaise on top. It was served with very unremarkable home fries and a thick slice of grilled tomato (a concept from the British Isles that really needs to catch on more here). The food took a long time to come out, but our waiter did come over and apologize for that and offered us some soup, on the house, to make up for it; as it turned out, the food arrived almost immediately after the soup came out, but it was nice of the restaurant (or just him?) to do that, and the soup, a tomato bisque, was pretty decent, though I make it better. The Benedict was quite tasty, albeit kind of difficult to get all the components into one cohesive bite, but that was not a big deal. The potato cakes were tasty, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like good home fries would be, and the bacon was cooked just right, as were the poached eggs. I would definitely have it again, or the Lobster Benedict that Doug ordered.
I firmly believe that the average restaurant customer goes in thinking they care primarily about the food, but in reality, people return for the service. With that in mind, and having had some great waiters, waitresses and bartenders in my life, I have to say that the waiter at Ri Ra was one of the best. I initially ordered the Irish Benedict, then immediately changed my mind to the Crab Cakes Benedict, a special for the day, and instead of just letting me get the (slightly) more expensive meal, he informed me that the crab cakes were not something that the restaurant does well, and encouraged me to stick with the Irish version. Not many waiters would do that, and he saved me (and Doug, who was also going to have them) from a poor experience. Combined with his general friendliness and professionalism, I was very, very impressed by him; even if the food had been only mediocre, rather than actually pretty tasty, I probably would still have written a positive review just because of his service.
******
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*****
First up was Local 188, a fairly high end restaurant that specializes in fresh, local ingredients. Now, before I go any further, in the interest of full disclosure my sister and her boyfriend are both managers there, front and back of the house respectively, and this meal was essentially comped. That said, I did greatly enjoy it, as I had a classic favorite of mine (steak tartare), a classic Maine dish (mussels), and an innovative take on a true Italian classic (gnocchi with lobster).
I started off with a cocktail, the "Bergeron Sidecar," made with house infused vanilla and fig bourbon, Cointreau, and lemon juice. Ordinarily I am not a big cocktail person, preferring either to drink beer or straight spirits, but at my sister's suggestion I went with this, and it was really tasty. The bourbon did not overpower me, nor did it entirely mask the other ingredients, though it was definitely the dominant flavor. I do not know what kind of bourbon they used, but it was at least decent, though I doubt it was tremendously high end. The lemon juice added a nice citrus note to it, but since I have no clue what Cointreau tastes like on its own, I could not tell you whether it added anything. It would probably have been a better option as a pre-dinner drink, but it was fine during the meal as well.
Since I had never been to Local 188 before, despite my sister having worked there for quite some time now, I decided to sample a few different dishes, and they were all successful, though one clearly stood out above the rest. The mussels in red sauce were incredible, perfectly cooked (and cleaned, which even in a restaurant is no small measure of success) and delicious. They are plump, juicy, slightly briny delights that on their own would have been delicious, but when served in the incredible red sauce were legitimately delectable, one of the best dishes I have ever had in a restaurant. I have no clue what they put in the sauce other than that it is tomato based, and according to my sister Moroccan inspired, but my lord, it is delicious. I ended up using the endless supply of bread my sister kept grabbing for us (also really good) to sop up all the sauce, because there was no way I was letting any of it go to waste. Everything else could have been terrible, and this dish would have made going there worth it.
Next up were the gnocchi, which threw me for a bit of a loop. I am used to, and partial to, light, pillow-y, but deceptively dense gnocchi, which soak up sauces and provide just a little bit of a bite, that perfect al dente. These were definitely not that; they were absurdly light on the inside, but because they are pan seared, they have a little bit of crispness to the outside. They were extremely flavorful, and the lobster cream sauce they are served in is great, with a pretty significant amount of lobster piled on top of the gnocchi. All in all, I liked this, but it definitely was unlike any gnocchi dish I've ever had, and I think I would have liked it even more if they were not seared. That said, it is nice to see a restaurant do something a little different, and the sear was perfect on each of them.
The final dish, the steak tartare, was both awesome and disappointing. The steak itself was perfect, uniformly diced and formed beautifully into a classic disc, with capers and truffle oil mixed in that gave it the perfect saltiness and umami flavor to go with the clearly high quality steak. My issue, however, was the quail egg on top; rather than serve it traditionally, with a raw egg yolk on top, they fried the whole egg sunny side up; this created a textural and process issue for me, as I neither enjoyed the texture of the fried white or having to cut through it while trying to get a bit of the egg with the steak. Soft egg on top of malleable steak does not cut easily or cleanly. Additionally, who is eating steak tartare, but has an issue with raw egg? I would rather have just had the steak itself and no egg on top, because the steak itself was amazing, but that egg was incredibly disappointing.
Overall, I had a great experience, I really enjoyed my food, and I look forward to going back in the future to try some more things. The paella gets raves from the variety of people I know who have tried it.
Local 188 is relatively vegetarian and gluten-intolerant friendly, with several items on the menu that are one or both already, and the ability to retrofit some others to meet dietary restrictions.
*****
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| The heart of the brewery; those tanks are filled with delicious, delicious beer |
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| Clockwise from front righ: Pilot 5, Lil One, Lunch, Weez |
FYI, just down the street a short ways is Maine Distilleries Inc, the producer of Cold River Vodka.
*****
I always try to grab lunch or dinner with one or more of my dad's old friends when I make it up to Maine, people who have been very, very good to me in my life and were dear to him in his, and this trip I was able to make it to brunch with his old friend Doug and his wife Ann, who are some of my favorite people in the world. We tried initially to go to Flatbread, a small chain restaurant that Doug swears by, but they had actually had a small fire that morning and were not opening up until after I needed to leave town, so we ended up at Ri Ra Irish Pub, another small chain that has ten locations throughout the east, plus a new Las Vegas restaurant. Somehow I had never been there, despite their proximity to the Casco Bay Lines terminal, but since they are right next to Flatbread as well, we decided to pop in.
They are definitely a bar heavy restaurant, and with a pretty decent drink selection at that. We were there right around noon, so we ended up, at the suggestion of our waiter, ordering brunch. I had the Irish Benedict, an interesting play on the traditional dish wherein the English muffin is replaced by potato cakes (essentially home fries mashed together and then pan seared) and the Canadian bacon with a large rasher of regular bacon, with house-made Hollandaise on top. It was served with very unremarkable home fries and a thick slice of grilled tomato (a concept from the British Isles that really needs to catch on more here). The food took a long time to come out, but our waiter did come over and apologize for that and offered us some soup, on the house, to make up for it; as it turned out, the food arrived almost immediately after the soup came out, but it was nice of the restaurant (or just him?) to do that, and the soup, a tomato bisque, was pretty decent, though I make it better. The Benedict was quite tasty, albeit kind of difficult to get all the components into one cohesive bite, but that was not a big deal. The potato cakes were tasty, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, just like good home fries would be, and the bacon was cooked just right, as were the poached eggs. I would definitely have it again, or the Lobster Benedict that Doug ordered.
I firmly believe that the average restaurant customer goes in thinking they care primarily about the food, but in reality, people return for the service. With that in mind, and having had some great waiters, waitresses and bartenders in my life, I have to say that the waiter at Ri Ra was one of the best. I initially ordered the Irish Benedict, then immediately changed my mind to the Crab Cakes Benedict, a special for the day, and instead of just letting me get the (slightly) more expensive meal, he informed me that the crab cakes were not something that the restaurant does well, and encouraged me to stick with the Irish version. Not many waiters would do that, and he saved me (and Doug, who was also going to have them) from a poor experience. Combined with his general friendliness and professionalism, I was very, very impressed by him; even if the food had been only mediocre, rather than actually pretty tasty, I probably would still have written a positive review just because of his service.
******
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Tuesday, November 26, 2013
The Roost (Northampton, MA)
The Roost is one of many cafes in Northampton, MA, fighting for supremacy in a market that should be able to support them all. Similar to last week's review, this is a place that I had seen a few times but never thought to drop in, as I did not really appreciate what it was and what it offered. My friend Sean and I were going out to grab a beer, but wanted somewhere different than our normal haunts, so he suggested The Roost.
Offering breakfast foods like waffles, egg sandwiches, and bagels, along with soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a rather interesting menu. Their soups and quiches change daily, but the rest of the menu stays essentially the same. They serve several beers in the bottle and have about half a dozen taps, all but one of which were stocked with local or semi-local beers, and prices are extremely reasonable. They had Brewmaster Jack's IPA for $12 pitchers, so we grabbed one of those to go along with a cup of soup each and the Mixed Board.
Sean had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Butternut Squash and Yam Bisque. The chowder was gluten free, and the bisque was vegetarian, and there are several items on the menu that satisfy each of those requirements for those with limited diets or dietary restrictions. My bisque was tremendous, slightly sweet and definitely more distinctly recognizable as having butternut squash than yam, with a heat that was very subtle at first but built as time went on. It was very creamy, and the texture was just right. Dipping the bread and some of the cheese from the Mixed Board was the perfect way to eat both.
The Mixed Board itself was quite good as well, with a small, house-made baguette, ample piles of hummus and peanut noodles (served cold), a side salad, some berries, a few thick slices of cheddar cheese, and some olive oil based dressing that was probably 95% oil. The baguette was delicious, but there was not enough of it, so we bought a second one; they make them daily, and you can really tell, so kudos to them. Hummus is something I tend to enjoy, but not love, and this was no different, as it was very good but not something I would ever really crave. The peanut noodles, on the contrary, were definitely crave worthy, and I do not tend to be a huge fan of cold peanut noodles, but these had little chunks of actual peanut in the sauce and it did not taste like someone had just thinned out some mediocre peanut butter. The side salad and berries deserve no more mention other than to say they seemed relatively fresh, I guess. Cheddar cheese being among my favorite things on Earth, I was really happy to find it on the plate, but really disappointed to find only a small pile, since it was really good stuff. The dressing was good with the bread, but nothing exciting; they can do better there. Overall, this was very good and I was very impressed.
If you need a quick, tasty, fresh made bite to eat and a beer or coffee, The Roost is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it a bit more than I would The Foundry, and the prices are a bit better as well. FYI, the desserts look AMAZING.
******
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Offering breakfast foods like waffles, egg sandwiches, and bagels, along with soups, sandwiches and salads, they have a rather interesting menu. Their soups and quiches change daily, but the rest of the menu stays essentially the same. They serve several beers in the bottle and have about half a dozen taps, all but one of which were stocked with local or semi-local beers, and prices are extremely reasonable. They had Brewmaster Jack's IPA for $12 pitchers, so we grabbed one of those to go along with a cup of soup each and the Mixed Board.
Sean had the New England Clam Chowder and I had the Butternut Squash and Yam Bisque. The chowder was gluten free, and the bisque was vegetarian, and there are several items on the menu that satisfy each of those requirements for those with limited diets or dietary restrictions. My bisque was tremendous, slightly sweet and definitely more distinctly recognizable as having butternut squash than yam, with a heat that was very subtle at first but built as time went on. It was very creamy, and the texture was just right. Dipping the bread and some of the cheese from the Mixed Board was the perfect way to eat both.
The Mixed Board itself was quite good as well, with a small, house-made baguette, ample piles of hummus and peanut noodles (served cold), a side salad, some berries, a few thick slices of cheddar cheese, and some olive oil based dressing that was probably 95% oil. The baguette was delicious, but there was not enough of it, so we bought a second one; they make them daily, and you can really tell, so kudos to them. Hummus is something I tend to enjoy, but not love, and this was no different, as it was very good but not something I would ever really crave. The peanut noodles, on the contrary, were definitely crave worthy, and I do not tend to be a huge fan of cold peanut noodles, but these had little chunks of actual peanut in the sauce and it did not taste like someone had just thinned out some mediocre peanut butter. The side salad and berries deserve no more mention other than to say they seemed relatively fresh, I guess. Cheddar cheese being among my favorite things on Earth, I was really happy to find it on the plate, but really disappointed to find only a small pile, since it was really good stuff. The dressing was good with the bread, but nothing exciting; they can do better there. Overall, this was very good and I was very impressed.
If you need a quick, tasty, fresh made bite to eat and a beer or coffee, The Roost is definitely a good option, and I would recommend it a bit more than I would The Foundry, and the prices are a bit better as well. FYI, the desserts look AMAZING.
******
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Friday, June 7, 2013
Boston Trip #2
During my trip to the 2013 American Craft Beer Fest, Sean and I stayed at Hostelling International's Boston location, which is on Stuart St in Chinatown, leading us to having a few good meals in the area. I should also say, this was my first experience at a hostel, and it was a pretty positive one; the hostel was large, clean, and had some pretty decent amenities, including an espresso bar, lounge area, and even a kitchen space, and the rooms lock, which is fantastic, and each bed has its own locker that a padlock can secure. The room we were in had six bunks, each of which has a small cubby space at the head of the bed, which has a reading light and a few outlets to charge your phone. At just $50 a night per person, this is significantly better than just about any hotel in or around the city, and it is in a pretty great location, within walking distance to...well...just about anywhere in Boston.
Anyways, on to the food! When Sean and I arrived, we dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and went to grab some food. We spied Q Restaurant on the corner of Washington St and Beach St, a sort of pan Asian (or at least east Asian) restaurant offering sushi, Mongolian hot pot style dinners, Thai, and Chinese cuisine. We knew were going to get some dim sum in the morning, so we went with the Mongolian hot pot, which I last had back in 2000 in the Pacific Northwest (I think in Victoria) with my dad and brother on a vacation, and which Sean had never had. Essentially, you get a large bowl of hot broth (or in this case, broth that is heated to the point of an aggressive boil on a burner located in the middle of the table) in which you cook a variety of meats and/or vegetables. You can pick from a number of broths, which cost anywhere between three and eight dollars (or the Basic Broth, which is free), and at least one of these is vegetarian friendly. You can choose from combos or a la carte accompaniments for the broth, ranging from "Kobe" beef (I still have no clue why people aren't outraged that they are being asked to pay ridiculous amounts of money for a product that is not even available in the USA, and thus are being lied to) to fish balls to various vegetables. The combinations all include assorted vegetables, such as a small piece of corn on the cob, some baby bok choy, watercress, and a couple others. You also can choose from a few different noodle or rice options; Sean and I both went with the Udon noodles, and I had the Beef and Lamb combo, while he had just the Lamb. We went with a bowl of the Mala broth, which the menu says is their most popular. It was spicy, filled with chili peppers, and very, very flavorful, though the amount of time you are cooking the various items in the hot broth limits the amount of flavor transfer. The meat, which is sliced exceptionally thin (think lunch meat) cooks very, very quickly, as do the vegetables, though they can stay in the hot liquid longer without much issue. The noodles also did not require much of a soak, just enough to get them hot, really. The food was pretty delicious, and we were stuffed by the time we finished; the mile and a half long walk to the Seaport World Trade Center was definitely a positive, as it gave us time to digest, and also burned off at least a few calories (that we quickly replaced with beer, of course) as we walked in the very hot sun. I don't know how authentic the food was, but we both enjoyed it, and would go back. The prices weren't unreasonable, either, costing us each under $25 for the meal.
After the ACBF, we were pretty tired, and slightly tipsy, but by the time we got back to the hostel, we decided we needed some more food, if only to soak up the booze. Sean suggested finding a burger place, so with the help of my phone we found UBURGER, a small local chain with five locations throughout Boston. We went to the 140 Tremont St. location, which should only be about a 10 minute walk, that somehow we (I?) turned into a 30 minute walk via some unfortunate directional issues, arriving half an hour before they closed. I ordered a Cowboy Burger, which has barbeque sauce, pepper jack cheese, grilled mushrooms and bacon, and added a soda and fries, which cost me all of about $10; not bad in Boston. The burger was decent, nothing super special, but to a slightly intoxicated person at 10:30pm, it was perfect. Cooked a little more than I like (I don't recall being asked how I wanted it, honestly, though that could be me misremembering due to being exhausted), it was nicely salty, and the toppings were great. The fries were spectacular, shoestring fries that were deliciously crispy, salty and just the littlest bit greasy; aka, perfect drunk food. This is the kind of place that needs to be in the bar section of every college town in America. Probably not the most vegetarian friendly place, they do offer a veggie patty and some salads, but it is clearly not their specialty.
Sunday morning we woke up, incredibly sans hangover, and met my friends Forrest and Molly at China Pearl for dim sum. Few things appeal to me more as a breakfast food than dim sum, which consists of a variety of steamed buns, rolls, and rice dishes, among others, that are brought to the table on steam-table carts. There are a couple problems with this, as a non-Cantonese speaking individual: first off, I honestly have little to no clue what I am getting most of the time, as the wait staff for the most part spoke little to no English, and so I was left to guess what they were offering us several times; and second, I had no clue how much anything cost, since they just marked up the card on the table with stamps of Chinese characters. Despite these difficulties, we had some pretty good food, though it could have better. I loved the pork steamed buns (char siu bau), which were somehow both light and dense at the same time, and the sticky rice was great, filled with some variety of poultry. The steamed meatballs were less of a hit, though they were not bad by any means. The sweet buns filled with pork were great, a perfect combination of sweet and savory, though only Sean and I enjoyed them; neither Forrest nor Molly are big pork fans, as it turns out. We had a few other dishes, and I do not think anyone left hungry, though I suspect that I enjoyed the meal more than the rest of the group. We were each out exactly $10 at the end, so the fact that we had no clue what we were paying for individual dishes turned out not to be a problem at all; this was, in fact, remarkably cheap. China Pearl is one of two highly recommended Chinatown restaurants to get dim sum, with the other being Hei La Moon; I look forward to trying that restaurant as well in the future. I do not believe that this is a particularly vegetarian friendly type of meal, at least unless you are fluent in Cantonese and can converse with the waiters pushing the carts, as you may end up getting more than you bargained for otherwise.
******
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Anyways, on to the food! When Sean and I arrived, we dropped our stuff off at the hostel, and went to grab some food. We spied Q Restaurant on the corner of Washington St and Beach St, a sort of pan Asian (or at least east Asian) restaurant offering sushi, Mongolian hot pot style dinners, Thai, and Chinese cuisine. We knew were going to get some dim sum in the morning, so we went with the Mongolian hot pot, which I last had back in 2000 in the Pacific Northwest (I think in Victoria) with my dad and brother on a vacation, and which Sean had never had. Essentially, you get a large bowl of hot broth (or in this case, broth that is heated to the point of an aggressive boil on a burner located in the middle of the table) in which you cook a variety of meats and/or vegetables. You can pick from a number of broths, which cost anywhere between three and eight dollars (or the Basic Broth, which is free), and at least one of these is vegetarian friendly. You can choose from combos or a la carte accompaniments for the broth, ranging from "Kobe" beef (I still have no clue why people aren't outraged that they are being asked to pay ridiculous amounts of money for a product that is not even available in the USA, and thus are being lied to) to fish balls to various vegetables. The combinations all include assorted vegetables, such as a small piece of corn on the cob, some baby bok choy, watercress, and a couple others. You also can choose from a few different noodle or rice options; Sean and I both went with the Udon noodles, and I had the Beef and Lamb combo, while he had just the Lamb. We went with a bowl of the Mala broth, which the menu says is their most popular. It was spicy, filled with chili peppers, and very, very flavorful, though the amount of time you are cooking the various items in the hot broth limits the amount of flavor transfer. The meat, which is sliced exceptionally thin (think lunch meat) cooks very, very quickly, as do the vegetables, though they can stay in the hot liquid longer without much issue. The noodles also did not require much of a soak, just enough to get them hot, really. The food was pretty delicious, and we were stuffed by the time we finished; the mile and a half long walk to the Seaport World Trade Center was definitely a positive, as it gave us time to digest, and also burned off at least a few calories (that we quickly replaced with beer, of course) as we walked in the very hot sun. I don't know how authentic the food was, but we both enjoyed it, and would go back. The prices weren't unreasonable, either, costing us each under $25 for the meal.
After the ACBF, we were pretty tired, and slightly tipsy, but by the time we got back to the hostel, we decided we needed some more food, if only to soak up the booze. Sean suggested finding a burger place, so with the help of my phone we found UBURGER, a small local chain with five locations throughout Boston. We went to the 140 Tremont St. location, which should only be about a 10 minute walk, that somehow we (I?) turned into a 30 minute walk via some unfortunate directional issues, arriving half an hour before they closed. I ordered a Cowboy Burger, which has barbeque sauce, pepper jack cheese, grilled mushrooms and bacon, and added a soda and fries, which cost me all of about $10; not bad in Boston. The burger was decent, nothing super special, but to a slightly intoxicated person at 10:30pm, it was perfect. Cooked a little more than I like (I don't recall being asked how I wanted it, honestly, though that could be me misremembering due to being exhausted), it was nicely salty, and the toppings were great. The fries were spectacular, shoestring fries that were deliciously crispy, salty and just the littlest bit greasy; aka, perfect drunk food. This is the kind of place that needs to be in the bar section of every college town in America. Probably not the most vegetarian friendly place, they do offer a veggie patty and some salads, but it is clearly not their specialty.
Sunday morning we woke up, incredibly sans hangover, and met my friends Forrest and Molly at China Pearl for dim sum. Few things appeal to me more as a breakfast food than dim sum, which consists of a variety of steamed buns, rolls, and rice dishes, among others, that are brought to the table on steam-table carts. There are a couple problems with this, as a non-Cantonese speaking individual: first off, I honestly have little to no clue what I am getting most of the time, as the wait staff for the most part spoke little to no English, and so I was left to guess what they were offering us several times; and second, I had no clue how much anything cost, since they just marked up the card on the table with stamps of Chinese characters. Despite these difficulties, we had some pretty good food, though it could have better. I loved the pork steamed buns (char siu bau), which were somehow both light and dense at the same time, and the sticky rice was great, filled with some variety of poultry. The steamed meatballs were less of a hit, though they were not bad by any means. The sweet buns filled with pork were great, a perfect combination of sweet and savory, though only Sean and I enjoyed them; neither Forrest nor Molly are big pork fans, as it turns out. We had a few other dishes, and I do not think anyone left hungry, though I suspect that I enjoyed the meal more than the rest of the group. We were each out exactly $10 at the end, so the fact that we had no clue what we were paying for individual dishes turned out not to be a problem at all; this was, in fact, remarkably cheap. China Pearl is one of two highly recommended Chinatown restaurants to get dim sum, with the other being Hei La Moon; I look forward to trying that restaurant as well in the future. I do not believe that this is a particularly vegetarian friendly type of meal, at least unless you are fluent in Cantonese and can converse with the waiters pushing the carts, as you may end up getting more than you bargained for otherwise.
******
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Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Viva Fresh Pasta Company (Northampton, MA)
It's not often that I get excited by Italian restaurants anymore, as they all tend to kind of run together; some pasta, some Marsala, some veal...it's all fine, but it's nothing special. But, every once in a while, you find a place that just does things a cut above, and Viva Fresh Pasta Company, a longtime staple of downtown Northampton, is one of those places.
As the name suggests, Viva (typically just known as Fresh Pasta Company; in fact, despite the giant sign over the door saying "VIVA" I did not actually know it was part of the restaurant's name until recently) focuses on providing fresh, house made pastas, while offering Italian and other European/Mediterranean inspired cuisine. The menu is limited, offering just a handful of appetizers, entrees and "tapas" plates, but they also have a "create your own" section, where you can pick from ten or so pastas (including stuffed), a dozen sauces, and several add ons such as vegetables and proteins. The entrees that include pasta also allow you to pick which type you want.
The restaurant itself is split between a small upstairs with approximately ten tables and a small bar, and a slightly larger downstairs, with probably twice as much room. It is simply decorated, well lit, but not glaringly bright by any means, and it is comfortable for anything from a dinner date to a business lunch or for grabbing a bite to eat with family or friends. The wait staff is friendly and attentive, and even though my date and I were the only people in the downstairs for the majority of our meal, it never seemed like we had been forgotten.
I had the Carbonara, a classic Italian preparation that involves crispy Pancetta (a personal favorite of mine), cream, sauteed onions, Parmesan cheese (not sure if they use real Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it would certainly not shock me if they do), pepper and, most importantly, a whole egg that is mixed into the pasta and sauce at the last second. I had this with linguine, which is not traditional, but I really enjoy a well made linguine and think that it works well with cheesier, clingy sauces like carbonara. It was perfectly prepared, with a creamy sauce that clung to the pasta beautifully, with a strong flavor of the cheese, and a texture that can only come from expertly mixing in the egg so that it does not really cook until it is incorporated, so it is more like a sauce Hollandaise than an actual cooked egg. The pancetta, of which there were small cubes about 1cm in size, was crispy on the exterior and delightfully chewy inside, with a saltiness and savoriness that just warmed my pork loving heart. It did not seem like a huge amount of food when it came out, but it was so incredibly rich that I could not even finish it, and ended up taking a small amount home, which served nicely as a late night snack later that evening. The girl I was having dinner with had the same result, as her Sweet Potato Ravioli was also rich enough that she ended up taking home about five of the dozen or so ravioli it came with.
As I said before, it is hard to excite me with Italian food, but Viva Fresh Pasta Company does it, and while it had been a while since I had been there before this most recent trip, I suspect I will be going back soon. They are vegetarian friendly for you non-carnivorous types, though not remotely vegan friendly (that's okay with me, veganism is just wrong) and they are highly recommended regardless of your gustatory preferences.
******
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As the name suggests, Viva (typically just known as Fresh Pasta Company; in fact, despite the giant sign over the door saying "VIVA" I did not actually know it was part of the restaurant's name until recently) focuses on providing fresh, house made pastas, while offering Italian and other European/Mediterranean inspired cuisine. The menu is limited, offering just a handful of appetizers, entrees and "tapas" plates, but they also have a "create your own" section, where you can pick from ten or so pastas (including stuffed), a dozen sauces, and several add ons such as vegetables and proteins. The entrees that include pasta also allow you to pick which type you want.
The restaurant itself is split between a small upstairs with approximately ten tables and a small bar, and a slightly larger downstairs, with probably twice as much room. It is simply decorated, well lit, but not glaringly bright by any means, and it is comfortable for anything from a dinner date to a business lunch or for grabbing a bite to eat with family or friends. The wait staff is friendly and attentive, and even though my date and I were the only people in the downstairs for the majority of our meal, it never seemed like we had been forgotten.
I had the Carbonara, a classic Italian preparation that involves crispy Pancetta (a personal favorite of mine), cream, sauteed onions, Parmesan cheese (not sure if they use real Parmigiano-Reggiano, but it would certainly not shock me if they do), pepper and, most importantly, a whole egg that is mixed into the pasta and sauce at the last second. I had this with linguine, which is not traditional, but I really enjoy a well made linguine and think that it works well with cheesier, clingy sauces like carbonara. It was perfectly prepared, with a creamy sauce that clung to the pasta beautifully, with a strong flavor of the cheese, and a texture that can only come from expertly mixing in the egg so that it does not really cook until it is incorporated, so it is more like a sauce Hollandaise than an actual cooked egg. The pancetta, of which there were small cubes about 1cm in size, was crispy on the exterior and delightfully chewy inside, with a saltiness and savoriness that just warmed my pork loving heart. It did not seem like a huge amount of food when it came out, but it was so incredibly rich that I could not even finish it, and ended up taking a small amount home, which served nicely as a late night snack later that evening. The girl I was having dinner with had the same result, as her Sweet Potato Ravioli was also rich enough that she ended up taking home about five of the dozen or so ravioli it came with.
As I said before, it is hard to excite me with Italian food, but Viva Fresh Pasta Company does it, and while it had been a while since I had been there before this most recent trip, I suspect I will be going back soon. They are vegetarian friendly for you non-carnivorous types, though not remotely vegan friendly (that's okay with me, veganism is just wrong) and they are highly recommended regardless of your gustatory preferences.
******
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Monday, May 20, 2013
Gohyang (Hadley, MA)
Gohyang, located on Route 9 in Hadley, MA, is a small Korean restaurant and grocery serving some pretty decent food from a reasonably wide menu. The quality of the food does not quite match that of my personal favorite, Manna House, but the menu is much more varied, and they have beer! Not much beer, but still, it's there; that's an improvement over Manna House at this point. After planning on hitting Dirty Truth for some food and drinks the other night with my friend Sean, we had to detour back to his place in Hadley to feed his (ridiculously adorable and allergenic) kitten, and decided instead to just go to Gohyang instead of heading back to Northampton. It turned out to be a good decision.
We ordered a ton of food, with the theory that we'd have plenty of leftovers to take home for lunch the next day. This turned out to be wrong, as I left with enough for a very small lunch or a moderate snack the next day, and Sean was nice enough to not split the small remaining portion. We started out with a couple appetizers, the pa jeon (scallion pancake) and some dumplings, which I can't recall the name of. The scallion pancake was fantastic, crispy on the outside and soft and doughy on the inside; they do this better than most places I have been, to be sure, and they serve it with a mild soy based sauce that does not have a ton of flavor but doesn't take anything away either. The dumplings were fine, nothing special, and bordering on boring; they certainly do not match up to those of Manna House, but they are not the same variety. I think it was a pork based filling, and this was the part that was really bland, and required a sauce that was much more interesting than that which was served with it and the pancake.
For the main courses, we went with kalbi (galbi), bibim bap, and ojing oh bokum, the latter two being my favorite Korean dishes. The kalbi was great, fatty, succulent, and salty, and is a very well done dish. I love that they do not trim all the fat off the meat before cooking it, as you get a much richer beef flavor than if you cut it all off; after all, fat is flavor. The bibim bap, which had some grilled pieces of chicken, was good, nothing super special; the best part was the crispy rice that came from the bottom hot kettle like dish it was served in. Again, Manna House does a better job, but this was perfectly acceptable. The ojing oh bokum was disappointing, but still tasty; the squid was overcooked and rubbery, the sauce was weak and barely spicy, and the vegetables were limp and lifeless. It is not among their best offerings.
I know this makes it seem like we had a bad meal; we didn't! It was actually a really good, really tasty dinner, and we ate a ton. It is just that I tend to compare my meals to the best of the same variety, and this does not match up to the better Korean restaurants I have been to. I enjoy going to Gohyang, but it is simply not as good Manna House. They do do a couple things better, including the pa jeon, and they offer far more banchan (the small dishes that come with every meal) than Manna House, with much greater variety. This is, like most Korean joints, vegetarian friendly. They also offer the option of a more traditional seating, with short legged tables and pillows on which to sit. Among the beers offered are a few Berkshire Brewing Company 22oz bottles, along with some other, more mass produced options.
******
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We ordered a ton of food, with the theory that we'd have plenty of leftovers to take home for lunch the next day. This turned out to be wrong, as I left with enough for a very small lunch or a moderate snack the next day, and Sean was nice enough to not split the small remaining portion. We started out with a couple appetizers, the pa jeon (scallion pancake) and some dumplings, which I can't recall the name of. The scallion pancake was fantastic, crispy on the outside and soft and doughy on the inside; they do this better than most places I have been, to be sure, and they serve it with a mild soy based sauce that does not have a ton of flavor but doesn't take anything away either. The dumplings were fine, nothing special, and bordering on boring; they certainly do not match up to those of Manna House, but they are not the same variety. I think it was a pork based filling, and this was the part that was really bland, and required a sauce that was much more interesting than that which was served with it and the pancake.
For the main courses, we went with kalbi (galbi), bibim bap, and ojing oh bokum, the latter two being my favorite Korean dishes. The kalbi was great, fatty, succulent, and salty, and is a very well done dish. I love that they do not trim all the fat off the meat before cooking it, as you get a much richer beef flavor than if you cut it all off; after all, fat is flavor. The bibim bap, which had some grilled pieces of chicken, was good, nothing super special; the best part was the crispy rice that came from the bottom hot kettle like dish it was served in. Again, Manna House does a better job, but this was perfectly acceptable. The ojing oh bokum was disappointing, but still tasty; the squid was overcooked and rubbery, the sauce was weak and barely spicy, and the vegetables were limp and lifeless. It is not among their best offerings.
I know this makes it seem like we had a bad meal; we didn't! It was actually a really good, really tasty dinner, and we ate a ton. It is just that I tend to compare my meals to the best of the same variety, and this does not match up to the better Korean restaurants I have been to. I enjoy going to Gohyang, but it is simply not as good Manna House. They do do a couple things better, including the pa jeon, and they offer far more banchan (the small dishes that come with every meal) than Manna House, with much greater variety. This is, like most Korean joints, vegetarian friendly. They also offer the option of a more traditional seating, with short legged tables and pillows on which to sit. Among the beers offered are a few Berkshire Brewing Company 22oz bottles, along with some other, more mass produced options.
******
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Tuesday, April 23, 2013
The Dirty Truth (Northampton, MA) and Kulmbacher Braurei AG EKU Pils
The Dirty Truth is probably my favorite place to go in Northampton, MA, a small city that offers several good bars and restaurants, but none that offer the combination of food, beer, and ambiance of The Dirty Truth. This place is not dim, it is dark; if you have trouble seeing in darker restaurants, you will not be able to read the menu here, but for me, that's fantastic. I love a good dark bar, where I can feel like my friends and I are in our own little cocoon, and The Dirty Truth provides just that; even the acoustics of the place make it tough to eavesdrop on others.
A beer bar is how most people know this place, and for good reason; the selection is always fantastic, with a variety of high quality craft beers, typically including several local options. The bartenders and waiters are all very knowledgeable and passionate about beer; I rarely pick my own beer there, usually asking for suggestions and relying on their advice. Thus far, I have not been led astray.
The menu is bar food...sort of. French fries, burgers, Reuben sandwich, and nachos are among the baker's dozen of options on the menu, but these are not your standard bar type foods. The french fries are ridiculous, perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, served with ketchup made in house from local tomatoes, mayonnaise (I don't get that one, but whatever I get it now...holy crap that's some good homemade mayo), and best of all, gravy...perfect, rich, meaty gravy (that I can't even tell you for sure isn't vegetarian; it is Northampton, after all); overall, these are the best fries I've ever had, making even the fries at Bouchon Bistro seem only decent. My friend Sean and I have been here a couple times, and there are few things better than the combination of great beer, great conversation, and french fried perfection.
For the vegetarians and vegans in the crowd, there are also homemade baked pretzels (with an IPA mustard), falafel, two salad options, nachos, spicy mac and cheese, and a veggie burger. For those of us who prefer dead critter in our food, the corned beef Reuben, hamburger, mussels, fried chicken, and best of all, the pulled bbq duck nachos. I had the hamburger this evening with a glass of Kulmbacher Brauerei AG EKU Pils.
The hamburger, a giant patty on a perfect brioche bun, was fantastic, with few flaws; it was not up to the level of Burger Bar in Las Vegas, but it was among the better burgers I've had, equal to or possibly even surpassing the burgers at Bobby's Burger Palace at Mohegan Sun. The bun, as I said, was perfect, with a lightly crisp crust and an airy, almost sweet crumb, and held up perfectly to the juices of the burger. Cooked just slightly off what I asked (medium rare rather than rare), the quality of the meat, which the menu states is "certified organic" and "humane" beef, was clearly high, and the tightly packed patty held together perfectly without becoming too dense or feeling like meatloaf. I ordered the burger with bacon and smoked bleu cheese, with one being successful and the other being a huge disappointment. Incredibly, it was the bacon that bothered me, being undercooked to the point of almost being raw, and thus chewy and tough to bite through. The cheese was a home run though, lacking the flavor of smoke that I was expecting, but it tasted like a strong Roquefort. The texture was similar to a drier brie, and served as a thick slab on top of the burger, it was the perfect accompaniment to the strong beef flavor of the patty. On the side were some possible toppers for the burger, including lettuce (and not iceberg, though I couldn't tell you what kind it was, though it was good), onion, and a few thick slices of what I suspect were homemade sweet pickles. I hate sweet pickles; they are just the worst kind of abomination, a poor tasting substitute for the delectable dill or sour dill pickle. These were freaking awesome. Seriously, I have never liked sweet pickles before, and I loved these; I could have eaten them all night.
The Kulmbacher EKU Pils was suggested by the bartender when I asked for something light and refreshing, and as usual, the suggestion was spot on. A light amber, nearly translucent, it had a significant head when served, a brilliant eggshell colored froth that dissipated quickly once I started drinking. The beer itself had a slightly hoppy flavor, which I enjoyed, but was otherwise a very simple, albeit invigoratingly fresh barley taste. It's a good introductory beer if you're trying to convince someone who claims not to like beer that they're wrong, but it's also a more than acceptable option if, like me, you're simply interested in something that won't fill you up or give you the heady feeling of a stronger, heftier beer.
I have yet to try The Dirty Truth's brunch, but I've heard it is absolutely fantastic. The pork belly taco sounds spectacular, and who doesn't love chicken and waffles? Savory bread pudding is a hard option to argue with, as is eggs Florentine, the vegetarian version of my personal favorite eggs Benedict. I will definitely be returning, and I cannot recommend this place highly enough; it's the best choice in a city with many fine options.
******
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A beer bar is how most people know this place, and for good reason; the selection is always fantastic, with a variety of high quality craft beers, typically including several local options. The bartenders and waiters are all very knowledgeable and passionate about beer; I rarely pick my own beer there, usually asking for suggestions and relying on their advice. Thus far, I have not been led astray.
The menu is bar food...sort of. French fries, burgers, Reuben sandwich, and nachos are among the baker's dozen of options on the menu, but these are not your standard bar type foods. The french fries are ridiculous, perfectly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, served with ketchup made in house from local tomatoes, mayonnaise (
For the vegetarians and vegans in the crowd, there are also homemade baked pretzels (with an IPA mustard), falafel, two salad options, nachos, spicy mac and cheese, and a veggie burger. For those of us who prefer dead critter in our food, the corned beef Reuben, hamburger, mussels, fried chicken, and best of all, the pulled bbq duck nachos. I had the hamburger this evening with a glass of Kulmbacher Brauerei AG EKU Pils.
 |
| Hamburger, french fries, and Kulmbacher EKU Pils |
The Kulmbacher EKU Pils was suggested by the bartender when I asked for something light and refreshing, and as usual, the suggestion was spot on. A light amber, nearly translucent, it had a significant head when served, a brilliant eggshell colored froth that dissipated quickly once I started drinking. The beer itself had a slightly hoppy flavor, which I enjoyed, but was otherwise a very simple, albeit invigoratingly fresh barley taste. It's a good introductory beer if you're trying to convince someone who claims not to like beer that they're wrong, but it's also a more than acceptable option if, like me, you're simply interested in something that won't fill you up or give you the heady feeling of a stronger, heftier beer.
I have yet to try The Dirty Truth's brunch, but I've heard it is absolutely fantastic. The pork belly taco sounds spectacular, and who doesn't love chicken and waffles? Savory bread pudding is a hard option to argue with, as is eggs Florentine, the vegetarian version of my personal favorite eggs Benedict. I will definitely be returning, and I cannot recommend this place highly enough; it's the best choice in a city with many fine options.
******
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Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Prune (New York City, NY)
I first heard about Prune via a post on Keith Law's blog The Dish about Gabrielle Hamilton's memoir Blood, Bones & Butter, which he raved about. His description, and several quotes from the book, made me want to immediately drive down to New York City and go to Prune. Hamilton's philosophy is simple: good, unpretentious, fresh food, and this ethos won Hamilton a James Beard Award in 2001 and 2011, as well as multiple additional nominations as Best Chef in New York City. While getting a reservation for dinner can supposedly be difficult, brunch--served on weekends from 11:00am to 3:00pm--is first come, first served. Luckily, less than two weeks after reading Keith's post, I was on my way to NYC to see a friend, and she very nicely agreed to accompany me to brunch.
We arrived a little before noon, and were told it would be an hour wait, so we decided to wander around the area a bit, returning after about 35 or 40 minutes, only to find that they had already called for us. However, we were put right back on the list, and within the next few minutes were being seated at the bar. The restaurant is tiny, with tables for maybe three dozen people, packed in pretty tightly, plus another ten or so at the small bar, which has bright magenta stools that goes with the rather eclectic look of the whole place. The menu doesn't look like anything special, with mostly old favorites like the Monte Cristo sandwich, steak and eggs, and even huevos rancheros. There are also some more creative and non-traditional options, such as spicy stewed chickpeas, egg "en cocotte," coddled egg with chicken, and even spaghetti a la carbonara and a sausage and oysters dish. The drink menu includes a number of traditional and non-traditional brunch drinks, such as a variety of Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and the bizarre Chicago Matchbox, which includes homemade lemon vodka (I presume that means they take regular vodka and add the lemon flavor in house, rather than actually distilling the vodka), pickled Brussel's sprouts, baby white turnips, caperberries, green beans, and radishes, and is served with a chaser of my personal guilty pleasure beer, Red Stripe. It sounded interesting, but not quite interesting enough to get one.
I went simple, with the Classic Eggs Benedict, my all time favorite breakfast dish, which was served with "potatoes rosti," which was really just a giant potato latke, albeit a very good one. My friend
ordered the Soft Scrambled Eggs, served "on the wet side" according to the menu, with fresh chopped parsley, bacon, potatoes rosti, and a toasted, buttered English muffin. Since she is gluten intolerant, I was the happy recipient of her English muffin. We also both ordered Mimosas, because...well, does that really need an explanation?
My Eggs Benedict was perfect; the Canadian bacon was not chewy, a common problem with it, and the eggs were perfectly cooked, spilling the runny yolk all over as soon as I cut into it, giving me something to dip the potatoes and my extra English muffin in, which was exactly what I was hoping for. The hollandaise was light, but very tasty, and definitely homemade. The potatoes rosti were crisp on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside, and delicious, though if I had to make a complaint it would be that they were a little under-seasoned; Julie added salt and pepper, but I just used the egg yolk to add flavor. With a bit more salt, however, it would have been just about perfect, reminding me of eating latkes during Hanukkah as a child. Julie was also very happy with her food, saying that though the eggs were cooked rather less than she was used to, she really enjoyed them. The Mimosas were the perfect accompaniment, with good, though slightly pulpy (I hate pulp) orange juice and actually decent champagne.
At just under $47 for our meals, drinks, and a good tip (the bartender was fantastic) this was an exceptionally reasonable meal, especially by New York City standards. The service was great, the restaurant beautiful, and the food was superb; I cannot recommend it enough. It is also very vegetarian friendly if that's your thing.
******
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We arrived a little before noon, and were told it would be an hour wait, so we decided to wander around the area a bit, returning after about 35 or 40 minutes, only to find that they had already called for us. However, we were put right back on the list, and within the next few minutes were being seated at the bar. The restaurant is tiny, with tables for maybe three dozen people, packed in pretty tightly, plus another ten or so at the small bar, which has bright magenta stools that goes with the rather eclectic look of the whole place. The menu doesn't look like anything special, with mostly old favorites like the Monte Cristo sandwich, steak and eggs, and even huevos rancheros. There are also some more creative and non-traditional options, such as spicy stewed chickpeas, egg "en cocotte," coddled egg with chicken, and even spaghetti a la carbonara and a sausage and oysters dish. The drink menu includes a number of traditional and non-traditional brunch drinks, such as a variety of Bloody Marys, Mimosas, and the bizarre Chicago Matchbox, which includes homemade lemon vodka (I presume that means they take regular vodka and add the lemon flavor in house, rather than actually distilling the vodka), pickled Brussel's sprouts, baby white turnips, caperberries, green beans, and radishes, and is served with a chaser of my personal guilty pleasure beer, Red Stripe. It sounded interesting, but not quite interesting enough to get one.
I went simple, with the Classic Eggs Benedict, my all time favorite breakfast dish, which was served with "potatoes rosti," which was really just a giant potato latke, albeit a very good one. My friend
 |
| Eggs Benedict, Potatoes Rosti, and Mimosa, with pickled veggies in the background |
My Eggs Benedict was perfect; the Canadian bacon was not chewy, a common problem with it, and the eggs were perfectly cooked, spilling the runny yolk all over as soon as I cut into it, giving me something to dip the potatoes and my extra English muffin in, which was exactly what I was hoping for. The hollandaise was light, but very tasty, and definitely homemade. The potatoes rosti were crisp on the outside, slightly chewy on the inside, and delicious, though if I had to make a complaint it would be that they were a little under-seasoned; Julie added salt and pepper, but I just used the egg yolk to add flavor. With a bit more salt, however, it would have been just about perfect, reminding me of eating latkes during Hanukkah as a child. Julie was also very happy with her food, saying that though the eggs were cooked rather less than she was used to, she really enjoyed them. The Mimosas were the perfect accompaniment, with good, though slightly pulpy (I hate pulp) orange juice and actually decent champagne.
At just under $47 for our meals, drinks, and a good tip (the bartender was fantastic) this was an exceptionally reasonable meal, especially by New York City standards. The service was great, the restaurant beautiful, and the food was superb; I cannot recommend it enough. It is also very vegetarian friendly if that's your thing.
******
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Sunday, February 24, 2013
Charlie's Kitchen (Cambridge, MA)
Located a short walk from Harvard University and numerous clubs and bars, Charlie's Kitchen is a popular late night spot to grab a beer and a burger and hang out. My first trip there was several months ago, after a night out at the Hong Kong, another local hotspot, and I loved it from the minute I set foot in there. Split between two levels, the downstairs is narrow, with a lengthy bar and some tables and booths, while the upstairs is more spacious, with a second, slightly smaller bar, numerous tables and a little bit more room to move around, and the bar is poorly lit, dank, with a feeling that maybe, just maybe, you don't want to eat there because lord knows the place doesn't look that clean. But I was a little tipsy the first time, and wanted a burger, so I dealt with it. With over a dozen beers on tap and a significant number of bottled options, you can just about guarantee that you'll be satisfied at Charlies if you're there to drink. Both times I went, however, it was more about the food than the beer (though beer was consumed both times, of course).
The first time I went was, as I said, a late night after being out at a club drinking, and I got a basic cheeseburger and fries, which were greasy, delicious, and just what you need at that time of the night. This time, at the urging of my friend Joe, I went for the Double Mushroom & Swiss Cheeseburger, which was exactly what it sounds like; a double cheeseburger, made with swiss cheese and a plentiful helping of sauteed mushrooms. Very simple, but very good. Once again, it was greasy and delicious, cooked relatively well (with the thin patties they use, it's tough to get a real "rare" burger, but they did a good job overall), and the mushrooms were great, big chunks and slices that were cooked just enough to have some sear on them, but without becoming soft and textureless. This wasn't the best burger I've ever had, by any means, but it's a really good, satisfying, homey burger, that is perfect when you need something to soak up the alcohol in your system after a night of drinking, or if you just want a decent, greasy burger to remind you of having a backyard bar-b-que with your friends.
The burger came with a few waffle fries, that were fine, nothing special; they were salty enough to make me happy, without a ton of unnecessary grease, but they were really nothing you couldn't get anywhere else. They tasted good though, so I suppose that's all that matters. For beer I went with a Chimay White Cap, which was good, but less awesome than the Blue Cap, though it did go well with the burger, since it's light and doesn't overwhelm anything.
Overall, this is a place I'd highly recommend if you're looking for a snack at 2am, and don't want IHOP (right around the corner though, if you do) or if you just need a quick, simple, cheap (for Boston) burger. It also appears they have a few vegetarian options for those of you who are so inclined.
******
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The first time I went was, as I said, a late night after being out at a club drinking, and I got a basic cheeseburger and fries, which were greasy, delicious, and just what you need at that time of the night. This time, at the urging of my friend Joe, I went for the Double Mushroom & Swiss Cheeseburger, which was exactly what it sounds like; a double cheeseburger, made with swiss cheese and a plentiful helping of sauteed mushrooms. Very simple, but very good. Once again, it was greasy and delicious, cooked relatively well (with the thin patties they use, it's tough to get a real "rare" burger, but they did a good job overall), and the mushrooms were great, big chunks and slices that were cooked just enough to have some sear on them, but without becoming soft and textureless. This wasn't the best burger I've ever had, by any means, but it's a really good, satisfying, homey burger, that is perfect when you need something to soak up the alcohol in your system after a night of drinking, or if you just want a decent, greasy burger to remind you of having a backyard bar-b-que with your friends.
The burger came with a few waffle fries, that were fine, nothing special; they were salty enough to make me happy, without a ton of unnecessary grease, but they were really nothing you couldn't get anywhere else. They tasted good though, so I suppose that's all that matters. For beer I went with a Chimay White Cap, which was good, but less awesome than the Blue Cap, though it did go well with the burger, since it's light and doesn't overwhelm anything.
Overall, this is a place I'd highly recommend if you're looking for a snack at 2am, and don't want IHOP (right around the corner though, if you do) or if you just need a quick, simple, cheap (for Boston) burger. It also appears they have a few vegetarian options for those of you who are so inclined.
******
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Thursday, December 27, 2012
Pai Men Miyake (Portland, ME)
After starting my holiday trip to Portland with a long awaited stop at Duckfat, on the 24th I had lunch at Pai Men Miyake, the casual accompaniment to Masa Miyake's celebrated Miyake restaurant. Situated at the top of the "Old Port" section of Portland, Pai Men Miyake focuses on ramen (Pai Men meaning "100 Noodles" according to the website) blending traditional Japanese flavors with the use of local, fresh ingredients to create a truly remarkable meal. Yakitori is available after 5:30pm, but since I was there during lunch and obviously could not have that, I went with the "Tei-Shoku" lunch special, choosing one option each from two of four "groups" of dishes, including dumplings, vegetables, ramen, and sushi; prices depend on what you pick.
I started with the pork gyoza, simple potstickers that did not outwardly look any different from any others, but are made with fresh, local pork and cabbage, with a nice, subtle flavor of each, a perfectly thin wrapper, and served with a light sesame oil and soy dipping sauce. They were seared in such a way as to have a little bit of browning, and thus the accompanying flavor of a light pan fry, but without being really crispy; this is actually a good thing, as pot sticker type dumplings tend to fall apart if they get too hard a sear. These were some of the better dumplings I have had, but the second I tried my sister's brussel's sprouts, I regretted my choice; more on that later.
For my primary dish I had the paitan ramen, with the traditional Japanese ramen noodles surrounded by a strong pork and chicken broth, topped with a little pork belly, half a soy marinated soft boiled egg, scallion, and a piece of nori (seaweed typically used to make maki rolls). This is very, very different from the Korean style ramen of Manna House, but I wouldn't say it's better or worse; simply different. I had them add the spicy garlic paste, but even with that there wasn't much spice, and the broth was lighter in color, though flavor-wise it was still intense. The pork belly was good, though there was little of it, and the nori did not really add much, but the egg was remarkable; I'm not a big fan of soft boiled eggs, but this was so perfectly cooked, with such a delicate soy flavor enhancing the natural flavor of a really fresh egg, that I found myself wishing there were several of them.
My little sister ordered the tokyo abura-soba ramen, which is simply the noodles, chili oil, egg yolk, nori and sambal (a spicy chili paste with a flavor similar to that of sriracha, though it is significantly thicker), without any broth. Spicy and simple, this was really tasty, and not something I would have really given much thought to ordering, as it has neither broth nor meat, but this was just one of a couple dishes outside my normal realm of interest that surprised me that day.
My older sister started with the brussel's sprouts, as I said, and they were...my god, they were good. I can't even describe it. A huge serving of halved sprouts, drenched in tamari (a soy sauce variety) and fish sauce, they are tangy and slightly sweet, roasted just to where the outside leaves are a little crispy, just inside are softer leaves, and then the core is just slightly crunchy, with a great bite to them that I have not been able to achieve when I've made roasted sprouts, and that I haven't really had elsewhere either. These were by far the best sprouts I have ever had, and I'm really hoping to learn to make them the way that Pai Men does.
Her second dish was a pair of steamed buns, sandwiched around thin pieces of fried tofu. I normally don't really like steamed buns that much, simply because they're rarely well made, and I almost never like tofu, for textural and flavor reasons. Both were incredible. The buns were light, porous, and slightly chewy, and the tofu had a slight crunch to the exterior that kept it from feeling like the spongy mess that I associate with tofu normally. I have no clue what the tofu was marinated in, and I can't even describe its flavor, but it was really, really delicious, and went perfectly with the aioli-like mayonnaise that was lightly applied to the inside of the bun. Since I liked it, I suspect anyone else trying it will too, even those who typically object to tofu; it really surprised me, and changed my mind a little bit regarding pressed bean curd.
With the exception of the gyoza, all the portions were pretty good; the brussel's sprouts came piled in a large bowl, and it took all three of us picking at them to finish without having my sister be full prior to the buns' arrival, while the bowls of ramen were plenty of food. The gyoza had just four dumplings, which were not filling, but after mooching some of the sprouts and eating my ramen, I left quite satisfied. For drinks, a number of local craft beers were available, both on tap and in bottles, with Smuttynose Brewing Company being the best represented. I went with their Scotch Ale, a strong, heavy, and well made beer that may have been a little too much for this particular meal, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. My older sister had the same, and my little sister went with the Oxbow Saison Noel, a very dark representation of this traditional farmhouse beer, though it maintained the lightness and flavor of a normal saison. All in all this is a fantastic restaurant, and I look forward to not only going back but also exploring its sister restaurant. It's also very vegetarian friendly if that's your thing.
On a side note, both restaurants and the Miyake Catering business are served by Miyake Farm, where they raise fowl, pigs, and produce; this is true farm to table, in the purest sense of the term.
I started with the pork gyoza, simple potstickers that did not outwardly look any different from any others, but are made with fresh, local pork and cabbage, with a nice, subtle flavor of each, a perfectly thin wrapper, and served with a light sesame oil and soy dipping sauce. They were seared in such a way as to have a little bit of browning, and thus the accompanying flavor of a light pan fry, but without being really crispy; this is actually a good thing, as pot sticker type dumplings tend to fall apart if they get too hard a sear. These were some of the better dumplings I have had, but the second I tried my sister's brussel's sprouts, I regretted my choice; more on that later.
For my primary dish I had the paitan ramen, with the traditional Japanese ramen noodles surrounded by a strong pork and chicken broth, topped with a little pork belly, half a soy marinated soft boiled egg, scallion, and a piece of nori (seaweed typically used to make maki rolls). This is very, very different from the Korean style ramen of Manna House, but I wouldn't say it's better or worse; simply different. I had them add the spicy garlic paste, but even with that there wasn't much spice, and the broth was lighter in color, though flavor-wise it was still intense. The pork belly was good, though there was little of it, and the nori did not really add much, but the egg was remarkable; I'm not a big fan of soft boiled eggs, but this was so perfectly cooked, with such a delicate soy flavor enhancing the natural flavor of a really fresh egg, that I found myself wishing there were several of them.
My little sister ordered the tokyo abura-soba ramen, which is simply the noodles, chili oil, egg yolk, nori and sambal (a spicy chili paste with a flavor similar to that of sriracha, though it is significantly thicker), without any broth. Spicy and simple, this was really tasty, and not something I would have really given much thought to ordering, as it has neither broth nor meat, but this was just one of a couple dishes outside my normal realm of interest that surprised me that day.
My older sister started with the brussel's sprouts, as I said, and they were...my god, they were good. I can't even describe it. A huge serving of halved sprouts, drenched in tamari (a soy sauce variety) and fish sauce, they are tangy and slightly sweet, roasted just to where the outside leaves are a little crispy, just inside are softer leaves, and then the core is just slightly crunchy, with a great bite to them that I have not been able to achieve when I've made roasted sprouts, and that I haven't really had elsewhere either. These were by far the best sprouts I have ever had, and I'm really hoping to learn to make them the way that Pai Men does.
Her second dish was a pair of steamed buns, sandwiched around thin pieces of fried tofu. I normally don't really like steamed buns that much, simply because they're rarely well made, and I almost never like tofu, for textural and flavor reasons. Both were incredible. The buns were light, porous, and slightly chewy, and the tofu had a slight crunch to the exterior that kept it from feeling like the spongy mess that I associate with tofu normally. I have no clue what the tofu was marinated in, and I can't even describe its flavor, but it was really, really delicious, and went perfectly with the aioli-like mayonnaise that was lightly applied to the inside of the bun. Since I liked it, I suspect anyone else trying it will too, even those who typically object to tofu; it really surprised me, and changed my mind a little bit regarding pressed bean curd.
With the exception of the gyoza, all the portions were pretty good; the brussel's sprouts came piled in a large bowl, and it took all three of us picking at them to finish without having my sister be full prior to the buns' arrival, while the bowls of ramen were plenty of food. The gyoza had just four dumplings, which were not filling, but after mooching some of the sprouts and eating my ramen, I left quite satisfied. For drinks, a number of local craft beers were available, both on tap and in bottles, with Smuttynose Brewing Company being the best represented. I went with their Scotch Ale, a strong, heavy, and well made beer that may have been a little too much for this particular meal, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. My older sister had the same, and my little sister went with the Oxbow Saison Noel, a very dark representation of this traditional farmhouse beer, though it maintained the lightness and flavor of a normal saison. All in all this is a fantastic restaurant, and I look forward to not only going back but also exploring its sister restaurant. It's also very vegetarian friendly if that's your thing.
On a side note, both restaurants and the Miyake Catering business are served by Miyake Farm, where they raise fowl, pigs, and produce; this is true farm to table, in the purest sense of the term.
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| ©Miyake Farm
******
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Friday, October 12, 2012
Burgar Bar (Las Vegas, NV)
A small selection of "Chef's Burgers," recipes of Keller's own making, which include an "American Classic," "Vegas Vegan," and "Spicy Lamb Burger," make up the backbone of the menu. The crown jewel of these offerings is the "Rossini," a "Kobe Style Wagyu Beef" burger, with sauteed foie gras, and shaved truffles on an onion bun. Getting past my objections to the whole the "Kobe" and "Wagyu" naming issue, this does sound like one hell of a burger, though at $60 a pop, it's tough to justify it if you haven't had a great weekend at the tables.
Along with the "Chef's Burgers," the customer can choose to build their own burger, using one of five base burgers: Black angus beef ($9.75); Naturesource ($10.50); Lamb "Merguez Style" ($15.00); Buffalo ($17.75); Kobe Style Wagyu beef ($17.25). You can also pick from "non beef" options, including the vegetarian burger, chicken breast, salmon steak, and turkey burger. Upon choosing your burger, you then choose among a few bun options, including a classic plain bun, onion, or ciabatta. There are 46 topping options, split into categories: The Garden, including such things as baby spinach, avocado, and chopped jalapeño; The Dairy, with a number of cheese offerings; The Grill, with peppers, zucchini, and carmelized onions; The Farm, with various bacons, egg, and foie gras; The Ocean, which has lobster and shrimp; The Pantry, with such offerings as guacamole, homemade beetroot pickle, and truffle mayo; The Earth, containing the $30 black truffle shavings, and other less expensive mushrooms; and lastly sauces from Keller's Fleur de Lys, including an au poivre cream sauce. Your last choice is accompaniment, including "skinny" and "fat" fries, referring to their cut, not their caloric or fat content, sweet potato or zucchini fries, onion rings, and croquettes. Each item adds a certain amount to the cost.
I went fairly simple, sticking to things I knew I would like. For the burger I selected the Naturesource beef, which is USDA prime beef raised without antibiotics or hormones, cooked rare, to which the bartender/waitress said "you know, that's really rare..." I wanted to settle in and live there from that moment. I selected a ciabatta roll for a bun, with bleu cheese, bacon, grilled onions, and a chipotle aioli, with tomato, lettuce, sliced onions (which I didn't use) and a dill pickle coming standard on the side. As an accompaniment I ordered the skinny fries, which quite honestly were disappointing. The burger was fantastic; perfectly rare, almost cool inside, with a soft, melting texture to the meat; my only complaint was the lack of a good crust on the burger, though that is a risk with a rare burger. The toppings were great, the bleu cheese nicely melted into the grilled, slightly caramelized onions, while the bacon added a nice, slightly crisp, meaty, piggy taste. The onions provided a little sweetness that cut the intense meatiness of the beef and bacon, and the roll was a great vehicle for the burger. The aioli was disappointing, as it was completely lost in the midst of everything else, and lacked the spice that I was expecting from something made with chipotles. It did serve well as something in which to dunk the fries, which while perfectly cooked lacked flavor of their own and needed something to make them a little more impressive.
Along with the extensive list of available burger options, the drink list is incredibly impressive. Between the milkshakes, which can be ordered off the menu or customized, both virgin and alcoholic, the beer floats, and the beer list itself (which is pretty impressive) you have a ton to choose from. I ordered the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA, which ended up being the perfect beer to go along with the burger, as it was strong enough not to be overpowered, but also not to overpower the food.
Overall, this was a great experience, and a great burger, easily the best I have ever had. The ingredients were fresh and delicious, the service was friendly and welcoming, and the setting was nice, a real sports bar feel despite the upscale nature of the food, with televisions lined up behind the bar. Price-wise, it's not cheap, clearly, and I got out with a $30 tab after leaving an extremely generous tip, but it was well worth it and I'll absolutely go back.
******
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Thursday, October 11, 2012
Julian Serrano (Las Vegas, NV)
Julian Serrano, the eponymous tapas restaurant residing in the Aria Resort & Casino, provided the best of the meals I had in my brief four day stint in Las Vegas, NV, arriving on Friday evening and leaving on Monday evening. This was where my friend Joe, his classmate Renee, and I went on Sunday evening. They had just run a Tough Mudder race that day, and were in the mood for a good meal to celebrate. After a little discussion over where to go, Renee suggested this, and I am extremely thankful she did.
Our waiter recommended that we get two or three tapas each, but since we decided we wanted paella, we ended up ordering three tapas and a dessert. The first we received was the Black Pig Pintxo, a traditional Spanish bar snack, consisting of a slice of crispy baguette topped with caramelized onions and cured, seared Iberian pork shoulder. They offer the pork cooked medium rare to well, and, of course, we ordered medium rare, which was perfect, tender, with a perfect Maillard reaction from the searing, and a huge pork and pepper flavor. We all loved it, and since it only came with two pieces, we were all left wanting more.
Second to arrive was the cheese plate, consisting of four slices of toasted baguette, four cheeses, and a truly delectable fig spread. The cheeses were: a caña de cabra, which is a very soft, easily spreadable goat's milk cheese; a year old sheep's milk Manchego; a cow's milk Cabrales bleu; and a soft sheep's milk La Serena. All were fantastic, with Renee preferring the Manchego, Joe loving them all, and my favorites being the Manchego when combined with the fig spread, or the caña de cabra, which was a little too delicate to combine with the spread. The bleu was remarkable, and La Serena was perfectly mild.
Third to come were the Tuna Cones, consisting of a crispy wonton wrapper cone, with avocado in the bottom, topped by cucumber, and ahi tuna tartare, lightly dressed with ponzu. The tuna flavor was strong, extremely fresh and high quality fish, and the avocado, which was extremely soft and smooth, added a nice flavor and texture contrast. The cones were presented in a nice, very likely custom, holder with three slots for the cones. This was my favorite tapa of the night, for its simplicity and classic flavors, presented in a clever, new manner.
Following the tapas came the mixed paella, a signature dish of Julian Seranno's, consisting of half a lobster tail, mussels, chicken, Spanish style chorizo, vegetables and of course the classic saffron rice. Served in a paellera, this was the highlight of the night for all of us, with perfectly cooked lobster, and mussels that were cooked well, but a little dry. The chorizo was great, a classic flavor that anyone who has had chorizo before would recognize instantly, but with a bit more depth of flavor than normal. The rice was incredible, so smooth and creamy, with crispy bits around the edges that are the trademark of a proper paella.
Last to eat were churros, served with Mexican chocolate. Thin, crisp, and just slightly sweet, while the chocolate was creamy and strong, though lacking the spice that I was expecting both from the description and from the chile de árbol that was in it. The combination worked well, but I think it would have been better with that added hint of spice.
Along with our meal we had a bottle of Martin Códax Albariňo Rias Baixas 2010, a crisp, dry white wine that went perfectly with the tuna, cheese and paella, though it was not the perfect combination with the pork. The wine had some nice floral notes, and was among the best white wines I have ever had. I will be looking at my local wine shop for this, I can assure you of that.
Overall, this was a fantastic experience. The waiter was great, attentive, knowledgeable, and unlike many waiters at finer restaurants, did not appear to be displeased be be dealing with a group of younger people who would not be spending several hundred dollars. Speaking of cost, with a 25% tip, the meal cost us just under $200, exceptionally reasonable when you consider that over $100 of that was from the wine and paella. While I can't guarantee that I would return during any future trips to Las Vegas, that is simply because there are just so many places that I want to try in the city.
**As a side note, the restaurant does appear to be very vegetarian friendly, if that's your thing
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Monday, May 7, 2012
Hope and Olive (Greenfield, MA)
The last two times I have been to Hope and Olive, my mother and I have split the Shrimp and Grits appetizer. Now, I will be up front with you; I love shrimp and grits. Seriously, I would take shrimp and grits over almost anything else food related if it's made properly. Hope and Olive does a pretty good job for a restaurant north of the Mason-Dixon line; the shrimp were perfectly cooked both times, and the grits were smooth and creamy the first time, just like they should be. The second time, they were...well...gritty. I'm okay with this, but it's not really how it's supposed to be. The flavors aren't southern, but that's okay too; Mediterranean is acceptable when shrimp are involved. My mother has also had a couple of the salads and enjoyed them immensely, both as appetizers and as a meal.
For an entree, I cannot recommend the Apple Cider Braised Pork Chop more strongly; it's tough to make me happy with pork chops in a restaurant, because they tend to be overcooked and dry to satisfy the people who are afraid of under (aka properly) cooked pork. The pork is succulent in this case, however, and bears a strong apple flavor without being overly sweet. The Brussels sprouts on the side are also very good (and you'll recall from my review of The Corner Room that I'm not typically a fan of them). I've also had the beef burger, and this was also properly cooked; it's not as good as from Brick Wall Burger, but it's well made and the bun is fantastic. The real star of this place, however, is a side; the french fries are amazing. Absolutely incredible, crispy with just the right amount of salt.
You also really have to be impressed by the drink menu at this place; if you're a wine fan, they have what appear to be a selection of both very good (albeit expensive for Franklin County) and moderately priced wines. For me, the beer list is far more important; at this moment, they have twelve beers on tap, from both local (Berkshire Brewing Company, Ginger Libation Real Ginger Brew) and non-local (Brooklyn Brewery, Brewery Ommegang, and Rogue Ales, among others) breweries. They have housemade lemonade for you non-drinkers (or you bourbon drinkers, there's always Kentucky Lemonade, a mix of Maker's Mark and lemonade), and a pretty decent looking cocktail list.
This is a vegetarian friendly restaurant, as well; possibly even vegan friendly, though I don't often associate with such people, so I've never asked.
******
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Saturday, April 28, 2012
Homemade Tomato Soup
When I was a kid, I HATED tomato soup. It was gross! Granted, I don't think I ever had the real thing, but many people enjoy canned tomato soup, so I think to some extent, my tastes have just changed. This soup was inspired by a couple different recipes I found, including one of Alton Brown's, as I recall (gotta love AB!), but in the end, it really is my own. This is best served with a hot, buttery grilled cheese sandwich; my favorite way to make it uses sourdough bread and a combination of smoked Gruyere and extremely sharp cheddar cheeses. If you can get your hands on it, the Cabot Big E special cheddar is perfect for, well, everything.
Tomato Soup
1)
Two cans San Marzano whole peeled plum tomatoes
2)
Four fresh plum tomatoes (peeled and chopped
into small pieces)
3)
Large head of garlic, peeled
4) Two carrots (peeled and diced)
4) Two carrots (peeled and diced)
5)
Half a large onion (diced)
6)
3 tablespoons butter
7)
Half a box of high quality low sodium chicken
stock (or vegetable stock to keep recipe vegetarian)
8)
One quart heavy cream
9)
Sea salt
10) Black
pepper
11) Cumin
12) Basil
13) Oregano
14) Paprika
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Drain canned tomatoes, reserving juice. Place the tomatoes on a sheet pan, drizzle
with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on them.
Form a “cup” from two layers of tin foil, and place the
peeled cloves of garlic inside.
Liberally cover the cloves with olive oil and sprinkle sea salt on
them. Close the “cup” by bunching the
foil together at the top.
Place the canned tomatoes and the garlic in the oven and
roast for 35 minutes.
After removing the tomatoes and garlic, melt the butter in a
large Dutch oven or other heavy bodied pan over medium heat. Sauté the onion and carrot until the onions
are softened. Sprinkle with paprika and
sea salt. Add the reserved juice from
the canned tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, roasted tomatoes, roasted garlic, and stock and
stir together. Add sea salt, fresh
cracked black pepper, cumin, basil and oregano to taste.
Lower heat to low and, stirring occasionally, simmer for 50
minutes. Add the heavy cream, stir to
mix together, and simmer for five more minutes.
Blend until smooth and creamy.
******
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