Boston Trip #3 (Cambridge, MA)

So I have been to Crema Cafe a couple times before, and wrote briefly about it back in March, but after going again at the end of September, I decided to add a quick post about my last trip there.  I was meeting a couple old friends in Boston, and had some time to kill so I figured a stop in Cambridge at my favorite little cafe was a good idea.  One cold brewed iced coffee and an English muffin with jam later, and I was happy as a pig in...well, you know.  The iced coffee was spectacular, even better than their regular iced coffee which is already better than most, and the English muffin was to die for.  I know what you're thinking, how good can an English muffin really be?  When made at Crema Cafe, pretty damn good.  Homemade, a little sweeter than a traditional (aka Thomas') variety, it was served warm with butter and raspberry jam that was delicious; I strongly considered ordering another, but decided that it would ruin my appetite.  It was a poor decision.

A quick walk to Charlie's Kitchen followed, where I had a couple beers and some appetizers, and introduced a friend to the glory that are their burgers.  Nothing crazy to report, just another plug for a great little bar.

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Singha

Dinner at Chilli Duck Thai followed a few hours later, after wandering around the area of the Park Plaza hotel netted no positive results and Yelp suggested it and my friend wanted to have Thai, Viet, or some other eastern Asian food.  I had the Panang Curry with chicken, and my friend had the Tom Yum Noodle Soup.  Mine was very tasty, subtly flavorful and just a little bit spicy.  The soup was apparently good as well, with just the right amount of spice.  I introduced my friend to Singha, which is one of my guilty pleasure beers; sort of like a Thai PBR, it has a little too much sweetness and not enough real beer flavor, but for some reason I just love drinking it nonetheless.  Sadly, I do not really remember much more about the meal, but it was quite tasty and not unreasonably priced.

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Warsteiner

The night concluded at Penguin Pizza in Brigham Circle, and while I cannot speak to the pizza (which looked pretty good), their beer list is insanely good.  Hundreds of beers, many of which I had never heard of, including a lot of foreign options, made decision making very difficult.  I ended up with a Warsteiner, which was a light Westphalian beer, similar to a Czech lager but with a little bit more body.  I had ordered something else, but they were out, so I told the waiter, a friendly Irishman with a thick brogue, to pick me something light and refreshing, and he brought this and something else that I do not recall.  I am glad that I went with this, and I really want to go back to this place to try their pizza and start making my way through their beer list.

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The Brass Buckle Cafe (Greenfield, MA)

Located at the corner of Main and Chapman Sts. in Greenfield, The Brass Buckle Cafe is just one of many small cafes or coffee shops that have existed in this location over the last fifteen years; some have been good, some bad, but none has managed to last more than a few years.  The Brass Buckle hopefully will not break that trend.

In the interest of full disclosure, apparently my step-dad and the owner of the cafe have a bit of a feud going on after an extremely negative post on Yelp or one of those sites, which the owner saw and ended up confronting my step-dad and screaming profanity at him, and then banished him from the cafe.  I figured I should give it a shot however, and I was really hoping that my step-dad simply had a bad experience, and while mine was not nearly so negative as his, I was really not pleased.

To start, you walk in and the place is actually nicely set up, very clean looking and with enough room everywhere.  It has a pretty standard cafe set up at the counter, with some cookies and other pastry types behind glass next to where you order, and a couple of giant blackboards behind the counter list what your options for drinks and food are.  The "kitchen" is open and you can watch your food be made if you are so inclined.  The prices are very reasonable, and their coffee menu is pretty good, including a few things that I do not often see, such as Vietnamese Iced Coffee.  So far, so good.

Chilaquiles and an iced coffee

From there things went down hill.  I waited several minutes to order despite having just one person ahead of me in line, and while the young man who took my order was perfectly friendly (which goes a long way with me), I hope for his sake he is new because his lack of familiarity with the cafe's offerings was a serious problem.  I ordered the chilaquiles, a classic Mexican breakfast dish which typically uses leftover corn tortillas which are fried in quarters and then baked with a sauce and topped with crema or queso fresco, and of course served with the requisite refried beans.  This iteration of the dish lacked the beans, had some crema (they say queso blanco on their website, but I am really doubtful about that) drizzled on the top of a giant pile of fried tortilla.  The red and green salsas they used were fine, nicely spicy, but nothing special.  Adding radish, which may have been pickled, was a nice touch, but none of the other vegetables were particularly good, and the tortillas were inconsistent as far as texture, which had some appeal to me in that I like contrast of textures, but it was too inconsistent, with some pieces completely soggy and others completely brittle.  The crema, or whatever it was, was actually the best part, but there wasn't enough to get on every bite, and while drowning the dish in it would not have been good either as far as presentation or to eat, adding a bit more would be a good idea.

Coffee being a big part of any cafe, and it being morning when I went, I had myself an iced coffee, served black, and it was...okay.  I drank the whole thing, and it was fine, but it was not great, certainly not up to the level of Greenfield Coffee, much less Cambridge's Crema Cafe or Northampton's La Fiorentina or Haymarket Cafe.  If the food was better, the coffee would be more than good enough, and if the coffee was better I could probably deal with the food that was not up to my standards.  The service is an issue, but again, if it were not one of multiple problems I could get over it and return.  Sadly, I do not believe that I will return.

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Ferrara's Kitchen + Bar (Boston, MA)

Some of the better meals of my life have been in Boston, including the best I'd ever had prior to going to Bouchon Bistro at Mamma Maria in North Square, and now I've been fortunate enough to add another hit to the list.  Ferrara's Kitchen + Bar, located a short walk from the Haymarket MBTA stop on the Green Line, and just down the street from the famous Neptune Oyster Bar, is but one of many fine examples of Italian cuisine in Boston's North End, but there are a few things that set them apart.

The first thing that drew my dinner companion and I to Ferrara's was its open front; they have a large bay window that opens out onto Salem St., and in nice weather they open it up and allow the place to breathe a bit, a feature that I thoroughly enjoy.  Upon entering, I noticed that, while it was not bright inside by any means, it was not so dim as to nearly require a flashlight to even read the menu, a trend that I cannot stand.  It was, in fact, perfectly lit, allowing a good view of the entire dining room and bar, where we sat, but without any glaring lights.  Behind the bar are a pair of flat screen televisions, which offered a chance to watch Peyton Manning kick his little brother's butt all over the field; always an enjoyable experience.

Our bartender was friendly, knew at least a bit about beer and was happy to engage with us without ever becoming, in my mind, overly intrusive or omnipresent.  Speaking of beer, they had only a few options on tap, including a Sam Adams seasonal and the Dogfish Head 60 Minute IPA, which had just been added.  Since there was nothing new or exciting, we both went with the Dogfish.

As for food, the kitchen kept up well with the positive impression the layout and bartender had given initially.  I ordered the Spaghetti Carbonara, among my favorite dishes in the world, and my date

Spaghetti Carbonara served in a stainless pan

ordered the Gnocchi alla Sorrentina.  We both thoroughly enjoyed our meals, which were prepared very well, but there were a couple critiques that I had.  My Carbonara was delicious, though the menu describes it as being in a cream sauce; I do not know if that means they actually used cream in the preparation, or if they are simply describing the sauce as creamy.  It tasted right, and felt right, as an egg and cheese only sauce, and at least the bartender knew that a proper Carbonara lacks cream, but it is something that I am left wondering about.  The pasta was perfect, and the flavor and texture of the sauce was spectacular, with the taste of the Parmesan (not sure if it was actual Parmiggiano-Reggiano or if it was the impostor we usually find here in the USA, but the menu says Parmesan) and some garlic coming through beautifully.  The pancetta was delicious, but served in very large chunks, which was unwieldy; I like my pancetta cubed to about one centimeter, because it keeps a better texture that way I have found, but that is about my only real critique of this dish.

The gnocchi in my date's dish were sublime, perfect little pillows, with just enough density that they felt substantial but not nearly so much that they felt heavy.  The mozzarella in the dish was solid, but nothing amazing, though it worked well in combination with the sauce and the gnocchi.  The sauce itself was a little sweet for me, so when I first tasted it, with just the gnocchi and no cheese, I was not super thrilled.  After adding some mozzarella, I enjoyed it more, as the salt of the cheese did help balance the sweetness of the sauce, but if you are not going to have cheese in every bite (which you will not with this dish) then that is not a saving grace.

The last thing to say about the food is that I must comment on how they serve it, supposedly in the dish it was cooked in.  While I highly doubt this, as the pan mine was served in was far too clean along the sides to have really cooked such a messy meal (trust me, I've been trying for a while now to make a proper version; I'm at about a D+ right now, passing but nothing to be proud of), but it looks neat.  It is a gimmick, but sometimes gimmicks work, and I must say, I really liked this one.  The price was ridiculously reasonable as well; before tip, we were at $39, which for two entrees and two beers is insanely cheap in this neighborhood, especially when the food is so good.  Admittedly, we did get the two cheapest entrees, but that was purely accidental, as they just happened to be what we wanted.  I would have gladly paid significantly more for the same meal, but I was very pleasantly surprised by the check.  All in all, I highly recommend Ferrara's, and I will absolutely consider a return, though with the incredible breadth of options in the North End, it may be hard to justify not trying something else.

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The Front Room (Portland, ME)

I have previously discussed my affinity for The Corner Room, and in that review I mentioned having had brunch once at its sister restaurant The Front Room, which was very good.  This morning, I had brunch there again, this time with a couple of my siblings and their significant others, The Front Room being one of a rare group of restaurants that offer a brunch menu every day.  Once again I enjoyed myself, though it fell short of my memory of just how good the shrimp and grits with poached eggs I ate all those years ago (back in 2008) was; this could well be because of the natural tendency to inflate memorable experiences over time, whether good for bad, but I suspect it was just a better meal that time.

Today I went with poached eggs again, but this time they topped homemade corned beef hash, with an English muffin on the side.  I love corned beef hash almost as much as I do grits, and I honestly love it in all forms, including the stuff from a can (I know, I am pathetic, but if you griddle that up so it's crispy and a little burnt, it is just flat out delicious, especially with some maple syrup mixed in after cooking), so when I see it on a menu, it is very difficult for me to avoid making it my order.  This was legitimately homemade, no cans here, and it was really enjoyable, but it could easily have ended up better if there had just been a few alterations.  The beef was flavorful, but a little stringy, with a pulled pork like look and feel.  The potatoes, which are the key part of any hash in my opinion, were far too soft, which led to a very homogeneous mouth feel when combined with the essentially pulled beef.  Add in the poached eggs and all you have is soft, soft, soft; my teeth barely felt needed until I got to the English muffin (which was...well, an English muffin; may have been a Thomas', may have been homemade, but it did not have anything distinguishing about it).  The best part of the meal was absolutely the poached eggs, which were just right, with the shape, consistency (firm but pliant exterior, super runny interior), and flavor you want out of poached eggs that are clearly fresh.

As I said, I ate here with a couple of my siblings, including my sister who works at another one of Portland's upscale restaurants, and her boyfriend, who is a cook at the same establishment.  Among the things that came up multiple times this past weekend as I visited was the owner of the "Room" restaurants, Harding Lee Smith, who has recently been the subject of two scathing articles in The Bollard, a local independent publication in Portland.  See below for the links.  These articles allege verbal, physical, and emotional abuse of employees in both public and private, while acknowledging the continued patronage of Smith's now four restaurants (including the newly opened Boone's Fish House and Oyster Bar) by people who can find nothing positive to say about Smith as a human being.  Personally, I feel that every story has two sides, and I have a very hard time giving much credence to the articles in The Bollard because of the clear intent of the author; while every story may well be true, it is hard not to be skeptical of much of the issues because of the clear axe-grinding nature of the stories.  I've put the link to another article, this one in the Maine Sunday Telegram (aka the Portland Press Herald) from a few months ago, that is much more complimentary, though it does not give much mention to the negative allegations The Bollard focuses on.  I suspect the truth lies somewhere in the middle, but my one interaction with the man, when he was working the antipasti bar at The Corner Room my first time there, was incredibly positive and I really enjoyed the brief time my sister and I spent talking to him, not to mention the unanticipated free cheese he added to our order without any reason to do so other than that he seemed to think we'd like it, and of course the accompanying good will that comes from such actions.

July 1 Article from The Bollard
September 2 Article from The Bollard
June 2 Article from the Maine Sunday Telegram/Portland Press Herald

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J&M Diner (Framingham, MA)

I am always searching for good new breakfast joints, but they are unfortunately few and far between, and especially rare are good old fashioned diners.  J&M Diner fits both to a "T," providing very good, and incredibly generously portioned, food in a classic diner atmosphere.

I drove past the diner on my way to pick up my friend I was having breakfast with at about 10am, and there was an extensive line of people waiting outside; sadly, this line had not dissipated at all, and in fact probably had grown, by the time we arrived about an hour later.  Another hour of waiting passed, and I was glad for the mimosa I had had prior to heading to the diner; I was starving anyways, but at least there was something in my stomach.  The wait, however, was completely worth it.

Sadly, they were out of Sauce Hollandaise, which they make only on Saturdays and Sundays for Eggs Benedict, and when they run out, they're just out for the day.  Since my preferred breakfast was off the table, I went with the special, a "Jack Daniels Omelette," which consisted of a gigantic omelette stuffed with pulled pork and a maple syrup and Jack Daniels reduction, along with a large portion of home fries and four thick slices of toast.  The egg was good, though it was not as fluffy as some I have had, but it was the pulled pork that was clearly the focus of the dish.  I went away with mixed feelings about it, but they were mostly because of the maple syrup glaze, which was, in my opinion, far too sweet.  The pork itself was tender, fairly juicy, and had great flavor, and the glaze was tasty until the super sweetness hit me, at which point it became cloying.  The toast and home fries were perfect however, and while I left a significant amount of omelette on the plate when I left (not because it was unpleasant, but simply because I am not a sumo wrestler and cannot eat my body weight in a single sitting), I ate all of the toast and just about all of the home fries.  I cannot recall better home fries being served to me in all my life; in fact, I cannot recall better potatoes of any variety!  Crispy outsides, tender and fluffy insides, perfectly salted and seasoned, and really just perfect, I cannot imagine how home fries could be better.  The toast, which was cinnamon swirl, was either homemade or from a top of the line bakery.  The crumb was exactly what you expect the variety to have, with a crisp exterior and, like the home fries, a tender and fluffy interior, with gooey, drippy, sweet cinnamon filling pouring out of of the swirls.  This was tremendous, and as a self-confirmed connoisseur of cinnamon swirl bread, I can confidently say that this is as good as any you will ever have.  Along with my own meal, my companion for breakfast had a pancake with fresh strawberries, blueberries and banana, and whipped cream and powdered sugar (aka the "USA" toppings), and she said they lived up to their billing as some of the best pancakes ever.

There was one negative aspect, and that was somewhat unavoidable with a place this busy.  While very friendly, the waitresses were a bit scatterbrained.  While my coffee (which was...well, coffee...nothing special there) was brought quickly and refilled often, my breakfast companion was delivered a glass of orange juice she did not order and it took several more minutes until she got the water she had actually requested, and the hot sauce I asked for was never delivered at all.  Not the worst offenses ever, but if you are super concerned about the wait staff, you should prepare yourself for disappointment on that front.

This boils down to one simple thing for me; I will drive 90 minutes and wait another 60 in line...to have home fries and toast.  I cannot recommend this diner enough.

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La Veracruzana (Northampton, MA and Amherst, MA)

With two locations in western Massachusetts, La Veracruzana serves up a mix of fairly standard American style Mexican food and some dishes more specific to the owners' native state of Veracruz, from which the restaurants derive their name.  The primary and original location is on Main St. in Northampton, conveniently right next to my favorite spot in the city, The Dirty Truth, while the second is in downtown Amherst on South Pleasant St.  As a kid, going to the Northampton location was a fun treat, and in college (and after) the Amherst location has provided me with a fix for occasional cravings for enchiladas, tamales, or chiles rellenos.

La Veracruzana is best known for its salsa bar, where over a half dozen homemade salsas are available to serve yourself.  From mild to burning hot, tomatillo to borracha, the options are plentiful and delicious, enough to make anyone happy and accompany any dish they serve.  Chips are available--a change from when the restaurant opened-- and are a great way to try the salsas, but they are expensive at $3 a serving, though they are fresh made; no Tostitos here. 

The menu is written on large blackboards at both locations, and is rather varied; you can get anything from a quesadilla to pupusas, the delicious Salvadoran stuffed masa cakes.  I love their mole, that most spectacular of sauces, slightly sweet with chocolate, slightly spicy, and just overall so delectable that it improves anything and everything it touches; served on their enchiladas con pollo (chicken) it

Enchiladas con pollo y mole

is absolute perfection.  Tender, flavorful chicken wrapped in corn tortillas, topped with melted cheese and a sauce (mole, a slightly spicy red "enchilada sauce," or a tomatillo sauce), and served with refried beans and rice.  The rice and beans are fine, though they do not stack up with the addictively spectacular varieties at Tacos Lupita in Lynn, MA.  The beans are pretty standard, like you would get just about anywhere, but the rice is actually pretty good; I tend to mix them together with some salsa, and it tastes just fine.

Horchata

Along with the enchiladas I had horchata, my favorite Central American drink, rice based and sweet without ever being cloying.  They also serve really great lemonade, a variety of aguas frescas, and during the winter, Mexican hot chocolate.  Their flan is supposedly good if you are in the mood for dessert, though I have not had it and I only know one person who has, though he enjoyed it.

All in all, La Veracruzana is an old favorite making solid if mostly unspectacular food; there are a few things on the menu that you may not recognize, and if your exposure to Mexican food is Taco Bell, you probably will be pretty shocked by what comes out.  As far as Mexican/Central American restaurants in the area, it is about as good as you will get, except possibly Mi Tierra, a Salvadoran owned eatery in neighboring Hadley.

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Founders Brewing Company Double Trouble

Founders Brewing Company has deservedly been getting some great press in the last few years, making numerous "best of" lists, attracting hugely positive reviews and, it seems, expanding their operations, as I am now seeing their beers at more and more shops these days.  After trying four of their six year round beers, I picked up a four pack of the specialty Double Trouble, an imperial IPA, at the local Whole Foods, of all places.

Double Trouble is not the hard hitting, super powerful double IPA that, say, the Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA is, or the aggressively bitter variety like Stone's Ruination IPA; instead, it is a subtle, but engaging beer, hoppy without bitterness as you drink it, and a malt undertone that gives just a hint of sweetness.  The Founders website claims that it has a bitter finish, and I can see how this could be argued, but it is more of a bitter aftertaste, in a really pleasant way; it sort of feels like the beer is cleansing your palate after you drink it.

The beer is a beautiful, foggy golden amber, with a weak head that disappeared after just a minute or two.  The flavor, as with most beers like this, becomes more pronounced and vibrant as it warms slightly, so it is worth letting it sit for a couple minutes after pouring it.  I'll admit, I was surprised by both its ABV (9.4%) and IBU score (86), as it drinks like a 5% beer and the bitterness is just not that powerful.  I think this is actually a really fantastic option because of those two things; many beer drinkers, even those who are aficionados (or wanna bes) still don't like the taste you can get with super high alcohol contents or really high IBU values, so they avoid the imperial IPAs; this will allow them to enjoy the other aspects of the genre, without the drawbacks.  Highly recommended, I can see this becoming a much loved beer for me during the summers.  Sadly, it is only produced in May and June, so get it while you can.

You can find my reviews of Founders Red Rye PA here.

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