Gourmanding

Travelling Gourmands: Sea Dog Brewing Company (Topsham, ME)

2012-02-11T11:31:00.000-08:00

A little while back we were in Maine on a freezing cold night and in the mood for some pub food. The restaurant in our hotel looked tasty but a little too expensive. We went to Sea Dog Brewing Company instead.

The one in Topsham is on a river in an old mill building. It's got a warm and fun atmosphere to come in from the cold to. Kayleigh had the Hanger Steak with swiss chard and whipped potatoes. By all accouts it was pretty good.

Nachos were a satisfying mess of tomatoes, jalapeños, olives, cheddar and corn chips.

My own pub routine is pretty simple: burger and sweet potato fries. The burger was alright and the fries were crispier than I've come to expect with sweet potatoes.

I'm usually more excited about the food, but the beer is the star at Sea Dog. Thy've won lots of awards for it, and I get why. Kayleigh had the Owls Head Light and I had the Sea Dog Pale Ale. We've since tried the Wild Blueberry and Raspberry. It's more than a gimmick with Sea Dog; they find a way to make the fruity beers really work.

All in all it was just what we were looking for on a cold night.

Sea Dog also has locations in Bangor and Portaland.

New Haven Style Pizza: Frank Pepe

2012-01-23T09:46:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, Greg and I undertook a "Pizza Tour" of America, visiting iconic pizzerias in New York, Chicago, and California and tasting the best of the best. But we missed one regional pizza that year, and I've been wondering about it ever since; New Haven style pizza. This morning we decided to drive the hour and forty minutes to Connecticut to see what we've been missing.

For our first taste of New Haven pizza, we chose the Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana, the inventor of New Haven style pizza in 1925. We visited the Manchester, CT location (which promised a brick-by-brick replica of the New Haven restaurant's oven) because it was about 30 minutes closer to Boston and we had to be home in time for the Pat's game. We were pleasantly surprised by the friendly service and heavenly aromas.

New Haven style pizza (or "apizza"), depending on the toppings, can appear quite similar to New York style pizza or can be more of a bruschetta. Whereas most styles of pizza consider tomato sauce and cheese to be essential components, New Haven style pizzas do not include cheese unless it's ordered as a topping. Frank Pepe's signature "white clam pie" does not even include sauce, instead featuring clams, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and grated (non-mozzarella) cheese.

Not being clam fans, we decided to order an assortment of other toppings for our two pizzas. The first pizza included cheese, garlic, sausage, and fresh roasted red peppers, the second was topped with cheese, garlic, chicken and broccoli.

As I mentioned above, sauce and cheese are somewhat optional on a New Haven pizza, so if there's any signature element it would have to be the crust. As with New York style pizza, New Haven pizzas are cooked in coal-fire ovens which char the crust and cause the outer edges to bubble up. However, the New Haven style of crust is slightly thicker than New York style and doesn't have as strong a gluten flavor. Greg compared the pizza to Bertucci's, which is probably the closest-tasting chain restaurant. Note in the pictures below the way the crust varies between bubbled/crackly to soft/doughy.

As for the other components of the pizzas, we were impressed with the large, fresh toppings heaped on top (look at that giant garlic!). The sauce had a strong tomato flavor, undiluted by sugar or spices, which worked well with the crust and toppings. The cheese got the job done without drawing attention to itself. But the real star of the show was the toppings.

One final surprise on our trip was the restaurant's "White Birch Beer", apparently a New Haven specialty. I could drink that stuff all day. It's similar to Root Beer, but clear and with a slight cinnamon taste.

Eating at Frank Pepe was a fun adventure for a dreary winter day. Any Bostonian who considers him or herself a fan of pizza should make the trek to try this regional specialty. Check www.pepespizzeria.com for a complete list of locations.

National New England Chowder Day: Boston's Best Chowders

2012-01-21T09:00:00.000-08:00

In honor of National New England Clam Chowder Day, here's a list of our favorite spots for chowder in the Boston area.

1. Legal Seafoods (many locations) Legal Seafoods has over 30 locations throughout the east coast, but it originally started right here in Inman Square, Cambridge. Legal's chowders (clam, light clam, and fish) are sturdy versions of what most people expect when they hear "chowder." Creamy, full of potatoes, with a thick base aided by the inclusion of flour. Note, some chowder experts, including Greg's Dad, hold that chowder should not include flour, but for the casual clam chowder eater, Legal's will do just fine.

2. No Name Restaurant (15 Fish Pier Street West, Boston) If you're looking for the place locals go to for their chowder, No Name is the restaurant you want. No Name's seafood chowder (flour-free) is overflowing with chunks of every form of fish and shellfish. Enjoy a bowl with their delicious garlic bread. One piece of advice if you order a fish dinner with your chowder, No Name's meals tend to come swimming in tartar sauce, so unless you really love the sauce, ask for your meal with the tartar on the side.

3. The Village (55 Main Street, Essex) No less a food critic than Mark Bittman has sung the praises of the Village restaurant in Essex on Cape Anne. This place is not for the faint of heart, or for anyone on a diet. Expect full-fat cream sauces, plenty of grease on the fried fish, and no small amount of cheese. I wouldn't recommend eating here every day, but for a special occasion this is an excellent New England treat.

4. The Daily Brew (1370 Route 28A, Cataumet, Cape Cod) Who would've thought that the best fish chowder I've ever had would come from a coffee shop at a small town down the Cape? Unfortunately, on our last trip to The Daily Brew we found out the chowder's only made once a week (I think on Tuesday) and it goes fast. Call ahead to have a bowl set aside in the freezer for you if you can't make it down on the day it's made.

5. The Daily Catch (Brookline, Seaport and the North End) The Daily Catch ain't cheap, but it's a very worth-it splurge for a special occasion (especially if the special occasion is a beautiful summer day spent strolling along the Harborwalk). I recommend following your chowder with a plate of aglio olio black pasta (dyed with squid ink)

How'd we do? Did your favorite chowder make our list?

ShotCakes

2012-01-20T14:18:00.000-08:00

I'm not usually a fan of ice cream cakes, but every once in a while I do like to visit the Burlington Mall for a ShotCake.

What I like about ShotCakes is that the desserts are more in the style of a souped-up ice cream sundae than a subpar cupcake. Their cupcakes are injected with ice cream, then topped with strawberries, fudge, whipped cream, or an assortment of other toppings.

Today I had a strawberry cupcake injected with chocolate ice cream. The cupcake tasted light and fresh, and the strawberry icing was fruity enough to balance out the chocolate in the ice cream.

For a delicious treat, check out ShotCakes in the Burlington Mall, 75 Middlesex Turnpike, Burlington, MA.

Best Decaf Coffee: Biggby

2012-01-19T14:20:00.000-08:00

There are few harmless adult pleasures as enjoyable as a good cup of coffee. This month in my home coffee maker (the unbeatable Cuisinart Grind & Brew) I've been enjoying Biggby coffee beans I picked up while we were in Michigan. The flavor is rich, the smell is cocoa-y, and the surprising part is it's decaf!

A few years ago I developed a sensitivity to caffeine and had to switch to decaf for my daily cup. It's been a difficult transition. I know you fellow decaf drinkers out there share my pain. Most decaf coffee tastes like ground cigarette butts.

Don't get me wrong, I understand why it's so bad. Obviously coffee makers think we're nuts, and they're punishing us. When I worked at Starbucks I used to feel the same way. Caffeine was my drug back then. I was in there at 6am, slinging frappucinnos and tossing back espresso shots. Caffeine was the only thing stopping me from taking a nap on the condiment bar. Back then I thought coffee was just a caffeine delivery system. Why would someone want coffee without caffeine? It would be like non-alcoholic beer. Or candy bars without chocolate.

Of course now I understand that to a caffeine sensitive person even a cup of decaf can have enough caffeine to disrupt a sleep schedule. And, now I'm hooked on the ritual of coffee too. Having a hot drink to fuss with keeps the mind distracted enough to let the rest of you get some work done. It gives you a line to stand in when you just can't sit at the desk anymore.

Now I totally get decaf coffee. But, call it karma, every time I walk into a coffee shop I encounter my college age self, serving up a 12 hour old cup of sludge. At supermarkets I find five shelves of caffeinated whole bean coffees and not a single decaf option. Half the time I can't even find a ground option.

So that's why I was so surprised when I tried the delicious decaf coffee at Biggby's. I kid you not it tastes every bit as good as regular coffee. I checked the sign 3 times to make sure I hadn't accidentally taken regular coffee.

I immediately brought a pound of "Biggby's Best Decaf." It's a smooth brew without that unpleasant sharpness Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks coffees can have.

The only unfortunate detail of this great discovery is that there isn't a Biggby anywhere near Boston. The nearest location is in Ohio. Brutal. So for now I'll have to make this pound of beans last, and make sure to bring back a little more next time I get out to the midwest.

Foumami

2012-01-19T13:08:00.000-08:00

Eating lunch every day in downtown Boston can get a little same-old, same-old. There are a proliferation of Boloco's, Au Bon Pain's, Sebastians' and deli sandwich places, but sometimes you want something new (without sacrificing convenience). Enter, Foumami.

Foumami is a Japanese-inspired soup/salad/sandwich restaurant with a few fun extras on the menu like edamame and fried gyoza.

The meat and veggies are always fresh and lean but what really sets them apart from other sandwich places is their delectable "bing" style bread.

Bing is like a cross between a mid-range chinese place's scallion pancake and a mexican flour tortilla. It's substantial enough to hold the sandwich together, but light enough to yield salty, buttery flakes as you eat, providing a satisfying constrast to the thickly-sliced lean chicken, pork or beef inside the sandwich.

Lunch sandwiches are served with a housemade pickle and chips. Be sure to order one of their hot cinnamon or ginger teas to complete the meal (note - teas come heavily pre-sweetened).

In addition to their regular menu of sandwiches and salads, Foumami offers a daily specialty soup and lunch dish. One favorite of mine is their Chicken Katsu Curry Rice bowl. It's the perfect mix of juicy breaded chicken, chunky vegetables, sticky brown rice and tasty curry sauce.

Foumami also has a breakfast menu for early risers (or late risers grabbing something on their way up to their desk), including an egg sandwich on bing bread.

Check out Foumami for an interesting twist on the lunchtime sandwich. They're at 225 Franklin Street in Boston's financial district.

Travelling Gourmands (Buffalo, NY): Charlie the Butcher

2012-01-16T10:41:00.000-08:00

You've heard about the wing, but Buffalo also specializes in beef on weck and everyone has their own opinion on who is dishing out the best. We decided to stop off at Charlie the Butcher's for lunch.

Charlie was on the top of a lot of lists, and I could see why. As soon as we walked in, we were greeted by the carving station where they were slicing up all sorts of delicious meats. The special that day was a prime rib sandwich. It was a tough choice, but in the end, I decided I had to have their most famous dish.

Weck, short for kummelweck (meaning caraway roll), is a bun sprinkled with kosher salt and caraway seeds. Half the bun is then dipped in au jus.

The result was pretzelly deliciousness.

The lean roast beef was layered on in big juicy slabs. I would have preferred it slightly rarer, but it was perfect for Kayleigh.

I topped my sandwich with fresh chopped horseradish. Other toppings were available, but the beef pretty much stood on its own.

Fries traditionally accompany beef on weck, and who was I to go against the grain? The batter on the sweet potato fries was so thick, they must have been fried deep in the bowels of the earth. Excellent!

It had that cool upstate 50's diner feel with the counter and chrome. I would definitely advise that you go there if you find yourself in Buffalo for some reason. Other than Niagra Falls, the beef on weck is the most beautiful thing in this part of the world.

Charlie the Butcher's is located at 1065 Wehrle Drive, Williamsville, NY

Travelling Gourmands (Kalamazoo, MI): Bilbo's Pizza

2012-01-16T09:00:00.000-08:00

If I've been writing a lot about pizza lately, it's because there's so much there to discuss. Pizza preference is like a Rorschach test. It reveals our deepest needs, from comfort in the form of the chef boyardee box mix our parents used to serve, to creative expression via a duck/cherry/hot pepper masterpiece served on grilled thin crust. Pizzas are as individual as people.

A perfect example of this phenomenon is the pizza I eat on every trip back to my hometown in Michigan. Bilbo's Pizza in a Pan is the definition of comfort food. The wheat crust is hearty as a loaf of homemade bread fresh from the oven, the sauce is sweet and chunky like spaghetti sauce, and the cheese is a goey mixture that would be at home in the center of Grandma's lasagna.

The photos featured here are of Bilbo's "stuffed" spinach pizza, which is a little deeper than their regular pizzas and has an extra layer of crust. Like Chicago deep dish style, all of Bilbo's pizzas are structured with dough, then toppings, then cheese and sauce. The pizza at Bilbo's is not exactly Chicago deep dish style because Bilbo's crust is a bit thicker around the edges and has a grainier texture. Still, it's much closer to Chicago style than pizzas you'd find in New York or the west coast.

And in case you've been wondering if Bilbo's is named after the Tolkien character, it is. Check out this explanation from the Bilbo's founders (including a discussion of whether Bilbo Baggins had facial hair). Bearded or not, I'm sure if a hobbit came to Michigan Bilbo's Pizza would be his first stop.

Bilbo's Pizza has two locations in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Stadium Drive and South Westnedge.

Dueling Gourmands: Best Pizzas

2012-01-15T13:35:00.000-08:00

As readers of this blog are already aware, I have a slight pizza obsession. In fact, if there was a tv show about me, the theme song would be the old Pizza Bagels jingle, "pizza in the morning, pizza in the evening, pizza at supertime." Of course what I love in a pizza place doesn't always match up with what Greg loves, and you know the result when that happens...

Dueling Gourmands, Pizza edition!

Kayleigh's Top 5:

1. Za Restaurant (138 Mass Ave in Arlington and 350 Third Street in Cambridge) Once upon a time, with stars in my eyes (and a local beer in my hand), I looked at Greg across a macaroni and cheese pizza and said "someday we'll get married here." Now, when was the last time you ate a pizza so good you wanted to serve it at your wedding? Za's menu manages to be both gourmet, with local seasonal ingredients like rhubarb and corn in inventive combinations, and still accessible enough to appeal to the pickiest of eaters with comfort food toppings like mac & cheese. It's just the kind of place you want down the street from your house, which is why we may never move. And in case you're wondering how my suggestion was received; Reader, I married him at Za*.

2. Pizzeria Posto (187 Elm Street, Davis Square in Somerville) Pizzeria Posto takes attention to detail to a whole new level. They literally will not serve you a pizza that isn't absolutely perfect. The first time we ate there we had to wait 45 minutes for our food because it took them three tries to get the crust on our pizza perfect. That might sound like a bad thing, but you wouldn't think so if you'd tasted the final result -- perfectly bubbled, light, airy crust. Close your eyes and you'll think you're in Italy. Just be sure to order an appetizer (I recommend the arancini) to get you through the wait.

3. Pizzeria Regina (11 1/2 Thatcher Street, North End Boston) This is an endorsement of the north end original location only, and is not intended to apply to any other locations, especially mall locations. If you've eaten a slice of sitting-out-all-day pizza from one of the other Regina locations, you haven't tried Pizzeria Regina. Once you've tried the original you'll know that anyone who goes to the north end for pizza and doesn't go to Pizzeria Regina is out of their mind. It is simply the very best greasy pizza money can buy in the Boston area. Grease-a-licious.

4. Emmas (40 Hamphire Street, Kendall Square Cambridge) This place has a little bit of a soup-nazi thing going on. No cell phones, no reservations, no seating before your whole party arrives. But the food is so worth it. The crust is cracker thin, the toppings are big and fresh, and there are a variety of sauces to suite the different toppings (don't you hate when a place just has one boring sauce for every pizza?). I recommend the #18: artichoke hearts, baby spinach, roasted sweet potato, rosemary sauce and mozzarella.

5. Cambridge 1 (27 Church Street, Harvard Square Cambridge) It would be kind of a waste to include this in my list, because your fancy friends who usually eat clean and don't even really "like" pizza have already told you about Cambridge 1 and how good their grilled pizzas are, right? So good they surprised themselves by eating half the pizza and then having to skip breakfast the next day, right? Ok, so just an order recommendation then: half #6: grilled chicken, roasted red pepper, mozzarello, romano and half #8: sopressata, tomato, fontina, romano.

5. Pizzanini (60 Washington Street, Brighton) There's a certain kind of pizza place that never makes the "best of" lists. Places like Pizzanini don't get the glory, but they're out there, fulfilling a vital need for greek style pizza in a hurry. Serving it up to hungover college students and exhausted 9-5 workers better than it has to be at around 5 bucks. Of all the cheap carryout/delivery places named after women, towns, or puns on italian words, Pizzanini has the best pizza I've ever tasted. It's not fancy, because what you want in a coupon-pizza place isn't fancy, you want salty crust covered with an orange mixture of sauce and cheese that have melded to create something better than the component parts. It is pizza in the most primal sense of the word. It is cheap. And it is good.

*technically, it was our reception, not ceremony, but still, pretty restrau-mantic, right?

Greg's Top 5:

Look, I'm kind of at a disadvantagehere; Kayleigh took a lot of the good ones. Also, there are so manymore places I want us to try in Boston. I feel like I am just scratchingthe surface. I have found that all the "best pizza" lists arebiased in favor of the North End. It's not always about the slice. If you want to grab pizza you're not going to drive to the north end andspend an hour looking for parking. You're going somewhere accessible.

1. Pizzeria Regina (353 Cambridge Street, Allston -where the sports depot used to be). I love the original Regina, but wouldyou rather get cramped in a tiny booth and treated like a jerk, or have plentyof room to stretch out and have them be grateful that you're there all thewhile eating the same delicious pizza? The original Pizza Regina is thekind of pizza you date, this one is the kind you marry.

2. Santarpios (111 Chelsea Street, East Boston) Justwent there for the first time and I loved it. Amazing cheese and garlicchunks on the sausage and garlic pizza. Chunky sausage just works itselfright in there. Crisp crust, visible spices and herbs. Cheapand unpretentious, authentic Boston feel, and fast.

3. Olympic Pizza (173 Mass Ave, Arlington) Everybody has that pizza place they grew up on. Olympic is pizzafor me. I knew their number by heart. I'd stop there for aslice on the way home from school. This was a pizza the whole familycould be satisfied with. I grew up and I started to rebel. I triedother places in Arlington. I went to college and started to experiment. I was seduced by the convenience of T Anthonys, the late hours and deepdishes of Sicilias. I'd have other favorites in other parts of the city. But I always went back to Olympic. Olympic is solid and dependable;it's home.

4. Bertuccis (all over New England) Yes it's achain, but it's our chain. This is the first place that I know of thatmade interesting and exotic types of brick oven pizza in Boston. Theoriginal location in Davis square used to have a bocce court inside where youcould play while waiting for dinner. That's been gone awhile, but thoseendless hot rolls aren't (Besides, Davis has the Flatbread company with Bowlingnow). Though it’s a casual dining restaurant dressed up all fancy, ithas great reliable pizzas like the Sporkie and the Quattro Stagioni. Mypersonal favorite is the BBQ chicken Pollomatch, which is extinct, but theyresurrect it every once in a while.

5. Oggi (1350 Mass Ave, Harvard Square - inside the Holyoke CenterArcade) They have a weekly special on Mondays that we love to get. $5.00for a Tomato-Basil Pizza between 6-8pm. The staff is a little spacey butthe food makes up for it. It’s reallyfresh and delicious. Plus, they get bonus points for having great turkeyburgers.

What do you think Eaters? Who wins this Pizza Duel?

Food Holidays

2012-01-12T13:41:00.000-08:00

This Food Holiday Calendar I found online is a hoot. It's a little late to celebrate Curried Chicken day today, but I'm looking forward to National Popcorn Day next week. What Food Holiday are you looking forward to?

Beantown Hoagie

2012-01-12T10:27:00.000-08:00

In a world of paninis, wraps and roll-ups sometimes the lowly sandwich can get forgotten. But in the middle of a busy day when you need a quick lunch with no frills, there's nothing better than a good deli sandwich. My best bet for sandwiches in downtown Boston is Beantown Hoagie.

The secret to a great sandwich is the best ingredients, sliced fresh. Beantown Hoagie has a full case of Boar's Head meats and cheeses, sliced to order. If you've eaten a sandwich with Boar's Head meats, you know they're the best on the market.

Beantown Hoagie fills their sandwiches to bursting. Pair one with a drink and chips and you'll have enough brain power to tackle whatever work throws at you the rest of the day.

Beantown Hoagie is located in Liberty Square at 102 Water Street, Boston

Yummies

2012-01-12T08:16:00.000-08:00

Maybe after reading my previous post on the When Pigs Fly Pizzeria and Bakery you've been thinking of making a trip to Kittery, ME. If so, I have another stop to suggest: Yummies candy store.

Yummies appears deceptively small from the outside, but inside you'll find every variety of candy you can imagine, and even some you can't. They specialize in hard to find candies, so you can satisfy your craving for salty foreign licorices, candy bars last produced in the 50's, and 5 lb gummy bears.

Some of their candies are plain weird. Get a look at these gummy eggs and gummy cows.

Yummies is located at 384 US 1 in Kittery, ME.

Travelling Gourmands (Buffalo): Duffs - Best Wings in Buffalo?

2012-01-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

On a recent roadtrip, the Gourmands found ourselves passing through Buffalo, New York. As chicken wing fans, we didn't want to miss an opportunity to try Buffalo wings in their home town, but the more we thought about it the more we realized we didn't actually know any famous Buffalo wing restauarants. We made a quick request to our Facebook friends, who quickly pointed us in the direction of the best wings in Buffalo.

Just as these things usually go, two names kept coming up -- an inventor and an innovator. It turns out the Buffalo wing was invented at a place called Anchor Bar in 1964. According to Anchor Bar's website, the spicy wings were invented when bartender Dominic Bellisimo asked his mother to prepare something for his hungry friends and she invented them on the spot. (Huh. Not much of a story actually.) Five years later, in 1969, a tavern called Duffs in nearby Amherst began making their own spicy version of the famous wings. According to the Duffs website, their own wings were not officially "famous" until 1985, at which point they changed their name to "Duff's Famous Wings." (side note - are Buffalo restaurant websites all written by lawyers? It's ok to jazz up the history pages a little, guys.)

We would've loved to try both Anchor Bar and Duffs, but since we were only in town one night and had to get a beef on weck meal in too, we decided to try Duffs at its original location on Sheridan Drive in Amherst.

From the outside, Duffs looks more like a strip club than a neighborhood wings place. There are no windows, a big ATM sign, and there's only one door, on the opposite side of the building from the parking lot. We felt a little nervous leaving our car.

As for the food, first let me say that as the menu rightly advises, Duff's hot sauce is nothing to sniff at. We shared a 10 piece regular wings with mild-medium sauce and that was about the hotness of your average Boston bar Buffalo wing. I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor of the wings beyond just "hot" and the crisp outer shell that kept the chicken inside moist. Of course, Duff's advises its customers to add butter to the sauce if it's too hot for you, so I'm fairly certain that most of the delicious flavor and crisp shell were attributable to the the buckets of butter it must take to bring their hot sauce down 5 hotness levels to mild-medium.

After driving 7 hours from Michigan, we were starving when we arrived at Duffs. In addition to our wings, I ordered a plate of chicken fingers with medium sauce and Greg ordered a bleu & bacon burger. We also split a plate of fries.

Greg enjoyed his bleu & bacon burger although he said the bleu cheese overwhelmed the rest of the burger. I ate a couple of chicken fingers, but the medium sauce was simply too hot for my Bostonian palate. The fries (skinny, high school cafeteria style) I ended up shoving in my mouth by the handful after each bite of chicken finger. I think they tasted good, but the only thing I'm really sure of is that they weren't burning my mouth like the chicken fingers were.

As you can see from the pictures, Duffs is an informal place with a limited menu where some of your fries come on your chicken and some hot sauce gets on your veggies. That's ok by us, because we're gourmands, not gourmets.

I'd love to take another trip to Buffalo and see how Anchor Bar compares to Duff's. For now I can only say that Duff's Buffalo sauce is very good. Were they the best wings we've ever had? Eh, maybe not. But if I was in the area I'd probably eat them again.

When Pigs Fly Pizzeria, Kittery ME

2012-01-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

They say everyone has a "true age" which, once reached, is never matured beyond. If that's true, then in my heart I'm still 10 or 11, when going out for pizza and the mall is the best way to celebrate any happy occasion.

Recently, for a slightly more grown-up version of this outing, we took a trip outlet shopping in Maine and stopped on the way at the When Pigs Fly bakery to try the new Pizzeria they've just added onto their flagship store.

I've been dying to eat at the When Pigs Fly Wood-fired Pizzeria since November, when I saw it mentioned on the Serious Eats Slice blog. When Pigs Fly has been my favorite bakery since college. They offer a wide range of distinctive, generously seasoned breads from spicy "Potato, Roasted Garlic & Onion" to sweet "Orange, Toasted Walnut & Cranberry" to hearty "Low Carb Whole Wheat" breads. A trip to one of their stores or Farmers' Market stalls is a treat, due to their pleasant staff and policy of offering samples of virtually every product in the store. I couldn't wait to see how this translated to the pizzeria setting.

Unfortunately, we were a bit disappointed on the service end. Unlike the bakery, the When Pigs Fly Pizzeria neither offered a variety of crusts nor particularly friendly service. The waitstaff seemed absent-minded and confused, delivering the wrong pizza to us, and rushing us out with the check before we could order dessert.

For comparison's sake, we ordered two pizzas -- the simple margherita pizza, and the more complex Coppa Picante.

The margherita pizza was just what one would expect -- a sweet sauce, crisp crust, and chewy mozzarella. It was tasty and I would happily eat one again, but it was so light and un-filling that I probably could've eaten the first one by myself. I love a good margherita pizza, but I don't think I would drive all the way back for this one, especially for $12.

I enjoyed the Coppa Picante a lot more, although Greg found the combination of picante pork meat with chili flakes in the sauce overpoweringly spicy. In a nod to healthy eating, we asked for broccolini to be added to the pizza. For me, the addition of the greens was enough to dilute some of the spice, but I might be hesitant to order the pizza the way it appeared on the menu without modification. By the way, one of our complaints with the service was that the Coppa Picante pizza was delivered to us without the broccolini. When we reminded our waitress of our order, she took the pizza back to the kitchen, dropped broccolini on top, then redelivered it to us. By the time we got the pizza back, it and the never cooked broccolini were cold. I might expect that from a regular pizza joint, but when the pizza costs $22 (!!!) there's no excuse for it not being hot and fresh.

There was a time when a pizzeria offering a wood-fired margherita pizza could get away with making just an okay pizza, but in this post-Eat Pray Love world, you have to have something truly unique to charge customers as much as When Pigs Fly is charging. Their bakery has simply set the standards too high for this so-so pizzeria to live up to.

When Pigs Fly Pizzeria is located at 447 US Route 1 in Kittery, ME and online at http://www.sendbread.com/pizza.php

Travelling Gourmands (Topsham, ME)

2012-01-06T20:21:00.001-08:00

A little while back, we were in Maine on a freezing cold night and in the mood for some pub food. The restaurant inside our hotel looked tasty, but a little too expensive. We went to Sea Dog Brewing company instead. The one in Topsham is on the water in an old mill building. It's got a warm and fun atmosphere to come in from the cold to.

Kayleigh had the Hanger Steak with swiss chard and whipped potatoes. By all accounts it was pretty good.

Nachos were a satisfying mess of tomatoes, jalapeños, olives, onions.

My own pub routine is pretty simple: burger and sweet potato fries. The burger was alright and the fries were crispier than I've come to expect from sweet potatoes.

I'm usually more excited about the food but the beer is the star at Sea Dog. They've won lots of awards for it, and I get why. I had the Sea Dog Pale Ale. Kayleigh had the Owls Head Light. Both were crisp and unique. We've since also tried the Wild Blueberry and Raspberry. It's more than a gimmick with Sea Dog; they find a way to make the fruity beers really work.

All in all it was just what we were looking for on a cold night.
Sea Dog has locations in Bangor and Portland.

Ixtapa Mexican Restaurant & Cantina

2012-01-03T09:01:00.001-08:00

Hi there, Eaters!

Hope you had a great holiday! What better way to kick off the blog in 2012 than taking a look at some tasty Mexican food! A short time ago, my parents took us to Ixtapa in Lexington.

I'm not always attracted to restaurants that are set off from the main road and wedged in with other storefronts, but this place is better than it looks.

Recently, our friend Julia gave it a good recommendation and we decided to give it a shot. The friendly service really stood out. The waiters were super attentive and nice. The atmosphere was warm and fun, the opposite of what I expected. And the portions were huge.

I didn't know this until now, but the real Ixtapa is one of those government planned beach resorts like Cancun.

Ixtapa the restaurant also caters to gringo tastebuds. The spicing was mild and it had exactly what you'd expect for combo plates and various incarnations of tortilla. But it was tex-mexy in a good way. I appreciate that it's not trying to re-invent the wheel.

It's a good spot to down endless chips and strong margaritas.

I had a combo plate with some crispy Chile Rellenos...

and the fried ice cream for dessert.

I appreciated the overlapping chocolate and caramel syrups on top.

My dad had the flan and was really digging it.

In fact, he liked the meal and the service so much that he went into the kitchen to thank them and say that we would definitely be back! And we will! My food resolution this year? Don't judge a cantina by its cover. This is a great spot for a family dinner.

Ixtapa is at 177 Mass Ave in Lexington and other Massachusetts locations.

Peach Farm

2011-12-14T17:49:00.000-08:00

A little while ago, on my birthday, Kayleigh arranged for us to go to Peach Farm in Chinatown with our friends Ashlin and Ben. It was great!

My parents brought me here a number of times when I was younger. Peach Farm specializes in seafood, but pretty much everything is good. We ordered a massive spread and had a great meal.

I got one of their specialties, a "nest" of meat and vegetables on top of fried noodles.

Ben ordered the seafood nest, which was overflowing with tentacles and chunks of delicious seafare. He managed to finish the whole thing somehow.

I love peking ravioli, and Peach Farm does them right.

The vegetables were pretty good too.

The scallion pancakes were crispy.

My only criticism of the place is the drab decor. It's in a basement and full of bright lights, blank walls, and mirrors. They could do with hanging a few pictures or something. But the food is so good that nobody cares. Right now, I know of no better place in Chinatown.

Peach Farm is at 4 Tyler Street in Boston.

Boston Cream Pie

2011-12-14T16:27:00.000-08:00

On this blog we tell the truth and sometimes that means talking about difficult subjects. Today we're going to have a frank talk about Boston cream pies.

We Gourmands love Boston and we love food, but sometimes “Boston” foods are really disappointing. Like those little Boston baked beans candies; basically sugar covered peanuts. They're about a ½ step above candy corn on the taste scale, and while I suppose they make a better candy than actual beans, it's not by much. In fact, if it wasn't for tourists' souvenirs and wedding out-of-town bags (sorry, family!), I'm pretty sure Boston Baked Beans production would've stopped sometime around the American Revolution. Then there's Boston lettuce; it's like other lettuces except floppier and completely flavorless. Bostonians, why do we keep lending our good name to subpar foods? It's like when the Red Sox won the world series and so many fans turned against them for being winners. We Bostonians must love us some disappointment.

Which brings me to Boston cream pie. In theory, it should be delicious; Reason #1 It’s chocolate, vanilla pudding and cake, all very good things, and Reason #2, it inspired the Boston cream donut, arguably the best donut of all time. Yet, I’ve never had a Boston cream pie that didn’t make me wish I was eating a different kind of pie.

On a recent night, Greg and I decided to visit the original home of the Boston cream pie, the Omni Parker House Hotel in downtown Boston, to see how the original stacks up.

According to legend, the Boston cream pie was originally invented by M. Sanzian, a French chef at the Parker House Hotel (now the Omni Parker) in the mid 19th century. The menu in the hotel crows about the pie winning some sort of national contest when it was first invented, which makes you wonder what kind of veggie/meat/raisin pies it was up against. Apparently the original version of the dessert wasn't even as good as what we have today because it didn't have any chocolate. My friends, I ask you, how lucky are we to be living in the modern era, instead of at a time when plain old vanilla cake with vanilla pudding on top could win a national award for best pie? The mind reels.

Anyway, the Omni Parker House Hotel is a great place to visit even if you're not in the market for a cream pie. It has a rich history of visits from writers like Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and Nathaniel Hawthorne (who apparently kept weekly writers group meetings there), baseball greats like Babe Ruth and Ted Williams, and presidents from Ulysses Grant to Bill Clinton. The hotel itself sits right at the corner of the Boston Common, close to everything downtown including hubs for all 4 lines of the T. I don't usually think of going into hotel bars when I want a bite to eat before or after a movie, but this would actually be a pretty great spot to go. The bar was clean and cozy, and our table was next to a window that looked out onto Kings Chapel and Old City Hall. It has that "old Boston" feel, which not every famous Boston eatery does (*ahem* Bull & Finch *cough, cough*).

Once we had settled in with a couple of coffees, we ordered the famous Boston cream pie, along with a chocolate torte for comparison. The desserts weren't cheap; the cream pie was $8 and the torte was $9. (weirdly, after we ordered the desserts, our waitress dropped off a bowl of wasabi nuts for us to share. Because what goes better with cream pie than wasabi, right?) Both desserts arrived beautifully plated with strawberries, fresh whipped cream, and strawberry sauce, which took some of the sting out of the price.

Surprisingly, the anonymous chocolate torte easily beat out the bland Boston cream pie. There was nothing particularly wrong with the cream pie, except that it was a bit boring, with a uniform vanilla flavor and top to bottom creamy texture.

By contrast, the torte offered up contrasting flavors and textures; bitter chocolate shavings topped a smooth vanilla (or white chocolate?) cream layer, atop a rich milk chocolate mousse, atop a denser cakey base. I wouldn't say it's the best cake I've ever tasted, but next to the Boston cream pie it tasted very, very good.

In sum, I would say if you're going to eat a piece of Boston cream pie, the Omni Parker House Hotel is as good a place as any to have it. But if you find yourself in the hotel and don't have your heart set on Boston cream, you may want to opt for the torte instead.

Danish Pastry House

2011-12-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday was my birthday, for which Greg picked out this toothsome cake from the Danish Pastry House in Somerville.

I've loved the Danish Pastry House since I first encountered their delicious pastries at the Farmers’ Market in Government Center 4 or 5 years ago. They first hooked me with their “chocolate snail”, a vertical variation on a chocolate crossaint, which is one of my all time favorite pastries. After that, I enjoyed DPH’s treats whenever I saw them at the growing number of coffee shops they supply around town, but it wasn't until a year or so ago that I sniffed out their home location near Tufts in Somerville. It’s a medium-sized shop with green scalloped curtains over the door and a wrought-iron sign that looks out over a busy intersection. The shop is very cute, in a way that may be true to Danish style, but has gotten a little played out by sporting goods shops at ski lodges.

The pastry case, though, is unlike anything you’ve seen before. They sell everything from mallowy marzipan animals to flakey bear claws to dense flourless cakes. The best way I know to describe their expertise is to say that when you take a bite, you don’t think butter, flour, or sugar; the finished product tastes like something that came into the world exactly as it is. I’m not usually a fan of marzipan, but even their marzipan was good enough to leave me wanting more.

On to the cake.

Greg got me a chocolate pecan cake, which DPH describes as “a nutty chocolate layer cake with chocolate mousse, topped in ganache and surrounded in crumbled pecans.” I feel that in eating this cake, I better understand the point of brownies. This cake was like a brownie that had been dissected so you could enjoy the separate parts; nuts, frosting, and ganache separately. It was super rich.

Overall, I highly recommend the Danish Pastry House for anyone who’s looking for an inspired bakery treat, or just a delicious carb-y breakfast. I’ve also recommended it to a friend as a good first date location. In the summer it’s close enough to walk to Davis Square and burn off some of the calories, too.

The good and bad of Boloco

2011-12-09T18:37:00.000-08:00

One of my frequent lunch destinations, Boloco, is in the news again for the twitter antics of its CEO, John Pepper. In the latest snafu, an employee at the Newbury Street location apparently tweeted something along the lines of "my job sucks, I work at Boloco", to which the CEO promptly responded "not anymore." Based on the tone of his usual tweets, I'm guessing that was more of a joke than a threat, though it did get a lot of attention from the local news.

Despite this minor misstep, I still say Boloco uses twitter better than any other restaurant out there. Through tweets, Boloco responds directly (and often hilariously) to its haters, solicits input from its lovers, gets the word out about promotions, and provides a hilarious running commentary of conversations overheard at the various locations. Customers don't need to include @Boloco or #Boloco to know they've been heard. Boloco's marketing team finds and responds to every tweet that mentions them, especially the negative ones. To the tweet with specific complaints like "tofu too dry" or "ordered a large, got a small", they respond quickly and make it right with a freebie added to the customer's card. To more general complaints like "Boloco sucks, Chipotle is better yo" they retweet with something as simple as a frowny face that somehow turns the interaction around and takes down the cyberbully. Following Boloco on twitter, one feels like part of a community of wrap lovers.

But the food on the other hand....

In general, on this blog, we don't write about restaurants we don't love. So, for Boloco, let me just say I love them enough to tell them they can do better. The other day my friend Alicia and I decided the perfect lunchtime destination would be a combination of Chipotle's food served at Boloco. At our Boloco (Pearl Street) the service is excellent and the sitting area is always clean with plenty of space for the lunchtime crowds (unlike any Chipotle I've ever been to), but the food often tastes dried out or lukewarm like it's been sitting too long. Also, while the Boloco employees are generally good about making the wraps the same way every time, the proportions in the fajita veggies are completely nutso. About 20 onion slices to 1 green pepper slice. Too much onion!

The other problem with Boloco's menu is that it's a little too jack of all trades, master of none. Chances are, if you know someone who goes to Boloco frequently, they're ordering the same item, or maybe 2 items, every time they go, and they have no interest in trying the rest of the menu. That's because the wraps are all so different from each other it's like they come from different restaurants. The menu is a strange amalgam of teriyaki, coleslaw, mexican, and who knows what else. Having such a large number of different ingredients should mean that their food is easily modifyable, but the ingredients are too divergent, so instead frequent customers end up eating the same thing every visit, or maybe just switching out proteins. The guy who always orders the mexican burrito is never going to ask for coleslaw on it, and the guy with the buffalo blue cheese wrap is never going to add teriyaki. As a result, Boloco has to keep all the ingredients for all these different wraps on hand, and drying out. The genius of Chipotle is that everything on their menu is interchangeable. If nobody orders a single taco one day, it wouldn't make a bit of difference to them, because every ingredient in the taco (including the corn tortilla, which you can get with a mexican bowl) is in other items on the menu. There's enough variety that a person can come in one day for a salad with chicken, come back the next for a steak burrito, and in the end feel like they've had two distinctly different meals, yet the multiple uses of everything they serve means it all rotates quickly and stays fresh.

Do I think Boloco will take my advice? Not really. I think John Pepper is a guy who really does want to please everybody and that his menu is probably going to get even more diverse as time goes by. But maybe they could at least do something about those fajita veggies.

Great Deals on Restaurant Gift Cards

2011-12-09T11:19:00.001-08:00

At Christmastime, we Gourmands love to give (and receive) restaurant gift cards. Because they’re gift cards, they’re easy to pick out and always fit, yet somehow it feels more personal to give the gift of a great meal than a gift card to a regular store. It’s fun to know that for even a small amount of money, you can give a friend the experience of a delicious meal in a nice restaurant, or a week’s worth of coffees.

This year, we’re excited to see that many local restaurants are making gift cards an even better gift idea, by throwing some extra value onto the cards above the purchase price. None of these restaurants charge a fee for their cards, so in purchasing one of these gift cards you’re getting free money. That’s a deal even Ebenezer Scrooge wouldn’t turn down.*

Fire and Ice – buy a $50 gift card, get a $10 card free. Buy a $100 gift card, get a $25 card free

Boloco – for every $25 you load on a gift card, they will load a free burrito (or you can choose to eat it right then and there). www.boloco.com

B Good - $25 gift card for $20, $50 gift card for $40. www.bgood.com

Legal Seafood – purchase $200 in gift cards, receive a voucher for a lobster dinner. www.legalseafoods.com

JP Licks - Buy a $25 cow card, receive a free $5 bonus card. http://www.jplicks.com/

Aquitaine Restaurant Group - Purchase $100 gift certificate, receive $20 complimentary dining certificate. http://www.aquitainegroup.com/gift-cards.php

Not Your Average Joes - Purchase $50 gift card, get $10 gift card free. http://notyouraveragejoes.com/gift_cards/

I’ll add more to this list as I discover them. Or please comment if you have any to add.

*of course, Scrooge would just buy the cards for himself.**

** I do, too. It’s called “thinking ahead.”

Free Birthday Food and Drinks around Boston

2011-12-09T08:49:00.001-08:00

This week I go from simply 30 to “30-ish”. To help ease some of the anxiety of another year gone by, I’ve rounded up a week’s worth of free food and drinks:

Starbucks – free drink on your birthday with a registered card. This year I finally got my act together and started pre-loading money onto a card for the drinks and food (love that oatmeal) I was already buying at Starbucks. It’s a little bit of a hassle to keep reloading every few weeks, but free syrups and soy milk, refills on tea or coffee in store, tall coffee with the purchase of beans, and a free birthday drink is more than worth the effort. Approximate value - $5 http://www.starbucks.com/

Dunkin Donuts – free medium beverage on your birthday, just for joining their e-program. I recommend the hot chocolate. Approximate value - $3 http://www.dunkindonuts.com/

Qdoba – Buy one get one free entrée with email coupon. I rarely eat at Qdoba, but it’s nice to know they’re thinking of me. Approximate value – ranges. http://www.qdoba.com/

Boloco – Free burrito loaded onto my registered Boloco card, good anytime in the month of December. I especially appreciate restaurants that extend their freebie offer for a week or a month, realizing that if the offer is only good on your birthday, chances are you won’t get a chance to take advantage of it. I also love that it’s already on my card, so I don’t have to carry around a printed coupon. I will definitely be using this one. Approximate value - $6. http://www.boloco.com/

Fire and Ice – free dinner on your birthday with email coupon. This one is good from 12/5 – 12/14, but it seems to be only at the Berkeley Street location in Boston. I’m not often in that area, and I probably won’t make a special trip, but it’s a good deal if you work or live nearby. Approximate value – $15? Not sure what this costs. http://www.fire-ice.com/

Coldstone Creamery – buy one get one free ice cream on your birthday with email coupon, if you join their club. I need another ice cream place emailing me like I need another hole in my head. But if Coldstone is your creamery of choice, go for it. Approximate value - $5 http://www.coldstonecreamery.com/mycsc/

Baskin-Robbins – free daintily-sized 2.5 ounce scoop of ice cream if you’re a member of their birthday club. I’m not taking advantage of this one this year, but I certainly have in prior years. Btw, their ice cream cake bites are cute enough to almost make me reconsider my hatred for ice cream cake. Almost. (briefly – calling ice cream cake “cake” is like telling someone they’re getting ice cream roast beef and then just pouring gravy on a scoop of vanilla. You can’t take the cake out of cake and call it cake. It’s false advertising. And even worse are the ice cream cakes that leave the cake but then replace the frosting with ice cream. As if we’re not going to notice it’s missing? Why this dire need to combine cake and ice cream into one food, anyway? Do you hate cake that much? Scared of not getting enough ice cream? Get ahold of yourself. You can have two things on your plate. Who’s ever even heard of a birthday party with cake that didn’t also have ice cream? 9 times out of 10 the ice cream in the “ice cream cake” isn’t good anyway. Just do yourself a favor and buy a normal birthday cake, then go to the ice cream aisle and pick out some super loaded up Ben and Jerry’s ice cream you know you’ll love and that you’d never in a million years see in an “ice cream cake.”) (note – birthday cake ice cream, on the other hand, is another thing entirely, and one I fully endorse.) Approximate value - $2 http://www.baskinrobbins.com/

So, what’d I miss? Are there any other birthday freebies that deserve a spot on this list? Or do you just feel the need to defend ice cream cake? Leave it in the comments!

The Fat Cat

2011-11-21T16:57:00.001-08:00

Last weekend, we went to The Fat Cat in Quincy Center. The name won it a few points with us right off the bat due to its gourmanding implications and our affinity for absurdly large cats. It was reasonably priced and unpretentious. We started off with the nachos, which were pretty good. We polished them off before the main course could arrive.

At the recommendation of our friend Melissa, I got their specialty, the Gourmet Mac N Cheese. This was a good decision.

It's got machengo, parmesan, blue, and cheddar. You can get it with lobster, chicken etc. It's gigantic, so there's plenty of leftover potential.

Kayleigh got the hamburger. It was somewhat overcooked, but otherwise alright. The fries were potatoey and delicious.

The building has a warm and cozy feel, but the service was a wee bit cold. Might just have been the dinner rush.

Overall, a very good spot. I'd recommend it, especially if you get the macaroni and cheese. Ranks up there with other great mac and cheese experiences that I've had at comfort food places.

The Fat Cat is at 24 Chestnut Street in Quincy.

Family Connections

2011-11-21T12:03:00.000-08:00

A few posts back, I linked an article in Boston Magazine in which a friend of chef Barbara Lynch reminisced about Barbara's desire to build a floating restaurant near the giant milk bottle in front of the Children's Museum. I thought I'd share this follow up note my dad sent:

"Did you know your step-great grandfather designed & oversaw the building of that milk bottle next to the Children's Museum. It originally sat atop the Hood Milk plant in Charlestown."

picture by The Bostonian Longhorn via Wikimedia Commons

Looks like I'm not the first in my family to appreciate big portions!

5 Restaurants I Want in my Town

2011-11-21T11:14:00.001-08:00

Whenever Greg and I see an empty store front in our town, we make a game of suggesting the best possible (for us) business that could open there. Aside from a combination laundromat/grocery store/gym (could be called "Weekly Ritual" or simply "Chores"),  our suggestions are almost always restaurants.

Overall, we're fairly lucky with restaurants in Arlington.  Restaurants of all different price points and cuisines seem to do well here, due to the mix of single people and families, multiple bus routes from Cambridge and Somerville, and plentiful on-street parking. Still, there are times when I miss my days living in Davis Square, Harvard Square, or Allston (ok, not too many days when I miss Allston) because there are some major food groups unrepresented here.

Here are the top 5 restaurants I'm dying to have in our town:

1. Great Burger Place: Since Krazy Karry's in Arlington Center went under a couple years ago (may it rest in free cotton candy peace), there hasn't been a decent place to go for a burger in Arlington. The best option in town is probably Not Your Average Joes, which, no offense to NYAJ (who make a mean mustard-encrusted chicken), is pretty sad.  And even NYAJ often has at least an hour-long wait on the weekends, which tells you something about the demand for "American" food here. What we really need is a burger destination like The Cellar or RF O'Sullivans. Someplace good enough to make my Medford friends want to drive out for dinner on Friday night. At least some place good enough to go on a weeknight when the weather's too bad to go into Cambridge. I'll even settle for a Tavern in the Square.

2. Coffee Shops: We have 2 Starbucks, several Dunkin Donuts, and an independent coffee shop (Jam'n Java) but if you've ever gone looking for a place to sit with a coffee on a weekend in Arlington you know we need more more more coffee shops and we need them now. Arlington is a town of writers, knitters, and sit & chatters. Too many times I've been disappointed, standing in the entryway to Starbucks with my laptop, purse, kindle, knitting supplies and 2-3 notebooks, to find every seat is taken. Yes, I understand that nursing a small coffee for 3 hours is not going to keep coffee shops open, so if a new coffee shop should also happen to have, say, the most amazing pastries imaginable, I am willing to eat a few for the right to keep my seat.

3. Frozen Yogurt:  loyal friends of the Gourmands know that we are big fans of frozen yogurt. Typically, our dinners out with friends end with Greg suggesting/begging that we all go to the nearest BerryLine for dessert and me saying I'm not interested, then ordering a large with 3 toppings. Unfortunately, we're usually so far from BerryLine that we lose half our group on the way there as people don't want to walk, take the bus, or try to find parking. If there was a BerryLine, PinkBerry, or some other similar place in Arlington, we could have our friends and eat our fro-yo too. It would be like the cherry on top of the proverbial frozen yogurt.

4. Counter Service Burrito Place: Zocalo almost fits this bill, because they do offer counter service for takeout. But if you want to eat there, it's all table service. The problem is that the times I most want a burrito usually coincide with the times I look worst.  I want a burrito place I can go to straight from the gym or on my way home after a long day at work when I've got runs in my stockings and crazy static hair.  I don't want to feel like I'm making a mockery of the establishment because I'm wearing a black t-shirt over blue sweatpants. I need a burrito place that'll just ignore me while I eat.  Yes, I'm disgusting.  Yes, I'm humiliated. I still want it.

5. Place that delivers Whole Wheat Pizza: Ok, technically we have one of these, but the service is so lousy and the quality so unpredictable that I don't consider them an option. At least once a week I want whole wheat pizza delivered to me. If one of Arlington's many pizza places would please just get some frickin whole wheat dough, I would become their best customer. Or on the other hand, Bertuccis could just start delivering to us. Either way is fine by me.

What restaurants do you wish would open in your neighborhood?

Favorite Soups

2011-11-17T19:03:00.001-08:00

Since I seem to have a soup thing going this week, I thought I’d take a moment to post my top 5 favorite soups in the Boston area. It would be impossible to rank them, so in no particular order:

1. New England Soup Factory – the highlight of any trip to Salem, Brookline Village, or Newton for me is popping into the Soup Factory for a bowl of “chicken pot pie” with one of their buttery flaky crusts on top. It's like how you imagine chicken pot pie to be in your head, as opposed to the real world disappointment of most chicken pot pies. Other favorites on the menu are the chicken noodle soup and fresh garden salads.

2. Zaftig’s in Coolidge Corner, Brookline – Everything on the Zaftig’s menu is so good, there’s no way you can get away with just ordering soup. So order something else AND a bowl of the chicken matzo ball soup. I just sat here smiling like an idiot for five minutes thinking about their soup. It’s really good.

3. Legal Seafood everywhere – Whenever out of town friends or family visit Boston, they always want to try the best clam chowder. How I wish it was at some forlorn little shack way down a pier with an eccentric chef who has a hook for a hand. But it’s not. The best clam chowder in Boston is at Legal “location in every neighborhood, mall, and terminal of the airport” Seafood. Oh well. What can you do. It's the best.

4. Le’s in Harvard Square, Chinatown, and Allston – For years the chicken soup at Le’s (formerly Pho Pasteur) was my go-to cure for any illness. It’s a giant bowl of pho noodle soup with a plate of fresh vegetables and herbs on the side so you can season it to your taste. My taste is, add the whole plate. I defy you to feel congested or sick after eating that. It’s straight up medicine.

5. Little Q Hot Pot in Arlington – this is my new cure-all. Hot Pot is a twist on traditional soup, because you make it yourself. First you order your choice of several broths (my favorite is herbal) and an assortment of raw veggies and meats. The broth is heated on a burner right at your table. When the broth gets hot, you add the meats and veggies (and noodles, if you like), then pull them out when they’re cooked to your liking. What’s great about it is that in addition to eating the soothing food, you're getting an herbal steambath the whole meal. It’s like a chicken soup sauna. Except not at all as disgusting as that sounds.

What are your favorite restaurants for soup?

Eating Alone

2011-11-17T17:55:00.001-08:00

It wasn’t until college that someone told me I wasn’t supposed to like eating alone. The other girls on my floor used to call me “so brave” for going to the dining hall by myself. (“so brave” is how 19 year old girls tell you you’re doing something wrong) Before then I thought going to a restaurant alone made a person seem important and mysterious – like a sophisticated traveler in a foreign country. But then I used to love air travel, too.

Of course there’s nothing better than breaking bread with a good friend, but it’s a fact of life that sometimes we all get hungry when there’s no dining companion available. I know a lot of people -- adults! – who live in mortal fear of being caught at a table for one. Forget that! Eating alone can be fun. The trick is to go to the right place.

One of my favorite places to eat alone is Wagamama in Faneuil Hall. There’s no better place in the city for people-watching as tourists, bankers, government employees, and shoppers pause to re-charge in the middle of their day. Listening in on their conversations always reminds me how lucky I am to be surrounded by all the history and culture that others pay good money to visit. It's a joy to be alone with my own thoughts and happy strangers.

Besides that, the food here is really good. Usually I order the Yasai Yaki Soba, a vegetarian noodle dish that's healthy-ish while still being filling. Today since it was cold out I went with the Chicken Chili Ramen soup. The chicken was perfectly moist white meat and the broth was deliciously spicy. If you eat at the restaurant, green tea and water are free, which balances out the cost of tip.

Wagamama is located in Faneuil Hall market place (and various other spots around Boston and Cambridge). Notice in this picture you can see the Christmas tree being decorated in the middle of the plaza. Ho ho ho.

I love Espresso Love

2011-11-17T16:54:00.001-08:00

I know this photo would be a lot more appetizing if I hadn’t eaten half the soup before I snapped it, but the food was so delicious I couldn’t wait. This was my lunch Wednesday – vegetarian potato leek soup, water, and an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie from Espresso Love in the Financial District.

Espresso Love is a cafe that got its start on Martha's Vineyard and opened a Boston location earlier this year. I discovered it this summer and have been going in regularly for coffee and cookies ever since. The love we Gourmands have for oatmeal chocolate chip cookies is equal only to our hatred for oatmeal raisin cookies, so I'm happy to frequent a cafe that's made oatmeal chocolate chip a regular part of its menu. (Those with less discerning taste will be happy to know oatmeal raisin cookies are also always available) The oatmeal chocolate chip cookies here are the platonic ideal -- crunchy at the edges, gooey in the center, with copious chocolate chips balanced out by just the right amount of oatmeal.

On a rainy day a few weeks ago I branched out to trying Espresso Love's soup and I discovered they do that well too. The potato soup is peppery with a satisfyingly granular mouth feel. It's like mashed potatoes for lazy people. I'm sure this winter I'll be enjoying this lunch combo often.

Espresso Love is at 33 Broad Street in Boston.

Party Favors

2011-11-17T16:20:00.001-08:00

If there’s one rule I believe in, it’s that a person should always have a cake on their birthday. Your birthday is the one day out of the year when you have an excuse to get your name written on a big crazy frosting loaded cake. This weekend was Greg’s birthday (a big one), so for a cake I went to the home of the most over-the-top fabulous cakes around – Party Favors in Brookline.

If you haven’t been to Party Favors yet, you owe it to yourself to go, whether you have a birthday coming up or not. The cupcakes start at just a little over a dollar for the mini size, and even the mini has enough frosting to satisfy your sweet tooth. Party Favors is more than just a bakery; it’s a one-stop shop for party plates, invites, decorations, and favors. There are so many great things stuffed into the tiny shop that it can be hard to walk around in there, and definitely hard to see everything. The best time of year to go is right before Halloween, when the ornate direct-from-Italy masks are looking down at you from the walls and the racks are bursting with every conceivable costume. The lead-up to Christmas is probably the second best time, though you will be tempted to spend all the cash in your wallet on adorable Christmas ornaments, gingerbread and candycanes.

But I’m getting off track from the main subject – cakes! The all-buttercream deliciously edible decorations on the cakes range from barnyard scenes with buttercream frogs and horses to wintery scenes of penguins scooting down ice flows. Even the $2 cupcakes are works of art.

For Greg’s birthday we had a simple yellow cake with yellow and orange flowers. It was a big hit!

Party Favors is at 1356 Beacon Street in Brookline.

Dessert Alert!

2011-11-10T17:10:00.001-08:00

What: Maybe you've been to Kickass Cupcakes, but did you know they have a truck?

Where: Peter's Park in the South End, Harvard Science Center Plaza, and Berkeley Street & Columbus Ave, and other sites around town.

When: Get the truck schedule on their website: kickasscupcakes.com

Catch it. But bring cash or you'll have to spend at least $10 and end up with four, like me.

C'est la vie.

The Perfect Lunch #2: Clover Food Lab

2011-11-10T13:04:00.001-08:00

Hey Eaters,

It was pouring buckets, but I managed to hit up Clover Food Lab (7 Holyoke Street, Cambridge) for lunch today. An MIT alum started Clover out of a truck a few years back. Now, they have a number of food trucks around the city and this big Harvard Square location. When you walk in at lunch time, two people standing near the entrance take your order on iphones. They have a big board with what's being made that day, how long each item takes to prepare, and the prices (love seeing all those $3 and $5 options). Then you pick up your food as it's made.

Clover has a very minimalist design, but in a good way. It feels and homegrown and down to earth.

Here's my order:

Entree: chickpea fritter plate -usually comes with hummus but I got pita bread instead.

Side: rosemary french fries

Drink: hot mulled cider

The chickpea fritters were good but, as a gourmand, I could have used more. The pitas were wheaty and delicious and the rosemary fries hit the spot. Clover calls them their gateway drug.

Hot mulled cider was a welcome fall lunchtime companion.

All in all this fell short of the perfect lunch but warmed and filled me on a grey day. Plus, I felt good after eating it. I also felt good that they use compostable packaging and serve local, healthy food.

Dessert Alert!

2011-11-09T19:48:00.000-08:00

What: 'Cinnamon Peanut Butter' and 'Banana Graham' Blend with blueberries, banana, and yogurt chips.
Where: BerryLine in Harvard Square (3 Arrow Street, Cambridge)
When: Now!

This frozen yogurt hot spot in Harvard tweeted a few days ago that people should try mixing their 'Cinnamon Peanut Butter' and 'Banana Graham' flavors. I did. It's a sweet combo. I recommend it with blueberries, banana, and yogurt chips. I also tried it with granola, but found that didn't work quite so well. Have at it!

Dueling Gourmands: Budget Burritos

2011-11-09T17:57:00.000-08:00

Gourmands don’t always agree, which is why we’re introducing the “Dueling Gourmands” in which we put our top 5 favorites head to head. This week’s Duel – Top 5 favorite budget burrito destinations. The rules are that to qualify as “budget” a basic burrito must cost under $10. Beyond that, rankings can be based on any parameters.

Kayleigh’s Top 5:

1. Andale Boston (125 Summer Street, Boston): I’ve been eating lunches at Andale for a long time, but I only recently started ordering the burritos. There are so many great things on the menu that it’s hard to limit yourself to something so simple, but if you can manage you won’t be disappointed. I recommend the carnitas low-carb burrito. The juicy pork is so delicious you won’t feel like a rabbit eating the fresh lettuce, salsa and whole wheat burrito. (Basic burrito starts at $4.95)

2. Anna’s Taqueria (original location at 446 Harvard Street, Brookline): the place where my love of burritos began. Almost a decade ago I had a job opening the Starbucks in Coolidge Corner and used to walk past Anna’s at 5am when the aroma of roasting spits of meat was just beginning to waft out onto the pre-dawn world. Back then a basic chicken burrito cost $3.10 including tax. I was so broke I could only treat myself to one a week, but what a delicious one it was. These days the prices have gone up a bit, but it’s still probably the cheapest meat burrito in town. First time visitors should start with a basic burrito, but for a treat the Quesadilla is out of this world. I order mine with carnitas and chopped veggies. If you get up early, some Anna’s locations also serve breakfast burritos which are surprisingly delicious. (Basic burrito starts at $4.85)

3. Kathi Kebab Rollup at Punjab (485 Massachusetts, Arlington): I know, I know, this is technically not a burrito, but when I’m craving perfectly-cooked white meat chicken, fresh veggies, and spicy sauce rolled up in wrap, this restaurant in Arlington Center 100% satisfies my burrito needs. ($9.50)

4. El Pelon Taqueria (2197 Commonwealth Avenue, Brighton): I think I’ve only had a burrito from here once, so I may be cheating by including this on my burrito list. I always, always, always get the steak enchiladas. And a fish taco. And plantains. And chips and salsa. To be honest, it’s kind of hard to eat at El Pelon on a budget because everything’s so delicious you’ll want to over-order. Oh well, we warned you we’re gourmands. (Basic burrito $4.50. some other menu items are cheaper)

5. Anna’s Taqueria (Davis Square location at 236A Elm Street, Somerville): Yes, I put two Anna’s locations on this list because Anna’s is that good. Whichever location you go to, remember "always say yes to hot sauce"

Greg’s Top 5:

1. El Pelon: I do get burritos here. I get the El Guapo; a steak burrito with plantains- my favorite burrito in the world. They also have amazing fresh salsa, although they don’t seem to sell it in the pint sized container anymore. I often hear tourists waffling about where to eat in on the sidewalk near Boston College-right in front of El Pelon! Kayleigh has to restrain me from grabbing them and shoving them inside. El Pelon used to be near Fenway on Peterborough Street, but they burned down awhile back along with the rest of “Restaurant Row.” I hear they are rebuilding the old location, which is great news for that neighborhood.

2. Taqueria el Amigo (196 Willow Street, Waltham): A recent discovery for me. It’s a small shack in an obscure part of Waltham. Very authentic, very cheap. Big portions. Delicious food. It’s always crowded. Well worth the drive there if you can find it.

3. Felipe’s (83 Mount Auburn Street, Cambridge): A lot like Anna’s and Bocca Grande but it’s open later…till at least 2am on Fridays and Saturdays! It has whole wheat burritos. It’s convenient. It’s cheap. The Carnitas burritos rock.

4. Anna’s (1412 Beacon Street): The old standby. Everybody should have heard of them by now. I chose this location because it was the site from which we embarked on this years Anna’s Walqueria Half Marathon to benefit the Home for Little Wanderers. Basically we marched from one Anna’s location to another all around Boston and ate at each stop. Simultaneously delicious and disgusting. I tried a Horchata for the first time and it was sweet!

5. Tie: MexiCali Burrito, Baja Bettys

MexiCali Burrito (500 Technology Square Cambridge MA): This is the home of the Big Sur, which they claim is Boston’s biggest burrito, and uses two full sized tortillas!. Their Nachos are simple, but tasty. Their meat is very good. Sometimes the service can be a little quirky but overall the good food wins out.

Baja Bettys (3 Harvard Ave Brookline MA):
Cash only. Good Brisket. A little more attention is paid to your food than at the more popular assembly line places. Homey feel, but slightly more Americanized.

What do you think? Who wins this duel? Did we overlook any great budget burrito spots in the Boston area?

The Perfect Lunch #1: b.good

2011-11-07T12:43:00.000-08:00

Hi Eaters,
This is the first in a series of posts about my search for the perfect lunch. It's got to be reasonably priced, somewhat healthy, quick, and really tasty.

My search starts at b.good. For those of you who haven't tried it, b.good is a fast food place that concentrates on serving real food that's actually kind of healthy.

b.good in Harvard Square

Before you read any more of this, I suggest that you run out to b.good right now and try their local cauliflower ere it runs out! It's their seasonal vegetable and who knows how long it will last. It's amazing!

It tastes better than any vegetable I've ever had. Probably because they cook (bake?) it like mac and cheese with tasty sharp cheddar and toasted breadcrumb type things on top.
I've been getting it with their juicy, home ground turkey burgers and and light lemonade.

How great is this combination? So friggin great. How dedicated am I in determining the perfect lunch for you guys? So dedicated that I've had this four weekdays in a row in different variations. This is the best I've come up with:

Entree: double turkey burger - lettuce tomato and cheddar (onion if you're into that) on wheat bun.
Side: local cauliflower - topped with cheddar cheese and breadcrumbs.
Drink: light lemonade.

While incredibly filling, it's also relatively healthy. All the ingredients are fresh and delicious. They can make it fast and you can eat it fast. Is this perfection? I don't know, but it is damn close. Give it a try, and join me next time as I go in search of the ever elusive Perfect Lunch.

2011-11-07T11:08:00.000-08:00

Kayleigh,
I was tempted to pick Anthony Bourdain because I loved Kitchen Confidential. But I’d be worried that his next book would be about how dull a travelling companion I was, like that Ricky Gervais show Idiot Abroad.* How I was afraid to try crazy foods, squeamish about killing my dinner, etc. On the other hand, he and I might be a good odd couple on his show.

I discounted the Andelmen brothers for the opposite reason. They’d be great companions on the hot dog safari, but I don’t know about an actual safari. Rachel Ray would attract too much press. Emeril and Wolfgang puck already have their own empires too.

I have to admit I had to look up a couple of the people you suggested. I read this article in Boston Magazine about Barbara Lynch and how she’s the Good Will Hunting of chefs:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/restaurants/articles/food_fighter/

Pretty cool. I pick her. I like that she wanted to have a floating restaurant at the giant milk bottle near the Children’s Museum!

*Who knew Ricky Gervais was once in a pop music duo:
http://www.panopticist.com/2005/03/ricky_gervais_pop_star_manque

2011-11-07T06:19:00.000-08:00

Greg,

Oh boy, I can't believe I typed dessert instead of desert. I remember learning in second grade that dessert has two "s"s because you want a second helping of dessert. I must've been thinking about the double helping I'd like of my desert island foods! I choose Bilbo's deep dish pizza, Reeses peanut butter cups, store-brand ice cream sandwiches (the cheapest ones always taste the best), Emma's thin crust pizza, and Rudy's nachos.

As to your second question, I would definitely choose Joanne Chang for my dining travel companion. In interviews she always seems so upbeat and fun, like a great travel companion should be, and I'd love to see the sensibility she brings to her restaurants -- Flour and Myers & Chang -- applied to other types of food. Besides, she's the only Bostonian on your list, and the Boston area personalities are so much more interesting than the tv food people right now, don't you think?

How about yours? I'm adding Barbara Lynch, Todd English, the Andelman brothers, and Wil Gilson to the list for your options, too.

2011-11-04T14:32:00.001-07:00

Kayleigh,

First of all, I would LOVE to be marooned on a dessert island! But if it had to be a desert island, and assuming we aren't taking into account nutritional value, I'd pick:

Giordano's Deep Dish Spinach Stuffed Pizza, Peking Ravioli from now extinct Grand Chau Chow, My dad's mac and cheese for comfort food, A Brighams Top Banana Sunday, and Umbria Prime Filet Mignon.

Sounds gross when you look at it all together but every individual dinner would be awesome. What about you?

Next question,
What chef would you rather bring on a dining tour of the world and why:

Joanne Chang
Anthony Bourdain
Wolfgang Puck
Rachael Ray
Emeril Lagasse

2011-11-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

Greg,

I'm excited that we're finally starting this blog we've been talking about for so long. It's going to be fun to share some of our experiences around the Boston area and post some of our favorites here.

For one of our first posts, why don't we do a little 2-way interview to let people know our general food likes and dislikes? I'll ask you first -- what are your top 5 dessert island foods?

Hi Eaters,

2011-11-04T12:01:00.000-07:00

It's Greg and Kayleigh. We're excited to share our eating adventures with you! You know how you talk about a certain subject all the time and people keep telling you, "You should totally start a blog about that!" Well, nobody ever said that to us. Except ourselves. We said it enough that we started to believe it. So here we are!

We're gourmands, not gourmets. We like great food, in big portions. Nobody would call us bashful eaters. We've been told we don't use silverware the right way. We don't know the best place to get beluga caviar-stuffed quail egg on brioche. We're not fancy.

But here's what we do know; where you should go for pizza, burritos, Thai, Vietnamese, dimsum, stir fry, fajitas, brunch, Mexican, Tex-Mex, sushi, Italian, burgers, fries, coffee, ice cream and all our other favorite foods. We've had a lot of great meals at a lot of places. We've worked in all the squares; Harvard, Kenmore, Kendall, Porter, Post Office, etc. We usually "forget" to bring lunch, and we aren't the type to skip it to save cash. Want to know where we've been eating lately?