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What Chowhounds are discussing on the Boston board.
Restaurants, bars, food stores, and more that are new, old, weird, or totally under the radar.
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Phien’s Kitchen Still Shines

Phien's Kitchen in Lowell changed ownership two months ago, which caused some concern among Boston-area hounds. "As long as the papaya salad, sausages, larb, and coconut dessert stay the same, I'll get over it," DoubleMan said at the time.

abgooshtdude tried the Laotian restaurant recently and gave the food a positive review. A special of sticky rice with sausage was nice, and crispy "egg rolls" (really more like Vietnamese fried spring rolls) were "very cabbagey and extra good." abgooshtdude also enjoyed a noodle soup: "this was probably the lightest and best pho broth I've ever come across," he says, noting that the pho definitely contained MSG.

The new owners of Phien's Kitchen are keeping the old menu intact, but are also adding new items (like the pho, says hotoynoodle). "Though not able to try it under the original management, [I] was pretty impressed with the whole act," abgooshtdude says.

Phien's Kitchen [Merrimack Valley]
586 Westford Street, Lowell
978-441-0014

Discuss: Phien's Kitchen Changeover

Edit Post / Posted on Monday, May 28th, 2012

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Boston’s Best Café Mocha

Café mochas, also known as mocha lattes, are just like regular lattes, but with chocolate added. Pretty much every coffeehouse in Boston has them, but who makes the best?

Diesel Cafe in Davis Square makes one of the best mocha lattes that pollystyrene has tried—and it tastes just like the version at Pavement Coffeehouse's two locations.

RJ Gourmet in East Cambridge is Matt H's pick, mainly for the Mexican mocha. And EmmaFrances is partial to the café mochas at Toscanini's. "They aren't very sweet, which I like," she says. READ MORE

Edit Post / Posted on Sunday, May 27th, 2012

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Smoked Ribs at Lawrence’s Three Dogz Diner

Three Dogz Diner in Lawrence smokes their own ribs each Saturday, and serves them for dinner on Saturday nights. "If you are in the area, and enjoy good ribs, then this is a must try," BlueMagic says.

Three Dogz Diner [Merrimack Valley]
13 S. Broadway, Lawrence
978-208-4348

Discuss: Rib Challenge at Three Dogz Diner

 

Photograph of Three Dogz Diner ribs by BlueMagic

Edit Post / Posted on Saturday, May 26th, 2012

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New: Soft Corn Tortillas from Maria and Ricardo’s Tortilla Factory

There's a new type of corn tortilla on the market, and it's available at Boston-area Whole Foods. The new soft corn tortillas from Maria and Ricardo's Tortilla Factory are "deep yellow and redolent of corn," says almansa, and unlike other corn tortillas on the market, they don't need to be heated before eating.

The tortillas "have a nice toasty flavor right out of the bag," almansa says. "They come out of the pack soft and pliable—a bit doughy." tatsu adds that the yellow tortillas stay soft, even after grilling, and that they are larger in diameter than the white ones.

Discuss: Maria y Ricardo's New Corn Tortillas

Edit Post / Posted on Friday, May 25th, 2012

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Locke-Ober’s Crab Meunière Takes a Dive

Now that it's soft-shell crab season, Locke-Ober's seasonal special of crab meunière is back on the menu. There's a new chef in the kitchen, however, and ScotchandSirloin reports that the dish is not what it once was:

"The good news is that I made it over to Locke-Ober for my first soft-shell of the season. The terrible news is that the soft shell crabs à la meunière that I have loved forever as one of the greatest dishes in Boston appear to be no more. While the menu boasts soft shell crabs à la meunière, the buttery sauteed beauties of years past arrived with a tempura-like breading that covered up any hint of à la meunièrey goodness with your generic deep fried crunchiness that can be found at any number of restaurants in any city. On the bright side, the crabs were huge, but I don't think I'll be going back for my many May and June excursions to Locke-Ober given that my favorite dish is no more."

Locke-Ober [Downtown Crossing]
3 Winter Place, Boston
617-542-1340

Discuss: First Soft Shell Crabs Sighting

Edit Post / Posted on Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

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Fantastic Afternoon Tea at L’Espalier

For under $40 per person, you can enjoy a lovely "Fantasy Tea Party" at Boston's L'Espalier, says Crazy Egg, who offers an excellent recap of a recent experience.

Teas are "steeped to perfection" by Cynthia Gold, the tea sommelier. A particular highlight for Crazy Egg was a hand-sewn white tea blossom, brewed in a wineglass. "As the blossom unfurled, a layer of lavender, then jasmine, and finally amaranth was unveiled."

The tea sandwiches are lovely, though perhaps eclipsed by the cheeses, which are "nothing less than wonderful," Crazy Egg says. "The standout for me was the Gouda made by a woman who moved from the Netherlands to Wisconsin and started making cheese. Think of your regular Gouda, deepen the flavor 10 levels, and add a spicy/peppery finish."

For more on this afternoon tea (served every Saturday and Sunday from 1:30 to 3 p.m.), read the full report.

L'Espalier [Back Bay]
774 Boylston Street, Boston
617-262-3023

Discuss: L'Espalier Fantasy Tea - Long

Edit Post / Posted on Monday, May 21st, 2012

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Beantown Taqueria: Bad Name, Good Tacos

Beantown Taqueria isn't winning any fans with its name, but the house-made corn tortillas and convenient late hours at the Central Square newcomer are keeping hounds coming back for more. It's one of the better taquerias in Boston, says Matt H, who has tried every taco on the menu.

The carnitas might have fallen short, but not the chorizo or tinga (shredded chicken with chipotles). jgg13 enjoyed the chorizo enchiladas. "Best I ever had? No, but not bad at all. The chorizo itself was really good."

Beantown Taqueria [Central Square]
245 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
617-441-8689

Discuss: Beantown Taqueria

Edit Post / Posted on Sunday, May 20th, 2012

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No Consensus on Pan-Asian Moksa

Moksa, the newest restaurant from Chef Patricia Yeo, opened in Cambridge in March. Early reviews have been all over the spectrum. Self-described as "Boston's first Pan Asian Izakaya," Moksa has a wide-ranging menu: A spin on crab Rangoon includes real crabmeat and spicy mustard sauce, a Uyigur lamb dish is served over "rice gnocchi," and dumpling choices include both Berkshire pork and edamame pot stickers.

On their first visit, Prav and yumyum were pleasantly surprised. Beef tongue on a stick was "tender and juicy," with a strong cumin flavor, and the Silk Road meatballs had a "lamby, spicy, minty, meatbally-goodness," Prav says.

The aforementioned Uyigur lamb is a "must-get dish," according to Prav. It's "a cereal bowl full of tender chunks of lamb, with such a delightfully spicy (but not too hot) underlying cumin burn, stir fried with veggies." The "gnocchi" are actually "oval discs of rice cake," or duk, Prav says, also noting that they were overcooked and gummy.

Others hounds were far less impressed by recent meals. "Seasoning is way off in most dishes we tried," Small Plates says. "The Berkshire pork dumplings we had were so salty the dish was inedible. Ditto the miso shortrib." For DoubleMan, the biggest problems were the service and the space, especially the "dark middle room with the spotlights." Several hounds also felt that the food wasn't a good value. "I felt about Moksa the exact same way I did after having two consecutive meals at Ginger Park—held up and robbed," Small Plates says, comparing the experience to Chef Yeo's former restaurant.

As for the cocktail program, managed by Noon Inthasuwan (previously of Om and Umami), rlh had high expectations, but left disappointed. "The special watermelon margarita cocktail was a total mistake," rlh says. "It just didn't taste good. It takes more finesse than they have to pull off habanero in a cocktail."

Moksa Restaurant [Central Square]
450 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
617-661-4900

Discuss: Moksa – Tender, Spicy, Meaty

Photograph of Uyigur lamb by yumyum

Edit Post / Posted on Saturday, May 19th, 2012

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Biáng Biáng Noodles at Gene’s

Gene's Chinese Flatbread Café continues to serve great, spicy Western Chinese food. Here's a photo of tammyh's favorite dish from a recent meal: the biáng biáng hand-pulled noodles, also described here. Check out the full thread for more photos.

Gene's Chinese Flatbread Café [Merrimack Valley]
257 Littleton Road, Chelmsford
978-256-6789

Discuss: Chowdown at Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe

Photograph by tammyh

Edit Post / Posted on Friday, May 18th, 2012

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Stephi’s on Tremont Trumps Stephanie’s on Newbury

Stephanie's on Newbury has been open nearly 20 years, which is partly why many Boston hounds hate it. The Back Bay restaurant "is just in dire need of a renovation," meeps2002 says. "It looks filthy with the millions of tourist foot traffic."

Stephanie's sister restaurant, Stephi's on Tremont, opened in 2008 and is a much better choice, with some good food and "respectable" bartending. The delicious warm goat cheese appetizer comes with olives, roasted garlic, and a toasted baguette with herbs, and the "towering" ahi tuna tartare is wonderful, phelana says. "It was sushi grade tuna served with sesame poached tomatoes, whipped avocado, chipotle chile soy sauce, spicy mayonnaise, and lime vinaigrette."

Thanks to the outdoor tables, Stephi's on Tremont is great for people-watching, too—on the weekend, the area is "positively hopping," says phelana.

Stephanie's on Newbury [Back Bay]
190 Newbury Street, Boston
617-236-0990

Stephi's on Tremont [South End]
571 Tremont Street, Boston
617-236-2063

Discuss: Stephi's on Tremont

Edit Post / Posted on Monday, May 14th, 2012

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