Highlights from the Boston board. Restaurants, bars, food stores, and more.
Tortilla fans of Boston, no longer do you need to put up with the lame packaged variety. Sol of Mexico is a tiny tortilleria in Worcester. trufflehound says the owner is Emma Acevedo, who was born in Mexico and has lived in the United States for 20 years. Sol has one thing on the menu: homemade corn tortillas. They’re warm. They’re made daily. They’re 15 for a dollar.
If you’re not close to Worcester, warm tortillas are often sold at Market Basket’s Chelsea and Somerville locations. itaunas finds them daily at the Chelsea location, usually between 9 and 10 a.m., and often at the Somerville branch; calling ahead to check is a good idea.
Sol of Mexico [Worcester]
538 Pleasant Street, Worcester
508-756-2660
Market Basket [Chelsea]
160 Everett Avenue, Chelsea
617-884-0646
Market Basket [Somerville]
400 Somerville Avenue, Somerville
617-666-2420
Board Link: Fresh Tortillas?
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on Wednesday, April 22nd, 2009
Adrian3891 has been “unimpressed” with the meat he’s found at Boston butchers, and wants to know where to find dry-aged prime beef, heritage or naturally raised birds, and quality pork. And hounds have the answer: John Dewar & Company’s Newton location (which is also beloved by CHOW).
bakerboyz says “they furnish many of the top restaurants in Boston area. Great meats and very high prices,” while GretchenS says “they are professionals and it really shows in how they slice and package things—no lopsided steaks from Dewar’s, beautiful cryovac’ing if you want it, etc.” macadamianut describes the meat he bought there as being “like butter.”
John Dewar & Company [Newton]
753 Beacon Street, Newton
617-964-3577
Board Link: Butchers in Boston…
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on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Boston Burger Company opened last week in the Davis Square space formerly occupied by the now-defunct Antonia’s, and is serving up fab eight-ounce patties with some toppings that will be familiar to gourmet burger fans (blue cheese, bacon) as well as a few weirder ones (the “king” is topped with bacon, bananas, and peanut butter, while the “Bahama mama” conch burger features mango salsa and jerk mayo).
Boston_Otter went with two friends, who tried the Waikiki (bacon, ham, pineapple, and teriyaki), the Alpine (mushrooms in garlic-parmesan butter with Swiss), and the Bahama conch burger. “The Angus burgers were large, meaty, perfectly cooked, and well-seasoned, with a nice pile of toppings. My conch burger was nice and crispy with a tender conch interior, and the jerk mayo was excellent. Nicely crisp, warm, and tasty handmade potato chips were served on the side along with their own baked beans, which are worth getting a side of all by themselves,” says Boston_Otter.
That’s the good news. Now the bad: prices. It’s around $8 to $10 for a burger, and fries are an extra $4 to $7. Weirdest of all, subbing a veggie burger for meat costs an extra $1, a decision that’s come under much board mockery since the veggie burgers are frozen ones from a package. But Boston Burger is a sit-down place with some nice atmosphere, and the portions are generous: An order of fries can feed the whole table, and the burgers come with homemade baked beans or warm, freshly fried potato chips.
As Boston_Otter sums up, “The prices at the place aren’t crazy for the portions and quality you get, and the people running the shop obviously really care; they don’t cut corners. I’ll definitely go back.”
Boston Burger Company [Somerville]
37 Davis Square, Somerville
617-440-7360
Board Link: Boston Burger Co.
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on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
Last week’s Red Sox opening day brought a surprise for hot dog fans: the venerable Fenway frank, formerly made by a division of Sara Lee, is now made by Chelsea’s Kayem Foods Inc.
Hounds mostly agree that this is good news. mats77 says the old dog was “disgusting and bland at best,” and hotdoglover says Kayem puts out “a quality frank,” that is “much better than the Kahn’s brand.”
So how does it taste? The fact that the dog purveyors ran out of mustard on opening day seemed to arouse more passion than the taste of the new dogs. Ralphie_in_Boston says that the new franks were “a little bit better than I remember,” while chuck s calls them “not bad if you are part of a captive audience.” Ouch. But hotdog aficionado Bob MacAdoo describes the flavor as “very beefy, a touch of garlic, and some mustard seed aftertaste” and says the new dogs “really were bold compared to the dogs I recall from recent trips to Fenway, which I always thought were rather bland.”
Fenway Park [Fenway]
4 Yawkey Way, Boston
617-226-6666
Board Links: The New Fenway Frank-Anyone Tried It?
Kayem new official hot dog of Fenway
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on Wednesday, April 15th, 2009
finlero has a great suggestion for teetotaling cooks who buy red wine for cooking yet watch it go bad before the bottle’s used up. Try boxed wine instead, which finlero says keeps for over a month once opened, without being refrigerated. But not just any old swill will do, and finlero’s favorite liquor store no longer carries the three-liter boxes of Vignerons de Caractère Côtes du Rhône he used to love.
Naturally, hounds know just where to find finlero’s cherished tipple: Cambridge Wine & Spirits, which Parsnipity says has a wide variety of boxed booze including boxes of Pinot Evil that are reportedly decent, despite the cutesy name, hated by yumyum: “Ugh. Pinot Evil. I avoid wines with animals on the labels or punny names. This one is painful. But if it’s good I guess I can check it out.”
erwocky also recommends the Banrock Station boxed Shiraz, which is “quite drinkable and enjoyable, with lots of fruit.” Plus it’s an unbelievable bargain at $18 to $20 for three liters. The Shiraz is available at Supreme Liquor in Central Square in Cambridge.
Cambridge Wine & Spirits [Cambridge]
202 Alewife Brook Parkway, Cambridge
617-864-7171
Supreme Liquor [Cambridge]
600 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge
617-661-8629
Board Link: ISO *good* boxed red wine in Boston
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on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
Weekends are for waking late and eating slow, and two fine brunch options were discussed this week on the boards.
The first was Aujourd’hui, that Back Bay hub of fine French dining that’s often mentioned in the same breath as L’Espalier. Brunch at Aujourd’hui is “incredible,” according to macadamianu’s mouthwatering description: “Full raw bar with lobster, crab, shrimp, smoked salmon, oysters, clams on the half shell and that is just one table. Dim sum, outrageous ham, lovely salads and even the fruit salads are unique. The dessert table is oh so special. The waiters come round and round all morning with fresh squeezed orange juice. You must try this at least once in your lifetime.” The bad news? The fine china and circulating waiters will cost you from $65 to $100 per person, depending on when you go, and that’s before cocktails.
Lack the scratch for such decadence? Masa is offering a $7.95 “brunch fiesta” deal on Saturdays at both its Woburn and Boston locations. For that low, low price, you get a choice of a first course (fruit, granola, caramelized plantain empanada with cinnamon cream cheese, drool), and then a main dish plus tea or coffee. Jpan99 had creamy scrambled eggs with fruit, home fries, toast, and chorizo, plus a bread basket with mini sweet bread, flavored butter, and housemade jam. “The food was great, the service fine and the prices unbelievable,” says Jpan99.
Aujourd’hui [Back Bay]
200 Boylston Street, Boston
617-351-2037
Masa [Woburn]
348A Cambridge Road, Woburn
781-938-8886
Masa [South End]
439 Tremont Street, Boston
617-338-8884
Board Links: Aujourd Hui
Saturday brunch special at Masa in Woburn
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on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
Noticed traffic jams this week in Chelsea? Believe it or not, they’re due to the opening of the new Pollo Campero, the vastly popular Guatemala-based chain of fast-food chicken joints. The new restaurant, a 42-seater with a drive-thru open until 4 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights, has proved so popular that no matter what time of night and day hounds have attempted visits, there’s always a long line. Even in the rain. Sometimes as long as three or four hours!
So what’s the chicken-crack Pollo Campero is selling? Hounds who tasted it were hard-pressed to describe its deliciousness, which reportedly is such that folks returning to the United States from Central America frequently bring a bunch of Campero boxes back with them. Luther allows that the chicken is “kind of greasy but not battered,” itaunas has tried Campero from other outlets both in the U.S. and Central America and says “the chicken [was] tender and not dried out … Portion size pretty small, these aren’t monster overgrown chickens.”
Along with the fried and rotisserie chicken, Campero offers sides like yucca, plantains, beans, and rice.
Pollo Campero [Chelsea]
115 Park Street, Chelsea
617-884-0070
Board Link: New Chicken Place in Chelsea
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on Wednesday, April 8th, 2009
Burmese restaurant Yoma doesn’t get the love it deserves according to StriperGuy, who says he “basically demolished the menu” there. “Quite frankly this place is amazing. The nuance and subtlety noteworthy. The breadth of flavors …” rhapsodizes StriperGuy. Yeah, yeah, but what should we order? StriperGuy loves aa mae thar thot ($7.45), charred beef salad with lemongrass, lime, cabbage, cucumber, and a long list of piquant toppings, as well as tha yet thee thot ($6.25), green mango salad. barleywino also recommends the shwe pa yon thee hin ($9.25), sweet pumpkin with shrimp, tomatoes, ginger, shallot, lemongrass, and cilantro. 9lives calls the tofu jaw ($4.95), a housemade Burmese tofu made from chickpea flour, “a real hit” as well.
A tip: The food travels well for take-out. “The soba rice noodles in the slow-roasted spicy pork dish get pretty soft, but that dish is so delicious that it doesn’t really matter,” says bear.
Yoma [Allston]
5 North Beacon Street, Boston
617-783-1372
Board Link: Yoma WAY Underrated
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on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Dave’s Fresh Pasta food store, long a beloved hound hangout for its wide and delicious selection of sauces and housemade pasta, has taken over the space next to its original location, and has expanded its offerings as well.
Chowhounds are particularly excited about the addition of baguettes from B&R Bread, because, as autopi put it, Dave’s baguettes were “less than spectacular.” There’s also bread from noted Cambridge bakery Iggy’s, and fierce bargains on day-old product, stocked in the freezer case for times when “you just need that brioche for a last minute french toast craving,” says yumyum.
Dave’s has also beefed up its grocery selection, with new canned and prepared items like Herdez Mexican salsas, hot sauce, rice flour, and udon noodles joining the cheese, pasta, spreads, and wine the store has previously been known for.
Pia hopes that now that the dust has settled, Dave’s will start offering classes at night again. For about $25, participants are invited to taste libations and snacks. “As the parents of a toddler, we don’t get out that much and this was a great way to spend date night—try some new things and learn about the brewing process, be part of a small crowd but still get to talk to each other, have dinner, AND pick up some bottles of wine at a discount (I think it’s 10% the day you attend the class), all in one evening,” says Pia.
Dave’s Fresh Pasta [Somerville]
81 Holland Street, Somerville
617-623-0867
Board Link: Dave’s Fresh Pasta expanding
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on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
Right in the middle of a thread about the lovely flatbread sandwiches at Sofra, StriperGuy lets loose with a great tip about where to get the best flatbreads in the Boston area: Arax Market. According to StriperGuy, Tuesday mornings are the best time for an Arax run, as this is when drivers arrive with “truly amazing stuff, literally baked that morning, tangy, and wonderful. I swear one time I was there as they unloaded the truck at 8:30 a.m. or so and it was still warm. Bread is a great insulator and a whole truck full of it held it’s heat for the six-hour drive down, amazing.”
“I’ve been lucky to get that bread warm off the truck from Montreal too, and I almost wept. Like, real tears and all. Word on Arax,” says yumyum.
Oh, and speaking of Sofra, though the seating there is uncomfortable, if you order one of the flatbread sandwiches (described on the boards as “addictive” by multiple sources), make sure you hang around to eat it, as they’re best hot off the grill. Other picks: lamb schwarma, chocolate earthquake cookies, and the walnut and green olive spread.
Sofra [Cambridge]
1 Belmont Street, Cambridge
617-661-3161
Arax Market [Watertown]
585 Mount Auburn Street, Watertown
617-924-3399
Board Link: 12/10/08 Sofra, Cambridge Report
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on Wednesday, April 1st, 2009
