MC Slim JB's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
Woodward at the Ames
I figured Tom S-G had to be moving someplace where he would have a bigger stage (I had speculated privately that he might be moving to the Woodward). If he could train up a whole cadre of bartenders to handle the crowds at the W with real craft cocktail-making skills, that would be a great thing. I suspect a lot of W patrons would still order stupid sweet flavored-vodka junk, but some would take a flyer on more interesting cocktails, and a few would get hooked, and drive demand for those kind of drinks at other bars. Talent trained at the W would eventually fan out to other bars, taking valuable lessons with it.
Overall, it would have a more positive net effect on the drinking scene than if Schlesinger-Guidelli just stayed at Craigie's little bar. So that rumor is a welcome one, if true. Who knows? Maybe this is a crossing-the-chasm moment for craft cocktails, the point where it gets out of the evangelist/aficionado phase of its growth and into the wider mainstream.
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Chowhound Post
banq... ginger park?
If they have, I have not noticed any.
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Chowhound Post
Best price in Boston on Fernet-Branca?
If you're an amaro freak like I am, be sure to check out Cirace's in the North End, too. Great selection there.
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Chowhound Post
Where to find ras el hanout in Boston?
Any retail outlets in Boston that carry this (mainly Moroccan) spice blend?
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Chowhound Post
Best price in Boston on Fernet-Branca?
I'd like to thank the local bartender community for putting Fernet-Branca on the map in Boston (first by being avid consumers, second by being an example to other drinkers). With its much greater popularity in recent years, I no longer have to carry around a list of a small handful of places that serve it: it's available at a lot more bars in town, not just Italian caffes and high-end Italian restaurants.
Meanwhile, or as a result, it has gotten much more expensive at retail. I no longer have to special-order it at my local liquor store, which now keeps it in stock, but charges $34 for a 750ml. Partly that's what the market will bear, partly the new liquor tax, but does anyone carry it for under $30 these days?
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Chowhound Post
Woodward at the Ames
Haven't sampled the food yet, but was impressed with a first go-round at some classic craft cocktails: quality spirits, solid technique (no free pouring), good results.
Scene is rather W Hotel-like: packed and frenzied in the upstairs bar, a bit calmer downstairs, with a lot of folks dressed as though they're hoping to hook up before closing time. Will be curious to try the food some night when I haven't spent the previous three hours eating somewhere else.
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Chowhound Post
banq... ginger park?
Ginger Park has been open for a good six weeks now: I already did a review of it for Stuff Magazine. I've been back recently: they upgraded the bartending with a new bar manager, and I loved the dan dan mien, a big bowl of rice noodles in a fiery meat sauce, excellent. The space is incrementally but significantly improved over Banq. Overall, much worthier of repeat visits, and decently priced for the neighborhood.
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Chowhound Post
Scungili in Boston?
Don't know where you can get it at retail, but it's periodically on the menu at Erbaluce.
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Chowhound Post
South Asian markets near Westford/Chelmsford/Lowell, MA?
Looking for Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, or Sri Lankan grocers. I'd appreciate any pointers!
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Chowhound Post
Downhill - Woburn China Pearl
I've never been for dim sum, but its weekday lunch was a really grim Chinese-American affair as recently as a year ago.
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Chowhound Post
Twice Cooked Pork
You may see it listed as "double-cooked fresh bacon with spicy capsicum" or "twice-cooked pork belly" or something similar in more authentic places; it will feature pork belly as opposed to the loin used in more Westernized places, and be much hotter chili-wise. In town, two places I've had excellent versions of this dish are Sichuan Garden in Brookline Village and New Shanghai in Chinatown.
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Chowhound Post
Coppa
According to Grub Street Boston, Coppa is waiting for a fire inspection. If that's accurate, and unless 1010 Mass Ave is open on weekends, you're probably looking at no sooner than Monday evening.
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Chowhound Post
Mia Ragazza?
Is the Ecco in Weymouth connected to the Ecco in Eastie? I'm guessing no, but it's an odd coincidence of naming.
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Chowhound Post
Masona Grill, North 26, Friendly Toast
Been a long time since I've been back to Masona, but I really liked it. Some value-priced wines, a few Peruvian touches on the menu, a pleasant two-level space, close to a commuter rail stop. Gotta get back there.
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Chowhound Post
Shake Shack Possibly Coming to the Common (Competing with another Proposal)
Jeffrey Mills had a restaurant called Biltmore Room in NYC that closed in 2006; I believe he's been based in New York but out of the restaurant business (and working as an actor) since then. His "local concept", when he starts talking about Freedom Trail Ketchup, sounds kind of cheesy and wrong. Is that supposed to remind us of the blood of patriots, or something? By contrast, Meyer is a known, proven quantity.
I thought that at one point a couple of truly local operators like Ken Oringer were vying for this space: what happened to them?
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Chowhound Post
Shake Shack Possibly Coming to the Common (Competing with another Proposal)
Jay Fitzgerald, business reporter at The Herald, begs to differ: http://hubblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/j...
I think his take is provincial in the worst way: he seems to think anyone who admires anything good about the New York restaurant scene wants to "ape all things Manhattan". I'm going to guess he doesn't spend much time on Chowhound.
As I've said elsewhere, you can love Boston and hate the Yankees and still find things to admire about New York, which I consider the country's best restaurant town. Fitzgerald seem oblivious to the fact that Shake Shack is a Danny Meyer restaurant, a Union Square Hospitality Group joint. That means it's part of: a) the most customer-beloved restaurant group in Manhattan, arguably the toughest dining audience in the States; and b) among the organizations most widely admired by its industry peers -- Meyer literally wrote the book on modern restaurant hospitality.
Yes, it's a chain of sorts: there are four of them now. I've had an original Shake Shack burger (and fries and shake), and think it would instantly become one of the best inexpensive burgers in the city were it to open here. Meyer's restaurants are famed for rigorous quality control, a very strong culture of hospitality, emphasis on local sourcing, and commitment to supporting the neighborhoods they operate in. Call it the Frappe Shack if you must, but get it here. A lot of Boston restaurants could learn something from that operation.
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Chowhound Post
Best Roasted Meats Rice Plate in Chinatown
Sorry for the confusion: I misread the earlier post. It looks like the only Kantin is in the Super 88 Food Court in Allston.
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Chowhound Post
where is the "it" restaurant of Boston?
I'd say Sorellina definitely fits into my second category, and it's one of those where the food is actually very good, though it's not new-new.
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Chowhound Post
No. 9 Park
Devra First at the Globe saw this post, talks about it on the Dishing blog: http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/...
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Chowhound Post
where is the "it" restaurant of Boston?
This is an interesting question, made think there needs to be a taxonomy of It Places, maybe something like:
Foodiot It Places -- people are there because they simply *must* try the food. Generally fine dining venues with rave MSM reviews and/or awards. Recent examples: Craigie on Main, O Ya, Il Casale.
Scenester It Places -- people are there for the fabulousness more than the food; it often has a kind of meat-market vibe. This does not necessarily preclude it from having good food, but you feel lucky if the food is good. Examples: Post 390, Market/Living Room, Bond, Ginger Park.
Chowhound It Places -- all about the food, and usually not benefiting from the ministrations of a well-oiled marketing/PR machine. Often traditional restaurants, "authentic", out of the way, inexpensive. Examples: Angela's Cafe, Fuloon, Gran Gusto.
I'd love to see other examples of this idea, and additional categories.
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Chowhound Post
Taberna de Haro vs. Estragon
I like them both a lot. Taberna de Haro had the edge for food until Julio took over the kitchen from the young chef he'd hired to open Estragon, and now it's a push. Estragon does a bit more with the offal, while Taberna has some unique dishes of its own I adore (Canary Island style potatoes, for one) . Taberna still has the better, much more extensive list of wines and fortified wines. Estragon is bigger, slicker and more urban in feel, and does a fair number of cocktails with its cordial license. Taberna is more rustic and homey in atmosphere, and has a better patio in warm weather.
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Chowhound Post
Bar Tools in Boston
Check out The Boston Shaker, currently located inside Grand the Store on Somerville Ave near Union Square, but shortly moving to its own digs at 69 Holland Street in Davis Square. I've also collected a lot of vintage barware on eBay over the years.
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Chowhound Post
Lunch at Locke Ober and Scampo recommendations
Not certain, but I believe only the first-floor ("downstairs") dining room and bar are open for lunch.
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Chowhound Post
Lunch at Locke Ober and Scampo recommendations
Locke-Ober is now doing a limited lunch menu, a two-course prix fixe for $18.75 with about four apps and six entrees. At that price, it's damned near impossible to miss: it's a steal. Expect slightly-freshened takes on Continental and Olde New England fare, with Shire's penchant for offal occasionally indulged: lobster/finan haddie chowder, bibb lettuce wtih Green Goddess dressing, fried chicken livers, broiled scrod. Note that this is the one place left in town that might not seat you in the dining room if they don't think you're dressed appropriately. I've seen them relegate some unhappy customers in jeans to the bar. Reservations aren't necessary, but a good idea, esp. later in the week.
Scampo's lunch menu looks to be shorter and a better priced version of the dinner menu. I haven't had lunch there, but I've always favored breads (I see the naan on there, a good one) and appetizers over entrees at this place. I really like that burrata BLT app with tomato soup, for instance. Among the plates, I'd probably lean to spaghetti with clams or pink meatballs, or perhaps puffy pita with chicken thighs.
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Chowhound Post
New Vietnamese in Lowell
Quick follow-up: had the bún bò Huế (Hue City soup) at Pho 88 near the Drum Hill rotary the other day: very tasty. Supposedly rice noodles, but they sure seemed like wheat noodles to me, big hunks of beef shank, pork knuckles, several slabs of pig's-blood pudding (blander than I expected), some tendon, a lot of tender flank standing in for oxtail, basil and lime to squeeze in, shredded purple cabbage subbing for banana blossom, and I think they omitted some or all of the traditional shrimp paste.
Clearly making some adjustments for local ingredients (and perhaps for me), but very tasty nonetheless, strong but manageable chili fire, and a dish I haven't seen on many Vietnamese menus locally. Definitely heading back there.
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Chowhound Post
Coppa
I can confirm that they appear to have a very full Sunday and Monday of work if they intend to do a soft opening on Monday night.
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Chowhound Post
Help! Restaurants that don't take reservations?
Every restaurant takes walk-ins: 80% of the North End doesn't take reservations. You'll just have a longer wait at some than others. Rain might help you tonight (bring umbrellas in case you end up waiting on a sidewalk.) Getting there close to 6pm will help. Avoid places that cater to event crowds, e.g., near the Theater District, the TD Garden, etc.
The OpenTable suggestion is also great: you can easily get a reservation that way, though the hottest spots won't have a six-top available on short notice.
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Chowhound Post
A Good Negroni -- why so difficult?
Another way to keep vermouth fresh is to treat it like any open bottle of wine you don't intend to drink that night or discard: an air-evacuation system to retard oxidation and microbial growth. I use VacuVin and refrigerate my eight or so open bottles of vermouth at home, and see that same approach used at many bars with big wine BTG offerings. A serious wine bar could use its nitrogen system.
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Chowhound Post
Does anyone know if Sage in the South End has closed?
Sign of the times. It won't be the last place with excellent food to close in the coming years. A very tough business.
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Chowhound Post
No. 9 Park
Pretty much sums up my longstanding take: awesome service and bartending, solid food with a few outstanding dishes (I've never had close to the kind of dreadful experience of the OP), and murderous prices on food and wine, practically a hallmark of the empire (I've shown my math on the wine pricing). It's worse now that they shot the old, relatively reasonable bar menu and restored it with one whose average plate price is $18. That felt like a slap.
I was surprised by Devra's re-review, too, but more for the fact that there wasn't really a great reason to do it (no reconcepting, new chef, etc.) other than to work out the ole expense account.
I would characterize the Hamerley's comparison as apples and orange: the chefs are aiming at completely different targets. That said, I'm a big admirer of what Hamersley has done with so much consistency over the years (as summed up in my recent Stuff Magazine piece), and do think it's a better value than No. 9.
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