Raconteur's Profile
Best Supermarket In USA: your nominations
Market Basket in general is great. I love the stores in Somerville and Chelsea. Great selection, especially of non-Western food, fresh produce, nice staff and affordable!
good, affordable food in North Hollywood?
Thank you all for these great suggestions. I'm looking forward to the eating and I'm sure it will help the visit go much more smoothly.
good, affordable food in North Hollywood?
Thank you! I really appreciate all the options everyone is giving us.
good, affordable food in North Hollywood?
My husband and I will be in North Hollywood later this week from Boston to visit my mother-in-law. She is in a nursing home near Laurel Canyon Blvd and Chandler Blvd; I will be staying in a motel near Vineland and Lankershim.
It's likely to be a hard visit. Any recommendations for good chow in these neighborhoods? We like just about everything but need to not spend a fortune, so high end places are out. Breakfast, lunch and dinner recs appreciated, and we're happy to try new foods.
Thanks.
Yoki at Station Landing
I've had the sushi though not since they opened. It was good, not exceptional. Fresh fish, the rice held together well and wasn't overly seasoned nor was it bland. I will go again, but it didn't stand out as anything really extraordinary.
Boston hound coming to SF
Hi Hounds!
I'll be coming to SF next weekend and will be staying in the Union Square area. I'm looking for a couple of things.
1. Some recommendations for good, reasonable priced food (I'm on a fairly limited budget, the hotel is expensed, the rest is not). I like most things, am an adventurous eater and would like some typical SF experiences. I'll have time for 2-3 dinners, lunches and breakfasts, and maybe some snacking too.
2. Some recommendations for sushi that won't break the bank. Enough people here in Boston have told me that West Coast sushi is substantially better that I've decided I should try it.
I will have a car but like walking, so suggestions nearish Union Square as well as further afield are welcome.
Thanks!
new super 88 in malden
The commercial street location opened yesterday. It looks good, though not yet quite fully stocked, for example some of the frozen cases aren't yet full.
It has a bakery and roasted meat counter, as well as a nice looking fish counter.
There were rumors a food court, a la the Allston Super 88, will be moving into the space as well, but no sign of it yet.
Goodbye: Tir na Nog
Oh, too bad. A homey place...
Any suggestions for someplace with a similar feel?
Uncle Pete's: 0-for-2
I'm with you Ruprecht. When Uncle Pete's moved into my neighborhood I was pleased, thinking I'd finally find out what the fuss was about. It's okay, not great. Pete himself is a nice guy and makes the place homey, but the food isn't anything to rave about. Maybe I'm just a bbq philistine, but I'll go out of my way for blue ribbon more often than I'll go to Pete's.
Chinatown Eatery
I started going there 20 years ago, when I first came to Boston. I went to the eatery a few days before it closed and had a nice talk with the owner of the restaurant that had the fish tanks, the one across from the door. I used to get roasted duck there, not the greatest but something I was fond of. He said a few of the restaurants were looking to open in new spaces in Chinatown, that the place to the immediate left of the door already had a space, but that the rents were too high, he was going to retire. As he said this he was pretty much in tears. We talked about the old days, when it was a real community center. The ladies in the bubble tea shop said there were no plans for any other kind of communal space.
I miss the eatery already.
killer fruitcake at Arlington Bakery
I know, some people think fruitcake is best used as a doorstop but I disagree. A good fruitcake is an explosion of taste and texture, full of fruit, nuts, and a hint of cognac. Yes, it's heavy and dense, but it should be, because it's so full of delectable calories.
I haven't had a really good fruitcake in years. I bought one from Arlington Bakery yesterday, lured by all the fruit visible on top and it's weight. I've been rolling my eyes in delight since. It's packed with candied fruit and nuts, and just enough cake to hold everything together. When I bought it I asked the woman behind the counter if I should add more cognac to it and she was adamant that I didn't need to, and she was right, I can taste it. It was around $20 and worth every cent. Wonderful.
They have lots of other yummy looking treats there, all kinds of baklava etc, but I can only vouch for the fruitcake.
Arlington Bakery
187 Massachusetts Ave (near the Capital)
Arlington, MA 02474
Malden Eats
I've eaten in the Haitian place called, at least at the the time, Tata's Cuisine. It was really pretty good! Yes, there were a bunch of guys hanging out there, who seem to always be there every time I go by, and who knows, it might be a front for something, but the food was yummy, at least for my limited knowledge of Haitian food.
We had a fried fish - lightly breaded, prtty much the whole thing - and goat stew which was a light curry and delicious. The rice was tasty.
Bear in mind I've had very little haitian food so don't have anything to compare it to, and this was some months ago, but I have seen it open in the last few weeks.
coffeehouses, cafes, quiet places to work ...
Last time I was there, about two months ago, they did. I really like Simon's.
Peach Farm or East Ocean City tonight
Where is this? and why this one over the others?
Sophia's Grotto, Roslindale
I went to Sophia's Grotto on Sunday evening with a bunch of friends. I'd never been there before and overall found it to be a really pleasant experience, thoughs ervice was a little slow. This may be because it was really hopping for a rainy Sunday night, and certainly it didn't detract from the experience.
I ordered the baby arugula with grilled prosciutto salad and shared the torino pizzetta with my sweetheart.
The salad was lovely. The greens were fresh and tender, the prosciutto was crispy and savory. The dressing was a fennel orange vinaigrette, and was fairly light, my preference in salad dressings. $10.95
The pizzatta claimed to have oyster, shitake and portabella mushrooms with fontina and mozarella cheese, with white truffle oil. The mushrooms were delicious, but I wasn't sure all three were there, and the truffle oil wasn't noticable. It was still very yummy, I was just hoping for a more pronounced mushroom/truffly flavor. I'd order it again, knowing what to expect this time. $10.95
I had a lemontini that I enjoyed (I've never had one before so I have no standard against which to judge).
A really nice evening.
Sophia's Grotto
22R Birch St
Roslindale, MA 02131
(617) 323-4595
http://www.sophiasgrotto.com/
Boston Grocery Stores
Rosebud Farms 333 Commercial St, Malden, MA
I've been shopping here on and off for years. The produce is varied, sometimes really nice, sometimes sketchy. The italian goods are nice, and it's my local source for decent milk.
Independent doughnut shops in Boston or nearby?
My favorite is Donut Villa in Malden; it's in a plaza with a Bally's fitness on Highland Ave, tucked behind a Dunkin's, almost across the street from BJ's.
I think their donuts beat Demt's, hands down. There sugar donuts (my favorite) are light, flavorful, soft and have just a tiny bit of crispness at the outside. The glazed aren't so overwhelming I can't eat more than a bite, yet they are rich and lovely, while the chocolate are dense and chocolately. They usually sell out by 10 am. Plus it's a decent breakfast dive; I can't honestly say the food is really chowish, but the atmosphere almost makes up for it.
Donut Villa
1 Highland Ave # A
Malden, MA 02148
(781) 322-3028
useful sushi restaurant site?
http://sushiref.com/listings/na/usa/mass/boston/central/
Lists restaurants, with links to hours, reviews, sample prices etc. Claims to be worldwide.
Sushi Corner, Melrose
I had dinner at Sushi Corner in Melrose last night, one of my favorite basic sushi places. For the most part it was very good, but a few little disappointments
Ankimo appetizer with ponzu sauce, clearly had been frozen then reheated, as it was warm in some spots, cold in others. Taste and texture were good, but I'd have prfered it if they simply told me it was unavailable rather than have it fresh from the microwave.
Salmon and mackerel sashimi were very good. Slices were well proportioned, good temperature and fresh. Super white tuna was still a little frozen in the middle and the pieces were small, but beyond that was delicious.
Ikura, tobiko, uni and unagi nigiri. The seaweed was crisp and the rice held together. The rice was nicely seasoned but not overwhelming. The ikura and tobiko were both very nice, popping with gusto in my mouth, while the unagi was good, nothing special; the fish was well proportioned ot the rice. The winner was the uni, which was just luscious, the best I've have in a long time, much to my delight.
The bill, with tea and tip, came to $46.
Sushi Corner
18C Essex St (in the Shaw's parking lot)
Melrose
781-662-1278
is anything in chinatown open at 6 am on Saturday?
Thanks Galleygirl. I'll see if I can get there before the train.
is anything in chinatown open at 6 am on Saturday?
I'm catching the 6:45 train to Philadelphia out of Back Bay and was wondering if I might be able to get some snacks at (yawn) 6 in the morning. Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Fuloon Chinese Restaurant --- Malden
Doughy, but tasty; I think I thought the broth was more flavorful than the last time I had them at TC. It's been awhile since I had them, but my memory is of yumminess. Next time I go I'll order them and post a review.
midwest grille tonight - what should I avoid? try?
My sweetheart has a work dinner at the Midwest Grille tonight and I'm tagging along. I was there years ago when it was (I suspect) somewhat less elaborate - just lots of meat and not much else - this was when Pampas was still around, to give you a sense of how long ago.
Any thing really wonderful? Anything to avoid? I know the meat will be quite salty, I'm curious about the other stuff.
Thanks!
Fuloon Chinese Restaurant --- Malden
I live in Malden and this is my usual haunt. They're nice people, the menu is diverse and good, and they have XLB.
The dim sum and lunch buffets are unremarkable, but the spcial menu is very good.
Thanks for this detailed post!
