MichaelB's Profile
Best lobster roll thats not 30 bucks
I had a very nice CT-style lobster roll in Salem at the Lobster Shanty last week. 19 bucks, moderate size, came with fries (which could have used an extra minute in the fryer). The lobster meat itself was great, though - tender and sweet. Not really heavily buttered at all - the roll actually held up until the end. I wouldn't make a special trip for it but if you're in Salem it's a good option. Very friendly people as well and a tasty grilled romaine salad made for a place I'd definitely go back to.
bánh xèo, ..anything?..anything?...Bueller??
+1 on Pho2000 - one of my favorites when I lived (relatively) nearby. I think the one place that *doesn't* have it is Anh Hong - which is too bad since everything I've ever tried there has been pretty great. But Pho2000's is definitely worth a trip.
ISO Boston Source for Santander 70% Chocolate
I've seen it at several Whole Foods - definitely at Fresh Pond, but others as well. Cardullo's in Harvard Square may have it as well - they used to carry it but I haven't looked there in a while. It's really great chocolate for the price - I'm partial to the 65% but it's all very good.
Best butter in Boston area?
I've noticed droughts in the Amish butter supply at Russo's in the past and it's always come back. I like to think it's because the cows are taking a winter break but I don't really know. In any case I wouldn't panic just yet.
Brick & Mortar
I agree - that is a seriously delicious drink, though I also agree with DoubleMan above that it packs quite a punch, especially for something that goes down so easy. But those chocolate notes are fantastic. I went there with some friends last week and really liked the place overall. The fried brussels sprouts were tasty, as were two crostini we tried: eggplant with fried capers and a white anchovy/"burnt" tomato/goat cheese combo. (Tasty but rather boutique-priced at $9 for an order of two crostini.)
Very solicitous service and the crowd, at least on a friday right after work, was pretty low-key, although it was picking up as we left sometime after 8. I'd certainly go back for drinks and also to see if the duck hash on the menu is as delicious as I hope it could be.
Pork belly
I've seen large sections of pork belly at some Whole Foods locations - it's from a farm in New York that supplies their fancier pork. I haven't tried the belly but I have had other cuts from that farm and it is better than the standard WF pork. I just saw some at the Fresh Pond store but it's worth calling in advance since availability may vary.
Going to Coppa for the first time! What to order?
Another vote for the meatballs - they're just about perfect. To my mind the slice of lardo on top is superfluous but it certainly doesn't hurt. The cauliflower app is also excellent, as are the arugula salad and the chestnut pasta. The one dud I've had was the "Sicilian fisherman's pizza". It's basically fried calamari with cherry peppers baked on top of a pizza, which to be fair is exactly what the menu says it is, but I figured there might be some hidden magic there. Not so, and the calamari ended up tough after all that time in the fryer and the oven. Everything else has been great though, drinks included.
Lobster Food Truck in Cambridge
I noticed it last week as I was walking towards the Square intent on a late-lunch slice at Otto's. I decided to put the slice on hold and try the lobster. They had three sizes of lobster roll: a "bite" ($2.50: miniscule, about the size of a golf ball), a slider ($6 or 7: small roll) and a regular roll (maybe $15?). I'm pretty sure all the rolls were Iggy's brioche rolls, though I could be wrong; in any case they're pretty good - not too sweet or heavy. I ordered a "bite" but somehow the order got confused between the owner outside and the guy working in the truck and I received a slider (for the bite price, so I wasn't complaining).
It's quite good! REALLY tender meat, very lightly dressed with lemon mayo (they also have a vaguely asian version which I didn't try) - though in truth I didn't really detect any lemon flavor. The one problem was that it was oversalted - maybe from an overenthusiastic shake of celery salt on top. It's certainly not a heaping helping but the price seemed reasonable given the quality. I'd definitely go again if I had a craving but not a huge appetite.
The owner (who also co-owns the Grilled Cheese Nation truck) said that Harvard is trying to get more trucks into that spot; I hope it happens. It was located in front of the Science Center at Harvard, right near Memorial Hall. Not sure if that's permanent or if they'll be moving around.
The Salty Pig?
That's too bad about the Canary Square trout pate; when I was there last week it was creamy, smoky, trout-y, studded with capers and definitely non-drywall-ish -- tasty enough that we requested extra bread to polish it off.
But more on point, I'm psyched to hear the good report on Salty Pig. I know it's a trend but there really cannot be enough places around town serving delicious cured meats and pickles.
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Canary Square
435 S Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02130
best place to buy bread for sandwiches?
I've found the exact same thing with Nashoba Brook breads - they mold super-fast.
Re the OP's question, I like the big sliced loaves from Pain D'Avignon. Whole Foods carries them, although availability varies from store to store. I do usually find it at the Central Square store. WF is also starting to carry more breads from Seven Stars bakery in Providence; their Durum Round is quite fantastic. I've only found that one at the Fresh Pond store but their other breads (durum sticks, olive bread, etc.) are more widely available. Also, Hi-Rise has several loaves that are great for sandwiches - corn bread, semolina, etc.
The Salty Pig?
Bumping this to see if anyone has tried it yet. I haven't been but liked Suarez's cooking when he was chef at the Ledge (in Dot) and much more recently on a visit to Canary Square (great room, GREAT smoked trout pate!). Any reports?
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Canary Square
435 S Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02130
ISO Wild blueberries
I've found essentially the same thing with the ones I've bought recently from Whole Foods and Wilson's Farms - a bit wet and past their prime. I would guess that they were picked at least a week or so before they hit the store, so they've started to get mushy and lose some flavor.
I find that they're best cooked in a mass to capture their distinctive taste - like in a pie or a cobbler - rather than in muffins or pancakes, where their flavor kind of gets lost.
peachy peaches?
Totally agree with this - some farms are way better than others. I agree with the recommendation for Nicewicz Orchards - always high quality - and for Dick's Market Garden. I also like Lanni Orchards, who show up at several markets. Keown's regular peaches (white and yellow) have been good but not great, but their saturn peaches are excellent. I've been a little underwhelmed with Kimball in general, and their prices are on the high side.
But the very BEST peaches and nectarines I've had around here come from E.L. Silva farms - I used to see them at the Milton market on thursdays, and this season they started coming to the Harvard University market (outside the Science Center). In addition to great peaches they have these fantastic nectarines for a few weeks late every summer - they're kind of bumpy and ugly-looking, but they are absolutely delicious - sweet but also very intensely-flavored. They also have regular nectarines throughout the season which are very good but it's the fugly ones that are worth looking out for.
King Fung Garden Chinatown, any recent expereinces
I agree - better than I remembered from before the sale. Not only was the skin / meat course fantastic, the stir-fry was much improved. It used to be a bit soggy and washed-out; this one was excellent. The other dishes were tasty as well.
Ceviche
+1 for Rincon Limeno. Delicious, refreshing, and a very abundant serving reasonably priced. (No bar, though.) Theirs is exactly as chefmatician describes the peruvian style below. I prefer the plain fish version (pescado) to the fish & seafood version (mixto) - I find the fish has better texture and the little shrimp in the mixto do get a bit rubbery. The octopus salad there is also great and a very similar preparation.
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Rincon Limeno
409 Chelsea St, Boston, MA 02128
Constructing an Italian Sandwich
Right there with you. The bread->meat->toppings construction leads to the tragedy of topping slippage and is unsatisfying to eat. It's a broader sandwich construction issue, I think, not just italian subs - lots of places don't realize that the purpose of the *spread* (mustard, mayo, whatever - of course I'm talking about a turkey sub here, not an italian sandwich) is to hold the toppings in place, not to sit idly next to the meat. I do wonder if it is a regional thing - I grew up in NY and went to school near Philly and never encountered this issue until I moved to Boston.
One place that *may* do it right - though I haven't been for a while and haven't had a sandwich there where this would be an issue - is Domenic's Paninoteca in Waltham. They use their own (fantastic) ciabatta rolls, which are flatter and more suited to a proper construction anyway, so I'd say they have potential.
Tacos Lupita now under a new name - What is the scoop?
I was there five days ago and had both beef (torta) and pork (pupusa). Perhaps they're still having supply issues (see the bread issue above) and simply ran out?
Re quality, quantity, etc., the torta was a bit smaller than before but tasted as good as ever, which seems like a reasonable strategy for dealing with rising costs while selling a fantastic sandwich for *five dollars*. The pupusa was excellent too, and I thought the curtido was fine, though I suppose the difference between the best curtido I've ever had and the worst is pretty small.
May 2011 Farmers Markets, Farm Stands, CSAs and other local food sources
Central Square (Cambridge) began today - only a few stands so far, I'm sure more will arrive over the next few weeks. Hi-Rise Bakery was there, as was Austin Bros (meats), Hutchins farm (nice lettuces and some plants), Parker Farms (the most abundant - two kinds of radishes, lettuce, lots of different greens), some nice people selling fresh pasta and sauce.
There were two new vendors as well - a stand that seemed very into blackcurrant recipes - a jam (not my thing but another person who tasted it loved it), a syrup, and some sort of beet spread. But the more notable - to me - new vendor was Kueh - selling Singaporean pastries and pickles. Very enthusiastic ladies offering lots of samples - pineapple and other pastries, one of those multicolored bouncy rice-flour sweets, etc. - but the hit for me was their Achar - which I gather just means pickled vegetables. But really EXCELLENT pickled vegetables: spicy, aromatic, crunchy, a bit sweet - just awesome. I bought a jar; the ingredients listed are: cucumber, pineapple, shallot, cabbage, long pepper, peanuts, sugar, sesame seed, galangal, lemongrass, chili, lime juice, turmeric, garlic, vinegar, oil. I don't usually get excited about prepared foods at markets, but these are seriously delicious.
humanely raised, locally sourced pork butts for bbq, any ideas?
This is a little less local than the excellent suggestions for farms and CSAs, but it might be more convenient - some Whole Foods stores have been carrying pork raised in New York by the Lucki 7 farm. I cooked a pork butt from them a few weeks ago and it was GREAT - very clean-tasting and moist. Definitely better than the usual Whole Foods pork - you can actually see a difference in the texture - the NY meat is much firmer and less wet-looking in the case. One other possible advantage over the CSA options: I don't know for certain, but I'm pretty sure the Lucki 7 meat hasn't been frozen (or if it has, it was done very quickly to avoid degrading the meat), which is a problem I find with a lot of local meat - it was raised well but the freezing process really hurts the texture.
I looked on the Lucki 7 website and they have some description of their farming practices, along with references to a 3rd party certification they use. It's hard without doing substantial research to judge certifications - some really are just marketing - but based on looking quickly this one looks like it's still evolving, but it seems genuine and not an effort at greenwashing.
I've definitely seen it at the Charles River Plaza Whole Foods (on the edge of Beacon Hill) and in the little Prospect Street store near Central Square Cambridge, but other stores may carry it as well. They've had all sorts of cuts - full shoulders with the bone, boneless butts, loin cuts, etc. Pretty reasonable prices, for Whole Foods at least - about a dollar more per pound than their regular pork. Definitely call ahead for availability - I've seen it pretty consistently at the Charles River Plaza store but it's still a real farm, not a commodity stream, so there are likely to be ups and downs in supply.
Kowloon, Floating Rock, More Attitude at Craigie, and Guanachapi
It's the NEW new Floating Rock thread! I went last night with some friends and was happy to find that the old favorites that they were serving were as good as ever. We had: Tiger's tears; ground pork/pickled fish sauce; chow fun (I forget the Cambodian name); Amok (catfish fillets in coconut milk). I asked about the fish cakes (not yet on the menu; I think of them as Cambodian tod mun) and the server said they would be serving them as they incorporate more old dishes onto the menu sometime after the "grand" opening.
Tiger's Tears were fantastic as ever - not incredibly hot (which is fine with me) but perfectly balanced. Definitely better meat than at Thmor Da, as 9lives noted above, and cooked perfectly, with nice char and the right amount of chew.
The ground pork with pickled fish sauce (sidenote: that may be the worst-named dish ever. I assume it's a direct translation from Khmer, but come on now. I referred to it as meat dip, which is more descriptive but not much better-sounding; how about Cambodian bolognese?) was fantastic - we nearly licked the bowl. A little richer with coconut milk than the version at Thmor Da but otherwise very similar. Not especially funky, but the prahok deepens the meat flavor.
The chow fun dish (with chinese broccoli and flank steak) was very good though it didn't blow me away; could have used a little more char on the noodles for my taste. Very good though and, as Stripey says, a relative bargain at $10.
Amok was great - I've had catfish dishes at Thmor Da - not Amok though - and they are always cooked to the point of near-toughness - good sauces but the fish itself hardly seems worth fighting through the bones for. This was totally different - the fish was succulent and almost custardy, and the spices and coconut milk made it very gentle-tasting but delicious.
Rice was excellent. Service was earnest and friendly but clearly still on the learning curve. One person had one of their martini-glass drinks - a Cambodian Sunrise? very colorful with the green and red. did NOT try. I had a "Floating Rock" - somehow the muddled grapes lured me in, but it was pretty thin and weak and just not very interesting. I think I'd stick with wine or beer for the moment. The place itself *looks* great - I'd walked by several times as they were doing the interior but it was still disorienting to think about the change from the old place to this one. It's an awfully big space and there weren't too many parties there last night from 7-9; I hope they start filling it up soon. I agree with the comments about the cocktail list and the overall concept confusion - I don't mind them charging the (much) higher prices given the real estate costs but I hope they work on menu descriptions and focus in on what is so distinctive about their food, rather than marketing themselves as yet another upscale-ish Asian fusion place.
banh mi
I agree re all three descriptors for the pork skin; I tried it once and haven't felt the need to get it again. To my palate it's more of a texture sensation than a taste delight.
My experience of vietnamese meatballs is limited to the ones that come with 7 courses of beef (at Anh Hong or Pho2000) - definitely bouncy, probably seasoned with fish sauce?, not sure about ginger or scallion. I tend to go for the grilled beef so I can't really comment on the ones at Ba Le except to say that i'm pretty sure I've seen them there. I also don't know if they're beef or chicken or something else.
banh mi
Ba Le is a rendering of "Paris" in Vietnamese, hence the EIffel Tower on the sign. OC, in answer to your question upthread, they don't grill the meat fresh to order the way Pho Viet does but the other aspects of the experience - the vegetables, the bread, the seasonings - are top-notch. They also have a wider variety of vietnamese fillings than some other places I've seen - shredded pork skin, those bouncy meatballs, etc. Plus the people there are very nice and there's a wide array of other vietnamese treats in the store. Very much worth a visit.
Note that I'm referring to the Banh Mi Ba Le store about a mile north of Fields Corner on Dot. Ave. - it's really much closer to Savin Hill; not the Ba Le Cafe (which I like as well) which is right in Fields Corner. I've always assumed that they're run by the same people but given how many vietnamese sandwich places in the US are named Ba Le - it's like the "ray's pizza" of banh mi! - I'm not 100% sure. One other place in Fields Corner is Chau's Bakery - on the outbound side of Dot Ave right near the T station. I had their banh mi years ago and it was fine but not as fresh or good as Ba Le so I haven't been there lately, but if you're doing a horizontal comparison it might be worth trying.
Final note for OC re Pho Viet - if you haven't had their grilled pork or - surprisingly - their grilled chicken breast, you should. Both are fantastic, particularly the pork.
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Banh Mi Ba Le
1052 Dorchester Ave, Dorchester, MA 02125
Ba Le Cafe
1449 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, MA
Pho Viet
1095 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215
5 Nights & Mornings in Beacon Hill
Beacon Hill is pretty central; it's walking distance to the North End (our Little Italy) and Chinatown. I've had very good espresso at Caffe Paradiso in the North End if that's of interest, though I don't know the neighborhood well enough to recommend a breakfast place there. (Vittoria Caffe down the street is more picturesque but the one espresso I had there was awful.)
Since you mention Cambodian food, the best place in the area is Thmor Da in Revere. It's a small storefront place, very modest, but the food is fantastic - I just went last weekend and it's as good as ever. It's about a 20 minute ride on the T (Revere Beach stop on the blue line) and then a 5 minute walk. As I recall they close pretty early (8:00) which isn't such a problem because it's in a somewhat sketchy neighborhood where you wouldn't really want to wander after dark, especially alone. There's also Floating Rock, which moved from the space where Thmor Da is now to a much swankier place in Cambridge, but it *just* reopened yesterday - when it was in Revere the food was great but no one's reported on the new location yet so I don't know if they have their act together yet. ('m going next week for lunch, I hope it's still great!) If you ask the concierge about Cambodian food they may recommend Elephant Walk, which has a very nice room and severely toned-down flavors - not worth it in my opinion.
When and where are the good mangoes coming to Boston?
Patel Bros. should definitely have them when they come in; there are also several other stores on Moody St. in Waltham that sell individual Kesar mangoes in season - that's where I've bought them in past years. Usually $3 each. I think one was called the New Apsa market, but googling that name returns absolutely no useful results - either they fly under the googleradar or I have the name wrong.
edited 1 minute later to correct this: New _Apna Bazaar_ that's it!
Asian Noodles for Breakfast??????
What about a bowl of pho? Seems especially appropriate since it IS traditionally breakfast food in Vietnam, even though lots of folks here (including me) usually have it for lunch or dinner. Pho Pasteur in Chinatown is solid and opens at 9, but you can search the board for other opinions on the best pho source - there are several good places in Chinatown.
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Pho Pasteur Restaurant
682 Washington St, Boston, MA 02111
Best butter in Boston area?
It's all salted. A LOT. Deliciously so. I usually buy unsalted for baking but in the right recipe (cookies, for instance) the Amish salted butter works great as long as you account for the extra salt.
Whole Lamb, striking out on sources?
Years ago I was walking on Parmenter Street in the North End on a cold night during Easter week and I had to sidestep two butchers coming down the sidewalk carrying a rail with several whole lambs hanging from it. I had just been to a church service so it all felt especially primal and medieval. All of which is to say, try giving Sulmona butchers a call, or perhaps one of the other butcher shops on Salem Street - they might have them.
Tacos Mexico - Great taqueria in Framingham
I was in the area yesterday at lunchtime so I stopped in for a torta. Very nice owner/operator at the grill, and he handles a rush pretty well (it was empty when I walked in but 4 people walked in about a minute later, two with a large take-out order - glad I got mine in first!). I got it with the discada since it seems like a specialty - it's a nice filling; probably better suited to a taco but tasty nonetheless. The onion/cilantro mix is good - onions clearly soaked to remove the harshness. The beans tasted fine but I do prefer them to be softer and smooshed onto the roll like a spread, rather than just tossed on with the filling. Nice freshly sliced avocado on top. I should have asked for some pickled jalapenos but the salsa verde on the counter (which I'm pretty sure wasn't homemade but that's okay - the jarred stuff is a pretty good product) perked it up nicely.
Sadly the roll was all wrong - a portuguese roll. Texture too fine-crumbed - he grilled it for a while but that actually made it denser since he used a press, and not much flavor. Tacos Lupita (the best) and Taqueria El Amigo (better for tacos but good tortas too) use a proper roll and it makes a huge difference. If I were in the area I would certainly go back to try the tacos (and more fillings) but I much prefer Taq. El Amigo, especially for their carnitas.
gg, pretty sure I didn't see fish of any kind on the menu.
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Taqueria El Amigo
196 Willow St, Waltham, MA 02453
Pig Roasts at Boston Area Restaurants?
Bumping this up to report on a pig roast at Pizzeria Posto in Davis Square last night. It was *fantastic*! I've never been to a pig roast before so I don't know if there's a usual procedure, but what they did was to bone out most of the pig except for the head and trotters, make a stuffing and layer it around the loin and under the skin (they call it apple-sage-chestnut stuffing; it also has plenty of meat, finely diced carrots, and some mushrooms), then roll the whole thing back up and roast it. They bring it out to the table whole and let people say hi, then they take it back to the kitchen for carving.
Then the platters start coming: multiple platters of rolled up loin/tenderloin/stuffing/skin, a few platters of the hams and shoulders, and one each for the head and the trotters and tail. They also serve their rosemary-sea salt bread, roast potatoes and a fennel-orange salad, which are all excellent and perfect accompaniments to the pig. All the meat I tried was great; the revelation, surprisingly to me, was the loin - cooked through yet really moist and flavorful. Pork shoulder and fresh ham aren't hard to cook at home, but this loin was better than anything I've ever done. I made an exploratory poke into the cheek and got a little of the fat which was super-tender and quite sweet.
There were 14-15 of us, not big drinkers - most people had one or two cocktails/beers/glasses of wine, so that kept the cost down. Our total per person was under $40 including tax and tip. I will DEFINITELY be back.
Minor caveat: I wasn't the organizer but my friend who was encountered some flakiness over the phone when she called to confirm her original reservation - there were a few moments of stress about getting the pig (after they had previously assured her there was one) but they pulled their act together after that and everything worked out. And once we were there they couldn't have been nicer, from hosts to servers.
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Pizzeria Posto
187 Elm St, Somerville, MA 02144
Best butter in Boston area?
Kate's is great - and widely available (my Shaw's carries it now) - but my favorite is the Amish country roll butter available at Russo's. It's *quite* salty and a little bit funky/cheesy (note: I have very occasionally had some with too much barnyard taste, but that's rare). Last time I put some out for dinner my friends couldn't stop slathering it on bread. Also, it's pretty cheap - about $4/lb. I've never seen it anywhere but Russo's.
I've also noticed that the Polish markets near Andrew Square have lots of kinds of butter I've never seen - I got some once and it was good but unremarkable - I don't know if there are any especially good Polish brands to look out for.
