dsackton's Profile
Paris Lunch Challenge
Maceo is the general idea of the kind of place we are looking for, except we ate there last time we were in Paris 4 years ago. I guess we could consider going back. Do they serve lunch?
Paris Lunch Challenge
It doesn't have to be a starred place, just somewhere very good. We aren't really interested in leaving the kids with a babysitter. The toddler (my nephew) does pretty well at restaurants and generally really likes good food. The infant is mine, is nursing, and frankly I don't feel like bringing a breast pump on our trip just so we can go out once. We wouldn't try to go somewhere fancy for dinner with them, but figured we could figure something out for lunch.
Paris Lunch Challenge
We are trying to come up with somewhere great for lunch on an upcoming trip to Paris but our group will be a bit challenging. We are very into food and would be trying to get some michelin starred places in except: our group consists of 2 omnivores, 2 vegetarians, a toddler, and an infant. The toddler is fairly well behaved and an adventurous eater. The infant is not yet eating solids. We need to find somewhere delicious that can accommodate the vegetarians, but where lunch is not going to last more than 2 hours. This will likely be our only fancy meal of the trip as dinner seemed to hard. For dinners we'll stick to falafel, crepes, cooking, and maybe a bistro or 2. Any great ideas?
Best Hot Chocolate in Boston?
While it doesn't rival Burdik's, I really like the hot chocolate from Flour. It is not particularly thick (I do love pudding-like hot chocolate) but it is fairly rich and not too sweet. My usual problem with hot chocolate is it can be much too sweet.
Extremely weird butternut squash reaction
As a doctor and someone who this happens to, I can say for certain that it is NOT an allergy. I'm not saying that no one has ever had contact dermatitis from touching squash, but that is not what you are describing. No hives, no itching, no redness=no histamine release. I have always chalked it up to the sticky juices drying on my hands. Kind of like if you spread elmer's glue all over your hands and let it dry. Much harder to get it off though. These days, I usually just hold onto the squash with a napkin or paper towel and it's generally fine.
Brunch in Cambridge/Somerville area with good coffee?
Highland Kitchen has a delicous brunch, but the coffee was terrible the one time I had it. I don't think it was as bad the next time, if I recall correctly. Certainly not great coffee though.
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Highland Kitchen
150 Highland Ave, Somerville, MA 02143
Date with a Vegetarian; Indian?
I am a vegetarian and wanted to put in my two cents and recommend TW Food. Not sure if it is more upscale/expensive than you are looking for, but they always have a vegetarian tasting menu, and I have always found it good to excellent.
I also wanted to comment on the suggestions of various vegan restaurants. I personally avoid them. I really dislike all the fake meat and fake dairy.
Last minute-Dining alone near Powell St.
I am all the way at the South end, at Market Street, right near the Powell St. BART station.
Last minute-Dining alone near Powell St.
I'm going to SF from Boston tomorrow for a conference. After the conference, my husband is meeting me at we have a very intense and exciting food schedule (Aziza, TFL, Ubuntu, Canteen), but tomorrow night before the conference starts, I'll be in SF on my own, and realized I don't know what to do for dinner. I don't think I'm going to want to venture too far from my hotel since I'm not thrilled with wandering around an unfamiliar city alone at night, but if there is nothing good nearby, I could always take a cab. I'm happy to sit at a bar, but I don't drink. Also should be veggie friendly (doesn't have to have tons of veggie options, one good one is all I need :-))
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Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio
1140 Main Street, Napa, CA 94558
September Openings and Closings
The Foundry in Davis looks like it's going to be ready any day now.
6 days in SF/Napa - suggestions?
I think we've made some decisions. Here is our updated itinerary. Any thoughts?
Monday (SF)
Arrive in the afternoon
Dinner: Aziza
Tuesday (SF -> Napa)
Tuesday night we arrive @ Hotel Luca in Yountville, where we are staying til Friday.
Dinner:
Cantinetta Piero, in our hotel, unless we are inspired to do something different at the last minute. Anyone know if we change our mind and decide to eat at the bar at Bouchon whether we need reservations?
Wednesday
We'll eat a late breakfast at the hotel and dinner at TFL
Thursday
Lunch:
Picnic lunch, maybe from Oxbow Market...still up for other suggestions
Dinner: Ubuntu
Friday
Lunch:
Probably Brix or Auberge du Soleil. Any opinions?
Dinner back in SF:
Chilango
Saturday:
Brunch: Ferry Market Building
Dinner:
Made a reservation at Canteen. Turns out we have friends who we haven't seen in a while who will be in SF at the same time as us. Is this still a good choice of a place to catch up with friends?
Sunday:
Brunch: Out the Door
Then to the airport.
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Ubuntu Restaurant & Yoga Studio
1140 Main Street, Napa, CA 94558
Out the Door
845 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Brix
7377 St. Helena Highway, Napa, CA 94558
Bouchon
6534 Washington Street, Yountville, CA 94599
Soleil Restaurant
625 El Camino Real, Palo Alto, CA 94301
Chilango
235 Church St, San Francisco, CA 94114
6 days in SF/Napa - suggestions?
I was thinking of Mandalay or Chilango for dinner of Friday. Chez Panisse would be for lunch. I think we'll probably stay in Napa for lunch after all though, because msackton is more excited about going somewhere in Napa with a really nice setting then going to Chez Panisse, and I don't feel strongly about making it there on this trip.
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Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709
Chilango
235 Church St, San Francisco, CA 94114
6 days in SF/Napa - suggestions?
msackton's DC here...Wondering whether it would be crazy to try to go to the cafe at Chez Panisse on Friday for lunch on the way back to SF. If we decided to do this, it would limit the amount of time we had in Napa on Friday. Is it good enough to be worth it-particularly given all the other amazing places we'll be going?
Reading greyelf's trip reports, I'm tempted by Chilango or Mandalay for dinner on Friday night. They both look very veggie friendly.
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Chez Panisse
1517 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, CA 94709
Chilango
235 Church St, San Francisco, CA 94114
Three VERY different eaters just did Coppa (yum!), Istanbu'lu's next, then what?
You said it did not have to be pricey, but didn't say whether you minded if it was on the pricer side. You might want to try T.W. Food. They have one of the best (and best value) tasting menus around. They have a regular one with plenty of meat and interesting things for an adventurous eater and the veggie tasting menu has always been amazing when I've had it.
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T.W. Food
377A Walden St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Three VERY different eaters just did Coppa (yum!), Istanbu'lu's next, then what?
I am a vegetarian and I think Coppa is very veggie friendly. It's extremely easy to have a delicious veggie meal. I think Vegan would probably be a lot harder. When I went for dinner, I shared white bean bruschetta. roasted peppers, trophie con pesto, arancini, and a few other veggie dishes that I'm forgetting at the moment. Just went back for lunch and shared the cauliflower, farro salad, and a squash and spinach pizza. Both times I went, I was stuffed when we left. Biggest problem both times was that there were too many things that I wanted to order.
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Coppa
253 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118
Help! Where to brunch in Boston, Cambridge, or Somerville?
Russell House Tavern was quite good for brunch. Not quite as fancy as Hamersley or Harvest, but I liked it better than Aquitane. It's a pretty big space, so I'm guessing 8 would not be a problem
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Russell House Tavern
14 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Where to go for an engagement dinner?
Have you considered Craigie on Main? In my opinion, some of the best food in the area. Although I haven't been to any of the ones you were considering except L'espalier before they moved.
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Craigie on Main
853 Main Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Nantucket deals
I really like Centre Street Bistro for lunch. (They also have breakfast and dinner). The nicer restaurants are pretty expensive, but if you are going to go to 1 high end restaurant, my favorite is Oran Mor. Have fun!
ANOTHER Nepali restaurant, this time in Somerville...
The Nepali part of the menu is quite a bit more limited than the Indian part. 5 veggie dishes and 5 meat dishes, plus appetizers and various noodle soups. There is a pretty full Indian menu. So it really doesn't feel like a Nepali restaurant with a few Indian dishes on the menu to give people some things they are familiar with. That being said, my DC and I shared the Nepali Pumpkin and the Indian Chana Paneer, as well as veggie momos and we were quite pleased with our dinner.
Fresh English peas at retail?
The ones at Verrill are not actually their own, but both times I've bought them, I haven't felt like waiting for the person that I asked to go find out where they are from. Still good though
Where to buy locally grown asparagus?
If you want to make the trek, Four Town Farm, in Seekonk (almost in RI) has asparagus now. Asparagus starts around here in mid April (though later in MA than RI), and usually goes through the end of May, into early June, if we're lucky.
ISO best authentic gelato
Piattini on Newbury St. has Capogiro gelato. Capogiro is an amazing gelateria in Philadelphia. I haven't gone to Piattini yet, but when we lived in Philly, we went to Capogiro WAY too often. Having gone to Italy while we were living in Philly and eating Capogiro regularly, I can say that it is at least as good as the best gelato in Florence.
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Piattini
226 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02116
Pizzeria Posto
Went to Posto in Davis Square tonight for opening night, as we have been anxiously awaiting its opening. It lived up to our expectations for the most part, especially given that it was opening night.
We opted to order 2 appetizers and 1 pizza, despite the waitress's advice that pizzas are personal sized. I had fava and green bean salad with pea tendrils and feta, which was quite tasty, and my husband had calamari, which he loved. We shared the Bianca pizza. Pizza was great, crust was perfect, chewy and crispy at the same time, and nicely charred from the wood oven. It was definitely personal pizza sized, with 4 slices, though with our own appetizers, we had more than enough food. Owner sent out an order of the veal agnolotti, maybe because it was opening night and they were sending things out to everyone, but I think because they recognized us and knew we've been rooting for them through this whole process. Husband thought it was great. Only problem is I'm a vegetarian, so no pasta for me.
My only complaint is that as a vegetarian, menu was a teeny bit limited (though that's partly because I don't like mushrooms and one of the veggie pizzas was mushrooms). All of the pastas had meat.
There is an extensive wine list, with many wines by the glass. Cheapest was a house red for $5/glass, and most expensive was a Brunello for $20/glass. My husband's Super Tuscan was tasty.
In any case, we are excited to go back next week, and we are hoping for a frequently changing menu so that we can go often without getting bored!
Blue Room last night - a question about timing (LONG)
Went to Blue Room last Friday night, and the service was also incredibly slow. Also a little weird was that they sent out an amuse of dates stuffed with cream cheese, but they only sent out 3 for 4 of us, and when asked, the waiter said it's only for people who order the restaurant week menu.
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The Blue Room
Hampshire and Portland streets, Cambridge, MA 02139
Best Breakfast in Providence (or close by) RI
Nothing compares to Nick's! I live recently moved from Providence to Boston, and there is no where to replace it!
Mystic Coffee Roaster
Does anyone know anything about Mystic Coffee Roaster opening on Riverside Ave in Medford Square? I was very excited to see the sign for it yesterday, as I work in Meford Square and we are sorely in need of a good coffee shop!
Temple Bar and Spiced Pear Opinions?
Temple Bar and Spiced Pear are pretty different experiences in terms of the food and atmosphere. For me, Temple Bar has been a place to go when I don't want to go out too fancy. It's pretty a pretty low key restaurant on a moderately interesting part of Mass Ave. The food I've had is good, but not extraordinary. Spiced Pear is a pretty special location. In a fancy inn right on Cliff Walk in Newport. If you are in Boston, I'm not sure the restaurant alone is enough to make the trip out to Newport for, but it's nice if you can spend some time in Newport, or even better, spend the night at the inn. It's expensive, but I think it's my favorite place I've stayed. It's been a few years, but when we went to the Spiced Pear, the food was quite delicious, though the service was a little odd. If I had my choice of the restaurants on the Boston Chef's Thanksgiving list, I'd definitely pick Harvest...
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Boston Chefs
875 Main St Ste 3, Cambridge, MA 02139
Great Vegetarian in Boston Area?
I am a vegetarian, and I actually prefer when there is no veggie option on the menu to having 1 option, because with no option on the menu, the chef is usually more open to working with what you like and don't like. Occasionally this plan has failed me and I've gotten things that aren't very exciting, but I have had many amazing meals this way.
London-Afternoon Tea at the St. James Hotel and Club
limster-yes, the scones were definitely the best part.
PhilD-That is true, except the formal restaurant does not serve afternoon tea. Not sure if the afternoon tea used to be in the formal dining room or not.
London-Afternoon Tea at the St. James Hotel and Club
We went to Tea at The St. James Hotel last weekend because many people on Chowhound loved it. Just wanted to let everyone know that the restaurant is no longer Andaman, it has changed to William's Bar and Bistro, and although we were hoping it was a change in name alone, we were a little disappointed with the afternoon Tea. Our disappointment was probably due in part to expections, because it was in no way bad, just not super exciting. We made a reservation, but when we walked in, we were the only people there. The service was a little off, partly because we were the only ones there, so sometimes there would be no staff in the dining room at all. The tea sandwiches were ham, egg salad, and salmon. The scones were quite delicious-3 kinds, chocolate, plain, and raisin. The other desserts were fine, but not great-lemon tart, chocolate tart, and pound cake. The tea itself was quite good. As I said, nothing was actually bad, but it seems like it is not the same tea it was when it was Andaman that everyone spoke of so highly.
