Not necessarily. Someone who doesn't cook should hopefully be able to still tell if meat is dry, veggies are soggy, et cetera.

he's serving the chilled noodles on the weekdays now? have I missed something?

alright, I'm back on a computer and can put a bit more detail into this now.

like chickendhansak says, it's creamy and rich but not overly so, nor is it too greasy. the potatoes were crisped perfectly. I rarely fawn over a food's texture, but that's exactly what happened here. crunchy exterior, and perfectly cooked potatoes and a creamy filling underneath. I expected it to also be extremely rich because of the cream cheese mentioned on the menu, but I was pleasantly surprised to see that they don't use much. it tells me that they don't rely on the richness of cream cheese for flavor. I think that means a lot.

oh, and FYI, I got the "beef stroganoff" to go, but ate it right when I got back to the car.

I believe there's an old thread somewhere ... "bum steers" may or may not be in the title.

Eating the beef rostï right now. Turned an otherwise frustrating night into a happy and contented one.

So happy right now. That is all.

tried only three things myself since I wasn't willing to wait in line for too long.

Fishing Shrimp - shrimp tacos ('twas ... fine. the two pieces of fried shrimp could have more "support" from complementing vegs/something-of-substance. I'm not the biggest shrimp fan, but I could see myself getting this to fulfill a craving.)

Bian Dang - pork chop over rice (dry ... I had to steam it at home to reheat the leftovers without it getting even drier. sauce w/ rice was good though.)

Staff Meal - YEAH BOSTON. shortest line, and my favorite of the three. got the mushroom bibimbap taco. maybe I'm biased 'cause I've had food from them before and love 'em, this truck is sorely underrated. I love these guys.

yah, I figured it was that space. I saw some work being done on the space on Friday--a company specializing in some sort of building cleaning/chemical-removal was there. seems like it's in the early stages of reconstruction.

oh, I was thinking they were harvesting from the streets right outside ... y'know: food wrapped in leaves from the tree down the street. water filtered from the puddle outside the door.

that's some bad luck. but I'm sure Gene's will do fine. people travel all the way up just to eat there.

you can park on the residential streets, too ... for up to 2 hours (officially).

I guess they're hoping to attract people from Longwood. I've seen quite a few workers in scrubs make their way over to the Village for lunch.

I would second Westborough Korean, but I agree you'd need to be strategic.

There's Eo Noodles in Framingham ... but I don't know if you're trying to go for fancy? Are you bringing something to contribute to a group dinner?

You'll also pass by Wegman's. I haven't tried it myself, but I hear their take-out section rocks.

Alere to open in Brookline Village. If it's as big as the article states, it's going to dwarf everything else in the Village. http://bostonrestaurants.blogspot.com...

(crap, now I see it's old news ... either way, I've been wondering what's going into that space. so far, it's just being cleaned out for reconstruction.)

Georgetown Cupcakes opened today on Newbury. One free cupcake per person today. Needless to say, there's a massive line outside.

nope. didn't get to ask him if he plans on putting it on the menu either.

from what I gathered, there are only three kinds of noodles that he makes:
- the thinner ones from the house noodle soup (I forget the process ... )
- the biang biang noodles (hand-pulled, super long, thick and wide) from the You Po dish.
- the cold liang pi noodles that are available only on weekends (starch water/paste that's steamed as flat sheets)

all noodles are made from wheat flour. no rice flour used.

believe it or not, they're pulled! I thought they were shaved, too, but Gene says they're pulled. I wanted to catch photos of them making the noodles, but alas, I was distracted chatting it up with the other Hounds. :)

alright, sorry for the wait. can't figure out how to add captions (is it possible??) so here's a rundown, L-R, T-B:

1 & 2: the #5 house noodle soup. very light flavors IMO. slightly tangy/sour. barely spicy (was it supposed to be?). thin noodles.

3: the #4 biang biang hand-pulled noodles. garlicky, yes. tasty, indeed. my favorite.

4: the beef and peppers flatbread (#1). I forgot to take a picture of the pork flatbread (#3), but probably because my hands were covered in grease from holding it (and therefore was hesitant to pick up the camera). I believe the group was split over which we liked better. be warned--it is indeed messy to eat!

5: a giant dish of something spicy (with more biang biang noodles, chicken, and potatoes). not on the menu, and I think you have to request it ahead of time. too much heat for me personally, but if you're a heat seeker like tomatotomato ... by all means go at it! (FYI, this is the dish in which cocoabrioche picked up hints of cinnamon.)

6: my personal mess. the lamb w/ biang biang noodles (mentioned by greygarious and tomatotomato) is on the plate at the bottom left. a very mild and still-flavorful dish that's not on the menu. this was my fave along with the garlicky biang biang noodles, and I hope Gene adds it to the rotation. the other dishes here are the garlicky biang biang noodles at the top, and the spicy chicken biang biang noodles at the right.

7: Gene!

8: the lamb skewers, not on the menu. definitely moist and tender. slightly sweet, somewhat spicy. really really well made.

before I post pictures, is anyone opposed to me posting photos of 'Hounds? (just making sure ... I really like having people subjects in my photos.)

true, but personally I'd rather they work on doing a few things well for a while first before adding other things on.

from what I saw in Tatsu's pictures, I'd say no ... Xian's noodles aren't thick like that at all. I obviously can't speak to the broth/flavorings as I haven't had it yet.

yes, it's available at Pho Hoa, but I didn't like it when I went about a month ago. very very oily and bland. I remember liking the one at Dong Khanh much more.

I was at The Gallows recently, and unless there's a back room that I'm unaware of, I think it's on the small side for a group of 13.

On the subject of Towne, I personally don't think it's too old. I personally think it's good for late-20s to mid-30s (or older, but mostly in that range).

I swung by yesterday as well, and asked for a pour-over myself. Took them about 15min to make though, so I think they have some kinks to work out, especially since they have only one hot-water dispenser for their pour-over station.

They also seemed to be all over the place--so many different guys working various parts of the counter that I couldn't keep track. It seemed like sometimes they couldn't keep track either.

I appreciated their "keep calm and carry on" vibe, though.

ditto. and there's no weekend possibility? just Tuesday or Wednesday?

(FYI, I tried replying to the new thread you created, but the reply box wouldn't open for me.)

uhh, sure. substitute "the" for "a few of the." I know it's an incomplete list, and no, these are not necessarily my own favorites. just places that I hear repeated a lot in high praise here.

nice, sounds like one continuous/massive "shaved noodle" (y'know, where they take a ball of dough and shave off slices).

Hey soccermom13--

Yes, 101 Arch St, near the Downtown Crossing T stop! Beware, they get pretty long lines during the lunch hour. I suggest going either around 11-11:30am or after 3pm. (Going when it's empty means getting your meat freshly grilled. If you go when it's busy, I suggest that you at least avoid getting the chicken option since that'll likely be pre-cooked and dry.)

Also, a friend just told me lately that the Thinking Cup has a good bread pudding. Not sure if it stacks up against the other suggestions, but it may be worth a try if you're there already for coffee.

"oriental"? haven't heard that term used for food in a while ... (except for Oriental de Cuba).

anyway, if we're talking about Asian foods, I believe the CH favorites are Jojo Taipei, Blue Asia, Bon Chon, and Shanghai Gate. if you're eating with a few others, I'd suggest trying the gamja tang (a pork bone stew). there are a few dishes at MyungDong that I'd suggest trying: cheese lokbokghi, cheese ramen, or the seafood cheese ddok bokghi. (see a trend?)

tatsu, I am DROOLING!! I'm guessing that the first picture is of the You Po?

ditto on Wang's dumplings. they're great, but the rest of the food they serve is incredibly greasy. while I don't mind eating it myself, I wouldn't serve it to 9 other people.

Along the Thai route, I'd suggest looking into Lemon Thai (on Highland Ave). Their country pad thai is my favorite in all of Boston. I'd like to think that says a lot, since I don't normally care for pad thai ...

If you care to go towards South Asian food (and not just East or South East), there's Guru the Caterer.