glenn mcdonald's Profile
Zinneken's is awesome - finally some authentic Belgian waffles in Boston
I've had a couple waffles at Zinneken's and a couple at Saus, so far, and Saus came much closer, in both waffle and attitude, to the ones I had on the street in Brussels. Both Z ones seemed aesthetically overdone, and the second one was overcooked as well. Actually, the tiny sample one I had at Zinneken's the day they were giving them away was much better than the two they had time to craft...
Ethnic Festivals Boston Area Summer 2011
For the record, there _was_ a jumpy castle hidden around the side of the church, and there were at least two "crafts" for sale. My wife and daughter were unimpressed by the food, but I liked the sausage, lamb and the salty huge-bean thing. Agree that the rice and slaw were undistinguished.
A weekend of meh - MuLan & Russell House Tavern
For what it's worth, I had the beef with leek wrapped in pancakes (or, as I call it, "the Mulan burrito") last Friday and it was still great!
Restaurant with no sign, corner of Beach and Washington in Chinatown?
As I turned right from Beach onto Washington last night, I noticed that there appears to be a restaurant in the corner of the new building right there. At least, it looked like there were people in there sitting at tables, and a fish tank, but I couldn't really see details, and the awnings above the door and windows on the Washington Street side were all blank. Anybody know what it is?
Punjabi Dhaba= Swill
I basically agree with baldbert. I used to really like the place, but "watery and greasy at the same time" is precisely what I've felt about my last few visits.
Best Banh Mi
Speaking of peering over the counter, the last time I was at Mei Sum I spotted their bread (which I agree is instrumental in their superiority) in bags: Quinzani's.
Best Sandwiches in Boston
Some of my standbys:
- Fern's Problem-Solver @ Hi-Rise
- Texas Reuben @ All-Star
- "Cubano" Torta @ Olecito
- Cuban Reuben @ Highland Kitchen
- Banh Mi @ Mix and/or Pho Viet
- Presunto e Queijo Fresco @ Atasca
- grilled PBJ+banana+nutella on When Pigs Fly apple-cinnamon bread at my house (I just thought of this, and haven't actually tried it yet, but it's almost certain to be the greatest thing ever)
At the lower end, I admit to weaknesses for:
- Boston College @ Kiraz
- Chicken/Hummus @ Cheddar's
- The Navaho @ The Cheesecake Factory
The Friendly Toast!
I've been here many times, but not for a few weeks, so an updated opinion: go early! We went over at a little before 10am this (Sunday before Labor Day) morning, and were seated immediately and served before two 2-year-olds could get fussy.
Foodwise, our eggs and pancakes were all excellent, and the potatoes, which I hadn't had in the last month or so, are now definitely up to the original Portsmouth standard.
By the time we left, a little over an hour later, every table was occupied and there was a crowd of 20-30 people waiting in the lounge and outside, with more pouring in towards the place as we walked out through the courtyard...
Best Burrito in Boston
Sorry, but Anna's doesn't qualify as a serious answer, unless by "best" you mean "least challenging without being actively offensive". Boca Grande, at the very least, is Anna's plus flavor. My favorites, at least as of today, are Olecito, Villa Mexico and Tacos Lupitas. (But I haven't tried Andale, and I've only eaten at Cantina la Mexicana once and didn't have a burrito...)
Food Court in Chinatown
The Juice Bar was the reason I went there, so I was pretty happy to see it finally reappear at street level there recently. Although you certainly don't get the weird atmosphere of the old room, freezing cold all winter and oddly plagued by random people coming in and trying to sell you worthless crap like fake plastic aquariums.
Tupelo in Cambridge
Went for my second time on Saturday night, for a pre-Father's Day outing with my 2-year-old daughter. They were very nice to us, although I know what another poster means about one particular waiter seeming depressed. Had the daube of beef, and a side of rice and beans for the elf. We both liked the beef and the beans. I liked the "slow-cooked greens", but the elf didn't care for them. Conversely, she liked the rice and I thought (as with both the rice-related dishes I had on my first visit), that it seemed to have been undercooked, in flavorless isolation, and then added to the beans at the last moment. She spurned the mashed potatoes, and I thought they were OK.
We were in wild agreement on the bread basket, though! 2 fabulous biscuits, 2 yummy pieces of moist, sweet cornbread, and three thin toasts that I barely got to taste because they went into the elf so fast. Made a decent meal into a great one.
Looking for the best cuban sandwich
Not an actual cubano, but I just had the "cubano torta" at Olecito in Inman Square, which they must have added the menu within the last month. A torta roll with their magnificent braised pork, cheese, pickles, ham, prosciutto and a chipotle dressing. Toasted, not pressed. So no more a cubano than a "hamburger pizza" is a hamburger, but: man was it good!
Top 25 Pizza Places in USA
Well, I admit that the pizza is *part* of why I go to Umberto's. I wouldn't leave there without having eaten some, but I also wouldn't leave there having eaten only pizza.
The Friendly Toast!
I feel obliged to note for perspective that I've been there four times since it opened, and had no bad experiences at all. No waits, no delays, no issues. Three weekend breakfasts (8, 9 & 10), one weekday lunch (11:45). A couple times I've had waiters have to go back in the kitchen to ask questions, but that's the most disorganization I've seen.
the friendly toast opening in cambridge!
Yum. Walked the 1 block from my house this morning, in what I am pleased to suspect is going to be a very quickly familiar ritual. Funny scene with a huge crowd of waiters being trained, and presumably a similar huge crowd of cooks in the kitchen taking turns with the spatulas. "2/3rds" of the full menu, a note claimed, but that's still longer than most other places'. Yummy waffle, yummy eggs, yummy toast. Kendall Square just became a better neighborhood!
the friendly toast opening in cambridge!
I walked by early this morning (Saturday, ~9am), and the place looked entirely ready. Tables set, "coming soon" sign off the door. Wouldn't surprise me if they're serving this very moment, a thought that makes me very hungry.
What restaurants don't we talk about enough?
Just went to La Casa de Pedro for the first time last night, and second this recommendation, especially the parts about the rice/beans/yuca/plantains, and the Venezuelan black chorizo. Really excellent! Very good service, too. I'll be looking for opportunities to go back again.
best pancakes in boston?
If you want a more-central option, the Paramount on Charles Street in Beacon Hill does great pancakes. But I second/third/fourth/whatever the Deluxe Town Diner, too.
the friendly toast opening in cambridge!
Yes, it's the space where Anise was. Last time I peeked in, a week or so ago, the walls were painted but blank, the tables were in but no chairs, and there were piles of stickers and swizzle-sticks on the counter by the entrance, presumably on their way to being decor. So they might actually be more or less on schedule for an opening in April. Although my birthday, the 4th, is looking a little optimistic...
the friendly toast opening in cambridge!
This is the best Boston-area restaurant news ever. Ever. Seriously.
Cambridge top 5 based on food
I haven't been to Craigie since it moved, and only twice before that, so my leaving it off wasn't a negative vote. I haven't been to Gran Gusto, either. But you can definitely take my omission of Rendezvous as a negative vote. And I like Atasca better than Casa Portugal.
Cambridge top 5 based on food
For me Oleana is the slam-dunk. My other four would probably be the Blue Room, Harvest, Rialto and Hungry Mother. Although if there were anything riding on this, I'd be happy to join a small invasion force to push the Cambridge border another few feet around Evoo.
Olecito?
I think it's terrific. My faves are the braised pork burrito and the pork or poblano tortas. Steak and chicken burritos and chicken torta also very good. As far as I'm concerned the taco/burrito axis now runs from Villa Mexico to Olecito to Tacos Lupita.
Mexicali Burrito at Technology Sq.
I work right around the corner, so I was thrilled at the prospect of getting a good burrito for lunch without making the arduous trip to, er, any of the 10 other burrito places in a 1 mile radius.
Oh, man. Woeful. Tried an achiote chicken and a pork something (two different burritos; why on earth anybody would combine two whole different flavors in one gloppy mess I have no idea), and both were flatly dreadful. My wife described them as what you might come up with at home if you'd read about burritos in a book, but never actually eaten one, and lived somewhere where none of the correct ingredients were really available. The black beans tasted freshly dumped out of a can, the rice was dry and awful, the meats tasted like something you dumped an Old El Paso flavor packet on. Even the tortilla was bad, and the whole thing was ineptly assembled. The pork burrito resembled a sloppy joe more than anything Mexican or Californian, and the chicken burrito had an inexplicable range of temperatures among its ingredients, like sometime in the past it had been frozen whole.
I rank them right down there with BoLoCo, and Baja Betty's for that matter, all considerably below Anna's, which is my reference point of minimum quality below which I will not willingly eat. Even the Jose's truck, a block away, is plainly better. And Villa Mexico or Olecito, in either direction, are whole different worlds.
Lunch near Mass general
Villa Mexico, the mexican place in the back of the gas station's convenience store, is really terrific. If the weather is good, you can take your burritos over to the river, or into the pleasant outdoor courtyard at MGH...
Kendall lunch thread
All the lunchtime sandwiches at Atasca are good, but I'm especially fond of their cheeseburger (with Portugese cheese, of course).
And I've only been to Camie's (Haitian bakery/restaurant at Harvard and Columbia) once, but this has reminded me to go back, as that one time was great.
Wisteria House in Cambridge now open
B and L and I were there for "brunch weekend" today. They've expanded the dining area significantly from how it was in at least the place before last in this location. Maybe 8 tables, with room for 20-ish? And full at noon on a Saturday.
We had:
Taiwanese Style Congee - My first congee, actually, and I'd expected it to be more porridge/custardy, somehow. This was a yummy rice soup with bits of chicken and shrimp and mushrooms and possibly some maybe-best-unidentified other things. Non-neophyte congeers will have to provide more-informed commentary.
Steamed bun with roast belly pork - I expected standard dim-sum-style buns with pork in them, but these buns were flat, more pupusa-shaped, and then wrapped taco-like around a few pieces of roast pork with some pickled veggies and sprigs of green stuff. Very delicious, and at least one culinary level above what I was expecting.
Scallion Pancake Beef Spin - I think that's what the menu said. Thin scallion pancake rolled around extremely tender thin slices of beef (more roast-beef like than in the similar thing I've eaten many times at MuLan) and more scallions. The burrito to the pork buns' taco.
B had some fruity tea. I had a "Sea of Magic" drink, mostly because I didn't know what it was and the waitress didn't know what the fruit was in English, and even after conferring in the kitchen all she could say was that there's a fruit called "Sea of Magic". This turns out to be kiwi, or some Chinese thing that, when blended with ice, looks and tastes like kiwi. I was a little disappointed it wasn't something stranger, but I love kiwi fruit, and I don't remember seeing it on the fruit-shake lists anywhere else I've been recently, so I was pretty pleased.
L ate nothing, but she is 8 months old and this shouldn't be taken as a criticism. She enjoyed looking at people, a flinging her stuffed turtle under the table.
So: one visit, small sample, but yum, and we'll be back.
One small physical note: several of the tables have, instead of chairs, very narrow benches. We didn't find them uncomfortable, but if you came intending to lounge, you might be challenged.
(Also, I apologize for relying on Mexican metaphors to describe Taiwanese food.)
Meh tacos from Taqueria la Mexicana; what should I have ordered?
The only thing I avoid at TLM is burritos, which for some reason always come out a bit squelchy there. I like their tacos, enchiladas and tamales. And flautas, although with those I always check first to make sure there aren't any already sitting under the heat lamp next to the register. Good juices, too.
Hei la moon
Went to HLM for the third or fourth time this weekend, and once again was very pleased. I still prefer the cavernous pomp of Empire/Emperor's Garden for atmosphere, but HLM is my newest favorite on a food basis. The sesame/red-bean donuts this time were literally the best I've ever had, and the salt-and-pepper squid tentacles were pretty close. Really the only thing that got even lukewarm reviews from our table of 7 were some dumplings we couldn't identify that someone described as tasting like they were filled with some kind of maple-walnut paste. Water-chestnut, I speculated.
No service problems, either. We were at a corner-table with only a couple feet of room-frontage, but all the carts stopped for us, even double-parking and handing things from the far one over the near one once when cart-traffic got thick!
