They usually have it at the Market Basket here in Concord, so I can't imagine they wouldn't have it at the big M.B. on Elm street.

I did homebrew, too! 3.3% Mild from a keg.

If you can find Stone Levitation, it might hit the spot for ya'.

Not exactly what you're describing, but Sunshine Oriental in Concord has a couple of clay pot eggplant dishes. http://www.sunshineoriental.com/sunsh...
It'd be interesting to print out the Chinese name that Qianning provided and ask them if they can make it.. They're pretty accommodating.

I'm assuming that they'll be serving bison goulash at "Hungary Buffalo"?!?!

Probably Flat Patties in Cambridge, followed by Five Guys.

I noticed that the other day, too. It's a chain, but that's not always an indicator of bad things. Particularly if it's not an American chain. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollo_Ca...

I've got fears about the BPA information/misinformation scaring off potential customers for breweries that package in cans. It seems to me that there's probably pretty strong overlap between the craft beer demographic and the folks who are fastidious about buying local/artisinal/organic. I'm not saying that there's any merit to the BPA scare, but any product that has the stink of risky chemicals, justified or unjustified, is gonna' scare away the rooftop chicken coop crowd.

I've resorted to that technique, particularly when I've ended up in parts of Asia where no English is spoken, but I always feel super awkward doing it. Plus, I can't be positive that there'll be someone eating that particuar dish precisely when we're placing our order.

Hmm..The color sure had me thinking that it had some sort of sauce glazed onto it.

Thanks, I'll give that a try!

I've worked my way through most of the consistently tasty menu at Sichuan Gourmet, but there's one dish that I regularly see other people eating,and I can't identify it on the menu. It's some sort of a pork belly dish, but it's definitely not Sichuan Double Cooked Bacon. I thought it might be what is called Steamed Bacon with Fresh Garlic Sauce, but when I punch that into Google images along with the restaurant name, I get pictures of thin slices of rolled up pork belly. The folks I see eating it are always Chinese, so maybe it's something not on the menu that I'd have to ask for in Mandarin. Whatever you call it, it looks super fatty delicious. I'm taking my Dad there (who has no understanding of Chinese food beyond hot and sour soup) on Father's Day, and I'd like to give this dish a try. I'm sure this'll be old hat to somebody on the Boston board. Here's a pic I found:

Because of my total preoccupation with burgers, pizza, East Asian, Southeast Asian, Mexican, and regional Italian food, Caribbean cuisine wasn’t really on my radar until a visit to A Caribbean Affair on Monday afternoon. I can’t really address the authenticity of what we ate but I can happily report that my wife and I were served some very good, carefully crafted food by a friendly, enthusiastic and helpful staff. Our server was happy to give recommendations and hold our hand as we worked through the incredibly diverse menu options.
They’ve got a new creation on the menu that they’re calling Carribean Island Sandwiches, and we gave a couple of those a go. They’re similar to what I know as fried Jamaican beef patties, but they’re enormous and they have better than half a dozen filling options. I chose curried chicken, chickpeas and potatoes, and my wife picked jerk pork, stewed cabbage and potatoes. Because two starches just isn’t enough, we also ordered up a roti skin to accompany a stewed coconut water and spinach dish called callaloo.
Our waitress provided some salty munchies to compliment our Red Stripes while we waited for our food to show. The wait was just long enough to fill me with hope that everything was being scratch made to order. And sure enough, when our meal showed, every delicious component was obviously well fussed over. Not a misfire in the bunch. Great curry, complex sweet and savory jerk pork, and I’m not sure if this is how your supposed to eat it, but the roti skin was excellent dunked in the callaloo. I'm working this place into my regular rotation.

Oh, and if the shrimp preparation your Pop got was a riff on the English/Indian dish, then it's tikka masala.

Whoa! I had no idea that Sunny's was doing banh mi at lunch! I'm only about five blocks away from there and I've been driving all the way to Hong Cuc in Lowell. And you say it's comparable or better quality? Did they confirm that it is in fact a regular lunch item? Thanks for the intel !!

What's the lamb BBQ place called??? El Rincon Zacatecano IS great. I had some killer fresh tamales there and several first class tacos de lengua, followed by a little gratis loaf of pan dulce. I've got some pics around somewhere, but I can't seem to find them. Sadly, the owner is hyper religious, so no Tecate to wash it down.

The owner told me that they added the americanized side of the menu after a number of locals came in, saw the biang biang mian, liang pi, and flatbreads, and asked why they didn't serve Chinese food. Ha!

I kinda' had the same feeling about the flatbread. While, as I said, I liked it better than the similar "sandwich" I had in queens, the overall package didn't light my fire. Maybe I'm just applying western expectations to a chinese specialty, though. I'll probably try the pork version just to say I did, bit I plan to focus on the noodles. And, OOOHHH, the noodles!
After we finished the fully garlicked biang biang mian, we spent the rest of the day reflecting on how happy we were that we didn't have to attend any office meetings.

What a find! My wife and I hit Gene’s for lunch yesterday, and it was fantastic. The “Xian Chilled Noodles” are incredibly tender and bathed in tangy vinegar and chili oil sauce, mixed with bean sprouts and little cubes of what I believe is a sort of Chinese seitan called mian jin . Some of the other comments I’ve read indicated that the meat in the flatbreads tended toward unappealing dryness, but I didn’t find that to be the case. Our fresh bun was filled with quite moist cumin laced beef and tender peppers. I actually like this example more than the much lauded cumin lamb burger I had at Xi’an Famous Foods, which was served on an incredibly dry and crumbly bun. The main thing I’ll be returning for is the biang biang mian, though. The thick, hearty chewy noodles are sitting in rich smoky chili oil and are topped with crushed chilis, cilantro, and a solid 1/8 cup of finely minced raw garlic. You stir the whole thing up and slurp and chew your way to spicy bad breath nirvana. The staff and chef couldn’t have been more warm and welcoming, taking great interest in how we heard about the place, and what we thought of the food. I’m so happy that this place exists.

Wow, this is why chowhound is absolutely indespensable. I'm totally hitting this for lunch tomorrow. I'm not super well versed in this regional chinese variant, but I've liked what I've had at X'ian Famous Foods and Lan Zhou Hand Pulled Noodles in Queens. I can hardly believe that this is a just a short drive from my NH home. We're getting awfully close to having zero reason to drive to NYC anymore. I'll report back with all of my highly unqualified thoughts.

I usually have to make the trek out to The Sausage Source in Hillsboro for curing salt.

Yeah, the vast majority of Chinese immigrants in the States came from in and around Guangdong. Even the Sichuan dishes were largely just soupy Cantonese numbers with a few dried chilis thrown in, and no Sichuan peppercorn. But that's changing, and we've got a good representation of Dongbei cuisine, food from Xian, Lanzhou, and even a few Uighur restaurants. I haven't noticed any meat skewers specifically, but I'll keep an eye out.
I'm eating my way around Singapore right now and having a blast. But WOW, decent beer is expensive here!!

Oh yeah, there was some tasty braised cabbage on that first plate, too.

Thanks for the recommendations, Lucil! Sichuan food is probably my favorite cuisine on Earth, but I live just North of Boston where there is a significant Sichuanese transplant population, and some great restaurants to show for it. When I’m traveling, I like to focus on foods that are scarce back home. With easy access to both Boston and New York, I’ve got most regional Chinese cuisines covered. Malaysian food, Singaporean food, and all the foods of the Chinese diaspora (Hokkien, Teowchew, Paranakan/Nyonya, etc.) in Southeast Asia are fairly underrepresented, though. So, that’s the stuff I’m primarily interested in. But, I’m certainly game for something else if folks are raving about it.
Unfortunately, due to Chinese New Year, all of the restaurants on my short list were closed during my one night layover. So, I settled for an open air street restaurant selling porridge and various braised meats. The porridge was prepared by spooning a bunch of white rice into a bowl and dumping plain hot water onto it. That didn’t appeal to me, so I had rice with some very nice pork belly and pig intestine on top. I also had them throw some lightly sauced mai fun on there too, because I couldn’t resist doubling up on carbs.
Late the next morning, I walked to the Old Airport Road Hawker Center, with hopes of sampling Nam Sing Hokkien Mee, or Hua Kee Hougang Wanton Mee (based on Klyeoh’s past suggestions). Again, Nam Sing was closed, and I couldn’t find Hua Kee. Of the few stalls that were open, I picked a solid if unremarkable Nasi Lemak from a stall called Warong Nasi Jawa because it had a fairly long queue. All the components were good, but there wasn’t much coconut presence in the rice. They did throw on a free ladleful of a spicy tofu concoction that I couldn’t identify, though.
I’m in Phuket now, and I’ll be back in Singapore tomorrow for a five night stay. I’ll be sure to report back with all of my completely unqualified opinions!

That's actually not as bad as I'd feared. I'd heard tales of other folks paying upwards of S$200 for the crab bee hoon.

Thanks for the heads up, Klyeoh. Yes, I'm aware of Geylang's red light reputation. While I've got no plans for taking part in the services offered by the working girls, I do have a great appreciation for the "color" they lend to a neighborhood. Since I seldom spend much time at my hotel, and I don't travel on an expense account, my usual move is to book an inexpensive hotel in a part of town with some local flavor. I love the fact that, unlike here in the States, funky/inexpensive, usually doesn't also mean dangerous in Asia. It's a routine that's worked pretty well for me as I visited and ate my way around Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Phuket earlier this year.
Four Seasons and Akated: Thanks for the rec's. Sin Huat is on my short list, but I'm on the fence about it because of mixed reviews. I've heard that it's fantastically expensive. While a high price for a meal isn't a deal breaker, spending an arm and a leg for sub par eats is a bummer (example: a dinner I had at Under Bridge Spicy Crab in HK). Frog Porridge sounds interesting. Is the porridge Congee?

I'm visiting my Father in Phuket next week, and on the way there, I've got an overnight layover in Singapore. Since it's fairly near the airport, I booked an inexpensive Hotel in Geylang near the MRT. My flight plans will have me eating dinner fairly late, so I'm wondering what the can't miss eats are that will be available after 10 pm Monday night. On the way back from Thailand, I've worked in a four day layover in Singapore (I've never been before), and I've got a VERY aggressive gastronomic agenda. Yahoo!!

Saigon has frozen galangal, but not fresh. I found a Splendid Table recipe for basmati with saffron and fresh curry leaves. Lynne Rossetto Kasper knows whereof she speaks, so I'll start there.

I noticed that, too! I thought it was funny that they were calling galangal "Thai Ginger". I don't even know what to do with fresh curry leaves, but I bought some anyway. Just because.

Oh, what a great misunderstanding! Now I've got a new place to investigate, too!