Pia's Profile
Still lovin' Sofra
I generally don't like the meat items there nearly as much as the non-meat items. I agree that it's pricey and the portions aren't very large, but if you do go back try one of the hot items, a vegetarian flatbread, or the mezze bar. You might also pick up something prepared from the bottom of the refrigerated case and heat it up at home -- that would solve the long wait problem.
Tips for slightly freezerburned chicken
If you're doing a Mexicanish thing, I would just braise it whole in the sauce -- I think chopping it up or trying to brown it would make it tougher, and you probably want it to be tender and to soak up the flavor of the sauce. Also, if you have time, the slow cooker could be your friend here.
12 Hours in Boston!
Great suggestions, and just a logistical tip -- Boston is very walkable and you can easily walk from the Aquarium area, to Faneuil Hall/Quincy Market (a tourist destination, but not a chow destination unless you want to stop by Durgin Park for some very New Englandy Indian Pudding), through the Rose F. Kennedy Greenway to the North End for Italian and seafood. If you want a snack along the way, you'll find some food trucks on the Greenway.
But you'll love it the way I cook it!
You know what else that works well with?
Zucchini!
Grilling too.
please join my I HATE MAYO CLUB..LOL.. anyone welcome..even if you like it rop
I am with you. Something about that creamy, greasy, off-white stuff... the smell... the texture...
I have learned to tolerate it in small doses, but I'm not all the way there yet.
An egg salad sandwich is repulsive to me.
Thanks for letting me reveal my secret shame.
BOSTON'S WATERFRONT
I agree with MC Slim JB's assessment -- I don't think there's anything great around here. For fairly casual sit-down places that are less expensive than the noes you mentioned, you could try Legal Test Kitchen, Lucky's, Papagayo, or Channel Cafe. If you want something nicer, I think Sportello is your best bet.
Moksa - Tender, Spicy, Meaty
I was there the other day. I had vegetable dumplings, which were bland and didn't taste that much different than frozen, except for the delicate wrapper. Also the beef shin with hand pulled noodles. The beef was a little tough. Thinly sliced cucumbers added a nice crunch.
It was fine, but I wasn't that excited about it.
Belmont/Watertown lunch
Stone Hearth Pizza in Belmont Center or Amarin (Thai) in Newton Corner, very close to Watertown Square, both have good food and are comfortable places to spend some time. Vicki Lee's in Cushing Square (Belmont) is a nice place for a casual lunch but I'm not sure how crowded it will be -- it may not be the best place to linger. Jasmine, Shiraz, and Red Lentil, all in the same neighborhood in Watertown, may also be good choices. Jasmine doesn't have the greatest atmosphere and Shiraz can feel very empty, but you can definitely linger at either one.
Skinny Pigs??
Is it possible that baking renders less fat than cooking on the stove? Whether I'm frying up supermarket bacon or fancy artisan bacon, I would expect to get 2 tablespoons of fat from just a few slices.
Donuts with pastry cream?
Flour has donuts on Sundays that are filled with pastry cream (but not savory and salty).
Ultra-pasteurized milk is VILE!
I think it has a more "cooked" taste that some people like, but others don't. Personally, I like it, but have never tasted raw milk so I probably don't know what I'm missing.
Dried peach recipes?
I have about half a pound of dried peaches. They're much chewier than dried apricots, so rather than just eating them I was thinking of baking something with them. Any ideas/recipes? Should I reconstitute with water before using them? I'm thinking of something more like a muffin or tart, rather than a compote or chutney, but I'm open to ideas.
Can You Recall A Taste?
Of course! That's why I try not to think about what I'm going to eat if we haven't decided where to go for dinner yet -- if I start thinking about Indian food, then Italian food will just taste wrong, and vice versa. Sooeygun, this post made me think the same thing. My guess is that every CH has a taste memory, and maybe people who don't care about food don't.
Special occasion fine dining - with a baby - Cambridge
Actually, I was going to suggest Hungry Mother. It's been a few years since I've been there, so my information may be old, but I recall them being very baby-friendly if you get there right when they open at 5 p.m. and call in advance to let them know.
Did Your Mom Repeatedly Cook a Dish You Despised?
The burnt garlic sounds terrible! I too am Indian and grew up wishing for meatloaf and tuna noodle casserole. My mom to this day makes me eat bitter melon, saying, "Try it, you'll like it!" as if I haven't tried it literally hundreds of time before and, nope, still don't like it.
I wonder what my kids will say about my cooking...
Summer Shack - Sunday night with kids
Cambridge. I'm not sure if other locations have the same deal.
Summer Shack - Sunday night with kids
I had heard Summer Shack has a family night on Sundays, with a balloon animal guy and a free make-your-own sundae bar for kids. With our 1-year old and picky 5-year old in tow, we got there right at 5 p.m. and the place was nearly full.
We had a great time. What I liked about it:
- Kids' menu had lots of inexpensive choices, and there are also plenty of kid-friendly items on the regular menu
- Adult menu also has inexpensive choices, including sandwiches that are around $12, in addition to the entrees that are more like $20-30
- Room to wander around a little -- a lot of little kids were looking at the lobster tank, and the waiting area was large enough that I could walk around with the baby without getting in the way of the waitstaff
- Food came out quickly
- Balloon animals and sundaes, how can you go wrong?
The food wasn't amazing. My husband said his scallops were a little overdone, my Cobb salad was full of cabbage where you would expect lettuce, and the cinnamon bread pudding was so eggy and custardy that the taste and texture were closer to rice pudding. We liked everything okay, but we wouldn't rush back there by ourselves. But with the kids? We will definitely be back. There aren't too many places around that can accommodate energetic young children and have food that we like too. And we'll be back right at 5 again, because by the time we left at 6:20, the waiting area was full and more families were coming in.
Eater.com's 38 Essential Boston Restaurants
OK, I'm ready to bicker and argue!
First of all, I agree with you that I'd be happy to eat at any of the places on this list (with the exception of Menton, unless someone else foots the bill). And I'm psyched that my neighborhood restaurant Strip-T's now ranks #1 on the list of Essential Restaurants.
Just a few quibbles:
1. With only a few exceptions, most of the places on this list are pretty upscale.
2. Ten Tables AND Ten Tables Cambridge made the list? Do we have so few good restaurants that essentially the same place made the list twice?
Great old school pizza and arancini at Galleria Umberto
Aha! Maybe that's why I never understood the Umberto pizza love. Next time I'll have to look for a "wet" slice!
Boston's best for cheap
Galleria Umberto! You can't get cheaper than that, and it's totally accessible while still having some items he's probably never tried (arancini).
Strip T's increasing funkiness
We got takeout from there last night. (I said this upthread, but as a mom of young kids, I LOVE that they still do takeout even though their menu is all fancy now! Especially because their menu is all fancy now!) Bass with red curry sauce was excellent -- the side of cubed winter squash, mussels out of their shells, and crispy noodles provided a great texture contrast and the noodles soaked up the sauce nicely. Our favorite, surprisingly, was the sauteed kale. I got that in an effort to be healthy, but it was delicious -- it somehow managed to be a little crunchy and juicy. Lightly sweet, in a sauce that tasted vaguely Japanese -- maybe it had dashi in it? With the Strip-T's burger and a side of grits, it was a great Valentine's Day meal, and we got to have it at home after the kids went to bed.
Best Pizza in Metrowest! Very family friendly.
Stella's is our go-to neighborhood place and we're happy with it, but as a fellow NY-er it does not trigger any pizza nostalgia.
Egg Cream (??)
In the same neighborhood, Deluxe Town Diner has them... not quite Boston, though.
Trader Joe's Yea/Nay Thread - 1st quarter 2012 [old]
I like the masala dosa, although I agree the cooking instructions are off. About a minute in the microwave followed by about 8 minutes per side on the stove top works for me.
The macaron aux framboises is good too -- sweet, creamy, but with a nice tart pop from the raspberries. Much better if you let it thaw all the way.
WHA??? What is this weird thing that happened inside of my cake?
Just to provide a data point, I've made that cake (with grapefruit) and I never sift or measure carefully because I am a lazy baker. :) (Although if by not sifting you mean you didn't mix the dry ingredients together at all, resulting in a mass of baking soda at the bottom of the pan, that seems like a likely explanation to me -- baking soda + acid = fizz.)
What Is All-Purpose Flour Good For?
+1 to chowser.
Cake flour = tender, low protein
Bread flour = chewy, high protein
AP flour = medium texture and protein. All the things chowser listed fall into this category.
Cheesecake in and around Cambridge
Cheesecake Factory was my first thought too... I didn't bother to post it. :)
But! I have seen zwieback at Whole Foods. So that might save you some time when making your own.
New South Indian in Union Sq: Dosa Temple
We tried the buffet too -- yum! We went lateish, around 2 p.m., and they were still refilling the steam tables regularly. My favorite was the idli, which I ate with rasam. We were surprised when, after we thought we were done, they brought two small dosas to our table. The table next to us had pyramid-shaped dosas, which my husband speculated was the "Dosa Temple".
Farmer seeking ideas for a CIDER DONUT SUNDAE
Vanilla ice cream, cooked apples (like apple pie filling) and caramel sauce, whipped cream on top. I would have nuts as an option that can easily be left out, since so many kids are allergic to nuts.
Jeni's Vanilla Cedar Wood Ice Cream
Yes, I've tried Jeni's ice creams. They're very good, although I don't know if they're worth the non-local price tag. You got one that was supposed to taste like wood. What did you expect?
