astrid's Profile
Greenway Names Dozen Vendors for 2011 (Food Trucks/Carts)
There is now a lobster roll truck! http://www.lobstalove.net/
East Cost CH needs greatest hits, only-in-LA Recs
I think I will update this post each time I visit LA. This time, I got to experience the following yumminess:
- fried chicken sandwich with pickled green tomatoes and mayo on a toasted bun; burrata with melon and mint at Canele in Atwater Village
- shortribs bbq; pancake with shrimps and scallion at Park's BBQ in Koreatown
- scoops of each of ginger snap ricotta and chocolate orange gelato at Pazzo Gelato in Silver Lake
- sweet corn tamales, golden raspeberries, heirloom tomatoes, smoked cheddar and cold-brewed coffee at Cafe Organico's stand at the Hollywood farmer's market
- vegetarian platter, plus Gored Gored (beef) and Yebeg Siga Alitcha (lamb) at Messob on South Fairfax
- a ridiculous combination of flavors at Yogurtland in Hollywood
- Monday night supper at Little Dom's in Los Feliz (mushroom crostini; brisket and garlic potoatoes; chocolate sorbet)
All in all, another satisfying visit. Y'all don't KNOW how lucky you are. Till next time.
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Canele
3219 Glendale Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90039
Little Dom's
2128 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Greenway Names Dozen Vendors for 2011 (Food Trucks/Carts)
I am not in the lobster business either, but it is absolutely my opinion that a truck specializing in lobster rolls would do very well on the Greenway. Food trucks are hot right now, lobster rolls are a regional specialty that tourists hone in on, lobster rolls have also received an inordinate amount of food media attention over the last few years, and the Greenway is smack in the middle of the tourist thoroughfare.
Greenway Names Dozen Vendors for 2011 (Food Trucks/Carts)
"but they seem to be ok with selling lobster/crab rolls" -- and that's her whole point.. they seem to be OK with doing just that and only that.
but the whole point of this conversation is that if they wanted to earn MORE money, the opportunity is there for them to do just that. they could totally capitalize on their brand name recongition and open another cart down the Greenway for those people who don't have the time to walk all the way down to their storefront (and there are plenty of officeworkers who don't have such time).
as you say, "they run the biz to maximize their profits". if they don't want to rake in more profits, the opportunity is certainly ripe for someone else to come in and establish themselves with a cart or truck. Witness what happened in NY -- start up lobster roll purveyors with little to no overhead have overrun the market and established their own name recognition. I know it hasn't happened yet... but it certainly could.
http://nymag.com/guides/summer/2010/66749/
Bon Me Food Truck
I have a complaint. They need to rethink their tofu preparation -- the tofu is too soft and the pieces are too small. By the time I've carried my sandwich back to the office, more than half the tofu has slipped out of the sandiwch and is piling up in a messy heap at the bottom of the bag. This is a problem because (i) of the mess and (ii) it takes away from the taste of the sandwich. This could be fixed if the pieces were larger (and in order for this to happen, the tofu must be firmer). Ba Le addresses the tofu problem by using large chunks of cold fried tofu, which do not have the flavor of having been sauteed with shiitakes but never fall out of the sandwich and have a pleasing texture. Someone needs to fix this problem.
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Ba Le Cafe
1449 Dorchester Avenue, Boston, MA
North End!!!
Despite this being an old thread, I must agree that Antico Forno is mediocre and they DO NOT honor reservations.
See below for my experience.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/756988
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Antico Forno
93 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02113
Thoughts on KO Pies/Catering
They are open on weekends... I think they just close before the dinner hour. I was there at closing (4pm) a few Sundays ago and didn't get a dried out pie.
Thoughts on KO Pies/Catering
Would love to hear other chowhound opinions on KO Pies/Catering in South Boston.
So far I have sampled the Classic, the Irish Beef Stew and the Curry Vegetable pies... all were filling and very tasty. I wish the bottom had been a little crustier, but overall the crust was flaky and buttery. Also tried the chick pea salad (really, just a salad with some chick peas thrown over it, but the lettuce was all romaine and fresh) and the garlic mash (SUPER garlicky). Also bought a package of TimTams (not to my taste, but they didn't make them).
Thoughts, either from real Aussies or those who have sampled the real thing, or from those who have no experience but still enjoyed the food?
The people running this place seem very nice. Anyone have anymore info about them?
Also, I really, really wish they would park their truck on City Hall plaza, or nearby in the Financial District (Kilby or Broad or some other street).
Cheap eats in Boston around tourist locations (Freedom Trail,Aquarium,Science Museum,etc)
Clover has several trucks. One is on City Hall Plaza and another is in the Greenway by South Station.
Apparently there are supposed to be 17 more food trucks on the Greenway this summer but who knows.
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City Hall Cafe
695 Main St, Fitchburg, MA 01420
Cheap eats in Boston around tourist locations (Freedom Trail,Aquarium,Science Museum,etc)
I think No Name is "average" but not at all bad -- most food in Boston is average! For seafood it is absolutely fine -- nothing fancy, just fresh fried seafood. It's also arguably a Boston experience, because you have to wander through the isolated Seaport loading docks to find it. It is sit down -- go up to the second floor and get a battered wooden table and a pint. I don't think Kelly's is that much better quality.
A caveat about my recommendations above - Cafe Latino, Al's State Street and the food trucks are mostly weekday lunch places because they serve the local office crowd. Probably won't find them open on the weekends or for supper.
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Al's State Street Cafe
110 State St, Boston, MA 02109
No Name Restaurant
151-2 Fish Pier, Boston, MA 02210
Cafe Latino
2 Center Plz, Boston, MA 02108
Cheap eats in Boston around tourist locations (Freedom Trail,Aquarium,Science Museum,etc)
Definitely try the food trucks on City Hall plaza -- they will not set you back more than $10. Clover is entirely veggie, while Bon Me is modified Vietnamese and Momogoose is a hodgepodge of Asian offering. All are reasonably fresh-tasting and a good lunch options.
In Chinatown, you can get more authentic banh mi ($3-4) or fried spring rolls ($1 or so each) at 163 Vietnamese sandwiches.
In South Boston, I recommend KO Pies -- Australian meat pies -- about $6 apiece and very filling. These are delicious and just two blocks from the Broadway T stop. A tiny place with little room to sit, but some interesting offerings.
Cafe Latino is tucked away underneath the 2 Center Plaza (a/k/a "the round building") that faces Government Center. You can get an enormous, tasty cubano for about $6. It's nothing more than a lunch counter and there's no place to sit, but if it's a nice weekday, grab a filling lunch and sit out on the plaza.
Also on weekdays, you can get a bargain sub sandwich at Al's State Street Cafe -- I'm partial to the prosciutto and mozzarella -- with chips and a soda, for $7.50.
For seafood, if you can find the No Name Restaurant tucked away in the Seaport district, the portions are enormous -- so you could split a plate of fried fresh seafood and be filled up.
Finally, also in the Seaport, check out Harpoon Brewery's "tours" -- it's really nothing more than 40 minutes of free beer (or maybe $5 -- can't recall) in their tasting room.
Enjoy!
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Al's State Street Cafe
110 State St, Boston, MA 02109
Harpoon Brewery
306 Northern Ave, Boston, MA
No Name Restaurant
151-2 Fish Pier, Boston, MA 02210
Cafe Latino
2 Center Plz, Boston, MA 02108
Bon Me
Mobile truck; no formal address, Boston, MA
Best bakeries in Boston area?
I love Massis Bakery (Armenian) in Watertown -- particularly their spinach feta bouregs. I'm not a baklava expert, but if you are in the area, there are a number of places to sample the wares within blocks of each other, though I don't know if they all make their own. Massis, Arax, Sevan and Eastern Lahmejun. Also check out Sofra, which is a traditional bakery with turkish flavors -- the flavor combos don't all work, but it's pretty interesting stuff.
Flour (not "Clear Flour") is the popular choice -- they have a PR machine so they always make "Best of Boston"-type lists. Their stuff is pretty good, but not mind-blowing.
Also, I LOVE Canto 6. I think I have lost 5 lbs since moving away from living around the corner from it.
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Sofra
1 Belmont St, Cambridge, MA 02138
Massis Bakery
569 Mt Auburn St, Watertown, MA 02472
First trip to Boston!!!
The food in Portland is much better than in Boston! Check out Duckfat, Atlantic Baking Co., or Nosh. By the water go either Gilbert's Chowder House or the Port Hole.
Best Hot Pot?
Me too. Was not impressed by Hot Pot Buffet -- the Q has much better ingredients.
"No Reservations - Boston" premiere on Monday 4/18
Are you all serious with these questions? Milton and Quincy are separate towns -- they are not part of Boston. Milton borders the Lower Mills section of Boston but is not IN Lower Boston. Mattapan is a village that borders Milton but is part of Boston and is adjacent to Dorchester.
Greenway Names Dozen Vendors for 2011 (Food Trucks/Carts)
Bon Me has been joined by Momogoose -- both are Asian. Haven't had Bon Me yet -- I always get sidetracked by Clover but after my third straight undercooked falafel, I think I may be done with them. My veggie friend raves about the Bon Me sandwich, which I can tell just by looking at is not made on a traditional crunchy vietnamese baguette (rather, a sub roll). However, doesn't mean it's not tasty.
Momogoose is a hodgepodge of Asian take-out -- Thai salads, bulgogi, BBQ tofu, beef ramen. Very cheap and a decent lunch option for the area. They do have something that resembles an egg roll ($1.50).
Regarding Korean tacos, there's a killer truck in NYC doing it better than Kogi (I've eaten at both) -- check out Korilla BBQ next time you go down there. Yes, someone could do one here... but someone would have to be motivated to do so.
I would love a straight-up Mexican taco truck.
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Bon Me
Mobile truck; no formal address, Boston, MA
Savin Bar & Kitchen
Why not? I live in the neighborhood and I am a customer. I am entitled to my opinions about what works and in this case, I think I was right.
Gourmet Donuts
The one time I went the service was totally spaced out. I almost lept across the counter and poured myself a drink.
That said, I enjoyed my dark chocolate glazed donut with cocoa nibs. Donut itself was rather regular but I enjoyed the topping. Best was the dark chocolate and date bar, though!
Savin Bar & Kitchen
Interesting. It looks like they've had direct comments on FB regarding their menu offerings being too fancy/fussy/not tasty. I wouldn't write the chef change off as being a devolution into "some kind of ordinary Sysco-driven pub" -- there are good pubs out there with simple comfort food and better-than-average quality ingredients. We'll see what they come up with.
I think they were just all over the place and not really thinking about what people in the neighborhood want to eat on a daily basis. I feel sort of vindicated in my analysis from last fall: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/728674
Savin Bar & Kitchen
I think they read this board -- at least one time I commented on Savin Hill Scoop (same owners) and the person who runs it responded right away. For the record, I commented on their FB post regarding the spelling. I think a few days later they posted something else about offering calamari with "remesco sauce".
Regardless of how hard they are trying (and I don't doubt that they are), I think the comments about the spelling is absolutely fair.
Savin Bar & Kitchen
I don"t know but I agree. How do they expect to be taken seriously as knowledgeable about food when they can't spell the dishes? They recently posted something on Facebook about offering "steak freites".
Savin Bar & Kitchen
I have had take-out from SHK and eaten dinner there once. The take-out consisted of pork belly cracklins, which were a bit overcooked (something might have been lost in transit) and had a tasty caramel-like sauce. The confit tomato pizza was dreadful -- the tomatoes were ridiculously salty and served in too large a portion (they appeared to be whole plum tomatoes, which are impossible to take a bite of without the whole tomato sliding off into your mouth), the arugula appeared to have been baked WITH the pizza (and was therefore bitter and papery), instead of added on top, and the parmigiano reggiano had no taste. The crust was puffy and doughy and bland. Did not like.
The second time I went for dinner, I had the roast beet and mango salad, which was fresh-tasting and absolutely fine for what it was. I enjoyed it. I also had the sausage and oyster roast, which featured a lovely, garlicky homemade sausage, served on a cutting board with the roast oysters and some mustard. I really liked this dish. Something weird -- the cutting board looked old and warped, which struck me as odd since they haven't been open very long. Did they buy it used? Did someone mistakenly put it through the dishwasher? My husband had a burger, which he said was pretty decent.
I think they are still working out their kinks -- I suspect they are also seeing what people are willing to pay for too. I live nearby so I'm sure I'll go back and try different things.
Korilla BBQ - Ribeye of the Tiger Burrito - WOOT
I was pleased to discover the Korilla BBQ truck was parked just two blocks from the NY office of my firm today! I am just unnaturally interested in adapting/fusing comfort foods of different cultures in the name of drop-dead eye-rolling tastiness, so I was psyched to try it. I sampled a few things at Kogi in LA and while I enjoyed it, I didn't think it was the last word on Korean-Mexican fusion. The first (widely known) word maybe ... but I definitely saw room for improvement.
But Korilla is not Kogi. It's got its own style and I was impressed.
I had read no reviews of this place, so I just picked off the menu based on what other patrons seemed to be ordering. I went for the Ribeye of the Tiger burrito ($7) because watching them pull pile after juicy pile of angus beef out of their prep tray pretty much had me drooling. They are very accommodating about customization (the menu encourages substitutions) and asked if I wanted nearly every ingredient in my burrito.
Here's the combo I picked
- Ribeye - DELICIOUS, juicy, moist, chopped in to thin slices
- Bacon kimchi fried rice - $1 extra (compared with sticky rice) but TOTALLY worth it. The rice is moist, fatty and savory. MMMMMMM. I don't think this would have been nearly as tasty with plain sticky rice (maybe even too gummy)
- red kimchi and salsa - two distinctly different condiments, both imparting crunch and tart
- korilla sauce, which according to their menu is garlic aioli with something red (hot sauce? pureed kimchi?)
- korean "hot sauce" (not that hot; I think this was the standard stuff you get on the table at sitdown Korean joints)
- shredded carrots (not sure if this was part of the standard item, but they were happy to give it to me when I asked).
- scallions
Apparently there was red leaf lettuce in there too (per the website) but I didn't detect any. Not that I was looking for or missing it! I declined the shredded monterey cheese (which is apparently standard) because the idea of cheese and kimchi was incongruous to me. I don't regret my choice, but would be interested to hear if anyone has tried both and thought it was better WITH cheese. No choice in tortilla -- it's a big flour one, like the ones you get at Chipotle. Not sure if the taco option (3 for $7) is corn or flour.
This giant burrito was, in a word: DELICIOUS. The aioli got a little melty and mingled with the steak juices, and the resulting silky, meaty sauce coated the already meaty rice and the crunchy tart bits of salsa and kimchi like a curry. The resulting sauce was finger-licking and I almost never use that phrase. The rice was filling but not filler -- it held its own and comforted in that way that only that a porky fried rice can. Carrots (texture) and scallions (bite) also lent to the overall meal. I shouldn't have eaten the whole thing but I couldn't help myself because the flavor was so good. The flour tortilla held up admirably (not sure how a corn tortilla would have fared) till the end (though I was rushing to make sure it didn't fall apart).
One note -- it was almost a little too drippy. The server drained my burrito a little bit before wrapping it up; if you sense you might have the same trouble, ask that they drain it.
Bottom line -- worth a wait in line.
NYC Chowhound - Places to eat in the South End? Standout Homestyle places in North End?
Agree re: Orinoco -- a fun favorite.
NYC Chowhound - Places to eat in the South End? Standout Homestyle places in North End?
But not really a "MUST" if you have been to a raw bar in New York and/or Pearl Oyster Bar.
Silk Road BBQ??
I have only found one substantive review of this place on the Boston board and it has been open for months. Anyone care to offer any their thoughts on this place? I am particularly interested in the lamb. Would love to hear any thoughts before venturing out on to the windy Greenway tomorrow.
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Silk Road BBQ
Rowes Wharf Plaza, Boston, MA 02110
East Cost CH needs greatest hits, only-in-LA Recs
Went back for another round last week (man, that 80 degree weather is SOMETHING compared to all the snow we've had dumped on us in Boston). Still love eating in LA and can't wait for my next trip.
Some highlights:
- savory, buttery, crumbly bacon and gruyere scone at Square One on Fountain (served with a fruit bowl)
- sublime albacore tuna sushi at Sugarfish in Santa Monica
- prosciutto, mozarella and balsamic on baguette at Larchmont Village Wine & Cheese
- a tart Moscow Mule and salty, crispy fries at The Tar Pit's Gilded Hour
- fried chicken sliders and a lovely cucumber line cocktail at Tart (Farmer's Daughter Hotel on Fairfax)
- BL(A)T at the Mustard Seed Cafe on Hillhurst in Los Feliz
- spicy chocolate gelato at the Gelato Place in Los Feliz
- fried beef and pickles taco at Malo in Silverlake
- powerful, milky latte at LA Mill in Silverlake
- non-dairy strawberry balsamic gelato at Scoops in East Hollywood (actually, this place was only OK)
- take-out "Angel Wings" from the Thai Palms in Hollywood
- ridiculous, enormous slice of seven layer chocolate cake at Sweet Lady Jane in West Hollywood
Once again, we enjoyed sweet corn tamales for breakfast at the Santa Monica farmers market and an In and Out burger.
The supreme highlight of the trip was Feng Mao Mutton Kebab -- man, was this place worth the wait! In addition to devouring the succulent lamb, we feasted on beef, chicken and quail kebabs and quaffed numerous Hites. Also found the eggplant with garlic sauce to be ethereal - crispy edges with just a touch of sweetness, meltingly soft eggplant and a touch of chili. I loved all the ban chan that came out before hand too -- we ate EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. I am supremely jealous that my city does not have a Feng Mao Mutton Kebab.
Which brings me to the lowlight of the trip... Animal. I had booked this in advance for my sibling's birthday and we were both supremely excited -- but ultimately disappointed. While Animal is undoubtedly experimenting with some interesting ideas and high-quality ingredients, what we ate was either unimpressive or too weird to be tasty. Our meal:
> foie gras terrine, pickled crab apple, black pepper - this was the best dish we got. No quibbles with the terrrine -- absolutely adored the gelatinous crumble of something that was scattered on it. Tasted like Christmas! Sugarplums or wine or something... menu description was not helpful; wish I had asked the waitstaff what it was.
> hamachi tostada, herbs, fish sauce vinaigrette, peanut - while this was tasty and had great texture, I was not impressed because it struck me as a copy of a Thai salad, stacked on top of an expensive piece of fish. It works and it's tasty... but the flavor profile was Southeast Asian to a T, and nothing new.
> barbeque pork belly sandwiches with slaw - not impressed with these; while the pork belly was well-prepared (meltingly fatty), the sloppy, vinegary slaw overpowered the porkbelly, rather than complimented it. A plus here was the perfect, buttery brioche-y bun.
> cavatelli, lamb sausage, pecorino, pea tendrils, crouton - the cheese was WAY too strong here, and we could barely taste the lamb. Like mac and cheese gone wrong.
> our last dish was some kind of broccolini with cheese, pancetta and chili flakes. It was sweet, watery, oily and the flavors just didn't go together-- utterly a mess. Like something you would try to make out of whatever you had left in your fridge.
We skipped dessert because at that point we had become wary of the combinations they were putting together. The best part of the meal? The $20 bottle of house red that was quite drinkable. Other than that, we just weren't feeling it -- there's probably some good stuff going on there, but we clearly didn't get to eat it. .Maybe I ordered wrong, or maybe I'm missing something, but I don't think I would go there again.
I also had a disgusting cucumber martini at Lola's martini bar on Fairfax, but that likely doesn't merit much discussion. Neither did Rouen Pair or Tacos Por Favor... but not every meal can be great.
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Malo
4326 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90029
Larchmont Village Wine
223 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
Feng Mao Mutton Kebab
3901 W Olympic Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Mustard Seed Cafe
1948 Hillhurst Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90027
The Tar Pit
609 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036
Seriously, CHers... Antico Forno?
Ugh, please. I do not expect to be fawned over, nor do I expect them to know it's my first time there. I just expect reservations to be honored and not to be outright ignored by a bartender. I'm born and raised here in New England, I've eaten in plenty of Italian restaurants and I don't expect kid glove treatment. I do expect common courtesy.
I get it -- some of you think I am whining about this restaurant, that I somehow have unrealistic expectations, that I don't know how to use Chowhound, that I don't spend enough time "cultivating" the opinions of those users whose opinions I value. With my original post, I was merely questioning why the place had been recommended at all, since I had had such a poor experience on all fronts (food (including oven-baked pasta), service, overall treatment). I got some useful information in response and some grief.
Seriously, CHers... Antico Forno?
Well, none of the CHers recommending Antico Forno in the numerous "best of North End" threads I found in my search qualified their recommendations with any of these "lunch time only" or "brick oven baked only" or "forget about reservations" caveats. I disagree that uncovering it in five out of eight threads on the North End means that it "hardly gets universal acclaim" -- it clearly gets some. I guess I am disappointed to find out about these qualifications post-dining experience (and over $100 later).
For the record, we DID order baked pasta out of the oven and it tasted exactly like the non-baked pasta -- bland and no discernable resemblance to the menu description.
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Antico Forno
93 Salem Street, Boston, MA 02113
