esqdork's Profile
Ferran Adria at Harvard
I expect to lose my job tomorrow (seriously) but I was happy to read this posting despite being even less likely to be able to eat at El Bulli (it made my day better for a few minutes). For me, it's akin to watching the Travel Channel or Food Network about places that I hope to visit one day but cannot right now. Besides, there is a difference between good food that happens to be expensive (truffles) and vulgar and pointlessly expensive food (like a dish with the pointless addition of gold flakes).
So thanks for posting BostonBroad!
Birthday Cake Rec- South End/Back Bay
There are three places in the South End to get baked goods as far as I know: the South End Buttery, Flour and Aroa. Of the three, I don't think that the Buttery does special order cakes but you may want to double-check. While their baked goods are great, the problem with the Buttery is the hit-or-miss nature of the service--sometimes you get great help otherwise you get uninformed and petulent help (me: "What is that pastry?" counter-person: "It's a chocolate-someting, do you want it or not?").
Both Flour and Aroa are fabulous and you can't go wrong with either one.
I know of three bakeries in the Back Bay: the one in the Shaw's supermarket, a cupcake bakery whose name escapes me for the moment but it's on Mass Ave and Finale. Of the three in the Back Bay, Finale is your best bet.
Dewey Square farmer's market terminated
It is a bummer but my understanding is that it was VERY hard to do business there, including the need to feed the parking meters for their trucks.
Roast meats in chinatown
I prefer my roast meats (duck and pork with crispy skin) from rainbow Cafe. Vinh Sun comes in a close second. HKE is a close third but is the one that has it available the latest out of the three--which is appreciated when I'm getting out of work after 7 and Vinh Sun and Rainbow are sold out of roast meat by the pound.
Time for Farmers' Market reports
Government Center is teh one closest to work and opens on the Wednesday (?) after Memorial Day Weekend.
Stillman starts at Copley and Government Center after Memorial Day Weekend. According to Aidan, Stillman is teaming up with some bakers who relocated from San Francisco to Hardwick and will be offering sandwiches filled with meat from Stillman.
Silverbrook Farm was at the South End Open Market this past weekend but all they had were potted plants for now.
I can barely contain my excitement at getting heirlooms again.
dim sum
Winsor Dim Sum Cafe on Beach Street. Which in my opinion is the best dim sum in Boston's Chinatown right now. The place is clean, the food tastes very good, the prices are reasonable and the food comes out at a good pace.
best roasted whole pig (chinese)
You should be getting a suckling pig, otherwise you may have more pork than you know what to do with. I recommend Rainbow Cafe in Chinatown, New Trend Eatery in Allston or Kam Man in Quincy. All three places will roast a pig to order for you and in my experience are very good. All three places charge by the pound.
Buying Ghee Around Brookline/Allston
There's ghee at Foodies Market in the South End. No horseradish (which is what I was looking for) but ghee they've got.
Shabu Shabu help
I've been going to Toki a lot lately. The Shabu-Shabu is Japanese style. The food is super fresh and they also have great grilled skewers (I always get the Kurubota pork with quail egg). They also have good sushi/sashimi and some other cooked items (which I haven't tried yet). I also like Kaze in Chinatown, but that's more Chinese-style Shabu. P.S. Dice-K was eating at Toki last Sunday and the staff said he was a regular.
Tip-Off: Stillman Farms vs. Stop&Shop Steak Tips
My CSA starts this weekend!! FYI, Stillman's is now doing quarter shares.
Anybody know of a restaurant supply store that sells to the general public?
While we're on the topic. I have a hare-brained scheme to buy a table with a shabu shabu induction burner built in to the table like the ones that Kaze and Toki have and use it as my kitchen dining table. If anyone can point me to where I can buy one AND I can convince the wife to let me pull the trigger, the tipster will be invited for shabu shabu.
Balut in Boston?
I saw baluts at Kam Man in Quincy the last time I was there. There were a couple of teeneagres buying them to scare their pals at school.
Meyers+Chang? What's the Word?
Redline to the Orange Line, get off at New England Medical Center get on a Silver Line BUS heading towards Dudley. Berkeley Street stop lets you off right in front of M + C.
Fine dining options for vegetarians and vegans?
Uni at Clio does what appears to be a great vegan omakase. I didn't actually taste it because it was a couple sitting next to me and I also tend not to discuss food with vegans/vegetarians but that's what they ordered and the chef worked very hard to give them several beautiful items.
XLB, XLB, wherefore are’t thou ‘XLB
The following (in no order of preference) are all in Boston's Chinatown:
1. Wing's Kitchen. Deliciously soupy made and served by the nicest people in Chinatown.
2. Taiwan Cafe. A little larger than I like but does a good job and they serve Taiwanese breakfast on the weekends.
3. Gourmet Dumpling House. The XLB are very good here and there's excellent crab in the XLB with crab. Service, however, is erratic and the tables are way too small.
Someone mentioned Shanghai Gate in Allston which is also tasty. I've also eaten at Shanghai Gate's sister (I think) restaurant and while good, is the restaurant that gave me a hideous MSG headache.
Best Indian lunch buffet
I'm a big fan of the weekend all-you-can-eat brunch at Mela in the South End. The ingredients were high quality and the food was tasty. They also had goat when I was there three weekends ago (I love goat curry especially if you get some bones with marrow). The made-to-order dosas was very good.
Meat Slicer Or Other Method For Slicing Salami?
I received an assortment of Salumi cured meats and salami for Christmas I and am seeking advice regarding whether to buy a meat slicer or electric knife. I am loathe to purchase a single-purpose appliance that retails at a minimum of $100 but the only way to enjoy the lomo is to slice it paper thin. Any ideas? Might I be able to slice the lomo with a mandolin?
Legal's Test Kitchen Any Good??
Plenty of better things close to the ICA, including Eatern Pier (Americanized Chinese food--their fish filet chow fun is good), Lucky's (great sliders and okay pizza) and the Yankee Lobster Pot (great fried seafood). Go to LTK for high prices, mediocre food and loads of attitude from the hostess.
NYC hound visits Via Matta: LONG
That explains why when I ordered the tasting menu in July it was so pathetic--the kitchen were definitely phoning it in that night. The flavors were nice but the items were not at all interesting. Also, and this was the cardinal sin: rather than giving me and my dining companion our own individual plates, we were instead given one plate in each tasting (except for the pasta) which we had to split. This sort of treatment might work for rubes but it was offensive for people who (used to) eat at the M. Schlow restaurants frequently and ordered the tasting menu many times. It was very clear that the kitchen was skimping and did not take any pride in their food.
Where to buy syrups for Italian sodas?
I want to start making my own Italian/French sodas, where can I buy the syrups? Also, can anyone recommend a good soda syphon to purchase? Thanks!
Heirloom Tomatoes at the Farmers Market!
I just ate my first heirloom tomato of the season! It was delicious, sweet with a hint of tart and very meaty. I hit the markets at Gov't Center and at Dewey Square and only Stilman's at Gove't Center had the heirlooms. I also got some ground lamb, ground beef, bacon and shell peas. All looked great.
Anyone been to Domani lately?
Nope. I couldn't do it. I went to Chili Duck instead and ordered the Spicy Golden Egg Salad.
Anyone been to Domani lately?
A few months ago, the SO and I left Domani shortly after being seated because 15 minutes had elapsed with no ETA of when the server would return to take our order. In fairness, the server had gotten sucked into the black hole of drunk suburban diners who couldn't make up their minds at the next table. I was, however, very hungry and miffed that the host kept studiously ignoring our table.
Anyway, I always loved the food that came out of the kitchen and loved the fact that it was a 5 minute walk from my apartment. So now I am conflicted, I want to go out and eat there tonight but I also adhere to the principle that I don't patronize restaurants that are both pricey and have lackluster service. Has anyone eaten there lately? Should I give it another shot?
Wine list at Anthony's Pier 4
Due respect to Mr. Oringer, even if the wine list is good and reasonable (and I'll believe when I see it), the food is still horrendous, popovers notwithstanding.
Best Chinatown restaurant now that New Shanghai is gone?
I'm partial to Wing's Kitchen which has some great Shanghainese dishes. I recommend the jelly noodles with chicken, chicken in wine sauce and steamed tiny buns. Rainbow Cafe is great for Cantonese home-cooking. My favorite is the fried turnip cake and they do excellent BBQ meats. Both places are family-owned and super-nice.
Back Bay--is it hopeless?
I live in the Back Bay, there are some passable, even good places, even if it is not a "go-to" neighborhood:
Indian:
Kashmir has a pretty good all-you-can-eat weekend brunch and Bhindi Bazaar does a pretty good saag.
Chinese:
Wisteria House has a passable weekend Chinese breakfast and their basil chicken is extremely tasty.
Tapas:
Tapeo has good, if expensive, tapas and sangria. Piatinni has some good small plates.
Ice Cream:
There is a J.P. Licks and Emack & Bolio's
Thai:
Chili Duck rocks. I love their mama noodles.
Sushi:
Jaes, Shino Express and Douzo are reliable. Uni is great especially if Chef Chris is still there.
"Fine Dining":
Clio, arm-and-a-leg expensive but good.
Fast Food:
Spikes has great dogs and chicken fingers. Flamers at the Prudential Mall also has great chicken fingers. Also, as much as it shames me to admit it, I love Applebee's riblets.
Steak:
I like Morton's because the service is always good and the steaks are tasty.
Local Strawberries?
The farmers' market at Copley had some last week, they were very tasty, if on the tart side. They were also pricey ($5 for a quart-I think).
Where to buy whole roast pig?
I think Rainbow Cafe in Chinatown and Kam Man in Quincy are great for whole roast pig but call ahead.
