gourmaniac's Recent Activity
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Desperately seeking cheap Mexican *in* Boston...that's not Anna's etc.
Trujillo on East Berkeley near Harrison in the South End is cheap and cheerful and has seating but not a destination.
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Just Curious - Turkey Prices Paid
Not doing the bird this year but if you want cheapest I've heard, Roche Bros has JennyO frozen turkeys for 39 cents a pound. Frightening!
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Fried Chicken Tonight in Boston!
Glad you enjoyed it. I think SF chicken has a nice combination of spicing crispness and juiciness of meat. How much was the all you can eat wings?
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Fried Chicken Tonight in Boston!
I haven't tried this. I thought that the wing I had was excellent but even the breast which is usually dry was pretty good.
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Fried Chicken Tonight in Boston!
I tried Soulfire the other for fried chicken and was very pleased with the quality and price. You might want to a fried chicken crawl since Privus and theri excellent bon ton chicken is close by. I like Peach Farm but fried chicken isn't really a strength unless you mean the cantonese Ja Ji Gai. Their chicken wings are pretty good though. I haven;t tried Trinas yet and can't recommend Coast Cafe which gets praise here.
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Chowtrip to TO: Carousel, Mothers Dumplings, Bocce, Matahari Grill, Tiny Toms,Takebashi
I would agree with this. Good ramen is really wonderful. The beef noodle soup had more of a chewy korean style noodle. RE Carousel,they were definitely not made to order. less peameal bacon and a fried egg sounds nicer than what i had. Also noticed in this weeks New Yorker that Calvin Trillin (my hero) mentions the blue chip truck in his article on poutine.
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Chowtrip to TO: Carousel, Mothers Dumplings, Bocce, Matahari Grill, Tiny Toms,Takebashi
Nostalgia is a harsh mistress. There are other places at St Lawrence Market now that have peameal sandwiches. Is Carousel the best or are they all about the same?
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Chowtrip to TO: Carousel, Mothers Dumplings, Bocce, Matahari Grill, Tiny Toms,Takebashi
I had the good fortune to be back in my hometown that I left 30 years ago. The back bacon on a bun at Carousel Bakery (St Lawrence Market) was a disappointment. Nice soft roll but the bacon while generous in amount was kind of bland and the texture seems more processed than i remember. I stopped also at the Blue Chip truck at City Hall and got the special hot dog and french fries (gravy always free). FF and gravy was marvelous as always but the hot dog was mediocre and wished I'd saved room for one of the carts further up University. Dinner was a Mothers Dumplings (Huron and Spadina) and this was a treat. I had Xiao long biao, scallion pancake and these were so good I ordered an order of boiled shrimp, egg chive and pork dumplings though i was already quite full. Its so nice to have the dumplings made to order with housemade wrappers. I think this place compares favorably to dumpling houses in Taipei and Busan (though not quite that good) and better than anything I've had in the US. Tried a couple of places the next day on Baldwin: Bocce for fettucine with lamb ragu and Matahari Grill for sea bass siracha and mango sorbet with fruit. Both places were fine but not special. That said, the abundance and diversity of good places on Baldwin is impressive. Based on reports here I tried the first Tiny Toms retail store on Woodbine at Dension, which opened last Monday. It was definitely a nostalgic taste of childhood spent at the CNE and lived up to those memories. The dozen bags are $3.50 but there are two for one coupons available online. Also, two new flavors since I was young: Chocolate sugar and apple cinnamon sugar but i'm still a sucker for plain icing sugar melting into the fresh hot fat coated morsels. Lastly Takebashi is a noodle place in Richmond Hill (Highway 7) that is servicable but tries to do too many things. One real ramen place (think Tampopo) would be terrific but haven't found this outside of Asia. Nice to see the pan-Asian diversity in these malls now with Korean, Vietnamese, and Northern Chinese places augmenting the wonderful Cantonese restaurants here. Overall good eating and I always feel blessed to visit your fair city.
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Local lamb?
I stopped using the Stillman's meat CSA but thought that their lamb was very good. I usually get mine from Tony's Meat market in Roslindale Village (Washington Street). Tony is an italian butcher and been in business since the 60s. Excellent meat mid-priceed and beautifully butchered.
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Onigiri in Boston?
confirmed the Japanese Village sighting. They cost about $1.50 and are pretty good.
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Toronto Foodies coming to Boston - Recs please
In general I would agree with you and enjoy it myself, but coming from Toronto, BLR wouldn't be close for Cantonese/Fukien. I recall that there were 600 chinese restaurants in the mid90s and many more since and entire suburban malls that are Chinese.
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Is Eastern Standard's Food Suffering?
definitely agree which is so disappointing because I loved this place. I have taken two groups of out of town friends in the last year and things have gotten progressively worse. passable is dead on. Marc Suarez has moved to Bon Savor in JP.
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Toronto Foodies coming to Boston - Recs please
Welcome to Boston. Let me tag onto Matt's post as a fellow TO expat. You will be close to the North End. I think Toronto is generally better for Italian, but it's a fun neighborhood. i second Neptune Oyster and would add Maria's pastry for the lobster tail or sfoliatelle and the original Pizzeria Regina (ask for well done). Try these off hours if you can. Downtown/State House, Number 9 Park, Grotto and Beacon Hill Bistro are all. Would not suggest Cantonese while here but a couple of other typese of Chinese might interest you (Fuloon Shanghai Gate, Jo Jo Taipei). Portuguese/Brazilian is a strength compared to TO and Cambridge has a couple of good places (Muqueca, Atasca).
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Duozo, or Shiki, or .....?
I would vote for Shiki. Haven't been to Douzo but others I trust rate it as a very good mid-priced sushi place. Shiki is quite special for Boston in that it offers Kaiseki-like items in the same price range. In the 3-4 times I've been there there has always been something special and unexpected that I've only had in Japan. Their sushi is also fine if that is appealing to your son. I have also never had rude service there.
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Boston to Italy, Farewell
You've been a nice contributor and will be missed. Enjoy Parma and all that it has to offer (beyond ham and cheese). I haven't been in many years but recall that they were not so strong there in ethnic cuisines especially Asian. That's probably changed but your diverse culinary interests could help promote growth in that area. Even better, please return and bring back to us excellent Italian cuisine. Good luck with the new career!
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Anniversary at Oleana. Tasting menu or regular menu?
I was there for the first time last week and enjoyed it very much. The best things I tried withe the sultan's delight (with braised short rib instead of lamb), the fried gigante beans with celery root puree and shaved celery, and the duck breast with cauliflower casserole in a pita crust.
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Money is No Object: ISO Foodie "idea" for Boston area
Lucky you. For these criteria, O Ya would be my recommendation. Perhaps a call in to the chef and sake sommelier in advance to arrange an over the top meal.
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Jamaica Plain Brunch
Vee Vee on Centre Street has received nice praise for their brunch and they appear very busy. I haven't had their brunch but have enjoyed their dinners.
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Chinatown Eatery - Relocations?
Agreed. That and their dry fried beef chow fun are my usual lunch takeout from them.
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Chinatown Eatery - Relocations?
Also Royal Pacific has reopened on Tyler south of Kneeland. It's one of my favorites.
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Oysters + Cherrystones + Martinis
A couple of their martinis and I can't stand at all :) . RE OP, Eastern standard is still fine for drinks and they do have oysters and clams. I can't recommend the food generally as they have dropped a notch in my opinion since Suarez left.
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Fantastic fresh Uni at Court House Fish in Cambridge
I had a Japanese coworker years ago bring a plate of Uni from Courthouse to a potluck dinner with nonadventurous eaters. they were delicious and he was very proud to bring them but he and I were the only people to partake.
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Fresh Truffles! Run don't walk to Gran Gusto
sounds delicious! Usually it's white truffle in Italy with the best from Piedmont. There is a black truffle that is inexpensive and not very aromatic and the black Perigord truffle from France. Did they specify which?
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Best Roasted Meats Rice Plate in Chinatown
I tried Quic Pic today and thought it was pretty good. I got soy sauce chicken and roast pork (crispy skin). Meat servings were generous especially for $5.25 but the napa cabbage was a little funky. Rice and scallion sauce were tasty. Soup was a nice bonus but no milk tea. As I think about these places the day to day variations in succulence may overrule differences in restaurants and so most of the listed places are almost equivalent. I still give the nod to Wai wai's chicken and Pearl Best Cafe for char siu though
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Best Roasted Meats Rice Plate in Chinatown
Thanks. i'll give it a try. $4.75 including a drink is quite inexpensive. Also on the bargain front, Chinatown cafe will send the ends of the roast pig for a couple of dollars a pound. Not as succulent as a center cut, but tasty nonetheless.
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Best Roasted Meats Rice Plate in Chinatown
Wai wai is still in business (as of a couple of weeks ago). Agree on the lame vegetable but the chicken and duck are really good. I think the place below China Pearl is called Best Cafe (not to be confused with Best Little Restaurant). I've tried Vinh Sun a couple of times and I think it's a notch below for my taste, but others like it alot. Second the BBQplace next to Hei la Moon. The duck is quite good there and a little more generous in size when buying a whole or half duck. I've not tried Quicpic or the little place on Hudson and would be interested in comments.
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Best Roasted Meats Rice Plate in Chinatown
Each place has different strengths. For the trio that you request, I like the Cafe downstairs from China Pearl. For chicken, I think wai wai (on oxford) is the best and I like the roast pig at chinatown cafe on Harrison south of Oak. Hong Kong Eatery is OK at all three but I think that char siu (roast pork) is just OK.
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Good, inexpensive food in JP/Roxbury/Roslindale?
not really . He had just started and was introducing a couple of new entrees (sirloin steak with a demi-glace wine reduction instead of their coffee coated steak). I had baby back ribs which were OK bar food.
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beacon hill bistro or grotto?
Both are excellent. I find Grotto heartier and its Italian. Favorites include the very rich gnocchi with short rib and gorgonzola. BHB a little more sophisticated and the room is prettier if that's important. I think they do a nice job on grilled meats and fish. they are about the same price range
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cake
A short drive (Braintree) but Konditor Meister is the best cake I've had in the area. Prices are reasonable (cakes and prices on line).
