Dr.Jimbob's Profile
Seeking butcheries, seafood, and restaurants near Marshfield
Will be spending a week's vacation in a beach house near Humarock Beach in Marshfield. A quick search on Chowhound's board suggests that I might want to check out Arthur & Pat's for brunch and fried clams/lobster rolls, Oro in Scituate for fine dining. Any other recommendations in the immediate area for butchers (we have a gas grill so I'll probably grill some meat if I can find something decent), fresh seafood shops, or can't miss restaurants and pubs?
(As far as personal tastes: normally a Boston metro denizen, more of a slant towards ethnic eats, generally prefer a good hole in the wall to fancy dining, along the lines of FuLoon, Brookline Family Restaurant, Dali, and the like. Big fan of Russo's, MacKinnon's and wondering if there's anything similar on the South Shore.)
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FuLoon
375 Main St, Malden, MA 02148
Brookline Family Restaurant
305 Washington St, Brookline, MA 02445
Arthur & Pat's Restaurant
239 Ocean St, Marshfield, MA 02050
Julia Child opera
Kenmore Square is two ticks on the Green LIne or less than a half mile walk away. That would open Eastern Standard and Petit Robert Bistro among the high end options and a long list of budget options. A short walk southward will put you on Beacon Street at St. Mary's, where Taberna de Haro and Ginza are also solid options. The options westward on Comm Ave are generally much further to the west than Kenmore and St. Mary's, but would include Sarayi, Jo Jo Taipei, or Sunset if drinking is a major part of the plan.
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Eastern Standard
528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
Ginza
16 Hudson St, Boston, MA 02111
JoJo Tai Pei Restaurant
103 Brighton Ave, Boston, MA 02134
Sichuan Food in Cute Houses - Sichuan Garden 2 and Red Peppers
Since that November post I've been over to try Red Pepper on a takeout run, and confirmed with one of the waiters that 黄喉 is in fact beef larynx. Didn't try it.
Five Favorite Places to Eat Among Frequent/Veteran CH Posters?
OK, not sure if I count as a veteran (looks like my first long review was published in 2006) or frequent (have been pulled away by other things in the past year or two), but I'll bite:
Favorite local places (with newborn twin daughters, this is where I go most of the time; being within a stone's throw of Porter & Davis Squares is awfully nice in this respect):
Qingdao Garden
Redbones
Gargoyle's on the Square
Namaskar
Zing!
Five go-to destination locations:
FuLoon, Malden
Dalí, Camberville (throw brickbats at will, I don't care how much better you think Taberna de Haro etc etc are)
La Voile, Back Bay
Gourmet Dumpling House, Chinatown
Brookline Family Restaurant, Brookline Village
Metrowesters-I need your help!!!
More on Uncle Cheung's please? I've seen the place more than once from across the street at Sichuan Gourmet, but it looks like the kind of place that promises authentic Chinese cookery and delivers the same Chinese-American fare to please the locals that has been on offer for the past four decades. Not that I've walked in to try it myself yet, but I might be game, if it sounds interesting enough.
Oggi's @ Holyoke Center - a surprising burger
Well, no, the first burgers were take-out that I brought home from Gargoyle's and from Bartley's. Though I guess this was the first burger eaten in public ...
Oggi's @ Holyoke Center - a surprising burger
I know I haven't been around much on the group lately -- partly it's been because of extracurricular activities, partly because Mrs.Jimbob gave birth to twin daughters a few weeks ago, so public appearances of any kind have been limited at best. Today, we loaded the girls into a stroller and walked down to Harvard Square. Trying to figure out where we could have lunch with room to park a stroller, I steered us over to Oggi's in the middle of Holyoke Center. I've liked their pizza for years, and sure enough, the big open space was perfect for parking a stroller.
That and a slice of their lovely special mushroom pizza would have been good enough, but I was taken by surprise by their special - Steve's burger and fries for $5.95. I'm going on memory here, but it looked like a respectable 1/3 lb patty, cooked to order to a surprisingly decent medium rare, topped off with bitter greens, a garlicky aioli, slices of tomato, guacamole, and swiss cheese. This was easily the best $6 fast food burger I've had in a while -- superior seasoning and flavor to fast food joints like Flat Patties and Spike's, and really tasty fries - nice crunch on the outside, but tender on the inside and seasoned with salt and some sort of herb (?oregano)
Not the least reason that I'm surprised is that Oggi's only gets one or two mentions for its burger on the board. Could it be that my first public excursion with my wife in months has painted an unusual halo on this place, or is this a find lurking right under my nose?
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Oggi Gourmet
1350 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02138
Sichuan Food in Cute Houses - Sichuan Garden 2 and Red Peppers
Very interesting; thanks for sharing the post. I believe you're right, in that DungPo Pork is a Hangzhou specialty but interestingly, Su DongPo was born in Sichuan Province (Thanks Wikipedia!).
Your comments comparing depth of flavor to Sichuan Gourmet are interesting. We've disagreed on this before, but I've found that on a good day, the depth of flavor in a few dishes (MaPo DouFu, ShuiZhu NiuRou or "boiled beef," HongYou ChaoShou or red oil dumplings) has been more compelling at Sichuan Garden than Gourmet.
But what excites me in this post is a visit to Red Pepper. I also remember this place as being a ChongQing based place ... but also that it had closed up and gone out of business. The fact that they're back means I need to take trip out to Framingham some time soon!
Chacarero - What is my Problem?
Count another one in the meh category. I tried the chicken. Didn't change my mind, and Carty hits on the issue for me -- bland, bland, bland (and having lived in Hunan Province for a year, I think I can taste through chili heat).
What is new & good in Chinatown
Does the Chinese sign still say 上海灘? (Shanghai Tan, a play on the Chinese name of the Bund, or "foreign shore" in Shanghai) I'm going to guess not, given that it sounds like it's no longer a Shanghai-style restaurant. More's the pity.
What is new & good in Chinatown
Waitress? The only staff I've ever dealt with at Wing's was a kindly middle aged gentleman whom I always assumed was the owner.
True shame if they did have to change up because of a wife's death, but I feel sorrier for the owner.
And I"m with MC Slim - if Taiwan Cafe is on your list, I'd opt for Gourmet Dumpling House, which executes a big chunk of the TC menu, a notch or two better.
How many Flushing malls are there?
I'm a 'hounder visiting from the Boston area, was going with eager anticipation to try the Roosevelt Food Court, only to find the place completely shuttered up at 7 pm on a Monday night! Are they still "renovating" or are they closed for good? And is there another serious alternative apart from the below-mentioned Golden Shopping Mall and Flushing Mall for large-scale stall eats?
Fuloon this weekend
Diane & company know that I lived for a year in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province, and the sanctum sanctorum of fire-eating (in Changsha, you're not having an authentic dining experience unless you're gripping the table with both hands and sucking air back and forth across your mouth as fast as you can). Doesn't seem to make much of a difference in the cooking at FuLoon (my reaction to what many regard as intolerable seems similar to what your sister said - some nice heat, but could use some more).
Fuloon this weekend
For sheer sichuan peppercorniness, you'll probably want to try the "Fresh Fish Filets in Special Hot Sauce" (#1 in the "Most Popular in FuLoon" menu and the lead picture in the picture book menu). This is similar to the "steamed beef" (Shui-Zhu Niu-Rou) preparation, and has the densest packing of Sichuan peppercorns. It is the case that FuLoon's greatest strength is not in the handling of these dainties, but when they're heated in piles of oil like this, there's no avoiding the wonderful effect. Downside is, well, there's a lot of oil, and the fish often has those fine nasty bones in them.
The steamed beef, the MaPou DouFu and the wontons with special hot sauce (HongYou ChaoShou, #187) are other hot dishes that are better with the sichuan peppercorns.
Fuloon this weekend
Sounds like your sister and I would get along famously over a bowl of ChongQing Dry Hot Chicken ... the steamed beef isn't quite a giant bowl of death at FuLoon, you'll probably get closer to the shores of the River Styx at Sichuan Garden or Gourmet.
New Shanghai/Chinatown
Mrs.Jimbob and I grabbed a quick lunch there today while shopping for Chinese New Year ornaments. We kept it small and limited ourselves to the "Weekend Snacks" menu (W section on the takeout menu).
W182: Pork and Leek Dumpling (Jiu-Cai Zhu-Rou Shui-Jiao). Not bad, skins a bit more like Cantonese doughy and thick rather than Qingdao/Mulan perfection. Probably not worth a revisit.
W184: Shandong fried bean curd (ShanDong Zha Dou-Fu). Small triangles of golden deep fried bean curd covered in a sauce redolent of sesame paste, and perhaps a little stinky in that Chou Dou-fu kind of way. This was actually quite tasty, bean curd fried to a nice crisp outside and a soft inside, and the sauce complemented it well. Also, for that matter, served as a good dip for everything else.
W187: Peking Small Steamer Buns (BeiJing Xiao-Long Bao). Like other diners in this post, I was fooled into thinking that these were soup dumplings. They weren't, more reminiscent of what I remember growing up with in New York's Chinatown three decades ago -- miniature pork buns, which are more greasy than soupy on the inside. I live for this kind of stuff, but it wasn't what I was hoping for. I overheard a waiter say to someone else in Chinese that they did have soup dumplings (Xiao-Long Tang-Bao), but I couldn't find them on the menu.
W193: Scallion pancakes (Cong-You Bing). Lots of scallion flavor, but a little overfried for my taste, bordering on duck chips in terms of the bubbliness. Still supple and chewy, but not my favorite rendition of this classic street food dish.
While we were eating, someone else got a MaPo DouFu dish that looked about right, with the appropriate layer of red oil and dusting of what looked like Sichuan peppercorns on top. The name of the place (Jing-Chuan Jiu-Jia) implies that their chef has strengths in both northern style, Beijing cookery and in Sichuan cookery. Why they still call themselves New Shanghai (which is at least a few hundred miles away from either area) is a bit of a mystery to me. All in all, not bad, and perhaps it might be a place to go if you are hungering for Sichuan food and you're in Chinatown, but I don't know that I'll be making this a repeat destination.
Was also dismayed to see the closed sign on Wing's Kitchen. Nothing seems to have been taken down inside, so vacation sounds believable, but does anyone have more reliable news on what happened to Wing's?
relatively new to boston.. help?
Chinese: FuLoon in Malden Square (honorable mention to a batch of others, but this is the gem to find). Many speak highly of Jo Jo Taipei in Allston, but I haven't built up the courage to brave the traffic to get there. Chinatown has been discussed at great length on this board; would search to see what people say and then ask more specific follow up questions if you need them.
Turkish: Brookline Family Restaurant in Brookline Village. Many have spoken highly of Sarayi in Allston, but I haven't gotten out there yet.
Afghani: Helmand in East Cambridge
Ethiopian: Addis Red Sea in the South End and Cambridge between Harvard & Porter
French: La Voile in the Back Bay
Spanish: I'm partial to Dalí on the Cambridge/Somerville line, but many on this group sneer at it.
Italian: Grotto in Beacon Hill; Daily Catch for a hole in the wall in the North End. North End also discussed at great length; try finding "My Own Private North End" for a good recent run down of the best.
Albanian: Vlora in the Back Bay is quirky, but spectacular when it's on
I think there's general agreement that Indian and Thai are some of the weaker links in the Boston area, though I'm partial to Punjab in Arlington Center, Namaskar in Davis Square for their naan, and Bombay Cafe near Berklee and Symphony for peshawari naan and convenience to Jordan and Symphony Halls.
Hearty second on Sam LaGrassa's for deli. Apart from one or two passable places, deli is not a strength in Boston, though there are some wonderful small sandwich joints like Darwin's in Harvard and Inman Squares and Dave's Fresh Pasta in Davis Square.
For places for well thought out wine lists, I'd look at Erbaluce (well thought out but very pricey, in Bay Village), Navy Yard Bistro in Charlestown for a laid back approach. I keep trying to get into Enoteca 26 in Beacon Hill, and something between the prices, the crowds and the attitude keeps me away.
Oh, and if you're jonesing for a French style baguette, you'll need to discover the Clear Flour Bakery in Brookline/Allston. And get in line.
A Tale of Three Sichuan Restaurants
Interesting. i've certainly had a range of experiences at Sichuan Garden. There have been some disappointing meals there, though not nearly as disappointing as what alanr describes. On a good night, I'd still put them a notch above Sichuan Gourmet, while the knife work and selection of cuts of meat is top-notch, the depth and variety of levels of flavor struck me as wanting on two different trips. I'd put either Red Pepper (same regrets from here, Framingham is just a bit too far out of my way) or the Garden above the Gourmet. And while I am one of FuLoon's biggest proponents on this board, and while I do think they do Sichuan cookery respectably, for some reason I've never been overwhelmed by the handling of sichuan peppercorns over there. Can't tell if it's because they're using weak peppercorns, if there's a problem with the toasting or what, but I've had better luck at other places.
Sichuan Palace sounds interesting, though the (on-line) menu seems surprisingly limited compared with any of the places listed above.
The New Zoe's
Has the menu changed? And did execution seem markedly different from before?
Fantastic food at Sechuan Garden II in Woburn
Eating at most restaurants in Beijing isn't that much different, so maybe it's an authentic taste of China they're aiming for. =8^)
I found the service puzzling there also. The one time I ate there, the dishes were not executed at the inspired level that I've had in Brookline, but that may be a question of sampling error (or having lunch on a weekend in the late afternoon).
Peking Duck 2009
http://www.boston.com/lifestyle/food/articles/2008/12/21/seeking_peking/ is the article.
I haven't had the Peking Duck at FuLoon but I have had almost every other duck preparation on the menu, and all of them have been fabulous. It's two blocks away from the Malden Center stop on the Orange Line, and the other surrounding dishes are leagues and light-years more inspired than Chef Chang's.
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FuLoon
375 Main St, Malden, MA 02148
Which asian market for staples?
The biggest of the Super 88 is in the South Bay Center, just off of the Mass Turnpike and near the terminus of Mass Ave (look at http://www.super88market.com/loc.htm and you'll want the 50 Herald Street location). Hands down, it's the biggest selection of jars, dried things, rice and such among all the super 88s in the greater Boston area.
I gather there's a competitor in the Quincy area called Kam Man, which is a branch of the even bigger NY superchain. I have been to Kam Man in New York, but never in Quincy, so I can't compare and contrast. But one of these two is your likeliest destination.
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Super 88 Market Herald St
50 Herald St, Boston, MA
Kamman Food
221 Quincy Ave, Quincy, MA
Brunch in Coolidge Corner area?
Hmm. Looks like I need to add one more criterion. This is brunch before a movie which starts at 11 am at the theater. Unfortunately, Lineage doesn't open for brunch before 10:30. So, any early morning brunch options in the neighborhood?
Brunch in Coolidge Corner area?
Subject line more or less asks the question. A quick search of the boards has yielded two solid leads, Zaftigs and Rubins for hideously overstuffed deli sandwiches. However, none of the posts in the past year have specifically asked about brunch in Cooldige Corner (rather brunch in Brookline, food in Coolidge Corner, etc). What are your thoughts for a good place within walking distance of the movie theater?
Gourmet Dumpling House ChowDown, 12/27/2008
Believe it or not, I think Wing's actually makes a better stir-fried eel than GDH. I believe it's called "Fried Eel" on the menu (#93, or QingChao ShanYu on http://www.menupix.com/boston/restaurants.php?id=1171 though I don't recognize this on this menu). Similar savory sauce, but a sublime mix of oil and raw garlic atop the eel that makes it unforgettably Shanghainese.
Who has the best set of taps?
More specifically, the chief virtue at The Publick House is the astonishing range of Belgian and Belgian-style brews that are available on tap. And some really lovely small brewer American alternatives as well -- I have particularly fond recent memories of trying the Rogue vanilla stout. I'm not as down on the food at Publick as many on this group, at least I've found the waterzooi to be fairly consistently tasty.
Definitely agreed on Redbones for a nice selection of drafts, bottles and grub.
Gourmet Dumpling House ChowDown, 12/27/2008
Yes, that eel thing is something else isn't it? The first time I had it in New York, I was grossed out by the site of what looked like worms on the plate.
But then I tried it. And I haven't been able to get enough of them since (the aforementioned Evergreen, sadly, was fresh out of eel when I was there two weeks ago).
The sunflower presentation for the black mushrooms and baby bok choy is actually fairly standard for this dish, and as I noted, it's typically only the shockingly worst restaurants that botch this one (though I guess you can wind up with mushrooms that have seen better days).
Gourmet Dumpling House ChowDown, 12/27/2008
Very good -- lots of lovely crab essence, a hot steaming soup which blended well with the vinegar. Fresh brewed dragon well (LongJing) tea was also a nice touch, and the sesame balls (JiuLiang TangYuan) are the best that I've had since my year long sojourn in China a decade ago. Just wish the prices weren't so shockingly high (though I suppose commonplace for that part of town).
Shanghai Cafe in Manhattan's Chinatown remains my go-to on the East Coast, Wing's Kitchen in Boston's Chinatown remains my go-to in the immediate area, but it's good to have Evergreen and GDH as alternatives if need be.
Gourmet Dumpling House ChowDown, 12/27/2008
A crew of 13 people descended this afternoon on Gourmet Dumpling House in Chinatown to sample in more depth from the offerings at this place; my curiosity had been piqued after a quick dinner three weeks ago.
For reference purposes, the thread that started it: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/538492
I'm reconstructing what I can remember of what I ordered, plus what the other folk ordered on their own. A few CHers were in the party, hopefully they can add in whatever I've left out. All references are from their take out menu.
APPETIZERS
A18 Pei Pa Tofu (PiPa Doufu): these are the tofu-and-egg fritter/hushpuppy things that I had the last time. I was hoping for the crispy fried tofu, but they switched it for this one instead. Still good, if hushpuppies are your kind of thing.
A26 Scallion Pancake (CongYou Bing): I can't claim to be an obsessive with these, because I'll pretty much eat anything fried with onions and flour in it. I thought these were OK, fried fairly crisp, not greasy at all, a little light on the scallions for my taste, but then the last batch I had at another joint was something else.
A28 Taiwanese Style Pan Fried Dumplings (ShanDong GuoTie): Oddly enough the Chinese name identifies these as coming from Shandong Province, not Fujian/Taiwan. These never made it to my side of the table.
A30 Mini Steamed Buns with Pork and Crabmeat (XieFen TangBao): the infamous XLB (XiaoLong Bao, or soup dumplings), with crab meat. One of the densest packings of crab meat that I've ever had in my XLB, though on the second try, perhaps there was something strangely missing in the delicacy of the flavor. (I also backed in by complete accident into a Shanghai joint in midtown Manhattan called Evergreen about two weeks ago, and was taken aback by the XLB that I had there.)
LUNCH BOX, RICE & NOODLES
B39 Taiwanese Style Sauteed Rice Cake with Pork and Vegetables (TaiShi Chao NianGao): One of my long term addictions, the savory rice cake, which is served up here in just the perfect texture of al dente, without needing to leave the dish swimming in a deep pool of grease and oil. Delicate, beautifully balanced meat and veg filling to go on top too.
ENTREES
D3 Oyster Pancake with Gravy (known to me only by its Taiwanese name, which sounds something like O-A-Jian): Another of my street food addictions from my time in Taiwan, the oyster omelette which is offered up on every other street corner in TaiPei. Again, it's hard for me to be objective about this dish, because I've eaten it in more forms than I want to think about. Good texture and flavor, though I have had versions of this that were more generous with the oysters.
D11 Sauteed Eel with Yellow Chives (JiuHuang ShanYu): A Shanghainese classic dish, not quite served up in classic Shanghainese style (a large pool of raw garlic and oil would be needed for that), but an expert, flavorful version of this dish.
BRAISED OR SWEET AND SOUR
D35 Sauteed Beef Julienne with Long Horn Pepper (Xiao LaJiao NiuRou Si): A beef stir fry with a matched julienne of sweet and hot green peppers to match. Seeds were left in, so this dish had a fair amount of heat to it, though it was a little bit of a one-note wonder compared with some of the Sichuanese glories that I've had elsewhere.
D36 Beef with Scallions (CongBao NiuRou Si): A beef take on a fairly standard lamb-based dish. Not bad, but in this company, fairly plain-Jane take which might have been helped with more varieties of onions (maybe leeks and actual scallions as opposed to just sliced onions).
D40 Beef Julienne with Chinese Watercress in Sa-Cha Sauce (KongXinCai ShaChaNiu): Probably of the three different beef strip dishes, this one is my favorite, though that might just be because I'm a sucker for the watercress-like KongXinCai (literally empty-heart vegetable, looks like a long hollow green grass stalk).
D63 Simmered Seafood and Tofu Hot Pot (HaiXian DouFu Bao): A Cantonese classic, with a delicate thickened white sauce surrounding a batch of moderate sized shrimp, scallops, artificial crab, chunks of octopus or squid (not sure which) and brown-exterior tofu. I love the delicacy of the flavors and found myself not being able to stop eating this, though I don't know that this is to everyone's taste.
VEGETABLES
E1 Sauteed Chinese Watercress w/Garlic (QingChao KongXinCai): Part of an illustration of my addiction to KongXinCai, I ordered this dish with and without beef and ShaCha sauce. This version is a straight up stir fry with oil and garlic which came off as expected.
E12 Sauteed Chinese Mushrooms Over Greens (DongGu Pa CaiXin): Shiitake mushroom caps in a soy-based braise surrounded by a floral-petal like arrangement of baby bok choy. I didn't get around to trying this one, though it's a fairly standard flavor (one I like, but I was busy with other stuff).
E15 Braised Tofu with Scallion and Vegetables (HongShao Doufu): A brown-sauce braise with the same brown coated tofu that figured in the small hotpots, and a mix of bamboo shoots, carrots, broccoli florets, and water chestnuts. Solid and dependable.
White rice was ordered but never arrived (for the second time; an awfully peculiar quirk, but then I guess I do tend to get carried away with my ordering). Total bill with tax and tip worked out to $15 per person. No desserts to speak of.
The take-home punch line: I think that maybe a title like "Gourmet Snack House" would be closer to the target on this place. They aren't really a dumpling house at all, but seem to serve up a variety of treats from a range of Chinese coastal cuisines (in this case, Shanghai/Zhejiang, Fujian/Taiwan and Guangdong) with expert skill, though not aiming for the rarefied or the sublime. The Chinese name of the place (NanBei FengWei) translates as "All the flavors of north and south" which implies that they can handle anything from any region. I didn't really put them through their paces on Sichuan cooking, because I have my doubts as to whether they could really execute MaPo Doufu in a Chengdu-worthy fashion. But it's a really solid place for a simple, cheap, satisfying meal.
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Gourmet Dumpling House
52 Beach St, Boston, MA 02111
Best authentic chinese food in the area?
To recap and emphasize, for authentic regional cookery:
all-around: FuLoon in Malden (gets raves for its Sichuan cookery, but arguably their Shandong and Cantonese cookery is even better, and one of the most impressive ranges of real deal Chinese cooking that I've seen on the East Coast.
Sichuan (this is key for hot, spicy and unusual, in order of preference):
Sichuan Garden in Brookline Village and Woburn
Red Pepper in Framingham
FuLoon
Sichuan Gourmet in Framingham and B'rica
Chilli Garden in Medford
Zoë's on the Cambridge/Somerville line
Northern Chinese:
FuLoon; Qingdao Garden in North Cambridge
Taiwanese (in no particular order)
Jo Jo Taipei (by reputation only; haven't set foot there yet) in Allston
Gourmet Dumpling House and Taiwan Cafe in Chinatown
MuLan in Kendall Square
Shangri La in Belmont
Shanghai:
Wing's Kitchen in Chinatown
Shanghai Gate in Allston
IMO, CK Shanghai and Mary Chung are OK for Americanized Chinese, but not my go to for something hot, spicy or unusual.
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FuLoon
375 Main St, Malden, MA 02148
Zoe's
289 Beacon St, Somerville, MA 02143
Sichuan Garden
295 Washington St, Brookline, MA 02445
Redpepper Chinese Restaurant
17 Edgell Rd, Framingham, MA
