droidicus's Profile
Clear Flour Bakery
I went to Clear Flour Bakery yesterday for the first time on the recommendations of a co-worker, and I have to say their bread was VERY good. The Baguette was one of the best I have ever had, and the sourdough had a great texture even if it was a little bit weak on the sourness.
Anyone else frequent this establishment?
~Droid
O'Sullivan's just pretends to have Boston's Best Burger
The nature of both pizza and burgers is that they are extremely simple but hard to get right on a consistent basis. You can go a lot of places and get a random good pizza or good burger, but to go from that to being able to bang out consistent quality is a major leap.
This is where I think the disconnect some people see comes from.
~Droid
what is the best falafel in Boston?
I hadn't actually been to Sepal since I moved out of Watertown. The fact that they closed is quite disappointing, especially since I was planning on going there next weekend with some friends :-/
They really did have a fantastic falafel sandwich!
~Droid
A fantastic meal at Henry's
Henry's, Upper West Side Manhattan, NYC, NY - A Modern American Bistro on Broadway, comfortable and non-pretentious interior and service.
Appetizers and soups
* Calamari - Passable, with a pleasant ancho chili aioli.
* Corn Chowder - With Shrimp, Chicken, and Bacon. Tasty, but thinner then expected the comment was "I would call it more of a soup then a chowder"
Mains
* Roast Duck Breast - With cabbage, sweet potatoes, and fig-port reduction. Wonderfully cooked duck breast, one dinner expressed "Don't you just want to have sex with it?". I did!
* Braised Lamb Shank - With creamed spinach and truffled wild mushroom risotto. Flavorful and fork tender lamb shank with the best creamed spinach that I have EVER had, it was light and fresh without being overly heavy and over cooked as so many are. I love creamed spinach and this was a wonderful surprise.
* Roast Horseradish Crusted Salmon - With beets, fingerling potatoes, and a roasted tomato froth. Perfectly cooked fish, horseradish was prominent without being overbearing, froth was rich and flavorful.
Deserts
* Warm Chocolate Cake - Tender, moist, very flavorful, with a almond flavored ice cream accompaniment. A wonderful rendition.
* Apple Tart - When looking at this my assumption was that it would be lacking, yet it has a surprisingly strong apple flavor with a tender and flaky crust.
* Caramelized Lemon Tart - A great lemon tart brought to the next level by a light brulee top.
This was a wonderful meal, everyone that ate loved their food. I can even forgive that the server forgot to bring us bread at the beginning of the meal. To be completely honest, I would go back again for no other reason then the creamed spinach.
Later,
~Droid
Home Made Eggnog [split from Boston]
The entire egg needs to be brought to 140 degF, shell, white, yolk and all. In addition the temperature regulation must be very precise, one degree to high and the egg will begin to cook, one degree to low and the egg won't be pasteurized.
I suppose that this could be done with an immersion circulator, but I don't own one and that won't guarantee that you have successfully processed the eggs safely in any case.
Later,
~Droid
P.S. You might be wondering how I know so much about pasturized eggs.. I did a LOT of research after my overly paranoid mother refused to drink the egg nog that I made several years ago. I re-made it shortly after with pasturized eggs and she has thanked me ever since.
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, disappointing meal
One of my dinning companion's, who has recommended the restaurant in the first place, mentioned as soon as we sat down that the prices were more or less 50% higher then the location he usually goes to in Baltimore, MD. So yes, it does appear that prices vary significantly from one location to another. As an example, the 2 person porterhouse was either $85 or $90 (I cannot recall at the moment), with most steaks from $45-57.
Later,
~Droid
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, disappointing meal
A few things, the prices were not embellished, here is what I personally payed for my meal:
$15 - Glass of wine
$10 - Bisque
$47 - NY Strip Steak
$10 - Creamed Spinach
$12 - Creme Brulee
Total: $94 without tax or tip, $117.50 when these are taken into consideration (although I did not end up paying for the desert since it was comped).
For a three course meal with one glass of wine and a side dish with my main course this is quite high, not the most expensive meal I have ever had, but high enough to expect a meal of extremely high quality. My meal was seriously disappointing, I have literally had a better "steakhouse experience" at Longhorn Steak House (another chain) then this. I am sorry you disagree with me on this point.
Second, the Valet service "Ultimate Valet" is used at this RC's location and extensively through Boston, every single time I have used them you hand the stub to your waiter when desert comes out, and your car is waiting out front warmed up for you when you are done with your meal, this isn't something special... this is the expected way things work. This simply wasn't done this time and that is an error on the part of either the restaurant or Ultimate Valet. Standing outside in the cold Boston night while your car is brought out for you is not a pleasant way to end a meal, it feels like you are waiting for a buss to come pick you up.
~Droid
Home Made Eggnog [split from Boston]
Unfortunately they can be quite difficult to find, I have seen them sporadically at Hannafords and Star Markets, but never consistently. I have also had them special ordered a few times, but not all stores are willing to do that.
~Droid
Home Made Eggnog [split from Boston]
Yup, a whole egg in shell that has been heated to a set temperature for a specified period of time, usually 140 degF for 3.5 minutes. This is hot enough to kill any bacteria while not coagulating the egg. Usually the egg white is ever so slightly thickened and has a slight cloudyness to it, but they are still gastronomically speaking raw.
Marketing website for one brand: http://safeeggs.com/
Restaurant supply website that gives a bit more detail: http://www.sysco.com/products/productpage.asp?prodID=333&ctID=49&ptID=1
When making food with raw eggs for myself I use normal run of the mill eggs, Salmonella isn't a big concern for healthy young adults with a normal immune system (it isn't very pleasant though), but when I am serving this type of food to others, especially the very young or the very old... better to be safe then sorry in my opinion.
Later,
~Droid
P.S. They work GREAT is caeser salads too.
Home Made Eggnog [split from Boston]
I make my own egg nog every year, and ever since trying this recipe it has become my new golden standard: http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_32424,00.html
It is uncooked (although I use pasteurized in shell eggs to be safe) and incorporates whipped egg whites, this makes is rich yet not too thick, and refreshing as the same time.
~Droid
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, disappointing meal
It seems to me that any time that a waiter seems compelled to hand the guests a flashlight, that is practically an admission that something is wrong! Unfortunately my waiter didn't have a flashlight to lend.
Glad to know I am not crazy though :-)
~Droid
Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, disappointing meal
This restaurant is located in the old city hall building in downtown Boston, a stunningly beautiful building with old school architecture, giant 20 ft ceilings inside, and a view onto a old cemetery from the dinning room we sat in (that is a bit unusual). Unfortunately the entire restaurant was kept in near total darkness it was so dim. I had a very hard time reading the menu and actually used the light coming in the window from the Christmas lights in the trees outside to help read the damn thing! Very aggravating. The restaurant features an extensive list of wines, scotches, and aperitifs, and had approximately 25 wines by the glass available. We had 7 people as my table and here is a rundown of what we had.
Drinks
* Mixed drinks - The comment was made that the mixed drinks at the table had far too much ice in them which led them to be watered down quite a bit.
* Scotch - A large selection of scotch meant that many people had quite a few.
* Wine - With the large number of wines available by the glass and only 3 people drinking wine this night we decided to go with individual glasses.
* Chateau Greysac Bordeaux 2005 - Quite nice with all the qualities usually associated with a Bordeaux, went well with the beef.
Appetizers
* Lobster Bisque - Very nice traditionally prepared bisque, although mine had two shards of lobster shell in it, this was the highlight of the meal despite the shell.
* Caesar Salad - Finely chopped and wilted romaine lettuce drenched with far too much caesar salad dressing that tasted like it came out of a bottle, served with a giant parmesan crisp, extremely disappointing for a high end steak house!
* Seared Ahi Tuna - Good, extremely rare tuna with a tasty sauce.
Main Courses and Sides
* Steaks - This is what the restaurant is known for, so everyone got a steaks including fillet, NY strip, ribeye, and porterhouse, many available both with and without bones. All steaks served are US Prime certified. The gimmick that they use at this restaurant is to serve the steaks on a heavy ceramic plate heated to 500 degF in an oven with a dollop of herbed butter to make the whole thing sizzle at the table. There are a multitude of problems with this approach and it really ends being far too much showmanship and not enough GOOD FOOD. The plate continues to cook the steak, causing it to blow right past your preferred state of doneness as it sits in front of you. The heat makes it so that the steak never gets a chance to rest making it pour juice onto the plate instead of into your mouth, and plate will instantly burn you quite badly if you accidentally touch it right after it comes to the table. Overall I was VERY unimpressed with this "fine" steak. In addition, all of the steaks that we ordered were $48 and over, for this kind of money I expect to get a dry aged steak of superb quality. Unfortunately the steaks was around the same quality that I can find at Outback or my local grocery store. Not bad but certainly not worth the money.
* NY Strip Steak - This was my steak and it deserves special mention. The steak was not properly trimmed and had a band of silver skin half way around the steak, this was also the side of the steak that was presented towards me when served resulting in my first cut with the knife to require SAWING through this this band of connective tissue. Very disgusting! Once I realized this and took the band of silver skin off Half of my steak was wonderfully flavored with a nice texture, while the other half was very tough and grisly. Again, nasty. Because of the hot plate gimmick they use the meat was medium-rare when it got to the table, but by the time I was half way through it was fully medium nearing medium-well. Because of the heat, the bottom of the steak was also done more then the top, causing a strange half medium, half medium well situation...
* Mashed Potatoes - Dry, very lumpy (way past the point of rustically mashed), flavor was good but the texture was way off.
* Creamed Spinach - Flavorless, I love creamed spinach but this was a poor preparation.
* Potatoes au Gratin - Ultra rich for the sake of being ultra rich, lacking.
* Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce - Quite nice.
Deserts
* Creme Brulee - Good flavor, but this was obviously brulee'ed in advance and then served to me later, the sugar on top was no where near thick enough and was soggy without that wonderful CRUNCH that a good brulee should have. The fresh berries accompanying this were very nice and tasted like they were in season. I complained about this one after being very disappointed with my meal and the charge was removed.
Overall I was extremely disappointed with this meal, at $100 for just me I was expecting FAR more then what I got. To give you an idea, the appetizers, soup, salad, sides, and deserts were all $10-15, for that amount of money I expect a great salad, spectacular sides, and a brulee made properly and to order. The sizzling plate idea is interesting, and certainly has a good presentation, but the execution is flawed and leads to unfortunate side effects and compromises in the quality of the food. The service was quite slow, requiring just under 3 hours to complete a 3 course meal, I have had a 6 course meal in this length of time. In general, I always have a problem with the "traditional steak house", you know exactly what to expect and nothing is ever imaginative, new, or different. When the steaks from a place like this are crap that just makes it all the worse. Oh, and to top it all off, the waiter forgot to have my car brought around from the Valet service (I gave him the ticket when we were eating our deserts), so I stood in the cold for 10 minutes waiting after I finished my meal. Do yourself the favor, spend a little bit more per person and go to the Oak Room or Grill 23.
Later,
~Droid
