offaly_tasty's Profile
Why aren't more bartenders up on their game?
As a part-time professional, part-time bartender myself (at a long established south end restaurant), I have a couple inputs on why Boston lacks established, full time bartenders. First, unlike Manhattan, where I formerly worked, the bar schedule is fairly slim, meaning, aside from 6pm-1am, few people in this city drink at the bar. In Manhattan, the drinking schedule is more along the lines of noon-4am, which gives rise to much more earning opportunities. As such, there simply aren't enough shifts to go around to make one's living behind the bar. As such, each established cocktail bar has 1-2 full time bartenders who make it their craft, and a couple fill-ins. Hopefully, you hire fill-ins that love the craft, and try to make it work. That often does not happen. Secondly, the restaurant industry in Boston, due to the cost of liquor licenses, leads to restaurant "groups" dominating the scene. As a result, there are little to few opportunities for bartenders to receiver equity shares in new restaurants, again leading to their inability to make bartending a full time position, and the inevitable reduction of the quality. Finally, some of the best bartenders I know have realized that the real money to be made is by ripping open bud light bottles by the case at Remy's, Game On, or the Harp, and have taken their underutilized skills over to the Fenway.
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Game On
100 Terminal St, Charlestown, MA 02129
East by Northeast-First Impression
Just came home from my first meal at East by Northeast, and I'm already a big fan of what Phillip Tang and his crew are doing. A lot of his work reminded me of a meal I had at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, just with a chinese flair, particularly in the sourcing of the vegetables and meat. To get the best example, just order the pickled winter vegetables. Its tough to hide bad ingredients in a dish so spartan, but with the right ingrediants, it shines. The result is several well executed dishes made with great ingredients and a reasonable beer and wine list. (Including porkslap ale for $4!).
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East by Northeast
1128 Cambridge Street, Cambridge, MA 02139
Tim Tams
Wolliston's Market on the corner of Huntington and Forsthyse(sp?) has them. Its inside the Marino Center at Northeastern University.
Best bartender ever
My vote is for Mr. Borque at Clio. Best food/bartender combo in the town for my $$.
Best food in Chatham
Agreed on Impudent, often considered one of the the best "night off" places to eat for locals in the food biz. Avoid the Squire, it's a zoo, especially Thurs-Sat during the summer time. Other thoughts:
-28 Atlantic(at the Wequasset); arguably one of the top high end spots on the cape, but comes with the price tag attached.
-Pices; a great 20-odd seat restaurant off main street. Its top quality in a cozy environment.
Butchers in Boston...
Your best bet near you would be a quick drive (or take the D line to Newton Centre stop) to John Dewar and Sons, on Beacon Street in Newton Centre. As a formal Lobel's disciple, he's probably the closet thing to it near you.
Honeymoon in Napa
Wife and I did our honeymoon in Napa/Sonoma this winter in which we had a wonderful time, and got some great recommendations from friends and locals; Some recommendaitons from my experience;
1) Don't try to do too much in one day, geography wise. Focus on one small region per day, and you'll really get to learn how much a grape can change when driving over a hill. For example, we spent an entire day in the Dry Creek, and found it greatly rewarding.
2) Sonoma has better deals than Napa, but further, you're more likely to find smaller scale producers, which may not have the bus traffic of their larger Napa brethren. Go to your must sees in Napa, but explore Sonoma, I found there were more fun finds out there.
3) Two towns I'd strongly recommend would be Healdsburg and St. Helena..
3a)We went to Cyrus in Healdsburg two nights before The French Laundry, and it was not far off the leader of the pack. The quality of service and execution were easily on par, but not as relaxed as the laundry. If you can fit it in, you're looking at the regions closest competitor. (also a great way to end a day in Sonoma).
3b) If you're in St. Helena(and if you are, I'd strongly recommend staying at the Adaggio Inn), its a quick walk off the main street to the Martini House. While the upstairs is the main dining area, you get a great feel for the neighborhood/seasonal inhabitants downstairs at the bar. Its a great way to get "a night off" and not feel too touristy, yet still enjoy wonderful food and service. Further, no reservation is needed while sitting at the bar and the bartenders are top notch conversationalists.
Hope this helps!
Jasmine's Bistro
Just returned from a snowed-in dinner at Jasmine's Bistro. As a front of house professional, I can't recall a more professional level of service provided at a restaurant in the Boston area. From entrance to departure, every small detail was covered. The food was quite good, but unfortunately I don't have experience in Hungarian food to have a adequate comparison. Are there any others like it in the area, or any thoughts on Jasmine's in general?
Five Guys Dedham
I stopped by my favorite guilty pleasure of my teen years, Five Guys Burgers and Fries(I grew up around the corner from the original in Northern VA). The place was fairly close to the original, with fresh, cut fries cooked in peanut oil, with malt available on the side, and the burger was almost as good as I remember. Compared to a couple of the other franchises I've tried on the East Coast, this one comes as close as any to my original haunt. As far as the regional burger joints are concerned, I'd put the fries above any local chain or burger joint, and the burger certainly a part of the conversation. It was packed around 12 today(Labor day). The only noticeable change from the originals was that the peanut shells were not covering the floor, which is good or bad, depending on your desired hygene level.
Best Fish/Meat Markets In New Bedford/Fall River
I'm looking to find the best local fish and meat purveyors in New Bedford/Fall River, especially those that specialize in Portugese cuisine. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Any must-haves/eats/trys on Cape Cod?
Tried Cucina Sul Mare and Heather this weekend. I've been looking for good places in the Falmouth-Mashpee area and had mixed reviews.
Cucina Sul Mare was disappointing with regards to front and back of house, but had a lively crowd that seemed to enjoy the environment. I'll try it again soon, as my experience may have been due to an off-night. The food was poorly prepared, and our server forgot our wine and our first course. However, others around us appeared to be enjoying their experience.
Heather's appears to be a much-needed addition to the Mashpee area. High ceilings, expansive bar, and attentive service gave a nice ambiance for better than average fare for the area.
Walnut Street Market - Newton Highlands
As a neighbor and daily visitor, I can confirm that they are St. Viateur Bagels from Montreal. In addition, they keep fresh baklava and other treats at the ready.
Cafeteria on Newbury
A close friend and I stopped into Cafeteria last night for a drink after work. We thought that it could be a good mix up to the normal scene on Newbury. We stepped in out of the rain and, after waiting for the hostess to finish her conversation with a waitress at the stand(a big no no at every restaurant I've worked), we decided to walk to the bar. The main floor of the restaurant is slightly recessed from street level, and the bar is a in a reverse "s" shape with what appears to be a decent selection of top shelf drinks. I say "appears to be" because after my friend and I sat at that bar, we look towards the bartender to get a drink. The bartender continued his conversation with another server while nursing a cocktail, and as we checked our watch, 7 minutes went by without a mention from the bartender. So we walked. Won't be back.
For the useful information for Chow purposes. The restaurant, for a Tuesday night, was ok. They were 25-30% full, but considering it was a rainy tuesday, not too bad. LIke I said, as we were never offered service, I cannot comment on the food or drink. For the service however, the new owner of Cafeteria is wasting what appears to be a great location and great design on poor service and management. I wish them well in the "learning curves" of a new restaurant.
Go to Gitlo's!
Went to Gitlo's last night(1/22). First off, very good place and unfortunately, empty. We had the char siu bao, the Daikon cake with XO sauce, the Chicken dumplings, shrimp dumplings, the taro roll, the veggie roll, the custard bun, and the sweet potato roll. All in all, had a wonderful, and cheap, night out. As opposed to another posting, my daikon had ample browning, enough flavor from the preserved meat to make it taste like homefries cooked with bacon fat. The dough on the pork and custard buns was light and soft. My least favorite was the chicken dumpling. The service was fine, but it could be slow if there were others in the restaurant. I would get there, because if they go through more nights like last(with only a few customers) they may not be around for long. Get there and pass the good word!
Why is Russo's so crazy?
It could also be due to the recent "Stuff at Night" article on where the chef's in Boston shop. Pretty much each one surveyed stated that they do all their produce shopping/ordering at Russo's.
Stone's Public House in Ashland
Is the former owner/founder of Matt Murphy's still running the John Stone? I also had a wonderful evening there recently.
New Pie Bakery in Newton Centre
I was at Pie briefly the other morning. They are certainly still working out the kinks, but the owners were quite pleasant and up-front about their opening snafus. Their coffee/espresso machine wasn't working, so the lattes that did come out were on the house. The pie that we had did not come out cleanly(but then again most homemade ones don't) but was delicious. The interior must have been a great concern to the owner, because it goes beyond what you would expect from a bakery. There are about 6 two tops along the wall, with two club chairs against the window. The bakery is open and across from the registers. The bathrooms are quite fancy for a bakery, but then again, decor was clearly on the minds of the owner.
the cafe menu is vast, and could be tricky for a bakery the size of Pie. I expect them to pare it down a bit, particularly as many of their dishes are on the "pie" motif and require a bit of time to prepare. While I hope they succeed(as I live in the neighborhood), there remains much to be seen to see if it will be sustainable.
Flippin Burgers, Newton, Short Review
I've been to Flippin several times myself. I would put the burgers on par with Bartley's, but the original poster has it correct, the fries are average at best. The frustrating thing is that it could be a stellar place if they got the fries right. As someone who grew up next to the original Five Guys in VA, I can't express enough how important fresh, never frozen, handcut fries cooked in Peanut Oil are. At minimal cost, Flippin could turn itself into one of the top local burger joints if they fixed their fry problem. Here's hoping they do!
Best Rabbit in Boston
Matt Murphy's pub in Brookline Village does a decent rabbit pie as well.
Dumpling Suggestions?
I just moved up from NYC and am curious of where I can find Shanghai-style dumplings in Boston? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
