JP RS's Profile
Tonic Boston
Headed there for the first time last night. Overall it was a really nice time and the food was good with potential to be great... prices very reasonable, great atmosphere (until the end when the TVs came on), really solicitous service from both bartenders, the hostess, and the servers. All of them incredibly interested in what we thought and seemed to care about the feedback.
-Very good craft beer list. $5-6 for what looked like full pints.
-Beet salad - quite nice actually. Beets, beet greens, a few blackberries, small amount of chevre. $11-12?
-Parsnip chowder: sounded great on menu, agree it was too sweet. This could be a great chowder if less sweet. Also could have been served hotter. $11?
-Tempura pork belly. I should have known better but am a sucker for pork belly. Too fatty, not served hot enough. This was the only "off" dish of the night. I let them know especially about my disappointment with this one. $12?
-Side of brussels sprouts. Very tasty, nothing fancy, maybe a little too much broth/butter at the bottom of the bowl. Nice size portion for ~$6.
-Side of sweet potato fries. Tasty, served piping hot. A little limp, but that's why I don't normally order the sweet potato fries. Again ~$6.
Our neighbors at the bar had the pork chop, which looked delicious, and the penne, which sounded great on the menu. They said both were delicious, and looked worth going back for.
I had heard about their TVs playing loud/annoying videos, but they kept them off last night until 9pm. Thankfully, jazz music while we were eating. At 9pm, the owner turned on the TVs and it was indeed 80s-pop with poor quality video. We let the bartender and the owner know that it was a much better atmosphere with the jazz than with the videos. The bartender seems to know it; the owner seemed defensive. I don't know if he really thinks the videos are a great idea and wants his place to feel "clubby" at night, or if he is just hearing it from all sides and tired of talking about his decision.
Feels like they're on the right track, just need a bit of ongoing tweaking...
Tavolo (Dorchester)
We had a nice tasty dinner at Tavolo last night.
Off the specials menu, we got a a very good fiddlehead appetizer, and a reasonably good artichoke appetizer (they called it confit, which maybe it was -- but maybe it was just roasted small artichokes, I'm not sure what the difference would be ). The specials menu was full of other options I wanted to try - last night also had an eggplant caponata pizza that we skipped, a braised short ribs dish, and a seafood ravioli with smoked scallops that sounded interesting but too heavy for me to want to try last night.
Then we had the asparagus salad off the main menu. Nicely grilled asparagus, topped w a poached egg, some goat cheese, arugula. It was quite tasty. The poached egg was hard rather than runny, which I thought odd, but my companion didn't care to ask if that was intentional, she was happy to have it.
And I finally tried the meatball panini, which I think is the last meatball prep on the menu that I hadn't tried. Quite tasty. I do like their meatballs.
The bar side looked like it was pretty busy; the tables side was nearly empty. We were admittedly eating on the early side of a Saturday night, but when we left around 8:15 there were just ~3 tables full on the dining side of the restaurant. Is this normal for Tavolo on a Saturday night? I haven't been in ~6 months but feel like it was busier last time I was there.
Chez Henri bar?
Any advice on how early the bar at Chez Henri tends to fill up on mid-summer Friday evenings? I'd like to swing by for a Cubano...
Thanks!
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Chez Henri
1 Shepard Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
May 2011 Openings and Closings
Or return it... I'm not sure Groupon's return policy in the event of closures, but I think this Groupon was sold back when you would have been able to use it for alcohol. Now that alcoholic beverages don't apply, Groupon will refund you for any certificate you bought under the old policy.
May 2011 Openings and Closings
Savant Project is closing -- last day is this coming Saturday.
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The Savant Project
1625 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02120
Groupon discounts that include alcohol violate ABCC rules [moved from Boston]
Yep, they updated it so it now does have the alcohol exclusion. When they originally posted it it didn't have the alcohol exclusion, which was odd. They must have written the copy for it before the recent hoo-ha.
Groupon discounts that include alcohol violate ABCC rules [moved from Boston]
Today's list of Groupons includes one from Bull McCabe's Pub in Union Sq Somerville -- this one doesn't exclude alcohol (as of this morning) . What gives - is this a mistake? I'm surprised to see this given that it's been just days since Groupon retroactively added fine print to prior deals that had included alcohol.
Restaurant for Sukkot Near Coolidge Corner??
Lineage is very fresh/harvest-based, consistent with how I think of the holiday.,
Half-priced appetizers for after-work drinks
This thread is a year old... there are more up-to-date topics on similar topics -- search for recession busters if you're interested.
2009 clam shack openings
Haven't seen it posted yet so thought I'd pass along the news from my phone calls this morning:
Farnhams in Essex is open for the season. Can't wait to get up there but today wasn't the day.
The Quincy/Wollaston Clam Box is open too. The clams today at Clam Box were quite good.
Tony's in Qunicy looked like it is still closed.
breakfast pizza?
Dogwood Cafe in JP (directly across the street from the Forest Hills stop) has it on weekends. I haven't tried it myself, but have heard from people who like it.
Calypso Sauce
Matouk's brand Calypso is carried at the Hi-Lo in JP (on Centre St in Hyde Square), and at Baby Nat's fruit market near the intersection of Walk Hill and American Legion Hwy.
I think I may have seen it at the Whole Foods in Fenway too, but am not sure about that one.
Supports Local Farms? Vegetarian Options?
Yes, Vee Vee supports local farms and has vegetarian options.
J.T. Farnham's -- have they opened for the season yet?
Awesome, thanks for checking. Nice to know my internal clam-clock is calibrated appropriately.
I'll report back assuming I get there this weekend. Mainly it's the red scallop chowder I've been missing over the winter.
J.T. Farnham's -- have they opened for the season yet?
I think they usually open sometime around the first week/weekend of March... anyone know the exact date?
Oui, Oui to Vee Vee in JP
I was there last weekend and my group really liked it:
-very nice service. Not flawless, but well-meaning and happy to please.
-A great local beer selection, and the wine list looked interesting too.
-Great appetizers -- we tried 3... the squash soup, the scallop and shrimp fritter, and the beet salad. All were very tasty and I thought were a good value. The fritter was our favorite, and the beets were great but I wanted a bit more fennel in the mix. We sent back the squash soup as it was not hot enough at first -- and they remade it rather than microwaving the bowl. I really liked the flavor of the soup.
For mains, we had the skate, the cod, and the vegetarian pasta. Pasta and skate were quite good. The skate was not at all overdone when we ordered it. I wish I could say the same for the cod -- it was a nice piece of fish, but overcooked for my taste. When I ordered, I had thought about whether to ask for it on the underdone side, but decided not to bother. Next time I go, I'll make sure to let them know how I like it. the cod was also paired with a mushroom ragout and on a bed of wheatberries, and overall it lacked moisture. But had nice flavor.
I was talking with the owner after our meal and she said that they had gotten some comments that the cod was underdone, so she thinks the chef has started to cook it longer. So, if you like your fish less done, you may want to speak up in advance.
Pizza delivery in Jamaica Plain: Mission Impossible?
I think your best bet is to walk/drive down to Dogwood Cafe for good JP pizza. Get it well-done / extra crisp if you like your crust on the crispier side. They don't deliver though.
For delivery, I'd go with either Same Old Place, or Planet Pizza, both on Centre Street. Same Old Place is much better if you pick it up yourself, but they do deliver.
There's also JP House of Pizza (haven't tried it), Forest Hills Pizza (decent), and a couple of others.
Help - Dumpling craving!
I went to "Gourmet Dumpling House" tonight for my second visit in 2 weeks. It's pretty good:
1st visit:
-Soup dumplings with pork -- very good. Slightly less delicate wrappers than the ones at Taiwan Cafe, which was a plus for us. Only 1 broke/spilled on its way to our plates. Quite good.
-Taiwanese style pan fried dumplings. These were excellent. I think pork and leek, heavy on the leek. Longer and and with thinner skins than the pan-fried ravioli.
-Stir fried green beans with dried shrimp. Very tasty.
Tonight, I went on my own before the Pats game. I got the Taiwanese dumplings again, and a bowl of Taiwan Noodle Soup. Both were great.
The only downside tonight was that they tried to enforce a $20 minimum to keep me from using my Visa. I told him they weren't allowed to do minimums (it violates their agreement with the credit card companies) but I think the language barrier made that a difficult conversation, and ultimately I paid cash.
Ashmont/Shawmut T stop area for dinner
I'm a fan of Common Ground, and I've been many times and never been "recruited".
Food Wall in JP
I tried Triple Eatery last night and was unimpressed as compared to the similar dishes I've gotten at Food Wall.
I'll take Food Wall's dumplings, chow foon, soups, and Pepper&Pepper beef over Triple Eatery's versions.
Arnold Arboretum -- where to eat?
Dogwood is open for lunch every day except Monday -- so I'd consider it. It's my favorite neighborhood place. Their hours and menu are online at http://www.dogwoodcafe.com/
Best Salad in Boston???
I'm a big fan of the salads at Garden of Eden, on Tremont. Always very fresh ingredients, interesting variety, and good lunch portions.
My favorite was a salad with lentils and duck last summer. There may have been beets as well.
Canto 6, Jamaica Plain
I've become a big fan of Canto 6. Their savory items in particular -- last weekend I had a great carmelized onion, blue cheese, and bacon biscuit.
And the coffee is quite good too.
Swenson's ice cream?
I'm pretty sure the Swensen's ice cream in Quincy Market is long-closed, but someone else please chime in on that.
If memory serves, Swensen's over-expanded years ago, the US corporation declared bankruptcy, and most if not all of the corporate/franchised stores closed down. The original is still open in San Francisco in the Russian Hill neighborhood, I think is still owned by the original family, and is a great place to visit. Swiss Orange Chip flavor is my favorite.
There are also a lot of international franchises still using the name, but I've never visited any.
Popeye's a la Kenmore
Following all of the Popeye's talk on this board, I gave it a skeptical try last night before the Sox game. I was not impressed; to me, this was a squarely average fast-food experience, not a chowish one.
I spent about $8 and got a 3-piece meal, the cajun rice side, and a biscuit.
The fried chicken, which I ordered spicy, was in my opinion pretty bland. On the greasy side, salty, fresh enough, but overall tasted more like salt and coating than it did chicken.
The cajun rice was dry and mostly tasteless. I added their spicy sauce, which made it ok. But just barely.
The biscuit was pretty good, very buttery.
All in, I'm still not sure why everyone was anticipating the opening so much. There's got to be some better quality fried chicken than this in the Boston area.
Best burger in Boston ????? any successors to Tim's on Columbus Ave
Which Costello's / which JJ Foley's? I'm hoping you are referring to the Costello's and JJ Foley's Fireside Tavern versions in JP...
best lox?
Can you give address and contact info for the Rite outlet you mentioned? What else do they have? I searched the web but haven't come across it.
corndogs
The snack bar at Ponkapaug in the Blue Hills Reservation has them during the summer. Not gourmet, but fun and a great place to get a reasonable snack-bar meal and sit near the pond.
