Chrispy75's Profile
Things kids think are "normal" these days...
Oooooh...what a precious moment. He was definitely slumming it! God, can't imagine that people actually have to eat that slop on a daily basis.
Some good mooncakes... Singapore, Hong Kong, and ban on egg yolks
The ban only seems to cover mooncakes from China. You should be fine if you're flying out of SG. Worst case is they confiscate it.
Some good mooncakes... Singapore, Hong Kong, and ban on egg yolks
Mooncakes are perfectly fine to bring to the US, yolk or not. I've brought a many of baked goods back from Asia to the US and there was never a problem. Here is a helpful list of what is acceptable and permitted. I can't vouch for what is allowed in other countries, so if you are planning a stop over elsewhere, you might want to check their customs site.
General List of Approved Products
This list covers products from all areas except Canada,
Mexico, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Bamboo, dried poles only, no green at all
Beads made of seeds (but not jequirity beans)
Breads, cakes, cookies, and other bakery goods
Candies
Cheeses, hard, fully cured (but not cottage cheeses)
Coconuts (but husks or milk must be removed)
Coffee, roasted beans only
Dried foods, including milled rice, beans, and tea
Fish
Flower bulbs (but not crocosomia, gladiolus, and watsonia
bulbs from Africa, Argentina, Brazil, France, Italy, Malta,
Mauritius, Portugal, or Uruguay)
Flowers, most fresh or dried kinds (but not with roots), except
eucalyptus
Fruits, canned or dried products only
Herbarium plants (but not witchweed)
Herbs, dried, for medicinal use
Mushrooms
Nuts (but not chestnuts or acorns or nuts with outer husks)
Sauces, canned or processed
Seaweed
Seeds (Seeds of flowers and vegetables are generally enterable.
Seeds of woody trees and shrubs require a nursery stock
permit from PPQ.)
Shamrocks, without roots or soil
Soup and soup mixes (but not those containing meat)
Spices, dried (but not curry leaves)
Straw animals, hats, baskets, and other souvenirs (but not
items stuffed with straw)
Vegetables, canned or processed
Best Banh Mi
I am familiar with the place. It's nothing more than a beer bar so calling it a sitdown restaurant is a bit of a stretch. And for $12 that banh mi better be 3 feet long!
Best Banh Mi
Armsby Abbey is really charging $12 for a banh mi?!?!? Are you serious?!?!?
The Meat House-Coolidge Corner
Just what CC needs, another chain. I guess as far as chains go, it could be worse.
Jamaican buffet - Weekly! On a farm!
Sorry, I wasn't referring to Rhythm & Spice, but rather R&S Jamaican Restaurant on Blue Hill Ave.
My one and only experience with Rhythm & Spice went something like, are you really charging $15 for couscous, plantains and chutney? And this was like 15 years ago!
Jamaican buffet - Weekly! On a farm!
Didn't R&S used to have jerk chx that was cooked out back or maybe it was something they did for Carnival one year, don't remember. You're right, Boston doesn't have many places that are preparing it outside, but I guess Falmouth is closer than NY.
Jamaican buffet - Weekly! On a farm!
"With the paucity of food from the islands in this town,I ain't complainin'! :) "
I take it you don't make it down to Dorchester/Mattapan very often?
Cutty's - Brookline Village in Salon
But they make up for it on their drinks. $.80 for a fresh lime juice isn't bad in my book. The first time that I ate there, I definitely left feeling that I could have eaten more, but after 5 minutes after leaving, I didn't notice it. I would definitely go there more often if they put their Sat.special pork sandwich on as a regular offering.
Mudbugs in Boston.
And I thought that is what I did by posting recent links on the subject. It has come up quite a bit recently, especially in a region not typically associated with crawfish. Besides a place that you haven't tried, and one that closed two years ago, what do you have that helps the OP out?
Mudbugs in Boston.
WTF?!?!?! Is crawfish the new pork or something? Geez, it's been a popular topic this year.
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/691676?tag=search_results;results_list
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/313948?tag=search_results;results_list
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/695431?tag=search_results;results_list
where to buy bird's eye chili?
Just picked up some at Russo's today. They had both green and red ones.
Bubor Cha Cha late night - Marliave cafe this a.m.
And WAY overpriced to boot. I even think Merlion was better, though they were pretty bad too. At least they weren't pretentious and warned you that the food wasn't going to be the same as you'd find in SIngapore/Malaysia. My feeling is that if you can't do it at least half-arsed, don't bother.
Bubor Cha Cha late night - Marliave cafe this a.m.
Wow, if these dishes are a notch below Penang's, then they must be completely inedible. Went once to Penang and found it to be the worst rendition of SE Asian food that I've had anywhere. Granted Boston doesn't really have a large SE Asian community, but man, Penang was awful.
Sooo...Stoddard's?
The neighborhood around Stoddard's is pretty much luxury condos now so I guess dropping what seems to me like ridicululous prices for burgers and beer is the "norm" for the clientele that they are looking to attract. I guess a similar comparison can be made about Post 390 and Woodward. I guess my idea of a neighborhood place and theirs is much different.
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Post 390
406 Stuart Street, Boston, MA 02116
April openings and closings
Wow, I am shocked! It's almost going on two years since they officially announced plans for this place.
Wings wings wings
Agree with you on Wendell's. Haven't had any in the area that even come close. I'm there every couple of weeks or so. What I like is that they don't mess around with honey flavored or other sauces. They just stick to varying levels of heat, but do offer boneless for those who like them that way.
Azama Grill Report
Shawarma King does not have an all fava bean falafel or even an acceptable chickpea one. In fact, it's probably the worst thing on their menu. They are the premade and sit out until one is needed for a sandwich or dinner plate. Then they are nuked for a few seconds.
Dorado Tacos - excellent experience
I agree with you 100% on the cemitas at Dorado. I was intially excited to learn that a place nearby would be serving these up, but was completely underwhelmed by the lack of flavor, skinless bonless chicken that they use and the tiny sandwich for what I consider a high price. I hate comparing NYC to Boston, but if Dorado could make a cemita that's even close to the ones out in Queens, I think they would start sucking away Anna's burrito crowd.
Brighton/Brookline suggestions
They won't have Valentine's Day menus, but Jo Jo Taipei and Shanghai Gate might have special menus for Chinese New Year. Went a couple of years back to Shanghai Gate for CNY and reservations were needed.
Azama Grill Report
Stopped in over the weekend to see what Azama had to offer. I grabbed a chicken shawarma dinner plate and a veg combo plate to go so that I could go home and sample a cross section of the menu. The owner was there and very friendly. He gave out samples of his falafel, which he claims are the best you will ever find anywhere. They were nice and light, crispy and probably the strongest offering that Azama has. Best that I’ve had? A stretch, but still solid. The menu is made up of kebabs, shawarma and standard Middle Eastern mezze items. I expected to see a couple of Egyptian dishes on the menu or offered as specials, but they weren’t there. Prices were great with shawarma plates running $6-$7. The atmosphere is stark with a little counter space around the perimeter that can accommodate around 8 people or so. After a wait of about 35 minutes, I finally received my order. A little strange since the only item that required cooking was the falafels that were part of my veg combo. There were two people working. One was the owner and the other a helper. It was pretty obvious watching them that they are very new to the restaurant business. I am sure they will get the hang of things once they become more established and know what people generally order. The chicken and lamb kebabs that they were making up looked good. The chicken looked very fresh as did the lamb chops in the case.
Now to the food. I was very disappointed after I got home and dug in. My main issue was that everything was completely devoid of flavor. I was shocked that chicken shawarma, baba and hummus had absolutely no taste. I’m not talking just a little under seasoned, I mean no flavor. Another big disappointment was that the rice wasn’t just undercooked but raw. I had to toss it. I’m sure that they will get the hang of cooking rice commercially, but if they sampled it beforehand, they would see that it wasn’t close to being done. I will say that there tabouli wasn’t half bad and the quality of all the ingredients were fresh.
I was happy to learn that another Middle Eastern place was coming to my area when I first heard about Azama. Unfortunately, they are not a Reef Café replacement. I was half expecting them to be like the slew of places in the Village that sling shawarma and falafel sandwiches to the late night crowd but it’s not quite that either. I’ll give them another shot in a couple of months to see if they’ve got the hang of seasoning their food.
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Azama Grill
54 Harvard Ave, Boston, MA 02134
Khayam Brookline...disappointing
Have been to Khayyam a couple of times now. While they do have some problems, I found that they do a decent enough job on the $5.99 all day specials and some of the items on the Persian menu. I particularly enjoyed the kashk bademjan (despite the abysmal pita,) kebob kubideh and the morgh kubideh.
The rice at Khayyam was ok, but I was hoping for a more the flavorful chelo that is the staple of most Persian cuisine. They use basmati rice, which is correct, but they don’t add the butter and yogurt like they should, which is why it’s rather dry and flavorless. The rice that is served at Khayyam with their $5.99 specials should be reserved for the stew (khoresht.) I guess it’s not cost effective for them to make chelo daily which is why they opt for the plain basmati.
Like other posters, I have a big problem with the frozen pita that is tossed on the grill. It is not part of Persian cuisine, but other Persian places like Molana use it too, so I guess it’s the norm for the area. They should at the very least be using lavash which is widely available. Heck, even fresh pita would be a step up.
I won’t comment on the hummus because I grew up on the stuff, and while there are places that do a decent job (Jerusalem Pita,) it’s hard not to compare it to my family’s version.
I think that they should ditch the Mediterranean menu and focus on Persian cuisine. I saw someone having a falafel plate and they were the preformed ones that looked pretty dense and dry. I did have a couple of bites of shawarma to see what it was about. They definitely aren’t cooking it on a doner machine so it was more liked grilled marinated chicken. Not terrible, but definitely not true shawarma.
I plan to return again and try some of the Persian main courses which should be a true test of how good they are. Has anyone ordered any of these or anything other than the $5.99 specials or items from the Mediterranean menu? I would like to hear how they do with what they should know best.
Formaggio Kitchen-Experiences Beyond Cheese?
Thanks all who replied. We ended up going with the beef stew and Bûche de Noël from Formaggio as well as some chorizo and a variety of cheeses. The beef stew was excellent and a big hit. It contained large pieces of very tender/well seasoned beef that were about the size of a small fist that were marinated in both armagnac and wine but neither overpowered the wonderful flavor of the beef. It was very hearty and a great winter food.
The Bûche de Noël was done very well too. It was individually made unlike a lot of the ones that I've had in the past that look like they've come off a machine. The frosting and cake were very rich, not overly sweet and had a hint of espresso which was a nice touch. I usually don't like coffee mixed with chocolate but it worked with this cake.
I was a little worried because when I placed the order they only took my name and number. They said that they couldn't guarantee that it would be there if I didn't get there early enough to pick it up. I found that a little strange because I was ready to give a credit card to hold it. I was more nervous when I arrived and they couldn't find it. Luckily, the order turned up and was in and out in about 20 minutes.
Authentic, Properly-Handled Caviar by Weight Source in Boston Area?
Beluga caviar has been banned in the US for many years now so you're going to have some trouble finding that one. Most caviar is sold in tins/jars, which is what you want, because it keeps it fresh for about a month. Once opened, it lasts a few days. I've never seen caviar sold the way that you describe. At around $200 oz. for Osserta and over $300 for the rarer Sevruga, it wouldn't make sense because freshness would deteriorate quickly.
I echo the Little Pearl recs. Whether this is your first introduction to caviar or have enjoyed it for a long time, they have something for everyone. Their caviar is extremely fresh and definitely worth checking out. No, they don't have Caspian, but did you see the Uruguayan Baerii? It is worth giving them another look.
Formaggio Kitchen-Experiences Beyond Cheese?
I realize that I can make the canapes and the fig app easily enough but my wife and I want a complete break this year. Believe me, at $10 a head for beef stew, I am still thinking of it.
The main reason for looking at Formaggio to begin with is because I will be getting mezze items and such from Arax and Sevan so it's in the general area. Also, cheese and sliced meats are on the list too so it would knock those off. It's not a place that I normally go to. Russo's is my usual spot for this type of stuff, but thought I'd try something different this time.
Maybe the lack seasoning (I'm envisioning WF prepared food section) just might be the thing for some of our flavor shy relatives since we'll be getting a few items from Dok Bua too. Basically, it's going to be a mix of things that 10-15 people can snack on over the course of a couple of days.
Thanks for the replies. I will post a follow up after Christmas as to what I thought. Enjoy your holidays!
Formaggio Kitchen-Experiences Beyond Cheese?
Hi All,
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with ordering anything besides cheese at Formaggio? I was looking at their holiday menu and there's a couple of things on it that might fit the bill for a Christmas gathering. I was thinking of the beef stew and maybe the smoked salmon canapes or fig medallions with gorgonzola. Has anyone used them for catering or for a Thanksgiving/holiday meal? I've gone through the threads, and while I see a lot of recs for them, I don't see many reviews for their foods. Thanks in advance.
Best Liquor (and wine) Stores in Greater Boston
Wine Gallery's (Brookline location) beer selection used to be MUCH better before they stretched themselves too thin by opening the Kenmore and Dedham locations. I've pretty much written them off because I would go there only to find a lot of empty shelf space that was never being restocked. I used to shop for beer there once a week and watched their decline for awhile. Too bad because their beer manager is a great guy and I enjoyed supporting a local business.
Winter 2009-2010 Openings and Closings
Hmmm, I haven't seen them at Shanghai Gate, but they might offer them as a special on occasion. How you describe them is right on. They are an ok snack food but if I had to choose a Chinese steamed sandwich or banh mi, the banh mi would win hands down.
