gremster's Profile
Best Boston Burger
Man, I forgot about grumpy whites.
I love that burger on garlic bread...god...soo much butter.
Ecco in Eastie -- anyone have an update?
I've been waiting for something like this in the neighborhood for a while. I've been really impressed with the food there. I definitely agree with some of the complaints on this reply. I wish they had some draft beer. I'm sick of the tapas concept. The decor's a little bit much. I hate martini menus that call anything put in a stemmed glass a martini. However, the quality to price ratio more than makes up for that.
The TVs are a bit curious...I'm hoping that they turn them off when there isn't a game on. I can see why they'd want people to drop in to sit at the bar to watch a few innings of a sox game, but I hate when places leave the TVs on (and the volume up) when some crappy sitcom is on.
The short rib shumai are awesome. I really liked the cheese plate...in particular the combo of sharp cheddar, sliced granny smiths and acacia honey is delicious. I was really looking forward to the house brined and smoked bacon, but didn't really like it that much. It was kindof like a broiled bacon filet, sliced horizontally so that there's a crispy edge on the top of each slice. The problem was that it was cooked 'medium', so the fat didn't reallly render. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt, and assume that the dish is a work in progress. I had the veal, which I thought was delicious. Hotoy mentioned that it was bland, and I guess the actual cutlet was, but the white truffle sauce was delicious...and just smelled fantastic. My wife had tuna au poivre, which really good. The waitress made sure to point out that it was 'seared', and if that was OK...a reminder that you're in eastie, where many aren't so sure about the idea of rare fish.
The wait staff was very pleasant, but a little shaky. We were a party of about 14, and we drink a lot, so that's to be expected. Actually, it's pretty impressive that they kept their composure when bringing out 6 or 8 martinis at a time that all look the same. ("I ordered a very dry hendricks martini...this isn't that dry")
Incidentally, they make a really good muddled cucumber gimlet (not the cucumber cosmo on their online menu).
Best burger in Boston ????? any successors to Tim's on Columbus Ave
I just got out of Four Burgers, on Mass ave in Central, and was thoroughly impressed. Similar in concept to UBurger...except you can get your burger cooked to order (which was my major complaint with Uburger.) And they've got beer and wine (major complaint #2 with Uburger...they've got milk shakes too), About the same price point, though. $7 for a cheeseburger. All the beef comes from Brandt Farm, in California (http://www.brandtbeef.com/)...same place that Grill 23 gets their beef. Fresh made fries.
For some reason, I've had bad luck the last few times I was at RFOs. Overcooked burgers, surly service and stale beer. Bartley's, I've never been impressed with.
East Boston-Most overlooked foodie destination
Has anyone tried the new D'Parma on Sumner (where Cafe Tavern Eclipse used to be)?
I've been to the Winthrop location a bunch of times, and really like it...I must confess that I like the BYOB option more than the food, but I'm pretty psyched for another decent restaurant option in Maverick.
I dropped in to grab a take out menu the other day, and it looks nice in there...(not as homey as the winthrop location was, but a considerable step up from the dive bar that was there before).
They seem to have a wine bar. My hope is that it might be a decent bar option on that side of the tunnel.
Also, does anyone know anything about what's going on where Sablone's used to be? I heard a rumor about 6 months ago, while I was waiting in line at Santarpio's, that the spot had been bought by the owners of Santarpio's, and they were planning on opening an upscale italian restaurant/martini bar. Sounds awesome to me...I don't know if it'll fly in that location, but I'd love more variety in that area...If you're familiar with Eddie C's at all, you might find this funny(from espn's "the sports guy" http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/071214):
Q: While visiting one of our friends in Boston this past weekend, a few of my college buddies and I spent Saturday getting hammered at various bars near Fenway. When we called it a night, we took the T back to the Maverick station, a trip that included half of the train spontaneously singing "Don't Stop Believing." When we got off the train, we decided to step into this bar called Eddie C's, a dive with none other than Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap. When we got inside, we encountered a few regulars with the strongest accents imaginable, who asked us if we were Sox fans. We aren't, which was fine by them, until my friend Tommy proclaimed his allegiance to the Yankees. They all gasped immediately, and one of them shouted, while smiling ear to ear, "... let's tie him to a tree!!!" He proceeded to reach into his jacket and, I kid you not, pulled out a 12-foot rope. We went outside and my friend was, yes, tied to a tree, complete with some road cones. The scene was unbelievable. We decided to leave when the same guy showed us his knife and said that he could cut some more rope if we needed it.
-- John, Washington, D.C.
SG: Yup, these are my readers.
East Boston-Most overlooked foodie destination
I live near Mama Blanca, and like that place a lot. Very good food, very cheap, very very friendly owner. The menu's basically the same as at every other pupuseria. I like angela's a lot, and I'm really hoping that they get their beer and wine license...they've got a petition in there, if you get a chance. I stopped into the 303 last weekend for a late bite and a beer on the trek home from the T. They added fried pickles to the menu, which were awesome. It seems like their having a little trouble finding their identity (coffee and sandwich shop, entree's, table service...it doesn't add up), but I feel like they're getting a little better every time I stop there.
Has anyone tried that Philadelphia Steak place? I've been meaning to stop in there for a while, but haven't made the time, yet.
Best Morning Pint
Wow, thanks.
So, citysearch says the downtown foley's is open at 8? Crap, someone on Yelp said that they open at 10am, and I never bothered to fact check. My own fault.
Best Morning Pint
So, I went out to the Elephant & Castle this morning for breakfast and to catch the sox game, and I thought that bars in MA aren't allowed to start serving beer until 8am. Well, they didn't start serving until 11am.
Then, I heard from a friend who was at the Cask n' Flaggon, and he said that they weren't going to serve any beer until the game ended.
Well, it's been a long time since I was going out for pints before noon on a weekday...too long. But was this just an initiative by Menino for the sox opener so that things didn't get out of hand? (I remember reading that bars around fenway had been threatened during the playoffs last year that they'd be held responsible for the bad behavior of thier customers)
Anyway, where can a respectable person go out to grab a beer with breakfast these days? For some reason, I thought that JJ foley's was an option, but they don't open until 10am. Does the Sligo still open at 8am?
