We went at 6:30 on a Thursday and were the only ones there; by the time we left, there were two other couples. Service was great but not sure if it was because we were the first one there.

I thought Yakitori Zai provides a great blend of authentic charcoal grilled chicken with a touch of fusion and ambiance for those looking for traditional (every chicken part) along with new styles of presentation (cherry tomatoes with cheese, scallops with a mild vinagrette). We also got the agedashi tofu and the agedashi mochi (redundant a bit but worth it) which we would have loved even more if it had been hotter. As other posters have noted, for us the only downside would be price, though we ate whatever we wanted to try, which included:
momo with negi - with a bit of tare
mune with yuzu kosho - my favorite
2 teba
bonjiri - husband's favorite
kawa
enoki mushrooms with bacon - probably our 2nd most favorite dish
omakase vegetable - that night was zucchini, tomatoes, shiitake (which I wanted to order again ala carte), okra, corn (could have had a bit more grill and shoyu)
jako salad - tomatoes were succulent that night
yaki-onigiri - just right amount of crisp and aroma
including 2 beers, and were stuffed. Total was about $120 not including tip. Would consider it in the occasional-going-out type of place. Menu on their website doesn't include the seafood and a couple more chicken options. We'll be back there for another special occasion.

Flour Bakery does everything but the bird - weʻve ordered sides from them for the last three years (and at Christmas time) and everything has been pretty good, particularly their chocolate cream pie (to die for).

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Flour Bakery + Cafe
12 Farnsworth St, Boston, MA

I had a colleague who ordered the deep fried turkey last year and said that it was the best turkey ever (no leftovers on the next day).

minor typo but should be "sakana dake" (instead of "deke") which means as scotty27 says, "just fish" or "only fish"

Ah, thank you, momskitchen! I just googled it and the explanation was very fascinating. I will try that method. Sorry to keep hijacking the thread!

thanks, sunshine842! just visually looks so unappealing...I suppose I could cover it with more nuts next time?

Just made this recipe two days ago, which is absolutely yummy, but wanted to ask - I used Ghiradelli chocolate chips but less than 24 hrs later, the chocolate looked as though it bloomed. Had it in a tupperware after it was cooked and chopped. Any thoughts?

Another local (Hawaii) treat with what we call the "Okinawan sweet potato" is a sweet potato haupia (coconut pudding) pie. Here's a link to photo and recipe:

http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_...

Edit: Oops, so on further wikipedia searching, apparently, purple yam is different from the Okinawan sweet potato; I still think it still would taste good...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Canto 6 yet. They were my top croissant place before I found Clear Four's just because Clear Flour is easier to get to. I've loved their plain and chocolate ones and their special savory ones are also equally yummy.

Also love the ham and cheese from Japonaise Bakery.

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Japonaise Bakery
1020 Beacon St, Brookline, MA

kobuta, just let Mr. Eda, the gentleman behind the fish counter, know that you'd like them to carry the crab croquettes- I ended up congratulating them when they opened up and he mentioned that they would try to get things that people were interested in buying.

Not the bottled juice, which I found at Japan Market (?) at Brookline Village, but saw the actual fruit at Ebisuya in Medford this afternoon (I haven't seen the actual fruit since I lived in Tokyo!)

We really liked the afternoon tea on three occasions at the Boston Harbor Hotel (Intrigue Cafe) but the last time we went was more than two yrs. ago, both for the delicate sandwiches, the scones that were more English than American, and the cakes that had just the right amount of sweetness.

Does anyone know if it's still available? I haven't been able to find it on their website...

Not sure if this link will work but Ebisuya posted interior photos!

http://picasaweb.google.com/ebisuyama...

nsenada, I've had caneles from a bakery before (particularly from Balthazar Bakery in NYC) and while the Trader Joe's one tries to be good, it really does not come close to anything you can get at a bakery. Flavor is good but texture just sucks...

Ditto what Care13 says - I love how they're so chewy - we keep asking about it at the Washington St. location. On Wed. when we went to the Ft. Point one, I found them and ended up buying two.

rmperry, just because I love how good Flour ones are, I was looking online for a recipe. Someone wrote that the recipe on the current box actually cuts the butter in 1/2 to make it a more "heart-healthy" recipe. I haven't tried what they say is the original, which is 1 stick butter and 1 10 oz. bag of marshmallows.

Lark Find Foods cookies/shortbread can be found at the Common Crow - they have all the varieties.

The four amuse would be "sakizuke" in kaiseki terms.

Will ditto the recommendation of the kaiseki lunch although last time we went was about a year ago. I agree that with both lunch and dinner, the earlier you get in, the quicker you get food.

bear, which Trader Joe's have you found it at? I looked at the Brookline one but just could not find it...

As a last minute kind of thing, I'm looking to find an afternoon tea place either in Gloucester/Rockport area. I know the Yankee Clipper Inn has been raised but it's not clear from the website whether it's available this time of year. Any thoughts or recommendations?

As someone originally from Hawaii, if you want true local-style saimin, which I think is slightly different from ramen (soup base is lighter). Wikipedia has a decent entry on it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saimin

You can buy it online from the following places:

Zippy's (their chili and Portuguese bean soup are local favorites as is their saimin):

http://www.zippys.com/zippys/dept.asp?dept%5Fid=6&mscssid=P16UTJL7X5DG8G2FCV97M6DW60SNBAP9

Or here, which I haven't ordered from before. Try S&S brand, which I thought was the brand served at McD's, but Wikipedia has proved me wrong:
http://www.dahawaiistore.com/food.html

Lucky you! Hope it turns out well - I had their midnight chocolate cake at a 40th birthday party and it was excellent - rich, intense dark chocolate, moist! Although it made me want a glass of milk to eat it with. We ordered a small triple chocolate mousse cake by mistake (intended to be the midnight choc. cake) for my husband's birthday and it was a welcome surprise since the cake was also served to his parents. Just right balance of lightness/rich and chocolate.

Great Bay makes an interesting one, more soupy than thick, where the potatoes/carrots/celery/clams are presented to you in a bowl first, then subsequently liquid is poured. It allows you to taste the other ingredients separately without it all tasting like chowder. In some ways, although non-traditional, it's up there in top three chowder places for me. Just make sure to ask them to bring it extra hot - by having it in the metal teapot, we had it once where it was not hot enough.

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Great Bay
500 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215

David at Christopher's Cafe - I agree, he has some scrumptious scones, cookies, brownies at a reasonable price and great attitude.

Thanks, Food4Thought!

Silly question but have a sudden hankering for Mike's City Diner pancakes...got to have an early start but was wondering what time they open on Sundays. Would appreciate if anyone knows. Their restaurant has no answering machine that gives their hours.

I was just going to put my vote in for Flour's one - cake base is not too spicy, very moist. Good balance of cream cheese frosting and cake. Best, I think, at room temperature when frosting has had time to warm up a bit. On the top is a curl of glaceed carrot. Mmm...

My mom used to make curry egg with Japanese curry powder (in a small red tin found in both Chinese/Japanese supermarkets) Mix a TBS of this powder with about 2 TBS shoyu (this is a rough estimate - adjust according to taste) and soak in mixture overnight. I used to have one sliced and in my lunches.

Yup, I think the cut is for ease of peel afterwards.

Good luck with it! Whenever I see the fresh shoots, I'm very tempted, but thinking about the 2-part process, haven't done it yet. But the thought of fresh shoot in rice or cooked with dashi and sprinkled with katsuobushi *drool*

I haven't cooked this myself yet but the following is according to my Japanese cookbook (I'm assuming this is the uncooked, unpeeled one that you have). Supposedly the skin is about 1/3 of the weight of the bamboo shoot. The book recommends cooking with it because there's something that helps with the texture:

1) Remove hardened areas near base of the shoot. Cut off the tip of the shoot in a slightly diagonal manner. Make a small cut in the top later of the skin, being careful that you don't cut into it.
2) Add enough water in pot to cover the bamboo, add a handful of rice bran (komenuka) and two chili peppers - this takes out the bitterness and ensures that it doesn't darken.
3) Take an otoshibuta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otosibuta) or a piece of heavy alumunium foil to fit the size of your pot and place on top. Cook over high heat, making sure it doesn't boil over (roughly 20 min for 400 g). When a skewer can pierce above the base easily, it's ready. Turn off the heat and let cool down in mixture. (If you take it out while it's hot, it retains the bitterness).
4) Once it's completely cooled, take the shoots and wash under cold water and peel skin. Once peeled, store in cold water. If not cooking immediately, change water at least once a day.
5) Now you can saute, add to rice, or cook however you'd like to.

Hope this helps!

I've enjoyed Zingermans mail order and have had many of the items in this box (as part of a different gift box). They have a bereavement box:

http://www.zingermans.com/Product.pas...