InmanSQ Girl's Profile
Boston area breakfast recap
I can't believe no one has mentioned The Neighborhood Restaurant in Union Square Somerville, MA! This Portuguese family owned restaurant is a must experience summer brunch destination for those in the know. The lines stretch down the block and by the end everyone agrees the wait was worth it!. Outdoor dining under a canopy of grape leaves on casual umbrella covered round tables and picnic tables. Every breakfast starts with their own homemade pastries and small bowl of their special cream of wheat (this is surprisingly delicious, I promise you). Each breakfast is an unconscionable amount of food....for around $10 they give you basically 2 breakfasts. One plate is eggs and home fries the second plate is something incredible like banana pancakes, or french toast, or pumpkin waffles, etc. You will leave stuffed for the day with really tasty, home made with love fare.
The only reason I am letting you in on the secret is I've moved too far away to go anymore and so you won't be in my way in the line ;)
http://www.theneighborhoodrestaurant.com/index.html
Boston restaurants with a service shtick?
My one experience at Salts made me think they also specifically train their staff on the same "Allow me to educate you as to how lucky you are to be dining at our fabulous but not frou-frou temple of gastronomy" hauteur. Every course came with a 10 minute description of where every ingredient had been sourced, down to the garnish! While the food was lovely and I am actually a big proponent of supporting local agriculture, this jumped the shark to almost a satirical level. When the waiter, with a straight face, started waxing poetic about the "hand foraged mushrooms" and how they had their own personal forager for the restaurant...all to describe the 2 chunks of mushroom in the veggie loaded stuffing, I had to suppress a case of the giggles.
Casual dinner recommendation in Acton/Concord/Maynard?
Honestly, local Concord / Acton/ Maynard casual fare can't hold a candle to Arlington, Somerville, and Cambridge, so when you have the chance, drive the extra 20 to 30 minutes down Rt 2, it's worth it (been living here over year now and doing that a lot). Here are your options if you have to stay local:
Little Pusan Korean in Maynard - very casual, but solid Korean food. Very much the family run little place where dad cooks and mom manages the front.
Asian Gourmet Rt 2 Concord - 2 floors, one Chinese food & hibach, the other sushi. Not nearly as vile as the decription sounds! The Chinese is surpizingly authentic and well executed!! Don't be throw off by the tacky exterior or pan-asian offerings!
Spicepepper Garden Acton - Really tasty Chinese American food. Very fresh ingredients and not too oily / fried.
Vincenzo's is very decent if your local, but not worth it if you live elseware.
Helen's was extremely forgettable when I went. Good for ice cream.
The 99 is just like you'd expect it to be, but with nicer waitresses than most 99s.
Cast Iron Kitchen is again solid for local but not worth the drive for anyone else. Their menu tends to be a bit hit or miss, but never terrible and sometimes really tasty. Very family friendly.
Colonial Inn is pretty tasty if you stick to things like Chicken Pot pie and other Yankee fair, but fails at anything adventurous.
Though you didn't ask for it, your best lunch spot is Nashoba Brook Bakery in West Concord (behind the gas station). Hidden gem alert! Wonderful sandwiches on fresh baked bread....any toppings or fillings you want with very nice options like pea guacamole, arugala, brie cheese, smoked turkey, curry chicken salad, etc....all for $7 a sandwich!
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Nashoba Brook Bakery Cafe
152 Commonwealth Ave., Concord, MA 01742
Colonial Inn
48 Monument Sq # 2, Concord, MA
Cast Iron Kitchen
177 Main Street, Maynard, MA 01754
Spicepepper Garden
36 Great Rd, Acton, MA 01720
Little Pusan
83 Main St, Maynard, MA 01754
Ducali Pizzaria serves surprisingly good pizza....who knew?!
I work just down the street from the TD Bank North Garden, so I've been meaning to try Ducali for ages and finally dragged some co-workers this Tuesday. I admit I went in with low expectations (pizza by the garden has always been suspect at best) and man was I blown away!
Gorgeous hand stretched pizzas with really top quality toppings, yeasty chewy crust, and ample portion size made for an unexpectedly decadent lunch. Their claim that their large serves 2 must be based on bigger eaters than us as we had to bring several slices as left overs to our grateful co-workers. We got 3 pies for 6 of us, one with 4 cheeses, one with potatoes rosemary and pancetta, and one with a bunch of meats (sausage, salami, and pancetta). All 3 were absolutely delicious, but the stand out was the potato...the flavor combination was addictive. If you like your crust really crisp, I'd ask for the pies well done as they definitely lean toward just golden brown....but I like them this way, so I was thrilled. The service was also friendly and prompt, so another plus there. They were sadly pretty quiet for the middle of the lunch hour, so I am guessing being on the very edge of the North End by the Garden has a lot of people making the same wrong assumption I did...thus my feeling the need to post.
I will say this definitely gourmet pizza, not classic Pizzeria Regina style pizza, but I think both varieties have their own inherent value and should be celebrated independently, not in competition with one another.
To sum up, if you are in the area and looking for a great pizza, look no further.
If you have to eat dinner by the Garden and don't want to get stuck at a crappy sports bar, look no further.
If you like old-school pizza, keep walking, you'll be annoyed :)
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DUCALI PIZZERIA & BAR
289 Causeway St, Boston, MA 02113
Steamed Cheeseburgers
I actually beg to differ as there are some surprisingly tasty and chowish finds on their menu. Their BBQ Beef Ribs are totally craving worthy! Massive portion of fall off the bone tender beef and sweet caramelized sauce with your choice of sides and corn bread. My hubby and I just went back there this past weekend for these and they were as finger licking good as ever!
Boston lowest in fast food consumption
While fun to see, Boston's lowest ranking has more to do with the viability of certain foodservice business models than Bostonians' presumed healthier / more refined eating habits. All the lowest cities on this list have a high and dense enough population with a high enough percentage of ethnic diversity to support a thriving independant "fast-food" / ethnic food market. Instead of McDonalds, Bostonians are buying cheap burritos, pizza, Pho, Bah Mi, Brazilian buffet, etc. from a sleu of independant eatieres that are just as fast and unhealthy as their franchised fast food counterparts, just without the stigma. Same for NYC, San Fran, Phili, Detroit, and all the other major cities at the bottom.
We don't build more McD's and Wendy's here because we all can get a cheap, filling, fast, unhealthy meals from local places that simply taste better. With all these easy access alternatives with meals that are $1-$2 difference from the FF chains but have massive improvements in flavor, there's just no appeal.
80 Thoreau in Concord
Great question with a possibly less than clear answer. They actually take their little gnocchi and sear the sides in a pan so that they are golden deep brown, so you get this great mix of fluffy, crunch, and slight chew in each bite. However this makes it hard to tell what the texture of the gnocchi was before it hit the saute pan :)
80 Thoreau in Concord
I just went to 80 Thoreau for the 3rd time last night and can confidently say this is an excellent dining establishment. Metro West, esspecially the northwest, has been dying for a restaurant like this for years and I am so happy it finnally showed up a year after I moved out here. My husband and I spent our first year making pilgramages to Cambridge because the only high quality restaurant out here was AKA Bistro and frankly they aren't as great as they think they are (or chagre for). 80 Thoreau could have opened in Cambridge or the South End and helt its own, no problem....there is no "phoning it in" because they know they are in the burbs at all!!
What stands out for me is their commitment to quality throughout every detail.
The space is beautifully rennovated....high ceilings, hickory floors, blemish free linens, interesting light fixtures that creat a mood instead of distract....the works....but it all simply creates an elegent but still inviting atmosphere that makes you want to take your DC for a nice date night or some good friends for a low key catch up over drinks and nibbles at the bar.
The food is all seasonal, locally sourced when possible, and uniquely prepared without being pretentious, self righteous, or strange for the sake of being strange. The impecable technique of the kitchen crew really shows as ever plate I have been served every time has been spot on in terms of meat cooked to the perfect temp, pasta the simmered to just the right consistency, veggies never over or under done, great crumb or chewiness from the bread, seasoned just to the right strength without being weak or salty, plated beautifully, and served hot though well timed without my ever feeling rushed.
The dishes I've tried so far are the seared gnocchi with morels (my favorite app so far, so tasty and such a nice combination of textures), the duck confit with salad greens and cherries ( very nice, but admittedly not life changing), the grilled lamb with turnovers (soooooo good! The turnover lamb filling is heavenly....I wish you could get it as an app!), and the parpadella with veal (beautifully made pasta, decadentally tender veal, all in a wonderfully flavorful sauce that doesn't overpower at all, just compliments). For desserts I've had the Strawberries Napolean (sweet and delcious finish without being too heavy, local strawberries allowed to shine ) and the pot de creme (rich chocolated and perfectly smooth withouth being too sweet or too intense).
I also have to pay my respects to the staff. They are all wonderfully friendly, helpful without being overly chatty, professional without being stuffy, and expertly trained. Water glasses stayed full, napkins refolded when you return from the restroom, and plates clearned never too early or too late. I am paticularly impressed how they walk the line between making you feel like you're having a fine dinning experience, but still make you feel comfortable and at ease, so you don't feel like you have to sit up extra straight in your chair or raise your pinky when you drink your water.
If your in Metro West, this restaurant is a must. If your in the city, I'm not sure I'd drive 30 minutes plus to try it as again it is as good as anything in the city, but not so much better I'd make a pilgrmage just for them. However if you are in the city and making a trip out to Concord to see Walden Pond, or bike ride, or apple pick, etc.....it would be a shame to miss the chance to visit 80 Thoreau for dinner while you are out here.
They are very busy, be warned, so call or use Open Table for reservations.
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AKA Bistro
145 Lincoln Rd, Lincoln, MA 01773
Favorite cold soups, please
chilled plum soup and cantalope pinapple soup
plum soup - take around 8 plums and simmer them in a sweet white wine (white zin, riesling, etc.) and OJ with some ground clove & cinnamon. Puree and sweeten to taste and chill.
Cantalope pinapple = 1 pinapple, 1/2 cantalope, handfull frest mint, little lime juice, puree and enjoy!
Sopha's Greek Pantry in Saturday's Wall Street Journal
Are you sure?
Fage Classic is 132 calories per 100g, so 214 seems really high
http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-yogurts-total-classic_f-ZmlkPTkzODM1.html
Greenway Names Dozen Vendors for 2011 (Food Trucks/Carts)
Sorry, but I don't buy this excuse. If J. Hook was interested in running a cart, they could absolutely turn a fine profit without sacrificing their current business.
1. Employees are not a finite resourse. They would hire a new kid to man the cart, not take their inside sales rep off the phone thus abandoning their restaurant business....no one is that stupid and you should give them more credit that that if you like them.
2. The article says the 6 vendors last year had 60,000 visitors, that's 10,000 per vendor during the first year of the program. Presuming they were out there for 4 months = 120 days, that's 83 customers a day! Far from the 11 you suggested. Given there are more options now and lobster rolls are pricey, it is still fair to guess they could sell 50 customers a day. Presuming the average bill would be at least $12 (it is a lobster roll), that's at least $600 to pay for a college kid looking for a summer job to toast buns and stuff rolls for $11 an hr for 8 hrs, which will cost you maybe $100 once you throw in employee payroll tax. Not sure what the rental fees are or the amortorized cost of the truck....but this doesn't look too shabby so far by most restaurant standards.
3. Yes there are plenty places for watery lobster in Boston...and they are all full for lunch all summer long! If anything that proves the market potential not detracts from their chances.
Decadent Chocolate Saturdays at the Langham Hotel, Boston: What's your feedback?
The last time I went it was still Le Meridien. Back then it was quite good (at least to me). They had a wide variety of chocolate desserts, from chocolate soup to custom made chocolate crepes. It was definitely all dessert and very rich, but if you made a point of only eating a savory salad as your meal for the day beforehand, you could definitely go in and sample plenty of dishes before you got sweet - overload. My favorite was the chocolate bread pudding made of croissants (sooo good). The trick is to go with friends and treat it like dim sum, where you taste bites of the dishes others bring back to the table, rather than committing to eating a full slice of each cake or ramekin of creme brulee. I apologize if the quality has changed over the years and would defer to hounds who have visited more recently!
Kowloon-Awful!
While I'll be the first to agree it is not fine dining, I am very surprised by the dishes you had an issue with. Their wings are heavily marinates, to the point of almost salty usually, never tasteless and their pork strips tend to lean on the fatty side, so I've never encountered a dry one except maybe in my home leftovers a few days later. This does not mean what you experienced didn't happen, it's just really odd for them. Sorry you hit them on an off night....their Pu Pu Platter is usually very tasty :(
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Pu Pu Restaurant
2060 Centre St, West Roxbury, MA 02132
Best (NON-Buffalo flavored) Wings in Boston?
I remember a cheezy old recipe for Sweet & Sour Sauce from Better Homes and Garden's in the 70's that had a flavor very reminiscent of the Saugus Wings (which was made with pineapple and cherry juice, soy sauce, corm starch, and some other forgotten ingredients). My guess is that Saugus wings are Sweet & Sour Sauce mixed with Soy Sauce, a touch of molasses, and a bunch of chopped garlic and simmered down to the black magic we know and love. I am guessing this because they invented the recipe on site using whatever was in the kitchen (molasses is used to make the lobster sauce).....with a leaning toward whatever the people of Saugus seemed to like, which was the super Americanized dishes like lobster sauce and sweet and sour pork :)
Here's a bittersweet little story about Kowloon from back in the day for your entertainment. Kowloon became my family's favorite Chinese restaurant almost 30 yrs ago. The reason had little to do with the food and a lot to say about race relations at the time. My older sister and I are half Jewish and half Black, a controversial mix by 70's standards, to say the least. Our sweet little Jewish Great Aunt decided to take us out one afternoon for Chinese food at her then favorite restaurant Bali Hai in Lynnfield (we were around 4 and 7 at the time). The staff there, apparently fearful that a table of interracial diners would offend their other patrons, proceeded to ignore us and refuse to seat us for 45 minutes, while seating a slew of parties of 2 and 4 that walked in after us (even with my Aunt politely reminding them of our presence several times), until we got the hint and left. Determined not to let the afternoon be ruined, she drove us back onto Rt 1 and headed south till she found another Chinese restaurant, which as you can guess turned out to be Kowloon. The staff there seated us immediately, was ever so sweet to us, and forever won my Great Aunts esteem and gratitude. She and her son went to Kowloon almost weekly ever since that afternoon till her death 5 years ago and she insisted whenever the rest of my family wanted to go to Chinese food with her that this be the only restaurant we give our money to. Her presence was so familiar at the restaurant that they used to make her and her guests a complimentary round of drinks whenever she went (she ordered a Kahlua and Milk with extra milk each time, so it was hardily a profit loss). It wasn't till a few years before her death that it finally dawned on me to ask her why her staunch loyalty to Kowloon over all the other Chinese food in the area and she told me the story ( I was too young to really remember the event). While it's kind of a sad story, it gave me such an heightened sense of respect for her and the Wong Family that owns Kowloon. Living in modern times, it is easy to forget what life use to be like and how racism could taint something as innocent as taking your little nieces out for lunch....and far too easy to forget the strength it took to be good people like the Wong family and my Great Aunt during those less enlightened times.
So yes, Kowloon's food might be Americanized and their decor corny, but it is a family restaurant run by great people who take pride in their work and treat their patron with care and have earned ever ounce of their success! May they never change!
Best (NON-Buffalo flavored) Wings in Boston?
+1 for the Saugus Wings at Kowloon. I can't prove it, but I believe the sweet & sticky element is a mix of pineapple and maraschino cherry juice (or poor man's sweet & sour chicken sauce). They are surprisingly addictive actually....given the "everything in brown sauce" nature of the rest of the menu.
I will always have a little sweet spot in my foodie heart for Kowloon, no matter what other's think. They know who they are and own it unabashedly and have for over a generation. If your looking for palate challenging authentic Chinese or impeccably balanced Thai, then steer clear, but if you'd having a craving for sub gum fried rice, pu-pu plattter, lobster in lobster sauce, and a scorpion bowl all while sitting on a ship with a frilly plastic lai around your neck, then they are the best in the state, no question!
Sous Vide in the Home
How about using a meat injector to shoot some flavor into the center of the steaks manually?
Have You Seen My Ideal Burger in Boston?
Here are some options with *most* of your requirements
Hillston in Fanuel Market Place - Fresh ground, high quality, very tasty burger. Homemade egg bun, not brioche. Fries are good, thin, and hand cut. Not sure about pickle
http://www.hillstone.com/hillstone/
Eastern Standard on Commonwealth Ave - Beautifully done burger, thin and excent frites and aioli available. One issue is they serve the burger on brioche. Again not sure about pickles
http://www.easternstandardboston.com/
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Eastern Standard
528 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215
Rod Dee Porter Square: Progress?
Fair point, but only up to a certain level. If a burger joint says how would you like your burger cooked, and you say "raw with a refrigerator cold center", the restaurant will not do it and will give it to you rare. The customer is always right, right up to the point they ask you for something that may be an open liability for your business. Again, I have not eaten here, so the dishes may indeed be wimpy, but since the OP said he wants his food as hot as Ghost Peppers, I don't think I am wrong in presuming that the level of heat he wants served to him is a open liability to serve most Americans and I respect the chef reluctance to "give him what he paid for". Again, at a burger joint the customer may want and pay for food borne illness level raw, but that doesn't mean I the line cook am into S&M and want to harm my guests even if they pay me for it.
Rod Dee Porter Square: Progress?
While I have not eaten at this specific restaurant, I must object your statement that a Thai restaurant is not properly representing their country if their food is not 5 alarm spicy. This is actually a stereotype of Thai cuisine and has nothing to do with the widely varied and beautifully balanced flavors of the country.
My husband and I spent 20 days in Thailand for our honeymoon eating our way through the finest restaurants to the humblest of street carts and open market "restaurants" and I can tell you that while the Thai people love their heat, it is FAR from the only thing they love. The thing that they prize most highly is the BALANCE of salty, sweet, sour, and spicy! We were lucky enough to take a day long cooking class at The Blue Elephant in Bangkok, where the the head chef waxed poetic for nearing 45 minutes on the importance of balancing flavors and how the street food of Thailand was giving the entire cuisine a bad rep by being too focused on heat.
At the open market "restaurants" and other non-high end shops, table condiments were pretty much always available and included peppers and fish sauce and other ways to tweek the food your liking. This does not mean all the Thai cooks of Phuket, Chang Mai, and Bangkok were all bad cooks because they did not spice the food to the level YOU like before they served it, it means that this is how the Thai people as a whole prefer to serve their food, which is spiced to a well balanced level for that dish and then leave you free to crank up the heat as you wish.
The only exception to this was street cart food, which was pre-made and you weren't expected to sit around there to eat it and doctor it to your liking, so for those dishes, if they wanted it hot, they made it 5 alarm, period. I like heat, but there was a stir fried frog dish that will live in infamy in my family, in that my husband could not manage it and I had to switch dishes with him....the "veggies" for the stir fry were a mixture of sliced bird chilies, sliced red chilies, and fresh green peppercorns, with no other veggies for relief, save some garlic! I'm still surprised I managed to finish it.
Lastly, I have to mention that spicing food with fresh peppers is NEVER a precise science. Depending on the time of year, the age of the fruit, and even just the environment from one farm to the next, the spiciness of a specific type of pepper can vary wildly! 2 bird chilies that made a Tom Yom soup unbearable the day before may make the soup only medium today. While I agree that chefs should always taste their food, sometimes correcting a dish can be very hard. especially when it's something like a stir fry where when you discover it is too mild, throwing in more raw pepper would mean making the rest of the dish mushy while you wait for the new peppers to cook. People also forget that if a pepper is hot enough, it can actually give you chemical burns and other real damage (aggravate stomach issues, induce vomiting, etc.) and frankly a lot of people who claim they like "spicy" really can only handle American level spice, so with those two very real issue in mind, you can't blame the chef for being reticent to make your dish ultra spicy and taking the safer route of making your dish American hot and letting you crank the heat on your own.
Sorry, I'll stop ranting now :)
Dining out with a new baby
Yes it is spicy and that's a good thing :) There is a reason that children from other cultures can can eat all sorts of strange and spicy foods and American kids must be force fed chicken finger and Lunchables till their in highschool....and it is this very "shelter the baby from strange flavors" mind set. The best thing you can do through out your pregnancy and nursing is eat well flavored foods (not necessarily searing hot, as that can upset your stomach, but spiced with flavors and some mild heat). When your pregnant the spices and herbs make your amniotic fluid smell, so your kids gets used to and likes the smell of things like garlic and curry from day one, and once the kid is on the outside, it flavors your breast milk the same way. In India, babies are fed curry as early as 7 months old.
I say order any any all of those suggestions from Stripper Guy, just ask them to make it "medium" and make sure you intermix some spicy and non-spicy foods you should be all set! Enjoy and help awaken the palate of your future chowhound :)
Boston Area Chinese Buffet
The forgotten value of the buffet is the variety. If I choose to dine alone or with a small number of guests, there is a definite limit to the number of dishes I can try at one meal. When you dine at a buffet, you can try little bits of several dishes that interest *you* without the challenge of worrying that your fellow dinner guest have to be interested in trying the same several dishes. Dining in Chinatown is wonderful with a group of 6 when you can try little bits of lots of fun stuff, but if you're with 2 to 4 people, especially if some of the party are picky / unadventurous, you end up ordering much "safer" dishes and getting to branch out less.
Sadly, many look at buffets purely as a chance to stuff their face with as much food as possible for a fixed rate, thus the bad rep of sub standard food and greedy fellow diners. When done right, a buffet can be a fun food exploration, when done wrong it's The Country Buffet (nuff said). I wish more restaurants in Boston, Asian in particular, would invest in quality buffets. The prices will be higher than the standard $7.99 stuff-your-maw lunch variety, but I think there are plenty of foodies in Boston that would ante up for the experience.
Nice, Foodie Quality Lunch near Colonial Theater - Reservations a Plus?!
We are going with some good friends to see Hair at the Colonial Theater (106 Boylston Street, Boston, MA) this weekend and want to meet them for a nice lunch beforehand. The hope was that this could be a slightly nicer occasion in a place with good food that takes reservations. All the nice places in the area I know (Avilla, Bin Osteria, Teatro) are not open for Saturday lunch. It need not be super fancy, but just not crappy...someplace we can linger for an hour+ and catch up and eat great food and make our friends feel like it was worth investing in a baby sitter for one of their few child free jaunts into the city.
Any suggestions on where we can go?
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Teatro
177 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111
Shwarma- Best Of, and Jerusalem, Garlic 'n Lemons, Falafel King, etc., plus Lamb Kabobs
I know you said you were'nt impressed by them, but I'd encourage you to give Rami's in Brookline another try. I have always really enjoyed their lamb shwarma (though they don't always have it).
http://www.yelp.com/biz/ramis-brookline
There is also Garden Halal Restaurant on Blackstone Street, Boston. Total hole in the wall, but really tasty shwarma and other prepared dishes ( had the best cauliflower of my life there, oddly enough) . http://www.yelp.com/biz/garden-halal-meat-boston
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Rami's Food Products
324 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446
Shwarma- Best Of, and Jerusalem, Garlic 'n Lemons, Falafel King, etc., plus Lamb Kabobs
By the way, the price and lack of use of lamb in Jerusalem is less health driven than you think. One of the main drivers is a little known complication in making kosher lamb. The best meat of the lamb is his leg, but to make it kosher, all the major veins of the leg must be removed with a surgeons precision. While this issue also exisits with beef, the ratio of best meat of the creature to vein removal is decidedly better, thus making the labor costs of such efforts far more feasble and budget friendly. In the US, this issue makes it nearly impossible to find kosher leg of lamb outside of NYC....kosher producers just ship the shanks and sell the rest of the lamb leg to un-kosher producers rather than deal with the fuss.
A Steak House without Steak House Prices?
This info is may be a little late, but maybe you can tuck this restaurant idea away for another date down the line. If you BF loves steak and is willing to expand his horizons a bit, I'd love to suggest Tango, an Argentinian Steak House in Arlington, MA. An Argentinian Steakhouse a different experience vs. your classic American Steakhouse: attractive -date night atmosphere, but not as fancy / stuffy as some of the Boston steakhouses, meats are grilled beautifully, but usually basted in a very tasty Chimichurri sauce (garlic, pasley, vinegar, and olive oil), side are usually things like fried slices of potatoes, not creamed spinach, apps are usually empanadas or olives, not wedge salad.
The last time I went, I had a wonderful skirt steak that was grilled perfectly and ridiculously tasty with that addictive Chimmichurri sauce (the slices of fried potatoes are wonderful to sop up the juices and sauce). Their sangia is very good and while we were too stuffed for the empanadas and olives, the table next to us got both and they looked wonderful and were devoured with gusto by our neighbors.
They waitstaff is very nice and will gladly answer your menu questions. They also do a nice job of keeping water glasses full and clearing plates without making you feel rushed. They are also far more affordable than most steakhouses with most steaks costing around $22 and only the filet mignon and 12 oz sirloin climbing to $28. The best deal of the house is the mixed grill for 2, with lots of fun grilled meats and potatoes and I think it is like $21 a person.
http://www.tangoarlington.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/tango-restaurant-arlington
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Tango Restaurant
464 Massachusetts Avenue, Arlington, MA 02474
Recs for high/afternoon tea in Boston
Boston Harbor Hotel
http://www.roweswharfseagrille.com/seagrilltea.html
I have been several times and have always really liked it. The setting is lovely, tea selection is wonderful, the food is lovely, and service is very nice.
The food is not life changingly unique, but everything is well execute. Afternoon tea is not supposed to be really weird though...there should be some well made scones, some finger sandwiches, and some bakery desserts, period. Their finger sandwiches are actually quite tasty and pretty neat (they have a light and dark rye checker board with smoked salmon and creme fraiche that really cute and yummy) . Their desserts are also all really well baked (I really liked their pecan squares). I have had some wonderfully complex and delicious teas ( their harvest blend is wonderful). Their prices are also extremely affordable, which makes it a more frequent treat option.
Harbor Tea (champagne, fresh cut strawberries and Devonshire cream, plus the traditional scones, tea sandwiches, and pastries + 1 pot tea) $26
Traditional Tea ( classic line up of scones, tea sandwiches, and pasties + 1 pot tea) $18.50
Light Tea (2 scones + 1 pot tea) $10.50
PRIME RIB
I haven't been in a long time, but the Hilltop Steakhouse on Rt 1 in Saugus used to have great prime rib. Most of the other places I like for the dish are too far away ( Flemmings in Boston and Coach Grill in Wayland if your curious).
Hope this helps,
Melissa
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Coach Grill
55 Boston Post Rd, Wayland, MA 01778
ISO Great Bread Pudding?
The Langham Hotel used to serve an amazing chocolate bread pudding at their Chocolate Bar Brunch on Saturdays. It was made with croissants and chocolate and served warm with whip cream and chocolate sauce....to die for! Call to make sure they still offer it first, but if it's there, trust me, go!
http://boston.langhamhotels.com/restaurants/best_boston_restaurants.htm
I have tried to avoid the spot for a few years as that brunch is dangerous for anyone with a hearty appetite and a refined sweet tooth!
What Is the Least Romantic Restaurant in the Boston Area?
Honestly, i couldn't disagree with your description of Minado more. I agree that any buffet-style restaurant will be very unromantic due to high levels of noise, cafeteria atmosphere, the need to repeatedly get up from the table and break conversation to serve yourself your different courses, etc. However, calling the quality of the food, the prices, and the patrons "gross" seems quite the overstep. In terms of price v. quality, the meal is $30 which would be the equivalent of $10 app, $15 entree, $5 dessert. While their dishes are not Best in Boston variety, they are made competently and certainly on par for what I would expect to get for a $10 app, $15 entree, and $5 dessert at any Japanese restaurant. This does not take into account the benefit of variety and selection...if I want to try a tiny bit of this or that and not commit to 1 or 2 dishes, I get to and again for the same prices I would expect elsewhere for the same without that added perk. Could I spend 5X the price at Oishii or O-Ya and have an amazing meal? Sure. Does that mean Minado is a poor restaurant or value? No. It means they are offering middle ground, competent quality Japanese food in a suburban setting for a fair price for the variety, freshness, and pricier nature of the ingredients they utilize. If you are going to a $30 sushi buffet and expecting a $50 meal experience, that is your failing, not the restaurant.
As to the overweight customers being the majority offenders in terms of food quantity and greed, clearly you have not been their often or your eyes were drawn to the heavier set patrons because you find them so gross. I have been there several times and have seen many a patron of all shapes and sizes burning their way through more than their fair share....young thin men / teens actually being the majority offenders I've noticed.
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Minado Restaurant
1282 Worcester St, Natick, MA 01760
immersion blender?
Immersion blends are wonderful for avoiding needless extra cleaning.
1. Make that soup in the pot and puree it right inside. No pouring hot soup in batched into a blender, no cleaning the blender, no burning yourself.
2. Make salsa dressing for southwest salads right in the salsa jar (salsa verde with a little extra lime and cilantro works great).
3. Measure out the ingredients for a vinaigrette in your pyrex mixing cup and then make the emulsion in the cup.
There are plenty of recipes that just go faster and clean up quicker with an immersion blender. The key is the blender part is small, metal, pops off easy, and cleans in 2 seconds in your sink unlike a big blender or food processor. I make a great recipe for a chicken coating that's 1/2 and 1/2 chopped nuts and pomegranate molasses ground together. It's thick, sticky stuff that would suck to get out of a blender or food processor but cleans up much easier with the blender.
I also really like it for when you need a little pureeing in a soup. If you have a soup that's too thin, you can stick blend just a little in the pot, a few pulses here or there and stir the bot to let the broken down veggies / pasta thicken the broth. Quick, painless, healthier than flour or corn starch.
