kimfair1's Profile
Otto in Coolidge Corner Open
I liked the pizza at Ecco, but it's not worth the price for delivery, nearly $30 with tip for a large 2 topping pie. I might stop in for a pie in the restaurant sometime, but it's still a bit rich for pizza IMHO.
Rehearsal dinner in new Bedford
Don't know of many places in New Bedford that can take that many people, but I've enjoyed my three meals at The Waterfront Grille very much. Avoid Davy's Locker unless everyone attending is 80+ years old. Bland, tasteless food for the unadventurous only.
Best Pizza in New England?
Put this in the Southern New England board so when you get all the responses of Frank Pepe's and Sally's (both in new Haven, CT), they won't be out of place. My vote goes to Pepe's, with second place being Santarpio's (East Boston), and third place Gallaria Umberto (north end Boston). Yo'll also get plenty of votes for Regina's (North End only).
Middling chow at Moksa, and the Cocktail thing has Jumped the Shark
I hear you, but then again we had an amazing cocktail (The Flower Power) made with muddled green pepper and kumquats at PDT in NYC that seemed weird, yet tasted wonderfully. I got the recipe and have made it at home, and it's really something.
One Dinner Only
Not sure if they have a 30 or 60 day out policy on Open Table. Check tomorrow, and they'll let you know if it's too soon. Again that's for the bar only, if you want a table call them instead. Enjoy! Don't miss the foie gras w/raisins (have it as dessert- don't waste any money on their regular desserts). Also the hamachi w/banana pepper mousse is awesome, as is the mushroom sashimi.
Middling chow at Moksa, and the Cocktail thing has Jumped the Shark
My wife tried the habenaro cocktail, as well as a jalapeno one. She enjoyed them, but she loves everything that's hot. She was less enthused about the food, saying there were a few hits, but mostly misses.
Bottle sizes for tonic water/club soda
No, I don't use tonic water, and my wife is perfectly happy with the store bought, though I should try one of these other brands for comparison.
Butifarra; the Spanish sausage not the Peruvian sandwich
What is the flavor profile of this sausage? I've rarely met ground meat and spices in tube form that I disliked, so I'd like to try it.
One Dinner Only
They reserve the bar online at Open Table, they reserve tables only by calling. I did each one once, we far preferred the bar.
Non-gourmet Food Trucks
Got that pork dish yesterday. Taiwan minced pork with vegetables. I had mine over fried noodles. My favorite dish there.
Bottle sizes for tonic water/club soda
We buy the small bottles of tonic for my wife's G&Ts (she likes Schweppes), as we wouldn't use a liter before it went flat. We bought a SodaStream at Christmas, and it's the best thing ever for soda water. One $15 cartridge lasted from Christmas until about 2 weeks ago, and we make soda water nearly every day. It's quick (less than 2 minutes from start to finish), easy, and really cheap (pennies/liter). Cartridges are $30 actually, but when you bring the empties back, you only pay for the gas, hence $15. I wasn't impressed with the syrups you can use to make soda with it, but we bought it primarily for soda water anyway. The other advantage is that I no longer find myself hauling 6 or 8 liters of soda water up to the second floor of my apartment from the car anymore. I like to have a glass of soda water on ice with 4-5 shakes of Boker's Bitters in it. Very refreshing (and a nice adjunct to alternate with cocktails if I'm drinking more than one or two).
May 2012 Openings and Closings
I've been looking forward to trying Otto (and to see if they can put the execrable Upper Crust out of business.
One Dinner Only
My wife and I are not the most adventurous sushi eaters, and we enjoyed our two meals at O Ya. The only issue is that it is VERY expensive. You could eat at ICOB twice for what yo'd pay for one meal at O Ya. For that reason alone, I'd go to ICOB over O Ya. If you had more dinners free, I'd say O Ya would be awesome (with the understanding that you'll be spending some serious coin).
Non-gourmet Food Trucks
Stick to the daily specials, and it's OK. If you go with the standard bad Chinese, it's...you're right...pretty awful. They have a spicy ground pork dish on rice or noodles as a special often that's quite god. I also like their chicken teryaki.
Suggestions for High School Graduation dinner?
While I also don't LOVE Gaslight, it is serviceable, and has parking, a big plus for those coming from out of town. The tapas idea is also quite nice, with the ability to taste many different menu items.
Suggestions for High School Graduation dinner?
Eastern Standard and Gaslight are both excellent suggestions.
Help with my itinerary
I would combine this advice with Bob's below, and do brunch at Craigie on Main (no "e") (though I love their dinners, the brunch is the best in the city IMHO), and add Island Creek Oyster Bar as one of the dinners. As for the other dinner, either blow it out at O Ya, or either of you other choices, both of which would be fine.
Best Restaurants in Portland, ME?
Haven't been to Back Bay Grill, but Hugo's is my favorite restaurant in New England (I live in Boston).
Guy Fieri seen at Angela's, and Cutty's
Boston eater.com is reporting Guy has been seen at Cutty's and Angela's. There's also a pic on the link of he and Mayor Menino in his car. As we all know what a cluster it becomes when Guy visits a restaurant, so get to these before the show airs!
http://boston.eater.com/tags/guy-fieri
BEst Meatballs (Italian) Needham, Newton, W. Rox, etc
Again, not exactly in the area asked for, but I love the meatballs at Il Casale in belmont.
Sami's LMA being forced to move!
Sepal's has a thinner bechamel layer, less potato, more tomato, about the same amount of meat. I prefer the Esperia version, but for a counter lunch spot in a mall-type food court surrounded by hospitals, it's very good. Plus it comes with a dressed salad, white or brown rice, and cooked okra or beans for about $8.
Sami's LMA being forced to move!
Dennis - while I miss Sami's at the Galleria, and it would suck to lose the ALP location, I think you should revisit Sepal. I think the sumac chicken (plate or sandwich is very good, and am also a fan of their moussaka. I don't generally get falafel, but I've heard from many folks they like theirs better than Sami's.
A Game of Either Or
While it would certainly be packed on a game night, it shouldn't be a big issue if you make a reservation. If you wish to walk in and sit at the bar, then your take is spot-on. Otherwise, I agree completely with BostonZest's take on this.
Done with Chez Henri
I've often found service lacking in Boston, especially when compared to first class restaurant service cities like San Francisco and New York. I think it can be somewhat attributed to the make-up of our city. In places like NYC and SF, there are plenty of folks who go into restaurant service as a career. Here it seems, many servers are college kids looking to make some money while in school, but for whom serving is just a stepping stone to whatever job they hope to get upon graduation. If you're looking at service as "just a job", you're unlikely to give it the same care and forethought you would if you thought of it as a career. It's not that I haven't had good service here, or even great service (Menton is still the best service I've had in the city, followed by the original L-Espalier), but I've never had that type of service at the low to middle priced places, and have often had fair to poor service at many higher end places here. I'm not going to say I've never had bad or inattentive service in NYC or SF, but the likelihood is greater to have great to excellent service in those cities than here, unfortunately.
Great eats near Dana Farber?
I think it is. Like I said, I only tried a sandwich once when they opened, and wasn't impressed. You're right, the old crappy Americanized Chinese place was much better than Dragon Bowel is.
A few questions for Portland / Scarborough
The 2 for 1 tasting menu (6 or 8 course) at HUgo's should still be on next week, don't miss that while there. In the Old Port, near Hugo's is leRoux Kitchen supply store. Great stuff, and they have an extensive selection of olive oils and vinegars that you can taste prior to purchase. Haven't been to Bar Lola or Emilitsa so can't comment on those. I also like Fore Street in Portland, though.
Great eats near Dana Farber?
+1 for Sepal (I work in the area and it's become my go-to place in the Gallaria). Not as fond of Chutney's, but I only went once when it first opened. Other than that, the suggestions of places near Fenway or Huntington would be best. If you go to the Gallaria and insist on crummy Americanized Chinese, get it from the faux Chinese Cajun place rather that the Dragon Bowl (or Dragon Bowel) as I call it.
Financial District dinner recommendation for family please
I think it was more that one of the OP's party likes only bland food, which you won't be getting at Blue Inc.
