dfan's Profile
Please advise, Saturday dinner for 3, similar to Bondir?
That's pretty much my list as well (assuming you mean TW Food).
Let’s make a list of obnoxiously loud restos
Funny, I was just about to post saying that Highland Kitchen's noise level is fine with me, and I consider myself pretty intolerant to noise. I was just there Monday for fried chicken night and had a pleasant conversation - I don't recall having to raise my voice or say "what?" a lot . Certainly I'd claim that Bukowski and The Painted Burro are at a whole qualitative level above it, noise-wise.
DD's Bavarian Cream donut, extinct?
616 Mass Ave, just half a block towards MIT from the T stop. Enjoy!
DD's Bavarian Cream donut, extinct?
The chocolate coconut is my favorite Dunkin Donut donut as well. I lost track of them for ten years or so, but the Central Square location brought them back within the last year. It's the only thing I get there now.
Restaurant Week Boston, Winter 2012 reports?
Someone else here mentioned having a great experience at Evoo and so did we. We actually didn't even remember it was Restaurant Week and we wouldn't have known if the menu didn't say it at the top; there didn't seem to be any concessions at all, and the food was great.
Menton, Clio, or Craigie? Tasting menu blow-out for family. Recent expeiences?
I love Craigie but if you are going for the blowout tasting menu experience I'd go with Menton. The food is superb, the wine pairings are really interesting (I'm sure as a wine person you'll be impresssed), and the service is amazing. We expected a stuffy vibe the first time we went but did not get it at all - they are all about making you comfortable. I felt like royalty eating there, and not in a "embarrassed to be treated so well" way.
Also, if you're really into the wine, Craigie doesn't do per-course pairings. They will certainly work with you to bring you appropriate wine throughout the meal, but it won't have the same care as a true pre-thought-out food/wine pairing for every course.
Which Restaurants do you consider your "Regulars"
The last two times we tried calling up Pescatore's for delivery they said that they weren't delivering that night. We don't bother anymore, but if someone else has success I'd be interested to hear it.
Birthday Dinner in Boston
For what it's worth, I have been to No. 9 Park once and thought it was fine, and was completely wowed by Menton. The food was excellent and interesting, the wine pairings we got were really creative, and the service was just amazing (and I'm not usually one who cares overly much about service). I felt like I was royalty, not in an uncomfortable way, but in a "these people would like nothing more than to please me" way.
Green Street Grill: Opinions and Favs?
If you last ate there 15 years ago, it was probably in its old incarnation as a Caribbean restaurant. Chef Mark Romano has since moved on to Highland Kitchen.
Green Street food these days is solid but I agree that the cocktails are the main reason to go.
Brick & Mortar
We went back exactly one week later (also 10:30pm on a Thursday) and it was completely mobbed (people were walking in, taking a look around at the crowd, and walking back out), largely by a non-cocktail crowd (beer and shots). I certainly don't begrudge them success, but I hope for my own sake it calms down a bit or I'll have to start going at 5:00 on Mondays. I thought Brick & Mortar might relieve the bar pressure at Craigie; looks like instead it relieved the pressure at Middlesex and Phoenix Landing. Our drinks were excellent again and it looked like the menu had already turned over slightly.
Brick & Mortar
Most mixed drinks (martinis included) are diluted from the ice used to chill them. A typical cocktail is 1/4 water by the time it ends up in your glass (which is a good thing).
Brick & Mortar
This is the new bar in Central Square in the old Enormous Room space (569 Mass Ave, just to the left of Central Kitchen) and I can confirm that they are open for business.
I stopped by Thursday night (their third day of operation), at around 10:30. There were a decent number of people there, given that it doesn't even have a sign yet (although maybe some of them came in thinking it was still the Enormous Room) - the bar was mostly full, with scattered people at the tables.
Decor seemed possibly a little sterile but it will probably warm up with more people in it. The bartop is copper and in an interesting arch shape. Ziggy Stardust was playing on the turntable (yes, a turntable), slightly loud for my middle-aged ears.
I had a Teardrop (Cardamaro, Ransom Old Tom gin, Averna, absinthe) and my companion had a Bullet For Fredo (aged grappa, dry vermouth, campari - apparently premade, since it was poured from a bottle); both were excellent. Bartenders were friendly but didn't really engage beyond handing us menus and taking orders. I didn't recognize them from elsewhere but I don't tour a lot of bars beyond Cambridge. Misty was hanging out but wasn't tending bar.
The cocktail menu itself was a little smaller than I had anticipated but everything looked interesting - I don't remember anything that was just a slight Manhattan variant or something. I assume that ad libbing is not a problem but everyone seemed to be ordering from the menu. There were around 5 beers on tap, all local. Cocktails were all $10.
The food menu was bigger than I had predicted, with over a dozen items that looked pretty interesting. Sadly I don't remember any of them and didn't take a picture. Everything's app-sized but if the execution is good I could imagine making a meal of them.
My stay was very enjoyable. I imagine that Brick & Mortar will release a little bit of the pressure from Craigie, which is great (I would like to be able to go to Craigie without worrying that there's a long line for the bar, and I'd also be happy to go here instead!).
My hopes for the future:
- Atmosphere warms up a bit with more patrons
- The cocktail menu expands a little and/or rotates frequently
- Bartenders turn out to be into dialogue with customers
- The food turns out to be good
Thursday night dinner option in Davis/Porter?
The first thing that comes to mind is the Turkish restaurant Istanbul'lu a few blocks up Holland from Davis, right before Teele Square. Really tasty and interesting food, moderate prices, lots of veggie options as a bonus.
interesting Amari Cocktails
The 1794 is kind of a rye Negroni: 1.5 oz rye, .75 oz sweet vermouth, .75 oz Campari. One of my favorites.
Which pie to order from Petsi Pies?
This is not quite on your list, but for years my employer got dessert from Petsi Pies once a week. Every week I had a slice of their banana chocolate cream pie and I never once got tired of it.
Cuban Sandwich
Dave's will make any sandwich on any type of bread (as long as they're not out of it - usually by the end of the day there are only a couple of choice left).
Fun dinner spots in Central Sq or Theater District?
Green Street meets your criteria and is two blocks from ImprovBoston.
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Green Street
280 Green St, Cambridge, MA 02139
Looking for a few Boston spots to grab a quick single course at the bar, for an anniversary night out.
Coppa sounds perfect.
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Coppa
253 Shawmut Ave, Boston, MA 02118
Best breakfast sandwich?
Ditto. I tried them for bagels a few years back and have never returned.
Recommendations for old school/divey/gritty Boston spots - restaurants and bars (w/ or w/o food)
"Eef and bee ho", I believe (Google seems to agree). I loved that sign. The location is now Temple Bar.
Bitters in Boston
Speaking as a fellow Davisian, it might be less far than you think; the stations between Kendall and South Station go by in a jiffy and then it's just a few-block walk.
Squishing potato chips in your sandwich...anyone else do this?
My favorite lunch as a kid was a grilled cheese sandwich with ketchup and Fritos.
Think Tank
"Cymbal (sp?)" is probably sambal.
I definitely want to check this place out, especially with Brother Cleve involved on the cocktail front.
Negroni construction
If you're having trouble finding a use for Mezcal, try substituting it for tequila in pretty much any tequila cocktail. I've been making "Mezcalritas" this summer (1.5 oz Mezcal, .75 oz lime juice, .5 oz Cointreau, .5 oz agave syrup) and they're fantastic.
Negroni construction
or replace the gin with rye and change the proportions to 2:1:1 and you've got a 1794, another one of my faves.
Place to get a drink close to Craigie?
Rendezvous's bar is great, especially when Scott Holliday (their bar manager) is working.
Place to get a drink close to Craigie?
The best place in the immediate area for cocktails is... Craigie.
If you specifically want to have drinks at a different location or are concerned about fighting for bar space at Craigie's very popular bar, Green Street and Rendezvous are both excellent.
Best cocktails to showcase CArpano Antica?
I taste milk chocolate in Carpano Antica, which I thought would work well with the cinnamon notes in Amaro Meletti. Thus was born the...
Patent Pending
2 oz rye
1/2 oz Carpano Antica
1/2 oz Amaro Meletti
2 dashes Bittermens Xocolatl Mole Bitters
Restaurant party room for 40th birthday - Party of 40
We tried to have a vegetarian option as one of our three entree choices, and were repeatedly told that we could not do that but that they would create vegetarian dishes on the fly by request. Which they did, and were very nice about it, but we found it very odd that we couldn't simply make one of our three main choices a vegetarian dish (especially in Boston).
This was in 2008, so perhaps things have changed since then.
Restaurant party room for 40th birthday - Party of 40
We had our wedding and reception in the Mistral Salon Room and it was wonderful. Possible downsides: might be pricey compared to what you're looking for; vegetarian meals were treated as special requests (although very graciously) instead of being first-class citizens.
