cjd260's Profile
Casa Razdora...Are You Kidding Me???
...and that's why I gained 5 pounds in my first month at my new job. I've since scaled back from twice a week to a salad once a week and pasta or a sandwich (their Italian sub is out of this world) once in a very long while.
Razdora is amazing. Even more amazing, as far as I'm concerned, is that they haven't gotten any worse as their volume has skyrocketed. Most holes-in-the-wall that are fantastic out of the gate, get "discovered" and blow up tend, in my experience, to get lazy or rushed and go downhill. Granted it's only been a year and a half, but these guys are just as good today as they were when they opened.
QC fondue recommendation
My wife and I are passing through Quebec City for two nights on our way to the Charlevoix, and my wife is determined to spend one of our two dinners in QC on fondue (I'm leaning towards L'Affaire est Ketchup for our other, for what it's worth). I can't find much in the way or recommendations on Chowhound for fondue: one mention of La Grolla being so-so, and very little else. Can anyone offer a recommendation? More traditional is probably preferred, as this is satisfying a twenty-year-old craving from childhood, but I'd like to avoid a complete tourist trap if possible. For what it's worth, we'll be staying right by the port, at Hôtel Le Germain-Dominion, but we will have a car and I'm happy to take a taxi.
Thanks!
What hasn't been booked for President's Day weekend already?
My wife and I moved from New York to Boston last year, and are coming back down over President's Day weekend for our anniversary. This was a relatively late-breaking plan, but now it appears that just about everywhere I'd wanted to go for dinner is booked solid on February 18 and 19: in order of trying and rough order of preference, I've found that Eleven Madison Park, Blue Hill, Daniel, Jean Georges, Le Bernardin and Marea are all booked solid (and so is Per Se, though I was reluctant to sell a kidney and so am somewhat relieved). With this list of unobtainables in mind, I'm wondering where I should turn to next. I could try for Ko in a couple of weeks, which I've loved in the past but don't find especially anniversary-ish (or worth multiple return visits). Maialino and Babbo feel too informal. The Modern has a couple of earlyish tables, but I've never been and don't know if it's in the same class - though as of now this will probably be my default.
I'm hoping for makes-you-grin-irresistably food in a decently romantic setting. I've been out of the loop for a little while, so is there anything I'm missing? Thanks!
Easy post-flight dinner between MIA and Boynton Beach
Just dropping back in to say that El Jefe Luchador was delicious, and perfect for our requirements. I'd just had Korean the night before, so didn't order the carnitas taco with hoisin salsa and kimchee, but fortunately my wife did, and the couple of bites of it I had were fan-freaking-tastic. Great recommendation. Thanks all.
Easy post-flight dinner between MIA and Boynton Beach
Now that looks promising! Any idea what street parking would be like on a Saturday night?
Easy post-flight dinner between MIA and Boynton Beach
"Well the obvious problem here is going to be... why would a good restaurant be not crowded on Saturday night. Especially January in FL."
Yes, that's pretty much the gating issue; I think I may not have emphasized this enough. So, to be clear, I'm _not_ looking for anywhere destination-worthy, anywhere that would ordinarily have a line out the door on a Saturday night, etc. If there's somewhere that may be decent but not great, or off the highway and so not in a desirable location for Saturday night, or for whatever reason is just ordinarily quiet, that's pretty much the base requirement. Really just looking for somewhere comfortable and easy despite the time.
I know I mentioned sit-down-y in my post, but disregarding that, by means of example from my own areas of Chowxpertise, if I were flying into San Francisco I'd say In-N-Out; for New Jersey or New York, a handful of diners or pizza places come to mind. Again, not looking for anything fancy or otherworldly, just simple, easy and good.
Figure on us clearing the airport by 8pm or so, btw.
Easy post-flight dinner between MIA and Boynton Beach
My wife and I are flying into MIA on Saturday evening to begin a vacation, and as we're unfortunately flying coach on American, we're likely to be exhausted and hungry by the time we pick up our rental car. Any ideas for a laid-back dinner convenient to our drive up to Boynton Beach (i.e. easily accessible off the highway to a non-local)? I'm worried about walking in just about anywhere at prime time on a Saturday night, so somewhere that's not likely to be crowded would be ideal. Any type of cuisine (American! Cuban! Thai! Sushi! Indian!) should be fine, and while price shouldn't be an issue, we'll be in gross post-flight mode and probably won't feel comfortable in anything too fancy. I would like something quiet and sit-down-y with decent food, and am afraid that if I don't get CH advice I'll end up at a Carraba's, which would be kind of depressing.
Urgent: Inexpensive bar, with food, near Kenmore
This may fall into the "blindingly obvious" category, or maybe into the "not a chance" category - I haven't been in Boston long enough to know. I'm meeting a few friends for drinks in a couple hours, would like it to be near Kenmore for everyone's mutual convenience (including public transportation), and will need food for myself. Unfortunately, for the group's benefit, we need to keep prices down, which means my usual haunts (Island Creek and Citizen Pub) are off-limits.
A dive bar would be fine, as long as I can get halfway OK food. I would be OK with touristy if not terrible. But, while I've never been, I'm not optimistic that the Lansdowne area bars aren't terrible.
Anyone have any advice? I realize that this is kind of the Boston-area equivalent of "I'm looking for a bar near Times Square," but am hoping that the options are better.
Thanks!
Late, solo dinner options near Sofitel
Ended up at Village Whiskey, which was perfect. Thanks!
Late, solo dinner options near Sofitel
I'm flying into Philadelphia tonight on business, and staying at the Sofitel, rather than spending the holiday at home like a civilized person. Any ideas for a place to grab a dinner alone on a Sunday night, easily walkable (w/in a half-dozen blocks or so) near the hotel, that would be open for a walk-in at 10pm or so? I'd rather avoid the hotel restaurant for something a little more homey if at all possible, but I'm open to all cuisines: noodles, sushi, burgers, seafood... Basically, anything to put a smile on my face and feel welcoming to me and my Kindle. Budget isn't overly a concern, but I'd probably prefer comfy and casual to haute-cuisine.
Many thanks,
--Chris
Fried seafood with rice flour?
Wondering if there are any restaurants in the area - or further up north (New Hampshire/Maine coast) - that fry their seafood in rice flour and rice oil. My wife and I love fried seafood (particular favorites are the fried clams, shrimp and scallops at Park Lunch in Newburyport, though Legal's will do in a pinch), but it gets very heavy very fast. Last year on vacation, we happened on Corbett's Fish House in Portland, OR, which fries their shrimp and fish in rice flour and rice oil. This makes it gluten-free, but also makes it much lighter and less greasy. I know that Woodman's in Essex has a gluten-free menu, but the thread on Chowhound discussing it made it sound like they used corn flour, so I'm not sure it would have the same effect.
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Park Lunch
181 Merrimac St, Newburyport, MA 01950
Chow to take aboard JetBlue
So after much sturm und drang about what to bring aboard, I ended up working from home and leaving for the airport early enough that we had time to eat at Legal's before our flight. A giant crabmeat roll later and I was stuffed before I even got onto the plane.
That said, I now need to try Cutty's, which looks like it could become a dangerous new sandwich source. Thanks to all for your suggestions.
Chow to take aboard JetBlue
I admit I'm a little confused by some of the responses: at least from a cursory review of the TSA website, aren't most wrapped food items (say, a deli sandwich wrapped in paper) acceptable? Obviously liquids aren't - so no smoothies or soups - but I was assuming I wouldn't have any problems with a sandwich or some sort of noodle dish. I'm reluctant to try sushi because of the soy sauce.
I'm probably going to be taking the Silver Line in from South Station, and my office is pretty close by, so the North End is probably too far - great idea on the Italian subs otherwise. Sam LaGrassa's also sounds delicious, but too far a walk given my time constraints tomorrow. Thinking of having my wife hit up Cutty's, though.
My greatest wish is that I could bring the Clover truck on board, but somehow I don't see them fitting through the scanner.
Chow to take aboard JetBlue
I'm flying JetBlue out of Logan on Friday night, and as it's a long-haul flight, as JetBlue doesn't serve real food on board, and as I don't expect that I'll have time to have dinner beforehand, I need to figure out something to take aboard with me. I'm pretty much open to (or curious about) suggestions on any type of food, but the main limiting factor is geography: I'll be coming from my office in the financial district, my wife will be coming from Newton. Anyone have any brilliant ideas for the best chow that I could carry on, and that won't get cold/mushy/inedible/confiscated by the TSA?
Zinfandel in southern Sonoma/Napa counties
I have one precious day (two nights) in Napa in a couple of weeks, and a gap in my schedule. We're staying and starting in Napa, hitting Mondavi (tasting class) and Cakebread in the morning, then crossing over into Sonoma and stopping at Wellington and Gundlach Bundschu in the afternoon. What we're missing is zinfandel. Healdsburg is just too far, especially considering that I'll be driving (and spitting, but still), so with that in mind, are there any wineries in the Glen Ellen/Sonoma area that anyone can recommend particularly for their zin, and that won't make me gag on oak and alcohol? Or is it just not worth it with the relative quality of pinots in the area?
I'd also happily take advice on a quick, cheap lunch in Glen Ellen, but figure that I can find that on the boards if I look hard enough. Searching for zinfandel just gave me a million hits in RRV and Healdsburg, which doesn't help.
Local/fresh/organic Italian
Ha - a coworker recommended Erbaluce, and while it looks delicious, it also looks much more expensive than what I was looking for. It also looks delicious, and it's now on my list to try, but not exactly an I-feel-like-a-plate-of-homemade-pasta kind of place.
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Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116
Local/fresh/organic Italian
One of the problems with moving to a new city is that it's hard not to look for exact parallels of favorite restaurants from the old city in the new city. Case in point: right now I have a crazy, mad craving for the local hole-in-the-wall Italian place in my old neighborhood in NYC, Quartino. And I'm hoping someone can point me to a Boston equivalent.
Basically, I'm looking for a reasonably low-key Italian restaurant that emphasizes organic, seasonal ingredients (local too, why the heck not?), simply prepared. Think: asparagus risotto, spinach pasta, grilled fish, a glass of decent but inexpensive white wine. Nothing fancy, and nothing that will make me feel guilty going out on a Wednesday night (e.g. white linen tablecloths, $30 pastas, etc.).
I'm in Newton, so metrowest would be great, but I'd be willing to drive to Cambridge, downtown, or anywhere else reasonably local for this.
Many thanks for any help!
Oh, and if you're ever in Greenwich Village, Quartino is worth a look...
Sarabeth's jam
Does anyone know of any stores in Boston or MetroWest (I'm in Chestnut Hill) that carry Sarabeth's jams? I know they do mail order, but I never plan that far ahead for my strawberry-raspberry craving.
Moving to Chestnut Hill
Wow - thanks to everybody for the overwhelming response! We're not moving for a couple of weeks, but it looks like we're pretty well set up for exploring in our first few months. Please don't hesitate to keep replying - I just wanted to make sure that I got in a word of appreciation now.
Moving to Chestnut Hill
Hello all,
I grew up in Chestnut Hill (pre-Chowhound era), moved away nine years ago, and am now moving back (pretty much across the street from BC) after spending the last eight years in the New York area (West Village, Park Slope and the inner NJ suburbs at various times). My recollections of local food are pretty minimal: Oishii for sushi, Legals for seafood, and, well, Bertucci's. I'd love some tips on what's new, what's changed, what I never knew about in the first place, and generally some pointers on my new old food neighborhood.
Specifically:
- Pizza: I loves me some Bertucci's and am very happy to have that as a delivery option, but yeah, it's chain-restaurant pizza, which seems like a shame in Boston. Anything better nearby?
- French/Italian: I got nothin'. Anything low-key local places worth knowing about? Boston is close enough for special events, so I'm not looking for lights-out places, just something local and decent.
- Sushi: is Oishi still everything it used to be? Still an hour for a seat on a Tuesday evening? Are there less crazy alternatives if I don't want to wait that long?
- Other ethnic foods: Thai? Indian? Good (i.e. authentic, regional) Chinese? Good (non-greasy) bad (non-authentic, comes-in-a-carton) delivery Chinese? For Mexican, we stumbled on El Pelon yesterday and were very happy, so I think we're covered there unless there's anything else we should know about.
- Is there a farmer's market in the area? My recollection of Allendale Farm is more serviceable than extraordinary, but it'll do in a pinch.
- Bakery/patisserie: in all my time in New York, the only decent baguette I ever found was at the Fairway supermarket chain, and croissants were always a challenge. Anything worthwhile within an easy drive for a Sunday morning croissant?
- Bagels: OK, I'm not expecting Brooklyn, but anything better than the pillow-soft monstrosities that pass for bagels in most of the world these days?
Thanks for any suggestions, and apologies for the long, long list. Looking forward to being in the area again! Of course, I'll update with my own findings over time.
--Chris
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El Pelon
2197 Commonwealth Ave., Brighton, MA 02135
Bertuccis
280 School St Ste G100, Mansfield, MA 02048
Tacos Matamoros in Clifton - why is this not a thing?
Had a yen for good tacos today, and happened upon EthnicNJ's recommendation for Tacos Matamoros (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/576810#6146030). No other mentions of this place on the NJ board, no reviews in Yelp, very little online presence at all, except for one Flickr page that came up on the Google machine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/offthebroiler/4877041522/in/photostream/.
It's a tiny place, and the waitress really doesn't speak much, if any, English, but hunmghhh... I didn't even get to the tacos, because the marinated pork sandwich looked too delicious (smoky, juicy pork but not soppy at all, but fantastic with their chipotle salsa), my wife went straight for a zucchini quesadilla, and between the two of us we had more than we could eat. Those two (which could have fed three, really, if we hadn't indulged ourselves) plus two Mexican glass-bottle sodas came to $17 plus tip. Now I just need to go back and try the tacos.
All-in, it was probably the best Mexican street food that I've had in the area. Better than the Red Hook vendors (we moved from Brooklyn a little while ago), better than the Taco Truck, and absolutely no comparison to Los Tapatios in West Orange. This place deserves to be better known.
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Los Tapatios Restaurant & Bar
10 Main St West, Orange, NJ
Tacos Matamoros Restaurant
213 Parker Ave Ste 1, Clifton, NJ 07011
30th Surprise birthday party!!
I read your post as looking for a space that you can rent for $1k, not a restaurant or other space that would include food in the $1k price (in part because, quite frankly, that's not happening). Given that, I'm not sure that Chowhound is necessarily the right place to look for lofts and party spaces. I'd head over to Bizbash.com to look for a space, then check back in with the board to look for catering suggestions (which, as the other commenters note, will probably run several thousand dollars for 100 people, unless you're just ordering a bunch of pizzas).
Insieme info?
I know they lost their chef last year, but went afterward and still had a perfectly nice meal. Now I just called to inquire about setting up a business lunch and was told that they're closed for lunch and dinner until they-won't-say-when, and are planning on reopening with a new chef. Nothing on Eater, and nothing on their website, about this. Anyone have any info beyond what I just mentioned?
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Insieme
777 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019
Wine tasting classes?
Thank you all for your replies; a couple of these sounded perfect if the timing could work out better. Unfortunately the whole trip has now been called off because of the blizzard in New York (no flights out until after New Years), but I now have some good leads for next time.
Wine tasting classes?
That looks perfect, and I'll definitely call them, though their next scheduled class isn't until February 24. Thanks for the suggestion; anything else similar?
Wine tasting classes?
My wife and I are flying into SF tomorrow and will be in the area (between the Peninsula, SF and Sonoma) through Sunday. I used to live in the area and have done the Napa and Santa Cruz wine tasting thing a handful of times, but my wine knowledge is still pretty limited by Bay Area standards (I can tell the varietals apart and can pair them with food, but that's about it), and my wife's is basically nil. I'd love to find a reputable class of some sort, but it's extremely short notice, and schedules for, e.g., the CIA in St. Helena don't work. Are there any stores in or outside SF that have regularly scheduled tasting courses, a la Astor Wines in New York, or could arrange a private class on request?
If not - and I'm guessing the scheduling is too tight at this stage - any wineries in particular that would be particularly helpful? I know most people are desperate to avoid larger wineries, but a Coppola or St. Supery may not be out of sorts as a good first stop if they're more willing to talk us through the basics and not-quite-basics.
Monterey: Stokes closed, now what do I do?
I realize that this may not be a widely-shared opinion on this board, but Stokes Adobe was one of my favorite restaurants, period. We live in New York and visit Monterey every year or so, and something about the romantic setting, the service, the fantastic drinks and the food together added up to exactly what we wanted every year we came out.
Last week I tried to make reservations for this January, and lo and behold, Stokes is gone! I know there are other great places in Monterey, and honestly have never bothered trying them for various reasons, so I suppose now is the time to correct that - though I have concerns about a few for the romantic-night-out that I'm looking for. I've heard great things about Passionfish, and probably am leaning towards it right now, but wonder if it's too modern and New Yorky in atmosphere; Red House looks a bit more casual than I was hoping for; Sardine Factory, on the other hand, seems like it may be _too_ formal.
So, am I missing anything? Should I stick with Passionfish, or is there something else nearby (or in Carmel, or otherwise within a reasonable drive) that would hit what I'm looking for square on the nose?
Sorry for being so specific; I would say that I'll try not to compare whatever we end up doing to Stokes, but I can guaranty that my wife will be making the same comparison even if I'm not...
Thanks!
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Passionfish
701 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Sardine Factory
701 Wave Street, Monterey, CA 93940
Red House Cafe
662 Lighthouse Ave, Pacific Grove, CA 93950
Sustainable sushi?
Hey19, this is in fact what happened to the thread back in January. Not to dredge up too much of the old fight, yes, there are plenty of fish (bluefin is an obvious one) where it doesn't matter how they're caught, because endangered is endangered; but there are others, including salmon, shrimp, albacore and dozens more, where some practices are perfectly fine and others are not at all. For more info, check out www.seafoodwatch.org.
All of this gets to why finding sustainable sushi is so complicated. It's _not_ just a matter of ordering salmon, because while Alaskan king salmon is mostly fine, salmon farming in Scotland, e.g., is terrible for a whole bunch of reasons having little to do with the salmon themselves (chemicals used in farming, etc.). On the other hand, farmed shrimp can be very ecologically friendly, while some wild shrimp fishing involves trolling the seabed and destroying large habitats.
If you can't find a sushi restaurant that specializes in sustainable practices (at this stage I'm pretty comfortable saying there are none in New York), then knowing a bit about fishing practices can help, as long as you find a restaurant that knows and is willing to tell you whether the salmon is Alaskan or North Atlantic, whether the shrimp is farmed, etc. Two places in Park Slope seem generally fine with this: Blue Ribbon Sushi, and Ten. At every place I've asked in Manhattan, I've been met with blank stares.
Waverly Inn recs?
Some friends from out of town begged to go to the Waverly Inn when they visited, so we now have a reservation for tonight. I never had much interest in the place when it was a Scene a couple of years ago, but the posts on CH seem to indicate that it's cute enough and not as bad as the hype would make it sound. That said, is there anything affirmatively good that I should order? I'm not the biggest fan of chicken pot pie, and have no intention of dropping a hundred bucks on mac 'n cheese, but if there's anything that they do really well that I might not expect, I'd love any tips. Thanks!
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Waverly Inn
16 Bank St, New York, NY 10014
Anything edible in or near Six Flags?
Thanks to everyone for the recommendations. We ended up at Java Moon. I was nervous based on the website, which seemed almost a bit Chili's-ish, but the restaurant itself was great! A goat cheese and frisee salad was loaded with wonderfully fresh everything, and the (almost unworkably massive) turkey club came with a basil and balsamic vinaigrette on the side that I could have just drunk with a straw, frankly. Yum! We sat out on the small deck under the trees, and were very, very grateful that we decided to leave the park for lunch.
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Java Moon Cafe
1022 Anderson Rd, Jackson, NJ 08527
