A superb first impression: Singh's Cafe in Wellesley (detailed review)

I took a date here last night. She enjoys Indian food and this was my first time. She was very impressed with this restaurant putting the meal over meals she had at Masala Art and Bollywood and a few other places. It was also larger portions than normal she said and she left full which she couldn't say about the other restaurants.

She ordered the Chicken Tikka. This came on one really large skewer placed in a copper bowl as decoration. On the side was a 3 square plate with 2 sauces and a tiny salad. One sauce reminded me of Chinese Sweet and Sour sauce with red pepper flakes. A little too sweet to me but packed some nice heat. The other sauce was perhaps a tomato based sauce with a spice that reminded us both of pumpkin. Tasty. But the chicken was very flavorful and perfectly cooked without the sauces. Also rice.

I ordered the Chicken Madras which was chicken in a tomato/coconut/curry sauce. Supposedly with a bit of ginger or garlic but I didn't detect them so they must have been subtle. Also served with rice and naan. A smaller meal than the chicken Tikka because not as much chicken. It was good for my first taste of Indian but her meal was clearly superior.

They served a single fried shrimp in a hot dipping sauce that reminded me a bit too much of Tabasco. Also served was a tiny portion of mushroom soup that was nice.

The staff was very pleasant, never went without water. So the early reviews about slow service was not the case now on a Friday night with the restaurant about 60% full. Decor was very tasteful and the leather chairs and the see through tables filled with beans and bay??leaves were really attractive. They have an outdoor patio which looked nice but it was raining.

I told the waiter it was my first time trying Indian food so the manager came out to ask what I thought and how I heard of the restaurant. I told him Chowhound. He introduced me to another manager/chef? of the restaurant as well and he was pleasant. The waiter before I left also asked how I enjoyed my meal. He suggested I come back and try their buffet to sample more dishes which they change up and is something reasonable like $12 on a Saturday for all you can eat.

So overall, the friendliness of the staff across the board, the constant refilling of water and attentiveness to our needs was a really fresh surprise and I can't give enough praise for that.

That service plus my dates praise of the quality/portion size/price for Indian in the area is why I am recommending giving this restaurant a try.

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Bollywood Cafe
135 Massachusetts Ave, Lexington, MA 02420

Masala Art
990 Great Plain Avenue, Needham, MA 02492

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

ISO fresh roasted coffee beans- downtown, South End or Back Bay

Yes I have also bought from Peets on High Street. Have enjoyed their house blend but had too much inconsistency batch to batch on their beans.

Flat black is good too though never bought their beans. Should stop by there again.

Just remembered Boston Beantown?? One is on Washington st in Downtown Crossing and one a few blocks away off of Summer street near South Station sells beans as well.

I do tend to prefer lighter roasts so that is why I have been pleased with Barismo and Redeye roasters.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

Blue Ginger Lounge

Recently went to the lounge as well. Had about a 1 hour wait and desk staff and roaming waitress was friendly. Our table waitress knew the menu extensively but not the friendliest.

Ming was in the house and the atmosphere in the lounge was nice. Food was excellent. It was pricey for the portion size which I suppose is to be expected. I would go back again and still eat in the lounge because it seemed like there was more space between tables there than the main room though I could be wrong.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

ISO fresh roasted coffee beans- downtown, South End or Back Bay

If you are downtown there is a new coffee shop in Newbury street that serves and sells Barismo beans. HIGHLY recommend the Kenyan Kiandu. Has a berry flavor, more of a light roast and just a totally different coffee.

The shop is Espresso Royalle Cafe. Nice people who ran it. I went to a Barismo tasting there.

At Fanieul Hall is Red Barn Roasters and a big selection of beans. Not sure if they have a roast date on them or not.

A GREAT bean, if still available is from Redeye Roasters out of Hingham. It is Ethiopian Misty Valley Idido. Light roast and a blueberry flavor. Available from their website possibly but more suburbs like the new Dedham Whole Foods Market.

Seriously...seek out that bean from them insanely fresh and insanely good and a local business.

There is an Ethiopian market near the Pru and Polcaris coffee in the North End that sell green beans for like $4 a pound and you roast them yourself. $10 popcorn maker from Walgreens or a 3 quart cast iron/tri ply sauce pan and you can roast coffee at home dirt cheap. It is smoky so do outside or under a vent on stove. Google pan roasting coffee for the angelfire article or go to coffeegeek to read about popcorn maker roasting.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

Oceanaire: Summer RW-No crab cakes

I didn't get a concrete answer on why they changed the menu in-house as opposed to what the websites say. They did ask if I was looking at the official RW website because they thought one had it right and one didn't and said they tried to contact that website.

I said I used the one that links directly to Open Table and crab cakes were there along with mahi mahi and they were the reason we came because of rave reviews.When I got back to post the review here I saw that the menu was the same on both the official and the unofficial website.

Strange thing is, the official website still has mahi mahi and crab cakes listed and the .pdf looks like the printout the restaurant used at the table....only the restaurant dropped them and substituted skirt/flank steak and trout.

Maybe the bankruptcy thing is taking it's toll and caused the change because I am surprised they would not offer the items that people seem to rave about all over the internet as almost a signature dish.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

Meritage for Restaurant Week?

I went during Winter restaurant week a few months back. I really enjoyed this restaurant with a view of the water from any table in the room. It had a very modern, bright and airy vibe to the room. My girlfriend thought it was a bit of a stuffy restaurant. I didn't find the room or the service as stuffy or cold as Ruth's Chris when I visited during a RW lunch. Yes you have one well dressed waiter, a waterboy and someone else helping you out at the table but that added to the high end for a good value experience.

In the winter they had if I recall a pork appetizer which I loved don't remember what my gf had. For an entree I believe it was duck which was just fabulous and I had the steak. Steak was just ok, not as spicy or overall flavorful as led to believe in reviews. The duck was the better choice for sure.

I had the chocolate tasting for dessert and it was very good. The cheese was lame. Not flavorful and you didn't know what cheese was what.

The wine pairing was not that great, I think some really low end, not very flavorful wines for the $16 so I would choose a better quality glass of wine with your entree instead of the pairings.

Presentation of the food, taste and service was excellent and no doubt about it, go to Meritage for RW.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

Oceanaire: Summer RW-No crab cakes

Please be advised that the menu has changed since they were posted on the 2 different RW websites. Crab cakes are NOT on the RW menu. Nor is the Mahi-Mahi. Replaced by the infamous skirt/flank steak???

I got excited about RW after reading Chowhound posts the past year and chose Meritage for the spring RW. But after all the glowing reviews here and on the net I just had to try Oceanaire come the summer RW.

Needless to say I was disappointed and shocked to not see crab cakes or mahi mahi on the menu because that was the main reason I and my girlfriend made a reservation here and it seems like they have been a staple of past RW menus. Ultimately after some discussion with the waiter and the manager they offered the crab cakes for my meal and I greatly appreciated their going out of their way to offer me this selection.

My girlfriend had the calamari as her appetizer and they were very tender and had a hint of smokiness to them and they were excellent. I had the clam chowder and it was packed with tender clams and no grit. My last visit to Legal Test Kitchen had very little clams and had a bit of grit...so I highly recommend either as the appetizer.

The crab cakes were a perfect size portion made up of yes 90% crabmeat it seemed. Excellent and I am glad I had an opportunity to try them they exceeded my expectations. Highly recommended.

My girlfriend had the stuffed flounder. Very large portion, very fresh and tender but both of us agreed it lacked a lot of flavor. It did have other seafood stuffed in there but it didn't add to the dish and there was no real hint of cheese. So while the dish sounded delightful it was a miss.

For desert I was so full I had the sorbet and my girlfriend had the key lime pie. The klp was very mild on the lime flavor and was almost like a cheesecake as opposed to something lighter. It was good but different. Sorbet was very refreshing.

The dishes came with an order of home style mashed potatoes and they were excellent. I really wanted to try the hashbrowns they are famous for but not necessary and I didn't miss them.

The meal came with complimentary bread and butter, pickled herring and vegetables and one large freshly made crostini with shrimp ceviche.

We ordered a glass of sauvignon blanc and a chardonnay from the same vineyard but we both agreed the chardonnay was the more flavorful wine.

The service was fine and prompt and the room was beautiful. The restrooms were clean with nice touches like hairspray, cologne, real towels, hand lotion and mouthwash. Oh, and scrolled across the wall something like "the snotgreen sea, the scrotum clenching sea-James Joyce". Appropriate for a men's room in a seafood restaurant I guess.

Overall it was very filling meal in a nice space. While not the same formal dining restaurant Meritage was, it certainly was an enjoyable evening.

But, with weak entrees this time like skirt/hangar steak, basic salmon and a miss on the weak flounder dish....it might not be worth it for restaurant week this time. Save it for a special meal.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

Smoken Joe's BBQ-Brighton. Any good?

I went about a month ago. They had live music(no cover charge) on a Friday night I believe. The band was The Love Dogs. Great band but normally a dancing band..no dance floor.

But the staff were friendly and accommodating. The food is reasonably priced and you get a nice portion size. I had ribs which were tender and flavorful. Ended up with sweet potato fries which are good anywhere you go. My gf had either the burnt ends or the brisket and she was happy.

My complaint is for some reason they only give you one choice of sauce. If you have never had it before how do you know which sauce to get? Other bbq places give you small cups with other sauces if you want so you can try them all. I was not offered that here and dissapointed. They put the mild sauce on and it was too mild. I ordered hot. So they did bring me another cup of definetly hot sauce. It was the same base as the mild but hotter. Both were good. Maybe the Kansas City sauce?

I tried a brand new beer there that I since buy. Avery Ellies Brown Ale. Good in the bottle but great on tap.

I don't know if I can mention other websites here but there is a site that reviews bbq places exclusively in Ma. and they were not happy with this place. I disagree.

Yes Blue Ribbon is great food but for Smoken Joes go on a night when there is music and you get some entertainment and good food at a good value.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area

Winter 2009 Restaurant Week Reviews

Meritage: My girlfriend and I made spontaneous reservations for Meritage last night and they were accommodating. We arrived at 6pm and they said our table was ready for us.

They seated us side by side so we could look out the window across the room. That was a nice touch.

There were 3 waitstaff on duty for the whole room and were efficient but not overly friendly and didn't appear to offer suggestions on wine unless someone asked.

We ordered sparkling water and they brought a plate of lemons and limes as well as a small plate each of 3 flavorful breads and a big container of butter. Very tasty and I wish they brought another serving later in the meal.

I ordered the pork and cheese and my gf ordered the salmon for the first course. The pork was larger and full of many flavors. Very enjoyable. The salmon was tasty and good but nothing special according to my gf. Some others at tables got the cod dish. Very large and looked good.

Waiter made one good catch. The waterboy poured regular water in the glasses and our waiter caught that and said..you ordered sparkling we will refill it with that. Nice catch.

I decided to order the wine pairing for myself. First was Camelot Sav. Blanc. semi-dry and didn't have that strong pear flavor I tend to get when I try SB wines. I enjoyed it and a 3/4 glass full pour.

But...now there is a long wait between 1st course and second course. No more wine, no more bread. Just wait. Granted, it was not really that long of a wait but felt longer because there was nothing else to munch on or drink. It just felt odd but being a fancy restaurant probably the norm..I don't know. But didn't bother me.

Second course was the fillet for me and the duck for my gf. I read great things about the fillet so I had to try it. I have to say, while the meat was tastier than Ruth's Chris I had last week, the sauce was mild and the veggies had 0 seasoning. It was not the flavor explosion that I came to expect from reviews of this dish.

The duck however was amazing. Smaller than the steak. Nice and juicy inside and crispy on the outside with a great seasoning. The ravioli was flavorful as well. Much more variety of flavors and was clearly the better dish. A winner for sure.

Blanking on the red wine. Maybe a chianti? Dissapointed in the pour of this one...only 1/4 glass full other waitstaff did a 3/4 glass pour. It was mild. Also, being a wine restaurant...they used the same style glass for reds as whites. You know, the type of glass you get at a wine tasting at local vineyards, taller and thinner. So really puzzled at that.

Some other people got the scallops at other tables. 3 scallops with some sort of potato??? dish in the center.

I warned my gf not to get the cheese dish for dessert but she did anyway. Yes 3 small pieces of cheese, 3 pieces of bread and I think some figs. But she is doing the low-carb thing so it made sense. She didn't enjoy it and I don't recommend it.

I had the chocolate tasting with milk chocolate sorbet..mild...a white chocolate cream dish with berries...tasty and a chocolate pie. Overall a winner for me and I recommend it.

My gf likes port wine so she had that with her dessert and enjoyed it.

At the end of the meal the waiter asked if we wanted coffee or needed validaition(free parking if you drive which is great). While waiting for the bill I noticed some waiters grinding fresh pepper and commented to my gf. She is like...some people got asked if they wanted pepper, others got asked if they wanted coffee with the dessert.

So all and all a good meal, not spectacular, service was efficient but not really friendly and not consistent between waitstaff and we left still a bit hungry.

Nice partial views of the harbor and to go when it is light out, sun is setting and dark makes for a nice visual experience between the atmosphere outdoors and indoors. The restaurant was sort of minimalist modern inside and I enjoyed that look. Temperature was just right indoors not cold like others have reported.

I think my gf was a bit dissapointed that it was just ok for her. I still recommend Meritage for restaurant week. I think if you went with pork as your first course, duck as your second and chocolate as your third you would have a very flavorful meal that would make your taste buds(and eyes) happy but not totally full.

corvairfan in Greater Boston Area