quirkydeb's Profile
Ramps - where to buy?
Whole Foods Brighton had them today (as well as fiddleheads). You might want to try calling your closest Whole Foods to see if they have them too.
Catered afternoon tea?
Does anyone know of a good caterer to cater an afternoon tea/high tea baby shower? 20ish people in a home. Thanks!
Mangia Pizza, Brookline (Village)
Thanks for coming up with an explanation for its decline. They used to use sliced Italian sausage, but switched to the gross crumbles. The menu STILL says sliced Italian sausage on the Calabrese. We e-mailed them about this, but never received any response.
And overall, just not very tasty anymore (we used to love it).
New England Soup Factory- Italian Beef Stew?
I have the cookbook. The only stew recipes are "Hearty and Rich Beef Stew" and "Veal and Portobello Mushroom Stew." If you want those, Minuteman Library Network has the book or you could e-mail me.
Traveling hound needs recommendations for 2 dinners in Brookline
Cognac Bistro is also lovely. VERY short walk from north on Harvard St. from Coolidge Corner. Reservations are recommended--it's tiny.
Deluxe Town Diner's Rosemary Garlic Bread
Does anyone know where Deluxe Town Diner gets its rosemary garlic (sour)dough bread? I would love to get a whole loaf. Thanks.
In Boston in a couple of weeks for a day or two on business. What is not be missed?
How about Helmand for Afghani food? It has some mighty tasty lamb.
Chocolate
I really like Michel Cluizel's dark Venezuelan bars. I used to give a rainbow selection of their different origin bars as very pretty gifts to my mom. We would compare all the different locations, and we really loved the Venezuelan one.
Favorite "fancy" chocolate is Leonidas (Marron, Alexandre le Grand, Gianduja, Eve (dark)). I was disappointed by the texture and flavors (and prices) of Teuscher, Neuhaus, La Maison du Chocolat, and Godiva (which all have a distinctive gross taste).
Favorite "eating chocolate" (sadly, I could eat bars and bars of this, right after another) is Hershey's milk chocolate. When I went to school in Ireland for a year (1991-1992), I was DYING for Hershey's (Cadbury was too milky for me, and Yorkies had the worst marketing ("just for boys?" Really!?!)). When my room mate's parents came to visit, I begged them to bring Hershey's bars. They (her parents) were very sweet and did. But which kind? Symphony Bars! Hershey's attempt at a European style bar. Sigh. On the other hand, Dublin was when I first learned about Leonidas, so not a chocolate waste of a year, after all.
Boston area breakfast recap
Seconding the CB hash at Craigie on Main, which I finally tried for the first time this morning. I love Deluxe's CB hash, but this was something entirely different: tender, (not stringy) CB, caramelized everything (I suspect a stick of butter might have been involved), and a poached egg on top that tasted like egg, not vinegar, and oozed nicely over the mix.
I know some folks have felt uncomfortable with the service, but everyone we came into contact with was friendly and helpful.
Deluxe will still be our go-to spot, but Craigie was a superb splurge.
Doing Something Nice for Someone, Maybe Not
I vote nice. When possible, assume the nice aspect. It makes life much more pleasant and joyful.
Grocery list app for iPhone?
I'm looking for a grocery list app for my iPhone that will let me:
1) Make grocery lists for multiple stores and (hopefully) the ability to put a particular product on 2 stores' lists, but not all (e.g. Ezekial Bread at WF or TJ, but not Stop & Shop), so that when I cross it off of one list, it will cross off the other store's list.
2) Enter items from my computer, rather than type everything with my phone.
3) Give both my husband and I access to the list from our phones.
4) A bar scanner would be nice.
5) Aisles/categories are nice too.
I'm trying Grocery IQ, which seems to do everything but 1 (and bar scanning doesn't work for TJ products, but that makes sense for store brands).
I'm considering Grocery Gadgets, but can't tell if it does 1 either, and $4 is pretty pricey.
Anyone have any helpful experience? Thanks!
vanilla cake recipe?
Have you tried any recipes from Rose Levy Beranbaum's Cake Bible? I confess I've only made her flourless chocolate truffle cake, but I think she's supposed to be reliable.
Anyone have Whole Foods' Rosh Hashanah Apple Challah Bread Pudding recipe?
At Rosh Hashanah, the Whole Foods here in Boston (Brighton) had samples and recipes for an apple bread pudding made with round raisin challah, honey, and apples. It was delicious and super easy to make. Alas, I lost the recipe. Does anyone have it? Thanks!
Trader Joe's Fresh Pasta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tried one of the types of ravioli a while ago. Not especially interesting or flavorful and haven't tried any others.
Best Burger (and fries) not in Boston, Cambridge or Somerville
I'm particularly fond of the burgers at Casey's Diner in Natick. No fries, but a wonderful historic diner with terrific not fancy burgers. They grill them to the point where they have a lovely crust and will grill in onions too, if you ask. They seem to be known for their hot dogs, but it's the burgers that really shine.
Unpasteurized Apple Cider
Thanks! We loved how low-key Phil's was (complete with Phil, right there working). My husband will be even more charmed by the refrigerator in the driveway info.
Unpasteurized Apple Cider
Went to Phil's yesterday and they (he!) was making cider. You're right,. It IS delicious, and the free samples of it make it a lot easier to buy a jug. And what a great, low-key, non-zoo place to PYO.
peachy peaches?
Scratch the peaches from Cider Hill. Just not that juicy or flavorful, even after a week and a half of ripening. Still hard, still dry, and not especially sweet.
Local source for sour cherries now?
I get frozen pitted sour cherries from the Russian market in Washington Square. I can't remember its name, but it's close to the Starbucks and Emack and Bolio's. I've never used fresh, but these frozen ones make a mighty tasty pie.
peachy peaches?
We went to Cider Hill yesterday (Friday, August 26). They must have opened up more peaches to picking, because we got plenty. They aren't quite ripe, but are tasty even hard. Hopefully they'll be super juicy too, once they ripen. Also sweet plums. Definitely a hike up though!
We also got a few Gravenstein apples (those were pretty picked already) and plenty of tasty Gingergolds.
Unfortunately the cider donuts aren't quite as good when they're cool (surprise!). The texture isn't as delicate, crisp, and fluffy. Still tasty, but definitely better to get them on higher turnover days.
Tipping - How do you feel about tip jars?
+1 on the store getting undeserved credit! Unless the business puts something else in (and should make that clear).
peachy peaches?
Don't forget to try Cider Hill's cider donuts. They made me understand what all the fuss is about!
Salty Oats Cookies
I really like this version. It's very similar to the Washington Post one, but with raisins and more cinnamon (and I use Penzey's Vietnamese cinnamon). Sometimes they come out puffier than other times, but they're always tasty!
http://habeasbrulee.com/2006/12/17/salty-oat-cookies/
I actually like mine better than the Kayak salty oats.
Food to send to a family with a new baby?
I was thinking barbecue too. City Barbecue in Ohio (I know it doesn't sound authentic, but they're really good!) does mail order. http://www.citybbq.com/order-now/barbeque-by-mail/
Nourish -- New Vegie Friendly place in Lexington
They have fries now. Very mushy on the inside, though, so maybe you should stick with the other sides.
Moved to Lexington (on the Waltham line) -- trying to find new "go to" places
Our lunch experience was also pretty lousy. The food was expensive, but unimpressive. Not sure if any of it was actually local/organic/etc. as the menu doesn't tell any specifics to explain the prices. The burger had a slightly spicy (almost cinnamon??) flavor, which was odd, and my nachos had a lot of flavorless white cheese that could have been mozzarella (texture, but no flavor). The service was horribly slow. Although there was only one other table, our food took about half an hour (burger and nachos). Drink refills were slow or non-existent. When we asked for our check, our dirty dishes were left on the table. We looked on Yelp afterwards and saw similar issues from a year ago.
The black and green iced tea was great.
