Thank you Allstonian.

I have spent a lot of time in Germany, I love German food, and I now live in Munich and to call the food at JW's "good", even *passable*, is indeed so so so sad.

Grilled Weisswurst? ARE YOU FREAKING KIDDING?

Enough said. No. I'm not even going to comment on their "jaegerschitzel" being topped with *Jaegermeister* sauce.

It is a wonderfully fun place, and they do have the best selection of German beers on tap. But if you must eat there....don't think of it as German food. Yeah, you're having a sausage, or some fried or roasted meat, no worries if you think of it that way. It's not as offensive, at least.

A recent discussion around the lack of traditional pastry available in the area leads me to ask the board at large:

Is anyone interested in a baking swap meet, or some kind of baking club where we aim to assemble lovely, delicate, luscious and perhaps challenging sweets to fill the french pastry void in the Boston area?

I'm not an expert baker but willing to try, wanting to learn, and eager to share the spoils of my experiments, so please weigh in if you have interest in joining me in this culinary odyssey.

Baking skills are certainly not required, just a passion for eating and/or making patisserie and the ability to contribute...something. Be creative!

have you tried?

I'm skeptical...the fact that they offer a full menu now is offputting =(

this is not a taunt! but have you tried making some of your favorite pastries yourself? I ask as I am seriously thinking about getting more into baking as what I can buy around these parts is not very satisfying.

But I can't be trusted to dispose of these experiments responsibly - I need to pass them off onto someone else lest I expand in ways I don't desire. So, is anyone interested in a baking swap meet, or some kind of baking club where we aim to assemble lovely, delicate, luscious and perhaps challenging sweets to fill the pastry void?

I used to hit cafe grafiti. Sort of grungy/gritty, but very good selection and it seemed they had good turnover so no problems with stale or waning desserts.

I heard they re-opened finally - can anyone confirm?

ah this beeswax treatment is really interesting.

I used to buy honey with the comb, and loved to spread the wax on hot toast - it made it soooo crunchy and delicious.

I definitely need to try these.

they always seem to carry marrow-rich bones at super 88/Hong Kong market (I go to the one in Malden)

well that is a charming story. I don't buy it, but even if I did, it doesn't explain or in any way excuse his treatment of those servers.

skanks.

I'm glad they didn't get over on that one

the chef had posted about this now it's gone...strange.

anyway, I went in for oysters last night. They were serving island creek. These were a bit small, but very fresh, juicy and cleanly shucked - no grit, sediment, shell, etc. Perhaps a little mangled, but it was really hard to tell as it was so dark. Served with fresh horseradish and a sweeter, lemony sort of mignonet. Not bad at all.

Also had nachitos and my friend had the mini pork sliders - all good. I did get the impression someone in the kitchen genuinely cares about the food, which I love to see. Service was quite attentive and friendly too. Unfortunately, the place seems entrenched as a college hangout...dark and really loud even though there was no dj or other entertainment.

not the same, but similar: happy pig salumi is offering a hop cured bacon.

oh my

I just finish after they do. Why would someone worry about synchronizing eating speed? I've never had awkward moments such as you describe. Then again, my companion usually has a drink of some kind to keep them busy...maybe that would help?

I found better pastries in the subways of Berlin than anywhere in Boston. And cheap - somehow they still manage to deliver good pastry at a very reasonable price. I highly doubt these were "fresh from the farm" ingredients, either, but still a huge leap over most of what can be found here. Overall, I think it's a matter of demand, and hence taste. People want dunkin donuts and panera. The bar is so, so low.

sniffle

sigh

agggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!

In full disclosure, I can't say I've ever bought a loaf of bread from abp, but the rest of their goods are...not so hot.

I agree - Upper Crust reminds me of "average" slices you get most places in NY, so as a NYer, I tend to like it. I don't find the crust tough or dry at all. It's perfectly foldable, too. I think the cheese to crust ratio was good - complete coverage, but not so much that it gets soggy or greasy. Wouldn't go out of my way to hit it, but not bad.

I really enjoy brunch there on the weekends, but have never been very impressed with dinner. It is a nice space, service is good, food is ok. Nothing really wrong, but not really special either.

I have to be completely honest and say: I think you are looking for servers to make the visit of small children tolerable for YOU.

I am not at all against people bringing children to a restaurant, and most people are not against children in restaurants, if they behave. It is up to YOU to be sure they behave. It is, actually, your job as a parent. If they do not, you are not somehow entitled to go out anyway, and expect others to suck it up and cut you the slack necessary so that you can have a good time.

sounds like you had a case of dog vomit slime mold. I kid you not: http://masteryourgarden.blogspot.com/...

It can be pinkish, almost white, sickening yellow...it's is truly disgusting.

And regarding the mushrooms, I've been wanting to try oyster mushrooms too. I did shitake last time, and found it fun and easy. You really do have to mist/water it several times a day, and I lost mine after going on vacation...once a day watering from my pet sitter was not enough.

by sheer coincidence, I was at L'Espalier two years ago for a wine dinner on marathon day...I can tell you it was REALLY funny to see all the runners limping around...this clumsy, shuffling crowd contrasted so wonderfully with the prim waitstaff and surroundings. Bordering on comical..

But they really looked so, so tired. I think it would be hard to enjoy a top notch meal when your body is just wanting fuel and rest. Definitely seems like you might enjoy a place that's more cozy and comforting. Maybe the south end location of Petit Robert? I also really like Estragon, but it can get loud.

on the website they have an "events" page that talks about a special charcuterie bar on tuesdays and wednesdays, and the bar menu lists specials for monday nights.

lanna thai is good: http://www.lannathaidiner.com/

a little farther away, on rt 3 just north of burlington, pongol is very hard to beat: http://www.thepongal.com/

I've had perfectly respectable dim sum at the woburn outpost of china pearl in the past, but have not been lately : http://www.chinapearlrestaurant.com/

If the drive is not too daunting I think All Season's is a good choice.

They have respectable sushi, as well as an extensive pan-asian menu. Nice space. They do still have jazz on the weekends but this can also make things rather loud. I like it, but if you want to talk talk talk it can get difficult when they start playing.

they do have frozen udon in packs of 5, 8 or two. I think the bundles of two came with broth packets.

forming a buyers club or coop is complicated

it is completely legal and very easy to buy raw milk directly from a licensed farm you just have to go pick it up. Many farms need some advanced notice of how much you want to buy so calling them in advance is smart, but aside from that it's very straightforward.

I'm not advocating against using low temp pasturized cream. Just pointing out that buying raw milk directly is not hard at all if you're willing to drive.

it's definitely not legal

oh yeah - I forgot to even mention that I don't think farms can sell raw cream separately from the milk as it's considered "processed" in that case...so you could call to verify before going to any farm.

The traditional thing to do is let the raw milk settle overnight and the cream will rise to the surface. It is very very thick, so you just sort of scoop it off the top and go about making butter with it. You would need to buy a couple of gallons of milk to make any reasonable amount of butter I think. The farm could advise you about this, I'm sure.

have you ever tasted raw milk?

It's quite different than pasturized. I love it, but your butter is going to have a much stronger "barnyardy" flavor than you are used to.

here is a listing of the farms licensed in MA. http://www.realmilk.com/where3.html#ma

Buyers clubs are a huge commitment, and quite expensive so try to get to the farm if you want to just experiment.

the one food vegetarians and vegans can come together on is....chicken fingers?

I am really cracking up - not at all in a mean way =)

no! I love the irish scones at wilsons! I can't comment on the execution lately as I usually dash into the bakery area for a baguette or two with eyes averted to the good stuff, lest I walk out with one of their eclaires.

but I have to say, I may be enticed to try the other variety of scone they make. Anything that inspires a description like "giant unicorn droppings" has got to be...interesting at least =)