litchick's Recent Activity
Chowhound Post
A Good Negroni -- why so difficult?
I should have known better, but I recently ordered one at Elephant Walk -- in my defense, it is listed as a house specialty on their cocktail menu. Sadly, by "special" they meant a glassful of gin on the rocks with only enough campari to tint it slightly red. When I asked the bartender to make it again, this time in the more standard proportions, he said he just figured I wouldn't like anything that bitter. Sigh. I wanted to shake my fist and yell "I'll show you bitter!"
The best negronis I ever had in this city were at Aquitaine, maybe 5 years ago now, when a guy named Aaron was running the bar. They were perfection. And consistent, too. I was so sad when he left.
I would get them at Drink, where I'm sure they're fantastic, but I get so charmed by all the otherwise unusual stuff, that I rarely order a standard named cocktail there.
Chowhound Post
Trader Joe's In Fresh Pond
The shelves are looking pretty well-stocked as of yesterday or the day before.
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EVOO and Za in Kendall Square
Of course, I might suggest that the Za crust is very good for its style. Perhaps those who are hating just prefer a different style? I've been thinking about this all week. At first, I was willing to consider the possibility that I am not picky about crust (see my posts above), but I don't actually think that's true. I think, instead, that I am more of an equal-opportunity pizza crust person -- I like many different styles. I just think that Za has a particular style of crust that isn't to your liking, but that it's a good version of it's style.
Chowhound Post
EVOO and Za in Kendall Square
Hm. I wonder if I just don't care as much about crust as I do about toppings/sauce? I don't honestly know, but it's possible. I've never had a problem with their crust, but maybe it's just not as much a priority for me. I am very pizza-flexible -- I like most crust styles, except for the super oily ones. Whereas I do care about whether the place can put some toppings together that make up for the no-cheese thing. But hey -- I guess I don't mind too much if y'all don't love Za. It'll make it slightly easier to get a table on Fri and Sat nights.
Chowhound Post
EVOO and Za in Kendall Square
Look, its not like I'd opt for no-cheese if I didn't have to. Sadly, I'm highly allergic to cow's milk. ;(
Chowhound Post
EVOO and Za in Kendall Square
I just want to say this to the Za haters: I simply do not understand this. I know, to each his own, but for the record: I really love Za. It's partially adopted-hometown pride (go spyponders!) in a local restaurant that sources much of its ingredients from local farms; but it's also because I really do think the quality is good. Of course, I'm also one of those folks who is happy about almost any variant of pizza that is made with interesting/unusual ingredients, and can stand up without cheese -- as theirs can. (No cheese on pizzas -- it's my personal cross to bear.)
And I love Emma's, too. I'll be curious to see how that works out in Kendall when they go head-to-head. Maybe Za will siphon some Emma's business, and it'll be easier to get in there? Whichever way it goes, I'm thrilled for the McCarthys and their expansion plans. We've always had such pleasant, friendly experiences at their restaurants, and wish them well.
Chowhound Post
Where to buy truffles in Boston?
WIlson Farms in Lexington has them in stock and out on the floor -- I just noticed this for the first time this weekend. Perhaps this is new? I haven't tried them, so I can't vouch for quality, but they *looked* good -- not dried out. They live over in the cold case section that also has cut melon and suchlike. The truffles are sold in glass mason jars, half-full with dry rice -- and they're about the size of ping-pong balls.
Chowhound Post
Zoe's (Chinese): what happened?
Well, if you like ma po tofu, drop in there again sometime just for that. It's exceptional.
Chowhound Post
Zoe's (Chinese): what happened?
The tricky thing is that there are some things on the menu, in different locations, that are nearly identical in the English names, but are actually different dishes. I don't speak or read Chinese, so it's been a process of trial and error for us. For example, there are two dishes that are basically called sichuan shrimp -- one is sweeter, and has a thick fried battered crust. It's got heat, but it's sweet heat, and a lot of bell peppers and onions on the plate. The other sichuan shrimp isn't sweet, and doesn't have that thick batter crust. Go figure. If I could read the Chinese names of things, it would probably be easier to remember which is which.
Chowhound Post
Zoe's (Chinese): what happened?
We ate there very frequently in its former space, and have continued to do so in its new space -- most recently two weeks ago. We have seen no diminution in quality or spiciness. I can't think of a bland dish that we've had there, but there are a few things I've discovered I simply dislike: peking raviloi, the sichuan steamed spicy dumplings, and the lion's head meatballs in clay pot.
We usually order primarily from the list of house specialties, north-south dishes, and sichuan dishes. Favorites include the ma po (the best in the area, I'd argue), sichuan shrimp, scallops in black pepper sauce, whatever the special veg of the day is, and tea-smoked duck. There are several dishes I like quite a lot at Zoe's, but like slightly better at Qingdao, like the lamb with spicy cumin sauce, the chongqing chicken, and the spicy sliced potato.
I'm sorry to you had a bad time. My guess is that it was a combination of it being an off night, and not ordering enough from the things they do exceptionally well. I hope you try it again sometime.
Chowhound Post
I made a risotto the other night, let me tell you...
Tonight I did bacon and onion as the base, then late in the process added a few scant chopped canned tomatoes and a bit of their juice, some anchovy paste, a tablespoon or so of chevre, and grated percorino. Finished on the plate with a drizzle of aged balsamic and grey sea salt. Yum.
Chowhound Post
Oktoberfest in Davis Square today
(Sorry if this posts twice -- the site is being odd today)
Just want to say how great Oktoberfest was yesterday. Not only was the weather perfect, and the band oompah-ing, but the food was delish and the deal was fantastic. For $10, you got a paper boat of food that included: your choice of knockwurst or bratwurst or a pulled pork sandwich; a potato pancake, with or without bacon; saurkraut; a super sour pickle spear; your choice of rye or pumpernickel bread; and an assortment of condiments like mustard, sour cream, applesauce, hot sauce, etc. The $10 also included a beer, and they had a great selection going. Subsequent beers were $5 each.
The sausages were great, and came from the Smokehouse in Roxbury. The pretzels ($2 each) were huge and were finished over the hardwood grill. Yummy.
This was the first time Redbones has done an Oktoberfest, and yesterday they said it looks good for a reprise next year, and perhaps something regularly scheduled next summer with a similar physical set-up. It was a nice place to spend the afternoon. I hope they keep this up.
Chowhound Post
Oktoberfest in Davis Square today
Just want to say how great Oktoberfest was yesterday. Not only was the weather perfect, and the band oompah-ing, but the food was delish and the deal was fantastic. For $10, you got a paper boat of food that included: your choice of knockwurst or bratwurst or a pulled pork sandwich; a potato pancake, with or without bacon; saurkraut; a super sour pickle spear; your choice of rye or pumpernickel bread; and an assortment of condiments like mustard, sour cream, applesauce, hot sauce, etc. The $10 also included a beer, and they had a great selection going. Subsequent beers were $5 each.
The sausages were great, and came from the Smokehouse in Roxbury. The pretzels ($2 each) were huge and were finished over the hardwood grill. Yummy.
This was the first time Redbones has done an Oktoberfest, and yesterday they said it looks good for a reprise next year, and perhaps something regularly scheduled next summer with a similar physical set-up. It was a nice place to spend the afternoon. I hope they keep this up.
Chowhound Post
AWFUL Vegetable Soup -- Help
To my mind, a bit of lemon juice is almost always the answer to any cooking question that take the form of "why isn't my (x) flavorful enough?"
Chowhound Post
H-Mart Burlington!!!
Um, this is heaven. I went at 8:30a this morning and it was thankfully not a madhouse.
Highlights:
- Fresh scone, baguette, and red bean bun from the bakery -- delicious. And warm! Bonus: their house blend black coffee is very drinkable.
- Blue crab at $1.49/lb.
- Love the scoop-your-own fresh shrimp (head on or off) and baby octopus
- Fresh lobster at $4.99 lb -- much livelier and healthier looking than those at the Super 88/Honk Kong Market
- Huge jar of citron honey tea base at about $4
-More inscrutable varieties of plastic tubs of ssamjang-looking pastes than I can possibly get through in a year. I look forward to trying them all!
-Many varieties of kimchi, even the kind that comes with oysters.
-Beautiful looking produce
- Nice-looking and interestingly marinated pork, chicken, and beef, ready for at-home Korean BBQ. When I cook mine up, I'll let you know how it is.
The not so great:
At the bakery, I hadn't put any actual groceries in my basket yet, but I did have my reusable bags (from WF, TJs, etc) in the cart. It wasn't very crowded, but there isn't a ton of room for carts up at the cashier station, so I parked it right behind me, inside the food court. I turned around for a half-second to pay the bakery people, and the damn cart was gone. I don't know if it was nefarious, or just opening weekend on-top-of-it-ness causing workers to put away seemingly abandoned carts (which this wasn't, but whatever). Annoying, for sure, but to H-Mart's credit, after I brought the issue to the attention of the customer service counter, one of the English-speaking dudes in a suit (perhaps a manager?) first offered to pay me for them, and when I declined, he insisted I take three of their H-Mart branded reusable bags to replace the three I'd lost. The folks were all very very nice, and while I wish I hadn't lost my original bags, I was very happy with the way they handled it.
I LOVE H-Mart. Surely, the backlash will soon begin, but let the haters hate. I am so so excited to have this place nearby. And with a TJ's in the next mini-mall over, this becomes a real destination. Now maybe when the crazy dies down a little, I'll be able to go during normal weekend lunch hours and try the food court.
Chowhound Post
H-Mart?
I called them this morning to see what the hours will be today and this weekend -- the dude didn't sound totally sure, but he told me that they'd open today (9/25) around 10a, and close around either 8p or 9p. This weekend, they'll likely open around 8am, and he didn't know what time they'd close.
Chowhound Post
H-Mart?
The Globe has a video about the opening:
http://www.boston.com/video/viral_pag...
Chowhound Post
Who has a great recipe for cod.
...And tonight I went with this recipe:
http://entertaining.about.com/library...
It worked great, and tasted wonderful. Much easier to make than you'd think. A bIg hit.
(Can you tell I have a CSF share? It's cod week!)
Chowhound Post
Who has a great recipe for cod.
Last night I did a sort of Middle Eastern take...
I did a sort of dry rub (or, a heavy sprinkling) of ras-al-hanout spice mix and a little sesame oil, and let that set a bit on the fish. Then I did a pan-fry of the fillets, skin side down, in a generous amount of olive oil (and covered the pan with a glass lid to keep the splattering to a minimum, while still being able to monitor the fish). When the fish was opaque about half-way up the thickness of the fillet, I added to the pan approx 1/2 cup of chicken stock into which I'd stirred 2 tbsp of pomegranate molasses and a teaspoon of harissa paste. I covered the pan again and let the fish complete the cooking in this sort of steam/poach scenario, sometimes spooning a bit of the cooking liquid over the top of the fillets. (Importantly, I didn't move the fish in the pan once from the beginning of the cooking process until I was ready to plate -- this keeps it from falling apart.)
As a side dish, I did a veg medley with chickpeas (zukes, roasted peppers, diced poblano pepper, chopped green beans for crunch, onion, garlic), sauteed, and then finished with a pomegranate broth much like the one for the fish, except with more harissa, and about 2-3 tsp of smoked spanish paprika.
It was fast, used what I already had in the house, and was very tasty.
FYI, for a good ras-el-hanout recipe:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/foo...
Chowhound Post
Helmand - how good is it?
Wow, I couldn't disagree more. I have always had flavorful and pleasant meals there. Is the decor cutting edge? No. But I find it a warm, satisfying place to get some food I can't find anywhere else in town to my satisfaction.
I like the rack of lamb, the leek ravioli, and the dwopiaza quite a bit. Actually, all of the lamb dishes are pretty awesome.
Chowhound Post
"Pod" Coffee Makers
Since this post has been revived, I'll give an update...
I now am at a different workplace, and because of the Keurig's consistent performance, I ended up getting one of my own (a B40) for my new work situation. I'm the only one who uses it, and it's now in its 2nd year. It has been great. I happen to work somewhere with no kitchen and no truly accessible sinks, so having a way to get coffee quickly and easily (a french press would be impossible here) makes this a great solution for me. I've played around with different k-cups, but I find I come back over and over to Timothy's San Lorenzo Dark. The Green Mountain Sumatra is also good, but to my tastebuds not as good as the San Lorenzo. After some experience, I say don't even bother with the cocoa or tea k-cups -- they come out too watery. And I have yet to find a decaf that I really love.
Anyway, I think pretty much most coffee lovers would agree that the Keurig isn't the best cup in the world -- but that's not what it's for. It's not a french press, it's not perfectly brewed temperature controlled fresh ground, etc etc. It fills a niche for a lot of people, and I'll attest that I would be walking around as dumb as a post for most of the morning if I didn't have mine close at hand.
Chowhound Post
Sick of all food and need a jumpstart
Oh, that's a great suggestion. Whenever I go in there my mind reels from all the possibilities. There's something really seductive to me about checking out what fresh pastas are available that day, ordering too much of whatever seems intriguing, then watching them pull out fresh sheets of pasta dough, carefully feed it into the pasta cutter and having them cut it to your specifications, toss it in the (semolina?) flour, and put it into a plain white paper bag. It feels so close to the source that it makes me want to head home immediately and boil up a huge batch of it with only some chopped fresh tomatoes, evoo, and s&p as a very basic sauce.
Chowhound Post
Sick of all food and need a jumpstart
Ditto Pescatore. Really delicious, simple food.
Chowhound Post
Sick of all food and need a jumpstart
Here are the locations...
Chowhound Post
Sick of all food and need a jumpstart
taterjane: everyone has given good advice, so I'll aim to offer a few restaurant suggestions to go along with it.
1. Pho & Rice / Petsi Pies
These joints are next door to each other on Beacon street, between Inman and Porter Squares. At Pho & Rice, I recommend the big bowls of Pho soup -- I especially like the roasted duck version -- which are savory, filling, and a perfect kind of comfort food. I also quite like their Bun, which is lighter, but very flavorful. Petsi Pies, next door, has tremendous baked goods, particularly their pies (sweet and savory).
2. For fish nearby to Arlington, I say head to the Summer Shack near Alewife. I know -- this board has very mixed responses on Summer Shack, but honestly, they do fish very well, and if that's what you're looking for, it's a good option. I especially like their bluefish preparations.
3. I love the recommendation someone else made for Helmand. In particular, I'd suggest the banjan, the leek ravioli, and the dwopiaza -- but they also make some seriously good lamb kabobs and chops.
4. Maybe look at Hi-Rise in Huron Village. They're a little pricey, so I don't go as often as I might otherwise do, but their sandwiches are delicious, as are their baked goods. The tea cookies, the vanilla bean loaf, and the harissa tuna salad sandwiches (which may be too spicy, but they have lots of other great ones, too) are tops in my book.
5. Johnny D's Uptown in Davis Square for their catfish and eggs breakfast plate on the weekends. I don't love a lot of the rest of their menu, but the catfish and eggs is downright terrific -- a perfectly panfried fillet with a light cornmeal crust, alongside softly scrambled eggs, skillet potatoes, and a side of Frank's hot sauce (which is, of course, optional for use). I think it may also come with a side of (real, not instant) oatmeal.
6. Sofra. One of things Sofra does really well is to pack a lot of flavor into small-ish packages, so it may be a nice way to stimulate your appetite without feeling like you're stuffing yourself. The lamb sandwich is mouthwatering, and they always have a ton of small dish items that you can mix and match.
I hope this helps. Let us know if you end up finding something that works for you.
Chowhound Post
H-Mart?
I don't know how representative this is, but at the H-Mart I visited in Annandale VA there wasn't a food court, per se. Instead, they had a section of the store that was devoted to prepared hot foods, made in-house (reasonably priced and delicious). The selections were largely Korean, with a little Japanese thrown in. That said, the Annandale H-Mart was located in a heavily Korean area with lots of Korean restaurants, so it makes sense that the majority of what H-Mart offered would cater to this base.
I am looking forward to the possibility that the Burlington H-Mart will have prepared rice cakes in spicy sauce that's as good as those I found in Annandale.
Chowhound Post
Food Near Holland MA?
Hi all,
Thanks for the tips here, we ended up eating very well.
The Traveler was a hoot, and provided a reasonably priced and tasty breakfast (and two books). I especially enjoyed the sausage links -- very tasty. We also did take-out from the BT's Smokehouse in Sturbridge, next to the Yankee Spirits. Too bad we didn't get a chance to choose from the larger menu, but we quite enjoyed the ribs and pulled pork. Talk about SMOKY. Right up our alley (though I could've been just as happy with a lot less salt). Sunday we tried for Annie's Country Kitchen, but missed the fact that they closed at noon -- we were out of luck. We ended up at the Publick House instead, which was surprisingly good. I enjoyed the excessive amount of stuff in the bread basket (particularly the sweet buns), and I was a huge fan of the open-faced turkey sandwich atop cornbread-sausage stuffing atop cornbread. With gravy. That was sort of like heaven. I don't know that the rest of the menu was as good, but that's a sandwich worth a trip. As a side note, we also enjoyed a stop at Cook's Orchard in Brimfield for apples, and at Hyland Orchard and (Pioneer) Brewery for beer. Pioneer's Frontier Ale was delicious -- very well-balanced. I wish I could get it in Boston. The only let-down was at the Sturbridge Cafe, which was cute, but the coffee just wasn't as good as I hoped it would be, and the muffin tops were too much like cupcakes for my taste. The folks couldn't have been nicer, though, so our stop there wasn't a loss.
So, a lovely weekend, full of good food and interesting places. Thanks for all the tips!
