archer823's Profile
Particular Korean dish
Oddly enough, also at Apgujung in Newton, it's on the menu and I'm going tonight. Will report back.
Pho Pasteur in Needham Closed, Tu Y Yo taking it's place
Thanks for the tip! I live closer to Newton and I was just about to drive to Westboro to try out Sapporo
Pho Pasteur in Needham Closed, Tu Y Yo taking it's place
So it's bittersweet that the only Vietnamese option in metrowest has shut it's doors, but in it's place is an exciting authentic Mexican restaurant that shuns Tex-Mex. Still I'm going to miss having relatively easy access to pho.
Metrowest is really in dire need of some different restaurants ASAP; Vietnamese, Korean, and an Italian bakery is no where to be found.
Asian supermarket H Mart coming to Burlington
I grew up with Han An Reum. The one in Flushing is also 24 hours, and it's been the go to place for my family for many many years for all their food shopping. As a NYC transplant living in metro Boston, the announcement of an H Mart, especially at that location, with such ambitious plans, makes me weep with joy. Finally there will be a place that's convenient from many communities (since it'll be right off 128 and going in the opposite direction from the mall) to be able to get real Korean groceries and products, and not have to either go to Super 88 and hope they have what your looking for (it mostly caters to Vietnamese and Chinese customers) or find a smaller Korean grocery store that may not have the selection that they want.
This really is the most exciting food news for me in maybe years. Yes it's really that big of a deal for Koreans to have an H Mart in the area.
cassoulet?
I agree, the last time I've had cassoulet was at the Central Kitchen many years ago and it was amazing, the perfect dish on a cold winter's night. But that was around 2002, 2003, so maybe things have gone downhill since.
Korean Food Primer
Everytime I order hwe naeng myun, it's always means bibim. It's really delicious.
Particular Korean dish
Growing up in NYC and now living in metro Boston, Korean food is a night and day difference and I understand that, but I'm still keeping hope that I can find a particular dish.
I know you can get (mool) neng myun at most Korean restaurants in the area, and most will offer bibim neng myun as well. What I'm looking for is hwe neng myun. Basically it's bibim neng myun with pieces of skate wing or cuttlefish (but with all the tasty crunchy cartilage)
So where can I find this dish in the area?
Oga tasting
Not true. If you talk to the sushi chef at the bar, the sky is the limit if you want.
The Best Chinatown has to offer
There's two bakeries I always hit, usually one after to another. Eldo cake house makes some tasty things, and then I walk down to what I only know as the Coffee House on the corner of Harrison and Beech. Eldo has an English speaking staff and everything is pretty tasty more or less, I highly suggest getting meat items like roast pork bun or curry beef filled flaky pastry over say a sweet one just to experience what savory Chinese pastries taste like. I really like their birthday cake because it's not overly sweet. The Coffee House does not have an English speaking staff, but does have some menu items in English. Make sure to get the steamed buns at Coffee House which has mixture of pork sausage and vegetables and egg, perfect breakfast eats.
Don't be afraid even with a language barrier to try to explain yourself in a normal tone of voice to try to get what you want to eat. It's frustrating but it's equally as frustrating to the shop owners who only want to make their customers happy. Just walk into any place that looks good and be paitent and you'll be rewarded.
Seeking rehearsal dinner spot in Newton/Needham/Wellesley
Since your in that Needham area, have you checked with Quince? It's a small enough restaurant that they might even shut their doors for you.
Hunting for the best sushi in Metrowest
I live pretty much next door to Shanghai and the only thing I get there is the spicy maki rolls (tuna, scallop, etc. etc. etc.) Like I said, it's like they put crack in it because it's just so good.
NY Chowhounds just moved to Boston - what are your neighborhood favorites?
You've just thrown the gauntlet down. As a Native NYer who's lived in the area since 2000, no Boston pizza is still no match for a slice on the street from NYC. There's just something about it that just doesn't match what Boston can do. The only place that I found to have a good slice of cheese pizza that I acutally enjoyed was at a little place in Clevland Circle called Presto Pizza. Everything else was pretty much garbage.
Hunting for the best sushi in Metrowest
My fiancee and I are on the hunt for the best sushi in Metrowest. She's simple in her sushi tastes while I'm adventurous willing to try anything and looking to try everything. We're looking for a restaurant that will make us both happy and so far we've yet to find it. Oga's is really great but with their recent price jump and smaller portions, it's left a bit of a bad taste in her mouth, although I still stand by their inventive nigiri cuts and high quality sashimi. The rarer items I've had were at Oga's were my best sushi experiences ever (their old special nigiri platter had toro, otoro and chotoro as well as torched salmon, cockles, and other interesting pieces, I've had fresh Maine sea urchin sashimi served on shells with a shiso leaf that was to die for; that's the style of sushi I'm looking for).
Last night we went down to Fugakyu in Sudbury to see what they had to offer and it's nice that they put a lot of emphasis on the inventive maki roll, but my nigiri, although of very high quality, was nothing really that made me jump out of my seat with joy.
I find it really strange that the best "spicy" maki rolls I've had were still at Shanghai Tokyo. It's like they put crack in their spicy mayo because the quality of the fish isn't top grade by any means and I really don't find their regular sushi platable at all, but their spicy rolls are amazing.
I've yet to experience Oishii in Sudbury although that's next on the list as well as hitting up the Chestnut Hill location someday.
So here's the questions. Where is the best regular sushi? Highest quality fish, good fish to rice nigiri proportion, actually using warm soft rice instead of ice cold gummy rice (that always ruins sushi for me, when they use below room temperature rice). Who serves up the most inventive nigiri, where the chef isn't just happy to serve up a simple slice of fish but actually had flavor and texture to the pieces to maximize the experience. Who's the best bargain in sushi in the area without it being inedible? (example, Minado might be a bargain, but to me it's a waste of money since I can't swallow that sushi without feeling that the whole concept of machine made sushi is wrong wrong wrong, not to mention that it doesn't even taste very good)
Anyone Been to China Sky in Wellesley?
It's close, but I prefer CK over China Sky. China Sky is all about atmosphere but CK seems a bit more real. If you don't order the standard favorites, but really venture outside of the American style "Chinese" food, then there's good things to be had. If your a plain Beef w Broc and General Gau, then China Sky might be a better option.
Korean tonite
When I say mixed cuisine, I mean that the restaurants that tend to serve kalbi and neng myung also tend to have sushi / sashimi on the menu, while ja jang myun / jamb pong type places are just Korean style "Chinese food" restaurants. The very odd thing in Boston is that Korean restaurants tend to be melded into places that serve up teriyaki and tempura (I guess it's to cater to a larger audience) and even stranger is the combination of Korean owned pan asian restaurants (like Dah Mee in Natick) that do even Thai food (why not, it's a popular choice in the area after all).
What bothers me the most about Korean restaurants in Boston is that there's really no decent place to get ja jang myun at a decent price, that it's on the menu next to kalbi and bulgogi, and that pan chan isn't free at some places.
Korean tonite
Even in LA or NYC, Korean restaurants tend to be "mixed cuisine" places, all the kalbi places usually offer sushi and sashimi, while Chinese style Korean noodle houses have the Korean take on General Gau's chicken (Kahn Poong Gi) and noodles with black bean sauce (very similar to Peking meat sauce noodles served in many take out places).
Korean tonite
The one time I went to Wu Chon with my mother around 4 years ago, it had to be one of the worst Korean meals I've ever experienced. The soups we had was utterly bland and terrible. Maybe we just went on a really terrible night.
Korean tonite
It's gone through several names, from Choe's Cafe to Min Sok to whatever it's called now. It's decent for cafe style Korean food.
Korean tonite
Drive as quickly as you can to NYC. I'm really sorry to say that there's not a wealth of decent Korean options in Boston.
How to do breakfast in Chinatown?
The corner coffee shop on Harrison (I believe) has a decent cup of joe and delicious pork and egg buns as early as 6 AM, I know a lot of dim sum places like Chau Chow start seating as early as 9:30 on weekends.
Good nad cheap Italian (T accessible)
I agree with Carlo's. T accessible and away from the craziness of the North End (but that might be fun for someoe out of town in the first place). I really love everything on the menu there.
Best Wedding Caterer?
I'm looking to get married and as a foodie I want the very best possible (within budget). Anyone have any leads on catering a rehersal dinner (wine pairing / use of fresh seasonal ingredients / something a chef would be willing to work with me on every level a super plus)
Can't click on "Boards" link
Never mind, I had my Javascript blocking software not accept chowhound.com. All is fixed.
Can't click on "Boards" link
Or a lot of other links, they end up at this url
http://www.chowhound.com/boards/show/amazonas
Which leads to a 404.
Quince Bistro
I had a very nice time at Quince, everything about the place was just very nice, great wine list that was fun, great food, it was really a nice experience overall. I can't complain about a single thing I had that night.
quince, needham
I had a wonderful expierencei recently, I liked my apps much more than my entrees but the prices I thought were reasonable and I liked the concepts of their tasting menus and half bottles of wine very much.
Best Dim Sum??? Boston and North
Chau Chow hands down, solely for their Lobster Har Gao. Hei La Moon is great, but when I want dim sum, those little bundles of lobster love are like nothing else.
Help! Non-Drinker Needs to Buy Good Scotch!
$50 is actually plenty but if you want to stretch it to $60 though you can even open it up to several great bottles. Unfortunately I've never seen a decent scotch sold in anything smaller than a 750 ml, so that's the route, young single malts can be had in the 20 - 30 range and some I really quite enjoy as an everyday scotch (Bowmore Legend is an example, I don't mind sipping that stuff all day and it's just barely over 20)
Scotch like French wine breaks down into regions of Scotland which generally breaks down into the Highlands (which break down into sub regions as well), Lowlands, Speyside and Islay and each region brings different flavor notes to their scotches. Of course some Speyside scotches are more Highland like, and vice versa, but generally that's the rule. I'd have to say that many people who enjoy scotch generally enjoy the stuff coming from Speyside, such as Macallan (which is super sweet and fruity because they cask their scotch in sherry barrells), or Glenlevit, Glenfiddich, Highland Park etc. etc. They tend not to have as much peat and more delicate but also tend to be more complex as well. Me personally though, I've got a taste for Islay scotches. Bowmore, Lagavullin, Laphroaig (which really puts hair on your chest), Islay scotches are known for their ultra smokey and ultra salty almost iodine like characteristics. It's the difference between someone who enjoys a fine Belgium ale, and someone who drinks super hopped mouth puckering double IPAs . Both are full of flavor, but one is complex, the other is assertive and gives you a punch in the mouth, but in a good way.
If I had to pick a few of my favorites, Macallan Cask Strength (or for that matter anything from Macallan although I'm a bigger fan of their Sherried rather than their Fine Oak line) is a limited edition but fairly affordable sherried scotch that's extremely complex and sweet and can be had for under $60 if you look hard enough (generally it's in the 60 - 70 range though) is absolutely delicious, Lagavullin (a smokey Islay, but with a lot of complex characters because of it's 16 years in cask, lots of sweet notes that cut through the smoke) which goes generally for $59.99, Bowmore 12 or 17, (again very smokey, but the longer aging helps develop a smoothness and complexity that doesn't exist in the Legend which is only 5 years), the 12 is under $40 if I remember, the 17 is closer to $60 maybe $70. Bowmore also has an interesting line called Dusk, Dawn, Darkest where they take their whiskey and put it into different casks, such as sherry, port, or bordeaux wine, which brings a whole other level of complexity and sweetness to the scotch. I haven't tried any of them but it's on my list of things to buy next. When I'm out on the town and they don't have my first choices, a few bottles I also enjoy a glass of Oban (a very balanced scotch, nice smoke but not overwhelming, starts out sweet but finishes dry, lots of character) which is available in a lot of bars. I'm not a huge fan of Glenlivit or Glenfiddich although Glenfiddich is what got me hooked on scotch in the first place, but they're really just too delicate for my tastes.
