winedude's Profile
Great news! PB Boulangerie is opening another branch in Downtown Falmouth soon!
According to the article I posted, Boris is going to be running the Falmouth location, and, I believe he was the head baker originally. He sure looks like the guy who was always baking when I was in there!
Great news! PB Boulangerie is opening another branch in Downtown Falmouth soon!
Just heard about this today, though I found this article from a couple of weeks ago confirming the rumor.
http://www.iocapecod.com/food+drink/pb_boulangerie_expands_with_maison_villatte_bakery_in_falmouth
It'll be on Main St., they're working on the space right now.
Can't wait!
Best Fresh Bagels In Boston?
The only thing close is to buy actual Montreal bagels, shipped in from St. Viateur, at the Walnut St. Market in Newtonville. They arrive "fresh" every other Thursday, (though they're already 3 days old, which isn't perfect), and they usually have them frozen at all times. I take them home and toast them up, and they're still quite yummy.
Best Fresh Bagels In Boston?
I haven't tried Katz's, but I still think the best I've had around here are at Cafe Fresh, in Needham, Dedham, or Walpole. Way better than Kupels or Rosenfelds, IMHO.
Restaurant Week Boston, Winter 2012 reports?
I'm not usually a RW guy, but couldn't resist an early table (6:00) at Meritage. I thought it was a great deal. They only had the RW menu, with 4 or more choices for each course. The portions seemed very good, and food was top quality. The filet mignon, with horseradish cream, that I had as a main was great, and would have been worth the price of the whole meal. My wife's salmon was equally good. We had 2 of the 3 "trios" for dessert, hers citrus and mine chocolate, and it was really fun to have 3 small desserts each. They also had a RW wine special, with 3 glasses, 1 for each course, for $17/a person. Pinot Blanc to start, an excellent malbec with the main, and a small glass of moscato d'asti with the dessert.
All in all, a beutiful view, and excellent value. Our service was a bit amaterish, and the pacing was faster than I would have liked, but I chalk those things up to RW.
We'll go back.
Great time at La Laiterie, Providence
Finally got a chance to try La Laiterie last night. It's quite a cool-looking space (once you get into the restaurant side). Our arrival was a bit chaotic--we had 8:00 reservations, and when we showed up, they said they were running behind schedule, so we had to stand in the brightly lit, and over-warm, front room/store. They allowed us to order some wine while we waited, but it was a bit of an uncomfortable start, frankly.
After about a 20 minute wait, we were seated in the restaurant, and our evening when straight uphill from there. Service was friendly and efficient, and there's an interesting assortment of wines by the glass (I had the Pezzi King Zinfandel, one of my favorites, nicely chosen but pricey at $11/glass).
As we had 2 vegetarians among us, but wanted to graze, we split all of the veggie options on the menu. We had these small plates (each about $11): pasta of the day-- a delicious, al dente fettucini with a mushroom broth and a few vegetables, light but delicious; squash tasting--a selection of small pieces of 4 kinds of roasted squash, which was interesting and fun; their famous mac and cheese--justly famous, and absolutely delicious, a rich, toasty, cheesy mouthful. We ordered their House bread selection ($3), with 2 pieces each of warm cornbread, warm foccacia, and ciabatta. Very yummy. We had both of the salads offered, one fairly standard mixed greens with a flavorful vinaigrette, and the other filled with pickled vegetables, and some type of feta cheese that was a highlight. We also had one "large" plate, the "raclette" sandwich, which was a large grilled cheese, with raclette cheese and cornichon in the middle. It was delicious, and very filling.
We split 2 desserts, the chocolate bread pudding with salted caramel and coconut ice cream, and a chocolate chunk blondie, with butterscotch ice cream (each $8). Both were excellent. They also served the coffee as individual French Presses, which were much better what one routinely gets at the end of a meal.
All in all, a big win, and we'll be back!
Cheesecake in and around Cambridge
OK, I'm bracing for the flames, but how about The Cheesecake Factory? You can't drag me there to eat the food, but I've had the cheesecake (takeout) before, and it was actually pretty good (for around here anyway).
Most Memorable Cape Cod Meal of 2011 and Your 2012 Dining Plan?
We were there several times during the summer, last time over Labor Day weekend, after the stories of the departure of their pastry chef. The croissants and related goodies were still absolutely delicious, though we noticed a slight uptick in variability between batches.
Most Memorable Cape Cod Meal of 2011 and Your 2012 Dining Plan?
We had some good food on the Cape this summer: Two great dinners at Blackfish in Truro (love the panko-crusted sole, with cauliflower mash!); excellent brunch at the Wicked Oyster (awesome brioche French Toast, real maple syrup, fresh squeezed OJ, great coffee).
The pastries at PB Boulangerie are state-of-the-art, though our dinner there still left room for improvement.
I haven't been to 28 Atlantic, or Pisces in Chatham, and they're on my list for 2012.
Christmas Eve Dinner - Providence
I just checked on Open Table, and there are a number of places open. I'd recommend checking there. There are steak houses, and some of the places on Federal Hill. There are also some early slots at Mills Tavern. Did you have something in mind?
Dinner with a very old person
Rice Barn is a good suggestion, and the food is very good, but it's high-end Thai food, and she may freak out.
We like Bon Caldo in Norwood for our aged relatives. Very good Northern Italian food, pretty quiet, very good service.
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Rice Barn
1037 Great Plain Ave, Needham, MA 02492
Walnut Street Market - Newton Highlands
The smoked meat is from Lester's. I've only bought the small cryovac sliced portions, and it's nothing like Schwartz's, as it's more of the "wet" style of smoked meat. I think they also have unsliced pieces of brisket, but they're also cryovac'ed. I think it's fine, but nothing like the real thing.
The bagels are delivered "fresh" every other Thursday--you should call and check on delivery days, if you're interested. They arrive late in the afternoon. Note that they're already 3 days old at this point, but when toasted up, they still taste great.
To answer another question above, I have ordered the bagels straight from St. Viateur, with the minimum 6 dozen, and it's just getting the same box that the Walnut St. Market gets, on the same day. They freeze well, and last for months without too much degradation. But if the market is close to you, the savings from ordering the whole box is minimal.
Recommendation for nice family dinner spot in Framingham-Natick-Sudbury area
Tomasso is very good, but relatively expensive, and a-typical Italian food, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend for a "Italian" food for 15 people.
For comfortable, relatively quiet, moderately priced Greek food, with a nice atmosphere, but just "good" food, there's the Aegean, in Framingham.
There's a branch of Legal Sea Food in Framingham, with very good fish dishes (and surprisingly good steaks), but it can be loud, and could also be expensive if people decide to order lobsters.
I just had a very good meal at The Cottage, in Wellesley. It's got sort of a California food style(its sister restaurant is in San Diego), with pretty good food, and a very nice atmosphere, and very reasonable prices. They have a smaller semi-private dining area off the main dining room which might work well for 15 people
Recommendation for nice family dinner spot in Framingham-Natick-Sudbury area
I believe it has been there, like, foreva.
Friendly Fisherman: seasonal or year round?
Just know that there's little protection from the elements, so if it's too cool, you'll be eating in your car.
I assume you know not to miss PB Boulangerie, and Blackfish?
The virtues of Doublestuff Oreos
I think if they actually just released the stuffing in a jar, once we saw what was in it, they'd have to mark it as toxic (based on fat content). I say this as someone who loves the stuff.
Let's talk soft serve
There is pretty good soft serve at a number of places on the outer cape, all serving the Hood version. They sell it at Mac's stand on the water in Wellfleet, at the mini-golf place in front of the Wellfleet Drive-In, and the place nextt to Rookie's on Rte. 6. All of them will hit the spot.
Top 5 of the Cape
+1 on this Osteria. I really like the food, and the room on the left is quite nice. The back room is a bit too spartan for my tastes, and the service when we went was very amateurish as well, which is too bad since the food was as authentically Bolognaise as I've had in Massachusetts.
Top 5 of the Cape
Great post CCG! I'll add some of my favorites, as I'm the exact opposite of CCG, spending all of my time either in Wellfleet or Falmouth:
Must visits in Wellfleet areat:
1. Blackfish, in Truro: Excellent food, moderately expensive, no views.
2. The Wicked Oyster, Wellfleet: Great breakfasts/brunches, and yummy dinners. Fun, funky atmosphere.
3. PB Boulangerie, for awesome pastries and breads, pick up a picnic to go.
4. Friendly Fisherman, take it to go and eat at the Wellfleet Drive in --Big Fun!
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Wicked Oyster
50 Main St, Wellfleet, MA 02667
Seeking Boston's BEST Brownie Sundae.
For my money, the best Brownie Sundae is at Hilliard's Ice Cream and Candy, in Easton, MA. It's a really cute, old-fashioned ice cream parlor, they make their own brownies (great) ice cream (great) and hot fudge (very good). It's enormous, we share it for two.
Chowhound "bum steers"
I would say that what I love about CH (as opposed to, say, Yelp), is that the odds of getting a bum steer are very, very small. Off the top of my head, I can only think of three real disappointments: Franklin Cafe, Erbaluce and Gran Gusto. My meals at each place were just OK, but after the reviews here I was expecting much more, and I haven't been back to any of them.
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Gran Gusto
90 Sherman St, Cambridge, MA 02140
Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116
Casual Dining in Providence?
Good recs from rjlebed above. I agree about Red Stripe, it's very good, but my only complaint is that it's very loud. They take reservations, which is a plus.
Federal Hill is fun, though the food quality is variable. Sitting outside at one of the places in DePasquale Square, then having dessert at Pastiche, would work for you as well.
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Red Stripe
465 Angell St, Providence, RI 02906
wellfleet vacation advice
When I was there on 7/9, the pastries were still world class--my pain au chocolat was state of the art, as was my wife's blueberry danishy thing. The next day, on Sunday, the croissants were slightly overcooked, and more bready.
I think it's fair to conclude that they've become a bit more variable, but I wouldn't go spreading rumors about bakers leaving and dimiished quality without knowing more.
Not feeling the high price point.....
I'd reommend you do the tasting menu at Ten Tables, for $40, and splurge on a great bottle of wine.
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Ten Tables
5 Craigie Circle, Cambridge, MA 02138
PB Boulangerie..the facts please..
We were there on July 9 and 10. Both days, we visited in the afternoon, around 2:00 PM. The lines were relatively short at that time.
On Saturday, I had one of the best Pain Au Chocolat I've ever had, and I've had a lot, all over France and the states. Truly world class. And my SO had a blueberry pastry that was cream-filled and fantastic.
On Sunday, I had the same thing, and it was not even close, a bit overbaked, and not nearly the same level of flakiness and butteryness. My SO had a brioche, filled with pastry cream, that was mediocre.
Both days there was a typical stock at that time, a reasonable assortment of pastries, and plenty of breads.
My take-away is that, while there may be some increased volatility, on a good day, it's still great.
Ice Cream Trip Through Maine
Another vote for John's. Tried it for the first time a few weeks back, it's REALLY good.
Fried clams in Falmouth?
I'm not the clam eater in the family, but my SO says that the fried clams at Paul's are very good. The place is a classic, impossible to find unless you know where you're going (no signage), good, greasy, bar-style pizza, bright lighting, low prices. It's worth a shot, for cheap eats.
Coffee roasters
I believe that Dean's Beans uses Robusta beans, instead of Arabica, which accounts for the lower price.
Finding good quality, reasonably priced beans has become a bit of a challenge, for sure.
wellfleet vacation advice
First, as to Farmer's Markets, I've been to the Orleans one--it is very small, with just a few actual fruit and vegetable vendors. What was there was really good, but, unlike many farmer's markets, I recommend getting there right when it opens, and getting in line at one of the popular vendors ASAP. As I watched, the best tomatoes were getting snapped up, at rapid pace. Note that a there a few farm stands along Rte 6 between Eastham and Wellfleet, and they are well worth stopping at, as well as the Vegetable stand at Hatch's Fish Market, in the town parking lot in "downtown" Wellfleet. You could easily find that you'll have everything you need by doing that. If you do go to Orleans, I'd recommend that you try The Chocolate Sparrow for coffee or chocolates-it's right near the market, and also Jo Mamma's, which has H&H bagels from NYC, which they bring in frozen then finish in their ovens. They are the best bagels on the Cape, IMHO.
