FoonFan's Profile
Special place for 20th birthday
My soon-to-be 20 year old has graduated from "Dad - I want to go someplace with great lobster pasta" to Dad-I want to go to a really nice restaurant." She still likes pasta, but has opened the door to a bit more sophistication. I was thinking Hammersley's. Other suggestions? Great food and ambiance, sophisticated but not too edgy. Get the picture?
ISO best scampi pasta between Tampa and Sarasota
I'm visiting my daughter in St. Pete and top of her priority list is great scampi-style pasta. Any suggestions?
Boston Chinatown: Best Chinese restaurant for food, value and service
Peach Farm. Great food, great service, reasonable price tag. I've gone there New Years eve with a gang of people with special food needs - one can't eat peppers, one can't eat garlic, one is gluten free. The Peach Farm people took it all in stride and graciously served us a fabulous meal.
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Peach Farm
4 Tyler St, Boston, MA 02111
Chowhound "bum steers"
I think the issue with Erbaluce is that the flavor palette is very unconventional, sometimes bordering on a bit weird. I love it - it works for me - it's so not same old same old. But I could understand that it wouldn't work for everyone.
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Erbaluce
69 Church Street, Boston, MA 02116
Looking for the best Whole Foods in the Boston area
I just stopped at the Washington Street Newton store on the way back from a meeting, and guess what? All the When Pigs Fly bread is stuffed into the bottom shelf down at floor level there too. So I guess that confirms it's corporate policy. Weird and obnoxious.
Looking for the best Whole Foods in the Boston area
Just slightly off-topic, but I'll share anyway. Yesterday, I was shopping at the Brighton Whole Foods (tiny and far from the best). I was looking for When Pigs Fly low-carb bread, a staple in my household, and an item usually available at this store. All the When Pigs Fly bread has been moved to the lowest shelf, and stacked six-deep, so I had to actually get down on the floor and root around for my bread. I brought this to a team member's attention, that it made the shopping experience unpleasant. His response: "I know, it sucks. Corporate policy." Wow! what a distressing answer on so many levels for a company that prides itself on empowering the store teams to optimize the shopping experience. So, I guess what he's saying is that the corporation is mandating that all the locally produced stuff be pushed aside to make room for shelf after shelf of Whole Foods and 365 brand breads. I understand that pushing their own brands is part of the business model, but doing it in a monopolistic way is just tacky.
Umani Brookline
I like Umami. Wonderful room and patio, nice people, inventive cocktails, some very good food, some just ok. They are trying very hard with the fusion thing - "1,000 Year Old Egg "Alfredo" Sauce, Udon Noodles, Crimini Mushrooms, Swimming Blue Crab Meat". Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I love the Sauteed Shitake Mushrooms, Yuzu Marmalade, Grand Marnier, Sunny Up Quail Egg appetizer. Could eat it 3 times a day.
Latitude 43 Gloucester Coupon
I was a Latitude 43 skeptic for several years, but have become a fan. I took a party of 14 there Memorial Day weekend. We got a table on the deck with a wonderful harbor view. Food and service good - not spectacular - but good enough. Salads, fish cakes, baked haddock, lobster rolls, sauteed veggies all very proficient and tasty. The lobster roll at about 20 bucks was at least a full lobster's worth. All and all, a very pleasurable weekend lunch experience.
ISO lobster pasta
For her birthday treat, my daughter has asked me to find the best lobster pasta dish in the Boston area. Her taste runs to a creamy, alfredo-ish style, but not lobster mac n cheese. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Umami in Brookline
I tried Umami, the new fusion restaurant located on Beacon next to American Craft. It was very good. I am usually put off by salty food, but this kitchen knows how to use salt to bring flavors together and boost them up. Started with a field greens salad - pretty straightforward with some bits of wakame to perk it up. Then the best dish of the night - sauteed shitakes in a subtly sweet salty sauce topped with a soft cooked quail egg. Very rich and delicious. Then onto a bowl of mussels in a lovely tomato herb lemon broth. Dining companions shared the tiger shrimp in some kind of spicy preparation and the salmon served with green tea noodles and bok choy. for wine, an Alsatian Gewurztraminer was a perfect match for this food. All and all, the Asian influence was consistent, but subtle. Price point was reasonable with $6-8 apps and $15-24 entrees. The room is beautiful and staff very attentive. All and all a great addition to upper Beacon.
ISO Hell's Kitchen exotic, cheap, tasty
Reunion of returned Peace Corps volunteers searching for good, cheap, exotic fare in Hell's Kitchen or midtown west. Served in West Africa but African fare not essential. Party of 10, reservations would be helpful.
Nadeau review of Sichuan Gourmet
This is the OP jumping back in. Very interesting and worthwhile discussion. Here's my takeaway: I love the authentic dishes at SG. I would give them close to 4 stars. My mother loves chicken with snow peas. The dish she got at SG was worthy of a fast food stand at a shopping mall. I still maintain that if a restaurant doesn't prepare what's on its menu up to an excellent standard for that dish, then it does not deserve to be a 4 star restaurant.
Nadeau review of Sichuan Gourmet
Nadeau gives Sichuan Gourmet (review headline says Sichuan Garden but that's another story) in Brookline 4 stars, yet disses their non-authentic menu offerings. I love their authentic dishes. However, I quibble with 4 stars for a restaurant that has stuff on the menu that it doesn't execute well. I ate here with family members who don't like spicy food. They ordered mainstream items such as chicken with peapods and lo mein. It was bad. There is no excuse - if it's on the menu, it should be well executed, or no 4 stars. Period.
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Sichuan Garden
295 Washington St, Brookline, MA 02445
Sichuan Gourmet
1004 Beacon St, Brookline, MA 02446
Fuloon question
I want to do a fabulous Chinese dinner for about 20 people. Is Fuloon the place? What are the must have dishes? What are the best dishes for those who don't get off on spicy food?
Peter Chang v. Zhang Wenxue
New Yorker magazine has an interesting article by Calvin Trillen about a Chinese chef who has become a cult figure in the mid-south. Check it out at
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/03/01/100301fa_fact_trillin
Here's my question: What are the arguments for or against the hypothesis that Fuloon's Zhang Wenxue is in the same league as Peter Chang (as a chef, not a cult figure)?
Is there any good news near Brookline?
I don't know - I noticed a big for lease sign as gone up on that space.
Five Favorite Places to Eat Among Frequent/Veteran CH Posters?
I don't know if I qualify, but here goes:
Tupelo
Mulan
Sichuan Gourmet (Framingham branch - hope Brookline rumor is true!)
Washington Square Tavern
Erbaluce
Peach Farm
Beacon Street Tavern - nice nitecap
For anyone who had real gimlets in, say, London or Wolverhampton, it should be apparent that this is a very pale imitation. In my humble opinion, the gimlet, having been invented by a British naval surgeon in the late 19th century, is best made and sold by British bartender-owners, not the trendy Boston crowd.
Temptations new location or 2nd location?
This is very good news. Temptations is great at what they do - wraps and smoothies. Definitely needed in CC area!
Best Steak in Boston?
On my two forays to Frank's, I found the food, service and ambiance all sub-par.
Chinese in Chinatown but not peach farm
I concur with Best Little Restaurant. Better Sichuan in the burbs anyway.
Anniversary Dinner Troquet vs Clio?
If you enjoy wine flights, then Troquet is the place to go. They have the best wine by the glass program I've ever seen anywhere. Reasonable pricing, great selection and food matching, and the flights of 2 oz pours are fun.
ISO great spot for 15th birthday
My daughter turns 15 day after Christmas. We are looking for a great spot to celebrate with about a dozen teens and assorted family members. We've done Petit Robert in the past, but want something a bit more flamboyant and dramatic. Good food, but not break-the-bank prices, since I will be feeding 15 or more people. Suggestions?
Worthwhile Chinese food in the Boston Area?
I would just like to point out to the O.P. that New York and San Francisco metro areas each have more than a half million residents of Chinese heritage, compared to perhaps 50,000 in Greater Boston. The Chinese populations of those other cities is comparable to the entire population Boston. Given these demographics, I think Boston holds its own in well-prepared Chinese food with restaurants such as Fuloon, JoJo, Best Little, Sichuan Gourmet, Peach Farm, TsingTao, etc.
Turducken
Oddly enough, it was on the menu at Gargoyles several years ago. It got some good reviews, but I didn't think it was very good.
Hungry Mother good but....
my O.P. raised questions about the cancellation and service charge policies, not the service. The service was excellent. The food was good, but I question whether it deserves the spectacular buzz that it has been getting.
Hungry Mother good but....
I had dinner at Hungry Mother this evening for the first time. Service was excellent, food was good overall, but it certainly didn't set me to swooning. The only dish that I would call outstanding was the pork loin and pork rib, nicely brined and smoked, tender as can be. The fried catfish was quite good and nicely presented with slaw and dirty rice, but the fish and coating could have used more intense seasoning. A couple of their policies have me scratching my head. Reservation (party of 5) had to be accompanied by a credit card number. No-show or cancellation within 24 hours of reservation time costs you $25 per person. That means if I had called yesterday at 8pm to cancel it would have cost me $125! Also, for a party of 5 they added 18% tip to the bill. I have no beef about the amount - I usually tip 20% - but since when do restaurants add tip for a party of 5? Hungry Mother is deservedly popular, but they're not elBulli or Le Bernardin. They might want to consider lightening up a bit.
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Hungry Mother
Cambridge, MA, Cambridge, MA
Best Liquor (and wine) Stores in Greater Boston
Bauer Wines and Liquors on Newbury Street Boston. Very savvy wine selection. Good phone and web service, and free delivery over $75.
