mezzodiva54's Profile
Fun restaurant near Fenway
We ate at Remy's last summer and were pleasantly surprised by the menu and execution, which was definitely a cut above your usual bar food. AND they had Dogfish Head and Racer 5 IPAs on draught, yum! As mentioned above, however, wherever you choose, you need to get there early or make a reservation. I know that there are season ticket holders who have "season tickets" at Remy's, too!
Telegraph Hill Menu Update
We had one of our most memorably poor meals at this place -- mediocre food and excruciatingly bad service. In spite of their truly silly menu, they could not even manage to get burgers and fries right; no way would I trust them with the ersatz New Orleans stuff they listed. It's hard for a restaurant to make the sports bar next door look good by comparison, but Telegraph Hill managed to do just that. Reason number 167 why we desperately miss Donovan's......
Best Selection of Dried Pasta in the Boston Area
I'm talking about varieties of shaped macaroni, e.g., rigatoni, orecchiete, or, in this particular case, cavatelle, a pasta that looks like gnocchi but is made of semolina, not potatoes.
Best Selection of Dried Pasta in the Boston Area
Hi, I came across a recipe for cavatelle this week, and before I punt and substitute something else, I thought I'd ask -- is there a go-to place for a better-than-average selection of dried pastas?
Need recs for Chinese in Boston proper
This is what comes of attempting to herd cats, er, old friends. It would appear we are now going to Brasserie Jo. So much for all our efforts, but thank you, fellow hounds, for playing the game.
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Brasserie Jo
120 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02116
Need recs for Chinese in Boston proper
A group of old school chums will be coming to town this weekend, and interest has been expressed in Chinese. We will need to be staying in town, however, so some of the better choices in outlying areas will not suit. The space would need to be large enough to accommodate a group (and hopefully a reservation), have a liquor license, and should probably not be cash-only, which would cut out a couple of the more hole-in-the-wall places I might ordinarily suggest.
Within these parameters, can my fellow Hounds make some suggestions? I think cuisine definitely takes a back seat to the availability of alcohol, but several of us are serious eaters, so the food should be good, whatever the cuisine. Group may be as large as 15 or so. Help?
St Johnsbury & area - thoughts for a solid quality dinner?
Elements is very nice (and quite upscale for St. J), but our favorite restaurant is still the River Garden Cafe in E. Burke. Everything about it strikes just right, whether dinner or weekend brunch. Terrific cocktails, totally delicious food, no attitude whatsoever.
A nice place in the summer is the Wildflower Inn, which has a gorgeous garden and very nice food (although possibly not as nice as the garden!).
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River Garden Cafe
RR 114, East Burke, VT 05832
Good cider donuts close to Boston?
Cider Hill Farms in Amesbury. Circus-like atmosphere on a nice autumn weekend, but fabulous cider donuts, often inhaled before we can leave the parking lot. Also the most varieties of apples around (lots of rare varieties, and a reliable source for the Northern Spies I demand for my pies and dumplings), plus local produce, cider, honey, even organic meats, and PUMPKINS!
http://www.ciderhill.com/
Chicken and Waffles=Amazing
Having lived in the nabe for a gazillion years, I kept circling this place but never going in. Tipping point came when Liquor Land moved in next door. So one late afternoon I bit. And boy, was I ever sorry I did.
I did not have waffles. But I had the chicken, with potatoes, gravy, and greens. Everything (but especially the greens) was the saltiest food I've ever put in my mouth. I couldn't finish it. The gravy came out of a can, or something, certainly wasn't real gravy. The place was NOT CLEAN. As I chewed, I became more and more concerned that what I was putting in my MOUTH was not clean. I would avoid this place like the plague.
Having said all this, the place seems incredibly popular. Go figure.
Need Help for Special Occasion in Beloit (Janesville/Rockford)
Hi, the family will be traveling out to Beloit in a couple of weeks to see our only son graduate. I would like to take us out someplace nice (that FEELS special), but the food must be good as well. This will NOT be my first trip to Beloit -- I've been going now for four years, so I know the area (and its culinary drawbacks) pretty well by this time. We've done most of the supper clubs (as far out as Delavan, but not as far north as the Buckhorn in Janesville). I'm guessing most out-of-town parents will either be going to the Cafe Belwah at the Beloit Inn, or one of the local supper clubs. Aside from the fact that I'm too out of it to have made my Cafe Belwah (or Gun Club) reservation yet, I'm not sure that's what I want to do, anyway.
The Village Supper Club in Delavan was nice, because it was on a lake, and the food was good. The Buckhorn I understand is probably similarly situated, and probably has similar food. Is there anywhere else that has escaped my attention (and I have not been to Rockford at all) that would fit this bill? (After four years, I still can't believe that there aren't a gazillion places up and down the Rock River with decks and windows, but there aren't, and that's that.) Nice atmosphere, attractive, festive, good food?
(Even though I'm on the Midwest board now, I fully expect nsxtasy to respond to this request as well! ;)
Need Help for Special Occasion in Beloit (Janesville/Rockford)
Hi, the family will be traveling out to Beloit in a couple of weeks to see our only son graduate. I would like to take us out someplace nice (that FEELS special), but the food must be good as well. This will NOT be my first trip to Beloit -- I've been going now for four years, so I know the area (and its culinary drawbacks) pretty well by this time. We've done most of the supper clubs (as far out as Delavan, but not as far north as the Buckhorn in Janesville). I'm guessing most out-of-town parents will either be going to the Cafe Belwah at the Beloit Inn, or one of the local supper clubs. Aside from the fact that I'm too out of it to have made my Cafe Belwah (or Gun Club) reservation yet, I'm not sure that's what I want to do, anyway.
The Village Supper Club in Delavan was nice, because it was on a lake, and the food was good. The Buckhorn I understand is probably similarly situated, and probably has similar food. Is there anywhere else that has escaped my attention (and I have not been to Rockford at all) that would fit this bill? (After four years, I still can't believe that there aren't a gazillion places up and down the Rock River with decks and windows, but there aren't, and that's that.) Nice atmosphere, attractive, festive, good food?
(Even though I'm on the Midwest board now, I fully expect nsxtasy to respond to this request as well! ;)
Dining near Art Institute/Orchestra Hall?
To all the comments regarding Miller's, I chose this particular venue because (a) it was open late, and we'll be getting back late from the airport with my mother, and (b) it is more casual and at the same time has an old-time Chicago feel. Although I appreciate those who think that we should be taking my mother to a more upscale establishment, if you see my comments earlier regarding the well-known high-end brunch places, a lot of that would just be over my mom's head, and she wouldn't enjoy it. Miller's will be just right.
For my husband and myself, however, we're planning to go to The Gage after the concert, and I'm sure we'll be hitting Russian Tea Time at some point as well -- I have very fond memories of it from the last time I was on tour in Chicago.
Dining near Art Institute/Orchestra Hall?
>> The ball park is on Addison. The nearby location of Giordano's is on Belmont, a half mile south of Wrigley.
I know, I know, I got my directions mixed up looking at the map and typing too fast. I got the Giordano's/Wrigley tip from another of your posts, BTW!
Following your advice, I checked out the Millenium Park garages (that Chicago parking website is just tremendous, thanks!!!). The E. Monroe garage has a flat rate of $14 for 0-12 hours, which will suit us just fine. We'll be careful to follow the directions and not park in the wrong one!
>> Just be aware that most of the decent hotels are concentrated in the downtown areas.
Yes, and sadly we'll probably wind up back at the Palmer House because it's hard to beat that Hotwire $79 rate. But as someone else pointed out on your board, it's an easy place to escape from. We'll be armed with our CTA pass and fearless! It would be awfully nice to get back early enough on Sunday to take a river cruise (it would also be nice if the weather gods shine on us for this trip!!!), but Sunday is still a bit up in the air. I've been sighing after North Pond for several years now, however, and how could it not be lovely, even in the rain?
I cannot tell you both how much I appreciate your assistance -- I've read a LOT of Chicago posts in the past few days, and your names come up many times, so when you were kind enough to reply, I knew I was going to be in good hands. I'll be sure to report back on how it all shakes out.
Dining near Art Institute/Orchestra Hall?
Ms. Chow, you rock my world! Flo looks FANTASTIC, and Google maps says I can walk it in a mere 11 mins. My mom can have an egg and a piece of toast, and if she's nice, I'll give her a bite of my berry-zabione French toast. (No need to do Bongo Room -- spousal unit and I are planning on hitting the Bongo Room's S. Wabash location on Friday morning; if we recover from that soon enough, we'll stop by Giordano's for stuffed pizza (an entity unknown in these parts) prior to the Cubs game. If not, we can have pizza AFTER the game!
So far, this is the itinerary I've worked out for us:
Thursday (arriving sometime late am, dumping baggage at what will probably be the Palmer House, knowing Hotwire)
Breakfast / Lunch -- Atwood Cafe
Fine Arts Bldg so husband can try out violins until I can drag him away
Art Institute
Restorative -- Park Cafe
Beethoven and Sibelius at CSO
Dinner -- Gage
Friday
Breakfast -- Bongo Room on S. Wabash
Pit stop -- Canady Le Chocolatier
Lunch (maybe a very LATE lunch!) -- Giordano's, Addison St.
Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win!
If we don't eat lunch after the game, we'll try your sushi suggestion of Oysy.
At this point we have to go back to the airport, pick up the mom, pick up the rental car, and (ugh) find someplace to park it back in the loop. I notice a couple of places have evening rates -- can we leave it overnight, do you think, for this rate? The car in the city is an awful impediment, but we don't want to switch hotels, and I can't subject my 84-year-old mother to schlepping on the CTA with bags.
Dinner (it's still Friday, we've somehow disposed of the car and stowed the additional baggage back at the hotel) -- Miller's Pub
Saturday
Brunch -- Flo's (thank you again, Ms. Chow)
Then off to Beloit to witness the young sprout's graduation.
We will be back in Chicago on Sunday, dropping car and mom off at the airport on the way in. At this point we'd like to spend another afternoon and evening in Chicago, this time with a younger and more maleable person in tow. We're thinking dinner at North Pond? In fact, it would be very nice to move our base of operations northward and explore another part of town, if possible. I've also been carrying a pass for free admission for two to Buddy Guy's Legends around in my wallet for about 15 years, so it would be interesting to see if they'll still take it!
Monday morning I thought we'd have breakfast at Heaven on Seven before regretfully heading back to the east coast and reality.
How does this sound in actuality? And seriously, any advice on what we can do with the stupid car overnight would be gratefully appreciated. I will of course post a synopsis of any and all meals consumed!
Dining near Art Institute/Orchestra Hall?
Thank you for these excellent suggestions -- Gage looks terrific to try, and so many choices will give us lots of options for that day (plus I know to stop by Garrett's for popcorn at some point!).
Now I have a trickier (maybe) question. On Saturday morning I will be at Mass at St. John Cantius, and my husband (now with my elderly mother in tow) will be having brunch and waiting for me to join them after. We will at this point have a car and be heading out of town (westbound, if that matters). I really need suggestions for the brunch. The places that get mentioned a lot on your board (David Burke's, NoMI, Frontera) all seem to be in River North and are all so fancy as to be unimaginable for my mom (well, not Frontera, but she won't like that it's Mexican -- you can see the constraints rising here?). St. JC is on N. Carpenter, kind of sort of in the River West/Noble Square area (I'm guessing here, based on a map in front of me, and could possibly be talking nonsense). They will have the car, but I will need to be able to get there either on foot or on public transportation (well, or a cab, duh). I saw Wishbone mentioned previously; this is in the West Loop and I can get there from the church by bus. Are there any other suggestions in other places nearby that I can get to by CTA? I know this used to be a Polish neighborhood, but have no idea what's there now. I read of many charming places in Wicker Park, but have no idea how easy or hard it would be for me to negotiate getting there. More help, please? You guys are terrific, thanks!
Dining near Art Institute/Orchestra Hall?
Hi, two Boston hounds will be padding our trip out to our son's graduation with a little us time alone in Chicago mid-May. Schedule is still a little rough, but the day we arrive we're planning to take in the Art Institute in the afternoon and a CSO concert in the evening. The big question is: do we eat before the concert, or can/should we eat afterwards? If we eat before, what are some suggestions for the area (or reasonably nearby) that will get us to the concert on time? Or would it be possible to eat in a more leisurely fashion after (on a Thursday night)? We'd obviously have more leeway as far as location, but there's the time/kitchen constraint as well. If we CAN eat after, what would you suggest for a lunch-ish meal after we arrive but before we hit the museums? Recommended pick-me-up pre-concert? If our Chicago friends could give us some pointers, we'd be most grateful, thanks! Style of food really not an issue, although I don't think we're looking at burgers 'n' beer.....then again....
Thai yellow bean sauce?
Have searched Super88 high and low, and cannot locate this stuff. Anyone know what it is, and where I can get it? Recipe calls for 2 Tbs of the stuff, and this is becoming really annoying not finding it! Help?
Bad night at Icarus tonight
Funny you should mention ... I've been meaning to write about this, and it slipped my mind. My husband and I stopped in at Icarus for dinner after a concert last week. We were lucky (we thought) that they let us in at 10 pm, service could not have been nicer, but ... but ... we had one of the specials, a pasta dish, as a shared appetizer. Presentation was lovely, pappardelle with chanterelles and shallots, little dollops of an intensely green pesto freckling the outside of the plate, BUT the whole dish was so unbearably salty as to be inedible (and we are not the sort who send food back or cause a fuss, as a rule). The waiter insisted that the chef insisted that we be prepared new plates. Fine. Out comes more pasta, with chanterelles, but no pesto this time, just a bunch of spinach thrown in (I suppose for green-ness' sake, as it did nothing whatsoever for the flavor, which was just ... blah). We said nothing. Mains were scallops, fine, pork chops, fine, but neither anything to scream about. Dessert was the molten chocolate cake, not particularly molten, and not particularly special, either. We had glasses of their Banyuls, which was really unmemorable and, for $8 a glass, overpriced (I know, they're not responsible for the wine). But still. We paid pretty much what it would have cost to eat at Hammersley's, and we KNOW that we would have had a better meal there. We haven't eaten at Icarus in a long time, so we're quite out of the loop as to what's doing in their kitchen these days, but for the $$, I think we'd dine elsewhere next time. (Oh, and added, possibly really too picky criticism -- our waiter mispronounced several things on the menu as he was describing them, which I found odd -- he'd been working there for a number of years, he said, and it was strange to hear "pappardelle" of all things mispronounced. My husband says I'm unreasonable.)
As an additional aside, why are there so few places where one can go AFTER a concert and have a nice meal in a pleasant room where it's possible to carry on a conversation? Most places open late are bar scenes and the din is unbearable (which is how I recognize that I'm sliding inexorably into old-fartdom, perhaps), but are there any suggestions as to apres places of this sort? The atmosphere at Icarus was so lovely, especially with the jazz on a Friday night, it's a shame the meal did not measure up.
Looking for baby bell peppers -- help?
Thanks to all who replied (especially the nice person who CALLED Plum and asked for me!). I didn't find exactly what I was looking for, but I did find miniature sweet peppers at Trader Joe's (the ONLY place in the metropolitan area that had them), and have made a nice new contact at Plum.
Looking for baby bell peppers -- help?
I'm striking out at the usual places -- Russo's, Waltham Fruit, Savenor's, Formaggio. Any ideas? This would be for Easter, so time is of the essence.
