Small Plates's Profile
5/16/12 Chez Henri: A Talented Chef is Still Talented
We have never been disappointed at Chez. Service is always fine. Food is always fantastic. Paul is a good friend, and whether he is in the house or not, we are always fed well. No complaints or episodes of bad food or service here.
East Coast Grill Bloody Mary from Hell
Awesome! We love Brian at ECG and Abigail's. He makes a fine drink!
Moksa - Tender, Spicy, Meaty
Devra First's review in the Globe today pretty much tells the story of my two trips to Moksa. Seasoning is way off in most dishes we tried. The Berkshire pork dumplings we had were so salty the dish was inedible. Ditto the miso shortrib. The green papaya salad was wilty - as though made the day before - and flavorless. The ramen and pork belly - dull! dull! dull! - how do you screw up pork belly?!?!?! I felt about Moksa the exact same way I did after having two consecutive meals at Ginger Park - held up and robbed, first and foremost, unsatisfied, and worn out by the egregiously poor service. Someone used the Charlie Brown/Lucy/Football analogy on another post - this is how I feel about Moksa.
Small Plate dinner for Memorial Day Weekend
Kika is great. I work across the street and have been for lunch a dozen times. The plates are slightly pricey ($5-10ish) but the upside is they are hardly small. Last time we went, there were four of us. Three ordered 3 plates and I ordered 2. We had SO. MUCH. FOOD!!! Some of the high points are the garlic glazed boneless chicken thighs ($7.50) , the lamb meatballs in truffle cream sauce ($9), the Jamon Serrano with toast points ($10), pork sausage, foie gras, poached apples, fig & port wine sauce ($9.50) and the Pork loin with Cabrales blue cheese and mushrooms (delicious at $9.50). There are lots of veg options as well - we were just very meat-centric on this particular recent rainy day. I remember the cauliflower broccoli fritters ($6) and the vegetable and goat cheese stuffed eggplant rolls ($7.50) as being very good. The white sangria is excellent. FWIW - I have also dined at Moksa - I would skip it. Been there twice. Everything, and I mean EVERYthing was oversalted. Heavy smokers on the line is my guess. Inedible.
Please advise, Saturday dinner for 3, similar to Bondir?
Ditto on Bergamot and would add Catalyst in Kendall Square.
http://www.catalystrestaurant.com/index.cfm/page/Dinner/pid/10252
Boston Restaurants 20 years ago
It was actually not a pick-up scene at all. As a founding, card-carrying member of the gang that called West Street Home in the early to mid 90s, West Street was a clubhouse where several hundred of our closest friends gathered every week - yes, mostly on Thursday nights (and often Friday and Saturday nights). We'd start out with dinner and proceed to festivities through til closing. The food was always OK. Not great - but really good. We had many occasion dinners there, and it marks an era that I miss a lot in Boston (even though I am now married and do not hang out like I used to). It is also where many of us came to know Josh Childs, Cedric Adams, Jon Fagin etc. and became great friends with them.
Found a nice hidden gem in Swampscott - City Grill
I have heard great things about it as well. Will def give a try as we are in Swampy (husband's hometown) all the time!
seattle fam coming for 4 days may 10-15 for first time! need help
Found Opinionated Chef's excellent thread on visiting and eating Boston: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/781155
seattle fam coming for 4 days may 10-15 for first time! need help
I was just reading Upstairs on the Square's (Harvard Square in Cambridge, very easily accessible via MBTA red line/subway) Mother's Day menu - see here: http://www.upstairsonthesquare.com/happenings.php?ID=116 - I think it looks great! Just my two cents on a well-loved restaurant (and restaurateurs) - there are some other Hounds (thinking Opinionated Chef and others) who have comprehensive threads dedicated to Out-of-Towners - and they cover all the requests you have. I will try to find it - but I bet OC will chime in before I can locate it! Welcome to Boston - it is a very nice time of year to visit!! And a tip if you are so inclined - the Arnold Arboretum Lilac Sunday is May 13 and is a MUST CATCH - the Arboretum is on the Green and Orange lines and you can take advantage of the cool dining scene in Jamaica Plain while you are at it. (Ten Tables, Vee Vee, Tonic, Canary Square - to name a few).
Let’s make a list of obnoxiously loud restos
Sat there last time I was there. And on this day, I think the theme (they have some gimmicky kind of "theme" iPod playlist, which is different every day) the theme was really bad early 80s electronica. We were seated at that table, and we had to leave half-way through our meal, it was so grating and loud.
Visiting Boston in July - Best Farm-to-Table?
We have eaten at Bondir a dozen times, and reserving couldn't be easier now they have the online service. Our last outing was last week, and it was (as usual) outstanding. Every last item is at least thoughtfully and (if not completely) locally sourced. Sooo good. I think Bondir is what the OP is looking to experience - if the Apple Street Farm experience (the ultimate) were not available.
Here is the online link for Bondir: http://www.ureserv.com/rest/485
Looking for a restaurant like Bondir, Journeyman, or TW Food.
Do you think the food at Catalyst is pretty ordinary? I have only eaten there once, but I would characterize it as superior to Abigail's (where we eat every week because it is next to my office, not because it is great) in every way. I have been recommending it lately to friends and co-workers here in Kendall. I am curious about what food you had at Catalyst.
Fuji at Kendall recs?
We have been for lunch three times this week and last - not sure if you are having dinner or lunch. The sushi is OK, but I am not a real sushi fanatic. I stick to toro or spicy tekka maki. I enjoy the lunch specials, which at $12-14 are a bit steep for lunch. I will say this, however, when I leave, I feel good. I feel like I have eaten healthy, clean food with very nice ingredients. I had the chicken teriakyi lunch bento box on one occasion (excellent) and the chicken flaming wok lunch special on another (also excellent). These come with Miso soup - very good, a small salad - passable, and some tempura veg - pretty good.
One day, with my husband I split some sushi and sashimi (avocado rolls, spicy tekka maki, salmon and tuna sashimi) and dumplings. Next time I will get the dumplings steamed - they were a bit greasy. As I said before, I am not the best judge of sushi because I just do not eat it enough. As for freshness, I would rate it an 8 on a scale of 10. It was pretty fresh (but I've had much fresher - like, from the sea).
grabbing a quick bite near the Orpheum before a show?
Good call. We went to Marliave before Weezer since Silvertone was an hour wait. Sat at the bar and noshed on some oysters, a charcuterie plate, and beef carpaccio - it was perfect!
Casa B on Friday sans reservations
Packed to the gills! I would call earlier that evening if you just want to play it by ear. You can also reserve on Open Table. If you do manage to eat there, you will be delighted. The food is excellent. We had the tasting a few weeks ago, and I am still dreaming about it.
The Blue Room Brunch Let-down 3/11/12
Ha! I'm old (50), and I'm among the youngest in the Blue Room on any given night.
We go quite regularly on Reggie nights, though we stopped going to brunch there when Highland Kitchen opened. I think the food in general has changed since Jorges left. I'm not saying for the worse, because it seems OK. I preferred Jorge's cooking, however.
Soliciting restaurant suggestions
Here are a few photos from our trip last week:
*Trio of ceviche (lobster, salmon, hake)
*Mushroom broth with honshimeji mushrooms, shaved cheese (scamorza?), and asparagus tips
*Pan-seared scallops over fennel with orange salad and lime vinaigrette
Soliciting restaurant suggestions
My newest find, which makes for a fun evening with a variety of interesting courses - is the $50 tasting menu at Casa B - the new tapas place in Union Square, Somerville. Check the menu out here - with wine or cocktails you should comfortably within your budget.
http://www.casabrestaurant.com/menu.html
Killer Roast Lamb Sandwich - Greek Corner Cambridge
The phyllo exterior is not quite as buttery as the best I remember at Peter's Deli on Broad Street in the financial district (now, lamentably, closed). It would be hard to beat Peter's for most of their dishes/sandwiches/salads. But this is a very close second.
Killer Roast Lamb Sandwich - Greek Corner Cambridge
We get this through foodler.com all the time. Lamb sandwich and spinach pie are a pretty standard order for us on a rainy shut-in day. It is delicious!
Recap of our Boston St. Paddy's Weekend Dining
Yes! That's funny - we offered to buy you drinks because we felt our overgrowing gang was crowding you out! If you come back next year, we owe you those drinks! We are at the Druid every St. Patrick's day - and if it falls on a weekend, we are there the Friday before. Slainte!!
The Painted Burro
We were at a table, and service was outstanding. Much better than you might expect for a place that hasn't even been open a week yet.
Recap of our Boston St. Paddy's Weekend Dining
We were at the Druid for lunch on Friday - if you were there between 12 Noon and 2:30 p.m. you may have seen our large party. The food there sure is good. Thank you for the rest of the report - all good choices. You will have to get to Neptune next time! :)
The Painted Burro
Yes, it was very good. Agree about those chips - sooo good! Also, we requested some hot sauce (love heat) and they brought out a bottle of nice habanero sauce - not sure of the name - but it was very flavorful - a bit smoky and good heat. My recommendation on the survey card presented at meal's end was for a sauce with a little more heat. This one was nice, but I could have stood a bit more burn!
The Painted Burro
We went last night - encouraged by Area Man's review. We had the Pork Chicharones, the Shrimp Diablo tacos, the skirt steak asada and the pickles. Our experience mirros AM's to the letter. The margaritas were excellent - and the complimentary chips and salsa (refilled without asking!) were a really nice start. Excellent salsa - light as a feather chips. The price for 5 margs and the food was $80 before tip (the margaritas, at $8, representing a full half of the bill - it was Monday, what can I say?!?!) I look forward to coming back - this is a good go-to when you have friends coming in for a Davis Square event (thinking the Irish Film Festival, which we are at all this weekend) or for the off Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.... it was crackin' for a Monday night! We liked the vibe a lot. And you know when you see Joe McGuirk hanging out at the bar, the drinks are probably up to snuff as well!
Casa B Review: The drinks! The aioli! The Swank seal of approval.
I meant to report on this last week, but it got away from me. We sat at the kitchen bar and ordered the tasting menu for $50/pp. It was all delicious. I agree with all you describe and will add that at the kitchen bar, we were attended by Alberto, Executive Chef and owner, who described every dish and spent some time talking to us about his Puerto Rican background and his wife's (Angelina - runs the front) Colombian background and how it is fused in the cuisine. Service is warm and friendly and focused on the patron's enjoyment of the dining experience. Our tasting included a trio of ceviche - lobster, salmon, and hake - the latter was delicious; chicken hearts with carmelized onion on toasted baguette - a bit much for a second course following the ceviche - the hearts were tough - in all - my least favorite course; sesame seared tuna on plantains with a wasabi cream; blood sausage elephant ears with a harissa aioli - good but by now I was really craving veg; prayers answered - next, a delicate, earthy mushroom broth with honshimeji mushrooms, asparagus tips, and a shaved (Scamorza?) cheese - sublime; perfectly pan-roasted scallop with fennel and blood orange with an avocado puree; and finally - my favorite course - a cornmeal crusted oyster that was flash fried so had a crunchy exterior with the familiar mouth feel of a raw oyster inside. IT WAS WONDERFUL! The oyster had some accompaniment in the shell in which it was placed, but that I forget. The oyster really was the star. We skipped dessert but really enjoyed watching the crew assemble these gorgeous plates - the one that stands out in my memory is the tres leches cake with a bruleed meringue. It looked divine. I loved the meal - my husband felt there was not enough balance in the course selections - too heavy on the chicken hearts/blood sausage/oyster/preps with no real vegetable course to speak of - it felt heavy to him. I know what he means, but eating like this once in a while felt OK to me. It was delicious from start to finish!
Bob's Lobster-Plum Island
Bob Lobster is a hidden gem. Since we summer in Plum Island, it is a daily trip for us. Nothing says summer to me more. The lobster rolls are excellent, as are the clams. You have inspired me to take a trip up this week and see how our beloved Plum Island is hangin'! :)
Which Restaurants do you consider your "Regulars"
It is a very simple red sauce place. Stay away from any pesto or cream sauce dishes - you will end up with a plate of pasta swimming in oil.
The veal and chicken parm dishes are very good - the portion size is mammoth! I also like the steak tips - the BBQ sauce tends to sweet, so if that isn't your bag, then steer clear.
Lunch specials are $6.99/$7.99 - which is why we go there - Hacienda is perfect on a day when you are starving or cold or craving basic red sauce dishes. The place looks like a bar room with booths and red and white checked paper placemats. It has a certain charm. Service is what you'd expect in this kind of place - and don't be surprised to hear the chef screaming at the waitresses or the kitchen staff. I am hard pressed to think of an occasion when he wasn't pissed off about something!
