Recipes

September 22, 2014 Cambridge

Tasty Burger (Harvard Square)

Ask anyone who has the best burgers in Harvard Square and I guarantee you'll get different answers. It's a contentious topic, with different groups swearing by different burger places.The most famous and historic burger is probably Mr. Bartley's, a family-owned burger place that has been open for over fifty years. In the summer, there always seems to be a line out the door. Many locals swear by Flat Patties, while other obsess about Shake Shack.There are also several restaurants that serve pretty great burgers, like Alden & Harlow, whose burger made it into CNN's list of "10 Burgers you must eat this year", Russell House Tavern, who uses an English muffin bun, and many, many more.

Tasty Burger, a local favorite who first opened in the Fenway area, opened its first non-Boston restaurant in Harvard Square about two years ago. We'd heard some good things, but I still had never tried it. One recent Saturday, when Bryan said "I feel like a burger," I chose to try Tasty Burger partly because I'd never had it before.

Tasty Burger in Harvard pays homage to a storied restaurant in Harvard's past with a similar name, "The Tasty". The Tasty was a beloved local sandwich shop that was open from 1916 to 1997. One of Tasty Burger's co-owners David DuBois grew up in Cambridge and has fond memories of The Tasty from his childhood. A black and white photo of the original diner hangs inside the restaurant.

The burgers at Tasty Burger are very reasonably priced ($5.75 for most burgers) and a great value for the quality. The beef is Certified Humane® (a certification given by the non-profit organization Humane Farm Animal Care). The steer are grass fed and finished on a grass and grain diet.

The menu includes your basic burgers ($4.25 to $5.85) as well as a selection of more interesting burgers ($5.75), such as The Spicy Jalapeno (spicy cheese sauce, roasted jalapeno), Blue Collar (batter fried patty, sweet & spicy mustard pickle), and Rise and Shine Burger (cheese, fried egg, bacon, and ketchup).

Founded at Fenway, it's no surprise that these burgers are the official burger of the Boston Red Sox.

I ordered the simple Hamburger ($4.25), which comes with lettuce and tomatoes. The meat was only ⅓ pound, which I found to be a very manageable size. I really enjoyed my burger! The beef was flavorful and juicy, while all the other ingredients were fresh. For $4.25, it was an excellent value.

Bryan got the Mushroom Burger, which had sauteed mushrooms, cheese, and Tasty 17 Steak Sauce. He also thought his burger was very satisfying, and totally hit the spot.

We both really liked the fries and the onion rings. A side of 50/50 Fries and Rings only costs $4 and is a HUGE portion. We really didn't expect the box to be that big. The onions rings were pretty thin and very crispy. The fries reminded me of McDonald's fries, but had a bit more structure. They were both really good.

Tasty Burger also has a liquor license, and offers a selection of 30-40 canned beers and 6-8 draft beers, as well as some wines.

We ventured down to the basement just for a peek. The basement has a bar, table service, and a lot more seating. Their sign says that there is live music, trivia, and free pool down here.

This downstairs area definitely makes Tasty Burger a bit different from most other casual burger joints.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed my burger at Tasty Burger. It sort of reminds me of other casual places that make good burgers, like Five Guys, Shake Shack, or In and Out. We regularly frequent all of the above burger places, so I don't see why we wouldn't start adding Tasty Burger to our rotation. After all, it's only a 10 minute walk from our home!

Tasty Burger
Harvard Square
40 Jfk St Cambridge, MA

September 14, 2014 Boston

The Barking Crab

This is an ongoing series covering the Seaport District in Boston, which includes both Fort Point and Fan Pier. Some previous posts from the area: Morton's Steak House, Legal Harborside, Row 34, Tavern Road, Sportello, and Menton.

Every day this past summer on my commute to work, I walked by these little tent-like buildings. While the surrounding waterfront area has been quickly ballooning with massive skyscrapers, ultra luxury condos (we're talking upwards of $10 million a unit for some of these), and constant construction, this little single story "shack" remains - just the same as it was twenty years ago when it began.

Although I'd been in the Fan Pier area for over half a year, it wasn't until late into the summer that I finally had a chance to try this lively seafood shack right on the water in Fan Pier.

The Barking Crab has two sections. There is an indoor section (inside the red building with the green sign), which has a bar area as well as individual tables.

There is also an outdoor section that's under a huge red and yellow striped tent with long wooden benches.

The views from both sections is gorgeous.

We ended up sitting on the indoor section but right next to the window. Isn't that a phenomenal view looking back out towards downtown Boston?

The atmosphere is casual, sort of like a summer seafood shack. Water comes in a plastic cup; soups are served in paper cups with plastic utensils. Bryan got a Bloody Mary, which he said was pretty good.

We started with a New England quintessential dish: the Clam Chowder. It was OK but not great. The ingredients were fresh and the clams were properly cooked. However, I personally thought the soup was a bit bland and lacked a deep clam flavor. The housemade hot sauce helped, but overall I prefer other clam chowders in the city.

Fried Full-belly Clams were perfectly fried, crispy, and hit the spot. We polished off the entire plate.

We both love raw oysters so on a whim (after having already put in our order), we decided to get a half dozen of these.

The oysters came with two classic sauces: a mignonette and cocktail sauce with horseradish. I like to eat my oysters straight up, so I didn't actually use either of the sauces. These local oysters (which I *think* were from Duxbury) were good - nice and fresh, briny, yet also sweet.

They have two types of lobster rolls on the menu. A hot buttered one and a cold mayonnaise based one. Since we had never tried the hot buttered lobster roll before (I know! Not even from the most famous place in Boston!), we thought we'd get that version instead.

Unfortunately, this was one of my least favorite dishes of the night. The lobster was a bit dry and tough. The flavor was alright, but the texture made it not so fun to eat. The fries were pretty average as well.

Thankfully, we loved the crab legs that we ordered.

We got one order of the King Crab Legs. You can augment any crab or lobster order by making it a "Clambake", which includes chowder, littleneck clams, chourico (spicy sausage), corn on the cob, red bliss potatoes, and slaw.

They give you all the tools that you need for cracking those crab legs open.

Including plastic bibs and metal tools!

This was by far our favorite part of the entire meal. The crab legs were phenomenal. The meat was super tender, very sweet, and all around pretty amazing.

Yes, we got our hands nice and dirty. Bryan hates getting his hands dirty, but even he was willing to do this because it was that good.

I guess there's a reason why it's name is Barking Crab - the crabs were indeed fantastic.

The dessert selection is very basic. I think on the day we went it was a choice between cheesecake and chocolate cake. We got the cheesecake and it was fine. Nothing special and nothing to write home about.

All in all, we had a fun time at the Barking Crab. The ambiance is festive, fun, and the views are beautiful. It's really one of the few remaining shack-like structures in a sea of high rises. I wonder how long it will stay there before someone decides to tear it down for yet another skyscraper.

The food varies. I would stick with simple items, like raw oysters and boiled and fried seafood. If king crabs are available and you don't mind paying the higher prices (I think ours was forty-something dollars), it's well worth it. Personally, I would skip the lobster roll and clam chowder and go somewhere else for those classics.

After dinner, take a stroll across the pedestrian bridge back into downtown Boston.

This bridge is on the way back to South Station (red line), and it's beautifully lit up at night.

Perfect both on a warm summer night or a cool autumn evening.

The Barking Crab
88 Sleeper St
Boston, MA 02210

Disclaimer - this meal was paid for by the Barking Crab. All opinions are my own.

September 9, 2014 Chinese

Happy (belated) Mid Autumn Festival! Snow Skin Mooncakes

Happy Belated Mid-Autumn Festival!

The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two largest festivals that is celebrated in China every year. It's a time for people to celebrate the bountiful harvest from the summer, appreciate their loved ones, and gaze at the moon when it's at its biggest and brightest.

It always happens on the 15th day of the 8th month on the lunar calendar, which this year (2014) falls on September 8th (yesterday!). Typically, people celebrate by feasting, visiting family, and giving each other mooncakes.

What's a mooncake? A mooncake is traditionally a pastry (shaped a bit like a hockey puck) that is filled with lotus seed paste and optionally one (or more) salted egg yolks (meant to represent the moon). In more recent times, people have gotten pretty creative with mooncakes, and all different flavors and shapes have popped up, such as green tea (matcha) ones, snow-skin "mochi" ones, and even chocolate covered ice cream filled ones!

This year I decided to try making my own mooncakes (for the very first time!). I ordered some plastic mooncake molds from Amazon [affiliate link]. Traditionally, mooncake molds are carved out of wood. Because I was a newbie, I decided to buy the plastic kind, which are easier to use because you can push out the mooncake more easily (like a push pop!).

I've never been a huge fan of the traditional mooncake. I find the lotus seed or red bean paste filling a bit too sweet, dense, and heavy. I do like the salty egg yolk "moon", but usually the sweetness of the paste overwhelms the egg yolk (unless, of course, you are eating a special egg yolk mooncake, which is smaller and is mostly egg yolk inside).

This year, I was intrigued by an alternate type of mooncake called a "snow skin" or "ice skin" mooncake. These mooncakes are not baked. Instead, they are made with a glutinous rice flour skin and filled with all different types of fillings (matcha, red bean, lotus seed paste, even ice cream or chocolate!).

To me, it sounded like a dream: a mochi filled with whatever I wanted on the inside.

Because I am a masochist and wanted to try something really hard, I decided to try making these mooncakes filled with ice cream.

Please note: ice cream can be very tricky to work with because it gets soft really fast. I seriously wouldn't recommend it for a first time mooncake maker. I'm not sure what I was thinking. I guess I was just crazy.

To try to facilitate my mooncake folding (knowing that the ice cream would get soft fast), I decided to pre-shape ice cream balls to the right size and freeze them beforehand. This is best done overnight because it takes ice cream awhile to freeze. Ideally, use premium or high density ice cream for better results.

Glutinous rice flour typically comes in these green bags in Asian supermarkets. You can also buy Mochiko brand glutinous rice flour, which is available at many normal supermarkets

There are two main ways to make ice skin mooncakes depending on the texture you want. If you want more of a mochi-like, chewy and translucent skin, you need to essentially make mochi. This involves mixing glutinous rice flour with sugar and water (or milk) and steaming it for about 30 minutes (not unlike this recipe), and then wrapping your filling with it.

If you want more of a sandy, opaque skin, you can use the no-bake method, which uses roasted glutinous rice flour (kao fen).

I searched all over my local Chinese supermarket but I could not find a bag of kaofen, so I made my own.

Under medium low heat without any oil, heat glutinous rice flour for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns a bit golden and starts to smoke. You will also be able to smell the fragrant smell of the rice powder.

It's subtle, but can you tell the difference in color?

Sift together the roasted glutinious rice flour and powdered sugar.

Mix it all together, and using your fingers (or maybe a food processor if you have one?) mix in cold butter or shortening. Traditionally this dessert is made with shortening (which does not impart any of its own flavor), but butter will work as well.

Once you're done mixing, the resultant texture should resemble bread crumbs.

If you want to make different colored mooncakes, this is the time to divide up your flour mixture into separate parts and into different bowls. Add food coloring to your water. You could also consider using a natural source of color, such as beet juice or carrot juice. I've never tried this, but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

Slowly add water to the dough mixture one tablespoon at a time and mix until the dough is smooth and kneadable. Cover any portion you are not using with plastic wrap, because it can dry out quickly.

If you're working with a normal, non-melting center (e.g., red bean paste, lotus seed paste), roll out the outer dough into a flat circular pancake, wrap it around a ball of filling, stuff the larger ball into the mooncake mold, and push it out!

If you're afraid of the whole thing not holding together, you can shape and wrap inside the mold, and then pop it out. If it's ice cream filled, I would freeze the whole overnight to make sure it re-freezes in a solid way.

Alas, I did not know this and I tried cutting into my mooncake only after it had sat in the freezer for an hour. Sadly, the whole thing collapsed as the soft ice cream oozed out.

Sigh, this is why there's no photo of a cut mooncake.

At least I can show you some photos of my finished product, which still looked pretty nice.

Next time, I plan on experimenting with natural colors, like match and beet juice, and also with the steamed skin method, since I think I like that texture better.

Happy Mid-Autumn Festival! Here's to a great autumn!

Snow Skin Mooncakes
Makes about 2 large mooncakes or 4 smaller ones

Ingredients
1 cup roasted glutinous rice flour
¾ cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons of shortening (or 2.5 tablespoons butter)
50 mL cold water (optionally colored with food coloring)
filling of your choice (store bought lotus seed paste, red bean paste)

Tools
Mooncake molds

Optional step day before: freeze ice cream into individual balls the size of the filling. You can use a mini-muffin tray or just try freezing balls scooped out by an ice cream scoop on a tray.

1. Make roasted glutinous rice flour by heating normal glutinous rice flour in a wok over medium low heat for about ten minutes, or until it starts smoking and turns a light golden color. Allow to cool completely before using.

2. Sift together roasted glutinous rice powder and powdered sugar.

3. Mix in shortening or butter with fingers until well incorporated. The texture of the mixture should be sort of like breadcrumbs.

4. Optionally add food coloring to the cold water. If you are making different colors, divide the flour into different bowls, one for each color.

5. Add colored water one tablespoon at a time and mix together with the flour mixture until just soft and kneadable.

6. Take the filling (e.g., lotus paste seed) and form a ball with it. Roll out a pancake shaped circle with the skin dough and wrap it around the ball. Insert into the mooncake mold and punch it out.

In the case with ice cream, form a well with the dough inside the mold and add the ice cream. Quickly close the skin around the filling and freeze overnight.

Enjoy!

September 6, 2014 Greater Boston

East Somerville Foodie Crawl ticket winner is . . .

Octopus dish at Sarma

Congratulations to Shannon G., who won two tickets to the upcoming East Somerville Foodie Crawl!

Shannon is a Boston based blogger and writes Tri To Cook, a reflection of her love of triathlons and cooking. Shannon chose Sarma as her restaurant of choice, which I fully agree is a great place to visit! My full write up about Sarma is here if you want to see more mouthwatering photos.

The East Somerville Foodie Crawl will be held on Tuesday, September 16th, featuring cuisine from many places around the world, like Haiti, Ethiopia, and El Salvador. You can buy tickets here ($20 regular; $15 for students) if you want to go.

Congrats Shannon!

Dessert at Sarma

Disclaimer: these tickets were provided by the East Somerville Foodie Crawl

September 4, 2014 Recipe

Spicy Garlic Cashew Crusted Kale Chips

I've been sort of on a kale chip kick lately.

It sort of came out of necessity. I've been receiving weekly deliveries of vegetables from my Siena Farms farm share, and kale regularly makes a showing. Although there are millions of ways to prepare kale, I like making chips because

1) it's easy;

2) Bryan really likes it; and

3) it's a great snack.

Usually I go the easy route: coat a tray full of ripped kale leaves with a little bit of oil (having a mister is really helpful!), add just a bit of salt and pepper (not too much, cuz the leaves shrink!), and bake.

Earlier this year, Bryan brought home a bag of these really expensive store-bought raw kale chips from the Napa Farms Market at SFO. Even though the tiny bag cost $8 (!!), I fell in love with it and craved for more.

An Example of a weekly farm share from Siena Farms - so colorful!

The ingredient list included cashews, nutritional yeast, and red bell peppers. A quick search online revealed recipes very similar to the ingredients on the package. I longed to try making that version at home, except I was too lazy to figure out what "nutritional yeast" was, and where I could get it. Apparently, it gives a "cheesy" flavor in a vegan-friendly way.

The other night, as I stared down yet another bunch of kale, I decided that it was finally time.

I was going to conquer the cashew-crusted kale chip . . . on my own terms.

I thought to myself, "it already tastes pretty good with just salt and oil. I bet if I crushed up some cashews and made a modified version it would still be pretty tasty."

It just so happened I had received a few jars of innovative sauces to test from The Saucey Sauce Company, a Brooklyn-based family-owned business from siblings Ken and Toan, who use Vietnamese fish sauce as a base for their creative and flavorful marinades and sauces.

I threw a handful of roasted cashews that I had lying around (a big bulk container from Costco), half of a red bell pepper from my farm share, a few cloves of garlic, a splash of soy sauce, and a splash of Spicy Garlic sauce from The Saucey Sauce Company.

I blended this in my food processor until it became a rough paste, and then using my hands, I mixed it in with the kale.

After baking for about 20-30 minutes at 290 ° F (convection oven), out came these gorgeous, cashew encrusted chips.

They were phenomenal.

Fish sauce naturally has a lot of umami, and it added a lovely kick to this sauce. The chili wasn't too spicy, so it was easy to eat lots and lots of these chips (which is exactly what I did). Without the nutritional yeast, these did not taste "cheesy." Instead, they had a Southeast Asian bent - the deep, rich umami from the fish sauce, the soy sauce, and the garlic all made this taste Asian, which I loved.

It's a bit more work, but I think it's totally worth it. These chips were fantastic.

Notes
I haven't tried making this with another sauce, but if you aren't able to get the spicy garlic sauce, you can try substituting with a mixture of straight up Vietnamese fish sauce, a touch of Sriracha or chili garlic sauce and a splash of lemon juice.

Spicy Garlic Cashew Crusted Kale Chips
1 cup cashews (I used roasted and salted)
1 T Spicy Garlic Sauce
1 T soy sauce
½ red bell pepper, cut into a few pieces
1 bunch of kale leaves, torn into 2-3 inch pieces, ribs removed
1-2 cloves of garlic (optional if your sauce has garlic in it)

Combine cashews, red pepper, soy sauce, and spicy garlic sauce in a food processor and pulse until a paste is formed. Getting your hands dirty, rub the paste over the kale leaves. Place the kale leaves in single layer on baking sheets, and bake at 290 ° F with convection for 30 minutes, rotating tray at least once half way through.

Serve!

September 3, 2014 Cape Cod

13th Anniversary Weekend Trip (Berkshires, Tanglewood)

Picnicking at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA (August 31, 2014)

Is it already Wednesday?

As much as I love long weekends, they really mess up my perception of the rest of the week. On Labor Day, I forgot to cancel an appointment I had made because I kept thinking "I'll do it on Monday when I get back to work."

Oops.

And then all of a sudden the week is half over. I think my brain has barely emerged from the whirlwind of activities this past Labor Day weekend.

Acadia National Park, September 5th, 2004

Labor Day weekend will always be special for me.

Bryan and I got married over Labor Day weekend thirteen (!) years ago. We purposely picked that date partly because we wanted to always have a long weekend to celebrate. We haven't always traveled, but in the past thirteen years, we've managed to visit a few places, such as Freeport Maine, Sonoma Valley, Acadia National Park, Las Vegas, and even biking the Minuteman Trail (hee, hee, that's just to Lexington, MA for ice cream!).

If you haven't noticed by now, this summer has been an exploration of all things local. Instead of jet-setting around the world to visit different exotic places, I've stayed put in New England (with just one exception), exploring Cape Cod, Cape Ann, and Portland, Maine.

For our anniversary, we decided to add one more local destination to the mix: we spent a weekend in the Berkshires attending concerts at Tanglewood (the Boston Symphony's summer home), as well as exploring this beautiful area in the western part of Massachusetts.

The Berkshires are about two and a half hours from Boston and from New York, assuming no traffic. It's a super popular destination during the fall because of its stunning foliage. Even over Labor Day weekend, I could already see the leaves starting to change color.

There are several mountains out west, including Mt. Greylock, the highest mountain in Massachusetts. If we had more time, I would have loved to explore some of those hiking trails (or conquer the summit!). Perhaps I'll aim to go back during peak foliage season, when the hills are vibrant with color.

The entire area is beautiful. In some ways, it reminds me of wine country in California. Instead of rolling vineyards, there are rolling hills lush with trees, which I'm sure are blazing with color during the fall.

The quintessential thing to do in the area is to enjoy a picnic on the grounds of Tanglewood, either before and/or during a concert.

We picked up some salumi, smoked chicken, fancy cheeses, bread, and salads from NeJaime's Wine Cellars (right in downtown Lenox just a couple miles from Tanglewood) to create a lovely (and hassle-free) picnic lunch. The folks a Nejaime's were super friendly and were very willing to help us assemble our "picnic", such as cutting up our salumi for us, giving us free paper plates and plastic silverware, and helping us select the perfect spread of cheeses (great choices, by the way!).

Tanglewood sells lawn tickets for as little as $11 and the lawn tickets are actually free for children under 17 (four free tickets for every adult ticket purchased). With a lawn ticket you can enjoy your picnic, read a book, sip wine (!), and do other silent activities while enjoying phenomenal live music from the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

The grounds open at 4PM, and it's wise to get there as early as possible to stake out a good area for picnicking, to avoid traffic, and to get a better parking spot. We showed up at 4:30PM and already hit a bit of traffic driving into the parking lot.

Instead of picnicking while watching the concert, you could do what we did: enjoy the picnic before the concert and then head inside the Shed, a large, open-air concert hall (pictured behind Bryan) for the concert.

You need to buy tickets for the Shed, and the prices vary depending on who's playing and how good the seats are, much like a regular concert hall.

The first night we enjoyed a fantastic performance by Josh Groban and the Boston Pops.

Aside from having an insanely powerful (and versatile!) voice, Josh Groban is also a talented drummer, which really surprised me. He sang all sorts of songs, from his own compositions and Broadway musical numbers to Italian classical pieces and tributes to other people. Most poignantly, his encore song was "Smile" in honor of Robin Williams.

This was the final concert of the season for the Boston Pops. Above, you can see Keith Lockhart, the beloved conductor, along with several of the instrumentalists.

The following day, we had another picnic. This time, we arrived right at 12PM to enjoy lunch before our 2:30 PM concert.

This time we stopped by Guido's Fresh Market in the morning before heading out to the grounds. Guido's is a bit farther from Tanglewood (about 5 miles), though it was right next to our hotel. If you are able to drive out there, I would highly recommend going there for your picnic needs. It's a larger, gourmet supermarket with an emphasis on fresh, local, and organic produce. They also have a coffee bar as well as a juice bar. Bryan absolutely loved his juice, which contained beets, ginger, chili peppers, and apples.

Guido's was originally founded by two Italian brothers - a culinary institute graduate and a builder. They started out as a produce stand 30+ years ago and have grown to what they are today. I fell in love with the variety of items they sold at that market, including a lot of local organic produce, a large variety of cheese, and tons of different artisanal products.

We got a bunch of items, including a raw kale salad, quinoa salad, phenomenal Farm Girl Farms organic cherry tomatoes, and mesclun greens from Equinox Farms. Everything was really good. The tomatoes were definitely our favorite.

We enjoyed a great concert by Tony Bennett, who had an admirable amount of energy for someone who just turned eighty-eight (!). We were blown away by his stamina, and it was especially cute to see him sing a couple songs with his youngest daughter, Antonia Bennett.

The band was super talented, and it really inspired me to play more music. I wanted to learn more jazz piano, vocal technique, you name it . . .

We were fortunate. Moments after the concert ended, the skies opened up and it rained for the next several hours. We hid away in a restaurant and enjoyed a lovely dinner at Nudel in Lenox (more on that in a future post!).

On our final day in the Berkshires, we headed into Stockbridge to visit Naumkeag, a summer "cottage" of the rich and powerful Choate family. Similar yet different from the mansions in Newport, Naumkeag is a glimpse back into the life of a family from a different time.

It was informative to take the 45-minute guided tour of the house, which we really enjoyed. Afterwards, you can spend as much time as you want roaming around the gardens. The trustees are currently in the middle of a 3 million dollar renovation of the grounds. There are some parts that are already done, while others are still yet to be updated. It's still beautiful, regardless.

It was getting late, and we wanted some time at home, so we headed out of the area after enjoying a nice and simple lunch at Once Upon a Table in Stockbridge. Thankfully, there was little traffic on the way home, and we made it back in decent time.

It was a quick weekend, and we wanted to make it relaxing, so we didn't rush to cram in a million activities. That's one nice thing about the Berkshires - you don't feel that sense of urgency. We saw a few concerts, had several picnics, and just enjoyed being outside, soaking in the last of summer.

Disclaimer: Parts of this itinerary were set up for me by the Berkshire Visitor's Bureau. The tickets to Tanglewood performances were provided by the BSO. Guido's Fresh Market provided the picnic ingredients, and Namkeag provided tickets to the property. I paid for all the rest of our meals as well as cost of transportation and lodging.

August 29, 2014 Sponsored

Tiny Urban Tidbits #23 + Reflecting on my summer in Boston + Giveaway!

Nantucket, Madaket Beach, July 2014

I can't believe summer is almost over.It feels like it just began. And honestly, I really don't think I'm ready for fall yet. Just a few days ago while I was walking in Harvard Square, I noticed the tips of some of the trees turning just a bit orange. I sort of freaked out. Really? Why are they changing in August??!!I'm really not ready for cold weather yet.

Anyway, I can't stop time, and summer is indeed coming to an end. It's been great fun working in Fan Pier this summer, having access to the local farmers markets, food trucks, outdoor free concerts, and various other events that make Boston explode during the summer.

Here's a fun look at some of the random (food-focused, of course!) non travel-related stuff I've done in Boston this summer, plus a fun giveaway at the end!

Last weekend we visited Troquet in Boston for a very unique wine experience. Troquet is known locally as one of the best places in Boston to enjoy wine. They have a massive collection, including some pretty old and hard-to-find wines. Their prices are among the best in the city because their mark up is ridiculously low, especially for higher-priced wines.

In July and August, Troquet has what they called the "Summer Wine Clearout Sale." Each night they bring out a bunch of vintage bottles which they sell to be drunk on the premises (though you can take home leftovers).You sort of take your chances, because some of these wines are really really old.

We had so much fun trying a bunch of different wines spanning five decades! Only one bottle (from 1975) was a dud (it had gone bad - on its way to becoming vinegar). The rest, even the one from 1966 (!), were delicious. It was definitely fun to try so many wines from so many decades at a very reasonable price (most bottles ranged in price from $35 to $70).

I'm bummed that I found out about this so late, otherwise I would have been tempted to come back several times this summer!

It's been almost a year since I visited Tavern Road in Fort Point. Last week, I finally had a chance to visit their more casual lunch spot - TR Street Foods, which is pretty much a counter-style, quick-serve restaurant right next to Tavern Road which makes sandwiches, salads, and skewers coming out of the same kitchen.

I tried the CLT, a crispy chicken skin, lettuce, and tomato sandwich that was out of this world. I can't wait to go back and try some of their other items.

On the cooking front, I'm finally starting to make my own soy milk again. Previously I had been using my Blend Tec to make soy milk at home, blending everything together into a very thick milk. More recently my brother-in-law gave me his soy milk making machine, which makes everything just too easy.

Essentially, you throw soaked soybeans and water into this machine, which blends and cooks the milk for you. All you have to do once the machine beeps is to filter out the ground up beans and drink the milk.

I was invited to a Southeast Asian (mostly Indonesian) potluck party, which was amazing. I decided to make some of the dishes I had learned how to make in Thailand. The som tam, or papaya salad, made using this recipe (hand pounded!) turned out great and was definitely super popular with the guests.

I tried making larb for the first time in the US using this recipe I learned inThailand. I took no shortcuts and made everything from scratch, even down to toasting and grinding my own lemongrass infused rice powder! It was delicious, and I can't wait to make it again.

Here's the entire spread. Many of the dishes were made by either the host, an Indonesian mom who also happens to be culinary-trained and works for Wolfgang Puck (!), or another Indonesian friend who is trained in pastries.

Are you drooling yet?

I'm thinking I need to write a follow up post where I actually describe each of these lovely dishes in more detail!

We did a lot of grilling this summer, and discovered M.F. Dulock, a fantastic meat market in Somerville not too far from our house. Their pasture-raised meats are amazing, and we've been enjoying their steaks as well as their pork chops.

One of my favorite tools I discovered this summer was this simple corn stripper from Oxo. I was thrilled when they sent me a box of grilling tools, and the stripper immediately became one of my favorites. It made eating the Taiwanese Grilled Corn (which I made numerous times this summer) so much easier!

Oxo also provided nice long tongs and a handy silicon brush, which were all very useful for making Taiwanese Grilled Corn!

Giveaway!
It's time to travel the world, just by heading over to East Somerville.

Ethiopia, El Salvador, Mexico, Brazil, Haiti, and Italy (just to name a few!) . . .

A dozen East Somerville restaurants covering five continents will be offering bites of food at this year's East Broadway Foodie Crawl, held Tuesday, September 16th from 6PM to 9PM (September 17th rain date). This year, hot new restaurant La Brasa is the newest addition to this crawl.

All Profits Support East Somerville Main Streets, a non-profit 501c3 organization dedicated to building a vibrant neighborhood through a thriving business district to improve the quality of people’s lives.

I am giving away TWO tickets to one lucky winner to attend this event. Please comment below and let me know your favorite new restaurant that you've visited or want to visit this past year.

Thanks and good luck! I will choose a winner one week from today, Friday September 5th at midnight. I will email the winner and announce it on this blog. If I do not hear a response within 24 hours, I iwll pick another winner.

Good luck!

Disclaimer: There are affiliate links from Amazon on this page, which gives me a tiny percentage commission of Amazon store credit. The Oxo supplies were provided by Oxo. The East Broadway Foodie Crawl tickets are also provided by the organization.

August 27, 2014 Maine

Sushi Miyaki - omakase (Portland, Maine)

This is the fourth and final post about our weekend trip to Portland. Other posts in this series include A Summer Weekend in Portland Maine, Duck Fat, and Eventide Oyster Company.

Believe it or not, this restaurant was the main purpose I chose to visit Portland out of all the weekend destinations close to Boston.I'd heard so many great things about it.The guy I sat next to at the supper club-esque Dining Alternative raved about the food at Sushi Miyaki. The wine guy at Bergamot told me he thought it was the best sushi place in all of New England, including Boston. News articles talked about how the omakase was a steal at $65, especially compared to what else you could get at that price.

Once we had our hotel booked (thanks to Bryan's numerous hotel points!), the first thing I did was to call Sushi Miyaki. I was pleasantly surprised that at the last minute (just a couple days before arrival), I was able to snag a 7:30PM Saturday evening reservation at the sushi bar.

This would never happen in Boston at a place like O Ya or Uni Sashimi Bar, which seem perpetually booked on weekends.

local whelk

Sushi Miyaki is part of a larger group that also includes Pai Men Miyake, a more casual noodle bar that serves other Japanese-inspired bites, Miyake Farm, which sources a lot of the restaurants' ingredients, and Food Factory Miyake, the catering arm. All of these lead back to Chef Masa Miyake, a highly successful and popular Portland chef and restaurateur who was just nominated for a James Beard Award for Best Chef Northeast in March of 2014.

Sushi Miyaki is the flagship, and it's where it all started.

I knew I wanted to try the omakase ($65), the chef's tasting menu I had heard so much about. If you like having a bit more control over your food, you can do a 4-course menu for $50 where you get to choose which four courses you want. There are also vegetarian omakases, where you can get three courses for $30 or four courses for $40.

Our meal began with Hijiki Seaweed Salad. Hijiki is a chewy type of seaweed that is very salty, extremely flavorful, and full of natural umami from the seaweed's rich glutamate content. I enjoyed this, especially with the added sesame seeds.

Do note that high levels of inorganic arsenic have been reported in hijiki and the USDA advises against eating it, so definitely don't eat this on a regular basis, which can increase cancer risk.
We gasped when the next course arrived. Just barely charred grilled uni (sea urchin) from Chile (apparently the local ones weren't in season at the time) was paired with a mushroomy sake. The uni was smoky, creamy, just a tad bitter, and had just a bit of that uni stink that I don't like (and see more often in the US than in Japan).

Bryan, who loves anything uni, really liked it. In fact, he later said that this was his favorite course of the entire meal. I thought it was OK, but I've had better uni at other places in Boston.

The next course consisted of clams steamed in sake and dashi. These clams were extremely fresh and very sweet. I really liked how the bitterness of the sake complemented the rich and buttery sweetness of the clams. It worked really well.

Next we had a Lobster Chawanmushi, a Japanese savory steamed egg custard. Inside, there was also Shitake mushrooms and mitsuba, a type of Japanese parsley. This dish was delicate, balanced, and overall very nice.

Then came a huge sashimi plate with two pieces each of the following: lobster tail sashimi with garlic oil, salmon belly, snapper, striped bass, yellowtail, and monkfish liver.

The most interesting item on this plate (at least for me) was the lobster tail sashimi. You would think that living in Boston all these years I would have tried this before, but I hadn't!

I loved it! It was super fresh, sweet, and tender. The garlic oil was a nice touch.

Another favorite was the salmon belly, which was delightfully rich, fatty, and full of flavor.

After finishing the sashimi, I was already starting to feel a bit full. I had no idea how much longer the tasting menu would last, but there had already been quite a lot of food.

Next came a huge plate of whelk, or local sea snail, served artfully with the shell. Although the shell was present, most of the whelk had been removed, chopped up, and stir fried with anchovy butter. The texture of whelk was quite chewy, sort of like abalone or squid when it's been cooked a bit longer.

I thought it was alright, but definitely very, very rich. The anchovies added a lot of umami, and the butter added a ton of richness. In fact, Bryan found the intense butter flavor to be so overwhelming that it caused almost a gag reflex for him. He could not eat it.

Sadly, it was the one course that he sent back, untouched.

I ate about half of it, but found it hard to finish because there was just so much of it. At this point, I was feeling pretty full.

The next course was very interesting. It was a small portion (in a big plate!) of a rich and dense bone marrow chicken broth served with just a dab of yuzu kosho on the side. Yuzu kosho is both citrusy and floral but also very spicy and salty. The sharp flavors of the yuzu kosho worked well in cutting the richness of the round, buttery soup with saltiness and spiciness.

This was very good.

The next course was Seared Duck Breast served with truffle oil balsamic vinegar and pickled veggies. The duck was perfectly cooked and was delicious with the accompanying sauce.

I was stuffed at this point, but we had one more course to go. Of course, you have to have sushi at sushi restaurant. We each got three pieces of sushi: chutoro (fatty tuna), tai kinmedai, (sea bream), and a type of fatty sardine whose Japanese name escapes me right now.

The quality of the fish was very good and fresh. The quality of the rice was average at best. It wasn't that soft or chewy. Instead, it was a bit harder and broke pretty easily. The word chalky came to mind.

I did love their pickled ginger, which was delicious.

The tasting menu had finally concluded. We had the option of adding dessert if we wanted. I was intrigued by a menu item called Yuzu Soufflé. I love soufflé, and don't get to eat it very often. I can probably count on one hand the number of excellent soufflés I've had.

Alas, this one wasn't a freshly baked hot soufflé. It was instead a cold pre-made cake topped with a sweet yuzu glaze and served with an almond macaron and whipped cream. I found it to be average. It was quite sweet (sweeter than a typical Japanese dessert) and pretty mono dimensional in flavor.

On the other hand, I actually enjoyed the mini sweets at the end, Matcha Macarons. Even though they didn't really taste like matcha, they at least had a nice texture and still enjoyable to eat.

Concluding Thoughts
There's no question this is a great deal. There was so much food for only $65.

And the food is overall solid. There were some very good courses, a few misses, and several that were perfectly fine but did not stand out. Personally, I still think the top places in Boston have better sushi overall. However, this place would sit comfortably among the top ten or so Japanese places in Boston.

What's nice about Miyake is that it is unusual, creative, and definitely different. Miyake is very passionate about local produce, I mean, the guy has his own farm! Dishes like butter sauteed whelk and chicken marrow soup with yuzu kosho just aren't things you find at your local sushi joint. The omakase is not just a sushi or sashimi tasting menu. It incorporate all different types of cooked Japanese dishes inspired by local ingredients. Even though I personally prefer a more sushi/sashimi focused omakase, I'm sure there are lots of people out there who would enjoy the variety and creativity (not to mention generosity) of this tasting menu.

At the end of the day, if I came back, I probably wouldn't do the omakase, especially knowing that it's way too much food for me. Instead, I would happily go with the a la carte option, or at most try a 4-course tasting, and skip dessert.

August 25, 2014 Maine

Eventide Oyster Company (Portland, Maine)

This is the third post about our weekend trip to Portland. Other posts in this series include A Summer Weekend in Portland Maine and Duck Fat.

I liked Eventide Oyster Company the moment I walked in the door. It was everything about it: the variety of fresh oysters sitting in ice right at the counter; the colorful chalkboard full of the day's mouthwatering specials; the bright and cheerful space; and the friendly people working there.

We were definitely not alone.
This is one of the most popular places in Portland, and the waits can be excruciatingly long. Thankfully, they have become pros at estimating time, and they do a good job of trying to move things along. Our wait time was 45 minutes. We killed time by stopping by a local bakery (Two Fat Cats) and eating a slice of delicious Maine blueberry pie (dessert before lunch? I don't see why not!), and then coming back to enjoy a drink at the bar.

I tried the Dogfish Head 90 minute IPA on tap and I loved it. I now think it is one of my favorite beers all around. Bryan tried several local ones, including the Oxbow Loretta and Allagash Triple (both excellent).

It was close to 2:30PM by the time we got seated.

Our meal was fantastic, and totally worth the wait. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

The menus is simple and comes freshly printed on a sheet of paper to reflect the day's offerings. They have a huge selection of local Maine oysters and also a very respectable selection of oysters from elsewhere. The chalkboard has additional oysters that may not show up on the menu.

You can get other shellfish, such as clams or even a lobster tail. The rest of the menu consists of various small plates. It's fun to order several and try them "tapas style", which is exactly what we did.

You have to try the oysters. We stuck with Maine oysters (which we don't see as much in Boston) and tried six different ones. These were fresh, delicious, and it was fun to sample different flavors. They come with fun accoutrements (you get to choose two), such as pineapple-jalapeno ice, "Kim Chee" ice, and Tabasco ice, among others. Though it was fun to try them, I typically enjoy my oysters raw and straight up with nothing on top.

Our first small plate, Beet Cured Arctic Char, came with beet slivers, horseradish, and citrus salt. It was refreshing, a lovely explosion of flavors and textures. I think we were starving at this point too, so it probably tasted even better.
There are several buns on the menu. It was hard to choose just a few, but we eventually settled on two. Pictured above is the Fried Winter Point Oyster Bun ($7), which simply came with pickled vegetables and tartar sauce. All elements were executed perfectly and the overall bite was delicious. The tartness of the pickles definitely helped cut the richness of the crunchy and perfectly fried oyster.

Soooooo tasty.

One of their signature dishes is the Eventide Lobster Roll, which is actually more like a steamed bun sandwich filled with lobster cooked one of three ways: brown butter, mayo, or ginger scallion. We went with brown butter, which was fantastic.

Please note these lobster "rolls" (or buns?) are smaller than you might expect. We ordered them thinking they would be the size of a normal lobster roll made with a hot dog bun, but they are closer in size to a Chinese steamed bun.

The last dish we tried was one of their specials: Shaved Whelk Salad ($9) tossed with honey and Tabasco. I had never heard of whelk before and had to ask what it was. It turns out it's a sea snail that is locally harvested and in season during that time.

It was pretty good. It sort of reminded me of abalone or even sliced beef tendon (prepared Chinese style where it's still a bit "crunchy").

All in all, we both loved our experience at Eventide. I especially liked how the menu items were all small, so you could eat as little or as much as you wanted. Since we had a big dinner planned later on that night, we ended up getting a little less food, which worked out perfectly.

Everything was executed really well, made using fresh, high quality ingredients. It's hard to go wrong - we enjoyed everything we ordered. And of course, I love the seafood focus.

Even though the lines are crazy long, I say it's worth it. There's a legitimate reason why people are willing to wait for this place. It's not just a tourist gimmick or trap. Everything is seriously good here.

If I came back to Portland, this place would most certainly be on the top of my list of places to revisit. Both Bryan and I agreed wholeheartedly that Eventide Oyster Company was our favorite meal of the entire trip.

Tiny Urban Kitchen
All Rights Reserved

August 22, 2014 Maine

Duck Fat (Portland, Maine)

This is the second post about our weekend trip to Portland. Other posts in this series include A Summer Weekend in Portland Maine.

Portland's the type of city that's perfect for a weekend trip from Boston. It's a little over a hundred miles away, which if there's no traffic (and hrs could be a BIG if), takes less than two hours by car.

As the largest city in Maine, it boasts many of the state's best restaurants. Yet because we're in Maine, It's not an overwhelmingly huge city either. Unlike huge metropolises that would require a week or more to explore, you can easily conquer Portland in a weekend. There's great craft beer, excellent restaurants, and a really good vibe over all. The city is surrounded by ocean on three sides, which means lots of gorgeous views and a plethora of ocean-related activities.

Do any search for best restaurants in Maine or Portland"and there's no doubt that Duck Fat will show up on the list. Duck Fat is the second restaurant for chef-owner Rob Evans, who previously owned (but has now sold) the more upscale and very well regarded Hugo's just down the street.

Opened since 2006, Duck Fat is one of the most popular destinations in the city. In the summer, there is virtually always a line out the door.

On our second day in Portland, we decided to drive back to Portland from Freeport just to eat here. We were prepared to wait, no matter how long it was. Thankfully, after only waiting about 15 minutes, we were pleasantly surprised that they had seats for us at the bar.

It seems like all the restaurants in Portland have good beer selections, typically involving several (if not all) local craft beers. There are so many excellent breweries nearby, it's really fun to sample different beers at each restaurant.

Duck Fat is most famous for its Belgian Fries ($5 for a small; $7.75 for a large), which have received accolades and recognition from all over, including a coveted spot on CNN's top 10 fries in the U.S. list. The fries are twice fried in duck fat and come with your choice of dipping sauces like garlic mayo, lemon-herb mayo, truffle ketchup, horseradish mayo, Thai chili mayo, and toasted curry mayo.

There were definitely some diners (tourists like me, I'm guessing?) who came just for the fries. I saw some folks order a large to go (which I guess is smart if you don't want to wait in line).

Another alternative is to try their Poutine (large $12; small $8), which is essentially a pile of their Belgian fries mixed with cheese curds, gravy, and (optionally for $2) topped with a fried duck egg.

We thought both of these were good, though part of me was a bit puzzled by the hype. I mean, the fries are pretty tasty and all, but I don't necessarily think these were the best fries I've ever had. If anything, I wouldn't have minded if they were just a tad more crunchy (but that's my personal preference - I LOVE crispy fries).

Bryan, who loves anything duck, really enjoyed the poutine and ended up eating most of it. That worked out for me because I preferred the normal fries, which don't get soggy from all that gravy.

Of course, Duck Fat is more than just about the fries. They have soups, salads, charcuterie, sandwiches, and a nice selection of craft sodas, milkshakes, and duck fat fried doughnut holes (yes, I'm serious).

We started with a simple Leafy Salad, which came with Dandelion Farm greens, hakurei turnips, watermelon, and feta. It was simple, refreshing, and pretty good.

The server convinced us to try one of their signature sandwiches, yet another duck item. We ordered the Overnight Local Duck Confit panini ($13), which came with super soft and tender duck that had been confit overnight in duck fat, pickled tomatillo, local cheese curd, and a spiced orange mayo. The sandwich was well executed and also quite enjoyable.

General Thoughts
Duck Fat is a fun place to go. The food is reasonably casual but definitely has a gourmet slant to it. Overall, every menu item we tried was solid. The whole place has that great vibe of your local, neighborhood restaurant. The fries are good, but I'm not sure if they are necessarily worth the extra hype. There are lots of places that make really good fries (though to be fair, very few places make poutine).

All in all, despite the hype and slightly touristy obsession surrounding this place, I still think it's a great place and worth a visit if you're in the area. The food is good, the local craft beer is fun to try, and the desserts actually look pretty awesome (though I unfortunately had no room for it after all those fries!). If I came back, I might not order two dishes that involve fries just so I could have room to try some of their other fun looking sandwiches (plus at least one dessert!)

Duck Fat
43 Middle St.
Portland, ME,
04101

August 18, 2014 Boston

A Weekend in Boston

View from the Boston Tea Party Museum

Happy Monday!

This summer has whizzed by, and I'm already mourning the fact that August is coming to an end. What a summer it's been! After spending an incredible week at the end of June in the Canadian Rockies (still one of my favorite places on earth), we explored New England in July. We took a food-focused trip to Portland, Maine one weekend and spent an extended weekend in Cape Cod and Nantucket with college friends.

August?

I got to be a tourist in my own city of Boston.

My parents, aunt and uncle, and cousin drove all the way from Ohio (after three days of not being able to drink their tap water - yes, they all lived in THAT county with the water crisis) to visit Boston.

Of course, the first thing I had to do was give them a tour of MIT and Harvard.

The following day, we signed up for a Cityview Trolley Tour, which was reasonably priced and really fun. My parents had already been on the Duck Tours in the past, so we wanted to give them something different.

I was surprised because I (a local!) actually learned quite a bit about Boston history from the tour. It made me appreciate the historical significance of our city so much more.

View of Boston from the Boston Harbor Cruise

A 45-minute Boston Harbor Cruise was included as part of the tour. It was a beautiful day out and I loved seeing our city from the water. It's so beautiful.

Bonus! We passed by the filming of the new Ted movie happening out on the water. If you look really closely on the boat at the right, you can see the stuffed teddy bear.

Close up! As our boat went by, Ted even waved at us!

Hee hee.

My relatives only wanted to eat Chinese food, so we ended up eating all our meals in Chinatown. After waiting unsuccessfully for a table at Taiwan Cafe (heh, we were a party of nine), we hopped over to Dumpling Cafe for lunch instead, which had a large table that could fit all of us..

Crispy Duck with Taro

For dinner we decided to go Cantonese, and visited Peach Farm, where we enjoyed steamed whole fish, a LOT of vegetable and tofu dishes (my cousin is vegan), Bryan's favorite, Crispy Duck with Taro (pictured above), and my uncle's favorite, Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens (pictured below). Everything (well, except for maybe one or two of the vegan dishes), was really good.

Braised Pork Belly with Preserved Mustard Greens

Of course, you have to stop by a bakery, and there are tons of good ones in Chinatown. We stopped by Hing Shing Pastry for Cantonese style items, and 101 Bakery for Taiwanese style baked goods. My relatives went crazy and picked up a ton of stuff for the long car ride home.

I loved peering in through the open door to watch the old Chinese bakers making everything by hand. I so wanted to take a photo, but they wouldn't let me.

We ended the weekend by grilling up a storm for my relatives. Grilled King salmon, crispy kale chips, grilled prime ribeye steak, Taiwanese grilled corn, grilled asparagus, cold Asian cucumber salad, grilled pineapples, grilled peppers & eggplant skewers, and broccoli with horseradish.

It was fun visiting my own city as a tourist for a weekend. I really learned how to appreciate it. I saw so many beautiful parts of Boston that I still have still not explored, such as the USS Constitution, Charlestown, East Boston, and many of the historical buildings in Boston City proper.

It's fun when friends or relatives visit, because it actually gives you a chance to enjoy your own city.

The weather will be really nice in Boston for the next several months (September and October are the best!), so I encourage you to come visit our beautiful city soon if you've been thinking about it. Otherwise, winters can be brutal here.

🙂

August 17, 2014 Sponsored

Radisson Giveaway Winners are . . .

Congratulations to Max Xu (#20) and TheShizzles (#67) for winning the Radisson Giveaway!

Max said, "Oh man, that Trappist ale looks gorgeous. I'd go to San Diego!"

TheShizzles said "Probably California!"

Looks like California is a popular destination! Congratulations.

Thanks everyone for participating!

Jen

August 15, 2014 Recipe

Sichuan Chili Potato Chips

I've been making a lot of chips lately.

It's the abundant crops from the Siena Farms CSA that are drowning me in potatoes, beets, and kale. I can hardly keep up, especially with the various weekend trips of late. It's no wonder I have to dry them out and make "chips" out of everyting in order to prevent them from going bad.

But potatoes?

OK, OK, you're right. Potatoes don't really go bad that fast. And potatoes are among the most versatile "vegetables" out there. You can boil them, mash them, roast them, fry them, smash them, and the list goes on and on.

I'd tried making "potato" chips once, by trying to bake thinly sliced sweet potatoes. It worked out *OK*, but I did burn a lot of them. Perhaps I didn't add enough oil? Or maybe my heat was on too high?

In any event, I decided to follow the advice of various other articles I'd read online more recently about how to make good chips. I used a Mandolin and sliced the potatoes to about 1/16 of an inch.

Many people suggested soaking the potato slices (even up to overnight!) in order to wash away some of the starch. Apparently this step leads to crispier chips.

I didn't have all day, so I just soaked them for twenty minutes or so in cold water before draining them. Ideally, if you have a salad spinner (or even paper towels?), use these tools to get the potato slices as dry as possible.

Lay the slices in a single layer on baking sheets.

For a fun flavor boost, I got out a jar of one of our favorite chili sauces that we get in Chinatown. Usually when I get Asian imported stuff, I try to buy things from Taiwan, Hong Kong, or Japan. I make an exception for this tasty sauce from China, though. It's just so good, and I haven't found a suitable replacement quite yet.

Perhaps it's the MSG that makes it so good . . .hmmmmm

I baked at 350°F with the "auto convection" setting on (which basically reduces the temperature by 25 °F to 325°F). Ovens do vary, so keep an eye on your chips! I rotated the pan at least once, perhaps after 15 minutes or so. I tried to watch it carefully to make sure it didn't burn. It was easier to prevent burning since my oven wasn't set to a really high temperature.

And they turned out perfectly! I was pretty generous with the oil, so it's possible that these chips are no less fattening than a typical fried chip. Nevertheless, it was much easier to make at home, and everyone loved it.

They were crispy, spicy, and had that nice, fresh, potato flavor. They tasted real.

It's too bad that I only own three baking trays. It's hard to bake these in bulk, and they're so good that they seem to disappear more quickly than the rate at which I can make them.

Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.

I'm so tempted to try other sauces next time. Maybe Sriracha potato chips? Or sesame oil? Maybe truffle salt??

The possibilities are endless.

* * * * *

Reminder - it's not too late to enter the Giveaway I'm currently hosting. There are just a couple days left to enter to win free hotel nights at the Radisson! Click here to enter!

Disclaimer. I received a discount on my CSA from Siena Farms. All opinions are my own.

August 12, 2014 Cambridge

Belly Wine Bar (Cambridge)

A warm summer night.Small plates of charcuterie, spreads, and local cheese.

And a huge selection of pink wines - namely, rosés.

That was our evening at Belly Wine Bar a few weeks ago. If you love sitting outside, grazing on little bites, and tasting a bunch of really interesting wines, you'll love Belly Wine Bar.

Started by the same folks who opened up The Blue Room and Central Bottle, Belly Wine Bar is a more casual cousin, dominated by a large selection of reasonably-priced but lesser known wines, both by the bottle and by the glass. The menu is full of little bites that go well with wine: charcuterie, cured meats, raw oysters, and various types of small plates (and some large plates too).

Furthermore, it's designed so you can try many types of wines without getting tipsy too fast. Their wines-by-the-glass come in 2 ounce or 5 ounce pours, which is a lifesaver for a lightweight like me.

Left: my two ounce pour; right, Bryan's five ounce pour.

The wine menu has a decent selection of bottles, mostly in the $30-$70 range. They are categorized by flavor profiles. For example, there's a section in the whites called "ginger, limes, green, piercing, slate, shapely" and another describing certain red wines called "leather, tar, smoke, rustic, countryside, artemis.

Different wines-by-the-glass are featured depending on the season. When we went, rosés were definitely the star of the show. In fact, the menu had over 30 rosés, made from all different types of grapes (e.g., merlot, pinot noirs, various blends), available by the glass.

It was hard to choose from the variety of snacks from the "Small Plates" section of the menu. Many things looked appetizing, like the fried chickpeas with lemon salt, arancini, warm ricotta with honey, or the various spreads that came with house made foccacia. We finally settled on one of the spreads, Roasted Eggplant Puree, which consisted of garlic confit, mint, and balsamic vineagar. It was good and we finished the whole thing pretty quickly.

There are several types of salumi as well as charcuterie that are available. If you're having a hard time deciding, you can get Chef's Selection for $27 (three types), or you can choose your own three. We ended up choosing our own three: Coppa ($7), Jamon Iberico ($14), and Sopressata ($7), all of which were delicious (though we still prefer the 5J Jamon Iberico that we typically buy at Formaggio, albeit it's much more expensive).

Similarly, you can get the Chef's Selection for the charcuterie as well ($27), which includes choices like rillettes, various liver mouses, terrines, and patés.

Cheeses sell for $7 each, $30 for five, or $44 for "the monger loves you", which sounds like an even larger selection that the monger chooses for you. The cheeses are not specifically listed out by name/region, but instead just listed by flavors like fresh, butter, earth, salt, funk, home grown, and the blues.

It was hard to choose a cheese based just on the adjective, but we ended up choosing "funk", which was pretty good. The cheese came with honey, crostini, and some sort of apple butter.

There are a few raw oysters on the menu as well ($3 each or 6 for $16). The day we went there were Daisy Bays from Prince Edward Island, Northern Cross from Virginia, and from Duxbury Massachusetts.

Bryan was drawn to the House Made Spaghetti with Puttanesca Sauce, which shows up on the "First Course" part of the menu. It comes in two sizes: $12 (half) and $22 (full). We ended up getting a smaller portion, which worked out just fine since we also ordered a main course. The spaghetti was quite al dente and overall the dish was solid, though nothing particularly special.

There were only three main courses on the menu: a fried chicken, hangar steak, and Roman gnocchi. The server strongly recommended the Boneless Fried Chicken ($16), so we went with that. It came with cornbread, cole slaw and salsa verde.

It was definitely very good fried chicken, on par with some of the better ones we've had in Boston (though still not quite up there with the best we've ever had).

There was only one dessert on the menu: a surprisingly savory Chevre Gelato ($8) served with rosemary shortbread and candied citrus. I'm not naturally a huge fan of goat cheese, but this ice cream was executed well and I could still appreciate it even though it wasn't one of my favorite flavors.
The best part was the whole atmosphere. I loved sitting out on the patio, soaking in the warm weather while watching the sunset. The mini lights added to the festive and cozy nature of the outdoor patio.

I liked the small-plates focused menu. I didn't feel at all pressured to necessarily order an "appetizer" and a "main course" like I would at a more traditional restaurant. It was most certainly fun to graze our way through the menu, tasting little bits of salumi, cheese, and small plates. If it weren't for the blog (and me trying to sample something from each section of the menu), I would have much preferred to order a few smaller items and calling it a day.

There is one option for large appetites. Parties of 4-8 people can reserve an "Arm + A Leg Dinner" with 48-hour notice. For $62 a person, guests can enjoy a 4-course dinner + dessert consisting of a themed meat. The day we went, the menu was featuring lamb, and had courses like lamb tortellini, lamb leg, and even a dessert that was titled "something sweet + lamby". (?!)

Overall, I love the concept of Belly Wine Bar. The wine selection is fun and you'll most likely discover something you've never tried before. Even though none of the food blew me away, I still found it all to be very enjoyable, especially with the fun wines and the lovely atmosphere. It's definitely worth visiting.

Summer is running out soon, so get out there while the weather's still good!

Belly Wine Bar
One Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA 02139

August 11, 2014 Boston

Besito (Mexican restaurant in the Burlington Mall)

I'm naturally frugal and I like to eat lightly, so I'm all for quick snack-like meals. I don't mind grazing through the entire day, in fact. Bryan, on the other hand, likes having a "proper dinner", complete with all the right food groups (most importantly, meat). As a result, if we're out and about (say, at the mall, for instance), I'm perfectly happy getting a snack at the food court, while Bryan will insist on finding a place where we can sit down.

One place where this becomes an issue is at the Burlington Mall, a suburban mall right outside of Boston that's close to our church. If we're there and we want to eat according to Bryan's preferences, we are left with very few options. The Burlington Mall has a woefully limited selection of sit-down places. We're talking places like the Rainforest Cafe, The Cheesecake Factory, Uno's, and Legal Sea Foods.

Up to this point, we almost always chose Legal Sea Foods. They have some really nice seafood and I love getting their tuna burger for lunch. However, sometimes I wish we had just a few more options.

Recently, a Mexican restaurant called Besito informed me that they were opening a new location in the Burlington Mall and invited me to come in and try a meal. Besito first opened in 2006 in New York and had three locations (two in New York and one in Connecticut), before opening this first Massachusetts location in Burlington. A new fifth one is coming to Chestnut Hill in the fall.

Since Bryan and I go to the Burlington Mall pretty frequently (and Bryan loves Mexican food), we were definitely interested in finding out whether Besito held any promise as an additional sit-down option at the mall.

Last weekend after church, Bryan and I hopped over to the Burlington Mall to give Besito a try.

The space is bright, airy, and beautifully designed. I love all the light streaming through the windows.

We sat down, and free house made chips and tomato salsa came to the table almost immediately. I really liked the salsa, which had a nice tomato flavor and wasn't too salty. I found that I couldn't stop eating those chips, even though in the back of my mind I knew I had to save room for the rest of the meal.

While we were perusing the menu, the waiter asked if we wanted to get started with some Guacamoile en Molcajete ($11.95), or table side guacamole. As the name indicates, this is guacamole that's freshly mixed from avocados right at the table.

The recipe is very simple, and the waiter told me they don't really adjust it too much except to add more or less jalapenos (depending on preference). It consists of just a few ingredients: cilantro, onions, avocados, chopped tomatoes, and salt. It's quite similar to my own version, with the glaring exception of lime and garlic. Personally, I thought the flavors were a bit light, and I would have preferred having some lime and maybe just a tad more salt added.

We asked for "medium" spicy, which Bryan thought was not spicy enough. Thankfully, the waiter had given Bryan an extra container full of chopped jalapenos. These did the trick, and Bryan though the guac was pretty tasty after the addition of the extra jalapenos.

Overall, it's a simple, clean-tasting guac, mostly dominated by straight up, creamy avocado goodness.

There are several interesting cocktails on the menu. I got the signature cocktail, the Besito Patron Margarita (pictured right), which was made with Patron Reposado tequila, Cointreau, pomegranate-tangerine juice and fresh squeezed lime. It was refreshingly bright and fruity without being too sweet at all. It was very good.

We started with a Taquitos de Camarones, or Crispy Shrimp Tacos, which came with shredded organic romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, chipotle cream salsa, cilantro, and queso fresco ($11.95 for three). These were pretty tasty - the shrimp was juicy inside and perfectly fried on the outside, and all the ingredients were very fresh.

Our other starter was the Tamale de Elote y Camarones, which was a fresh corn tamale filled with seared shrimp, chipotle chile cream, onions, cilantro, and queso fresco ($10.95). Although the cornmeal filling was a bit mushier than I preferred, the flavors of the overall dish were decent. The chipotle chile cream sauce and the shrimp added a needed savory balance to the sweet corn and cornmeal filling.

I couldn't help but compare this with a similar dish I've had at Mesa Grill, and thinking that I liked the Mesa Grill version better.

The waiter told us that the mole that they have is made with twenty-six ingredients and cooked for close to 20 hours. It's intense, flavorful, very rich, and polarizing. Some love it, and some just can't imagine a whole dish of this intense sauce.

Usually, if you order the Pechuga de Pollo, which is a chicken dish that uses the mole, they will bring you a small bowl of the mole to try to make sure you like the flavor.

When I tasted it, it reminded me of chocolate, raisin, and cinnamon. It was indeed intense and complex. Bryan thought it was really good. I thought it was nice, but not something I wanted to eat in large quantities.

Instead, we went with the Salmon Manchamanteles, a roasted salmon dish that's served with crispy bananas, pineapple picco de gallo, and a different, less intense type of mole called mole manchamateles ($22.95).

This dish was most definitely interesting and unlike anything I'd ever had at a Mexican restaurant before. The flavors took me by surprise, and were a bit foreign to me. I'm not used to eating sweet caramelized bananas, earthy mole, and pineapple salsa all together in one dish. It was hard to get used to so many sweet components. It was OK, but it wasn't one of my favorites.

Both Bryan and I agreed on our favorite dish: the Tacos Al Besito, which are make-your-own tacos served in their cast iron skillet.

Because we couldn't decide between the various options, we went with the Mixtos, which is a mix of grilled skirt steak, chorizo, and chicken cooked with melted queso Chihuahua, nopales salad (a salad made with tomatoes and pickled cactus), and two sauces: avocado salsa verde and chile de arbol salasa ($20.95).

All orders come with organic frijoles negros (black beans) and house rice.

The wraps are pretty small and you only get three initially, though they are happy to bring you more if you need it (and we definitely did!).

These were delicious, especially the chorizo (my favorite!). I would definitely consider ordering this again if I came.

We ordered a side dish of Platanos con Crema, which are fried sweet plantains topped with crema and queso fresco, a creamy, soft, mild Mexican cheese. This was very good. The plantains had a lovely caramelized flavor.

We had two desserts: Tres Leches literally means "three milks" and describes a sponge cake that has been soaked in three kinds of milk: evaporated milk, condensed milk, and heavy cream.

We thought this cake was delicious. The sponge cake is very fine and dense, and soaked up the various "milks" beautifully.

We also got the Flan, a classic Mexican (and Spanish) custard-style dessert that typically comes with a caramel sauce. This particular version was made with an orange flavored sauce, which I personally found a bit too sweet. The flan itself was very dense and creamy. All in all, we both preferred the Tres Leches, which I believe is also one of their most popular desserts.

It's always fun to get a parting dessert gift. Usually I only see this practice in really, really nice high end restaurants.

However, Besito gives all outgoing diners a churro and a Guatemalan worry doll. The legend goes that children in Guatemala who had trouble sleeping at night would tell their worries to these dolls, which they would then stick under their pillow. The doll would then do the "worrying" for the child, allowing the child to sleep peacefully.

It was a nice gesture to get a parting gift, and the churros (which we ate later that night) were delicious.

There are not that many sit-down restaurants in the Burlington Mall, so Besitos is a welcomed addition. The space is large, the decor is nice, and it's a comfortable place to enjoy a good meal. Our favorites included the mixtos tacos Besito, the shrimp taquitos, the tres leches, and the churros. The guacamole is also a fun starter, and I really enjoyed my cocktail, the Besito Patron Margarita.

Besito is located right across from Legal Sea Foods inside the mall. Although Legal is still a fine place to get a nice sit-down meal at the mall, it's really nice to have another very solid alternative.

I'll be back.

Reminder: It's not too late to enter the Giveaway for free nights at any Radisson Hotel. Click here to enter! Giveaway ends August 17, 2014.

Disclaimer: this meal was paid for by Besitos. All opinions are my own.

August 8, 2014 Boston

Cape Cod Trip Report + Giveaway for 2 free nights at any Radisson!

I love weekend trips.

In the past, I could almost never take them.

I play in the music band at my church. For a long, long time (about 10 years), Bryan was the head of the music ministry, and we played at church virtually every single week. More recently we've added some leaders and re-arranged the teams a bit. We don't play every week anymore, which has given us more flexibility to take weekend trips once in a awhile. It's definitely nice to be able to take spontaneous trips now and then, and I'm very thankful to those who have stepped up to allow us to have some open weekends.

One of the first weekend trips we took after the new arrangement was to Cape Cod last year.

It was *sort of* my first time there.

Even though I've lived in Massachusetts basically half my life, for some reason I'd never really explored the Cape before. I'd taken a day trip to Falmouth and Woods Hole years ago, but that was it. Last year, Bryan and I rented bicycles and rode for miles across the numerous, well-maintained bike paths.
I fell in love with the region - its beautiful oceans, quaint little towns, and overall relaxed atmosphere.

Last weekend, we returned, this time with friends from college for a reunion.

We first stopped by Plymouth on the way to the Cape and visited the Mayflower II as well as the famous rock (another first for me!). Plymouth is a quaint little town and a perfectly fine place to stop for lunch on the way to the Cape.

We kept this trip pretty focused. We spent our first day in Provincetown, which has a great mix of beautiful preservation land (the National Seashore is there), vibrant town life, and lots of water activities.

We took a less-beaten path into the town, walking by many quaint residential areas.

Because we had a big party of people, it was harder to find restaurants where we could all fit as a group. Thankfully, Lobster Pot, which is quite popular, had a table upstairs for us. We only had to wait about 20 minutes for it, which was just enough time for us to sneak in our first ice cream cone (and most certainly not our last!) of the trip.

The menu at Lobster Pot is HUGE, and they offer lobster prepared almost every way imaginable. We tried lobster pasta, lobster scampi, lobster pot pie, steam lobster, lobster mango avocado salad, and many more. Food was pretty good, and everyone had a good time.

It was a great space as well, overlooking the ocean. We even popped out briefly on the deck to watch the sunset.

The next morning we had a lovely brunch at the Old Yarmouth Inn. This is a great place to have a private party. They set aside a separate room for us, where we ended up throwing a surprise baby shower for one of our friends. The buffet brunch was excellent, and the folks there were just really, really nice.

We had a relaxing afternoon in Chatham (cute, cute town!), where we got (more) ice cream, enjoyed lighthouses, and visited the beach.

I love how rustic and uncrowded this beach looks and feels.

At dinner, Bryan was excited to finally try Spencer Trappist Ale, the first official authentic Trappist ale outside of Belgium (made right in a monastery in western Massachusetts!).

The next day, we took a high-speed ferry to visit the island of Nantucket for the day.

I loved the cute town, which is conveniently located right where the ferry drops you off. It had tons of cute shops, as well as really interesting history and architecture. I highly recommend the self-guided walking tour you can get from the visitor's center, which explains some of the unique architecture.

We stopped by The Juice Bar, which actually has amazing ice cream.

I loved their freshly baked (still warm!) waffle cones. And they had Grape Nut ice cream! It was one of the best "meals" I had on the trip, even if it was a bit strange to have ice cream for breakfast. 😉

The trip went by way too quickly, but soon it was time to return to Boston. The morning before we left, we took one last trip out to Coast Guard Beach, supposedly one of the top ten best beaches in the country.

We walked from Coast Guard Beach to Nausset Light Beach. Although the two beaches were reasonably crowded, the stretch in between was quiet, peaceful, and really, really nice. That's where we felt like the beach was almost our own.

When we returned to Boston, there was just one last place we just had to visit.

Many of you may not know this, but back when I was in college at MIT, there was actually a Tosci's right on campus in our student center. So, it holds a special place in all of our hearts. I guess you could say I was spoiled right from the start.

Giveaway!
I hope I can help two of my readers win their own weekend getaway (or maybe even free hotel stays for life!!) compliments of Radisson. Here are two ways to enter:

1. Win Your Own Weekend Getaway
I am giving away in a random drawing two (2) Radisson vouchers, each redeemable for one (1) night in a standard room, double occupancy, at any Radisson hotel in North America (additional terms and conditions apply). See this link for full terms and conditions. Enter by commenting below where you would like to visit with this voucher. I will pick two (2) winners.

One entry per person. Entries must be received by August 16th, Midnight Eastern Standard Time. I will pick the winners on August 17th and will email the winners (if I have a valid email address) as well as post the winners' names on the blog. If you do not respond to me within 24 hours of notification/posting of winning, I reserve the right to pick a new winner.

2. Win Hotel Stays for Life!
Additionally, Radisson is giving away (to one lucky winner) free hotel stays for the rest of your life. Learn more and enter here.

Good luck!!

Disclaimer - Radisson is providing two free hotel stays to the winners of this giveaway as well as to Tiny Urban Kitchen as a thank you for participating in this event.

August 7, 2014 Argentina

My Last Full Day in Argentina

This is the tenth post in the Hello Argentina Series detailing my week-long trip in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Other posts include Hello Argentina, La Cabrera, La Rambla, Empanadas, Tamales, and Beer, Oh My!, Cabanas Las Lilas, Buenos Aires - Three Most Famous Ice Cream Shops, Chila, Elena, Oviedo, and Foto Ruta.

One nice thing about staying in a single city for an entire week is that you have lots of time to get to know it. Even though I was nervous about Buenos Aires when I first landed (I even hired a tour guide to take me around because I was afraid of traveling by myself), I got much more comfortable with the area by the end of the week. By the end of the week, I knew which neighborhood were pretty safe, and I even walked through several neighborhood by myself, exploring the vibrant city while checking out ice cream shops.

Tigre

However, my last day in Buenos Aires, I decided to call the woman who had been my guide on our first day. We'd gotten to know Mariana because we spent the whole day together exploring Tigre and Delta Terra in Argentina. She was the one who had shared with me what it was like to be living in a place whose economy is tanking.

I decided it would be more fun to explore Buenos Aires with a friend versus alone.

Since it was my last day in Buenos Aires, I had a very specific list of requests for me. This is what I wanted to do.

1. Have a choripan, a traditional Argentinian sausage sandwich that's typically served on the street.
2. Visit La Boca for the photos. This is one area of town that's not as safe, yet it is super colorful, vibrant, and great for photography. After enjoying photography so much with Foto Ruta a few days earlier, I really wanted to go back and try to photograph it some more with a different eye.
3. Visit the famous cafe, Cafe Tortoni, for churros.

Mariana smiled in amusement and said, "you want to eat a choripan? OK, let me call my friend."

Immediately called one of her drivers and asked him where his favorite choripan place was.

And then we were off.

1. Get a Choripan

We walked about 10-15 minutes from my hotel and stumbled upon a long row of outdoor grill places. It was fascinating to see. So many open-air places grilling up all sorts of meat.

The smell was intoxicating.

After walking a few minutes, we came upon the place that she said was highly recommended. It looked very unassuming from the outside, but the line that formed afterwards indicated and affirmed its popularity. (We came around 11AM so it was still early when I took this photo).

The choripan was phenomenal. I can't even exactly describe why it was so good. The spiced chorizo sausage was juicy and flavorful, and the topping had all sorts of exotic spices. Overall it was just really satisfying.

Seriously, it's one of my most memorable bites of the entire trip.

They had tons of different types of fresh herbs and toppings that you could add on top.

2. La Boca

Getting to La Boca took awhile. We ended up taking a taxi in order to save time. I was a bit nervous because it wasn't one of those more reputable "radio taxis" that they always recommend foreigners get. However, Mariana could speak the language and she seemed to know what she was doing, so it turned out alright. It was cheaper, though I didn't appreciate the fact that the driver basically chain smoked the entire ride.

Anyway, we finally arrived at La Boca.

It was mid afternoon at this point, and the sun was beating STRONG from above. Even though Emma had told us not to be afraid of direct sunlight, I still struggled to get good pictures. I've included a few of the better ones above, but overall I think I was hoping for more interesting backdrops, like the ones I'd seen in San Telmo during my photography workshop.

2. Cafe Tortoni

Cafe Tortoni is one of the most famous cafes in Buenos Aires. This Parisian-style cafe was opened since 1858 by a Frenchman.

It was a place where people came to philosophize, talk about politics, and debate. Many famous people have stopped by here, including Albert Einstein, Hillary Clinton, and the King of Spain, Juan Carlos de Borbón. The interior is huge and beautiful, with tall chandeliers, antique style chairs, and a really warm and authentic atmosphere.

Note: I went at an off time when there weren't any tour buses. I think it sometimes fills with tourists, and the line can go out the door.

I ordered one of their signature dishes, the Churros with a Café con Leche (espresso with milk). Everything was good. Most importantly, it was the combination of the grand space, the storied location, and the delicious authentic food that made the experience very special.

Mariana and I ended up walking back to my hotel, which took about 30-45 minutes. I appreciated her willingness to walk such a long distance in the hot summer sun while chatting with me.

It was a fun afternoon, and I'm glad I didn't do it alone.

When we parted, it felt like I was saying good-by to a new friend.

"I hope to be back someday" I said, "and I hope things get better in Buenos Aires."

I sincerely meant it.

Our front and center mezzanine seats at the Tango show (can you see Bryan?)

Mariana Jimenez is listed in the Frommer's Guide as well as the New York Times as a recommended private tour guide in Buenos Aires. She took us to Tigre for a day trip and also set us up with an excellent Tango dinner show (not to mention she got us a great discount for the tickets + the best seats in the house).

I found her prices to be very reasonable, especially compared to other tour companies who take a chunk off the top before paying their local tour guides.

You can reach her at mariana.v. [email protected].

August 5, 2014 Cambridge

Cafe Sushi (Omakase)

Time flies.

It's hard to believe that three years ago, today, we packed up ten years worth of memories from our tiny urban condo on "Bunny Smith Square" (between Harvard & Central) and moved to a townhouse on the north side of Harvard Square. In some ways, it feels like I just moved in. After all, we lived in our tiny urban condo (10 years!). Our time here almost feels like a mere afterthought.I have tons of nostalgic memories of my old neighborhood.

Yet honestly speaking, I love my new house and neighborhood. Having a gas stove for the first time ever totally changed my life. I'm not sure if I could ever go back to electric. The larger space is great for entertaining, and I've had tons of fun cooking all sorts of fun dishes (not to mention all the tasty things we've made on Bryan's crazy high heat grill), for friend who come over for dinner.

It's nice to finally have my own laundry machine. And the increased sunlight from our tall floor-to-ceiling windows is something I'd have trouble giving up now.

Oh, and having Formaggio Kitchen and some of the best cheese in the universe just down the street?

Dangerous, but oh-so-fun.

But there is one thing I miss dearly from my old neighborhood.

For years, Bryan and I really enjoyed having casual Sunday dinners at Cafe Sushi, a tiny little Japanese family-owned sushi shop that was a mere 5-minute walk from our place. It was simple - nothing fancy - but they had solid sushi that they sold for $1 a piece on Sunday nights.

I'm not sure exactly when it happened, but around 2008, Seiji Imura, the son of the family, took over the kitchen of Cafe Sushi. In March 2010, Cafe Sushi started to experiment quietly with monthly, seven-course omakase "Chef's Dinners." These were a huge hit, and really allowed Chef Seiji to go all out in his creativity.

Chef Seiji (front) and his wife Mindy (back)

The omakase eventually made it on the menu. Cafe Sushi stopped its long tradition of Sunday "dollar sushi", and started to move the restaurant into a bold, new direction. Although some of the staple menu items remained, Chef Seiji began incorporating more and more interesting and creative additions, such as a chalkboard full of seasonal fish (often from Tsukiji Fish Market in Japan!), nigiri with more interesting ingredients (like yuzu kosho, smoked salt, or house-cured kombu), and vegetarian sushi that you'd actually want to eat.

Now, word is finally getting around about Cafe Sushi's transformation. They've won Best of Boston, Sushi for two years in a row (2013 and 2014), beating out traditional favorites like Oishii and Fugakyu.

Cafe Sushi is now my favorite sushi restaurant in all of Boston.*

Every time I've gone there, I've been blown away by the food. Keep in mind, I've mainly ordered from the specials on the blackboard or gotten the omakase. I believe that is the best way to fully enjoy the best that Cafe Sushi has to offer. If you stick with the ordinary stuff (e.g., California rolls, salmon-avocado rolls, tuna nigiri), you'll have a fine experience, but it won't nearly be as special.

Instead, try some of the Signature Creations, or get a Chef's Sample.

The "In Season" list is fun too. I've been to Japan numerous times, and Cafe Sushi's menu reminds me most of Japan, including favorites such as aji (horse mackerel), katsuo (skipjack tuna), and sawara (Spanish mackerel).
Another favorite of mine is actually a vegetarian nigiri - the Seared Avocado with truffle oil, salt, and lemon juice (pictured below), which is phenomenal.

If you have the stomach space, I highly, highly recommend the omakase. Even though the regular signature items are fantastic, the omakase gives you access to the best and most exclusive items they have. Oftentimes, they may not have enough of something to serve on the regular menu. In those cases, only the lucky omakase diners get to enjoy it.

The omakase is "market price", but has typically hovered around $70 - $75 when we have ordered it. I consistently find it to be a crazy good value in view of the quantity of food, quality of ingredients, and skill of execution.

OK, enough about the facts. Here's an example of one of our omakase meals!

We started with buri (Japanese yellowtail) which was topped with candied kumquat, miso horseradish, and a daikon sprout. The fish was excellent quality. Because I'm not a huge fan of kumquat, I did not love this combination. Bryan thought it was delicious.

I loved this refreshing next course: shredded daikon and carrots were pickled with kumquat and salmon roe. In this case, I really loved the bright and tart flavors of the vegetables, which offset the fresh and salty ikura (salmon roe) very nicely. Overall, the dish was surprisingly not that salty, which was great.

We then got a plate of four different nigiri.

We started with Virginia Tilefish topped with fuyu persimmon and shiso.

Next, we had Sawara (Spanish mackerel) from Virginia served with ponzu, wasabi oil, and broccoli rabe.
One of my favorites was the Tea Leaf Smoked Tasmanian Salmon topped with yuzu and wasabi oil.

Finally, we had a slice of Zuke, their house-cured tuna topped with just a bit of yuzu kosho.

We then enjoyed Tuna with "tofuru" and wasabi. Tofuru tasted a lot like Chinese fermented bean paste, the kind that comes in cubes in Asian supermarkets that you eat with congee. The Japanese name sounds similar to the Chinese word (we call it "dofuru"), so I'm guessing it's the same stuff. I would have never thought to put it on raw fish, but it works surprisingly well, adding a lot of creamy and salty umami flavor.

Next came another dish full of four more nigiri pieces.
From left to right: Kombu-Cured Amadai (tilefish) topped with katsuobushi, Sea Bream served with sea salt, wasabi oil, and lemon. Kampachi (yellowtail) served with shiso and wasabi, and Mackerel topped with cilantro and horseradish.

The next course was Ankimo (monkfish liver), served wih ponzu jelly, various types of seaweed, and fresh, house-pickled cucumber tsukemono. It came in a light, clear seaweed flavored cold broth.

Because I had told Chef Seiji that I didn't love liver in general, he gave me an alternate version using Branzino instead. There were three pieces of raw sashimi as well as a deep fried collar rib.

Another favorite was Salmon Belly, which came with grilled avocadoes and Nantucket bay scallops in a light ponzu sauce. I loved the fresh, sweet scallops, the soft, fatty salmon belly, and the smoky grilled avocados. They made a beautiful trio of flavors.

Our last nigiri: Kampachi (yellowtail) topped with mint and blood orange.

Finally, we had a fun uni two-way tasting. On the left is Santa Barbara Uni; on the right is Maine Uni.

I had told Chef Seiji that I didn't like Maine uni as much from my limited exposure to it. Chef Seiji personally thought that the Maine uni here tasted better, but in deference to my opinion, he gave me just a little of the Maine uni to try.

After trying both, I definitely agreed with him. In this case, the Maine uni was superior. I sheepishly asked for the other half of the uni, which he kindly gave to me.

Lesson learned: always trust the chef. Sure, you might have some preferences, but in my experience, more often than not it's better just to let the chef decide what's best.

Above is a second half of my Maine uni. Chef Seiji was also nice enough to give me another slice of the yellowtail, this time without kumquat since I had told him I didn't love that first course. I thought that was really considerate of him.

He seems really passionate about his art, and really wanted to me enjoy every course. He was working hard within my preferences to try to achieve that, which I really appreciate.

Dessert is included in the omakase.

Above, Black Sesame Ice Cream from Christina's Ice Cream in Inman Square. The ice cream was pretty good, almost as good as mine (hee hee, just kidding . . . sort of).

Green Tea Mochi Ice Cream was solid and a nice refreshing way to end the meal.

I am a huge fan of this newly revamped Cafe Sushi and I've gone back several times in the past twelve months. Usually, we can't resist but order the omakase, but there have been times when I just didn't feel like eating so much. In those instances, I just ordered off of the Signature and/or In Season sections of the menu.

The Signature Creations run between $3-$4 on average (per piece), while the in-season fish can vary, anywhere from $3 to $6 a piece. Considering that you could be getting the equivalent of 20+ pieces in the omakase (plus access to some stuff that's not even on the menu and dessert), you can see why $70 is a good deal compared to a la carte prices.

You can also get a sake pairing for $25, which feels much more accessible than your typical wine pairing price.

All in all, I just love going to Cafe Sushi. The food is excellent, the staff is friendly, and Chef Seiji is really passionate about his craft. Time to time, Bryan and I will try a highly recommended sushi place, only to say, "well, it was good, but not as good as Cafe Sushi."

Though I don't live right in this neighborhood anymore, perhaps I should still consider myself very lucky that my favorite sushi restaurant in the entire state (and maybe all of New England) is still only a 20-minute walk away from my house.

*Please note that I'm excluding places like O Ya and Uni when I make this statement, because I don't think of those places as Japanese sushi restaurants. They are more like high end fusion restaurants that incorporate raw fish and other Japanese ingredients into their high end creations.

Cafe Sushi
1105 Mass Ave
Cambridge MA

August 1, 2014 Guide

A Summer Weekend in Portland, Maine

I always feel like summer goes by so quickly here in Boston. It takes forever for the weather to get warm, and when it's finally warm, it's a mad dash to take advantage, as much as possible, of the beautiful weather.June was a blur to me. After intensely plowing through my 31 posts in 31 days in May, I took a break the first half of the month before heading off to the Canadian Rockies for a week with Bryan's family (Highly recommended. I think still it's one of my favorite places on earth). In July, the weather finally became truly warm. Just two weeks ago, we found ourselves surprisingly free one weekend. Sort of at the last minute, we decided to spend a weekend in Portland, Maine, one of the few nearby cities that we'd never visited (and everyone kept telling us we had to go if we loved food, craft beer, and the ocean.)After finding some last minute hotel rooms in Portland with Bryan's numerous hotel points, we tentatively made plans to drive there Friday night. As soon as I finished volunteering at the Boston Rescue Mission Friday evening, we left Boston at 9PM sharp and arrived in Portland right around 10:30PM.Yep, when you leave that late, there's no traffic!

We had less than 48 hours in Portland. We knew we had to make the most of our time there.

Our first stop after arriving in Portland at 10:30PM was, not surprisingly, food. I had not eaten dinner yet and was famished. We ended up visiting Pai Men Miyaki, a trendy, casual Japanese-fusion restaurant that seemed very Momofuku-esque, complete with pork belly buns, ramen, sushi, gyoza, and various salads.

I love small plates and snacks, and this menu had so many small bites (buns! gyoza! unusual salads!) that I was tempted to order everything. Unfortunately, Bryan wasn't hungry, which meant I was eating alone. It's hard to try many different small dishes when you're the only one eating.

So instead I ordered what they call the staff favorite, Tokyo Abura, a soup-less ramen dish that consisted of chili oil, spicy garlic paste, Miyake Farm egg yolk, charred cabbage and carrots, ginger, menma, wakame, scallions, and nori. The texture of the noodles was great and overall the dish was very satisfying and delicious. Bryan, who loves noodles and wasn't even hungry, ended up eating quite a bit of mine even though he wasn't planning on eating.

Bryan also enjoyed trying some excellent local beer on draft, a delicious Allagash Tripel.

The next morning, we headed out to Portland Head Light at Cape Elizabeth, which is about 6 miles away from downtown Portland. It's quaint, picturesque, and a lovely way to spend a morning.

The weather was beautiful, and I was perfectly content just exploring the rocky coast and taking in the breathtaking scenery.

There are a few historic buildings (and forts!) nearby that you can visit too, which is pretty fun.

For lunch, we headed to Eventide Oyster Company.

I immediately fell in love with this place when I walked in. The atmosphere, the food, the menu, everything. It's no wonder the lines are so long. We showed up at around 1:30PM and still had to wait around 45 minutes before getting a seat. (!)

I'll do a complete write up for this restaurant in a future post. For now, I'll share with you a photo of their unusual lobster "roll", which is really more like a lobster bun.

Sooo good.

After walking around downtown Portland for a bit, we drove over to Allagash Brewing Company for one of their free tours.

The tours book out fast, so definitely reserve a spot online before showing up. By the time we actually showed up for our tour, all of the tours for the day had been "sold out." You can still taste the same beers in their tasting room / shop, but the pours are tiny compared to the pours you get on the tour!

The tour takes about an hour and is really fun. Our tour guide was animated, really funny, and very knowledgeable. On weekends the factory isn't actually running, so unfortunately we couldn't see the production in action. However, because things weren't running, we were able to get much closer to a lot of the machinery compared to if we had come on a weekday.

It was fun to learn about their process as well as some of the cool experimental things they are doing, such as these fun barrel aged (very limited edition) beers.

The tour ends with a tasting of four beers. That day we tried the White (their flagship), the Saison, the Dubbel, and the Confluence. The pours were so generous that I ended up asking him to just pour me a small amount at the end. I can't drink four beers in one sitting!

After dinner we visited the one place that had been highly recommended to me by multiple people.

"Best sushi in New England" one friend said.

"You have to try Miyaki Sushi" another acquaintance told me. "It's an amazing deal, with a crazy omakase that only costs $65."

I'll also write up a separate post where I share with you the details of that omakase. Here's a teaser photo to show you just one of many, many courses in our omakase. (we were so stuffed)!

The following day, we drove 20 minutes to Freeport, a neighboring town that houses the huge L.L. Bean store as well as many outlet shops. It was a fun (and productive!) morning where I was able to pick up end-of-season flip flops, T-shirts, and even a travel handbag.

For lunch, we headed back to Portland to try another famous institution, Duck Fat, which is known for its fries cooked in duck fat as well as its poutine (with a duck egg!). Duck Fat is conveniently located on the same street as Eventide Oyster Co., so if the line at one place is too long, you could always try the other one. They are among the most famous and popular restaurants in Portland.

We grabbed some berry pie (made with local Maine blueberries!) from one of Portland's most well loved bakeries, Two Fat Cats.

In the afternoon, we walked along the Eastern Promenade, a lovely paved trails that runs along the ocean on the eastern side of the city. You can bike, run, rollerblade, or walk along this trail while enjoying relaxing ocean views.

All in all, we had a great time in Portland. It's a perfect destination for a short one or two day trip. Because it's so close to Boston, it's pretty easy to make a day trip out of it. The food is fabulous, and I still can't stop thinking about Eventide Oyster Company, which was our favorite restaurant of the trip.

We feel like there's still so much more to explore. We didn't have a chance to visit any of the numerous islands right off the coast of Portland, nor did we come even close to trying all of the local beers. I'm sure there are still many restaurants to explore, as well as other off-the-beaten-path places I don't even know yet.

Only four more weeks left before Labor Day! It's time to get cranking to squeeze the most out of what's left of summer!

July 30, 2014 Recipe

Crispy Basil Smashed Potatoes

One fun side benefit of being a member of the Siena Farms CSA is that I get a weekly newsletter from the farm describing all the goodies in that week's share. Oftentimes Ana Sortun, chef-owner of Oleana, Sofra, and Sarma (and wife of the farmer who runs Siena Farms), will share some of her favorite recipes in the email.

Last week, the recipe for crispy basil smashed potatoes caught my eye.

It looked so simple, yet she said it was one of her favorite ways to enjoy the fresh taste of "fresh-dug" potatoes, which first appeared in our share last week.

The newsletter also said that a potato's sugars will turn to starch pretty rapidly within a week, so we if really wanted to enjoy our fresh dug potato flavor, we needed to eat the potatoes "right away"!

I immediately put down the newsletter and got to work.

I decided I was going to eat those potatoes that night.

The smashed potato dish involves boiling the potatoes first. It's important to put the potatoes into cold water and then slowly bring the heat up with the potatoes in the pot. According to Ana, when the water temperature is brought up slowly, the potato starch develops a gelatin-like film that slows water absorption, thus preventing water-logged potatoes.

Once the potatoes are done cooking, cool them down (you can rinse them with cold water). When they are cool enough, smash them with the bottom of a mug!

Pan fry the smashed potatoes in a skillet coated with about ⅛ inch of vegetable oil at high heat. You want the oil nice and hot. Ideally, you would use a pan that holds heat well, like a cast iron skillet, so that the oil remains hot even after adding the cold potatoes. Cold oil tends to make things more greasy!

Once one side is browned, flip the potatoes to cook the other side. When the potatoes are just about done, add a large, generous handful of basil (or any other herb you fancy). Let the basil "fry" for about a minute before removing the entire batch.

Sprinkle with generous amounts of salt and then serve!

It looks so simple, but i's really, really tasty. I love the addition of the fresh herbs at the end. I ended up using up all my potatoes within two days, making this dish twice.

Hope you're all enjoying the summer weather thus far! I can't believe it's almost August. One more month to squeeze in as many summer activities as possible!

Disclaimer: I received a discount from Siena Farms for my CSA. All opinions are my own.

...

July 26, 2014 Argentina

Foto Ruta - Photography Workshop in Buenos Aires, Argentina

This is the ninth post in the Hello Argentina Series detailing my week-long trip in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Other posts include Hello Argentina, La Cabrera, La Rambla, Empanadas, Tamales, and Beer, Oh My!, Cabanas Las Lilas, Buenos Aires - Three Most Famous Ice Cream Shops, Chila, Elena, and Oviedo.

Happy Weekend!

This post is a little different from my typical posts.

The focus is not on food. It's about another one of my passions - photography.

I didn't get into photography until much later in life, unlike those around me. My sister, in fact, got into photography in high school. She had an SLR way before I did (of the film variety!), and even in college, Bryan got an SLR and started taking really nice photos during our university years (of which I'm really thankful now! It's really nice to have high quality photos from that era of my life).

Me, I didn't get into photography really until this food blog began. It's sort of embarrassing for me to look back at my photos from those early days, though I keep the posts there as a reminder to myself of how far I've come.
I've never been formally trained. I've never taken a class, workshop, or anything to learn this skill. I have no patience for books or instruction manuals, so I just learn by experimentation. Thankfully, digital photography has made that much easier (and cheaper!).

During our week in Buenos Aires, I ended up having several days by myself while Bryan was at his work conference. Unlike in Japan, where I felt perfectly comfortable exploring the city by myself, I didn't feel the same way about Buenos Aires. I'd heard about the petty crimes. My general lack of knowledge and familiarity with the city made me more nervous and thus more cautious.

So what did I do? I signed up for various tours led by English-speaking people. My favorite one turned out to be a day long photography workshop in Buenos Aires with Foto Ruta.

At 10AM, I met my teacher, a British born woman named Emma who had been living in Buenos Aires for six years. Emma spoke fluent Spanish and navigated the city with ease. She was super friendly, and I immediately felt much more relaxed. There were two students that day: me and this guy from Luxembourg called Philippe who had recently quit his attorney job and was spending the year traveling around the world (how cool is that??).

Emma started out by spending about 30-40 minutes giving us a basic tutorial about photography. Although it was reasonably basic, I still learned some interesting tips from the talk.

And then . . . it was time to shoot!

The best part of this tour was Emma's knowledge of cool places in the city to photograph. She brought us to tiny traditional Argentinian shops, fun food markets, cool, cobbly streets, and funky neighborhoods where the street art was magnificent.

Throughout the day, she would challenge us to think about photos in a different way.

Try shooting a photo with the camera on the ground, or play around with reflections in puddles or mirrors.

Don't be afraid of direct sunlight - it creates a totally different looking shot, but it's not always bad.

Don't be afraid to ask people if you can photograph them. Some will say no, but others will be flattered. You'll be surprised how often people are willing.

We put that into practice immediately. Emma stepped into an old school shoe repair shop and asked the cobbler if we could photograph him. He obliged, and just continued to do his thing while we snapped away.

This is my favorite shot from that shoot.

The streets of Buenos Aires are filled with beautiful, bold colors. It's gritty yet vibrant at the same time. It was really nice having a guide help me navigate the city to get to some of these cool, backstreets to explore.

I was thrilled to catch this motorcyclist, who zoomed into my photo at just the right time to complete the rough yet vivid mood of this photo.

We continued to explore the city, trying our best to capture its mood, personality, and heart.

As part of the tour, we had lunch at a charming, traditional cafe where we enjoyed a traditional Argentinian spread of cured meat, cheese, pate, and eggs. The food was lovely, and the entire experience felt so authentic.

These guys were such hams, posing for me from the back of a moving truck.

This next photo is my favorite photo. I thought it would be so fun to try to channel M.C. Escher at this old mansion-turned-marketplace in Buenos Aires. Philippe and Emma were more than obliging and participated in this fun shot.

I had a really, really fun time with Emma and Philippe photographing this beautiful city. By the end of the day, it felt like we were old friends. For me, not only was it fun to explore a hobby I love with other like-minded people, it was also fascinating getting to know those from other cultures. I learned so much about Argentina, England, and Luxembourg. We laughed and traded stories about our own cultures. I was personally floored by Philippe's command of five or six languages (I've lost count), while similarly intrigued by Emma's story of what it was like to move from the UK to a place like Buenos Aires, especially for six years.

All in all, I would highly recommend going on one of these photo tours. Even if you think you won't learn that much in terms of photo tips (and you might not, because it's pretty basic), having a personal guide and local friend take you to all the best places in the city to shoot is priceless.

This is not sponsored. I paid in full for this tour. They have no idea I'm going to write this post. I just really, really liked it and wanted to let you guys know about it. 🙂

July 24, 2014 Recipe

Crispy Oven Baked Beet Chips

I have an awful weakness when it comes to a certain snack.

Chips.

I just can't say no to them.

Typically, I'm pretty disciplined when it comes to steering myself away from unhealthy food. I never, ever get any sort of candy bar from the vending machine at work. If there's leftover cake in the kitchen area - no matter how delectable it looks - I won't be tempted by it. I can easily stay away from chocolate, and in general, most sweets.

But there's something about chips that I just can't resist. It's the fact that it's almost healthy. After all, it comes from a vegetable, right? You could argue it's not as processed as any of those cakes and cookies.

And for some reason, in the late afternoon when I'm starting to get just a little hungry (or "peckish" as my British colleagues would say), I always want chips.

I want something savory, something that feels like it could actually stave off those hunger pangs for just a few more hours. Plus, I just love chips for that satisfying crunch.

A few years ago, I was thrilled to discover you could make chips out of almost anything (a sneaky way to pack in those nutrients!). One of my favorites (and something I still make on a regular basis), is oven baked kale chips. I also tried baking all sorts of other chips in the oven, like taro chips, sweet potato chips, and even sunchoke chips.

Last week, I got my first shipment of these beautiful beets from my CSA with Siena Farms. As I was pondering how to use up the beets before the weekend (since I was leaving on a short trip), it dawned on me to try making chips out of these as well.

Oh my goodness, they were fantastic.

Even Bryan approved, and couldn't stop eating them at dinner. In fact we ended up polishing off the entire batch of chips (uhh, I guess that means we ate 10 beets between us (!)).
Making beet chips takes a bit of patience if you don't have a dehydrator (which I don't). If the heat in the oven is on too high, the chips will burn. If it's on too low, then it takes forever.

I found my happy medium around 295 °F with the convection fan on, though it still took quite some time.

First, slice beets to about 1/16 of an inch thick. I noticed that if I shaved the beets too thinly, the "chips" would stick to the pan like glue and I ended up destroying them while trying to scrape them off the pan.

Something just a tad thicker works better.

Aren't these chiogga beets just lovely?

I used a mandolin slicer to speed things up. You could hand slice with a knife too. I found that I actually had more control over the width of the slices with a knife. With the mandolin, I had trouble seeing what was going on, so sometimes my slices were uneven.

I tried my best to put slices of similar thicknesses on the same pan so that they would cook at roughly the same amount of time.

Bake chips in the oven for about 20 minutes or so, checking every so often to make sure they are not burning. When the edges start to brown and slightly curl up, rotate the pan and stick back in the oven. If you have the patience (and I had lots of time), you can flip each individual chip over to prevent it from sticking and to bake both sides evenly.

Note how much the beets shrink! In the above photo you can see the outline of how big the beet slice was when it started!

Eventually, possibly up to an hour later, the chips will be done. It's hard for me to tell you exactly how long it will take because a lot of this depends on how thick your slices are, how strong your oven is, how water-logged your beets are, and whether you use convection or not.

The best advice I can give is just to keep an eye on it. You can always use lower heat and just bake for longer if you want to avoid the possibility of burnt chips.

I left my finished chips out overnight. Because it's hot and humid in Boston right now, the chips were a bit limp by the next morning. This was easily fixed by a quick 3-4 minute "reheat" in the toaster oven.

They came out nice and crispy.

Enjoy!

Crispy Oven Baked Beet Chips
Raw beets, washed and with greens removed
vegetable oil
salt

1. Preheat oven to around 300° F (optionally use convection).
2. Thinly slice beets to 1/16 inch thick, using a mandolin if available.
3. Either toss beets in vegetable oil, or use an oil mister to coat both sides of the beet slice with oil
4. Lay the beet slices in a single layer on a baking sheet.
5. Sprinkle salt on the beets
6. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the edges of the beets begin to brown and curl up. Rotate the pan or optionally, flip the chips over.
7. Bake for another 20 minutes. Continue checking and rotating or flipping until the chips are dry and crispy, about 1 hour.
8. Store in an airtight container. If it still gets damp, you can easily "crisp" it back up by putting it in the oven for 3-4 minutes.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I received a discount from Siena Farms for my CSA. All opinions are my own.

July 22, 2014 New York

Ivan Ramen (Gotham West Market, New York City)

This is the fourth post in the Quick Spring Weekend to New York series. Other posts in this series include Le Bernardin, Lunch Tasting Menu, Boulud Sud, and A Voce Columbus.

I've been curious about trying Ivan Ramen for ages.

Though it only recently opened in the US, Ivan Ramen has been in Tokyo since 2007. I read about it a lot while doing research for my various Tokyo trips. What's funny is, the chef-owner of this crazy popular ramen place in Tokyo is actually a Jewish guy from Long Island who got into ramen "on a whim."Ivan Orkin moved to Japan to teach English after graduating from college. While there, he met and married a Japanese woman. They moved back to the US so Ivan could study at the Culinary Institute of America. They had a child, and his home life became full of Japanese culture. He spoke the language at home. He watched Japanese TV shows.

Tragedy struck when his wife miscarried their second child and suddenly passed away soon after.

Distraught, Ivan felt that he had lost everything.

Years later, on one of his extended trips to Japan, he met and fell in love with another Japanese woman.

They got married and settled in Japan. Ivan, living out a normal life as a stay-at-home-dad, started to get restless. He began experimenting with ramen, taking a crash course and then teaching himself the rest.

He opened his first restaurant in 2007.

It became a hit in Japan, with long lines of hungry Japanese people willing to wait hours to try his rule-breaking, unconventional interpretation of ramen (think flavors like "four cheese ramen" or a soy milk based dipping broth). It was shocking that a foreigner, gaijin, could pierce and conquer Japan's obsession with ramen.

After opening up several successful locations in Japan, Ivan decided to move back to the US in 2012, partly to be closer to family, but also to challenge himself to open up his restaurant in New York, his home.

Lucky for us, that means we no longer have to fly across the globe to get a taste of this famous ramen that has taken Tokyo by storm.

Bryan and I squeezed in one last meal before catching our 6PM train back to Boston. We met up with Cindy from Chubby Chinese Girl Eats and her now husband for a quick super early 4:30pm dinner (thanks friends for your willingness to eat at such an odd hour!) at Ivan Ramen in Gotham West Market.

Gotham West Market is very crowded, filled with different gourmet eateries all under one roof.
At 4:30PM, it wasn't hard to find seats for four people, but the bar quickly filled up, and by the time we left, it was pretty packed.

The menu itself is pretty simple. There are a few basic ramen broths you can choose from: Shoyu (soy sauce) or Shio (salt). There's also a Spicy Chili Ramen, which is uses the same broth base but throws is fiery red chilies, and Mazemen, a thicker, saucier tossed noodle dish. The basic ramen is pretty spartan, so if you like your ramen full of goodies, definitely choose some add ons, like an egg ($2), pork belly chashu ($3), chicken chashu ($3), roast tomato ($2), or chili garlic oil ($1).

If you don't feel like noodles, you can order a donburi, or a rice dish. In fact, the donburi turned out to be my favorite item here. We ordered a small Smoked Whitefish Donburi (love the fusion of Jewish and Japanese cuisine!), which consisted of rice in a sweet soy dashi topped with salmon roe, cucumbers, and scallions ($8 for a small, $14 for a large). The ingredients were simple, but the flavors were really deep and complex.

The Tokyo Shoyu Ramen consists of a broth made with chicken broth plus soy sauce and dashi. All of Ivan Ramen's noodles are made with rye, which is definitely not traditional. The basic version comes with pork belly chashu, but for an extra $5 you can get it "fully loaded" (pictured), which also includes a soft boiled egg, extra Chashu (either chicken or pork belly), and a roast tomato.
The Spicy Red Chili Ramen uses the same dashi + chicken broth and rye noodles, but uses minced pork and a "smashed" egg instead.

Another option is "Mazemen", a style of ramen where you mix ("maze" means to mix) noodles ("men") in a thicker type sauce. We got the Roasted Garlic Mazemen ($13), which consists of rye noodles in a thicker "sauce" made from the same dashi + chicken broth, pork belly chashu, and nori (seaweed).

Here's Bryan bringing all of our noodles! (Yes, we are pigs. Bryan and I ordered three bowls between the two of us because we really just wanted to try it all).

Craziness.

Overall, surprisingly, my favorite dish turned out to be the Whitefish Donburi, which had a really nice mix of deep, rich flavors from the smoked whitefish, salty salmon roe, and various spices mixed into the rice.

We were a bit underwhelmed by the ramen. The rye noodles are definitely softer and less al dente than a typical Japanese wheat-based noodle, which is quite springy and "Q" (to borrow a Taiwanese term). The broth flavor was decent though it wasn't the best we'd ever had. I think we still prefer some of the other ramen places in New York, like Momofuku Noodle Bar or Ippudo.

But perhaps it's too early to judge.

There's a part of me that wonders whether there is just some inconsistency between the locations right now. It's hard for me to believe that I would be underwhelmed at a place that's so popular with Japanese people. I must be missing something.

I'll wait until I've had this at a few more locations, whether in New York or in Tokyo, before I make my final decision on whether I'm a fan of Ivan Ramen. Right now, I know I really enjoyed the donburi but found the ramen to be enjoyable, but nothing spectacular.

Perhaps I need to try it in Tokyo!

Ivan Ramen Slurp Shop {menu}
Gotham West Market
600 11th Ave
New York, NY 10036

July 18, 2014 Japan

Sushi Yoshitake (Tokyo, Michelin 3 Stars) - best dish I've ever had

This the second addendum post to the Tokyo - Kyoto - Osaka series. Other posts in this series include the intro post: Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Matsugen (soba), Sushi Iwa, Ramen Honda (Tokyo Ramen Street), Ryugin, Omen (udon), Shouraian (tofu), Dotonbori in Osaka (street food), Taian (3-star Michelin), and Sushi Sho/Shou (Chef Keiji Nakazawa), Nakamura (3 star Michelin kaiseki), and Sushi Taku (2 star Michelin)

Bring bring . . .

It was close to noon and I was in my office typing furiously away at the computer. The caller ID said it was Bryan.

It's not unusual for us to chat during this odd time when he's away on a business trip in Asia. Tokyo is exactly 12 hours apart from Boston, which means he was probably about to go to bed. It's lunchtime here, so the timing actually works out pretty well.

Bryan had just gotten back from his dinner at Sushi Yoshitake, a newly-ish minted (as of 2012) three Michelin starred sushi restaurant in Tokyo. He couldn't stop raving about it.

"I just got back from dinner. It was really good. I think you'd like it. It wasn't just sushi. They had creative preparations - like what you'd see in a high-end French restaurant - for several of the dishes. They had this abalone liver dish that was amazing. It's the best dish I've ever had in my life."

Let's pause a moment here.

Did he just say the best dish in his life?!

This is the same person who's dined at some of the finest restaurants in the world, like Sukiyabashi Jiro in Tokyo, The French Laundry in Napa Valley, and Joel Robuchon in Las Vegas, not to mention countless other award-winning restaurants through his business trips and travels.

He couldn't stop talking about this abalone dish (and trust me, he usually doesn't talk a lot). It was like other-worldly, or what my friend Peter would call "transcendent." Perfection in so many different ways.

best dish ever . . .

"We really have to go back to Japan so I can take you there."

awwwww . . .

Anyway, enough about my conversation with Bryan. Let's learn more about this incredible meal of a lifetime.

Thankfully, Bryan brought his trusty little Sony point and shoot camera to this meal, so we will all be able to enjoy (at least with our eyes) this life-changing meal. To Bryan's surprise, two other diners had the exact same camera. Keep in mind this sushi restaurant only has seven seats total. I guess high end sushi eaters really like this camera for food photos?!

As he sat down he noticed that one of the couples sitting at the sushi bar was speaking English.

"Where are you guys from?" he asked.

"We are from Singapore."

"Cool. I'm from Boston."

"We know."

"You do?!"

"We recognize you from your wife's blog."

Bryan was floored and couldn't wait to share that on the phone with me. I still can't believe that - halfway around the world - somebody actually recognized Bryan from this little blog (hello kpbaby!). How crazy is that??! It was totally mind-blowing to me.

Sushi chef Masahiro Yoshitake is really friendly with foreigners, which is definitely not something you can say about everyone. He has a reasonable command of English and introduced every course in English. He made all sorts of conversation with the guests. For example, he told Bryan that the chef from Nahm in Thailand was coming to eat here the following week.

Let's start the meal! Please note that since I did not dine there, the descriptions for the dishes will be a bit sparser than general. Enjoy Bryan's photos!

The meal began with a braised turnip appetizer.

Next was tender octopus (left) and red snapper (right).

The "best dish", Steamed abalone with abalone liver sauce, came early in the tasting. It looks simple from the outside, but it's the beautiful flavors of the abalone liver sauce that elevate this dish beyond . . . well, any other dish in the entire world.

You start with a few pieces of steamed abalone and this verdant, creamy liver sauce. After you've enjoyed those two together, you are given some rice, which you use to sop up every last golden drop of this phenomenal, deeply flavorful, sauce.

To this day, Bryan still thinks about (and talks about!) this unforgettable dish.

Seared bonito came topped with freshly grated wasabi root in a scallion ginger soy sauce (left). Slow cooked oyster came topped with a flavorful gel.
Yoshitake uses two kinds of red vinegar in his sushi rice, which gives it a brown color. On the left is squid (ika) and on the right is golden eye snapper (kinmedai) nigiri.

Soy marinated bonito (skipjack tuna) sushi

Different levels of fatty tuna: Chutoro sushi at left (medium fatty tuna) and Otoro sushi at right (fatty tuna).

Four types of sushi - from left to right, top to bottom: sardine nigiri, barracuda maki, mackerel nigiri, and giant clam nigiri.

Uni from Hokkaido

Isn't that gorgeous?

Uni from Hokkaido, cooked shrimp nigiri, Sea eel (anago) nigiri, and finally for dessert, tamago (sweet egg omelet), which Bryan said had a very creamy texture, almost like a cake.

The meal ended with a simple, clean miso soup.

There's not too much else to say about this restaurant except that it's excellent and you should go if you have a chance. One thing Bryan really enjoyed about Yoshitake was how he doesn't just serve straight up plain sushi. For a few of the dishes, he incorporated interesting gels and phenomenal sauces (ahem, abalone liver anyone?).

Typically it's pretty hard to get a reservation here, but since Bryan was a solo diner, he was able to nab the seventh seat without much advance notice (maybe a week?). He made the reservation through the hotel concierge. Similar to many restaurants of this caliber, he had to fax to them a credit card number to guarantee his reservation.

Yoshitake is really friendly and can speak quite a bit of English. As I've said before, so much of the omakase experience is your interactions with the sushi chef. Many sushi chefs in Japan hardly speak a word of English, and will only take reservations in Japanese. Even if the food is amazing, you miss out on half the value of an omakase if you can't talk to the chef at all about the food you are eating.

At Yoshitake, you don't sacrifice the food or the experience.

I do hope to be able to visit some day. [update! I was able to go! Here's the post about my meal!]

If you can't make it to Japan, there's a second location in Hong Kong, renamed Sushi Shikon, which just recently got three Michelin stars.

Sushi Yoshitake (link to Japanese language site)

July 15, 2014 Michelin

A Voce Columbus (New York)

This is the third post in the Quick Spring Weekend to New York series. Other posts in this series include Le Bernardin, Lunch Tasting Menu and Boulud Sud.

It's been years since I've had a proper dinner in the Time Warner Building in New York.

It's not as if I don't visit. I go to the Time Warner Building almost every time I'm in New York. How can I resist not stopping by - even if it involves riding that escalator up three floors to Bouchon Bakery where I can pick up my favorite cookies and get some treats to take home for friends?

But a proper dinner? That's a bit challenging.

After all, there aren't that many restaurants in the Time Warner Building at Columbus Circle. The few that are there are not the types of places you visit that frequently.

Take Thomas Keller's three Michelin starred Per Se, for example, where the chef's tasting will run you $310 per person (and that's not including wine, tip, or tax). Or Masa, another three Michelin starred restaurant where the price for dinner is $450, the most expensive tasting menu in the country.

In recent years, several more accessible places have opened up inside this shopping center, including a steakhouse, a brasserie, and A Voce Columbus, the second location of a popular Italian restaurant that originally opened in Madison Square Garden.

A Voce Columbus opened in 2009 with executive chef Missy Robbins from Spiagga in Chicago at the helm. In October 2013, Filippo Gozolli, the Italian chef that opened Sirio, took over as executive chef. The restaurant boasts one Michelin Star and is located on the third floor of the Time Warner Building.

Some have compared A Voce with the likes of Babbo, Marea, and Del Posto, which are some of our favorite Italian restaurants in New York.

Because our dinners this particular New York trip were already tied up with work or family events, we were in the unusual situation where we only had lunchtime free to try new restaurants in New York.

Our first lunch was at an old favorite, Le Bernardin, which was (as always) phenomenal. Boulud Sud was a delicious lunch we had with friends. We chose A Voce Columbus for our third (and final) lunch of the trip.

The menu is available a la carte or prix fixe. Under the prix fixe option, you choose between two courses for $31 or three courses for $38. Under the a la carte option, you have all different types of choices: everything from pancakes ($13) and individual pastries ($4 each) to "Primo" pastas costing between $24-$27 and main "Secondi" dishes costing between $33 and $41.

Our meal began with a complimentary serving of focaccia and ricotta which they brought at the start of the meal. The ricotta spread came with a little olive oil, red pepper flakes, and fresh herbs. It was delicious and curbed any immediate hunger pangs I might have had.

We started with a lovely Insalata di Cavolfiore ($18), a Mediterranean salad which consisted of cauliflower, romanesco (the cauliflower cousin that looks like a fractal!), black olives, capers, whole anchovies, capers, and red pepper. The dish was well seasoned, full of a variety of flavors from the different fresh ingredients. The portion size was pretty generous.

The Uova Poche, or Truffle Poached Egg ($18), epitomized perfection on a plate and was definitely one of our favorite courses. Two barely poached eggs sat ever-so-delicately on top of crispy grilled bread. Each egg was decorated with a generous shaving of black truffles and sprinkling of baby celery leaves. At the base was a beautiful, velvety, oh-so-decadent truffle mashed potato made with fontina fonduta (an Italian cheese). It totally reminded me of the world famous mashed potatoes from Joel Robuchon.

Since this was an Italian restaurant, we had to at least get some pasta. From the Primo part of the menu, we ordered the Paccheri ($25), thick, ziti-like tubes served in a rich Matriciana sauce made with tomatoes, guanciale, Tropea red onions, and Pecorino.

Although we thought the sauce had a nice guanciale flavor, we were a little disappointed because the pasta was just a tad underdone and the sauce was too salty for my tastes. I wished for either a deeper, richer tomato flavor or something to cut the saltiness.

We ordered Tuna Paillard ($28) from the "Secondi" portion of the menu. Paillard is a style of preparation that involves thinly slicing (and possibly pounding?) tuna steaks and searing them on just one side. With this preparation, part of the tuna stays nicely rare even though it's pretty thin.

This flattened tuna served as a base for a bright green pesto as well as refreshing toppings like fresh arugula, celery, orange, and capers. The dish felt healthy and light, which is what I wanted after a weekend of eating more than normal. I thought the dish was nice, but it did not really blow me away in terms of taste.

Dessert was a chocolate covered Tiramisu ($10) served with espresso mascarpone cream and almond gelato.

All in all, it was a nice and pleasant meal on the third floor of the Time Warner Building. The expansive views of Columbus Circle were really nice, and I loved the large windows which brought in tons of light.

As for the food, overall it was an enjoyable brunch. Although our entrees were a bit underwhelming, we really liked the rest of the meal, especially that truffle poached egg.

I think I need to return for a proper dinner in order to really experience the best that this restaurant has to offer. Thankfully, dinner prices here are a little less stratospheric than those of their upstairs neighbors.

A Voce Columbus
10 Columbus Circle
New York, NY 10019

July 10, 2014 California

La Toque (Westin Verasa Napa)

This is the seventh and final post in the Quick Weekend Getaway to Napa / Sonoma Series. Other posts in this series include: Benzinger Family Winery, Jack London State Park, Mayo Family Winery, Crisp Bake Shop, Napa Wine Train, and The Red Grape.

It had gone by way too fast.

As soon as it began, it felt like our weekend getaway to Napa/Sonoma was coming to an end. It had been a nice break - right in the middle of chilly April - to get away to somewhere a little warmer and enjoy gorgeous scenery, great wines, and tons of amazing food.

We stayed at the Westin Verasa right in the heart of the city of Napa. It was a great location. We were within walking distance of the Oxbow Public Market, downtown Napa, and the Napa Wine Train. The hotel itself was lovely, with well appointed, generously sized rooms and nice luxurious finishes.
The best part was at the first floor of the hotel, where Chef Ken Frank's award winning Michelin starred restaurant, La Toque, was located.

On our last night in Napa, after lots of driving around (in a convertible, no less!) and visiting all sorts of places, we were ready to sit down, enjoy a nice relaxing meal, and go to bed. Spending our final night at La Toque worked out perfectly. We able to just relax and enjoy a really nice dinner (and wine!) after a long day. Better yet, we didn't have to worry about driving home afterwards. We could turn in earlier, which was invaluable because we had an early flight out from San Franscisco the following morning.

Upon arrival, we were immediately handed two menus. A paper food menu and a digital wine list.

With respect to food, there are many different ways you can order.

You can get a three-course + dessert option for $74 (additional $48 for wine pairing), a four-course + dessert option for $90 (additional $62 for wine pairing), or choose from either the Chef's Table Tasting menu ($180 + $95 for wine pairing) or the more unusual Vegetable Tasting Menu ($85 + $75 for wine pairing). Sometimes, depending on the season, they have other special menus, like the Black Truffle Tasting for $200 (yummmmmm).

Though I was tempted to try the Vegetable Tasting menu, Bryan and I both ended up opting for the Chef's Table Tasting Menu, partly because a few of the courses just looked too good to pass up!

Their drink menu comes in the form of an iPad because there is just so much content. La Toque has been named one of the "Best Restaurants in America" by The Wine Spectator, and they boast a pretty impressive wine list (though prices aren't cheap!).

We had already brought our own wine, a 2011 Alpha Omega Chardonnay and a 2009 Benziger Tribute, from our winery visits earlier in the day. The general manager expressed a bit of regret that we had brought our own wine, since he really felt that their wine pairing program is one of their strongest features.

Our wines worked fine with our meal, but there will always be a part of me that wonders what it would have been like to try their pairing.

Maybe next time!

Anyway, onto the tasting meal . . .

We began with an amuse of Sunchoke Soup with browned butter and hazelnuts. The soup was very velvety, thick, and exceptionally smooth with lots of deep, mushroomy umami. It paired beautifully with our Chardonnay.

The next coures was Rosti Potato topped with creme fraiche and Israeli Russian Osetra caviar. The mini potato cake was fried with just the right amount of crisp. It served as the perfect bed for the creamy creme fraiche and the salty, flavorful caviar.

The next course was a Dutch White Asparagus steamed with Maltaise sauce. Maltaise Sauce is a variation of Hollandaise Sauce which incorporates blood orange juice and zest. This one was mild and creamy - subtle without too much salt. The white asparagus was beautifully crisp and fresh. I found this dish to be nice but it did not blow me away.

The next course, Abalone was phenomenal. I loved how the edges of the abalone were pan seared just enough until they were crispy. The fresh snap peas provided a nice crunch while the ham broth (made from Missouri ham) was incredibly deep, rich, and flavorful, with lots of umami. The entire dish was perfect - a beautiful pairing of textures and flavors.

"The abalone was probably one of my favorite dishes" Bryan remarked at the end of the night.

The next course was a Soy Braised Skrei, a sustainable variety of cod from Norway that only appears a few months of the year (usually January to April). Only the leanest and highest quality fish can be labeled Skrei, which is considered a special delicacy in Norway. We thought this tender fish was delicious, especially paired with the soy marinated Battera kombu (pickled kelp) and the crunchy, fresh mung bean sprouts.

The next course, Guinea Hen Fowl Ballotine, was excellent. The ballotine of meat was very tender and well-seasoned. We loved the gorgeous flavors from earthy morel mushrooms and the creamy, balanced sauce.

The tasting came with three tiny (but very rich) slices of A4 Kagoshima Prefecture Wagyu beef, which was excellent. The beef was served with charred ramp, a Tokyo turnip, and fancy onion ring. A4 grade beef is the second highest grade of Wagyu (A5 is the highest). To learn more about Japan's much more rigorous and precise meat grading system, check out my post from Le Cirque, where I got to taste A5 Wagyu beef.

I had asked to replace the beef course with something else (don't ask - I explain below), and they gave me the Mushroom Pot Pie. We were both surprised at how rich and full of umami a vegetarian dish could be. It really tasted like beef stew. I was pretty stuffed at this point, but Bryan loved it and finished it for me (after eating his beef!).

We had a lovely cheese plate which consisted of two cheeses. One was from Cowgirl Creamery (which is local), while the other was an Eppoise from France (one of my favorites!). Both cheeses were fantastic and went really well with the accompaniments. Bryan especially liked the nut/date bread that came with this course.

Our palate cleanser dessert was a lovely lemongrass kaffir lime sherbet. It was very refreshing, with just the right amount of creaminess.
Finally, dessert was a Creamy Chocolate Gianduja Nut Bar. Gianduja is a chocolate hazelnut paste spread that originated from the Piedmont region of Italy.

Though I personally found the dessert to be just a tad too sweet and rich for me, I did think it had a lovely, toasty nutty flavor. There seemed to be all different types of nuts in the bar, including peanuts, pistachios, and hazelnuts (and yes, that's real gold on top!).

We had a fantastic time at La Toque. The service was excellent, the sommelier was really knowledgeable, and we were really impressed with Chef Ken Frank's dishes. Overall the food was very good, with a few courses that really stood out. In retrospect, I regret trying to change the tasting menu by switching out the last course. I was trying to make my meal lighter and healthier, which backfired because a whole bowl of mushroom stew is much more filling than two slices of delectable Wagyu beef.

Lesson learned: don't mess with the chef's perfectly designed menu if you don't have any dietary restrictions.

It was a pretty quiet night, perhaps due to the fact that it was off-season and a Sunday evening. I'm sure it gets busy at times, but because it's a much larger restaurant, it's likely that you'll have better luck scoring a reservation here last minute than many of the other Michelin starred restaurants in Napa Valley.

All in all, the experience was great and the Michelin Star is definitely well deserved.

Disclaimer: This trip was set up for me by the Sonoma Valley Visitor's Bureau. Bryan and I did not pay for the dinner. We also got a discount on our rates at the Westin Verasa. We did pay for the wine and gratuity. All opinions are my own.

La Toque
1314 McKinstry St
Napa, CA 94559

July 8, 2014 Cambridge

The Sinclair (Harvard Square)

Hello Summer!It's taken long enough, but summer is finally here (in Boston, June can be hit or miss when it comes to "summer-like" weather). Despite the crazy thunderstorms (Thanks Hurricane Arthur) that we dealt with on the 3rd and 4th of July, the rest of this past weekend was gorgeous - tons of opportunities to seek outdoor patios in which to enjoy a summer meal.I love sunshine, and eating outside is one of my favorite things to do in warm weather. In past summers, we would often visit the Monday Club in Harvard Square (the "downstairs" of Upstairs on the Square), one of our favorite outdoor dining spaces. Sadly, both Upstairs on the Square and the Monday Club closed at the end of 2013.

This season, I have dined at a few outdoor spots in Harvard Square. We ate at the new(ish) patio at Rialto not too long ago, which was lovely, as well as the large outdoor patio at Legal Sea Foods in Harvard Square (a great place to get a nice bottle of wine for a ridiculously good price!).

More recently, I discovered a new, lovely rooftop patio right in the heart of Harvard Square.

It's at The Sinclair, a concert venue and a restaurant + bar that opened with the help of consulting chef Michael Schlow and then-executive chef Marcellus Coleman (winner of Chopped).

Recently, Marcellus Coleman left and sous chef Matt Cunningham took over as the new Executive Chef. Chef Cunningham previously worked at Upstairs on the Square and Strip-T's, and brings to the new menu his own globally inspired creative touches.

I joined a small group of food writers a couple weeks ago to enjoy a special tasting menu that showcased some of Chef Cunningham's creative talents. Many of these dishes are ideas that are percolating in his head that he is considering for the menu. Others incorporate items that are already on the menu. There is at least one course which he definitely plans to add to the menu very, very soon (if not already).

These dishes were paired with a number of cocktails from the regular bar menu.

In short, it was an excellent meal and I was very impressed with Chef Cunningham's creativity. I do hope he continues to incorporates his fun and (sometimes) edgy ideas into the regular menu.

Here's a look at the interesting dishes we tried!

We started with a trio of "snacks" which were paired with a cocktail called Skylark, a drink that consists of Damrak gin, agave nectar, Becherovka, Dimmi, and lemon. The first "snack" was a Chicken Wing marinated in fermented soybean and served with cilantro. The flavors were intense, deep, and really rich. I loved these wings, and thought that it was a fun yet unusual and creative twist on a typical chicken wing.

The next part of the trio was the Half Cooked Egg, a creamy-yolk egg served with a dash of Chef Cunningham's own house-aged one year herb vinegar and topped with toasted oats. This was a delightful bite as well.

Finally, we ended with a crostini made of soldier bread topped with a generous spread of marrow butter and house-pickled pepperoni, "bread and butter" style (like the pickles?). The pickled pepperoni was a bit sour (as you would expect) but worked well to offset the richness of the marrow. They came together well as a complete bite.

The Pickled Pepperoni is offered as a snack on the current menu for $4 (though possibly without the bread and bone marrow spread).

The first course was a "salad" of Charred Romaine, which was served with pickled grapes, toasted hazelnut milk, and radish. I was surprised, but the hazelnut milk "dressing" really made the dish. I loved the flavors of the creamy milk and how it brought together all these raw, crunchy vegetables. The grapes added a hint of sweetness.

The pairing was also fun. We enjoyed this with the Hair and the Hound, a bright orange cocktail made with Brokers Gin, carrot syrup, Aperol, Luxardo Originale, and orange oil.

The second course was the Grilled Head-on Shrimp served with salted egg yolk, Bottarga, and Thai basil. Bottarga is a delicacy that consists of pressed, dried eggs from either tuna or gray mullet. It's intensely flavorful, salty, and rich. Together with the salted egg yolk, it added a ton of flavor to the shrimp.

We enjoyed this with a cocktail called Greenhorn, which is made with Mezcal Vida, Sheep Dip blended Scotch, Benedictine, Cyanar, and bitter sumac.

At this point the sun was just starting to set, and we had great views of the sunset while sitting outside on the balcony.

Our next course was a Sirloin Steak served alongside aged corn relish, charred kombu butter, and greens. Though I personally found the aged corn relish to be a bit too salty for my tastes, most people at the table loved it, pointing out the intense flavors that came from the aging. The steak was fine - cooked a nice medium rare and topped with the Asian-inspired charred kombu (seaweed) butter.

We enjoyed this final main course with a cocktail called Redhook, which is made with Old Overholt Rye, Punt E Mes, maraschino and a lemon twist.

The Buttermilk Pudding, topped with Trident strawberry, smoked honey, and pretzel, was easily my favorite course of the entire meal. The flavors, especially the unique smoked honey, blew me away.

The buttermilk pudding itself was creamy and divine. I love the contrast between the salty and crunchy pretzels, intensely smoked honey (so fragrant!), and freeze-dried strawberries.

I was thrilled to hear from the chef that this would soon be a regular offering on the menu. I seriously still think about this dessert, and can't wait to go back and try it again.

The evening was over. After seven courses and five cocktails, I was stuffed.

As a funny twist, after the dinner I had planned to meet a couple friends for drinks in Harvard Square. One of my friends really wanted to sit outside because it was such a nice night. She also wanted creative cocktails and a nice environment in which to hang out.

After much brainstorming, we actually decided to come back to The Sinclair, (again!). It just seemed to fit my friend's wishes perfectly.

One friend had not eaten dinner yet, so she ordered the Southern Ramen ($15) off of the regular menu. A play on traditional Japanese ramen, this version incorporates brisket, Tasso ham, jalapeno sofrito, and buttered collard greens.

Both my friends gave it a big thumbs up. They told me the broth was rich, flavorful, and very satisfying. The meat was tender and the noodles had good texture. I was so full from the first dinner that, unfortunately, I had no room to even fit one bite (though it did look very tasty!).

My friends also shared the Duck & Waffles ($11), which consists of a deep fried and breaded confit duck "ball", a simple kale salad, and a buttermilk waffle. The duck was very moist and flavorful, and went well with the crispy syrup-filled waffle. It's great for those who love sweet + salty dishes. My one friend, who consistently says she's usually disappointed by duck dishes outside of Peking duck (she finds them all too dry), was pleasantly surprised at how juicy and flavorful this dish was.

It was really fun sitting out on the patio at night. We enjoyed a couple creative cocktails, munched on snacks, and chatted for a couple hours. There are tiny lights that make the ambiance warm and cozy. The service was excellent, and we had a great girls-night-out.

General Thoughts
I know that my (first) meal is not exactly reflective of the restaurant's current offerings. Instead, it is more reflective of Executive Chef Matt Cunningham's creative abilities. I am excited at what Chef Cunningham can and continues to do. I look forward in anticipation as he intro duces more and more of his creative, globally inspired dishes onto the menu.

He did hint that the Buttermilk Pudding (my favorite!) would be appearing on the menu "very soon." He also indicated that many of these dishes would likely show up as specials here and there. Even if not, the food at the Sinclair as it stands is quite solid. Plus, it's open late (1 AM!) for those late night hunger pangs. All in all, it's great to have another patio option in Harvard Square with solid food and great ambiance.

The Sinclair
52 Church St
Cambridge, MA 02138

Disclaimer - The Sinclair paid for this meal. All opinions are my own.

July 4, 2014 Cambridge

Area Four {Snapshot}

This is a {Snapshot} of Area Four, a Cambridge restaurant that I first wrote about in 2012.

It may be surprising to those who know me that a pizza restaurant would be one of my favorite places in Cambridge. After all, isn't pizza associated with unhealthy things like carb-filled crusts, high fat gooey cheeses, and very little vegetables?

Perhaps.

Interestingly, what drew me most to Area Four (initially) was actually not their pizzas (even though they are also great). It was their salads.

I love Area Four's salads.

City Grower's Mixed Greens
They are chock full of of farm fresh vegetables, perfectly dressed, and just taste really good and healthy. Everything from their simple Shaved Brussels sprouts salad in the winter to their current summer "City Grower's Mixed Greens" is thoughtfully designed and well executed. The menu changes constantly, reflecting the seasons.

I guess it's no surprise, considering that chef-owner Michael Leviton is a huge proponent of local and sustainable produce. In fact, he was recently appointed the chair of Chefs Collaborative, a national nonprofit network of chefs committed to local foods and fostering a sustainable food supply.

A few weeks ago Area Four invited me to come and try their new summer menu. They recently revamped their menu to make it a bit simpler and more focused. The menu now just consists of two sections: "Pizza" and "Not Pizza".

"Not Pizza" includes their excellent salads as well as appetizers (e.g., mac & cheese or Thai squid salad) and even a roasted half chicken ($20). For the first time I tried their "Garlic Knots", soft, focaccia-like bread literally tied into knots and baked. These cheese dusted pillows were delicious, and all too dangerously addictive.

"Pizza", of course, refers to the different types of pizzas available. Although there are some longstanding favorites that will always remain on the menu (like the Sausage and Banana Pepper or the Clam and Bacon pizza), there are always seasonal offerings as well.

Their wood-fired pizza is excellent and one of my favorites in the city (along with Emma's, my other favorite in Cambridge). Chef Mike Leviton (of Lumiere) and co-founder Michael Krupp did a ton of research before settling on this crust which is super thin like a New Haven style pizza but has the puffy edge like the classic Neapolitan-style pizza. The crust is actually a sourdough crust, made from a 12 year old starter which is fermented for three days. The sourdough crust is a bit chewier than New Haven style and is pretty mild in flavor (not too sour at all).

I love the seasonal, farm fresh focus, like this fun spring-themed pizza, which included a green pesto, fresh arugula, pickled red onions, and lots of English peas. It's like having one of their delicious salads right on top of the pizza.

They have a pretty decent beer selection, including many local craft beers. One of my favorites: Night Shift Brewing Company's (located in Everett, MA!) Viva Habanera, a ryle ale brewed with aged habanero peppers.

Desserts are simple but good. They make their own soft serve, and serve it with a bunch of different fun toppings. You can also order excellent coffee from the attached bakery cafe, made with beans from Barrington Roasters (one of my favorites!). I like to order to cortado every time I go as a way to finish off my meal.
Area Four is often my go-to place to visit with friends for a number of reasons.

1) The food is great and can be quite healthy (depending on what you order)
2) It's fun to try more pizzas with a group
3) The prices are reasonable
4) There's parking (if not on the street there is a lot nearby) and
5) I love being able to pick up a fantastic espresso-based drink on my way out the restaurant

Area Four recently opened its second location, called A4 Pizza, in Union Square in Somerville as well as a food truck. The Somerville location is where some of the newest recipe ideas are first tested before they are rolled out in the Cambridge location. So if you want to try their more experimental pizzas, definitely check out the Somerville location!

I've yet to visit either one since the Cambridge one is so convenient for me, but hopefully someday if I'm in Somerville I'll stop by.

Area Four
500 Technology Square
Cambridge, MA 02139

Disclaimer: this meal was paid for by Area Four. All opinions are my own.

July 1, 2014 Canada

Happy Canada Day! My recent trip to the Canadian Rockies

Jen and Domo on top of the Athabasca Glacier at Columbia Ice Fields, the largest ice field south of Alaska

Happy Canada Day!Sorry for the silence lately! I just came back from an unforgettable week-long trip to the Canadian Rockies.Summer is a beautiful time to visit this area northwest of Calgary, where the days are super long (the sky didn't get dark until after 11PM!) and the weather is just a tad cooler. We visited Banff National Park, The Columbia Ice Fields, and Jasper National Park. The scenery is breathtaking, the hiking trails are great, and the neighboring towns are friendly, walkable, and actually have pretty good food!Here's a little preview of various places we visited. It's by no means comprehensive, but gives you an idea of how beautiful the area is. I'm considering writing a few posts about my favorite places to visit at the parks. It wouldn't be food related, but more directed towards some of my favorite trails to hike. Let me know if you'd be interested in seeing these types of posts!Of course, this being a food blog, I will also summarize some of our favorite eats in Banff and Jasper. I wasn't sure what food would be like near national parks, but I was pleasantly surprised.

Onto some stunning Canadian scenery . . .

The city of Banff is a natural starting point from which to explore Banff National Park. It's a cute mountainside town filled with restaurants, sports/adventure shops, and vacation lodging. Banff is right at the foot of several mountains, a river, and waterfalls, so you can actually do quite a bit of hiking without even getting into a car if you stay in Banff (which is what we did). In fact, Bryan's sister, who's a marathoner, would get up every morning at 5AM to run up and down Tunnel Mountain for her training runs (before a whole day of hiking with the family!).

Johnston Canyon is a mere 30 minute drive from Banff and is a gorgeous hike. These super tall tree-topped rock formations reminds me of the mystical mountains in the movie Avatar.

This canyon is narrow because, unlike the wide glacier carved canyons, it started with tree roots cracking the stone just enough so that water could get through. The water has been carving this canyon for ages, resulting in these beautiful, tall formations.

Lake Louise, which is about an hour from Banff, is one of the most famous sites in the Canadian Rockies, and for good reason. The stunning, aquamarine lake is surrounded by glacial mountains. The views are stunning.

My favorite part of Lake Louise, however, involved getting away from the packed, tourist-filled areas and hiking the Plain of Six Glaciers trail. This 8-mile hike is filled with soaring, panoramic views of the mountains and glaciers.

Sometimes the path is slightly treacherous . . .

. . . but the views, (see Lake Louise in the background) are so worth it - even during a rainstorm!

Definitely one of my favorite hikes this trip.

Oh - I forgot to mention the best part!

There's a tea house at the top of the mountain about half way through the hike. It's such a reward after hiking for 4 miles to come upon a tea house where you can order hot soup (made with a propane gas range!), sandwiches made with freshly baked bread, and hot tea.

Another very famous lake in Banff is Lake Moraine, which also has the surreal and seemingly unreal turquoise colored lake.

Finally, Peyto Lake has got to be the most intensely colored lake I saw this trip. It's the type of lake that looks almost fake when you first look at it - it's so turquoise! I heard multiple people gasp as they first set their eyes upon this view.

It's unreal.

After 3 days in Banff, we drove along the Ice Fields Parkway, a 144-mile stretch between Banff and Jasper that has been hailed by many as the most beautiful highway in the world, filled with endless panoramas of all different types of mountains.

Halfway through our journey we stopped at the Columbia Ice Fields, the largest ice field south of Alaska. Here we visited The Athabasca Glacier, where the glacial water is so clean you can just drink it straight from the glacial "rivers."

Across the way from the actual glacier, we hiked another trial, the Wilcox Pass, which turned out to be another one of my favorite trails.

We were short on time at this point, so we weren't able to finish the entire 4 km trail. However, even the views from the first 1-2 km were magnificent.

After a short but steep climb, you can look across and get a really good view of the huge Athabasca Glacier. It's hard to tell from the photo, but this glacier is actually almost 4 miles long and up to 1000 feet thick. Sadly, it has been shrinking about 15 feet a year, and has receded close to a mile in the past 125 years. Some say it may disappear within our lifetime.

We stayed in the town of Jasper for three days. The weather changed so quickly (lots of fast moving clouds!) that I saw some of the most incredible rainbows I'd ever seen.

We found Jasper National Park to be less crowded, less touristy, and more remote. We saw much more interesting wildlife in Jasper than in Banff. Here are some mountain goats hanging out by the lake (and checking out the Camry in front of us, ha ha).

A marmot on a hike at Mount Edith Cavell (yet another stunning hike with phenomenal views of Angel glacier).

Here's a side view of Angel Glacier from the Mount Edith Cavell trail.
Another critter we saw on the same hike. I'm not sure what this animal is. Does anyone have a guess?

Maligne Lake in Jasper was touted as a "must-see", and you can see why. It took a 45-minute boat ride to reach Spirit Island (we didn't have time to kayak there, which would have been more fun, less touristy, and less expensive), but the views are still so worth it.

There are tons of pretty waterfalls all around the parks. This one, called Suwapta Falls, is a bit more unusual because of the little tree-filled island at the top of the falls.

I love the Canadian Rockies. I really do.

I would come back in heartbeat. There are so many more trails I want to hike, mountains I want to climb, and rivers/lakes I wanted to explore. I met people who chose to move there to work, just so they can explore this magical place during their time off.

I can totally see why.

Now with travel out of the way, hopefully I can get back to more regularly blogging again. I can't believe June is already over! It seems like just yesterday I was cranking out those 31 posts in 31 days.

I don't have any major trips planned for the next several months, so hopefully I'll be able to write more often!

Happy Canada Day!

June 24, 2014 Cambridge

Dumpling House (Cambridge) - a first look

"No way" I said when I heard the news.

It just couldn't be true. It seemed so ironic, so utterly unfair, yet still so exciting at the same time.

"I can't believe that they are opening a second location of Gourmet Dumpling House right underneath our old condo!"

Yes, my friends. Imagine how I felt when I found out that one of the most popular restaurants in Chinatown - the one that always has a huge crowd outside the door - was opening a second location (called Dumpling House) in Cambridge right on the first floor of my condo - two years after I had moved out.

"We should have never moved" piped Bryan, who still misses the full-service concierge building and all its conveniences (he hates house stuff).

Part of me almost agreed (heh, but not really. I do love my new house).

Though I was bummed we never overlapped with the dumpling house (which would have been pretty awesome), I was still excited that Cambridge was getting the second outpost of a very popular and tasty dumpling restaurant in Chinatown.

We stopped by on a Saturday for lunch. The dining area is much more spacious than the one in Chinatown and overall the space feels bright, airy, and clean.

Of course we had to order the specialty, the soup dumplings (xiao long baos). These tasted similar to the ones in Chinatown, which I think are decent, though they are not my favorite soup dumplings in Boston. One of Bryan's broke when he picked it up, which is always sad because you lose the soup.

Beef with Okra is a classic dish we liked to get at the other location, and this one was similar and pretty enjoyable.

The Sliced Fish, Szechuan Style, looks more spicy than it tastes. It's a flavorful and enjoyable dish, though I was wishing for more Sichuan peppercorn flavor. The guests at the table thought it was pretty good and one of the best dishes at the table.

The Taiwanese Style Sauteed Rice Cake with seafood and vegetables was disappointing. Granted, the dish is not very expensive, which might explain why the seafood inside was not of the highest quality (tiny shrimp, a few pieces of calamari, imitation crab meat). The flavors were so-so, and I probably wouldn't order this again.

The stir fried spinach with garlic was good - cooked just right and seasoned perfectly.

General First Impressions
Overall, the food was solid. Everyone at the table agreed that, at this point, the quality of execution is not quite up to par as the Chinatown location. There's hope, though. I realize that the restaurant just opened and they are still working out kinks. With time, I hope they are able to execute at the same level as their Chinatown sister.

Thankfully, there were several solid dishes, and even at its current state, it's still one of the better Chinese restaurants in Cambridge. Frankly, there really isn't any other Sichuan / dumpling restaurant in Cambridge, so it's really, really nice to have that option so close by. I'm confident I'll be coming back here, especially since it's so close to my home.

Of course, nothing beats having it in my building, but I'll take having a dumpling house 1-mile away.

June 18, 2014 California

The Red Grape (Sonoma)

This is the sixth post in the Quick Weekend Getaway to Napa / Sonoma Series. Other posts in this series include: Benzinger Family Winery, Jack London State Park, Mayo Family Winery, Crisp Bake Shop, and Napa Wine Train.

I often wonder what it's like to actually live in Napa or Sonoma Valley all year round. You're surrounded by some of the best restaurants in the world. There's tons of gorgeous produce around. And the access to wine . . .

But then I realize that living there like a tourist is very different from living there like a local.

I doubt the locals line up at Bouchon Bakery every morning. And who has the time (or money?) to eat at The French Laundry or Etoile every day for dinner?

At the end of the day, I bet life in wine country is not that different from (dare I say it) life in many other cities in America. Most people cook sometimes, dine out at their favorite local spots, and occasionally treat themselves to special meals.

The Red Grape is one of those places that locals frequent.

Situated right in Sonoma Square, the Red Grape is a neighborhood restaurant that focuses on thin crust pizza but also offers salads, sandwiches, grilled meats, and pastas. Owners Sam and Carol Morphy, obssessed with New Haven style pizza, moved to Connecticut for a year to research this pizza and its elusive thin crust. After a productive year in the East Coast, they moved back to Sonoma to open up the Red Grape ten years ago.

This place is conveniently located, reasonably priced, and serves good food. It's kid-friendly, pet-friendly, and gluten-free friendly. It's locally focused: a lot of their ingredients are sourced from local businesses. The wine list consists mostly of California wines, with an emphasis on Sonoma. In general, the owners invest a lot in the community.

Bryan and I came here for dinner our second night in Sonoma after a long lunch on the Napa Wine Train and some stops at some local wineries in the afternoon.

The moment you enter you see the huge brick ovens in the restaurant. This is common in east coast pizzerias and is definitely a sign of a place that's serious about pizza.

Pies are made to order right in the front of the restaurant at an open kitchen. It's kind of fun to watch.

Check out how thin the crust is!

Because it was just the two of us it was hard for us to try that many pizzas. We got half and half:

On one side was the Traditional Margherita Pizza which was topped with house stretched mozzarella, fresh basil, and Parmesan. ($14.25). On the other side was The Works, which had their housemade sweet fennel sausage, pepperoni from Zoe's ( (a local meat company from Petaluma), applewood smoked bacon, roasted peppers, sweet red onion and garlic, and aged Parmesan. ($15.25)

Both pizzas were solid. The crust was definitely super thin (almost like a cracker!) and the bottom had just a slight bit of char (less than what I usually see, but there's a tiny bit). The thin crust makes the pizza much lighter, which I like. I found one of the pizzas (the Works, I think), to be a bit saltier than my preference. Other than that, the flavor of the toppings was pretty tasty.

Overall, their pizzas are not quite at the level of my favorite pizzas on the east coast, but they're definitely good. In fact, the Red Grape says on its website that it was voted best pizza in Sonoma by Sonoma Valley residents.

Surprisingly, one of my favorites actually turned out to be their Truffled Onion Rings ($9.95), which were phenomenal. Beer battered and thick cut, these onion rings were served with Parmesan, truffle oil, and crispy sage with a side of paprika tartar sauce.

These onion rings were super crunchy and had a lovely, aromatic truffle oil and sage aroma. The Parmesan added the right amount of saltiness to the crispy batter. We ordered this meaning to try just a taste, but we ended up polishing the whole thing off.
All pasta dishes are made with fresh pasta from Joe Wade of Wine Country Pasta in Sonoma. We loved this dish, which came with generous amounts of shrimp and crab cooked in white wine, garlic, and oil. The deep, rich seafood flavors in the sauce were fantastic and the pasta was perfectly cooked. Overall, it was an excellent dish. In fact, we liked it better than the pizzas.
Our dessert was simple - just a single scoop of gelato each. Simple, but it hit the spot.

We felt like a local that night as we enjoyed our East Coast style pizza, to-die-for onion rings, and excellent pasta. The place was packed with all sorts of people from around town. I saw at least one dog roaming around, and I saw lots of kids.

Overall, the food here is very good. We loved our onion rings and really enjoyed the crab pasta. The pizzas are solid, and if I weren't from the East Coast, I probably would say they were the best thin crust pizza around. It's fun that they have a Sonoma twist on the pizzas, sourcing the toppings from various local purveyors.

The Red Grape Sonoma
529 1st St
W Sonoma, CA 95476

Disclaimer: This trip was set up for me by the Sonoma Valley Visitor's Bureau. Bryan and I did not pay for the dinner. All opinions are my own.

June 16, 2014 Boston

Fried Clams, Lobster Rolls, and Local Breweries in the North Shore

There's nothing that defines New England summers more than fried clams, lobster rolls, and fresh, cold local beer.

In Boston, we're blessed with this type of food up and down the coast. Most people think of Cape Cod when summer comes around, and the traffic down to the "Cape" during summer weekends is notoriously brutal.

There's another slightly quieter cape that's just as charming, has plenty of delicious seafood, and is definitely less stressful to get to than Cape Cod.

This is Cape Ann, a much tinier cape just 45 minutes north of Boston that includes the towns of Rockport, Gloucester, Essex, and Ipswich.

Last week I had a chance to visit a number of highlights in Cape Ann as part of a tour organized by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism. It was a fun food (and beer!) focused exploration of what the region has to offer.

Stop #1: Ipswich Brewing Company, Ipswich

Ipswich Brewing Company is located right in the heart of Ipswich. In fact, I took the commuter rail from Boston to Ipswich ($8, about 53 minutes) and was able to walk to the brewery in 5 minutes.

The company just recently moved into this new building in December 2013. What I found most interesting about Ipswich Ale is that it not only makes its own line of beers, it also makes beer for other companies.

It's a contract brewery.

Founder and president Rob Martin explained to us how it worked. Basically, Ipswich Brewing Company offers various of levels of contract brewing services. On the most basic, hands-off level, a beermaker can just come in, rent the equipment, and do everything himself.

On the other extreme, a brand could come to Ipswich Brewing Company and ask them to create a beer for the brand. The brand would market and sell the product but would let Ipswich Brewing Company take care of the beer making.

And then there's also everything in between. They can consult as much or as little as you need.

While we were at the brewery, we had a chance to try a variety of beers from Clown Shoes Beer, a small local company that makes all of its beer at Ipswich Brewing Company. My favorite from the tasting? An IPA called Galactica.

The tour was educational and fun. In the back of my mind I kept wondering, wouldn't it be fun to partner with them to make a beer for Tiny Urban Kitchen? Ha ha . . . just kidding.

The brewery is not open to the public for tours right now, but they are in the process of building a restaurant in the space. Soon, guests can come and enjoy great food while sampling lots of beers on draft, including experimental brews!

Stop #2: J. T. Farnham's Famous Fried Clams, Essex
Our next stop was in the town of Essex. Essex is home to several famous fried clam shops. During the first part of the tour (which, unfortunately I missed because I had to work), the group stopped at Woodman's of Essex. A couple hours later, we stopped at J.T. Farnham's.

One very unique thing about J.T. Farnham's is its location. It's situated right on the edge of a salt marsh, which means you can sit on these wooden benches and stare out at this beautiful view.

It's relaxing and so pretty.

Inside, the set up is pretty simple. Order your fried clams (and onion rings, fries, and the like) and then wait.

We came on a weekday during what's still considered "off season" (yes, June is still not completely peak season yet), so it wasn't very crowded at all. I'm not sure what it's likely normally, but I'm guessing there can be huge crowds and lines.

We tried some fried full belly clams, clam strips, onions rings, and seafood chowder.

Unfortunately, red tide had just recently closed the North Shore clam beds, so it's likely these clams came from another area (maybe Maine?) that doesn't have red tide.

I really liked the way these clams were fried. The breading was nice and crunchy while not greasy at all. I was starving by the time we got here at 2PM (I hadn't eaten all day), and thus I happily chowed down many clam strips and bellies. Some people on the tour said they liked the fried clams at J.T. Farnham's better, while at least one favored Woodman's.

Though I really enjoyed the clam strips, I did not love the flavor of the clam bellies, which were not super sweet and tasted a bit "offal-y". It's was really different in flavor compared to the super sweet cherrystone raw clams I had enjoyed a week earlier at a clam shucker in Boston's Haymarket.

The seafood chowder was generously filled with scallops, lobster, and shrimp. It was simple, though the soup itself was not particularly exciting.

Still, you can't beat the view!

Stop #3: Cape Ann Brewery, Gloucester

Cape Ann Brewing Company is a family-owned brewing company located in Gloucester. They hold tours and tastings at this location.
In fact, there is a full service restaurant where you can try various flights of their beers.

We met owner Jeremy Goldberg, who shared with us about how he started beer making. He had been working on Wall Street in the world of finance when 9/11 happened. At the ripe young age of 28, he had a mid-life crisis, evaluated what he really wanted to do with his life, and decided to pursue his passion.

Cape Ann Brewing Company was thus founded in 2002 and has been going strong since.

Jeremy taught us a little about the difference between lagers and ales, likening lagers to a red wine (where you have to dig deeper to appreciate the nuances in the depths of flavor) and ales to a white wine (where the flavors - like bitterness and crispness - are immediate and right up top).

You can try many different types of beers at the restaurant.

We ended up trying all twelve, which was definitely fun.

Many people really liked the Sunrise Saison, which is made with rhubarb and strawberries. I'm personally not as big of a fan of fruity beers, so I only thought it was OK. I did really like the Joey Rock's Milk Stout, which was rich, caramel-y, and very smooth. I also thought the Tea Party was kind of fun. It's a barleywine made with three different styles of tea that were dumped into the harbor during the Boston Tea Party.

Stop #4: Lobster Pool, Rockport

This last stop turned out to be my favorite stop of the whole trip.

In Rockport we stopped by this quaint little Lobster Shack called Lobster Pool.

It's a family-owned restaurant. Owner Myalisa Waring runs the restaurant with the help of her five (!) kids. Unfortunately her husband, who used to be her partner in all aspects of the restaurant, passed away suddenly in 2010.

With the help and encouragement of her family and friends, she has continued to keep this restaurant running.

Here's the lobster pool right inside the restaurant.

Lobster Pool faces the ocean on the west, which means you can watch the sunset over the ocean while eating lobster rolls (unusual on the East coast!).
Everything is made from scratch and made to order. That means if you don't want any mayonnaise in your lobster roll, they won't add any.

The lobster roll was fantastic.

It's simple yet shines due to the high quality ingredients. The lobster meat was fresh, sweet, and juicy. There was hardly any mayonnaise, which is exactly the way I like it.

They also sell a lobster quesadilla, which actually was created due to a mistaken order of too-large tortillas one day.

The lobster quesadilla was born, and became so popular they made it a permanent item on the menu.

It's excellent. It's a quesadilla filled mostly with fresh chunks of lobster and a blend of three cheeses. It's relatively simple, but uses good, fresh ingredients and is executed really well
Finally, we tried their haddock fish cakes with their house made tartar sauce, which was also really good.

The restaurant is BYOB. There's also a raw bar where they serve raw clams, raw oysters, and raw lobster tails (I've never had one!).

I love the idea of sitting out here on a summer's evening, chomping on excellent seafood while watching the sunset.

Myalisa told us that sometimes the sunset is so dramatic, the crowd bursts into appreciative applause as the sun makes its final, fiery descent behind the ocean.

There are dozens of photos of the sunset throughout the restaurant and Myalisa's house.

She never tires of it.

Stop #5: Back to Boston

Cape Ann was a lovely afternoon distraction from all the stuff going on in Boston. I loved just looking out the window as we were driving between towns. It's a beautiful area, filled with quaint little houses, seafood shacks, and lots of pretty ocean views.

My little afternoon tour barely scratches the surface of this beautiful part of Massachusetts. It's definitely an area I hope to explore more this summer, especially since it's so close by!

Disclaimer: this trip was organized and paid for by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism

June 13, 2014 New York

Boulud Sud (New York)

This is the second post in the Quick Spring Weekend to New York series. Other posts in this series include Le Bernardin, Lunch Tasting Menu.

My memory of the one meal I had at Daniel Boulud's flagship restauant, Daniel, is nothing short of extraordinary.It's tricky because, I'm not a huge fan of long, drawn out French fancy dinners (despite what it might look like on this blog!). I'm naturally a restless person and sitting still for so long makes me sort of antsy. Unlike Bryan (who happily sat by himself at a fancy restaurant in London recently for a 5-hour meal), I could hardly stand dining alone for more than two hours on a recent dinner in Montreal .The timing of every single course at Daniel was flawless. Furthermore, the food was phenomenal, and the dishes were paced just right, so that I actually felt perfectly fine at the end of the meal. I felt balanced - not too stuffed at all - despite the fact I had eaten every single bite of my 10+ course tasting menu.

Ever since that meal I've had the utmost respect for Daniel Boulud and have always been curious to try some of his other restaurants. Daniel Boulud has an empire in New York, between Cafe Boulud, db Bistro Moderne, Bar Boulud, Epicerie Boulud, and Boulud Sud.I was drawn to Boulud Sud largely because it wasn't French or American (which, quite frankly, bores me sometimes). I love Mediterranean cuisine, and I liked the idea that Boulud Sud draws inspiration from the whole Mediterranean region - everything from Italy, Spain, and Greece to Turkey, Israel, and North Africa.

We came here on a late Saturday morning to have brunch with friends who lived in the Upper West Side, just a 2 minute walk from Boulud Sud's 64th street location.

I was surprised the place was pretty empty at 11AM, though it did fill up as the day went on. Maybe New Yorkers just wake up late?

The menu at Boulud Sud has a mix of brunch-like items, appetizers, entrees, and many different small plates. Sharing is encouraged, and we ended up just ordering a bunch of dishes that looked good.

One of my favorites was the Peekytoe Crab Tartine which consisted of a seaweed rye toast topped with Peekytoe crab, urchin (uni), a green olive, lemon cream, sea salt, and radish ($21). It was a beautiful combination and a lovely way to begin the meal.

Sheep's Milk Ricotta came with two types of olive tapenade along with several pieces of toast ($16). I'm a sucker for spreads of all types, so I loved mixing and matching the vibrant, salty flavors from the tapenade with the creamy sheep's milk ricotta.

The Octopus a la Plancha consisted of octopus legs grilled on a metal plate and tossed with Marcona almonds, oranges, and arugula in Jerez vinegar, a sherry vinegar from Spain ($22).

I loved the size and shape of the Pistachio French Toast ($18). It was eggy, crispy, and overall delicious. It came with touches of North African /Middle Eastern flavors, such as a pistachios, raspberry marmalade, and rose chantilly (whipped cream).

The Fire Roasted Pizza ($21) came with a huge pile of arugula and farm fresh organic eggs from Raven and Boar Farm in Chatham, New York. Perhaps it's because we have so much excellent pizza in Boston, I wasn't particularly blown away by this pizza. I mean, it was fine, but it didn't stand out.

I believe this was the Moroccan "Shaksouka" ($19) which consists of farm fresh eggs cooked in a skillet with a harissa-tomato Sauce, za’atar, and feta cheese. It was really good.

We got a side order of Patatas Bravas, which consisted of seasoned smashed baby potatoes (I'm guessing paprika, chili powder, and salt?), pan fried, and served in a tomato-based sauce topped with a creamy garlic aioli. This was tasty and definitely a bit addictive!

The Charred Broccoli Rabe ($9) side dish was unwieldy to eat. It was fine but not particularly exciting. Adding pepperoncini and crispy shallots on top was a nice touch, but overall it was less interesting than most of the other dishes. I guess that's how it goes with side dishes.

Boulud Sud is a great restaurant, and I would expect nothing less from such a world class chef. We had a lovely time tasting a variety of Mediterranean dishes while catching up in the bright and sunny dining room. The service was good, the food was enjoyable, and overall we had a great experience. I wouldn't hesitate to come back. New Yorkers are fortunate to have access to so much good dining.

But guess what?

Boston is getting some Daniel Boulud too.

Daniel Boulud is opening his first restaurant in Boston this fall. It will be a Bar Boulud, which will open in the Mandarin Hotel in September. It will be interesting to see how it fares here. After all, fellow Michelin three star chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten just closed his Boston restaurant Market this past year.

Hopefully Daniel Boulud will figure out a way to win over the hearts of Bostonians with his first restaurant here.

🙂

Boulud Sud

20 West 64th St.
New York, NY 10023

June 12, 2014 Australia/New Zealand

Bentley Restaurant & Bar (Sydney, Australia)

This is the fourth post in my Eating Down Under series. Other posts in this series include Din Tai Fung, Sydney, Three Fun Food Finds Unique to Australia, and Chef's Gallery.

For the first time in my life, I celebrated Thanksgiving in a foreign country. At least it was with family. Bryan and I were on a three-week trip to Australia and New Zealand with his mom, dad, and sister. After spending a few days in Sydney, we had flown to Cairns to visit the Great Barrier Reef (where I dove for the first time) before spending a few days in Uluru (the Outback) riding camels, hiking, and watching that huge mountain of a rock glow red during its famous sunset.

Before leaving Australia, we returned to Sydney for just one evening before catching an early morning flight to New Zealand.

That lone "stopover" night happened to be Thanksgiving.

Because it was a holiday for us, we wanted to eat somewhere nicer. We'd eaten our fair share of Chinese food and casual bites. After all the rigorous hiking and diving from the previous two locations, we were ready for nice meal.

We decided on Bentley Restaurant & Bar, a place decorated with awards - everything from "Best New Restaurant" by the Sydney Morning Herald's Good Food Guide Awards to being consistently named on Gourmet Traveller's Top 100 Australian Restaurants.

The restaurant did not disappoint and we had a fantastic Thanksgiving dinner. They made us feel like we were home, even though we were tens of thousands of miles away from home. It was an outstanding meal full of delicious, creative dishes as well as great wines. Chef Brent Savage and Sommelier Nick Hildebrandt have created a great place that offers so much to those in Sydney.

In 2013 Bentley moved from its original location at Surrey Hills to the Radisson Blu in CBD (Central Business District) in Sydney. Though the new space is bigger and grander, those who have dined there say that the restaurant has maintained its heart and its "Surrey Hills sensibilities".

Below is a photo essay from our special Thanksgiving meal. Because this meal was eaten over a year ago, it's possible these exact dishes aren't available. However, they do give you a sense of the beauty and quality of Chef Brent Savage's work.

Enjoy!

Bentley Restaurant and Bar
Radisson Blu Hotel
27 O'Connell St
Sydney, NSW 2000

June 11, 2014 Canada

Vanhorne (Montreal)

This is the second post in the Our Neighbors to the North - Celebrating Canada! series. Other posts in this series include La Porte in Montreal.

I've been to Montreal probably three times since I started working with our Canadian colleagues back in 2012. In three trips, I've managed to eat at a variety of restaurants - everything from bagels and smoked meats to fancy multi-course meals.

Virtually nothing beats the bagels and the smoked meats. However, if I were to take a look at all the more upscale restaurants I've visited (and there have been many - after all, aren't most business dinners kinda fancy?), one of my favorite dining experiences was at this tiny little market-driven restaurant called Van Horne.

Co-owners Sylvie Lachance and Urs Jakob opened Vanhorne in 2011. Within a year, the restaurant was crowned one of en Route Magazine's top 10 new restaurants in Canada, coming in 6th place. They've won the Diner's Choice Award on Opentable, consistently make the Eater 38 Essential Restaurants list, and received three out of four stars by the Montreal Gazette.

The restaurant is tiny and cozy, with only 30 seats. The food is modern and eclectic, with a focus on farm fresh ingredients. Elements on the plate appear as if they had just been foraged (and who knows, maybe they were!). Van Horne emphasizes local and seasonal ingredients, with about 30% of its produce being organic (pretty good!).

The 5-course tasting menu is $58 CAD, or you can order a la carte, with appetizers ranging from $13-$17, entrees $22-$34, and desserts $8-$9. I was with a few co-workers, and our entire table opted for the 5-course tasting.

We started out with some grilled oysters, which were served on a pretty circular "ring" of blanched scallions. These were very fresh and quite nice.

My coworker does not eat shellfish, so they gave him these gorgeous grilled artichoke hearts served with a vibrant red sauce (and some pretty pink flowers). I couldn't help but look longingly at his plate, secretly wishing I could eat one (but that would be weird at a business dinner, right?).

I love the chef's use of really rustic vegetables. Here, you can see these tiny baby turnips (with their long roots still intact!), served with crispy fried leaves and a flavorful vegetable puree.

Our seared fish course came with farm fresh carrots as well as a thin, cracker-like sheet that was made from some sort of whole grain. I loved the textural contrast, and the flavors were excellent.

Our final savory course was slow cooked beef short ribs served with spring onions, asparagus, dried lichen, sunchokes, and mushrooms. I loved the emphasis on the spring ingredients, and every single element was perfectly seasoned. Together, the dish worked really well.

I felt healthy and clean after this meal, satisfied in a good way. I really enjoyed the dishes, which were not only beautifully plated, but also well-designed and well-executed.

For dessert we had a lovely baked meringue which came with fresh strawberries and a strawberry sauce. We ended the meal with a simple but refreshing sorbet palate cleanser.

All in all I had a wonderful experience at Van Horne. Part of it came from the pleasant and cozy ambiance, warm service, and great company. Most of it, however, came from my enjoyment of the food. I really liked the emphasis on local vegetables, and I thought everything was executed really well.

Recent Changes
I dined at Van Horne in September of 2013. One day after my visit, the Montreal Gazette came out with its three star review. Though the review was positive, the author did call the cuisine "innovative verging on-over-intellectualized" and asserted that while some dishes were fabulous, others were "way out there . . . too out there?".

I'm not sure if it's a coincidence or not, but in less than a month, the chef-de-cuisine, John Winter Russell, was unexpectedly let go. Owner Sylvie Lachance said that her customers were not ready for Chef Russell's radical, "terroirist" cuisine which placed almost an obsessive emphasis on local, foraged, "no waste" ingredients. Van Horne changed directions, hiring Chef Jens Ruoff from Germany.

Sylvie Lachance calls the restaurant "simple, affordable gastronomy". They have recently instituted more hearty, less modern food such as all-you-can-eat raclette Sundays, a homage to co-owner Urs Jakob's Swiss heritage.

I wish I could recommend this place, but I actually have no idea what the food is like under Chef Jens Ruoff. So far, the restaurant has remained on the Eater 38 Essential Restaurants list as of April 2014, so it seems promising that it's still very good.

On a side note, Chef John Winter Russell appears to be in the preliminary stage of opening his own restaurant, which is very exciting as well. He's been doing a few pop-ups throughout the city. If nothing else, I would definitely be interested in seeing what he has to offer.

Montreal's such an exciting and ever-changing dining city. I'm so glad I get to go back on a semi-regular basis!

1268 Van Horne Avenue
Montreal, Quebec H2V 1K6
514.508.0828

June 9, 2014 Argentina

Casa Coupage (Closed Door Restaurant)

Ask a local food expert where to find the best dining in Buenos Aires, and you may be surprised to hear that it's not at a restaurant.

Well, not exactly.

Recently, puertas cerradas, or closed-door restaurants, have exploded in popularity in Buenos Aires. Like secret supper clubs, closed-door restaurants operate out of a person's home and often have less consistent schedules. Oftentimes, there are no menus. The experience feels more like a dinner party where you sit around a table, meet new friends, and enjoy a surprise tasting menu that the chef has prepared for you. It sort of reminds me of the pop-ups and supper clubs we have in Boston.

Other closed door restaurants feel more like traditional restaurants, with menus, servers, and separate tables.

Some estimate there are over fifty closed door restaurants in Buenos Aires, although the exact number is uncertain. After all, how do you calculate the number of something that's "underground" or "secret"? Nevertheless, word travels, and most people know where the best ones are. In fact, there are numerous lists floating around summarizing the best puertas cerradas in the city.

I had a hard time choosing between the various good ones. It was tough because I was only in Buenos Aires for a week. Many of these closed door restaurants only open a few days a week. Some of these people have day jobs and only have time to prepared a a couple elaborate meals a week. Other places only open on weekends.

I finally settled upon Casa Coupage in Palermo for a couple reasons. First, it was often named in various lists as being one of the best closed door restaurants in Buenos Aires. Second, Casa Coupage is unique because it started as a wine club before turning into a supper club. The two owners, Santiago Mymicopulo and Inés Mendieta, are both trained sommeliers and thus focus on food and wine pairings.

On Friday evening, after having spent almost a whole week in Buenos Aires, Bryan and I headed out to an unmarked door in the middle of Palermo to partake in this "closed door" experience for the first time.

It's tricky trying to find an unmarked restaurant in a foreign country. Bryan and I made the HUGE mistake of just relying on Google Maps the first time. It turns out that Casa Coupage had moved recently, and the address had not been updated in Google Maps. This means we ended up walking up to some random unmarked residential gate (complete with graffiti!) and tried knocking on the door.

It's no surprise no one answered.

I wonder whether the current resident is tired of all these strangers accidentally ringing the doorbell.

It took us a moment before we realized we were at the wrong address. Thankfully, the new location was also in Palermo, only about a 10 minute walk away.

We have never power-walked so quickly in our lives.

We arrived at another unmarked gate, which was equally uninviting (and had more random graffiti and such).

Ding dong.

*silence*

And then we heard footsteps.

"Hello! Welcome!"

We breathed a sigh of relief. Although the outside had looked every bit as suspect as the last location, we had finally arrived at the right place.

The moment we walked in, we felt like we had entered another world.

Inside, it was cozy, warm, and inviting. Though we were about ten minutes late, we were still very early by Argentinian standards. After all, we had booked the first slot, 8:30PM - their opening time.

We were still the first to arrive. We had our choice of seating between the nine tables present, which were divided up between two dining rooms.

We chose a more secluded corner in one of the rooms, right next to all the pretty wine bottles.

In the back, near the restrooms, there was a beautiful semi-outdoor patio-like area where they were growing all sorts of different plants (maybe even some herbs?) in hanging pots.

It was so pretty.

I felt immediately relaxed after our harrowing adventure finding the restaurant.

Soon after, we met Santiago Mymicopulo, one of the owners and sommeliers of the restaurant. His English was excellent, and he began talking to us about the menu and the wines.

You can choose between an 8-course tasting menu or order a la carte. Wine pairings are available and you pay according to the number of different glasses you want. I think I went with the 3-glass pairing, while Bryan went all out and got the 7-glass pairing.

Their pours are very generous (I'm talking almost a full pour per glass), so take that into account when deciding!

We went for the 8-course tasting menu, which at 450 Pesos is still very, very reasonable by U.S. standards ($56 USD official exchange rate; $37.50 USD "blue market" rate).

Casa Coupage's goal is to showcase Argentinian wines. We started with some Alta Vista Premium extra brut sparkling chardonnay from Mendoza. We enjoyed this with a tiny amuse bouche which consisted of rabbit escabeche and a plantain chip. I really enjoyed this bite. The tender rabbit, which had been marinated and slow cooked in a vinegar and oil mixture, had the texture of pulled pork. Unfortunately, I think I totally forgot to take a photo of this bite!

Our next wine was a 2013 Colome vino blanco de Gran Altura Torrontés from Salta. Torrontés is a white grape that is beautifully floral and aromatic. The best ones come from the region of Salta in Argentina, which is one of the highest elevation grape-growing regions in the world.
This was paired with a sponge cake-wrapped crab salad which was served with a slice of fresh palm heart (yum!), olive and avocado cream, red pepper, and quail egg.

We found the food and wine to be an excellent pairing. The Torrontés brought out the sweetness of the crepe and the crab. Santiago also had us pair the dish with a chardonnay just to experience the difference. The chardonnay became saltier when paired, which was quite interesting.

Both were excellent pairings.

We (meaning just Bryan) then moved into a trio of reds: a 2010 Primogenito pinot noir from Patagonia; a 2012 Calamaco Malbec from Mendoza, and a 2008 Alta Vista Terrior Collection malbec from Mendoza.

You can see how generous the pours are!
Our next course was a puff pastry filled with pork liver mousse and served with a tomato watermelon gelee, sprouts, and pickled cucumbers. It's a bit hard to tell from the photo, but we were surprised at the portion size, which was pretty big. The overall dish worked well, with the fruity water melon gelee nicely complementing the liver mousse filling.

We then had a trio of steak nigiris served with a side of "soy sauce" made from Argentina soy beans and a meat jus. The steak was topped with chimichurri sauce and volcanic salt. The soy sauce had a nice savory umami from the jus and the dish paired pretty well with the red wines. The rice texture was mushier than what we'd typically see from top sushi places in Japan, but perhaps I'm being a bit harsh with such exacting rice standards.
Our next course was a deep fried halibut served with a mayo and seaweed sauce and topped with a cilantro and ginger foam. This was served alongside grilled octopus and pan fried vegetables (zucchini, green pepper, green bean, baby carrot, baby corn, and mushroom), on top of homemade ketchup.

I loved the vegetables, especially the mushroom, which soaked up the flavors of the balsamic-based sauce beautifully. The mayonnaise sauce had a nice umami, and the fish was tasty as well.
Our final savory course was the steak which was served with a blood sauce, garlic sauce (like an aoli), a potato galette, salsa, and a few greens. We found the steak to be a bit disappointing. It was a tad tough, cooked more than our liking (which is typically in Argentina, we found). In general, we found the steak to be subpar compared to those we had enjoyed at steakhouses (parillas) earlier in the week.

And then it was time for the dessert wine! We tried a 2011 Melipal late harvest malbec from Mendoza, a sweeter wine with elements of blackberries and plums which paired very well with the cheese.
It's no surprise that a region that's known for producing a lot of beef (i.e. cows) would also produce a lot of cheese. We had a cow's milk blue cheese, which (thankfully for my sake) was not terribly strong and stinky. It had a nice blue cheese flavor, and was creamy with a good amount of salt. We also tried a cow's milk "Parmesan/Reggiano"-style, which was fine but did not particularly stand out. Similarly, the goat's cheese was fine, having a distinctive goat cheese flavor that I find to be "only OK" but that Bryan loves.

Of course, Bryan is also the person who says "I've never met a cheese I didn't like."
For our palate cleanser, we enjoyed a lovely tamarind sorbet. It had very tropical fruit-like flavors, sort of like passion fruit. (oops, looks like they are melting!)
Dessert was a Banana Cake served with a rum-based cream, coconut dollop, a thin cracker, and a banana custard.

Because I really don't like banana, I had requested a different dessert, if possible.

They were more than happy to accomodate my wish and gave me a cute Mediterranean pastry shell (sort of reminds me of vermicelli-like phyllo pastry) filled with various fruit jellies and served with watermelon sorbet, grapefruit sorbet, and a freeze-dried orange slice.

It was light, refreshing, and pretty good. We enjoyed our desserts with a 2012 Tukma Torrontés Tardio.

All in all it was a lovely meal and a fantastic price for what we got. Our final bill, which included two 8-course tasting menus, a 7-wine tasting, a 3-wine tasting, and gratuity, came to about $140 USD. In terms of absolute food quality, we still give places like Chila and Oviedo a solid edge. However, Chila is almost 50% more expensive, and even more if you consider the wine. It's also hard to put a price on the experience of enjoying a personal meal inside a house-like environment with the owner himself sharing with you his passion for wines. The overall experience definitely felt a lot more personal than our dinner at Chila.

Casa Coupage is only open Wednesday through Saturdays, and reservations are essential because it is very popular and small (there are only 9 tables!). The earliest reservation is at 8:30PM. Definitely make sure to check the address to make sure you are going to the right location!

Casa Coupage
Soler 5518, Palermo,
Buenos Aires, 1425

June 6, 2014 Boston

Thai North

Thai North is the type of restaurant I don't want to write about because . . .

I want to keep this secret all to myself.

It's a tiny little restaurant in Brighton, with only a handful of tables seating maybe 20-25 people max. It's owned by a family from Chiang Mai, a large city in the northern part of Thailand. To the east of Chiang Mai (Northeastern Thailand) is the Isaan region. Food from these two regions are heavily influenced by neighboring countries Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.

You don't see Northern or Isaan Thai food a lot in America. For some reason, the typical Thai restaurant in America has settled upon a very predictable set of dishes: Pad Thai, Drunken Noodle, Tom Yum Soup, Pineapple chicken, the standard list of different curries, etc. etc. These dishes are often loaded with sugar (way more than you'd ever see in Thailand), severely toned down spice levels, and generally adapted to please the American palate.

When Thai North first quietly opened in 2011, it looked just like any other Thai restaurant. The menu had your standard deep fried appetizers (hello Golden Triangles!), Pad "fill-in-the-blank" noodle dishes, different colored curries, and popular familiar entrees made with ingredients like basil, cashews, and pineapples.

It soon became evident there was this other secret "chalkboard menu" written only in Thai. Clearly, the menu was aimed at the local Thais who visited the restaurant, not the typical American take-out customer.

Word got around about this secret menu. Someone translated it and posted it on the web. Soon, more and more non-Thai diners were ordering off of the Thai-only menu. Clearly, there was interest in this authentic, local fare.

Eventually, the chalkboard menu became part of the regular menu. The chalkboard remains, but with English translations now.

Better yet, one wall of the restaurant is covered with photographs of all the chalkboard dishes, which is super helpful if you have no clue what the English translation actually means.

I was thrilled when I first heard of Thai North because Isaan cuisine was one of my favorites when Bryan and I visited Thailand last year. I fell in love with so many of their dishes, such as the som tam(a pounded papaya salad);larb (minced meat salad), and sai krok (sour fermented sausage).

I've been longing for those complex flavors ever since I came back.

Which is why I've already visited Thai North twice in one week.

The menu at Thai North is huge and can be a bit overwhelming when you look at it the first time.

I can make it really easy for you.

Skip most if it and hone in on the one page in the back that says "Thai North Special from the Black Board." Or just look at the blackboard or the pictures on the wall. These are the Northern dishes. Don't miss the appetizers and additional desserts on the right side of the wall. These dishes don't show up anywhere else.

The Grilled Puerco ($6.95) is grilled pork on skewers served with a tangy dipping sauce. The pork is very flavorful, marinated in fish sauce, oyster sauce, cilantro, garlic, coconut milk, and a whole host of other herbs and spices. It's complex and delicious.

The Thai North Dumplings ($5.95) are steamed homemade chive dumplings made with a glutinous (sticky) rice flour skin. The texture is chewy and different from your typical Chinese dumpling. In fact, it reminds me of a cross between the Chinese dim sum dumpling "xian shui jiao" (fried glutinous rice dumpling) and Chinese Chive Pies.

I enjoyed the flavors of these a lot, and we ordered another one after realizing one order of three wasn't quite enough for the table of five. The two lots were slightly inconsistent, with the second lot being just a bit overcooked and mushier in texture. Overall though, the flavors were great and the first plate, pictured above, was well executed.

I immediately ordered the Sour Sausage ($5.95), an Isaan dish, when I saw it listed on the wall as one of the special appetizers. The sausage itself was delicious, though it was not really sour at all. It definitely didn't have the intense, slightly funky sour flavors that come from sausages that have been fermented more. I was a bit disappointed that I couldn't get my sour sausage fix. Thankfully, others at the table who had never been to Thailand and didn't have such preconceived expectations, loved the sausage.

The Green Papaya Salad ($7.95), another Isaan dish I'd been craving, was very good. It was extremely authentic, down to the specific use of green beans, carrots, and peanuts, which are the exact ingredients I used when I learned how to make this at a cooking class in Bangkok. I appreciated how it wasn't overly sweet or sour, which is how many papaya salads in America taste to me. This one was nicely balanced, with the umami of the fish sauce nicely complementing the tartness of the lime and the sweetness of the palm sugar.

Another fun appetizer that's only found on the side wall is miang kam, a fun leaf-wrapped "snack" filled with peanuts, chili, onions, lime, and palm syrup cooked with lemongrass, galangal, ginger, and fish sauce. This dish is usually made with bai cha plu, the wild pepper leaf, which is really hard to find outside of Asia (though I've actually eaten it in at a Thai restaurant in Oxford!). Here, they have substituted Chinese broccoli leaves instead.

The complex blend of flavors is decidedly Thai and delicious. I love the perfect blend of sweet (palm sugar!), spicy (chili), and umami (fish sauce) together with the textural differences between the crunchy peanuts, raw onions, and leaf wrapping. Although it's not quite as good as the real ones made with the authentic wild pepper leaf, it's still a pretty tasty snack.

The Chiangmai Sausage (Sai Ua $10) is another blackboard special and is one of the most unusual and delicious sausages I have ever had. One of the diners said it reminded him of China's "Chendu" style sausage. It's made with pork, herbs, spices, and kaeng khua red curry paste. I found it to be richly complex, with various elements of the herbs and spices really shining through.

I don't usually eat that much meat, but I found myself going back for "just one more slice" several time.

The Northern Burmese Curry ($8.50) comes with your choice of protein (I think we chose chicken) and was milder in flavor than most Thai curries. It wasn't spicy at all, and was a bit sweet. It was still nicely complex and went well with rice.

The Northern Herb Fish ($10.95) was bursting with fragrant flavors and aromas from the variety of vegetables and herbs inside. There are leaves I don't even recognize, but my guess is they infuse their own unique flavors into the dish. The dish had a healthy dose of Thai basil, another dominant flavor in the dish. Overall, we loved the aromatic flavors of this dish. My only complaint is that the white fish used was only of reasonable quality. It wasn't the freshest ever, and you could tell. I guess at this price for a seafood dish, it's hard to expect super high quality fish.

The signature dish of the restaurant is definitely the Chiangmai Noodle Curry (Kaow Soy Chicken) $9.95 which is excellent. This complex dish consists of a massaman curry based broth filled with egg noodles, a braised chicken leg, crunchy fried noodles, and piled high with fresh cilantro, pickled vegetables, and red onion.

The broth is gorgeously fragrant, made that way by a long simmer with lemongrass, tamarind, shallots, kaffir lime leaves, and coconut milk.

On the side, they serve a delicious smoky house-made chili sauce made from roasted pequin peppers. It's got just a bit of sweetness and is fantastic. We actually asked them where we could buy it. Upon finding out that they make it themselves, we asked whether they would be willing to bottle it and sell it to us.

We ordered "Thai spicy" and we received a bowl that was bright red (see photo above). In reality, the heat level was just right for me, though it most certainly had a kick.

The second time I went back we ordered "Normal Spicy", and it was much milder. You can see it's not that red at all. I think I prefer the "Thai spicy" version, which is still nowhere close to as spicy as any of the true "Thai spicy" food in Thailand.

Duck Salad ($13.50) larb
One of my favorite Isaan dishes (up there with som tam), is larb, also known as lop, lap, or laab ("larb" rhymes with "saab"). This refreshing salad is made with ground meat, roasted rice powder, lime juice, fish sauce, and a load of gorgeously fragrant herbs, such as cilantro, mint, scallions, shallots, galangal, and kaffir lime leaves.

We tried two different versions of this salad. Pictured above is a version made with ground duck (larb ped). They also offer the same dish with ground chicken (larb gai) and ground pork (larb mu).

We tried another version, called the Northeastern Salad ($11.25), which was similar in flavor except that it did not have lime, and thus did not have the bright and tart component to the salad. This one was fiery hot, probably the spiciest dish we had that night. In fact, it was the only dish from which I had to "take breaks" because the burn built to a level I could not withstand for extended amounts of time.

It was pretty tasty - in small doses!

We did try one dish from the "regular" menu, mostly for my friend's toddler, who wouldn't be able to handle the spice and also happens to love noodles. The Pad See You was average and unremarkable (though our friend's 17-month old daughter loved it). I've had better better Pad See You at several other Thai places in Boston.

I haven't tried the rest of their regular menu, but frankly I don't plan on it. Clearly their specialty is Isaan cuisine, which makes sense since that's the food of their hometown.

For dessert, we had a special Thai Custard with Sticky rice. It reminded me of a sweeter and overgrown version of a Japanese tamago omelette served with a side of coconut-milk infused sweet and salty sticky rice, which I absolutely love. I totally want to try the Mango sticky rice next time I'm there.

All in all, I've immensely enjoyed my meals at Thai North. The special Northern and Northeastern (Isaan) food there is excellent. It's no surprise at all that it won "Best of Boston" for Best Thai restaurant in 2013. I can't even think of another Thai restaurant that comes close, frankly. It's refreshing to taste truly authentic dishes made from scratch using such a wide variety of fragrant herbs and exotic spices. It's eye-opening and fun to experience such new and surprisingly flavors.

I can't wait to go back.

Thai North
433 Faneuil St
Brighton, MA 02135

June 5, 2014 California

Napa Wine Train

This is the fifth post in the Quick Weekend Getaway to Napa / Sonoma Series. Other posts in this series include: Benzinger Family Winery, Jack London State Park, Mayo Family Winery, and Crisp Bake Shop.

The year was 1859.

Samuel Brannan, California's first millionaire, had just discovered the amazing hot springs in the area of Napa valley now called Calistoga. He built a resort there, named the area Calistoga, and in 1864, built a railroad to bring people from San Francisco to the resort.

The railroad had a rocky and unstable history. It was sold at a foreclosure sale, bounced around different owners, and hobbled along serving a variety of purposes until 1987, when it was petitioned for abandonment. A company called Napa Valley Railroad decided to acquire rights to use the railway as a tourist wine train.

The Napa Wine Train, which leaves from the city of Napa, has been operating since then. It runs up and down the heart of Napa Valley, passing through the towns of Yountville (Hello Thomas Keller!), Oakville, Rutherford, and ending in St. Helena.

Bridge you walk down as you board the train.

The company has set up various types of "tours" which typically consist of a gourmet multi-course meal on the train and then a wine tasting, a winery visit, a castle tour, or some other fun excursion. These tours are done inside different types of restored antique railcars from the turn of the century.

Bryan and I had a chance to check out the Napa Wine Train during our visit to Napa a couple months ago. The train station was conveniently located right across the street from our hotel, the Westin Verasa in Napa, and thus it was a cinch to just roll out of bed and walk over to the train in the morning.

We enjoyed a Champagne Vista Dome Lunch ($149). The Vista Dome is one of the more private rail cars that offers a special multi-course meal prepared by a separate kitchen dedicated just to this car.

Here's the special kitchen that just serves the Vista Dome car. You can see they are working on the first appetizer.

There are many different types of cars that each have different themes. This fancy dining car is part of the "Gourmet Express Package" ($119), which involves having part of your meal in this car, and then switching to the more interactive "lounge car" (pictured below) for dessert.

The comfy chairs in the middle swivel around so it's quite interactive. If you were here with a bunch of friends, it would be a cool place to just hang out and chat.

There's also a dedicated wine tasting car, where you can taste a flight of four different wines (out of their collection of over 30 wines) for $10. Here's our wine educator, Miyuki, who ran the wine bar on our ride.

There's a the more casual Silverado Car, which has open windows and tons of light. I love light, so I was personally drawn to this car even though it was more casual.

The windows open, so it's really refreshing when the weather's good. During the summer the Silverado Car also serves fun themed meals, such as barbecue or other summer-inspired menus.

Here's the large kitchen that serves the Petit Gourmet and the Gourmet Express cars.

They decided to put a window along the entire hallway so that diners could walk by and watch the chefs at work.

We started our Champagne Vista Dome Lunch with a glass of "champagne". I put that in quotes because they mostly feature California wines (for obvious reasons!), which are technically not champagnes since they don't come from Champagne, France. For this meal, we started with a Domaine Chandon Brut from Yountville, one of the cities that the train passes through.

Our first appetizer was a Smoked Salmon Crepe which came with creme fraiche, American caviar, and a honey onion marmalade. he crepes were nice and soft, and the classic combination of smoked salmon, creme fraiche, and caviar was delicious. Overall, the balance of flavors and textures was quite nice.

We then had a Red and Green Apple Endive Salad which was tossed with Gorgonzola cheese and hazelnuts in a mustard vinaigrette. I'm not a huge fan of Gorgonzola, so I didn't love it, but Bryan thought it was pretty good.

The Soup du Jour was a cream of asparagus soup with cheese and croutons. The flavor reminded me of cream of broccoli, but made instead with asparagus.

I got the Special of the Day, which was a white fish (halibut maybe?) served with shrimp, fresh avocado, spinach, asparagus, and carrots. This dish was well executed - perfectly seasoned and cooked just enough that it was done but still very soft. The portion size was generous and the flavors were very enjoyable. In fact, Bryan actually liked it better than his own dish.

Bryan got the Roasted Beef Tenderloin (aka filet mignon) because it was highly recommended by our server. It came on a vegetable-potato saute served in a Zinfandel reduction and topped with horseradish cream. Bryan asked for his beef rare but received what he thought was medium rare (pictured above). It's possible he should have asked for "blue", because the second tenderloin that they sent out was still cooked a bit more than he preferred. Overall the dish was OK. It's not the most interesting preparation, but it is reasonably safe and would appeal to a wide audience.

We tried two desserts. The Classic Creme Brulee came with an assortment of berries. I've always been a fan of creme brulee, so I really enjoyed it.

The second dessert, Chocolate Tiramisu, is one of the most popular desserts.

Imagine a normal tiramisu covered in chocolate and then served with a mound of thinly sliced almonds and a dusting of cocoa powder. I thought it was pretty good and we easily finished off both desserts.

The train ride is about three hours long, but seemed to go by much more quickly because of the multi-course meal.

The scenery is gorgeous.

Essentially, the train follows Route 29, which is lined with beautiful vineyards and cute towns along the way. The day we went, the weather was perfect, and thus we enjoyed beautiful views for miles. The Vista Dome Car is nice because there are a ton of windows but they are just slightly tinted, allowing you to enjoy the vast views without having to wear sunglasses. The servers were friendly, and often would point out landmarks or tell us historical tidbits.

Bryan and I had picked up a really nice bottle of wine from a local wine shop in Napa to enjoy on the train. There's a corkage fee, but it's only $15 a bottle, which isn't too bad. The wine train itself offers a small collection of 30-40 bottles they sell on the train as well.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was really surprised how much I enjoyed the train ride and meal. Iwas afraid the experience would feel touristy, but it wasn't really like that. Instead, it felt like a long and relaxing lunch with good wine, enjoyable food, and stunning scenery around us.

We ended up having some really good, solid conversation during those three hours. The Vista Dome Car is especially good for conversation because it is a bit quieter and more private than the other cars. Unlike the other cars (which encourage visitation), the Vista Dome car is roped off and can only be accessed by the people dining there. This means you won't have random people walking up and down your car as much.

I didn't get a chance to try any of the tours, but they sound like fun. There are tours that include a nice multi-course meal and a stop at winery like Domaine Chandon (gorgeous winery by the way - $169), Grgich Hills Winery ($149), or Raymond Vineyards ($169). There's another tour that includes a visit to a castle, Castello di Amorosa ($209). One of the most popular dinners during the summer is one that's served during the sunset.

The food is not the primary reason to take this train. It's fine, but it's not that interesting. Napa Valley is one of the best food destinations in the country. There are plenty of better restaurants to visit if incredible food is your primary goal.

You come here for the overall experience. I think it would be a great venue for a large group of friends or an extended family gathering. The food is fine, not super adventurous, and reasonably safe, which means your parents, grandparents, and kids should all find something to enjoy.

It could even be nice for a couple who just wants to have a few hours alone - away from everyone else - in order to enjoy wine, stunning scenery in a unique setting, and great conversation.

Cheers!

Disclaimer: This trip was set up for me by the Sonoma Valley Visitor's Bureau. Bryan and I did not pay for the dinner. All opinions are my own.

June 2, 2014 Asian

Quick & Easy Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup (in a pressure cooker!)

The last six months have been life-changing for me in terms access to Asian groceries.

It all started with my company's move to Fan Pier in Boston.

Up until January, my entire adult working life has been in the city of Cambridge. I lived in Cambridge; I worked in Cambridge. Heck before that, I went to school in Cambridge.

For those of you who know Cambridge, you'll know how frustrating it is to get Asian groceries. As far as I know, we don't have a Chinese grocery store (though there is a wholesale tofu maker, but we'll leave that for another post). We had a few decent Japanese grocery stores in the past (Kotobukiya, Miso Mart), but they've all left now. There's a small Korean market (Lotte) near MIT, and then there's Reliable, another Korean market in Somerville not that close to where I live.

So I would go into Chinatown or Hong Kong Market in Allston on occasional weekends. Sometimes I would resort to the paltry Asian offerings at my neighborhood supermarkets.

My life changed when my company moved to Fan Pier. All of a sudden, I virtually passed by Chinatown on my way home everyday. Better yet, there was a C-Mart right at South Station. It was all-too-convenient to pick up hard-to-get items like Chinese BBQ "Sacha" sauce, my favorite "Old Lady" chili sauce, Chinese vegetables galore, and unusual cuts of meat.

My life changed AGAIN when H-Mart opened in Central Square in May. Now I could make a super quick stop at Central Square and pick up my favorite Japanese snacks, many Chinese items, and (naturally) tons of Korean specialties.

I was thrilled to find that both C-Mart and H-Mart carry beef shank cut lengthwise (not through the bone), which is the exact cut used for many favorite Taiwanese dishes, such as my mom's soy braised beef shank and Taiwan's national dish: Beef Noodle Soup.

I've been making this dish a lot more, especially this past winter because it was so cold. More recently, I tried using the pressure cooker to make it, which worked out great and saved tons of time.

Now, instead of spending 3-4 hours on a weekend slowly simmering this time-intensive dish, I can "crank out" a delicious beef noodle soup with fall-apart soft meat in just about an hour. Perfect for a weeknight meal.

Beef shank is the traditional meat used to make this dish, although I've seen recipes that substitute it with beef stew meat. I've personally never done that before, and my guess is that it won't be nearly as good. What makes shank so delicious in beef noodle soup is the presence of a lot of tendon / connective tissue, which contributes to rich, collagen-filled broth that results. The bone-in version that you get in normal western-style grocery stores works fine too. In fact, that's the version I used in my hand-pulled noodle video tutorial.

Begin by prepping all your ingredients. Chop your ginger and scallions. Mince the garlic. Cut up the shank into 1-2 inch pieces.

Bring a pot of water to boil and briefly boil the beef chunks for about 5 minutes. The main purpose for doing this is to "clean" the meat of its blood bits, etc. It will result in a clearer, cleaner-looking, and prettier broth, though if you're in a bind and you don't care about the look, it's a step that can be skipped.

Within a minute or two you'll start to see this ugly pinkish foam float to the top.

After about 5-7 minutes it'll get pretty thick and stop getting thicker (which means you're pretty much done).

Dump out the dirty water in the sink and rinse the beef pieces. Set them aside.

In a pressure cooker, stir-fry ginger, garlic, scallions, and star anise with vegetable oil over medium heat until fragrant.

Add beef shank pieces and chili bean sauce (or "broad bean paste with chili) "豆瓣酱" and saute for a few minutes until the beef is slightly browned.

This is the brand of chili bean sauce I like to use. I actually buy the spicy version, and they call it "broad bean paste with chili" in English. Most importantly you want to see the Chinese characters豆瓣酱, or "dobanjiang." I like the above brand because it's from Taiwan.

Add tomatoes, rice wine, and rock sugar (can substitute with brown sugar if necessary).

If you don't have fresh tomatoes, you can totally used canned whole tomatoes. In the above photo, I cut up several canned whole San Marzano tomatoes (they are tiny so I used 2-3), which worked out great.

The amount of rock sugar is really personal taste. Bryan hates sweet foods (e.g., he's not a fan of most Americanized Thai food), and thus I only add a tiny bit (we're talking like "dime sized rock") of rock sugar. Other people will add up to ¼ cup, which will make the soup definitely a bit sweet. You can always adjust the flavor at the end.

Finally, add just enough water so that everything is covered.

Cook under high pressure for about 30 minutes. Then slowly release the pressure. Because I was not in a hurry, I just turned off the heat and let it naturally release pressure. You can also release pressure more quickly using the method recommended by the manufacturer. In the case of my Kuhn Rikon I just press down on the little lever on top and it released steam until the pressure is back down.

Once the lid is off, you can use this opportunity to quickly cook some vegetables. I usually just cook some baby bok choy, though recently I saw a version made my blogger friend Joy Huang from The Cooking of Joy where she used napa cabbage. That was delicious as well.

The choice is totally yours. Every region, every family, and everyone's mom makes beef noodle soup just a bit differently, so go ahead and start your own tradition.

If you're really ambitious, you could even try hand-pulling your own noodles. Here's a fun video I made back in 2010 showing how to make both the hand-pulled noodles and this beef noodle soup! Warning - hand pulling noodles is really tricky and noodle dough is super finicky. Consider yourself warned!

These days it's much too easy just to pick up a package of fresh homemade noodles from either C-Mart or H-Mart. Ah, I am so spoiled now.

Enjoy!

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Serves 4
2 lbs beef shank (cut up into chunks)
1 T vegetable oil
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 inch chunk of ginger, chopped
2 star anise
2 scallion stalks, chopped
2 T chili bean sauce (or broad bean paste with chili / 辣豆瓣酱)
½ cup soy sauce
1 tomato, sliced
¼ cup rice wine
1 teaspoon to ¼ cup rock sugar (optional)
chili sauce (optional)
5 cups water (or enough to cover the beef)

Optional vegetables
blanched bok choy
napa cabbage
fresh cilantro as garnish

Preboiling
Bring a pot of water to boil and briefly boil the beef chunks for about 5 minutes, or until a white foam forms at the top of the water. Drain dirty water, rinse beef shanks, and set aside.

Stir-frying
1. In the pressure cooker over medium high heat, saute garlic, ginger, scallions, and star anise in vegetable oil until fragrant.

2. Add beef shank pieces and chili bean sauce and saute for a few minutes, until the beef is slightly browned.

3. Add soy sauce and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add tomatoes, rice wine, and rock sugar.

5. Add water until everything is just covered.

6. Bring up to high pressure and cook under pressure for 30 minutes. Slowly release pressure and serve.
ALTERNATE: If you don't have a pressure cooker
Bring pot to medium high heat until boiling and then reduce to a simmer for 2-4 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender.

7. Adjust taste to preference (e.g., add chili sauce to make it spicier; add more soy sauce, salt, or rock sugar)

8. Serve with blanched bok choy and noodles

9. Optionally garnish with cilantro (Bryan's favorite!)

Yum!

And they are just as good if not better as leftovers the next day!

June 1, 2014 Tidbits

Phew I did it! 31 Posts in 31 Days Reflections

Eric Ripert and Jen at Le Bernardin kitchen

Easter breakfast @crispbakeshop in Sonoma. This cakes spills out eggs when cut - hee hee

The photos say it all.

Each photo above represents one of the posts I wrote this past month. Click on any image to lead to the post. In the month of May, I wrote 31 posts. Contrast that with the months of January through April, where I only wrote 41 posts in total. Clearly this past month was a crazy whirlwind of activity.

Happily, I have finally started making a sizeable dent in my backlog of food photos I've taken over the last couple years, though I'm nowhere near finished.

In this month, I've written about restaurants in Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Napa / Sonoma Valley, Las Vegas, Sydney (Australia), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Tokyo (Japan), and Montreal (Canada) plus a handful of recipes. I haven't even started on the rest of Canada or New Zealand.

Still so much more to write.

What was it like?
My original goal in trying publish 31 posts in 31 days was to see if I still "had it". Did I still have the same drive, passion, and pure energy to "pump" out high quality, detailed posts like I used to when I was first ramping up Tiny Urban Kitchen?

This is no surprise to me, but the experience reaffirmed to me that I am a very goal-oriented person. Give me a goal, challenge, or contest, and my motivation skyrockets. Pending deadlines are good for me. They force me to execute at my highest, most efficient level.

Sure, there were a few nights where this challenge caused me sleep deprivation. There were times when I felt like kicking myself for setting such an unreasonable goal. It would happen on those days when an evening activity would occupy most of my night and I wouldn't get home until closer to 10:30 PM. Church stuff would take up a couple more hours, and then I would begin writing the next day's blog post . . . . at 12:30AM.

Thankfully, those days were few, and by and large, I managed to front load photo editing on weekends and just focus on writing during the weeknights, which wouldn't take more than 1-2 hours.

What's next?

Will I continue publishing a new post everyday?

Ha ha, depends. I still have A LOT of backlog content to post (e.g. recipes like quick Taiwanese beef noodle soup in a pressure cooker (!), Boston restaurants I've visited lately, plus many other travel photos).

But I don't want to overwhelm the blog either.

I would love your feedback.

Please comment below and tell me what you think. I am extremely motivated by what others want, and since this blog is totally for you, my readers, I want to do what you all prefer. Below are some things I've been wondering, and I would love to hear your thoughts.

And to those who have emailed me personally supporting me in this challenge and telling me how much you love it, THANK YOU. It means so much to me and it really keeps me motivated to work even harder to make this blog as enjoyable and useful as possible.

OK . . here are some questions for thought!

Questions
Did you like how I skipped around between travel series or would you prefer to have each series be serial?

Do you wish for more Boston and recipe posts? Or do you like the heavy emphasis on travel?

Was a post every day too much to keep up with?

Would you prefer less frequent long, detailed posts or more frequent shorter, "snapshot" type posts? (Of course, I can do a mix of both, though I think currently most of my posts are on the long side)

Any other general feedback?

Thanks everyone!

I'm not sure what I'll do next month. I may still continue to increase my posting frequency compared to before. However, I just may give myself a break on weekends.

🙂

Thanks everyone for joining me in this fun little challenge!

Jen