the blue room (cambridge), take 2

It was a gorgeous summer night with a temperature in the mid-70's. My friends and I arrived at The Blue Room around 6:30 pm and were lucky to score a table in their outdoor patio area. With so many things to choose from, we decided to order a bunch of appetizers and share so that we could all try a variety of things. Pair this with wine and cocktails, and it's a perfect way to spend some time with good friends. Here are some of the plates that grazed our table that night:

The grilled shrimp and chorizo kabob ($6)

The wood-grilled octopus ($11) which is served with potatoes, mustard seed, and a preserved lemon vinaigrette is absolutely delicious. I even convinced my two squeamish friends to try a piece and they were surprisingly pleased by its charcoal flavor and not-so-weird texture. (Note to concerned friends: don't worry, I kicked the potatoes and celery slices aside and let my friends enjoy them while I devoured the octopus. Still suspicious about potatoes being a possible allergen.)

The wood-grilled skirt steak ($9) served with radicchio and a bernaise sauce was cooked perfectly medium rare.

The antipasto plate ($12) of roasted local vegetables was served with crispy flat bread. We opted for the plate that included artisanal cured meats. I had a hard time picking around some of the vegetables but I did enjoy some of the cured meat and it was quite tasty. This would be a great option for someone that is a vegetarian (obviously, without the cured meats - it's only $9 that way) because there was quite an assortment of vegetables.

We also had some of their rosemary and garlic marinated olives ($4) and my friends devoured a watermelon salad ($10) before I could snap a photo of the evidence. They said it was extremely delicious; the sight of feta, red onion, parsley, mint, oregano and a sherry vinaigrette had me wishing I wasn't allergic to watermelon!

I would highly recommend The Blue Room's outdoor patio if you're looking for a nice place on a summer day or night (the tables have nice large umbrellas for sunny days). Tony and I had dinner here back in September and it was just as nice inside the restaurant. Great choice for a small group of friends, a romantic night out, or a nice restaurant to take your parents to.

The Blue Room
One Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA
617.494.9034
www.theblueroom.net

bin 26 enoteca (boston)

For my birthday this year, Tony let me pick a restaurant for dinner. I decided to check out Bin 26 Enoteca in Beacon Hill because we have walked past it a few times and it looked like a nice little romantic restaurant. Charles Street has always had that sort of charming effect on me with it's little boutique shops, old sidewalks, and perpetually burning gas lights. Plus it's so easy to access via public transportation, so we hopped on the red line after work. We were pretty early for our 7 pm reservation, so we took a nice stroll through the Boston Common and the Public Garden. We saw the nesting swans, a wedding party all decked out in white tuxedos and hot pink gowns, and some beautiful flowers.

The hostess seated us even though we were half an hour early (the place hadn't filled up yet anyway), and even though we said we would be happy to wait at the bar. They have a huge selection of wines available by the bottle -- a large leather bookful actually -- as well as some information about different wines and the regions they come from.

The wines by the glass section was a little confusing at first because they offer most them by four different measurements. They offer them in 100 ml, 250 ml, 500 ml and 750 ml increments. Well, 750 ml was easy to perceive as a full bottle, so 500 ml seemed like it would a little bit more than half a bottle. We each got 250 ml portions which were served in glass carafes. It ended up being like having slightly less than 2 glasses which was pretty reasonable.

I had the 2008 Chenin Blanc, Cave des Vignerons de Saumur 'Les Plantagenêts', Saumur, from France and it was quite good. Not overly sweet or acidic. Tony had the 2007 Projekt B, VdP de Vaucluse, from France and also really liked his pick. I think both wines went really well with our meals.

But before I talk about the food, I have to say that they win points for decor. I love this all of wine labels that cover every single bit of surface space. Now if I can just figure out how to take off our wine bottle labels gracefully and without tearing them, I think this would be a fantastic idea for decorating our future wine cellar (this is, of course, when I win the lottery ...).

Now this is a view of the ceiling inside the women's bathroom (I heard it's the same in the men's by the way). It's (what seems like) a gazillion wine bottles hung from some sort of contraption from the ceiling. It makes for eerily dark lighting, but I think it's pretty cool.



Okay, so on to food because that's the real reason why you're reading this, right?! (j/k!) We had the bruschetta appetizer which was served with sauteed mushrooms with garlic and fontina cheese. Oh. My. Gosh. I think I could eat ten plates of this ... it was amazingly delicious! The simplicity of how the mushrooms were sauteed with just salt and pepper paired so well with the stronger fontina flavor. (I'm drooling as I'm typing this and reminiscing about how delicious they were!)

Tony enjoyed the spaghetti with scallops and shellfish in saffron tomato sauce entree (it's too bad I couldn't try any of it - it smelled so yummy). The scallops were nice and plump, and he could tell the pasta was freshly made.

I seem to be a sucker for grilled squid, and since I don't see it on the menu very often, I went ahead and ordered the appetizer dish. It's normally served with white beans on top of the arugula but I asked them to omit them due to my food allergy. I also got a side order of their garlic mashed potatoes. I was a little disappointed that the squid was served cold, but it still had a nice grilled flavor to it. The mashed potatoes were wonderfully light and not overly garlicky.

We split a lemon tart dessert and while I was in the bathroom earlier, Tony told our waitress that it was my birthday so they brought it out with a candle. It was so good! It kind of bummed me out because this in another example of how restaurants don't disclose everything on the menu when they present something with additional ingredients (a pet peeve of mine!). We just took the strawberries and blackberry off as quickly as we could and I just crossed my fingers that I wouldn't be too itchy later on.

[Of course in hindsight, it was probably the potatoes that made me the itchiest after all. Read about my nightshade woes here.]

Overall I think it was a good dining experience. I would definitely go back there some time during the week after work to hang out at the bar and eat five orders of the mushroom bruschetta (you think I'm kidding!) and enjoy some wine. It's a great place for a romantic date and a small group outing. I'm not sure I would recommend it for families unless you went during the daytime (they do offer lunch). Huge wine selection, good sized food portions, beautiful decor, and super friendly wait staff.

Bin 26 Enoteca
26 Charles Street
Beacon Hill, MA 02114
617.723.5939
http://www.bin26.com

amelia's trattoria (cambridge)

I celebrated my birthday with three friends at Amelia's Trattoria last Thursday. It was real sweet of them to let me pick a place, but that was also a difficult choice to make since there are so many places I like to eat at. I picked Amelia's because we've been there before and it's consistently good Italian food, and the restaurant is nice and cozy (not too big).

We shared this bottle of Gini chianti and it was delicious. It went perfectly well with our pasta dishes.


I ordered a Caesar salad for us to share. It's a pretty good size on its own.

Laura and I both had the ravioli special of the day: a lemon ricotta ravioli served with pancetta, mushrooms, and spinach in a white wine sauce. I asked them to omit the tomatoes though. It was divine! And embarrassingly, I cleaned the whole plate!

Jess had the braised short rib bolognese which was made with fresh Fusilli and shaved Parmesan cheese. It was large enough that she had some leftover to take home.

Karoline had the house-made spaghetti in a plum tomato ragu and served with basil and shaved Parmesan cheese. She had enough to take home, too.

We shared a tiramisu dessert and it didn't last on the plate for very long. :) Even miss Jess who insisted she was too full for a bite couldn't resist.

I had a shot of espresso with dessert. So nice and rich, it helped wash down the dessert.

A glass of limoncello. That was quite yummy too.

Again, another wonderful meal at Amelia's, and this time in very good company. :) It's a great restaurant for small groups of people and especially for a romantic date. There's a small bar, too, and locals aren't shy about dining alone there. The waiter was very charming and accommodating with my food allergy concerns. Overall, a very pleasant experience.

Amelia's Trattoria
111 Harvard Street
Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA
617.868.7600
http://www.ameliastrattoria.com

sushi teq (boston)

This is a restaurant review that I've been meaning to post for a while now. We went to Sushi Teq back in March on one of those nights where we tried to get into another restaurant but the wait was over an hour and a half. Tony had heard good things about it from his coworkers at his old job, so we decided to check it out. It's located in the Intercontinental Hotel in Boston and towards the back of the lobby. You can't miss it: it's the only place there with neon lighting and walls that change colors.

I couldn't get over how cute the soy sauce bottle was. (Me = geek!)


They have a nice little bar area near the sushi chefs. The whole concept behind the restaurant is that it's a "salsa bar featuring innovative and traditional sushi concepts paired with vintage agave driven tequila, margaritas, and specialty cocktails." I do have to say that the salsa and merengue music they were playing was quite loud, but it did give the place a fun and energetic ambiance.



A funny before and after of the edamame appetizer. Tony had some miso soup (below) with his sushi rolls. A pretty big portion.


It's kind of too bad that I waited this long to post this because I don't think these drinks are listed on their current cocktail menu. All I can say that Tony's drink had some sort of blackberry base and garnish. And probably tequila!

I remember having a lemon drop martini that night. It was so yummy!

And of course, I can't remember which roll he ordered but I do remember him saying it was absolutely delicious. I think this is one that is soy wrapped on the outside.


I went with my usual sushi picks: Negihama maki (yellowtail and scallion rolls), Maguro (tuna), and Ikura (salmon roe).

I think overall it's a cute place for sushi, especially if you're on a date and in that part of town. The prices were surprisingly not as expensive as I had anticipated, especially since it's located within that particular hotel. It has a fun atmosphere and the wait staff are super friendly. The funny thing is that they brought in a hamburger from the restaurant next door for one of the customers. I guess he didn't care for sushi!


Sushi Teq
510 Atlantic Avenue
Boston, MA
866.490.5502
http://sushi.intercontinentalboston2010.com

market (boston)

We celebrated our second anniversary last Tuesday by having dinner at Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Market restaurant in downtown Boston. It's in the lobby of the new W hotel on Stuart Street so it was easy to take the red line to Park Street from Harvard Square.

It had been so long since we've been in that part (the theatre district) of town so we didn't even realize that a W hotel had opened up there. I have to say, the W is probably my favorite chain of hotels, especially after we stayed at one in Seattle. The lobby of this one is really cool and so modern. They have a lounge area with big leather couches surrounded by sheer drapes. It would be a really nice place to hang out in after work for drinks some time.

The first thing that we both noticed and commented on after being seated inside the restaurant was the decor, more specifically the use of wood on the walls and on the ceiling. The atmosphere and ambience in Market is relaxed yet chic and refined. The decor was simple yet interesting at the same time. They had these cool rock vases holding daisies on each table. The rocks are real, believe it or not, with a hole drilled into them so they can hold water and the flowers.

We decided to get a half bottle of wine and enjoyed the St. Supery 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa. It was a really nice cabernet and went well with all of the food we had that night. (Note to self: definitely need to visit their winery during our next California trip.)

They had delicious sourdough bread for us to enjoy before our food arrived, which was a good thing because we were both pretty hungry. We shared the sea scallop appetizer dish and could not get over how delicious each morsel was. Seriously! I think we both could've eaten ten more plates of it all night. It's served with caramelized cauliflower and a caper-raisin emulsion.

I explained to our waitress that I am allergic to cracked red pepper and bell peppers. She came back to our table to let us know that the sauce for the scallops contained cayenne pepper so the chef put it on the side for us. I have to give them two thumbs up for this because I've had several experiences where wait staff and/or kitchen staff don't know/realize/remember what spices come from bell peppers. Things like paprika and Old Bay seasoning. The biggest one is whenever I order a burger and tell them to hold the tomato because of that allergy, yet 9 times out of 10, the waiter will bring me ketchup for my fries.


I had the lobster entree for dinner, and wow! Talk about a fantastic plate! I usually don't order lobster at a restaurant because, let's face it, it's usually quite boring if it's served with just butter. This was served with butter fried garlic over sauteed spinach and some julienned ginger. It normally has dried chili on it but they were omitted due to my food allergies. I couldn't get over how beautiful the presentation of the dish was for at least a couple of minutes, and then I couldn't stop talking about how delicious it was.

But my husband probably didn't hear very much of my ooohing and ahhhing because he was quite mesmerized by the grilled lamb chops that he ordered. They were served with a smoked chili glaze with King Oyster mushrooms and broccoli rabe. And he got them medium rare. He's not the type of person that likes to eat with his hands but believe me, he was using them to get every last piece of meat off the bones by the end of our meal - they were that delicious!


I have to say that that was one of our best dining experiences ever. The portions were surprisingly larger than we had expected for such a nice restaurant in the city, and the flavors were just unbelievable. We regrettably didn't get dessert here, so that can be our excuse for going back for another night out. :) I would highly recommend Market for a romantic dinner and for celebrating special occasions. It would also be a great place to sit at the bar and enjoy one of their pizzas or appetizers.

Market
100 Stuart Street
Boston, MA 02116
617.310.6790
http://marketbyjgboston.com/

coconut milk shrimp

I love when the jumbo easy-peel shrimp goes on sale at the grocery store because I love to make this coconut milk shrimp dish.

It's super easy to make! I honestly think the part that takes the longest is deveining the shrimp, but then again, I am the pickiest person when it comes to doing that (ask my husband) so it might not take you as long as it takes me.

Ingredients:

1 pound of jumbo easy-peel shrimp, shells removed, deveined*
1 can of coconut milk (not the low fat stuff!)
2 shallots, sliced
2 shoots of green onions/scallions
3 or 4 cloves of garlic
1/2 a stick of butter
salt and pepper

Directions:

1. In a large saucepan about 2 inches deep, melt 1/2 the butter over medium heat and add the sliced shallots. Season with salt and pepper, stir occasionally, and let them soften (about 5 minutes).
2. Add the garlic cloves (I like to put them in whole so that you can remove them easier later if you don't want to eat them and have garlic breathe the next day), turn up the heat to high, and add the shrimp.
3. Let the shrimp get cooked on one side before stirring and flipping them over (about 2 minutes). Add the green onions and the remaining 1/2 of the butter.
4. Once the shrimp are nice and pink, add the coconut milk. Stir and let it get back up to a little bit of a boil. Then turn the heat down to really low and let it simmer for another 5 minutes.
5. Serve over rice and enjoy!



*I put that asterisk next to deveining because when I say I'm picky about deveining, I mean I devein the backside of the shrimp and the belly of the shrimp too. I know, it's a bit much but that stuff creeps me out.