spice & rice (cambridge)

What do you do when it's 96 degrees outside and you didn't bring a lunch to work? You order in! Yes, that's right folks, me and a couple of coworkers were too chicken to face the heat and humidity by getting in our cars to seek out food this afternoon so instead we had some delivered from Spice & Rice in Cambridge (Inman Square).

It was funny because after I dropped my husband off at work this morning, I thought to myself, "Hmmm, I could really go for some sushi today," but then I thought, "Gee, where can I drive to later on this afternoon to get some?" So then I kind of just let that thought pass through my head because I remembered it was going to be 1,000 degrees outside, and there aren't that many places near our office building that I could just stop in for a take-out order. And then later this morning one of my coworkers stopped me in the hallway and asked if I knew of local restaurants that delivered because she, too, didn't want to face the sun. Luckily, I convinced her to go with Spice & Rice so that I could [selfishly!] have some sushi. It was definitely worth the $2.00 delivery fee.

And yo yo, did I have some sushi! I ordered the sashimi special which came with 12 pieces of sashimi plus a little box of rice on the side. It was pretty good sushi for only $10.95! I also ordered some Negihama maki (yellowtail rolls, $4.95/6 pieces) thinking that the sashimi wouldn't be enough, but I was very wrong. It all washed down quite deliciously with some cold green tea, too.

One of my friends ordered the bulgoki special lunch box ($7.95) and man, that was a lot of food in one cute container! The marinated thinly sliced beef came with a California roll, shumai, yaki soba noodles, rice and a salad. She said it was good, but too much to finish in one sitting.

Our other friend had the vegetarian pad thai ($6.95) with tofu instead of chicken and said that it was "okay, not great". Again, a big enough portion for her to have leftovers for tomorrow's lunch too.

And what better way to end a lunch break than with some Kickass cupcakes, eh?! This was the August batch from my winnings. And of course, they had no problem disappearing by some obliging coworkers. :)



Spice & Rice
1172-1178 Cambridge Street
Inman Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
617.864.4500
www.spice-rice.com

sam's at louis (boston)

A couple of Saturdays ago, Tony and I were sitting outside on the patio at Sam's, a restaurant in the Louis building in South Boston. It was one of the first days where the humidity had finally dropped so it was nice and sunny outside without being muggy. We forced ourselves to leave the apartment to do something - anything - outside. I convinced him to drive over to South Boston so that we could walk along the waterfront area near the ICA. We found a metered parking spot and walked over to the ICA and towards the water. It was such a beautifully sunny, summer day.

I remembered reading about this restaurant recently opening up and sure enough, we spotted the Louis building from the ICA and decided to check out their menu. It's kind of a cross between an American restaurant and French bistro, so they have a lot of nice dishes to choose from. We were able to score seats outside on the patio area which was great because the view of the Boston harbor was pretty spectacular.

The inside of the restaurant is kind of like a diner scene, but with a modern twist. Some of the tables had half chairs and a large diner-like booth which was pretty cool. And of course, I love the huge windows looking out to the water. When you first walk in, you're lead by chalkboard walls full of scribbles and drawings.



We got there when they were serving food from their lunch menu. They also do brunch and dinner there. We were pretty hungry so we enjoyed some delicious, hearty bread with our wine while we waited for our food to arrive and had a nice time taking in the scenery.


Tony had their black pepper burger ($12) and commented how he really liked that it was a thin patty. They didn't ask how he wanted it cooked but it was prepared perfectly cooked through.

I enjoyed their pressed Parisian ham and comte cheese sandwich ($12) and opted for a side of sauteed mushrooms instead of french fries. It was delicious! So simple but so good at the same time. And the mushrooms were an excellent pairing.


I went to the restroom on our way out and came out to find that Tony had scribbled this on one of the walls. :- )

Fast forward a couple of weeks and here we are again, this time with my in-laws, my brother-in-law, and our nine-year-old niece before watching the Cirque du Soleil "Ovo" show. The same restaurant within a 2 week period? I think that's a pretty good compliment, wouldn't you say? This time, we were there during brunch. The nice thing is that they still offer some of their lunch menu items at this time, so my father-in-law and brother-in-law were able to enjoy burgers.

Tony and his mom both enjoyed the Nana Rogers’ pork hash with soft poached eggs ($12) dish. From what I could tell -- their empty plates -- it was a good choice and we all commented that it's not a dish that you normally would see on a menu. The poached eggs were so nice and runny -- mmm -- the picture of the perfect combination of egg yolks and potatoes is making my mouth water as I type.

I had their baguette with house cured salmon, capers, onion, and cream cheese ($10). It was a nice, light dish but I will have to say that it was a little overpriced compared to the portion size. I think $8 would be fair, in my humble opinion. It was extremely delicious though - the salmon was so fresh and there weren't too much onions or capers on the plate (I hate when places pile that stuff on - it's like I can't taste the salmon when they do that). It tasted really good with a cold glass of lemonade, too. And of course, since it was so light that left room for dessert. :)

We ordered a plate of cookies ($8) for the table to share. Again, probably a little pricy for what you get, but hey, I think you're paying for the scenic view and the waterfront location.

Our niece and I thoroughly enjoyed sharing the pound cake ($8) which was topped with a huge mound of Chantilly cream. It totally hit the spot without being overly sweet.

Overall I think Sam's is a great restaurant in the Fan Pier area. Again, can't say enough about how the view of the waterfront is fabulous there. They offer 2 hours of validation at the parking lot next to them, but it's also within walking distance from the South Station T stop. It's great for small groups, a nice date, and seems kid friendly. Our only complaint was that there isn't a kids' menu for our niece to order from, but they were accommodating when she asked for scrambled eggs and bacon. It's definitely a place I want to take my parents to when they come to visit Boston.


Sam's at Louis
60 Northern Avenue
Boston, MA
617.295.0191
http://samsatlouis.com

the friendly toast (cambridge)

My friend Emily and I had lunch at the Friendly Toast in Kendall Square last week. It was my first time at the restaurant, and I was blown away by the kitschy decor inside. It has a fun, diner-esque atmosphere with an all-day breakfast menu. They also have a location up in Portsmouth, NH that is actually open 24 hours on weekends.

We both ordered tea and I love the little pots that they arrived in (I'm pretty sure I've seen these at Davis Squared, right?), not to mention the plastic mugs that they gave us. So cheeky and retro, yet so cool! I forgot what kind of tea Emily had but I had the minty green tea and it was really good.

The sugar holder on our table reminded me of the kind of stuff we'd find at our Auntie Tita's house when we were growing up near Vacaville. She had something exactly like this in her house - and it was probably an ash tray - but just as quirkily cool, know what I mean?

Emily had the Matt sandwich which was made with anadama bread ( ),cream cheese, avocado, black beans, salsa, and cheddar. It was a huge sandwich! They serve sandwiches with your choice of either pretzels, homefries, or chips. Em went the healthier route and boy, did they pile on the pretzels!

I had an egg sandwich on a grilled croissant and goat cheese. It was a little surprising when the waitress asked me how I wanted the eggs done because I'm so used to egg sandwiches being made with scrambled eggs. I went with her suggestion of sunny something (why can't I remember?! sheesh! I know it wasn't sunny side up because she said they flip it over a little bit, otherwise it would be super runny ... sunny medium? is that what that style is called??) and it was perfectly done so that the sandwich held up enough but the egg yolk was still nice and runny. I know, not everyone likes their eggs quite that raw but it's so delicious to me!

I must admit that I had heard mixed things about this location and mostly that their non-breakfast items weren't that great. I hear they do awesome pancakes and waffles, so I might be inclined to go for something like that next time. It seems like a good family place and also good for small groups of people. It's located near a lot of the bio-tech companies in the square, so it's not wonder it was pretty full at lunch time. The service was kind of slow, but then again, I think she was one of two wait staff on at the time.

I have to say, the area that we walked through (by the Cambridge Brewing Company, Flat Top Johnny's, the Blue Room, and the newest restaurant called Think Tank) was boasting with crowds of people at lunch time, and seems like such a fun area to work near. There was a lot of outdoor patio dining - I think I may have to convince my coworkers to do lunch there a couple of times this summer!


The Friendly Toast
1 Kendall Square
Cambridge, MA
617.621.1200
http://www.thefriendlytoast.net

city girl cafe

There's this little place called City Girl Cafe in Inman Square that we've driven by a countless number of times in the past ten years we've lived here in Somerville, and I'm so embarrassed to say that we've never stopped to visit up until now. So finally, I got to go and check it out. And I'll admit, this was after one of my friends and coworkers came back from having lunch there and raved about their paninis.

My friend, Kathleen, and I decided to face the cold, windy, rainy weather and escape from the office for lunch on Friday. We found a parking spot right out in front of the cafe which was awesome (thank you, parking angel!). We got there around 1:15 pm and there was plenty of seating, so we sat by the window.

Kathleen ordered some of the olives appetizer for us to share, but I was bummed because we think there were cracked red pepper flakes in them. I did have one and it was quite delicious, but I was too afraid to eat anymore.

I ordered half of a PLT panini which was a pancetta, lettuce, and tomato panini with asiago cheese and a basil aioli (of course, mine didn't have the tomato) and it was served with a little bag of Cape Cod potato chips ($4.50). I also splurged and ordered a cannoli for dessert ($2) and a bottle of Pellegrino sparkling mineral water ($3). It was Friday for Pete's sake! I had a long week, so I felt I deserved a little treat. :)

I did think the sandwich was a little bit small in portion, but then again, it was just enough since I had the dessert and a full bottle of the sparkling water. It was absolutely delicious! I had it served on foccacia instead of the seven grain bread. Yummy!

Kathleen had the egg salad and asparagus sandwich with sun-dried tomato, romaine, and aioli on a baguette and she said it was delicious too.

We were both excited about sharing the cannoli that I forgot to take a photo of it before it was literally inhaled! LOL Needless to say, it was wonderfully yummy. :)

This place isn't that far from our office building, so I can definitely see it becoming a new regular stop for lunch. A couple of my friends have said that they do an excellent brunch, too.

City Girl Cafe
204 Hampshire Street
Inman Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
617.864.2809
http://citygirlcafe.com/index.html#