harvard square's oktoberfest

In the trend of late blog posts ... and now in the practice of putting things out of sequential order of when they actually happened it appears ...

We decided to check out the Oktoberfest in Harvard Square a couple of Saturdays ago. Again, another thing we had never done in the 10+ years of living here [sigh]. It was a little too crowded for our tastes so we didn't stick around for too long, but long enough for me to be intrigued by some food related items (of course!). I was mostly curious about watching these two women fry up a serious load of potstickers.




Wow, that's a lotta potstickers! And then we were walking along Church Street and I saw this caramel apple station, which I thought was clever. Messy but clever.


There was all sorts of music and live entertainment going on, beer gardens, people in crazy costumes, a huge variety of ethnic restaurants selling food, and lots and lots of people. Including this man on stilts.
We didn't get any beer but Tony got some delicious Indian food from one of the local restaurants (I was so jealous). Definitely worth checking out if you're a beer fanatic and aren't afraid of people dressed up in strange costumes rubbing up against you in the middle of a street.

wine wednesday at rialto restaurant

One neat thing about Twitter is finding out about things going on at local restaurants such as Rialto Restaurant's Wine Wednesday event. My husband and I originally had plans to meet with a couple of friends for dinner at Cambridge 1, but since that fell through I suggested that we check out this event. And we're both so glad we went!

Wine Wednesday takes place every Wednesday from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. Their wine director, Brad Nugent, hosts an informal wine tasting where he selects a white and red from Rialto's wine list to share a taste of. Last night, we tried the Riesling (Trimbach, Clos St. Hune 1997) and the Amarone della Valpolicella (Tommaso Bussola 2004). Both were excellent wines. Tony preferred the red over the white because the Riesling was quite dry and he prefers sweeter varietals. And I preferred the Riesling because it had a nice finish. In either case, we were shocked to learn (after inquiring about being able to order either by the glass on a future dining excursion) that they around roughly $150 and $175 per bottle (respectively). Yowzers! So in that sense, it was a real treat to be able to try both of them for free during the tasting!

After we finished our tastings, Tony had a glass of the Barbera and I had a glass of the Nebbiolo (Vietti, Perbacco, Langhe 2006). His was a lot more buttery than mine but both were delicious (I had never tried a Nebbiolo before), and they both went quite well with our appetizers.

Rialto has a great bar menu where one can order antipasti dishes at $4 per plate, or three plates for $10. We thoroughly enjoyed the local mozzarella which was served with yummy braised tomatoes (yes friends, don't worry, the husband ate those and kept them far away from me!); the roasted winter squash which was served with a deliciously tart pomegranate sauce; and the fried olives which were stuffed with salami and parmesan. (P.S. I think we could've eaten a hundred more of the stuffed olives! So yummy!)

I think next time I'll try the potato croquettes, the smoked salmon, and definitely the duck liver pate dishes. Mmmmm ... just thinking about all this is making me hungry!

So if you're ever in the Cambridge (Harvard Square) area on a Wednesday evening and enjoy wine, definitely check out Rialto Restaurant's Wine Wednesday and give Brad a visit! Be sure to tell them that Candice sent you. :)

farmers market, 08.25.09

My coworker and I decided to take the 12:00 pm shuttle from our off-site location to the Harvard campus to check out farmers market finds. I had also heard that one of the chefs from Hungry Mother was going to be creating a free food sample during the first hour, so that made for even more of an excuse to get out of the office, stretch our legs, and enjoy the beautiful summer day.

The first stop was at the Danish Pastry House stand. I love to buy fresh bread and pastries from them whenever I visit the farmers market.


The double chocolate cookie is Tony's favorite from them. I bought us a nice long loaf of French bread for dinner to go with this big head of lettuce that we made a salad out of.

We were tempted to buy some of these beautiful azaleas. So many pretty colors that would make a gorgeous bouquet.

I ended up getting a ball of fresh mozzarella from Fiero di Nonna (so sweet and good!), a couple of small yellow tomatoes, blueberries, and a cucumber. And then we stopped off at the "live cooking demo" table where there were two chefs from Hungry Mother putting together a dish they called "Caveach".


It was made with bluefish, watermelon pickle, fresh market veggies and herbs. I couldn't eat any of it (stupid watermelon!) but my coworker and Tony said that it was quite delicious!


It's funny how free food (or anything labeled "free" for that matter) will attract a crowd. I took about ten other shots but they all came out blurry because some woman was in my way and she actually bumped my arm a couple of times as she was [apparently] excitedly waiting for the samples to be done.

Sure did look yummy, huh?!?!

Unfortunately, we had to go back to work and couldn't stay out longer to enjoy the beautiful weather. It was finally nice and sunny out without being too humid.

Don't forget - the farmers market at Harvard goes on until mid-October. Each Tuesday from 12:30 to 6:00 pm. Check it out if you can!

henrietta's table in harvard square

Gosh, I've just about completely neglected my regular blog and realize that I've been doing nothing but going out to eat lately. Sheesh. Might explain the tight pants, although I was hoping that it was because of the long johns I've been wearing. :-/

Anyway ... I digress. I had dinner with a friend at Henrietta's Table last night at the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square. I have to say that it was truly a nice experience. I used to be anti-restaurant-in-a-hotel because I know they can be pricy and a little too frou-frou sometimes. They do have some pricy entrees, I'll admit, but it wasn't over the top. It has a really cozy atmosphere and a local-based menu.

We both ordered appetizer dishes, plus shared two side items. She had the Maine Rock crab cake with grilled asparagus and house-made tartar sauce and said it was delicious. I had the House Smoked Pastrami Salmon which was served on field greens with chive oil, crispy potato wafers and lemon Vermont creme fraiche and it was just awesome. We split the mashed potatoes and butternut squash sides which were simply yummy themselves (and enough to feed like four people). I had two glasses of 7 Deadly Zins wine, one of my stepdad's favorites (note to self: try to get a bottle for home soon). The best part (and the part I've been craving all day!) was dessert: a coconut cream cake. OMG. To die for!!

Their logo is a pig and so they give you a small plate of gingerbread pig cookies at the end of your meal. Of course, we were so stuffed by then that we didn't eat any, but it's still a really cute gesture. Will definitely take Tony there some day, even if it's just for the coconut cake!!

shabu ya + grafton street in harvard square

We normally don't make plans to go out on Valentine's night because a) they tend to jack up prices at restaurants; b) there's usually just a prix fixe menu; and c) it gets crowded wherever you go. But since we were already out and about in the area and getting hungry, I suggested that we have dinner at this place called Shabu Ya. My boss and I had gone there the day before for lunch and I thought the shabu-shabu experience was something that Tony would enjoy. Plus the sushi I had was quite delicious, too.

Top: Elissa's shabu pot; bottom: my sushi rolls

We walked in around 5:30 pm and it wasn't that crowded yet. Tony got the beef sirloin shabu which came with a variety of vegetables, and he chose the Thai tom yum broth. He said it was kind of too spicy, so he'll probably just go with the regular broth next time. You can get the whole pot of the one broth, or split it two ways. We split it two ways and asked to keep one half with just plain water so that I could try the beef, too. They give you a really yummy ponzu sauce to dip the cooked meat in, but I tasted it and it seemed more like a finadene to me. It's amazing how quickly the meat cooks up since it's sliced so thinly (like one minute - seriously!).

I ordered the chirashi sushi dish instead of the same rolls I had the day before. It was good, but next time I think I'll go back to the rolls, or split the shabu dish using the plain water option.

The nice thing is that they have a liquor license and they offer beer, wine and sake. The decor is quite colorful and retro - quite different from the Malaysian restaurant that used to be there. I found this You Tube video that someone made of it back in December:



Afterwards, we walked over to Grafton Street for dessert. We decided to sit at the bar and luckily found two seats as another couple left. I had a glass of Malbec and Tony had a Muscat, and we laughed when we sized the glasses up to one another. We wanted to split the raspberry cheesecake and asked the bartender to ask the kitchen to put the raspberry sauce on the side after explaining how I am allergic to them. When it arrived, we realized that they actually baked the raspberry in the cheesecake so I ordered their chocolate cake as a substitute. Both desserts were really good and we were both quite embarrassed by the fact that we managed to clean our own plates. :)

the red house

Mike, Erin, Tony and I met up for drinks at Noir after work. It's a bar at the Charles Hotel in Cambridge that has outdoor seating, which was perfect for a summer night. Erin talked me into having one of her all-time favorite drinks, a Dirty Harry. It's a martini made with Reyka vodka, blue-cheese stuffed olives, and a splash of dirt. (P.S. I had to ask to, what is "a splash of dirt"? It's olive juice.) I like pretty much all things savory so I thought it was pretty good. I think Tony wanted to hurl at the thought of blue cheese in a drink, but he was still a good sport and took a sip. I also had a glass of the Ste. Michelle pinot grigio wine which was excellent.

We decided to try out the Red House restaurant in Harvard Square for dinner. It's a cute restaurant with a cozy feel to it inside. It was interesting because on one side of their menu, they had a $30 pick-and-choose menu where you could pick three things from four categories. There was one appetizer section, two entree sections (not sure how they were distinguished), and a dessert section to choose from. I went to their website to get the names of the dishes we ordered but they don't post that menu online for some reason. So I'm gonna have to go by memory and more of a list of ingredients rather than the actual dish names to give this review. Here's what everyone had:

Mike had a Caesar salad to start with (forgot to get a photo of it, sorry!), shrimp linguini, and a slice of key lime pie for dessert. He didn't order from the pick and choose menu though.

Erin had two of the same things I had (she has good taste - lol!). We both had a sauteed mushroom and garlic dish as an appetizer. Then we both had a steak entree which was served with more mushrooms, rice, and asparagus. Of course, my asparagus made its way over to Tony's plate. For dessert, she had something with mixed berries on top of. By the looks of the photo I think it was something creamy.

The only difference between hers and mine was that I had a slice of the dark chocolate cake for dessert. Minus the raspberry sauce of course. And the real thing only came with one slice of orange ... this photo was taken after I put my slice onto Tony's plate.

Tony had a mixed green salad with watermelon and pine nuts as an appetizer, a puttanesca pasta dish as an entree, and a slice of dark chocolate cake for dessert.

We had a nice time and the food was delicious. I asked about the pick and choose menu and the waitress said that it is something they always offer (not just because it was Restaurant Week).

daedalus for dinner

We had dinner with our friends, Sara and Jeff, tonight at a restaurant called Daedalus in Harvard Square. They recently (not sure exactly when but like within the past couple of years?) added on a nice outdoor patio area on their rooftop. Normally, it's very difficult to get a table on the patio for dinner but we lucked out (with a parking spot too actually) and managed to get a table right away. Tony and I like to go there for drinks once in a while but it has been a while (like 3 or 4 years?) since we last ate there and we were both really impressed with how good the food was.

Tony had the Blackened Haddock Fillet which was topped with a cucumber, red onion, cilantro, and mango salsa; served with black beans, rice, and chorizo.

Sara had the Stuffed Pork Medallions which were stuffed with blue cheese, baby spinach, and portobello mushrooms; served with mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, and a shallot peppercorn sauce.

Jeff had the Flank Steak cooked medium rare (my kind of guy!) with a Madeira wine sauce; served with mashed potatoes and grill asparagus.

I had the Salmon dish which was a pan seared fillet with white wine cream sauce; served with mashed potatoes and sauteed broccolini.

I was so tickled at how the mashed potatoes were piped onto our plates and couldn't resist getting a close up shot for ya'll to see. Plus, I think this is the first restaurant that I've had broccolini as a side dish at. Too fricken cool. The whole world needs to discover broccolini!

Anyway, it was such a beautiful summer night. What a great way to spend time with friends, enjoy good food, and share some laughs.

small plates

I read about Small Plates in the February 2008 issue of Lola magazine, so when Renee and I went out for dinner yesterday I suggested that we tried it out. It's a good thing we did. The food is amazingly good, the atmosphere was nice and cozy, and the prices weren't outrageous. The waiter was very patient with our gazillion questions about ingredients in a lot of the dishes (Renee didn't want to make a trip to the E.R. due to an allergic reaction - LOL), and the chef was accomodating to my request to leave out a tomato ingredient. I definitely want to go back with Tony some time.

The entry way to the restaurant off of JFK Street.

This cracked us up!

They have these mini burgers (upper left) where they switch the ingredients inside them each night. This time they had black and regular sesame seeds inside them with tarragon, so I couldn't eat them but Renee said they were extremely yummy. We shared the scallops (upper right) which were served on top of black sticky rice, and mushrooms (bottom) which were served with roasted garlic and basil infused olive oil. All of it was so delicious!

This is the chicken confit dish which is served with roasted onion, goat cheese, and a tomato confit that I asked them to omit. Very tasty.

For dessert, we had the jasmine rice pudding which was served with a shot of Mexican hot chocolate. Wow.

sage + daedalus

We've decided that we're not going to do Valentine's dinner at restaurants anymore. For one, they usually have a prix fixe menu which means you can't really try their usual dishes. Plus, they tend to charge you more than usual. So this year I got to pick the place (we alternate each year) and we went to Sage in the South End. We had been to their old location in the North End so I wanted to see what this new location was like, plus we know the chef/owner's sister, Rita.

Right away when we walked in, both Tony and I thought that we recognized the restaurant. Sure enough, it used to be Caffe Umbra. It has a nice atmosphere and seems like they did something to it to make it larger and roomier. Fun photos on one of the walls.


We enjoyed a half carafe of Bordeaux wine with warm bread and butter before our Kobe carpaccio with arugula, shaved parmesan, and truffle vinaigrette came out. It was absolutely delicious.

Tony had the rice smoked duck breast with sautéed spinach and squash puree. It was really good - probably the best duck he has ever had. It was that good.

I had the striped bass with grilled arugula, mashed potatoes, and a beet puree. Yum yum yum!

Sadly, the desserts disappointed us ... again, almost all of them had nuts in them. So we decided to skip out and drove over to Daedalus in Harvard Square. We had the Chocolate Explosion dessert - warm flourless chocolate cake with creme anglaise, chocolate sauce and then we substituted the vanilla bean ice cream for coconut ice cream. Wow. It totally hit the spot.