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

green land cafe (salem)

If you're ever up in Salem, Massachusetts on a beautiful sunny day, look for Green Land Cafe. They have a nice outdoor patio area in the back, under some tall trees that provide a nice amount of shade for a nice dining experience.

They offer cold and hot small plate options, as well as an array of salad and sandwich choices on their lunch menu. My friends and I all enjoyed salads, and shared the manchego cheese appetizer. It originally came with cracked red pepper and paprika sprinkled on top, so we had to send it back and ask them for some without the seasoning. We also asked for bread to go along with it, which came fresh out of the oven.

My friends had the arugula salad ($8) which was served with roasted pear, shaved fennel and a confit shallot vinaigrette; and the grilled avocado and crab salad ($10) which was served with a ginger-lime gastrique. Both said that their salads were quite delicious and refreshing. I enjoyed the Caesar salad ($8) which was served with red romaine, white anchovies and grana padano. It was pretty hearty for a Caesar salad which was a nice change, and the anchovy on top was really good (I wish there was more than one piece though).

One neat thing about the restaurant is that they really focus on supporting local farms by serving fresh produce, hand crafted New England cheeses, seafood from local fishermen, and artisan breads. The inside of the restaurant seemed nice and warm, and was much larger than it appeared from the outside. I would love to take my husband back there if we're ever up in Salem sometime.

Green Land Cafe
87 Washington Street
Salem, MA 01970
978.744.7766
http://www.thegreenlandcafe.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 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

the gallows (boston)

There's a restaurant called The Gallows in the South End where Sage used to be. We stumbled in around 8:45 pm last Tuesday and waited for about 10-15 minutes at the bar for a table. The place was packed, which is great for a weeknight. It was nice to be able to look around and take in the scenery, especially since they totally redecorated the place. I really like the hanging light fixtures and the lights along the wood walls.



We enjoyed some wine while waiting to be seated. Tony had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Lyeth winery in Sonoma. (I tell you, he's lovin' California wines - cab sauvs in particular - more and more these days.) I had a great glass of Pinot Gris from the Montinore estate winery in Oregon.

We shared the smoked fish pate appetizer which was made with smoke blue fish (I think?*), cream cheese, and green onions. It was very tasty and had a nice smoky flavor to it.

[* Quick note: I have this habit of relying on a restaurant's online menu to help me remember what it is we ordered when it comes time to blogging about a dining experience. In this case - which rarely happens actually - the restaurant doesn't have their menu posted online so I unfortunately don't have very many details to share. My apologies in advance!]

Tony had a delicious beef brisket dish for dinner which was served with some eggplant and tomatoes on the side, and a dollop of cool yogurt on top. (I apologize for the dark photo but I hate using a flash in a restaurant and the lighting was pretty dim.)

I enjoyed a steak salad cooked very medium rare on top of a bed of greens that I can't remember the name of. They were described to me as tubular and crunchy, which was quite accurate. (I wish I could remember the name of them! Our waiter described them as essentially being a type of weed ... I guess at the time it didn't seem as unappetizing as recalling the description now ... LOL) It was a nice change from ordinary, flat lettuce and the dressing was delicious.

We shared a blueberry dessert that of course, I can't remember the name of (see above comment about lack of menu for reference). I don't want to call it a cobbler but it also wasn't a tart. It was served hot in a cute little cast iron pan and served with delicious whipped cream on top.

Overall we had a fun time even though it was quite loud at some times. Our waiter, Jim, was very friendly and made conversation with us throughout the night. The atmosphere is pretty laid back and casual, but it's also a nice place for a date or small group outing.



The Gallows
1395 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02118
617.425.0200
www.thegallowsboston.com

graham elliot (chicago)

My friend, Allen, is a world traveller. Or, at least to me, it seems like he has been around the globe. He is always venturing out to new destinations and takes AMAZING photos. He's also one of the most genuinely kind people I know who is generous at the same time: he gave me a free JetBlue ticket that he won, which was how our recent trip to Chicago came to fruition. (Thanks, Allen!)

In addition to our shared love for travelling and photography, I think we share a lot of the same taste in dining. So when he recommended that we try the Graham Elliot restaurant in Chicago, I looked up the address on their website and added it to my list of things to do during our trip. (You have to check out the website by the way - the intro page is pretty neat!)

After a whole day of walking around Chicago, we ended up in the River North section because I was determined to check out one of the original Paper Source store. It's a long story but basically I have a photo of myself in front of several of their stores over the past years ... would love to see them all! Luckily, the restaurant was on a street on the way back to our hotel, so we stopped in for a drink before we went on a river boat tour that evening.

We sat at the bar and Tony enjoyed a basket of popcorn that was seasoned with truffle oil and herbs. It smelled so delicious and miraculously disappeared by the time we left the restaurant. He had the Metropolitan Dynamo Copper Lager and I had a glass of the Charles Bove sparkling Chenin Blanc sparkling wine. Man, after walking what I could swear was at least ten miles that day, that glass of wine was so refreshing!


Since we had a late lunch we weren't starving so we ordered two appetizers to share. The deconstructed Caesar salad was made with romaine hearts and white anchovy. It was served with a brioche "twinkie" that was filled with parmesan fluff. Did you read that? Parmesan fluff. Ahhhhh. It was probably the best Caesar salad I've ever had. I could eat ten servings of that in one sitting, how sad is that?

We also had the carpaccio of beef which was served with arugula sprout, torpedo onion, horseradish custard and sea salt. Wow. Another excellent dish. The presentation was equally impressive.

For being not-very-hungry people, we did a good job of cleaning up both plates (and the aforementioned basket of popcorn ... ahem ...). If we lived in Chicago, I know we would be back there quite often. The restaurant had a great atmosphere but the music was pretty loud at the bar (nice speaker system set up though). There were a lot of couples there, and it looked like some business people were meeting there for drinks. I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone travelling to Chicago, and can't thank Allen enough for the suggestion!


Graham Elliot
217 W. Huron Street
Chicago, IL
312.624.9975
http://www.grahamelliot.com/

bergamot (somerville)

There's a new restaurant called Bergamot in the location that Evoo used to be on Beacon Street, a short walk from our apartment in Somerville. My friend, Jess, got two free cocktail coupons after trying to go there when they first opened; the restaurant and bar were full at that time so they gave her these as an incentive to come back. She was sweet to share one with me so we met there on a Sunday evening. One thing that's great about this place is that it's equi-distant between the two of us and within a short walk.

I have to admit that I had only been to Evoo once in the 9+ years I've lived in our Somerville apartment, and we didn't even eat dinner during that one visit years ago. We just sat at the bar and had some wine while gawking at everyone's plates, and said that we needed to come back some time for dinner. Well, now that it has moved over to Kendall Square, we'll have to make a trip out there some time to see what we had missed.

Unfortunately, I had already eaten a late lunch by the time Jess and I got to the restaurant so I wasn't really hungry. We decided to sit at the bar even though there was only one occupied table in the restaurant when we arrived. It's a nice space with a semi-open kitchen. They offer a bar menu with a variety of appetizers to choose from, and they have a pretty good list of cocktails and wines by the glass.

I was in a white wine mood so I had a glass of the 2008 Beaujolais Blanc, Terre Dorees and it was very good. I've taken a liking to drinking white wines lately, and I enjoy trying varietals other than the norm. In particular, I find viogniers and chenin blancs hard to resist. This glass was right up there, and quite refreshing.

What cracked us up was how the bartender constantly tried each wine he poured that night. I don't think I've ever seen that happen before. It was interesting to watch after the first couple of times he did it, but after the seventh or eighth time, we were pretty shocked and I told him that he had a fun job.

The amuse-bouche of the night was sauteed calamari served with fresh peas (don't worry, I transferred my peas to her dish). It was quite delicious and flavorful. And just really pretty to look at presentation wise.

Jess ordered the calamari appetizer dish and I think this won on presentation too. The batter was really light and it was served with a sweet and spicy glaze. She said it was delicious (I didn't want to risk breaking out because I could see the chili flakes), and it was a fairly large portion for being just an appetizer.

Neither of us had room for dessert afterwards, but the bartender brought each of us this cute little mini crepe with a cherry on top anyway. I don't think I can eat cherries (it's red and a fruit), but I couldn't resist trying it - it was so cute and smelled so good! The texture of the crepe was perfect and the cherry was not too tart. The presentation, again, was quite pretty.

And as if that wasn't enough, the bartender gave us these little gumdrop-looking treats when we asked for the check. They were plum flavored and oh-so-good! I had a glass of the 2008 Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise, Cotes du Rhone and they went together quite nicely.

Overall, it was a nice dining experience and we had fun. The restaurant filled up by the time we left, nearly three hours later. (I know! I couldn't believe we were there that long either!) It's not a very big restaurant in size but there are a lot of tables and the noise level did not get very loud. It's a great place for a date, to take your parents to, and for small groups. I can definitely see more trips there this summer, especially since it is so close to where we live.


Bergamot
118 Beacon Street
Somerville, MA 02143
617.576.7700
http://bergamotrestaurant.com/

gaslight brasserie du coin (boston)

My friends Antoinette, Renee, and I attended the patio party at Gaslight restaurant last night. I saw a blurb about it on the Boston Chefs website and we managed to get our names on the guest list for the party which was celebrating the opening of their patio space for the summer. It's funny because they kept emphasizing how it was limited to 50 people, but there were nearly 200 people there after the first hour and so there was a shortage of passed apps going around.


We enjoyed complimentary drinks from Svedka Vodka and Harpoon Brewery, and freshly shucked oysters from Island Creek Oysters. It was a nice way to spend a summer evening and I can see the patio area becoming a popular destination this summer.

Renee and I stayed at the restaurant for dinner and had quite a feast. She had their halibut special which was served with a corn succotash and said it was quite good. It was a pretty large piece of fish and she asked for some of it to be wrapped up to take home. Unfortunately, we didn't realize until right before we left (and after dessert) that the waiter never brought it back to our table. :(

I had the duck confit ($17.50) which was served with an orange gastrique, citrus chard salade, and roasted garlic potatoes. It was absolutely delicious! It has been a while since I've had duck and man, it was finger licking good. Of course, we couldn't let any of the freshly baked (still warm) French bread go to waste, so I sopped up everything on my plate. No shame, no shame at all. It paired really well with my glass of Gamay Beaujolais wine too ($10).

We shared the molten chocolate cake dessert ($6.95) which was served with creme Chantilly (think sweetened whipped cream). It tasted wonderful but I have to say that the presentation was kind of a flop. Literally. I mean, look at this picture. Right??

Overall, it was a nice dining experience at the restaurant and the patio party was a lot of fun. I will say though, it is quite loud inside the restaurant and it was difficult to hear our conversation even though it was just two of us and we leaned across the table toward each other. I think they could turn the music down a notch and it would be a little better. A great restaurant for a romantic date (if you can deal with the loudness), and certainly good for a group outing if you don't mind spending more on an entree. Would not recommend it for a family with small children though. Great wine selection, nice bar, and a party atmosphere.

Gaslight Brasserie du Coin
560 Harrison Avenue
Boston, MA 02118
617.422.0224
http://gaslight560.com