"The Range" Restaurant Review

When your friends are in town and want to meet for lunch what is a girl to do during these COVID times? My answer was shower up, find an outfit that can get sopping with sweat sitting outside on a high 80s degree day and grab my cutest mask. Off I went to Hingham (MA) to meet the girls at a driving range complete with a local favorite restaurant, The Range Bar & Grille.

I have no qualms about sitting outside COVID or not. I much prefer it to the over air conditioned, dark dining rooms at most establishments. This place did a great job of keeping people separated and keeping the service level up. The dining area was well stocked with giant umbrellas and while our table was more like an outdoor booth we still had plenty of shade. It would have been nice to have a cushion under our bottoms but we understood why they had been removed.

It was a 'ladies who lunch' event so obviously we ordered a bottle of prosecco to start. The only option was Chloe, it was a little flat in flavor department, but it was cold and refreshing, and beggers can't be choosers right?!


Our food order came. A strawberry and goat cheese salad with added salmon ($13+$11), a turkey club wrap with sweet potato fries ($12) and a 'veggie sandwich' with sweet potato fries ($14). The portions were very large, in my opinion definitely enough food for two lunches. The serving of salmon was a dinner portion size but had good flavor and the salad was light, crisp and fresh. The turkey club adorned some excellent additions like avocado which are not usually seen in a club sandwich. The veggie sandwich was a portobello mushroom cap with cheese and pesto on top of a Beyond Meat patty with normal vegetable accouterments. It had a good amount of flavor, but the patty was unnecessary and made the sandwich to heavy. I would have given people the option of the mushroom cap or the patty but not both. The sweet potato fries were a big hit among all three of us. They did not appear to be frozen, prepackaged fries, and they were wide which is much more to my liking as opposed to the shoe string varieties.

All in all, I would go back here. It was a nice quiet location, the food was good and it was sold at reasonable price. And hey if you get bored of your dining companions you can always watch the peeps at the driving range smashing balls around!

La Camelia - Go Armenian or go home

Hidden at 92Waterman St in East Providence is a tiny brick building with 5 parking spaces, it houses an Armenian couple and their immensely flavorful cooking. Kevor (George in English) and his wife came to the USA in 1976 and, after urging from their friends, they opened La Camelia in 1981. While their business is largely catering, they do have about 16 seats and are very busy on Friday and Saturday nights. I went on a Thursday with my friends and we were the only three there, which made the experience all the more amazing as Kevor sat right down with us during the meal and we all discussed Armenian culture and their journey to this country.

Everything on the menu brought memories of my grandmother's house flooding back. I was excited to be there, yet skeptical to try anything she had made before for me. I didn't want to be disappointed by an off flavor, meat that was overcooked or pilaf that wasn't soft and buttery. After ordering a round of appetizers including yelangee (grape leaves stuffed with rice with vegetables, they came warm and the aroma of allspice wafted into your nostrils), a Lebanese bean dish with olive oil and onions, and an Armenian string cheese platter with raw vegetables of carrots, cucumbers and radishes, Kevor insisted on making us a specialty platter instead of us ordering entrees. We all eagerly agreed as my Irish friends were so tickled by the Armenian string cheese and beans they could hardly wait to see what he cooked up. At this point I snuck off to the restroom and found Kevor and his wife hard a work side by side in the kitchen hunched over the wood fire grill. 'How cute is this?' I thought to myself, just like being at home (except who are we kidding, this Kevor is indeed a progressive Armenian man because cooking is definitely woman's work in that culture!)

What he brought was a large platter of pilaf and grilled vegetables (green and red peppers, small onions, tomatoes) topped with Losh Kebabs (ground meat patties - these were lamb, seasoned with parsley, onion and bell peppers) and Shish Kebabs (both chicken and fillet mignon).

In an Armenian house when you eat these types of food, you take a piece of warm Syrian bread (similar to pita or lavash) and put the meat on and some pilaf and then take a grilled tomato and smush is down on top so the juices run all over the meat and rice. The losh kebabs (which have always been a favorite of mine) were spot on, just as I remembered, and the beef was just as well prepared. The pilaf was delicious with pine nuts and browned vermicelli and was reminiscent of Grandma's Monday-Saturday pilaf when she cooked it with chicken broth instead of butter, yummy indeed. The house made yelangees were also wonderful. I am not used to them being served warm but I liked them that way very much.

We all left full but as my friends remarked, "I am so full, but I don't feel bad. That food was so light that you can feel full and not sick. AMAZING!"

La Camelia gets an A+ for sure, not just in taste, but atmosphere (Armenian music playing in the background), authenticity, and friendliness. The proprietors are so proud of their food and they really want you to enjoy the experience of their homeland.

Deluxe Station Diner

Set in a cutesy part of Newton Centre, exactly where the green line stops, is the local favorite, Deluxe Station Diner. The old train station is a beautiful building, everything is mahogany stained wood with decor back to the glory days of train travel. The owners of Deluxe Station Diner remodeled the building in 2010 to create an eatery that is anything but a stereotypical diner.

The menu has some things on it that you might expect: meatloaf, chicken pot pie, fish and chips; and a few that had you go 'really?': vegetable curry, spaghetti and 'meatballs' (made with eggplant instead of meat) and a Thai noodle dish. As you people watch waiting for your meal to arrive, you realize that the menu is a reflection of the clientele, and it is as eclectic as they are. People of all ages, dressing styles, social classes, and professions frequent this stop - probably due to the ease of access and the high quality of all their homemade-made from scratch dishes.

I ordered the waiter's recommendation of Broasted Half Chicken which came with two sides. I choose mixed greens (which was exactly that, with a few grape tomato halves thrown in). When I asked the waiter to choose between the mac & cheese and sweet potato fries he gave me a look as if I must be a moron, he wrote down and muttered "mac & cheese" without letting me get another word in edgewise.

He was very correct in his recommendations though! The broasted chicken was a cross between broiled and roast chicken, so it had a crispy outside as if it had been deep fried, but the meat was juicy and pulled easily away from the bone. I was pleasantly surprised. It was also not over seasoned which was nice. Some places salt the heck out of the poor bird or cover it in thyme and then it also comes greasy. DSD let the quality of the meat shine through, which I really appreciated! The mixed greens were fresh and a nice thing to break up the cheesey deliciousness of the mac & cheese, which was creamy and saucy, with extra cheese melted on top. I was to full to finish it and it made a fabulous lunch reheated today!

The Deluxe Station Diner also has a selection of microbrews and small batch wines to go with the food. The choices fit the character of the place with things like Alagash White (ME), Smuttynose IPA (NH) or Original Sin Cider (NY).

The atmosphere of this place is fabulous, the location is great with plenty of street parking, the noise level is good (the T came by multiple times during the 2.5 hours I was there, and you never heard it once), and the food is fantastic and reasonably priced (dinner for 2 with 2 beers = $42 + tip).

Deluxe Station Diner gets an A most definitely.

Groupon - Milestone in Wellesley, MA

63% off a dinner at Milestone Mediterranean food in Wellesley, MA. For $35 dollars you will get a 3 course meal:

Choose between the following options:
For $35, you get a three-course dinner for two (up to an $88 value).
For $65, you get a three-course dinner for four (up to a $176 value).
Each diner orders one of the following from an exclusive chef's menu devised for Groupon customers:
One appetizer (up to $11 each)
One soup or salad (up to a $9 value each)
One entree (up to a $24 value each)

View the Groupon Offer - offer can be purchased through 8/31

August Lix Fix is out!

JP Licks August flavors:

Yogurt X (remember its 29calories/oz, full of probiotics, fat free and low sugar) = Peach

Other flavors:
Fresh Peach
Mocha Chip
Peanut Butter Oreo
Cow Trax
Fresh Lumpy Primate
Raspberry Lime Rickey Sorbet
Triple Berry Sorbet
Sangria Sorbet
Fudgsicle Sorbet
Sugar Free Vanilla
Lactose Free Black Raspberry
Red Raspberry Low Fat yogurt

also new for a limited time - PRETZEL CONES!!

Restaurant Week Boston - Returns

Open Table's Restaurant week - Boston returns next month. Over 180 restaurants in the Greater Boston area participate August 14-19 and 21-26.

Pricing: (alcohol not included)
2 Course Lunch = $15.11
3 Course Lunch = $20.11
3 Course Dinner = $33.11

So check out Open Table to make a reservation - spots go fast at many of the participating eateries!

ENJOY!!

Today's Groupon

Groupon today is 1/2 off at Sibling Rivalry, which is a South End staple for reasonably price, higher end food that blends some fusion with some eclectic ideas about food pairings in the setting of "Modern American". The whole concept of Sibling Rivalry starts with the Chef owners - two brothers, who each create their own "dueling" menu using the same main item (ie scallops) so that each item is on the menu two different ways. You are given 1 paper menu that contains all the options from both chefs. You can pick and chose from both chefs, but it is a fun idea that you could order from Chef David and you dinner date could order from Chef Bob and YOU could be the judge as to who did a better job!

Check it out - and at half off - how can you lose :)

X Factor

Who's tried the 'X Factor'? No, I'm not talking about a TV show - it was a TV show wasn't it? I am talking about JP Licks 29 calories per ounce soft serve - yes you heard that right - 29 calories per ounce of glorious soft serve! The newest flavor is Black Currant. Per their own email:

Yogurt X, if you didn't know already, is our tart and tangy frozen yogurt that's full of Probiotics and active cultures. It's non fat, has less sugar than regular frozen yogurt, and a refreshing dairy flavor that just has to be tasted. It seems we've created a (friendly) monster - now Black Currant joins our growing list of incredible flavor twists.

Check out the soft serve flavor rotations! There are no nutrition facts listed on the website - per Federal law they don't have to have them until they have 20 locations and currently there are only 10 JP Licks stores in the greater Boston area, so for my patients out there I can't attest that any of you would be able to enjoy these flavors unless they are the sugar free ones, but if you are taking your family, ask the girl behind the counter, she might have a nutrition facts sheet there for you to look at.

Hard Ice Cream July flavors: (Click on link for flavor descriptions)
Fresh Peach
Butter Cashew
Fresh Cucumber
Sugar Free Vanilla
Bailey's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake
Triple Berry Sorbet
El Diablo (yes the devil!!!)
Raspberry Lime Rickey Sorbet
Fresh Watermelon Sherbet
Fresh Mojito Sorbet
Strawberry Banana Lactose Free
Chocolate Chip Low Fat Yogurt

ENJOY!!!

B-night: Bourbon and BBQ that is...

Boston is known as Beantown and has some fabulous B-schools (business for those of you uneducated on the term, not B as in second tier), but BBQ and Bourbon are not 'B' terms usually associated with our hometown city on the water. Last week, Tremont 647 hosted one of their many yearly events, which have all become quite the popular Monday outing for Bostonians. This one was the annual BBQ tasting and Bourbon sampling event. We were super excited about our BBQ dinner and completely unaware of the Bourbon tasting, perhaps we neglected to read the fine print, as we often do, but it seemed like a great added benefit until we saw 4 poured shots per person sitting on our table!

Tremont 647 is known for its locally sourced cuisine ingredients and intimate setting, at address 647 Tremont Street in the South End (way to be real original with the establishment's name, Chef Husbands, way to be original). Anyway, Chef and owner Andy Husbands (who also owns and runs 647's neighbor to the right, Sister Sorel) is not new to the scene of high class cuisine, nor is he new to the BBQing scene. He won the World BBQ championships with the hog recipe he was preparing for us that tonight and his excitement showed when he squeaked into the microphone "I smoked the hog myself yesterday, its going to be awesome!"

We started the night with various appetizers including: fresh hush puppies, smoked trout remoulade over English pea cakes, and smoked chicken cakes. The hush puppies were to die for with plenty of corn kernels and moisture to spare in a golf ball sized, deep fried package. The chicken cakes were also delicious, but if you didn't stuff the whole thing into your mouth all one time, in one swift movement from serving platter to pie-hole, you were going to be walking on. The cake was very brittle and did not hold together at all, which is sort of a must if you are going to use it for a passed appetizer and thus it must be eaten sans utensils. Smoked trout was ok, I could have done without it though - a little to acidic for the people in my party.

Then we sat down for the bourbon tasting and just as Chef predicted, 1/2 way through it no one was paying attention to the girl hosting the tasting, because they were all drinking and feeling good. I, however, was pretty sickened by the bourbon. I would have rather drank urine - way to harsh for me - I almost did the head spin that Will Smith mastered for the intro to Fresh Prince of Bel Air, due to the stringency of it.

First course was three different kinds of ribs with matching coleslaw: America style, Jerk Style (read SPICY!!!!) and Chinese style. The ladies liked the Chinese style best probably because it was coated in brown sugar, the men, though they were crying and bright red, powered through the jerk ribs and even started in on seconds, proclaiming that it was their favorite. America was neither good nor bad, it was just kind of boring compared to the other two! All the ribs were tender, moist and flavorful, but the Chinese style ones were banging for sure!

Then we cooled off with a wedge salad: iceberg lettuce, pickled onions, BACON, and as one of my dinner dates proclaimed in excitement "FULL FAT DRESSING - THERE'S NOTHING LIKE IT!" It was a good break from the spice of the ribs and a nice cleanse before the family style main course. Paper boats of food covered our table minutes later, full of: blackened catfish, pulled pork, greens, beans, watermelon, potato salad, coleslaw, burnt ends, and honey covered cornbread. The Catfish had a little to much cayenne in it for me but it was cooked very well so that the integrity of the flesh was maintained and the moisture level was spot on. The beans were fabulous, slightly sweet with a touch of cumin, I could have eaten a whole bowl of those if I had room. The cornbread took a couple bites to get used to. It was very sweet from the honey and I am more used to a fatty hunk of cornbread due to high butter content. I liked the idea of it though, as it seemed to help the heat issue in the mouth after the catfish. Greens were good, no complaints - they just aren't my favorite option at the BBQ to begin with. I was truthfully expecting more from the World Championship winning BBQ recipe on the hog, but I was not disappointed - I guess I was just expecting fireworks. There was also potato salad and coleslaw neither of which I tried because I don't really appreciate mayo as a food item and I try to boycott it whenever possible. The burnt ends were fabulous though! Contrary to belief, they were not dried out and were so flavorful - LOVED LOVED LOVED them!

Dessert was a strawberry shortcake with a twist. They used home made vanilla wafer sugar cookies for the outside instead of biscuits and instead of strawberries with cream on the inside the two were blended together into more of a creme filling for the cookies. A few dark chocolate chips rounded it out. I would have liked a bushel of the cookies to take home - they were fantastic! Sweet, with more then just a hint of real vanilla bean - definitely no short cuts were taken in the recipe for those puppies.

You can take full advantage of all the events Tremont 647 and Sister Sorel have to offer by going to Tremont's website and joining their email list for first crack at all the goodies!

Sweet Cece's vs Pinkberry

Pinkberry is taking the world by storm - well ok maybe that is an exaggeration, it is at minimum gaining speed across the US, with copy-cat yogurt chains popping up all over the place. I first had Pinkberry in 2007 while visiting my brother (the Great Moomsi) in Los Angeles. I was quite amused by the product Pinkberry offers. I am probably one of the few who actually enjoys eating non-fat plain yogurt straight from the container, so I much enjoyed their tangy, unsweetened yogurt. The fresh fruit bar of toppings was also a plus along with many others both normal and non conventional. I remember going to NYC and being excited to see Pinkberry on the corner near my friend's place and the excitement that the approaching opening date of Pinkberry on Newbury Street brought, but now that Pinkberry is the 'in' thing, I think I want out.


Recently though, I have discovered a new tough competitor and perhaps lethal threat to Pinkberry's reign on top and it is called Sweet Cece's. Pnkberry usually has 4-6 flavors to choose from (and while I would normally not see this as a drawback, since you can focus on quality), Sweet Cece's had about 8 (including plain/original). Sweet Cece's is also self serve and is then pay-by-weight purchased (an ingenious strategy if you ask me, because who really just fills up the cup 1/2 way??) Their topping bar is also much more expansive then at Pinkberry. I took a gander on Pomegranate, plain, heath bar and peanut butter flavors. I enjoyed the creaminess of the yogurt itself. Each flavor was the same consistency which can be hard to mimic and the fruit flavors at Sweet Cece's didn't mimic creamsicles like they can at Pinkberry. The heath bar was a perfect replica of the candy bar and the pomegranate was tangy and slightly sweet. Peanut butter was delicious, though honestly, it is hard to mess up peanut butter.

The topping station was slightly overwhelming but it was much easier to control your portion of topping then it was pulling flavor levers. I only went with a few toppings, but was super excited to see snow caps as an option - for some reason I have always loved those! I also opted for the cheesecake bites. I am a sucker for a good cheesecake, and I always opt for the cheesecake bites at Pinkberry but am always disappointed. I gave the cheesecake bites another chance; I thought 'new place - new cheesecake bites' and these ones did not disappoint me. Truthfully, I was sad I didn't get more of them! They were actually pieces of cut up cheesecake instead of the processed topping bites. (Closest comparison of poor toppings I can think of, is when you get cookie dough that has the floury coating over it - that is the first red flag that that stuff came out of a giant box full of little cookie dough balls instead of fresh cut from a cookie dough log. The cheese cake balls from Pinkberry are the same deal - but the ones from Cece's were the bomb.)

I really think that Sweet Cece's has a good shot at a large market share portion should they chose to expand. I wish this business venture well!!

JP Licks - New Spring Flavors

Spring has sprung in Massachusetts - sort of...and JP Licks has released their newest flavors! Their Red Sox themed line up is sure to be a bigger hit the season starting record for Sox Nation.

Batter Up! = cake batter ice cream with brownie bits
Peanut Butter Beckett Chip = peanut butter ice cream with sweet chocolate chips (probably will be my favorite!!)
Papelbon Pineapple Sherbet
Youk's Manischewitz Sorbet = Manischewitz wine
Noodle Kugel = tender egg noodles blended with brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg

Check out the closest JP Licks to you! Newest location is opening in Wellesley Center! Be sure to sign up for a Licks Card to get points towards free coffee and ice cream scoops!

Acropolis

Last night I went on an adventure to the Acropolis Greek restaurant - the newest kid on the Needham block. Moved into the old Gabriella's on Highland Ave, Acropolis is small and intimate. The inside got repainted Greek blue and white (yes how creative I know - they did name it Acropolis after all), but don't let the stereotype/cliche name and decorations fool you - the food is fabulous. Greeks are known for their mastery with meats: "What do you mean you don't eat no meat? It's ok - I make lamb!" and this one lives up to the legend.

Joy, the chef's wife, ran over some kalamari, grape leaves and pita almost immediately after we sat down. The kalamari was very well executed. It is a tricky item to make, if you cook it to long it is really chewy, if not enough it is soggy and fishy. These were cooked just right, with a very light coating of batter and a chunky, sweet, homemade tomato dipping sauce. They could have been sparked up by a drizzle from the lemon wedge but they were delightful nonetheless, I liked that they were not coated in salt.

The grape leaves were chopped and sauteed. Nothing added, just heated. I had never had a grape leaf unless it was stuffed (does that make me a bad Middle Easterner??) Even though they were so plain, I thought they were quite delightful atop a wedge of of warm pita. It was a nice acid balance after the fried kalamari to cleanse the palatte.

I had a falafel sandwich with tangy tahini. Unfortunately, I had to eat it with a knife and fork but it was tasty nonetheless. The falafel could have been pulled out of the fryer 30 seconds earlier but they had a different taste to them and you could tell they were made with herbs mixed into the chickpeas which was a nice change from the typical blandish falafel.

Other items at our table was a gyro, chicken souvlaki sandwich and moussaka - all given great reveiws by their consumers.


No beer or wine available - only soda.

Supper Club - why not?!

If anyone is in Cleveland on March 23rd you should check out the Iron Wood Cafe's monthly "Supper Club" held in the space known as "The Copper Cup" . This month's menu is a vegetarian tasting - 5 courses - paired with wines. My good friend Joe Dubbs is the Chef over there and he does a great job with the food both in taste and presentation (and it doesn't hurt that I helped with some of the creative development for this month's menu :)). Copper Cup is a neat little space, very inviting for a fun night with girls or a date. Supper Club evenings usually have about 30-40 seats available so reserve yours if work, pleasure or your residence brings in the vicinity of Westlake, OH!

Masa

SOooooo this review came a little late after the dinner but it is here nonetheless and as we know before I did not have my camera for photos....

Masa is located in the South End on Tremont Street in Boston, super accessible from 93 and situated on a corner with ample street parking (also a bonus for Boston!!). The fare is south western meets the Caribbean islands-ish and has been a favorite of Bostonians for years.

The decor inside is fabulous and reminded me of places I had been to around the Grand Canyon area in AZ. Wooden chairs with leather cushioned seats, exposed wooden beams, and rough plaster mixed with white washed brick gave it a feel similar to a chic western retreat. The wooden bar is gorgeous with its mirrored cabinets and carved banister columns. Every bottle in that place had a well lit, well organized home that brough feelings of both grandeur and ease.

Masa is home to tequila. They have a whole menu just of the stuff - 99% of them, I had never heard of and a cocktail list devoted to using all those tequilas in various, adventurous concoctions. Being the tequila hater that I am, I opted for a Smuttynose IPA (I thought it a much better choice anyway, since of the food would have some heat to it). The rest of the girls went with a fancy margarita, mojito or the ever popular $5 Carafe of sangria!

The cornbread is homemade as is the rustic bread and it comes with a trio of sauces: maple butter and a hummos and something else (to be honest I was to obsessed with the maple butter to care what the other two things were! I know - bad dietitian eating butter, but no body's perfect people, live with it!). Anyway, this maple butter was heavenly, especially on that homemade cornbread. It reminded me of something I had in Quebec many moons ago - at a smoke house we went to along with dinner they would serve loaves of sliced white bread with vats of 100% maple syrup and butter. You were to spread butter on the bread and then cover it with maple syrup. I lived on that combination for 3 days (I was 12, what else was I going to eat in French-Canadian land) and have found nothing like it in the states until now. So fond of it was I, that I found myself asking the waiter what else on the menu I could order just to put that butter on!! I understand that is a little out of control!

I decided on plantain crusted catfish which came with some hushpuppies. The catfish flesh was nice. Not over cooked and not cool. The outside, while crispy, did not taste much like plantain at all - actually when I took bites of the whole thing together (fish and crust) all I could taste was chipotle, which was discouraging since the fish itself was so well cooked. The hushpuppies had a great flavor and a creamy interior but spent a tad to much time in the fryolator and were a bit burnt on the outside, which sent a lanced a burnt-smokey fry grease taste throughout the whole item. Two girls got the swordfish which was just pan seared and looked lovely sitting atop some bacon roasted potatoes, and two girls got the steak frites which also came with a bit of greens salad.

Dessert was for sure the icing on this cake. A thick and creamy creme brulee came to the table with a sugary, thin crisped shell on top; a pumpkin cheesecake enclosed in a shell of high quality chocolate (probably the biggest hit) and a caramelized banana bread pudding. I got the bread pudding and though the pudding itself tasted great - cinnamon, sugar and brandy with the sweet bananas, the sauce was spicy and not what I wanted to end my meal with. I guess I was a bit shocked/surprised when the first bite of heat in my dessert came through and then I was just annoyed with their overdose of heat throughout the meal.

However, I would give Masa a second chance, as I thought that they had some great looking appetizers that I would probably order in sets of 2-3 for a meal, but if you are someone who does not like heat or bite to your food this is not the place to visit.

Masa tonight in the South End on Tremont Street!! www.masarestaurant.com Review coming tomorrow!! Though I left my camera in Fl so can't post photos sadly :(

Cuchi Cuchi - Cuuuu

Saturday night I ventured to Cambridge. I crossed the Charles River, crossed Mass Ave and ventured down a small street (with ample parking, something totally unheard of in Boston!) to a small, packed Eurostyle Bistro called Cuchi Cuchi. The menu includes items from across Eurasia and a few specialties from South America.

The drink menu is large with many fancy cocktails and some old fashion, old world favorites. I am not a fan of mixing and matching liquors so I settled for a charming glass of Poema Cava. We settled at a cozy corner table by the window, an ideal situation for four girls celebrating a birthday and wanting space to gossip and reminisce.

The waitresses are dressed in fun, alluring costumes. Ours recommended that since the items are all served under the 'small plates' theme we should each order 2 items - a challenge we gladly accepted.
We started with potato croquettes, which came with an Alfredo dipping sauce and a spicy tomato sauce; St. Jacobs Zucchini, fried zucchini with manchego and serrano ham; and Caspian Heaven, crispy oysters with salmon roe and creme fraiche with champagne sauce. Then we moved to Bracciolette; and a Cuban cigar, braised short ribs wrapped in dough with a delightful black bean salad. We ended our journey with mushroom risotto drizzled with truffle oil, beef stroganoff and a skirt steak with a mouth watering chimichuri. Dessert plates were bigger then the dinner plates. The banana bread was by far the favorite. It was french toast with caramelized bananas, rich vanilla ice cream and fresh whipped cream drizzled with caramel (or in my case chocolate sauce!). We also ordered a mango cheesecake with almond crust and a chocolate cake which was came warm and was richer then any decedent brownie I have EVER tasted!

All in all, I thought the atmosphere at Cuchi Cuchi was great and definitely made it a place you have to experience. The food is well done but slightly overpriced. You could get comparable quality or even better flavor at a place that is not trying to be so eclectic in its offerings. But, for a fabulous night out with the ladies this is the place to be, and definitely go later in the night around 9-10pm to truly feel like you are in eastern Europe!

That is one cool place

Last night I ventured into Charlestown to go the holiday party at my best friend's company. It was at Tavern on the Water (www.tavernonthewater.com). I had never been to the place before but had heard of it. Charlestown has recently become famous due to the movie 'The Town' and I couldn't help but recite some of the movie lines when I crossed the Charlestown bridge about 7pm on my way there. "Close the goddam bridge!!"

To get to Tavern on the Water you come down Chelsea St and take a right onto 5th street. 5th street, however, does not look like a public road at all - you pass through an archway with set of gates and start down a small incline into what looks like a whole separate ecosystem from the rest of Charlestown. It looks like a charming New England version of those Florida developments that are completely self sufficient with their own gas station, grocer and school system! Anyway, you wind your way back towards the water (duh) and then hit a dead end with only two ways to go - back the way you came or out onto what looks like a deserted concrete slab that could break off into the harbor at any moment. Being the brain surgeon that I am, I chose to drive the mustang right out onto the concrete slab, which, it turns out, happens to the be the dimly lit, piss poor excuse for a parking lot. But hey - they HAVE a parking lot, so this place is already the bomb in my eyes. The tavern itself is a stand alone building - almost looking like a pontoon boat raised two stories above the pier. When you get up in there, the view is fantastic of Boston across the bay and it is very homey inside with lots of dark stained wood and resonance lighting from the city coming in through the glass walls. They have a deck, where summer patrons can sit out and have a drink. Actually, the whole dining room/bar area opens up to create a space open to the sea breezes on a summer evening. I can picture myself coming back over the summer for a glass of wine and sitting on the deck with friends. In the fall it would be an awesome spot for some raw oysters and a bottle of champagne!

It is hard to get an idea for the menu but the quality of the catered food was excellent. The stuffies (well that is Rhode Islanders call them and we were sure to let the waitress know that!) were excellent. Personally, I think it is sacrilege to cook an oyster but these were not chewy at all, and they tasted mainly of cheese and bacon with a kick of Cayenne. The beef satay was banging - though I had been craving beef all day so I might have been biased :) They also did coconut shrimp, lobster rolls, chicken satay, kielbasa, egg rolls and tuna tartare. I definitely think this place is worth the trip back to see it in action on a regular night!

I'll take the rubber ducky

I have always enjoyed Duck. It is like a designer chicken in some ways - more expensive, much harder to cook, it has a similar texture and flavor but with a lot of flare. Two weeks into my first trimester at cooking school it was Christmas vacation. G$ and I decided that we were going to cook Christmas dinner and since the only thing I had learned so far was how to properly chiffonad leaves and turn carrots into batonettes, I was clearly ready to prepare roast duck. That night I gained much respect for the green headed water fowl (it turned out pretty darn good too!) but it wasn't until about 1 year later that I really fell in love with it.

"SAL-LAD GIRL! VHERE ARE YOU! TODAY YOU VILL COOK TSEE RUBBA DUCKY!" Boomed the voice of my German (or was it Swiss?) Chef Instructor in French Cuisine class. "Yes Chef" I replied and off I went to tend to TSEE RUBBA DUCKY. Prepared correctly there is nothing quite like it. You have to cook that bird on low heat. It has a lot of fat under the skin and you need to let the fat slowly melt away, basting the flesh underneath it as it goes. The skin will crispy up and the flesh will stay a light rose pink color - almost as if it had been smoked. You have to be patient and willing to put it in the open and not touch it until it is done. It will take some time, maybe 2 hours or more but it is well worth the wait.

I have been on a quest for good RUBBA DUCKY for about two months now. I have tried it at Kowloon's in Saugus, MA with coconut and pineapple; at Nectar in Devon, PA with a curry sauce and squash, at Stephi's on Tremont in the South End, MA with duck confit ravioli and beets; but hands down the winner has been so far 'Cesca in NYC. Their duck was perfectly slow roasted with a maple and lavender glaze. There was no fat to speak of on the half bird sitting in front of me. The flesh was pink and fell apart at the touch of my fork. The meat was juicy and tender. I remember it came with green beans but I was so enthralled with the duck itself, I could barely pay attention to the dinner conversation, never mind make note of the sides. Picking lamb farroto (risotto made from Farro with lamb and fava beans) was a poor choice on my part. While fabulously delicious, I did not have to room to finish all my duck and that made me very sad. The people at 'Cesca surely know how to cook a RUBBA DUCKY and I will surely be going back there to get my fill every time I frequent that city!

Breakfast Heaven = Alice's Tea Cup, NYC

Ok, but before I get started on the heavenly food at Alice's, did anyone see on Yahoo today the article about the rotating house in Wilton, CT??!! It is for sale and at the push of a button the circular home rotates! It takes 48 minutes for a complete rotation! That would be pretty cool to have a house that does that with awesome views!
Anyway! So Alice's Tea Cup!! It was my second venture to this upper west side establishment and boy was I super excited to be going there for brunch (my first encounter was just for afternoon tea and scones). I believe my exact words the night before were, "I don't know if I can sleep, I am to excited for brunch!" I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED! The brunch menu is short, poached eggs served three different ways, french toast bread pudding, made to order crepes, or a sampler tower, and of course scones. The tea menu is 10x longer then the food menu and obviously I had to get the 'Robious Kimberly' tea! I finally decided on poached eggs with spinach atop a buttermilk scone. The eggs were poached just to my liking with a creamy, orange center that screamed 'free-range, organic deliciousness'. The savoriness of the egg yolk soaking into the sweet biscuit and the spinach, together, made quite the heavenly bite! A side salad of mixed greens was a welcome accompaniment to breakfast instead of the usual potatoes. As if I wasn't full enough, the warm chocolate chip scone was calling my name. Who can resist hunks of warm, melted chocolate enveloped in a sweet, fluffy, biscuit-like pastry? Most certainly not me! I am actually sad that no one got a picture of me like a small child with chocolate all over my fingers and face! The scones come with a cup of raspberry preserves and fresh whipped cream.
Queen and the German Bday girl opted for the sampler tower and what a tower it was! Two sandwiches, three scones, a plate of cookies, slice of mocha chip cake - it was the works! Queen took a bite of each cookie, like a child trying to decide which one he wants to actually eat! The German, who has been living in London - land of the scone - for quite some time remarked "I had to come all the way to New York to get a decent scone! This is the best one I have ever had!" The individual tea pots provide at least 3 cups worth of steaming, robust flavors and if you can't finish all that tea, your fairy-wing wearing waitress will provide you with a to-go cup so you can prose the nearby shops and enjoy the rest!

For sure you need to stop here if you are ever in NYC. They now have three 'chapters' or locations throughout the city! On weekends you can put your name on the waitlist and leave and they will CALL YOU when your table is ready! That is super service!

Does a great sangria ring in a great summer?

FOR SURE! We all have that friend who sits around all spring itching for that first perfect glass (errr ok pitcher) of sangria. While you may get in an argument over whether red or white is better for a 90 degree summer day, one thing is for certain, more often then not, it hits the spot and makes us a little happier.
My first glass of red sangria came from Not Your Average Joe's after seeing Robin Hood (which was much less then average) with the girls. The sangria was very refreshing and the pitcher was filled with strawberries and pineapple which made for a great pre-supper snack! I am not a fan of the sangria made to intoxicate with so much Triple Sec and/or Rum that you can taste the liquor and not the delicate flavors of the fruit bouncing on the wine. This red had no alcohol taste to it which made it very soft and easy to go down. However, it was not made with a very well bodied wine and thus it almost had the quality of fruited water and not wine with a hint of fruit.

The first white sangria of the season was enjoyed out patio of the grill at Boat Basin in NYC's Riverside Park. It was in the high 80s, we had been walking along the pier and thirst was setting in. A jumbo pitcher of sangria was purchased and three girls picked out a front row table with umbrella and sat down. The bottom quarter was packed with cantaloupe, honeydew, and blueberries. I was happy that the sangria was not made with a cheap American Riesling which would have been to sweet. Instead, it was made with a drier white (though I do not believe it was a Chardonnay) which complimented the sugars in the fruit quite wonderfully. Two and half glasses each later, talk of real estate, tax laws, and movie production, we were quite refreshed and ready to continue on our way.