Sweets (and more) from the Middle East

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Sofra, 1 Belmont St Cambridge, is different.  It serves Middle Eastern fare in cafe style, creates amazingly tasty and unique pastries made in house, and offers fresh cheeses, spreads and jams, and other food items to take home.  You can stop in to buy ingredients to spice up your dinner, for a sweet and caffeinated afternoon pickup, or for an amazing taste of Middle Eastern tahini, shwarma, pickled cabbage, and falafel.  It’s also the second baby of Oleana‘s famed owners and chefs, so you can enjoy similarly wonderful creations from the same chef, but cheaper and more casually.

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The first time I discovered Sofra I went with my mom to meet her group of mom friends who meet here monthly.  I was skeptical because of its location and that I’d never heard of it but, boy, was I in for a surprise.  Upon entering you’re struck by the warmth of the colors and smell. It’s a cozy and inviting corner spot offering, almost, to wrap a warm, foreign blanket around you.  I would recommend everything I’ve tried, and have so much more to try myself.

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The Spinach, 3 Cheese & Herb Stuffed Flatbread $8 is my favorite thing. It was warm and gooey and flavorful and just the right size. That’s about how I’d describe the Earthquake cookie too. This thing is serious. It’s a soft dark chocolate brownie type thing that I quite literally gasp at when my mom pulls them out of her sleeve at home. All of their pastries are so delicately prepared, and different than your average bakery offerings. My mom’s love is the meyer lemon tart, and we went over mine.

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The Lamb Shwarma, with pickled cabbage, tahini and yogurt is pictured above.  It was slightly less mind blowing than the flatbread but still tasty.  And the Mocha next to it was wonderful as well. There are so many more treasures I need to go back and try, namely the chocolate hazlenut baklavah and everything from their delicious looking Mezze bar…

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Sofra Bakery and Cafe on Urbanspoon

The Weekly [not so] Skinny: Fish & Chips at The Druid

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The Druid, 1357 Cambridge St. Inman Square, is a taste of home.  Not my home, but about half of Boston’s.  Unlike other places that are popular now because they’re new and hip and keeping up with the latest food trends, this place is popular because the beer is cold, the staff is friendly, and the food is really good for an Irish pub.

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Their Fish and Chips ($15) have been voted Best of Boston multiple times, not only for their taste but their authenticity. The dish is set down before you in its traditional style – wrapped in newspaper. The fish is thick, very fresh, and only lightly fried. The Lamb Burger and Fish Stew also deserve a mention, as well as the live Irish bands that play on Tuesdays and Sundays, and the fact that the bar is full almost every night of the week. The place is tiny, but the size just makes it all the more cozy and intimate. Next time you’re itching to get away, give this place a shot. Bring a friend or go alone, sit at the bar, have a beer, enjoy the food, talk to the bartenders, and you’ll be singing along with the person next to you in no time.

Druid on Urbanspoon

The Weekly [not so] Skinny: Spinach & Ricotta Gnudi at The Sinclair

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Harvard Square’s street cred multiplied by a thousand when The Sinclair began calling it home.  The love child of everything cool right now, The Sinclair is what you get when you cross a James Beard Award winning chef with live alternative music, and a neighborhood filled with a hip young crowd deprived of a venue like this for too long.

The food is gastropub inspired, with an equally crafted collection of cocktails that celebrates timeless classics: the menu offers ‘Back Then’ and ‘Right Now’ options.

This lovely picture is the Spinach and Ricotta Gnudi.  Gnudi, I’m still not sure how to pronounce that, is a cousin of gnocchi and this dish is a cousin of heaven.  If fat balls of pasta aren’t good enough on their own, try them with brown butter, pancetta (bacon’s sibling), and sage.  This dish was $9 and I would pay five times that to eat it again.  I was in disbelief, it was the tastiest, most intricately designed dish I’ve had in a while.  I can’t comment on the music venue half of this place yet, but Michael Schlow has the food side covered. And he speaks the language of taste buds.

The Sinclair on Urbanspoon

For the Love of Brunch

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A recent study regarding mammalian eating habits reveals that a major difference between the diets of humans and other mammals is our dependence on leisurely weekend brunches.

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But seriously, people are obsessed with brunch. Maybe it’s because indulging first thing in the morning is a nice alternative to how you usually start your day. Maybe doing so is liberating, and makes you feel like you know how to have fun and appreciate life. Maybe this is severe overanalysis, but I would safely conclude that people seem happier over brunch.

A few weekends ago, I was lucky enough to dine for a second time with the Boston Brunchers. The members of this group enjoy brunch because they use it as a means to meet new people, while bonding over and encouraging each other’s similar interests. This time we gathered at The Fireplace, 1634 Beacon St, Brookline. It turned out the perfect place for a study on brunch loving.

It’s possible people love brunch because it provides a wide variety of options that cater to different morning styles.  This was definitely the case at The Fireplace. Its menu offered a long list of tasty sounding salads, so the healthy conscious could be satisfied..

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Beet & Orange Salad, Boston lettuce, fresh beets and oranges, parsnip chips, toasted walnuts, Brebis Blanche sheeps’ milk cheese, citrus vinaigrette. $13

We picked two salads to share to start with: one with Duck Confit, and this one (the winner). It was possibly my favorite dish because I wasn’t expecting much, but it was rich, flavorful, and quite the satisfying dish of lettuce.

On the other hand, those who rely on comfort in the morning can indulge all they want and it’s completely acceptable.

Crispy Cornmeal Waffle, pumpkin butter, berry compote, whipped cream and Hog Island (VT) Maple Syrup. $14

This waffle was great. You could taste the cornmeal batter which made it a little less stuffing and a little more guilt-free.

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Challah French Toast, sautéed pears, cinnamon, rum raisin sauce. $14

This French Toast, au contraire, was extremely rich. Although tasty, one bite was enough.

Let’s not forget the appreciators of classics, whose morning is not a morning without eggs and toast. The Fireplace offered many options for these eaters as well, some with unique twists like Lobster Eggs Bennedict and, the dish I chose, the Crispy Duck Hash.

Crispy Duck Hash, fried eggs, toast. $16

I’m pretty sure you never wind up eating brunch with people you don’t like, and that’s one of my favorite reasons to love it. Whether it’s a form of relaxation, rewarding yourself, meeting new friends, or taking time to connect with old ones, brunch is a trend that’s here in our mammalian lifestyle to stay.

And if you’re looking for a place to celebrate the morning, The Fireplace is a superb place to start. It was a little pricy, but I was really impressed by the food and would definitely go back, soon. I always appreciate a place I think different groups of people I know would like, and this is one.

Fireplace on Urbanspoon

As part of my involvement with The Boston Brunchers this meal was provided free of charge in exchange for an honest review.

The Weekly [not so] Skinny: Taste of CHG at Mistral

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So in regard to my ‘not being a tough enough food critic’ – no one cares!  This week I gratefully attended a cocktail party for bloggers and social media fanatics in Boston and got to see how other food obsessors like myself express their deepest passions.
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The event was held by Columbus Hospitality Group, which owns a good number of Boston’s well-known and deliciously higher-end restaurants. Restaurant managers, PR enthusiasts, and the bloggers that write about all of them got the chance to meet and mingle while sampling carefully prepared bites from these amazing restaurants.  I can already tell my favorite part of these events is that I’m not the only one taking 847582 pictures of everything.

The restaurants and their offerings:

Mistral: Tuna tartare with crispy wontons in a ginger and soy sauce: only thing I had two of I couldn’t resist!
Teatro:  Fig and prosciutto sausage in a spicy tomato brodo served with a shishito pepper
Moo0…. Beef sirloin sliders with Moo sauce and caramelized onions on homemade rolls
Sorellina: Chilled Pea Soup with chive blossoms
L’Andana: Swordfish kebabs with wood-roasted peppers, onions, and cured tomatoes

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Is it hard to believe such a sweet end was my favorite? Mistral makes their ice cream and sorbet in house. This was a bacon cone with ginger maple ice cream. Whaaat? I had to sneak a second picture in this post… Thank you Mistral and everyone else for a wonderful opportunity! I will be back for more.

Ooh la la, Vee Vee!

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It’s possibile this might not be the right job for someone like me. As it’s turning out, I love everything I eat. Who knew? The term ‘Food Critic’ doesn’t really apply yet – I’m not very good at judging what’s on my plate beyond the scale of ‘Oh my god,’ ‘Amazing,’ and ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever had.’ So I’ve identified two steps in the attempt of becoming a more critical critic. Step 1) Get a real photographer’s camera and stop taking pictures on my iPhone. Check. (Enjoy them!) Step 2) Be judgmental and stop loving everything I eat. No check.  So, I may be a few years (decades?) away from a NY Times food writer level, but I’m working on it. That being said, allow me to gush over another place in which I struggled to find any faults…

10 reasons Vee Vee {763 Centre St. Jamaica Plain} should be your favorite restaurant in Boston:

1.  It’s on par every time.

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Stuffed tomato and pepper, with mushrooms & arborio rice. Peruvian lima bean salad, salsa verde. $17

My family and I have been here a few times now and with each visit we’re just as equally amazed by the new dishes we try as the last.

2.  The dishes and their ingredients are fabulously unique.

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Sardinian cous cous, broccoli rabe, mushroom bolognese, grana padano cheese. $19

Each dish we order tastes so fresh, these ones in particular reminding us of the Summer months ahead. It’s like there should be farmland outside the window instead of a busy city street.

3.  The menu – its size, options and pricing – is just right. 

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Coulotte steak, over easy egg atop potatoes, blue cheese, with hollandaise sauce. $28

The prices are amazing for the quality of the food. I’ve paid a lot more at restaurants rumored to be culinary genius and left simply satisfied. Vee Vee always blows me away. The portions are big enough to fill you. It’s a changing menu based on farm fresh ingredients, and with about 6 main dishes at a time the chef manages to get something for everyone on there.

4.  Ambiance.

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Muscadet, Domaine de la Quilla, 2011

It’s tiny and intimate. The space creates a mood that allows it to become whatever you want: it can feel romantic, young and hip, or perfectly comforting for a family reuniting over good conversation and better food.. tehe.

5.  It’s relatively undiscovered considering its talent.

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Seared scallops, bulgur, hot house tomato, english peas, greens, herb pistou. $24

The locals have figured it out, as there’s a wait for a table at the right time, but I’m genuinely perturbed as to why it’s not more talked about throughout the city. Since opening in 2008 it hasn’t spent much time in the spotlight, but it fits the criteria of the hottest restaurants right now.  Hey Eater – Read this!

6. It’s bar offers great local beers and a rotating draught list.

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And it looks like this.

7.  Vee Vee’s ex chef Seth Morrison worked here before co-founding The Gallows, a newer gastropub in the South End. The Gallows is greatly successful, and for good reason. I’ve dined at both, however, and judging on food alone I was more impressed by Vee Vee. Therefore, this is valid:

8.  It’s

9. Absolutely

10. Perfect.

Vee Vee on Urbanspoon

The Weekly [not so] Skinny: Bacon & Egg Sandwich at Tatte Fine Cookies & Cakes

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Hi, are your eyeballs working?

Is what I want to ask everyone walking into Tatte that doesn’t buy one of their amazingly unique-looking sweet creations.  photo (16)The Poached Pear Tart, for example, is reminiscent of pears sitting in a hot tub of pastry crust.  It’s like a museum of dessert… Everything at Tatte appears held to it’s own level of perfection, due to founder Tzurit Or’s passion for just that: mastering all pastry.  If you feel like being inspired, or just drooling, take a look at her gorgeous blog.

Alas, in my effort to offer more than solely sugar related news I present to you the Bacon & Egg Sandwich.  It’s everything you could ever ask for in a breakfast sandwich.  It was as if hours were spent on each component to get it to play its part just right.  At $8, it’s slightly hard to justify it for a quick breakfast choice before work with the overwhelming number of other options in Kendall Square at a 5th of the price.  But you must try it at least once.  And then I promise you you’ll be back for something else.

 

Tatte Fine Cookies & Cakes on Urbanspoon

The Weekly [not so] Skinny: Fried Oysters at Trade

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IMG_2935Trade‘s title fits it perfectly.  Everything about this place works.  From its hip, basically oceanside location at 540 Atlantic Ave to its funky open studio feel inside, its atmosphere creates your experience.

So does its food.  Its plates are an eclectic collection of dishes from all over the globe, items and tastes that inspired Chef Jody Adams on her many travels.  As Jody’s second, newer, restaurant in Boston, Trade is definitely Rialto‘s stylish, more easily approachable younger sibling.   When I went, we made a party of the small plates and I recommend you do the same.  They offer something for everyone and just about every flavor imaginable.

The Fried Oysters ($12) were my favorite, served atop a buckwheat waffle with spicy maple cream.  I don’t know where else you’ll find something like this.  And no this does not count as dessert, I haven’t gone back on my word yet.

Trade on Urbanspoon

Holy C#pc@ke$!

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Guys.  I think I cured my constant need for sugar.  How did I do this?  I sampled cupcakes from 15 of Boston’s cupcakeries and bakeries… in one week.  There’s an album on my computer of 138 pictures of cupcakes. That’s weird. I blame City Gusto, an awesome restaurant review site that highlights a local blogger each week to sample and rank the best of one cuisine or food item throughout the greater Boston area.  This was the best and worst week of my life, so thank you.  Of course I picked cupcakes, the substance of my dreams, in the hope of creating an epic review of all Boston has to offer.  And of course, taking my stomach and blood sugar levels into consideration, in retrospect I think I should’ve chosen best tofu.

Without further ado, the cupcakes:

1. Georgetown Cupcake, 83 Newbury St. Back Bay

IMG_3128($2.75/cake) In DC, where I went to school, cupcake wars were a reality.  The dainty little window displays hid a mighty competition, students and businesspeople alike constantly arguing over the best.  While not so trustworthy for other trends, like fashion for instance, DC can certainly be trusted with those of food.  And the victors of its battlefields have arrived in Boston.  Now stars of their own TV show, with locations in NYC and LA as well, Georgetown Cupcake started as a tiny shop on a street in DC championed by two sisters who just loved to bake cupcakes.  And bake cupcakes they did.  This is cupcake perfection.  The icing is what gets me, every flavor’s tastes unique.  And the cake is always equally right up there in quality.  I found myself waiting outside the store on Newbury Street last Thursday before it even opened, I’m overeager, I know, and to my pleasant surprise I was not alone!  There was a line of people waiting for cupcakes.  At 10 am.  Maybe this world isn’t doomed.
Taste: 5  Variety: 4.5  Judging by its Cover: 5                 Georgetown Cupcake on Urbanspoon

2. Kickass Cupcakes, 378 Highland Ave. Somerville

P1020078($3/cake) Their flavors are the most unique.  Many of them are modeled after drinks, so, fittingly, on the last Monday of each month Kickass does a ‘Happy Hour’ from 5-8pm with free samples of their mini cocktail inspired cupcakes.  I chose, somewhat unknowingly, a beer flavored one.  The first bite was scary, but once my pallat adjusted to the foreign combination of beer and chocolate, I couldn’t exist without it.  Their Cookie Dough also impressed me, a somewhat usual flavor they made exciting with the yummy dough in the middle.
Taste: 4.75 Variety: 5 Judging by its Cover: 4.5        Kickass Cupcakes on Urbanspoon

3. Party Favors, 1356 Beacon St. Coolidge Corner

IMG_2840($3.50/cake) This place provides crack to little children in the form of icing and all things sugar.   They create scenery atop their made to order cakes that is pure art and made out of pure, colorful icing.  Loads of it.  And their cupcakes are just mini versions of those extravagant masterpieces.  Maybe it’s because I was once one of these hyper-excited little kids, but this place makes their icing with heart.  Their cake is always moist and top notch.  They do have an array of more ‘adult’ flavored and decorated cupcakes, but I was hugely disappointed.  The kids do it right.
Taste: 5 Variety: 3 Judging by its Cover: 4               Party Favors on Urbanspoon

4. Cakeology, 45 Province St. Downtown

IMG_3050($3.25/cake) Walking into Cakeology is like walking inside a cupcake.  The smell overwhelms you immediately, if cupcakes could sweat this is what it would smell like.  I’ve been here a few times now and I do admit the first time I was a bit disappointed with what I thought would be the most chocolaty flavor, because it was buttercream.  When I want chocolate I want real, rich chocolate, not light fluffy butter.  I later tried the White Chocolate Strawberry, however, and was blown away.  Speaking of cupcake wars, owner Victoria Donnelly was the winner of season 2 of the Food Network’s show.  My conclusion is that some flavors here are absolutely epic while others are decently okay.
Taste: 3.75 Variety: 4 Judging by its Cover: 5              Cakeology on Urbanspoon

5. South End Buttery, 314 Shawmut Ave, South End

IMG_3095($3/cake) I tried the Cappuccino and Lemon Raspberry.  The flavors here were unique as well, and rather dainty if that makes sense.  The Cappuccino icing was delicious, and true to flavor.  The Lemon Raspberry cake was so fresh, it tasted like a homemade muffin.  Its frosting, though: sigh, butter cream.  Like I said in my last post, while the cupcakes were very good, but the Blackberry Orange Scone was something that would make me go back.
Taste:  3.75  Variety: 3.75  Judging by its Cover:  4.5             South End Buttery on Urbanspoon

6. Sweet, Harvard Square, Back Bay

IMG_3118($3.25/cake) Sweet is too sweet.  That’s the It nailed the boutiquey style that came from DC, but I have yet to find a flavor there that tastes as good as it looks.  Sweet is all about butter cream, and butter cream and I are the best of frenemies.  Because of their apparent dairy obsession, their cream cheese icing is perfection.  But when I want chocolate, or mint, or coffee icing, save the butter.
Taste: 3.5 Variety: 5 Judging by its Cover: 5
Sweet on Urbanspoon

7. Crumbs, 176 Federal St, Prudential Center, Downtown

IMG_3023($3.95/cake) Crumbs needs a lesson in modesty.  The cupcakes are HUGE.  The different flavors and their excessive decorations are very intriguing, but once you’re three bites in, you kind of want to kill yourself.  They taste how I woud imagine pouring a packet of Sweet & Low in your mouth.

Taste: 3 Variety: 5 Judging by its Cover:  big fat 5 Crumbs on Urbanspoon

Honorable Mention:  The rest are good.  I mean, hi, I would never turn down a cupcake.  I just didn’t obsess over my experiences there like the first few.  I’m also tired of writing and thinking about cupcakes…

8. Mike’s Pastry, North End - You can trust them not just for cannolis, I only tried one flavor, the Turtle, but it was addictingly goodP1020107 (largest one in group photo).

P10200889. Petsi Pies, Cambridge & Porter Square- The peanut butter (below) was fantastic.  Extremely hearty.  The Dolche du Leche was a little strange..

10. Flour Downtown & Central Square- Only one type was available, if you visit flour I’d try one of their other pastry creations or cakes.

11. Isabelle’s Curly Cakes, Beacon Hill – The cake was dry.  The Red Velvet was not cream cheesy enough and the chocolate was not chocolatey enough.

12. Lulu’s Sweet Shoppe, North End - Others obsess over this place.  My experience wasn’t too special, I tried the Toasted Marshmallow and Classic.

13. Thinking Cup, North End & Park St - Primarily a coffee shop, I might stick to the rest of the food it has to offer.  (mini in picture below)

14. Rosie’s Bakery, Cambridge – Made to order cakes might be more appealing, but in store there was only one flavor, and it wasn’t anything to write home about.

15. Lyndell’s, Central Square & Somerville – Boring.

Phew, DONE.  I’ll never write about desserts again…

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The Weekly [not so] Skinny: Dark & Stormy at JM Curley

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IMG_2917I’ve concluded that I eat too much.  I’ve also concluded I’m smart because I found a way to justify all I eat, hint: what you’re reading.  This eating, or ‘research’ as I call it, has provided me with too many valuable food secrets to place in back of the line waiting for a highlight in the weekly post.

Each Thursday you’ll now find the best item I tried the past week.  Maybe it’s the best because it’s new to me, new to the city, it’s trendy and I’m trying to fit in, or flat out the best of its kind.

This Dark & Stormy fits all those categories.  JM Curly is seriously in the spotlight right now because of its burger that’s a Best of Boston contender, and its upscale bar food and feel that offer a hip livelihood back to the Downtown Crossing area.  This is a cocktail that can go terribly wrong without the right ingredients and proportions but JM Curley did it terribly right.  The ginger was fierce.  The rum was sweet.  The lime was… photogenic.   The best one I’ve had in Boston and, I can accurately say, ever.

JM Curley on Urbanspoon