‘Boston’ Archives
The most important meal of the day
One of the nicest breakfasts I've had recently. Note the robin egg's blue cup of espresso.
What does America taste like? [Burger King $1 Jr. Whopper]
![What does America taste like? [Burger King $1 Jr. Whopper]](http://lingboli.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/dscn4805-300x225.jpg "What does America taste like? [Burger King $1 Jr. Whopper]")
I used to lust after the compartmentalization and brutal efficiency of a fast food meal. I'd calculate a kind of formula to maximize my pleasure in consuming a set meal: this had more sides than that, this had chicken (which I really liked), extra points for apple turnovers or coleslaw. There was a certain American-ness still foreign to my childhood that placed fast food in a special nook of my [...]
Adventures in Raw Food – Boston’s Grezzo, part 2 of 2
If you didn't know any better, the pamphlet on the tables at Grezzo in the North End might scare you off. It lists 40 reasons to eat raw, ranging from something like "It makes your skin GLOW!" to somewhat dubious ones like, "Cooking kills off 50% of essential enzymes in food." Nothing is heated above 112 degrees, so if you order tea, the water is warmed, not boiled. Health claims aside, the [...]
Food porn: sfogliatelle and a cappucinno from Modern Pastry
Whenever I think of Italian, I actually think of Giada. I remember the first time I saw her - it was in paper version of the New York Times. I mean, who even reads the paper version of the Times anymore? Nobody. They're bleeding cash. Anyway, it was the cover of her book. She was wearing a blue shirt that matched her eyes, and it was the kind of photo that takes your intestines and whips them [...]
Piattini Gelateria and Match mini burgers
It's Reading Period! I granted myself a free day wander down Boston's beautiful Newbury Street, visit some fabulous friends, and eat some junk food... because I deserve it. I have a good relationship with gelato. We've gotten along thus far - I had some truly makes-your-mouth-sing gelato on my brief stopovers in Rome and Paris. (Not as glam as it sounds, I was on a rowdy Topdeck tour that [...]
Oggi’s “to die for” slice of the day
Steak pizza with fried shallots? It sounded promising, and it was indeed pretty tasty. The shallots added a lot of textural interest - plus they were kind of fun to eat, but didn't actually add any positive flavor to the slice. They'd clearly been sitting on a pan for a bit, so they weren't crunchy, and had been overcooked so they actually tasted bitter. As always, though, this place really [...]
Getting fat again
So I use "fat" in a tongue-in-cheek way. But I definitely spent the last few weeks watching what I ate, which meant no crazy banquet dinners, dinners of scrambled egg whites and vegetables, and the occasional helping of cheese dip, heaped high with guilt. As a result, my stomach became a cast iron tank. My collarbone and ribcage took greater prominence. When I lay down, I marveled at how my [...]
Who moved my vegan cheese? – Peace o’ Pie in Allston
In my free time, I like to club cows and steal milk meant for adorable, doe-eyed little calves from their udders. No. Not true. But I do eat real cheese. I have no qualms about dead animals and animal products. But I did, however, eat at THREE vegan places last weekend, with no morals attached. I'll talk about one now. So how is vegan pizza at relatively newly opened Peace o' Pie in [...]
BOMB Lemonade at Baraka Cafe in Central Square
So I was supposed to have dinner at the Helmand in Kendall Square (and try their semi-famous pumpkin kaddo dish), but due to a hilarious error, that night went down like this: Fabulous Friend: I'm so so so sorry. I thought I made reservations at the Helmand, but I actually made them at The Helmand in Baltimore. Me: Oh. Fabulous Friend: I'm so sorry! Me: I guess we'll get all 14 [...]
Sublime fried eggplant salad at Cafe Algiers
Algiers is the kind of place that I often throw out as a good first date location: it has charm, a bit of old world romance, and that je ne sais quoi flavor of bohemian Cambridge before the Gap moved in. However, I always throw in a word of caution that the prices are uh, pretty inflated. You pay for ambience in the form of 5 dollar coffees and $3.50 plain bagels (!). (They might even charge [...]
So fresh it’s wriggling: Sushi at Fish Market in Allston
I found Fish Market on Yelp as a budget-priced option for sushi in Allston, and it didn't disappoint. Prices are very reasonable - $3.75-6 for standard maki and $7.50-15 for "special" maki. The interior is cutesily modern: lime green chairs and light wood, with a merely 5 tables or so plus a sushi bar. Since I was surrounded by Asian staff, I suddenly wanted to burst out in my restaurant [...]
My favorite secret study spot in Harvard Square: Karma Tea
I may regret letting this one out of the bag, but Karma Tea on Mass Ave is a truly magical study nook. While it may be better known for the yoga studio attached to it, the floor-to-ceiling windows, rock sculptures, and comfy faux-suede chairs are every bit as zenergizing as the physical exertions in the studio upstairs. They carry vegan muffins from Veggie Planet (haven't sampled these, but [...]
Photos of the Day: Dinner at Mistral
I have these old photos banging around in my Picasa (a photo manager) and I can no longer even write a coherent review of the experience, but just to brighten your Monday afternoon, indulge in this high-end food porn from Mistral. I apologize for not waxing poetic about texture of the escargots or precisely what kind of tomatoes they used, but I'm sure you'll forgive me. Most of what I [...]
Sweet treats from around Boston
This is a durian shake from Chinatown. Durian is the infamously stinky fruit that is sometime even banned by law from consumption in certain places since it smells like... an outhouse on a hot day. But its spiky exterior belies a decadently rich, creamy custard-colored flesh, which has been ground up here into a shake. A friend and I drank it one sip at a time, speculating what notes we picked up [...]
HUDS food cart column in the Crimson
Check out my review of the HUDS food carts in the Crimson's Fifteen Minutes today... the print version is accompanied by a smiling photo of me cluthing two desecrated halves of whole wheat bread. Anyway, in the spirit of supplementary online content, here are the photos taken of my two meals. Probably more entertaining would be the outtakes for the column's photoshoot, where I start [...]
RSS feed
