Cheap eats
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 snarling as I rip apart bread and throw it up in the air, all expertly captured by photog Terrell Woods. (Who is great! Go see him give a tour with Unofficial Tours sometime.)
So yeah, moral of the story is: eat a wrap, or better yet, walk a little farther up Oxford and get some greasy Chinese food. Seriously.
The site of the unholy chicken salad sandwich…
It seemed ok at first glance.
Don’t be fooled by this photo – that bread is sawdust.
I fared much better with this tasty beef kebab wrap.
Some food porn from Harvard Square
$1 Oyster Mondays at Rialto in Harvard Square, best with a squeeze of lemon
I adore oysters, the aftertaste of sea, the freshness and briny goodness cut through a zingy squirt of lemon. Add some good company, and it’s a party.
A turkey/avocado sandwich from Cafe Pamplona - so so
Also posted to the lovely 3 Buck Bites awhile ago.
I thought this was funny.
Found this on the walk between Central Square and Mulan, a great Chinese restaurant I ate at recently. Apparently they make candy.
Butter in Iceland, for real.
But of course!
Delightful, delicious Veggie Planet Pizza
Vegan Peanut Curry - with butternut squash instead of broccoli
Veggie Planet has made me sing songs of joy ever since I first visited a few months into freshman year and tasted the sweet revelation that is Lunch for Henry. Whenever people ask me my favorite restaurant in Harvard Square, the answer is invariably Veggie Planet… I prefer the cramped climes and uneven, sometimes crappy service to slick bars and charming beverage directors. It is the most dollar per happiness that you can find in Harvard Square, and being a poor student, that kind of economic calculation is irresistable. Veggie Planet is the kind of secret that I constantly push new people to discover – it’s the place I drag new and old friends to, and yes, I do judge people based on what they think of the food here. Which I don’t do so much. Or try not to, at least.
A few of my favorites:
- Portabello Redhead: mushrooms, red romesco sauce, feta cheese, caramelized onions
- Lunch/Dinner for Henry: butternut squash, goat cheese, caramelized onions
- Caesar on a Big Cheesy Crouton: Caesar salad with chopped kalamata olive and fried tofu croutons a cheesy flatbread crust
- Vegan Peanut Curry: a spicy curry on coconut rice with a smattering of peanuts, broccoli and fried tofu croutons
Roasted vegetables with brown rice - I killed this baby with a heaping of Sriracha hot sauce, and immediately regretted it... my taste buds are out of practice.
I tried this dish for the first time… was not too enthused about it. I also overloaded on the hot sauce, which was completely my fault. Too much hubris after writing this column for the Crimson.
Tiny tables, small stools, music fliers everywhere... Veggie Planet makes me extra happy and Asian.
Cafe Pamplona
Cafe Pamplona, a charming, yellow-painted cafe in Harvard Square, is the kind of place where you read your literature coursepack with a tiny cup of coffee (try the shot of espresso, shot of condensed milk combo). Due to its small space and close tables, this is a poor place to have a serious conversation or first date if it isn’t crowded enough and every awkward revelation is made very, very clear.
The food was pretty average to mediocre cafe fare, with a few pleasant surprises like a guava and muenster grilled cheese. Stay far away from the desserts, which were not worth the calories. The fruit tart was a hard, tasteless shell filled with a pedestrian vanilla pudding and topped with so-so fruit. 3.95. I’d rather have a Frapp.
The rum cake did a little better, but was nothing to blog about. Except for the fact I already have photos, so here they are.
in cambridge, spring has sprung!
a hopeful bud near Yenching Auditorium, probably later wrecked by day of whipping gales and pouring rain.
Ratatat performed at Harvard's Yardfest on Sunday to much crowdsurfing failures. I enjoyed "el pico" "wildcat" and "seventeen years" immensely.
then i ate a vegan brownie at veggie planet to celebrate the rainy doom about to hit the city.