March 29, 2017 Noodles and Company
I had never heard of Noodles and Company before, but I was picking up my cousin at the Route 128 train station and we were looking for a place to grab a quick bite. Now let me tell you how much I love noodles. If I could only eat one thing for the rest of my life, it would be noodles. I love them plain with butter and with bolognese sauce. So a place called Noodles and Company seemed like there would be something I’d like, right?
This chain restaurant was founded in 1995 by a Pepsi marketing executive. While I like the idea of the restaurant chain, it leaves something to be desired. It felt like the McDonald’s of noodles. When you look at the pictures on the website, they look delicious. Yes, that penne rosa looks like I would want to eat it, and hey, that spicy Korean beef noodle dish looks totally edible. What we got was totally different. Let me also mention that we were one of the only people at the restaurant, so there wasn’t a big lunch rush we were competing with…
Noodles were tossed into bowls, it looked sloppy, half of the things that we ordered came out cold. If they say that you eat with your eyes, I’m thinking I’ll pass.
They do have gluten free options and vegetarian dishes. They have options with 500 calories or less for those watching their figures and they call out options for those watching their sugar or watching their sodium intake. While they have all the right potential to be great, I felt let down. Perhaps another location would be different.
Have you ever been to a Noodles and Company location? Love it or hate it? What did you get? How was the service?
Noodles and Company
125 University Ave., Westwood, MA
Tags: casual dining, fast food, noodles, pasta, restaurant, takeout, vegetarian, westwood
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March 28, 2017 AJ Cakes
Located just past the Wayside Inn, AJ Cakes is a new (ish) bakery located just over the line in Marlborough. While the majority of Ashley Miller’s business is in custom cakes and pastries, they do have a great pastry case that is filled with lots of goodies. Selections change often, but you can usually find a nice assortment of croissants, scones, and breads. They have coffee and tea if you want to stay and eat and even offer free wifi!
I’m there pretty often, so my favorite thing that Ashley makes are these enormous cinnamon rolls. Cue diabetes. Make sure to go early if you want one of these, they sell out pretty quickly!
These bars were super tasty, how can you go wrong with anything chocolate. And how cute are these iced cookies?
Another favorite of mine are her raspberry pop tarts. Never ate these as a kid (…shocking I know…). Justin Samson re-introduced me to them (after I broke an unhealthy work addiction to the boxed kind) and now that he’s moved to North Carolina ( 🙁 ), I can get my fix again at AJ’s. Seriously, go and try one for yourself.
The girls behind the counter are always friendly and you can usually catch Ashley baking away in the back.
AJ Cakes
1019 Boston Post Road
Marlborough, MA
Tags: bakery, casual dining, custom cakes, dessert, eat in, sweets
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March 27, 2017 KO Pies
East Boston is not really on my radar, but it should be. First, because KO Pies is located in the shipyard. Second, on a nice day, it’s a great place to wander around. There’s free parking on the street and lots of cool things to see. KO Pies is on the smaller side, but they have a tent next door when the weather gets nice (when will that be exactly?!?!) and you can eat outside.
You can eat in or take out (oh, and they do catering as well). They’re open for lunch and dinner (Southie is now actually open for “brekkie” as well). You can even grab a frozen pie to go, which is what we did. KO Pies was founded in 2010, and they were the first Australian inspired food business in New England. Let me tell you, they make the BEST pie crusts! Light and flakey, perfectly matched with savory fillings. I am a big fan of the classic beef pie ($6.85). They have other flavors, such as: Irish beef stew, braised lamb shank, classic beef with cheese, and curried vegetable. I highly recommend trying one of their sausage rolls!
If you’ve decided to eat in, work off your lunch by walking around the shipyard and taking look at some of the art!
If you’re feeling adventurous, take a spin afterwards on the water taxi! Fun for kids and adults, and I think out of town guests would also really enjoy it!
KO Pies at the Shipyard
256 Marginal Way, Building 16
East Boston, MA
http://www.kocateringandpies.com/
Tags: casual dining, east boston, restaurant
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March 24, 2017 Iggy’s Bread
I always enjoyed Iggy’s bread when I bought it at the store. I didn’t realize they have their own little shop over in Cambridge. It’s out of the way, and not super obvious to find, I drove by two or three times before I figured out where the lot was. Call me directionally challenged.
Iggy’s sells their bread (obviously), but they also offer a nice selection of baked goods, sandwiches and lunch offerings. Make sure to try their pizza, they have some great topping combinations. I especially love their jam cookies ($2 each) and their linzer cookies ($2 each). They remind me of similar ones that my grandmother used to make. I can’t get enough of them!
They have a variety of different breads: country, whole wheat, Frances, white rye, dark rye, French, breadsticks, olive, ficelle, focaccia, brioche, 7 grain, raisin pecan, cranberry pecan, bagels, croissants, ciabatta and pain de mie.
Iggy’s Bread
130 Fawcett Street, Cambridge, MA
Tags: bakery, cambridge, casual dining, cookies, pizza, takeout
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March 23, 2017 Saus
Did you know that there’s a restaurant in Boston that has over 15 kinds of dipping sauces for French fries? Oh yes people, Saus has flavors like “Saturday Night Chive” with fresh chives and sour cream, “Cheddar Duvel” with sharp and mild cheddar and Duvel ale (served warm), and “Ole Chipotle” with chipotle in adobo, lime juice, cilantro and house made mayo. Any restaurant that designs its menu around French fries is AOK in my book! I camp out early to be the first one in and grab a table close to the counter. Tight quarters in here, but most people are taking out.
They do have other things here besides French fries – we tried the wild mushroom grilled cheese! The sandwich is made on stone ground whole wheat bread, with confit wild mushrooms, sharp cheddar and blue cheese vinaigrette. ($8.50) It’s vegetarian and you can truffle your mushrooms for just a dollar more. Grown up grilled cheeses are the best! We also have the Brussels sprouts ($5), which come shredded and topped with blue cheese vinaigrette.
Of course we add on some bacon because…well…bacon makes everything better.
We were really here to try out the poutine (it’s so hard to find good poutine), which is hand cut fries topped with cheese curds and housemade gravy. You can get it in any number of ways: two sizes, regular ($6.75), big ($8.50), and you can add on extra toppings like a deep fried egg ($1.50), bacon bits ($1.50), truffled mushrooms ($3), pork belly ($3) or bacon n’ stout braised beef ($3). We had ours with bacon, because, well…like I said before, bacon makes everything better. Loved the flavors and what was great was that it wasn’t soggy. Poutine can go wrong in so many ways, and this one was pretty darn delicious.
And as if this much food doesn’t make your stomach hurt just looking at it, we added on a side of fries, just to taste some of their delicious dipping saus. The vampire slayer, made with roasted garlic, roasted garlic oil and house made mayo was a crowd pleaser. Plus, if both parties are eating garlic, you cancel each other out! The Saturday Night Chive was also tasty, made with fresh chives and sour cream. Check out their website for a full list of options.
You order at the counter and they call you when your order is ready. Casual dining, friendly service.
Saus
33 Union Street, Boston, MA
Tags: boston, casual dining, french fries, government center, lunch, vegetarian
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March 22, 2017 Holly Crab
Just when I move out of the neighborhood, great things start popping up, like Holly Crab or Union Square Donuts, or a MINILUXE!!!! Is it too late to move back? Ok, I digress. Holly Crab. I can safely say that you should not go here on a first date. Or a second date. Probably safe to say you shouldn’t go with someone unless you’re serious. The long tables are covered with butcher paper and it’s about to get seriously messy. Bring on the bib, pass over an extra pair of those super sexy plastic gloves that they give you, because you are going to get dirty. Like sauce all over your face and you can’t make enough wet naps to clean me up kind of mess. (ok, maybe not that messy)
The concept is pretty simple. Pick your seafood, pick your flavor and pick your spice level. We went with the king crab legs (market price) in the garlic butter and the snow crab and shrimp combo ($38) in the holly crab flavor. I went with the mild spice level because I’m a wimp. I just want to point out that for this much money, I don’t think I should be getting this dirty…My husband loves to pick crabs, so this is right up his alley – me, I’m a yes, please split my lobster tail for me kind of gal.
The verdict? The rice balls were delicious and so was the seafood. Love the flavors and the seafood is fresh. Can’t wait to go back again.
Parking is on street at metered spaces and on side streets for free 2 hour parking.
Holly Crab
1098 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA
Tags: casual dining, restaurant, seafood
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March 21, 2017 Bar Boulud
I had been sitting on a gift card from the Mandarin for quite a while and decided that I was never going to make it to the spa, as much as I would have liked to. So I decided to take my gal pals out to lunch at Bar Boulud. The Boston location is the sister restaurant to the New York and London locations of Chef Daniel Boulud’s French bistro and wine bar. The bread basket it lovely and we order some gougeres ($6) to start. The choux pastry with gruyere are impossibly light and savory at the same time.
I had the macaroni and cheese with pancetta and bread crumbs ($27). Delicious in every way – the cheese sauce was perfect and the pancetta had the perfect crispiness to add texture to the dish. Served in a cast iron skillet, this is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter afternoon.
Other table selections included the mackeral ($18), the salad chou chou ($12), the onion soup ($10), the bon bon ($10), the tiramisu ($10), and the gateau basque. The onion soup looks amazing doesn’t it? Another great dish for a cold day. The gateau basque (bottom left) was a favorite of the table with its pastry cream, flaky crust and brandied cherries. I usually don’t like my desserts deconstructed, but the tiramisu was delicious and not too strong.
Service was excellent, what you would expect from a restaurant in the Mandarin Oriental. Overall excellent experience and a great place to power lunch or spend the day with friends.
Bar Boulud
in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, 766 Boylston Street, Boston, MA
Tags: dinner, french, lunch, restaurant
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March 20, 2017 The Parrot
I know that it seems like spring will never get here, and summer seems even farther away. I thought I would post about the Cape to get us all in the spirit! I know I’m looking forward to warm days by the ocean and catching up on some serious vitamin D!
I know I have come full circle coming to the Parrot and bringing my kids. I used to come here in my early 20’s and probably had a little too much fun with my friends. I needed to change my son’s diaper and headed into the ladies room. A woman headed out says to me, “oh, there’s no changing table in there”. Yes honey, I know. I used to hold my friends hair back when they were puking in there (sorry mom!). Now I’m just changing diapers on the floor. Thanks.
I don’t think I ever ate here (just drank), nor did I even really take notice of the decor. The food was just meh. Nothing great and probably would taste better if I had a few beers in me. The wrap was probably the best out of the bunch and the onion rings weren’t bad. The pasta had way too much sauce on it and it was an odd consistency. On a better note, our waitress was friendly and helpful – but then again, it wasn’t very crowded at 5pm.
The verdict: some places are better in the dark and better to stay as old memories.
The Parrot
1356 MA-28A, Bourne, MA
Check out the Facebook page here.
Tags: bar, cape, casual dining, restaurant
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March 17, 2017 Ruka
It’s just like me to go to a party where they are serving complimentary drinks and passed appetizers and go to the restaurant next door and spend all my money. The Godfrey Hotel recently turned 1 and we were at the party! I had been wanting to try out Ruka, and hey, since we were there anyways…we mind as well go in and grab a bite. So the culinary team behind Yvonne’s and Lolita opened this amazing Japanese Peruvian restaurant. The decor is stunning and there is a lively bar scene (every drink that we see being made is a work of art – totally Instagram worthy). It doesn’t appear crowded when we arrive but reservations have booked up all the tables – so we grab a seat at the sushi bar.
We have a few small plates to share: (top right and moving clockwise) the sweet potato dumplings ($17) with trumpet mushrooms, wasabi oil, a soft poached egg and barley dashi were a favorite. The egg was AMAZING. Next was the hamachi ($17), the fish was so delicate and fresh. The chicken fried rice was made with char sit chicken, garlic sauce and egg. Another stand out dish – your old favorite fried rice kicked up a notch! The ribeye ($16) was cooked perfectly and served with chili salt, dashi butter and crispy ginger.
Service was excellent in the beginning and tapered off towards the end of our meal – it was SO busy!
And while the dinner was delicious, the star of the show was definitely dessert. When I read the description of the big fish dessert, I didn’t know if I was going to like it, there are a lot of things going on in this dish, but it was AMAZING!! So many different flavors and textures all melding together beautifully. One of the best desserts I’ve had in a long time. A bigfish dessert waffle with prickly pear sorbet, ice cream, caramelized peanuts, chocolate crunchies, and caramelized, brûléed bananas.
Great place for a romantic date for dinner or a casual date at the bar and they have a great table to accommodate large parties near the sushi bar.
Ruka
505 Washington Street, Boston, MA
Tags: asian, dinner, downtown crossing, lunch, restaurant, sushi
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March 16, 2017 Mamaleh’s
Mamaleh’s is a great Jewish deli located in Kendall Square (from the same team that brought you State Park). They are closed Mondays and serve breakfast all day! I’ve been there twice and we actually catered my dad’s birthday party with Mamaleh’s.
So what is with the name? Mamaleh is a yiddish term of endearment for a young child.
What’s the food like? Well I brought my dad there, he’s from New York and is serious about his Jewish delis. He always grumbled that he could never find an egg cream soda anywhere (pictured bottom left). What’s an egg cream soda you ask? Well, there’s actually no egg or cream in it. It’s a beverage made of milk, carbonated water and chocolate syrup. My dad says that the reason why they were so good is because the seltzer came out of the soda fountain – you just can’t get that same consistency when you try and make it with bottled seltzer. The verdict. He liked it, complete with pretzel rod.
I had the Dr. Brown’s black cherry float with a chocolate scoop ($6) which was delicious (middle right) and I’m not really a chocolate ice cream kind of gal. Now, let’s get to the food. The matzah ball soup ($7.50). Delicious. Flavorful broth with carrots, celery and chicken. I grew up eating kasha varnishkes but these are totally different. Mamaleh’s makes the buckwheat with mushrooms and Brussels sprouts. The hot dog in a homemade bun did not disappoint. The potato latkes ($8.40) were delicious. Perfectly crisp on the outside, and served with sour cream and apple sauce (but I really only love them with apple sauce).
The hot pastrami (middle left) sandwich is what I dream about…it is hand sliced and served on marble rye with deli mustard (but hold the mustard for this girl). The cure, brine, smoke, roast, braise and steam all of their meats in house. You can taste the love. Can’t do a whole sandwich, you can order most of them as a half a cup of soup and a half sandwich.
Let’s talk sweets. You can grab some to go at their bakery – and everything is delicious. I love the glass case that spins the cakes around. The rugelach were my favorite, the raspberry walnut of course (but they also have chocolate). The black and white cookies were pretty tasty too, although I have to admit, I only like the “white” side.
They have a great website, make sure to check it out and maybe even learn a few yiddish words! They now offers these cute “welcome to the world, mamaleh” gifts which are such a cute idea. See them here. Head in to browse their gift shop for some super cute cards, shirts and bags!
Mamaleh’s
One Kendall Square, Cambridge, MA
Tags: casual dining, deli, kendall square, restaurant, takeout
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