December 18, 2018 Miam Miam
I can’t even begin to tell you how long this post has been sitting in my drafts, but I’m just finally getting to it. I was first introduced to Miam Miam Macaronerie a while back and stopped by their shop (before they moved to Quincy) while I was in the area.
So what are their fall 2018 flavors?
Lemon creme, pumpkin brûlée, rose petal, white chocolate raspberry, apple butter, chai latte, salted caramel, pistachio vanilla, espresso, chocolate beltway, vanilla bean and fun fete. Order a 6 piece box for $13.50 and a 12 piece box for $27.
Did you know that Miam Miam will come to your house and each you how to make French macarons? What do you need? A minimum of 4 people, at $65 per person. You’ll get three hours of prepping, baking and filling macarons, and all the ingredients are included. Such a fun idea for a girls night in!
Miam Miam Macaronerie
145 Water Street, Quincy, MA
Tags: dairy free, dessert, gluten free, macarons
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December 17, 2018 Rail Stop Restaurant
You might come for the food, but stay a while for the cocktails. We went to Rail Stop for an event and I grabbed a few things from the menu to take home because everything sounded delicious.
The cocktails are their “reinterpretation” of Golden Age cocktails. They have house made bitters, cordials and syrups. How amazing does their bar look? Make sure to say hello to Eli, the beverage director, he’s pretty darn talented.
The white clam bucatini was served with littleneck clams, leaf spinach, red pepper, white wine and two pieces of grilled crostini ($24). Even as take out, this traveled well and still tasted delicious.
The crispy wings ($13) are on the bar menu, served with sweet chili and soy. I think my husband wishes I had brought home two orders!
This place is great when the weather is nice, you can eat outside or go for a stroll afterwards. It’s located right in Boston Landing, next to the Warrior Ice Arena.
Rail Stop Restaurant and Bar
96 Guest Street, Brighton, MA
www.railstopboston.com
Parking is available on street at meters or in the Warrior Ice Arena garage (make sure to get validated).
Tags: casual dining, cocktails, restaurant, scratch kitchen
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December 14, 2018 La Tapatia
You wouldn’t believe how hard it is to find a good burrito in suburbia. I find myself missing the city quite a bit when we try and go out for Mexican. We had heard from my husband’s co-worker that La Tapatia was a good option. The setting is pretty basic but people say that the food is the most authentic in this area. Prices are very affordable and the space is family friendly. The kids loved watching the food being prepared in the open kitchen and gobbled up their food like it was their job. The burrito was meh, but the tacos were tasty and the tamale (bottom right) was good.
Where do you go for authentic Mexican in the Metro West area?
La Tapatia
388 Boston Post Road, Marlborough, MA
Open 11:30 am – 9pm
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December 13, 2018 The Local
Sometimes I find our options for restaurants in suburbia limited, we do like The Local every once in a while, even if it is a little on the pricier side. I am a fan of the bowls on their menu, my latest craving is the spicy Hong Kong noodles, but without the spice (yup, spice whimp here). Mixed Asian vegetables, crushed peanuts and for an extra $8 you can add on some grilled shrimp. The crispy sesame chicken is a close second with grilled avocado and crunchy veggies. My husband loves the crispy chicken sandwich that comes with buttermilk battered chicken, house bread and butter pickles, Vermont cheddar, and smoked chili mayo on a brioche roll.
My kiddos love the option of snacks for $3, you can get veggies with ranch, apples and peanut butter, warm potato chips, or a cup of tomato soup. I love that these are out of the box options. For $8 you can have your choice of cheese flatbread, chicken fingers, grilled chicken, fish sticks, cheeseburger, grilled cheese, pasta and pomodoro or Mac and cheese. All the mains come with a side of fries or veggies.
I think I always forget that they are open for brunch both days on the weekend from 10am – 2pm. They are also open for brunch on Monday holidays. And here is the kicker, all brunch mains come with your choice of a mimosa or Bloody Mary.
The Local
400 Boston Post Road, Wayland, MA
Tags: brunch, casual dining, dinner, family friendly, gluten free, lunch, restaurant
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December 12, 2018 Shabu and Mein
You know when a bunch of food bloggers go out to dinner together, the spread is going to be epic. After an event in Cambridge, Kim, Leah, Fiona and I went out for an all you can eat hot pot dinner at Shabu and Mein. Side note, they also have an all you can eat buffet for lunch from 11am- 4pm for $35.95. So you pick your soup base and then you pick everything you want to add in, from meat to dumplings, veggies and noodles. Not in the mood for hot pot, no worries, they have bento boxes, ramen and small plates also available.
I love hot pot, it’s such a social way to have a meal. Have you ever done hot pot?
Shabu and Mein
148 1st Street, Cambridge, MA
Open Sunday – Thursday 11am – 9:45pm
Friday – Saturday 11am – 10:45pm
Tags: asian, casual dining, hot pot, restaurant
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December 11, 2018 A Chocolate Dream
Belmont has so many cute shops to discover. I stopped in to A Chocolate Dream to pick up some gifts and was pleasantly surprised by their selection. The cute little shop on Leonard street has been in business for over 20 years. Can’t make it to Belmont, don’t worry, they ship.
What I thought was a great idea is that they post birthday parties for children 4 years and older. Something different than your average birthday party. You can do things like decorate cookies, make candy necklaces, make candy sushi, or even go on a fun filled scavenger hunt. Parties are 90 minutes long and you can customize your party of choose from one of their packages.
A Chocolate Dream
68 Leonard Street, Belmont, MA
Parking is limited – on street at meters.
Other fun ideas for birthday parties:
Whimsy – Arts and Crafts
Acton Bowladrome – Bowling
Panera – Bakers in Training Class
Kidcasso – Art
Playtown Express – Bounce houses/Gym
Trombetta’s Farm – Indoor mini golf
Duck Soup – Cooking Classes
Roller Kingdom – Roller skating
Barn Babies – Traveling petting zoo
Chocolate Therapy – Chocolate birthday parties
Curious Creatures – Traveling live animal parties
Game Truck Party – mobile video game parties
Honey Pot Hill Orchards – Pick your own fruit parties
Tags: birthday, chocolate dessert, parties
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December 7, 2018 ICOB Burlington
We love Island Creek Oyster Bar, but sometimes trying to find time to get into the city can be a bit hard. Burlington is really starting to blow up on the restaurant scene – a lot of really great options.
I love a good biscuit, and next to Sweet Cheeks, ICOB makes one of my all time favorites. The buttermilk biscuit says it’s big enough to share, but trust me, you want to have one all to yourself. I may have been known from time to time to get one or two to go just so I can enjoy them at home. Just remember, if you are heating them up at home, never, never, never warm them up in the microwave…
I tried the lobster roe noodles for the first time ($34) and it was so decadent. Grilled lobster, braised short rib, oyster mushroom with impossibly thin pasta that just melts in your mouth. Top with a generous amount of pecorino cheese and you will be full before you even make it halfway through the dish.
Service has always been excellent, the ambiance is city chic, and there is plenty of parking in the attached lot.
ICOB Burlington
300 District Avenue, Burlington, MA
Tags: burlington, fine dining, restaurant, seafood
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December 6, 2018 75th Birthday Party for Berns
When my dad turned 75, we threw him a fun party – mostly NY themed, because that’s where he’s from. He’s not much of a sweets person, so we made him a bagel ‘cake’ with his favorite bagels from Cafe Bagel. You can’t have a NY party without some good deli items, so we used Fox Point Pickling Company‘s dill carrots, garlic dill pickles and spice market beans. A little glitz was in order, so we picked up these cute battery operated letter lights from Michael’s (because who doesn’t want to see their name in lights!) We filled mason jars with some favorites – coffee beans, gold spray painted coffee beans (because…well, it has to be a little glam, right?), Swedish fish and gum balls.
We did catering from Mameleh’s: all kinds of knishes, latkes, deli meat to pile up and make oh so high sandwiches, rugelach, black and white cookies and so much more.
My mom always makes pistachio cakes for my dad, so we made one for his birthday. Plain and simple, and yes, green inside, but a family favorite.
And we made some fun cookies (find recipe here) just to round everything out.
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December 5, 2018 Terrific 2!
For my son’s 2nd birthday, we went with a safari theme. My good friend made him this adorable cake, complete with elephant, giraffe, monkey and lion.
Here’s a closer look at the top of the cake.
And that cute little party lion on the side!
I don’t even want to tell you how many leaves I cut out for this party – some to line the banister and then others to cover the sliding glass doors to make it look more like a jungle. I just found the printable online and cut them out after the kids went to bed while watching tv.
I found these cute Pillowfort animal head wall decor pieces that I attached to the slider with suction cups. You can grab them up at Target, but I also found them for much less at TJ Maxx and Home Goods.
I always do their age spelled out in wooded letters. Normally I do spray adhesive with scrap book paper, but this year I tried washi tape and loved the way they came out. Party favors were boxes of animal crackers and seating assignments were little gold animals with name tags tied around their neck. I found these in the dollar section at target, but you could certainly do them yourself with animals you might have laying around the house – all you need is a can of gold spray paint!
Lions, and Tigers, and Bears, oh my!
Pillowfort Animal Head wall decor: https://www.target.com/p/lion-head-wall-d-233-cor-pillowfort-153/-/A-50075588
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December 4, 2018 2nd Birthday Party
My kids have really been into dinosaurs these days. When my daughter turned 2, we threw her a dinosaur themed party. My mom makes the kids cookies with their age on them every year. Just a simple sugar cookie recipe with Betty Crocker vanilla icing and sprinkles.
I bought the Caspari “partysaurus” plates and napkins on super clearance at the Paper Source (always check the clearance wall for good buys) but another secret place I love to go to is China Fair in Newton. Such cute things at a fraction of the price, and added bonus, it isn’t Party City! (Am I the only one who dreads that place?)
We did three cakes this year: one Ben and Jerry’s ice cream cake (bottom left), one cake from AJ Cakes (right, second down) for her family party, and my friend made her the cake shown below. I made the T-Rex on the top of the ice cream cake – I bought a Kid Made Modern paper dinosaur from Target and painted it green. I cut out a little party hat and attached a fun shiny pom pom to add a little glam and attached with tape. There were three brontosaurus’ on the table that were painted in the same color to tie everything in.
I made a lot of salad-y kinds of things for the party, since making a full meal is challenging for so many people. I loved a peach, prosciutto and mozzarella salad (hold off on adding the balsamic until right before serving or leave on side for guests to add on themselves). I also made a corn, feta, tomato and scallion salad that was a big hit (bottom right)
How adorable is this cake? I love the little dinosaur on top!
A little bit of a different angle – vanilla cake with vanilla butter cream.
Caspari plates and napkins: https://www.casparionline.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=partysaurus
China Fair: http://www.chinafairinc.com
AJ Cakes: http://www.aj-cakes.com
Target Kid Made Modern Dinosaur: https://www.target.com/p/kid-made-modern-paper-mache-brontosaurus/-/A-50408093
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