I haven’t been to Lansdowne Street since my college years. I was excited to check out Loretta’s Last Call, a country bar, for their bluegrass brunch.

Every Sunday they have a bluegrass brunch from 11-4 with live music. They do other fun events like free line dancing lessons on Sundays and Tuesdays and Bourbon tastings (the next one is coming up on the 20th).

Check out Down in The Attic, who was playing that afternoon and you can check out the video I took on my Facebook page. They were awesome!

The walls are covered with photos of country legends and the beams are draped in colored Christmas lights.

First order of business…coffee!

The chef brings over some Jalapeno poppers with blue cheese, wrapped in bacon for us to try. They are not too spicy and the blue cheese didn’t overwhelm the popper – great way to start the meal.

The house smoked turkey and sweet potato hash ($12) is one of their most popular dishes. It comes topped with 2 fried eggs and a biscuit on the side. Not only is this great for hangovers, but it is some serious comfort food. The dish was flavorful and it had a little bit of everything on the plate, a little protein, some carbohydrates and oh boy do I love a good biscuit.

We also tried the hicken and waffles ($14) served with maple bbq such and whipped butter. The chicken outshines the waffle for me, it was sweet and crunchy and tender inside. I could eat this for days!

And just to throw something sweet into the mix, we hd the peanut butter and banana stuffed French toast ($10), smothered in syrup and topped with a healthy dose of bourbon whipped cream. Certainly satisfied our sweet tooth and who can resist the peanut butter and banana flavor combination? We sure can’t.

Peanut buter pie ($7) was first on our dessert list, it wasn’t too sweet which we really liked.

We also tried the fried biscuits ($6) which we wished were just a touch sweeter.

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to sample the brunch at Loretta’s. My meal was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

Loretta’s Last Call

1 Lansdowne Street, Boston, MA

http://www.lorettaslastcall.com

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Leah and I were invited to try out Amsterdam Falafelshop last week! I had noticed it a while back when I was driving though Kenmore Square and it was on my list of places to try. (I swear the list keeps getting longer by the minute!)

There is so much natural light flooding into the space, I love it! While it was quiet when we got there at 11:30, it was packed by noon with BU students! The first thing I noticed were the holes in the tables, what do you think they are for? You’ll have to keep reading to find out!

So here is how it works, you can order a bowl or a sandwich. The sandwich comes in two sizes, regular (5 falafels) or small (3 falafels). They come in a locally made white or whole wheat pita and the price is fixed, so add in as many of the 22 toppings and sauces as you like from the bar.

I ordered the falafel bowl, and these are priced by weight, so you can choose how many falafel to go with. I chose three, it sounded reasonable. I had mine with hummus, picked cauliflower, pickles and roasted eggplant.

Let’s get a close up look of those delicious falafel balls!

Our table looked like we were feeding an army, not two bloggers!

And here is what the holes in the tables are for – the fries! They are double fried, salty deliciousness.

They have a self serve sauce bar – so of course we tried a little of everything!

I’m not sure I get the peanut sauce, but it was still good. My favorite was the curried ketchup!

Right now, Amsterdam Falafel is hosting an Instagram contest, share a photo of your customized bowl or sandwich with the hashtag #battleoftheballs and you are entered to win a Dutch style bike (valued at $400) and a year’s worth of free falafel!! My fingers are crossed that I win!!

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to Amsterdam Falafel. My meal was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

Amsterdam Falafelshop

642 Beacon Street, Boston, MA

http://www.falafelshop.com

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His good friend gave a lovely introduction. Haven’t been to Petit Robert? Don’t know much about Jacky Robert? Here’s a brief run down: Chef Jacky was born in France and began cooking at the age of 15. He worked in his uncle’s restaurant in Boston, Maison Robert, as the executive chef for a number of years. He worked in Lydia Shire’s kitchen at Locke Ober and did a brief stint down on the Cape as the culinary director at Chatham Bars Inn.  Chef Jacky’s friend Martha Castaño was in attendance and they talked a bit about their charity.The first recipe is the Roquefort Souffle. While chef was preparing the dish, he told some humorous stories and threw in some tips/tricks for each recipe. Everyone at the demo was given a copy of the recipes to take with them.

Look at that souffle, isn’t is perfect?

A close of up of the souffle, a little deflated by the time I had a chance to snap a photo.

The second recipe was for Chicken Cordon Blue. A good deal of this dish can be made in advance, with the last step of baking to be completed the day you’re serving. It is hard to tell, but that potato on the bottom right of the plate is carved into the shape of a shoe!

The dish should be served hot as the cheese will be melted and delicious.

The demo was being taped, you will soon be able to see the recording on YouTube.

The brie cheese puff was inspired by gougeres. Chef Jacky mixed everything by hand, but the ingredients would mix together just as well with a Kitchen Aid mixer.

It was quite an enjoyable way to spend a few hours. Chef Jacky has a great personality and it was a pleasure to watch him cook. Check out Petit Robert’s website for additional upcoming demos.

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