Saloniki had been on my list of places to try since it opened. The lines this summer were out the door and down the block! So I waited until recently to check it out. I’m kicking myself that I waited so long because just check out what I had been missing out on. The restaurant is owned by Jody Adams, Eric Papachristos and Jonathan Mendez. Born in Boston, Papachristos spent the first 9 years of his life in Thessaloniki, Greece, or as the locals call it, Saloniki. Mendez and Papachristos are old friends, and he would accompany Eric and his brother on their annual summer trips back to visit their family in Greece. And you know Jody from her restaurants Rialto and Trade.

So on a nice day you can grab a seat outside on the patio, otherwise there is ample seating inside. High top tables and long family style tables define the space here. Make sure to check out the amazing photos of Thessaloniki by Jody’s husband. Pictured above is the salad with pomegranate glazed eggplant ($8). Leafy lettuce is topped with red wine vinaigrette, onions, tomatoes, olives and feta cheese. You can add a pita for just a dollar more.

My favorite was “the Herc” ($9). Honey glazed pork shoulder with spicy whipped feta and “Greek fries”, which are basically like adding French fries to your sandwich! (Whhhhaaattt?!?!) While the fillings are delicious, and I could eat them for days, the pitas really make the whole experience over the top. You can watch them pump out pitas onto the flat top grill as your order your food.

And after any meal, I always need a little something sweet, so I tried the baklava crisps ($4) with pistachios, walnuts, honey and sesame. A nice lighter alternative to the traditional baklava! Did I mention that everyone behind the counter is super friendly? Couldn’t have asked for a better experience and can’t wait to go back for more!

Saloniki 

4 Kilmarnock Street, Boston, MA

http://www.salonikigreek.com

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Tiger Mama is Tiffani Faison’s newest restaurant in the Fenway/Kenmore area, just steps from her other restaurant, Sweet Cheeks. Tiger Mama pays tribute to the Southeast Asian cuisine that Faison had on her many trips to the area.

I stopped in a while back for lunch (they are only open for dinner these days) after I had my fill of City Target. Lunch service wasn’t particularly busy, which is probably why they moved to just dinner service. Better for us, we had a great table to ourselves and we were able to have a leisurely afternoon meal.

I love the decor here, oversized chandeliers, a live plant wall, neon signs, and a tin ceiling.

The best piece of all might be the disco ball elephant in the front entrance! Have you seen it for sale at Home Goods? Because you could have one of these babies at your house!! (I also saw that they have an enormous yellow rubber duck for sale for the low price of $800)

Even the non alcoholic beverages are delicious: the grapefruit palomita with grapefruit, lemon, salted agave nectar and soda and the pineapple shrub soda with pineapple, vinegar, lemon and soda.

While it’s not very adventurous, I had to try the pad thai: kway teow 1942- rice noodles, peanuts and bean sprouts. Really light, super flavorful – a great dish.

They have a daily special fried rice – this one was vegetarian to boot. YUM!

All the dishes were delicious and bold in flavor. There wasn’t a thing that we ordered that we didn’t like!

Check out a sampling from their menu:

COLD/FRESH

Nam Prik
spicy green chili garlicky dip,cucumber & pork cracklin’

Southern-Style Pork Laap
fish sauce & lime-spiked hand ground pork, thai chili, mint

Chili Spiced Short Rib Crudo
rich chili seared short rib, herb “salad”,black vinaigrette, charred leeks **

Pea Pod Stems
garlicky wok roasted greens, black vinegar

Lobster Fresh Rolls
charred lobster, bright veggies,spicy silky peanut dipping sauce

Tuna Tom Kha
silky coconut lemongrass sauce, avocado, cilantro

Papaya Salad
green papaya, tomatoes, peanuts, hot hot chilis

Grilled Spanish Octo
sour tomato salad, seed jam, mint

RICH AND EARTHY

Issan–Style Sausage
lemongrass, kaffir & garlic sausage,banana ketchup

Yu Shiang Eggplant
stolen chinese sauce, chilis, mint, chinese sausage crumbles, cilantro

Milk Jam Roasted Bone Marrow
herb & onion salad, tom ko & lime vinaigrette, sticky rice

Coconut Marinated Mini Chicken
marinated & char-grilled hen, spicy ginger-tamarind sauce

Mala Mushrooms
numbing & spicy mushrooms, smashed garlic, mustard greens

Lamb Roti
brickfields spiced & braised lamb, crispy roti, holy basil raita, mint cilantro jam

Pad Gra Pow
rich & spicy ground chicken, chilis, thai basil, purple choi, fried egg

Tiger Mama

1363 Boylston St., Boston, MA

http://www.tigermamaboston.com

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In Sewall’s new cookbook with partner Erin Byers Murray, they explore contemporary versions of New England Classics. Guests gathered for a book signing and light bites.

While the raw bar and passed appetizers were delicious, these cider donuts stole the show for me. They came out from the kitchen warm and the glaze just melted in your mouth. I may have had two!

The photos, taken by Michael Harlan Turkell, in the book are beautiful.

Bites for the evening included lobster tacos and a toast topped with mushrooms, Parmesan cheese and truffle oil.

The raw bar boasted colossal shrimp.

CJ holding down the boat.

The raw bar was impressive.

They were shucking oysters all night long.

Island Creek Oyster Bar is open for dinner Monday – Thursday 4pm-11pm, Friday-Saturday 4pm-11:30pm and Sunday 10:30am-11pm.

Island Creek Oyster Bar

500 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, MA

http://islandcreekoysterbar.com/

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We also have the calamari as an appetizer. They are so light and crispy, perfectly cooked. It comes with a black pepper aioli and a lemon, but frankly I like them better plain.

I had the Friday special-Maine Lobster Gnocchi with leeks and Meyer Lemon brown butter ($28). The gnocchi was light and delicious. The lobster meat was all the meat from a 1 1/2 lb. lobster.  The lobster meat was sweet and tender. Here’s what I didn’t like about the dish, the sauce. The outside ring of sauce was super lemony and just didn’t taste right. The inside, underneath the pasta, tasted more like pure butter. I think that with this kind of dish, simpler is better, I would have liked to see this dish just in plain butter….I don’t like to fool around too much with lobster.

My dining companions ordered the steak frites ($21) with bearnaise and herbed fries. The fries were skinny and perfectly crispy. The meat was moist and tender. And how can you NOT like bearnaise sauce??

And the standard burger ($13) with cheddar cheese on a brioche bun with fries. The roll was buttery and soft, the burger was juicy and moist. yum!

We end with the heirloom apple tarte tatin with vanilla bean ice cream ($8). You definitely need the ice cream because this dessert is so impossibly sweet. It tastes like a a caramel apple. There is just sooo much sweet caramel sauce you feel like you are about to get a cavity. The apples were tender, but you couldn’t really taste them. There was a flat piece of puff pastry on the bottom of the dessert, but it was so hard to cut, I’m afraid of making a mess with it.

That’s the food, here’s the rest. We arrive at 7:30pm. It’s packed! There is a vibrant bar scene, and it’s popular with the after work crowd. We had a reservation but we have to wait 15 minutes for a table. I think that because of the nice weather, people were flocking here, they have a great outdoor patio (with heat lamps if it’s chilly) and people were eager to use it. We were sat in a table right by the window near the hostess stand. Here’s the downside to this-people who were waiting for their table, were hovering over our table, blissfully unaware that we might not want to look at their backs while trying to enjoy our meal. There service was excellent, our waitress was very knowledgeable and was able to recite the three cheese specials from memory. She is well versed in the menu and personable. I really like it here, it’s a great place to have drinks at the bar or stop in for a bite before a Sox game.

Eastern Standard

Located in the Hotel Commonwealth

528 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215-2606
(617) 532-9100

www.easternstandardboston.com

Hours of Operation: Breakfast: Monday – Sunday: 7:00am – 10:30am
Brunch: Sunday: 10:30am – 3:00pm
Lunch: Monday – Saturday: 11:30am – 2:30pm
Dinner: Monday – Friday: 5:00pm – 11:00pm, Saturday & Sunday: 5:00pm – 12:00am

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