I had been wanting to try honeygrow for quite some time now. A few months back, Leah and I were in the Seaport and we were going to get some takeout after we went to Babbo for lunch. By the time we got out from lunch, the line at honeygrow was around the store, outside, and down the street – so we resolved to go another time.

We headed out to the Fenway location, and it was much less crowded. When you walk in you are greeted by terminals where you place your order. Choose from their suggested pairings or create your own. I went with the sesame garlic stir fry with egg white noodles – it came with naturally raised beef, mushrooms, broccoli, scallions, and sesame seeds. For the kids, I ordered egg white noodles with a bunch of veggies and they were happy as can be.

The fast casual concept for restaurants is on the rise – pick your base: egg white noodles, whole wheat noodles, brown rice or lettuce cups. Choose a sauce: spicy garlic, sweet soy five spice, sesame garlic, red coconut curry, or roasted garlic tahini. Proteins include: roasted spicy tofu, cage free eggs, all natural roast pork, all natural roast chicken, naturally raised beef, roasted shrimp or togarashi spicy turkey. Throw on your favorite veggies and you have your perfect lunch. honeygrow might be my favorite of all the new fast casual options – I gobbled this all up!

For dessert, make your own, using fresh fruit, honey, and house made whipped cream. Choose from strawberries, blueberries, pineapples, apples, bananas, and other seasonal fruits. Top with coconut shavings, dark chocolate chips, granola or local plain yogurt. I loved the wildflower honey, but you could certainly go with the buckwheat or the clover. It almost makes you feel good about dessert!

The restaurant is basically self serve – you order at the terminals, find a table, and go to the counter to get your food when your number is called. There were people floating around at the terminals if you needed help with ordering and people in the seating area helping out with cleaning up. The room is spacious and got some great light from the floor to celling windows in front. Parking can be found on the street at meters.

honeygrow

1282 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

www.honeygrow.com

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When we showed up there was no one else in the dining room. Most of the patrons were sitting in the bar playing keno, so it was nice to have the place to ourselves. China Rose does a big takeout business as well.

Make sure to go to their website to get a 15% off coupon. They also print coupons on the back of the local Stop and Shop receipts.

Lunch specials come in at a good price, all under $10. They’re served daily from 11:30-3:30. You can have your choice of pork fried rice or steamed rice and one choice of the following appetizer: egg roll, spring roll, chicken teriyaki, 6 boneless spareribs, 3 chicken fingers, 3 crab rangoon, chicken wing or a beef teriyaki. I’m usually a General Tso kind of girl, but they have lo mein, beef and broccoli, shrimp and mixed vegetables and sweet and sour chicken to name a few other options.

They have a good variety of sushi on their menu with special rolls like an alligator maki, a red dragon maki, a super spider maki and a volcano maki to name a few. Special rolls will run you about $12-$15. Regular maki rolls will run you anywhere from $5-$10. Pictured above is the shrimp tempura maki.

China Rose also offers dinner specials, similar to the lunch specials but coming in at around $12.95.

Service was friendly and attentive. Parking is available in a private lot out front.

China Rose

15 East Plain Street, Wayland

www.chinarosecuisine.com

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3 Little Figs has also been on my list of ‘go to’ places for quite some time. While Leah and I were doing a little tour of Somerville, we stopped in here for breakfast on a Saturday. Packed. Jam packed actually. Line outside the door.

Totally worth the wait. Leah and I grab a seat at the bar at the window and wait for our breakfast. Want an idea of what is on their menu:

SAUSAGE BREAKFAST PIE (weekends only) – local pork sausage from MF Dulock, egg, potato, cheddar, sun-dried tomatoes, flakey crust

SPINACH PIE (best ever!) – sheep’s milk feta, spinach, leeks, buttery phyllo dough

I chose the avocado torta because it reminded me of Chacarero. So this delicious sandwich may sound a little odd, but the flavor combination just works. Trust me. Avocado, green beans, muenster cheese, tomato and a spicy walnut chili pesto. This is like the more sophisticated version of the Chacarero sandwich.

3 Little Figs

278 Highland Ave., Somerville, MA

www.3littlefigs.com

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I can’t tell you how long 7Ate9 Bakery has been on my list. Far too long. So when Leah and I were in Somerville, I made it a point to stop in. What a cute little shop.

The shop serves two sizes of cakes, a 9″ that feeds about 16-20 and a 4″ size that serves about 4-6 slices, but frankly, i thought they were more of a personal sized cheesecake Don’t forget to take a selfie while you’re there with their cute props by the door!

I chose the classic cheesecake with chocolate chips on top. Other flavors they have include:

lemon cheesecake, cheesecake with fruit (blueberries, strawberries,raspberries, or blackberries), cheesecake with strawberry, raspberry or blackberry sauce, a Taza raspberry cheesecake, cookies n’ cream cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, mocha cheesecake, and a peanut butter cheesecake. Seasonal flavors include pumpkin and orange cranberry.

7Ate9 Bakery 

199C Highland Avenue, Somerville, MA

www.7ate9bakery.com

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I’ve been dying to try out Blackbird Doughnuts’ ice cream doughnut. One of these days I’ll get one! Until then, I settled for stopping in to their second location in Fenway and picking up some tasty treats for a hostess gift. We picked up both the raised doughnuts and the old fashioned cake donuts. What’s the difference? The raised doughnuts a light an airy and are made with a brioche dough while the cake doughnuts are made in the traditional style of cake batter.

The shop is small, similar in size to the south end shop. We were in and out quickly!

We bought these ones a while back (so the flavors pictured are no longer available), but here is a list of the doughnuts they are currently offering:

Raised Doughnuts
VANILLA GLAZED
Classic fluffy and airy vanilla doughnut.

CHOCOLATE SPRINKLE
Decadent dark chocolate ganache with a hint of coffee. Topped with rainbow sprinkles.

SALTED TOFFEE
Sweet, buttery, brown sugar topped with flaked sea salt.

CRAN GRAPE JAM BISMARCK
Buttery brioche filled with homemade jam made from fresh grapes and tart cranberries.

PUMPKIN BOSTON CREAM BISMARCK
Velvety pumpkin spice custard inside buttery brioche doughnut, topped chocolate ganache. Our best seller is all dressed up for fall.

CHERRY COBBLER
Bright cherry glazed topped with brown sugar cobbler crumble and dusted with powdered sugar.

EVERYTHING BAGEL DOUGHNUT
Our brioche doughnut filled with whipped cream cheese and topped with toasted garlic, onion, sesame, and poppy seeds.

Cake Doughnuts

THE BLACKBIRD
Vanilla bean old fashioned with vanilla glaze, our SIGNATURE FLAVOR!

MOCHA CHIP
Rich chocolate cake doughnut with cold brew coffee glaze topped with mini chocolate chips.

CHOCOLATE OLD FASHIONED
Chocolate cake with black cocoa for an extra rich finish.

TRIPLE CHOCOLATE
Our most decadent doughnut. Dark chocolate cake covered with rich chocolate ganache and chocolate sprinkles

APPLE CIDER
Old fashioned cake doughnut made with fragrant spices and finished in cinnamon sugar.

CINNAMON ROLL
Vanilla bean cake doughnut frosted with velvety cream cheese buttercream and dusted with cinnamon sugar.

CINNAMON SUGAR STACK
Three mini cake doughnuts rolled in cinnamon, sugar, and a touch of salt.

POWDERED SUGAR STACK
Three mini cake doughnuts rolled in delicate powdered sugar.

Blackbird Doughnuts
20 Kilmarnock Street, Boston, MA
www.blackbirddoughnuts.com

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I’ve been on a poke kick lately. We decided to venture over to Manoa in Somerville to try out their bowls. I have to say that this place felt the most authentic out of all the places we have been to thus far. Poke is a raw fish salad that is generally served as an appetizer in Hawaiian cuisine. The fish is generally dressed with soy sauce or sesame oil.

Manoa is a small shop with a few seats, the line is out the door when we arrive but it moves at a decent pace – clearly a good sign that so many people are eating here.

A small poke bowl with one scoop of poke and your choice of base will run you $7.95. The regular that comes with two scoops of poke, your choice of base and your choice of a side is $11.95. If you’re feeling particularly hungry, try the big bowl with three scoops of poke and two sides for $15.95. So what kind of poke do they have? Ahi shoyu (tuna in sesame soy marinade with pickled onions and macadamia), Kilauea (spice tuna in kim chee aioli with house made furikake), soy boy (braised tofu in a teriyaki marinade with edamame and avocado), salmon shoyu (salmon in a sesame soy marinade with pickled onions and macadamia), and kelaguen (raw catch of the day in coconut milk and citrus marinade with crispy rice).

Not in the mood for raw fish? No problem. They have you covered with a chili bowl, a fried chicken plate and kalua pig. They offer some delicious sides as well, the kim chee cucumber is not to be missed. They also have a mac salad, rainbow slaw, chorizo slaw, edamame and a veggie special.  Those “kaboom legumes” you see above are also not to be missed, they are spicy roast chickpeas! If you’re like us and want a little bit of everything, go for the poke flight that is a tasting platter of ahi shoyu, salmon shoyu and kilauea and kelaguen with your choice of brown or white rice and two sides all for $19.95.

The kalua pig is a slow cooked heritage pork shoulder that comes with rice or a Portuguese sweet roll and is topped with crispy crackling and served with a side of chorizo slaw. SO GOOD!

While not poke, the fried chicken stole my heart. It’s a mochiko battered thigh served with rice and drizzled with a spiced honey.

There is something for everyone here, and they use tamari sauce so all of their fish poke can be made gluten free.

Where is your favorite poke spot?

Manoa Poke Shop

300 Beacon Street, Somerville, MA

https://manoa.fish

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I am always on the hunt for a new breakfast spot, and especially a new bagel spot! I had been eagerly awaiting the opening of Davis Square Donuts and Bagels ever since Leah and I went to Rosebud for lunch and I saw the sign that it was coming soon. The shop has some seats on the main floor and if you walk to the back, there are stairs to seating upstairs. Leah and I were the only ones there so we  had ample time to ogle all the goods.

I had the breakfast sandwich (bacon, egg and cheese $6.25) on an asiago bagel – super delicious. I would definitely come here every day if I lived closer. All the bagels are vegan except for the asiago, jalapeño cheddar and egg. Single bagels are priced right at $1 each.

The donuts are all sights to see. At $2.50 a piece, you can certainly try more than one! What flavors can you expect? Glazed, chocolate glazed, old fashioned, jelly, oreo cookie, peanut butter and jelly, nutella, bavarian cream, somerville cream, boston cream, butternut crunch, chocolate frosted, chocolate sprinkles, cinnamon sugar, strawberry frosted with sprinkles and fruity pebbles.

The donuts were pretty delicious. The nutella one was decadent and the lemon filled was sweet. I liked the textures of the donuts and the fact that they were light as air (calorie free right?).

What is your go to donut flavor?

Davis Square Donuts and Bagels

377 Summer Street, Somerville, MA

https://www.davissquaredonutsandbagels.com

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Poké seems to be all the rage these days. We stopped by Pokéworks in Somerville to try out some special fruit bowls. They’re only available today, Friday, 9/29 until Sunday 10/1 and next weekend 10/6 until 10/8. While the poké bowls you see here are served in fun fruit bowls, if you order one, they won’t come that way (can you imagine all the carved out fruit shells?!?!) If you mention the code “special10” you can get 10% off one of these bowls!

Pictured above is the Watermelon Shiso: Atlantic salmon, watermelon, crab salad, masago, green onion, sweet onion, edamame, cucumber, sesame seeds, fresh shiso, and ponzu fresh sauce. I was surprised at how fresh the watermelon was, and sweet too! I loved the sweet and salty together and the edamames were a nice addition to the bowl (added a little heft to the dish). Really nice textures and flavors going on in this bowl, it was my favorite of the two, even though I’m not a huge salmon fan.

Next up was the Pineapple Bora: Bora, pineapple, cilantro, fresh ginger, red chili, and lotus chips. To be honest, I had no idea what Bora was before I tried this dish, turns out they are also known as mullet fish. The fish is versatile and a little on the chewy side. I loved the pineapple in this dish for the sweetness and the kick from the red chili. Leah had joked that she would have liked this dish a little more spicy and then on her second bite got a mouthful of chili .

So what else can you get at Pokéworks if you can’t make it in for the special bowls? They have a fast casual vibe that you are probably familiar with: pick your base (sushi rice, brown rice of quinoa), pick your protein (ahi tuna, shrimp, scallops, chicken, tofu, or salmon), and pick your sauce. Add toppings like cucumber, Hijiki seaweed, shiso leaves, crab salad, wonton crisps, or toasted rice puffs.

Seating is at communal tables and at a high bar in front of a glass garage door in the front. It was the perfect afternoon to have the door up! Even though many people were grabbing their food to go, but the tables filled up quickly.

Street parking is available at meters and there are pay lots nearby.

Pokéworks

261 Elm Street, Somerville, MA

http://www.pokeworks.com/somerville

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Blackbird Doughnuts, the popular South End spot for artisan doughnuts has come to the Fenway. We stopped there on the way out of town on Labor Day Weekend to pick up a half dozen for the ride since we were able to get an earlier jump on the road (when does that ever happen?). Anything for research right? So we picked up a variety of doughnuts, cake and raised. The flavors we picked were: chocolate old fashioned, peach jam bismarck, cookies and cream, vanilla glazed, cinnamon roll and strawberry honey (not pictured). I’m a team cake doughnut myself, so the cinnamon roll doughnut was one of my favorites. It’s a vanilla bean cake doughnut, frosted with velvety cream cheese buttercream and dusted with cinnamon sugar. That cream cheese buttercream was TO.DIE.FOR. The cookies and cream, a vanilla cake filled with crushed cookies and topped with cream glaze and chocolate cookie crumbles, was tasty too, but I wish the cookie crumbles had been a bit chunkier (sounds silly, I know. The vanilla glaze and the chocolate cake doughnuts are just classics, and my mom secretly snacked on the strawberry honey one for ‘dinner’.

Too bad that we were there first thing in the morning (and getting on the road), because they have made to order ice cream sandwiches available. Pick your doughnut from the menu and add vanilla, chocolate or swirl soft serve. AHHHH! One of these days I’ll get one! They also offer doughnut cakes – vanilla or chocolate (with 2 days notice). The chocolate cake is layers of rice chocolate cake, homemade seasonal jam in the center, frosted with velvety vanilla, cream cheese or strawberry buttercream. It says that it serves 4 people, but I’m guessing I could make it happen in one sitting. Cakes are $26.

Blackbird Doughnuts

20 Kilmarnock Street, Boston, MA

www.blackbirddoughnuts.com

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I had to go to the Prudential Center to pick up a prize that I had won, and while I was there, I thought I would do some shopping and pick up some dinner. I hadn’t been there since the opening of Eataly, and was pleasantly surprised at some new things that popped up in the mall. One of them being Num Pang Kitchen, a fast casual concept restaurant located near Vineyard Vines and Pinkberry.

The restaurant has bold graffiti on the walls and hip hop playing over the speakers. They have a cult following in New York, where they have 7 locations, and just opened their first Boston location in the spring.

Num Pang is Cambodian for sandwich, of which they have many on the menu. I wanted to try their rice bowls with grilled vegetables, chili yogurt, and chive lime vinaigrette. The bowl on the left is the chicken “chimi” and the one on the right is the lemon grass braised beef short rib. You can order your bowls with brown rice Jasmine rice or a super grain blend consisting of faro, quinoa and brown rice. Both bowls were delicious, bold flavors and they had a little kick to them. The portions are generous and I had enough for two meals with each bowl.

So what else is on the menu? Pulled pork sandwich, roasted cauliflower sandwich, spicy organic tofu sandwich, spicy Cambodian slaw, coconut tiger shrimp salad, a peppercorn catfish salad, and hot and sour chicken and rice soup to name a few things. They also have some delicious house made beverages: blood orange lemonade, iced black tea, a Cambodian iced coffee and an “Arnold Panger”.

Grab something to go or sit at one of the high top tables just outside the restaurant. They also cater and deliver.

Num Pang

800 Boylston Street, Boston, MA

www.numpangkitchen.com

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