Searching for Good Sushi: Cafe Sushi (Cambridge, MA)

I've been on the hunt for good sushi in Boston, but I had put off Cafe Sushi for a bit because someone said the omakase was too expensive. I finally made it there, though, and this Harvard Square sushi joint was packed! As it turns out, you don't have to break the bank to eat here. I didn't get the omakase but you can have good sushi relatively for a relatively affordable price with their samplers.

The first is their Signature Sampler, which gives you chef's selection of five of their signature sushi creations for $15. At $3 per piece, it was a nice value.

Among the signature pieces we got were the Salmon Aburi (seared salmon belly, aburi ponzu, negi),
Gomadare Branzino (European seabass, iced onion, sesame sauce), Maguro-zuke (house cured tuna with yuzu kosho), among others. These pieces are $3-3.50 if you order them a la carte.

These signature creations add a unique touch to the nigiri - for example, the sesame sauce on the seabass was one I particularly enjoyed. The fish itself was great, fresh and definitely some of the best I've had in Boston.

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Barking Crab (Boston, MA)

Barking Crab is a tourist spot but it's also an institution in Boston's Fort Point. It's a casual seafood spot - in a tent with a view of the water and the city of Boston. With that New England clam shack-like setting and the faux grass in a heated tent, Barking Crab is a meeting place that feels like summer all year long.

Just like a seafood shack would, drinks are served in plastic cups. Moscow mules, mojitos, and other refreshing drinks are available - they tend on the sweet and strong side.

Obviously, I had to try the crab at Barking Crab. They offer three types and I chose the one I haven't had before: Bairdi crab ($31)

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Mini Tasting Menu at Journeyman (Somerville, Boston, MA)

Journeyman is a small restaurant hidden in Somerville that only serves tasting menu. They're also one of the few (only?) spot in Boston that uses a ticketing system, and prices for the same menu vary depending on the time of your reservation. If you book a normal reservation, the 9-course tasting menu is $95. If you prepay by buying a ticket, the ticket is $85. But if you want to dine at a non-peak time - say, a Wednesday at 9pm, it's cheaper still at $75.

My friend and I wanted to go for cheaper still, and Journeyman also has a deal for diners who come on Wednesday, Thursday, or Sunday evenings after 8:30 pm. During this time, you can get a 4-course meal for $40! We sat at the counter and our meal started with a nice bread service.

Since it's next to Backbar, they also have a daily milk punch menu.

Our first course: Icelandic char, fennel puree, roasted sunchokes, chorizo oil, apricot gel, mizuna green

I'm partial to char ever since I went to Iceland and had a great arctic char at Blue Lagoon. I loved the crispy skin on this char. The flavors come together nicely in this dish and the chorizo oil added just the right amount of kick.

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Hojoko, A New Izakaya in Boston, MA

When the owner of O Ya, Tim Cushman, opened up Hojoko, everyone was naturally excited about the new izakaya in the Fenway Kenmore neighborhood. The large restaurant is located inside the Verb Hotel and has a cool funky vibe. They also play anime movies on the back screen!

Food-wise, Hojoko is good, but the menu can be hit-or-miss, not for the flavors necessarily, but for the price.

One of the items I would recommend ordering is the Torched uni, soy, olive oil, shiso, parsley, nori butter, toast ($14)

They gave a good amount of the creamy uni, though the star of the dish is the umami-packed nori butter. You don't want to give that up even after you're done with the toast! This is definitely one of their more unique and creative dishes.

Funky chicken ramen (rich chicken broth, soy egg, menma, robata-grilled koji chicken). This used to be $9 which was a great deal but they've raised the price to $12 last time I returned.

It was still a lovely bowl of ramen, though, especially if you're looking for something lighter than the usual, rich tonkotsu broth. And I do love the grilled chicken that it came with.

Hojoko's cocktail list is a fun one, though. There are Asian inspired drinks like the Chiyoda G&T (Beefeater gin, ponzu, avocado oil, tonic, black sesame, $12)

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A Tasting at Clio (Boston, MA)

I read recently that Clio, one of Ken Oringer's restaurants in the Eliot Hotel in Back Bay will be closing while Uni (also his restaurant) will be expanding into its space. I was a bit bummed by it since I recently tried Clio and enjoyed it. So, I thought I would blog about my experience there before they close, in case you guys would be enticed to go try it out! Plus, it's one of the only photos I took with my new Sony a6000 before it was stolen when my house got broken into the second time ... sigh.

Anyway, I had grabbed a Gilt City deal for a tasting menu at Clio, which was a pretty good deal for this restaurant. Clio has had a number of great bartenders behind the bar and albeit some have moved on to new restaurants, they still had a nice cocktail menu when I went. Being a root beer lover (don't give me that Dr. Pepper nonsense), I obviously went with the Sarsaparilla Flip (sarsaparilla spice rum, root beer reduction, egg white, nutmeg brulee, $14)

Dinner starts with an amuse bouche of nori with white umami cream cheese, lemon cream cheese - a rich umami bomb.

The first course was a Chilled Courgette (zucchini, basically) Soup, marinated mussels, rose geranium, truffle vinaigrette

The soup is a local marrow squash with smoked salt foam.

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Island Creek Oyster Bar (Boston, MA)

When out of town family or friends visit me in Boston, they (naturally) ask for seafood, so I end up at Island Creek Oyster Bar quite a few times. Really, the trio of restaurants/bars at Hotel Commonwealth is a trifecta of amazing spots dangerously easy for a food/drink crawl. Starting with dinner (and drinks) at Island Creek Oyster, you can move next door for cocktails at The Hawthorne, and then keep going for late night eats and more cocktails at Eastern Standard.

But back to Island Creek Oyster Bar first, a mecca of fine seafood in the Fenway Kenmore area. It's started by the people behind the Island Creek Oyster farm down in Duxbury, MA, so you know they're getting their Duxbury oysters super fresh directly from the farm.

They have a nice variety of the freshest oysters. A lot of them come from Duxbury, and naturally while the other varietals rotate, they always have Island Creek oysters.

A great place to sample some varietals you haven't tried before.

Bread with honey butter

Their most popular appetizer is perhaps the oyster slider ($4 each)

A crispy fried oyster is served between brioche bun with lime chile aioli.

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WOW Air Flight Review: Boston - Reykjavik - Paris

So I recently took WOW Air, the budget airline from Iceland. They currently fly to New York, Boston, and Baltimore (and soon adding Toronto) to Europe via Iceland. They have sales with prices that will make you go "Wow!" including $99 one way to Paris, which is the one I bought.

It's not exactly $99 each way, though. I did get $99 from Boston to Paris, but the return flight is slightly more expensive. Still, on select dates they're still pretty cheap and I ended up paying $309 for a round trip flight from Boston to Paris. Not bad at all!

As with other budget airlines, there are a lot of caveats. First, you only get 1 carry on bag free, up to 5 kg (11 lbs). I was only going to Paris for 3 nights, so I actually managed to carry everything with me.
They don't provide drinks or food on board, you have to buy whatever you need, including water. They cost about the same as water at the airport, so whatever. It's still a $300 ticket to Paris, I'm not complaining.

I think because they're a newer and a budget airline, they usually taxi to a spot not directly connected to the airport buildings. Passengers had to take a shuttle bus from airport to the plane at all three airports I flew into. Just keep that in mind when you pack, because you have to be outside for a brief moment, but Iceland can be cold and raining or snowing. Pretty much all three happened to me.

I like the cheeky touches of WOW Air. The plane itself looks like a character out of Pixar's movie, with a grin on its face, wearing an aviator.

So how's the flight itself? Well, on the first leg from Boston to Reykjavik, I got really lucky! Window exit row seat, baby.

Best seat in the house

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Amsterdam Falafelshop, a Cheap and Quick Lunch in Fenway-Kenmore (Boston, MA)

Boston University students are lucky to have Amsterdam Falafelshop close to them in the Fenway Kenmore area. This place is perfect for a quick, cheap, and satisfying lunch (or dinner).
The menu is simple: you get falafels either in a pita or in a bowl, either small or large. There's also fries. But after you order you can go crazy with the toppings.

Amsterdam Falafelshop has an impressive topping bar with hummus, garlic sauce, fried eggplant, various salads, sauces, and all kinds of other goodies to bury your falafel under! If you order a pita, you can fill it with as much topping as you desire/ can fit in. If you order a bowl, then you pay by weight.

A small pita with 3 falafels is $6, and if you're good with fitting in your toppings you'll already get a filling sandwich. That's why this place is great for students (and postdocs like me)!

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20 Years of Burritos at Anna's Taqueria in Boston

There aren't that many Mexican restaurants in Boston compared to LA, but Anna's Taqueria has been going strong for 20 years. In fact, they celebrated their 20th anniversary yesterday! Anna's has 6 locations around Boston now including one at the MIT Student Center, right across the street from my office. As you can imagine it gets quite crowded during lunch hours, but the line moves fast.

So Anna's al pastor tacos are actually quite good, as they have a trompo in the stores. They serve it Mexico City style with pineapple. OK, I've been spoiled by having al pastor tacos in Mexico City, but at least I can get some in Boston, right? Anna's is primarily known for their burritos, though.

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Progressive Dinner at Bel Ari and Les Zygomates (Boston, MA)

I recently got to explore more of the Boston restaurant scene with a progressive dinner at Bel Ari and Les Zygomates in the Leather District. Bel Ari and Les Zygomates are just a few doors down from each other and they're actually owned by the same people, so they organized this progressive dinner with Blog and Tweet Boston. Bel Ari was named after the owners' children while Les Zygomates refer to "the muscles in the face that make you smile". 

While we were waiting for the rest of our party, I started off the night with a cocktail with Bulleit bourbon, lavender infused honey, and limoncello.

We went back to the private room and kicked off our dinner with a glass of Bellussi prosecco to pair with the first courses.

Whipped ricotta, honey, pistachios, crispy sunflower cranberry bread

A great table starter, the ricotta was smooth and cloud-like, I loved it with the honey and couldn't stop eating it.

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New Lunch Deal at Del Frisco's Grille

Del Frisco's Grille recently launched a lunch deal dubbed "Grab a Pair". For $12 you get your choice of : any personal size flat bread, half of a chicken avocado wrap, 2 fish tacos, or half of a banh mi. This will be served with your choice of mixed green salad, caesar salad, or cup of soup.

If you want a flat bread with a kick to it, try the Spicy pork meatball with banana peppers, fresh mozzarella and housemade ricotta.

The pork banh mi also comes with chips.

I think the $12 lunch combo is a good deal given the ambiance and service at Del Frisco's Grille, and the many options make it a good spot for a group work lunch. Even if you don't want to do the $12 deal, there are many choices here from appetizers to salads and entrees.

For the banh mi they use the same BBQ pork that they use in the Asian street tacos (BBQ pork with Korean marinade, pickled daikon and carrot, cucumber, cilantro, chiles, $10.50)

Lollipop chicken wings Buffalo style, avocado ranch dressing ($12)

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Trek-worthy Sandwiches from The Bacon Truck (Boston, MA)

I'm glad I got to take advantage of the summer weather this year by checking out various food trucks around Boston! One of my favorite finds was The Bacon Truck. I've seen this truck around and love their design: so many cute bacon strips doing random things like fishing or reading! The perfect truck for Gourmet Pigs, no?

Anyway, I finally tracked them down at Rose Kennedy Greenway. The Bacon Truck serves various sandwiches - with bacon, of course. They use exclusively thick-cut applewood-smoked bacon from Blackstone St. Smokehouse.
Other than their regular menu, they often rotate specials. Keep an eye out on The Cuban (braised pork shoulder, bacon, garlic pickles, muenster cheese, whole grain mustard, $9.50)

You wouldn't want to miss this sandwich if it's on the menu. It's a non-traditional Cubano, of course, but mighty delicious with tender pork, that thick bacon and the crispy griddled bread.

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Meal Kits On the Go from Pantry (Brookline, Boston, MA)

I'm a fan of the meal or recipe kit delivery services (I reviewed a lot of them here), but sometimes I feel like they send too much food/ too many kits at once for my personal schedule (I go out to eat a lot - obviously), or some services don't let you pick what you want, or some days you want to cook but don't have any kit left. That's why I think a concept like the newly opened Pantry in Brookline is a great idea.

Pantry sells recipe / meal kits, as you can imagine, but they sell them at a physical location. Right now, they only have one store in Brookline.

At Pantry, you can choose what you want from a collection of recipes (they have 11 now and working their way to 20) and each one is priced depending on the ingredients (ranging from $16-21 for meals for two people). Want steak? Fish? Salads? Desserts? They have it all. I like how the store is set up, too, as you can browse the recipes and see the ingredients. They do a lot of recipe development, as well, so you can be confident you're getting a delicious meal with seasonal ingredients.

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Area Four (Cambridge, MA)

I may have complained a bit about the lack of lunch options at MIT, but actually, if I just go out of campus for a bit, there are some great places - take Area Four, for example, known for their pizza.

The menu at Area Four is short and simple - some appetizers and salads, and then pizza. Area Four's pizza has won many accolades and boasts an older-than-12-year starter, over 30 hours of fermentation, and wood-fired oven. They make a great version of the New England staple, clam and bacon pizza with pecorino, chili pepper, and parsley ($17.50 for a small)

I had a very satisfying Little gem salad with tomatoes, blue cheese dressing, and crispy pork belly

The crispy pork belly made this salad that much better - it's still healthy right?

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Pinkberry Does Breakfast

I knew Pinkberry serves greek yogurt, and I've also tasted their oatmeal bowl before, but I haven't really thought about going there for breakfast until now. Did you know Pinkberry serves coffee? They brew Barrington coffee in a French press to-order. It's pretty strong and smooth.

I've tried many versions of their greek yogurt and also their oatmeal before, and they also are doing a quinoa bowl which I have not tried, but I decided to go with the acai bowl, since I'm nearing the end of the season to eat cold stuff! Oh, Boston winter is coming ...

Anyway, I got my acai bowl topped with a bunch of fruits, granola, and a dollop of honey.

Pinkberry makes their acai bowl using Sambazon acai which they blend with other things, so it takes a bit longer to prepare than the soft serve froyo, and not as firm, but I quite liked the way it tastes. Acai is supposed to be healthy for you and I got a my daily dose of fruits.

Overall it was a nice breakfast with pretty good coffee, making Pinkberry a nice option for breakfast if you have a location convenient to you! Next time, I'm going to check if they still do their PB&J oatmeal, where they mix in the peanut butter in the oatmeal, because that was delicious!

Ogawa Coffee Brings Japanese Perfection in A Cup

I'm not REALLY a coffee connoisseur, but I got spoiled living in LA, when there was a renaissance of great coffee shops. I may not be able to blind test different single origin coffees, but I know bad coffee from good coffee, at least. So when I came to Boston last year, I asked around where to find good coffee. "I just go to Dunkin' Donuts" was invariably the most common response.

Hm. Like I said, I was spoiled. Luckily, Ogawa Coffee came from Boston. Ogawa Coffee has been running a chain of stores and their own coffee bean roasting in Kyoto for more than 60 years. Their foray into Boston is their first international venture, and they chose Boston because it is one of Kyoto's sister cities and they see Boston's abundance of universities and focus on education as a common ground between the two cities.

When you walk in, you'll notice the stadium seating to the right, which faces a serving counter. They'll eventually hold demos and classes using this area.

Ogawa's signature drink ($10 but you get two drinks, really) is a glass of chilled espresso - smooth and just slightly sweetened - served with a cup of hot cappuccino.

If you're lucky and you're in the store when Haruna Maruyama is in, then you should ask for some special latte art. She's the champion of the 2010 World Barista Latte Art and was both the first Japanese and the first woman to win the distinction! Don't fret if she's not in because she's been training the other baristas who all have their signature art, but do know you're in for a treat when she is.

The thing about Japanese is their attention to detail. They heat up their glassware with hot water before serving the coffee so as not to change the temperature of the coffee too much!

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Michael Serpa's Select Oyster Bar (Boston, MA)

When Michael Serpa, the chef who headed the kitchen at wildly popular Neptune Oyster, left to start a new restaurant, all seafood lovers should follow.

Chef Michael Serpa

Michael Serpa recently opened Select Oyster Bar in Back Bay. This restaurant is slightly bigger than Neptune, but still intimate. Less casual, yet still serving great seafood - both raw and cooked, with a nice list of cocktails, beer, and wine.

We started with some Dayboat scallop (from New Bedford, MA) ceviche. So fresh and I love the crunchy texture that the peppers added!

Of course, there are plenty of local oysters. We went with a couple each of the Island Creek, Wellfleet, and Pemaquid

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