Charcuterie and Vegetables Showcase at BISq (Cambridge, MA)

The popular Bergamot Restaurant opened a more casual sister restaurant near my apartment in Inman Square. I had walked past BISq many times in Inman Square, and I finally had the perfect opportunity to try it when I saw a Groupon for a 6-course tasting menu for $30 per person! I hadn't used Groupon for a while but recently I took a look around and saw that they actually have some great restaurant deals in Boston. I convinced my roommate to join me for dinner one night.

Our tasting menu starts off with some grilled avocado, grapefruit, frisee, salumi jam, peppercorn vinaigrette

I love avocado so this was a great starter for me, but the star of the dish was really the salumi jam. Yes, really, it's "jam" made with salumi instead of fruits!

Herb-marinated beets, raita, fennel, sunflower seed granola

It was unusual to have beets paired with spicy flavors as in this dish.

King oyster mushroom carpaccio, queso verde, red cabbage, peanuts, omelette, soy-ginger dressing 

This was my favorite dish of the night. A thin slice of king oyster mushroom is topped with small cubes of egg omelette, peanuts, and a bold queso verde.

Read more »

Global Flavors at Tavern Road (Boston, MA)

The airy Tavern Road in Fort Point is a hip eatery that merges the neighborhood's recent emergence and the creative community who's long occupied the area. DiBiccari has a lot of connections to the art community in Boston (his uncle was an artist), so the artwork displayed in his restaurant is also done by local artists.

Tavern Road's menu spans diverse global influences. Diners may start with some Sumac hummus and grilled beans with apple, sesame, and freshly baked pita ($8)

In fact, diners should start with this amazing sumac hummus, along with the warm, fluffy pita. It's unlike other hummus you've had. The sumac and apple adds a refreshing tartness, and I am always partial to the nutty sesame flavor. I could't stop munching on the pita and hummus!

Chickpea frites, sweet and spicy tomato jam ($5)

When I read the description, I was imagining falafels, but these cubes of ground chickpeas are surprisingly smooth and creamy morsels.

Maine Crab conserva, soffrito, fried pita, pickles, herbs ($12)

Shifting direction to a jar of light marinated crab. The fresh pita makes another appearance here and is a great vehicle for the cool, fresh lumps of crab meat.

Read more »

Home Chef Meal Kit Delivery Review

Back with another meal kit delivery service review! I recently got to try another service called Home Chef. Home Chef is an ingredient kit service based out of Chicago and currently deliver to 60% of the country.

Herbes de Provence pork tenderloin with zucchini and yellow squash

Just like Plated and Hello Fresh, you can choose your specific meals. Each meal is $9.95 per serving (each meal serves 2), and delivery is free if you order $40 (otherwise, delivery is $10). If you get delivery, which you would with 3 meals for 2, Home Chef comes out to be cheaper than Plated or Hello Fresh. Also, you can Join Today & Enjoy 3 Free Meals.

They have at least 8 meal choices each week and they're clearly labeled with food restrictions like "gluten-free", "nut-free", "low calorie", etc. I also like that they have breakfast meal options, too, which are also cheaper, so you can get 2 dinner meals and 1 breakfast if you choose, to meet your $40 minimum.

Home Chef is a subscription service, but you can adjust the number of recipes each week.

Read more »