Go Uncommon for Father's Day (and Beyond) Gifts
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Photo from UncommonGoods |
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Photo from UncommonGoods |
Posted by gourmetpigs at 7:31 AM 0 comments
Labels: beer brewing kit, coffee, cold brew, cold brew kit, fathers day gifts, gift guide, gifts, uncommon goods, unique gifts
Happy National Donut Day! On this day, I thought I'd share with you my favorite donut shop in Boston ... Union Square Donuts! Now at their new storefront in Somerville, you can find these wonderful fluffy donuts along with Counter Culture coffee every day until 1 pm (later on the weekends).
Posted by gourmetpigs at 7:06 AM 0 comments
Labels: boston, bourbon sea salt caramel, dessert, donut, doughnut, somerville, sweets, union square donuts
Ahh, summer in New England. That only means one thing, lobster shacks!! I visited quite a few lobster shacks in Maine (including Bite Into Maine) and Connecticut last summer, including The Clam Shack in Kennebunkport, ME, which won Tasting Table's Lobster Roll Rumble in New York one year.
We got a whole steamed lobster (for only $12!), a lobster roll, a crab roll, and an order of steamers.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 6:04 AM 0 comments
Labels: clam shack, clams, Crab, kennebunk, Kennebunkport, lobster, lobster roll, maine, maine lobster, steamers, the clam shack
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: date ideas in LA, date night, jazz night, Lacma, museum, patina group, picnic, picnic basket, ras and stark, summer
by guest blogger @btsunoda
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:31 AM 0 comments
Labels: downtown, dtla, french, kendalls brasserie, los angeles, passport to france series, patina group, provence, spring in provence
Backbar is one of my favorite bars in Boston, so when the same team opened Ames Street Deli near MIT, well, I was quite excited (and scared for my wallet).
Ames Street Deli is open from morning until evening with different offerings throughout the day (making the place even more dangerous for the wallet!). In the morning, come for a kouign amann. Ames Street makes a great one, the layers are so flaky and crispy with the baked sugar.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 7:33 AM 0 comments
Labels: bakery, bar, boston, cambridge, cocktail, deli, foie gras, Kendall square, kouign amann, MIT, sam treadway, sandwich
I don't even know how many years it's been since I stepped into a Hard Rock Cafe, but when I heard from Deep End Dining that the Boston location is offering a haggis burger during the World Burger Tour promotion, I decided I had to try it!
I didn't know this before, but each Hard Rock Cafe location has their own unique burger, dubbed Local Legendary Burger. During the World Burger Tour, which is happening now until June 30, the Hard Rock Cafe locations in the USA will be showcasing different local burgers from all around the globe. Each US cafe will feature four different burgers, and the menu will vary from cafe to cafe.
The Boston location is featuring the haggis burger (Edinburg, Scotland), schnitzel burger (Cologne, Germany), Andean Burger (Santa Cruz, Bolivia), and the Chamorro Burger (Guam). I couldn't fit all four in my stomach, so I tried some:
Of course, I tried the Haggis Burger from Edinburgh, Scotland.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:33 AM 0 comments
Labels: boston, burger, faneuil hall, haggis, haggis burger, hard rock cafe, lobster burger, schnitzel, world burger tour
If you've been reading my blog for a while, you know I don't really cook at home and I mostly eat out. All the time. But actually I've been cooking at home a lot more, lately. I don't develop my own recipes, though, and I am cooking thanks to all those services that deliver boxes of pre-measured ingredients with recipes to you. I don't have to go grocery shopping and I can just follow the recipes.
I've tried a lot of these boxes. Want to know which one to try? Well, there's a review of all the boxes I've tried and the pricing!
Yes, for all these boxes, you'll get a cheaper price per meal if you order boxes for 4 instead of for 2, but as a comparison, I'm showing you the prices if you were like me and only order meals for 2.
Home Chef
Price: $9.95 per serving for most meals with 2 servings/meal minimum. Free shipping with $40 order.
Promo: Join Today & Enjoy 3 Free Meals
Review: Blue Apron used to be the cheapest option, but now Home Chef is. They also let you choose your own meals each week, which is a big plus for me. Right now Home Chef doesn't deliver everywhere yet, only 60% of the country so you need to check whether you live within the delivery regions. Pretty big selection of recipes each week, and they also have cheaper breakfast items to help you meet the $40 minimum for free shipping. I thought their recipes and ingredients were of high quality - the herbes de Provence pork tenderloin (pictured) was my favorite! Read the full review here.
Plated
Price: $12/plate, $4/dessert ($50 min for free shipping)
Promo: two free plates on your first order on Plated (up to $24 value).
Pro: Great recipes and high quality ingredients. You can choose your own meals. They've also recently added desserts!
Cons: On the more expensive side, and the Chef's Table recipes cost more.
Review:
I actually really like Plated, it's just that it's a bit more expensive than some of the others. They even have special recipes dubbed the Chef's Table now, which do all seem even more interesting, but they cost even more. I select my own recipes based on my taste and difficulty level (easy ones for me), so I know what I'm getting and am never disappointed. Their recipes are pretty easy but still interesting, I've learned to make many things I've never known before. They also substitute healthier ingredients for familar recipes.
Blue Apron
Price: $9.99/plate ($59.94 for 3 meals for 2)
Promo: Keep an eye out for Gilt City or other deal sites.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:28 AM 2 comments
Labels: blue apron, delivery service comparison, hello fresh, hellofresh promo code, just add cooking, meal delivery, meal kit, meal kit delivery, plated, plated promo code, promo code, the purple carrot
OK, that's not actually quite true. Szechuan Impression, which serves more of a "modern" take of Szechuan food compared to Chengdu Taste, is actually not as spicy as Chengdu. The main question on everyone's tongue is: Is it better than Chengdu Taste? The short answer is that they are each better than the other on different dishes!
One of my favorite dishes at Szechuan Impression is the mung bean jelly noodles, which I think they do much better than Chengdu Taste. This restaurant sure uses the word "impressive" on the menu a lot, perhaps in relation to the restaurant's name, or perhaps just bragging. Anyway, this dish is called the Impressive Bean Jelly ($5.99)
Posted by gourmetpigs at 9:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: alhambra, chinese food, sgv, sichuan, spicy, szechuan food, szechuan impression, tea smoked ribs
Pizza fans in Los Angeles are already familiar with chef Jeff Mahin's name and the two Stella Barra locations in LA (it's been so long ago that I've written about it, back when the restaurant was still called Stella Rossa).
Chef Mahin is bringing Southern California to the east, though, and I was reunited with his food while visiting Washington, DC. You see, Jeff Mahin is also in charge of another restaurant from the same group, called Summer House Santa Monica. Summer House currently has two locations: Chicago and North Bethesda in Maryland (if you're geographically challenged, that's a stone's throw away from DC).
The interior evokes that beach house ambiance, as one would expect, but they've done it better than what I had imagined. I love the lights hanging from the ceiling!
Posted by gourmetpigs at 7:29 PM 0 comments
Labels: bethesda, burrata, dc, jeff mahin, maryland, md, north bethesda, rockville, summer house, summer house santa monica, washington dc
When you live in a city that gets a hot as Phoenix and Scottsdale do, great dessert places are a must. Ice creams, soft serves, donuts ... I was quite impressed at the desserts I ate while I was in Phoenix on my last trip! Some of the flavors are very adventurous, some more than what I'm finding in Boston. Here are the five top spots for sweets and desserts in the Phoenix area:
1. Churn
The list of great ice cream shops in Phoenix goes on and on, but you must stop at Churn. Churn is known for their ice cream sandwiches, with deliciously gooey cookies and creamy, freshly churned ice creams. You can also get a scoop of ice cream and a half cookie as a topping. I had the Vietnamese coffee and Hangover Helper (a whiskey ice cream) topped with half a salted chocolate chip cookie. You can get two different cookies for your ice cream sandwiches, too!
5223 N Central Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85012
2. Rollover Donuts (also at Short Leash Hot Dogs)
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:32 AM 0 comments
Labels: arizona, az, best donut phoenix, best ice cream phoenix, dessert, donut, doughnut, ice cream, phoenix, scottsdale, soft serve, sweet republic, vegan ice cream
The Jolly Oyster is a beloved oyster shack in Ventura, where many Angelenos have taken a day trip to get fresh oysters and have a picnic in the park where the shack is located. They have all natural oyster farms based in Baja in Mexico. If Ventura seems too far for you, though, don't worry, since The Jolly Oyster just opened a market in Torrance! As with everything in Torrance, it's in a strip mall. Hanging on the walls are photos of their oyster farms in Baja. I really enjoyed listening to the story of how they got started and what they do. If you're interested, you should check out the documentary video.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 7:33 AM 0 comments
Labels: crab claw, jolly oyster, oyster, oyster market, shellfish, south bay, stone crab, stone crab claw, torrance
Cambridge has many great restaurants, but there's not much on MIT campus. I tried my share of Anna's Taqueria, the food trucks (which are too far to be my daily lunch), and the food court at the student center. Nothing worth seeking out.
Enter Farmavore.
Farmavore delivers homemade lunches made with local, sustainable ingredients to your office. The founders actually started out as farmers, so they're committed to supporting local farms.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 8:00 AM 0 comments
Labels: boston, cambridge, delivery, farmavore, food delivery, lunch, lunch delivery, massachusetts, prepared meals
I'm pretty lucky to live within walking distance to Hungry Mother and its sister restaurant, State Park. State Park has more of a sports bar vibe with more casual food and beers, but you can still look for great Southern food here from the James Beard Award winning chef Barry Maiden. Instead of the refined dishes at Hungry Mother, think sandwiches, fried chicken, and the likes.
Try the Snappy's Famous Pork Chop Sandwich (chili, cole slaw, tomato, mustard, $12)
Posted by gourmetpigs at 10:32 AM 0 comments
Labels: bar, barry maiden, bbq spaghetti, beer, boston, cambridge, cocktails, Kendall, Kendall square, southern food, state park, tech square
As I'm heading back to Phoenix and Scottsdale this weekend, I'm looking back to my last trip there. On my last day, I had a lovely brunch at Virtu in Scottsdale. It was a beautiful day, perfect for sitting outdoors and enjoying some good food and drinks.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 7:12 AM 0 comments
Labels: arizona, brunch, cocktail, craft cocktail, phoenix, scottsdale, virtu, virtu honest craft
Phoenix
Churn
Nami
Rollover Donuts
Short Leash Hot Dogs
Welcome Chicken + Donuts
Scottsdale
Sweet Republic
Virtu
Posted by gourmetpigs at 10:10 AM 0 comments
Labels: arizona, az, phoenix, phoenix restaurants, scottsdale, where to eat phoenix
Posted by gourmetpigs at 12:29 PM 0 comments
Labels: beer, beer festival, festival, food festival, la vegan beer fest, the rose bowl, vegan, vegan food festival
I've been meaning to try Michael's Pizzeria, but I haven't gone down to South Bay much lately.
I finally made the trek and visited the downtown Long Beach location for weekend brunch, and they had a musician playing guitar outside.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 11:52 AM 0 comments
Labels: brunch, downtown long beach, long beach, michael's pizzeria, neapolitan pizza, pizza, south bay, tiramisu
The aptly named Under Fire is now open below Fire+Ice in their Boston Back Bay location. While Fire+Ice is a family friendly buffet, UnderFire is more of a bar/restaurant serving food a la carte featuring burgers and tacos.
I was invited to the opening celebration so I didn't get to try the full menu but I did try some tacos and sandwiches. Between the two, the tacos are the way to go. They're not all traditional Mexican taco recipes, but instead modernized - Americanized perhaps, but the flavors are good - incorporating ingredients like pesto in the Pollo al Pesto (fire-grilled chicken, sunflower pesto, queso fresco, diced tomato, fresh basil, EVOO, flour tortilla, $11 for 3)
Posted by gourmetpigs at 7:21 PM 0 comments
Labels: back bay, bar, boston, boston bars, cocktail, drinks, fire+ice, peruvian chicken, tacos, under fire, underfire
Greenleaf Gourmet Chopshop is transforming their look with the new Hollywood location. I still remember the Century City and Beverly Hills locations, a small, fast-casual lunch spot with salads and fresh juice bar. Small, bright, casual. But now, in Hollywood, the restaurant has an outdoor seating area where they also grow some herbs, a gorgeous full bar, a rustic, dimly lit dining room.
Posted by gourmetpigs at 6:47 PM 0 comments
Labels: cocktail, fresh juice, greenleaf, greenleaf gourmet chopshop, healthy, hollywood, mocktail, organic, quinoa, salad, turkey burger
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