Showing posts with label somerville. Show all posts
Showing posts with label somerville. Show all posts

Sunday, October 14, 2018

Urban Hearth: A Charming Gem Near Davis Square (North Cambridge, MA)

Urban Hearth is a small and charming supper club in North Cambridge, a short walk from Davis Square station. They're open for dinner and also for weekend brunch.
Urban Hearth
I tried Urban Hearth recently and got a cozy corner table by the window. Urban Hearth offers a seasonal prix fixe menu for supper, with a three-course option for $70 or five courses for $85. We picked the three course option but ended up with a lot more food thanks to the extra appetizer, palate cleansers, etc.
Urban Hearth
Even though the above pricing doesn't include wine pairing, they started us off with a cocktail made with blackberry syrup, pineapple and chamomile infused vodka, and lime.
Urban Hearth
The appetizer before the first course: bread with za'atar and red pepper feta
Urban Hearth
For the first course my friend got the Lamb dumplings, flowering mustard, pickled cherries, leek soubise, spring onion
Urban Hearth
I admit, I had food envy, the lamb dumplings were great, especially paired with the cherries!

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Discover Classes with CourseHorse: Wine Tasting Class at Dave's Fresh Pasta (Somerville, MA)

CourseHorse is a portal to discover local classes, varying from tech classes, languages, life skills, and of course cooking and wine tasting classes. Even fitness classes are listed. I was invited to experience one of CourseHorse's openings, so naturally I looked for the food-related ones. Browsing through the selection I found numerous cooking classes, a cocktail making class at No. 9 Park, and a number of wine tastings. You can look through the current culinary offerings in Boston here.

I decided to take one of the wine tastings offered at Dave's Fresh Pasta in Somerville. Dave's Fresh Pasta is a gourmet food and wine store, but they also hold events like this wine tasting on a few Thursdays 7:30-9PM each season. The wine tastings at Dave's Fresh Pasta is typically $55 per person. I was there for their Local Cheese and Spring Wines tasting with Vineyard Road, a wine distributor based in Framingham. We tasted five different wines paired with food.

We started with 2015 Murgo Lapilli from Sicily, Italy ($11.95). This wine is 60% Chardonnay and 40% Sauvignon Blanc, which are typical grapes of Italy.
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The wine's apple notes pair well with the Hudson Valley Camembert cheese, apple butter, and apple slices on cracker.
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2016 Domaine Lelievre from Cotes de Toul, Lorraine, France ($16.95). This rose wine is a blend of Gamay and Pinot Noir.
Lorraine is in the northern center France. This region used to make a lot of wines in the 1500s but a lot of disease had diminished the planted area.
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Thursday, September 8, 2016

GIVEAWAY! East Somerville Foodie Crawl on Sept 13

East Somerville is a hidden food gem, with international restaurants that span from Haiti, Ethiopia, Italian, Mexican, and more. Not sure where to go in East Somerville? Well, join the East Somerville Foodie Crawl on September 13 to sample many of these restaurants, all in one night!

You'll hit some great restaurants like La Brasa, Fasika, Rincon Mexicano, East End Grille, Deano's Pasta, and many more. There are almost two dozen restaurants participating, and you can see the full list here.
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chilorio estilo Sinaloa at Rincon Mexicano

Tickets are $25 per person (high school and college students can get tickets for just $15), and you can also get tickets to the Aeronaut Beer Garden for $12 which lets you have two beers. Tickets can be purchased here. Join other foodies and try out the gems in this neighborhood.

AND, lucky for you, The Foodie Crawl has generously offered a pair of tickets for my readers! To win the two tickets, follow the instructions below, winners will be selected and notified by September 12!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Thursday, November 26, 2015

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.

Journeyman
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.
Journeyman

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

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

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.

Wednesday, July 15, 2015

Modern Meze at Sarma: Worth the Trek (Somerville, MA)

Boston isn't all about seafood and Italian food, there are a few special places that add a big diversity to the available food in town. Sarma is one of those few special places and I have to say it's only a type of restaurant I won't be able to find in LA, making Sarma one of my favorite spots in Boston so far.

Located in Somerville, Sarma is the sister restaurant of Oleana in Cambridge, both specializing in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food, but Sarma focuses on meze /small plates and is more casual.

Sarma
Go to Sarma with many people, so that you can try a lot of dishes - and trust me, there are a lot you'd want to try. Sarma also changes a big part of their menu regularly, so even if you're a regular, you'd always find something new to try. Here's what I had at Sarma over two different visits:

Lamb kofte sliders, tomato, brown butter, pickles ($10) - one of the must gets!
Sarma
It may look simple in the photo, but these are seriously some of the best sliders ever. The patty - made with lamb kofte - was really good and the buns had the perfect texture.

Corn cakes, goat cheese, salty date butter, cilantro, pecans ($10)
Sarma

Friday, June 5, 2015

Union Square Donuts (Somerville, MA)

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).

Union Square Donuts

The flavor that made me fall in love with Union Square the first time is the Sea Salted Bourbon Caramel.
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Friday, April 3, 2015

Good and Cheap Sushi in Boston! Ebi Sushi (Somerville, MA)

Have you heard me complain about the lack of cheap sushi in Boston yet? Sure, you can get good sushi at O Ya, but I don't really feel like dropping $200+ all the time. I tried a couple other highly rated places that were either not good or pretty good but overpriced - but I kept hearing about Ebi Sushi and finally made it out to Somerville, now that the snow is (mostly gone).

I normally don't order "sushi combo" but I made an exception here and it turned out to be a great deal!

Ebi Sushi
The reason I made an exception was because I was talking to the sushi chef (Jose, whom I later found out was actually one of the owners. Yes, he's not Japanese, but he's got quite a few years of experience behind sushi bars). He told me the specials for the day and I started asking him whether or not I could get this fish in the combo or that fish or this cut. And he said yes to all of them.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Brunch at Kirkland Tap and Trotter in Somerville (Boston, MA)

The burger at James Bear winner Tony Maws' Craigie on Main was so popular, he opened up Kirkland Tap and Trotter to make more accessible burgers. But the two burgers will remain distinct, though, keeping the Craigie burger "sacred." Instead, Kirkland Tap and Trotter will serve their own version along with other casual fares.

At any rate, I've been wanting to try KT&T for a while, and I got the chance to join Boston Brunchers for brunch one weekend.

We all started by sharing some orders of the Sticky Bun ($5)

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I liked the (relatively) lighter consistency of the bun, and the amount of nuts they've put in between the folds!

I had a hard time choosing what entree to get since there are a few that sounded interesting and delicious, but since this is my first time here, I decided I should try the burger.
Grilled grass-fed cheeseburger, kimchi Russian dressing, Emmenthaler cheese ($12) with fried egg and house-cured bacon (+$2)
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Sunday, September 7, 2014

Stuff Your Own Falafel Sandwich at Amsterdam Falafelshop (Somerville, MA)

As far as cheap eats in Boston go, it's hard to beat Amsterdam Falafelshop! For a small falafel sandwich, you'd get out with under $6, or $7 for a regular size. You can get it as a bowl, too, but I think the sandwich is the way to go. First, choose between white or wheat pita, which comes toasted then stuffed generously with those crispy chickpea falafels. That's it? Not at all. Next, you can peruse the toppings and fill it with whatever you want. Whatever. You. Want.

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Monday, June 30, 2014

Genius Hour and Ramen at Backbar in Somerville (Boston, MA)

4-6pm at Backbar in Somerville's Union Square is dubbed the Genius Hour. I just found out that happy hours as I knew it in LA is illegal in Boston, as in they're not allowed to discount alcohol. What Boston bars/restaurants do instead is discount food or have special food items during "happy hour". Backbar's Genius Hour, then, is the only 2 hours of each day when you can get their lauded Genius Ramen.

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It's a great time to chill at the bar, as well, though. It's calm and quiet, the sunlight passes through the skylight.

The ramen's broth changes from season to season. In the winter you might find a rich tonkotsu (pork) broth. At the end of spring when I went, they had a chicken dashi broth, finished off with tare ($14).
Ramen

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Boston Restaurant Reviews (Boston, MA)

#
75 on Courthouse Square (Seaport)

A
Abby Park (Milton, MA)
Alden and Harlow (Cambridge)
Ames Street Deli (Cambridge)
Amorino (Back Bay)
Amsterdam Falafel Shop (Davis Square, Somerville)
Anna's Taqueria (multiple locations)
Area Four (Cambridge)
Artu (North End)

B
B & G Oysters (South End)
Backbar (Somerville)
The Baldwin Bar (Woburn)
Bar Boulud (Back Bay)
Barking Crab (Fort Point)
Beat Brasserie (Cambridge)
Bel Ari (Leather District)
Belle Isle Seafood (Winthrop)
Beta Burger (Roxbury)
BISq (Inman Square, Cambridge)
Blue Dragon (Fort Point)
Boston Chops (SoWa)
Bostonia Public House
Brelundi (Waltham)
Brick and Mortar (Cambridge)
The Brook Kitchen and Tap (Holbrook, South Shore)
BurgerFi (West Roxbury)
by CHLOE (Seaport)

C
Cafe Sushi (Cambridge)
Cambridge Brewing Company (Cambridge)
Clio (Back Bay)
Club Passim (Cambridge)
Coppa (South End)
Craigie on Main (Cambridge)

Del Frisco's Grille (Burlington)
Drink (Fort Point)

E
Earl's Kitchen + Bar at Prudential Center (Back Bay)
East by Northeast (Cambridge) - CLOSED
Ebi Sushi (Somerville)
The Elephant Walk (Cambridge)
Estragon (South End) - $1 tapas

F
Fiorella's (Newton)
Fleming's Steakhouse (Back Bay) - late night happy hour
Freshii (Back Bay)
Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe (Chinatown)
Gourmet Dumpling House (Chinatown)

H
Hojoko (Fenway Kenmore)
The Hourly (Harvard Square)
Island Creek Oyster Bar (Fenway Kenmore)
Izakaya Ittoku (Allston)

K
Kareem's (Watertown)
The Kinsale (downtown / Government Center)
Kirkland Tap and Trotter (Somerville)
KO Catering and Pies (South Boston)

L
LA Burdick (Cambridge)
Lansdowne Pub (Fenway)
Les Zygomates (Leather District)
Loretta's Last Call Tavern (Fenway)
Lucky's Lounge (Fort Point)
Lulu's (Allston)

M
Max and Leo's (Fenway)
Mission on the Bay (North Shore / Swampscott)
Muqueca (Cambridge)
Myers and Chang (South End)
Nebo (Waterfront)
Neptune Oyster (North End)

O
OAK Long Bar + Kitchen (Back Bay)
Odyssey Cruise: champagne brunch cruise
Ogawa Coffee (Downtown)
Ostra (Back Bay)
O Ya (Leather District)

P
Pabu (Downtown)
Post 390 (Back Bay)

R
Ribelle (Brookline)
Rino's Place (East Boston)
Russell House Tavern (Cambridge)

S
Santarpio's Pizza (East Boston)
Sarma (Somerville)
Select Oyster Bar (Back Bay)
Shake Shack (Cambridge)
Shojo (Chinatown)
Sichuan Garden II (Woburn)
State Park (Cambridge / Kendall Square)
Sumiao Hunan Kitchen (Cambridge / Kendall Square)
Summer Shack (Back Bay)
Sweet Cheeks Q (Fenway/Kenmore)

T
The Reserve at The Langham - afternoon tea (Financial District)
The Tasting Room at 51 Lincoln (Newton)
Tavern Road (Fort Point)
Ten Tables (Cambridge)
Teranga (South End)
Toro (South End)

U
Union Square Donuts (Somerville)

V
VERTS Mediterranean Grill (Downtown)

W
Wagamama (Seaport)
Waxy's Modern Bar + Kitchen (Brookline)
Waypoint (Harvard Square)
WHISK at Fazenda Cafe (Jamaica Plain)
Wink and Nod (South End)
Wu Er by Wow Barbecue (Brookline)
Yume wo Katare (Porter Square, Cambridge)

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