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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Ramen Champ is Back with New Owner and Revamped Menu

by guest blogger @iam_robot

A few weeks after closing for a much needed “vacay”, Chinatown Far East Plaza’s ramen joint Ramen Champ will reopen with new owner and new menu on October 2nd.
Yoshimasa Kasai, former director of Ramen Yokocho Festival and famed founder of Ramen Iroha, took over the shop from one of Eggslut co-owners, Alvin Cailan, and would bring his vast experience (winning 5 Tokyo Ramen Championships among others) to this already popular noodle shop.

Alvin Cailan will stay on board as consultant while Kasai will keep the outlook of the shop, which includes a Robot Ramen interior mural by New York artist Mike Houston.
The tiny soup noodle joint started earlier this year as a partnership between Eggslut co-owners Alvin Cailan & Johnny Lee along with Men-Oh-Tokushima Chef Nathan Asamoto. Kasai revamped the entire menu and would start with 3 different bowls of ramen. Tonkotsu Ramen will be the main star with noodles, chashu, mushrooms, green onions and sesame oil; Tonkotsu Tan Tan Men will be the Chinese fusion flavor with noodles, greens and a Sichuan peppercorn paste; and Vegan Ramen will be the healthier options with spinach noodles and broth made with kombu & dried shitake mushrooms.

Last weekend, I had the chance to taste the broth for the Tonkotsu Ramen and a full bowl of the Tan Tan Men.
Tonkotsu Ramen

I was quite speechless when I tried the Tonkotsu Ramen broth, thought it was the most savory broth. It was rich but it didn’t feel overwhelming or overly salty, just felt right with the medium soft noodles and strong toasty flavor from the sesame oil.

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