Ames Street Deli (Cambridge, MA)

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.

They also have breakfast sandwiches and scrambled egg donut and bacon and egg donut! I'm not quite sure yet what those are like because I haven't woken up early enough to go to campus for those, but I'm certainly intrigued. The kouign amann is also typically gone by late afternoon, so you should come earlier for that, too.

At lunch, you'll find sandwiches. The sandwiches are on the smaller side, but each order comes with a side dish! I really enjoyed the Rabbit Sandwich (mustard bread, rabbit mortadella, pork liver, beets, radish)

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Haggis Burger and More: Hard Rock Cafe's World Burger Tour

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.

It's a beef patty topped with haggis, Monterey Jack cheese, golden turnip frazzles, whiskey maple glaze, lettuce, tomato, served with fries.

They even got the nips and tatties in there! That's turnips and potatoes, if you didn't know.

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Meal Kit Delivery Comparisons: Plated, Blue Apron, Just Add Cooking, HelloFresh, The Purple Carrot, Home Chef

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.

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