A recent trip to Rockport immediately made me crave lobster rolls, which, in the past in Boston has been good but not as exciting as I would have anticipated.
Cambridge: Beat Hotel
Location:
13 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA (below The Gap in Harvard Square)
It takes a certain type of restaurant to get me out on a weeknight after work in this city. The Beat Hotel is that type of restaurant. A grand opening party at a bohemian American brasserie inspired by the Beat generation of the 50s Paris, with live music and cockails named "Electric Sidecar"? Well, the food was just the icing on the cake at that point.
The restaurant features live music e'ry night with jazz, blues and world adding to the bohemian vibe. This night we were treated to Kate McGarry along with Steve Santoro and the Tim Ray trio.
Throughout the evening, our host and co-owner Bertil Jean-Chronberg suggested a variety of American artisanal wines and craft beers to complement the items on the menu.
Serving a very eclectic menu of seasonal dishes to tempt both the carnivorous palate as well as the herbavore, our table covered the entire spectrum.
We began the evening with flavorful craft cocktails; my favorite was the American Breed, complete with Maker's Mark and St. Edler's elderflower liqueur and apple cider...it felt like the perfect drink for an Autumn evening.
We started with a slew of appetizers, spanning the entire table. A must-try dish is the Hamachi (yellowtail) Sashimi, served on avocado, sambal and black olives...literally melts in your mouth.
There was crispy calamari and tempura veggies, crispy tuna spring rolls, a bohemian platter of hummus, cheese, veggies, pickles, enough for everyone to share.
If that wasn't filling enough, we moved onto our mains, I decided on the 1/2 roasted natural chicken with frites, mustard jus and pickes, generous in portion and robust in flavor.
The Tandoori spiced halibut with lentils and cucumber raita was a tasty alternative to the chicken, and the Earth Bowls (options vary from vegan, shrimp, chicken, steak and salmon) are yet another satisfying choice.
Don't get me started on the desserts...the bread pudding is to die for.
It's the best when you can share in a food experience with food lovers, and amongst these, at my table it was great to meet Tiffany and see Elizabeth who I hung out with in Miami!
If you're looking for a lively spot to wine and dine with live music every night, be sure to check out the calendar at The Beat Hotel.
Thank you to The Beat Hotel for treating us to an incredible evening in Harvard Square.
All photographs ©Hogger & Co., processed with VSCO Film 04
Happy Cinco de Mayo!
Celebrate with tacos and margaritas!
Here's a round up of my fave taco places:
5 Napkin Burger (Miami), who knew a burger place could do fish tacos so well?
Linden Square's The Cottage in Wellesley, MA does a mean mahi taco
Border Cafe in Harvard Square, Boston
Dos Cominos in NYC
Atwoods Tavern, Boston, does a good fish taco!
And if you, like me, enjoy taco night at home, try this tilapia recipe for creating delish fish tacos!!
Miami: Fontainbleau Hotel: Hakkasan
Location:
4441 Collins Avenue
Miami Beach
http://www.hakkasan.com/miami/
You know when you're sunburned and so relaxed, that even though you want to get dressed up and go out, you really don't want to go too far?
That's when dining in one of the hotel's restaurants is the best idea, ever.
Hakkasan fit the bill. Although they were fully booked, they were gracious and got us a table after a short wait.
The dumplings were the highlight for sure. Incredibly moist, and with abundant flavor and texture, we held that as the standard. Alas the fish dish was not up to par. Am not a fan of bland steamed fish with sauce poured over it. The eggplant didn't have too much oomph and the fried rice was forgettable.
Redemption came in the form of chocolate (naturally) and won us over again. If you're staying at the Fontainbleau Hotel, I highly recommend dining there. If you're not, I wouldn't bother with the trek.
Cambridge: REI Camp Cooking Challenge
On July 28, 3 local area chefs battled it out on a grassy hill-top using only 1 local (and secret) ingredient.
The 3rd annual Camp Cooking Challenge was sponsered by REI and the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture, hosted by Dane Tullock, Outreach Specialist, REI Boston and videographed by Jeremy from Studio603films.
Using REI's camping gear and fresh produce from The Food Project the chefs were challenged to serve two dishes to the judges using the red fish as their master ingredient. The judges were DAR commissioner Greg Watson, Editor of Northeast Flavor Magazine, Jean Kerr (whose current issue features Julia Child), Founder and President of Chop-Chop Magazine, Sally Sampson and Director of Food Initiatives , Edith Murnane.
The winners were Chefs Chris Douglass and Nuno Alves from Tavalo for their seafood risotto (I tried it, it was delicious!)
Coming in second was Chef Jay Murray from Grill 23 with Chef Patricia Yeo (from tv's Top Chef Masters fame and Moksa) coming in third. (I'm a huge fan of Top Chef so it was a pleasure to meet Chef Patricia Yeo).
Here, some highlights (my interview by Dane made it to my Instagram feed!)
Happy Birthday Julia Child!
Miami: 5 Napkin Burger
Location:
455 Lincoln Road
Miami , FL 33139
http://5napkinburger.com/locations-menus/
Have you been to a 5 Napkin Burger? New York has the most number of them, and there's one in Boston's Back Bay, which I haven't visited, yet.
The one in Miami is stellar especially when you're looking for fish tacos in Miami and you'd think it would be easy to find. Not on Lincoln Road, it's not. So who woulda thought a joint with 'burger' in the title would serve fish tacos?
Well they do, and they do it well!
The only thing they don't do as well is their brownie sundae. Athough exceptional in size, the brownie bits were hard and not as moist and gooey as should be in a sundae.
Overall, a good meal. And next time I'll go for a burger!
Cambridge: Helmand
Location:
143 1st Street Cambridge, MA
Finally! Something tasty in this city!
I've never tried Afghan cuisine, but it certainly has very distinct flavours. Mint to coriander to pumpkin to cardamom. Curries and rices but crispy pastries and soft breads.
We ordered Bowlawni, the pastries filled with veggies, the Qoremay Ma-He, sea bass that's pan fried and sauteed, and served with rice. Absolutely delicious! The vegetarian special which includes baked pumpkin (out of this world!) eggplant, spinach, okra, and rice.
The cardamom cake (called "our cake" on their menu) is a must try. I make a cardamom cake, too, although this was much more moist and soaked in the essence. Mine is more of a tea cake (also a must try!)
It was also fairly busy even on a weeknight, but the service was still attentive and beyond wonderful.
I can't recommend this place more!
Boston: Union Oyster House
Location:
41 Union Street Boston, MA 02108
Yes, it's America's OLDEST restaurant (in terms of being open for continuous service), and was established in 1826.
1826!!
The recipes possibly date back as far as then, too. To a time when perhaps seasoning wasn't available, for the blandest of bland meals can be eaten here.
Good clam chowder, if the simple ingredients of cream, potatoes and bits of clam, could possibly be screwed up.
Potatoes tasted like dirt.
The asparagus and beans weren't cooked fully.
The biscuit barely saved my meal from being a total disaster. I even overheard someone complaining that his daughter ran out with an upset stomach from the scallops.
Shame on us for taking guests from out of town there.
Boston, Brookline: Fugakyu
Location:
1280 Beacon Street Brookline, MA
Sounds like you're swearing at me, but it's all good. REALLY GOOOOOOD!
Totally fresh and awesome sushi right there. I'll be back. (image via Instagram)
Greece: Mykonos, Petinos
Location:
Platys Gialos Beach, 84600, PO Box 116, Mykonos, Greece
www.petinosbeach.gr/mykonos_restaurant
You have to do dinner and a dance show in Greece. We went to one in Petinos at the Blue Myth restaurant. There was singing, high-kicks, fire tricks and table lifting (with teeth!). They even pulled me onto the dance floor several times, once while I was still in my chair!
The food was good too, but it was mostly about the entertainment. Oh, and a good greek dance isn't complete without some plate breaking! OPA!
April: Art To Inspiration
This month's Art to Inspiration comes from an artist named Pakayla Rae Biehn whose work is entitled:
Is it bad to have immediately thought of food when I saw this image? Perhaps I was hungry or perhaps it's because I ate too much Mexican food in San Diego where I just returned from, for this is what it brought to mind. In texture, in colour and with the use of negative and positive space.
Greece: Athens, Tzitzikas kai Mermigas
Location:
Mitropoleos 12, Athens 10563, Greece
As soon as we arrived in Athens, we were starving and decided to check out the Plaka district. We asked a group of cops at the corner (we did wonder why there were cops hanging around in that area) for a recommendation of tasty and authentic fare that would be casual but not "fast food". They directed us around the corner and down a street. We were skeptical, and unsure if we'd know where it was, but then we found it easily as it was the only restaurant on a side street that had light spilling out onto the street, cheerful patrons and the delicious smell of seafood.
The BEST. I finally found the name and map to the restaurant, with a little bit of sleuthing on Google Maps! I don't know how to pronounce it, but if you're ever in the Syntagma Square area of Athens, GO THERE!
We had red wine, Mythos greek beer, a giant Greek Tzitzikas (just found out that it means salad) which is my favourite type of salad and a giant fried seafood basket.
Amazing service, and INCREDIBLE food!! Sigh..to eat those olives once again.
New York City: Dos Caminos
Location:
825 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022
Came highly recommended. Didn't know it was a chain. And for someone who spent more than 8 hours at the Met without eating anything, I was, to say the least, starving. The service was top knotch, and because we said we were incredibly hungry they brought out everything in literally 10 minutes.
The rice and beans were unlimited, and we (mostly me) had about 5-6 refills.
The fish dish was spicy just as I ordered, just wonderful. Ah, to have it once more.
MA: Priya Indian Cuisine
Location:
1270 Westford Street, Lowell, MA
Looking for amazing Indian food in Massachusetts? Look no further than Priya's.
Authentic north and south indian fare that's well priced and so delicious. We ordered half the things on the menu (some not pictured) and everything was excellent. Service, although friendly, is a bit slow. One of the tables beside us pre-ordered on the phone prior to coming in, which seemed like a good idea as they sat down after us but were eating well before us.
Still, a great place for indian food and big enough to host parties and functions. (Photos via underwater camera)
Provincetown, MA: Fanizzi's
Location:
539 Commercial Street Provincetown, MA
For the MLK long weekend, we decided to check out Cape Cod for the day. Yes, it was freezing, and yes, everything, save for a few shops, was closed. However, we were recommended Fanizzi's by the water and decided to grab dinner there before heading back.
We scored the best seat of the house, overlooking the water and the sunset.
The service was lovely and the place filled up quickly as the sun began to set.
We chose a dish of sea scallops n' pasta in marinara sauce and fish n' chips, both downed with beers. The coleslaw that came with the fish n' chips was to die for. It must have had some green apple or something, as it was both sweet and perfectly coleslaw-y. The bread basket arrived piping hot which is always welcome. We also had coffees and the molten lava chocolate cake, which took me well over my sugar quota for the day, but was totally worth it.
I can't recommend this place, enough. We'll be back this summer!
