Queen of the Food Age

Avery Provision Co., Boston, MA

September 19, 2012

Avery Provision Co is this awesome little specialty food cafe next to Naomi’s dorm. They offer To-go sushi made daily to order, fresh cut deli meats and cheeses, dolmades, falafel and hummus, hard boiled eggs, salads, sandwiches, macaroni and cheese kits, pasta, and sauces, soups, and salads.

Yes. All of it. In my face.

We ordered the prosciutto caprese sandwich and Israeli couscous salad, which was absolutely amazing. That was possibly the most delicious sandwich I’ve ever eaten, which is surprising, considering I don’t usually love prosciutto. The couscous salad was also delicious.

This sandwich was amazing. I don’t even have anything clever to say.

So, if you’re in Boston, somewhere near the Paramount on Washington St. and you want a delicious sandwich, I definitely recommend stopping in and grabbing something delicious from Avery Provision Co. Naomi has no idea how lucky she is to live next to such an amazing little place.

Avery Provision Co.
581 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02111

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Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 9/17/12

September 17, 2012

Hey everybody! My birthday was last week (HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!) and my awesome boyfriend bought me a gorgeous sapphire necklace, a fancy three-course dinner, and a kitten. Jewelry, delicious food, a KITTEN…what else could a girl ask for?

Here’s a picture of Ben holding my new kitten. His name is Weasley, because he’s a ginger. And I love him.

Contrary to popular Reddit belief…. Ben is not mexican. Just FYI.

Fezzik still isn’t sure how he feels about this new furball hanging out around the apartment. He’s been hiding in my closet a lot. But they’ve started playing together more and I think Fezzik is starting to tolerate his new lil buddy.

Kitteh! Come out of teh closet!

Today’s quote is in honor of my super awesome new furry family (Ben is somewhat included in that… not that he would know since he NEVER READS MY BLOG). But, I digress. Enjoy your week! I hope you’re all looking forward to a couple more Boston posts!

“Love me, feed me, never leave me.”
— Garfield

Hopefully they’ll get along better than Garfield and Odie… probably not, though.

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Restaurant Reviews

Mike’s Pastry, Boston, MA

September 16, 2012

Walking into Mike’s Pastry is like walking into some kind of Italian dessert wonderland. They have 19 different kinds of cannoli, in addition to marzipan, biscotti, cakes, cookies, pies, gelati, whoopee pies, eclairs, etc… pretty much any kind of delicious dessert item you can imagine.

Usually I don’t like cannoli, I feel like the cannoli cookie usually tastes stale, so I tend to avoid them. But I ended up trying their orange cream-filled cannoli (after Uncle Greg all but shoved it down my throat), and I have to say, it was actually quite delicious. I bought a chocolate chip cannoli to try, but I was so full I ended up just giving it to Naomi. I really regret that decision.

Mike’s Pastry
300 Hanover Street
Boston, MA 02113

Restaurant Reviews

Florentine Cafe, Boston, MA

September 15, 2012

When I first found out I was going to Boston, I had one thing on my mind: Lobster Ravioli. Namely, Lobster Ravioli from Rino’s Place as seen on Diners, Drive ins, and Dives. When we landed in Boston, I found out that Rino’s place was closed for renovations, so I’d have to find another venue to satisfy my lobster ravioli craving. Enter the Florentine Café. We started our meal with bruschetta and pomodoro (basically a caprese salad with red and yellow tomatoes). We ate it so fast I barely had time to snap a picture before it was gone.

Aunt Karen got linguini scampi (thin linguini with sautéed shrimp & diced tomatoes in a garlic lemon butter sauce). I didn’t try any of it, but she ate all of it, so I’m assuming it was good.

Tina and Uncle Greg ordered the Lobster ravioli, which consisted of ravioli filled with shallots, crabmeat & ricotta, tossed with lobster meat and porcini truffle oil in a vodka cream sauce. It really, really yummy.

Because I have a thing where I don’t like to order the same thing as anyone else at a table (it really limits my options to try more food from the restaurant if we all order the same thing), I ended up ordering the Chicken Francese (egg battered chicken sautéed with chicken stock, fresh lemon and butter served with penne). It was simple and delicious, but very, very rich.

Florentine Café
333 Hanover St
Boston, MA 02113

Restaurant Reviews

King Fung Garden, Boston, MA [CLOSED]

September 14, 2012

After moving Naomi into her dorm, we went searching for a delicious Chinese restaurant in Chinatown. We found the King Fung Garden restaurant, and it was amazing. Literally the best Chinese food I’ve ever eaten. It’s a hole in the wall. Seriously, there were maybe 5 tables in the entire place. But everything we ordered was amazing. To start we got the scallion pancakes because they were recommended on Yelp. I’ve never had a scallion pancake before, but now I know what I’ve been missing. They were amazing. Greasy, yes…. I mean, it’s chinese food. So. But sooo amazing. We also got the crab rangoons, which were the best I’ve ever eaten. Ever. And I’ve eaten a lot of crab rangoons in my life. We also got some spring rolls, but those really weren’t anything special.

Aunt Karen ordered the General Cau’s (or Tao’s or Cho’s or however it’s spelled. It seems to change restaurant to restaurant) chicken, which was delicious. They definitely made everything to order. Uncle Greg got the Orange chicken and it delicious as well, albeit a bit too spicy for my taste. Mom got the Shanghai Chow Mein, which featured the biggest noodles I’ve ever seen. They were the length of regular noodles, but as thick as French fries. But they were absolutely delicious. My stomach is growling just thinking about it. I ordered the chicken Chow Foon, which was stir-fried flat rice noodles with chicken, sprouts, and onions. It was really, really yummy. I loved everything we ordered.

The only downside was that as we were waiting to pay the bill, a cockroach crawled up the wall right behind my head. Even considering that, I’d definitely still eat there again, no hesitation…although I’d probably get it to-go next time.

King Fung Garden
74 Kneeland Street
Boston, MA 02111

Restaurant Reviews

NYP and Regina Pizzeria (aka The Best Pizza I’ve Ever Eaten)

September 13, 2012

First of all, let me say that the best pizza I’ve ever eaten was in Boston. Call me blasphemous if you must, but I would even go so far as to say it’s better than NY pizza. We got pizza from two different places, Pizza Regina in the North End, and New York Pizza (NYP) on Massachusetts Avenue.

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Regina Pizzeria

During the Feast of St. Anthony, I stopped at the Pizza Regina booth and grabbed a slice of cheese pizza with spinach and cherry tomatoes. Naomi and Karen each got a slice of pepperoni. As much as I liked my specialty pizza, the pepperoni pizza was amazing. Thin crust, cheesy, gooey, pepperoni-y, and perfectly seasoned. If that had been the only Italian food I got in Boston, I would have been really happy.

Look! I’m getting better! I only ate HALF of it before I remembered to take a picture!

Pizzeria Regina
11 1/2 Thacher Street
Boston, MA 02113

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New York Pizza (NYP)

Ok, so granted we didn’t eat here except for after we’d had a couple beers. But, although many of the details of the night were fuzzy and escaped my memory in the morning, the taste of that pizza did not. The pepperoni was hands down the best I’ve ever eaten. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. We also tried the Spinach, Feta, and Mozzarella house pizza, which was outstanding. It’s a good thing we didn’t stay in boston any longer than we did, or I would’ve gained 15 pounds on Pizza alone from NYP. Plus they were the size of my head. Here’s a photo from Yelp, because I didn’t take pictures.

Congratulations to you, random lady, for earning the honor of appearing on the Queen of the Food Age blog.

New York Pizza (NYP)
435 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02118

1 Comments

Events

The Feast Of Saint Anthony, Boston, MA

September 12, 2012

So a few weeks back, I went to Boston with my mom to help move Naomi into her dorm at Emerson. At first, I was overwhelmed by the sheer size and scope of the city and pretty much decided that I’d never be able to handle living in a city that big. After a few days of exploring the city and subway system, however, I pretty much owned the city.

Soon it’ll be a crown atop my head instead of dollar store sunglasses.

We picked a great time to go, as the North End of Boston (aka where to find all the delicious, authentic italian food in Boston) was holding the The Feast of Saint Anthony. There was a huge religious aspect of it–mass, prayers, devotions, singing, hanging aprons made of dollar bills around a statue’s neck–you know, the usual Catholic stuff.

“Everyday I’m hustlin” -St. Anthony

I was drawn to the Feast not for the religious aspect, (shocker) but for the numerous food stands offering delicious italian fare. Below is a list what we feasted on at the festival.

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Arancini (rice balls)

What. Were you not expecting to receive a ball of rice the size of a small pumpkin?

We got one from an un-named vendor at the Thacher Street entrance of the feast. It was about the size of a softball, maybe a little bigger. They were making them homemade right at the feast, so I know we were getting fresh, delicious, homemade food, nothing pre-frozen or manufactured. You could get them stuffed with either spinach and cheese or meat and peas, and topped with gravy (aka marinara sauce). We split a meat-and-peas-stuffed rice ball between the 4 of us, and still had some leftover. It was amazing. The gravy was clearly homemade and better than any red sauce I’ve ever gotten anywhere in the south. My mom kept saying that it tasted like her grandmother’s spaghetti sauce, and then she got this far away look in her eyes.

A galaxy far, far away kind of look

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Gnocchi

om nom nom

I don’t even know how to describe the consistency of the gnocchi that we got at the fair, but I loved it. It wasn’t quite firm, but it wasn’t soft either. I think it was made with ricotta, but it’s hard to say. All I know is we pretty much inhaled it.

No, not *that* kind of inhale.

Real Italian Meatballs

BALLS OF MEAT ARE MY FAVORITE

This is where Tina and I got into a bit of a tiff. I thought the meatball we got at the feast (which was about the size of a baseball) was the best I’ve ever eaten. She claims hers are the best and got all offended when I suggested otherwise. Some people just can’t take criticism.

Did it just get chilly in here, or is that just me?

1 Comments

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 9/10/12

September 10, 2012

Wooo! College Football Season is finally here! GO COCKS! (That’s the University of South Carolina Gamecocks, for those of you who were wondering why my blog got very X-Rated all of a sudden).

This weekend Ben and I went to Columbia to tailgate with Cullen, Taylor, Lauren, and my parents at the USC vs ECU game (USC won, 48-10). We ate delicious burgers and pimento cheese fries at Rockaway Athletic Club on Friday night, and showered my brother with birthday gifts. I can’t believe he’s 20 already… WHY IS EVERYONE GETTING SO FREAKING OLD?!

Saturday we ate delicious Tina food, while sweating buckets in the fierce Columbia heat. Biscuits and gravy, sausage, fruit, couscous salad, grilled chicken, pan-fried chicken, chips and queso, goat cheese-stuffed tomatoes, caprese bites, goat cheese-wrapped asparagus, hot dogs, cupcakes… the list goes on and on. It was almost too hot to be drinking beer, so I stuck to drinking daquiris, mainly for the fact that they’re 90% ice.

Saturday night, we went to Huller’s Black Forest, a German restaurant off Harbison that is delicious. They have a buffet with traditional German fare and a station where they make schnitzel to order. We definitely over ate, but it was awesome. The owner is a really awesome guy who always has a smile on his face. He makes a bunch of different sausages in house, and was happy to let us try some at no extra charge. It was quite delicious and very gluttonous.

Sunday, before heading back down to Charleston, we stopped at Real Mexico Restaurant y Tienda for some delicious and fresh mexican food. I loved that all the food was made fresh to order, and everything seemed homemade. I usually avoid refried beans because they taste like they’ve been scooped out of a can, but here, I could tell that they were made fresh and with some pretty quality ingredients. I also got some killer tamales and empanadas that were quite delicious. I highly recommend stopping here!

This week’s quote comes from Mr. Homer Simspon, and pretty much sums up my feelings about College Football Season and why I love it so much. Have a great week!

“We’re not here for the game. The game is nothing. The game is crap. The game makes me sick. The real reason we Americans put up with sports is for this: Behold, the tailgate party. The pinnacle of human achievement. Since the dawn of parking lots, man has sought to fill his gut with food and alcohol in anticipation of watching others exercise.”
–Homer Simpson

If it wasn’t for tailgating, I wouldn’t even know football was a sport.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 9/3/12

September 3, 2012

Hope everyone had a safe and fun-filled Labor Day weekend! I know I had fun. A little too much fun, in fact. Lauren was in town, so we went a little crazy with the food and drinks. But it was totally worth it. I’m just glad I had an extra day to recover. Hooray for three day weekends!

On Sunday we saw Legally Blonde: The Musical at the historic Dock Street theater downtown, starring our friend Sean Bear. It was really good, although having no A/C in the theater was not very fun, especially since it was a full house and 92 degrees outside. But, I highly recommend seeing it, ’twas very funny!

I spent most of “Labor” Day sleeping and eating. Which was pretty awesome. I slept til one pm, and then got Jack’s Cosmic Dogs with my parents and Cullen (who were in town for a wedding). Then I took a nap. Then Ben and I watched Meet The Robinsons and then I went to sleep. Pretty much it was the perfect day.

I know I owe you guys a Boston Round Up, so expect that to happen later this week! I’m thinking Thursday.

This week’s quote is in honor of Labor Day, and comes from the ever-hilarious Stephen Colbert. Enjoy!

“Have a relaxing LaborDay everybody! Unless you’re catering my BBQ, in which case, stay focused and keep the sangria chilled.”
–Stephen Colbert

Mmm…. tastes like Patriotism.

Quote of the Week

Quote of the Week 8/27/12

August 27, 2012

Vacationing in Boston to help move Naomi into her dorm at Emerson College! Will catch you up when I return!

“Really, that’s all a vacation is… Us eating in a place we’ve never been. ‘Well, why don’t we eat something… then we’ll go and get something to eat. Then we’ll see that thing we’re supposed to see, they’ve probably got a snack bar there, right? After that, we should probably get something to eat, though.”
–Jim Gaffigan

You see all this food? It’s about to go in my face. All of it.

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