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MA

Restaurant Reviews

Where NOT To Eat In Boston, MA

September 22, 2012

Recently I travelled to Boston, MA to move my cousin into college. Here’s a (short!) list of places we ate that I would recommend avoiding, unless you don’t have tastebuds or are some kind of food masochist.

Cheers

The food here is mediocre at best (on the same caliber as a Chili’s or Applebee’s), and way overpriced. If you really want to go, get a drink at the bar and visit the giftshop. That way you can say you went to the Cheers Bar, but you don’t spend a crapload of money on subpar food. Also, no one knew my name.

Cheers
84 Beacon Street
Boston, MA 02108
Cheers Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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MJ O’Connor’s

Absolutely overpriced. Got the “Taste of Ireland” appetizer sampler (boxty wedges with cheese dip, miniature Irish sausages, onion rings & chicken tenders)… none of that stuff is irish, and it’s $13 dollars to boot. Splitting it between the four of us meant cutting everything in half so that everyone could try. What kind of a “sampler” is that, if it’s only good for 2 people? Though they did have imported Irish beer on tap, they were ridiculously expensive for a pint. Just, totally avoid this place. Seriously, don’t even bother.

MJ O’Connor’s
27 Columbus Ave.
Boston, MA 02116

M.J. O'Connor Irish Pub Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Restaurant Reviews

Tico, Boston, MA

September 21, 2012

So unless you’ve been living under a rock, or you’re new to this blog, or you just generally don’t care about the goings-on of my life, you know that a couple weeks ago I flew to Boston to help my cousin move into her dorm. While I was there I ate some delicious food at some delicious restaurants. I picked most of the restaurants we visited by cross-checking Urbanspoon and Yelp reviews with their location and menu offerings. It’s a very scientific process.

Exactly like Bill Nye

While I was up late one night on Twitter, I decided to try my luck and tweet at celebrity chef Mario Batali, asking him where to eat in Boston. I didn’t expect to get a response. BUT THEN I DID. Here’s proof.

PROOF!

We ended up eating at Tico on our final night in Boston, which might have been part of the problem. We’d had such amazing food the entire time we were there, so my expectations were really high. When we decided to go to Tico, I was really going only because Mario Batali told me to. I didn’t really know that it was a Tapas restaurant until we got there. I’ve never had Tapas before, but here’s what I discovered. You’re basically paying for a full meal, but only getting appetizers. Odds are, you’re not going to leave feeling very full.

Truer words were never spoken.

When we first walked in, it was dark. Like really dark. Like, we had to use our phones to be able to see the menus. I’m all about ambience, but that’s getting a little ridiculous. We also were sitting for about 10 minutes before I went up and asked the hostess if someone could bring us some water, since we hadn’t seen anyone who worked there since the hostess sat us. Mind you, this was a Tuesday night. It was not busy.

Like this, only pitch black.

There were four of us, and the waiter (when he finally showed up) suggested that we order 2-3 things a person. Mind you, these “little plates” ranged from $6 to $14 a plate. Or you could do a chef’s tasting for $35, $55, or $85 a person, depending on how hungry you are. Thank god they bring you free bread, or we might have starved. We started with the two-textured beef with morita chiles taco. The tacos came on 6-inch corn tortillas and there were two of them, so we cut them each in half so all four of us could try everything. I really liked it, but Tina hated it. Also, it was very, very spicy. I thought it had a good texture and a good flavor, even if it did burn the tastebuds off of my tongue.

I should have drawn some flames or something so you’d understand that it was really spicy.

We also got the lobster and avocado tacos, which everyone seemed to love. These were also a bit spicy, but not as bad as the beef ones. I liked these as well, but I’m not sure 2 6-inch tacos were worth $12.

Obviously I didn’t take this picture. I stole it from Google.

From there we ordered off of the “a la plancha” section of the menu. We got meatballs with smoky tomato and chicken with spicy pomegranate. The meatballs were served in a sweet sauce, that Tina absolutely hated. I didn’t mind them, but they tasted a lot like the meatballs you get out of the freezer section of Sam’s Club when you’re planning your Superbowl Party. They didn’t taste homemade at all.

Still not entirely convinced that these didn’t come from Costco

The chicken was good, but it really just tasted like bite-sized pieces of grilled chicken. The pomegranate sauce was delicious, and that’s what made it stand out. But without the sauce, the chicken was just… chicken.

See. Chicken.

From there we moved onto the Small Plates. We ordered the Tico’s Mac and Cheese with serrano ham and crunchy bread crumbs. I don’t usually like macaroni and cheese with anything fancy, especially ham (since I hate ham). But I actually loved this. Uncle Greg thought it was a bit watery, but that was fine because it meant more for me.

CHEESY GOODNESS

Next we ordered chorizo risotto with pasilla chiles, scallion and parmigiano. For me, chorizo is pretty hit or miss. Some places do it really well, but most places miss the mark. I liked this pretty ok. Tina hated it, but she also hates chorizo, so. I probably wouldn’t order it again, but it was pretty ok.

Mediocrity in the form of risotto

After the risotto we ordered the crispy fried Manchego cheese with spicy pomegranate honey sauce, which was pretty popular on Yelp. It was a pretty unanimous favorite of the table. Basically it was a fried cheese stick with pomegranate dipping sauce. They came out hot and crunchy, and the cheese was ooey and gooey. I would definitely recommend ordering this if you ever end up at Tico.

Stolen from Google. Mine was all blurry

Another favorite was the sweet corn with bacon, chiles and Thai Basil. It came out nice and warm and tasted like it had been cooked with the bacon, very smoky and delicious. I love any vegetable that tastes like bacon. The corn was cooked perfectly. It was crisp and delicious, and I wish I knew how to make this, because it’s amazing.

BACON CORN. Ron Swanson would approve.

Finally the roasted cauliflower with creamy chipotle and crushed, crunchy Fava Beans. Cauliflower isn’t my favorite, but this wasn’t bad. I know Uncle Greg liked it, but I can’t remember Tina’s thoughts. I think we both just thought it was just ok.

I tend to avoid fava beans, because they always make me think of Silence of the Lambs and it creeps me out.

Our waiter asked if we wanted dessert, but they really didn’t have anything special on the menu. I mean, chocolate cake is a dime a dozen. We ended up going to Ben and Jerry’s for an ice cream instead, and it was a much better value.

This picture alone made it all worth it.

Basically, Tico would be a great spot for a first date. It’s very romantic and the food is good for having conversation, since you’re just snacking. I don’t think I’ll ever go back. I’ll take a little hole-in-the-wall place that serves amazing food, over a trendy, ambience-heavy restaurant every day of the week.

Tico
222 Berkeley Street
Boston, MA 02116

Tico Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Restaurant Reviews

Passage To India, Salem, MA

September 20, 2012

While touring Salem like the super tourists we are, we got peckish from all the walking and witchcrafting and decided to stop at an indian restaurant we saw for dinner. It was very yummy. I really liked that they featured some items that I’ve never seen on any other indian restaurant menu. When we first sat down, they gave us that bread that’s like paper that you get at every indian restaurant and the hot onion chutney, which I usually love. This one, however, was pretty much the spiciest thing I’ve ever eaten, and it took three glasses of water, and a Sam Adams Boston Lager to put out the fire in my mouth. And even then, my tastebuds were all sensitive and angry.

Like being stung in the tongue by a thousand evil bees from hell.

We started with the Passage Mixed Appetizers plate, which is pretty standard for indian restaurants. This featured vegetable pakora, vegetable samosa, aloo tikki, cheese pakora (my favorite), chicken pakora, meat samosa, chicken kabob, and fish pakora. Although, somehow they ended up replacing the meat samosa with another vegetable samosa, which was kind of a let down. But other than that it was quite yummy. We also got cheese naan which, when done right, is my favorite indian bread. This one wasn’t really that great, which was also disappointing. The best one is india palace in Greenville. I really liked that they did combination plates for people like me who can’t decide what they want. Plus, their combo plate featured basically the three dishes I usually have trouble deciding between: Chicken tikka masala, paneer saag, and lamb curry. It came with rice and poori bread, which is the bread equivalent of a balloon. I loved it, it was so yummy.

Bread balloons are my favorite kind of balloons

I didn’t think I was going to love the lamb, but it was actually perfect. Not fatty at all, and the curry sauce was delicious. I loved the paneer saag, although I have to say that the best saag I’ve ever eaten was at India Palace in Greenville. The chicken tikka masala was pretty delicious, but I would say that’s pretty standard. I’ve never really had tikka masala that I didn’t like. Greg got the Chicken tikka masala at the spiciest level you could get it. Karen got Chicken curry slightly less spicy than Greg’s. Both were waaay too spicy for me.

Now I’m craving Indian food. And no one I know in Charleston likes Indian food. Awesome.

Tina got a chicken dosa, which is one of those things I’ve never heard of before. It was described as a “crispy chicken crepe,” but looked more like an indian burrito. Either way it was very yummy, although I would probably never order it myself. All in all, our meal was delicious.

Indian burrito!

I love indian food. It’s probably my favorite food to eat, after sushi. And Passage to India makes really quality, delicious indian food. TRY IT!

Passage To India
157 Washington Street
Salem, MA 01950

Passage to India Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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

King Fung Garden on Urbanspoon

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

Regina Pizzeria Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
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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

New York Pizza Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

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?