Scorpion roll, shrimp shumai, tuna, & mackerel @ Fish Market in Allston. Multiple people recommended this place to me so I was eager to try it, but the sashimi tasted a bit dull. I want to go back again for their appetizer menu, though - takoyaki, avocado tuna balls, baked scallops…. basically I’m still looking for one good izakaya in Boston. :(
Asparagus, portabellini, & goat cheese pizza @ Cambridge Brewing Company in Kendall Square. Outside dining option will be the dealbreaker for restaurant picks this summer.
Memorial Day weekend, as known as three days of sun, food, and daydrinking:
- 33,000 flags in the Boston Common
- floating art installation at the seaport
- mango cheesecake from Chinatown
- flowers at the rooftop garden in Kendall Square
Roasted lamb, tomato chutney, & goat cheese grilled sandwich @ Flour Bakery in the seaport. Favorite place to eat in Boston. Best sandwiches, best chocolate-chip cookies, BEST EVERYTHING.
Sauteed eggplant with beef, pork & chive steamed buns, soup dumplings, and mapo tofu @ Gourmet Dumpling House in Chinatown yesterday. I’m the worst at family-style ordering in Chinese restaurants (mixture of insecurity over my language skills and lack of familiarity with the proper names of dishes) so I always default to the same few things when the burden falls on me, but at least I know they’re guaranteed to be delicious. Dinner was perfect after an afternoon of rolling around on the grass, nerf ball chases, and frisbee fights in the Boston Commons.
I’m starting a new job in a week (acquiring jobs is such a strange process… things drag on for weeks and then everything converges in a rush at the end), which is incredibly exciting but also bittersweet because I’m going to miss my current place and the people so much. It’s been exactly a year since I started working there, and I felt it was time for the next step forward, even though growing up still terrifies me.
Now that my days at Longwood are numbered, there’s so much left to do! Finally tried out the infamous Chinese food truck parked out at Louis Pasteur yesterday with a workmate for lunch, and we ordered the Taiwanese-style beef noodles & tofu vegetable noodle scramble. My standards for American-style Chinese food aren’t very high, but I was pretty impressed!
Tomato basil grilled cheese @ CheeseBoy in Copley, which I’ve been meaning to try out since last year. Pro-tip: probably not a good idea to eat high caloric food right before trying on clothes, but you only live once. In my solo-hosted grilled cheese tour around Boston so far, I’d put CheeseBoy above Grilled Cheese Nation but still below Roxy’s.
An almond tart & nutella cracker @ Tatte in Brookline over the weekend. Can’t believe I lived down the street from this bakery for two years and never once tried it, but might as well make up for lost time. So, so charming with the most amazing selection of scones and tarts. Walked off the indulgence afterward and spent most of the time meandering around Beacon Street admiring all the flowers in full bloom. Brookline, I’d love you so much if only you didn’t have cops busting sober parties at 11 PM!
Dinner @ Addis Red Sea in the South End last night. Lamb simmered in red pepper sauce & Ethiopian-style steak tartar with collard greens, cabbage, mixed vegetables, and chickpea paste. The injera bread totally sneaks up on you! Made the mistake of eating too much of it and could barely finish my meat/vegetable portions. My first experience with Ethiopian food was actually at the Cambridge location of Addis Red Sea with an ex-boyfriend four years ago and I found it pretty mediocre (included a funny story, though) but I liked the South End location much better. Or maybe it’s just a trick of memory?
Tried vegan pizza for the first time @ Peace o’ Pie last night! Half a white pizza (pesto, “mozzarella”, tofu ricotta, basil, & garlic) and half buffalo “chicken” (onions, jalapeños, soy strips). The white pizza was a bit of a bust (the tofu flavor overwhelmed the imitation cheese), but the buffalo chicken was amazing.
Weekend in instagram: Chinese buns (one of pork, beef, black sesame, & red bean paste) from Chinatown, terrible/amazing egg drop soup & crispy orange chicken @ Hong Kong in Harvard Sq, and Italian chicken sausage with mushroom pizza @ Ecco. I usually try to avoid Americanized Chinese food, but egg drop soup is one of my guiltiest pleasures ever, despite how none of my relatives in China even recognized it when I tried explaining it to them. Also called my mama today, and I hope you did too. :)
Kimchi (!) grilled cheese from Lefty’s Food Truck & a chicken rice bowl from Bon Me @ SoWa Open Market, which opened again for the season on Sunday! Looks like we’re finally out of winter’s clutches, even if now we’re just threatened by constant rain.
Went to the Greenway Food Truck Festival in Dewey Square (by South Station) yesterday and looped through Chinatown on the way back to pick up some cake from my favorite Chinese bakery. One of my goals every year is to improve my Mandarin, and I end up slacking on it every time, but unexpected instigators in April have given my rudimentary language skills a total work out. Time to 加油~
Date night with a girl friend. Chocolate-dipped strawberries, Bavarian cream & dark chocolate layered on yellow cake, vanilla gelato sandwich on cherry almond florentines, lemon sorbet, and peanut butter mousse with chocolate ganache and chocolate peanut sable dough that was basically a giant Reese’s cup @ Finale. Yes, we finished everything and no, we regret nothing.
Skipped work yesterday to go to Techstars Demo Day at the Wilbur Theater to support a friend’s start-up. There were so many incredibly cool and innovative products! Took advantage of being in the area to pick up a barbecue beef banh mi @ New Saigon. (I apologize in advance for making you hungry.)
