Here Fishy Fishy!

So, today was our first day of the season at Loon Mountain in NH. And what a sad first day it was. More dirt/grass than snow. :(

View from the Octagon Lodge at Loon

But I did get to snowboard with a panda that got a lot of attention:

For Jessica's birthday, the eight of us went to Joe Fish in North Reading, which is home of giant lobster rolls. The restaurant is next to a Walmart, which is weird. But the inside is pretty nice, in a casual and understated kind of way. Not Legal Seafoods, but not a Clam Box either.

For starters, we got:

Fried calamari and assorted peppers with a spicy mayo - not a bad calamari, but a very generous portion.

Crab rangoon dip - meh.

PEI mussels - pretty good. I only had a couple, but George the Panda ate a whole order.


















For entrees, most of us shared.

Wei had the steamers for a meal.

Tai and Jessica split the "Big Kahuna" lobster roll, which was one pound of lobster meat. This was gigantic - Jessica struggled to finish her half. Tai's verdict: good, pretty fresh, but not as fresh as James Hook.

Rosa and I had the medium sized lobster tacos. I really liked it, but they're surprisingly filling. We had one taco each, and gave George and Edmund the third. I didn't touch the rice and beans.

Harry's baked lobster.

George and Edmund's cajun swordfish. Probably the smallest portion of the night.


















Overall, I liked Joe Fish. The food is solid, the portions are pretty big, and our server was really attentive. She was busy, but she refilled every water glass or fountain drink.

BONUS:

Birthday girl holding the huge lobster roll

Tai's lunch at Loon (the fries were to share)

Wei taking a selfie instead of a picture of his steamers

Oishii Desu

My first time eating at Oishii in the South End was many moons ago, and I was broke. I've been meaning to go back, but had not found the occasion for it. Until now. Congratulations on the promotion, Rosa!

Oishii in Chestnut Hill is also very good, but more casual. Chestnut Hill tiny and has great sushi, but Oishii Boston is about the full experience. And my, what an experience.

One thing I love about Japanese restaurants is the hot towels they bring out for you to clean your hands. This should just become a thing everywhere.

 These soy sauce bowls are so pretty.

My Tokyo mule with a Szechuan button. The drink itself was good - strong. More about the button below.

The Szechuan button is so interesting. You bite off a bit, and it produces this electric sensation - my tongue tingled! The feeling is caused by a chemical called spilanthol. Super fascinating.

The amuse bouche - an edamame mousse, I think. The spoon was super cute - it looked like a tiny oar. The mousse itself was smooth and creamy, the flavor was interesting, and it had a bit of a kick. But I would have been content with half this amount.

 Rosa's sangria.

Wagyu beef sliders with foie gras and truffle - wow, flavor explosion in my mouth. Definitely the winner of the night. The meat was juicy and tender and perfectly cooked, and the truffle added a lovely earthiness. I think we all will be dreaming about this slider tonight.

Pork belly buns - this pork belly was so delicious and tender, with a perfect crisp. The cucumbers gave the bun a refreshing taste. Overall, I really enjoyed this, but it's hard to compete after that slider.

 A close-up of the pork belly bun.

 Tai's hand roll - unagi, avocado, and cucumber. He really enjoyed this. Strangely enough, it's rare for him to get a good hand roll. The seaweed on this was crispy enough to break apart with each bite, instead of being chewy and messy as is often the case with these.

Pork belly ramen - the pork belly again was delightful. I didn't really eat this though. Consensus at the table was that it was good, but they probably wouldn't get it again.

 The "real" California maki with snow crab meat - this was lovely. The crab meat was sweet.

The toro truffle maki - this was another party in my mouth. Amazing flavors.

Japanese yam tempura maki (right) - I'm going to be honest and say I ordered this just for the crispy yam pieces on top. I remembered this from my first visit here all those years ago, and I just wanted to have it again.

Tokyo style soft shell crab maki (left) - this was good as well. Tai loves soft shell crab. :)

Green tea layer cake - similar to Lady M's green tea crepe cake. I enjoyed this one a bit more than Lady M's, I would say. It isn't as sweet, and Lady M's has a tendency to get slimy and/or sour, depending on how long it has been since it was prepared.

Red bean creme brulee - pretty much creme brulee with red beans on the bottom. A nice combination though, if you like red bean.

I will say that our waiter was fantastic, and definitely helped us in our ordering. The entire evening was just delightful. I can't remember the last time I've been this pleased/content with each aspect of a dinner. Even the least favorite dishes of the night were still very good, and better than many other places, they just did not compare to some of the other dishes on the table.

I will definitely be back, perhaps on another special occasion. :)

Cuchi Cuchi Coo

I'm not quite sure how I feel about Cuchi Cuchi in Cambridge. On the one hand, our waitress and the drinks were fantastic. On the other hand, the hostesses were really meh. And the food is okay, but the prices are a bit outrageous for the portions. The space is cute, but wow does it get loud. I don't have a voice anymore.

Onto the food.

Sizzling garlic shrimp - these were good, and the smell of garlic was wonderful. The smell of the dish is equivalent to the smell of fajitas in that it just whets your appetite. I do wish they were lightly coated in flour or something beforehand though.

Savory cornets with tuna tartare and avocado mousse - hm. I enjoyed the flavor of the tuna. The avocado mousse was a bit odd, maybe there was a bit too much? Or it was warmer than I'd like?

Grilled Indian lamb - I couldn't tell you how this tasted, but it looked overcooked.

Mexican deep-fried tomato - again, another dish I didn't eat. It looks like an odd burger.

Caspian heaven - crispy oysters, roasted fingerling potatoes, creme fraiche - the potatoes were good? :)

 Scallop ceviche - this was pretty good, but not memorable.

 Cuban cigar - beef short ribs wrapped in dough - this was really good. The beef was flavorful and the dough was soft.

 Grilled skirt steak with chimichurri - my favorite savory of the night. The steak was cooked well and tender, and the chimichurri, well, it's chimichurri.

Potato croquettes - decent bite-sized snack. Perhaps not worth the $10 though.

French banana bread extravaganza - probably my favorite of the night, and surprisingly really good. I'm generally not a fan of fried banana, but this dish was a perfect blend of banana and dough and chocolate for me.

Le gateau Nantais - almond rum cake with poached mini pears. Was not a fan. It was very dense, very boozy, and very, well, I'm not sure. Almost like they crumbled up Asian almond cookies and added that to the batter. Just not for me.







I missed a couple of dishes - the crispy cauliflower fritters (good) and the baby beets salad (did not eat).

Overall, the food was touch and go for me. Nothing exceedingly bad, but nothing I really have to have again, except for maybe the banana dessert. And I didn't look at the menu really during dinner, but looking at it now, and seeing the prices. Wow, I'm not sure most of those dishes warrant the prices they charge.

I really wish I liked it more - but if I were to go back, it'd be for drinks and dessert.

I really will miss my WPMA people, and it was great seeing Christine. End of the year, end of a chapter for me. But what a lovely end it was.

(And yikes, I could really use a better camera. Sorry for the horrible quality.)

Repeat, Rewind, Recycle

Fret not, friends. I am alive and I have been eating. I just haven't been updating because I haven't been anywhere new lately. But I'll throw in some pictures of foods I've eaten recently:

Fried shrimp toast at Pho Le - for when you want something fried and greasy with your Vietnamese food.

Pho tai bo vien at Pho Le - honestly, nothing better on a dreary, rainy day than a bowl of pho.

Dried fish at Kayuga - the perfect mindless bar snack. The asian equivalent of bar nuts or pretzels.

Hotate hokkaiyaki at Kayuga - scallop and imitation crabmeat and mayo baked to perfection.

Yuzu shio ramen at Pikaichi - another great option when it's rainy and/or when you're under the weather.

Jigoku ramen at Pikaichi - probably great if you're into that type of spice that clears your sinuses and makes your nose run. Usually just not my thing. Tai's favorite ramen bowl here though.

Moussaka at Kouzina Estiatorio - with lemon potatoes, which ended up being a lot of potatoes haha. I could eat that bread all day though.

A closer look at the moussaka.











I've also been on a huge Asian pear kick, thanks to Thu. There are worse kicks to be on, as we all know. It is December after all, which means hibernating and eating tons, holiday dinners and get-togethers, and wine. Lots of wine. I used to balance it all out with the shopping and walking, but now I don't even do that. So this is what growing older is like...

Not from an Organic Potato Farm

Sunday rainy fun day with Tai -

We went to the see The Martian in 3D (Wow, I am getting too old for this 3D sht. Seriously. I came out and had a slight headache while trying to readjust), which was entertaining and enjoyable. But when did astronauts all become attractive 20- to 30-somethings? So incongruous with my image of actual astronauts.

In the movie, Mark Watney (played by Matt Damon) actually grows potatoes using dirt from Mars and his own sht as fertilizer. Possible? Perhaps. Plausible? Not really. Palatable? Definitely not. Do what you gotta do to survive though. I'm sure Bear Grylls has and would do worse.

After the movie, Tai and I went to Legal Sea Foods in Braintree, where we probably received the best service there yet.

My white sangria - Legal's sangrias are always fantastic, and are doubly dangerous, as they taste like juice but pack a punch. This was no different - it tasted like an unassuming lemonade, not too sweet, not too tart, with hidden alcohol. So delicious.

I love their bread. And the fact that they serve butter. And that the bread is warm enough to melt said butter.

Our first time having these - the Oysters Legal - which are really just Legal's version of Oysters Rockefeller. Baked cheese, spinach, bread crumbs, oysters. I really enjoyed these; they were perfectly baked and I love the bread crumbs on top.

Steamers - Tai is obsessed. He could eat this all day by himself. They really are good though - tender, flavorful, and not gritty. What more can you ask for of a steamer?

One of their specials for today - Grilled Mahi Mahi with polenta and Brussels sprouts - this was meh for me, but partly because I'm never really blown away by grilled fish dishes.








Our waitress, Andrea, was amazing though. She even packed us a bag of rolls to bring home, after I said how much I always enjoy them. Not going to lie - that extra step or mile always makes my day. And now I have rolls for tomorrow. That concludes date night, and Tai is already back to playing Fallout 4 while I write this up.