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.

Ceeeelebrate Good Times, Come On!

To celebrate with some of my favorite people, we (Thu, Jeff, Caitlin, Tai, and I) trek to Sichuan Garden in Woburn - although, not a trek for Thu and Jeff, who live less than 10 minutes away. Approaching the restaurant, I found it a bit odd; it's basically a converted yellow mansion off of I95.

Caitlin, Tai, and I start at the bar on the ground floor (I guess there's another one hidden somewhere), which is very dark and modern. The bar is serious business, and the space/seats are mostly booked with reservations.

Our drinks:

Caitlin's Old Gin of All the Joints (I think?) - this was really good - light, refreshing, lime-y.

My Pisco Punch - I really liked this, especially once everything blended together.

Tai's first (and last) - Father's Advice - strong, with a nice sweetness, but strong.

Caitlin's second - the Bahia Sling - so pretty, and with cacao? 

Then Thu and Jeff arrive, and we go to the dining area. Which is markedly different from the bar. Where the bar area is dark, the dining rooms are bright. They are small converted rooms with about 4 to 5 tables each. 

Caitlin, of course, has another drink, the Golden Mai Tai. I'm losing track of how her drinks tasted at this point, sorry. 

And then the food comes:

Tiger skin peppers - the vinegar on this was great, but boy does that spiciness kick in at the end.

Braised beef filets with Napa cabbage and roasted chili - my least favorite dish of the night. The beef was soft and tender, but not seasoned enough (or at all). And the sauce itself was almost like a watered down hot oil. Would probably not order again (but we did finish the dish, hah!)

Pea pod stems - can never go wrong with pea pod stems. But these were fresh and not overcooked, which is key.

House hat crispy fried fish - sooo good. Perfectly crispy, with tender meat, and a delicious sweet and spicy sauce.

Chengdu chicken wings - the table favorite of the night. Crispy (even after sitting at the table for thirty minutes), great flavor, well-cooked meat. The sauce was also a nice sweet and spicy sauce. Well worth the drive to Woburn.

Tangerine chicken - this is definitely not Panda Express's orange chicken. This was so well-prepared, it had that perfect glaze, and you could really taste the citrus.







What a great dinner. Drinks, food, and of course, the amazing company :). Service was a bit lacking, but that is sadly par for the norm. But a really great place overall. And there's a parking lot! I'll definitely be back for those wings (and I'm usually not even a chicken wing eater) and drinks.


For dessert, we ended up at Sweet Kingdom Dessert in Malden Center. It's a cute little place, but I wish they had more offerings. The regular milk tea is good. The matcha milk tea was not sweet enough for my liking.

Soy pudding - overall, I actually liked this. But it needed syrup or some kind of sweetener.

Shaved ice with taro and red bean - this was a tad too sweet.










If only I could mix the two dishes together to achieve a normal level of sweetness.

And a Week Flies By...

Wow, did I not go out to eat during the work week? So unlike me. Ohh, we got takeout. Hah!

So Saturday after the annual Boston Ski & Snowboard Expo, Rosa, Wei, Jessica, Harry, Edmund, Tai, and I had dinner for Wei's, Harry's, and Edmund's birthdays at Salvatore's in the Seaport district.

The hostess was not friendly. At all. The interior is very clean and modern, but not memorable. I think the bar area was a bit of a throwback (as was the music), but I wasn't really paying much attention.

We shared two bottles of wine and a calamari to start:

I didn't try this, but Tai said it was decent. The boys kept fighting over the banana peppers, while Jessica kept accidentally biting into and spitting them out.

Harry actually drank this - he said it tasted like bubbly soda.

Tai and Wei had the citrus salmon - not bad. The salmon was a bit overcooked for my taste, but the green beans and potatoes were good.

Harry and Edmund had the short rib filet - I didn't try the meat but the sweet potato puree was so smooth and creamy.

Jessica's veal marsala

Rosa's bolognese

My clams fregola - such a perfect amount of food for sharing. I would have liked the sauce to have more of flavor and/or kick though.

The saddest tiramisu I've ever eaten - no really, don't do it. Ever. It was icy and had no flavor other than cinnamon. 

BONUS: 

Working mini chair lift replica - so cute!

Weekend (Restaurant) Warrior

Yay weekends. Which for me usually mean sleeping in and eating out.

I couldn't make dinner with Alex, Bell, Rosa, Wei, and Tai Friday evening at Royal Hot Pot and Sushi in Quincy. But Tai was decently impressed - he said it's better than Chinatown's Hot Pot Buffet, which isn't saying much at all really. But it's always good to have options.

Saturday afternoon, Tai and I had lunch at Nordstrom Bistro with Jessica and Harry. Really, we go here for the white chocolate bread pudding:

But the food is consistently good as well.

My crab bisque. I always find this a bit salty.

Tai's cilantro lime shrimp salad with avocado. I love this. Light and refreshing, but surprisingly filling.

Harry's french onion soup, also on the salty side.

Jessica's chicken panini. 











After shopping a bit and a movie, we were at Pho Le in Dorchester for dinner, joined by Rosa, Wei, and Edmund, where Harry unwittingly ordered butter beef for one:

I couldn't even get a proper picture of it, but it's a plate of beef, a plate of vermicelli, a plate of vegetables, rice paper wrappers, and a little hot plate to cook your meat. Usually we do this for the table, not one person. Hah.

The rest of us had various bowls of noodle soup. The mango salad is definitely worth trying though:

Sunday, after each putting in a few hours of work, Tai and I headed to Redstone Grill in Burlington for lunch and to watch the game.

I was good and did not try this, but I really want to come back for it.

Steamed Mussels in a white wine and horseradish sauce. Good, but a bit sour. I really wanted more butter on the toast points.

Buffalo Jumbo Shrimp. I really liked this. Crispy with tons of buffalo flavor. I did really want something to help cut at that flavor though - celery maybe?

Turkey Kale Salad. A really delicious and perfectly balanced salad. The rum raisins made this for me.









And that is the end of my indulgent weekend. Onto Monday and the work week, where lean cuisines reign supreme. So sad.

Mary Had a Little (Cooked) Lamb

What do you do when you don't want to eat at any of the ten options at Legacy Place? You hop on Yelp and trust the masses (this is very hard for me, as I usually do not trust Yelp).

But, as I was in the mood for the Greek, I thought, why not? Richmond and I end up going to Kouzina Estiatorio in Dedham, where you walk in, pick your choice from the chalkboard menu above the counter, and order before taking a seat. It's like a pizza joint, minus the pizza.

I was really hungry, and wanted to order everything. But since the chalkboard menu had no food descriptions,

I went with the gyro with shaved beef and lamb. I'm not usually a fan of lamb, but this was incredibly flavorful and so delicious. The pita was soft. The tomato (I know! I don't even like tomatoes that much) was firm but sweet. The gyro was so good I made Tai take a bite of it when I got home.

Richmond's pastichio, side salad, and hummus. I wanted more meat in the pastichio, but overall it was also very good. That hummus and pita though, I could eat that forever. 

Close-up of the pastichio.











I cannot stop raving about this place. Great quality of food, super tasty, and cheap! Can't wait to go back. 

You Eat, You Pay

...by getting sick.

As a child, the day after Halloween probably saw me getting sick by eating too much candy. As an adult, I guess I've kept up with the tradition, but have moved onto other foods. (Who am I kidding, I stuff my face all day with candy.)

For lunch, Tai and I met with Jessica and Harry at Gyu-Kaku in Brookline. For those unaware, at Gyu-Kaku, you order your proteins and vegetables and grill them at your table. Think Korean BBQ but Japanese, instead of Korean. 

As always when we dine with Harry, we order lots:

Two of these, the mushroom bibimbap. I used to love this, but this one lacked flavor. Sadness.

The meats:

Pork belly.

 Kalbi (short ribs).

 Bistro steak, I think.

Harami skirt steak. One of my favorites.

 Beef tongue (a Jessica thing).

 Spicy pork.


















The vegetables are always good, but sadly not so exciting (especially the ones that arrive foil wrapped):

 Assorted vegetables.

You have to use your imagination here, but one is spinach and the other is a mushroom medley.









And then dessert, because why not?

Lady M green tea mille crepe with green tea ice cream. I always love the first few bites of this, and then I struggle to finish it. And I always forget that I would rather have the vanilla ice cream.






This visit, the grill took a super long time to cook any food. Fortunately, I got to catch up with Jessica and Harry after their three week trip to Asia. But really, I'm not sure lunch should ever take 2.5 hours.


Following a brief shopping trip, Richmond and I stopped by Starbucks before dinner. Big mistake, Vy. Hot chocolate can and will fill you up. And then you won't want to eat dinner.

But because I wasn't really impressed with the salads offered at Abby Park in Milton (or tempted by their appetizers, which is so unlike me), I ordered an entree. And proceeded to eat such a small corner of it, the waitress asked if I didn't like the dish. Oops, sorry. I'm just an idiot that has a tiny appetite sometimes. 

Swordfish topped with crab vinaigrette, with creamy polenta and asparagus. The menu said there would be bell peppers and roasted corn, and those are obviously MIA. I really liked the dish, the few bites I had of it, especially the polenta.

The American Wagyu burger (with American cheese, caramelized onions, and crispy potato strings), served with truffle fries. This was good - sweet with a good grill flavor.







I think I would like Abby Park more if they had better appetizer options. And maybe a salad that isn't a Caeser, Greek, Beet, or asparagus. I'd even take a Nicoise. Or maybe I just need to go back on a day I don't stuff myself to the brim at lunch. And then have a hot chocolate (really, what was I thinking?). But I always leave Abby Park thinking that although the meal was good, I wasn't really impressed. And that was true this time as well.