April Fools

April. Spring. Rain. The smell of cut grass and blooming flowers. Allergies. Rain. Longer days. Open patios. Rain. Only, we've had snow thus far instead of rain. 

April 1st also marks the return of the Cookie Monstah food truck. So this is what I had for lunch. Not very responsible of me, but I have no regrets.

Coffee Oreo ice cream with a chocolate chunk cookie

Because I hadn't indulged enough for one day, we went to Anh Hong in Dorchester for butter beef for dinner.

The cooking equipment.

Two plates of beef. They top it with lemongrass and it's just so delicious. We also got a plate of fish, done the same way, but I must have neglected to take a picture. So the meat is cooked in the butter, and then you use rice paper to wrap it with vermicelli and vegetables. Work for your meal!

Saturday was a busy day, but nothing super memorable in terms of food. Sunday I met up with Christine, Caitlin and Thu for a belated birthday gathering at Bocado in Wellesley. Of course it snows the morning of (seriously, it's April, people). But I'm super grateful these ladies still made it out.

Table decoration, courtesy of Madi.

Whipped roasted garlic, spinach, feta dip with grilled pita bread - this was tasty, but I feel like the pita could have been warmer.

Fried avocado, spicy shrimp salad, lemon ginger dressing - this was sooooo delicious. Creamy, spicy, just yum.

Fried calamari with garlic, lemon, parsley and orange horseradish crema - this was supposed to be the chilled calamari with wakame, but I guess the waiter misheard. Still good.

Fried goat cheese with honey & almonds - um, I have dreams about this. It's that good. I could eat this whole thing myself. And probably nothing else haha.

Grilled venison steak, creamy saffron rice & peas, balsamic tomato glaze - this was so surprising and so good. The venison was not what I expected; I actually really enjoyed it. And that rice was delectable. I even ate the peas (and I really don't like peas).

Grilled Spanish octopus, roasted potato, olive oil, smoked Spanish paprika, sea salt - so the waiter said this was the best dish on the menu. And I was so disappointed. It was bland. And just sitting in oil. The potatoes needed salt, and help. But salt would have helped some.

Oven-roasted Brussels sprouts, crispy pork belly lardons, piquillo crema, bacon aioli, bread crumbs - whoa that list of contents. And the taste was the same. Too much going on, a bit all over the place. I could have done with the Brussels sprouts with some salt, pepper, and maybe the pork belly.

5 hour braised beef brisket, bbq braise sauce, Yukon mashed, Espelette crème fraîche - I was really full at this point, but the mashed potatoes were good.

 Berry bread pudding - yum.

Churros with chocolate - also yum.



















A few misses, in terms of food and service. But great company always manages to offset all that. We missed you, Kerry! Sorry Plymouth got hammered.

And Monday comes. It's an awful Monday. I am so tired and out of sorts. I accidentally lock my sister's bedroom door. The handles of my paper shopping bag break clear off, one block into my walk to the train station.  It's snowing. I can't stay awake.  But then, there's always dinner to look forward to. Because of the snow and just yucky weather, we stay close to work and go to Townsman.

Their take on brown bread (reminds you of bread in a can, doesn't it). I can't even tell you what kind of butter it is, and what they put on top of it. I didn't expect to enjoy it, but it was interesting and pretty good.

Smothered duck leg with lentils - I don't eat duck (usually too fatty for me). This duck was fantastic. So crispy but not dry, I couldn't even tell I was eating duck. And the lentils were delicious.

Sweet potato fingerling salad - eh. Don't get this.

Broiled snail toast - this was sooo good. And the various mushrooms? Loved them. Each bite was sweet but then you'd get the bite from the cheese and then you get the earthiness from the mushrooms. Yum.

Braised pork shank - well hello, giant hunk of meat. How are you? Seriously. I was full before this came out. Daunting. But the meat was so tender and really friggin good.















I had zero expectations for Townsman, and I was so impressed. Minus that fingerling potato salad. Hah.

Bonus:

Snowy April day in Boston.

Post drinking fare at Legal on the Mystic.