Chicken and Burgers and Waffles, Oh My!

We're going to call this weekend the weekend of miscommunication. Alternatively, the weekend that everyone shows up at different places.

Friday evening, I'm meeting up with my family for dinner after work. This dinner was supposed to take place last week, but we had to reschedule. I had originally thrown out Yong Yong as an option, but later decided on Ming's in Malden Center. My family apparently did not get the memo and went to Yong Yong, while Tai and I waited at Ming's.

Thankfully they did not order and drove over to where we were, because we had ordered. And they had no say in what they ate hah.

Seafood soup - this was really good and "meaty." My family really liked it as well.

Fried fish fillet with sweet corn sauce - this was the favorite of the night and the only dish to be finished. The corn sauce is really sweet and works so well with the fish.

Sauteed three delights with vegetables - I really liked the celery in this dish. Good thing too, since they gave us so much of it. I liked this dish, it was nice and light. But this was an accident - I meant to order the salt and pepper fried seafood.

Beef chow foon with Chinese broccoli - also done well here. The vegetables were not overcooked, the beef was soft and not chewy, there was enough gravy.

Fried crispy chicken - I did not eat this dish this time around, but everyone said it was good and the skin was really crispy.

Sauteed pea pod stems - perfect here as well. Fresh, good amount of garlic, not oily.

Fried chicken wings - this was okay. Not super spicy, not super crispy. But not bad.

















I really wanted fried milk, so hopefully next time. Overall, I was impressed. And I had a great time watching my mom drink wine. Ming's is great for larger groups/families, that way you can order more.

Saturday, after my first professional massage experience ever, we met Harry and Jessica at Boston Burger Co in Harvard Square. Not knowing that there are three locations, Harry and Jessica initially went to the Davis Sq BBC. Ooops.

This is kind of your typical college area burger joint, with alcohol. I do like the relaxed vibe. And the beer and drink menu is definitely above many places I frequented in college. The food menu is also pretty creative and extensive. The burger options range from pretty normal to pretty crazy.

Our strawberry frappe - when we ordered it, I had no idea this concoction would be served. It was pretty good until we got to the super sweet bits at the bottom.

 Harry's cherry vanilla Coke float.

Jessica's nutella frappe - with crushed peanut butter cookies on the outside.

Cajun fries - again, we were expecting fries dusted in cajun spices. Apparently they also get mixed in with peppers, onions, and bbq sauce. Interestingly enough, this dish works.

Pizza fries - these were okay, I expected better. The fries underneath the "stuff" were too soft, pretty much just cooked potatoes.

Jessica's alpine burger, sans cheese - this has mushrooms and a parmesan garlic butter.

Harry's hot mess burger - and boy is it. This is topped with homemade 1000 island dressing, bacon, american cheese, jalapenos, pickles, fried onions, and shredded lettuce. I don't know how, but he finished it.

Tai's artery clogger - this is a beer battered and deep fried burger topped with bacon, bbq sauce, and American cheese. He also added jalapenos.

My mac attack - mac and cheese and bacon. Sounds kinda strange, definitely not your usual burger. But it worked. The meat was great (although way generous). But it was seasoned really well. I think I ate a bit more than a quarter of this burger. Hah













You'd think we'd be so stuffed we couldn't eat any more. And that may be true for all except Jessica, who always has room for waffles or crepes or ice cream. So we head over to Zinneken's.

 Strawberry and nutella.

Banana and nutella.



















Oh Zinneken's, you break my heart. I really want to like you, but you're always so disappointing. The fruit and nutella were both great, but the waffle, our vehicle of choice for fruit and nutella, major letdown. It was chewy? But hard? And towards the end I just smothered strawberries in nutella and ate those alone, minus the waffle.

Today I was back in Harvard Square, brunching at Park with Thuy. And she didn't end up at the wrong place, because I drove :). My previous experience at Park was pretty great, and I had high hopes for today.

Thuy's Patty melt - she enjoyed it. The fries were pretty good too.

My chicken and waffles - making up for last night's waffle. The chicken and waffles were both really good, but I could have done without the collard greens.















But our waitress. Honestly nowhere to be found for at least 30 minutes. And then I had to flag her down when I did spot her. She would have walked right by us. I know, people often take their time at brunch. But at least check in on us before the 30 minute mark. Especially if our utensils are at 10 and 5 on our plates.

But validated parking in Harvard Sq is such a boon. Would still come back.