Category — Boston Food

I’ve been out a lot (for me) in the last couple of weeks, and although Picco was transcendent, as usual, La Casa de Pedro was only OK.  Although I’d been anxious to try it, and the company was great, the food was, unfortunately, a disappointment.

La Casa de Pedro has been around for a long time (first in Watertown Square, now on Arsenal Street, also in Watertown), and gets mixed reviews.  I was there on a beautiful night, and there were 5 of us.  We sat outside, which was pleasant.  You’re far enough away from the street so you don’t feel like you’re sucking back exhaust from the main drag while you eat and drink.

The highlights here were the starters.   La Verde salad, with Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, arugula, roasted peppers, etc. was served with a great cilantro dressing and was a standout for me – the lettuce and veggies were all fresh, and the dressing was delicious, if a bit salty.  We asked, and learned that the dressing is made with pureed cilantro, a little bit of garlic, olive oil and salt.  It was bright green and earthy, and everyone agreed it was fantastic.

We also ordered a plate of the calamari – fried and served with a poblano and jalapeno sauce.  I am usually very mixed on calamari, and I rarely order it for myself or a table – I have issues with its sometimes very chewy texture.  But this calamari was tender and cooked perfectly, and the sauce was zesty and tasty.   

I should’ve quit while I was ahead – the salad and the calamari would’ve made a great dinner.  Instead, I ordered the Quesadilla con Chorizo.  This is a tortilla filled with sliced chorizo and melted cheese . . . I mean, what could be better than sausage and cheese?  Well, to start, it came out cold.  The cheese wasn’t completely solid yet, but it was getting there, and the tortilla was stiff as a board.  There were some plantains on the side that would’ve been OK if they’d been warmed up, and some simply awful rice that tasted as if it hadn’t been cooked long enough.  Lackluster at best.  So . . . maybe this was partly my fault.  CdP is a Venezuelan restaurant, not a Mexican restaurant, and I ordered a Mexican entree.  But really folks, a quesadilla is really hard to screw up, and I feel like they succeeded. 

The service was good, and Pedro did graciously greet us when we arrived, so they get good marks for hospitality, but I won’t go back here on my own – it’s one of those places – if friends are dying to go, I won’t refuse and dig in my heels, but I will probably order that salad and the calamari again and cross my fingers.  Know what I mean?

And a quick postscript about CdP’s website – there is LOUD music that plays when you view the homepage . . . scroll down to pause.  I could write a whole post on how much I hate webpages with music, but I’ll save that for another day.

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A few people have asked for a run-down of my favorite spots to eat/get food in Boston’s Chinatown.  We’re there a few times every month.  Sunday is our favorite day to go – we head in there in the late afternoon for some shopping, maybe a haircut for our daughter, and then an early dinner and dessert before we head back to the ‘burbs. 

Our favorite spot for dinner is Vinh Sun BBQ & Restaurant, on Beach Street.  We think their roasted meats are the best in Chinatown – they beat the pants of Hong Kong Eatery (on Harrison).  Our daughter’s true love, and rightfully so, is the roast pork and rice plate.  A generous portion of freshly roasted pork, complete with a lovely glaze on its exterior, is served atop a bed of white rice and some steamed choi.  The pork is tender, perfectly cooked and super flavorful.  Vinh Sun’s hot & sour soup is pretty good, and their ma po dofu does have a kick to it (although never enough for my taste).  They have some nice Hong Kong style noodle soups – I often get my favorite shrimp dumpling soup – a large portion of tasty shrimp-filled dumplings in chicken broth with loads of noodles to boot. 

After we finish up at Vinh Sun, we usually hit a bakery or two.  Our favorite for butterfly cookies is Hing Shing, also on Beech Street (right next to the Chinatown gate).  These butterfly cookies are sweeter and more flavorful than other butterfly cookies I’ve had (and, um, I’ll admit to trying many a butterfly cookie in my time) – in fact, these are the only butterfly cookies I like.  The others are too bland and lardy for me – these have great flavor. 

Next door to Hing Shing is the Great Taste Bakery and Restaurant – a newish place.   We haven’t yet eaten at the restaurant, but the bakery has great dan tat (egg custards) and cream buns (my #1 Chinatown bakery vice, a slightly sweet super-soft bun, dusted with finely shredded coconut, then slit partway through the middle and stuffed with light sweet cream filling).  For some chat on the food at the restaurant, check out this threadon Chowhound.  A meal there is on our “must do soon” list, as are their baked cha siu bao. 

Ho Yuen bakery is also on on Beach street, just a couple doors up from Vinh Sun, towards Harrison.  They have great almond cookies.

Eldo Cakehouse on Harrison Ave. is a well-loved place.  I used to love their cream buns, but I think that Great Taste has them beat.  Their cakes are beautiful and delicious, if you like whipped cream frosting.  They boast beautiful fruit decorations are are pretty reasonably priced.  Some people think their baked cha siu bao are the best, others rave about their beef curry turnovers.  Adjacent to the bakery is the Eldo Candy House – lots of little treats there – another favorite stop for our daughter. 

Sometimes we go to Chinatown for dim sum, and we have two favorites there:  China Pearl and Hei La Moon.  Both offer the traditional dim sum with carts and crowds.  I think Hei La Moon has an edge over CP food-quality-wise, but be forewarned, it’s on Beach Street, across the surface artery from Chinatown proper.  Our strategy is to get to either of these places by 11 a.m., because then we’re seated almost immediately.  If you get there anytime after that, be prepared to wait. 

Boston’s Chinatown is small – you can cover it all in a flash.  Chowhound is a super resource – there are lots of other notable places to eat in C-town that we just don’t get to.  Search for yourself (sea food?  hot pot?) and find some favorites of your own.

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Grub Street (NYMagazine.com’s food news) has released its Where And What To Eat in Boston for Fall ’09.  I really need to get to Olecito, period.  Haven’t been to the Inman location, and here they are, opening an outpost.  I’m feeling skeptical about Todd English’s new venture, Curly Cupcakes . . . but maybe Todd has what it takes to change my mind about cupcake boutiques?

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Cupcake boutiques continue to be the rage, and frankly, I don’t get it.  Maybe it’s because I’m cynical and not cutesy?  Maybe it’s because most of their product is terrible?

It’s easy to screw up a cupcake.  Most often, the problem is that they’re dry.  You have to be extra careful when you’re baking a little weeny cake.  There is no baked good more unappealing than a dry cupcake.   And I’ve even had cupcakes made by really terrific, accomplished bakers, that are dry dry dry.  No good.  Not worth the calories.

Then there is the cute and hip factor.  Cute and hip alone don’t get you very far in life, and not in cupcakes either.  I want substance:  a moist cake with a firm but tender crumb and good flavor in the cake.  I also want enough icing so I can get some in almost every bite, but I do not want it mounded up on top so precariously that I have to eat it off before I chomp the cake or worse, that it just falls off when I unwrap my cake.

Last, but certainly not least, there is the pricetag problem.  You can pay $3.99 for a single cupcake at some places.  $3.99!?  I find it offensive.  And this is coming from a woman whose biggest budget line-item is for food.  I am lucky enough to be able to spend good money on good food, and I will pay extra for a premium product.  But I haven’t found a premium cupcake in a boutique yet.

Lest you think I’m insane, see what ire cupcakes can inspire on boards like Chowhound.

What the heck has set me off on this rant?  The other night my husband and I broke down and tried Sweet, in Harvard Square.   We split their “organic karat” cupcake, which they bill as “Moist carrot cake with shredded organic carrots and crushed pineapple topped with classic cream cheese frosting and an edible gold leaf petal.”  I can’t remember how much we paid for this puppy, but it was in the $3 range . . . because although I brought a menu home to refresh my memory, there are no prices on the menu.  Grrrr.  Don’t even get me started on this junk.  It’s similar to when you’re at a restaurant and they describe the specials, but don’t let you in on the prices.  Makes me craaaazy.

So this cupcake was actually moist, and it certainly was cute.  But with all that carrot and pineapple, you’d have to work hard to have it be dry.  And here’s the thing, the cake was pretty much flavorless.  It was merely a vehicle for the cream cheese frosting, which was fine, but not outstanding – and it was mounded up in such a cute way that it did not pass my icing distribution requirement.  It fell off.  A total buzz-kill.

Here’s what I like about cupcakes – they’re a sweet treat in a portion-controlled package.   I’ll spend money on cupcakes from old-school venues like Lyndell’s, but better yet, I think it’s fun and relatively easy to make cupcakes.  This recipe for black-bottom cupcakes is one of the best I’ve had anywhere, frankly.  It’s moist, it’s chocolatey and flavorful and fun, and it’s cheap to boot.

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My husband I recently had dinner at Tory Row, in Harvard Square (the old Greenhouse location).  This place is owned by the same folks that run Audubon Circle in Brookline and Miracle of Science in Cambridge, so if you’ve been to those places, you have a sense of the vibe at Tory Row – although I’d say it’s more Audubon-y than MoS-y.  Essentially this place is high-end bar food in a cool atmosphere, and it was jammin’ on a Wednesday night.  But the food wasn’t particularly memorable.  And this is coming from a person that loves Audubon Circle (not so much MoS) – it is one of our go-to places for good, upscale bar-food in a relaxed setting.  So while I came to Tory Row expecting more of the same, it was a bit of a bummer.

There is a very limited menu, as in the other venues, so you may want to check it out on-line before you commit – but also note that the menu I see on line is not quite the same as the one we had last night . . . . so your web-crawling might be of limited value.

I was with my husband, and we opted to share everything so that we could try more stuff and not be stuffed.  We started with Wasik’s curried apricot cheese spread and a small baguette.  First off, this is the one thing they “import” to Tory Row – it’s made by the folks at Wasik’s cheese shop, in Wellesley (a great little place if you’re in the market for good cheese in the MetroWest).  It’s essentially whipped cream cheese blended with some apricot preserves and curry powder – might sound funky, but it was slightly sweet and pretty mild, and a nice complement to the crusty, toasty baguette. 

For an entree, we ordered baked cod with leeks.  It was well-prepared, but unexciting.  The cod was very fresh and not over-cooked, and the thinly-sliced leeks were nice, but it did remind me of a rather, shall we say, “British” preparation – very plainly seasoned with salt and pepper and not much else.  Again, not horrid by any means, yet not memorable in any way.

We also got a side of roasted asparagus with Parmesan.  It was tasty and was drizzled with olive oil and topped with shaved Parm, but again, not a standout, especially when we’ve grilled asparagus all spring/early summer – just as good.  We also got a side of their grilled corn – it’s not on the on-line menu, and I can’t remember exactly what it had on it, but it was a sort of jalapeno mayonnaise-like concoction that was slathered all over the grilled ear of corn, and then it was sprinkled with some queso fresco.  There was a cilantro butter on the side, but that was nearly flavorless.  This could’ve been yummy, but there was waaaay too much of the jalapeno stuff on the corn.  It was overpowering and greasy and made me happy I wasn’t on a date where I was trying to impress someone.  You will end up with it all over your face.

The standout of the meal was the salad we ordered.  It was a big chopped salad, again, not on the on-line menu, with romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, nice thick-cut smoky bacon, European cukes, chopped cornichon pickles and a great green-goddess dressing.  It was a really nice combination – all the veggies were very fresh, the dressing was very creamy and well-executed (NOT a dietetic salad, folks, there’s a lot of mayo and sour cream involved in that dressing!) and the cornichons gave it a nice, crunchy/salty bite – a great counterpoint to the creamy dressing.  I’d order this again as an entree salad, despite the lack o’ protein – the fat from the dressing would be satisfying enough!

So while nothing but the salad particularly stood out for me, I like Tory Row overall.  Not nearly as much as I like Audubon Circle, so I won’t go back as often, but Tory Row offers decent food in an unhurried atmosphere with the bonus of great people-watching.  Worth trying out yourself.

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On Monday night we took friends from Toronto to Picco, in the South End.  Have you been?  If you haven’t, you should go . . . especially now while the weather is nice . . . ’cause you can eat outside on their front patio and watch the parade of peeps and pooches go by.

Picco emphasizes fresh, seasonal, housemade ingredients.  They make their own soup stocks, sauces, sausage, meatballs, salad dressings, ice cream, and baked desserts on site, and their pizza dough is divine - they use a slow, cold rising and fermentation process to make it, which allows the dough to develop a wonderful structure a very rich, toasty flavor.  I actually think it’s the best I’ve had, anywhere.

“Picco” stands for Pizza & Ice Cream Company, and while there are a few other things on Picco’s menu, I’d say those items are the standouts.  Their salads are nice, fresh and simple.  The warm spinach salad with bacon is always a hit, as is the minimalist but satisfying arugula salad with Parmigiano Reggiano, lemon juice and olive oil, which we ordered Monday.

For a starter, we also ordered the Caprese Bruschetta, with local cherry tomatoes in basil oil, tiny slivers of red onion, Lioni fresh mozzarella and balsamic vinaigrette.  I’m assuming it was made on Clear Flour Bakery bread, as Picco’s sandwiches are all made with Clear Flour loaves and rolls.  The bruschetta was delicious – bread was toasty from the oven, slathered with nice olive oil, topped with the fresh toppings.

We ordered our absolute, to-die-for favorite on the pizza list:  the Alsatian, Picco’s pizza-fied version of a tarte flambe.  This creamy, crispy disk of deliciousness is covered in sautéed onions, shallots, garlic, creme fraiche, bacon and Gruyere cheese.  It is rich.  It is luscious.  The saltiness of the bacon offsets all the butteriness of the creme fraiche and Gruyere.  The onions add flavor, but no harsh bite.  I know it’s a lot of ingredients, but as our friend raved, “mmm, they all just work so well together.”   I’m salivating now, just writing about it.

Ice cream is the star of the dessert menu, and they also have a selection of sorbets. There are various ice-creamy drink desserts, a brownie sundae and so forth, but the dessert I love the most is the warm gingerbread cake.  It’s the real deal – made from scratch with real ginger and served with raspberry sauce (which I actually do not like – I get it on the side), whipped cream and a scoop of their fabulous ice cream.

And here’s the really interesting and fun thing about Picco – it is a perfect kid-friendly destination (and you will have company even if you’re there at 5 p.m. on a Saturday night), but it is also a place you and your adult friends would like to meet, later-night, for some delicious informal food in a fun neighborhood.  How many places can boast that versatility?

Get all the specifics here.

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