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  1. Shake Shack: Boston

    March 26, 2013 by Dan

    49 Boylston Street
    Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
    617.651.3406
    chestnuthill@shakeshack.com
    www.shakeshack.com
    Open daily: 11AM – 11PM

    So I’ve eaten at every Shake Shack location in NYC, but only after I went to the Boston location did I realize that they have location specific menus! For the Boston location, they have the “Lobstah Shell” themed/flavored Concrete (blended custard). Seeing that it was made with the lobster tail pastry I HAD to try it, and LO AND BEHOLD it was absolutely riddled with pieces and bits of the pastry! It was an absolutely delectable experience, even though I generally shy away from extra creamy foodstuffs the strawberry puree helped alleviate some of the sheer creaminess. As for the burger, I ordered my customary Shack Stack for the ooey gooey crisp fried portobello cheese nugget. I also tried my friend’s SmokeShack and really wasn’t impressed.. Don’t get me wrong, it was a by all means a good burger, but the price to food ratio wasn’t what I would expect. I don’t feel that having bacon in it justifies a similar price to the Shack Stack.

    Overall

    It’s nice to finally have a Shake Shack in the Boston area, and I definitely see the company expanding very successfully internationally. Good move Shake Shack!! Boston welcomes you with open arms.. and mouths =D

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  2. Restaurant Week Boston: Toro

    March 25, 2013 by Dan

    Toro

    1704 Washington Street
    Boston, MA 02118
    (617) 536-4300

    Toro. Toro means “bull” in spanish. There are definitely bull motifs strewn all about the warm and busy interior of the restaurant. My party of 3 arrived at around 7:30 and the entire restaurant was packed. The greeter told us the wait for a table was between 1:30 to 2 hours. But luckily 3 spots opened up immediately by the bar.

    Ambiance

    I enjoyed the subtle Spanish influences of random pieces of interest here and there. I was facing the bar so I was mostly presented with an immense quantity of bottled liquor. The restaurant overall was pretty loud, and had moderately loud music playing the whole time. The music wasn’t exactly what I would imagine to be playing in a contemporary tapas restaurant, but I personally enjoyed it. They played one of my favorite songs “Know my steez” by Gang Starr.

    Food

    Well this is obviously the main star of the show. I must say I have been to about 3 or 4 tapas places in my life, and this is THE BEST I’ve been to so far in terms of just the pure deliciousness of the food that I was eating. I’m just going to go ahead and list what I ate.

    Pinchos

    • Tortilla Espanola – Egg, potato and onion omelet with aioli
    • Atun Tartare – Tuna tartare with coconut milk, calamansi lime and cilantro
    • Ventresca – Spanish tuna belly, tomato tapenade and celery leaves

    Tapas Frias

    • Atun Crudo – Yellowfin tuna with soy, spicy cucumbers, citrus and avocado
    • Escalivada Catalana – Marinated wood roasted eggplant, onions, peppers and tomatoes with sherry vinegar and olive oil
    • Ostra en Escabeche – Marinated oysters with grains of paradise, lovage and citrus

    Tapas Calientes

    • Coles de Bruselas a la Plancha – Brussels sprouts with olive oil and sea salt
    • Navajas a la Plancha – Seared razor clams with lemon, garlic and piquillo peppers
    • Uni Bocadillo – Pressed uni sandwich with miso butter and pickled mustard seeds
    • Panza de Cerdo – Crispy pork belly with roasted pumpkin, crispy brussels sprouts, chantenay carrots and kimchi vegetables
    • Costilla de Buey – Kabayaki glazed beef short ribs with chilled farro, cucumbers, radish and hazelnuts

    Dessert

    • Churros with a dark chocolate dipping sauce
    • Complementary milk!!

    There are just too many things to really go into too much detail. Personally I love eggplant and thoroughly enjoyed the eggplant dish. Both the pork belly and short ribs were so tender and juicy that you could cut the meat with a fork. In terms of the most “interesting” tasting dishes that play with your senses, I would suggest the Atun Crudo, Ostra en Escabeche, and the Panza de Cerdo. And their brussels sprouts is a very simple but absolutely well executed dish, guaranteed to please.

    Overall

    This place isn’t cheap. That is for sure. But if you’ve ever heard the phrase “You get what you pay for”, it definitely applies here. The food is absolutely phenomenal, as is the service. I had the pleasure of being served by Christina at the bar, and in passing I mentioned that it would be amazing to have a glass of milk with my churros, and she actually got me a glass of milk! (free of charge might I add). This is definitely a wonderful place to take someone you are trying to impress, but it might be a little loud and busy for a fancy or romantic first date kind of situation. I LOVE THIS PLACE.

     

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  3. The Burgers I’ve Ever Eaten (PYT)

    March 15, 2012 by Dan

     

    PYT Philadelphia

    1050 North Hancock Street
    Philadelphia, PA 19123
    (215) 964 – 9009

    Mon – Fri:11:30 am-2:00 am
    Sat – Sun:11:00 am-2:00 am

    “PYT is home to America’s craziest burgers, including the Korean Short Rib Burger, Krispy Kreme Burger, Cheesesteak Pretzel Roll Burger, Surf N’ Turf …” 

    When they say that PYT is home to America’s craziest burgers, what they mean is that their burgers are CRAZY GOOD. Welcome to my favorite burger spot IN THE WORLD (so far). I know I love me a Shake Shack – Shack Stack, or a good ol’ Kobe Burger from Max Burger, but when I think of the best burger place.. no, when I DREAM of the best burgers, I think about PYT in Philadelphia.

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  4. Cafe Bonaparte

    February 16, 2012 by Dan

     

    Cafe Bonaparte

    1522 Wisconsin Ave NW
    Washington, DC 20007
    (202) 333-8830

    First of all, I would like to mention that this restaurant is located in a pretty swanky part of town, and has really nice streets to walk on, so its a great place to take a date on in the spring or good walking weather. Also, the ambiance within the restaurant is really nice. The waitress that we had was extremely nice and accommodating, and didn’t try to up sell me something that I didn’t want.

    Setting

    The restaurant was pretty small, and half of it was dominated by a pretty big bar. The tables were pretty tightly packed so if you are a bit claustrophobic, this place might be a little intimidating. I really liked the feel of the restaurant, though it may not feel ultra french or anything, it had a unique air to its atmosphere.

    Food

    First dish was the French Onion soup. It was VERY good, definitely the best french onion soup that I have had so far in my life. The onions were nicely caramelized and sweet, but not cooked to the point of complete mush. The soup was flavorful and salty, but not TOO salty. And the croutons were seasoned just right, which helped balance the flavors of the soup. And of course, but not lastly, THE CHEESE TOPPING. I don’t exactly remember the type of cheese used, but it was such a delicious ooey gooey sticky icky cover, and that is all you need to know.
    The next course was the crepe roll. The crepe roll is essentially a french-fried spring roll. The roll itself was a crispy crepe filled with crawfish, shrimp and cabbage. The roll itself was unimpressive, but when paired with the pesto aioli, everything changed. The pesto was light and yet flavorful, I couldn’t get enough aioli into each bite. The salad that sat in the middle of my dish was fairly ordinary but didn’t disappoint.
    THEN CAME DESSERT. So as you may garner from the pictures, this restaurant specializes in crepes, and so thusly, I opted for a crepe dessert. My accomplice got the creme brulee, which was my first ever, so I have no comparison to make, but the top was very light and crispy and sweet, whilst the soft and creamy part under the crisp topping was very very good, it definitely peaked my interest in creme brulees as a dessert option. For MY OWN dessert, I ordered the Martinique, which was a crepe filled with caramelized mango slices, and topped with a lemon gelato,  pistachio piece sprinkles and a berry melba drizzle. This has definitely become my number one favorite dessert crepe of all time. The warm and slightly crispy crepe with the warm mango was the perfect compliment to the lemon sorbet, each on their own was already astounding, but when eaten together, the warm and cold sensations was an absolute delight to the senses.

    Overall

    I was extremely pleased with the setting and food. It is the perfect place for anyone to take someone they want to impress, or enjoy a fancy / classy brunch. I would definitely return to this place for the desserts alone, but I think I would try a different savory crepe.

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  5. Restaurant Week Boston: Brasserie Jo

    August 19, 2011 by Dan

     

    Brasserie Jo

    120 Huntington Avenue
    Boston, MA 02116
    (617) 425 – 3240

    So I went to Brasserie Jo for their restaurant week menu, where its only $22.22 for a prix fixe lunch! This restaurant is right next to the lobby of the Colonnade Hotel, so you already know that its quite a classy restaurant. They claim to be one of the premier french restaurants in Boston, so I wanted to see if they really were that awesome. To be frank, it was actually my first time experiencing french food, so it was quite an experience. But the sole intent of my meal was really to chat and catch up with a friend of mine.

    Setting

    The decor of the area was very clean and everything seemed like it was a cafe ish setting, which may have been the case since it was during lunch. Interestingly, they liked to place large sheets of paper over the table cloths, probably to save the trouble of having to change the table clothes repeatedly for lunch diners, saving time, effort, and money for the restaurant. The servers and greeters were all very nice, and it had a nice and relaxed but yet classy atmosphere.

    Food

    Here is the main course of the review of course, and this is also where the restaurant should be shining. And shine this restaurant did! Even with the starting dish of seasoned carrots were delicately flavored and delightfully crisp, but not quite as stiff as a raw carrot. The baguette was of course warm, crisp on the outside, and wonderfully soft on the inside. On to the appetizers, I actually liked the appetizers the most of the entire meal. I had the Boudin Blanc, which is a granular sort of white sausage. The texture of the sausage was absolutely amazing, and when eaten with the mustard, it was amazing, though I did not realize the extra bread brought over was a part of my appetizer. The pickled vegetables was a good was to break up the bites of the sausage and change up the flavors. The Heirloom tomato salad was very good with large juicy tomato steaks, and the goat cheese tart was very good. The main course was nonetheless good, but overshadowed by the appetizers. My chicken was light and flavorful, although a tad dry in some places, the skin was absolutely delicious though. As for the hangar steak, it was very tender and well grilled to the perfect texture and consistency. And onto desserts, the lemon tart was TART to say the least, it definitely packed quite the kick. As for my crepe, I thoroughly enjoyed it, but I can’t say there were any particular characteristics that would set it apart from any good crepe.

    Overall

    I really liked the food, and the classy atmosphere. I think this is a really good place for a later kind of date when you are really going out with a bang. At the restaurant week pricing, its great, and definitely intrigued me as to how the rest of the real menu is like. I definitely want to come back, but the only excuse I can think of to justify the price is to be on a hot, classy date.

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  6. Restaurant Week Boston: KO Prime Steakhouse

    August 16, 2011 by Dan

     

    KO Prime Steakhouse

    90 Tremont Street
    Boston, MA 02198
    (617) 772 – 0202

    Open Mon 6:30am-11am; Tue-Fri 6:30am-11am, 6pm-10pm; Sat 8am-12pm, 5:30pm-10pm; Sun 8am-12pm

    I went to KO prime on a random Tuesday Night, and upon opening the front door, I was presented with a long modern looking staircase that led directly to the bar / lounge area of the restaurant. Overall the size of the seating area of the restaurant was much smaller than I had expected, but I really like the spacing of the tables, and the furniture and layout as well. There was a very nice and classy looking bar where drinks were being served. It appeared that there was a fair amount of patrons that were there just for the bar, so I assume that their bar is quite good, though I did not get to try it personally.

    Setting

    I already covered the setting section above. So I will continue onto the food.

    Food

    They had the standard bread with butter here at this steakhouse, nothing extraordinary, but it was still good. I started with a Grilled Sweet Corn Soup which was surprisingly good. They used freeze dried corn which gave it a very distinct and unique texture to the soup. I actually really enjoyed the soup, the Vidalia Onion Jam added just the right amount of sweetness to the dish. My friend got the Watermelon and Smoked Feta Salad, which was equally good. The watermelon was both juicy and sweet, offering a very refreshing flavor for the hot summer day / night. And the smoked cheese paired with the watermelon very well. There was also some negligible greens that didn’t really offer much to the dish, and the vinaigrette was also background in comparison to the fruit and cheese. For the main course, I had the Cumin Crusted Salmon and I gotta say that fish at a steakhouse is AMAZING. The salmon was flavorful and absolutely melted in my mouth. The crust was nice and crisp, and yet the fish itself was super tender. The salad on which the salmon sat was also very good, flavorful, but did not overpower the salmon. As for my accomplice, she had the Spice Rubbed Petite Filet of Beef. That was also very good, the beef was very tender just like the salmon, not quite “melt in your mouth” but it was definitely a delicious piece of beef. The spices complemented the meat well, and the Summer Vegetable Succotash also was very good and complemented the dish very well. Both the steak and the salmon were essentially pretty similar, but just different types of protein. As for the dessert, we both got the Lemon Verbena and Mixed Berry Shortcake. And it was a very good choice on both our parts as the shortcake was very good, and the Verbena (cream kinda thing) was a good contrasting flavor to the shortcake and sweet berries.

    Overall

    I think this place is a great place for a date, as the ambiance was much calmer and quieter than a good few restaurants that I have been to. Also, I liked the spacing of the tables, it felt that the tables were spaced farther apart than most other restaurants that I have been to. I would definitely like to come back to this place just to check out the bar.

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  7. Parish Cafe

    August 14, 2011 by Dan

     

    Parish Cafe

    361 Boylston Street
    Boston, MA 02116
    (617) 247 – 4777

    Other Location:
    493 Massachusetts Avenue (on the corner of Mass. Ave. and Tremont St.)
    Boston, MA 02116
    (617) 391-0501

    Hours:
    Full Menu till 1AM every night, last call at 2AM.
    Monday through Saturday 11:30am  - 2am
    Sunday 12pm – 2am

    So I have actually never heard of this restaurant / cafe before, and was only led to eat here because a friend wanted to meet up here for lunch. When I first walked in, I noticed that there was a large bar, and a very nice homely atmosphere. There were specials written in chalk on the walls, and there was very nice clean and tasteful decor. But the biggest thing that I noticed was the sort of open kitchen where the food would materialize. Our server seated us right in front of this magical port where all sorts of deliciousness would emerge, such a vast array of sandwiches and colorful salads. Immediately I knew that the pictureless menu would offer me no aid in choosing a meal.

    Setting

    I like the decor as I had mentioned earlier. Also, I like the tables and chairs, a weird observation, but I have an affinity to these all wooden places. And I liked the way the bar was set up. As for ambiance, it was both really busy when we first arrived, so it was pretty noisy, but as time passed, it definitely quieted down a lot and had a much more refined feel. So depending on the day, time, and crowd, it can feel like a cafe, or a much nicer bar.

    Food

    When I finally took the server’s suggestion of the “Viera” sandwich, I was pleasantly pleased with her favorite choice. The steak was plenty tender and flavorful, and the asparagus salad was incredible. The cooks managed to take the clearly large and tough asparagus and saute it into something that was manageable and delicious. My only complaint was the the bread was toasted to a consistency where the crunchy exterior wreaked havoc on the roof of my mouth, causing it to eventually bleed (this is not an exaggeration!). But the sheer deliciousness of the sandwich compelled me to finish the entire sandwich even though it was such a masochist ordeal. As for the other dishes, the “Hot and Cold Chicken Salad” was somewhat plain, nothing too special about it except that it was laid over a foundation of rice, otherwise nothing special. The “Nicoise Salad” on the other hand had a rare tuna steak that blew me away. It was definitely high grade sushi level meat that was perfectly grilled to have a nice firm texture on the outside, but absolute melt in your mouth interior that screamed freshness. But other than the tuna steak, and standard but very fresh salad with good sauce.

    Overall

    I really enjoyed my sandwich and the grilled tuna, and because my initial experience was so positive, I definitely want to try other sandwiches from their extensive selection. They even have special sandwiches that were created by fellow cooks from other restaurants in the Boston area, which is cool because you get to try tastes and cooking styles of other restaurants all in one place, albiet in sandwich form. I would recommend this place, though I personally would not go through too much effort to eat here other than a more casual lunch, the food is a definite winner.

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  8. Aceituna Cafe

    August 9, 2011 by Dan

     

    Aceituna Cafe

    605 West Kendall Street
    Cambridge, MA 02142
    617.252.0707

    Open Monday – Friday: 11AM – 8PM

    Being in the Kendall area, you already know that this place is held against high standards, as this area of greater Boston is upscale and is where a lot of young money likes to spend their time and money, so in order for a restaurant to survive, they have to deliver.. quality and taste. And Aceituna Cafe definitely meets my standards.

    Setting

    This cafe definitely has a very fast food feel with large windows on all sides of the restaurant, offering a great view of the surrounding area, including the Genzyme building nearby, and other office buildings and the whatnot. But don’t get me wrong, the view is pretty good since the buildings all look nice a modern. But the interior of the restaurant is very simple and spartan, absolutely nothing to write home about.

    Food

    This is obviously the important part, what is a restaurant without it’s food! I ordered the Beef Shawarma, while my two bosses got a Spicy Chicken Shawarma and a wrap respectively. My boss who got the spicy chicken shawarma offered to do a little swap with me so I was able to try it out. The spicy chicken tasted moderately similar to a buffalo chicken flavor, nonetheless it was very good, but not really spicy at all to my palate. The beef was very tender and lightly marinated and didn’t have any strong prevailing flavors that overpowered the meat, which was a good thing because I really liked the mayonaise based garlic sauce that I mixed with the meat and the rice. Also to note, their home made hummus was amazing, definitely a must have for hummus aficionados!

    Overall

    This place is definitely a great place to grab a lunch with coworkers or a quick lunch. It also has free wifi if you want to stay and hang around for a little longer. It definitely embodies that “cafe” feel, and is a great place with nice people and nicer food. But I wouldn’t come here for any sort of special occasion.

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  9. Pho 2000

    July 21, 2011 by Dan

     

    Pho 2000

    198 Adams Street
    Dorchester, MA 02122
    (617) 436 – 1908

    Open mon-sun 10am-10pm

    This place will definitely deceive you. Its location is less than optimal to say the least, but at least there is a little parking lot just across the street. At the time that I went to go visit the restaurant. The front of the restaurant could definitely use some R&R, in fact, when I went to the restaurant, there was no sidewalk whatsoever.. But enough about that exterior and on to the interior and food!

    Setting

    The inside of the restaurant is simple enough. Just like any other generic cheap asian eatery. So this setting is absolutely unimpressive. Complete with the bathroom thats tucked right next to the kitchen. Also the servers clearly have much to learn about the english language, but are competent enough to get you the food you want without trouble.

    Food

    So we ordered the Bo 7 Mon, which literally translates to “seven courses of beef”. So when you order this dish, it is quite the extravagant experience. They bring out a large plate of vegetables and herbs, some of which I cannot identify, but what I could were carrots, cucumbers, pickled radish and carrot slaw, bean sprouts, limes, apples, mint, basil and one unidentified plant. Then there was a plate filled with rice wrappers used for spring rolls, a bowl of warm/hot water for the wrappers, individual plates per person, bowl of mystery sauce, plate of rice noodles, and a hotpot like contraption in which we cook the thinly sliced beef. So at least at this location, they bring out roughly 4 plates of plain beef with onions, which you boil in the hot seasoned oil in the cooker. But after the first 4 plates, they bring out a new cooking style. The next cooking method they brought out a mini wok styled cooker which had a stick of butter used to fry the meat. And to accompany this, the remaining plates of beef came in two different kinds of seasonings.

    Overall

    I feel that for the price that this place is a pretty good eat, if you are willing to ignore the less than ideal location, and the run down appearance of the restaurant. This is one of those cases where you should not judge a book by its cover. The appearance of this restaurant does not reflect the quality of food to be had inside.

     

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  10. Giacomo’s

    May 16, 2011 by Dan

     

    Giacomo’s

    355 Hanover Street
    Boston, Massachusetts 02113
    (617) 523 – 9026

    Open Mon-Thu 5pm-10pm; Fri-Sat 5pm-10:30pm; Sun 4pm-9:30pm

    I vividly walking by this restaurant when I was with family and showing them around Boston, and had originally wanted to eat here, hearing that it was a very good restaurant, but decided not to due to the absurdly long wait. What a poor decision that was a few years ago. This time I went with a small group of friends, and luckily seating time was less that 30 minutes.

    Setting

    Even before entering, you can already see that it is a tiny establishment. There are only about 8 or 9 tables in the restaurant, and a small section of the bar that is open to seating. So this place really doesn’t hold that many people at one time, so you can assume that table turnover is pretty quick, so this isn’t exactly a place where you want to have a long chatty dinner. Continuing on that, it was definitely not quiet inside, with such close proximity between the tables AND the open kitchen, this place is NOT for the claustrophobic. But the open kitchen is definitely something that was very interesting, you can really see the chefs preparing the food, and it allows you to see just how freshly prepared everything is, and also the handiwork of the staff. The waitstaff were very nice, though it took a little while to get a replacement fork, it was understandable because of such a busy restaurant. Overall I like the semi dim atmosphere, it had a real homey feel to it.

    Food

    This is where the stars come out. Beginning with the bread, it wasn’t extraordinary, but it was quite good with butter, fairly standard except the bread was slightly heartier than what I am usually accustomed to. Now onto the appetizers. The mozzarella sticks were AMAZING. Now it seems like a very simple concept, breading pieces of mozzarella cheese, frying up these pieces, then finally putting these strips into hot marinara sauce. But somehow these sticks were absolutely astounding, and must absolutely be eaten while still hot and gooey. Next up came the calamari. The calamari was pretty much standard calamari, with both the rings and the tentacle pieces. Nothing really special about their calamari, except that they put in battered and fried pickled jalapenos or banana peppers in with the calamari, which was an interesting and appreciated touch. Onto the entrees! These are definitely the main course! I got the mussels, clams and half lobster over linguini with Giacomo sauce (lobster based red with a touch of bechamel). The seafood was extremely fresh, and the mussels and clams were not chewy at all. The sauce was also the right amount of flavorful, and the lobster was of a good size, definitely not a runt lobster. I also had the honor of trying the lobster ravioli, which I might actually have liked more than my own dish! It was in a white sauce and was absolutely delicious. There were generous amounts of lobster in each pocket, and the raviolis were huge! Definitely a good deal at the restaurant as I walked away with an insane food coma.

    Overall

    I definitely enjoyed my experience at Giacomo’s and would definitely return if I wanted to have Italian food and seafood. Though personally I am not all that into rich foods, their food tasted well balanced, and very well priced, as my lobster dish was roughly $20, and as you can see from my pictures, the amount of seafood was quite generous. Since the portions are pretty big, I suggest splitting dishes with you companions or date so you can survive until dessert, which none of us could fancy.

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