Showing posts with label boston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label boston. Show all posts

Thursday, October 6, 2016

Boston: Dine at a Discount with GoPapaya App

Whether you're a student or someone with a "real job", everyone loves saving money, right?
Well, Bostonians can now have more opportunities to save money while dining out with this new mobile app startup called GoPapaya.

The idea of GoPapaya is like HotelTonight: they work with restaurants to fill tables during the restaurants' down time by offering discounts to customers, usually between 10-30%. On top of that, since they are new and promoting their app, you can sign up with my referral code "pigs10" and they will send you a $10 Amazon gift card after you complete your first reservation!

The restaurant will set a discount on the app in real time, and you'll have 30 minutes to arrive at the restaurant once you make your reservation. When you open the app, it will show you what discounts are available and for how much, sorted by the distance.
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Once you reserve the table, they will hold it for 30 minutes. During this hold and when you're checked in, you can't reserve another table unless you cancel the current one. Here's when I made one for lunch at Patty Chen's Dumpling Room in Central Square.
Go Papaya
To use it, you'd turn on your bluetooth, and the app will automatically detect when you get to the restaurant and check you in. You don't need to purchase anything from the app so there's no upfront cost like Groupons.

When I got to Patty Chen's Dumpling Room, I just told them I made a reservation with GoPapaya, and they knew what I was talking about.

Patty Chen
Pork Dumpling "Ramen" at PC Dumpling Room


Thursday, September 22, 2016

Rediscovering the Italian Food in Boston's North End at Artu

All the tourists and locals alike know that Boston's North End is the place to go for Italian food, yet most of the time I go there, I end up at Neptune Oyster for a lobster roll, instead - I can't help it! Sure, I've had my cannolis and I've been to a couple of the Italian places there, but for the most part, North End remained fairly unexplored to me. But thanks to a recent blogger dinner at Artu, I got the chance to experience another part of the North End.
Artu
Our dinner started with a simple salad of Roasted beets, pistachio vinaigrette, gorgonzola
Artu
Polpetti (homemade meatballs, parmigiano, $8)
Artu
I love meatballs when the texture is right, just like the ones here. Tender homemade meatballs with traditional Italian tomato sauce - why mess with something so simple and perfect!

Grilled country bread, smoked mozzarella, prosciutto, Backyard Farms tomato
Artu
I loved the smoked mozzarella on these!

Artu also had some solid cocktails, and the bar is open until 2 AM every day. Every day! That's one of the latest places to grab in the drink in the area, especially on a weeknight. I stuck with the classics, which they do very well.

Tuesday, September 20, 2016

Boston Giveaway! Tickets to Taste of the Fenway on 9/28

Lucky Boston readers, I've got another giveaway for you!

Taste of the Fenway is coming on Wednesday, September 28. This neighborhood is not just about the stadium but also houses some of Boston's best restaurants. The street festival will take place on Van Ness Street and will feature Fenway's great restaurant lineup including Sweet Cheeks Q and Tiger Mama from Top Chef Tiffani Faison, Hojoko, Loretta's Last Call, Tapestry, the new Saloniki, and more alongside wine and beers aplenty. There will be live music and art to keep the night entertaining.



Wednesday, September 14, 2016

Brunch on Mondays at Lulu's Allston (Boston, MA)

Now that I've started a new Monday-Friday job, I miss the days where I can take longer lunches on Mondays. If you're one of those people who can take a long lunch on Mondays, you should take advantage of it and head to brunch! Brunch on Mondays? Yes, some places like Lulu's in Allston actually does their full brunch menu on Monday.
Lulus Allston
No crowds! Brunch at your own leisure.

At Lulu's, there are plenty of egg dishes like eggs benedict or omelettes, but my eyes went straight to their "Comforts" section which listed things like Cinnamon Roll Mini Waffles and Smores Pancakes.

I had a really hard time deciding but in the end went with the White Trash Hash (tater tots topped with braised short ribs, two poached eggs and hollandaise, $14)
Lulus Allston
It's almost like tater tot breakfast poutine .. it would've been better for me if the egg was more runny.

I also tried the Monte Cristo Pancakes (savory pancakes filled with cheddar cheese and smoked ham, topped with raspberry jam, fresh herbs, and powdered sugar)
Lulus Allston\

Thursday, September 8, 2016

GIVEAWAY! East Somerville Foodie Crawl on Sept 13

East Somerville is a hidden food gem, with international restaurants that span from Haiti, Ethiopia, Italian, Mexican, and more. Not sure where to go in East Somerville? Well, join the East Somerville Foodie Crawl on September 13 to sample many of these restaurants, all in one night!

You'll hit some great restaurants like La Brasa, Fasika, Rincon Mexicano, East End Grille, Deano's Pasta, and many more. There are almost two dozen restaurants participating, and you can see the full list here.
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chilorio estilo Sinaloa at Rincon Mexicano

Tickets are $25 per person (high school and college students can get tickets for just $15), and you can also get tickets to the Aeronaut Beer Garden for $12 which lets you have two beers. Tickets can be purchased here. Join other foodies and try out the gems in this neighborhood.

AND, lucky for you, The Foodie Crawl has generously offered a pair of tickets for my readers! To win the two tickets, follow the instructions below, winners will be selected and notified by September 12!
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Friday, August 12, 2016

Devouring the Bar Menu at Grill 23 and Bar (Boston, MA)

Grill 23 and Bar may be celebrating 30 years of being one of the best steakhouses in Boston, but don't forget about the "Bar" part of the restaurant! Grill 23's bar menu features some great cocktails and satisfying bites like these Foie gras slider on cider doughnut with jalapeno jelly.
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No, really. Seared foie gras on a donut! I went to the bar menu launch party there and I think I ate 3 of these babies, and still wanted more. I would definitely come back for these - Foie gras lovers have to try them!

Grill 23 and Bar also has some nice cocktails - I love Death & Taxes in particular, with the smokiness of the cigar infused bourbon and the sweetness of the peach.
Grill 23
Grill 23

Saturday, July 23, 2016

Diplomatico Rum Tasting and Dinner at Barcelona Wine Bar (South End, Boston, MA)

I recently had the opportunity to taste the line of Diplomatico Rums at a tasting and dinner held at Barcelona Wine Bar in Boston's South End with Diplomatico's master distiller, Maestro Gilberto BriceƱo.
Diplomatico Rum @ Barcelona
Diplomatico was founded in 1959 and adhere to the traditional Venezuelan way of making rum. They have their own yeast strain for fermentation and use sugar cane molasses and honey from sugar cane for their rums. Diplomatico's distillation process differs from most Caribbean countries which use column distillation. Diplomatico uses column distillation for their light rum, copper pot (to get heavy alcohols), and batch kettle for medium alcohols. The copper pot tradition came about because Seagram's used to make whiskey in Venezuela.

Anyway, the rums. We tasted six different rums from Diplomatico.
Diplomatico Rum @ Barcelona

Diplomatico Anejo
This is their youngest product, which is aged up to 4 years and a mix of light and heavy alcohols (which they get from the different distillation processes). The rum itself has a hint of vanilla and with light sweetness. This rum is good for cocktails and a great value at about $15 a bottle!

Thursday, July 14, 2016

Chinese BBQ, Cocktails, and More at Wu Er by WOW Barbecue (Brookline, Boston, MA)

First started as a truck serving Chinese BBQ skewers in Chinatown, Wow BBQ has a brick and mortar location in Malden and has recently expanded with Wu Er in Brookline. Unlike the truck, Wu Er serves a lot more than skewers.

When they get seated, each table gets a plate of fried mantou drizzled with condensed milk. Dessert first? Sort of, and why not?
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Originally, Wow BBQ is all about the Chinese BBQ skewers, so of course, I had to get those here as well. The lamb is definitely one thing to get, but they also have all kinds of other options - both meat and vegetarian skewers.
Wu Er Wow BBW
While these are not for everyone, some of my favorite skewers are the chicken hearts and the lamb kidneys! I also tried the beef neck tendon, but that was too chewy even for me.
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What I also particularly like about Wu Er is the cocktail program. It's pretty uncommon to have great cocktails at a Chinese or Asian restaurant, in general (although I have to say this is not particularly true in Boston, with Sichuan Garden II and Shojo and all). If you're ever curious about trying baiju, or cocktails made with baiju, Wu Er is a great place to try.

Moonlight over the Lotus Pond (Citadelle gin, lime, kaffir lime, jasmine tea, absinthe, egg white) - a nice sour with kaffir lime and jasmine, two of my favorite ingredients!
Wu Er Wow BBW

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Farm to Table Pork Dinner at Post 390 with Dogpatch Farm

Post 390 in Boston is already known for their farm-to-table fare, but every couple of months, they take it a step further by holding a special dinner featuring one local producer, and bring them into the restaurant! I recently attended this Farm-to-Post dinner with hog farmer Sue Frank from Dogpatch Farm in Washington, ME.

The dinner starts out with a cocktail reception on the second floor of the restaurant with delectable hors d'oeuvres like Coppa di testa (olive gardiniera, smoked provolone), Pork fat fried chicken oysters and habanero honey, and Pate en Croute (pistachios, pickled mustard seeds, apricot, pork liver, their own pate herb blend, other meat parts)
Post 390

The cocktail of the evening of course features the beloved pork as well: Lipstick on a Pig (smoked Bulleit bourbon, Pedro Ximenez sherry, bubbly charred rosemary lemonade, candied crackling)
Post 390
It took them 6 days to dry the pig skin to make the crackling!

The Farm to Post dinner was held in their private dining area which was beautifully set.
Post 390

Wednesday, May 25, 2016

An Irish Pub Brunch at The Kinsale (Boston, MA)

A couple of weeks ago, I joined a group blogger brunch at The Kinsale, an Irish pub right by the Government Center station in downtown Boston.
Kinsale
As you can see from the beautiful decor, The Kinsale is a classic Irish pub, but their food menu beyond traditional Irish offerings. While many Irish pubs have an extensive menu, we don't usually equate them with brunch either, so it was fun to check out what they would offer for brunch.

Our group started with some French 75, made gin, lemon, sugar, and sparkling wine. While not traditionally served in a tall glass, it was a well made version of this refreshing cocktail.
Kinsale
We also started with some traditional New England fare: Brown bread with cedar syrup
Kinsale
The Boston brown bread is round since it's made by steaming it in a can. Since no yeast is added, this style of brown bread is dense in texture. This is only my second time having brown bread, and I have to say I like it sweetened with the cedar syrup.

As a starter, I opted for the Irish red ale onion soup with New England brown bread
Kinsale
I thought this version of the French onion soup is a fun take that incorporates the Irish pub backdrop using the Irish red ale, and the Boston locale with the brown bread inside the soup.

Friday, May 6, 2016

Waxy's Modern Bar + Kitchen Opens Modern Irish Bar with Great Cocktails in Brookline (Boston, MA)

A new Irish bar just opened up in Boston's Brookline neighborhood, but don't expect a dive bar with nothing but Guinness. Waxy's Modern Bar + Kitchen is a modern Irish bar concept from Waxy O'Connor's, a departure from their previous old school pubs, and that means great craft brews and cocktails. The name comes form the term "waxy", which colloquially means a lucky event.
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The cocktails and beer list come courtesy of James O'Brien, an Ireland native who learned the trade at New York City bars. Waxy's will feature 40 rotating beers on tap. The beer list is separated by styles (cider, sours, IPAs, etc) and feature breweries such as Founders, Sixpoint, Harpoon, Firestone Walker, Allagash, etc. Not to worry, though, they'll still have Guinness and Magner's.
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As for cocktails, he's concocted some fun cocktails to fit a wide range of palates, from the Tiki-style
Shake Rattle & Rum (Three Olives Elvis coconut water vodka, The Real McCoy 5-year rum, pineapple, ginger, and Angostura bitters) ...
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Sunday, April 17, 2016

The First Pig Roast at The Gallows (South End, Boston, MA)

The popular South End spot, The Gallows, recently held their first family-style Pig Roast on April 4. The event was successful so hopefully we will see more of it!
This was actually my first time at The Gallows, and I like the themed decorations like the ouija board on the wall.

The Gallows
The Pig Roast was $30 per person for a lot of great food, as you will see shortly!

When we got seated, we were served popcorn. First I thought it was bacon caramel popcorn, but even better - it was popcorn with cracklings! I kind of just went for the cracklings.

The Gallows

Everyone also gets sweet cornbread and sweet tea.
The Gallows

Saturday, April 9, 2016

An Authentic Izakaya Experience at Izakaya Ittoku (Boston, MA)

If you've met me in real life, you may have heard me complain about the lack of good ethnic food in Boston (with the exception of Brazilian and Jamaican food). Well, that's not quite true, because at least there is one authentic izakaya. Izayaka Ittoku in Allston offers what is probably the only authentic izakaya experience in Boston, with a large menu, great food, and cheap beer pitchers!

On top of the already large menu, they sometimes have special dishes, like this stir fried squid with green onions. So good we ordered another helping.

Izakaya Ittoku
Agedashi tofu ($5.75) - a classic, of course.
Izakaya Ittoku
Cucumber sunomono, another great dish to share and a great palate cleanser in between other plates.
Izakaya Ittoku

Sunday, March 27, 2016

Thirst Boston Celebrates New England Cocktail Culture on May 20-23, 2016

There are so many great cocktail bars in Boston, and what better way to explore them all (plus more New England bars) than at Boston's cocktail week, Thirst Boston? Well, lucky you, the next Thirst Boston is coming up soon on May 20-23 of 2016.

Hawthorne Thirst Boston
Thirst Boston took a hiatus but the last one in 2014 was a fun whirlwind of events! Here are some of what you can expect to happen this year, plus a recap of last year's events:

This year's opening night gala (dubbed The Thing) will take place at The Hampshire House. In addition to Boston's top bartenders, the winner of the Best Home Bartender competition will also get to showcase his/her drink here! If you're interested in entering this competition, you can still apply until April 1 (get the info here).
Thirst Boston
The gala is a night of extravaganza where cocktail lovers and bartenders don their finest garb and dance the night away - helped by live music and more than enough bar stations manned by the city's finest bartenders.

Another confirmed event is State Lines on Saturday evening, in which great bars from all over New England will hold pop-ups throughout the city!
Thirst Boston

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Cafe de Boston: A Boston Lunch Spot for Literally Everyone

Looking for a good lunch spot in the Financial District that will keep everyone happy, from your big group of friends or your coworkers? Make sure Cafe de Boston is on your radar. It's a big space with multiple stations, from salad station to prepared food buffet to other stations making pizza, pasta, crepes, sandwiches, and many more. There are desserts of all manners, coffee drinks, free wifi and power outlets at plenty of the seats in the cafe section!

Cafe de Boston
The owner had a couple other Middle Eastern restaurants in downtown Boston, so one of the most popular items at Cafe de Boston is the kebabs - from lamb shish kebab to chicken kofte kebab, which you can get both as a wrap and a plate. This restaurant is also actually halal, they do not use any pork - even the ham is made of turkey.
Cafe de Boston
The menu for the hot buffet rotates. You might find falafels, hummus, chicken wings. There is always something for everyone, no matter what your food restriction is.
Cafe de Boston
Cafe de Boston

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Charcuterie and Vegetables Showcase at BISq (Cambridge, MA)

The popular Bergamot Restaurant opened a more casual sister restaurant near my apartment in Inman Square. I had walked past BISq many times in Inman Square, and I finally had the perfect opportunity to try it when I saw a Groupon for a 6-course tasting menu for $30 per person! I hadn't used Groupon for a while but recently I took a look around and saw that they actually have some great restaurant deals in Boston. I convinced my roommate to join me for dinner one night.

BISq
Our tasting menu starts off with some grilled avocado, grapefruit, frisee, salumi jam, peppercorn vinaigrette
BISq
I love avocado so this was a great starter for me, but the star of the dish was really the salumi jam. Yes, really, it's "jam" made with salumi instead of fruits!

Herb-marinated beets, raita, fennel, sunflower seed granola
BISq

It was unusual to have beets paired with spicy flavors as in this dish.

King oyster mushroom carpaccio, queso verde, red cabbage, peanuts, omelette, soy-ginger dressing 
BISq

This was my favorite dish of the night. A thin slice of king oyster mushroom is topped with small cubes of egg omelette, peanuts, and a bold queso verde.

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