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Posted by The Fly on April 29, 2008
According to Boston Chefs, there are a few interesting food events coming up.
The Nantucket Wine Festival is Wednesday May 14th through Sunday May 18th this year.
Masa is having a month long Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Tomorrow night (April 30th) at Chiara in Westwood, Sommelier Thomas Tietjen is offering a Rosé tasting.
For all the local restaurant news, click here.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Boston News, Food News | Leave a Comment »
Posted by The Fly on April 29, 2008
It’s that time again… the 3-yo and I were very excited to see that familiar green Boston Organics box sitting on the porch when we got home today. Like two little kids (okay, one of us IS a little kid), we rushed inside to see what our bi-weekly box contained.
We were psyched to see:
I am most excited about the fennel. I have definitely been craving a shaved fennel salad… perhaps with a little celery. We’ll see…
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Organic | 5 Comments »
Posted by The Fly on April 29, 2008
According to Boston Chefs, there are a few interesting food events coming up.
The Nantucket Wine Festival is Wednesday May 14th through Sunday May 18th this year.
Masa is having a month long Cinco de Mayo celebration.
Tomorrow night (April 30th) at Chiara in Westwood, Sommelier Thomas Tietjen is offering a Rosé tasting.
For all the local restaurant news, click here.
Posted in Boston News, Food News | Leave a Comment »
Posted by The Fly on April 29, 2008
It’s that time again… the 3-yo and I were very excited to see that familiar green Boston Organics box sitting on the porch when we got home today. Like two little kids (okay, one of us IS a little kid), we rushed inside to see what our bi-weekly box contained.
We were psyched to see:
I am most excited about the fennel. I have definitely been craving a shaved fennel salad… perhaps with a little celery. We’ll see…
Posted in Organic | 5 Comments »
Posted by The Fly on April 28, 2008
Literally. A common Japanese adjective (日本語) meaning “tasty” or “delicious”, Oishii not only denotes this restaurant’s namesake but also describes — quite accurately — what you are bound to experience when you eat at this spacious, interesting and popular sushi bar.
Oishii is not new to the Boston sushi scene. With their original location in Chestnut Hill — which is always jammed beyond capacity, these savvy business owners decided to expand and open a second location in one of the largest restaurant Mecca’s in Boston: the South End.
If either the difficulty in obtaining a reservation or the number of diners present is any indication of their popularity and success, I would say they made the right move with this new venture. This despite the fact that no signage hangs outside the inconspicuous location… with the several patio tables located out front the only indication that a restaurant exists.
The Husband, his Brother, Brother’s Girlfriend (who were in town from Seattle) and I arrived for our 8pm reservations on time – after a few cocktails at my new favorite pre-dinner haunt The Beehive. We were seated immediately.
This place feels huge… even though the hostess told me there are only 70 tables. The key to this ‘feel’ is definitely in the layout. Rather than one, large and expansive room (which seems to be the trend nowadays), Oishii’s landscape is a series of small rooms, hallways, nooks and crannies… or at least it feels that way.
The general theme of the place is a very modern, minimalist approach, with an almost Zen feel to it. Everything is neutral… appearing in tones of gray, black and other natural hues, with cave-like lighting. Each place setting consists of a plain white napkin, chopsticks and a medium-sized, oddly-shaped, black, stoneware bowl — used as a large soy sauce dish. Water is served in tall, Collins-like glasses and all other dishes were white.
To go over every single dish we ate… describing each taste and flavor combination, would be an arduous task — as every dish was complex in it’s own right and beyond delicious. Rather, I will list out everything we tried — with a few brief comments following each item. Bottom line? EVERYTHING is delicious. EVERYTHING is exotic. EVERYTHING is mouth-watering. And, EVERYTHING is ridiculously expensive!
We started with cocktails. I had the Lychee Martini ($12) — vanilla vodka, lemon juice, Soho lychee and pineapple juice. The Husband and Brother had the Tangerine ($12) — orange vodka and tangerine juice. The Girlfriend had a Mixed drink (Malibu, pineapple juice and soda) ($9). Shortly after, an Amuse Bouche of seasoned sushi rice (cube-shaped) appeared to get the stomach juices flowing.
For appetizers, I had the Black Cod with Sweet Miso Sauce ($18) — one of the best fish dishes that I have ever had. Really. The Husband had a special, the Salmon Party ($25) — five different types of [raw] salmon, topped with five different types of roe on top of rice crackers. It was excellent. The Brother and his girlfriend shared an order of Edamame ($6) and the Agi Dashi Tofu ($8).
For dinner, I had the Toro Truffle Maki ($25) — white truffle, spicy mayo, cucumber and shrimp tempura and the Rock Shrimp Explosion Maki ($25) — tempura rock shrimp inside and outside of roll with brown rice chips and Ting’s wasabi flavored lemon sauce. Oh… my…. god. The truffle maki was fabulous. The rock shrimp maki was unbelievable.
The Husband had the Benyate Maki ($18) — unagi, avocado inside and covered with saku (yellow fin tuna), momijioroshi (grated daikon radish with red hot pepper), and benytate (a type of micro-green) sprinkled on top and the Named After You Maki ($17) — cucumber, spicy mayo, tobiko covered with tuna and whole grain mustard on top and sprinkled with aotate (another type of micro-green). Both were very good and he loved the Named After You in particular.
The Brother got the Moullard Duck served in a baked Apple — a special ($18) and the Alligator Maki ($18) — shrimp tempura inside with crabstick, eel, roe, avocado and scallion outside. The Brother’s girlfriend (not a sushi eater) just got the Japan Kyuri Maki ($7) — a simple cucumber and avocado roll. The duck was super tender and delicious and the Brother loved the Maki.
Additionally, the Husband and his Brother shared a carafe of Wakatake Onikoroshi White Label Sake — Demon Slayer ($17) with dinner.
Surprisingly so, we were able to shovel deserts down our throat as well. I had the Red Bean Creme Brulee ($10) — odd, but delicious. The husband had the Green Tea Ice Cream ($6) — one of my personal favorites. The Brother and his Girlfriend shared the Shaved Mango Ice ($15), which they said was super fresh and yummy.
A fabulously delicious and expensive evening. A must try!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Japanese, South End | 3 Comments »
Posted by The Fly on April 28, 2008
Literally. A common Japanese adjective (日本語) meaning “tasty” or “delicious”, Oishii not only denotes this restaurant’s namesake but also describes — quite accurately — what you are bound to experience when you eat at this spacious, interesting and popular sushi bar.
Oishii is not new to the Boston sushi scene. With their original location in Chestnut Hill — which is always jammed beyond capacity, these savvy business owners decided to expand and open a second location in one of the largest restaurant Mecca’s in Boston: the South End.
If either the difficulty in obtaining a reservation or the number of diners present is any indication of their popularity and success, I would say they made the right move with this new venture. This despite the fact that no signage hangs outside the inconspicuous location… with the several patio tables located out front the only indication that a restaurant exists.
The Husband, his Brother, Brother’s Girlfriend (who were in town from Seattle) and I arrived for our 8pm reservations on time – after a few cocktails at my new favorite pre-dinner haunt The Beehive. We were seated immediately.
This place feels huge… even though the hostess told me there are only 70 tables. The key to this ‘feel’ is definitely in the layout. Rather than one, large and expansive room (which seems to be the trend nowadays), Oishii’s landscape is a series of small rooms, hallways, nooks and crannies… or at least it feels that way.
The general theme of the place is a very modern, minimalist approach, with an almost Zen feel to it. Everything is neutral… appearing in tones of gray, black and other natural hues, with cave-like lighting. Each place setting consists of a plain white napkin, chopsticks and a medium-sized, oddly-shaped, black, stoneware bowl — used as a large soy sauce dish. Water is served in tall, Collins-like glasses and all other dishes were white.
To go over every single dish we ate… describing each taste and flavor combination, would be an arduous task — as every dish was complex in it’s own right and beyond delicious. Rather, I will list out everything we tried — with a few brief comments following each item. Bottom line? EVERYTHING is delicious. EVERYTHING is exotic. EVERYTHING is mouth-watering. And, EVERYTHING is ridiculously expensive!
We started with cocktails. I had the Lychee Martini ($12) — vanilla vodka, lemon juice, Soho lychee and pineapple juice. The Husband and Brother had the Tangerine ($12) — orange vodka and tangerine juice. The Girlfriend had a Mixed drink (Malibu, pineapple juice and soda) ($9). Shortly after, an Amuse Bouche of seasoned sushi rice (cube-shaped) appeared to get the stomach juices flowing.
For appetizers, I had the Black Cod with Sweet Miso Sauce ($18) — one of the best fish dishes that I have ever had. Really. The Husband had a special, the Salmon Party ($25) — five different types of [raw] salmon, topped with five different types of roe on top of rice crackers. It was excellent. The Brother and his girlfriend shared an order of Edamame ($6) and the Agi Dashi Tofu ($8).
For dinner, I had the Toro Truffle Maki ($25) — white truffle, spicy mayo, cucumber and shrimp tempura and the Rock Shrimp Explosion Maki ($25) — tempura rock shrimp inside and outside of roll with brown rice chips and Ting’s wasabi flavored lemon sauce. Oh… my…. god. The truffle maki was fabulous. The rock shrimp maki was unbelievable.
The Husband had the Benyate Maki ($18) — unagi, avocado inside and covered with saku (yellow fin tuna), momijioroshi (grated daikon radish with red hot pepper), and benytate (a type of micro-green) sprinkled on top and the Named After You Maki ($17) — cucumber, spicy mayo, tobiko covered with tuna and whole grain mustard on top and sprinkled with aotate (another type of micro-green). Both were very good and he loved the Named After You in particular.
The Brother got the Moullard Duck served in a baked Apple — a special ($18) and the Alligator Maki ($18) — shrimp tempura inside with crabstick, eel, roe, avocado and scallion outside. The Brother’s girlfriend (not a sushi eater) just got the Japan Kyuri Maki ($7) — a simple cucumber and avocado roll. The duck was super tender and delicious and the Brother loved the Maki.
Additionally, the Husband and his Brother shared a carafe of Wakatake Onikoroshi White Label Sake — Demon Slayer ($17) with dinner.
Surprisingly so, we were able to shovel deserts down our throat as well. I had the Red Bean Creme Brulee ($10) — odd, but delicious. The husband had the Green Tea Ice Cream ($6) — one of my personal favorites. The Brother and his Girlfriend shared the Shaved Mango Ice ($15), which they said was super fresh and yummy.
A fabulously delicious and expensive evening. A must try!
Posted in Japanese, South End | 3 Comments »
Posted by The Fly on April 26, 2008
No, I shouldn’t say that. Masona Grill (in West Roxbury) is definitely kid friendly… it’s just that MY kid is not always “restaurant-friendly”. Granted, I have a healthy buzz going right now, so in addition to making phenomenal typos (I’m sure), I may also be *exaggerating* a little. The 3-yo is a good kid. He’s funny, he’s dynamic, he’s full of energy… (read: hyperactive). I just hate it when my kid doesn’t listen, when he crawls under the table, when he climbs over my back — trying to get to the other 3-yo and when he eats the salt directly out of the shaker. Aside from that, we had a great meal and a good time… and the staff was very forgiving of the chaos we created.
The husband, myself, a girlfriend and two 3-yo’s all decided last minute to head down to Masona Grill for a little dinner. I called down (at 6:30 on a Friday night) and despite the fact that they had a mostly full restaurant and a bunch of people coming in at 7 (including a wheel chair), they made some adjustments, pushed some tables together and told us to ‘come on down’ (we only live a mile away).
Our table was ready when we arrived so we were seated immediately. We ordered our drinks (Mojitos) and the kid’s food first — some buttered Spaghetti, Green beans and carrots ($4) and the Cornmeal crusted calamari ($8) with a sweet tomato sauce, greens and pickled jalapenos. My friend’s daughter is a bit more adventurous… my son wouldn’t touch the calamari; we all loved it though. It was tender, the sauce was well balanced — with just a touch of heat — and the cornmeal added a nice texture, without being too crunchy or overtaking the delicate calamari.
——————————–
New perspective… it’s now the next day. I didn’t finish my post last night. 
For dinner, both the Husband and I went with Grilled portobello mushroom with porcini and butternut squash risotto ($16), with shaved Romano cheese and white truffle oil. It was fabulous. We both loved it equally. The risotto was rich (but not too much), well-cooked, savory and the sweetness of the butternut squash added a nice balance and burst of flavor. I also switched to a Sauvignon Blanc, Cape Indaba, South Africa 2007 ($7), with my meal — which was a really nice wine.
My girlfriend got the Oven roasted cod Catalan ($23), with tomato, olives and apricot ragout, roasted potatoes and green beans. She said it was very good… she loved it. It looked and smelled delicious. The Husband tasted it and agreed.
We opted out of dessert because the kids were cooked and we were stuffed. Overall, a great meal (as usual) and very good service — especially considering the very awake and active kids we had in tow. Even though the title of this post suggests that Masona Grill may not be kid-friendly, it definitely is. The owner himself has three young daughters — whose beautiful black and white portraits grace his walls — and has specifically told us that kids are very welcome.
A few tips re: bringing kids include… the place is quiet, small and cozy — so if you child needs lots of room to run, this is not the place for you. Also, all drinks are served in bar glasses without lids. So if your kid requires a fitted lid with a straw… bring your own cup. They menu choices are slightly limited for children… with no french fries or other kid-friendly nibbles. We requested buttered noodles (since spaghetti appears on the “cafe menu”, which is served from 5 to 6:30pm) and the staff happily obliged. I am not 100% certain if they have high-chairs, but there are bench seats… so you can do as we did and just barricade the kids in.
Lastly, Masona Grill is having (what sounds like) a wonderful Mother’s Day Brunch (from 11am to 7pm). For this event, I would definitely expect other kids to be present. We may even be there ourselves — 3-yo included. The menu sounds very yummy… especially the Eggs Masona, two poached eggs with toasted cornbread, avocado puree and hollandaise — for $9. I think I may book my reservations soon!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: American, Kid Friendly, South American, West Roxbury | 3 Comments »
Posted by The Fly on April 25, 2008
Unfortunately we had a babysitter cancellation issue — so no date night. We’re still heading to Oishii tomorrow night though, so look for the review this weekend.
However, maybe we should stay away from sushi… seeing how WBZ is reporting that tuna sushi tested from several local restaurants (including high-end ones) had mercury levels higher than acceptable/healthy. They’re not naming names though… dammit.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: Food News, Sushi | Leave a Comment »
Posted by The Fly on April 25, 2008
No, I shouldn’t say that. Masona Grill (in West Roxbury) is definitely kid friendly… it’s just that MY kid is not always “restaurant-friendly”. Granted, I have a healthy buzz going right now, so in addition to making phenomenal typos (I’m sure), I may also be *exaggerating* a little. The 3-yo is a good kid. He’s funny, he’s dynamic, he’s full of energy… (read: hyperactive). I just hate it when my kid doesn’t listen, when he crawls under the table, when he climbs over my back — trying to get to the other 3-yo and when he eats the salt directly out of the shaker. Aside from that, we had a great meal and a good time… and the staff was very forgiving of the chaos we created.
The husband, myself, a girlfriend and two 3-yo’s all decided last minute to head down to Masona Grill for a little dinner. I called down (at 6:30 on a Friday night) and despite the fact that they had a mostly full restaurant and a bunch of people coming in at 7 (including a wheel chair), they made some adjustments, pushed some tables together and told us to ‘come on down’ (we only live a mile away).
Our table was ready when we arrived so we were seated immediately. We ordered our drinks (Mojitos) and the kid’s food first — some buttered Spaghetti, Green beans and carrots ($4) and the Cornmeal crusted calamari ($8) with a sweet tomato sauce, greens and pickled jalapenos. My friend’s daughter is a bit more adventurous… my son wouldn’t touch the calamari; we all loved it though. It was tender, the sauce was well balanced — with just a touch of heat — and the cornmeal added a nice texture, without being too crunchy or overtaking the delicate calamari.
——————————–
New perspective… it’s now the next day. I didn’t finish my post last night.
For dinner, both the Husband and I went with Grilled portobello mushroom with porcini and butternut squash risotto ($16), with shaved Romano cheese and white truffle oil. It was fabulous. We both loved it equally. The risotto was rich (but not too much), well-cooked, savory and the sweetness of the butternut squash added a nice balance and burst of flavor. I also switched to a Sauvignon Blanc, Cape Indaba, South Africa 2007 ($7), with my meal — which was a really nice wine.
My girlfriend got the Oven roasted cod Catalan ($23), with tomato, olives and apricot ragout, roasted potatoes and green beans. She said it was very good… she loved it. It looked and smelled delicious. The Husband tasted it and agreed.
We opted out of dessert because the kids were cooked and we were stuffed. Overall, a great meal (as usual) and very good service — especially considering the very awake and active kids we had in tow. Even though the title of this post suggests that Masona Grill may not be kid-friendly, it definitely is. The owner himself has three young daughters — whose beautiful black and white portraits grace his walls — and has specifically told us that kids are very welcome.
A few tips re: bringing kids include… the place is quiet, small and cozy — so if you child needs lots of room to run, this is not the place for you. Also, all drinks are served in bar glasses without lids. So if your kid requires a fitted lid with a straw… bring your own cup. They menu choices are slightly limited for children… with no french fries or other kid-friendly nibbles. We requested buttered noodles (since spaghetti appears on the “cafe menu”, which is served from 5 to 6:30pm) and the staff happily obliged. I am not 100% certain if they have high-chairs, but there are bench seats… so you can do as we did and just barricade the kids in.
Lastly, Masona Grill is having (what sounds like) a wonderful Mother’s Day Brunch (from 11am to 7pm). For this event, I would definitely expect other kids to be present. We may even be there ourselves — 3-yo included. The menu sounds very yummy… especially the Eggs Masona, two poached eggs with toasted cornbread, avocado puree and hollandaise — for $9. I think I may book my reservations soon!
Posted in American, Kid Friendly, South American, West Roxbury | 3 Comments »
Posted by The Fly on April 25, 2008
Unfortunately we had a babysitter cancellation issue — so no date night. We’re still heading to Oishii tomorrow night though, so look for the review this weekend.
However, maybe we should stay away from sushi… seeing how WBZ is reporting that tuna sushi tested from several local restaurants (including high-end ones) had mercury levels higher than acceptable/healthy. They’re not naming names though… dammit.
Posted in Food News, Sushi | Leave a Comment »
