L’Impasto – So Real It’s Unreal / So Real E ‘Unreal

May 19th, 2012

Location: Cambridge, MA

The Foodie: Recommends

So real, so authentic, this review is being posted in both English and Italian (the Google translate dialect, or Googlielmo of course). The review will read like a gangsta ride or die anthem but that’s because the grubbolo here is so good they should require an initiation. Are you a (tomato) blood, or a (Roman) crypt?

  • Run by a real life Roman owner who also mans the kitchen single-handedly each night

  • Too real for a website. The web is for posers.
  • Serving real traditional pasta dishes, salads, and a few pizza selections
  • The pasta is the real deal shit – house-made. From lasagnas to bucatini to ravioli.
  • The bread is the real deal shit – house-baked and beautiful. From light focaccia, to dense olive. All breads are also sold separately by the loaf for a real good price.
  • Our meal was the real shit – Real Burrata with prosciutto, sweet roasted peppers, fig balsamic.

  • Real bucatini (thick, hollow noodles) with small chunky morcels of pancetta and white wine tomato sauce.
  • Real, miraculously thin and delicate ravioli filled with tomato and mozz and swimming in some real pesto.

The only slightly-less-than-real aspect of eating here was that we weren’t slurping down flasks of house red or white wine during the experience (no liquor license yet). I’ll chalk that up to the “quirk” in my formula for what makes a good Italian joint (simple + fresh + quirky).

L’impasto is real. L’impasto is legit. More reasonably-priced quality real Italian food on this side of the Charles? L’impossible.

Ride or die!!!

Not a bong, fool. Evoo and Balsamic.

===============================Translation ===================================

Così reale, così autentica, questa revisione è stato scritto in inglese e in italiano (il dialetto Google translate, o Googlielmo naturalmente). La revisione potrà essere letto come un giro gangsta o morire inno, ma questo è perché il grubbolo qui è così bene che dovrebbe richiedere una iniziazione. Sei un (pomodoro) del sangue, o un (romano) cripta?

  • Gestito da una reale proprietario vita romana, che equipaggia anche la cucina da sola ogni notte
  • Di servizio veri e propri primi piatti tradizionali, insalate, pizze e una scelta di pochi
  • Troppo reale per un sito web. Il web è per posers.
  • La pasta è la merda vero affare – fatti in casa. Dalle lasagne al bucatini ai ravioli.
  • Il pane è la merda vero affare – casa cotto e bello. Dalla luce focaccia, denso di olive. Tutti i tipi di pane sono venduti anche separatamente dal pane ad un prezzo veramente bene.
  • Il nostro pasto era la vera merda – Burrata reali con prosciutto, peperoni arrostiti, fig balsamiche.
  • Reale bucatini (pasta di spessore, cavi) con piccoli morcels grosso di salsa al vino bianco e pomodoro, pancetta.
  • Real, ravioli miracolosamente sottili e delicate piene di pomodoro e mozz e nuoto in qualche reale pesto.

L’unico aspetto un po ‘-meno-che-reale di mangiare qui era che non eravamo giù slurping fiaschi di casa, vino bianco o rosso durante l’esperienza. Io gesso che fino alla “stranezza” nella mia formula per ciò che rende un buon italiano comune (semplice + fresco + stravagante).
L’impasto è reale. L’impasto è legit. Più qualità a prezzi ragionevoli vero cibo italiano su questo lato del Charles? L’impossibile.
Ride or Die!

Posted in Cambridge, Date Spots, Italian | Comments Off

Bad Polish Cyber Food

May 11th, 2012

Dear Readers:

Along with lots of other blogs, this website was recently hacked by an unhappy person from Poland. My heart goes out to people who choose to spend their days in a dark basement listening to techno and trying to wreak cyber-annoyance across the web. The problem hit many innocent bloggers. My sincere apologies if you tried to access the site from Facebook, Google Search results, or other search engines and were re-routed to bogus web pages.

I have been assured that all malicious code has been removed and we are continuously monitoring the site to ensure everything is secure. The problem now appears to be fixed but to avoid any potential issues please try to access the Foodie directly or using your bookmarks. Also make sure you have antivirus software installed.

Your regularly scheduled programming will resume shortly – I’ve got  Italian food, pastries, sammiches, and fine dining reviews coming your way soon.

Keep eating,

Nick

 

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off

Dwelltime – Coffee Nerds, Your Time Has Come

May 6th, 2012

http://dwelltimecambridge.com/

Location: Cambridge, MA

The Foodie: Strongly Recommends

Dwelltime was conjured up during a coffee geek’s wet dream.

Here’s what has many a bean baron waking up with soiled sheets:

  • An espresso machine that looks like it was jettisoned from a lunar spacecraft. That would be the La Marzocco Strada EP they are rocking up in here. This thing seriously looked like it was pimped-out by a tatted-wife-beater-rocking car detailing specialist rather than a bespectacled old Italian man in a small Florence-based workshop. One version of this machine goes for the price of a small car ($15,000) so I guess that makes sense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • In other coffee-gadgetry, Dwelltime makes their brewed coffee via the pour-over method utilizing a unique auto-drip device that looks similarly Martian. Pretty cool.

Take me to your leader...

  • The final piece of café-wizardry happening here (and the one I’m most excited about) is the legit tap for  “cold brew” iced coffee that will be chilled constantly. The “Dwellers” (as staff here are presumably called) are even promising “barrel-aged” cold brew as well. Who needs their local pub anymore?

What's on tap?

All this futuristic coffee gear is housed in a very attractive space complete with tiled ceiling, brick walls, sexy copper-plated bar…just an all-around cool spot. Check it:

I’ve saved the most important part for last – how was the friggin’ espresso you ask? Well, in a word, heavenly. I wouldn’t expect any different from the kind chums at Barismo in Arlington who are behind this operation. You’ll find what must be every variety of their locally-roasted outstanding beans for sale. My quadruple latte (the lattes come in one size) was silky-smooth and very enjoyable. I’d say these guys are in the running for the top three lattes in the Boston area judging from the first sip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dwelltime is the café for baristas, coffee roasters, and all-around Arabica fiends. If you had any doubt up until this point that coffee appreciation and roasting technique in this country was nearing the fine craft and artistry of wine-making and craft beer, that doubt is no more.

Coffee nerds – your time has come. Dwell in it.

Posted in Cambridge, Coffee, Top 3 Lattes | No Comments »

Pescatore – Legit Italiano for Less

April 30th, 2012

http://www.pescatoreseafood.com/

Location: Somerville, MA

The Foodie: Recommends

File Pescatore in with the other great Italian restaurants that are not in the North End.

I’m slowly building a case to save millions of innocent diners from wasting their money on overpriced grub from Italia, one amazing eatery at a time.

Tucked away on a side street in Ball Square, this intimate little spot has been on my short list of affordable places to get my pasta on for a few years now.

These guys are all about uber-fresh pappardelle, ravioli, and fusilli with (as the name suggests) lots of food from the deep blue sea. Hop in your dinghy, grab some flour, eggs, and a fishing rod and I’ll row you through some of my favorite Pescatore-ian dishes:

  • Fusilli Amalfi – homemade pasta with a veritable fruits de mer of scallops, lobster, and shrimp cooked up with some broccoli rabe.
  • Gnocchi Sorrentino – This dish is painfully good. The gnocchi are as soft as a supple bosom. The lightly creamy tomato-basil sauce is so delightful I would bathe in it. Finally, melty buffalo mozz just puts me over the top with glee. Got to be one of the best gnocchi dishes around for the paltry price of $14.
  • Pappardelle Capri – with noodles as wide and thick as a big booty, arugula, cherry tomatoes, evoo, white wine, garlic and shaved parm, the Capri is another crustacean-inspired beauty of a dish served by the good people at Pescatore.

Gnocchi-riffic

Love those Capris girl

Recently I pontificated (excuse me) on the three common qualities of good Italian restaurants: Simple, Fresh, and Quirky. Here’s how this locale meets the trifecta of all things tutto bene.

  • Simple – No ‘tude here in the cooking at all. Just very well-made dishes with fewer than 10 ingredients.
  • Fresh – Gotta give anybody props for cranking out their own pasta and gnocchi. The fish and shellfish are all fairly good quality as well, not to mention the uniquely tasty homemade sauces up in here.
  • Quirky – the quirk here must be the location. Though the inside is warm and inviting, Pescatore is located in a concrete-exterior building that was probably a former Elks Lodge at the corner of a quiet neighborhood.

I suggest you add Pescatore to your little black book of quality neighborhood Italian joints too. I look forward to rowing by you on your way out here in the future.

Posted in Date Spots, Italian, Somerville | No Comments »

The Painted Burro – That Colorful Donkey Got Moves

April 22nd, 2012

http://www.thepaintedburro.com/

Location: Somerville, MA

The Foodie: Recommends

Its tough to displace a neighborhood mainstay – but the Gargoyle has morphed into a little painted donkey quite well.

The owners of nearby upscale Italian pizzeria and wine bar Posto have proven themselves skilled restaurateurs by branching out into a completely different culinary genre and doing it well.

I’ll walk you through why their new, stylish, “Mexican Kitchen and Tequila Bar” is going to become one of the more popular eateries in Davis (maybe at the risk of cannibalizing foodies from their other spot).

  • Drink menu is twice the size as the food menu. There are countless tequilas, a nice selection of south-of-the-border beers, and a sexy bar area.
  • The house margaritas are a simple yet effective affair made with good tequila and lime juice (skipping the Cointreau). At just 8 bucks these babies are smooth and will please even the most discriminating spirits snob.

  • The tortilla chips. Ohhhh…the tortilla chips. Usually that part of a Mexican meal relegated to being mindlessly devoured by hungry gringos waiting for their mains – the Burro kicks these babies up a notch. These chips come out warm, are well-salted, and are thick while still managing to be light and airy. So delightful we must have gone through nine buckets of the things. I was still clinging to a handful on our way out the door after a huge meal.

  • The Guac. Though not the best I’ve had in town (that award still goes to Ole), the version here is slightly creamy and smooth and still thoroughly enjoyable.

  •  The platos principales. The entrees feature whole fish, rabbit leg, carne asada, a snobby-looking yuppified enchilada stuffed with maitake mushrooms and goat cheese, and a drool-inducing short rib barbecoa with poblano and Oaxaca grits.
  • Dos tacos. In addition to the aforementioned platos, the Burro is passionate about tacos judging by a selection of soft tortillas filled with things like chorizo, gulf shrimp, pork ‘cochinita,’ skirt steak, and my favorite – crispy Maine redfish. Though I loved my redfish with cabbage/jalapeno slaw and baja sauce – I was less impressed by the other tacos ordered by my fellow table chums.

The Burro is a welcome addition to the square as Davis continues to maintain a fine veneer of loveable piss-soaked college bars while becoming a breeding-ground for yuppie-friendly fun and games. I wonder what’s next for the Posto-Burro team…are they going Asian? South African? French?  Time will tell.

Mi nombre es Ryan. I bebe como el diablo.

Posted in Date Spots, Somerville, Upscale Mexican | No Comments »

Craigie on Main – The Burger.

April 15th, 2012

www.craigieonmain.com

Location: Cambridge, MA

The Foodie: Strongly Recommends

I am a man who loves the down-home comfort of a well-made burger. When I spend any significant amount of time abroad, the one Amuurican dish I crave is a nice succulent meat patty. When I tuck into a good burger all sorts of pleasure zones light up in my brain, my entire body fills with warmth, and images of childhood cookouts flicker around me.

For the experience highlighted above, I keep coming back to places like R.F. O’Sullivans, but I definitely enjoy a higher-end gourmet burger as much as the next b-snob.

But a “haute” burger still needs to stay true to its roots as traditional comfort food. It still needs to bring me close to tears with childhood nostalgia and blanket me in a warm tingle.

Too often, an upscale joint will pack their burger so full of foie gras it becomes unrecognizable…or they’ll invent some crazy sauce that distracts from the experience, or they’ll serve it on a croissant or French toast or some wacky shit like that.

MY MESSAGE TO UPSCALE BURGER INVENTORS – DON’T GET TOO DISTRACTED BY POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE. STAY TRUE TO YOUR ROOTS. BE LIKE CRAIGIE.

I was initially lured by Boston Burger Blog’s bold claim that this was the best burger in Boston.

Finally, the elusive Craigie Burger came within range of my bite. And I loved it. Some C.B. Facts:

  • Only served at the bar, bar tables, and for brunch. They are strict about this.
  • Limited quantity – so come for an early dinner Tues-Thurs or hit Craigie for brunch
  • It’s one of the most costly burger meals you’ll eat around – but worth twice what you spend.
  • The burger is life changing – featuring small-farm cheddar, a perfect house-made bun, mace ketchup, and nicely salted steak fries
  • The burger patty is reportedly loaded with every chef’s secret trick you could think of. I’d go into it more, but you’re better off just enjoying the burger in ignorant bliss.
  • Pay a few bucks extra to add the house-smoked bacon. Totally worth it.

BEHOLD:

BAM!

 

A PEEK INSIDE...

 

Craigie manages to deliver a luscious pimped-out posh burger – taking just the right amount of risk and creativity to make it their own while remaining true to what a burger really is: soul-warming, child-reducing, heart-pleasing goodness that encompasses all of humanity and inspires world peace.

Posted in Cambridge, Top 10 Boston Burgers | No Comments »

Gran Gusto – Simple, Fresh, Quirky

April 13th, 2012

http://www.grangustocambridge.com/

Location: Cambridge, MA

The Foodie: Recommends

I love a good example of fine Italian food served as far away from the North End as possible.

Gran Gusto is one of those examples, judging by the food at least.

Despite the fact that you get that eerie feeling that you’re a tourist in the Little Italy of “Name-Your-American-Metropolis” while eating here; that our waiter was soooo over-the-top it sounded like he was a hired actor; that the chef annoyingly appeared on the Martha Stewart Show –

These guys really can cook. And I truly believe that all good Italian restaurants have three common characteristics, which were all met by Gusto’s formula:

  1. Simple
  2. Fresh
  3. Quirky

Lo’ and behold, my boys at Gusto presented a nice menu of fresh, classic, simple Italian dishes for reasonable prices –pimping dishes like:

  • “Per Iniziare” that included Antipasto, Octopus, and a pant-tightening Beef Carpaccio with spinach, artichoke and aged balsamic
  • Several pasta specialties that lean towards the sea (think cockles, mussels, shrimp, lobster)
  • LE PIZZE – A nice selection of traditional pies made with truly remarkable dough that is tantalizingly soft and soul-warming

I ordered a special salad of the night that was a lovely mixture of arugula, citrus dressing, bresaola, and shaved parmesan, followed by the Caprese Pizze (simply buffalo mozz, cherry tomatoes and basil). Swirled all that around with a unique wine from Sardinia and I was a happy man.

MARVEL AT MY MEAL:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gusto is a solid option for grub from the boot-shaped empire and you can tell the owners know their simple, fresh, quirky shit.

Come for the food, be amused by the ambiance.

Posted in Cambridge, Italian | No Comments »

Saloon – Best Not Be Comin’ To These Here Parts

April 6th, 2012

http://www.saloondavis.com/

Location: Somerville, MA

The Foodie: Does Not Recommend

8:00PM. Saturday Night.

We’re at Foundry on Elm. “Uh, is Saloon in here somewhere?”

“We get that a lot – try two doors down, by the lamp post”

Descending a flight of stairs, I expected to see a tumbleweed and a few ole timers sipping on sarsaparilla (mixed with high-end whiskey of course).

On the contrary – this place was packed wall-to-wall like a Faneuil Hall joint. Also like your favorite amateur hang-out, they also had one of those annoying tall douchebags rudely telling people where to stand to clear the way for servers.

From here on – nothing about the food was particularly bad, but then again nothing was better than the 20 other gastropubs in town. I mean, the formula is well-known at this point:

  • Put together a big whiskey list
  • Make sure you have a Pretty Things beer on tap
  • Throw some pork belly on the menu
  • Dim the lights

Sounds easy right? Whereas other g-pubs in town do it well (and Citizen is the gold standard in my opinion), I’ve never thought Foundry or their new baby Saloon completely nail it.

For example:

  • Beer menu could be spruced up a bit
  • Did you see how small the pork belly dish was?
  • Quotes from others at my table: “The steak was a mess,” “It was just OK,” “Who grabbed my ass?”

The one dish that received praise from our group of outlaws was the meat pie…but I still don’t think it was good enough to save the day, sheriff.

So, like Foundry on Elm, Saloon is really better for a couple drinks – skip the food spread. Looks like plenty of peeps are cool with that though given the reg’lar crowds at both spots.

In the words of Clint Eastwood after this scene – I’ve had better.

viagra

Posted in Gastropubs, Somerville | No Comments »

RJ Gourmet – Colonizing East Cambridge with Good Coffee

March 30th, 2012

http://www.facebook.com/rjgourmet?sk=wall&filter=2

Location: Cambridge, MA

The Foodie: Recommends

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, the Europeans once thought the earth was flat, like the Cantabrigians thought that East Cambridge would never have decent coffee.

Then there was Columbus, and La Marzocco.

RJ Gourmet sailed in a couple months ago on an espresso ship piled high with quality Barismo brew and a brand spanking new Marzocco machine.

The experience here is about good coffee, plain and simple. A few chairs and tables (Ten Tables would be proud), a small storefront, a couple dudes, an espresso machine and an iPad and you’ve got yerself a coffeeshop…

But what really sets these guys apart is just damn quality espresso drinks and solid technique. I’ve settled on a quad latte (they pull doubles) and have loved every minute of every drink I’ve guzzled down.

I really wish RJ all the best blazing new trails in this part of town – its sort of like Plymouth Bean trying to lure in enough countrymen to form a small coffee colony…or is this analogy sort of done?

In any case, thanks for your patience. And try RJ soon!

Posted in Cambridge, Coffee | No Comments »

Journeyman – Simplicity, Complexity, Surprise, Abstraction, Travel, and Life

March 24th, 2012

http://www.journeymanrestaurant.com/

Location: Somerville, MA

The Foodie: Strongly Recommends

Life is a journey. The path isn’t always clear but sometimes we’re provided clues along the way. Just when we think we’ve experienced it all – something new comes along to surprise and bring us back to the present.

Enter Journeyman.

As if to say “We’ve seen the Way, and are putting it on a menu,” Journeyman presents just two simple options of a five or seven course tasting, with just cursory descriptions of each dish like:

But in reality, you end up floored with all kinds of gastronomical gotchas in each of those haiku-esque menu items, like:

  • When we said XO Sauce, we meant house-made XO Sauce painstakingly cared for over the course of 6 months with house-cured bresaola and shrimp oil.
  • Notice: your first dish is called “Alliums.” Curious? That’s the name for the onion genus. You’re going to get onions deconstructed countless ways on your plate, and yes, there will be caramelized onion ice cream.
  • So, if we put “Lamb” on your plate it will typically be accompanied by a lamb foie gras mousse
  • Oh, yeah, and by “goat cheese” we meant a light fluffy goat cheese mousse-like creation
  • Did we write just “Steak” on the menu? Silly us, that is cooked sous-vide,  tender-as-hell
  • P.S. when we title your dessert “Bergamot” that means we made bergamot ice cream

You may also find yourself transported across multiple continents and religious gatherings with each passing plate, like:

  • A Jewish family living room in Manhattan for Yom Kippur (Amuse bouche of house-smoked salmon, a deconstructed egg custard mixture  and hard boiled quail egg)
  • Tea time in a London hotel (Bergamot ice cream, orange-infused cake, toffee and walnut)
  • A bagel shop on the Lower East Side (Allium starter that came together like the most decadent everything bagel with onion cream cheese)
  • A Shanghai street corner food cart (Soft rice, black bean sauce, seared tender octopus, house-made XO sauce)

Travel with me for a few minutes:

YOM KIPPUR

ALLIUM

OCTOPUS

LAMB

STEAK

As you may have noticed, they do things differently here – and you are guaranteed to leave having tried something you’ve never seen or tasted before. And I say that as a bartender climbs a wooden ladder to pick fresh herbs from the wall-sized garden that hangs at the restaurant window-front.

Posted in Contemporary American, Molecular, Somerville | No Comments »

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