Delightful (and Disastrous) Culinary Experiments!
Neillio’s Gourmet Kitchen, Lexington MA (map)
Turkey Terrific, is the name of the sandwich that’s simply amazing. Thick slices of freshly cooked turkey breast, homemade stuffing, cranberry sauce, and mayo all goes into the bread of your choice. The seeded italian bread is a good choice because it’s big and rugged enough to hold in the all the sandwich ingredients.
You can see their menu here.
Sound Bites, Ball Square Somerville (map)
I had a chance to catch up with an ex-coworker of mine on this rainy Saturday morning at the always fantastic Sound Bites. A place where the line out the door is always long while the wait isn’t. Even though they want you in and out as quick as humanly possible, their brunch items are to die for.
My usual selection would either be 2^3 Royale or Banana Nut Cakes, but not today. Not today my friend. Today I felt adventurous and orders the Golden Grill, which is described as
A most popular combination. Corn muffin, grilled. Two eggs, Canadian bacon & HomeFries
I mean, who can say no to grilled corn muffin?
Our plates arrive in about 5 minutes, which is followed by 10 minutes of overwhelming satisfaction and dancing tastebuds. I don’t think I need to say more, but definitely go when you get a chance.
Sugar & Spice, Porter Sqaure (map)
The atmosphere is pretty nice and the food is standard. Not too wow, not bad either.
I ordered the Pla Rad Pik, which is described as tempura cod with three flavor sauce. Not sure how one can achieve three flavors in one single sauce. Maybe some sort of enlightenment? Being a seafood snob, I usually dislike fried fish since it removes the true taste of fish. This dish was alright, wasn’t too impressed.
My company had the Avocado Curry, which was described as chicken, avocado, and mixed vegetables. The curry was a bit runny and did not have the wonderful texture of thicker curry.
Cafe Mami, Porter Exchange Mall (map & review)
The food is always good here, hands down! I went to Cafe Mami after a game of squash today (of which I got killed), where I ordered the Teriyaki Chicken Set for $8.00. It comes on a sizzling hot plate and as much steamed rice as you want. If you’re not in the mood for sweet stuff, try one of the curry dishes or hambuger dishes.
Man, this stuff is good, healthy, and simple. And if you know me, all those things combined into one is definitely worthy! Only three ingredients on the list: Organic Whole Grain Wheat, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Flavor.
In this case, less is definitely more.
Martsa on Elms, Davis Square (map)
The first time I went to this Tibetan restaurant was about 6 months ago, and I loved the food. I also got a kick out of appearing on their menu as ‘Tingmo’, which is a type of bread that they serve up. But I was vastly disappointed when I revisited Martsa this past week. The food was a little too greasy, and lacked the taste and presentation that I would’ve expected.
La Luna Cafe, Central Square (map)
Quiet, small cafe that serves up tasty panini sandwiches and garden salad. Great place for a quick lunch or maybe an evening date where you’d like to have a good conversation with the other person.
An easy-to-make vege dish that’s a favorite at any authentic Chinese restaurants.
Ingredients
Preparation & Cooking
Thoroughly wash and rinse the peapod stems, leave aside to drain. Heat about 1 tablespoon of oil in a frying pan until its hot enough for cooking, usually indicated by bubbling when you tough the tip of a chopstick to the oil on the surface of the pan. Drop in the minced garlic and let it cook for about 10 secs, should smell pretty good right about now. Drop in the peapod stems and sprinkle a pince kosher salt. The salt does a great job in bringing out the flavor of the peapod stems and the garlic. Adjust amount of salt to your own taste.
This dish is done when the peapod stems take on a brilliant light green color.
An old classic created by my mom, tweaked by me. Good for your soul and great for the cold Winter months.