About two Saturdays ago, PK and I were craving a small meal and a few drinks. We couldn’t decide where to go. I was pushing for Spring Blossom, but PK wasn’t in the mood for it. After skimming some recent Chowhound posts, we decided to head to Townsends.
We got there around 8PM. The place was pretty full, but we were lucky to find two seats at the bar. Townsends has a great draft beer selection! We both started with an IPA. I got one by Stone and PK got the Dogfish. We decided to have a slow meal, ordering a dish at a time. We stuck with the sides and the pub menu. (Sorry for the crappy pictures that do not do the food justice–the lighting was way too low for my camera phone).
We got:
Poutine with chicken gravy and sharp cheddar cheese ($6)
Something that I cannot remember (and it is not listed on their online menu). I think that it included lightly fried salmon, shrimp, & pate.
Brussel sprouts with pancetta ($5)
Everything was really tasty. A warning for you Poutine lovers: their Poutine isn’t authentic, but it was enjoyable so I’m not complaining. I really liked the rosemary in the gravy.
For dessert, we ordered Banana Bread Pudding with bourbon caramel ($6) along with one of their homemade truffles. These were great. And, while I’m not normally a dessert person, I know that I will be getting the bread pudding again.
The atmosphere at Townsends was amazing. This was due to both the wonderful bartenders and the friendly people sitting on either side of us.
Verdict: While I feel that we did not order enough to really evaluate their food, I’m confident recommending this place based on what little we had. I can’t wait to go back and eat a real meal there.
I can’t believe that I haven’t posted about Bay Sweets Market before. It’s the main reason why I don’t mind heading out on the VFW Parkway to run errands. It’s located pretty much across the street from the Shaw’s on Spring Street in West Roxbury. I’ve passed by this place so many times, but I never noticed it until about a year ago. (I have no idea how I missed the giant sign advertising “Middle Eastern Food.”) This place is set up like a small corner store, and the aisles are packed with Middle Eastern grocery items. They also have tons of sweets (including a pretty good baklava) and fresh baked goods. Every time I drive by, I always have to pick up a few Kibby ($1.25/ea).
Other favorites include the Meat Pies ($1.25/ea or 12 for $13),
Sambausik ($.75/ea),
and the Cheese Boat ($1/ea).
On my last visit, I picked up a ball of soft cheese (around $3). When I asked what the best way to eat this was, the woman at the counter told me that it goes best with tomatoes and oil. She was right, it was terrific.
They also carry sandwiches, but I haven’t tried them yet.
Verdict: One of my favorite places!
About 2 weeks ago, PK and decided to slowly make our way to the Arlington Greek Fest. On our way, we got a few good yard sale scores. ( I picked up a Victrola VV-XIfor $10!) This was our first Greek Fest of the season so we were looking forward to some good Gyros and Lamb directly from the Spit (Arlington is one of the few fest that I know of that does this). Unfortunately, the Gyros were the crap frozen patties so we decided to head to the spit where we were told that it would be an hour until the lamb was ready.
We decided to pass the time with a couple bottles of Mythos and a Loukaniko (Greek sausage). The sausage was great. When we finished, the lamb wasn’t ready so we got a few more bottles of Mythos. Then, just as we were about to head over to the desert table for the Loukamathes, the lamb was off the grill. It was worth the wait, but a bit pricey at $16.
Verdict: A nice start to the season, but I can’t wait until the Somerville Greek Fest. (And, I’m sad that I missed the Watertown Greek Fest last weekend.)
I was near Mt Auburn St. in Watertown so I knew that I had no choice but to go to Sevan’s to pick up some Taramasalata (along with some other treats). I was planning on getting my lunch there, but a sign hanging outside Jasmine got my attention.
I was hoping that the lunch special would include their lamb kebab, but no luck, it’s just for the beef kebab, chicken kebab, veggie platter, and chicken shwarma. While $6.99 is not an amazing deal for a kebab, rice, hummus, and a small salad (since many other delicious places have similar plates for about the same price– such as Samias), it is definitely good enough.
I decided to get the beef kebab. The kebab was great (but I do like the lamb kebab a lot more) and the rice was tasty, but I found their hummus to be just okay.
Verdict: I really like this place!
I decided that it’s time for eatanddestroy to start Twittering. A few times a week, I am going to use Twitter to talk about what I am eating or what I am thinking about eating. So, if you care about the food that is going into my belly, subscribe to my Twitter page. If you don’t want to do that, you can read my most recent Tweets on the sidebar of my blog.
Machu Picchu Charcoal Chicken & Grill
Over the weekend, PK and I went to Machu Picchu Charcoal Chicken & Grill with S & K. We started with a pitcher of Chicla Morada ($7) which is a delicious drink (non-alcoholic) made from purple corn and pineapple. For appetizers, we got the Chocha Peruano (Puruvian corn and cheese; $5.99) and the Yuquitas Fritas ($5.99). The corn and cheese appetizer was interesting, but not worth getting again (only half of this appetizer is in the picture). The yucca fries were fried to perfection, and were served with three tasty dipping sauces. The spicy one was by far the best.
For our main course, K got the Pollo al Estilo (skewers of boneless chicken and yucca fries; $9.99), S got the Costilas de Cerdo (pork ribs; $13.99), I ordered the half chicken with fries and a salad ($8.99), and I forgot the name of the dish that PK got, but I do remember that it was the main pork dish on the menu.
Of all the dishes, the chicken ones were by far the best. The pork was pretty good, but not worth getting again. And, while the pork ribs were pretty big and full of meat, the sauce tasted no better than a cheap grocery store bought BBQ sauce.
Next time I go, I`m going to try one of their sandwiches.
Verdict: While I liked my meal, I will not make the trip from JP just to eat here. It is a great option if you are in the area or are looking for an inexpensive sit down dinner where you can get beer & wine.
On the rare occasion that I crave Buffalo Wings, I know that I have to head to Buff’s Pub. The first time I went to Buff’s was on a Thursday night, and it was packed. All around me, people were drinking pints and eating wings. I am not a fan of crowded bars, but this made me like this place.
Of the handful of times that I have been to Buff’s Pub, their hot wings have almost consistently been fantastic. I have only been disappointed by Buff’s once and that was the last time I went. The wings arrived about two minutes after we ordered them. They had obviously been sitting around for a while. Even though they were a bit dry, they were still tasty (or I was too hungry to care).
The only wings that I have sampled that compare were at some place in Buffalo, NY and Howlers in Schenectady, NY.
Verdict: Best wings in the Boston area (to my knowledge)!
A few days ago, PK and I took the day off and decided to wander around the North End in the afternoon. We sampled many things at several different places. One of the highlights was Artu.
For $8.50, we split the Roast Lamb Panini (which was more like a sub due to the type of bread they use). It was really tasty. The meat was thinly sliced and was topped with marinated eggplant. Even though this is nothing like a Chicago style Italian Beef, there were a few similarities in the taste.
Verdict: I’ve been to Artu for dinner and found it just okay, but for lunch it is a great option.
PK & I walked back and forth in front of Tip Top’s doorway about five times before we decided to go in. I had never heard of the place, but I was hungry and it was right in front of us. With a silly name and a very dark interior, we were not sure if we wanted to eat there. It was early in the afternoon, and we were the only customers. The menu had your typical Thai dishes along with sushi and pho. Since the place calls itself a Noodle Shop, it was easy to narrow down my options. We went for the Dancing Noodles from the specials menu. When the dish came, both PK and I were taken back by the fact that the noodles were penne! However, after we both took a bite, we both started to smile. The dish was good. It was quite spicy and had a nice peanut taste. And, somehow, the penne actually worked.
Verdict: I don’t know about the rest of their food, but I like the Dancing Pasta.
PK and I were wandering around Somerville when we spotted Churrasco Buffet & Grill. Even though we just had a few dumplings at Wang’s Fast Food, we wanted to sample a few things from their grill.
If you want takeout, items from the grill cost $5.50 per pound. If you are going to eat there after 5PM, it’s all you can eat for $9.50. Since we didn’t want much, we decided to go for take out. We ended up with a container filled with beef, pork, pork sausage, and chicken sausage. The guy behind the grill was great, asking us if we wanted fat or no fat, rare or well done, etc. With 11 items on the grill and a pretty big buffet, it was hard to walk out after trying so little.
All the food was fantastic. Of the four items we got, we liked the chicken sausage the least. The pork was fantastic, and after PK tried the beef, she exclaimed, “F*ck this is good!” (She is usually not so explicit when describing what she is eating.)
Due to past experiences at other churrasco places around town, we expected the meats to be dry. We were very very wrong!
Verdict: If you are craving churrasco, skip the trendier places and head here. 
