Fasika
I know that it’s been a long time since I’ve posted. Damn laziness…
Anyway, today’s post is about Fasika. I really like this place, but most comments that I read on chowhound give it not so good marks. I don’t get it… And, I find that many like Addis Red Sea for Ethiopian food. I find Addis Red Sea to be pretty bland (and quite a bit more expensive) when compared to Fasika.
Anyway, 3 of us went with a restaurant.com coupon. We ate a lot, drank a bit, left a very good tip, and spent about $16 each.
Our favorite dishes were the Ayeb Be-Gomen (homemade cottage cheese w/ collared greens, herbs, & spices), Kitfo (raw minced beef in spices), Ye-Beg Alicha (cubed lamb in a turmeric sauce), & Doro Wot (chicken in a berbere sauce). All the vegetable dishes were enjoyable, but, on that day, the lamb and chicken really stood out.
Somerville, ethiopian\
I’ve been hearing about Wang’s Fast Food for years. And, as a dumpling addict, I have no excuse for not going sooner (besides the fact that I rarely go to Somerville). Since I couldn’t remember which type of dumpling were supposed to be the best, we got an order of the Shrimp & Pork ($5.50) and the Pork & Leek ($5.25). There are 12 dumplings in an order so it is a pretty good deal. However, the best deal is to get an order of 50 frozen dumplings ($11-$13) to cook at home. (There are many ways to cook the dumplings. I usually boil them for about 5 minutes and than pan fry them until the bottoms are nice and a little bit brown.)
Verdict: Delicious dumplings!
Cheap, Chinese, Somerville
Cheap, Chinese, dumplings, pot stickers, Somerville
I thought that I posted about Guru ages ago, but after looking through my archive, I see that I didn’t. So, this post is based on a meal that I had many months ago.
Guru is a catering business that opens their doors to the public for a few hours everyday. They also offer a lunch delivery service (see their website for more information).
Their menu is pretty small since it consists of a few daily selections along with a handful of specials. We decided to split a Lamb Biryani ($9) which was delicious. It is the second best biryani that I have ever had (the best is at Kabab & Tandoor in Waltham). Guru’s raita (yogurt sauce) really enhances the taste of their biryani so you might want to ask for a little extra.
Verdict: Quite tasty! I need to try their other dishes.
Cheap, Indian, Somerville
Cheap, Indian, Somerville
Thanks to this Chowhound post, I found out that Tapatio has re-opened after last year’s fire. I was tempted to try one of their larger plates of either fried chicken or beef, but PK and I decided to go with variety so we could sample many things.
We had three tacos ($1.75/each), a papusa ($1.75/each), an enchilada, plantains, and a sweet corn soup. I don’t remember how much the last three items cost, but our bill was about $12.
Everything was delicious. I think the steak taco was the highlight. While getting to Somerville from JP can be a pain, this meal was worth it. They definitely have the best tacos in town. (My second favorite is Taqueria El Amigo in Waltham.)
Vedict: Go there now!
Cheap, Somerville
Cheap, Somerville
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.
Somerville, Thai, noodles
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. 
Brazilian, Somerville, churrasco
It has been over a year since Fasika left its South Huntington location and relocated to Somerville, and it was not until last month that I finally made it out there.
Even though I am still sad that they moved, I was glad to find out that the food is still delicious and cheap. We started with a Ayeb Begomen (homemade cottage cheese with collared greens, herbs, and spices; $3.50) and a few Sambosas.
Three of us split the two person combination platter ($20.95) which consisted of four vegetarian and three meat dishes. Stupidly, I can’t find the piece of paper where I wrote down what we ordered. (I do remember that we did have the Kitfo, spicy lamb, chicken with tumeric…) It doesn’t matter since almost everything was fantastic. The only item that was left virtually untouched was the lentil dish.
Verdict: New location, same delicious food.
Somerville, ethiopian\
Someone told me that the Margaritas at Rudy’s Café were good. That person also told me that you can get a $10 off coupon for $1.50 on restaurant.com. Of course, that was enough for PK and I to be convinced to give it a try.
I have to point out that I really do not like Tex-Mex, but the drinks and the coupon were enough to make me forget that. We started off with two Margaritas, the Tradicional ($5.48) and the Calientes ($6.19). These were both quite good, but could have used more alcohol. The Calientes actually had a really good jalapeno kick to it. We asked if they infused their own tequila, but they don’t…
The food was another story. The Chile con Queso ($5.95) was almost pure liquid, and had no flavor. The Fish Tacos (about $10) were a bit better. The fry was decent and the flavor was okay…However, as you can see from the picture, there was an absurd amount of iceberg lettuce. In all, the dish hovered around mediocre at best.
Oh, as to the ambiance, it felt like I was in the suburbs eating at a chain Tex-Mex place.
Verdict: Good margaritas, not so good food.
Somerville, Tex-Mex
PK & I finally checked out Tacos Lupita. It is sort of pathetic that it took us so long to go there after hearing so many good things about it over the years.
We ordered three tacos (carne asada de res, al pastor, and pollo; $1.99 each). All were fantastic. I think that I liked the pork taco the best.
We also got a Mulitas stuffed with al pastor ($3.25). This was the highlight. While it seems to be a close relative of the quesadilla, the mulitas consisted of two thick corn tortillas stuffed with cheese and pork.
We also ordered a tamale and an horchata. While both were quite tasty, they were not exceptional.
Verdict: Fantastic!
El Salvadoran, Somerville
Within a span of just a few weeks, PK and I went to the Somerville and the Brookline Greek Fests. Here is a quick rundown.
Ambiance: Both were crowded with loud Greek music–Tie
Liquor: Both fests served plastic glasses that were filled to the top with red wine–Tie!
Food (not counting the Gyros): Both places had a good variety. I did not try enough at Brookline to compare the two fests in this category. I was disappointed that the taramosalata at Brookline was not homemade.
From Brookline:
Gyros: Somerville’s Gyros line was very long, but well worth the wait due to the conversation, the liquor counter located nearby, and the people walking by with samples of various dishes from the kitchen. When it was finally our turn, we got tons of lamb right off the spit for $6. This is by far the best gyros that I have had in the Boston area. On the other hand, the Brookline fest’s gyros consisted of frozen pre-formed pieces of “gyros” that were thrown on the grill. I wish that I noticed this before I ordered since this was a waste of $6. The obvious winner here is Somerville.
From Brookline:
From Somerville (sorry about the horrible picture):
Loukamathes: They were outstanding at both places, but Brookline has a bit of an edge due to the extra crispiness.
Verdict: Somerville wins!
Brookline, Greek, Somerville