Brunch at Henrietta's Table

          I recently tried the brunch at Henrietta's Table, something that's been on my list for a long time! I'm not always a fan of buffets since you never know how long the food has been sitting out, but at Henrietta's Table that's definitely not the case! The tables are lined up right along an open kitchen so you can see all of the hot food like eggs being prepared, and there was always someone there to check and refresh dishes as needed as well as answer any questions about ingredients.

           I started with a sparkling rose and the raw bar which included a huge selection of smoked fish, oysters, shrimp, and pates. I may have gone back for seconds thirds before checking out the breakfast station.

          No brunch is complete without eggs benedict, and I grabbed this just as it was coming out. The egg was perfectly runny and the hollandaise was light and made from scratch. The bacon and belgian waffles were also delicious, but my favorite part may have been the maple syrup which was definitely much higher quality than I've had at any other buffet!



          For dessert I tried a sliver of the chocolate cheesecake with some extra garnishes; the shaved white chocolate and chocolate covered strawberry were as good as the cheesecake!



         At $50 per person, the brunch at Henrietta's Table is surprisingly reasonable - especially if you take advantage of the raw bar!

The Sugar Bowl

          The Sugar Bowl is my neighborhood coffee shop, and it's a great place to grab an ice coffee and breakfast on the go or ice cream later in the day.

          They have a ton of fresh bakery items, breakfast sandwiches, healthy alternatives and flavored coffees and coffee drinks. The place is always packed, and definitely has a fun neighborhood feel with old fashioned decor and a room with tons of comfy chairs and couches for relaxing with your coffee!

Sofia Italian Steakhouse

          Sofia is a high end steakhouse and Italian restaurant in West Roxbury worth the short drive out of the city to check out! I went in for dinner recently with the fiance and a friend of ours, and we had a great meal.

Baby Spinach Salad: white balsamic, red onion, frisée, granny smith apple, bacon and shaved Pecorino Romano

Antipasto Platter: salami, capicola, sopressata, bresaola, fresh mozzarella, Grana Padano cheese, asparagus, cured olives

Bruschetta Mozzarella: Tomato and Basil salad with toasted ciabatta bread and fresh mozzarella cheese

Chicken Parmigiana: Lightly breaded with fresh tomato sauce, mozzarella and parmesan cheese over penne

Short Rib Pappardelle: Slow cooked beef short rib, tomatoes and Grana Padano cheese with homemade pappardelle pasta

Lobster & Shrimp Scampi: Fresh lobster and shrimp tossed w/garlic butter and white wine sauce over homemade spaghetti

         The appetizers were incredibly generous portions and the entrees made with fresh pasta; I loved my lobster and shrimp scampi. I hope to make it back in again soon and next time try the steaks!

Committee

          I recently tried Committee in the seaport for dinner and drinks with a friend after work. Committee is a relatively new Mediterranean restaurant with a mix of small tapas style dishes and large plates. We shared several small plates along with a few glasses of wine.

          Some of my favorites included the lamb souvlaki with a lemon tzatziki, grilled octopus with white beans and sun dried tomatoes, shrimp skordo with spankorizo (risotto), green garlic, and lemon and the okra horiatiki a salad with mixed greens, crisp okra, feta, olives, cucumber, and mint.









           I can't wait to check out Committee again now that the weather is starting to get nice. I've heard the cocktails are delicious and the patio is amazing!

Brunch at The Kinsale

          The Kinsale was an old favorite for lunch and drinks after work when I used to work in the neighborhood, so I was excited for the opportunity to try the brunch menu last weekend with Blog and Tweet Boston! I was a sunny day and we sat at a long table right by the window, which opens to a patio in the summer. The room was recently redone and the space was beautiful.

          We started with a cocktail, the French 75, which was light and refreshing - perfect for brunch!

          For my first course I chose the encrusted goat cheese salad with came with fried goat cheese, poached pears, candied nuts, pear chips, and mixed greens all tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette. This was delicious, and easily could have been a meal in itself!

          I opted for the Crab Cake Benedict as my main course, which came with two house made crab cakes with plenty of crab meat topped with two perfectly cooked eggs and just the right amount of hollandaise. Since I already had the salad, I skipped the english muffins and enjoyed the poached eggs over the crab cake. It was a perfect semi-light entree.

          I was too full for dessert but others in my group enjoyed the mud pie and cheesecake, which both looked amazing!

          The food at The Kinsale was even better than I remembered thanks to their new Chef who's given the menu a little bit of an update. Now that the weather is nice, The Kinsale has some fun patio events coming up in addition to their live music, trivia, and $0.25 wing specials! I definitely hope to check some of them out!

McGoo's Pizza

          McGoo's pizza on West Broadway is one of my favorite local spots for pizza. I've stopped by many nights for a slice of the chicken, bacon, ranch pizza and when I moved backed to Southie I enjoyed their bacon pizza along with a bottle of wine from Social for dinner the first night in my new place. 

          It's Italian style with a semi thin crust, and always loaded with plenty of toppings and cheese. They're best known for their "Mcgoostas" or calzones, which I will try one of these days!

Tasting Counter

          I recently had the opportunity to try Tasting Counter in Somerville, a restaurant I'd been dying to try since it opened last year. Tasting Counter is located inside the Aeronaut Brewing Space in Somerville, which is the location for several other local producers including a coffee maker and chocolate producer.

          Tasting Counter is one of the only restaurants in Boston to offer a ticketing system, which is something I'd previously only seen in other cities. You buy a ticket in advance for a set price ($55 for lunch and $150-$165 for dinner) that includes a multi-course meal, beverage pairing (wine, beer, sake, or non-alcoholic), tax, and gratuity. The lunch service is a recent addition, and I was excited to attend a luncheon hosted by the new Beverage Director, Eileen Elliott formerly of Social Wines, my favorite local wine shop. Eileen always recommended amazing wines at Social and I was excited to try her picks at Tasting Counter, which features all natural wines.

          We started with a tour of the space and tasted some great new brews from Aeronaut before sitting down to lunch. Our meal started with this delicious  trio of small welcoming bites.

Welcoming Bites: fluke with sake rice, rhubarb, almond, and black olive,  andocean trout with sesame and grapefruit

          Next was the first course, hand rolled seaweed pasta. Mine was in a delicious (and dairy free) miso broth, while the other guests enjoyed their pasta with lobster custard. This was light and full of fresh flavor.

Rolled Seaweed Pasta with, sea urchin, wakame

          Next was a palate cleanser of Schisandra Berry Tea paired with a pine nut cookie.

Schisandra Tea with a pine nut cookie

          The main course was a miso-torched Hake on a bed of beluga lentils with mushrooms and charred leeks. The light and flaky fish was a perfect contrast with the more rustic and earthy flavors of the lentils and mushrooms.

Miso-torched Hake with enoki and charred leeks on a bed of beluga lentils

          I enjoyed watching the Chefs prepare dessert almost as much as I enjoyed eating it! The rich dark chocolate with preserved orange and green tea sorbet was the perfect way to end the meal.

Chocolate with milk jam, preserved orange, and green tea sorbet

          Except it wasn't the end! Much like the meal began, we were presented with this delicious trio of parting morsels.

Trio of Bonbons: malted coffee meringue | duck liver ice cream chocolate | apple chew

          I loved my lunch at Tasting Counter and can't wait to come back soon for dinner!

Tiger Mama

          Tiger Mama is Tiffani Faison's latest restaurant that opened semi-recently near Fenway. The fiance and I decided to check it out a few weeks ago and though it was packed, we were able to sit at the bar right away. I started with this gorgeous cocktail while we looked over the menus.

 

          Since the menu is tapas style, we ordered four dishes thinking it would be a light meal. We started with the red snapper crudo and octopus and papaya salad.  The snapper was light and fresh and I enjoyed the contrasting crunchiness of the crisp rice. The octopus salad was delicious and sooooo spicy! This came with some coconut rice that helped cool it off.

Red snapper crudo with charred ramp aioli and puffed rice

Sushi-grade tako, green papaya, tomatoes, peanuts, hot hot chilis

           The crab fried rice and pad thai were both excellent; gourmet versions of classic dishes. The portions were huge! I ended up taking almost all of the rice to go, and it was perfect for lunch the next day.

          I hope to make it back to Tiger Mama again soon, next time with more people so I can try even more dishes!

Wu Er by Wow BBQ in Brookline

           I recently had the opportunity to try Wu Er a new restaurant in Brookline featuring authentic Chinese BBQ, spicy pots, and tapas. Wu Er is the third venture from the behind Wow BBQ. Wow BBQ began as a food truck a few years ago, and was the first place in Boston to serve authentic Chinese BBQ lamb skewers. The food truck was so popular they opened up a brick and mortar location in Malden with over 40 different types of meat skewers all done traditionally - seasoned and cooked over a natural gas grill with volcano rocks to preserve the signature smokey flavor you'd find in China.

           The new Brookline location is the most high end and features a full bar with creative cocktails, plus several tapas and family style dishes in addition to the skewers. I ordered a mix of the tapas style dishes, but started first with these warm buns with a sweet glaze - almost like an Asian influenced sticky bun. These were delicious and also would have made a great dessert!

          Of course I had to try the skewers, and opted for the lamb that they're known for. The meat was perfectly tender and very well seasoned. I enjoyed all three dipping sauces (yogurt, chili, and carrot hummus) but my favorite was the chili which added a little bit of a kick.



          The next dish ended up being my favorite, the chorizo tiger shrimp with garlic, ginger, paprika, and butter. Warning: this dish is messy, but soooo worth it! I normally avoid shrimp with the shell because I don't like getting my hands dirty, but this came recommended and I had to try it. The sauce butter and paprika sauce with bits of chorizo was so good, I ended up scooping up all of it with the garlic bread.



          I also loved the yan su ji, bite sized pieces of five spice marinated and fried chicken. This had tons of flavor, and the chicken was perfectly crisp.

          I also enjoyed the Liang Pi (a chilled spicy noodle dish) and the five spice BBQ Asian ribs.

          I really enjoyed my first experience at Wu-Er and hope to return soon with a group to try some of the larger family style dishes like the Chili crab!