The Bacon Truck

          I recently tried the Bacon Truck for the first time, and realized I have been missing out! They have a great selection of sandwiches (all can be done as a salad - gluten free) topped with tons of bacon!

           I tried "The Hangover' as a salad, with a seared bacon, potato, and scallion hash patty topped with a fried egg, extra bacon, and cheddar cheese crisps.

 

           It was a perfect lunch, and I definitely plan to add it to the regular rotation!

Artu

          I love the North End but tend to go to the handful of places I've been going for years, so I was excited for the chance to check out a restaurant I'd never tried: Artu with Blog and Tweet Boston this week. Artu is located on Prince street, just off of Hanover. Our dinner was in the private space, a loft off of the main bar, which was the perfect setting for a private party.

          We started with some delicious cocktails and apps to share. I really enjoyed the beet salad and seared scallops with roasted cauliflower, but several others in our group raved about the meatballs and grilled bread with smoked mozzarella.

Beet Salad, Crumbled Gorgonzola, Pistachio Vinaigrette

Grilled Country Bread, Smoked Mozzarella, Tomatoes, Proscuitto

Housemade Meatballs

Grilled Sea Scallops with Cipollini Puree and Oven Roasted Cauliflower

          Next was the pasta course, and I was excited to see that almost every pasta could be made gluten free. I opted for the pasta with Italian sausage, broccoli rabe, and pecorino and it was delicious! It was also an extremely generous portion.

Italian Sausage, Broccoli Rabe Pesto, Pecorino Romano, and Gluten Free Penne

           For my main course, I ordered the New York Strip steak with broccoli rabe and roasted potatoes. It was cooked to a perfect medium rare, had great flavor, and was a very nice cut with just a fat cap on the edge to give it flavor.

Grass Fed New York Strip, Broccoli Rabe, Roasted Potatoes

          Others in our group enjoyed the salmon and brussels sprouts (not pictured) and the eggplant rollatini.

Eggplant Rollatini

          I was almost too full for dessert, but managed a few bites of the flourless chocolate cake. It was the perfect ending to a fantastic meal!

          Thanks to Artu and Blog and Tweet Boston for hosting, I definitely plan to be back soon!

Blue Ginger

          I've been wanting to try Blue Ginger for years, and finally made it in earlier this summer. I'm a big fan of Blue Dragon, and was excited to try Ming Tsai's original and slightly more upscale concept. The fiance and I went one Sunday night and ordered a multi-course meal for the complete experience.

          We started with this chilled melon gazpacho topped with fresh mint. It was light and refreshing, a perfect summer dish. 

          Next I had the Thai steamed mussels with green papaya and herb salad. This was a little bit spicy, which was a nice contrast with the sweet papaya.



           The fiance ordered the Beet salad, which he also enjoyed.



           I had the Grilled Skirt Steak as my main course, with Sautéed Salsa Verde, a Chinese-braised beef tamale, and pickled ramp crema. The steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare, and the Latin / Asian fusion was an interesting combo that worked well and made this dish very flavorful. 

          The fiance enjoyed his Korean Rice Cake Stir Fry with Crispy Marinted Tofu, garlic, sautéed cauliflower and Chinese broccoli.



           I had a trio of sorbets for dessert, which included apricot, rhubarb-hibiscus, and sake-yuzu. All three of them were excellent, and light enough that I had no trouble finishing them despite the large meal! The fiance had Vanilla Crème Brulée with black sesame and yuzu crinkle cookies, an interesting take on a classic dish.

           I'm glad I finally made it to Blue Ginger after all of these years, it was as good as I'd hoped and definitely worth a trip out to the suburbs!