Live Music Brunch at Club Passim with The New England Food Bloggers

           I've been a fan of Club Passim since I was in college and my friends used to play the open mike nights. They had a vegetarian spot in the kitchen until 2015 when the owners of Passim took over its kitchen operations. I was very impressed when I tried the dinner menu, and so I was very excited to try the new brunch menu with the New England Food Bloggers.

          The Live Music Brunch at Passim features a different style of music each service including Bluegrass, Old Time, Blues, Celtic, Classical, Folk, Jazz and more. The menu includes everything from several types of eggs benedict, to breakfast sandwiches, avocado toast, pancakes, and more. All menu items are created from scratch with fresh and locally sourced ingredients, and there are plenty of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free options available. 

 

           When our group sat down, we were greeted with some of the house specialties including avocado toast, and made from scratch Thai sausage.

          The sausage was amazing, it had such great flavor and just a little bit of a kick. The avocado toast looked so good I had to order the gluten free version for my meal. I added an over easy fried egg on top, and it was the perfect healthy breakfast!

          I also enjoyed trying sides of the bacon, hashbrowns, and turkey sausage. The bacon was perfectly crisp, and the hasbrowns were definitely a favorite of the table! The turkey sausage was also tasty, but didn't compare to the Thai sausage.

          Others at the table raved about the french toast, the BKK street bread, and breakfast scramble.

          Live Music Brunch at Passim takes place every Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM, and if you have a chance to check it out I definitely recommend it!

 

Viale

           Viale is an Italian and Mediterranean restaurant in Central Square, from the same owners as Giulia but a little bit more casual. I tried them for dinner this past weekend, and had a great experience.

          The fiance and I started with a Charcuterie Board to share, which came with chicken liver mousse with figs, proscuitto, house made pork sausage, soprassata, mortadella, whole grain mustard, hummus, pickled veggies. Everything was delicious, but I especially loved the homemade sausage and chicken liver pate. The figs in the pate was a really interesting touch, and added just a hint of sweetness.

           I ordered the Prime Ribeye Tenderloin, with smashed potatoes, spinach, and caramelized onion aioli as my main course. The steak was fork tender, and cooked perfectly. It was such a large portion I thought there was no way I would finish, but it was so good I couldn't stop eating until every last bite of steak was gone!

           The fiance went with the Pork Milanese special with aioli and asparagus and carrots, which looked amazing and was also a huge portion!

 

           For dessesrt we shared the Gluten Free chocolate ganache brownie with burnt caramel ice cream and hazelnuts.The brownie was very similar to flourless chocolate cake, and was rich and chocolately.

 

            Overall I really enjoyed the meal at Viale, and appreciated that most of the menu can be done gluten free including several of the pastas (which I hope to return soon to try!)

 

My Second Visit to Forage

          With so many new restaurants to try it's not often that I go to the same restaurant twice in one year, never mind twice in just a couple of months. But, after having an amazing first experience at Forage over the summer the fiance and I went back again for dinner recently with a Gilt City special.
What struck me most about Forage during my first visit was the focus on local seasonal ingredients, and the great wine list with an interesting selection of small production and biodynamic wines. This was just as true in my second visit.

           We did a three course tasting menu, which started with soup of pea puree and roasted squash. It was rich and creamy, and set the stage perfectly for the rest of our meal.


         
           Next was the herb brined and roasted half chicken with dill dumplings and braised kale (my gluten free version had roasted potatoes instead of dumplings). This chicken had the crispiest skin I've ever had (my favorite part of roast chicken!) and the kale was also the best I've ever had. The fiance doesn't even like kale, but even he couldn't stop raving about how good it was. We ended up taking a good amount of chicken home because it was such a huge portion, and it was just as good for lunch the next day!



          Next was a bonus course, a sweet onion ice cream with melted cheese on top. I know this may not sound appealing to everyone, but trust me when I say that this dish was soooo good! The sweetness of the onion was perfect in an ice cream, it had an almost caramel flavor. The addition of cheese that was charred a bit on top added even more complexity, and a really great contrast of sweet and savory.

          For dessert we had a buckwheat chocolate cake and I learned that buckwheat is naturally gluten free (it's not actually related to wheat) and it's delicious when cooked together with chocolate!

           Forage is quickly becoming one of my favorite spots, and I hope to make it back in again soon!

Artisan Bistro

          Artisan Bistro is the restaurant inside the Ritz Carlton Boston, and I recently tried them with a great Gilt City Special they were offering! The dinner for two included two apps, two entrees, and a dessert to share.

          I started with the grilled oysters with grapefruit caviar and micro greens. These tasted just as good as they looked, and I loved the creativity of the grapefruit caviar!



           The fiance started with clam chowder, which was thick and creamy. It was such a generous portion he had to force himself to stop eating so he would have room for dinner! Thanks to the convenient labels on the menu, I saw that this was also gluten free and will definitely try it when I go back!



           I ordered the steak frites as my main course, and the steak was cooked to a perfect medium rare. I appreciated that the herb dusted frites were served in a separate cast iron plate so that they stayed nice and crispy.



          The fiance also enjoyed his seared George's Bank scallops with dill risotto, chard, and romesco.



          For dessert we shared the white coffee creme brulee, which was a delicious twist on a classic dessert, and so smooth and creamy!



           I also had an espresso shot, and loved the presentation in this fun mug!



           In addition to being very impressed by the creativity and care that went into each dish, we both appreciated the fantastic service. Our sever was incredibly friendly and accommodating with every table, making sure all guests had a great experience. I will definitely be back!

Dinner Thyme

          I recently had the opportunity to check out a new-to-me meal delivery service, Dinner Thyme. Dinner Thyme was the original cook-at-home meal delivery service; they started in 2010 in Manhattan and over the past several years expanded throughout the eastern US including Boston.

          I've tried lots of different meal delivery services over the past couple of years, and several things about Dinner Thyme immediately stood out to me:

• All of the meals are designed to be cooked in 15 minutes (and the vegetables and herbs come chopped already)
• The options are incredibly flexible and they are the only company that offers single portions (although you can order more)
• You get 9 different menu options (weekly) to choose from
• They are there for people "on the go", people who don't have 45 min - 1 hour to cook a meal

          Dinner Thyme posts their menus on their website several weeks in advance, and you can customize orders based on your preferences. I was able to find 2-3 gluten free meals available each week, and found that most meals could be made gluten free with slight substitutions if you keep a few basics in your pantry (pasta, flour, etc.).

          I tried two meals: Jerk Chicken with Mango Salsa and Curry Rice, and Pork Chops with Apricot Sauce and Glazed Carrots.

           Both were delicious, and really were done in under fifteen minutes with minimal prep work. I also appreciated that both meals were relatively low calorie at about 500 calories each. Dinner Thyme really is a quick, easy, and healthy alternative for weeknights when I come home from work and don't want to spend a lot of time preparing dinner!

           Now for the best part: If you want to try Dinner Thyme, you can get $20 off using the code READYSETCOOK at checkout; that's ~2 free meals!  To get started, check out their website or find them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.