durjoy "ace" b.'s Profile

I've been suitably impressed with Herb Chambers Mini-- much more than with the build quality of my Mini.  Things were great when the Mini was covered by the warranty-- but once it ended, the folks over at Herb Chambers really took care of me.  Scott Poirier is a class act-- and completely a reason enough for me to go to Herb Chambers.  He treats you like a human and he's been more than fair with me when dealing with some Mini issues.

I purchased my Mini Cooper S from MIni of Manhattan.  When it's time to purchase a new car in Boston, I'd definitely consider Herb Chambers just on the basis of their great service.

I'm floored that the best Indian food in Boston is in Lexington!  I'm of Indian descent and this tastes so much like my mom's food that I feel slightly guilty.  Turns out that the place is owned by two brothers and their mom is often cooking in the back.  The deal is the Thali platter-- it's served around lunchtime and it comes with 3 mini entrees, some raita, some naan and some rice.  It's a ridiculously good deal- and if you go late enough on a Saturday or Sunday, no dinner required.  

This isn't a fancy place, but they're nicer than they have to be.  And they have a full bar

We purchased a Deal from the largest "deal site"- had never heard of them before and it's clear that they're over their head.  We've purchased many canvases (locally) before and it's reasonably commoditized now-- Costco even sells them.  Cheaper than our "deal".

They were so overwhelmed by the number of orders, they took weeks to send our gift to our friend.  Which would have been almost bearable if they hadn't sent it to the wrong STATE.  And that's when the problems began-- we spent hours on the phone trying to resolve the situation.  They finally got to the intended destination-- and then they started offering coupons to our friend for "discounted canvases".

Nothing like crappy customer service and spammy marketing to ruin what could have been a great gift. Show owner comment »

We found this great spot completely by accident-- the Yelp iPhone app said it was near the Natick Collection and we decided to give it a try.  I'm glad we did!  This is one of those interesting cross-cultral finds in a random strip mall-- where else can you get a "Masala Dog" (steamed hot dog on a bun with masala sauce)?  

We went with the more "standard" Indian fare- we got a great Samosa Chaat, a chicken Biryani and masala dosa (which is a potato stuffed lentil / rice crepe).  All of the dishes were generously sized and cooked to order. We also had a mango lassi.  

As other reviewers have said, this is a one man show.  Gracious owner Tony takes your order, cooks your food and then brings it out to you.  The food is great for what it is-- it's tasty, but not meant to be fine dining.  The prices are super reasonable and the decor reflects that.  On the plus size, there is a "Do the Right Thing" inspired Wall of Indian Achievements.  

This is the kind of restaurant that you always hear about in places like California-- cheap, inventive, fusion cuisine in an ugly strip mall.  The only negative that I'll say is that it was slightly chilly in the restaurant-- but given that it was 10 degrees outside, that's expected.  We're not in California.

I'm not sure whether the other recent reviewers of this great spot near Porter Square are talking about the food-- but I've been pretty impressed with my meals at this restaurant.    I don't really care about gift certificates,  I just want great food!

It's sometimes hard to get good South Asian food at a restaurant-- people think that if it is "hotter", it must be more authentic.  As an Indian American who grew up eating Indian food, that's just not true. It depends on the region of India and the particular family.  This place doesn't fall into the "make it super spicy" trap (we ordered everything medium and both of us thought it was well-balanced).  This is just a lot more subtle and flavorful than some of other Boston area Indian hum-drum restaurants- hints of coconut in the Chana Masala,  interesting spices in the raita, etc.    We ordered a chicken tikka masala, a chana masala, a garlic nan, and a raita.  It was a lot of food for lunch and it was cooked fresh to order.  Not greasy at all.  

Later in the meal, the owner came out to our table and earnestly asked what he could do to make things better-- and I told him:  I think there needs to be a lunch special (not buffet, but more like a "thali". I'm not a huge fan of the steam table).  I also think the lunch service wasn't staffed correctly--  we seated ourselves and that's an opportunity missed.  And lastly, I would rather pay for quality ingredients and service-- but at lunch, I need to keep things a little more "value-oriented".   Put a more inclusive lunch special.  The owner says a new menu is coming.

My family is from the North and East India- and perhaps the food was just more familiar to me.  I don't know whether it's authentically Afghan or Tibetan as I've never been there (are you reading TSA?).  But this place is worth a shot with an open mind.

"Comfort food w/ a Southern flair" is how they describe the menu-- and it turns out to be a pretty good description.  The restaurant is nicely decorated and has a warm honey feeling.  Both front of house and the waitress were super friendly and we got a great vibe even though they had just opened that day.  

I had the catfish with green tomatoes-- and it was great.  It was light and very tasty-- and i don't even really like catfish.  My friend had the daube of beef with a horseradish sauce and it was very tasty as well.  Our starter of turkey meatballs were just okay in comparison to the everything else, but I really liked my friend's cheese grits side dish.

The best part of the meal was at the end-- we piggishly ordered two desserts.  One was a bread pudding with some sort of bourbon sauce-- which was pretty outstanding.  The other was a pecan pie which was awesome-- i later found out that the owner of the restaurant also owns the famous Petsi's Pies.  The pecan pie was served with Toscanini's Honey Vanilla ice cream which was absolutely perfect.

I highly recommend Tupelo-- it's more interesting than most places and it's not so fancy that it's a special occasion place.   They don't take reservations, so be prepared to wait.  It's worth it.

i was very excited to find out that Boston was finally getting our own Pollo Campero, a really popular Latin American fried chicken place.  It's less because I like fast food or fried chicken-- what I loved was seeing how many people loved it.  The chain is based in Guatemala and has an awesome chicken in a cowboy hat as a logo.  

I went to Chelsea on a Friday night with a friend in the food business and was floored to see a line 30 people long.  This was at 10 pm- -and it closes at 4 am on weekends.  And there were 2-3 cops on detail for the drive-through.  It didn't take too long for us to get through the line (maybe 20 minutes) .

I ordered a chicken strip meal with a side of Yuca and a side of plaintains.  The chicken was pretty good and nicely spiced.  There was a large "salsa bar" that made the meal more interesting.  I also ordered a "jamaican' drink-- which was a fruity tea-based drink that seemed tropical.

The place is clean, but has only been open a week.    Can't wait to go back.

Toscanini's (or Tosci's as it's lovingly known) is prety much the best ice cream in America.  Even the New York Times says so.

The flavors are fresh almost every day-- and the folks behind the counter are pretty cool.  There is someone who works at the MFA, another person who sold a song to Showtime and all sort of other people who you would never imagine would ever work at an ice cream shop.  But this isn't some sort of chain, this is a real place in the People's Republic.

The store closes pretty early (around 11 pm) and it's not a huge place-- so you can't always get a seat.  It's just got a great vibe.  The brunch is probably the biggest secret around.  It's not a sit-down restaurant, but it's some of the highest quality food around.

I highly recommend Tosci's.

Going to Scup's is an adventure-- it's so ridiculously random, it borders on the sublime.  Only having been to East Boston only a handful of times,  I was happy to go with people who had been there before.   But once you're there-- it's incredible.   Owners Wendy and Dave and Thalia (formerly of Toscanini's breakfast@thebigtable) have created a warm community joint in the most unusual of settings.

We had an amazing "Asian" empanada that was nothing like anything I've ever had-- it was like the filling from a Vietnamese Cha Gios in a traditional empanada.  Great stuff, though it could have been even better with some sort of dipping sauce.  Warmed gently, a pretty amazing starter.

I had the chicken pot pie special-- which was warm and nourishing on a cold day in the Inner Harbor.  Just an FYI-- make sure that you bring warm clothing when you go, the room is a little cool and the seats are pretty spare.

My friends had the BLT which looked great and the meatloaf sandwich which looked pretty tasty as well.  We all washed our meals down with fresh honey mint iced tea, which was pretty refreshing.  

The place is cool, the people super friendly and the food tasty.  It's a little unusual and it's not an especially luxurious place-- but totally worth making the trip on a relaxed Saturday afternoon.  Bring a camera for some post-food pix around the harbor.