Tracey "I'm cold, and there are wolves after me" G.'s Profile

I came to Stix with some friends yesterday evening to take advantage of their happy hour offerings--a $1 raw bar (including oysters, crab legs and raw shrimp), as well as $5 frozen mojitos. The seafood was absolutely wonderful and really fresh--the oysters were divine and the shrimp in particular were enormous and incredibly flavorful. I was in raw shellfish heaven! The few pieces of calamari I sampled from a friend's plate were also very well prepared. The drinks were only so-so--my mojito was decent, but strangely bitter (and almost overwhelmingly minty).

My main issue with Stix was the service. About 15 minutes after a friend and I arrived (and ordered a handful of raw oysters and crab legs), the server abruptly informed us that there was a $6 drink minimum for happy hour, and went on to explain in unnecessary detail to us how much money they lose on each raw offering (apparently the crab legs, which my friend was loving, present the greatest profit loss). I found this to be really tacky, especially since I had already ordered a drink and we had only been there for a few minutes (and were waiting for the rest of our group to join us before ordering a full round).

Anyway, after being made to feel like freeloaders running Stix into the ground (although, since we were the only patrons in the place throughout our entire visit, I'm pretty sure that we weren't the problem) I continued to get irritated vibes from our server every time anyone in my group ordered more food. I understand that, especially in this economy, it's hard to run a restaurant at a profit, but if servers feel the need to (or are forced to) subtly and not-so-subtly badger customers about profitability, then it's time to go sit down somewhere for a quick minute and rethink your customer service policies.

So, to summarize: very good food, but uncomfortable, weirdly guilt-inducing service. Alas, I will have to continue my hunt for the perfect $1 oyster haunt.

I didn't think that this was possible, but this new Berryline location (conveniently located further down Mass Ave. from the original for those of us who work closer to Porter Square) is even better than the original!

The yogurt is still sweet (but not cloyingly so), tart (but not bitterly so), and utterly delicious. I still have fond daydreams about the two week stretch where rose was one of the flavors on offer (and hope to see more floral options in the future). While the original Berryline tended to get really cramped, the new location boasts a much larger space, complete with tables and stools for lounging. And just because the management is apparently awesome, there's also free, unlimited wifi!

Additionally, one of my (few) complaints about the original Berryline location was that the serving sizes tended to vary depending on who was filling your cup--however, I've now noticed that the person behind the counter weighs each portion before adding topping, which I imagine cuts down significantly on server error. I'm not sure if my mention of this observation in my review of the original Berryline location prompted the change, but that it's happened at all speaks well about Berryline's management's commitment to constantly improving what was already a great business and bodes well for their future.

Grafton Street is your typical after-work yuppie hot spot. Since I work, study, and frequently socialize near Harvard Square, I constantly walk by the main entrance, but I  have always been somewhat overwhelmed by the crowds of working professionals in various degrees of power dress (upon first glance, GS looks like the kind of place where chirpy professionals network--so not my usual scene).

I came here with a few friends recently for some post-exam drinking. We tried out the bar area first, but it was unfortunately way too crowded (this seems to be a frequent issue judging by what I've seen on my numerous walk-bys). Tables, at least at night, are only for individuals/groups that plan to order food--since it was raining and we were lazy, we decided to take a table and sample the food as well as the alcohol. I had a hamburger (with onion marmalade--yum!), as well as a vodka martini. Both hamburgers and vodka martini's of course, are hard to screw up, but I found both to be very tasty (but not exceptional).

The restaurant and bar area itself looks great--both are very sleek and sophisticated-looking. The lighting in particular was well done, despite being crowded, the space in the restaurant area felt fairly cozy. The pricing is a little on the more expensive side of average for the Boston area ($10 burgers and $11 martinis), but the decor, service and food on my visit were all satisfying. Grafton Street may not be a restaurant to choose as the focal point of a night out, but it's a great place to relax and enjoy a good meal and a strong drink before or after the main event of your night.

Pho Pasteur was my initiation into the delicious word of pho, but it was its next door neighbor, Xinh Xinh, that won my heart.

I usually get the beef and tendon noodle soup (random cow parts never tasted so good!), which, regardless of what size you order, will likely come in a bowl the size of your head. The portions are ample, the fare hearty, and the broth is especially flavorful and delicious.

The ambiance here tends more toward a large family dining room than a restaurant--there are only a few tables and it's not uncommon to see the owners and their family chowing down along with the patrons. The service is also extremely friendly and attentive.

Living at the end of the Red line, I don't get to grab a meal here as much as I'd like, but Xinh Xinh is a cheap, fast, and high-quality dining spot in Chinatown that strikes just the right note between a hole in the wall and a cozy family joint.

Clear Conscience Cafe, also known as the other half of the Harvest Coop Market, is your standard half-yuppie, half-hipster Cambridge cafe. The food and drink here is decent, but fairly nondescript and slightly overpriced. I tend to get the alfalfa-peppermint tea when I visit, which is great, but a little expensive at $2.00 for barely 8 ounces.

The ambiance at CCC is wonderful, and makes up for the somewhat-mediocre food and drink offerings. There's warm lighting, lots of plush, comfy-looking chairs, and enormous tables that can seat 6-8 people (or 1-2 students and a ton of textbooks). There is also free wi-fi, which is never a bad thing.

The staff here has always been extremely friendly and personable on my visits--but I am disheartened to hear that a member of the upper management has been sending disparaging messages to Yelpers who have given CCC poor reviews. That's not cool at all, and such behavior will only make a business's rating go down and turn off potential and current customers.

BerryLine has done the near-impossible--they've made me appreciate, and even like frozen yogurt. Is it possible that for most of my life I've simply been eating (and mostly avoiding) an artificially-enhanced, overly-sweetened version of the concoction that BerryLine has perfected?

Subtle would be a good word to describe the frozen yogurt here, which is also smooth, mellow, tangy and has a unique, almost oat-like aftertaste. There are a decent array of toppings on hand (from fresh fruit to Reese's Pieces) and usually two flavors on tap in addition to the classic "plain" option. If you're into counting calories or any of that jazz, BerryLine's plain frozen yogurt is also ridiculously guilt-free, at 25 calories per ounce.

The prices here can veer into splurge territory for those of us who are a bit cheap (I pay $3.50 with tax for a medium, which, depending on who's dishing it out can be surprisingly small), but BerryLine makes for a great occasional treat.

I braved the elements last Saturday morning to dine at Harvard Gardens with some fellow Yelpers for the monthly book club brunch. The conversation and company were impressive--the food unfortunately, not so much.

I knew that something was up as soon as I opened up my menu to see nary a mention of French toast or pancakes among my brunch options. Come to think of it, there was a serious lack of simple carb-filled options for a meal which is one of the best excuses out there to carbo-load. What was really messed up was that, going by the other offerings on the menu, the basic ingredients for French toast were clearly lying around the kitchen (eggs, milk, cinnamon, bread, etc.), but there was not one meal that included my favorite brunch staple.

Since I hate omelettes and most other egg-centered dishes, I decided to be lame and order a cheeseburger. Bad idea. My cheeseburger ended up being a mean, rather sad-looking affair--a small, dry, and oh-so-tasteless beef patty overwhelmed by a large, stiff bun and topped off with a perfunctory sprinkling of shredded mozzarella. The fries that came with my meal were very good, but not nearly good enough to make up for the hunk of ill-prepared and poorly-outfitted meat on my plate.

Between the menu weirdness and the lackluster food, I doubt that I'll be back at Harvard Gardens on my own dime any time soon.

Boloco is a perfectly decent, if somewhat flavorless choice for lunch in Harvard Square. Don't be fooled though, Boloco (for the most part) is *not* a burrito joint--they sell wraps. There is only one truly burrito-like offering on the menu, and if you're looking for New England Mexican-lite, you'll be better off swinging by Felipe's, which is down the street.

The wraps themselves are pretty good, but they tend toward the the bland--after eating here, you'll most likely be full, but you will probably not have a distinct memory of what your meal tasted like. Boloco's saving grace as a mediocre chain is that they definitely try to accommodate health-conscious diners. Whole wheat tortillas, brown rice, and vegetarian customizations are always available, and they tout their meats as being humanely-raised, sans antibiotics and growth hormones.

Boloco's other main draw is that, unlike many of my preferred Harvard Square lunch eateries, they accept credit cards. For a last resort, Boloco is perfectly cromulent, but they are definitely not a destination dining spot.

I came here yesterday with a big group for a late brunch. Cutesily-enough, the Living Room is set up like an actual living room, with couches and coffee tables in the main room in lieu of chairs and dining tables. This setup is great for lounging and conversing, but can pose some logistical problems for those who are looking to eat (the coffee tables are much lower than the average dining room table, which can make leaning down for a bite rather awkward).

The food was actually very good, and the prices entirely reasonable. I ordered a hamburger with avocado and was surprised and pleased to see the better part of a whole peeled avocado on my burger. The waffle fries that came with my meal were also delicious, although the ultra-girly strawberry champagne cocktail I ordered beforehand was unfortunately lackluster at best (and tasted more like cranberry to my picky palette).

The service here was good. Our waitress was very accommodating of our large, rather raucous group, many of whom had special orders and substitutions (I'm so used to getting an automatic side-eye from waitstaff when dining in large groups that I've grown to really appreciate a server who can wait on a dozen odd people without getting too flustered). After reading the other reviews, I'm not sure if I would come here at night (TLR seems like the kind of establishment that turns into yuppie hell when the sun goes down), but it's a solid North End brunch spot.

Yesterday was my first time having pho. A friend of mine brought me here with promises that I would be blown away, and I'm happy to say that she was 100 percent correct--I'm still having wonderful food flashbacks and have actively begun to plot an excuse to swing by Chinatown again for more, hopefully sooner than later.

I had the beef noodle bowl, which was hearty and filling--basically the perfect meal for a frigid winter afternoon. The ingredients are pretty basic (meat, cilantro, onions, scallions and noodles brought to you in the midst of cooking in steaming hot broth) but the result is incredibly flavorful and delicious. Be forewarned, however, that the portion sizes here are HUGE. I ordered a large, which, despite being ravenously hungry, I was unable to finish. A guy near us ordered an extra-large which was seriously the size of a kitchen mixing bowl.

Some have commented on the service here. I personally found the hostess and waitstaff to be pleasant and friendly without bothering my table every five minutes, which tends to be the way I likes them. Last, but certainly not least, the prices at Pho Pasteur are downright cheap, you can walk out of here having enjoyed a large meal for about $10 with tip. I'm now kind of glad that I work in the cheap take-out wasteland that is Harvard Square, close proximity to Pho Pasteur would wreck my food budget in no time.