rob "i drank what?" c.'s Profile

To be honest, i was sold as soon as i laid eyes on their goofy chicken logo.  

For years, i'd seen billboards for Pollo Campero on the sides of soccer fields, usually somewhere where they'd be hurling urine bags at Landon Donovan and Tim Howard.  Don't get me wrong, i've met tons of friendly Hondurans and Guatemalans following soccer around the world, but seriously, urine bags.  Where was i going?

Oh yes, apparently Pollo Campero comes from one of these countries, and i'd heard that it was as eagerly anticipated here as the Sonic and the late, unlamented Krispy Kreme.  So since a friend of mine lives in Chelsea, we figured we'd grab some beers, grab some chicken, and hang around his yuppy loft and watch the neighborhood gentrify (perhaps not the last part).  

Anyway, it's a fundamentally different bit of fried chicken than Popeyes, which is what i'm used to.  The fried coating is finer, thinner, but still very flavorful and delicious.  The chicken itself was not quite as plump and moist as Popeyes, or even KFC, and seemed to be of a discernibly lesser quality.  That can be pretty variable though, so maybe i just had bad luck.  The sides are decidedly different, and i liked the rice a lot.  The beans were apparently pretty good too, and there's a wide variety of condiments that i didn't quite know how to properly use but were all pretty good.  

Anyway, i'm not saying it's worth a trip over the Tobin, but next time i'm in the neighborhood, i'll be tempted anyway.

Considering it's a block away from me, it sure took me a while to actually sit down and eat at Church.  It's sort of a weird establishment.  For one, though there are multiple church-like structures in the Fenway, this is not one of them.  More relevant, though, is the juxtaposition of music venue and restaurant/bar.  More to the point, a place that mostly has pretty loud music, combined with a kinda high-end-y gastropub.  

Anyway, it works.  They have an okay selection of beer.  Nothing really standout and imaginative, but there's certainly enough for people who have reasonably good taste in beer.  The food is pretty good; above pub-food prices, but not hugely spendy.  As is my tendency, i couldn't say no to mac and cheese, which i'd like to have finished, but i was on a date and too busy talking.  Oh well, next time.

They also have some nice chairs and couches in front, and someday i'd like to make a commitment to getting there early enough to sit and drink on their couches all day.  You gotta have goals.

i'm not sure, frankly, whether or not the highly interesting clientele mean this McDonald's deserves five stars or one, so we'll split the difference.  Sure, for every shady character or shambling drunk picking a fight with the bewildered employees, there are ten doctors, nurses, whatevers, who just need their fix.  The thing is, one crazy person goes a long way, and in my experience you probably have a 75% chance of seeing something here that makes you at least slightly nervous.  

So why go?  Well, as always, my detailed explorations of the relative quality of assorted McDonaldses are for true believers.  If you're looking for someone to agree with you on the horrible horribleness of fast food, i am so not your man.  What's important about this McDonald's is that it's a suburban-quality (brand-newly renovated, no less) McDonald's in an urban setting.  

What this means, is that whatever loophole that allows city McDonald's (Tremont St., Kenmore, Central Square, i'm looking at you) heat-lamp their food like they did in the 80's, doesn't apply here.  It's put together fresh.  Juicy McDouble's on buns that haven't been heat-lamped dry, fresh french fries.  Not exemplary (e.g. too much salt on the french fries), but solidly average.  

So, dinner and a show for $6.  How can you beat that?

On the days i drive to work, i usually sit at the nearby traffic light and stared in the windows of this fine establishment for months before deciding to visit.  The windows looked warm and inviting on cold nights, but there's not really much remarkable about the place.  That said, it's comfortable in a very plain way, and the server was very friendly (which initially came off like they were a bit bored).  Better still, they had Harpoon Leviathan IPA on tap.  After three of those, i had a great buzzed T ride home, so let's say i liked it.

Any restaurant that turns the drawback of limited, cramped seating, into an asset of strangers crammed amiably nearby surely has a lot going for it.   Tres Gatos is a strange little space that seems to basically be the first floor of a house, but somehow they stuff a good tapas place *and* a bookstore into it.  i didn't even get to the bookstore part.  but the food is pretty good.  i especially liked the pork meatballs, but the fairly standard potatoes in aioli were pretty great too.  they also have a small, but very well-chosen draft list, too; i had a tasty left hand porter.  Okay, three of them.  

If only i hadn't switched to reading everything on my iPad, i'd have even more of an excuse to go back.

Tough to tell what this place is actually called, to be honest with you.  On a day when i was the only one not brown-bagging, i set out from my office to try and find new lunch options.  Half an hour's walk later, i was feeling a bit discouraged, and settled on getting Mexican food from a place that, er, specialized in both Mexican and Chinese food.  Genius move, i thought.  While they were plenty friendly, and it was quite inexpensive, the burrito was soggy and tasted of Old El Paso powdered seasoning.  I'll hope for their sake the Chinese food is better, but i'm not going to find that out firsthand.

So, my new office refers to this place as "The Shack".  This isn't intended to be disparaging in any way, owing to the fact that it is wholly contained in 1 1/2 shack-like structures huddled against the side of one of the King Terminals buildings on Elkins St.  There's maybe 16 sq. ft. of space for you to wait for your food if it's raining outside, and you'll still be standing in a puddle, in all likelihood.  

Just what does one eat from a place like this, you might fairly ask.  The owner claims invention of what he calls 'Substuffers', which is to say, hollowed out chunks of bread filled with hot sandwich goodies.  They're quite good, although i'm not sure i haven't seen them elsewhere.  Further word to the wise, there's no need to get a large, since the technology hasn't evolved to the point where such a thing can actually be stuffed (that's to say, you're just buying bread).  Other sandwiches warm and cold are all pretty good, and reasonably priced.  Other goodies like chips and soda are a bit on the expensive side and will add up quickly.  

In any case, the novelty of obtaining food from a lean-to has yet to wear off, and it helps that it's pretty decent.  And that it's an elevator ride from my desk and nothing further.  But it's worth a walk, too.

As soon as i signed a lease in the Fenway, people started telling me how awesome restaurant row and El Pelon were.  Sometime between then and the day i moved in, the whole thing burned down, of course.  In the meantime, i was detailed to periodically walk down Peterborough St. and report on the rumors of its return.  

Finally that day is here, but what the heck did i know, never having eaten there.  So now i have.  And it's yummy, and it's cheap, and it's so dangerously nearby.  Mind you, i've been told that the burritos aren't even the most notable thing on the menu, but i still enjoyed the tasty carnitas and fresh salsa and cheese and rice inside the hefty foil-wrapped log.  

Now i just have to deal with the knowledge that friends who come to visit me probably have an ulterior motive.

As a devoted adherent to the holy biscuits of Popeye's, it pains me to say that the ones at Sweet Cheeks are their superior in every way.  Gently crusty and crisp on the top, moist and puffy on the inside, and unslakably thirsty for the sweet sweet melted butter they come with.  

Do i need to go on about the biscuits?  'Cause i can.  

The meats are flavorful and juicy and come in a pile that begs you to make a mess of your cleverly arranged, yet prison cafeteria-y (or so i might guess, lacking knowledge of life on the inside) metal trays.  three jars of sauce are provided for said mess.  Sides are yummy, too, with the mug of macaroni and cheese a serious highlight.  

they have a long list of cans and bottles, and a clever list of six taps that just name them by type.  

the only downside is that it's spendy as heck.  maybe this is me being selfish and wanting another cheap-yet-high-end staple like tasty burger down the street, but as good as it is, it costs enough that it's a once-in-a-while thing, a nice-night-out-with-friends thing, not a what's-for-dinner-on-tuesday thing.  

either way, welcome to the neighborhood!

i may never know what a Frostie Village actually is, and how it relates to a pizza and sandwich place, but i think i'm happier continuing to let my imagination run wild.  

In the meantime, this is one of the closest lunch places to my new office, and i've probably been here eight times in my first month on the job.  i have yet to order the same thing twice, and i have yet to be disappointed in a single thing.  everything from pizza (greasy, but in a good way, with decent toppings and good crust) to fairly standard sandwiches (the chicken parmesan sandwich is excellent), to steak sandwiches (generously portioned, and tasty), to marinated chicken sandwiches (possibly the best option of all).  the folks that work there are super friendly, and very on the ball even if they look like they're overwhelmed.  

considering that there's a strong chance we could all get into a rut going here, it's a good thing these guys are up to the task.