Jeremy "France & Hockey" K.'s Profile

Picard is part of a large chain which specializes in selling very high quality, affordable frozen dishes. Whether it be ice-cream, chicken, seafood, vegetables and pastries, they have it all and it's all quite delicious. Much better than any frozen food you could experience anywhere else, especially in the US where it's often bland and extremely salty.

But not here friends, not here. I'm a fan of Picard and always have been. It's been my go-to solution many times in the past where I was only one quick microwave, pan or oven away from having a warm and tasty meal for a modest price.

The locations aren't all that big but they have all kinds of goods and it often rotates to follow some of the ingredient seasonality. Thai Soup? Check. Chicken Tikka Masala? Check. Bangers and Mash? Why not. Or maybe you want some chocolate eclairs with some frozen green beans? Guess what, they'll have that as well.

Some of the dishes are also pretty advanced from a culinary standpoint. You have chestnut-stuffed chicken or even spiced lambchops with honey-glazed figs. All kinds of stuff! And all so good!

They always strive to create and improve current dishes and does a great job at breaking the stereotype that frozen dishes are disgusting. Honestly  most of them aren't just good, they're great. Maybe one day they'll make their way across the Atlantic into the US; that would be awesome!

I was quite excited to see this place open up in Harvard Square; I've always thought that while that area is appealing for a fun night out, they always lacked a nice, affordable restaurant that was simple and had a solid menu. This seemed to fit the bill nicely as their menu features all kinds of dishes, fit for all palates and at a reasonable price point.

So I took my hungry self there, accompanied by Erick H. on a nice, spring evening for some dinner and was starving upon walking in. We didn't have a reservation and were gambling on them having a table and the gamble paid off. Our hostess seated us within a couple of minutes and our waitress Jennifer arrived and presented us with some menus. I tried to order a local beer from Slumbrew but they were out. I picked another one... and... they were out. I then decided to get a Chimay beer because I noticed on a blackboard right outside the front door that they had a deal going on where you got to keep the glass for every Chimay ordered. I figured that they'd at least have that one in stock unlike the previous two.

As I ordered and took a quick glance around the dining room one thing hit me: this place is spacious. It's not huge but they didn't overcrowd it by trying to jam tables next to one another. We had a ton of elbow room which was great. It wasn't all that quiet in there, actually it was surprisingly loud considering how many people were present which was a bit annoying. However the decor which featured vintage printing-related materials of all sorts was neat and somewhat distracted from the noise.

As our beers arrived we decided to share an appetizer which, in our case, was their black bean hummus ($7) which comes with some pita chips, some grilled tofu and some cilantro lime sour cream. It arrived a few minutes later, served in a giant, hollowed bread bowl and was served not just room temperature cold but very cold. Actually I found that surprising because I associate bread-bowled items to be warm or hot and when I took my first bite I was rather confused by it. I guess it tasted okay but wasn't all that great or memorable. The side of tofu added absolutely nothing to it and was bland as all hell; I wasn't crazy about the dish or the way this meal was starting but had hopes for a redemption through a solid entree.

The entree that followed by a plate of wild boar carbonara ($21) which was average. It was pretty cream heavy (like most carbonaras) but the seasoning seemed a bit off. It lacked real depth of flavor and the boar was hard to dissociate from the rest of the dish; it probably could have been a sausage or something else and I would have never noticed. The pork belly wasn't noticeable either but the spring peas added a nice texture and freshness to the dish that lightened it up a bit. It was okay.

The one thing I did like a lot about First Printer was their extensive menu. It's not like the Cheesecake Factory in size but it's pretty damn long and is all over the place. All kinds of flavors, ingredients and price points. That being said, it's also a very confusing direction making it difficult to people to get the venue's identity. It's not Italian, it's not American, it's not French. What is First Printer? International?

One last point I do want to make is that our waitress flat out sucked. Jennifer was slow. Very slow. And she didn't speak up at all, reminding me of a Seinfeld episode featuring the "Low-Talker". We both held our breath every time she approached, desperately trying to hang on to every word she said but most of the time just nodded not being able to discern even half of what she said. It got pretty frustrating.

All in all the place seems promising but the lack of identify makes them cook all kinds of dishes which turn out to be average. I'd rather see fewer but better items and more focused direction cuisine-wise. That being said, the diversity isn't all bad. They have everything from pasta dishes, salads, sandwiches, seafood, pizza, you name it. I'll return at some point I'm sure, in search for a much better experience... We'll see.

I currently work in Newton Corner and with my lunch options being fairly limited due to the fact that there simply aren't that many places in the area, I have made my way to Corner Cafe quite a few times but mostly out of convenience since it's essentially twenty feet away from my office building. That being said, aside from convenience there isn't much else that's all that great about it. The service is cold, especially from the woman who works there who doesn't seem to care at all about customers, even repeat ones. She barely smiles and almost never thanks anyone. Her husband behind the stove is much nicer but doesn't interact with customers...

As far as the food good, it's actually not bad - pretty good but nothing stellar. The selection is essentially breakfast goods, a few sandwiches and wraps, two soups, and a few salads. There aren't any hot lunches there but there's a few daily specials which mostly revolve around sandwiches and wraps.

The owners being Greek, there's also a few Mediterranean-inspired dishes like their avgolemono (lemon-rice soup) and a gyro but that's about it. No spanakopita, no lamb or anything else. The avgolemono was okay but average however their salads and wraps are good; however their wraps somehow feel more like burritos because they are giant and aren't cut in half like everywhere else.

Then comes a few negatives: first off, they are cash only. With services like Square, LevelUp and others making accepting card payments both more easily and affordable, this simply isn't acceptable in 2012. I mean c'mon guys... Seriously. And parking can be painful (doesn't really matter much in my case though, I walk there from my office). And their prices are all over the place. I once had a small soup, a salad and a Nantucket juice and the whole thing was $14 which I found hard to swallow considering that their salads are mostly iceberg and not even field greens. Their drinks are really expensive as a matter of fact.

But it's not all negative, their bakes good are great, their omelettes pretty tasty and overall the food is good. If only their pricing made more sense and the service was friendly, I'd go more often, but the few places nearby are more appealing to me. Places that are friendlier, accept card payments and have real specials.

Finally got around to making my way to Blue Ginger for dinner and boy was it worth driving to Wellesley for. I've had a few Asian fusion dinners in my life but nothing quite like this one. And while some critics might think that Ming Tsai is stuck in the '90s, I was able to experience a depth of flavor and creativity that few places offer, despite it being the restaurant week menu.

The restaurant itself was packed when we proceeded to walk in, slightly early for our reservation. We were promptly escorted to the bar area where we sipped on cocktails while we waited. Mine was the Orange-Pomegranate Honey Smash ($12) and featured some Makers Mark, some Orange-pomegranate purée, and some house-made honey syrup. Tasty and creative, I enjoyed every sip. The girlfriend had a ginger-based cocktail that she enjoyed at well. I must admit that the originality of the drinks is pretty awesome and they definitely have something for every palate out there, even the pickiest of ones. Ingredients like coconut, peach, ginger, pear, Chai and all kinds of others are present and I found that remarquable. The bar area is wide and features a good mix of standing room, benches, stools and even a few tables. It is pretty brightly light and makes for a vibrant atmosphere but is soothed by the fountain in the back which has water slowly trickling away.

Eventually our table was ready for us to make our way to. Again, like the bar area, the dining area was well light and one could easily peer at the long, open kitchen. We sat down and were given the menus. Being restaurant week, I was a bit nervous but the selection showed no compromise on quality, taste and overall value. I selected the spiced, sweet potato soup with greek yogurt-mushroom wonton to start and it was absolutely fabulous; velvety, tasty and with great contrasts of textures. It had various seeds floating on top and the wonton was both soft and crunchy. Honestly, it was like fireworks for my tastebuds.

Then came my entree which in my case was the Szechwan chicken was Lapchang sticky rice and sautéed mustard greens. There was also some garlic-ginger-soy syrup and chile sauce. The sticky rice was absolutely awesome as was the moist, fragrant chicken. The use of spices created a great balance that didn't overwhelm anything but instead highlighted the main items of the dish. I was blown away once again and cleaned my plate within instants. The girlfriend's appetizer and entrees were terrific as well.

For dessert I selected the Miso caramel  pot de creme which, much like the rest of the meal, was top notch. Portion size was just right and allowed for a simple but tasty way to finish my meal.

So what can one expect from Blue Ginger? A lot of things. A simple, clean, sleek and modern but not uptight atmosphere which has elements from the Asian culture as well as the American one. The menu is whimsical and fun, and features all kinds of dishes and ingredients and dishes seem to each be tastier than the previous. The value is good but the restaurant does remain a bit expensive outside of restaurant week but not unaffordable. The service was great and Tsai has been an advocate for years now in regards to food allergies and they do the best job there that I've seen at handling them. Great drinks, great beer selection as well (they even have China's very own Yanjing beer) . I must return.

Decided to hit up Wahlburgers randomly on a Saturday night with Erick H. and after a 35 minute drive from Somerville, we arrived in the large shopping area known as the Hingham Shipyard and drove around until we finally found it. We didn't really know what to expect, especially since the reviews on here are mixed. I was pretty nervous, thinking that it would be overpriced, tacky and average at best but to our surprise, it was actually pretty damn tasty.

I really liked the color theme which is grey, green and yellow and upon walking in was impressed by how clean and organized the place was but was also quite disappointed as to how small it was. When I saw the pictures, the place looked a lot bigger. Doesn't really matter though, I'm here for the food. We were immediately greeted by a hostess who told us that on the left is the area where we can either sit at  the bar or at one of the community tables and where a waitress will take care of us; on the right side however you order and seat yourself, waiting for the pager to go off. The place not being too busy, we took a left and managed to snag two seats at the bar.

We ordered up a couple of the happily renamed Wahlbrewskies which are Harpoon's unfiltered ales which are simply renamed and ordered away: we got some sweet potato tater tots ($3) to share and I got a double decker burger ($6.95) which featured two 3 oz. burgers with some lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion. Oh and some wahl sauce.

Let me just start by saying that while I'm not 100% sure what's in the sweet potato tots, I left convinced that there had to be some highly addictive drug in there; heroin? Crack cocaine? Not sure but either way we inhaled those things in seconds and they were very good.

Secondly, the burgers, much to my surprise were very good. Not as good as In-N-Out but possibly the best I've had in Boston. Maybe I lucked out? Maybe it was wishful thinking to justify the long drive? Nope, the roommate agreed. We both thoroughly enjoyed our burgers. We swaped the government cheese for some blue cheese and added some bacon, which obviously helped a bit but the meat patties were juicy and tasty, the wahl sauce was solid and the buns weren't soggy. The whole thing wasn't messy either which was nice and best of all, it easily fit i my mouth. The lettuce was thinly sliced in a chiffonade which was a nice touch which you don't often see around these parts. A solid, solid choice and an affordable one at that.

There's some interesting elements in the menu, ones that I might need to check out. Mark Wahlberg's choice apparently is the Thanksgiving Burger which features turkey patties with some stuffing, some orange cranberry sauce, some roasted butternut squash and some mayo. There's also some hot dogs and some $12 adult milkshakes which I didn't try but apparently are good as well.

Then there's a few things that bothered me: the whole place is an homage to the Wahlbergs which I didn't think added anything to the experience and in fact made it tacky. Honestly, under a regular name and without their endorsements, I'm convinced that this place would succeed. The quality of their food is that good and the price point is spot on. Another thing too is that near the entrance is a case full of really tacky items that you can buy which feature the Wahlburgers logo. Shoes, hats, t-shirts and stuff; does this mean that they are trying to build a chain? I kind of hope not. I found it unnecessary. And then the divide between the self-service and the full service is confusing and also creates a weird segmentation which I found awkward, especially on my very first visit. Why not make the entire place one or the other? Oh and while you're at it, add a few more community tables maybe, there's only like 3-4 of them...

That being said the place was great and I'd definitely drive down again in the future to get a burger fix. Despite some conceptual issues, what matters most is their food and they did a great job. I left happy and impressed.

Located just minutes away from Davis Square, right on Mass ave, L'Impasto is a modest restaurant that one can easily drive or walk right past without giving it even the slightest of glances. But thankfully, because of this very website, I was able to notice it and decided to go there on a whim for dinner. After walking to Davis Square and walking down Day Street all the way to Mass avenue, I was pretty much there and walked right in. The place isn't big and only has nine tables, include the two four-seaters outside. The owner was shooting the shit with some patrons in Italian which was a very good sign; I was excited and proceeded to sit down and order away.

To start, I was hesitating between an antipasti pate and the Scamorza E Prosciutto ($10) which is pan seared aged mozzarella served with parma prosciutto and crostini bread. I was told that the latter was a great choice and went along with it. It arrived pretty quickly and was delicious. The cheese, an aged mozzarella was incredibly tasty and was reminiscent of a haloumi but with a slightly smokier flavor. The prosciutto was great as well and the bread is made in house which elevated the dish to an entire new level. Speaking of which, as I glanced at the menu and ordered they brought us a bread basket and some tasty olive oil.

Then came another moment of hesitation as I looked at the various entres but a conversation with our waitress indicated that trying their Spaghetti Integrali Con Funghi E Tartufo ($15) would be a solid choice.  The dish featured whole wheat spaghetti tossed with wild mushrooms in a truffle sauce. It was a great, tasty dish and the portion was pretty hearty as well; best of all, they didn't skimp on the mushrooms at all. The whole wheat pasta's flavors played with with the earthiness of the mushrooms. Great recommendation on her part.

Unfortunately I didn't have room to order their lone dessert on the menu, a wild berry tiramisu but will make sure to save room next time I go there as three of the tables inside had them and it looked terrific. Luckily though we did manage to snag one of the two outside tables and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Our waitress was awesome and the prices are more than reasonable. As of the decor, it's simple and the place being small, it doesn't really need to be anything else than a solid, casual Italian eatery and that's just fine by me.

Oh and I shoudn't forget to mention that we each left with a complimentary loaf of house-baked bread (olive loaf). I assume it was one of the day's leftovers that was going to be thrown out since we had a late seating; It didn't go to waste.

Oh and one quick note, they do not as of yet have a wine or beer license but it is something that is in the works apparently so stay tuned and enjoy a refreshing soda or glass of water, you lush.

While Afghani cuisine was a first for me and I came expect a good meal, I left completely blown away. This type of cuisine isn't something that one comes across often but when one of my best friends told me that he wanted to go, I gladly volunteered and made the reservation. Having never had food from Afghanistan and having heard good things, I knew that I'd have to try it.

The great thing about Afghan food is that it's a great hybrid of Indian food and Middle Eastern food, mostly because of the numerous spice routes from back in the day. Whether your dish has cumin, cardamom, black pepper, cinnamon or nutmeg, or maybe all of the above, each dish is tasty and tastes exotic, and from the very moment I walked in and smelled them, emanating from the kitchen, I knew that this meal would be terrific.

I sipped on a Glenlivet from their full bar as I arrived much earlier than my dining companion but once he finally arrived, we were able to glance at the menu while noshing on some flatbread and three dipping sauces (one hot, one mild one and one yogurt one, each delicious). We decided to start our meal with an order of their kaddo appetizer ($7.50) which they are famous for. It features a pan-fried then baked baby pumpkin seasoned with sugar and served on yogurt garlic sauce, topped with ground beef sauce. While I'm not usually a fan of pumpkin this had to be one of the best dishes that I've ever had... ever, let alone Boston. Absolutely incredible and it took a lot of restraint for us to not order a second one. It's sweet, it's tasty, the textures are toothsome and the honey flavors come through; just incredible stuff. It almost felt like having a dessert as an appetizer but honestly it was well worth it, especially since the dish had many layers of flavor.

After devouring and cleaning out that dish in mere instants, I decided to follow my waiter's advice and get their other signature dish, the chowpan ($27) which features a half a rack of lamb which has been marined and grilled, served on a bed of Afghan bread with some sautéed eggplant and some pallow rice. Pallow rice is rice that's been boiled then drained of water, seasoned with canola oil,cardomum, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin seed and black pepper and then baked. It's amazingly tasty and not wet at all, and almost fluffy. The spices aren't overwhelming and pair well with the type of long grain rice that they use. The highlight of the dish though was the rack of lamb which... might... be... the best lamb I've had. Juicy, lean, tender, well seasoned and charred to a perfection as well. The spices created a symphony of flavors for my palate unlike any other lamb I've had. It just worked well and despite the hefty price of the dish, which is a lot more expensive than the other entres, it was all worth it. The eggplant was pretty good as well but it was sautéed with some bell peppers which I can't eat so I had to stop eating it after a couple of bites unfortunately. The bread under the lamb soaked up some of the juices and was wonderful as well.

All in all this restaurant is an absolute gem. I must confess that despite having lived in Kendall Square for over five years, I had never dared venture into this establishment to much of my dismay. I was missing out significantly but no longer as I'll be returning... soon. The service was great and the decor charming. I'm a huge fan of what they do here and look forward to returning.

My only complaint is that they have a full bar but no menu. They don't have cocktails which is fine but how about a beer and spirits list?

PS: good thing their kaddo isn't readily available to go or I'd be swinging by there every single day to get my fix. Honestly it's that good.

Located right on route 16, with cars whizzing by at 50mph just inches away from your double-parked car, Richie's is the place to go to in the Boston area for an Italian ice. And what is an Italian ice you might ask? Easy. It's a somewhat unnatural mixture of water, sugar (corn syrup actually I think), artificial fruit flavorings and colorings. It's mixed and then frozen via a lengthy churning process to create a smooth, tasty and refreshing treat.

And Richie's is pretty much a staple in that business where they've been at it since 1956 and have a national distribution setup to provide their product all over our nation. But in spite of that, this little shop is definitely worth a drive. It's not too far from downtown Boston and just past the CostCo in Everett when coming in from Boston, Somerville, Cambridge or even Medford. And while there's no real parking spots or even seating, I've made this place  a regular destination of mine for the past year or so with the girlfriend; it's great on a nice, warm evening in the summer. Being a seasonal business, they close down in the autumn and winter but believe it or not, you can still find their stuff in a lot of convenient stores and even some supermarkets.

My all-time favorite flavor is lemon which I find simple yet very refreshing but I've had all kinds of others including watermelon, Arnold Palmer, grape, cherry and all kinds of others. My only gripped with this place is that they advertise a natural version of their treat on their site but don't actually have it fresh on site, only pre-packaged. At some point I'll have to try it out but I know that texture-wise it just won't be as smooth as their fresh stuff.

With that being said, the place is great and worth a visit, or two, or three. They are open pretty late on most weeknights and obviously even later on weekends as well. And new this year, they aren't cash only anymore and even take credit cards for amounts of $15 or more. The service is through a window with minimal interaction but most of the time is friendly.

If this place best reflects what being Mexican is all about I now feel embarrassed for having made fun of this country for all these years... No but in all seriousness, this place is awesome. Let's start with the unique decor - local artists help create this modern yet awesome atmosphere with various discreet but delightful touches - from the giant, old, wooden door behind the hostess counter to the various little candles niched inside these little metallic cages. The gigantic, one-of-a-kind painting of a giant donkey with a snake - there's definitely some interesting themes here and it just works.

Personally, they had me at my Coca~Cola Con Pango cocktail ($10) - after the very first sip of this very unique cocktail, I was converted. After much hesitation, I decided to order it as the unique combination of ingredients intrigued me: Pango rum, a Mexican coca~cola reduction and grapefruit juice. Somehow it works and will definitely become my go-to drink when I return here. Amazing. The Abuelo, Abuelo cocktail ($12) I had later on that night was pretty good as well but was very different as it featured a Mezcal base and was instead smoky. But the combination of the Milagro Mezcal, the Lunazul Reposado, the grapefruit, granulated sugar and mole bitters did work; It was recommended to me by our awesome waiter Tyler. But more on him later.

So this place opens up at 5PM and we were trying to meet two other friends there for a double date - OpenTable indicated that the place was completely booked up but we walked in around 5:15 and managed to snag the very last available table which was in the bar area; a high table that was slightly cramped but worked; beggars can't be choosers I guess. The place had opened fifteen minutes prior and was already getting pretty busy. Saloon aside, this could also be Davis Square's hotspot.

We sat down, ordered our drinks and enjoyed the complimetary salsa that was on our table; it wasn't too watery, it wasn't too thick either and wasn't spicy at all but very tasty.  A few instants later our friends arrived. Our waiter Tyler was incredibly helpful and insightful with helping us order both our drinks and food. He was able to not only explain the various types of tequilas in detail but was also able to give great recommendations and field whatever comments and questions we had. We decided to start with a round of drinks and a couple of easy-to-share appetizers - in this case, we ordered the Japanese, sweet Shishito Peppers ($7) served with some lime and salt and the addictive and oh-so-amazing pork belly and roasted grape tomato guacamole ($13). Both were great but the latter was decadent and simply amazing - the pork was tasty, juicy and paired well with the avocados. The portion was good and sharing was easy except that we had to ask for more chips.

I then debated between getting the short ribs barbecoa ($26) and the street cart chicken ($19) and the waiter recommended the chicken, which surprisingly wasn't the most expensive of the two. Appreciating his honesty, I ordered away. And while the food wasn't authentic, nor most of the menu, as it's more of a modern execution of various bits of culinary bits from various regions, it turned out to be a good pick. Never in my life have I been served such a big portion of chicken. It was pretty much half of a chicken, which was moist and delicious - it had been marinated in an achiote-citrus marinade and came plated with some kale 'con plantano' (with plantains) and some tamarind butter. It was very tasty.

My other dining companions ordered all kinds of dishes and enjoyed theirs very much as well. And while some of the dishes are a bit on the pricey side, especially for what could be Mexican food, because of the twists on the dishes and the ingredients used, this restaurant will run you for a bit more than your average go-to burrito joint. It ain't Anna's Taqueria folks. It ain't Jose's Mexican either. Instead it's a non-traditional reflection of gringo meets trendy meets Mexican. And it works very well. Their entrees run from around $20 to $25 and their appetizers are around $11 to $14. Not too bad. The menu is designed to please all kinds of palate and appetites. Want to sip on a drink and have something light to nosh on? Then order one of the many bar snacks. Are you a bit hungrier than that but don't feel like having dinner? Their tacos are there. But if you're really hungry than get a drink (or two. or three) and get their entrees.  

One neat thing about the menu is the flexibility it had for certain dishes. Their guacamole can be ordered one of three ways. Their fondido as well. I found tha to be rather clever and may be one of the reasons why the food flew out of the kitchen. Despite having opened very recently, the service was impecable and the wait times for the food were great as well.

I look forward to returning to this busy spot and try one of their many tequila flights and another Coca~Cola Con Pango cocktail.

After hearing a lot about this place all over the place, from Yelp and Phantom Gourmet, to local sites and blogs, I decided to make the trip to Stoneham for an ice-cream fix on a nice summer night. Accompanied by the girlfriend, the ride from Somerville was quick and parking was easy: perfect.

We stepped in, pretty excited and I immediately noticed that this place has a lot more than just ice-cream; they have a full Italian-style deli there serving Boar's Head sandwiches and all kinds of Italian goodies. Meh, I was there for my sweet tooth. I totally focused on my mission and ordered two scoops: one of vanilla and another of mint chocolate chip.

After paying what seemed like a fair price, I was given my ice-cream in the cup and left to eat outside. No seats were available so I decided to stand by my car. Couldn't do that either, there was a skunk nearby and it smelled bad. I got into the car, blasted the air-conditioning, turned on some tunes and ate away.

Honestly the ice-cream had nothing special. Once again (and just like about every single time) the Phantom 'Fraud' Brothers artificially create a buzz about an average place. Actually average would have been nice... my ice-cream tasted like freezer burn. It didn't taste like it had been made in the last decade. The mint chip was decent but the vanilla was barely edible.

Service was slow and the person behind the counter seemed very confused; not a very good experience. I was expecting average to good and left very unimpressed, what a shame.