Dorise "Cheesecurdinator" G.'s Profile

Salty Pig was a definite happy hour win for me.  Left Hand Milk Stout, Farm Egg Mushroom Pizza, nevermind that I don't eat pork, the pizza was one of the best I've had in the city with fantastic crust texture and crust-to-sauce-to-cheese-to-topping ratio.  It's hard for me to find places in Back Bay with the kind of vibe I actually want to take part in, but after my first visit the Salty Pig rallied to a choice spot on the list.  Also, the bathroom was coated in Far Side cartoons - win!

man, i have a $100 gift certificate here and i *still* am hesitant about going back.

went here with my celiac boston-ex pat pal sally.  since we'd made a reservation in advance things kicked off on time, and our waitress informed us that she herself had celiac disease, so we were encouraged that the meals would not be tainted.

sally got a pepsi and i got a bloody, tho it took me about 20 mins to get my drink and only took sally about 2.  strike one.

it took nearly an hour for our food to come out, which was a little bit insane.  i had ordered pancakes with eggs on the side and sally had ordered the truffle scrambled eggs with bacon on the side.

when our food came out, my pancakes were rubbing up against some huge slabs of bacon, and sally's eggs and bacon had 4 huge pieces of toast plopped on top of it.  it was bad enough that i hadn't ever been asked bacon or sausage (at which point i would have told them "neither" because i don't eat either of those things), but the toast on sally's meal was unacceptable.  the waiter who had brought out the meal didn't have any idea what celiac disease was (train your staffers, people!  this is not an uncommon food allergy!), and we both sent our meals back - one that needed to be remade without ever having touched bread, and one that needed bacon grease to not be all over ma' pancakes.

fast forward 25 minutes (really) and we get our meals round 2.  mine was fine, tho they forgot to bring me syrup, but sally's they'd not only removed the bread - they'd removed her side of bacon, and the fact that she'd ordered fancier eggs than just a random scrambled egg.  we decided we didn't have the time to wait another half hour for them to not mess up that order, too, so she just ate what she was given.

the only redeeming thing about this meal was that 1) the food was edible and 2) they comped us our drinks for the screwups (which we hadn't asked for).  since i have so much money gifted for their establishment i'll be back, but you can put money on the fact that it will not be for brunch.

RockOn Concert Cruises are a fantastic way to spend a beautiful summer night!  Last summer I checked out the Deer Tick/Aunt Martha concert cruise on an evening where the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  The crowd was crazy into the Deer Tick set, but I fell in love with Aunt Martha that evening - a great lineup choice by the outdoor boat venue, giving voice to a talented, much lesser-known New England act.  The sound quality wasn't bad for being pitched around in the wind, there was ample space to move even though it was a sold out show, and while you still spent too much money on plastic cup drinks, good music on a boat sailing around the Boston Harbor made it worth it.

I'll definitely be scouring the lineup again this year for good shows - if you can't get on board with a summer concert cruise I'm pretty sure you're a freedom-hating terrorist, and you and I should not be friends.  See ya'll on the mother effing boat!

RockOn Concert Cruises are a fantastic way to spend a beautiful summer night!  Last summer I checked out the Deer Tick/Aunt Martha concert cruise on an evening where the weather couldn't have been more perfect.  The crowd was crazy into the Deer Tick set, but I fell in love with Aunt Martha that evening - a great lineup choice by the outdoor boat venue, giving voice to a talented, much lesser-known New England act.  The sound quality wasn't bad for being pitched around in the wind, there was ample space to move even though it was a sold out show, and while you still spent too much money on plastic cup drinks, good music on a boat sailing around the Boston Harbor made it worth it.

I'll definitely be scouring the lineup again this year for good shows - if you can't get on board with a summer concert cruise I'm pretty sure you're a freedom-hating terrorist, and you and I should not be friends.  See ya'll on the mother effing boat!

why this place is full of win:

milwaukee beer options that aren't miller, pabst, or leinies.  not one, but two variety options from the lakefront brewery!  clearly, this vendor is serious business.

also: luxardo marischinos.  *drool*

On my walk to a JP costume party, I passed this little gem and backtracked a few steps - this store was too hip, unique, and cute to pass up.  I was left mostly to my own devices in the store, which I appreciated.  The lady working had long 70s hair and plaid flare pants.  The vintage clothing wasn't cheap, but it wasn't crazy expensive either.  The finds were pretty high end - I went in looking for a costume accessory and walked away with a top I'll wear often.  This area is tucked away from most folks who don't spend a lot of time in vehicles or the D-line, but if you're venturing from Brookline to JP (one of the prettiest walks in Boston!), definitely take the time to stop at Cafe Society.  It's one of the nicest, most accessible vintage stores I've been to.  You know, one where you don't need a full-blown case of hipster to don the clothes appropriately.

went here on a scoutmob deal but i'd definitely be back.  i'm not often a fan of cooked fish, but i got the mackerel bento box lunch special and it was delicious.  

highlights:
~perhaps my favorite miso soup recipe i've discovered to date,
~the fish was flavored nicely,
~they subbed a veggie dumpling for the standard piggy one for me,
~the salad was dressed just the way i like it (light but complete), and
~everything was fresh and tasty.  

my companion and i indulged for dessert with the red bean creme brulee, which sounded better than it tasted.  i wished they'd ground up the red beans and made it part of the custard instead of just lining the bottom of the ramekin with the beans, which made the texture a little weird.  also, i usually like a crispier bruleed top (after all, what are creme brulees for if not the sugar on top)!

service was slow but they didn't nudge us for being pokey (it wasn't crowded so NBD).  solid all told, and next time i'm in the back bay for lunch i'll certainly consider this a solid option!

There aren't a lot of places I get excited about going to when I'm back in Wisconsin, and that's especially true of the Milwaukee bar scene.  Thank heaven for friends with good taste, because on my last trip home they took me to Sugar Maple, and I think this will have to become Wisconsin home-visit tradition (alongside indulging in a Sprecher rootbeer, some fresh cheese curds, & a trip to Kopps, of course).

Get the samplers, and ask the bartender's advice.  I was pretty specific about my preferences, and I got a delicious round of unique and relatively local stouts.  I just looked at the beer menu to remind myself of the ones I had on my last visit, and nearly started drooling when I saw the mention of the coffee-kissed "breakfast stout" from my last trip.

You should hang out here, but only if you're not going to douche up the place.  I don't want to come back and find this gem of a bar all pop-collared.  You hear me, Milwaukee?

pho viet's tofu bahn mi is easily the best deal sandwich in the city at under $5.  for me, i skip the mayo, but i always make sure to ask for a bottle of sriracha to make up for it.  if you dig the swine, i hear the pork's the way to go, but their tofu is meatily satisfactory for me.

no matter how many times you go, they will remind you that you need to bring back the sriracha bottle.

they also will 100% certainly not give you enough napkins.

but quit your belly-aching, for realsies.  what do you expect when you're robbing them blind?  i'm willing to accept napkin and chili-sauce stinginess when i'm going to be stuffed with yummies having spent a fraction of what tweens make for their weekly allowance.

i wasn't a huge fan of the food at this bar, but i'm doling out four stars just for being (easily) the best bar vibe near the park street T.  so often it's hard to compromise on a going-out location for when we want to meet our pallies on opposite sides of the river, but stoddard's is a great compromise.  fantastic local brews, barrel heads dispersed for you to drop your drinks, and not a bad event locale, either - went here for a "beer and chocolate" tasting that was sickly awesome.

you want to meet me by park street?  it's slim pickin's for a good bar in the hood, but stoddards is at the top of the list.  

quick tip: per my friend's suggestion, try making your own version of a black and tan with left hand milk stout and peak organic maple ale.  when that creamy frothy marshmallow butter is rolling over your tastebuds, try hard to keep your composure.  it won't be easy.