Brunching on Lansdowne

Sunday morning on Lansdowne is an impeccably quiet scene. As I made my way down the deserted street which borders Fenway Park to the latest Boston Brunchers outing, signs of the previous nights debauchery lingered in the snow. The Lansdowne Pub banner twinkled in solidarity, set against a blue bird sky with the Prudential Building towering in the distance. I was decidedly more content to settle into the spacious yet cozy Irish Pub at 10:30am on a Sunday morning as opposed 10:30pm on a Saturday night. Time of day aside, drinks were most certainly in order. (Pre-gaming for the Patriots playoff game sounds about right!) Many of us started off with one of three signature brunch cocktails. The Liquid Caramel Coffee combining Baileys, Kahlua, Butterscotch Snaps and milk was equally strong and sweet. There is no coffee in the drink (just coffee liqueur) so don't let the name mislead you.It is reminiscent of a white russian minus the punch of vodka, swap in some creamy Baileys and sticky butterscotch. Liquid Caramel Russian, anyone?
Amanda was the epitome of a New England sports fan that day; and in addition to sporting her Pats jersey, she was also promoting her Boston Marathon fund-raising efforts (A virtual bake sale, which is likely over by the time I get this post up.) However, just because the bake sale is over, doesn't mean you can't make a contribution to benefit the Lukemia & Lymphoma Society on her behalf. Heavy and ornate lights hang from exposed ceilings that meet brick walls adorned with Guinness parephernalia and Irish Heritage decor. Pretty stained glass windows give way to snug booths and inviting rooms with iron fireplaces. I've been to The Lansdowne once before, last January as a matter of fact, for a Seasonal Beer Dinner, which impressed far more than I expected from a Fenway Park bar. The weekend brunch was similarly impressive, though somehow I still did not expect the kitchen to turn out dishes as delicious as they did. The true test lies in the Traditional Irish Breakfast ($13) which is a well received plate of Irish bacon, white & black pudding, breakfast bangers, a grilled tomato, Batchelor's bean's and fried eggs. The homefries ($3 for a side portion) are excellent, golden brown and pleasantly crispy, void of excess grease and nicely laced with thin strands of onion. They also accompany a monstrous slice of Lansdowne Pie ($10) where Irish ham, eggs, potatoes, spinach, onions and cheddar cheese are layered for days and surrounded by a toasty, flaky crust. Sometime around the new year, I resolved to branch out at brunch. This means straying from my typical fare of Eggs Benedict (or anything with eggs, really) and Bloody Marys - if only just for a few meals in January. (This resolution was loosely based in my mind and just for fun!) If what I ordered for brunch at The Gallows wasn't any indication, my entree of choice at The Lansdowne certainly was. If there was ever a time to order Buttermilk Pancakes ($9), it would be the time they come topped with Bailey's infused whipped cream and strawberries. The silky whipped cream melted into ultra light pancakes; these didn't sit heavy in your stomach like some pancakes tend to do. A thin buttery and golden lacquer formed the exterior, while the interior yielded supreme fluffiness, the buttermilk adding a nod of complexity throughout. I managed to nearly finish all three, in between swapping bites with Renee for her Irish Breakfast, where the savory and salty elements were a welcome contrast. I washed everything down with a mimosa.Since this meal was comped, all I had to pay for was the waitresses tip. (You know I have to tell you that right? There is a blogger law somewhere that says so.) I try very hard not to let that influence my feelings about the food. Brunch here was excellent and I would have happily paid $9 for that beautiful plate of pancakes!

Basho Japanese Brasserie

Opened in April 2010 by the same owner of Douzo in the Back Bay, Basho the Japanese term for "a place where things happen" is a welcome addition to the Fenway neighborhood. Indeed things are happening, all of them good, at this sleek ultra modern establishment that embodies its label as a Brassiere, minus the French part of course. The vibe is relaxed while the setting leans towards upscale, the service is informal and friendly while remaining exceptionally efficient. My sister and I have fairly regular sushi nights and Basho was one of our favorites to date! It was sufficiently busy on a Tuesday evening, but not busy enough where we had to wait for a table without a reservation. We were greeted immediately and swiftly ushered into the large dining room where uniform rows of polished black tables are separated by potted bamboo. A sushi bar running the length of the dining room commands attention; backed by ultra thin light fixtures illuminating the white wall. The dining room is separated from the entrance / bar area by geometrical shaped muted lime green booths, all of which were full upon arrival. Leah and I immediately took note of the sake samplers being enjoyed at the table to our left - sparkling like they were sent down from the heavens above, each mini glass with its own personal garnish. Serious drink envy set in. We were bummed when our waiter informed us it was part of a special Ru La La dinner deal and alas, no sake sampling for us. I made a shameless plug for the sampler via my $40 Groupon, (no dice) before we settled on carafes of warm sake. A Sho Chiku Bai ($8) your classic Junmai satiated our sake appetites. Speaking of classics, we started with an order of Edamame ($4.75) precisely flavored with sea salt and lime before diving into an order of the Fried Oyster Special ($7.95).A plump oyster gets a hearty coating of panko bread crumbs and is fried until golden brown. The contrast of the warm slippery bivalve to the crispy panko exterior proves this appetizer is truly something special. And then, there was this. My expectations were fairly high in the sushi department and Basho offered some impressively unique maki that rose to the occasion.
Whoever is to be credited with the invention of the Celtic Maki Burrito ($16.95) I'd like to personally thank. Named for its green wrapper, this piece de resistance consists of a whole spicy tuna roll wrapped in soy paper and deep fried in a light tempura batter. An array of sauces including barbecued unagi, basil oil and jalapeño aioli accompany this bliss inducing bite. Make that five bites. It is a (mini) burrito after all. I'd go back solely on its behalf. Other phenoms include the Amaebi Mango Roll ($13.95) wrapping mango, cucumber and grilled pineapple with shrimp and a sweet mango sauce. This roll embraced the juicy summer fruit, that sunny side up colored mango sauce glistened. It would have benefited from a more precise construction, certain maki towards the center were falling apart in our chopsticks before making it in to the essential soy sauce/ginger/wasabi dip. Fortunately, the Scallop Kiwi Roll ($13.95) stayed in place start to finish. Thinly sliced scallop, juicy kiwi and black tobiko topped a roll of minced seafood, a seaweed salad and tempura crumbs. We decided not to stop at green burritos and fruit laced maki. For dessert we ordered the Green Tea Tempura Ice Cream ($5.00) What's better than an ice cream sundae? Why, that would be a deep fried ice cream sundae. Washed down with a glass of Choya Umeshu Plum ($7) dessert wine, immense satisfaction set in. Another draw to this Fenway hot spot located at 1338 Boylston Street is the fact that they validate parking ($4 under three hours) at the garage around the corner. This is especially helpful if you decide to dine during a Red Sox game. With robust menu options and sushi worthy of praise, I would happily return to sample more of Basho's offerings. And to order the Celtic Maki Burrito again - definitely that.

Where should we go for sushi next?

Long Weekend in the City

[Friday Night]

It was a warm evening on the cusp of a long celebratory weekend ahead. Adam and I ventured up to our buildings roof deck to kick things off. Minus my actual camera, thankfully the phone took better photos of the spread than it did the scenery. We snacked on Brie and smoked Gouda cheese and crackers, pancetta and a bowl of olives.And I sipped on the classic Italian beer, Peroni. After a few hours of basking in the late evening sun and since it is a common roof deck, hanging out with some neighbors, Adam and I headed to the bar at Antico Forno. A glass of the house red and one of their brick oven pizzas with house made ingredients always hits the spot. Indeed they make some of the best pizzas around, I know this is definitely not the first you've heard me rave about them. We enjoyed the La Capricciosa ($15.50) with homemade Italian sausage, mushrooms, artichoke hearts and fresh homemade mozzarella with a plum tomato sauce.

For dessert on the walk home, a stop at Gigi Gelateria! The first gelato of the season tastes like heaven. I'm always mixing and matching flavors, tonight I got Vanilla and Pistachio. [Saturday Night]

We met friends for dinner at Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar. It was my first time at this Fenway neighborhood tavern opened in October 2010 by the same owners of the beloved Franklin Cafe in the South End. Trendy, hip and casual, I was into the ambiance and definitely impressed with the caliber of food and drink. Enjoying the company of friends we had not seen in awhile, and considering the dark atmosphere, I kept the camera flashing to a minimum and took one photo and one photo only:

DUCK FAT FRIED GAME HEN | $19

w/truffle corn spoonbread, gravy

How could I not? I mean, seriously, fry anything in duck fat and I'm instantly a fan - i.e. the Brussel Sprouts at Craigie on Main, the French Fries at Aragosta, who knew the next temptation would be a game hen? The duck fat appeal is one that gives a rich, distinctive flavor to anything it touches. It elevates an otherwise average meal or ingredient to something phenomenal. Crispy skin encases the succulent and juicy meat of the hen, just as you might expect; but the duck fat adds a silkiness more varied than butter, a new depth of savory when compared to alternate seasoning methods. In short, it makes this dish one worth bragging about. The truffle corn spoonbread and gravy wasn't hurting its cause either. Considering this is an oyster bar, you better believe that one each of the daily bivalve offerings preceded my hen. There was a Summerside from PEI, Canada, a Ninigret Cup from Charlestown, RI, and a Penn Cove from Hood Cabal, WA. The oyster is certainly celebrated here as these were freshly shucked and tasted truly sensational. Their is no lack of love in the cocktail department, either. They've got Swizzles & Smashes, Highballs & "Down" Drinks, Shots & Combos, 75 types of Whiskey and more. I had a really tough time deciding but eventually it was the Granny Smith Gimlet ($11) from the "Up" Drinks menu that I happily sipped. Combining Reyka Icelandic Vodka with fresh green apple, ginger, fresh lime juice and demerara syrup, it was a blend true to granny smith in all her green apple glory. They also boast a worthy selection of draft beer and for my second drink I sipped the Pretty Things Seasonal - an East India Porter with amber roasted malts and bold hoppy flavors. Citizen Public House & Oyster Bar alone is worth a trip to the Fenway neighborhood. The spacious sidewalk of 1310 Boylston Street offers al fresco dining at its finest, indoors a circular bar is flanked by large comfy booths, banquettes and even a gas fireplace. If I lived nearby I would happily become a regular.

[Sunday Afternoon]

Clover Food Lab is pretty awesome. It you find yourself hungry in Harvard Square looking for an affordable, fast, healthy lunch option, look no further than the infamous Boston food truck turned permanent food lab located at 7 Holyoke Street.The menu is small, the food is all vegetarian and mostly organic, the space is clean and the staff is helpful and efficient. I ordered a Basil Limeade ($2) to drink. This just-made batch wasn't too sweet, nor too tart, it struck a nice balance and was especially thirst quenching on an 80 degree day.To eat I ordered their signature Chickpea Fritter ($5) which is basically falafel rounds that come loaded with pickled onions, carrots and cucumbers stuffed into a soft chewy whole wheat pita and drizzled in a tangy yogurt sauce. I ate the entire pita, and did the best I could on an order of the Rosemary French Fries ($3).For $3 you get a ginormous portion of just cut PEI potatoes hand tossed with rosemary and sea salt. These fries alone could make a meal. While not your ordinary fry, they actually embody a soft and very potato like quality - think less traditionally crispy, more baked potato-esque texture. At least, that is how my batch tasted and I throughly enjoyed it.

Don't worry, traditional Memorial Day grilling even though it can't happen where I live, went down in the suburbs (Adam's parents house.) Steaks, corn on the cob, potato salad, watermelon, the works!

I can't believe it's Thursday already! Hope your week is flying by and it is onto another beautiful weekend....

An Evening at UFood Grill

On Monday evening I attended an event for Boston Food Bloggers hosted by UFood Grill at their Landmark Center location in the Fenway area neighborhood. UFood Grill provided attendees with a complimentary menu tasting as well as treated us to an open bar of beer and wine. While I'm typically reviewing upscale restaurants and enjoying meals of great culinary prowess, I've never been one to hide the fact that I enjoy a Wendy's Chicken Nuggets and French Fries every now and again. I figured it couldn't hurt to check out what this healthy "where delicious meets nutritious" fast food franchise had to offer. Turns out, it's quite a lot, and the foods actually pretty good! Make no mistake, I'm not about to forgo some greasy McDonald's as my fast and cheap go-to hangover cure; but for a healthy alternative on the go, the folks at UFood Grill are definitely onto something. So far they have eight locations in Boston, Dallas and Cleveland. The Boston franchises are located in Downtown Crossing as well as Logan Airport Terminals B and C.

Tom Mackey, the senior VP of Operations was on hand to explain the "fast casual" concept upon which UFood builds their business practice:

1) It has to taste good

2) It has to be nutritional

3) It has to be ready in 3 1/2 minutes

4) It has to make money

(UFood is a publicly traded company)

Tom explained that they actually focus 15% on being healthy and lean and 85% on being better for you than down the street. So in an effort to be as healthy as possible, sometimes that simply means less calories than the competition. In a nutshell; the dressings are lite, the meats are lean, the cheese is low fat, the rice is brown and the bread is whole wheat. The food is always baked, grilled or steamed, never fried and no trans fats are ever used. Tom also mentioned they source locally and use organic ingredients when possible.Okay, now that you have the facts, lets get to the food (and drink! and atmosphere!) Signature colors of bright green and orange set the scene at the 201 Brookline Street location (closed to the public this evening on our behalf.) I appreciated the Under 500 Calories Menu hanging on display. While I'm not in the business of counting calories, this is a welcome point of attention for those who are. In addition, every item on the menu lists next to it the number of calories it contains. I sipped on a Corona Lite while mingling with other bloggers and chatting with the super friendly UFood team members. Around 6:30 we were instructed to take a seat and shortly after we began our meal with a Bistro Salad.This salad contains organic field greens, tomatoes, feta cheese, walnuts and dried cranberries, topped with a blueberry pomegranate dressing. The dressing was light and zesty with hints of sweetness that didn't overpower the ingredients, which were unmistakably fresh. A plate of french fries - appropriately named Unfries accompanied the salad course. Unfries because they are baked, not fried! The oven baked crispiness as well the lower calorie count gives them a unique appeal. They have definitely succeeded in creating a healthy, non greasy fry without compromising on taste. Up next was an entree of Fire-Grilled Sirloin Tips. (Pictured above is a full size order displayed on the tabletop spread.)These 100% USDA choice sirlion tips are locally sourced from Burlington, Vermont. They are cooked to order in a light balsamic dressing giving them a nice burst of flavor. For a steak tip fire-grilled in 3 1/2 minutes, these are actually very tasty. (I'm not comparing them to the steak tips you'd cook up on your backyard grill, but for what they are, I was impressed.)
The simply prepared sides included Fresh Steamed Broccoli and Sweet Potato Mash. They don't cook with salt so the vegetables lacked seasoning, the point being that the decision to add is up to you. I could have used some salt on my broccoli, but the creamy sweet potato mash stood up well on its own.They offer Personal Pizzas made with organic whole wheat crust and skim mozzarella. We sampled a slice of the Turkey Sausage and later the Pesto. Overall, I wasn't a huge fan. The paper thin crust lacked crispiness and probably would not satisfy a typical pizza craving. And while the pesto itself was good, the spices in the turkey sausage were rather abrasive for my taste. The Fired-Up Burger menu offers choices from ground lean beef, turkey, veggie and all natural free range bison on a multi-grain or sesame seed bun with lettuce, tomato, pickles and ketchup.
Pictured is the Chipoltle Turkey Burger made with lite jalapeno jack cheese and spicy chipoltle mayo. The turkey was surprisingly juicy which was a positive aspect, however the multi-grain bun, cut a little too thin on the bottom was left rather soggy by default. The veggies, especially the pickles were welcome additions and the burger did present a spicy kick that I enjoyed. Rather full at this point, but the food kept coming! The signature UBowl served was the Chicken Tinga boasting slow cooked chicken in adobo sauce and tinga salsa. The chicken was tender with a balanced spice complimented by cool tomatoes. I definitely liked this dish, of the few bites I could manage, especially when accompanied by a glass of red wine!The Grilled Paninis are a job well done. Actually, this might be my favorite menu item of the evening. Chicken Pesto lives up to expectations with tomato and skim mozarella on ciabatta bread. They also offer a selection of Wraps, the Fresh Falafel is made with baked falafel, pickled beets, lettuce, tomatoes, roasted red pepper hummus and spicy tahini sauce. The falafel squares didn't really compare to my standard ideals of falafel, and not unlike the pizza, I'm unsure if this would satisfy a true falafel craving. That being said, it was a well made wrap with an ideal amount of hummus spread and tahini sauce coating crisp lettuce and tasty pickled beets.
The below are even more menu items that were on the tabletop display but not sampled.Chipoltle Chicken Sandwich chicken breast, lite jalapeno jack, chipoltle mayo, lettuce, tomato and pickles on ciabatta.Seems I captured the description of this one in the photo - one less thing to type!Tofusion organic tofu and veggies over brown rice with a ginger soy glaze.
Mighty Chicken Sandwich chicken breast, romaine mix, lite mayo, almonds and caesar dressing on a sesame roll. Okay, so maybe I just had a grand old time photographing the food on display. Wrapping it up, no menu sampling would be complete without sweets! We were also treated to dessert in the form of UBerry Soft Serve Yogurt. Flavors of Original & Wildberry Tart Swirl and Fat-Free Vanilla & Chocolate Swirl hit the spot after many filling dishes. UFood by way of healthy sweet options also offers smoothies, sundaes and parfaits. I was excited to learn more about UFoods concept behind healthy fast food, especially from a well rounded group of genuinely nice individuals. When the fast food nation craves a healthy alternative, UFood Grill is committed to making it easy for people to eat smart while enjoying good food. I want to thank each and everyone of the employees who put on this event for welcoming us into their Landmark Center Franchise and treating us to a generous, well executed sampling of their menu.