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?

The Joys of June

Where on earth did the month of June go?! I feel like I blinked and it was over! Despite its fleeting presence, I somehow managed to pack a lot in. Here's a round up of the things I ate / saw / made / did this month to kick off summer in the city that didn't get a post all their own.

Not that they each didn't deserve one.

Ice Cream Sundae @ Emack & Bolio's

Nothing embraces hot summer evenings (hey, there has been a select few) like a trip for ice cream sundaes. It's always all about gelato where I live in Little Italy, but when I crave actual ice cream I head just outside the neighborhood confines to Emack & Bolio's at Long Wharf. A scoop of ice cream or three hits the spot. Their batches are fresh made weekly with the highest quality ingredients and extracts. My go-to flavor is the Grasshopper Pie which contains creme de menthe liquor with Oreo chunks and chocolate flakes. Top it with warm gooey hot fudge, fresh whipped cream and thick chunks of peanuts and pecans and you've got a treat that says summer like nothing else.

Paul Simon Concert at The House of Blues.

Located on Lansdowne Street across from Fenway Park, The House of Blues is always a fun venue for live music and dancing. My whole life I've been wanting to see Paul Simon in concert. I grew up to the tunes of Graceland, it still ranks up there as one of my favorite albums of all time. He played a number of songs off that album and many more of the classic tunes I know and love him for. It was a truly memorable evening and I hope he comes back to Boston soon!

Layered Taco Salad - recipe courtesy of Chelsee @ We Are Not Martha.

See, I do cook sometimes. If you consider browning beef and prepping ingredients for a salad cooking. Actually, I should give myself a little more credit since the recipe calls for making your own taco seasoning and mixing dressing from scratch.
This salad was so good and yielded an insane amount of leftovers. I ate it every day for lunch the entire week after I made it. Thanks so much to Chelsee for the recipe inspiration.

Boating in Essex, MA

My sister's boyfriend grew up nearby, and some of his friends were nice enough to invite us out on their boats for the day. This picturesque coastal New England town on the North Shore of Massachusetts is home to beaches and waterways perfect for boating, relaxing, drinking, grilling, swimming and fishing.Which is just what we did on Saturday, June 18th. Gorgeous and sunny, with no rain in sight until the final boatride home, where we experienced a heavy downpour followed by a rainbow spanning its full arch across the marsh. It was a rare breathtaking sight - my camera was packed safely away from the rain. Hopefully the rest of the landscape views suffice. We drank vodka raspberry lemonades and grilled some marinated shrimp, along with burgers and chicken. This is what summer days are made for! I felt incredibly blessed for this day since I am usually mulling about the city.

Belgian Poutine ($8) @ Saus

One of my favorite spots to open this year is Belgian street food haven turned city household name, Saus. If you're local, you've probably been. Or should I say, hopefully you've been. If you haven't you'll definitely want to check it out, stat! The team at Saus perfects the art of fusing traditional Belgian frites into this infamous dish native to Canada and the very Northern parts of Maine and New Hampshire. Hand cut potatoes are deep fried and piled with heaping helpings of dense haphazardly shaped cheddar cheese curds, then slathered with rich, made-from-scratch savory brown gravy. The cheese curds are mildly salty with a unique springy texture that makes them rather fun to eat. Thick and silky, the gravy coats the crispy fries without overwhelming their texture.

I crave this dish on a fairly regular basis!

Chicken Stir Fry w/ Edamame Slaw

This ones all my own. It combines frozen edamame, shredded carrots, shredded cabbage and cilantro with chicken in a ginger-soy-terriyaki sauce. It was a delicious quick and easy creation. Did the month of June fly by for anyone else?! What are you looking forward to in July?

Artisanal Ice Cream Sundaes

Local purveyors joined forces this past Sunday to offer a free sampling of their products in the form of ice cream sundaes. Batch provided the ice cream and Taza Chocolate provided the toppings as well as hosted the event at their factory store located at 561 Windsor Street in Somerville, just outside of Inman Square. I ventured over with a few other bloggers around 1:30pm to learn about the products and sample the sundaes before the event opened to the public at 2pm.

We were introduced to Susie and Veronica the duo behind Batch as well as a number of friendly Taza employees. Taza produces 100% organic direct trade stone ground Mexican Chocolate. Stone grinding the beans is a traditional method of producing chocolate that involves minimal processing and gives the Taza bars their distinctive rustic texture.

Batch ice cream is produced one batch at a time at Crop Circle Kitchen in Jamaica Plain. The owners pride themselves on locally sourced, organic and fair trade ingredients. The milk and cream come from a dairy farm in Tiverton, Rhode Island, the sea salt and butter are from Maine and the coffee beans are from a company out of Orange, MA. The chocolate and the vanilla beans are sourced direct from farms in Costa Rica.

The ingredients on the applied-by-hand labels are all ones you can pronounce, foregoing any stabilizers that are often found in commercial ice creams. While this makes their product at little more expensive (cartons retail for about $7) it also allows for a superior taste, an incomparable freshness, a spoonful of the purest, creamiest, most luxurious quality ice cream you can ever recall tasting.Today we sampled the vanilla and coffee. (Note on the cartons the cute little icons to designate the flavor!) The vanilla is made with seeds from the beans split open by hand, never with vanilla extract. Vanilla gets a plane-jane wrap but this stuff is so fresh and creamy you will want to eat it plain! (At least at first.) The coffee carton boasting a tiny coffee cup as its logo is made from real freshly ground beans providing a taste that is a flawless balance somewhere in between bitter and sweet. The toppings provided by Taza ranged from just made chocolate sauce, to roasted cacao nibs to chocolate covered cacao nibs. All were a welcome addition to the made-from-scratch ice cream.Gotta love the Taza bike cart, just another effort that displays their commitment to sustainability.

The marriage of these two relatively new products proved quite a treat. Taza was founded in 2006 and Batch is coming up on its one year anniversary - founded in May 2010.

Offering high quality ingredients manufactured in a sustainable, socially responsible way results in a superior tasting product and one you feel good about eating. I was happy to have the opportunity to learn more about them both as well as check out the Taza factory store!

Above: Hand chiseled authentic Mexican stones used for grinding the chocolate. Below: looks to be some larger stone grinding machinery.

While inside I sampled three new Taza flavors - Orange, Ginger and Chipoltle Chili.

The flavors really shine through in their chocolate disks. Have your chocolate any way you like, sweet, potent or spicy.

Back outside: The event had quite a turnout!

Special thanks to Carol for providing us each with a bag of treats to take home including pints of salted caramel and coffee ice cream, a batch tee shirt, a Taza 80% dark chocolate bar and a can of chocolate covered cacao nibs.

Want some of your own? You can purchase Batch at a number of shops in Boston and surrounding towns. Taza Chocolates can be purchased at the factory, online and at shops in 40 states nationwide.