Thursday, June 30, 2016

Lumière Newton

Lumière in Newton changed owners a while back but are now serving lunch Tues-Fri.



This is the current location, they were a little bit further up on the street when they first opened and their food got excellent reviews from the start.




Bar and dining area with the kitchen in the back.




The nicer dining area with booths and comfy seating. Nice and bright with the big windows even if the view leaves something to be desired.




Duck and Pistachio Terrine Sandwich w/ Side Salad ($14). "Local Greens, Dijonnaise and House Made Pickles." Well, the pickles didn't make it for some reason. The salad was really excellent even if parts could have done with some more dressing. The terrine was also seriously tasty with an exceptional texture and taste. What a pleasant lunch this was. Service was very attentive, not that they were swamped at lunch today.


Address 1293 Washington St, Newton, MA 02465 
Phone number (617) 244-9199

Lumière Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Dah-Mee Natick

Dah-Mee in Natick is located in downtown Natick and serves Japanese, Korean and Thai food.



The restaurant opened in 2000 and is run by Mrs. Lee. There is only (expensive) on street metered parking.



There is a small Sushi bar.



This is where the hostess/owner was hanging out.



The interior was a bit spartan and monochrome with the only color coming from the lights hanging from the ceiling. The carpet was a bit dated and could have done with a good cleaning.



Of course, you get the obligatory Miso soup and I was also presented with a fork after I had ordered even if my dish comes with a spoon.



I ordered the Ok Dol Bi Bim Bab ($12) with chicken. "Display of exotic vegetable, egg touch of sesame oil on top of rice in a sizzling stone pot; served with miso soup and Korean hot chili sauce on the side." What's missing? Right, no Banchan whatsoever. The stone pot was sizzling when it arrived but produced very little crispy rice on the bottom. The egg was nice even if it was overcooked on the bottom. The vegetables were fine even if they were completely unseasoned as was the rice. Not only was the chicken cold but it was also very dry and guess what? Unseasoned as well. The hot chili sauce helped to spice things up a bit but overall I wasn't impressed. What's the point of paying extra for the stone pot if you hardly get any crisp rice?



The table next to me was used for storage and waitress station.

Dah Mee Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Farmstead Table Newton

Farmstead Table in Newton is located on the busy Union Street and they are, as the name implies, using locally sourced meat and produce.



The outside looked very smart and inviting.



The pleasant and bright bar area with the hostess station.



The bigger dining room was also nice and bright. This seems to be the spot where "The Ladies" of Newton meet for lunch.



I decided to go for the American Wagyu Beef Burger (18). "House-made onion roll, smoked bacon, pickled mustard greens, sesame soy mayo and a choice of hand-cut fries or salad." "Add aged cheddar + 2" and I did add the cheese. As you can see, I went with the fries and they were excellent, light and crispy. The burger was perfect with a coarse grind and very juicy and for once I got a burger that was cooked a perfectly medium rare. The thick cut bacon was also prepared nicely and the pickled mustard greens was a nice addition and added some tartness. I forgot that I had planned to visit for brunch so now I may have to visit them again. Fresh flowers on the tables and they give you a carafe of ice water and that's something I really like. Not the cheapest but the quality of the food made it worth the money. Service was very pleasant.

Farmstead Table Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Monday, June 27, 2016

Zoup! Fresh Soup Company Natick

I wanted something lighter for lunch today since I have a ton of leftovers after this weekends chicken adventure so I headed down to Zoup! Fresh Soup Company in Natick. They have a nice website and it was accurate with today's menu.



They are easy to find unless you do as I did and don't hit Rte 9 coming from Rte 30 and hoping to get there anyway but that didn't work so a nice detour finally got me back to Rte 9.



The inside was nicely enough and you order and pickup at the counter. They really encourage you to try the soups before ordering and I thought that was a super idea.



I was going to have the New England Chowder but after tasting the Fiery Chicken Enchilada ($4 as part of "Try Two Combo"), I promptly changed my mind. "Spicy tomato soup with chicken, green, red and jalapeno peppers, and cream." Fiery it wasn't but very tasty, thick and hearty with tons of chicken and really delicious. You also get a big chunk of bread with the soup.



For the other part of the combo, I went with the Maple Ham & Bacon Sandwich ($5). "Smoked ham, hickory smoked bacon, swiss & maple aioli. Toasted on country french". Two thick slices of ham with nice and crispy bacon, how can you not like this? The sandwich was hot and the cheese nicely melted. I must say that Panera takes a distant second, very distant, to the food here. We need one of these closer to Woburn.

Zoup! Fresh Soup Company Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sunday, June 26, 2016

WUBurger Gourmet Cambridge

WUBurger Gourmet in Cambridge is located in Inman Square and this is their second location, the first one is a more casual eatery in Woburn. The owners, Deepak Diwan and Kal Gullapalli, decided to do something different and introduced Nashville Hot Chicken Sundays starting a couple of weeks back. They said this was a bit of a passion project for them and a way to give customers a taste of a type of food they love. Who doesn't love a good fried chicken so off I went on this gorgeous Sunday.



Parking is free on Sundays and I managed to get a spot really close.


It's not a big place but very nicely decorated and impeccably clean. They were prohibited to redo the interior in the Woburn location.



The Nashville Fried chicken comes either with White meat ($13) or Dark ($12) and of course, I went with the dark. You have three choices of sauces:
  • A mild sweet and savory honey butter sauce.
  • A house hot sauce that is cayenne forward and combines smoky, sweet, and spicy flavors.
  • A "Melt Your Face Off," which "hurts so good" and is made with ghost peppers and served with gloves.
I went with the House Hot and it was pleasantly spicy without overpowering the chicken. Despite having had the sauce poured over it, the chicken was still super crispy and cooked perfectly, moist and tender. The picture doesn't show the size of the thigh but it was big. Yes, you can see the cayenne colored sauce pooling on the plate and it will run down your arm. There is an excellent potato salad hiding on the other side of the slaw. The slaw had, apart from cabbage, both kale and shaved Brussels sprouts in it. Despite that, it was also super tasty and crunchy. The chicken is cooked to order so fast food it isn't.




What a deal I did run into today, if you checked in on Facebook, you got a second order of chicken for free, so my dinner is all set! Not only that but if you add a photo you also get a free ice cream cookie! The Chocolate Chip cookie was nice and moist and was perfect after the spicy chicken. The service was very good with both the manager and Deepak, one of the owners, making sure everyone was fine. Everyone was very happy to chat about the food and their other location.



Their spirit animal was hanging out at the next table. This was one loud rubber chicken and really show the spirit of the place. No Nashville Chicken Sunday on the 4th of July weekend but after that, it will be back for the whole summer. They also have a liquor license and serve craft beers. 

WUBurger Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Cook Newton

Cook in Newton is located on the busy Washington Street in Newtonville but there is plenty of (paid) parking available.



I decided to stop by for their brunch on a gorgeous Saturday. Now brunch is just an excuse to serve smaller portions with pricier drinks but what can you do.



The interior was really nice with a cool vibe. Despite being quite busy, the noise level wasn't bad at all.



Nice bar area with plenty of seating.



When my order of Coner Beef Hash ($14) arrived, I could only stare in horror at what was supposed to be two eggs over easy. The hash looked really good and I thought that the kitchen surely couldn't be this bad? When I told my waiter that the eggs were not cooked right, he took the plate away.



A couple of minutes this arrived, turns out he mixed up two orders and this looked much better. How hungover do you have to be to not see the difference? With that sorted out, the hash was outstandingly good with big chunks of tender corned beef with potatoes and onions mixed in. It only got better after I broke the yolks and let it mix in. It was even seasoned properly. Finally, I got a hash that didn't look like it comes out of a can of dog food. They even had Calvados on the Dessert Cocktail menu.

Cook Restaurant Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Friday, June 24, 2016

Ibasaw Malden

Ibasaw in Malden opened recently and I had high hopes for them since they offer an all you can eat Seafood and Dim Sum buffet for $15.95 at lunch.



They are easy to find and shares an humungous parking lot with Stop & Shop so parking is not an issue. Did you get the name?



It's a big place but nicely decorated and fairly bright. The do hot pots at dinner so all the tables have the built in heaters.



It's a big buffet, cold items in the middle and dim sum further down. There was plenty of salads that looked really good including a papaya salad. Everything was clearly labeled.



It's a good place if you want to try tripe or chicken feet since you can get just a sampler. The beef meatballs and the pork spare ribs in black bean sauce got me all excited.



Steamed stuff including shrimp dumplings.



The Sushi section had, as usual, an abundance of rolls but some Nigiri and Sashimi offerings including mackerel.



They had a plethora of condiments but no chili oil but that was quickly brought out when I asked for it and it was really tasty, in small amounts, of course.



First visit. The shrimp was just cooked shrimp without any seasoning whatsoever, so it was a bit boring even if it was cooked well. The Salmon Nigiri was excellent and was the snapper. The grilled shrimp had a nice char but was stone cold. I was here just before noon and it might be smarter to get here closer to one when it got busier and things got replenished quicker. They did replace dishes even if they were not empty so they are trying to keep the food fresh. Try to get a table so you can see when the hot food is replenished.



Dim Sum run. Three different shrimp dumplings and shumai, all could have been warmer. The pork spare ribs and the beef meatball was really tasty. I was always a fan of the taro dumpling with shrimp and the sticky rice was a nice surprise and it had some Chinese sausage mixed in.



The clams with black bean sauce were probably the best dish. Perfectly cooked clams with a super tasty sauce. I got seconds of this despite being stuffed at this point. Overall I was very happy with the food, it was tasty and well prepared.



Not sure if it makes sense to have the dirty dishes dumped next to the clean plates.

Ibasaw Seafood Buffet Sushi Shabu Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Johnny's Luncheonette Newton

Johnny's Luncheonette in Newton is located in Newton Center with its associated parking issues.



Looked nice from the outside and they also have a couple tables available. I have to give them kudos for sourcing items locally. "The fresh local whitefish caught by local Boston fisherman. The bread comes from Iggy’s. The burgers sourced with beef from a small ranch in Maine. Local favorite Richardson’s ice cream at the soda fountain".



The inside was cool as well and this is how it looked when I arrived just before noon, the place was packed!



I took a seat at the nice counter up front, also packed.



I went with the Reuben ($11.95) on a bulkie instead of the dark rye that I'm not too fond of. The sandwich was fine, certainly got enough corned beef. I could have done with some more sauerkraut and dressing. The slaw and pickle were fine.

Johnny's Luncheonette Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato