Wednesday, November 29, 2017

Rox Diner Newtonville

I think serving breakfast all day is a splendid idea, and today I headed out to Rox Diner in Newtonville for some. They also have another location in West Roxbury.



There is a big parking lot behind them and also street parking. Much to my delight, I found free parking nearby.



It's not a big place, and it doesn't really feel like a diner, but the inside is very pleasant. There is also counter seating in the back. This place gets insanely busy on the weekends.



This is the Chorizo Hash & Eggs (11.79). "HOMEMADE HASH TOPPED WITH TWO POACHED EGGS*. SERVED WITH CRISPY RED BLISS HOME FRIES AND LOCALLY BAKED TOAST". There was a number of choices for the toast, and I just went with the white, not expecting much. Instead, I got perfectly toasted and buttered bread that was just delicious. One poached egg was undercooked and snotty, and the other one was overcooked. How do they do that? It's the same pot, right? The unsalted but seasoned home fries were really good and cooked nicely. Crispy? Not really. The chorizo hash was really good and very tasty. Not exactly cheap, but the bread and the hash saved the day.

Address 335 Walnut St, Newton, MA 02460
Phone number (617) 916-1795

Rox Diner Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Monday, November 27, 2017

Celia's Salem

Celia's in Salem serves Dominican food just outside the city center and is one of the best-kept secrets in Salem.



They are easy to find, and there is plenty of free street parking available.



They do a booming takeout business, but there is a good amount of seating inside. You order at the steam table and then follow your container as it gets filled up and pay at the end. They do take CC. Of course I was the only white guy in the place, and that's usually a good sign.



There is plenty to select from, including half chickens.



The very nice owner realized that I looked like a deer in the headlights and called out "I'll take care of you". When it was my turn he created a tasting plate for me to try. Two types of chicken, beef, pork ribs and I forgot was the last one was. Yellow rice with pigeon beans and white rice with beans. How nice was that?



Lunch Special ($6) in a to-go container since I knew there would be leftovers. Enough Yellow Rice with Pigeon Beans for four and enough beef for two, plus a big scoop of their delicious potato salad. The beef was excellent, tender and very tasty. Wish I got more sauce. They do oxtail on Thursday-Sunday, and I'll have to go back for that. Dinner is ($9) and I believe that you then get twice the amount of meat and the salad comes in a separate container.

Address 75 Congress Street, Salem MA 01970 
Phone number (978) 594-4275

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

Sunday, November 26, 2017

Sichuan Gourmet Burlington

I wanted some noodle soup today and looking back on the blog, I noticed that I haven't written about the Beef Noodle Soup at Sichuan Gourmet in Burlington or any of their other locations. I suspect that I know why, but decided to give it another try today.


The soup was very good as was the noodles, but the beef had too many icky bits. I don't mind tendon when it's edible, but the icky bits here isn't really edible. What was actual beef, was fine and tender. Serving those bits are very common, so I suspect that it's just me. The now defunct The Great Chow in Malden had a dish called Sichuan Style Beef Tendon Noodle that I got talked into trying, and the meat was delicious.

Saturday, November 25, 2017

The Porch Wakefield

For a last turkey treat, I headed to The Porch in Wakefield. They have something on the menu that piked my interest.


The holiday decorations are out.


The fairly new dish was the Hot Brown, also sometimes called the Louisville or Kentucky Hot Brown. The sandwich was originally created at the Brown Hotel in Louisville, Kentucky, by Fred K. Schmidt in 1926. Hot Brown ($9.50). "Open faced smoked turkey breast, mornay sauce, tomato, smoked pork belly". A Mornay sauce is a Béchamel sauce with shredded or grated Gruyère cheese added. Jonathan uses parmesan instead, and it worked really well. The original used bacon, but everything is better with pork belly. Despite me not being a fan of white turkey meat, this was excellent. The tomato was sliced thin, and that ratio with the rest of the sandwich was perfect. I'm not really a fan of tomato either, but everything went really well together.


Look at that perfectly cooked turkey! It was tender, and it was juicy, and it could almost convert me from the dark meat. It was also a serious amount of turkey meat. Another winner from this delightful little place.


Friday, November 24, 2017

TWK Winchester

This month The Serenitee Group loaded their Reward cards with $10 to promote the new menu at The Waterfield Kitchen in Winchester, but since I'm an idiot, I missed it.



There was still a number of the new dishes that I would like to try, so on this sunny Black Friday, I headed out. The traffic was surprisingly light everywhere.



I really like the high tops in the bar in front of the big windows.



From the appetizer section of the lunch menu, I picked LOCAL MUSSELS ($14). "Chorizo, apples, shallots, hard apple cider, and cream". I must say that this beats the 'ole Moules Marinière by a mile. Not only was the mussels super fresh, they were also cooked perfectly. What a tasty dish this was, especially when you can have the bread soak up the super tasty cooking liquid. The chorizo was a nice touch



More from the app section. PORK WINGS ($15). "Crispy pork ribs and sweet gochujang sauce". The ribs were excellent both crispy and tender, and the gochujang sauce wasn't too sweet. Normally a slaw is pretty boring, but here it was really good with a multitude of Asian flavors incorporated. Of course you get a wet towel to clean your hands after you are done. Both dishes are also on the dinner menu.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post, but all opinions are my own.

Address 14 Thompson Street, Winchester, MA 01890
Phone number (781) 729-0204

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Dos Lobos North Reading

Dos Lobos American Taqueria & Tequila Bar in North Reading opened a couple of months ago. They have over 100 Tequilas, Mezcal, and Sotol available, including flights of tequila.



Entrance is from the back of the building, or maybe the front is the back. Plenty of parking.



A very attractive bar area with bar seating and hightops.



The dining room. The interior is very pleasant.



You get complimentary chips and salsa. The chips were good, but the salsa was mostly tomatoes and on the bland side. Nice napkins and good silverware.



They have all the normal offerings, and the prices looked pretty decent until you notice that all proteins are extra. They also have some burgers that looked interesting until I noticed: "add an extra patty for 3.95", so I had to ask how big the patty was? 4 oz was the answer. $13 gets you a 4 oz burger (with fries)! They had street tacos, and they let you mix and match, so I went with the 3 tacos with rice and beans (15.99). You also have a choice of 2 tacos 9.99. First, we have the Banh Mi Taco. "Soy glazed pork belly, sweet mayo, lettuce, fresh jalapeños, cilantro, house made pickles (daikon, red onion, carrots)". It was a good amount of tasty pork belly, but the house made pickles were completely absent. Apart from that, it was very good, and the very lightly charred flour tortilla was super fresh. Secondly, we have the Po-Boy Fish Taco. "Fresh locally caught Redfish (AKA ocean perch) pan blackened, with shredded lettuce, garden relish, chipotle crema". Where do you catch redfish in North Reading? It was not blackened at all but was cooked very nicely, and was very good. Thirdly, we have the Barbacoa Taco. "Barbacoa, with radish slaw, pickled red onion, chipotle crema, queso fresco". No complaints about this one, the meat was tender and tasty. The rice and beans that were served together, was excellent with very nicely seasoned tender beans, and a really nice rice. The service in the bar was pleasant, but they weren't very busy. When I complained about the missing pickles, I basically got no response.
Update 11/23/17: I have been informed that the patties are 5.5oz.

Address 303 Main St, North Reading, MA 01864
Phone number (978) 207-1254

Dos Lobos Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Monday, November 20, 2017

Singh Ching Burlington

Singh Ching in Burlington took over the space formerly occupied by Chettinad Grill. This is now the fourth Indian restaurant in this location. Can't they take a hint?



Only a temporary sign for now.



"The restaurant decor reflect the culture of the Royal State of Punjab", said the website. They repainted the walls.



This caught my eye. Not only did it look good, the Fish Pakora were excellent, flaky fish in a really well-seasoned batter.



Soup and appetizers. Well, there was an excellent Yellow Dhal there as well. The sambar soup was super tasty. There were more pakoras in the back and I really liked the jalapeno one. A few samosas were also hiding in there.



Fresh plain naan or garlic naan is brought to the table. This naan I really liked, it was light and almost crunchy and didn't fill you up as the more dense naans do. Garlic, of course. This was so good that I actually took the leftovers home with me, and I never ever do that.





I was going to lament how much I missed the Tandoori Chicken Wings from the original restaurant, The Mughals but what do I see on the Lunch buffet (11.99)? Tandoori Chicken Wings! They were excellent, well seasoned and juicy. Next, we have Chicken Kabab that was bit dense but seasoned really well. The Sesame Chicken was OK but paled compared to the rest of the dishes. The Fish Pakoras cannot get enough praise. Baingan Bartha (eggplant) was very good as was the plain Saag. Both were seasoned well as was the Chana Masala. Everything on the buffet was hot and seasoned really well. I eat a lot of Indian food, and this place really impressed me, and I hope they make it. I really disliked that you had to go the counter to pay previously, but you don't need to do that now. They also let you do takeout from the buffet, so I know where I will go next Monday.

Address 184 Cambridge Street, Burlington, MA 01803
Phone number (781) 273-0111

Singh Ching Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Sunday, November 19, 2017

Pho Paris Peabody

Pho Paris in Peabody still doesn't have a website, and I haven't really found a readable menu anywhere. I was here earlier in the year and had an excellent #41 Pho Special Combination (Pho Dac Biet). This was really one of the best I have had, so I was curious how they would do on other noodle soups.



I turned off Rte 1 one plaza early and thought they had closed before I got my bearings back.



The inside is neat and impeccably clean.



Every table has a condiment tray with everything you would need, including the small dishes in case you want your Sriracha on the side.



I started with an order of Fried Egg Rolls ($4.75). "Pork, Shrimp, taro and thin vermicelli in crispy wrapper. Served with sweet fish sauce". The rolls were a bit dense and dry. I think I prefer their Spring Rolls.



It's a noodle soup so you get all the accouterments, including the often listed, but rarely seen sliced jalapeno peppers.



Here is the 56 "Shank and Pork Soup Large Vermicelli With Pork Knuckle" ($9.95). The pork broth was excellent, rich and porky with a hint of heat. The noodles could have been cooked a little bit less, but they weren't mushy. There isn't much meat on the pork knuckles, but I knew that. This was a really tasty noodle soup that I enjoyed. They really have an extensive menu. 157 items on the menu.

Address 136 Newbury St, Peabody, MA 01960
Phone number (978) 535-8339

Saturday, November 18, 2017

Crying Thaiger Malden

Crying Thaiger in Malden opened very recently in a spot previously occupied by a Chinese restaurant. They do Thai food and Thai street food. They also have lunch specials. I think the name is clever.



A very impressive sign. There are free on-street parking and much to my surprise, free parking after the metered parking lot on the other side of the street. I wish I had known about this before since parking can be scarce on the street with a popular dim sum place next door.


The main dining room was nice and bright. The place looks way better now after the redecoration.



The other dining area.



The menu said that their feature dish would take 15-20 minutes to prepare, so I started with the Honey Ribs ($8.95). "Honey and spices glazed roasted spare ribs, cilantro, scallion, pickled garlic, honey". For 9 dollars I got four small skinny ribs that didn't look roasted at all. They where tender and sweet and sticky, so they got that part right.



Their signature dish is the Crying Tiger ($13.95). "Signature marinated, grilled beef brisket sprinkled with ground toasted rice. Served with Crying Thaiger's signature Jaew sauce (Dry chili toasted rice, lime juice, numpla, tamarind juice, shallot, cilantro) and seasoned vegetables". Prep time 15-20 minutes said the menu. There is no way you can get brisket tender in 20 minutes unless it's precooked and then it wouldn't take 20 minutes, so something is off here. This arrived in about 10 minutes and guess what? No brisket, instead I got two N.Y. Strip steaks partially sprinkled with the toasted rice. They were cooked medium well and had never seen a marinade. The veggies were OK but there was no trace of any seasoning. The big star was the Jaew sauce that was really delicious with a bit of heat and a really complex taste. I also got some jasmine rice ($1.95) that was nice and fluffy. The dish comes in about four variants, and I think the pork version should be even better. I also have to go back and try a lunch curry.

Address 114 Ferry St Malden, MA 02148
Phone 781-480-1243

Crying Thaiger Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato

Friday, November 17, 2017

Villa Mexicana Acton

Villa Mexicana in Acton took over the space vacated by Ixtapa, that will not be missed.



They are in Nagog Park, so there is plenty of parking. It's a bit of a hike to get here, but it's a beautiful day today, and they have a lunch Groupon.



Pleasant bar area.



Big cavernous dining area with completely unadorned tables. There are booths in the back.


You get complimentary chips and salsa. The chips were OK, could have been fresher. The salsa was way too sweet for me. Good quality napkin, terrible quality silverware.



I started with the Posole (8) from the dinner menu. No description since it's not on the online dinner menu yet. The Posole was excellent, rich and smoky with a good amount of heat and tasty carnitas. I was less excited by the big chunks of cabbage on top. How do you eat those with a spoon? I only got a few minutes to try this since my mains arrived before I got to finish this.



They have a lunch menu that is not online yet. This is the Burrito Bowl (10). "Poblano rice, Black beans, guacamole, cheddar cheese, with Pico de gallo, topped off with sour cream". Hold the sour cream. You then pick your meat that is an additional charge, and I went with the carnitas (+2). Pricing thing this way doesn't make me happy since it looks like a surcharge. They should have priced it as carnitas (12). The carnitas was excellent, moist and very tasty. The poblano rice was cold and completely lacked poblanos, and it was also mushy. The beans were cooked nicely. but was completely unseasoned.Salt and pepper helped a bit, but where is the citrus, where are the garlic and cummin? Not sure what to do with the cold cheddar cheese? The guacamole was fine, but should not have been served with the pico de gallo, now I got guacamole with pico de gallo when trying to eat the guac. They have only been open for a couple of months, so hopefully, things will improve. I'll be back in the spring for some more of that Posole.

Update: Closed two months after my visit.

Address 103 Nagog Park, Acton, MA 01720
Phone  978-429-8496

Villa Mexicana Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato