Friday, April 24, 2020

Mount Vernon Restaurant & Pub Somerville

Mount Vernon Restaurant & Pub in Somerville is famous for its twin lobster specials and their Sunday buffet. Sign up for their mailing list to get notified about the specials. Well, it will probably be a long time before we see a buffet being offered again. Currently, they have a daily specials flyer with some really good food with REALLY good prices. The daily flyer is also available on their FB page and IG feed. The full menu is also available, and I'm eyeing their twin pork chops.


These days parking is not an issue, but they have two lots behind the restaurant.



They had Fried Clams ($12.99) on today's flyer. "Fresh native clams lightly battered and deep fried, served with fries, rings, slaw and tartar sauce". Well, the rings didn't make it. I must admit it was a really good amount of tender clams for the price. The fries were cooked well, but it was just your normal previously frozen fries. I should have taken the owners suggestion that I eat the clams in my car. Even if it only took me 12 minutes from door to table, they had already started to get soggy.



The flyer also had a Lobster Roll ($15.99). "Fresh lobster meat tossed with mayo and diced celery in a buttery roll with fries or rings". FRESH lobster meat? You don't see that often. They also use the whole lobster including the tails. See the big chunk in the middle? That's 1/2 a tail. Sorry for the mashed but this is for dinner and fried stuff don't reheat well. I was offered house-made potato chips but stuck with the mash since it's real and I like my potatoes. This is a good price for a really well stuffed lobster roll.

Address: 14 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145 Phone: (617) 666-3830

Monday, April 20, 2020

Little India Express Lexington

I'm so happy that I found Little India Express in Lexington since both of my favorite Indian restaurants, Rang Indian Bistro and Royal India Bistro, are (I hope!) temporarily closed. As an added bonus, Little India has a Groupon available. $9 gives you $15 worth of food, valid any day.



I ordered the Mulligatawny Soup ($3.75). "Delicately spiced lentil soup". It was good but very thin. I would have liked a bit more body. Then the Chicken Tikka Saag Curry ($13.95). "Chunks of chicken tikka kabab entwined with herbs, spices and curry based fresh spinach. Served with basmati rice". It took me a while to find this on the menu since I really don't think about this dish as a curry. Tikka here means cooked in the tandoori. Tikka can also mean chunks or grilled. The basmati rice was fluffy. The chicken saag was a delight. To start with, they use tandoori chicken that was moist and tender. The saag itself was very flavorful and ordered medium, bordered on hot. I was hoping that the reddish chunks would show better. This vas a very enjoyable version of a classic dish. This is just half of the food that I received.

Address: 321 Woburn St, Lexington, MA 02420 Phone: (781) 862-5400

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Khao Hom Billerica

For some reason, I thought that Khao Hom Thai & Pho in Billerica was only open for dinner. On a whim, I called them yesterday and found out that they are open normal hours. This is a very small place run by some exceptionally nice people, and the food is outstanding. You want spicy, they do that, but they also do flavors, so it's not just spicy. Try their Pad Thai, it the real deal. The locals complained that the Pad Thai wasn't right. It's right and delicious, and this is from someone that gave up ordering Pad Thai in restaurants. It's not supposed to be sweet.



The town of Billerica handed out signs to all restaurants. "The dining room is closed. Only takeout and drive through".



A favorite here is the Khao Soi with duck, but I wasn't sure how the noodles would travel, so I went with the Pad Kee Mao (Drunken Noodle) ($7.95) with pork. It had plenty of heat and plenty of pork. The pork was a tad dry but still good. Ordering it extra spicy here gives you freshly sliced chilis. This was a really good rendering of a classic dish, not to mention that it was easily two meals. Folks, give them some support and as a reward, you will get some of the best Thai food around.

Address 258 Salem Rd, Billerica, MA 01821 Phone 978-362-8269

Wednesday, April 8, 2020

Taipei Tokyo Arlington

Taipei Tokyo in Arlington opened not that long ago in the space formerly occupied by Shanghai Village. The menu is a carbon copy of the menu at Taipei Gourmet in Lexington, but it's missing all the Taiwanese dishes. They are open all day for takeout or curbside pickup.



No lunch specials, but they have combo platters during lunch. "Combination Platter #35 (9.25) Flounder fish fillet with szechuan sauce". You can pick from five appetizers. I selected "Chicken Wings". Of course I didn't get wings, but the standard 2/3 of a wing. The wing was crispy and juicy and very tasty. I also picked the veggie fried rice hoping for proper fried rice, but I got the soy soaked American version. I asked them to undercook the fish, and it was still nice and moist when I got home. I also ordered it extra spicy and for once it worked. This looks like a big portion, but there was only a single layer of fish on top of cabbage and lettuce. It was still enough, and the sauce was tasty. Not sure what this dish has to do with Sechuan apart from the chilis. I'll be back for the lunch curry chicken that is a favorite of mine. They have online ordering, but it only starts at 11:30. There is parking behind the building.

Address: 434 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474 Phone: (781) 646-6897

Sunday, April 5, 2020

Little India Express Lexington

Little India Express in Lexington and it's not associated with Little India in Waltham. This was my second visit, and the owner recognized me and thanked me for the IG post. Not sure how he did that.



They are located in a small plaza just over the Woburn border. There have been several restaurants here, and I really hope that these guys can make it.



Takeout only, so this is it plus a few chairs.



The reason for the return visit was the Tandoori MoMo's (8). How can you go wrong with this? Good sized momos filled with chicken and then finished in the Tandoori. Tender and juicy and the tandoori crisped up the skins nicely. Not sure what the seasoning on the outside was, but the whole thing was tasty, including the dipping sauce. You also get a mint sauce. Often you get two sauces, one tomato-based and one spicy and you mix 'em to your liking. This premixed one is fine for me.



He asked if I would like to try the Sukuti MoMo (9) that's very popular. Of course I was game. "Himalayan chicken Dumplings topped with Spiced buffalo Jerky meat and himalayan Szechuan pepper". Spiced buffalo jerky? I was sure I misheard him, but the online menu confirmed that it was buffalo. It was tasty and pleasantly spicy, and the jerky was tender. What an interesting topping. The momos were the same chicken dumplings as the tandoori ones but only steamed. The skins are super thin. There was no charge for the Sukuti dumplings, so that made my day. They do a lunch special 7 days a week, and the Rice Plate looked promising. Pick two entrees, rice and 1/2 naan for 9.95.

Address: 321 Woburn St, Lexington, MA 02420 Phone: (781) 862-5400