Cheap Eats: Daily Grill

A restaurant called Daily Grill sounds nothing if a little generic. Luckily, their food is anything but. While the Daily Grill is a popular chain on the West Coast, it's rather new to the East, and the Daily Grill in the Prudential Center is their only New England outpost.

The best deal at the Daily Grill is their Social Hour menu, offered weekdays 4-7pm, Saturday 12-5pm, and all day Sunday. The page-long menu features small plates for only $2.95 (a hot dog, hummus plate, beef sliders, meatloaf sliders, a chicken quesadilla, fried calamari, and mac and cheese) and $3.95 (spinach artichoke dip, crab cake sliders, tuna sashimi, and chicken pot pie). Order a drink and you get your first plate free. Bostonist enjoyed the calamari, some of the most tender we've had, and the sliders, which could be paired with another dish to make a full meal. The chicken pot pie, though, was the real standout, and probably the best deal. For only $4, you get a big bowl heaped with chicken, carrots, peas, onions, and mushrooms in a cream sauce and topped with flaky puff pastry, a perfect antidote for the cold days that are sure to come.

If you're willing to spend a little more money but still want a good deal, try the Daily Grill's Supper Menu. For $28, you get a choice of any salad on the menu, one of five main courses (such as filet mignon with a bleu cheese crust, ala cart at $25), and your choice of a dessert or a glass of wine. That's basically three courses for the price of one - not a bad deal in our books.

Daily Grill is located at 111 Huntington Avenue, at street level below the Prudential mall. They are open Monday-Thursday, 11:30am-10pm, Friday and Saturday, 11am-11pm, and Sunday 11am-10pm.

Cheap Eats: Rocca

It seems that happy hour is truly back in Boston. No, bars still can't offer drink specials like in so many other states, but they can offer a close second with cheap and delicious food. Rocca is one of the many Boston restaurants that has picked up on this trend, and their 5@5 deal is one of the best around. Two choices would definitely be big enough for a meal, or order them all and share with friends.

Take a seat at the bar at Rocca Monday through Friday from 5 until 6:30 to take advantage of their special menu. They offer some of their regular appetizers at basically half price. The corn and tomato pizzetta (above) is a satisfying, crunchy pizza, with something closer to cracker for a crust than the usual dough. The calamari (below) with red pepper aioli, served in a pile larger than you'd think for $5, is light and crisp, a delight compared to so many bad versions of the dish that are available out there. The farinata, a type of flatbread made with chickpea flour and mixed with mushrooms and caramelized onions, is crunchy and dense - a full meal by itself. The zucchini fritti features long spears of squash with the same crispy exterior as the calamari, and it is served with a garlicky yogurt and a tomato relish. Oh, and a lobster slider? Served with fennel mayo, pancetta, tomato, and arugula, it's hard to say no.

Rocca is located at 500 Harrison Boulevard in the South End, and they offer free parking in the lot next to their building. The 5@5 bar menu is available Monday-Friday, 5:00-6:30. Rocca also offers a three-course dinner Sundays and Mondays, 5:30-10:00pm, for $22, for those looking for a slightly more expensive cheap eat.

Originally published on Bostonist.

My Boston Day-cation

My high school friend Sarah was in town Friday and Saturday, bringing along her friend Dominique, who had never been to Boston. The plan for Saturday, therefore, was to fit in as much touristy stuff as we could and show Dom the town.

After a trip to Regina's on Friday, we were driving along when we heard a commercial on the radio talking about "day-cations." If "stay-cations" were all the rage last year, it seems "day-cations" are this year's trend. But we soon realized that the ad was for Mobil's convenience store, On The Go, and their "day-cation" deals. Seriously? Because if I only had one day off to relax, I highly doubt I'd be hanging out at my local Mobil station...

Anyway, we crammed a lot into Saturday, and hopefully, Dom got a lot out of Boston. It's always fun to play tourist in your own town, and the weather couldn't have been better for it. We walked over 7 miles, proving that Boston really is a walking city.

After picking up our friend Kristen, we started by strolling down Charles Street, ending at the Public Gardens for a Swan Boat ride. I miss the days when everyone would be dropping bread off the sides so that the boat was just trailing ducks as it glided along.

From there, we started the Freedom Trail, making a stop at the Granary Burying Ground. There was a guy handing out pamphlets about some of the famous inhabitants of the cemetery, including Mother Goose and Samuel Adams. I had a good time photographing the tombstones - I did some research in college about the motifs on New England tombstones, and I think it's fascinating how the imagery changed over the years.

We stuck to the Freedom Trail for a while, then split off to wander through the financial district over to the waterfront. We grabbed lunch at the Barking Crab, which has fun ambiance but just ok food. It's loud and crowded, but when the weather's nice, it's always great to sit on the water and enjoy a beer and some fried food.

I hadn't been to the Barking Crab in years, though, and was surprised at how limited their menu was. I was expecting all kinds of fried food baskets, but all they offered was fish and chips and a fisherman's platter. So I ordered off the appetizer menu instead, choosing calamari and onion rings. The Rhode Island-style calamari was decent, with almost no chewy pieces, but the peppers were too wet and turned a lot of the basket soggy by the end of the meal. I always prefer when the hot peppers are battered and fried as well - the texture matches the calamari a little better. The onion rings, on the other hand, were delicious - light and ultra crisp, well-seasoned and thinly sliced. I might have been happier just eating the onion rings...

After lunch, we wandered down the Harborwalk to the aquarium, where we got on a harbor cruise. For 45 minutes, we soaked up the sun as we sailed in a big circle, viewing the coast of South Boston, East Boston, and Charlestown. I even got to wave hello to the USS Constitution, where I worked last year.

As we disembarked on Long Wharf, The Landing was right in front of us, and we were lured in by the hordes of people drinking from plastic fish bowls. The four of us shared the giant drink as we took in the surroundings and enjoyed the sun a little more. Long Wharf is always a mob scene, so it was nice to have a little piece of real estate to ourselves from which to watch everything going on. And for $25, our fish bowl wasn't outrageous - we probably would have paid more if we had each gotten our own drinks. The bowl was a little fizzy and tasted exactly like the blue ice pops that we all enjoyed as kids - mmm blue!

Slightly tipsy, we wandered through Quincy Market, over Beacon Hill, down Commonwealth Avenue, and over to Fenway. We ate at Boston Beer Works (after an earlier discussion about sweet potato fries, it seemed like an obvious choice), then headed over to the Bleacher Bar for drinks. What a cool space! The bar is at field level, looking right out onto the warning track. If you're lucky enough to snag one of the tables, you can see all the way to home plate.
The men's room even has a window at eye level so the guys don't miss one pitch. I'm looking forward to heading back to watch another game (and hopefully actually grab a table at some point).

Lunch at the Barking Crab got me thinking, though - there really aren't a lot of places to get clam shack-type food in Boston itself. Anyone have any suggestions for good (cheapish) seafood?

- Barking Crab

Cheap Eats: Silvertone Bar and Grill

Sometimes you want something nicer than a counter-service type of place but you don't want to spend a ton of money. Pub food is always a good choice in that situation. Many bars, though, have only standard (i.e. greasy) food to go with the drinks. Silvertone Bar & Grill, located on Bromfield Street near the Park Street T stop, serves up just what you need.

On first entry, the subterranean room feels like a noisy bar – because it is. The acoustics aren't great, so don't expect a quiet meal, but the drinks are strong and the food is filling, delicious, and cheap! It's a little calmer in the dining room section, away from the bar itself.


The calamari appetizer ($8) is huge, definitely for sharing. The squid rings are nicely fried and accompanied by thinly sliced fried leeks, a potent garlicky aioli, and a spicy dipping sauce. The restaurant is best known for its mac & cheese and steak tips – both fantastic. The mac & cheese ($8) is a more gourmet version of the childhood favorite, and its topping of buttered breadcrumbs adds a nice textural contrast to the gooey cheese. The steak tips ($12), flavored with a "Long Island marinade," are juicy and perfectly cooked. The accompanying mashed potatoes are smooth and well-seasoned. Both meals come with greens tossed in a light vinaigrette.


Entrees hover around the $10 mark and are hearty and filling meals. The restaurant also has an imaginative (and reasonably priced) cocktail list.

Originally posted at Bostonist.com

Sibling Rivalry, South End

For my final Restaurant Week meal, I headed to Sibling Rivalry. I've heard lots of mixed things about the restaurant and was excited to finally get to try it myself. Overall, I was very pleased by my meal (by the decor, less so). There were 11 choices each for appetizers and entrees, which, by RW standards, can be good or bad, depending on how the restaurant handles RW to begin with. Sometimes, that many offerings means the restaurant is just trying to cater to the wider range of patrons that RW will bring in. Other times, as in this case, the restaurant is proving what it can do with a full menu, just like any other night.


I have a hard time passing up calamari on a menu, and this Vietnamese version sounded more intriguing than the typical red sauce-accompanied fare. The squid itself was well-fried, but was not very flavorful. Or maybe it was just overshadowed by the Thai basil, cilantro and chilies. The batter was light and crispy, mirrored by still-crispy carrots, onions and jicama.


My entree was delicious, although I admit it's not much to look at here. The filet of beef was served with creamed onions, tomato jam, and black pepper gnocchi. The tomatoes and gnocchi were in limited supply. I needed more of the two little gnocchi after my first bite; they had a fantastic texture, and the black pepper flavor was powerful without being overwhelming. I've never had creamed onions before, but these made a perfect side dish to the steak, with the sweetness from the onions balancing out the richness of the meat.


For dessert, I chose the lemon tart with fresh berries. The lemon filling was perhaps a bit too stiff, but was at least flavorful. The berries sang with summer - I could have just had a bowl of them, topped with the accompanying hazelnut praline, and been perfectly happy.

Grafton Street, Harvard Square

I've walked by Grafton Street Pub about a million times, but there always seemed to be another restaurant ahead of it on my list. For some reason, the stars aligned last night, and I finally made it in... and man, am I happy I did.


We started with drinks and calamari while we waited for the rest of our party. This calamari was fantastic - very light and tender, not rubbery at all. It was accompanied by a zesty peppercorn dipping sauce, which added a lot more than the typical marinara or garlic aioli could.

Once we had our whole group, we ordered more drinks and the tomato and mozzarella appetizer to split. This was ok, but not great. It's obviously too early for really good tomatoes, so that part was a bit of a loss. The cheese tasted a little too much like regular mozzarella; it didn't have the smoothness, in both taste and texture, of a typical fresh mozzarella. The real winning part of the dish was the pickled red onions. I love red onions, but I don't like that I can still taste them hours later... I didn't get that at all with these. Pickling the onions made them very mild, and they were great alongside the so-so cheese and tomatoes.

Our entrees were back on the same level as our calamari appetizer. The seafood was masterfully handled - sea scallops were perfectly cooked, and the lobster risotto had powerful lobster flavor in every bite.

The steak frites were also very tasty. The cut of meat was a little fattier than I like, but I'm rather picky about that kind of thing. I do think the dish needed more sauce; the fries were ultra-crispy and benefit from being softened slightly by what sauce I could spare.

Overall, I would definitely head back to Grafton Street some time soon. The portions were large, the food expertly cooked, and prices reasonable.