Wagamama, Back Bay

When Wagamama, a British-based pan-Asian noodle restaurant, first opened in Boston a few years ago, I thought that our fair city was a surprising choice for the chain's first American location. But when I remember my first encounter with Wagamama, while visiting a friend who was studying abroad in London, it made perfect sense. What other American city has so many college students in such a small area (50 schools in 50 square miles)? I know that more than half of my junior class studied abroad, so multiply that by 49 more schools, and you've got a fair number of kids clamoring for something that reminds them of their time abroad.

Now, I don't know if this is actually why Wagamama chose Boston for its first three locations (Faneuil Hall, Prudential Center, and Harvard Square). But I think it's working for them. Every time I eat at a Wagamama, there seem to be throngs of young adults nestled over their steaming bowls of noodles.

Wagamama recently invited a whole tableful of bloggers to taste some old favorites and some new additions to the menu. We tried a little bit from all the different parts of the menu. I especially loved the chili calamari (cut into long slices instead of rings and super tender and crunchy, even though it doesn't look crunchy at all), the melon juice (apple, orange, and watermelon) and the marinated yasai noodle salad (grilled eggplant, mushrooms, and zucchini, with caramelized red onion, roasted sweet potato, asparagus, tomato, lettuce, whole wheat noodles, pickled ginger, and sesame seeds). (Pictures of other dishes are here.) Are any of these dishes particularly authentic Asian-of-any-kind? No, not really. But they are really good food, and if you don't want to get mired down in definitions, you'll be well-fed.

My absolute favorite dish of the night, though, was the lemongrass shrimp soba (above). The noodles were tossed in a sauce of cilantro, garlic, and chilies, and topped with some well-grilled shrimp. It doesn't look like all that much, but the flavor! So crisp and clean! I kept going back to sneak more bites of this long after I was sufficiently full. The dish is served hot but would be just as good cold (in fact, in the summer heat, it would be even better cold). I have found myself thinking about this dish long after the other dishes (although delicious) had fallen from my mind.

Wagamama US has three Boston locations (Faneuil Hall, Prudential Center, and Harvard Square) and is relatively cheap (almost every dish falls under $15, many closer to $10).



Full Disclosure note: This meal was provided for free by Wagamama. But I wouldn't write about it if I didn't like it!

Cheap Eats: Burtons Grill

If the thought of huge holiday meals has you looking for smaller dishes to tide you over between parties, Burtons Grill has a new bar menu to keep your stomach and your wallet full. Each plate is priced at $4.95 and holds a generous serving. Two plates would definitely make a decent meal.

Although there are only five choices on Burtons' Small Plates menu, the options are diverse enough that anyone could find something to like. The warm goat cheese salad was this Bostonist's favorite - two disks of cheese, coated in crunchy panko breadcrumbs, and a well-dressed spinach and bacon salad. We also enjoyed the scallop crostini (above) - thin slices of warm scallop on crispy bread with a drizzle of lemon cream sauce. The buttermilk-battered fried feta was the most decadent of the bunch - who eats 8 or so ounces of feta at one time? - but if you're looking for a salty, crispy treat, this is the one to order. The BLT was on the small side (although well constructed), but the huge pile of onion strings on the side more than made up for its size. Finally, the firecracker shrimp were a little too spicy for us, but boasted well-cooked shrimp, a crispy exterior, and plenty of hot Buffalo sauce.

Burtons Grill offers their Small Plates menu everyday from 3pm until close (10pm Sundays, 11pm every other day). They are located at 1363 Boylston Street, near Fenway Park.

Originally published on Bostonist.

What's in the Fridge Fresh Rolls

It took me a while to get into Vietnamese fresh rolls - I think it was the rice wrapper that weirded me out - but sometime during the past year, they became one of my favorite foods. I love how simple they are, but how they can contain just about anything. I don't make my own very often, mostly because by the time I know I want one, I no longer have the patience to cut any vegetables up, so I'm usually left to order out. This past week, however, I found myself with both the time and the wherewithal to make my own, not just once, but twice!

One great thing about fresh rolls is, like I said, they can hold anything. Including whatever's floating around in the fridge or freezer that needs to be used. Case in point - one-third of a bag of frozen shrimp that had been taking up space for months. All of the shrimp were, unfortunately, freezer-burned, but once I sliced off any burned bits, there was still enough that was salvageable to include. I threw them into a quick makeshift marinade of teriyaki sauce, lime juice, fresh ginger, and hot pepper flakes while I washed and cut up some other veggies - tiny batons of cucumber and carrot as well as sprigs of cilantro and mint. On the other fresh roll occasion, I used the same marinade (well, soy sauce and honey instead of teriyaki) on chicken, and included leaves of lettuce and slices of mango and avocado.

And making the rolls couldn't be easier. Sure, there's prep work involved, especially if you try to cut everything into pieces of the same length for uniform rolling, but that is well worth the time. Just submerge a sheet of rice paper wrapper into warm water for a minute, until it begins to soften and lose rigidity. Then carefully arrange the fillings in a small pile in the middle of the wrapper. Fold one edge over and around the filling and gently tuck it beneath the filling, pulling tight so that the insides are not at all loose. Then fold the two ends over, sealing the edges, before rolling the rest of the wrapper around the roll. (Gah, did that make any sense?) If you have nice pieces of herbs, like the mint leaves in the picture above, arrange them on the final piece of wrapper so that they show through after you've finished. I usually just serve these with watered-down hoison sauce sprinkled with fried garlic.

The Savant Project, Brigham Circle

So, I've gone over a year with this blog, having met only a handful of local bloggers. It's not that I'm reclusive, it's just that, well, blogging isn't the most social of activities (I'm sure everyone who's at BlogHer this weekend would object to that). That being said, yesterday I had two blog meet-ups, and there's yet another planned for tonight. Crazy.

After drinks at Eastern Standard with This Boston Life, I headed over to the Savant Project in Brigham Circle to meet, drink, and eat with Boston Food and Whine, Calamity Shazaam in the Kitchen, and the Food Monkey. We had a great time discussing various restaurants and restaurant personalities in the city, as well as sampling the food and drinks that the Savant Project had to offer. We were seated on the patio, and I'm so glad that we were, because it was much hotter inside the restaurant than out. The patio was very cute, walled off by a picket fence - it felt like hanging out in someone's backyard (which is actually exactly what it is).

Since it was Cocktail Week ("like Restaurant Week, but for lushes," as I called it on Bostonist), we all ordered the special - a berry mojito, one of four tapas (we got them all, for the sake of research), and berries in sake with lime whipped cream. The mojitos were a deep pink shade and were delicious, albeit a little too sweet. The tapas (tuna sashimi in a lime soy marinade, tamarind grilled shrimp (above), scallop and shrimp ceviche crostini, and veggie spring rolls) were likewise good but not great. The berries for dessert were served in a sake and Bacardi mix, topped with lime whipped cream and a fried mint leaf. Honestly, I was a bit distracted the whole time by the fried mint leaf - it tasted nothing like mint and had the weirdest texture. I can't see myself going back there to have those dishes, but there were other things on the menu that intrigued me.

We were still a bit hungry, so two of us split the blue cheese-stuffed burger, and the other two split the veggie burger. I really loved the veggie burger, made from chickpeas and spinach and topped with red pepper sauce, goat cheese, and onion rings. The flavors and textures worked beautifully together. The fries that came with the burgers were interesting - a mix of regular potatoes and sweet potatoes, tossed with a garlic parmesan "dust" that reminded us of cheetle. We also tried some of the other drinks on the menu, and I was quite happy with the Master Splinter on the rocks (gin infused with lychee and cherries).

So overall, I think the Savant Project is better than Cocktail Week was letting on. Just like Restaurant Week, the restaurants have more expected of them while the customers pay less money, often resulting in inferior product. I really enjoyed what we had from the regular menu, and would happily go back to try some more of the items that caught my eye.

Foodbuzz Dinner at Dali, Somerville

Frog-shaped candlesticks, a bubble gun, and crazy wine-pouring contraptions all spell "party" at Dali, a tapas bar in Somerville. Surprisingly, the group I was with (a bunch of local food bloggers, all Featured Publishers on Foodbuzz) didn't get to partake of any of that craziness directly.

Ryan from Foodbuzz was on hand to talk to us about and thank us for working with the Featured Publishers program. Click on the button on the top left of the page to check the site out. They've been making their way through cities with large amounts of FP, trying to meet as many people as they can, and it was finally Boston's turn.


Tapas was actually a pretty perfect thing to order for a bunch of foodies - we all got the chance to try a little of everything without getting overly full. And dishes came only one or two at a time, allowing us to savor each for its own merits without any competing flavors.

We started off with sangria and the Plato Mixto, an assortment of meats, cheeses and olives. I have a hard time with cheeses, though, if there's no explanation of what they are - none of us were quite knowledgeable enough about them to tell exactly what they were. Next up were the Esparragos Blancos (above), tender white asparagus served with an herb sauce and a seafood sauce, both delicious enough to warrant wiping the plate clean with bread.


Dishes started coming a little faster, but we managed to keep up with them. I really loved the Queso Rebozado con Miel (above), little fried chunks of something akin to goat cheese, served with awesome honey-sweetened onions. It was oozy and crispy, sweet and tangy, and all-around delicious.

We also shared the Gambas al Ajillo (which came steaming and bubbling in their own little pot), Alcachofas Salteadas (tender artichokes with a little bit of kick), Pato Braseado (duck that tasted almost like pork in a rich and hearty berry sauce), Cordorniz de Castilla (a tiny roasted quail - they always look so naked on the plate, poor quails), Calderata Genoveva (braised lamb with almonds and peas, a little too wintery for my current tastes), and Patatas Bravas (cooked perfectly with a slightly crispy exterior and a soft interior).


We were all full by then, and our hearts weren't much into dessert. But we couldn't not look at the dessert menu, and as soon as we saw the featured desserts of the month, we knew we had to order them. First was a very simple and refreshing combination of cava and lemon sorbet. It reminded me of what we considered our "classy" drink in college (cheap champagne and melty sorbet), only much more elegant and refined. The other dessert, the Fresones (above), was another must as soon as the waitress explained it - two huge strawberries, dunked in a sherry batter and deep fried, and served with a strawberry sauce and chocolate ice cream. Sounds a little strange, but it was a really fantastic dish, and the batter on the fruit was surprisingly delicate. I would never think to fry a strawberry, but now I'm glad I don't have a fryer in my apartment, or I would want to try it myself.

And what about the frog candlestick, the bubble gun, and the crazy wine contraption? Apparently if you're celebrating some kind of event at Dali (we got to see a bachelorette party, a going away party, and a birthday), they turn the lights off, bring in a tall candle being held by a frog, and blow bubbles at you while the waiters all sing. And nothing quite says celebration like a porron, or communal drinking glass, that forces cava into your mouth through a tiny little spout. Unfortunately, the tables with the porrons also tended to be a little on the wild side, so it was often hard to hear our own conversation for all the screeching going on nearby (wow, do I feel old just for writing that...). Seeing how much fun those tables were having, I would definitely head back for a large group dinner.

Mango Grill, Watertown

In an effort to expand our dining horizons, my friends and I tried out Mango Grill in Watertown this past weekend. I walked by the place a million times last fall, as my internship was nearby, but it always seemed somewhat empty. When we went to eat, though, it was about half full the whole time.

It's a bright and colorful restaurant, with an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs cook (and talk, as we found out). The menu is pretty long, and it consists of a vast array of Central and South American dishes.

We split a couple different appetizers to start - the fried plantains and the empanadas and taquitos. Now, I've never liked plantains before - when I've had them, they were soggy and starchy and not appetizing. These, on the other hand, were fabulous. I could have eaten the whole dish with no problem (and that says a lot for someone who hates bananas). They were perfectly crispy on the outside, but creamy and sweet (and neither starchy nor too banana-y) on the inside. The mixed plate of empanadas and taquitos were tasty, but not as miraculous as the plantains. The shells were nicely crisp, but the filling (which was chicken and only chicken) was a little bland. The dipping sauce and the accompanying pickled cole slaw helped a lot.


For my main, I ordered the shrimp quesadilla. (I've had a bad cold recently, and apparently all I've wanted to eat is cheese, so this was perfect.) It was also nice and crisp, but it wasn't fantastic, especially for $14. Plus, the accompanying guacamole tasted a lot more like what you buy at the supermarket than something that is homemade. Everyone else ordered fajitas, and the steaming pans were heaped with meat and sliced veggies in a tangy, fruity sauce - definitely a better choice than the quesadilla. One friend asked for some cheese to put on her fajitas, and we could hear the chefs talking about it ("Cheese? What does she want cheese for? You don't put cheese on that..."). They sent out a little ramekin of parmesan cheese instead... strange.

Overall, it was tasty (especially the plantains), but I can't see a huge reason to go back.

Pomegranates for Persephone

Being the big Classics nerd that I am, I have been anticipating the Achilles Project for a while. It consists of a high-end boutique (Achilles) and a lounge and restaurant (Persephone) in one large space. It's an interesting mix, but honestly, it's a little hard to tell that it's a store. At night, when the boutique section is closed and the racks are moved to form little glassed-in, hanging exhibits (you really just need to see it for it to make sense), the space is all about the food and drink. The lounge area is very white and bright, a nice change from many bars, while the dining room in the back is darker in light and decor color. The change delineates the two rooms, even though they consist of one large space.

I didn't have a full meal, only tried tastes of a bunch of different things, but based on what I tasted, I'll be back soon. Everything is fresh, and the flavors pack a real punch. Michael Leviton, from Lumiere, heads up the kitchen, and he brings much of the same local, organic, sustainable product mentalities that abound in the Lumiere kitchen to Persephone.


The highlights for me were the crispy gulf shrimp with shishito peppers and lime-scented fleur de sel ($8) and the Lucki 7 Farms pork ribs ($9). The shrimp, still in their ultra-thin shells, were fried in a very light coating. They were salty and crispy and a perfect little snack or start to a meal. The ribs were incredibly tender, to the point that they were literally falling off the bone. The spicy hoisin sauce is a bit messy, but hey, they're ribs - at least you don't need a bib to eat these.

The grilled serrano ham & manchego cheese sandwich ($9) was tasty but no knock out as an appetizer. If this is on the lunch menu (they open for lunch in a few weeks), however, it would be a great mid-day meal. The braised veal shoulder ($39, from the "extra large" section of the menu, meant for sharing) was even more tender than the ribs. Served with polenta, tomatoes, and kalamata olives, it would be a hearty and warming meal to share.

Drinks, too, were delicious and out of the ordinary. I laughed outloud at the "Obligatory $15 Chowhound-Predicted Pomegranate Martini" ($9) because I remembered reading that exact Chowhoud post a week earlier. I much prefered the Desperate Housewife ($12, with Nigori sake, blueberry syrup, Gray Goose bodka, cranberry, ginger and lemon) and the Petal Punch ($12, with Milagro silver tequila, peach and pomegranate liquor, lemon zest and chamomile tea). Other drinks made me squee in my nerd-dom with names like "Spiced Pyrus," "Achilles' Heel," and "Spartan Sling."

I'm definitely looking forward to the chance for a full meal at Persephone - if what I tasted is indicative of what comes out of the kitchen, I'm sure they're going to be quite busy. I better make a reservation now.

Shrimp Bisque for a Cold Day

My parents' house is colder than my apartment, mainly because I don't have to pay for heat. I was visiting them for the day, and we were trying to figure out what to have for dinner. I remembered the shrimp bisque that JB from Urban Drivel had posted a few weeks ago on another particularly cold day.

Note, though, that my recipe is different than the original, due largely to my misreading the amount of clam juice needed. My bisque ended up being very thick (but still delicious), and the recipe below is what I ended up making. My father made his famous popover, which were the perfect accompaniment to the soup.

Shrimp Bisque

4 tbsp unsalted butter
2 lbs medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved
2 onions, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 tbsp all purpose flour
6 tbsp tomato paste
2 (8-oz) bottles clam juice
2 cups white wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add reserved shrimp shells and cook until spotty brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in onion, celery, and carrots and cook until beginning to soften, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Stir in tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Add clam juice, wine and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Pour broth through a fine mesh strainer into a large saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract juices. Discard solids in the strainer.

Bring broth to a simmer over medium heat. Stir in the shrimp and cream and milk and simmer until the shrimp are cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

*Alternate title for any shrimp-related post: "Why do you always have to de-turd these things?"

Excelsior takes Restaurant Week to a New Level

Walking into Excelsior is like entering a James Bond film, all glass and shiny metal. After checking in with the host, we were escorted into a glass elevator and sent to the second floor, travelling through the wine room on the way. Impressive.

We were quickly shown to our table overlooking the Public Garden. The dining room is a classy and modern room. There are a lot of tables, but it doesn't feel crowded. The service was very good considering how busy the restaurant was.


I started with the Native Corn Bisque, with Hot and Sweet Roasted Peppers and Smoked Shrimp. This was spicier than I expected, more of a slow burn in the back of the throat. The corn flavor was deep and rich, but not overly heavy. The best part of the dish, though, was the shrimp, with a smoky flavor that made it taste like bacon. I wished there had been more shrimp (there was only one, sliced in half), but it made me savor the flavor a little more.


Continuing with the seafood theme, I had the Peppered Linguini with Seared Sea Scallops and Crabmeat, Zucchini, Smoked Tomato, and Scallop Cream. This was a fantastic dish, with each component standing strong on its own but mixing with the rest to form a wonderful entree. The scallops were cooked perfectly, with a dark seared crust and a buttery soft center. The smoked tomato stood out, adding the same meaty quality that the shrimp had added to the bisque. There was a good deal of cream coating the pasta, but it wasn't overly heavy. There was an excellent ratio of pasta to meat and vegetables.



For dessert, I had the Dark Chocolate Cake with Coffee Chicory Ice Cream and Candied Orange Zest. This was a perfectly balanced dessert. Too often, a dense chocolate cake is cloying after a meal... a bite or two will suffice. This, on the other hand, was fantastic, and I loved every bite. The cake and the ice cream were well paired. The chicory really evened out the coffee flavor, making it a better accompaniment to the sweetened, creamy dark chocolate. The candied orange zest was more of a flavored simple syrup pooled on the plate, just hinting at its fruity origins. For textural contrast, the plate was scattered with cacao nibs, a very tasty garnish.

This meal at Excelsior was a prime example of what Restaurant Week should be (but often isn't at many restaurants). The portions weren't huge, but the food was carefully crafted. Maybe these weren't the most expensive ingredients, but they were handled with flair, and I was left wondering what else the kitchen could do. Excelsior has now be added to my list of "special occasion" restaurants, but if I had the money, I would eat there more regularly.

Shrimp and Fennel

As I stated before, I was not a fan of vegetables when I was growing up. It’s only in the past few years that I’ve really discovered how good they can be. One recent addition to my repertoire is fennel, or anise as my local market labels it. The bulb is like an exotic celery – the consistency is the same, albeit a little less watery and stringy, but the flavor- well, there is flavor, which is not something that celery can really boast. Fennel has a fairly strong licorice taste and smell when raw, but that is all toned down as it cooks.



This dish, aptly named Shrimp and Fennel because I honestly don’t know how else to describe it, is very simple, and the hardest part is just chopping up the veggies. I use cooked frozen shrimp for simplicity, because there’s nothing better than being able to defrost a protein out of the freezer in only a couple of minutes. Total cook time is only about 5 minutes.

1 fennel bulb
1 pound cooked shrimp, tails removed
2 tomatoes (you can also use sun-dried tomatoes for a more pronounced tomato flavor – cook these longer)
splash of half and half
2-3 ounces of feta cheese

Chop a bulb of fennel into bite-size pieces. Also dice 2 tomatoes and set aside.



Saute the fennel in a little bit of olive oil over medium heat until the fennel becomes translucent. Add the shrimp to warm through. After a minute, pour off as much as the liquid as you can, then add a splash of half and half and about 2-3 ounces of crumbled feta. Mix until the feta starts to melt a little and the cream and cheese form a sauce.



As I was enjoying my dinner, I began to think that fennel might be a good snack raw as well. Anyone have any thoughts about what would make a good dip to complement the anise flavor?