• About
  • Events
  • Links

foodatude

~ dishing food and attitude

foodatude

Tag Archives: Boston

Eating New England- Part II

24 Monday Sep 2012

Posted by carolblonder in Eating Out, Travel

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Boston, Food, Photos, Portland, Travel

Bondir, Cambridge, MA

During my days of sidewalk adventure this summer, while on vacation in New England, I reveled over city life. I wandered in and out of shops, took long walks, and explored the Cambridge neighborhoods familiar to me decades ago as a college student. The city I knew is recognizably the same but, like me, a subtle difference is evident brought on by growth, experience and the inevitability of change in circumstance.

Alternatively teary eyed and full of chuckles I thought about my younger self, the girl quickly alternating between excitement and angst depending on what class syllabus she was reading or which romantic involvement she was analyzing, while I walked and walked.

I remembered the pungent smell of The Cambridge Coffee, Tea and Spice House wafting to welcome me each shift of my part-time job, sloppy kisses and groping hands over a spinach pie and Guinness at Grendel’s Den, the sweet smell of lobster steaming and cold sting of saltwater in Rockport harbor on a fall or spring weekend. I remembered midnight munchies only satisfied by hoagies or grinders, greedy bites of cream filled pastry on the street in Boston’s North End and self-conscious singing with my friends while waiting in line for small batch churned ice cream with mix-ins at Steve’s. 

Spices at Christina’s, Cambridge, MA. Spices and speciality food items in one shop. Ice Cream to savor next door.

Like any visit to a place we’ve been before, nostalgic wanderings and reminisces brought on by a familiar sight are punctuated by the experience of something new. With a resident tour guide willing to share his favorite eating places during this visit, I tasted the cornucopia of New England as if for the very first time.

Bondir, Cambridge, MA. Start with the Bread! 9 Grain, The Sea, Barley Flour with Hops and Summer Herbs. Move onto a sustainable and seasonal menu that changes daily.

Bondir: Chilled Scituate Lobster and Radish Salad,
 Pickled Chilies, Anchovy Vinaigrette

Bondir: Buckwheat Rigatoni
Concord Rabbit Leg and Chanterelle Mushrooms with Lavender,
Garlic Scapes, Smoked Scamorza

Bondir: Red Wheat Spaghetti
Basil-Walnut Pesto, Australian Perigord Truffle, Fresh Pecorino

Bondir: Teacup full of birthday wishes

Clover Food Lab, Cambridge, MA-green machine. Popular food truck initiated restaurant, dedicated to green business practices and local food initiatives. Check the rotating class schedule-knive skills a must!

New Deal Fish Market, Cambridge, MA. Fresh, fresh, fresh.

Waiting for the coals to glow. Backyard at Henry’s after shopping at New Deal Fish Market. Also on the menu, oysters and clams.

Good start to the day: The Standard Baking Co., Portland, ME.

The back of the house is the front – Street and Co., Portland, ME. Fish and seafood done the Italian way.

Duck in a Jar –Duckfat, Portland, ME. Charcuterie, Panini, and Poutine. Locally sourced and made in scratch kitchen. Hand Cut Belgian Fries and Beignets-fried in DUCKFAT!

Wagamama: Shrimp Kare Lomen, Cambridge, MA. Cool, fragrant, spicy, comfort food.

Advertisements

Eating New England-Part I

22 Saturday Sep 2012

Posted by carolblonder in Eating Out, Travel

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Boston, Food, Photos, Travel

New Deal Fish Market, Cambridge, MA.

Summer in Phoenix, especially the heat, is infinite-not as in great but as in never-ending. It’s now mid-September, and the heat continues to blast while temperatures continue, during the day, to climb to triple digit fahrenheit.

Love the desert life style? Honestly sometimes I do, but sometimes I don’t and can’t embrace the shock of inferno air as I step outside. My sanity requires a break from relentless sun in the stretch between June and October.

I don’t long for the beach, more sun, more sand. I want to be in a place where I can look up to a leafy green canopy of oaks, maples, and elms, see clouds chasing against the blue or better yet grey of the sky, relish some raindrops, and bite into the edible bounty of summer-the best a season and a region have to offer.

My first break from the onset of this year’s Arizona summer was Eating Oregon and being a bi-coastal mom, one son in the West the other the East, its only natural that my other planned escape from the desert was New England.

Once checked in, I didn’t have to search far for my first taste of a New England summer. I found these bushes with berries ripe for the plucking two blocks from the B and B where I stayed. Forage the sidewalk!

Kick*ass Cupcakes Somerville, MA

Ideal Travel=walking a neighborhood in any city and leisurely popping in and out of shops that shout out “local”. What draws me in? Shoes, jewelry, books, creative signage, artistic or whimsical window display, plain old curiosity, the random novel thing, and always food. Seen plenty of house made doggie treats in my time but never cupcakes baked and decorated with eye appeal for dogs and cats, I mean, their owners.

The Boston Shaker, Somerville, MA.

The window display and the name, The Boston Shaker, drew me in, the artisanal mixology tools and reference material captured an hour of my time to gaze and browse. I had entered a kind of shop I had never encountered before, a room fully devoted to cocktails. The beakers, bottles and books were flushed full of promise, and I know if I lived here this would become a favorite haunt.

Tazo Chocolates

Taza Chocolates

Taza Chocolates sit on display everywhere I look-boutiques, book shops, coffee houses, and specialty food stores. The stone ground, “Mexican style” chocolate maker is a local producer, committed to direct trade for its cacao supply, and ethical and sustainable business practices. Take that Willy Wonka! I discovered too late the tour of the factory in Somerville. Next visit, sigh.

Amsterdam Falafel Shop, Davis Square

I was looking for the quintessentially Italian lunch spot until I spotted the entrance to Amsterdam Falafel Shop. A peek inside brought a change of taste desire: the photo mural of its city namesake, the spread of cold pickled salads, and a choice of six dipping sauces for the fries- dutch mayo, curry ketchup, garlic cream, tahini, peanut sauce, absolutely unadorned ketchup. How was it? The cold salad dishes hit the taste notes I desired, there was flavor, there was crunch, there was diversity. The cone of fries were hard to resist, the plus factor for the fries- curry ketchup dip.

Grape yard Cambridge, MA.

What I loved most about Boston and its satellite cities when I lived there as a student, were the neighborhoods. Yes, gentrification continues and a more eclectic mix of ethnic backgrounds exists -but the mixing of types and the vibrancy they bring, those students, successful career makers, newer and older immigrant populations and the multi-generation family remain. Some one still tends to the grape vines and the summer gardens along walkways, over the red brick drive, covering the asphalt patio, and between the fence lines. Thank you!

Recent Posts

  • Brioche for beginners
  • Urban Table Larder
  • Eating New England- Part II
  • Eating New England-Part I
  • Desert Dessert: Prickly Pear Fruit

Archives

  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012

Categories

  • Bread
  • Breakfast/Brunch
  • Condiments
  • Cookbooks
  • Eating Out
  • Ingredients
  • Inspire
  • Main Dish
  • Pie
  • Recipes
  • Salads
  • Specialty Food
  • Travel

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
  • Entries RSS
  • Comments RSS
  • WordPress.com

Belly Boston Boyce Thompson Arboretum Brioche Cambridge Chop Cookbooks Dining for Women Family Fig Tart with Lavender and Pine nuts Food Garlic Dill Green Beans Karla's Smokehouse Mediterranean style tuna Off the Waffle Oregon Pastry Photo Photos Pickling Pie dough PIX Patisserie Portland Prickly Pear Cactus quick summer meals Recipe Red Agave Restaurants Rustic Tarts Savory St Honore Boulangerie Tasty & Sons Tillamook Farmer's Market Tomato Pie Travel Vintage Wanda's Cafe and Bakery Watermelon salad Well stocked cupboad

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 35 other followers

  • RSS - Posts
  • RSS - Comments
Advertisements

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Cancel