Farewell Tour: The Upper Crust Pizzeria

Today is it…moving day! In some ways, it feels like this entire month flew by. In other ways, it felt like the big move would never get here.  Either way, I'm excited for the new beginnings in our new home!

Last night, we had our last meal together in our old apartment. We decided on something that would be incredibly easy to eat, and something that we were both craving – pizza! We settled on the Upper Crust Pizzeria, even though I’ve boycotted for over a year for ethical reasons. I know, I know, I’m a bit of a hypocrite but I couldn’t leave Beacon Hill without one last pizza from the one place that got me through law school and post-law school life.

Again, ordering was easy because we knew exactly what we wanted - half cheese and half Harvard Street (tomato, mozzarella, basil and garlic). 

We also were both badly craving some greens so we also split a garden salad with chicken.

Again, I'm definitely looking forward to leftover salad and pizza for lunch today!

Well, it has been a whirlwind and I've been loving this farewell tour.  That being said, the blog may be quiet for a bit until we get settled in but I'll be back in action in no time.  Thanks again to everyone for all of the love and support during this big transition!

Upper Crust Pizzeria has multiple locations in Massachusetts and nationwide.  The Beacon Hill location is at 20 Charles Street, Boston, MA.

Farewell Tour: Billy Tse's

My favorite Chinese delivery place is surprisingly in the North End.  My friend Kim first introduced me to Billy Tse's when she used to live in the North End and we used to order it at her apartment.  When I discovered that they delivered to Beacon Hill, Billy Tse's became our regular Chinese take-out spot.  Bret and I often ordered from them on Friday evenings when we'd have a date night in with Chinese food, wine and a movie. 

Last night, Bret and I decided to continue our farewell tour with one last order from Billy Tse's.  Bret and I both had really long days and still had more packing to do.  By the time dinner arrived, we were both ready to take a break for Chinese food for dinner.  The best thing about this meal was that Bret and I didn't even need to consult each other on the order.  Although we've tried a lot of different items on their menu, we have three favorite dishes and we both knew these dishes would be ordered for this "last meal".

First up, the pork fried rice.  While roast pork fried rice isn't exactly the most unique dish, I love that Billy Tse's tastes fresh and is filled with lots of bean sprouts!  Plus, you can actually taste the pork instead of the usual cloyingly sweet chopped boneless spareribs that are usually found in pork fried rice.

Our second dish is always the spicy family-style bean curd.  I credit this dish as finally convincing Bret that tofu is a fantastic ingredient to cook with and eat.  Since then, he has been eating my own tofu creations without a second glance! 

Our final dish is the crispy aromatic Yu-shin chicken.  When we first ordered this dish, I was nervous that it would be too sweet but I love the fried batter and sticky sweet sauce surrounding this chicken.

Of course, the best thing about Chinese food are all the leftovers and we both knew we'd have plenty for lunch (and then some) the next day. 

I'll definitely be missing Billy Tse's once we move, but I'm looking forward to discovering our new go-to Chinese delivery place in our new neighborhood!

Billy Tse's is located at 240 Commercial Street, Boston, MA.

Farewell Tour: Villa Mexico Cafe

As we enter into our final days in Beacon Hill, Bret and I have begun a farewell tour of sorts.  My "clean out the freezer" Korean dukboki was the last meal I'll cook in our apartment as we're planning on relying on take-out and delivery for this final week.  We figured that this would be the easiest thing to do so that we can save time after work as we finish packing, and this will also allow us to pack up our very extensive kitchen!

Bret and I created a list of the local take-out and delivery places that we will miss the most and I jokingly call this our farewell tour.  I know, I'm a bit dramatic.  Nonetheless, we began the farewell tour last night with take-out from Villa Mexico Cafe.

By now, Villa Mexico is one of Beacon Hill's worst-kept secrets.  Strangely located in a tiny gas station, this Mexican take-out restaurant makes what I deem to be the best burritos in town!  Plus, you can't help but love the family behind the counter as everyone is considered a "friend."  Although I walked by this place for years, Bret actually first introduced me to this place soon after we were dating.  Initially, I was skeptical to eat food prepared in a gas station but this unique restaurant is definitely one of my favorite neighborhood spots!

I stopped in at Villa Mexico on Tuesday night to pick up my usual order - carnitas burrito with guacamole and hot salsa.

Bret order the same, except with chicken.  We also split a side of guacamole and tortilla chips.

Per usual, the burrito didn't disappoint.  The slow-cooked pork was so tender and flavorful.  Plus, I love that they grill every burrito as a lot of places don't do this.  The portion sizes are definitely huge but I ate every last bite!  I've heard rumors that the gas station will be torn down for a new building and I'm not sure what the fate is for Villa Mexico.  Knowing this, I'm glad to have picked Villa Mexico for our first stop on our "farewell tour."

Villa Mexico Cafe is located at 296 Cambridge Street, Boston, MA.

"Clean Out the Freezer" Korean Dukboki

It is hard to believe that this is already our last week in Beacon Hill.  We have gotten a lot done to prepare for the big move but there still seems to be an endless list of things to do.  Thankfully, Bret and I have somehow managed to not sweat the small stuff and actually have managed to avoid being too stressed out by the whole process!

Although I've come to realize that we are going to have to move quite a few items from our freezer and fridge to our new home, I'm still making a valiant attempt to clean out the freezer and fridge as best as possible.  I still have another package of dehydrated Asian rice cakes in the freezer, which I last used in my Italian-style rice cake dish.  I actually got a lot of comments from people who were curious about the more traditional Korean dukboki that I usually make with these rice cakes.  I've made this dish many times but for a breakdown on how to make the dish, I encourage you to check out my first attempt at Korean dukboki from a few years ago!

On Saturday, I rehydrated the rice cakes in a bowl of water in the fridge overnight.  By the time Sunday came around, I decided to make a "clean out the freezer" version using frozen ground beef, green beans and cauliflower with my Korean dukboki instead of the more traditional version which uses ground beef, onion, garlic and peppers.  But after our huge brunch at Elephant Walk and a long day of packing, I completely lost steam to make this dinner and decided to make it on Monday night instead.

Last night, I started out by browning the ground beef in a wok with some water. 

When the beef was mostly browned, I added the gochujang (spicy bean paste) to the beef and gave everything a mix.

I then added some frozen green beans and cauliflower to the pan and gave everything a stir.

While the vegetables were cooking, I drained the rehydrated duk (Asian rice cakes) and added them to the wok.  Once again, I gave everything a stir.

The final step was to add a few more tablespoons of gochujang, along with a few tablespoons each of sugar and roasted sesame seed oil.

It was definitely not a traditional version of Korean dukboki but it was actually really good.  I think the addition of frozen vegetables added some moisture, which made the spicy bean paste sauce silky smooth.  Plus, the green beans added a nice crunch to this dish.

This clean-out-the freezer meal was the last meal that was cooked in our place as the pots, pans and utensils have all been packed up.  It feels really bittersweet, especially for this blog.  Once we get settled into our new place, there will be lots of home-cooked meal in our new kitchen!

Sunday Brunch at Elephant Walk

On Saturday night, I was lucky enough to indulge in a few (or a lot) of drinks with some of my favorite people in Boston.  Even though we are only moving to the suburbs, I wanted to have one last night in the city where we could all let loose and live it up one last time.  We went to a few of our favorite spots, including the Grand Canal and the Green Dragon.  Photos from the night are blurry, sweaty and hysterical.  In other words, they are not suitable for posting.  But, I had a fabulous time and I'm so grateful for all of the wonderful people in my life who were happy to celebrate all of the changes in my life!

Of course, after an amazing Saturday night, you have to deal with the not-so-amazing recovery the following morning.  Thankfully, Bret and I already had planned to head to Elephant Walk in Cambridge for brunch.

I've never been to any of the Elephant Walk locations but I was very excited to have brunch options that incorporated both French and Cambodian cuisines.  We arrived there just as the restaurant was opening and I got a chance to take a few photos while we waited to be seated.

We got a lovely table right by the window, which gave my some wonderful natural light to take photographs.

Bret and I both started our brunch with plenty of water and fresh-squeezed orange juice.

We were both absolutely famished and decided to order appetizers to share.  I was craving fresh fruit so we ordered a very simple fresh fruit plate.

Bret was craving something more savory so he ordered the Rouleaux.  These Cambodian spring rolls are meant to eaten by hand in a lettuce wrap.  These were definitely fun to eat and seriously outstanding!

For our entrees, I opted for the Crepes Gourmandes Aux Champignons.  This savory crepe was filled with wild mushroom, scallions and creme fraiche.  Honestly, this was the best crepe I've had in quite some time.  The crepe was light and spongy but it could still hold the savory filling well. 

Bret was equally pleased with his meal, the Loc Lac.  This cubed beef tenderloin dish was definitely more of a lunch dish than a breakfast dish!

Even though we were both pretty full, we couldn't resist their tempting dessert menu.  We split a slice of Marjolaine.  This dessert was intense with almond dacquoise layered with coffee praline buttercream, chocolate chiffon cake and chantilly cream topped with chocolate ganache and served with coffee creme Anglaise.  I actually found the chocolate chiffon cake to be a little dry but the coffee creme Anglaise added the right moisture to this dessert.

Typically, we wouldn't order this intense of a meal for brunch but we were both recovering from the night before and still in a bit of a celebratory mood.  This huge brunch also helped fuel us as we spent the day continuing to pack and to throw out some furniture, which definitely required some energy!

Elephant Walk has several locations in Massachusetts.  We dined at 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA.

Breakfast at IKEA

Bret and I drove out to IKEA yesterday morning to pick up a new dresser for our new bedroom.  We got to the store pretty early and discovered that while the cafeteria is open at 9:30 AM, the store doesn't open until 10 AM!  Whoops!

We were both pretty hungry so we decided to grab some breakfast while we waited for the store to open.  I've never eaten at IKEA before but I guess there is a first time for everything!  IKEA was having some strange promotion where they would take off the amount of your food receipt from any purchase over $100 in the store.  Since we knew the dresser would meet that purchase amount, we got to eat our breakfast for free!

The IKEA restaurant is served cafeteria-style with cafeteria trays and all.  I ended up ordering their breakfast plate, which came with scrambled eggs, homefries, French toast sticks and sausage. 

The scrambled eggs had a weird texture so I didn't eat that.  But the rest of the food was actually pretty good.  I also have never had French toast sticks before and realize that I actually really like them even though I don't like French toast.  I think it is a texture thing for me and now I'm determined to make French toast sticks in our new kitchen.

I washed my breakfast down with a Swedish sparkling pear juice.

And maybe we went a little crazy on the free breakfast deal but we also split a dessert.  Yes, we had dessert with breakfast!  This raspberry cheesecake had a yummy ladyfinger crust and I definitely ate more than just my half of it!

I definitely wasn't expecting to have breakfast at IKEA but it actually was a great way to start the morning.  We shopped through the store in an hour and then headed to Bret's parents' house to swim off our breakfast at their pool.

IKEA is located at 1 IKEA Way, Stoughton, MA.

Zen Sushi and Cherry Wheat Beer

Last night was incredibly hot in Boston and definitely not an evening for cooking. This past week has been really busy for me and I’ve had a lot of late evenings followed by early morning wake-ups. I was really looking forward to a low-key Friday evening consisting of an early dinner, catching up on my DVR and heading to bed real early.

Meghan’s recent blog post about sushi and sangria had me craving sushi for dinner. Plus, it gave us the opportunity to order sushi take-out one last time from our favorite neighborhood sushi spot – Zen Japanese Grill and Sushi Bar.

A mixture of sushi and sashimi

Crispy green beans

Seaweed salad

We ordered quite a spread of sushi. The hot weather had us craving a cold fruity beer so I picked up some Samuel Adams Cherry Wheat beer to help wash down the sushi.

We have a jam-packed weekend coming up filled with family, friends, good food, and of course, more moving errands. A low-key Friday night helped me get the rest I needed to re-energize for the rest of the weekend.

Tell me, what fun things do you have planned for this hot summer weekend?

A Beautiful Summer Evening at Del Frisco's

A few months ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening party of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse.

I had a fantastic time enjoying the waterfront views while indulging in the fantastic sips and nibbles that Del Frisco’s had to offer. At the time, I made the decision not to write about the opening party because I wanted to enjoy the evening without trying to capture the “perfect” photo of a cocktail or getting down all the ingredients of a particular dish. While I don’t regret my decision, I did wish that I could share that wonderful evening with my readers.  So, when I got an invitation to attend an intimate blogger dinner at Del Frisco’s, I was excited to have a second chance to write about this new restaurant.

I arrived at the restaurant with Kristen and Meghan almost a full hour before our dinner reservation.  We decided to seek relief from the heat and the restaurant was happy to direct us to the Harbor Room to cool down.  I used this opportunity to take photos of the beautiful room while there was still some natural light streaming in.

Beautiful chandelier.

Gorgeous waterfront view.

We were offered a cocktail while we waited and opted for the house VIP cocktail at the restaurant's suggestion.  This pineapple and orange vodka cocktail was frothy and delicious!

As the other diners came in, we nibbled on some warm bread and butter.

And then some more cocktails.  There were a lot of different tempting choices on the menu but I opted for a champagne cocktail.

I should mention that service was a bit slow that evening.  Our meal took about four hours overall, which is definitely way too long.  That being said, I was content to be spending time with some of my favorite people on a beautiful a summer evening.

Kristen and Elizabeth

Soon enough, the appetizers arrived at our table.  Everything was served family-style, which I absolutely loved.  I like being able to taste a little of everything!

This crab cakes were my favorite by far!

Shrimp with a traditional cocktail sauce

Shrimp with a mustard sauce

The tuna tartare was a little underseasoned
but the olive tapenade crostini was delightful!

Prime beef carpaccio

After the appetizers came the salad course.  I opted for a traditional wedge salad.  It definitely hit the spot but was a little overdressed.  Secretly, I was glad that the salad was overdressed because it stopped me from eating it all to save room for the main course!

There were a few different steak options to choose from but I went with my usual choice, an eight ounce filet.

There were a lot of sides served with our steaks, which were also served family-style.

Perfectly battered onion rings.

These sauteed mushrooms were FABULOUS!

The chateau potatoes would definitely be perfect during the colder months!

Lobster macaroni & cheese.  While the mac and cheese was delicious,
I was sadly missing lobster from the dish.

These sides went perfectly with my steak, which was cooked to a perfect medium!

Finally, we were onto the desserts, which was also served family style.  I tried a bite of everything, except the chocolate souffle.  No surprise, the banana bread pudding was my favorite!

Creme Brulee

Sampler of Lemon Cake, Chocolate Souffle, and Banana Bread Pudding.

Berries and Cream

Our servers were really pleasant and helpful but as I mentioned before, the service was a bit slow that evening.  Of course, the restaurant was jam-packed throughout the evening and perhaps these are just the growing pains of a new restaurant?  Still, the food was delicious and the company was fabulous.

Thanks to the folks at Del Frisco's for such a wonderful evening!
Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse has locations throughout the country and their local location is 250 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA. 



Full disclosure: The dinner at Del Frisco's was completely complimentary, but as always, my opinion is honest and completely my own.