Blu, Inc Boston (New American), 131 Broad St , Boston, MA 02110 (Financial District)

Me and Chef Jay Santos (Hell's Kitchen finalist, Past Chef of Gargoyles, Somerville)

 July 2011



Space & Service:
The wait is over!  Blue Inc is a super cute little spot. I've been waiting impatiently for Jay to open up his masterpiece!  The space is small but wisely used.
The servers (Stephanie) and bartender were very friendly and upbeat.  After some computer issues occurred, the staff became a bit frazzled, but remained professional and as collected as possible.  With the system  down, our entrees and final cocktails took awhile to come out, but otherwise the pacing was good.
Though he was clearly extremely busy, Chef Santos made the time to come to our table and snap a picture with me :0)

Food:

Chef sent out his choice of a complimentary appetizer:  tuna tartare topped with cabbage slaw, lime juice, purple onion....kind of like a ceviche.  These are the items my palate picked up.  Unfortunately I did not hear the server describe the taster because a loud patron drowning him out as he spoke to us.

The pretzel bread with mustard seed butter was pretty good. I thought the mustard butter  was really smart.

The mussels were just ok.  They were fresh and the BBQ broth was interesting, though a bit watery.

The calamari "spaghetti" was breathtaking!  It was topped off with a lovely pastrami bolognese!  I couldn't get enough!

The pork belly was awesome!

The friend chicken was decent.  I really loved the celery root mousseline. The BBQ syrup was tasty as well.

The soft shell crab was good.  I loved, loved, loved the tiger shrimp butter.

I look forward to visiting again and again.


Blue, Inc. Boston Website:
www.blueincboston.com/

Thaitations (Boston/Fenway area, MA)/ Brown Sugar Cafe (Boston, MA)

Thaitation:

Love, love, love their spare ribs!  They are soooo very tender and the sweet honey glaze is absolutely Amazing!  Why can't I get these at Brown Sugar??
Anywho...
Their golden triangles and shumai are also good starters (same as brown sugar cafe)
I also like their yellow curry and masaman, both of which I get with chicken or shrimp.
I also love the mango mousse!
Suprisingly, I've never stepped foot in this place (I always order through http://foodler.com) even though it's not too far from my home.  The food always arrives in a timely fashion and hot!

I will make it in there one day.

129 Jersey St
(between Queensberry St & Park Dr) Boston, MA 02215
Neighborhood: Fenway

(617) 585-9909

www.thaitation.com

Brown Sugar Cafe:

Update - 9/16/2011

I tried the three stooges dish the other night and was blown away!  It included sauteed chicken, beef, and shrimp in wonderfully light plum ginger sauce served in a deep-fried tortilla bowl!  I just loved it!  I ordered sticky rice to mix in.

We tried more apps this time around:

The cozy shrimp had a good flavor but were a bit dry.  I drenched mine in chili sauce.
The tofu triangles were ok, but I prefer firmer tofu.
The golden triangles were good (as usual), as were the Thai raviolis (steamed).
The spare ribs had a great flavor but could have been a bit more tender.

7/24/2011

Brown Sugar is pretty good.  I will forever avoid the stuffed wings as a starter but I liked the spring rolls, shumai and golden triangles.

The Thai fried rice with chicken and shrimp is my friend's favorite and it's pretty good but usually too spicy for me.
My all time favorite is the Lobster Pad Ped! This is a beautifully fresh dish with a mesh of fantastic flavors along with a gorgeous presentation.

I could, however, live without the disco ball, random, disturbing birthday songs...though, I have not experienced this in quite some time. 

1033 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton

(617) 787-4242

www.brownsugarcafe.com

Urban Solace, 3823 30th St, San Diego, CA (North Park), Souther/Comfort Food

I started with the lovely, rave-worthy cheese biscuits!  The orange-honey butter was a nice touch.  I enjoyed the fried green tomatoes, especially the little kick added with the drizzle of herb puree/pesto on the plate!  The coating was wonderfully crunchy and the portion was just enough.

THE DUCKARONI:  what an interesting twist on mac n' cheese!  I absolutely loved it.  My mother had the regular mac n' cheese sans bacon (a mortal sin!), but it was quite tasty as well.

Everything went nicely with my Elderflower spritzer!

For my entree, I enjoyed the lamb meat loaf. The pine nuts were an interesting addition, but the figs and their au jus was a bit too much on the sweet side for my liking...though it sounds miraculous on paper.  I enjoyed the rest of the meal.

My mother and grandmother both ordered the burger.  I thought the cracked black pepper was a nice touch as was the smoked tomato jam!

All-in-all, I'd visit again next time I'm in town.

Urban Solace Restaurant Website:

www.urbansolace.net

Mr. Biggs Bar & Grill, 596 10th Ave, NY, NY (Hell's Kitchen)

Mr. Biggs remains a top 5 favorite places for their late night happy hour in Hell's Kitchen whenever I'm in the city.  I love that you can hang with the after work set for the (5-7?) happy hour and come back for after drinks drinks, cheap sinfully fatty apps (fried mozzarella, fried zucchini, chicken fingers...), and possibly some karaoke from 2-4 a.m. :0)

Mr Biggs Website:

www.mrbiggsnewyork.com

CLOSED: Swanky Bubbles Champagne/Sushi Bar,10 S Front St Philadelphia, PA 19106 (Olde City Neighborhood)

September 2010

Hands down the best champagne cocktail menu ever! The Bubble-Lee is my all time favorite.  I never not pay a visit during a Philly visit as I practically called this my second home when I lived in Philly for a year.

Love their signature rolls (crazy cat and kyoto are my favorites) as well as an awesome lobster risotto.
The ambiance is great and meets the designer's expectation of having an underwater feel.
I almost always sit at the bar and the tenders are usually high spirited and friendly with lots of personality.
Can't wait to visit again soon!

Swanky Bubbles Website:

www.swankybubbles.com

Max & Dylan's Kitchen+Bar, Boston, MA (Downtown Crossing) 15 West St Boston, MA 02111

West Street in Boston's Downtown Crossing neighborhood feels "alley-ish" like most places on those side-streets.  The atmosphere of M&D's fits the bill.  Everyone from 'teamster-looking' guys to the financial industry's afterwork gentleman were collected at this watering hole.
Small space but not claustrophobic; the ambiance was welcoming.

I am a fan of the lobster mac n' cheese and the spinach + artichoke hearts man n' cheese.  The pasta was cooked nicely in both.  The lobster mac had nice portions of claw meat chunks and the artichokes were an interesting addition to the other.
I wasn't a fan of their house prosecco, but I suppose I could get over it.  The bartender worked nicely with my request for a cucumber martini sans Hendrick's gin, replaced with Ketel One.  The St. Germain was a nice touch.

The New Orleans style bbq shrimp with ciabatta didn't remind me of "Nawlins" in the least, but had a good flavor, though the shrimp could have benefited from being cooked about 45 seconds more.

The space (downstairs) was just average, nothing extraordinary to discuss.  The server (Allison) and hostess were both polite.

On a solid GOOD note:  My dinner companion, who signed up for their fan club awhile ago, was able to get a FREE entree (without restrictions) for her birthday!
Plus they validate par
king for 10 bucks at the Hyatt around the corner!

I will go back to try more...


Max & Dylan's Website:

www.maxanddylans.com/downtown.html