Cornbread WITH Jalepenos!

To go with our Super Bowl chili we needed something with a bit of zip that could also mop up the chili juices - naturally, corn bread was the answer.  We originally were going to just mix up Jiffy cornbread mix and maybe add something to it, but when we got to Whole Foods we found a bag of yellow corn meal with a recipe for jalapeno cornbread right on the bag - perfect!

Some Yummy Bread

Chili Fit for the Super Bowl

Nick and I finally broke down and bought a dutch oven, which I can safely say was one of our best investments.  I am even saying this only after cooking with it once!  The big question that remained was what to christen the new 9-quart Le Creuset with?

Since Sunday was the Super Bowl, there was really only one thing to make - chili!  Not having a go-to recipe, Nick turned to the Food Network website and found a recipe by the Neely's.  Typically, I find them to be completely annoying, but they've sort of started to grow on me.  Their food, however, has always looked fantastic, so when Nick found their recipe I was sold - that, and it had beef, pork AND bacon.

Simmering away...

The necessities...

Meat Pies - yes please! KO Catering and Pies

A while ago Nick and I had seen a TV review recommending KO Catering and Pies, a small shop in Southie.  Having eaten pasties (meat in pastry crust) while studying in England, I have never seen this version - basically, a small pie in a little pie tin - but I was sure it would be just as delicious.  Each shot of the review on TV showed a steaming pie made with fresh ingredients and a flaky crust.  Since we have corn-hole on Tuesday nights in Southie, this was the perfect excuse to give KO Catering a go.

An Irish Stew Meat Pie

The menu has a couple traditional items like meat pies and fish & chips as well as salads and sandwiches.  A word that I had not heard since I was in Australia was "Brekky," Australian for breakfast, which they serve Tuesday through Sunday.

We stayed with the traditional and went with the classic beef and cheese pie, the Irish stew pie, and some fries with chicken salt.  The pies were absolutely fantastic.  The Irish stew had some good chunks of stewed meat and great flavor, and the classic beef was a bit juicer.  I loved them both, and having to pick one would just depend on what you were in the mood for.

Beef and Cheese Pie

The juicy center...

Inside an Irish Stew Pie

What amazed me the most about the pies was how flaky the crust was.  This really was a dish we could eat with our hands.  Looking at the size, we were worried about whether sharing two pies would actually be enough, but they were just the right amount. 

Fries with Chicken Salt

We also ordered fries with chicken salt to go along with our pies - I mean how can you resist fries with Chicken Salt (not even knowing what it was!).  The fries were great and I left wanting to buy the chicken salt they had there since I really think they made the dish.  It added some great flavor that was a bit of a twist on the norm.  Definitely not "Meatless Monday" material!

We had a lot of time after we finished eating, and while we were waiting we spotted these amazing looking desserts that had coconut coating.  We needed to pass the time somehow!

Lamingtons

When we actually ordered the coconut thing, we found out they are called Lamingtons, which are an Australian staple.  Inside the chocolate and coconut crust, there was a yellow sponge cake.

Showing the Goodness

This dessert was delicious and all I wanted was more! 

Overall, I was super impressed with KO Catering and Pies and wished I could eat it more frequently!  One great thing to note is that although the store location is in Southie, they have a food truck!  You can follow the food truck location on Twitter simply by following them, and you know I'll be on the lookout.  Hopefully they come over towards Brookline soon!!  This was a great, cheaper alternative, to traditional lunch location.

U Burger - are U Boston's best?

On Saturday Nick and I finally went to the U Burger on Tremont Street to see whether it was deserving some of the "best burger" accolades it was receiving.  I was not sure what I was expecting from U Burger at all but I surprised to find out that it is basically fast food, but a lot better.  Therefore, I started to think this may be a good substitution for Five Guys until we get one of those in downtown Boston.

U Burger

The burger definitely looked promising, and there were lots of options to add to your burger, like different cheeses, sauces, veggies, and other burger goodness. 

The Menu

I went pretty straight forward and ordered a burger with cheddar cheese, lettuce and grilled onions. 

The Burger

For less than five dollars, the results were pretty good.  The burger was juicy and had pretty good flavor, and the grilled onions were very tasty and definitely worth adding.  However, the cheese was not fully melted and sort of seemed like an afterthought.  To be honest, it was not as good as Five Guys, so I am still waiting for that, but this is a close second. 

I also got an order of fries and an Oreo frappe.  The fries were OK - they definitely needed some salt. The frappe, though, was delicious!

Burger, Fries and Shake

While there is just no way this burger can compete with the burgers from Back Bay Social Club or Moo..., (there is just no contest due to the quality of the beef itself), for this price point, which is comparable to McDonald's or Wendy's, UBurger offers a great burger with a large variety of toppings that you cannot get anywhere else.  When you need a quick cheap burger fix, UBurger will do the trick.

Stoddard's - when you need a good beer

After going out to an OK dinner on Friday night I was excited to try out Stoddard's Food and Ale, which was right next door to Mantra.  Walking into Stoddard's is like stepping back in time and also puts you immediately at ease.  I feel like I could hang out there forever. 

There is exposed brick on every wall and tin-tiled ceiling.  Every decorative touch really is turn of the century - even the ice is chipped off a big block.  There are two smaller areas upstairs that look like the special balcony sections in a theatre. These may be reserved for VIP or something similar - regardless, it looks fun up there. Also, there are two street lamps in the middle of the bar that provide plenty of light while still maintaining some ambiance.

The bar scene

Behind the bar is an impressive wooden structure that has amazing carved details.  While there is a fairly big food menu, we stuck with the beer and it was totally worth it. 

The bar

The bar is lined with 20 taps, with only labels on the tap to distinguish the different types of beers.  They carry a few main stream beers, though the majority are smaller craft beers that we typically see at beer festivals.  Each tap is readily able to switch up the beers. 

The taps

Since they do offer so many different types, the bartenders are really knowledgeable of their selection of beers and are willing to serve a healthy size tasting glass to make sure you know what you are getting into.

Tasting Glass

We tired a number of different types of beer including an Oatmeal Stout, a Coney Island Lager, a Long Trail Centennial.  We also had a Harpoon Munich Dark, which I have so far only seen at the brewery itself. 

I cannot wait to go back and try another variety of beers - this was the perfect neighborhood bar.



Mantra - Restaurant or Club, still not sure...

On Friday night, Nick and I went to check out Mantra since another Groupon deadline was approaching.  I had been to Mantra for after work drinks, as well as when it turns into a club late night.  Both of these times were at least 4 years ago, and having heard they had good food, I was excited to give it a go - especially with a bit of a discount.

Knowing they had good drinks, we went straight for the specialty cocktails.  I got the Madhu, which was made with Belvedere, honey and fresh lime juice. 

The Madhu

This drink was really good for those of us who really like vodka, because that really is the main and only component!  The honey is drizzled around the glass (as you can see in the picture above) so it does not really mix into the drink until the end.

Nick got the Surat - a martini that had Van Gough espresso vodka, Bailey's Irish Cream, Starbucks Liquor and a little bit of brewed coffee.  It was amazing for those who like creamy drinks and don't have bodies that would hate them the next morning (like mine would).

Yummy sickness in a glass

Rather than appetizers we went for some naan bread.  Mantra has a great variety to choose from.  After a bit of deliberation we got the ginger honey, coconut and date, and the smoked mozzarella and green chili. 

Basket of goodness

The smoked mozzarella was my favorite.  For me, the coconut flavor was not strong enough (however as we know, I like A LOT of coconut flavor.)  The ginger and honey was good, but I am not a huge ginger person.  The chef cooking the naan is actually out in the open so you can watch him make them.  However, it seems to be mixed in with what turns into a bar later in the evening.  The naan was served with a red sauce that really just tasted like cold tomato sauce.

For dinner I got the spiced marinated halibut.  The fish was rubbed with a combination of turmeric and red chili oil and was topped with a cilantro pesto.  The accompaniments were a purple potato wrapped in broccoli rabe. 

The Halibut

The fish was delicious, nice and spicy.  The flavor was fun and different from what I normally order.  The accompaniments were OK, nothing too striking. 

Nick got the spiced pomegranate encrusted tuna that was served with asparagus, lemon corn and a tomato chutney.

The Tuna

The tuna was cooked well, however it really lacked a bit of depth of flavor.  There was no real kick to the tuna that we thought was supposed to be there considering it is labeled as "spiced."  The lemon corn, however, was delicious. 

As for the atmosphere: when I first walked into the restaurant I was struck by the size of the room. Mantra actually is in an old bank that they have re-purposed. I guess the main bar used to be where the tellers stood. Most of the walls of the room still have marble and the ceilings have beautiful moldings throughout. Whats odd is the restoration did not really embrace the older features. Further, they never really embraced the Indian or French culture either. So there are a few splashes of color, but given the theme of the food, they really could have done so much more - even just switching the white table clothes for a color would have made a difference.

The other aspect that really sticks out while you are enjoying the meal is all of the things they have for the club that the restaurant turns into later in the evening. There are huge club-like spotlights everywhere, and I think most of the tables and chairs actually get moved out of the space. However, the chairs look just like that - ready to be moved. In fact most of the furniture set up for the restaurant just seems temporary and, in my opinion, really affects atmosphere.  Mostly, I felt like they were waiting to finish dinner service to make way for the late night festivities.

If you were going for drinks I think this would be a good spot, and some of their lighter options at the naan bar would be great.  However, for dinner, the entrees seemed a bit overpriced for the quality of the food.  I was really happy that I had a groupon.