Buccan - Tapas, West Palm Style

On our first night in the Palm Beach area, Nick's mother made reservations for the three of us at Buccan, a really fun small-plates restaurant in Palm Beach.  When you walk in you are immediately struck by the relaxed white-washed style with a contemporary flair.  We had looked at the menu before we even left Massachusetts and knew we were in for a treat.  However, before we even got started on the food we ordered some cocktails - they were too delicious looking to resist.  Nick's mom ordered the watermelon martini which was garnished with real watermelon.  That is how you know that you are in Florida!

Watermelon Martini

I went immediately for the Rose, St. Germain and a lemon garnish!

Delicata Squash, Chick Peas and Toasted Gnocchi

I have to admit I actually learned something of value watching Chopped on the Food Network!  Not one week after watching an episode that involved Delicata Squash, we got some (and by some I mean loads) in our CSA.  Even though we had seen the show, the squash still looked like the gourds you use for decoration at Thanksgiving, to the point where we actually asked if that's what they were!  Luckily using Gojee, I found a recipe that uses a whole lot of the squash.

The Ingredients...

Ground Cherry Pie

In our CSA we have gotten a wide variety of foods, and one of the strangest things has to be ground cherries.  Also known as husk tomatoes, they basically look like mini tomatillos.  The farm stand attendant said he just ate these raw, but I wanted to try something a bit different with them.  There are not many ground cherry recipes out there, but I found a simple pie recipe and figured it would be a good start.

Ground Cherry Pie

To be honest, I was actually nervous to eat a ground cherry because it looked like my worst enemy - the tomato.  Once Nick tried one, I went four it and it really was sugary sweet with a bit of a crunch to it.

CHUCK - best burgers in Palm Beach!

Nick and I went to visit his mother recently in South Florida.  Last year we went to Florida in December and had a great time enjoying some sunshine and comfortable temperatures.  This time however, it was September and humid and HOT and rainy, but we still had a good time!  For lunch one afternoon we headed across the street to Chuck, a new "burger joint," within walking distance from Nick's mom's house.  Good thing we don't live there permanently because I might be over at Chuck at least once a week!

Double Burger!

When you walk into Chuck, you are welcomed by an open dining area with concrete floors and beamed ceilings - not your typical "burger" style decor.  The menu is small, consisting of burgers, fries and hot dogs, but it really doesn't need more because the burgers are delicious!  I ordered a single and Nick went with a double burger, and we got a side of fries to share.

Dinner at Sorellina

OK, so this post will show how much of a back log I have been working through - there are worse things for a blogger, I guess!  This post is actually about my trip to Sorellina during Restaurant Week - yes I know Restaurant Week was in August, but these pictures got a bit lost on my camera.  I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Restaurant Week.  Some places seem to be just "over it" and it comes across in the service and the food, so I am skeptical when making reservations during this time.  But it always seems like such a good deal that I have to try at least one place.  This time around our plan was to make a reservation at one of the higher-end places on our ever expanding restaurant list, which brought us to Sorellina.

Nick and I were a bit early for our reservation and while waiting for our table and Nick's sister, A, we grabbed a seat and a drink at the bar.  Seeing Prosecco by the glass on menu (Fantinel Prosecco Extra Brut, Friuli, Italy NV) I decided to indulge.  When our table was ready we walked over and looked over the menu.

Prosecco

Love the plates!

A ordered a drink that had rave reviews online: the White Pearl, which had pineapple juice, Malibu rum and ginger beer.  This drink did not disappoint and A loved every sip.

Crepes!

The city has been crazy recently with concerts, fairs and people just trying to enjoy the last bits of summer before the crisp fall weather settles in for the long haul. While this is fun for all of us city dwellers, when you actually need to get out of Boston, it presents a few problems. When Nick and I were supposed to head to the South Shore recently, we had his sister pick us up down by the Rose Kennedy Greenway rather than on Charles because the Esplanade and the Common were bustling.

Nick and I left with enough time to stop and pick up some food in Fanuiel Hall somewhere, but we had no destination in mind. After crossing over the top of the hill we caught a glimpse of Dore Creperie in the little stand-alone building in between City Hall Plaza and Downtown Crossing on Cambridge Street. The building has housed a number of restaurants, most recently Pressed, but now it is home to this pop-up Creperie. Since Nick and I no longer work downtown, if a restaurant is not open on weekends we are generally out of luck. However, we happened to catch Dore on it's first open Saturday - perfect!