Mei Mei - Double Awesome!

Since I work over in Brookline Village I don't get to experience the local food trucks too often. So, when we found out that a Boston favorite, Mei Mei Street Kitchen, was going brick-and-mortar nearby my coworkers and I immediately scheduled a lunch meeting to check it out!

All the of the food at Mei Mei is locally sourced, so many pieces of the menu change daily, though you usually can count on a few items. Going in, our group knew that we wanted to sample the dumplings AND the fritters because we just couldn't choose between the two.

Dumplings!

Ostra

Its no secret here that I am a fan of Columbus Hospitality Group restaurants, having had not only amazing meals but great overall experiences at L'Andana, Mistral, and Sorellina. When I heard they were opening a new restaurant, Ostra, in the Back Bay I had high expectations for the final product. After the initial reviews were positive, Nick and I decided to suck up the higher price point and celebrate nothing in particular on a Saturday night date night out in the city.

Wonderful foccacia bread

Our reservations were at 8:30 and after the hostess checked us in (we barely made it at 8:29) she said they were running a bit behind, so we grabbed some drinks at the bar. Even with our reservations we had to wait about a half hour to be seated - turns out they somewhat ambitiously schedule their evenings, but the menu doesn't necessarily fit well will turning the tables over quickly. Fortunately we had no where to be, and they had a pink sparkling wine served by the glass for me to enjoy and a yummy cocktail for Nick, so we were happy to relax at the bar.

Hasselback Potatoes

If you are anything like me, you read a LOT of food blogs and notice that certain foods start trending, e.g. bacon bourbon brownies. Lately, one of the more popular items I have been seeing is hasselback potatoes. I was totally intrigued by these, not only because they looked delicious with their crispy tops, but also because the presentation is dynamite!

After doing a little internet searching on how to make those cuts and realizing it was actually doable, I sorted through some recipes and went for it! Surprisingly, these are pretty straightforward and taste terrific.

Hasselback Potatoes

Raymond and Buena Vista Vineyards

It's time to return to wine country (at least on the blog). On our second day, the same day we did a barrel tasting at Westwood, we visited two of Jean-Charles Boisset's family vineyards. From what we saw, this guy must be quite a character! Our first stop was Raymond Vineyards, which we were excited to visit since we had a couple of their table Cabs at home and enjoyed them.

Biodynamic Farming at Raymond

J.T. Farnham's Fried Clams and a Day at the Beach

Another year, another last-minute realization that the time when dogs are allowed at Crane Beach was coming to an end! Since we had such a great time the last two years, we schedule a trip and hoped that it wouldn't be TOO cold or windy. Somehow we lucked out with blue skies and temps in the 30's, which was practically a heat wave given the winter we've had!

Nick the dog whisperer

Ward 8 - Not Just a Cocktail Anymore

When Nebo announced they were leaving their space in the outskirts of the North End for Atlantic Wharf I was curious to see what would ultimately move into the space. For those of us living in Charlestown, this location is an easy stop on the bus line, and for everyone and going to the TD Garden, it's a nice alternative to what's on Canal Street. When news spread that Ward 8 was moving in and it was from the family behind other loval favorites like Ducali, I was optimistic. Rather than serving Italian food though, Ward 8 draws inspiration from its craft cocktail namesake with a creative cocktail list and an interesting menu of bistro foods.

Moscow Mule