Andover Deli and Pizzeria

November 27, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Andover Deli and Pizzeria
22 Andover St.
Andover, MA

the best thing about this place is that even though it’s super busy, you can easily get your food in a number of ways. 1: you can call ahead and have it to go when you get there. or 2: you can call ahead and have it ready to sit down and eat when you arrive.  I was really surprised to see people walk in and have their food ready for them, and grab a booth and start eating. This family owned business is all about freshness which probably explains the business.

I love the steak subs (no philly cheesesteak); it is a much healthier version. I really like my cheesesteaks where the meat is chopped up, it’s easier to chew.

cheesesteak with mushroom and grilled onions

one of my favorite sandwiches of all times is the chicken salad sandwich on toasted bread with american cheese. in Boston, this seems to be the only place that can get my order as close as possible to my expectations.

toasted chicken salad sub w american cheese

places just don’t make delicious steak fries like this anymore. super crispy.

french fries

my brother insisted on grabbing some cookies before we left. fresh from the oven! the m&n cookie was DELICIOUS!

m & n cookie and chocolate chip cookie

Andover Deli on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: American, Andover, MA Tagged With: , , , , , ,

McAlister Deli in New Orleans

November 26, 2010 By Leave a Comment

McAlister Deli
2701 Airline Dr
Metairie, LA 70001

lots of deli choices here, it all looked quite fresh but it was pretty much the run of the mill deli sandwiches. the prices weren’t too bad either (most likely spend under $10 here).
huge space here which I love, with cute 50s decor (there were pictures and posters depicting 50s movies and fashion).
i had a giant spud w bacon, cheddar and chili (thought I’d try something different than a fresh deli sandwich).
my friend had the half reuben and half sandwich. she said both were delish.
the service was very friendly here, they kept checking up on us and offered to get us extra chili.

50s ambiance

half reuben

half salad

giant spud

McAlister's Deli on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: American, New Orleans, LA Tagged With: , , ,

Indian Samraat in Boston, MA

November 23, 2010 By 2 Comments

Indian Samraat

51A Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, MA 02115

As soon as I got back into town, I need my Indian food fix. Luckily, a friend of mine was able to take me to a local hidden gem:

small space doesn't look like much from the outside

but when we went inside, there were a ton of tables. the red leather seats were comfy and luckily did not smell bad (some restaurants, the scent lingers on the leather seats).

red leather seats. nice.

my friend had a special mango yogurt drink to calm down the spices on her tongue:

mango lassi: Delicious mango and yogurt shake

the garlic naan was interesting. In the past, it was usually big and fluffy and filled with the flavor. This was more like 2 flat sheets with a bit of garlic spread in the middle. it was still good, just different than what i’m used to.

garlic naan

my friend ordered this sort of potato in spinach saag sauce. her dish was a little on the spicy sauce. it was delicious! the portions were a little small but I guess when you have a ton of rice, Indian food is very filling.

aloo chhole: Chick peas sauteed with onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and spices

i had my favorite chicken tikka masala! boneless roasted chicken pieces in a tomato cream sauce. it was sooooo much better than other ones I’ve had. so delicious!

oh Indian food, how I've missed you!

I love basmati rice!

mmmm rice

India Samraat on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Boston, MA, Indian Tagged With: , , , ,

Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans

November 20, 2010 By 1 Comment

http://www.courtoftwosisters.com/
613 Royal St.
New Orleans, LA

Jazz breakfast buffet for $28 per person!

the charm gates from Spain, if you touch them you will be charmed (no, not the 3 sister witches)

when you walk in, you are handed a coin and asked to wait to be seated. when you get your table, you give back the coin. so magical:

when you walk outside, the first thing you see is this fountain. i couldn’t get over how rich the blue was!

the outdoor seating area was wonderful but the seats were lacking. the cushions were lose from the chairs (probably makes it easier to stack the chairs in case of rain).

in addition to being famous for outdoor eating area, the buffet has 80 items (well they had like 4 different types of blocks of cheese, and tons of cold pasta salads).

I got 3 plates of food: 2 hot plates + 1 dessert plate (gotta get my money’s worth):
my 1st plate: bacon/cheese omelette, creamed spinach, grits, bacon, sausage, cornbread, biscuit, and stuffing. my favorite was the creamed spinach.

2nd plate: creole shrimp omelette (which I didn’t eat because my 1st bite of shrimp was full of shells), creamed spinach, bacon, croissant, blocks of cheeses.

dessert plate: chocolate cake, apple crumble, bananas foster and pecan pie. the only thing i had room for was the pecan pie and bananas foster.

I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me that jazz music meant LIVE jazz music. haha. anyways, as I was sitting and listening to the songs, I realized they were all about heartbreak……how sad. is that really the mood we want to set for our meals? what if I was here with my significant other? geez! the music was nice in the background, the only thing that really bothered me was the waiters. We had a team of maybe 4 different guys waiting on us and it was impossible to deal with because they didn’t talk to each other at all so my table conversation was interrupted every 5 minutes asking if I needed more coffee or water or am I done with that plate.

Court of Two Sisters on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Breakfast, Cajun/Creole, New Orleans, LA Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Hey Cafe in New Orleans

November 18, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Hey Cafe

4332 Magazine St.
New Orleans, LA

Parking can be a little tricky because it’s Magazine St. but side streets are KEY! There’s a nice little nook in the back, perfect for study-ers. There’s also a front window area, perfect for those w A.D.D.

the sign hanging from the ceiling

This is definitely a neighborhood gem. It had a very hipster feel to it. The barista, aka Madeleine, knows almost every customer by name and what they usually order and their business! It’s like the workers take the time to get to know their customers and their clientele are super loyal and always come back.  When she came over w my chai tea latte w a kick (aka espresso shot) she kinda pranced over and presented it with such pride and cuteness all at the same time. The chai latte was perfect, not too sweet like at a few other places I’ve been too.

menu

front counter

My friend had the banana, peanut butter and honey sandwich and let me have a bite. I’ve always eaten banana and peanut butter sandwiches back home (mainly to carbo-load before crew races) and I was surprised to see an establishment serving it. The honey really brought out the nutty flavor of the peanut butter. It was amazing!

Hey! Cafe on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Breakfast, New Orleans, LA Tagged With: , , , , ,

Unagi and Sushi in New Orleans

November 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Unagi and Sushi
2701 Airline Dr.
Metairie, LA

This place is very easy to miss because its on the outer corner of Rouse’s in a shopping plaza. And the sign for it kinda blends in with the building.

hidden gem in a plaza

The ambiance here was a bit on the minimal side, but for an Asian restaurant, very clean and new looking. None of that carpet from the 80s business here! I did like the fans on the wall behind the sushi bar though.

ambiance

My fellow foodie ordered the sushi roll combination for lunch. For $7.95 she ordered the (from many choices) the salmon avocado roll and crunchy roll (crabstick, shrimp, avocado and tempura flakes) with miso soup and generic Japanese salad with sour orange stuff on top.

usual miso soup

 

generic Japanese salad

roll combo

She said out of the two rolls, the crunchy roll was by far her favorite.

up close n personal

I decided to be a little more adventurous and try some of the House special rolls.

Unforgettable roll and desiree roll

The first one I selected was the Unforgettable Roll for $12.95, it was a sushi roll with salmon, tuna, spicy tuna, tempura shrimp, snowcrab, cream cheese, avocado, cucumber, smelt roe all wrapped in a pink soy wrap.  I really love when sushi flavor is enhanced by the tang of cream cheese. This place served very fresh sushi! And this was by far my favorite!

unforgettable roll

I also had the desiree roll for $6.95 which had crawfish, shrimp, and eel sauce and then the entire roll was dunked in a light batter and deep fried! It was still hot on my plate! It was amazing! And a total steal for its value!

desiree roll

 

 

Unagi & Sushi on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Japanese, New Orleans, LA Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Po Boy Fest

November 14, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Po Boy Fest

Oak St. and Carrollton St.
New Orleans,

This post is dedicated to a very special couple that spent a few hours with me today on their precious anniversary! It really meant the world to me that they took time from their busy schedule to enjoy some po boys w me! Thank you, Romanellis!!

the Romanellis

I can’t believe I missed this event last year, what was I thinking? A little tip to those who are new on the scene, ask for a 1/2 po boy (it’s not on the menu), but it’ll give you room to try a bunch of different po boys. It was super crowded! At certain points, walking traffic was literally at stand-still!

Po Boy Fest Banner

And what is a festival in New Orleans without music! It was nice because the live music wasn’t so loud that you couldn’t hear what your neighbor was saying. Pleasant background music that was barely audible towards the middle of the streets.

live jazz music

#1: First po boy of the day was the Dante’s Kitchen’s Confit pork Cuban po-boy w/black pepper bourbon mustard. It was juicy and the cucumber gave it an extra, fresh flavor.

confit pork Cuban po boy!

confit pork cuban po boy

#2: Next up was Boucherie’s 12 hour roast beef po-boy with red pickled onions & horseradish cream. It was delicious! You could taste the 12 hours of braising! The red picked onions wasn’t overpowering, very nice!

12 hour roast beef po-boy with red pickled onions & horseradish cream

#3: Next up was Barcelona’s Tapas’s Spanish-style pork loin medallions and gouda po-boy. This was by far, the favorite of the group. There were bits of jalapenos giving it an extra spicy kick. The gouda and pork flavors worked in great harmony.

Spanish-style pork loin medallions and gouda po-boy

#4: Then Zea’s almond crunchy shrimp po boy. This was a super creative po boy, crunchy shrimp tossed in sauce with a fresh, citrus asian sesame seed dressing flavor.

Zea's po boy

#5: Next up was Parkway Bakery and Tavern’s Slow roasted chuck roast po-boy. Dang, I felt like they should’ve given us bowls and spoons with this thing. It was super messy trying to eat. The bread got super soggy fast.

Slow roasted chuck roast po-boy

#6: So excited for Jacques-Imo’s Fried green tomato with shrimp remoulade po-boy. The fried green tomato was interesting, because it had the crispy crunch of fried food with a wave of refreshing tomato juice. The shrimp remoulade was amazing, not too sour or strong like other remoulades I’ve had before.

Fried green tomato with shrimp remoulade po-boy

#7: Blue Frog Chocolate’s Icy Hot Chocolate (frozen drink). It literally tasted like hot chocolate I’ve had at ski lodges up in the White Mountains of NH. I had no idea you could freeze hot chocolate but Blue Frog did!

Icy Hot Chocolate (frozen drink)

#8: Ye Olde College Inn’s Fried bread pudding po-boy. This was well worth the hype. It was sweet and hot and crispy yet chewy at the same time. SO GOOD!

Fried bread pudding po-boy

Filed Under: Cajun/Creole, New Orleans, LA Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

French Market in New Orleans

November 12, 2010 By Leave a Comment

http://www.frenchmarket.org/
1008 N. Peters St.
New Orleans, LA

I was extremely disappointed with how lacking the selection in fresh produce was here. This isn’t a farmer’s market! It’s a flea market! Get it straight, Nola. Anyways, I figured since I made the trip out here, I’d take pictures but I was really disappointed.

crawfish jelly?

find me by the spices!

lots of alcohol at a farmer's market

interesting food

beautiful raspberries

mardi gras masks

more mardi gras masks

gator heads only in new orleans

Filed Under: Cajun/Creole, New Orleans, LA Tagged With: , , , , ,

Blue Frog Chocolate in New Orleans

November 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Blue Frog Chocolate
5707 Magazine St.
New Orleans, LA
http://www.bluefrogchocolates.com/

look for this sign to find parking:

from the moment I walked in through the door, I felt like I was in Willy Wonka’s secret mini chocolate factory. All the gold and candies and chocolate was very appealing. And creepy Johnny Depp wasn’t there. Definitely lots of tourists here! The people working behind the counter keep busy.

for some reason, these candies reminded me a lot of that scene in Home Alone when Macauley Culkin opens the door of the min bar in his NY hotel room and and it’s completely stocked with every cookie and candy imaginable.

I had a hard time choosing, so I went with the $3 ganaches: banana foster, dark chocolate and turtle (pecan and caramel!) The filling consistency was so perfect! Not too solid that it didn’t move, but not fully liquid so it doesn’t spill over your lips and down your chin. It was the perfect balance so that you could take a bite and not worry about spills!

banana foster ganache

dark chocolate ganache

turtle ganache

Blue Frog Chocolates on Urbanspoon

Filed Under: Dessert, New Orleans, LA Tagged With: , , , , ,
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