Hedonism

Gaslight

What can I say about the newest offering from the Aquitaine group, Gaslight? Not much, as I was never greeted and finally left after having to not only introduce myself to a server to ask for a table, have her tell me that she would get right to me (she apparently really needed to make sure the order that she had memorized was entered into the Aloha before she forgot it), when she did get to me, had to deal with the fact that I was going to be seated in the middle of an empty dining room when there were plenty of booths that were available and not in the center of a room. I felt that it was perhaps an attempt to get me to do what I did, leave. I have worked for the Aquitaine Group. I helped open Union, managed there, as well. I helped fill in shifts at Aquitaine as well as spent some time at Metropolis. And at that time, I was a firm believer in the vision that Seth Burns, Jeff Gates and Matt Burns was selling the city of Boston. This was the first restaurant I worked for in the city of Boston after moving here from Atlanta and leaving the job that I had prior as a wine rep. And I stayed there for a long time. Almost three years, which is a while in this industry; where people take a position through the fall and then move to the beach for the summer or take a different position somewhere else. So, when I walked into Gaslight and was treated this way, I suddenly lost all respect for a group that I gave so much of my life to. Which is sad, really, as I thought that this was a group who really was dedicated to the guest experience. Alas, not the case in this instance. The manager was back to the front door the entire time, engaged in conversation with a table that didn't end the entire time I was there. She just seemed to not really be into paying attention to the space. Perhaps it's me. Perhaps I am an elitist. Perhaps I do want good service and food. And perhaps i'm willing to pay for it. Or, perhaps I was trained this way over years of working in the industry. Perhaps I was trained to think that we have an obligation to the guest to be as hospitable as possible to the people choose to spend their money at our establishment. And when it doesn't happen, especially at a place that isn't some cheap little dive, I get angry. And when I get angry about service, I tend to make it a point to stay away from those places and tell everyone I know about my experience. So, this was a while back, when they first opened. And the reason I mention this now is that Gaslight has recently come to my attention as a possible place to dine. Of course, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. At least, not until someone tells me that they had a spectacular experience there. Then, maybe, i'll hit it up.

August Daring Bakers

Leah and I decided that we would share her kitchen and the ingredients required for this month's Daring Bakers Challenge. So, I borrowed the roomie's car and hit up Whole Foods for the appropriate sundries while Leah worked out and cleaned up for the arrival of our friends who were to bring the food while we provided the desserts.

I found some really great ingredients for the eclairs and was pretty excited about what they would add to the pastries; a Icelandic chocolate called Nói Síríus (um, yeah, I can't read it, either) and a local dairy called Crescent Ridge (they sell the milk in real bottles, pretty cool). So, after finding all the ingredients, I went to Leah's and she sat out the first round while I made my eclairs and got the chocolate sauce and pastry cream together.

Making the dough for the pâte à choux was incredibly simple. Especially when compared to the past challenges. This time, everything could be done in the space of an hour, which was really perfect, given that Leah and I were both sharing the same kitchen. Of course, never having had the opportunity to make pâte à choux before, I was a little skeptical watching the magic happen on the stove. The dough started thickening up and as I stirred it all up, I kept waiting for some indication that it was, indeed, getting less moist. Trouble was, I used a non-stick sauté pan and never really got that coating on the pan that was mentioned in the recipe. No matter, I just kept time. After the buzzer went off, I pulled the dough off the stove and began the addition of the eggs, watching the dough come apart and fall back together. The eggs were new to the neighborhood, I guess, and the other ingredients needed a little time to welcome them to the block. Finally, everything came together and I was ready to fill a pastry bag and start squeezing my little fingers of pastry goodness onto a sheet of parchment paper to set in the oven and transform into light and fluffy cakes longing to be filled with my cream of choice. But wait! No pastry bag! I haven't been able to find one around here since I started the whole Daring Bakers thing and had to improvise, using instead a ziploc bag that was a little too small to hold all the dough and it started to fall out onto my hand. No matter, I still got plenty of dough on the parchment and then into the oven.

I followed the instructions to the letter for the baking of the dough and when they came out of the oven and were set to cool, they all fell flat. Suddenly, this simple recipe was becoming more difficult. I grabbed one and tasted it; turned out, it wasn't cooked through. So, a few more minutes in the oven  and I had some golden brown eclair starters.

While they cooled, I began the pastry cream. I decided that I would stick with the chocolate theme and use a modification of that. I opted to make a spicy filling, falling back upon my love of Latin cuisine and using cinnamon and cayenne to add more depth and a little kick to the filling. The directions seemed very simple, but I must have missed something, because the cream never set properly. All through the cooking and chilling process, it remained too wet to really make a proper cream. I thought that I could salvage it with the addition of whipped cream, but that also didn't work. So, I stuck the lot in the freezer and figured that, worst case, I could make a frozen filling for the eclair. That is what ended up happening. Interesting thing about this choice is that it made a great ice cream. I would love to make that again as a proper ice cream, but am pretty sure that I will never be able to recreate the exact mistakes that got me to the ice cream. Adopt adapt and improve; the motto of the Round Table.
The chocolate glaze was the easiest part and also the part that I willfully changed. I thought that the chocolate sauce that was used in the glaze had a great flavor profile due to the créme fraiche and wanted more of that taste on the eclairs. So, I added more of the sauce to the glaze, which turned out to be a wonderful touch. It really pulled the whole thing together.

The finished product turned out well, messed up pastry cream and all. Little bite sized desserts that only needed Everyone loved both of our desserts; although Leah's turned out better as a whole. Hers were round little morsels filled with a Nutella and whipped cream filling that looked great and sat well in the living room while we all watched "The Venture Brothers" and chatted about nothing in particular.

A great night, which seems to be the usual when we have friends over and share our challenges, even if a little subdued. Hopefully, this lesson will make me a better pastry chef. I think that I can make a better pastry cream in the future. And, knowing how easy it is to make pâte à choux, I know that I will make this dough in the future. I think that being able to make my own beignets is pretty damned cool.

Dessert

I don't really care much for dessert. Doesn't mean that I don't appreciate it and can't find a way to enjoy it. Just means that when I am finished with a meal, i'm more likely to choose a plate of cheeses or a glass of cognac than order a chocolate cake or peach cobbler. I'm not really sure why, I simply don't have a sweet tooth. I only rarely find myself thinking that something sweet might be in order. And usually, that's more along the lines of a cheese that is complimented by honey. I just prefer savory over sweet.

So, taking part in the Daring Bakers has really challenged me in ways that I thought I would never really be. Sure, I spent some time making desserts for a restaurant that I worked for and can knock out a mean Créme Brûlée, but i'm not much of a pastry chef.

Unlike cooking in general, one must really pay attention to portions of ingredients, temperatures, order of mixing in ingredients as well as keeping an eye on things while cooking. When I toss something in the oven, I have been used to using my sense of smell to determine the level of doneness. Not so much when making a pastry or cake.

So, in these past few months of making delicious pastries, I have started learning a different method of cooking. However, my past experience cooking food that isn't as demanding has come in handy. After all, an exact science still has moments of error, when everything doesn't come together quite as hoped or planned. These moments are when all my lack of commitment to paying attention to the details of a recipe come in handy. Adapt, adopt, improve. When everything goes wrong, I can think well enough on my feet to find a way around the problem. For instance, when a cream goes terribly wrong and doesn't set, what can I do? Well, I could start over, but sometimes, I try to fix the problem by detouring around it.

By doing this, I have managed to save what might have become a terrible dessert Fail on more than one occasion. Of course, there have been times when even my best attempt at improvisation hasn't positively impacted my end result. Those are the times when I learn to take another look at my techniques. I like to think that all my experience and time in the industry help to make me a cook of formidible talents. Sure, I'll never make the final cut to get into Hell's Kitchen or Top Chef, but i'm really not looking to do that. What I am finding is that I am a talented impromtu cook with good knife skills and a good palate. What I am not is a good overall cook. And that's what this has been teaching me. And that's why I keep doing it. I am learning about what I don't do well and how to incorporate what I do well while learning how to do all those things that I can't. It's been a great trip and i'm pleased with what this has given me.

Having stated all this, it's time to post this month's challenge. And since this will appear after that post on the blog, any reader will figure out what I mean. Let's just say, i'm working on things. I'll do better next time. 

28 Degrees

Disclaimer: I used to work at 28 Degrees (another one of those sites that manages to think that noise is a good thing. They need a better foley artist, though) as a server and as the GM. However, that will not keep me from being honest about the food, service and ambiance. Read on:

Located at 1 Appleton Street, next to one of the South End's oldest restaurants, Icarus and in the old haunts of Flex (at least I think that's what it was), a gay hang out known more for its gayness than it's food or environment. It was very industrial and more like an automat than a proper restaurant. People were sad to see the gay hangout go away, but not so much the joint as a place to grab a bite. So, when it opened a few years ago, the gay South Ender's were interested in giving it a go. And, to some extent, it still is a place for the homosexual community to go, grab a bite and some cocktails (not to mention the drag show every Sunday night) either on the way to Club Cafe or on the way home. It's also a destination for the Euro's as well as the younger meat market crowd. People who aren't yet adult enough (or have enough disposable income) to make the transition to Mistral. At least, that's how it used to be. I really haven't been there often enough since leaving there to really know if that's still the case. However, one's first impression tends to stick.

So, it was with no small amount of trepidation that I made the journey from work one Thursday night (picking up my roommate and dropping him home, then taking an hour long sojourn on the bus) to help a co-worker and friend celebrate his birthday.

Finally arriving, I found them on the patio (a beautiful patio, truth be told. It's much like an oasis in the midst of a well-traveled Tremont Street) having what turned out to be the third serving of gnocchi in a mad series of appetizers. I arrived on the later side, but got to try the gnocchi. It was a very nice dish. The gnocchi was light and fluffy, no chewy, gummy texture and it was dusted with lemon zest, parmesan cheese as well as spinach and lobster. I didn't really notice much lobster in the dish, and thought that the combination of so many flavors was a little busy, but the gnocchi itself was really very good and i'd probably order it myself, but sans lobster. I'm not a big fan of lobster, anyway.

I asked the server to surprise me with a glass of something red, and she brought me a glass of Pazzo, by BacioDivino Cellars, Napa, California, 2005 (sangiovese blend) (18 / 38 also the most expensive glass on the menu. I'm guessing that she brought it not because of the price, but because she knows me and knows enough to not bring me something thin and boring. However, this is one of those places that punishes people who don't order a bottle of something that they serve by the glass. I suggest ordering a glass of something only as a last resort. Good rule of thumb is the bottle should cost about four times as much as a glass. If that isn't the case, one is being robbed. It's another shitty practice that should never have been introduced) Still, it was a nice wine. Good body, typical Cali fruity wine that doesn't have a lot of complexity, does have a high alcohol content, but doesn't suck. I question it's cost, however. I'm guessing that, if I call my old reps, I could find out the bottle cost in minutes.

The table next to us was filled with a gaggle of folks celebrating someone's birthday. But they were kind of on the loud side and we were able to overhear the conversation. At one point, it turned toward the merits of Dorchester. The conversation about those who lived in Dot were kinda' disturbing. The birthday boy was raised in Dot, and I currently live there. When they were making comments about the dialect, he and I shared a glance. When the commentary became racist and elitist, we both had to bite our tongues. It's amazing, sometimes, what people think it's okay to talk about in public. Ah, the joys of alcohol and it's amazing ability to loosen tongues and filters.

I was hungry and the gnocchi wasn't enough, so I took a look at the menu and ordered a arugula salad. It was nice, but a little on the sweet side. The lemon vinaigrette was more of an emulsion than a real vinaigrette, not very light, not very lemony, not very vinaigrettey. There was a little too much parm for my tastes and overall, the arugula, which looked lovely, was lost in the sweet dressing and heavy handed application of parm. The chef has left the joint and i'm not sure who's there these days. As well, Jeremy Sewall, owner/chef at Lineage in Brookline, who used to be the consulting chef, may or may not be still consulting. I hope so.

In all, its another one of those "the company made the night better" times. The service was good, the manager and staff were pleasant and professional, the food that I tasted had good and bad points. However, I can certainly recommend the 1$ oysters every night from 5-7pm as well as the slider (the burger, don't know about the pulled pork) and might want to try a few of the other items on the menu. Overall, however, it's a place to go for oysters, drag and compay.

The End Of Summer

It's that time again, when the weather starts to turn from hot and humid to cool and damp. Summer still has a few weeks to give us its last hurrah; that hot stretch that is the last gasp of a dying season. Sure, up here in Boston, we haven't had much of a summer, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't there. And it doesn't mean that it isn't going to treat us to a perfect Labor Day; the official herald of Fall and all the fabulous foods that brings.

This means that we will soon have to give up (if one is the more locally oriented type) all those wonderful veggies and fruits that Summer brings us and start designing meals around the abundance of Fall produce. However, there are plenty of late season produce that one can incorporate into meals that are both tasty and a call to the Fall. Bring on the orbs of squash, the sweet potatoes and the kale. Let me make them part of the last of Summer foods; the beets, the cherries and the peaches.

Some ideas:

Take those peaches, grill, roast or confit them and serve them as a savory and sweet side with pork or duck and have as a side a hearty helping of kale sautéed with fresh Fall garlic. Grab a handful of cherries and make a chutney to top a venison loin or a bison steak with a sweet potato and bacon hash. Hook up that squash by rubbing it with evoo, dusting with salt and pepper and roast it. Serve it with Swiss Chard and chicken in a vinegar sauce. The last is actually something that I make for Thanksgiving as well as New Year's Eve. And I promise that it's worth the effort. As well, one of the great things about these items is that most of them make for a great soup the next day when tossed en masse in a pot.

There are plenty of great ways to use up those late Summer offerings with the bounty of Fall items that we are blessed with. I'll make sure that I share my personal recipes with those who read these posts. After all, i'm one of those people who really believe that nothing is as good as it can be unless it is shared.

If anyone's interested in calling me to the mat on my ideas about food, please feel free to contact me and put me to the test. I'm willing to take on any ingredient list to make a great meal and would love the challenge. I might not ever make it to Iron Chef, but I don't need to. I have you.

Beehive

Finally managed to hit up Beehive tonight. Had a good dinner at Eastern Standard (which, unfortunately, included a tough and cold Lamb special that was returned) with a very nice and pleasant server with the fiancée and some other friends that became a trip to Beehive to finally make a co-worker's show. He fronts a band called Pressure Cooker, a reggae band with a hint of ska. My roomie also works there as a bartender, so I know that i'll be taken care of. Not only is he my roommate, we worked together at Union. We both helped open the place and have a history that goes back almost 7 years. Actually, I think that it will be 7 years this September. Amazing, really, how long I have been in this city.

Upon arriving in the South End and parking in front of what used to be Garden of Eden (the people of that not so good joint also run Lionette's, a really nice market that has local and esoteric items), I noticed a person in the car parked behind us doing her makeup in the car. I mentioned it and as we got out, so did she. Turns out, she was someone I also worked with at Union and hadn't seen in almost 2 years. After introductions, we all walked to the bar together and entered. There was a bit of a crowd at the door, so I though that there might be a bit of a wait, but the hostess was right at the door and greeted us as soon as we entered. That's always a good sign. After dropping that we were here to see the band and I knew the bartender (totally unnecessary), we were ushered downstairs and made our way to the bar. Lee was there and as soon as he saw us, he came out to give us all a hug. We ordered our drinks and got to talking.

I like the space, it's a little on the dark side, but comfortable and a little eclectic. It was certainly a little loud, but with a live band, that's not unusual. Lots of interesting art to keep one visually amused as well as a large screen television that's turned to sports for those interested in keeping an eye on the game. The bar itself is just large enough and the chairs are comfy. Another good sign. They have a nice little cocktail menu, including some of the more classic ones, something that makes me feel happy. And, yes, for those who prefer a drink that is more gastronomic, there are beverages as well. They also carry my favorite cognac, Pierre Ferrand. For those who don't know, Pierre Ferrand is a smallish house, family owned, that doesn't use artificial colorings and even the base cognac is a lovely bottle that is completely worth the money spent on it. Which, for the record, isn't as much as one might think. Pierre Ferrand is competitively priced which actually makes it more of a bargain. Leah got a Pimm's Cup, I think. Pimm's at a bar is yet another indicator of a good bar to me. Our sudden third ordered a Mexican beer as well as some food.

Turns out, another co-worker is the Chef de Cuisine at Beehive. Becca, who used to be a chef at Union. She was gone for the night by the time that we got there, but we were interested in her food. Unfortunately, having eaten a largish meal at ES, neither Leah or I ordered any food. Our third ordered the Rib, fontina and farmhouse cheddar sandwich with what looked like a cole slaw. When it arrived, it was a huge dish. And I do mean that. Large brioche bread with a lethal slathering of cheeses and rib meat. She said that the sandwich was good and it seemed so, as she was not really doing much talking while moving the food from plate to palate.

While she was eating, the person she was waiting for arrived and ordered the Tuna Tartare. Now,I love Tuna Tartare, and was really interested in hearing what he had to say about his dish. He's also a foodie, having worked at some of the best joints in the city, from L'espalier to Union (when I was there, another friend from my restaurant past) as well as The Federalist and currently Moo (which is what the Fed ended up becoming after an incredibly long run), so I trust his food and wine knowledge almost more than mine. He offered me a taste, but I declined, having heard him say that it wasn't as good as he had hoped. It was too saucy and the tuna was far too light for a tartare. Meaning that it wasn't the best quality or either the fast frozen variety that really isn't good for much but is cheaper than the fresh.

The menu looks interesting and i'm looking forward to a proper meal there. I think that the mini Beef Wellingtons and the Chicken Milanese sound good and will eventually try them. For now, however, I can say that Beehive is a place with a good bar, if filled with the not quite hip crowd, and a good place for live music and fine cocktails. The band was great, btw. I am glad that I finally made the time to check Craig's group out and i'm sure that I will go to another show. The food, not sure. But, i'll find out soon enough.

Cooking In

So, Friday night I decided to cook a dinner for my fiancée and couple of friends of ours at her place. The protein was to be lamb, and the decision of what to make was made by those I was cooking for. They unanimously chose a Moroccan style lamb stew, so I hit the local Whole Foods to gather the ingredients. The recipe I use is a variation of one I found on epicurious.com, which is good, but not as flavorful as I like, so I doctor it up by adding more of the allspice, garlic, ginger and cinnamon as well as using homemade lamb stock. So, I grabbed an entire leg of lamb, bone and all, as well as the other ingredients.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find the blood oranges, or even blood orange juice, so I opted for Cara Cara oranges, which are really amazing and tasty little globes, somewhere between an orange and a grapefruit. I'm also on a detox, meaning I can't have gluten, so while everyone else was going to get Israeli Couscous, I was going to make myself some quinoa, a fabulous grain that I think is really not well represented in the cooking world.

So, having made my decisions and gathered the foodstuffs, I lugged my parcels until I saw a cab driver who was willing to drive me to Leah's place. Once there, I began the process of prepping the food.

The lamb, being still on the bone, required a good deal of butchering to clean up. I now know that as good as I might be cleaning a chicken, a fish or a hunk of beef, I know next to nothing about cleaning a lamb shank. Something that I should probably look into fixing if I intend to continue working with larger hunks of meat.

Finally getting the lamb cleaned, I tossed the bones into a pot of water on medium heat to begin the process of making the stock while I cut the lamb into smaller chunks for the stew. While doing this, Leah came in and started to share her day. At this point, I should have known that I was in trouble, since our friends were coming around 8pm to eat and her being home meant that I had less than an hour to get dinner ready. There was no way that was going to happen. After all, I had yet to prep the rest of the ingredients, hadn't even begun the process of cooking the lamb, which is a bit of a prolonged deal, as the lamb would need enough time to not only break down and gain that soft bite that really makes a stew a stew, they would also need to absorb the flavors of the broth. So, I tried the best I could to get the lamb started and while that was cooking, I began the process of prepping the rest of the food.

When making couscous or quinoa, I have a tendency to want to make it more a part of the meal, something that actually accents the food that it's with as opposed to some other starch or grain that happens to be on the plate. I'm also that way about rice. I don't think that people pay attention to the sides that they make when preparing dinner, focusing whatever attention that they are giving the food on the protein. So, in an effort to make my sides more interesting than they are by default, I chose to toast the couscous and quinoa in olive oil before adding the veggie broth that I cooked them in. The idea is to give the couscous and/or the quinoa a little more color, adding a nicer, nuttier flavor to the sides. Someday, i'm going to steam the couscous, but until then, this is a nice way to bring out some additional flavor in the dish. I set a sauté pan up with a little bit of olive oil and garlic over medium heat and let the garlic melt a little bit before adding the couscous. I stir the couscous constantly and when it turns the color of caramel, I add the stock and let it cook out per instructions. Makes for a tasty side dish.

So, as the stew simmered and I chopped the parsley, took care of the oranges and readied the sides, Leah entertained our friends. Which was good, as the food took way too long to make. We finally sat down to dinner around 10pm, which was far later than I had hoped and everyone was pretty much ready to eat the table by then.

The food was okay, but not great. Turns out, the lack of blood orange really did make a difference in the meal. I added some white grapefruit juice, hoping that the tartness of it would help with the sweetness of the Cara Cara, but it didn't really add anything that I could taste. The stew was too sweet from the oranges and honey and Leah added Greek yogurt to her portion to help tone it down a little bit. Since I couldn't add that, I just nibbled on the meal as it was. The lamb was very tender, fortunately, and the flavors were good, just at the end of it all, there wasn't as much depth to the dish. At least, not as much as when I usually make it. Leah suggested using lemon if that becomes the case again, which isn't a bad idea. Hopefully, i'll find the blood oranges next time. If not, I might just have to make Lamb and Chorizo chili.

The company was good, however, and we spent a while watching "Venture Bros" and then Olympics until we all finally decided that it was late enough to call it a night. 

Super Fusion Sushi

It's a small place, at least the original one in Brookline is. No website, no liquor license, no real atmosphere to speak of. It is, however, home to some of the better (if not cheaper) fast service sushi in Boston.

Located in Brookline off the Washington Square T stop on the Green LIne, Super Fusion shares a row of shops with another sushi joint as well as a hardware store. It's easy to miss if one isn't looking for it specifically and that makes it seem a little more important than it might actually be. After all, most people love the idea of that "hole in the wall" spot that only they know about, and this place has that feel about it.

Leah and I decided that we would hit it up for dinner last night, so she met me at work and we hopped on board the T for the ride out. On the way, we caught up, chatted about things in general and decided that we would also stop by the Trader Joe's that is located a few stops away at Coolidge Corner for sundries on the way back to her place.

We got to Super Fusion around 7:30 and found one free table (they have 4) as well as an empty sushi bar (about 4 seats). So, we opted for the table, as I had a few bags that needed to be stowed and could comfortably toss them on the large sill of the plate glass window. I wasn't even seated before the server dropped off the menus, laminated and presented with a dry-erase marker for ease in ordering, and asked us about beverages. Not having a liquor license, one either has to bring in one's own beer or wine or be satisfied with the selections there. I opted for green tea (unfortunately, not brewed, it's that powdered stuff that most places serve) and we both asked for water.

Not feeling too experimental (I think, and Leah agrees, that if one wants cutting edge sushi, best to go to either Oishii in the South End or Douzo in Back Bay), I ordered a series of basic nigiri and maki. Leah lets me order, trusting me to make good decisions regarding sushi since I worked for Oishii and have at least a cursory knowledge of what's what. Much like I let her order when we go to other places, trusting her experience over mine and being very open to new foods. I ordered three different nigiri, maguro, sake and toro (which they were out of, so I asked for escolar, sometimes referred to as white tuna, which is isn't, it's its own thing. And, if eaten in excess, has a sometimes unfortunate side effect that I shall not go into, i'll just reference Olestra. However, it's a tasty fish and a little bit is not bad) as well as a soft shell crab tempura maki, avocado maki, maguro maki and spicy tuna maki.

The food arrived rather quickly and was nicely presented, with no real nod to artistic design, just plated and served. They use the powdered wasabi and standard pink pickled ginger, but do provide low salt soy sauce at the table. The nigiri was a large share of rice, kinda' bland, could have stood a little more vinegar, dabbed with a little wasabi and draped with a long cut of fish that extended past the rice and made it hard to eat in a single bite with ease. So, the 8 pieces of fish that we paid for became, in essence, 16. I don't use soy sauce, I prefer to use the pickled ginger juice for my wasabi mixture (a habit I got into when I was on a detox, the same one i'm on now, that doesn't allow soy. I find that I like it more than soy and now only use that to dip my fish in), but they don't have it, so I used a little water and a lot of wasabi. The nigiri was tasty and fresh, the sake not as buttery as I would like, but everything was tender and flavorful.

The maki was also good, but again cut too large to be truly bite-sized. The avocado was perfectly ripe and rich, the tuna was not at all chewy or grainy and the spicy tuna roll had a good amount of tuna, tempura crumbs and spicy mayo (spicy mayo, for the record, is nothing more than regular mayo mixed with siracha) for the price and was probably my favorite roll. Leah loved the soft shell crab, something that I don't eat, as much as I love crab simply because of the texture issue.

While dining, a few odd things occurred. We overheard a pair of females chatting about how drunk this one girl would get while going out. How she would black out and this guy would keep trying to get her to do shots. Something that she wouldn't ordinarily do until she was drunk enough not to care. Her voice was both loud enough and at a high enough pitch that it was impossible to ignore. The couple who ended up sitting next to us was led by the female, a seeming unhappy person who never once smiled and pretty much took charge of the night. Pushing her companion to the role of bit player in her amazing drama.

In all, if someone's looking to get a lot of good sushi at a reasonable price, this is a great place to seek out. The service is friendly and fast, the food is fair and all things told, it's worth a trek to the outskirts of Boston for a fix. Especially on a Monday night when the place one really wants to hit up (Oishii) happens to be closed.

However, I suggest ordering to go, heading home and setting up a sushi platter in front of the tv or over a good bottle of sparkling wine. That way, one doesn't have to overhear odd conversations and can have a private one instead.

Toxic

I am all about living well. And that can mean that I might be prone to overdoing things a little bit. Unfortunately, I also work in a mall. Meaning, I tend to not have a good meal most days. Unless, of course, I make something and bring it in or take leftovers from a proper meal with me. That just doesn't happen as often as it should, meaning I simply eat crappy food most of the time. Yes, I know, shame on me, I spend so much of my blog time talking about all the great food that I cook and all the great places that I go to that it makes no sense that I do this to myself. I know better.

So, the end result is that suddenly I start to get really tired all the time, I get cranky and start to feel generally bad. Since I know the symptoms, it's time to detox.

I have embarked on a detox before, the last time was a complete bust since I ended up deciding that it was okay to go out and have a dinner that became a true hedonistic experience and being the Gemini that I am, I figured that I had blown it anyway, there was no reason to hop back on the boat. So, I killed the detox and am finally feeling enough of the toxins in my system that all I know is I need to do something about it.

I have one detox that I have used to great success in the past as well as one that I haven't managed to finish at all. Both work, one requires existing on nothing more than water flavored with lemon, maple syrup and cayenne as well as daily doses of salt water and nightly doses of laxatives, leading to the unfortunate reality that need not be mentioned. It is also only a month long routine. The other allows for real food, but a restricted diet and daily doses of a powder that, when mixed with water, tends to look more like Revere Beach (holding the honor of being America's first Public Beach) than anything even resembling healthy. It, however, is almost 2 months long. So, my decision becomes more along the lines of what I want to deal with physically as well as what I am willing to do in the kitchen to accommodate the detox.

So, I can simply do without food for 14 days (two weeks of this detox are at either end of it spent eating nothing but raw foods) or elevate my diet and eat nothing that has been processed, no gluten, no tomatoes and the like for almost two months, but allowing for meats and other cooked foods.

Either way, I have to give up alcohol as well as certain other foods that I love. However, choosing the second option, the one that lasts two months, might be the better deal; as it gives me the chance to find modifications of the foods that I already love and still enjoy the dining experience with friends and loved ones. The first option means that I have to sit by while my fiancée and friends eat good food; gazing at a glass of pretty gross liquid while people whose company I enjoy sit and watch me. So, of course i'll more than likely choose the "at least I can go out and eat with you guys" detox.

This means that there will be a few posts about what i'm cooking as I try to make the detox work with my constant dining companions. I'll also spend some time listing the recipes that I modify to make them work with the diet.

So, quinoa, brown rice and lentils, watch out! I'm about to share how you can be made into foods that are not only nutritious, but tasty.

I will miss, but not too terribly, wine. I can do just fine without hard spirits, i'll just miss that sparkling or red or white fermented grape juice while I do this. Maybe my reward for a successful detox will be a bottle of Krug. Which would totally start to undo my detox. However, it's Krug. How can that be so bad?

Radius

Had a triple date of sorts a week ago at Radius (the online menu is not at all accurate, for the record), mainly because of the rumor that the burgers there were worth the rather high price tag (it's 19$ a pop). Also, several of us happen to know a manager and thought that it would be nice if we stopped by to share the love. So, we decided to hit up the joint on a rainy Friday night to have a little food and some conversation.

Radius isn't the easiest place to get to, it's located in the Financial District on High Street and one really has to want to go to Radius to get there, it isn't a place that people sort of stumble across on a walk around the city. However, once there, it's a nice looking little place that might surprise a hungry visitor.

I was the last one in, and as such, found my people sitting where they always like to sit, at the bar, having a drink and chatting away. Unfortunately, one of the pairs had found accommodations at the other end of the bar and had already ordered some food. A few comments later, we were given the large communal table right outside the bar and the six of us all gathered round for talk and tasting. The manager was the one who pretty much took care of us, the bartender seemed to be either a little overwhelmed or just not interested in walking the ten feet to the table we were seated around. Whichever it was, at least we had someone taking care of us.

I was feeling like celebrating, so I ordered a bottle of Billecart-Salmon Rosé champagne for Leah and myself, a wonderful (and in no way cheap) bottle of wine that never fails to please me. Light and dry, with a wonderful effervescence that lingers on the palate.

The group of us, exclusive of the pair who had already ordered, ordered a few apps and a salad as well as a few burgers and settled in to wait for the food. When the apps arrived, we were pretty impressed with the presentation of two of the items; the deviled eggs with bacon and the fried oysters. We also ordered a salad as well as a saucisson plate (fancy way of saying plate of meat). The bacon was served in a water glass like plumage, a towering testament to the sheer power of pork in cooking. The eggs, called low country, if I remember correctly, led one to believe that they would be more along the lines of fried or scrambled. In reality, they are deviled, and, according to the couple who ordered them, way too smoky to really be any good. In stark contrast to the eggs that this couple and we shared at Hungry Mother. The bacon was good, but there was a hint of some additional sweetness that wouldn't be expected. Almost as if they had been washed with maple or a sugar syrup of some sort. The fried oysters were simply fantastic. And that's coming from someone who doesn't usually like fried oysters. They were not at all slimy (something that I tend to find in a fried oyster) and were served with a well-balanced chipotle aioli. I asked for a taste, and ended up eating an entire oyster myself before regaining my manners and leaving the rest of them to Leah. My salad, unfortunately, was heavy on the salt, so I decided to hold it for the entrées and perhaps use it on the burger that Leah and I decided to share. The meat plate was great, accompanied by a side of pickled veggies that were, in my opinion, the highlight of the dish. I asked for a side of them, but they never did make it to the table.

Our entrées made it, most of us had burgers, so there isn't really much to talk about other than that. The burgers were good, but not great. They were dense, no fillers to speak of, just plain meaty. And the buns were a good fit for the patties, nothing was overwhelmed on either end. As well, the buns weren't the standard fluffy brioche. The buns were really bready and provided a good means of handling the juicy burgers. Finally, a burger that wasn't in need of a knife and fork to eat. Unfortunately, the burgers weren't well seasoned. The salty salad came in handy at this point, providing some sort of seasoning for a burger that didn't have enough. The bartender failed to come to the table, so I had to saunter over to the bar to grab some salt and pepper for us to add some more seasoning to the meat. The fries, on the other hand, were really good. They seemed to be hand cut and were served in a little brass sauté pot, which was a lovely little touch. To be honest, I wanted to take them home with me.

After finishing up our food, we toyed with the idea of dessert, only being talked into it when the cheese plate was mentioned. I'm a sucker for a cheese plate. We ended up being treated to several other house specialties, as well. All of the desserts were exceptional, my favorite of the sweets being the Goat Cheese and Huckleberry Cheesecake. The cheeses were nice, but they were obviously a little on the older side, having the tell-tale signs of sitting poorly wrapped; tough and elastic edges that were moving toward the center of the cheese, a little plastic taste and not really as flavorful as one might expect from cheeses sourced from Formaggio. The after dinner beverage selections are also well thought-out, a legacy, I think, of a person I worked with and trained as a manager at Union who left Radius to head back to Florida.

I'm not sure if the food is a result of Radius losing their Executive Chef, Patrick Connolly, to Bobo in New York (bad website warning), and having to renew their commitment to the food that Michael Schlow (a really great guy, very down-to-earth and decent) has helped to create or simply a sad statement that once a chef goes big-time, the places that helped make that chef a star start to take a back seat to the pull of the spotlight. In many cases, like Todd English (an utter ass and so enamored of his celebrity that he has lost all touch with the starting line that he once began his run at. He once, while I was managing at 28 Degrees (another bad website, what is it with restaurants and noisy flash?), knocked a server, sending her entire tray of cocktails careening into the crowd and all over the server, and not only fail to apologize, he got angry with her for being clumsy), that is most likely the reality; I think that this might not be true of Radius. I'll have to go back again, after they get their feet back under them, to finalize my opinion. For now, however, i'm going to have to say no. The money spent wasn't worth the food. Still, I like you, Michael, i'm not writing your joint off just yet.