Boston Restaurants~East Coast Grill

Once in a while (when the schedule allows), I do take advantage of the perks of work travel.  One night, while we were working in a city south of Boston, a few of us drove up to Boston and had a nice dinner at an eclectic restaurant in Cambridge, MA called the "East Coast Grill."

Creamy Clam and Corn Chowder with chiles and sweet potatoes

Deep Fried mahi with sweet chili and herb salad. This dish was so good that I tried to replicate it at home.  I thought that an herb salad containing cilantro, thai basil, mint, and other green herbs was different from your typical salad containing lettuce.

Grilled vegetables

Grilled Spice Crusted Mahi Mahi with rice and beans, pineapple salsa, and fried plantains

Grilled cumin-encrusted shrimp with sweet potatoes, papaya salsa, and jicama slaw. This is the dish I ordered.  It was tasty, but the fried mahi appetizer I ordered was so much better than this dish.

Grilled Steak with sweet potatoes

Banana Split sundae with mango ice cream

I think this was a chocolate coffee pie.

Chocolate and peanut butter pie with a side of candied bacon

East Coast Grill

1271 Cambridge Street
Cambridge, MA 02139-1338

(617) 491-6568

Greenz Restaurant

For those of you who don't know my beautiful and wonderful wife yet, let me introduce you to a fun and interesting fact.  Lauren loves deals......loves them! And she is an excellent deal hunter.  She's always finding great ways to eat wonderful food while saving money (see lobster post).  And this my friends is how we found ourselves at Greenz Restaurant.  

You may be wondering why the first picture in this post is one of a wine bottle.  I mean isn't this post supposed to be about a restaurant?   Well, it's kind of about both.  You see, Lauren found a gift certificate online for Greenz Restaurant.  The terms of the deal were as follows: 

      1.  Pay $2 and get a $25 gift certificate. 

      2.  Your total bill must be at least $35 to use the gift certificate. 

      3.  No alcohol (officially speaking) or other discounts.  

Essentially we needed to spend $12 to get $35 worth of food. Sounds good right? .....it gets better......Lauren had us go for happy hour. I don't remember exactly what these deals were, but the appetizers, desserts, and the alcohol we weren't supposed to get was cheaper.   

We soon realized that we'd be getting a ton of food, and since we were meeting up with friends after dinner and had no way to bring leftovers home, I lamented out loud that it was too bad we couldn't use it for alcohol since we couldn't possibly eat all of the food.  The cashier heard me and immediately said that he'd let us do it.  This opened up a world of possibilities.  Doing the mental math I realized that to make up the difference I could either get 2 bottles of beer at $3 a piece, or one bottle of wine for $7 (an amazing restaurant price!).  Lauren volunteered to drive, and I settled on the wine.  After all it was the better value, and this is one area where I've been trained well by my wonderful wife. 

My initial intention was to drink part of the bottle, and take the rest home.  However, things didn't really turn out that way.  After all, it is illegal to drive with an open bottle of alcohol (even if it is in your trunk).  Before I knew it I drank the whole thing!  For a guy who doesn't drink a lot, this is a big feat.  What can I say......it was a fun evening. 

We ended up ordering 2 appetizers, 2 entrees, 1 dessert, and a bottle of wine for only $12!  Amazing!  Our first appetizer was goat cheese purses with a strawberry sauce.  They were basically goat cheese wrapped in phyllo dough and deep fried.  What's not to like?  They were delicious! 

Our second appetizer was panko-fried shrimp.  They were the most disappointing part of the meal.  I was really excited the shrimp, but they were horribly overcooked.  Tough and stringy shrimp was all that waited beneath the crispy crust.  And they would have been so good....... :(   In the chef's defense, we walked in just before closing (as they were cleaning up) and ordered a ton of food.  They must have had to take a lot of things back out and really scramble to cook all of the food at once, so I can understand why some of the fried items were overdone.  I still enjoyed myself.....and I would have enjoyed myself with or without the wine. 

Lauren ordered a warm pear salad with goat cheese and a cup of tortilla soup.  Both were excellent.  The soup was warm, cheesy, and spicy.  I enjoyed most of it since Lauren isn't a big fan of tortilla soup in general.  The pear salad was light and fresh.  The"pears" weren't warm, but they had a very unique flavor.  They tasted strangely like strawberries, which I thought was actually better than pears would have been.  The toasted pecans on top made the salad perfect, and it was Lauren's favorite dish.  Lauren made similar salads for dinner many times that month, and while I'm not a big "salad for dinner" guy, I didn't mind at all. 

My favorite part of the meal was a pulled pork sandwich.  Even Lauren liked it! There was a lot of meat inside, and it was tender and tasty.  The warm toasted ciabatta bun was great too!  The only down side was the sweet potato chips that it came with.  No, it's not poor lighting.....they really were that dark.  I like chips crunchy, but those chips were burnt. 

We got a caramel fruit cup for dessert. I thought it was a good way to end the meal. You can see it in the picture below.  There was a close-up picture of it, but I accidentally deleted it, so you'll just have to use your imagination.

Greenz Restaurant

SE Corner of Beltline and Montfort (New Location)

5290 Beltline Rd. Suite 103A

Addison, TX 75254

972-385-7721

Burgers~Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Continuing on with my burger reviews, Mike and I tried out "Five Guys Burgers and Fries" and really enjoyed the burgers here.  Since moving to Texas, I think Mike has eaten here at least five times, and we do not eat out much. 

One of Five Guys Burgers and Fries signatures is the free peanuts offered while you wait for your food. 

Yummy fries. There's just something about hot homemade fries that makes me smile.

I thought that these burgers were scrumptious and according to the Burger Bracket on Slashfood, Five Guys beat out other burger chains as having the best burger.  Although if you check out the original "burger bracket" put on by Burger Business, another burger restaurants takes the coveted first place. 

Burgers are made to order at Five Guys Burgers and Fries and you can choose to add most basic toppings for free.  Some of the choices are fried onions, mushrooms, jalapenos, tomatoes, lettuce,  and a bunch of different sauces. 

Five Guys Burgers and Fries
13350 Dallas Parkway, Suite 975
Dallas, TX 75240
(972) 239-8470
It's a franchise, so they are located all over the US.

Stay tuned for our next burger adventure...we'll be making our way to Twisted Root burger which we've heard nothing but great reviews. 

Dallas~Mozzarella Factory and Manny's Tex-Mex

Two weekends ago (I'm behind in my posts) I had a fun "date day" with Kendell.  We checked out the Dallas Farmer's Market, the Mozzarella Company, and then ended with a nice outdoor lunch at Manny's Tex-Mex Restaurant. 

We visited this cute little mozzarella shop that has won numerous awards for their mozzarella and goat cheeses.

If you call ahead of time, you can find out when the company is producing cheese and you can watch them make the cheese. Or if you want a more in depth lesson in cheese making, there are monthly cheese-making classes offered. 

I ended up purchasing a ball of mozzarella cheese and a slice of the goat cheese.  Both were delicious and I would definitely buy the cheese again.  The goat cheese was not as gamey in flavor as the goat cheese I buy at Sam's Club (~$8/lb).  At ~$18/lb I would only using the Mozzarella Cheese Company's goat cheese sparingly, while I wouldn't mind making fried goat cheese balls with the Sam's Club cheese. 

Oh and a sidenote, the lady at the mozzarella company was so friendly. She even showed us her super cool nail polish that changes color in the sun. In the store it was clear with silver glitter. Out in the sun, her nails turned a brilliant shade of pink! She told us it was del sol nail polish, and when I looked it up online, there are many different color changing combinations.  I might splurge on this and buy it for the summer. 

The lady at the Mozzarella Cheese Company steered us in the direction of Manny's Tex-Mex Restaurant in Addison, TX.  I love those leisurely days in which you have no "real" plans and the next activity is decided on by a whim. 

Mmmm...salsa and chips. Let's be honest, this is my litmus test on whether I like a Mexican restaurant or not.  I like light thin chips that are not too oily (Chili's chips are extremely thin, but too oily).   I like my salsas to have some heat and taste fresh (not just like canned tomato puree).  Both the chips and salsa need to be seasoned with salt.  Manny's passed my litmus test.  I pretty much binged on these chips that I didn't have enough room in my stomach to finish my lunch. 

The brisket tacos were recommended to us, and Kendell ordered the plate with a brisket taco and an enchilada.

Kendell's enchilada and sides.

My flautas with chicken and beef brisket (I brought the brisket flautas home to Mike).  Big surprise? No, I pretty much always order flautas or chimichangas (grilled if possible) at Mexican restaurants.  I thought the food was delicious and really enjoyed the guacamole. 

Mozzarella Company
2944 Elm Street
Dallas, TX 75226-1509
(214) 741-4072

Manny's Tex-Mex Restaurant
14905 Midway Rd.
Addison, Texas 75001
(972) 490-1616

Texas Restaurants~The Grape

I never used to be a burger lover.  Maybe it was because when I thought of burgers, I instantly thought of frozen processed hamburger patties.  But oh, how magical the world is when there are homemade burgers that are hand-formed and grilled to order.  Mmmm...Now I seek out yummy homemade burgers. 
One of my friends suggested that we go to The Grape for sunday brunch because their cheeseburger was rated #1 in Texas Monthly's "50 Best in Texas 2009."  My interest was heightened when I found out that the cheeseburger was only served on Sundays and Mondays. 

Take a look at that cheeseburger.  It's a 10 ounce burger topped with homemade bacon (fried extra crispy) and white cheddar served on a toasted bun.  On the side of the burger were lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and horseradish pickles. I am not a fan of horseradish, but these pickles were surprisingly good.  The burger was served with fries for a total cost of $12.99. Not too shabby for a massive burger that required me to open my mouth so wide that I could not manage to look girly in the process. 
Would I say this is the "best" burger in Texas? I don't think that's a fair statement, since I haven't had many burgers to compare it to.  The Grape's cheeseburger was delicious and I would definitely go back to eat it again, but I still have miles of unchartered burger territory before I can make that claim. 

*The Grape is a cute little locally owned restaurant in Dallas. I would suggest making reservations because this restaurant was packed last Sunday afternoon.

The Grape

2802 Greenville Ave.

Dallas, TX 75206

(214)828-1980

Bayern Stube and Harvest Moon Drive-In Theater (Gibson City)

So Lauren had been talking for a long time about how she wanted to go to a drive-in theater. There used to be a drive-in in Hawaii, but that closed down a while ago. Lauren found one in Gibson City. We were talking about it one day at her lab, and Aaron mentioned a German restaurant in the area called Bayern Stube. We'd never heard of it, but a lot of people had a lot of good things to say about it. We'd also never eaten German food before, so we decided to give it a try.

Actually, that's not entirely true. I did have German food before on a family trip to Epcot Center a long time ago. I don't remember much about it.......only that people on the adults table had sausage and meats, while I had a bunch of rye bread.
Walking into Bayern Stub is definitely an experience. Animals of all sorts adorn the walls and ceiling. Lauren asked me if I thought they were real. I'm no expert, but they looked real to me. The only one that looked suspect to me was the bear. You can see it in the picture in the left-center. It looked to small to me. If it was real, then it was definitely a baby bear.
***Mike is now currently back home in Hawaii, so I am finishing his post***
Bread with a smoked sausage spread. I thought it was a smoked salmon spread, but I guess my senses were off. Mike asked me what I thought was in the spread and I said, "smoked salmon and a lot of fat." I guess I got the fat part correct.
Fresh Nova Lox~ over a warm potato cake with Dijon horseadish sauce
Red Cabbage
Veal Schnitzel "Dietrich" Topped with Portabella mushrooms and Gorgonzola cheese on a bed of demi-glaze. Spatzle and German fries (potatoes fried with bacon and onions)

Mike thoroughly enjoyed himself at the restaurant. He drank two pints of beer and had fried beef...if he could have finished off a sausage, he would have. Since German food is characterized by meat, sausage, and beer, you can see why I was more excited by the apple strudel.
Although at one point of the meal Mike said that I was "going to town" on the schnitzel. But then images of the South Park episode kept creeping into my mind, and thought, "oh veal...baby cow."
Apple Strudel

Then we were off to the drive-in movie theater. It was about 90F and humid the night we went, but it was still an enjoyable experience. Prior to the start of the movie, Mike and I threw frisbee (apparently going to the drive-in theater is a family affair, and lots of kids were throwing frisbee or playing soccer). It's funny, Mike seemed to think that going to a drive-in theater was such an "American" thing to do. I don't know, but I've always been into watching outdoor movies whether it be a drive-in or on a big screen outdoors (like the IUB Summer Quad Cinema).
We watched Transformers 2 on the opening night, and the drive-in theater was crowded! Unfortunately, towards the end of the movie, I fell asleep. During the fighting scenes, all the machines started looking alike and I couldn't keep my eyes open. The same thing happened when I watched all the "Lord of the Rings" movies. But really, I think the falling asleep thing happens because I've watched these movies during the midnight or late night screenings.
Overall, this was a good "Mike date night." His tummy was filled with beer and meat and we watched a "boy" movie. Little does he know that our next date will consist of high tea and watching a musical or play...

Bayern Stube Restaurant
209 N. Sangamon Avenue
Gibson City, IL 60936
(217) 784-8304

Harvest Moon Drive-In Theater

1123 N Sangamon Ave

Gibson City, IL 60936-1058

(217) 784-8770

Road Trip! Chicago

Mike and I spent Friday on a road trip to C-H-I-C-A-G-O! Okay, that's not so exciting when we actually live 2.5-3hours south of Chicago, but still, here's our action-packed day.
This our second trip to the Museum of Science and Industry. And guess what? Certain days are "Free Days" so our $19/admission was free. It makes the $16/parking easier to stomach. The museums in Chicago are super cool. I really like the Museum of Science and Industry and the Art Institute of Chicago. I'd rather *gasp* go to these museums than shop for clothes! I even curbed my clothes shopping habit, since after I graduate, I realize I have to pack my stuff up in the two suitcases I came with so I can fit on a plane to go home.

We then picked Kendell up since she was in town and then stopped at a restaurant I've been eyeing out for a while. Rick Bayless's Frontera Grill. Chou gave me a Rick Bayless cookbook last year, but Mike and I haven't made anything in the book yet.

Mike ordered the Puerco en Mole Coloradito (grilled-roasted Maple Creek pork loin in classic Oaxacan mole coloradito of ancho chile, sweet spices and chocolate. bacon-infused Iroquois white corn torta, frilled green beans)

Kendell had the Tacos al Carbon (wood-grilled poultry sliced and served with roasted pepper rajas, two salsas, frijoles charros, guacamole and homemade tortillas)

and I ordered the Pescado Encalabazado (red chile-marinated day-boat, cooked over the coals, in garlicky red chile-butternut sauce. Red chile rice, braise dlacinato kale, crispy butternut. I also ordered the tortilla soup from Frontera Grill's sister restaurant "Tompolobampo."

We shared the homemade ice cream (brownie chunk? and corn ice cream) with chocolate sauce and cajeta (goat's milk caramel). The corn ice cream was really yummy!

The prices were suprisingly reasonable for a celebrity chef's restaurant.

We had reservations for a 12noon lunch, and when we walk in, I my eyes quickly focus on Rick Bayless! The Rick Bayless. I didn't know that chefs actually are present in their own restaurant for a lunch service. In case you do not know who Rick Bayless is, he's a chef in Chicago known for Mexican/Spanish influenced dishes. He lost to Bobby Flay on the American version of "Iron Chef" and is the owner of Tompolobampo, which is frequented by Barack Obama.

I'm still kicking myself for not having the guts to go up to Rick Bayless and ask him if we could take a picture. He was sitting on a stool a few feet away from me (and looked just like he did on tv), and starstruck Lauren could not get over her jitters to go up to him.

*Note to self* Next time I see someone famous, I will not hesistate and I will muster up the courage to talk to him/her.

Dropped Kendell off at the airport and then headed to Trader Joe's. The mochi ice cream there was super cheap ($3.50?) for a box of 6, so Mike and I inhaled the whole box of mochi ice cream in the first 30 minutes of the drive back to Champaign. I mean we had to eat the mochi ice cream, or it would have melted.

And that left us with Saturday to sleep all our adventures off.