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Restaurant

The Tabard Inn

Tabard Inn

I was in our nation’s capital, Washington DC, this past weekend for a friend’s wedding. It’s funny but I kept thinking back to the days of our youth (When he was shorter than me) and now here he was, taking the next step forward in that long journey we call life. I’ve known the guy since I was 7 or 8 years old and the stories I could tell…just kidding! I couldn’t be more proud of those two and was honored to be a part of it.

The hotel most of us stayed at was right in Dupont Circle, one of the most interesting traffic circles I’ve seen in my life (Granted, I haven’t seen too many of them but this was by far the most memorable) with 2 circles and all kinds of arrows, turns, and craziness. I didn’t have enough time to hit any of the museums sadly but I did have a couple hours to kill and spent it wandering through the various stores in Dupont Circle. Stopped by Hello Cupcake as well, just to see what all the hubbub was about (There was an empty box of cupcakes the night before, they had been devoured before I arrived).

With most of my time already planned, I only was free for a quick brunch/lunch for one of the days. On a friend’s recommendation, I ended up at The Tabard Inn, a really small hotel right around the corner but with a pretty well-known restaurant. Ended up having to wait an hour (I got there as soon as it opened!) but boy was it worth it. They have a weekend brunch and the menu always changes (even day to day) but keeping a few staples like freshly made doughnuts =P

Tabard Inn

Tabard Inn
Blue Fin Tuna Crudo and Avocado Bruschetta

The bruschetta was by far my favorite part of the meal. That’s not to say everything else was bad, just that this appetizer stood head and shoulders above the rest, I thought. Everything went very well together and was portioned just right.

Tabard Inn
Eggs Benedict with house-smoked salmon

Tabard Inn
Cuban Sandwich with fried yuca

Kelly’s Roast Beef – Natick

Kelly's Roast Beef

I was kind of tempted to switch the order of pictures for Kelly’s Roast Beef but I figured I might as well post something for the restaurant’s namesake. To be honest though, the first few times I’d been to Kelly’s, I actually didn’t end up having their roast beef at all!

I was told about Kelly’s by a family friend about a year ago. Each time they visit, they take a trip up to Saugus and buy a huge amount of clam chowder. I’ll admit though, I was a bit skeptical in the beginning but after having their clam chowder, roast beef, and seafood plates, I’m a big fan. Huge portions, good quality, and not a lot of filler. The clam chowder is chock full of clams and not as much filler, almost the direct opposite of what one might see in clam chowder elsewhere. It’s almost as if the staff at Kelly’s missed the memo that the ratio was supposed to be the OTHER way around, with more potato than clams!

I have to say I’m a huge sucker for fried seafood though, with the fried clams and fried scallops among my favorites at Kelly’s. Best yet, you can make combo plates out of them and get the best of both worlds! The lobster roll is pretty good as well, a toasted hot dog bun packed with lobster, though the last couple times I’ve been there I’ve had slightly less lobster than I remember (Maybe I’m just good at exaggerating things).

All of that, right inside Jordan’s Furniture in Natick. Kind of a funny place to have a seafood, I mean, roast beef joint, but hey, I can’t complain.

Kelly's Roast Beef

East Coast Grill – Cambridge

East Coast Grill

Among my relatives and family friends (Now that I think about it, maybe among everyone I know), I think I’ve developed a little bit of a reputation about being a “little bit” too into food, maybe almost obsession level. Well, maybe or maybe not, but according to my uncle, I’ve got this “list” of 37 different restaurants I want to try out in the Boston area. Now, I’m not quite sure how it was 37, but I just counted and got closer to 100 :)

Anyway, I crossed one of those off the “to-try” list and added it to the “definitely will be back” list two weeks ago while my uncle and his family were in town. East Coast Grill at Inman Square in Cambridge far surprised my expectations. It’s a laid-back and pretty casual restaurant/grill with an awesome raw bar and a huge selection of widely different entrees. I ended up sampling the oysters from the raw bar and getting a tuna steak, one of my favorite fish dishes, with a collection of grilled root vegetables, which were done very well too!

And to cap it all off, ice cream at Christina’s Ice Cream. By far the best ice cream I’ve had in Boston.

East Coast Grill
East Coast Grill
East Coast Grill
East Coast Grill
East Coast Grill

JoJo Taipei – Allston

Jojo Taipei
Spicy Beef Soup

One of the great things about Allston/Brighton is that there are a ton of quaint little eateries, serving a huge variety of ethnic foods and reasonably priced, to boot! JoJo Taipei is one of them, a restaurant specializing in Taiwanese food, including soup dumplings and noodle soups.

I’ve been here a few times, most recently with a group of friends to try JoJo Taipei’s most famous dishes and some of the more “interesting” things you can eat. Definitely a fan of the stews and the soup, not so much of stinky tofu. Also, there are a bunch of special appetizers each day that don’t appear on the menu, the waitress just brings them out on a tray for you to choose from.

I’m having some serious writer’s block right now too, so I’ll cut the post short here. Next time, I won’t wait 3 months before writing about a dinner out :P

Jojo Taipei
Smoked Fish
Jojo Taipei
Pig Intestine w/ noodles
Jojo Taipei
Pork over rice w/ pickles
Jojo Taipei
Oyster pancake
Jojo Taipei
Stir fried pea pod stems
Jojo Taipei
3 cups chicken (I think)

Matt Murphy’s Pub (Brookline Village)

Double-thick Pork chop
Double thick Pork chop

There’s bar food and then there’s bar food. Matt Murphy’s really shouldn’t be referred to as a bar…sure, it’s got a bar to lean on and serves some great cocktails, but the food is stunning! This is a quiet, dark, little place down in Brookline Village served by some of the friendliest and helpful staff around.

The first time I was here was after a particularly harsh poker session for both myself and a buddy. We decided, heck, we need something good to eat, it’s late, and we’re both annoyed. So he suggested Matt Murphy’s and having not been there yet, I figured we’d give it a shot.

I’m somewhat into beer, I like it, but I’ve never been a huge fan of stouts. But I had O’hara’s Irish stout for the first time at the pub and was instantly a fan. And to go with it, let’s get into the food! After looking through the menus that were conveniently stored in the waiter’s back pocket, I was stumped. Lots of good looking dishes to choose from and being indecisive, I couldn’t pick. So I asked our Irish waiter and without hesitation he stated “The pork chop’s the best thing on the menu.” My buddy ended up ordering it so wanting to try something else, I asked about the 2nd best thing which turned out to be the beef stew (no pictures on the stew sadly, the pictures are from a later visit). After chow and a couple more beers, I was enamored with the place and have been back several times already!

Rabbit Pot Pie
Rabbit Pot Pie
O'hara's stout
O’Hara Irish Stout

P.S. Just got back from vacation, will have a ton more pictures and stuff to show soon!