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Restaurant

Thailand Restaurant – New Jersey

Jul 1st, 2009
by dave.
1 comment

Thailand Restaurant - Pad Kee Mao

This is the 2nd of my two favorite restaurants from New Jersey. It’s been almost 10 years since I first ate there and wow, I’m sure glad they’ve stuck around (they’re still doing well, I think!). The biggest bummer was that they usually take two to three weeks of vacation in the middle of the summer (probably around the time I get to visit) and so I can’t get my Pad Kee Mao fix!

Speaking of which, their Pad Kee Mao is definitely one of the best recreations of that dish I’ve ever had. I’m not sure exactly what they do, but it ends up really flavorful and the vegetables don’t take away from the sauce, something I’ve found at some other restaurants I’ve been to. I’ve never been able to duplicate this in the kitchen though. Mainly, I can’t pan fry the noodles as well in my wok, the wok never gets hot enough to sear the noodles. But in addition, I can’t ever seem to get the sauce right (But I did get it right recently with some Pad Kra Pao – Thai basil chicken so maybe I’ll be close soon).

Anyway, I’m off on vacation for the next week and hopefully will have some more pictures to share when I get back!

Thailand Restaurant - Tom Yum Soup

Super Fusion Cuisine (Brookline, MA)

Apr 1st, 2009
by dave.
1 comment

super_fusion

Nestled about a 2-3 minute walk from Washington Square, Brookline is Super Fusion Cuisine, a small (very small!) sushi restaurant run by a former chef from Fugakyu, one of the more popular sushi restaurants in town. In the past year, there have been many, many sushi restaurant openings in the Coolidge Corner / Washington Square area and I was afraid it was starting to become oversaturated. But I sure hope Super Fusion sticks around!

There are 4-5 very small tables (2 person tables) snugly piled into one corner of the restaurant while the sushi bar could probably house another 3-4 people. The rest of the restaurant is occupied by the kitchen and sushi bar. The roommate and I ended up there about a month ago and ended up with the last table (3 more parties showed up in the next 5 minutes and had to wait in the cold!). Unfortunately, every time someone came in or left the restaurant, a swift frigid breeze swept through the restaurant, making it extremely uncomfortable. However, after a few cups of tea, the food arrived…and I was pleasantly surprised!

I applaud the chefs for not using a ton of rice on the maki, as sometimes I’ve seen more rice than fish. Also, the special rolls on the menu were very creative, combining many different tastes that I haven’t experienced together before. And the bill came out pretty reasonably too (for sushi anyway), which resulted in a pleasant dinner, despite the gusts of cold air. Super Fusion also delivers, which is a plus for this densely populated area.

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

Mar 18th, 2009
by dave.
2 comments

fp1

This is a little bit of a departure from the Boston based blogging but I think this could use a special mention. For about six years, I drove back and forth between Boston and New Jersey without any stops in mind, I usually just wanted to get from point A to point B as fast as I could. But then last Thanksgiving, I was talking to a coworker about the drive down and holiday traffic and he mentioned that a pizza stop right in the middle of the trick would probably do wonders for an aggravating trip! I was instantly curious, as I grew up on thin crust New York style pizza and never really got into Boston pizza.

The pizza place is Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana and they’re located in Connecticut, with a few locations up and down the route 91 area. One of the most striking things about the place is that they have really, really large ovens…and as such, the pizza peelers have to be proportional in length as well (And it’s amazing how adept the staff is with them). And if I were to happen by the pizzeria (It’s roughly 3 minutes out of my way on the drive back), I should definitely try the white clam pizza.

And so I did! And not long after the pizza ended up in front of me, my coworker walked in, on his way to his own Thanksgiving location!

A few months later, my parents were in town for a convention and one of the events planned was a luncheon with Ming Tsai at Blue Ginger, his restaurant in Wellesley, Massachusetts. Besides cooking some tasty and creative food, he was happy to speak with the event goers and eventually fielded a question about where he thought the best pizza in Boston was. And to my mom’s surprise, Ming started gushing about Frank Pepe’s and even going as so far to mention he makes sure he stops there any time he’s traveling through the area. That’s quite an endorsement!

So after the tip from my co-worker, endorsements from friends/family/famous people, and many white clam pizzas later, Frank Pepe is now a permanent rest-stop halfway into the trip :)

Atlantic Fish Co

Feb 4th, 2009
by Frank.
No comments yet

I’ve been meaning to go to The Atlantic Fish Company for quite some time now, but finally made it out this past weekend! Every other time we attempted to go it was way too busy to wait. But this time, we planned ahead and made reservations. Atlantic Fish Company, by its name, specializes in seafood dishes, and all the dishes looked great. I was in the mood for scallops, and they turned out to be pretty good. They weren’t very hot by the time the plates were served, but the taste was fantastic. The service was attentive, but I (and Dave) had a few gripes with the waiter because he was a bit pushy. The prices are a little bit higher than Legal Seafoods, but in general, I’d say that Atlantic Fish Co is a bit better, so worth the extra few bucks. Oh, and we did order a dozen raw littlenecks, but forgot to take a picture. Those were damn good. All in all, it was good fare!

Sea Scallops

I think this was cod with fish chowder

Blackened Striped Bass with pineapple salsa (special of the day)

Sea Bass and Lobster Ravioli

Lowell’s Restaurant and Bar – Seattle

Nov 28th, 2008
by dave.
1 comment

Lowell's Menu

Hope everyone had a safe and happy Thanksgiving! I got to help prepare Thanksgiving dinner this time and as soon as I find time to process the pictures, I’ll have a post :)

Anyway, back to the exploits from my Seattle vacation! I wrote about Pike Place’s different markets and stores last time, now I’d like to highlight one of the dining experiences there. The morning before my flight back to the East Coast, a buddy and I got up super early (well, 7:30am is early for being on vacation :P ) and hiked our way over to Pike’s Place for a hearty breakfast at Lowell’s Restaurant and Bar.

Earlier in the weekend, I asked some of the local merchants about where a good place to eat would be and the majority first choice was Lowell’s. So I wasn’t going to miss an opportunity to eat there for sure, especially if it’s popular among the local population!

I ended up with the oyster scramble (seafood breakfast every day while I was in Seattle :P ) and my buddy had a salmon scramble, both were excellent and Lowell’s definitely lived up to expectations.

Lowell's oyster scramble
Lowell's salmon scramble

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