simple weekend recap: edition 22

The weekend started early with a Young Professionals night hosted by the Animal Rescue League of Boston and Masa. The evening started with a tour of the shelter, which opened in 1899 under the main philosophy that "Kindness Uplifts the World".  Each animal has plenty of space and there is also a 27-acre shelter in Dedham! With ample play time and care provided by the attached Boston Veterinary Care free of charge, these animals are all treated with kindness & love before finding their forever homes. Find more information on this amazing group here. It took a lot for me not to try to walk out with one beautiful 9-month old pit bull mix with a tail that never stopped wagging!

After the tour, the group moved to Masa for some sangria and tapas.

 

 

Saturday we went out for some celebrations, starting at Drink for snacks & cocktails.

 

 

 

 

Next we hit some tourist spots outside of the Children's museum...

 

 

 

...and made our way to Trade for a late dinner.

 

 

 

 

Their appetizers are alright, their cocktails are better, and their flatbreads are the best.

 

 

 

 

 

We wrapped up the night in Brookline with a few more stops before calling it a late night. In the morning I whipped up some homemade crepes with bananas, sugar-cinnamon, and syrup (recipe for crepes tomorrow).

 

 

Sunday night dinner I made the first dinner I can remember ever making by myself: onion-cornflake crusted baked chicken (recipe Wednesday!).

 

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boston restaurants: h

For a combined celebration of Valentine's Day and the 1-year anniversary of the blog, T chose the highest rated "H" restaurant on Opentable: Hungry Mother. Hungry Mother was opened in 2008 in Cambridge serving Southern-inspired foods to the hungry crowd in Kendall. Chef Barry Maiden, originally from Virgina, has worked in many of the top restaurants in the area, including L'Espalier and Lumiere. To top it off, Barry is currently nominated for the James Beard best chef of the Northeast award!

We headed out on a miserably windy & rainy Wednesday evening  to our celebration. We were swept in with the wind and greeted with a cozy spot & a massive selection of drinks at the bar. Off we went to our seats in one of the 2 back dining rooms, snuggled into a corner for our private celebration.

 

As we scanned the menu, whittling down our choices one-by-one (which was difficult), we sipped water out of ball jars, which just happens to be one of my favorite things.
 

 

Soon my water was replaced with a Last Word, a combination of equal amounts of gin, green Chartreuse, maraschino liqueur, and freshly pressed lime juice. Tasty, but potent, I'm pretty sure I was well on my way to tipsy after 1/2 of the drink! T on the other hand went with one of my new favorite beers, a Kolsch. They have a huge list of drinks, especially of note was the lengthy whiskey list. You can find all of their drink options here.
 

For my first course, I started with the Berkshire pork belly "deviled eggs" with bread & butter pickles and pea shoots. I have to admit I was trick by the apostrophes in this dish. I love deviled eggs so I was dreaming of simple deviled eggs with bits of pork belly flecked in along with a handful of pea shoots to offset the denseness of the yolk mixture.  Unfortunately for me, but quite fortunate for lovers of pork belly, the dish was served with 2 large hunks of pork belly, topped with pretty swirls of deviled egg stuffing with chives and served with a side of pea shoots. I enjoyed the combination, but T liked it more.
 

On the other hand, I loved T's appetizer choice, the trout croquettes with spinach, preserved lemon, smoked almonds and a dijon crème fraîche. Perfectly prepared, moist and not dried or flaky, the kick of lemon and smoked almonds elevated this dish to a light and dainty appetizer which was the highlight of my whole night...if only I had ordered it!
 

For dinner I went with the wild Virginia catfish courtbouillon with chunks of Scituate lobster, gold rice, and scallion hushpuppies. You better believe I ordered this dish solely for the hushpuppies. Yaaaaa hushpuppies! The catfish was also perfectly prepared, not one bit of flakiness presented itself on this light white fish, coated in the lightly prepared sauce. The rice was there, nothing too special, but it was probably just overshadowed by my 3 balls of deep-fried love....hushpuppies. Obviously I was too full to finish, so T helped me out. He may have enjoyed my dish even more than his appetizer, and stated a combination of all of the components reminded him of a take on a jambalaya.
 

For his entree, T went with the ribeye, served with fingerlings, grilled escarole & onions, with a black walnut romesco. He was not asked how he would like it prepared, and it was delivered prepared medium-rare. I was able to snag a fingerling and could probably survive on those along, nicely crisped on the outside, soft on the inside, and topped with a nice combination of spices while not being overly salted...I was a fan. T spent almost the whole time eating trying to discern the flavors in the romesco (when he wasn't scarfing down the onions). He started out the dish debating if it was a liver-based sauce, and ended the dish being sufficiently confused. There were obviosly no complaints, as the whole dish was finished quickly.

We also had to split a small side of the skillet cornbread with sorghum butter. The "small" side dish could easily be split between 2 or 3, or one hungry cornbread-lover. Although not the best picture, this cornbread is my favorite that I've ever found. Deliciously moist, while remaining not too dense and heavy, I could have just ordered the cornbread as my appetizer and been a happy girl.

After our meals, we were too stuffed for dessert (even though the special olive oil cake was quietly calling my name) so we relaxed with some mint tea. Also of note, is the bathroom wallpaper. Yes, the wallpaper. The walls of the bathrooms are plastered with pages upon pages from the Virginia Housewife Cookbook, in order from left to right. While in the bathroom you may enjoy learning how to pickle, preserve, and prepare Southern food.

We headed back out into the terrible weather, happy as could be, full but not too weighed down. I'm so glad we were able to find this gem in Kendall, and I can already think of 10+ people I can recommend this spot to off the top of my head.  Thinking towards the future, the owners of the Hungry Mother are preparing to open their second venture this year: a Jewish deli located right across the street!

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thinking cup

The Thinking Cup Coffee Bar is anything but a secret, even though I wish it was. Recently crowded, but manageable in the evening hours, the Thinking Cup near the Commons is a relaxed non-snooty cafe with mood lighting, Stumptown coffee, and drool-worthy sandwiches & baked goods.

(My friend Grace's superior technology skills)

Push past the velvety curtain to be greeted by the baked goods that look way too perfect they must be the plastic food you played with in elementary school. Spoiler alert: they're real. And they are perfect.

 

 

With a new build-your-own grilled cheese option, the sandwich options have become almost impossible to choose from...too many tasty choices! Find more about the menus here. I ended up with my usual (iced chai) and a new sandwich, the Jittery Hen: Stumptown coffee braised chicken, house made BBQ sauce, pickles and smoked gruyere cheese on sourdough bread. The Jittery Hen is usually the Jittery Swine with pork instead of chicken (which I think I would have preferred). I loved the combination of the sandwich pickles with the shredded chicken & thinly sliced cheese but I was not a fan of the homemade BBQ sauce. I love thick saucy heavy and sweet BBQ sauce, but this was a minimalist take on the sauce. It's okay, I overlooked the minor deviation and enjoyed the whole thing!

 

We ended the date with one vanilla & one chocolate maccaron. They have so many flavors of these little gems...a whole caseful. Bakery perfection.
 

Definitely worth pushing past the local college kids to get your hands on the perfectly prepared coffee, drinks, sandwiches & baked goods. If you're not into the typical crowded cafe, give their brand spankin' new North End location on Hanover Street a try.
 

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ski weekend

This weekend we headed up to Stowe, Vermont for a ski weekend...turns out we picked the perfect weekend, with over a foot of freshly fallen snow to shred. Up we went, into the foggy snowy wonderland.

We got in late Friday evening and dove head-first into possibly the best winter cocktail I've ever had...a fall/winter version of Pimm's cup that tastes just like apple pie! All you need is equal amounts of Pimm's, brandy, and apple juice stirred with a cinnamon stick and an added handful of sliced apples & oranges. It's a deadly apple pie cocktail perfect for the winter!

 

In the morning we woke up early ready to ski. (Note: Yes, this picture is a joke)

 

 

 

After a long day of skiing we headed out for Mexican at the Cactus Cafe. I went with the shredded pork tacos with a plate full of beans & rice. The pork tacos had a tasty jicama slaw, but unfortunately the pork was overcooked and dried out. I don't even like beans or Mexican food for the most part, and I actually loved the beans & rice.

 

Sunday morning we woke up even earlier and headed over to my favorite coffee shop & bakery in Stowe, the Black Cap Coffee Cafe. Featuring lovingly-crafted drinks, tasty baked goods, and breakfast sandwiches, the Black Cap Coffee Cafe is a must-stop for me every single time.

 

After a long morning of skiing, we finally gave in to the strong waffley wafts that greeted us at the top of the gondola....the waffle cabin. Serving sugar waffles with chocolate sauce, you can squeeze these amazing little gems in one hand and scarf it down before hitting the slopes again, refueled and re-energized. Also of note...they cater. Yup, waffle catering. P.S. my birthday's in November.

 

 

We headed back out and skied until the fog rolled in before heading to the best sandwich shop in Stowe: the Green Goddess Cafe. Using high-quality ingredients with inventive little twists and surprising combinations, the Green Goddess Cafe is extremely impressive. Find more about them here.

 

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