Margaritas: Ryan's Recipe, Elote, Arriba, Arriba & Border Cafe

Sometimes when the heat and humidity rise, the only thing that makes sense is to drink copious amounts of margaritas. That more or less sums up the last two days of my life. My husband is a huge fan from the first nice warm day of spring right on through labor day- and for good reason. Nothing like a little lime and tequila to while away the hot summer days... So here is Ry's homemade recipe, and reviews of two margarita joints we like. We avoid any place that uses a mix- that is just a no go. But here is a sampling of margarita spots for refreshment seekers!

Ryan's Recipe:

In a shaker, put two pinches of sugar, squeeze 1 1/2 -2 limes, add about 2 handfuls of ice, a shot of triple sec, 2-3 shots of tequila, (I like Suarza gold), shake and serve!



Elote is always a fun stop with some friends. We shared a pitcher of margaritas, not sure what they normally run, but tonight a mere ($18). The chips and salsa are free and tasty, and the backyard is good for a summer night. We've been coming here for a while, and though the service is consistently inconsistent and the food comes and goes, the drinks are always great! And seeing as Arriba Arriba charged us for a large goblet-glass what this spot charged for a pitcher, worth the money!



Meanwhile, in the city, we stopped in Arriba Arriba for several margaritas as well- these bad boys go down like candy! A little less tart than those at Elote, but silent killers. My one complaint is the price tag- the papa size, which I had two of, are $9 a pop, and the mama- a large daiquiri-goblet-ful, runs a breathtaking $18. So, if you like to drink your gold away, then brave it and pop in here. We sure felt a lot better leaving than we did walking in, which is the point, after all..



And a final shout out to those up in Cambridge, where The Border Cafe serves up mediocre mex, but incredibly cheap and amazing margaritas. For god's sake, it's the best $5.50 anyone could spend, and no wonder a popular place with the students, myself included, for the better part of this past year.

Happy Summer, and Ole!

The Ocean House

Tonight we had dinner at one of our favorite restaurants on cape cod. We've probably been here... oh... 6 or 7 times- at christmas, in summer... for holidays.. for fun.. for drinks... If you are mid-cape, I recommend this spot as one of the best restaurants and a great bar. The tanqueray and tonics, the sunsets, and the wine list are all delicious, as is the menu. the prix-fixe is a great deal, @ $26, there are about 10 choices for each course, and all are great. I went with a heart of romaine salad with a chipotle dressing, followed by a really fresh pasta with eggplant and marinara- one of my all-time favorite flavor combos. Ryan had the shrimp cocktail and filet, and his mom had the mussels and salmon. All the plates were really large for a prix-fixe, and great flavors!! We tried a bunch of different desserts- all were tasty: a blueberry cobbler, a chocolate cake, a rice pudding- but none were phenomenal. Great for a fancy night out on cape cod!!

Craigie-On-Main

Oh, what a fond farewell to Boston. Well, Cambridge, really. Thanks to the recommendation of a foodie friend and fellow grad student (Thanks CASEY!), Ry, Jon, and I went to Craigie-On-Main for a feast of a feast. The restaurant is known for local, organic, fresh food, with a menu that changes daily to reflect what is seasonal and best at the market. They also offer several tasting menus, including one for vegetarians!!

We originally planned to do a six-course tasting ($90), vegetarian for me, and meat and fish for the boys. But after the third phenomenal course, Jon asked the waiter if we could go gung-ho and do the full ten ($115). Oh yeah, we also just HAD to get a side of the bone marrow (more on that later), meaning we were full-on gut busters. By course seven, I'm pretty sure Ryan could hardly even look at the food, but oh it was worth it. A play by play:

Course 1: Trio of fish/ Trio of vegetables:
Both dishes were very light, refreshing, and definitely the way 'amuse bouche' should be: a total tease. My trio featured lily bulbs in a rice wine vinegar, a red beet slaw/salad, and one that alas I can't remember. The boys had squid noodles, a piece of sashimi, and a clam that was fried- and delish. I was really impressed with how the vegetarian dish parodied the flavors and look of the fish trio!

Course 2: Avocado salad/ sashimi and avocado salad
I seem to recall this was when the real fireworks began. The description from the website: red onion-shiso salsa, avocado, harissa-rose vinaigrette. It was awesome! I couldn't identify all the flavors, but there was a really nice citrus/acid and yet a slightly spicy flavor- which is the harissa, most likely.



Course 3: Grilled hearts of palm with a ramp puree for me, and a light, white fish with a great skin for Ry & Jon. There was some debate on this course for the boys, Ry thought the fish was slightly overdone, but Jon did not find it so. Either way, this is a great place to mention the phenomenal service- constant attention and amazing table side presentation of every dish. The executive chef and owner even presented our final course (how cool is that!?) Also, two delish bottles of wine, one suggested by the staff- a white Gruner Vetliner($65) and a bottle of red cairanne from the rhone ($41), rounded out an amazing experience!



Course 4: spring vidalia onion soup with comte grilled cheese, olive oil and ramps
This might have been the holy crap course, at least IMHO. Dipping the grilled cheese in the savory, creamy, and sweet onion soup was seriously a bite of heaven.



course 5: lamb meatballs for the boys and pasta with cheese curds (sounds bad, tasted AMAZING)- I really enjoyed my pasta course- but the boys were probably the least into their lamb course. The lamb was spiced with a moroccan or persian blend- including cinnamon, which just isn't the flavors we love. High quality, but not our taste...

course 6: Ragoût of Forest Mushrooms, farro verde, farm-fresh poached egg (Divine, like OMG- it sliced open and spilled out like a dream), ramp purée, herbs and flowers and rabbit and lamb sausage and blood sausage (for the boys)

This dish I can not do justice to in this description. When I cut open the egg the runny yoke to spill out, filling the bowl like a soup. Little purple flowers and microgreens, and mushrooms were all soooo flavorful and savory- it was so rich, we could only eat a bite or two at a time, and would then have to sit for a while... probably one of the best dishes I have ever had.




course 7: pork 3 ways: spicy rubbed rib, pork belly, and pork confit/
Four Grain Pilaf and Haroseth-Stuffed Vidalia Onion maitake mushrooms, spring farm vegetables, sorrel purée
"The rib was unreal- tender, but crispy outside... yummy" says Ry. "The confit was like velvet"
On the other hand, this was probably my least favorite dish, and the only one I wont dream of every night of my life- though I did love the sorrel puree of veggies on the side, the pilaf once again featured the persian spice and cinnamon that just isn't my thing. The onion itself was incredibly tasty!

And because that just wasn't enough food:


Side Dish: roasted marrow

-The vegetarian confesses: marrow is one of my favorite gourmet treats and I just could not resist. The size of this bone was ridiculous- way bigger than any I've ever come across- and with a piece of toast... oh man. I could see myself sitting at the bar with a glass of red wine, the soup and the marrow and being in my glory. Don't be thrown off by the idea, it is like... the best butter in the world.... with lots of salt...

Desserts:

course 8: panna cotta with jasmine and mandarin orange

course 9: peanut butter parfait and banana rice pudding and pina colada ice cream

course 10: shot of hot cocoa with smoky mexican peppers


Final thoughts:
I really, really needed a veg experience like this one! I have been feeling both some cravings and the stress of eating out while maintaining my vegetarian/ whole food diet. It was tough especially when I was home in MA and PA with our families- a lot of restaurants only offered a veggie burger, maybe a cheese quesadilla, and a side salad as "vegetarian". Here, I think my tasting out- shined the meat and fish, even. I went a solid 5 courses declaring that the dish was the best I'd ever had. The food felt inspired, and never like my dish was merely the sides or garnish with the meat left off. Best of all, several staff members came to chat about my experience, as they don't get to do the vegetarian as much as they like! YAY! It really showed me that I CAN be a gourmet foodie and a vegetarian- something I was really beginning to doubt.

If you live within 2 hours of this place, get thee to Craigie on Main!

Formaggio Kitchen

Few things get my heart pounding like "Formaggio". I love cheese. I have fond memories of eating cheese on picnics in the italian alps, on the steps of cathedrals, and in some of my favorite restaurants. The sight of many cheeses really just makes me happy. Throw in wine, local organic produce, fresh baked bread, and an impressive selection of fancy cold cuts... well, it took a lot not to buy the whole damn store.

My friend Casey accompanied me on our adventure, and we spent a solid 45 minutes shopping- and tasting! Of course, silly me, I neglected to write down all the names- but a few highlights:

- Sottocenere al Tartufo:

Let's just call it heaven. A soft white cheese with truffles. What more can a girl ask for?? It was divine. I had to buy some of this to bring home...

Comte- a french white, somewhat nutty, not my favorite, but tasty.

Cabot Clothbound Cheddar- this stuff was soooo tasty! The cheese lady was super helpful- and told us about how cabot makes this cheese at one dairy, from one herd. crazy.

We also tried several others- including an incredible blue cheese that is an exclusive import.

I highly recommend stopping by the next time you are in cambridge or on the lower east side of new york. But for everyone else, good news- they sell on their site, too- at: http://www.formaggiokitchen.com/

To Za, Ya Ya!

To Za! A farm-fresh, high-quality restaurant in Arlington. That's how they describe themselves on their site, and I can report that they lived up to the "high-quality" and then some.

The menu features two items, made well. Salad, and pizza. It's a simple, and brilliant concept. All come with gourmet fresh market toppings. We decided to split all our orders and try a few different options.

We had a beet, apple, microgreen and goat cheese salad. The presentation was stunning- the beets were molded into a can-shaped salad, and the citrus vinaigrette was just the right amount of tart flavor. Very clean and refreshing, and a light start to the meal.



We split two pizzas- a caesar salad pizza, topped with romaine lettuce, olive tapenade, red onions and parmesan cheese and a special featuring carmelized onion, walnuts, pear and gorgonzola cheese.

I've had several other "gourmet" pizzas with multiple flavors and items, and sometimes one will muck up the other, or it just wont work. But this place pulled it off to a whole new level. Everything melted together, and tasted great. For dessert, we split a rosemary creme brulee- which despite my initial skepticism, was a light and perfect flavor combo!!

A few glasses of wine, and I can officially crown this a great meal.

I would highly recommend this place- it was great from A to Za :)

Alibi @ The Liberty Hotel

So Saturday night we got our shi-shi on at a Boston bar. It was Ryan's 10 year high school reunion, so my plan was to a) look like a hottie and b) get really, really drunk. Let's just say, mission(s) accomplished. The Liberty Hotel, ironically, opened in what used to be a jail- and the architecture hints playfully at its origins. "Alibi" is dark and dungeon-y, with arrest photos of famous folks hanging on the walls. The drinks were NOT cheap, and we dropped some dough, but they have a nice wine selection and mixed a good cocktail. Don't go by the picture above, they practically had the lights off inside. The hotel itself deserves mention, there is a second bar upstairs, and a restaurant named clink, which looked great. I'd come back for dinner and another round!

Bartley's Burger Cottage

Bartley's Burger Cottage

OH yes. Great burgers in many styles. Awesome french fries and onion rings. Lime Rickeys. Such an amazing greasy spoon! Closes relatively early and is packed at prime hours, so beware. I wanted to hit this place up after an evening of drinking, and was crushed to discover that they close around 8... tragedy. The burgers are huge, juicy, and come with a ton of different fixings, all named after famous world and boston personalities, many of whom have visited and left memorabilia behind. I'd say it is a not-to-be-missed cambridge classic!!

Around Cambridge: Bars

So I have been making the bar rounds near Harvard, and wanted to share my finds:

Grendel's Den

This average looking pub has an amazing secret: 1/2 price menu from 5-7 every day, and 7-9 pm thursday-saturday. Yep, EVERYTHING is 1/2 price with a drink. College wallets dream!! The food is not fantastic, but it's solid. The wine selection is atrocious, but beer and their margaritas are just find options. Also has seating right on the square in summer, so a great spot to people watch!

Tommy Doyle's

Great irish bar with some solid traditional food, featuring traditional music as well... Gets insanely packed on thursday and friday nights so be forewarned. Has 3 floors of bars, so explore!

Queenshead Pub

The Harvard bar, located underneath memorial hall. Has a great english pub feel, free pool and darts, and cheap wine and beer. You have to be a Harvard student or know one to get in, so makes friends with the locals!

John Harvard's

I say it's just a bar. Reminds me of TGIF decor inside...

Charlie's Beer Garden

Great in summer for outdoor drinking and dining.

Troquet

Ryan & I decided to venture into Boston for dinner on Saturday night, and discovered this wonderful wine bar & french-inspired restaurant. We were lured there by the promising wines by the glass menu, and the promise of a to-die-for cheese plate. The location, right on Boylston street off the Common, is great for pre-theater or pre-clubbing (If either of those are your "thing"). The small bar downstairs was nice for a pre-dinner cocktail.

Ryan and I sat at the bar and sampled some champagne and sauvignon blanc, and debated trying Krug, a champagne rarely available by the glass, here offered for $20 for 2 oz or $40 for 4. Ouch. We weren't feeling like millionaires, but it was tempting... maybe next time.

We headed upstairs for dinner, and the dining room is simple but pleasant. We started off with appetizers- I had the baby squash blossoms salad, and Ryan tried the braised short rib canneloni. The squash blossoms were very lightly battered and fried, for a delicate taste, and served with a mixed green salad with pine nuts, a little pesto, and a nice citrus vinaigrette. Ryan's short rib had a great smoky flavor, and the noodle was just right, not too thick to ruin the other subtle flavors. Ryan had a glass of shiraz and I had a new zealand sauvignon blanc, both recommended by the staff, and both very nice pairings.

For my entree, I opted to have a second appetizer- the truffle oil and mushroom cavatelli. Really savory and delicious, it went down well with the suggested pinot noir. Ryan had the miso- glazed salmon with bok choy and eggplant, and a glass of riesling that we both agreed was a bit sweet for this pairing. We finished our meal with 3 cheeses, that are selected from a cart brought by the waitress. We tried a triple cream cow's milk, a harder cow's milk, and an herb-crusted goat cheese. Really good stuff!!

We enjoyed this restaurant a great deal. The food is savory and pulled off a broad range of influences. The wine pairings were great, and though the bottle list is quite expensive, the wines by the glass were fairly priced. The only thing to note is that we were the youngest couple in the restaurant, probably by about ten years, but the older crowd did not effect our evening at all!! (Translation: bring a date!)

The Publick House

It's always tough to come to a new town and realize that you have fallen from the foodie-expert zone straight down to the..... "this looks good" mentality. But one spot we checked out merits discussion: The Publick House. This bar and restaurant is based around belgian beers, and to any beer-lovers joy, has an entire menu devoted to the concoctions of the monks. As a wino, I was pleased to discover a nice wine selection as well, which is a mark of a finer establishment! Ryan ordered the mussels in beer broth with bacon and corn, which is a heaping pile and Ryan tells me, quite delicious. I had the "obligatory" fish and chips, which I really enjoyed. The cod was really lightly beer- battered and the chips were done well. It was a rainy, damp night, so this food really warmed us up!! Check it out :)