Day 24 Breakfast at Sweet Life Bakery & Cafe in Lower Mills, Dorchester.

 Buttermilk pancake

 French Toast with fruit compote

 Menu for Sweet Life Bakery and Cafe

On a cold and rainy Friday in December i had just finished running errands on the last day of my vacation from work and i found myself in the lower Mills area of Dorchester. Growing up my dad used to do a lot of work in the area and it always smelled of chocolate from the chocolate factory that was open there at the time.  We ducked into a bakery/cafe that looked warm and inviting to get out of the rain. 

The owner of this establishment is married to the owner of another local restaurant, The Ledge. 

I must say on looks alone i was very impressed with The Sweet Life, its a very long restaurant that breaks up the establishment into 3 categories, the bakery , the counter for dining and the dining room. We ate in the dining room after browsing in the bakery briefly. The dining area has a nice cozy feel to it with a woking fireplace. The wait staff was very friendly & attentive.  The coffee mugs are large and the coffee is delicious and very hot. I had the french toast with challah bread with fruit compote (apples) and it was thoroughly enjoyable.  Served hot and a good size portion. My dining companion had the pancakes and they were light and fluffy but cooked right and served nice and hot.  I can tolerate other meals not piping hot, but never breakfast. 

The prices are reasonable , at least for meals the bakery seemed a lil high but no more than other upscale bakeries in Boston. I would recommend The Sweet Life cafe to anyone and i look forward to my next visit here, and i might have to try the eggs and grits the next time.

Have a good night and a good meal.

Kevin Boyle

  cheese puffs (complimentary at Brasserie Ruhlmann )

Jalapeño Mashed potatoes 

 The 14oz New York Steak au Poivre (with       cognac-green peppercorn sauce, butter lettuce and Boursin cheese )  cooked medium well , just a little pink

Bavette a l'Echalote (skirt steak, shallots and gratin dauphinois (potatoes) )

chocolate ice cream with macaroons

http://www.brasserieruhlmann.com/?page_id=152

Brasserie Ruhlmann

 Crowne spiked coffee (2nd item on menu below)

 Hotel bar drink menu

http://www.stagedoordeli.net/menu2.html

 complimentary pickles (you get 4, 2 dill and 2 gerkins) and cole slaw with each meal

 matzo ball soup , with chicken and noodles

 an open faced ruben sandwich

a corned beef sandwich on a sub roll with yellow mustard

 1 salted carmel cupcake and 1 double chocolate cupcake with coffee and a Hot cocoa from Dean & Deluca's  

http://www.deandeluca.com

I love the city of Boston , and i am a proud Bostonian. Having said that, the city of New York might just be the best place on earth to visit during the Christmas season other than visiting the North Pole. and Santa's workshop itself.  The whole city seems to engulf the christmas season.  I loved watching the skaters at Rockefeller center. Seeing the amazing Christmas tree and the beautifully decorated area around the  center. Seeing the spectacular Christmas show at Radio City Music City would really put you in the Christmas spirit, and those Rockettes put on a show that is just fabulous. The routines they put on is a display in synchronized perfection.  Random buildings around 5th & 6th ave had beautiful light displays and decorations. You could almost taste the christmas spirit in the air. 

With a restaurant on almost every corner, finding a great place to eat was no easy task. Trying to find the perfect place to eat after the Radio City christmas spectacular , we had to look around for somewhere with the right christmas atmosphere. Well after much debate we decided on Brasserie Ruhlmann. An elegant restaurant within walking distance of Radio City Music Hall. The staff is very attentative, with someone greeting you at the door when you walk in. The restaurant has a lovely oak wood decor and a first class wait staff that is courteous and helpful. When you sit down and are looking over the menu they bring you some nice fresh bread and butter for the table, and also some cheese puffs, these are not filling but an amusing way to tickle the palate.

The waiter gave a beautiful description of the meals we questioned, and it was based on his recommendation that i ordered the 14oz NY Steak. The steak is served to your table in the pan its cooked in, so the juices are still in the pan and is piping hot the way a steak should always be served. It comes with a leaf of butter lettuce on top and some boursin cheese on top, very flavorful. On a whim I decided to order the jalapeño mashed potatoes, not sure what to expect, i was a little surprised to see the above pictured bowl of green whipped potatoes put before me. I thought they brought me the wrong dish, this looked like creamed peas. But i have to say looks aside, these were delicious. I am tempted to add jalapeños to my mashed spuds at home. 

We split a lovely dish of chocolate ice cream with crushed up macaroon. A very delightful way to end a meal, not too heavy and great combination of the ice cream with the macaroons. 

On a cold brisk December afternoon, i highly recommend popping into 1 of NY's many cafes or bakeries for a nice hot beverage and something sweet. We tried to get into several bakeries to no avail (no seating available) but were lucky enough to stumble on Dean & Deluca's as the lunch crowd was leaving. They have a wonderful pastry selection, but we decided on the cupcakes. Double chocolate and Salted Caramel...both were exceptional, the icing was just the right amount of sugary and creamy. 

The place was a little pricey, but its NY and lets face it things are a little pricier there than most places.

Now everyone has a list of things they hope to accomplish in life, i  have a foodie bucket list. On that list is to eat at a real NY deli. Now i know Boston has some great sandwich shops, like Sam LaGrassas. But i have heard some wonderful things about a NY Deli corned beef sandwich.  I tried 2 NY deli's. one was a chain The Bread Factory, very good i was quite impressed. I would love it if they came to Boston, but in my heart i couldn't consider it a NY Deli, so i was thrilled when i found myself standing outside the Stage Door Deli outside Penn Station. I couldn't resist getting a matza ball soup and an open faced Ruben, Wow...it was everything i hoped to get from a sandwich. Plenty of meat and sauerkraut , and that meat was perectly lean and scrumptious. My only complain and its a small 1, is that a Ruben should come with russian dressing and this had none, they said i had to tell them when ordering, but why would i think to order it if i would assume it should already be on the sandwich. But otherwise it was a beautiful meal, and just what i had always wanted to try. I also had a bite of the corned beef and yellow mustard sandwich, and that was quite heavenly.  I suppose its a good thing there's not too many places in Boston that can serve food that wonderful, i would be eating out for lunch almost daily. 

New York is an amazing city, and i think i could spend a week there and not hit 1/2 the sites and shows that are happening every day. But if you go and have any recommendations, i would love to hear back from you,  for my next visit. If i like the place you recommend, i will give you a shout out in the blog and make sure you get the credit you deserve. 

Have a very merry Christmas and a Happy New years to all my readers.  Thank you for following me this year, i am very grateful for you all.

Kevin M. W. Boyle I 

XOXO

Special Posting- An ode to Thanksgiving

Roast turkey(fresh not frozen, with stuffing)

Boston Cream Pie (from Fratelli's Bakery)

Thanksgiving, why do i love i this wonderful holiday?  Well it's not just the amazing meal (although that is near the top of the list). Its a day to be thankful for all the wonderful people we have in our lives wether it be family or friend, but also to reflect back on those who were in our lives and are no longer with us but we never forget. So if i don't let the people in my life know how much you mean to me, then let me tell you now and say how thankful i am to have such great friends and family.

Growing up we used to host a huge Thanksgiving dinner with about 12-14 people, but in the latter years we keep it very low key . 

Now I love to start the morning with a hot cup of coffee and the Macy's day parade, i have loved this wonderful parade for as long as i can remember. 

  For me its not about the C list celebrities the network throws in there to promote their failing tv shows. Its also not about the "top 40" singers who lip sync their hit single that God knows i am already sick of hearing.  Its about the Rockettes, doing their thing for the last 50 years, its the crazy big balloons (yay just saw Charlie Brown when i was typing this) being lead by hundreds of volunteers  , its seeing the high school kids from all over the country who are away from their families on this the ultimate family holiday just so they can  play live music and to march in the cold weather for our entertainment, its about the Broadway shows that give us a peak of one of their numbers from their shows for free. 

When its all over, you practically have seen an entire Broadway show without paying $75. Also you get to see Al Roker, which is always a plus for me (insert sarcastic tone).

I am sure quite a lot of you are attending your high school  rivalry game today, and for that i wish your team a big win. Unfortunatly my high school is no longer with us (We're from Bosco, and no one could be prouder, and if you cannot hear us, we'll shout a little louder) , sadly Don Bosco Tech is no longer in Boston, our rival was Dom Savio high school.  Don Bosco upon closing became a Double Tree Hotel, so i guess our new rival would be Best Western.  Not sure how could a football game that would be though. Oh well,  Let's Go Bosco !! 

Shortly after this, while the house is filled with the ridiculous aroma of turkey and stuffing wafting through the house. I ilke to set the table and get ready for some football watching. I know what you're thinking "how does he need to get ready to sit and watch tv? "  Well its an excellent question, i need to put together an ensemble that is both appealing to eye, as well as provide me with comfort as i start munching on celery sticks with cream cheese (if i add raisins i call them ants on a log), some cheese and crackers, this year i bought some port wine cheese, and a lovely sharp wisconsin cheddar, and of course my favorite….stuffed mushrooms.   On a side note, Carly Rae Jebsen is "singing" on the parade right now, and her mouth is not moving in sync  with the words being sung….suspect.  

I normally don't care who is playing in the NFL games today, its football and that makes me happy. But tonight, my beloved Patriots are playing the evil Jets, so it has the benefit of being a day of eating and football topped off with the hometown team playing a big rival….delicious.  

I wonder if Tom Brady is watching the parade right now too and hoping that Gisele made some stuffed mushrooms. 

From that, we lead into the Thanksgiving turkey dinner …dramatic pause….My dad actually cooks the bird on this holiday and i must give props to pops, he does a wonderful job. The turkey is always very moist and flavorful.  For side dishes we have mashed potatoes with scallions, creamed pearl onions, carrots & parsnips mashed together, sweet potato (not for me, i am not a fan), peas, which i will give you a little tip, if you make a hole in the middle of the mashed potato then put a generous scoop of peas in the middles and a pat of butter, then put a roof of potato on top of the peas you will essentially be building a peas in a blanket. This is a culinary treat that i would rank up with my favorites.   Of course i almost forgot to mention the stuffing….as a self described bread addict, stuffing to me is an essential part of the meal. I am fan of bread stuffing , with onions, peppers, celery and italian sausage . But on my culinary bucket list is to try oyster stuffing some day, i love oysters and i love stuffing, so i have it locked in my head that it would be an amazing combination. 

After this uber-meal, i am so stuffed i can't even move , so a brief nap time ensues. When thats over , its dessert time…this year its Boston Cream Pie (1 of my favorites), from Fratelli's bakery in Quincy. A fabulous Italian bakery in Quincy. 

Tomorrow might be a work day, but i know i have a leftover turkey sandwich to bring with me and i just <3 a leftover sandwich, but tomorrow will also bring the official beginning of the Christmas season and that just warms my heart. 

So i leave you all with with a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Holiday season.

K.M. Boyle 

on a side note, check out Bone Appetit Barkery on Facebook, for homemade doggy treats. 

Don't your dogs deserve the very best?

Special posting -My award winning chili

On a brisk and murky Sunday, while watching my BFF Thomas Brady lead his New England Patriots to a monstrous victory i got the urge for something hearty and warm to eat for supper that night. So i thought to myself, do I want to go out?  The response was "No, i am not made of money!" , then i thought, is there any leftovers in the fridge i could heat up, "I found nothing pre made, worthy of this craving....not even a Hot Pocket (mmmmmm Hot Pockets ! )

Then inspiration hit me, and like Isaac Wayne Newton when he invented Gravity.  I said, 'Kevin you get your buns in that kitchen and you make your award winning chili!",  and so i did. 

The ingredients are simple, and are as follows;

3/4 pound of Ground Beef (80/20) 

3 spicy Italian sausages (pork) uncased

4 seeded jalapeño peppers (chopped as your preference)

2 cloves of garlic (crushed and then diced)

White bermuda onion, i like to chop about little more than 1/2 a cup worth. ( my motto in life is you can not have enough onions) 

1 cup of black beans

1 cup of kidney beans

1 cup of chopped tomatoes 

1 and 1/2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce

1 tea spoon of sea salt

2 tea spoons of black pepper

1/2 cup of black coffee

1 and 1/2 table spoons of light brown sugar

1 table spoon of cayanne powder

1 dash of Frank's Red Hot sauce  ( i put that sh#t on everything) 

I like to start with a large sauce pan, and a nice amount (2 tablespoons) of olive oil (extra virgin, like Kim Kardashian ) let that sit for 2 minutes to get the oil hot and the bottom and sides of the pan nicely slickened. Them i add my garlic, another 2 minutes and i add my peppers and onions. I like to sweat my veggies and get them nice and soft. Then i add my meat, beef 1st then the add the 3 uncased sausages.  

I like my meat to get nicely browned before i do anything else, so after 7-8 minutes of cooking i will then start to slowly add my remaining ingredients. The tomatoes next to help get some juice into the pot, to help cook the beans.  Then i will add the black and kidney beans, stir that up nice so the flavors of the garlic and onions start to mix with everything else.  From there i will add the Worcestershire sauce, and the coffee. Then i add all my seasons 1 right after the other, the salt, the pepper, the light brown sugar, the Franks red hot and the cayanne powder.  At this point, i give the all the ingredients a good stir, getting everything mixed together.  Put the cover on the pot and let the magic happen, by waiting and letting the chili cook away for about 1 1/2 hours.  

Let the chili sit for a while, at least 30 minutes. Then serve with some shredded cheese, a dollop of sour cream and some nacho chips or a spoon.

I hope you enjoy this as much as i do. 

Have a good night and stay safe in this dreary weather.

Kevin M. Boyle  I

Day 23 Breakfast at the Mad Hatter Cafe in Weymouth

 the menu

 Breakfast sandwich (egg, cheese, bacon on wheat toast) with home fries w/peppers

 2 buttermilk pancakes

 Hungry-man Breakfast ( 2 sausage, 2 eggs, grilled english muffin, 1 slice of ham, 2 pieces of bacon, with homefries w/ peppers)

This is a restaurant that is owned and operated by a friend and neighbor. I am saying this outright so there is no accusation of favoritism, however a great meal is a great meal and it must be discussed. 

So let me start by saying that this is a quaint restaurant, the owner is also the man cooking the meals in the kitchen. He really knows his way around a kitchen. The restaurant was very clean , and homey. The staff friendly,attentive, and very good about refilling coffee mugs ( and to know me, is to know how important that is to me) 

The hungry-man breakfast is what i had, the eggs were cooked perfectly, which to me is nice and runny yolk. The sausages , were fantastic. They are from a local butcher shop and some of the best breakfast sausages i have had, and thats saying something.  If you have read this blog in the past, you know i am not a fan of home-fries normally, but again i must say these were quite tasty. I kept eating them, instead of just moving them around like i normally do. The grilled english muffin was cooked just right, a lot of places under cook them and they are just awful, but these were very good. 

The breakfast sandwich was very good too , very filling.  The pancakes were light and fluffy and served nice and hot...nothing worse than cold pancakes ( ok there are some worse things, but i am trying to make a point). 

So to get to the meat & potatoes of this review, the Mad Hatter Cafe is highly recommended to anyone looking for a great breakfast with reasonable prices.

So have a great night and a great meal.

Peace KMB

Day 22 Dinner at Sea Dogs in Woburn with friends

the menu for Sea Dogs

 Pumpkin ale with a shot of vanilla vodka

Fried pickles with spicy mayo

Fish Tacos ( with guacamole,pico de gallo, fresh cabbage curtido, cilantro and lime )

Pan seared Scallops ,with sauted spinach,creamed corn, leeks and pancetta

 Pumpkin raviolis with sauted spinach, brown butter , pine nuts

 Stout Beef stew with Beef Short Rib, Root Vegetables, Yukon Mashed Potatoes..

 

 Chorizo crusted Haddock Sweet Corn Chowder, Sautéed Spinach, Spanish Chorizo..

 

 Steak Tips, green beans and mashed potatoes 

This meal was at a brew pub in Woburn called Sea Dogs. I have had their beer in the past and never knew they had a restaurant. The beers were very nice, as this is a micro brewery they don't serve the normal Bud, Miller , Coors options, they sell only their own beer. I had a pumpkin beer with a sugar/cinnamon dusted rim, and then a 2nd pumpkin beer with a shot of vanilla vodka in for flavor. This was quite nice, although i am not a vodka fan so the aroma of vodka when you bring the glass to your mouth is a little distracting. My friends tried a few different flavors so they allowed me to sample theirs, the blueberry ale was delicious, and had a nice light flavor to it, i also tried a clementine flavored beer, which had a beautiful aroma, but i wasn't blown away by the flavor, i didn't get a srtong clementine taste.

For appetizers, we had the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps with Bok Choy, Shiitake Mushroom, Crushed Peanuts, Spicy Peanut and Chile Dipping Sauces, the fried pickles with spicy mayo and the Fried Calamari

Banana Peppers, Sweet Chili Glaze. W e also had  BLT Potato Skins Shredded Bacon, Cheddar Cheese, Lettuce, Vine Ripe Tomatoes, Sundried Tomato Sour Cream.  All were fabulous, and very flavorful, i am a huge fan of lettuce wraps so these were a great treat. 

The calamari was terrific, and i loved the sauce it came in.  As much as i love calamari , its one of those things i don't order very often, so i really enjoy when i get the opportunity to have some.

My entree was the fish tacos, these were just lovely. The fish was talapia and it was a generous portion of fish that was cut up into 3 pieces , 1 for each taco. But it was the right amount of fish per taco. This meal i have come to love because its filling but not something that will leave you feeling bloated after, sometimes you eat a sandwich and you are feeling sick from trying to finish what you ordered. I finished this, and was full, and not uncomfortable.  My dinner comrades, all seemed to enjoy their meals, especially Tony who had the Chorizo crusted haddock, he made a point of telling me how much he loved his meal. The steak tip dinner, looked cooked perfectly and and had a generous portion of potatoes and green beans on the side. The pumpkin ravioli's looked fantastic, and the fish and chips dinner was hands down the largest portion of fish i have EVER seen given at a restaurant. My friend Linda seemed to enjoy it quite a bit too (sorry i missed a picture of it, it was a foot long i swear) .
The beef stew was ordered by 2 people and 1 felt they could have given more gravy with the stew, as it was kind of dry but the other thought it was perfect just the way they got it.
Overall , this was a restaurant i probably wouldn't get too very often, but if it was an option i would definitely come here again. I thought the prices were reasonable for food and the portions were excellent. The wait staff was very friendly and gave some helpful suggestions.

Thats all for now, have a great night and a great meal.

Love
Kevin M. Boyle I


http://www.seadogwoburn.com/woburn_new_menu_web.pdf

Day 21, Dinner at Wahlburgers...Now its about that time, to bring forth the dinner and the dine.

French Fries $2.95

Onion rings $2.75, The Melt $7.95

 BBQ Bacon cheese burger

chocolate Frappe $4.65 (the small cup) 

 Our Burger  $6.25

Well on bank holidays where i get a day off from work, i love to go shopping(usually furniture, or Bed, Bath and Beyond) So on this past Columbus day, i went to the Hingham shipyard, and after shopping til i nearly dropped i got a little hungry. I had dined at other restaurants in the Hingham Shipyard, but i wanted to try someplace new.  So i had a good vibration, and went to visit Wahlburgers; i had heard some ok word of mouth but i like to get my own opinion from the horses' mouth. 

Overall, i wasn't incredibly impressed with Wahlburgers. The menu is pretty small, 1 page and it doesn't have a full menu feel to it. The burgers weere tasty, but when you order a burger thats all you get. If you want fries or onion rings, you pay for them separately. I don't mind going ala carte at Morton's steakhouse, but at a burger joint....sorry thats pretentious, give some friggin sides with your meals.  The burgers were tasty enough, but really nothing more spectacular than a burger from BK or Chilli's (FYI, i  <3 Chilli's )

The fries were too $$ but they were tasty enough, lightly salted.  The onion rings were dreadful, i don't see the point to shoe string anything with food, but shoes string onion rings (made with red onions) are just wrong on so many levels. They are very lightly breaded and just not worth the $2.75,  one good selling point, is they don't give a skimpy order. 

The BBQ Bacon burger had avacado and jalapenos, but i think they were a little thrifty on the jalapeños. The melt should have been renamed the Mess, as i have never seen a messier hamburger. The wax paper that came on was practically see through after.  The Frappe...sigh ...the frappe, was very tasty, and nice and thick the way i like it...BUT, having said that for $4.65 it should come a little bigger than a coffee cup. Not worth the price for the size. 

So having said all this, would i rush back to Wahlburgers....i would not, they just don't have the Right Stuff...baby.  Uh oh uh oh...the Right Stuff

Have a great night, and a good meal.

Kevin M Boyle

http://wahlburgers.com/our-burgers/our-menu/

Day 20 Dinner at Amrheins South Boston

 *The Cowboy Steak 27

16oz. Prime N.Y. Strip with Blue Cheese and Caramelized Onion Butter

Potato Skins 7

Topped with Cheddar Cheese and Crispy Bacon

 Filet Mignon tips with pappardelle noodles, red peppers, onions in a mushroom demi glaze.  $20

Tonight we went to Amrhein's in South Boston for my dad's birthday dinner....well this is normally a place i enjoy (especially their Sunday brunch which is excellent, omelet bar AND eggs benedict , forget about it ! )  However this is evening was not one of their better nights, but in their defense this restaurant knows how to handle a bad experience for a customer.

Our waitress was excellent, she kept checking on us if we needed more drinks, while continuously telling us our meal should be right up. Then when she went to check 1 more time, came and told us our meal would be a little longer due to an error with the placing of the order to the kitchen.  Instead of not telling us what was going on , she was honest and very apologetic which i appreciated and even gave us a free drink. My mom found something that made her happy when she was talking to the bartender, about her wine she learned they offer 1/2 glasses and don't charge full price which some places do (Venezia in Dorchester)

My dad had the 16 oz steak with blue cheese and caramelized onion butter, which he requested medium, but it was brought quite well done. The waitress apologized profusely and immediately took the meal off the bill, which i thought was a very nice touch considering he was still able to eat the whole steak. Also since i was taking him out to eat , i still get credit for treating even though his meal was comped. Win / win

Mother had some potato skins which she loved , she said they were cooked perfectly and had a good amount of spud left in the skin.  I know what your thinking , dad gets a 16 oz steak and all i get my mom was a lousy potato skin BUT to know my mom is to know if the woman has a saltine at 11:00 AM then she won't be hungry again til the next day. When she will then have a 2nd saltine. 

I had the filet mignon tips, with noodles in a mushroom demi glaze...it sucked, it was  beef 

bourguignon, only because they said filet mignon they were able to charge me $20. The steak was tough and fatty, and the peppers weren't cooked enough.  So i was disappointed because i was planning on ordering the lobster pie, but decided to go with a dinner special.

Now even though this evening went horrifically wrong, you will definetly find me going back to Amrheins again, as this bad meal is not the norm there,  also as i mentioned in the opening statement...love their Sunday Brunch, in fact anyone wanna go to brunch soon?  I'll meet you there.

Thats all for now, so have a great night and a great meal.

xoxo

K M Boyle

http://amrheinsboston.com/dinner/

DAY 19 Dinner at Campanella's

Garlic bread with cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers

The Menu

 Fettucini with alfredo, chicken, zucchini, carrots,broccoli and peppers

 chicken , penne fradiavlo

So on tonights adventure i went to a new place for me, Campanella's  in Braintree. This was a treat as i was taken here as a belated birthday dinner by my friend Andrea.  Campanella's is an old established Italian restaurant , the decor seems to be from the 70's but yet the place has a nice homey atmosphere. The staff was very attentive and always brought me refills on my ginger ale, but yet didn't make us feel rushed as we sat there chatting and googling our names to see what pictures came up. 

We started off with salads each, good size portion. Then ordered some garlic bread with tomatoes, cheese, and cucumbers. Loads of flavor, and even the cucumbers were a nice touch, they actually worked with the tomatoes and cheese.  

We both had the same order "Create your own pasta" i had fettucini with a very light alfredo sauce , chicken and loads of veggies. Way too much zucchini (yuck) but it was a much light sauce than most people make, not too heavy.  Andrea had the chicken fradiavlo with penne, normally a spicy dish but this just had a little kick. The portions were very generous for both of us, and we couldn't finish our meals which even though i am not a fan of places giving too much food, i hate when you are finished eating out and am still hungry after. 

I would recommend Campanella's to anyone looking for a decent Italian meal on the south shore (and its much better than Abbodanza's in the North Shore).

Thats all for now, have a good night and a good meal.

Kevin Boyle I

http://campanales.net

Day 18 Dinner at Abbodanza's in Everett...not a good night

Pomegranate Martini

Cantaloupe Martini

Braciolette Di Pollo (chicken stuffed with parma cotto and mozzarella baked with a butter wine sauce) served with ziti in tomato sauce.

Well this is a first for Boyled Dinner, this is my first genuinely bad review. 

This was a night out with some friends (faculty of Malden High School "Go Golden Tornados") and we had a reservation for 7 people at 7:00. Well they kept us waiting upstairs for 10-15 minutes even though i believe our table was waiting for us downstairs since we arrived. They had no host or hostess that seemed like they were taking care of people, and in fact when we went downstairs we had to seat ourselves. They dropped off 1 basket of bread for 7 people, and by the time person number 4 took a piece there was essentialy just some large crumbs left. We had to ask for more ourselves.  Then after waiting for about 20 minutes, our waiter who was at a different table, shouted over he would be right with us (and he overused the word Ok, which annoyed me..ok, ok ,ok).  We were wondering what type of cocktails they offered, so i had to go up to the bar to get a drink menu as they had none on the tables. By the time the waiter finally came to us for a drink order, we had been sitting there for 45 minutes, with just the basket of bread and some water. We asked if we could put in both the dinner and drink menu together, since we didn;t want to wait too much longer to order food.

WELL, our waiter decided at this time to have a bit of a breakdown.  NO ! I cannot take your dinner order , i don't have time. I will take your drinks now, THEN i must go take the order of the table next to you, THEN i must bring out the food for the people behind you, and i have to bring that table their check. I cannot take your order! Its a madhouse i am just 1 man !  Ummmm hun, in the time it took you to give us your life story, you actually could have written down our order.  

So he said, i will get someone who can take both from you, and then he stormed away. 

We did bond with the table of 4 next to us after his outburst, so that was fun.

So a few minutes later a nice young woman showed up and gave us the dinner specials, and took our drink and dinner order. Not quite sure what magical gift she had that our other first waiter couldn't quite master. 

I had 2 cocktails, a cantaloupe martini (fabulous) and later a pomegranate martini (STRONG).

For my entree i had the Braciolette Di Pollo. I must say i had quite high hopes for this meal, but i feel like it was ready long before i received it and when i got it, the cheese which should have been softer, was stringy and warm. The butter sauce had no flavor, and the ziti was luke warm.  For $16.99 i expect better.  But i feel 3 of my dining companions got the worse deal in terms of value of a meal. They paid $27 for a butternut squash rizzoto with 3!! scallops...3!!!   That to me was outrageous. But i believe they did enjoy the flavor of the meal. 

There was no apology (at least not a legitimate one from management), they did bring us a plate of some Italian cookies (these were as dry as anything i have ever eaten, more of an insult than an apology).

Normally i don't give up on an establishment after one bad meal, but this just had nothing redeeming to make me want to go back and risk getting more of this kind of service.

So for my money, there are better eating establishments to try for great Italian food.

Have a good night and a better meal than what i had.

Kevin M.Boyle

  http://www.abbondanzaristorante.com/dinein.html

Day 17 Dinner at Venezia's

Chicken with mozzarella,proscuito, in a wine and garlic sauce with red peppers and scallions. Served with Red Pepper gnocchi $21

Shellfish fra diavlo (linguini, in a spicy red sauce, with scallops, shrimp, cockles and mussels)  $24

Scrod Bianco - Baked with fresh bread crumbs, parsley, lemon and garlic $17

 

California Creme Brûlée (with berries under the custard) $6

Boston cream pie $6

So this was a special night, my parents had their 40th wedding anniversary. They didn't want a party or any big hoopla, but this was a big event so i wanted to go to a place that was classy and that i knew we all loved. So naturally i chose the Venezia in Dorchester. Its a beautiful restaurant , that holds some very special memories for me i have attended wedding receptions (shout out to Nancy & Dave) and even had a few 1st dates there. But what really stands out in my memory for Venezia is that it was the place that introduced me to Fettucini Alfredo, one of the greatest culinary creations since Mr. Thomas invented his fork split English muffins. 

The Venezia is located right on the waterfront in Dorchester, amazing view of boston and also a nice romantic balcony during a sunset. The staff was very friendly and eager to offer any suggestions if you are stuck on what to order. The prices are high, but not outrageous. Three people with 1 appetizer, 2 desserts, 3 entrees and a few cocktails came to around $112.   Its a little more that we would normally spend but this was a special occasion.

I had a fantastic Cesar salad to start, with anchovies (insert your ewwww's here) but my mom loves them , so we shared the salad. Then i had the chicken with proscuito and mozzerella with red peppers gnocchis and it was sublime. The chicken was cooked perfectly, verrrrry tender. The gnocchi was a very nice surprise, i wasn't sure if i would like it but i can't wait to have some again. Very flavorful with a nice texture.  Dad had the seafood fra diavlo which he seemed to enjoy but it had a spicy kick he didn't expect.  But the seafood was plentiful and tasted great in the spicy red sauce.  mom had her normal fish (not sure why , but my mom would go into a steak house and ask them how fresh their salmon was) meal, the baked scrod. I have to say it was cooked nicely, and i like the flavor of the fish. 

After a beautiful dinner, and our favorite hobby judging all the people in the tables surrounding us( Oh and some of those people, were a little....you know, cray cray)

Normally we're not big dessert people, but again a special evening so mom and dad split the california creme brulee, with berries at the bottom of the custard before being scorched with the torch. It was heavenly, so flavorful with raspberries and blackberries.  I had the Boston Cream pie,  not as good as others i have had but it was still pretty good. My only complaint is i like my chocolate sauce on top to be soft and warm in some occasions, this was a ganache and similar to a piece of fudge. It tasted quite nice, but its a preference thing for me.   I have a slight sweet tooth, so when i decide to have a dessert i have high expectations.

Overall this was a 4 star evening, great food , amazing view, and the atmosphere was quite comfortable. I would highly recommend Venezia to anyone looking for a high class meal in the South Shore.

Thats all for now, have a good night and a good meal.

XOXO

Kevin M. Boyle

http://www.venezia-onthewater.com