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

Special edition- Boston Restaurant week

Hi, normally i would be telling you all about a fabulous (hopefully) meal i had just had eaten, and then giving a breakdown about what i thought about the restaurant. Tonight i want to tell you about several restaurants i have dined at over the years during an event called Boston Restaurant Week.

http://www.restaurantweekboston.com

The establishment i have dined at the most during this glorious event is Ruth's Chris steak house on School St. in Downtown Boston.  This is a fantastic steak house chain, that normally i wouldn't frequent too often due to the prices. But during the restaurant week, i have visited Ruth's Chris 3 times in the last 5 years. They are a well oiled machine in terms of wait staff and servers. The steaks are outstanding, they come cooked to perfection and on a plate so hot that the steak is still sizzling when the steak is brought to your table. They usually also have a chicken dish and a seafood dish(although i have never ordered either when i come here). They also give you 1 side (a potato or a veggie).  I normally order the chowder for the appetizer but they always offer a caesar salad as an option. The dessert they have no other options, always the bread pudding with whiskey cream sauce. Always delicious, but its unusual that they don't give you more than 1 option for dessert.  But to me this is the type of restaurant that people get their money's worth because the prices are normally so high, that paying $33 for a 3 course meal, actually feels like a good deal at an establishment such as this.

This is a restaurant that i have always had a fondness for , my 1st time there my friend JB and i went with a gift certificate someone gave me, and we both enjoyed the meal very much.Also got a big kick out of the guys coming around every 10 minutes to scrape the crumbs off the table cloth.

http://www.restaurantweekboston.com/restaurant/ruths-chris-steak-house/

Another restaurant i have visited more than once during Restaurant Week is Marliave on Bosworth st.
Most restaurants give you 3 of each option (appetizer, entree, and dessert) but with Marliave you get multiple choices of each.  I don't know another restaurant that gives customers as many choices as Marliave does. I have had the Mac & cheese and the escargots for an appetizer, both are sublime. The steak isn't up to Ruth's chris standards but still quite good and the other entree i tried was the diver scallops. Very tasty, i particularly enjoyed the pea ravioli.  The butterscotch pudding was fantastic, but 1 year i had the chocolate cake and i have to say it was a little dry. Even with the melting center, it didn't live up to the description.

http://www.restaurantweekboston.com/restaurant/marliave/

The other restaurant i recall trying was Petite Robert Central on Summer St. I ended up here because i couldn't get a reservation at Ruth's Chris one Summer.  The bar was packed when we got there, and it does seem like a restaurant i would enjoy for a simple meal. The French Onion soup smelled and looked fantastic but i have to say the $33 meal didn't quite seem worth the $$ spent.
The food was tasty enough but in my opinion a place to visit a different time, not during the fixed menu of Restaurant Week.

http://www.restaurantweekboston.com/restaurant/petit-robert-central/

I would highly recommend this 2 week period to anyone looking for a new place to try especially a restaurant that might be normally out of your price range but $33 for a 3 course meal doesn't seem to bad for a 4 star meal. My one piece of advice i would give to anyone is , don't go to the North End during Restaurant Week. As great as the restaurants are , $33 for pasta just isn't worth the money. Its not a good bargain. A steak house or seafood restaurant are the best financial bargains you can get.

This year i plan to visit Ruth's Chris again and i know i will order the filet again and i am quite certain i will enjoy it , again.  If you decide to try anywhere next week, i would love to hear your review of where you went and if you would recommend this restaurant to anyone.

have a good night and a good meal.

Kevin B.
xoxo

Day 16 Dinner at Silvertones !!

Mac & cheese on the left and Goat Cheese Crostini on the right  ($9 & $6)

Jerk chick served with fried bananas, white rice in a tabasco butter sauce.  ($15)

Well , many a times people will recommend a place to me and i'll always keep it in the back of my mind as somewhere to go,  but rarely am i told about a place from so many people and with rave reviews. Especially about the Mac & Cheese. So when i made plans to get together with a friend i hadn't seen in far too long, when she suggested we go to Silvertones for dinner i knew it was about time i got myself over there.  The restaurant is small and cozy. Its also beneath street level so when you walk in the door, you have to go downstairs and are immediatly at their bar area. We had a lovely glass of wine while waiting to be seated. The hostess was very friendly and attentive.

My friend Heather who i was dining with,  has dined there several times so when she gave me the run down of what she usually orders when she goes there, it worked fine for me. We shared an order of the Mac & Cheese as an appetizer and also the goat cheese crostini (goat cheese is a not so secret obsession of mine).  Before i talk about the Mac & Cheese i need a moment to regain my composure (it was that good) so i will start with the goat cheese crostini. It was a very generous portion of goats cheese, with some nicely flavored toast points it had a lovely pepper seasoning that accentuated the sweetness of the cheese. An excellent choice, but the MVP had to have been the Mac & Cheese. As my friend Neil said earlier, so many places seem to try and claim "the best mac & cheese in town". While i agree with him, in my earnest opinion this was the BEST Mac & Cheese i have ever ordered out in a restaurant. It had a simplicity to it, the yellow cheese color (not using all sorts of "fancy" cheeses and a not overloaded breadcrumb topping.  I could have eaten it all, but i had to share   :- (

For dinner we both had the jerk chicken with fried bananas (Phe-nominal) white rice in a butter tobacco sauce. You take a small bit of each item at once and you get the heat from the spicy chicken but immediatly following the sweetness of the fried bananas. The portion was perfect, just enough without overloading us with too much food. 

The staff was very courteous and on the ball with drinks and checking up on us to see how we were doing. The price was very reasonable as well. I have the link below for the menu for anyone to take a peak at.  I can't recommend this restaurant enough to anyone, and if you need someone to go with you, i will make myself available for you.   ; -) 

To say i was "Boyled Over" would be an understatement, 

pun intended.

Have a great night and a great meal,

XOXO Kevin M.

http://silvertonedowntown.com/menu.html

Day 15 Breakfast at The Friendly Toast

Coconut Cakes (a pancake with cashews, shredded coconut, chocolate chips and drizzled with coconut sauce for  $6.75)

My love for The Frienly Toast in Cambridge,MA is well documented.  Today was a day for trying new things, i am not a huge fan of coconut(except the water and milk) but i just felt like trying something a little different today. So when my friend order the coconut cakes, i threw caution to the wind and said make that 2 please (i did the same thing out for supper last night , when i ordered the same grilled cheese as my friend Rob).  The waiter said do i want 1 or 2, i asked how big they said 1 covers a plate, so i thought 1 would be sufficient. Wow was i right, i couldn't even finish the 1 i ordered. Its absolutely delicious and soooo flavorful. But its a dense pancake and heavy with toppings, 1 is more than most people could eat.  For 2 coffees, 2 juices and 2 pancakes, the total came to  $26 and change.  Very reasonable for good quality food.  

I have a few people who have asked me to let them know when i go, and this is 1 place that i will always make time to go with someone to introduce them to my favorite breakfast joint.  So come 1 come all, lets all go to the Friendly Toast and soak up the great food and atmosphere.

Have a scrumptious day and a great meal.

Kevin B.

http://www.thefriendlytoast.net

Day 14 Dinner at Tony's Clam shop

 Worst picture of me ...ever, but look at those onion rings !

Fried Oyster Dinner with cole claw and fries  ($17.95)

Well this is my 1st repeat posting, i just love Tony's and i wanted to show the world  (the small section that i know) how amazing Tony's food looks. I had the fried oyster plate, a little pricy but the quality is outstanding and the quantity is more than i can eat. My friend Andrea got the fish and chips, and she said the fish was terrific, not greasy at all ($15.95) and then we split an onion rings. The atmosphere was great, the outdoor seating area was packed ( a little too buggy though, we both got bit). 

After dinner we went to Marina bay and had cocktails at Port 305 ( I am NOT a fan of their food, but the bar area is nice ) The drinks looks better than they tasted but still a nice way to end an evening.

All in all a fun night, and i hope to go back to Tony's again soon while the weather is still nice to sit outside. 

Have a good night and a good meal.

Kevin M.W.B,

http://www.tonysclamshop.com

Day 13 Dinner at Hingham Beer Works

Watermelon Beer

Fried chicken sandwich with whipped potatos

grilled chicked sandwich,with sweet potato fries (raspberry aioli)

 Chicken Salad

The other night i had a lovely dinner out with my friends Michael and Kevin, we went to the Hingham shipyard (former home of 1 of my favorite restaurants of all time, the Hingham Bay Club).

We weren't sure which of the multiple choices we would dine at that evening, but where it was a perfect evening to dine outside we made our choice and the Hingham Beer Works was our destination. It was a Thursday evening, and at around 7:15 we still had to wait for about 20 minutes for a table outside. Once we were seated, the view was spectacular , we could see the water and the side walk(great people watching scene). On this particular evening we also had great music, there was a free showing of the Muppet movie near our restaurant and we could hear the songs from our seat.  As is well documented i am not a fan of watermelons, but the idea of watermelon beer intrigued me. It was worth trying, it was light and a refreshing beverage. I had a lovely fried chicken sandwich that came on a bulky with bacon and a nice cream sauce. I took the bacon off but the flavor from the bacon stayed on the sandwich and made it just that much tastier. Kevin got the grilled chicken sandwich and the sweet potato fries with raspberry aioli for dipping, i tried a fry and dipped...it was very surprising, i would never have put the 2 flavors together , but they worked. Michael got the salad with grilled chicken, it looked very tasty and was quite a good size for a salad, definitely meal size.  

Overall the staff was very courteous and attentive, the meals were well priced, nothing was outrageous, and the atmosphere was laid back and relaxing.   If you didn't want to sit outside, and perhaps wanted to watch a sporting event, the bar is well stacked with tv's showing everything that was on that evening.

I would highly recommend this restaurant to anyone. There are plenty of great shops within walking distance as well. 

Have a great evening, and a great meal. 

Kevin B.

XOXO

Day 12 breakfast at Zaftig's Delicatessen in Coolidge Corner

Empire Eggs (2 poached eggs, on spinach, salmon, and potato pancakes w/ hollandaise sauce)

Today i went to one of my favorite neighborhoods of Boston, Coolidge Corner. It has a cool vibe to it, but with some great shops and not overloaded with the same ole chains you see in every mall.

I talked my friend into having breakfast with me at Zaftig's Delicatessen. I have read some good reviews and heard some good things from friends,but i have never been to an authentic Jewish delicatessen and was apprehensive about whether i would enjoy myself. Well we sat at the counter, which is my favorite place to sit in a breakfast joint. The staff was very attentive and were constantly checking if we needed coffee refills. The restaurant was quite busy for a thursday morning, which is  a very good sign. The menu looked great, and i flip flopped about what to get, but i felt for the purpose of blogging, the Empire eggs benedict was the route to take. It was delicious, the eggs were cooked perfectly, the potato pancake was nice and crispy(thats key for me) and it didn't overload with spinach or Lox. They used a light amount of hollandaise sauce, which was good, because i want to taste the food and not mask the flavor with sauce. The most pleasant surprise was the home fries, they were fantastic !! This is coming from someone who does not like home fries , i would eat these weekly.  The slice of watermelon was a nice touch (if i liked watermelon) but it brought the plate together.  I would definetly go back, and i know i would try the french toast or pancakes with strawberry butter( that just sounds ridiculous). If i had one issue with Zaftig's it would be the prices, i thought they were a skosh high, not outrageous but a lil high for breakfast.

While you are in Coolidge Corner please stop by Julie's nails for a mani/pedi (its the only place i will go), Kupel's for the best bagel i have ever had (thank you for the recommendation Tami), or the Coolidge Corner Clubhouse to grab a burger or to watch a game (sports on every tv in the place and they have A LOT of tv's).

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

Kevin B.

xoxo