Boston Restaurant: Casa Razdora

Before heading to New York for Kel's bachelorette party (more on that later), I stopped in Boston for the day. I mean, I couldn't really go all the way to the East Coast without at least saying hi....

Erica took a half day, so I took a nice nap in her cute and cozy apartment in the North End until she got off work at noon.

Our first mission: get some lunch. Erica chose Casa Razdora, an Italian restaurant in the Financial District that I'd never heard of.

What: Casa Razdora
Where: 114 Water Street, Financial District, Boston
Honeys Heart: Gnocchi

Casa Razdora serves salads, paninis, and pizzas, but one look at what everyone else had ordered and we knew the real star of the show had to be the pasta.

Here's how the pasta dishes at Casa Razdora work:

Step one: pick a housemade pasta- penne, fusilli, tubetti, spaghetti, tagliatelle, fettucine, linguine, ravioli, tortelloni, or gnocchi.

Step two: pick a sauce- there are 21 different options. I'm not going to list them all because, you know.

Erica chose Gnocchi with Campagnola Sauce (sausage, leeks, white wine, and mushroom porcini).

I had Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce (tomato, onion, pancetta, vodka and cream).

 The gnocchi was nice and light and the sauces were both very flavorful. I could have done with a little less sauce on mine, but since it was so delicious, I couldn't really complain.

Lunch also came with some complimentary warm focaccia bread. Yum!

Basically, I left feeling happy and full but also a little sad that Shannon and I didn't know about this place when we used to meet up for lunches on weekdays. Great choice Erica!

Following lunch, we grabbed some coffee and then wandered around the Commons, Back Bay, and the South End. Love walking in Boston!

Somehow, we ended up in front of Anchovies, a favorite of Erica's thanks to their martinis. They make them strong AND they leave the shaker in front of you and top you off when you're halfway through. So we stopped in for a martini... or three. Jocelyn joined us at some point.

Then we went to Gaslight for their Restaurant Week prix fixe dinner. Dinner came with a glass of wine, so yeah... dinner was good? I think. I know it was fun. Anyway.

It was so amazing to be back in Boston, even if it was just for a day, and I can't wait for my next visit!

Boston Food Truck: Roxy's Grilled Cheese

What: Roxy's Grilled Cheese
Where: Cleveland Circle (sometimes)
Honeys Heart: Fried Grillos Pickles

Confession: I have a little crush on the Roxy's boys. Or a big crush. Whatever. Their grilled cheese is delicious so it's allowed.

Anyway, when I finally made it out to Cleveland Circle a few weeks ago (before the Roxy's truck went "missing"), I was faced with the very difficult decision of just what grilled cheese to order. Eventually, I decided on the Green Muenster with muenster cheese, guacamole & bacon.

It was quite tasty and not too goopy either (a potential problem when you're combining guac with melted cheese).

And, being the glutton I am, I of course couldn't pass up the opportunity to try some beer-battered Fried Grillo's Pickles. 

I was a little worried about how the pickles would hold up on the T ride home, but they arrived safe and sound and still nice and crispy. Yum!

Basically, Roxy's needs to get their act together and get back to Boston ASAP because I desperately need to try some of their other grilled cheese offerings. And eat more fried pickles. And maybe let the boys tease me about tweeting while I'm waiting for my order. (Shhh, don't tell the bf.)

Boston Restaurant: Saus

What: Saus
Where: 33 Union St, Faneuil Hall
Honeys Heart: Liege waffle with salted caramel and berry berry sauce

So I think it's safe to say that I was the last food blogger in all of Boston to actually try Saus. This is very sad to me as I have been following Saus's blog since this time last year (true fan alert!!)... but whatever, I'm over it (not really).

Anyway, the important thing is that I finally did make it over to Saus a few weeks ago with Anna and Andy.

Saus serves Belgian-style french fries (pommes frites, if you're nasty) and leige waffles. That's it. Since there's technically only two things on the menu, we obviously needed to try both.

First up was a Belgian Pommes Frites ($7), aka a large order of fries.

Now, the fries were pretty decent as far as fries go, but the real draw is the 9+ dipping sauces that Saus offers. Each dipping sauce is 75 cents, though you do get a free sauce if you order a regular or Belgian-sized fries.

Our sauce selections were:

Truffle Ketchup- Tastes exactly like it sounds. Ketchup + truffle oil. Good, but forgettable when compared to the other options.

Cheddar Duval-  Delicious. Reminded me of a beer and cheese fondue I tried to make in college if it had turned out like it was supposed to. Get it.

Bacon Parm- Heavenly. Get this one too.

And then came the leige waffles. Leige waffles are made with pearl sugar and as the waffle cooks, the little chunks of sugar caramelize. That means you get a nice sweet crunch with every bite of waffle. 

Saus's Leige Waffles ($3.50) are best enjoyed with one of their waffle dipping sauces (75 cents).

I went with Salted Caramel.

I love caramel but I hate when desserts get super sweet so the waffle with salted caramel was about as good as it gets for me. At least, that's what I thought until one of the owners offered to add some Berry Berry sauce to my waffle so I could try her favorite combination. Yeah, so a leige waffle with salted caramel and berry berry sauce is basically perfection. I licked my plate. (I'm not lying, it was kind of pathetic... but worth it.)

Anna went with the Lemon Cream sauce.

Too much sweet, not enough sour for me. But Anna loved it.

Andy took the Nutella route.

And really, when is nutella ever not amazing? Good choice, Andy.

So, overall, I was definitely justified in stalking this place's blog for all of last year and I have deemed Saus worthy to be added to my "Official List of Restaurants to Drag My Family to When They Come for Graduation."

Also, you should know that this place is open late- until 2am on weekends. Cheers to drunk food that actually tastes good when you're sober!

(Though I do have to say, 75 cents for sauce? You guys know your fries and waffles are nothing without them. They should be included in the price no matter the size!... Or not since they're awesome and probably worth paying extra for.)

Boston Restaurant: Max Brenner

What: Max Brenner
Where: 745 Boylston St., Back Bay
Honey's Heart: The Fantastic Chocolate Popsicle Fondue

"So, are we doing dinner or dessert first?" our waiter asks Anna and me when he comes to take our order. Max Brenner, I have a feeling we're going to be friends...

Max Brenner (the restaurant) is an Israeli export that focuses on chocolate, though the menu also features a number of dinner items like salads, burgers and pizza in addition to the multiple dessert options.  

Yesterday was the restaurant's opening day, and while I know it's a gamble to visit a restaurant so early, Anna and I have been waiting forever for Max Brenner to finally open its doors. Also, we have a bitch of a class on Thursday nights, so we needed a special treat.

Because Anna and I are responsible adults (for the most part), we decided some "real food" was in order before we got to the good stuff.

We shared the The Brenner Burger ($13.95) which is topped with Max's secret barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomato, cheddar, and an onion ring and served with waffle fries dusted with chili and cocoa powder.

The burger was very rich what with the brioche bun, cheddar and onion ring, so half was plenty for both of us. I liked that they put barbecue sauce on the burger since that's what my dad always does when he barbeques burgers at home, but Max's is pretty generous with the sauce, so ask for it on the side if you're not a big fan.

I thought it might be strange for the fries to be dusted with cocoa powder, but the combination of chili powder and cocoa actually makes for a pleasant twist on the usual waffle fries.

Ok, onto the important part:

Max Brenner divides its "sweets" menu into a few different categories: Waffles & Crepes, Sweet Icons, Frappes, Classics with a Chocolate Twist, Fondue, and Max I Scream.

While I was tempted by the frappes (that's Boston-speak for milkshakes), I ultimately decided to go for The Fantastic Chocolate Popsicle Fondue ($7.95 for one, $13.95 for two).

The dessert comes with a vanilla popsicle (by Magnum!), pure melted milk chocolate fondue, crunchy chocolate wafer balls and candied hazelnut crunchy bits.

Such a great idea! I preferred the candied hazelnuts to the chocolate crunchies (I'm not that big of chocolate person), but overall I thought this was a really fun, really tasty dessert.

Max Brenner also offers a number of chocolate-y drinks including dessert martinis, hot chocolate, and coffee with chocolate. Anna loves sweet drinks, so she decided to try the Suckao ($4.95), a "Do It Yourself Concentrated Hot Chocolate Shot."

The idea here is that you add the chocolate to the heated milk in the cup (warmed by candle), determining for yourself how chocolate-y you want your shot to be. Then you suck it up using the silver spoon/straw. Maybe Anna and I took too long photographing our desserts, but when Anna added the chocolate to the milk, the whole thing just got clumpy as the milk was not warm enough to melt the chocolate. Anna said she probably wouldn't order this one again and I support that decision.

Of course, one chocolate shot is not enough for a sweet-lover like Anna, so she also tried the Apple Pie Cinnamon Waffles ($14.50) with white chocolate cream, vanilla flake crepe ice cream, and candied pecans.

The waffles were tasty, but a little sweet for my taste--one forkful was enough for me. Also, kind of random to throw those chocolate crispies in on the side, don't you think?

Max Brenner also has a little sweet shop in the front where you can buy souvenirs like the "Alice Cup"...

...as well as 24 different kinds of bonbons.

Oh, and as far as service went, the waitstaff was obviously on their toes for opening night. We got asked a bajillon times if we wanted more water or if we were done with our plates. That got a little annoying, but I'll chalk that up to opening night exuberance. Our waiter also split our burger and put our desserts on two separate checks without asking us, which Anna and I liked at the time... but now that I think about it, what if I wanted to treat Anna? Could have made it awkward. 

Overall thought, Anna and I agreed that we'll definitely need to come back again with Shannon and Erica so we can try more of Max's sweets. I can already hear the Euphoria Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge Sundae calling my name...

Boston Restaurant: UFood Grill

What: UFood Grill 
Where: 201 Brookline Ave in Landmark Center, Fenway
Honeys Heart: Unfries, turkey burger and froyo

Last night I had the pleasure of attending my first Boston Food Bloggers dinner at UFood Grill. (Look, Ma. I'm a real blogger now!)

UFood is a fast food chain that focuses on providing customers with "great taste you can feel good about." Essentially, they're serving your favorite fast food items like burgers, fries and pizza, but making them as healthy and flavorful as possible. They'll also get those items out to you in 3.5 minutes or less. Nice.

Now, you all know how I feel about chains. I'd much rather cook my own food (bleh!) then be dragged to Applebee's, Red Robin or, god forbid, McDonald's. But sometimes you really do just need a quick, cheap meal, and in that case, I'd definitely choose UFood over the other fast food spots here in Boston. (Sorry Ufood, if you ever make it out to CA, I'm still going with In-N-Out.)

Over the course of our evening with UFood, we were given the opportunity to sample several dishes from their rather extensive menu. I'll start with my most favorite, and work my way down.

#1 Unfries 

UFood bakes their fries ("unfries"-get it?) so you don't have to feel bad when you're stuffing them in your mouth one after another like I was. They were nice and crispy (not soggy like the baked fries I've tried to make at home) and not at all greasy. Definitely my favorite food of the night.

#2 Turkey Burger

UFood's Chipotle Turkey Burger is served on a multigrain bun with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, lite jalapeno jack and spicy chipotle mayo. I'm not usually a fan of chipotle, but I loved this burger. It was juicy and flavorful and I actually really liked the chipotle mayo. This burger with fries would be my meal of choice.

#3 Chocolate-Vanilla Swirl Froyo

Mmm... froyo. Can't go wrong with that. This fat-free chocolate and vanilla swirl was creamy and delicious. Lots of flavor going on there so you don't feel like you're eating something fat free. Already planning on popping over to the Downtown Crossing location for some of this when I need a break from doing hw at Emerson. Ufood also serves original tart and wildberry tart froyo.

#4 Smoothies aka "Smuuthies"

Oops, didn't take a picture of these but they were also a favorite. I think we tried Berrylicious, Stawbanilla, and Passionate Peach. All were very refreshing.

#5 Falafel Wrap

UFood's Fresh Falafel Wrap is made with baked falafel, roasted red pepper hummus, pickled beets, lettuce, tomatoes and spicy tahini sauce. I'm not a big wrap person but I did think the falafel was tasty and the tahini sauce had a nice hint of spice to it.

#6 Tofusion 

The Tofusion UBowl comes with organic tofu, veggies and a ginger-soy glaze. The glaze had a touch of sweetness and I really liked it with the tofu, veggies and rice. According to the vegetarians at my table, the tofu was very nicely grilled compared to what other restaurants often serve.

#7 Pesto Pizza 

The pesto pizza had just the right amount of garlic, but it's also simple enough that I could make something like this at home. 

#8 Bistro Salad

I also enjoyed the Bistro Salad with organic mixed greens, tomatoes, feta, walnuts, dried cranberries and blueberry-pomegranate vinaigrette, but like the pesto pizza, this is something that I could recreate on my own- and I rather spend my money on dishes that I can't make myself.

So, obviously lots of yummy options. However, there were some dishes that I can't recommend. Those include the Chicken Tinga UBowl (somehow the sauce tasted watered-down and extremely spicy at the same time), the Turkey Sausage Pizza (way over-seasoned), and the Better Bacon Cheeseburger (cardboard-y turkey bacon ruined that one for me). Can't win 'em all...

Overall though, I was impressed with the quality of food UFood produces and I really enjoyed sampling their menu items.

It was also great to share a table with the ladies of Foodies at Work, The Apron Archives and Frugal Foodista. Hope I can make another one of these blogger events soon!

Boston Restaurant: Sofra Bakery and Cafe

Posted by Katie

What: Sofra Bakery and Cafe
Where: 1 Belmont Street in West Cambridge
Honey's Heart: Greek Yogurt Parfait

I have a new obsession: the Greek Yogurt Parfait with Spoon Sweets, Grano & Honey ($5) at Sofra Bakery and Cafe.

Seriously, it's so good! Let's break it down by layer.

Greek Yogurt- Greek yogurt is highly superior to regular yogurt because it's much creamier and thicker. Also, someone told me once that it's healthier for you. If I looked it up, I could probably verify whether that's true or not... but I'd rather just go on blissfully thinking this stuff is good for me, just in case it's not.

Spoon Sweets- Spoon sweets refer to the traditional Greek custom of greeting visitors with spoons filled with sweetened fruit or vegetable preserves as a symbol of hospitality. At Sofra, they don't let the pieces of fruit break down completely so the spoon sweets are more like a compote than a jam. Delicious!

Grano- I've been talking this parfait up to a lot of people, and usually they're right there with me until I get to this component. Grano is a type of grain known for its chewy texture. That weirds some people out, but trust me, the grano is really what makes this parfait worthy of obsession. The yogurt and spoon sweets would be plenty fine on their own, but it's the satisfying chewiness that the grano adds to each spoonful that really makes this parfait so amazing.

Okay, this is making my mouth water. Moving on...

Shannon and I also tried Sofra's take on a maple donut.

The glaze was a little too sweet for me but the donut itself was light and fluffy and the cream inside, heavenly.

Sofra has plenty of other dishes and treats to offer as well.

There's the mezze bar where you can load up your plate with choices like beet tzatziki, lentils with pomegranate & greens, and Moroccan goat cheese...

Or you can sample some of Sofra's many tasty pastries. (The chocolate hazelnut baklava is just as good as it sounds.)

Sofra also serves stuffed flatbreads and traditional Mediterranean dishes like shawarma (similar to a gyro) and moussaka (which you might remember as a former obsession of mine.)

The only downfall to Sofra is that it's located about an hour from my apartment by bus. Sad.

But I'm probably still going to try and convince my roomie to go with me again this weekend... Told you I was obsessed.

Boston Restaurant/Lounge: Radius- 1/2 Price Burgers

Posted by Katie

What: Radius
Where: 8 High Street, Financial District
When: Saturdays in January, 2011
Honeys Heart: 1/2 price burgers!

I work in the same building that houses Radius, and ever since starting work a year and a half ago, I've been dying to try Radius's famous $19 burger.

$19? I know, pricey. But let me assure you that this is no ordinary burger. This is the burger that won the much coveted prize of best burger at the South Beach Wine & Food Festival back in 2008. It's kind of a big deal.

"The Burger" is made with fresh ground chuck cooked on the rare side (a good thing, in this case) and topped with Vermont cheddar, crispy onions and horseradish sauce.

You know when you order a burger with lots of delicious-sounding toppings but then when you actually eat it, you taste all toppings and no actual burger? I hate that.

That's not how it works with Radius' burger. While the cheese adds some nice creamy flavor, the onions some sweet crispiness and the horseradish some bite, the patty itself is thick and juicy enough to still be the star of the show. I like that.

But let's get back to the $19 thing. Having finally tried this burger, I can honestly say I would pay $19 for it... if I had a full-time job in the financial district instead of a part-time job and student loans.

Lucky for me, Radius has been offering their burgers at half-price at the bar every Saturday for the month of January. They did the same thing last April too. That makes me think they'll do it again, so just in case you can't make it to Radius this Saturday, you'll probably have another chance to take advantage of this awesome deal in the coming year.

Since you have to order the burger at the bar to get the discount, you should probably sample some of Radius' very tasty cocktails while you're there.

Our favorite was Shannon's Fezziwig's Punch ($12), made with gin, Pimm's Cup, orange blossom water and ginger beer.

Our second favorite was Anna's Ruby Refresher ($12) made with Belvedere Pink Grapefruit vodka, ruby red grapefruit juice, lemonade and muddled mint. This drink would be amazing in the summer, but it was pretty darn good in the winter too.

I really liked my Garden Gimlet ($12) which is made with vodka, fresh lime, Thai basil and lavender. Shannon thought it was "too flowery" but I disagree.

Allison tried Havisham's Dream ($12), made with Absolute Citron, pear liqueur, rose water and a splash of bubbles, which was also very nice.

And then there was Erica's choice: The Fireside ($16). Made with brown butter infused Maker's Mark, Belle de Brillet (an expensive pear liqueur), smoked maple and cinnamon, we were told that "this is a serious drink." Good thing Erica's a serious lady, so she had no problem handling this very sweet, very bourbon-y cocktail. The rest of us...not so much.

Okay, so amazing burger, delicious cocktails... but Radius just misses getting my full vote of confidence due to the horribly inconsistent service that we received throughout the night.

We waited 20 minutes for our first round of drinks to arrive, which is way too long to wait, especially when we watched people who had arrived long after us getting served first.

We were then treated to our drinks and showered with apologies and attention... until we decided to order another round of drinks after finishing our burgers.

After another 15 minute wait, we were still without our drinks and itching to get on with our night, so we canceled our order (don't worry, our server said our cocktails hadn't been started yet) and just asked for our check.

It was very confusing.

But strange service aside, I would definitely recommend taking advantage of Radius' half-price burger night. Or just go all out and buy the thing at full price. I don't think you'll regret it.

Boston Restaurant: Myers + Chang

Posted by Katie

What: Myers + Chang
Where: 1145 Washington St in the South End
Honeys Heart: Pork Belly Buns

For Kel's last night in Boston, we decided that we should try someplace new to both of us. We considered making our way out to Cambridge, but we were on a bit of a tight schedule so we ended up choosing the South End.

I am so tired of American cuisine, so Myers + Chang's fusion of "Chinese, Taiwanese, Thai, and Vietnamese specialties" sounded perfect.

Since it was a Saturday night and we didn't have reservations, we were in for a bit of a wait. To help pass the time, we decided to order some drinks and an appetizer at the bar.

Myers + Chang's cocktail menu has a number of innovative Asian-inspired drinks, some of which use saki and soju, a distilled liquor similar to vodka, in the place of more familiar spirits like tequila and rum.

Kel and I tried the St. Shar Pei made from soju, sake, St. Germain, green chartreuse, and grapefruit. We went for the cafare ($25) which holds about 3 cocktails.

Nothing sweet about this cocktail, but we liked this fresh take on a greyhound just fine.

For our appetizer, we ordered the Braised Pork Belly Buns ($9) with bao, brandy hoisin, and house pickles.

Just thinking about that brandy hoisin sauce makes my mouth water. It was so flavorful with the perfect amount of saltiness. And then the pork belly. Kel's East Coast trip was the first time either of us tried it and these buns just reinforced what we learned when we ordered pork belly in Brooklyn the weekend before: it's heavenly.

Once we were seated, it was time to make some more decisions. Everything on the menu looked so good, so we turned to our friendly waitress for advice.

She said that the Beef and Broccoli Chow Fun ($15) with coulotte steak and fresh rice noodles is a customer favorite...

...and we could see why. This was our second favorite dish of the night. We loved the thick chow fun noodles and the beef and broccoli had a great, if traditional, flavor.

We also tried Mama Chang's Pork and Chive Potstickers ($11).

These were nice and crispy, but we both agreed we wouldn't be opposed to nixing them to try a different dish the next time around.

Our final dish was the Asian-Braised Soft Tacos ($13) with pear, radish, and chili-sesame salsa.

We liked the idea of Asian tacos but unfortunately, they were a miss for us. I didn't like the favor of the meat and the tacos were pretty messy as the juices made the tortillas soggy and nearly impossible to eat with our hands. Oh well. 4 out of 5 ain't bad.

I should also mention that the service was amazing. The hostess chatted with us about cocktails and our waitress wasn't shy about sharing her preferences, which we appreciated.

We also liked the atmosphere of the restaurant. It was funky and fun without a drop of pretension, which can be hard to find in the South End. 

I'm already thinking about what restaurants to bring my family to in May when they visit for my graduation, and Myers + Chang now holds a place on that list. So glad we tried something new!