Finding the Best Arancini in Boston pt. 3: La Summa

Alison and I are still looking for the best arancini in the Boston area.  Our latest search brought us to La Summa in the North End.  We read good things about it and it obviously served a more traditional arancini.  We met up at Haymarket, where Alison was avoiding zombies (from the Zombie Walk) and solicitations from homeless men when I arrived after sitting on a delayed Red Line train (Surprise! for all of you that live elsewhere there is always a delay somewhere on the T in Boston).  We walked over to Hanover Street in the North End and ventured to our destination.  Neither one of us have been here before so we were excited to see what there was to offer.

We ordered our arancini immediately.  Once it arrived it looked delicious, but unfortunately that’s where it stopped.  The arancini was really dry and just didn’t have that much flavor.  The marinara it was served with was pretty flavorless and watery.  We both stuffed at least two down, but couldn’t muster up the energy to eat the others.

The entrees on the other hand were delicious.  I ordered the Pollo Limone.  I ate almost the entire chicken and the portion size was a little out of control, but i figured it was ok since I didn’t eat that many arancini.

Alison ordered the Gnocchi.  I think we should also be doing a search for the best gnocchi in Boston, because everywhere we go to eat she get that too.  Her meal was delicious and the gnocchi was cooked perfectly.

Our journey is far from over and we are super excited for a few up coming places.  Are there any new restaurants that serve arancini that we must try?

(Steven)

Finding the Best Arancini in Boston pt. 2: Tavolo

There’s a lot of things I don’t like doing without Steven. These things include a) drinking on weeknights b) participating in snarky Gchats c) judging people on OkCupid. It’s like being ripped apart from my Siamese twin – it pains me to go through these activities alone.

Above all else, I really, really, REALLY don’t like eating arancini balls without him, especially when we’ve both pledged TOGETHER to find The Best Arancini in Boston.  I would feel cheated on if I found out through Tumblr gossip that he had gone on a solo adventure without me.

But last Friday night, I suffered a brutal surprise attack when my waiter at Tavolo in Dorchester told me with a glint in his eye that they were featuring – you guessed it – arancini balls on the menu as a special that evening. A few moments of confusion passed. I mean, I never want to be that girl who passes up arancini but I also, like, value my friendship with Steven and didn’t want to hurt his feelings. Soon I started to sweat, my heart was pounding, my palms were sweaty and my date was wondering what the eff was going on.

But don’t worry, my moral dilemma quickly passed and I ordered the arancini with gusto, but not before texting Steven a picture of them with the caption “OMG OMG LOOK” written over it.

His response: “Omg I’m dying.” It was like he was really there.

My date had never tried an arancini ball before (I know, I know) and he couldn’t have had a better first experience. These were perfectly proportioned, hot, and crispy on the outside with macaroni and cheese-looking rice on the inside and melted mozzarella cheese in the middle.

It honestly doesn’t get much better than this as far as arancini goes. Now, I’m not trying to make Steven feel bad, but these are in the running for my favorite arancini balls in Boston. Tavolo is now basically tied with Teatro and their Arancini with Short Ribs & Truffle Aioli. Big statements, I know, but these were near perfect.

If anyone in Boston hasn’t been to Tavolo, hop on the red line and ride it out to the Ashmont stop ASAP. Yes, it’s a long ride, but it’s so worth it. Plus, the restaurant is right next to the T stop, so I don’t want to hear any bitching about possibly getting shot, ok?

Until the next (non-solo) arancini adventure,

(Guest Blogger Alison)

Finding the Best Arancini in Boston pt. 1: Stella

I have talked about my obsession with arancini before, but I have decided to take it to an all new level.  My friend Alison & I have compiled an amazing list of restaurants that serve arancini in the Boston area (some outside of Boston…road trip!).  We plan on eating our way through that list to determine where to get the best arancini.  It is going to be a hard thing to do, but we are determined to struggle through this one restaurant at a time.

The first restaurant we went to was Stella.  Stella is a chic Italian restaurant in the South End neighborhood of Boston.  I had never been here before, but Alison had and recommended this as our first stop. 

We started the night out with some drinks.  Alison drank a few glasses of Malbec & I had some Pomegranate Martinis.  We also quickly ate all the bread.

The first appetizer we ate was the Crispy Fried Artichoke Hearts with a country mustard remoulade.  These were perfectly fried and so light.  The country mustard remoulade was a perfect compliment and the best part was the inclusion of capers. 

Next came the arancini, the reason for going out in the first place.  They were a Parmesan Arancini with buffalo mozzarella served on top of a spicy pomodoro fondue.  We may have let them sit a few minutes too long while we were scraping the remoulade off the fried artichoke plate & the bottoms got a little soft.  The top of the arancini was crispy and the inside was soft & delicious.  We devoured them in a matter of minutes.  Only then to reflect on them:

Alison: We should have just ordered arancini.

Me: I know right?

Of course we didn’t just order appetizers.  I order the scallop special which was delicious and Alison had gnocchi (I tried hers and they were so good).  The older couple sitting very close to us got a pizza and it looked like something sent from heaven.  I need to go back and try one of those immediately.

We are debating over which restaurant should be our next stop on the quest for the best arancini, but what we are not debating about is that this might have been our best idea ever. 

Where in the Boston area would you go to get the best arancini?

(Steven)

Lunch at Addy’s Sandwich Bar

Justin and I have committed to stop being such punks and start to explore the many many food carts Portland has to offer.  When we had dinner at Beast, one of our table mates told us about the Duck Confit sandwich at Addy’s, and since then it’s been on our minds.  Monday was a gorgeous sunny day in Portland, and after we each had our own mornings, we met up at Addy’s for lunch.

We took a stroll around the block to check out some other carts, and after a bit of wait in line, sidled up to the window.  We decided to split the Duck Confit and Country Pate sandwiches, though the Chocolate, Sea Salt & Olive Oil was definitely hard to pass up.

We sat in the sunshine and REALLY enjoyed the sandwiches.  The Duck Confit was served with cranberry relish and shredded cabbage, which added a nice tartness and crunch to the smooth confit. 

The Country Pate was served with mini gherkins and some spicy mustard - it wasn’t as offal-y as other pate I’ve had, but still had some rich meatiness, and the mustard added a nice strong spice to it, while the pickles gave it a sweet tang. 

We kept going back and forth on which sandwich was our favorite, and pretty much gave up since they were both so good.  A frozen yogurt cart guy gave us some free samples and with that, we had a lovely meal for under $12 for the two of us.

The really great thing about Portland is its abundance of food carts - we’ve decided that Monday is going to be food cart day, and we already have a list of carts we want to hit up.  A lot of carts are on twitter and offer up specials for their followers or tweet their location. 

Speaking of which, you should probably start following us on twitter.  Maybe we’ll give away some free soup or something!

(meg)

Dinner at Bubur Cha Cha

Dustin & I were in Chinatown the other night and we were going to go to Penang (one of our favorite places), but on our way we passed by Bubur Cha Cha and Dustin recommend we try it.  I am always up for trying something new so in we went.  The decor was a little over the top, but fun & bright.  I kind of felt like I was in Epcot Center.  They also had a few flat screen televisions which was great, because the Patriots game was on.

(picture via Bubur Cha Cha)

We got two appetizers.  The summer rolls, steamed roll filled with jicama yam and bean sprouts, with a spicy sauce on top.  I love these, they may not be as good a Penang’s rolls, but definitely worth getting.  We also got the Penang Satay Beef Skewer and those were perfectly cooked, seasoned well, and every bite was juicy.The only thing weird about them was the sauce that accompanied them; it was a mysterious flavor and chunky.  We skipped that.

Dustin got the Mango chicken, a sautéed chicken with shredded mango in sweet and spicy mango sauce.

I got the Sesame Chicken for my entree.  The chicken was sautéed with sesame seeds in a rich brown soy sauce.  The portions here were enormous.  I had this for lunch for two days!  The service was decent and attentive.  I would probably go back here, but if I had to choose would probably go to Penang first.

(Steven)

Dinner at Toro Bravo

Last night Justin and I rode our bikes to North Portland for dinner at Toro Bravo, a Tapas restaurant that has won numerous awards, including the Willamette Week’s Best Restaurant 2007.  The place had been HIGHLY recommended to us by many of our friends, and reading the Yelp reviews had us salivating before we even left the apartment.  We arrived around 5:30 and the place was already packed, so we put our name down, strolled down the street, and grabbed a quick drink while thinking about the tiny plates we’d be savoring later in the evening.

Some of you may know that Justin and I met while we were studying abroad in Valencia, Spain.  I was, regrettably, a vegetarian the entire time we were in Spain, and since our return to the States, we’ve both been trying to recreate the magic of Spanish cuisine (especially the meat) to take us back.

We took our seats at the bar, and decided to get a bottle of Bereziartua, a Basque sidra that has a very dry, tart taste to it, that put us right back in the Spanish mindset.  We perused the very extensive menu, and decided we’d go for the tasting menu - 7 plates of heaven.

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Yelp Brunch at The Rattlesnake

I love Yelp.  A friend of mine, Erik, told me about it a long time ago and I would look at it occasionally if I was curious about a restaurant or a store that I wanted to go to, but never took it seriously.  I never created an account, because I never felt like I had anything to add.  Well, that has all changed now, and for a little over a year now I have been writing small reviews on Yelp.  I also became a Yelp Elite member the beginning of this year which has tons of perks, the best of which are their free events!

On Sunday, I went to the Yelp Elite Brunch at The Rattlesnake, where Chef Brian Poe has taken over the kitchen and changed up the menu.  I went to the Rattlesnake a long time ago and didn’t remember what my experience was like, but friends of mine (Sara and We Are Not Martha) have been since the change and highly recommend it.  They say Poe’s Kitchen at The Rattlesnake (new name) has the best nachos in the city of Boston.  I am dying to go back to try those and if the weather in Boston continues to be as nice as it is eat them on their rooftop dining area.

I went to this event with Dustin, who is also a yelp elite, and we arrived shortly after they started letting people in.  Yelp events are always crowded and this was no exception.  We checked in and went straight to the bar where there was quite a back up.  We waited and checked out the drink menu which included drinks all featuring Beija Cachaça (so delicious! check it out if it’s available near you).  I got the recipes for the Beija cocktails so you can make them on your own.  I tried the Rejuvination and the Quentao, but never had a chance to try the Eastern Persuasion (I hear that one was yummy)

Beija Rejuvination
1 1/2 oz Beija Cachaça
3/4 oz Mandarin Juice
1/2 oz Agave Nectar
3 oz Prosecco

Beija Quentao
1 1/2 oz Beija Cachaça
4 oz Hot Apple Dider
3/4 oz Cinnamon, clove, and star anise syrup
3/4 oz Lemon Juice

Beija Eastern Standard
2 oz Beija Cachaça
1/2 Lime, quartered
1 oz Simple Syrup
1 oz Kiwi Puree
4-5 Green Grapes (muddled with Limes)

What we noticed was different from many other Yelp events was that it was a little disorganized.  It seems to me that it was a well thought out event (Leighann of Yelp always puts on great & well organized events. Always!) that at the last minute seemed to get a little out of control.  I believe the restaurant was completely understaffed and the lack of stations, one more bartender would have also been helpful and, perhaps, the buffet tables could have been arranged in a different way so that the line could have gone on both sides or stations which I believe where in the original plan.

Anyway, once we got drinks, we went over to the food line and waited there until we got food.  The one thing I like about Yelp events is the mingling, but with all the waiting that made it hard.  We did end up mingling a little with the people standing in line near us which was nice, and of course Sara and Leighann.

The food was delicious and was definitely what made the event.  It was a southwestern style brunch complete with tortillas, salsa, and the works!  They also had some other traditional brunch items.  The bacon (love you bacon!) was well cooked, the scrambled eggs were good, especially for brunch scrambled eggs which are notoriously dry or watery, and the home fried potatoes we just right.  I loved the Eggs Benedict served on a grilled green chile cornbread.

(Me looking goofy)

(Dustin finishing up his meal)

I am really excited about the Rattlesnake and I am dying to go back there when the restaurant is running in its regular way.  I am so fortunate to be a part of the Yelp community because it is one of the best social networking/food sites out there. What they offer their members is far beyond what any other FREE website offers their members and I love them for that.

(Steven)