Update: Snappy Sushi is Bigger & Better!

Great News! I just checked out the newly opened Snappy Sushi location on Newbury (a block up from the hole in the wall spot they had before), and it's fantastic! KRock and I made a gametime decision to swing by last night for a healthy dinner, and we were uber impressed with the new digs.
 
They bumped up the level of class significantly, without upping the prices. The main floor has a great little reception area and is adorned with orchids. There are a few tables up there, but the larger seating area is downstairs. Though it was dinner time and I know from experience this place gets packed, the new location offers at least 4x as many tables and a huge bar.

Two other exciting new features:
1. the bathrooms are no longer sketch, they are really nice actually
2. snappy now serves alcohol!! granted its just beer, wine and sake - but this girls LOVES a good sapporo so you wont see me complaining about that

Long story short, snappy got bigger and better, and Im one happy camper.

Happy trails!
Little B

Good food and good music in Salem? Yes, please! Check out In a Pig's Eye

A few friends went out in Salem recently and we decided to check out the local bar scene. We cruised the streets and stumbled upon In a Pig’s Eye, a classic hole-in-the-wall bar with brick walls and dim lighting. This is the kind of place you head to in a sweatshirt and jeans with every intention of staying for 1 or 2 beers, and end up stumbling home at 1am.

We walked in around 7pm and were lucky to snag the last spot big enough for our group. The waitress came over right away and we had beers in hand within 5 minutes of sitting down. They had some interesting brews on tap, and also offered $2 PBRs for those who aren’t picky.




My perfectly cooked scallops and
butter-drenched veggies and rice!

 

We told them we needed a couple minutes to decide what to eat, and with that we lost sight of the waitress for a good 20 minutes. I finally flagged her down and we placed our order. I asked for the Boston Baked Scallops ($13), and the waitress told me the dish had gone up 2 bucks because scallops are expensive right now (scratch that, $15). Fine…at that point, I was just hungry. They also ran out of marble rye bread (which they told us 10 minutes later), so J had to pick a substitution. At this point, I was a little discouraged and remember thinking “this food better be really good.”



Nett's amazingly delicious BBQ Pork sandwich



Lucky for In a Pig’s Eye (and me)…their food is AWESOME. Conversation ceased for a good 15 minutes as we all inhaled our delicious entrees. My scallops were tender and cooked perfectly, which – if you’re a scallops fan you know – is no easy feat. J got the Cubano ($8), and even without the marble rye, he said it was delicious. According to Nett and Blizzard, the BBQ Pork sandwich ($7.25) and the Vegetarian ($8) were amazing as well.

At this point any bad feeling about the amount of time we waited to eat had melted away, to be replaced with contented faces and full tummies.

Another cool thing about this place is they have live music from local bands on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from 9-11pm. Their website says they have jazz players on Sundays from 6-9pm as well. Sadly we had to take off before the band got going, but I can still vouch for the quality of the music as I’ve seen one of the musicians before. The Ross Livermore Band is top notch – very chill, very entertaining. They play in the City regularly so I highly recommend checking them out (in fact, they'll be at Copperfields April 1st)!

Overall, In a Pig’s Eye is a great little spot to kick back and have a couple beers, while listening to some good tunes – just don’t go if you’re in a hurry!

Happy St. Patty's weekend!

Little B

Make Your Own Pizza Night - a cheap and easy party idea

As a Bostonian, I pride myself on recognizing a good happy hour special, a restaurant with exceptionally fresh seafood, and the best place to shake it on a Friday night. That being said, what local doesn't enjoy a night in with friends and a 6-pack of Sam from time to time? Then, of course, the question becomes - what's for dinner?

Well I did a little experiment last night, and it was such a success, I feel the need to share this great find. I invited J and Packie over - we cranked up the "pop hits" station on TV, cracked a few beers, and created 4 beautiful pizza pies.

I've always been afraid to try making my own pizza for a couple reasons -
1) I don't have a pizza stone - turns out this is not a problem at all!
2) I've had so many delicious pizzas in this city - could I really create one delicious enough to choose this option over takeout?!

Turns out the answer is yes!! It was simple, cheap and delicious. And the best part is - my friends had a blast making their own pizzas!


Here's what we bought and how we used it:

• 2 bags pizza dough (just ask where they keep it in the supermarket or you'll be walking around for days)
• 1 jar plain marinara sauce
• a huge bag of mozzerella cheese
• mushrooms, green peppers, onion
• pepperoni
• 1 can minced clams 
• 1 head of garlic
• 1 package of basil

The beauty of this is that you can get any toppings you want, no one has to compromise. You can mix n' match, experiment, or just create your favorite pizza and tell everyone else to buzz off. Our groceries came to $25 total (not including beer). ;)

We started out with the oven at 400 degrees - turns out this is too hot for my particular oven...but you'll have to assess based on yours. You know your pizza is done based on two things: 1) when you lift it up with a spatula and the bottom is firm and 2) the cheese is melted. If these two things don't happen at once, you may need to adjust the heat...we turned ours down to 350 to give the cheese more time to melt.

Spread some flour on a baking sheet and roll out your dough (we used half a ball of dough per pizza - 1 pizza of this size can feed 1 person). Turns out I don't have a rolling pin - no worries, throw some flour on a small bottle and you've got yourself just the right tool. When you've made it the size you want, roll up the edges a little to make a crust, then decorate! I recommend using only a little sauce so you dont end up with a soggy pizza. We did all our toppings then covered them up with cheese - Santarpio style!

We cooked them one at a time - and ate, drank and danced in between! There's no set time for how long the pizzas will need to cook - just look for the signs of done-ness. Ours took about 10 minutes each.

Check out our masterpieces!!! We made the following pizzas:

• Pepperoni, green pepper, basil, red sauce, cheese
• Clams, olive oil, basil, garlic, cheese 
• Mushroom, green pepper, basil, onion, red sauce, cheese
• Pepperoni, green pepper, mushroom, onion, basil, red sauce, cheesse

Fantastico!
Little B

PS - does anyone have suggestions for making a homemade pizza even better? Secret ingredients? Special technique? Please share!

Parish Cafe for the Best Lunch You've Had in Months...

I've spent my share of summer days in line at Parish Cafe (on Boylston St) waiting for an outdoor table to bask in the sun while enjoying some amazing food. I've been pleasantly surprised to find that the chilly winter air has made getting a table at one of my favorite Beantown lunch spots a little quicker!

After doing some research, I believe I've discovered the reason for their extremely high standard of quality. The concept behind Parish Cafe was to ask all the best local chefs to create one amazing sandwich each. The menu items are named for the chefs or their restaurants. This unique concept allows each dish to stand on its own as a star. I, for one, have never been disappointed.

A recent visit with EDubs and the Captain was no exception. We started off with the vegetarian corn cakes ($9.75). This dish is simply amazing. Seared/baked corn cakes with sliced avo and some pico in a tasty sauce. The whole thing is piled on a delectable salad - it was a perfect way to start our lunch date, leaving all three of us excited for what was to come.

I'll be honest, I fell in love with the first thing I ever ordered at Parish and often have trouble ordering anything else - the Zuni Roll ($12). Described by the Captain as "Thanksgiving in a wrap", this amazing treat consists of smoked turkey, bacon, dill havarti cheese, and cranberry chipotle sauce, all wrapped perfectly in a flour tortilla. The creamy textures of the dill havarti, with the tang of the cranberry is heavenly. Also, Im not normally a fan of cole slaw or potato salad, but either choice is a delicious side. Every bite of this meal reminds you of the time and dedication Parish puts into a fresh, quality meal.

I could go on and on about other amazing dishes, but I know you won't be disappointed with anything you try!

Other tidbits to mention - Parish has a full bar and turns into a great casual spot to meet up with a friend for a drink and a quick bite later in the evening. They serve their full menu until 1AM, with last call at 2AM so there's plenty of opportunity day or night to try one of their mouth-watering treats!

And I made myself hungry thinking about this place...so there's nothing left to say except see you there!!

Little B

6B for an Epic Monday Evening...

My plan for last night was to go to the gym and go grocery shopping, but sometimes life just calls for martinis and trivia instead. I admit, it was a little early in the week to indulge (and Im paying the price now with a nice little headache)– but if you ever find yourself in need of a Monday night out – I suggest heading to 6B.

Packie and I hadn’t seen each other in what felt like forever, so we did a little research for a classy-ish place downtown to catch up with a happy hour special on Monday night (a tall order, I know).

Turns out, 6B (located at 6 Beacon St – thus the name) offers a pretty fantastic deal: Dinner for 2, including a bottle of wine…for just $35!!! (no, not $35 each, $35 TOTAL). Considering you generally can’t get any bottle of wine at a restaurant for under $25, we figured this was a steal even if dinner turned out to be some chicken nuggets and potato chips.

Lucky for us, dinner turned out to be salmon, rice pilaf, and broccoli – not too shabby! The food wasn’t anything out of this world, but it certainly wasn’t bad and the portions were generous. You can check out their website for a list of other meal options they offer – all looking equally yummy. Wine options were pretty basic – shiraz, chardonnay, merlot, or pinot grigio. We went with the pinot and our very Irish waitress (awesome!) brought out a bottle of Cavit – nothing fancy, but it was good and we had no trouble polishing it off.

After dinner (around 8pm), the trivia hosts set up right behind us. Normally, Packie and I wouldn’t attempt trivia without assistance from our more worldly friends, but we were assured that “comedy points” would be counted (and fortunately, we’re very funny people…modest, too), and with that in mind, we ordered a couple martinis (ranging $8-$10) and decided to play. We each tried 2 different cocktails over the course of the evening – all of which were delicious!

Trivia turned out to be lots of fun – it wasn’t Stump Trivia like a lot of bars in Boston have – it was a little more laid back, though the rules/categories were similar. We were given ample hints and help by the trivia hosts (since it was clear there was no way we would win) and as promised, we were given comedy points for our creative, hilarious responses (i.e. we didn’t know who the president of Egypt was, but we still got points for “President Tut”). What can I say? These things just come to us after a bottle of wine and a couple cocktails…

Trivia wrapped up a little after 10pm and we asked for the check. Total bill with tip came to $80 – which included 2 full meals, a bottle of wine, and 4 cocktails. Not too shabby!

So for those of you who’d like to pretend you don’t need to go to the gym and you can last another day with no groceries – 6B on a Monday night is the place for you!!

Now to find a bottle of Excedrin…
Little B

Caffe Nuovo for Breakfast with an Italian Twist!

I don’t know about you, but when I go out for “girls night” it often leads to memory lapse, lost items, unexplainable bruises, and a very achy morning after. Last Friday was no exception.

I can see you all reading this now…judging me…asking “why would you do that? That sounds miserable.” Well, I do it for a few reasons:
1 – my girls know how to have fun and it’s worth the confusion and pain in the morning.
2 – the memories we eventually piece together are some of the most hilarious we make – and we relive them years later.
3 – nothing beats a good breakfast when you have a hangover.

This entry will be mostly about the breakfast…but to give you some background – here’s a little info about the night before. Since Packie lives downtown, we often congregate at her place to start our evenings. After a few mixed drinks consisting of whatever she had in the apartment, Packie, DD, and Jensky made our way to Bell in Hand in the Faneuil Hall area.

The cover was $5 and there was a live band playing. Our only photo documentation of the evening is one picture of 4 drinks being held up – so I’ll just tell you about it. Bell in Hand offers a free coat check (awesome when you’re bundled up to fight the winter weather) and we found a spot at the bar right in front of the band. They played songs that everyone knows the words to, but that no one would soberly dance to. As you can imagine, the dance floor slowly filled up as the hours passed… All in all, I’d say it was worth it for $5 to get in. The rest of the night was one disaster after another…I’ll be honest, it still hurts to go up stairs. BUT the next morning we found comfort in breakfast food.

Caffe Nuovo is a snazzy, new establishment on Salem St. in the North End. They are open 7am – 2pm daily for brunch. We were fortunate to get there before the rest of the hungover crowd (try to show up before 11am), and got a table right away. The menu has all your favorites – various types of eggs, waffles, french toast…and everything was awesome. My waffle ($7) was gone in about 40 seconds. Don’t pretend like you’re not impressed.

Though we all opted for comfort food due to our condition, I’m looking forward to trying Caffee Nuovo again for some of its more innovative dishes. Some of the most unique brunch combos include: mozzarella caprese salad with basil pesto and scrambled eggs ($12); spaghetti carbonara with egg yolks, parmesan cheese and black pepper ($13); and milanese style veal or chicken cutlets topped with 2 eggs any style ($11).

Though I haven’t tried any of these interesting selections yet, I’d be willing to bet they are delicious. Based on the quality of the food and the prime location this restaurant snagged in the North End, I’m thinking about taking the family out for brunch here next time they visit. I’ll let you know how it goes!!

A presto,
Little B

Always a Good Time in Allston

First of all, I’d like to apologize for the hiatus I’ve clearly taken. The holidays were chalk full of travel and general madness, and as a result, I’ve neglected my blog and my readers. I will say, I appreciate the nagging to start writing again and it feels good to be missed :) So thank you!

With that, it’s back to business. I have a couple places I’d like to talk about in this entry. Recently some friends of mine have moved out to the Allston area so I’ve had the opportunity to frequent some of my favorite restaurants/bars in the area, as well as to try some new ones.

First up, Sunset Cantina / Sunset Grill and Tap. Honestly, I can’t say enough good things about this place. There’s always a decent crowd, and yet there’s always a table or a seat at the bar for your group. The real draw of this place is that it has the largest selection of on-tap / in bottles on the east coast: 112 taps and 380 microbrews and exotic imports. They have some great deals on unique beer selections, as well as meads and a huge assortment of fancy cocktails.

For those who are just as happy with a Bud Light as they are with a Brooklyn Lager (yum…), not to worry my friends, Sunset has another draw just for you. That is…cheap, delicious food. Their menu is gigantic and I’ve never heard a complaint about anything on it. My personal favorito is the chicken fajita burrito ($9)…check out the menu for details, but let me just tell you – its awesome. There are too many menu items to mention, but one more that stands out above the rest – the sour cream–n–chive fries. Sounds a little odd, but I’ve never seen a basket of fries disappear so quickly. They are heaven!! Also, check the website before you go over – you can often find 2-for-1 dinner coupons on their website. Or if you go to school in Beantown, check out those student discount booklets…Sunset always has coupons in there!

One word of caution - Head upstairs to Big City for a game of pool, but I do NOT recommend getting their pulled pork nachos. This is probably TMI – but let’s just say I didn’t keep them down for long. Yikes.

The second place I’d like to mention is new to me, and I must say, I visited under very unfortunate circumstances. We decided to head to Joshua Tree to watch the Patriots game this Sunday. Son of a…!!! Im still outraged by that performance….Anyway, no complaints about the bar. The food was good, and the wings were 25 cents. We downed a couple pitchers of Bud Light. Prices were pretty standard. I’ve heard a lot of people say this bar tends to cater to a younger crowd. I guess I’ll have to go back to further assess – all I remember is an obnoxious number of Jets fans…

Good place to watch sports though – I’d say there were at least 20 (probably more) TVs lining the walls. There was literally not a single place you could be sitting where you couldn’t see the game. That’s all for now. It’s good to be back, Boston.

And I’ve never said this before, but Brady leaves me no choice…Go Steelers!
Little B