Monday, December 17, 2007

Marco's is really, truly a favorite

a tasty b'dinner to remember thanks to Stephen at Marco Cucina Romana

saffron/fontina arancini w/ marinara
papradelle with duck meatballs (it appealed to the Chinese palate - think slmost chow fun-like texture with the yumminess of duck)
butternut squash risotto with crispy pork (braised, then deep fried hunk o pork)
roasted broccoli rabe
roasted lamb with polenta frites (polenta so cheesy, you'd think it was a polenta cheeto)
chocolate panna cotta (just perfect on the texture and flavor)
and fabulous wine

Sunday, December 02, 2007

mama chang's pork and chive dumplings

double oyster omelette

hakka eggplant

myers+chang - Visit #1

http://www.myspace.com/myersandchang - www.myersandchang.com - 1145 Washington St. Boston

On a whim, I asked Esteban to drop me off at Myers and Chang, a new Asian food joint by lovely Flour Bakery diva, Joanne Chang (and restaurant guru Christopher Myers). All I had was an intersection, and will of appetite. I couldn't find an exact address since the restaurant "website" wouldn't appear in my mobile Google searches and because the restaurant was unlisted in Google-411. Yuck.


After a couple of spins around the block and with the help of a friendly police officer we made our way there in the dark of Boston nightfall. You would think a building with an entire wall dragon graphic in the window would be obvious, even in the dark, but it's not.


I sat myself at the counter overlooking the open kitchen. I remained unphased by the chinese newspaper diy placemats and empty tea tin utensil/menu holders. The server was nice, even helpful when it came to pick out my items, but he reeked of cigarette smoke. Not hot. My mini-dinner lasted only about 40 min., which was fantastic. [It meant I could rush home in time for Stacey's chicken adobo.] Here are some brief tasting notes.


Ginger/Plum Sparkling Juice.

Wow! This refeshment was super tasty! The plum happened to be a substitution for their regular Ginger/Cherry sparkler, but the just-enough sweet, super fresh flavor of plum and steady ginger finish couldn't have been more well-balanced. I'd want it as a martini one day.

Mama Chang's Pork and Chive Dumplings.

Meh. People on the blogs have been raving about her potstickers. They were decent, but didn't wow me. The fillings were well balanced and had adequate chive flavors and were well salted. I was only a little disappointed because the skins, while nicely browned, had a very store bought, ordinary texture. I just wanted something a little more luxurious-feeling in my mouth. I think I got 5 pieces in the order and at the first three without trouble. I ended up just gutting the last two before I left to get my money's worth.


Hakka Eggplant.

Super tasty. I knew I had to order this because of an interview I read with Joanne. When asked (as were a number of hot shot Boston chefs) where she goes for good cheap eats, Joanne picked the garlic eggplant from Taiwan Cafe. She definitely improved on the extra gooey/sometimes oily failings of the Taiwan Cafe version. The egglant pieces were perfectly seared an defintely not overdone. They were just enough saucey and garlicy.

Double Oyster Omlette w/ sriracha/"rooster sauce" in Felicia speak.

Hurray! I liked this dish a lot. The exterior of the omlette was nicely browned. The fresh oysters were plump and delicious! And the spring onion and sweetened sriracha made every savory bite worth it. It definitely beat the tinned mini-oyster omlettes of my youth. It's so good, I'll make it a point to bring my mommy here should she come to visit!