Eatin Good In Someone's Neighborhood: An E.Bo Pupuseria & Chinatown Dumpling House

Wow. So, I ate these meals a while ago but they were real good so I posted the photos knowing I would come back and write something magical about them... and here I am.


Depending on where you live, you might have some good local yum yums. I'm talking about those ethnic communities that boast a predominate flavor... a local speciality if you will that your barrio is known for.

If you live in Chinatown, there's a good chance your local cuisine is Chinese, though it could also be Vietnamese, Korean, or Japanese... maybe even Malaysian. In Brookline, you probably have a good kosher deli or two, the North End? Most likely your jam is Italian... and in East Boston, we've got the Pupuseria. We have good Italian too but I don't want to take away from the North End, so we'll claim some pretty awesome Salvadorean and leave it at that.

Anyway, a while ago (like before I started working again) I went for lunch at a local Pupuseria called Mama Blanca's. It's a tiny little place I had driven past a million times when I was taking the "secret bat cave entrance" to the airport just for residents. I always wanted to stop but never did for whatever reason, but finally when a friend called and wanted to get lunch in East Boston one afternoon, it seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Pupusa Mixta

It was such an impressive and budget friendly meal, I found myself there three nights later for dinner and then again several days in a row. The food is simple and uncomplicated, but fresh and prepared with care. The mixed pupusa with beans, cheese and pork is all melty inside and deliciously crisp outside with a lovely little topping of tart, vinegary cabbage and hot sauce. Tacos are super fresh with tender beef, double layer corn tortillas and zippy salsa.

I should also add that this place is run by the nicest bunch of people and it's a friendly neighborhood spot where you can get good, home cooked food for about the same amount it would cost if you cooked it at home. It's worth a trip to East Boston although you'd probably never find it you're not from here.

Amazing Beef Taco (I think it's like $3.00)

The very same week I made my first of several trips to the Gourmet Dumpling House in Chinatown. Same dining companion, same level of love for an awesome and unbelievably affordable meal.

Scallion Pancakes & Sautéed Pork Julienne w/ Bamboo Tips

A Minor Typo or Translation Mishap?

The main reason I wanted to go to the dumpling house was because since coming back from China this winter, I have been a tad obsessed with xiao long bao and have yet to find anywhere that does them well. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the soupy dumplings at Gourmet Dumpling House but I wasn't blown away.

The dumpling dough is a tad thicker than I like it and ironically, the dumplings didn't hold their juice as well as I would have hoped. I really love that scalding burst of rich brothy goodness that a good soupy dumpling injects in your mouth and spills down your chin. These dumplings (they do pork and pork with crab) are very good - but they're not exactly the real thing.

Xiao Long Bao w/ Crab & Pork

All is quickly redeemed however because everything else on the menu is pretty damn awesome. The pork and bamboo tips was bordering on addictive and the Chinese watercress with garlic was nice and crisp and would definitely ward off any vampires for a while. This was also a good meal because I got a call back about a job while I was there that I would later be offered which is the job I have today. The Gourmet Dumpling House is good luck!

Pork & Bamboo Tips & Chinese Watercress & Garlic

None of this will seem very impressive now but in early March when everyday was gray and cold, this beautiful day when the temperature climbed past 65 seemed like a miracle. I had interviewed in Faneuil Hall and decided to walk down to Beach Street in Chinatown and snapped these early signs of spring during my travels. It would snow a good foot two days later and when I left for Amsterdam on the third day, I would arrive to chilly weather and blustery, gray days.

An Outdoor Flower & Produce Stall on Washington

Spring Palette

More

Lunchtime at Downtown Crossing

Nothing But Blue Sky...

Signs of Spring in Chinatown

I did all this great eating while Dana was working in Amsterdam and out of boredom, I had made a chocolate amaretto cheesecake which Maceo decided to help himself to one evening as we lounged around in front of the TV. Before you get all grossed out, I don't share food with my cat... even though Maceo is a truly spectacular specimen and hardly classifies as a cat at all. I made him stop as soon as I took the picture and he doesn't like people food anyway. He merely wants to see what's up with it. He's far too finicky to actually eat it, which is sort of ironic.

Anyway, sorry for the truly delinquent post but Mama Blanca's and GDH are two spots worth checking out my any estimation. They represent something that's far too hard to find these days... really great food at really affordable prices, served by really nice people.

Birthday Food Coma: Shabu-Shabu & Easter Smorgasbord Extravaganza

I celebrated my 23rd birthday last weekend with three amazing meals, the first of which I already babbled about in my Dining at O Ya post. You might think after a meal of that magnitude I might need a break... but if you think that, you don't know me very well. I woke up the next morning ready for more.

Josh & Mel Get Psyched About Shabu

Whose Hot Pot Is It?

We've been doing a lot of shabu-shabu these past few months because our great friends, Jeremy and Abbey who were also present for the birthday meal bought us a shabu pot and heating element for our wedding. I'll go to Ming's, the Asian market in the South End for thin sliced beef and veggies like baby bok choy, enoki mushrooms, cabbage and watercress, as well as the sesame and ponzu dipping sauces. I also buy a spicy soup base because I find it's easier than making your own and the broth takes on the flavor of everything that gets cooked in it so there's no need to go crazy making an elaborate broth.

Kenji Gives Me a Creepy Look

I like really fresh seafood so I usually buy scallops, shrimp, white fish and squid at whole foods or a fish market. I also get tofu, noodles and rice to serve with the meal. We're doing shabu at home this Friday so I'll get some photos.

How Every Civilized Meal Ends - Squid Swimming In Water Glass

Anyway, we're always wondering what the origin of shabu shabu is and I don't know why I never looked it up but our brilliant friend Jared was present last Saturday and he informed us it's Mongolian so that ends the argument. Mongolian hot pot. I think I probably knew that but I'm glad we've put it to rest. I was tired of telling Kenji it wasn't Japanese.

Shabu Zen West

We decided to try out the new Shabu Zen outpost in Allston. They have the exact same menu as the Chinatown location but it's literally ten times the size with some private tatami rooms. It's nothing special but it does the trick if you want shabu. All the meat and seafood dishes are served with a giant platter of veggies and they have a decent selection of Asian beers and sakes.

Bountiful Veggie Platter

Shabu is a great option for large parties and everyone always has a really good time trying to find their food in the big communal pot and mixing their own ponzu. We had some gyoza and edamame and went through a few bottles of sake during the meal and many beers... all for less than the cost of movie and a large popcorn.

Split Pot of Two Broths

It was a good time and the waiter who actually believed that I was turning 23 bought be a Xingtao which was nice. The best part is, everyone gets to eat like kings and then walks out the door without spending more than $40 and even that's a little high.

Gift from Josh

Cute Little Carrot Cake Made By Mel

Extreme Close Up of Best Carrot Cake EVER

Blowin Out the Candle

The Best Part

Easter Smorgin

Once again I got to share my birthday with Jesus which means a big ole feast and an egg hunt... which actually has nothing to do with Jesus. My 21st birthday was also on Easter which wasn't quite as cool but now that I'm 23, I really didn't mind it. Spending time with the fam, eating good food and chillin out was just my speed this year.


As I have discussed before, my in-laws take a Smorgasbord approach to family meals which provides a great variety and makes meals fun and communal. This year, everyone was responsible for contributing something.

Scalloped Potatoes, Green Bean Casserole & Asparagus Risotto

Dana's parents still made the bulk of the meal with some classic Americana that I can never resist, including green bean casserole, scalloped potatoes, as well as their famous Swedish meatballs (yes, they are of Swedish heritage) and some amazing desserts which included my favorite - strawberry rhubarb pie :)

Many Types of Pork

My parents and sister Katie were on hand because it was my birthday and they brought a spiral ham which was delicious served with pineapple and deviled eggs. My brother-in-law Erik and his girlfriend Alyssa made a great asparagus risotto, my sister-in-law Kristen made some great desserts and her famous Swedish coffee bread.

YUMMM

I brought a new concoction - a salad of baby romaine, sliced celery and scallions, pea shoots, crumbled chevre, sliced toasted almonds and mandarin oranges. I made a dressing of balsamic, olive oil, parsley, garlic, a little sugar and lemon juice. It was good and nice and light.

My Springy Salad

And Then There Was Dessert... Again

Our family always goes large when it comes to the sweet stuff. The smorgasbord concept gets extended beyond the main event to include a buffet style dessert extravaganza. After such a big meal, it's always hard to find room for dessert but when you see all the great homemade treats that get paraded out for these events, it's hard to say no and the good news is... there are always plenty of leftovers to take home!

Mom's Strawberry Shortcake

Kristen's Decadent Peanut Butter Balls


Kristen's Pretty Sugar Cookies

More Candles on Mom's Daffodil Cake


World's Best Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy I've Got Love in My Tummy

It was a busy food-filled weekend from high to low... amazing sushi at one of the best restaurants in Boston if not the entire U.S., a great communal shabu meal and comfort-filled Easter dinner among family. I really am a lucky girl. I also got some great gifts - an authentic Rondo jersey just in time for the NBA championship (kids size XL), a laptop backpack, a Wii Fit, an amazing new flat iron that I love more than anything... a down comforter for our new King sized bed, some awesome and very unqiue glassware for our new bar and money to buy an All Clad frying pan!

Can you say JACKPOT!!!!

Believe the Hype! Dining at O Ya... Oh Yeah!

I will readily admit that I am a big hater. I am skeptical about the "new best thing," from new fangled high-tech gadgetry to the latest trend in plaids, I'm rarely sold on a trend just because people are saying it's awesome. This extends to new restaurants and I'm even more skeptical of places that get lavished with praise and fanfare. I just flat out disagree with many places deserving the praise they receive and am always so disappointed when a place that has been really built up ends up being nothing but a let down. Hype in Boston becomes a living, breathing creature that takes on weight and gains undue credibility with each new critic and Yelp reviewer showering love on mediocre cuisine.

In the case of O Ya, I held out for as long as I could. I was morbidly curious and knew for a restaurant like this (heavy on sushi, very pricey and very small) to accumulate this much praise, it was probably worthy of the attention it was getting but you still never know. Even when a place is good, if you have to drop a ton of dough, you always wonder when gripping your emaciated wallet afterwards - was it that good?

There are few places in Boston where I feel the exorbitant cost is worthy of the meal. No. 9 Park is one of those places where you never feel bad about dropping a lot of cash for example because the food is always fabulous and the attention and care that goes into creating it makes the price tag seem worthy. Well, O Ya really is all that and a bag of homemade la ratte chips and I'd gladly remortgage my condo for a meal there anytime.

This Might Be a Fried Kumamoto Oyster

This weekend was my birthday so we finally caved and now I wish we had done it sooner because it really was worth every penny and if we had been paying with pennies, we would have needed a wheelbarrow to get them all inside.

We had the chef's menu which amounts to about 15 courses, each roughly two bites. But man... what bites they are. The menu blends nigiri, sashimi (some things cooked or seared, some things raw) with a wide selection of kurobuta pork, wagyu beef, poulet rouge chicken, egg and vegetable dishes.

The chef's menu was heavy on the sushi and I will go back to try more of the pork, truffle and chicken dishes that we didn't get to sample but the combination of flavors at work is something entirely different from anything I have ever experienced. O Ya is proof of unami with a dish of GRILLED SASHIMI OF CHANTERELLE & SHIITAKE MUSHROOMS - rosemary garlic oil, sesame froth, homemade soy. I could have eaten this all night but then I would have missed all the other great stuff.

Our meal began with a glass of Poochi Poochi sparkling sake that I quickly became addicted to and was followed by the first of many courses, a simple but elegant KUMAMOTO OYSTER - watermelon pearls, cucumber mignonette. Just that little bit of melon with the tart, sour mignonette was a delight. The courses came slowly at first, then picked up speed.

SHIMA AJI & SEA URCHIN - ceviche vinaigrette, cilantro

HOMEMADE LA RATTE POTATO CHIP - perigord black truffle


SALMON - o ya mayonette, wasabi tobiko, shiso

SEARED PETIT STRIP LOIN - tiny smoked potato, grilled onion, fresh wasabi

Dana with SCOTTISH SALMON BELLY - cilantro, ginger, hot sesame oil drizzle - I think?

FOIE GRAS - balsamic chocolate kabayaki, raisin cocoa pulp, sip of aged sake

AFUMAGATTO - raw coconut almond gelato, warm espresso bubbles

More Hanahato Aged Sake for Dessert

The seared foie gras was the last dish to be brought out. It's served with a sip of aged Hanahato sake that drinks like a tawny port and is caramely and delicious. I had to get a full glass with dessert because my taste buds were aching for more. The beef dish was decadent and creamy, and tasted like butter itself. The tiny smoked potato was full of campfire flavor and smelled like autumn.

The pleasure of this meal was the care that you knew went into it. Not just in the creation of the dishes for our gastronomical delight, but the act of thinking up these combinations. That so much time and thought went into the development of such a special menu. The HAMACHI - spicy banana pepper mousse for example - a simple nigiri full of unexpected flavor. The WILD BLUEFIN TUNA TATAKI - smoky pickled onion, truffle oil - deep and complex with the fresh boldness of the tuna coming through at the beginning and end and dancing daintily with a savory, smoky tang in the middle.

Even the dessert which our lovely waiter put a candle in after he overheard us saying it was my birthday, was a pleasant surprise with raw coconut and almond bursting through a smooth gelato. All in all it was an unbelievably memorable meal and one that we will think back on longingly for many months to come. Granted, we could have made a condo payment, bought his and her raw denim jeans at Barney's or spent two nights at a mid range hotel for what the meal cost but I have no regrets. It was worth it... and you don't turn 23 everyday.