Bambara

Boston is known for its seafood restaurants and a great one to try is Bambara Restaurant in Cambridge.

Bambara Restaurant is located near the Cambridge Galleria. The lighting, table settings, decor and ambiance create a wonderful classy American environment. The waitstaff is very helpful with explaining the menu and offering recommendations for the perfect meal. I went with a group of ten friends and our waiter was always there when we needed him and got all of our orders right.

The food itself is delicious. Although the menu has a wide variety of options, I definitely recommend the seafood courses. I tried the spicy tuna tartare for the appetizer course. It comes with an avocado puree and crispy potato chips. It's not as spicy as the name implies so don't be scared to try it. The fried squid and grilled flatbread are equally delicious. If you're in the mood for soup, try the lobster bisque which is one of the best I've tasted.

For my entree, I got the pan seared sea scallops which were cooked perfectly and came with a delicious tangy sauce. If you choose to get the lobster meal, the lobster roll and lobster risotto are made with the freshest ingredients. The risotto isn't too creamy or heavy so you get to enjoy your whole meal without being overwhelmed by one particular flavor.

The only negative comment I have about Bambara is its vanilla creme brulee. I love all things sweet but this was just a little too sweet for me. But the restaurant has many other dessert options. For something on the lighter side, try a selection of the sorbet. For something warmer, try the caramel banana bread pudding. It's definitely a dessert meant to be shared but this warm treat is a perfect way to end your meal. Bambara also has a huge selection of wines, champagnes and cocktails. Ask your waiter to help pick the best match to accompany your meal.

I went to Bambara Restaurant during restaurant week over the summer. The regular menu may be a little bit different but this is definitely a restaurant I recommend trying if you're in the Boston area.

Bambara Restaurant
25 Edwin H. Land Blvd.
Cambridge, MA 02141
(617) 868-4444

Sweet Potato Casserole

Here's a yummy recipe for your Thanksgiving table!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:
5 sweet potatoes
1/4 cup margarine (reduced fat for a healthier option)
1/2 cup brown sugar (light or dark)
3 tablespoons orange juice
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch salt
1 package of miniature marshmallows

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 F.
2) Peel and slice the sweet potatoes into 1 inch thick slices.
3) Place the slices into a saucepan and cover with water.
4) Add salt to the sweet potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash.
5) Place mashed sweet potatoes into a large bowl. Add the margarine, brown sugar, orange juice and ground cinnamon. Blend the ingredients with an electric mixer.
6) Spread the mixture evenly in a 9x13 baking dish. Add a layer of marshmallows on top.
7) Bake for about 20 minutes or until the marshmallow are golden brown and enjoy!

(Makes 8 servings.)

El Viejo Yayo

I don't often try restaurants in Queens but recently I went to El Viejo Yayo for some Spanish food.

This is one of those restaurants that you can't really tell what you're getting yourself into until you experience it. It looks like a bar from the outside, with a big light-up OPEN sign in the window. But inside are white table-clothed tables with a bottle of wine on each. But, there's also two televisions and refrigerator where they keep their desserts and bottled beer. Management is very confused if it wants a casual bar or fancy Spanish cuisine restaurant.

The service was terrible. There were two waiters to wait on four tables but service was still slow. I couldn't find a waiter to ask for more water or for the check. Both had difficulty understanding English and couldn't answer any questions. I was even asked to move once I had sat down and started eating.

The only slightly redeeming part of this experience was the food. El Viejo Yayo has a very extensive menu, leaving little room for someone to not find something they like on the menu. Most main dishes come with a side, which was my favorite part of the meal. The rice and beans and maduros (sweet fried plantains) were delicious. My entree, chicken with a mushroom sauce, was decent at best decent. The sauce overpowered everything else on the plate and tasted like oil as the food began to cool. For dessert, I got a slice of tres leches cake, which, even though it came from a plastic box from that very visible dessert and beer refrigerator, was really good. It wasn't too sweet or dry. Paired with a cup of coffee, it was a great ending to the meal.

Would I recommend going to this restaurant? Probably not. You can always find a much better Spanish restaurant in NYC. The decent food didn't come close to making up for the terrible service and confusing environment.

Rabia's

I've been so busy with moving back home and such I completely forgot to write about an amazing restaurant in the North End, Rabia's Italian Seafood and Oyster Bar.
Rabia's is located on one of the main streets in the North End, right next a cute little sweet shop that you should also visit. One of the greatest things about the restaurant, besides the food, is it decor. The walls are lined with ivy and flowers and fruit hang from the ceiling. The lamps are decorated with crystals and the whole restaurant seems to transport you somewhere far and much more serene than downtown Boston. The waitstaff is very attentive; they are eager to help with the menu and always quick to refill your water   glass.

The Italian restaurant has as an extensive menu with something to please everyone. For goat cheese lovers, try the Baked Goat Cheese as an appetizer. The cheese is creamy and smooth, perfect to eat with the toasted crostini. While Rabia's has a great standard menu, don't forget about the daily specials. I tried the Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Chicken, which was served over penne with sundried tomatoes and delicious. The restaurant is known for its seafood selection so you should definitely try one of the lobster dishes. The Ravioli d'Aragosta comes in a creamy champagne sauce and is the best lobster ravioli I've ever tried. I'm not usually a big fan of risotto, but Rabia's has amazing seafood risotto and lobster risotto that you should try if you prefer heavier meals. Of course, being an Italian restaurant, there is a great wine selection at decent prices to accompany your meal.

Rabia's may be on the pricier side as far as restaurants go in the North End, but it has a great atmosphere and delicious food, which make it perfect for any special occasion.

Rabia's
73 Salem Street
Boston, MA
(617) 227-6637

Ocean Grill

It's NYC Restaurant Week (actually 3 weeks), a great time to have a delicious 3 course meal at any of the hundreds of restaurants in New York City. I had a great lunch at the Ocean Grill, a seafood restaurant on the Upper West Side.

Ocean Grill is located just a few minutes walk from the Museum of Natural History and Central Park, making it a great place to eat while you're enjoying the city. It has outdoor seating with a view of the museum and a soothing interior that reminds you of the beach. Seashells hang from the lights on the ceiling and the walls have a wavy pattern. This is definitely a white table cloth restaurant so make sure you dress up.

I personally chose this restaurant because it had many things on its Restaurant Week menu that I've never tried before and it was all delicious. I tried the watermelon gazpacho with scallops for an appetizer. The mix of pepper, onion and mint in this dish make it a refreshing treat for the summer. The salmon roll is also yummy and probably one of the best salmon rolls I've ever had.


For the entree, I ordered the cod and this is the only complaint I had with the meal. The fish and the sauce were delicious and the tomatoes helped to add just the right amount of tartness to the dish. However, I wish there had been different flavors on the plate because it all started to taste the same after a while. The lobster roll, on the other hand, had a great mix of flavors and came on a freshly baked bread. The fries that came with the roll won the entree round for me. I've never had better fries! Ocean Grill has found a way to make each and every fry the perfect mix of crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.


The dessert was my favorite course. The strawberry shortcake was light and the lemon sauce was refreshing after such a heavy meal and walking around in the sun. The chocolate torte was a little heavy but I love my chocolate and the vanilla ice cream really helped to balance the density. The cookie crumbs and chocolate balls used to decorate the cake were my favorite part.


Overall, Restaurant Week at the Ocean Grill was a great experience with the delicious food and attentive staff. For all the seafood lovers out there, I definitely recommend eating at the Ocean Grill

Ocean Grill
384 Columbus Avenue
New York, NY 10024

Also, check out NYC Restaurant Week!

        

Tapeo

During Restaurant Week, my friends and I went to Tapeo, a tapas bar on Newbury Street. I had heard really good things about the food there and thought Restaurant Week was a good time to check it out.

Like most restaurants on Newbury Street, Tapeo looks interesting from the outside and has a great seating arrangement. The lighting is a bit dark, or it could just be the rainy weather that day, but there's some very interesting decorations on the wall to remind you of Spanish culture. The waitstaff were friendly and prompt, and willing to explain the whole menu, which was helpful because I don't have much experience with eating at Spanish restaurants.












The regular menu and the Restaurant Week menu are basically the same. The only difference I noticed is that, for the appetizer course, I ordered a potato and ham spicy soup, which doesn't seem to be on the every day menu. My friends ordered the Tortilla Espanola, a Spanish omelet whose main ingredient is potatoes. The soup was delicious and just warm enough. The Tortilla Espanola came as a triangular slice with the right proportion of potatoes to eggs. For the main course, I got the saffron batter fried shrimp with spicy mayo. It is the most delicious fried shrimp I've ever tasted. I also tried the grilled Spanish sausage. It wasn't as sweet as I was expecting it to be but it was the perfect texture and very filling. We also ordered an eggplant and cheese bake (also cannot find on the menu), which kind of reminded me of eggplant parm. The sauce in the mixture added a nice tanginess to the dish, making it yummy.

If I had to choose, I would definitely say dessert was my favorite course. We ordered churros with hot chocolate, almond cake and, of course, flan. The churros are nothing like American churros you buy at amusement parks. They are salty and when dipped in the hot chocolate, you get this amazing sweet and salty flavor. The almond cake came with a coffee cream which was my favorite part of the dessert. It really helped to balance the sweetness of the cake.











Overall, the food was delicious and everyone should definitely grab their friends and check out Tapeo!

Tapeo
266 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 267-4799

Kashmir

In my attempt to try all of the Indian restaurants in the area, a few weeks ago I had dinner at Kashmir Restaurant on Newbury Street. I've passed by this place so many times but it always felt like a special occasion type restaurant so I never went in. But I was really craving Indian food and wanted to go somewhere new, so I went here and I'm really glad I did!

Kashmir is one of those restaurants where you have to walk downstairs to get in and there's some outdoor seating to enjoy the beautiful Newbury Street as you eat. It's a bit more expensive than Punjab Place, which means the people eating here are a little bit older. The restaurant is also classier and doesn't have televisions showing crazy Indian music videos. The decor, art and music are all in sync for a more cultural Indian atmosphere. The waiters are friendly and attentive and more than willing to help you with your order.

Most Indian restaurants serve papad, or Indian chips, with dipping sauce at the beginning of your meal. Kashmir serves little samosas, and these were my least favorite part of the meal. There was too much crust and not enough stuffing, and the crust was a little too hard. But the onion-pepper sauce, which is my favorite, was perfect and made the samosas much better.

The rest of the meal was great though. My friends and I ordered the Vegetarian Appetizer Platter to share, which is great because you get to try a little bit of everything. The samosas in this platter are delicious and remind me of home. My favorite was the paneer (homemade cheese) samosa; it has green sauce on the inside and seasoning in its batter which makes it so much more flavorful.

For the main course, we ordered Chicken Tikka Masala, Lamb Korma, Malai Kofta and Saag Paneer. You can ask your server to adjust the spiciness of the food to your liking. (If you really can't handle spicy food at all, ask for no spice because even milk can be too spicy for some people. If it's still too spicy, order Raita as a side dish. It's a yogurt sauce that balances the spiciness of the food.) All of the food was really good! I had never gotten lamb at an Indian restaurant before but it was delicious. The lamb was cooked just right so it wasn't too chewy and just melted in your mouth. They only give you 3 koftas, but the curry itself is so good, that's all you really need to eat the rice. The saag paneer (spinach and cheese) had the right balance of both ingredients and was one of the creamiest variations I've ever tried. The potato naan and onion naan were my favorite. Heads up, the naan are bigger than usual so you may want to start off with less than you normally order. To go with all this, try the Mango Lassi drink. I've found this drink is normally a hit or miss with restaurants but Kashmir's is really good.

Kashmir Restaurant can be a little pricier than your average weeknight dinner but the food is amazing and definitely worth checking out.

Kashmir
279 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 536-1695

Papa-Razzi

I finally did brunch on Newbury Street! I was planning on going to Papa-Razzi for Boston Restaurant Week but ended up doing brunch instead and it was great!

Like most of the restaurants on Newbury Street, Papa-Razzi has outdoor seating and huge windows that are opened during spring and summer to let a nice breeze in. A heads up, if you're looking for outdoor seating, make reservations and get there in advance because there will be a long wait. The restaurant has an elegant look with white tablecloths and waitstaff wearing black aprons, but don't be intimidated or feel the need to get super dressed up because it also has a relaxed and friendly feel.

Our waiter was a little slow in introducing himself and taking our order but it was a reasonable wait considering how busy the restaurant was. After that, he was prompt and attentive and very helpful with providing suggestions on what to order.

Papa-Razzi's brunch menu has a little bit of everything for everyone and reasonably priced considering its location. I got the Calamari Fritti for an appetizer and I don't think I've ever had better. There's so much flavor to this dish and the calamari is cooked just right. It's a lot of food so make sure you have someone to share with. The Tuscan Eggs Benedict were the main course. It's one of the most popular dishes on the brunch menu and I can definitely see why. The poached eggs were delicious and the roasted potatoes were crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. It's a light dish that combines the best of breakfast and lunch foods. If you're looking for something more breakfast-y, try the Frittata. This dish has a great balance of meat, vegetables and cheese, and the eggs have the perfect texture. The tomatoes are definitely the star of this dish; they provide the perfect fresh tangy flavor to complete this meal. All brunch items on the menu also come with a complimentary Bellini or Mimosa. (They're both delicious!)

I'd give Papa-Razzi a  4.5 out of a 5. You should check it out!

Papa-Razzi
159 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02116
(617) 536-9200

Cafe Brazil

I had never been to a Brazilian restaurant before, except once in London but it was more of a contemporary Brazilian cuisine restaurant, so I decided to try Cafe Brazil in Allston.

Like most of the restaurants in Allston, don't judge this place by what it looks like outside. (That beer sign in the window has really got to go.) It seems like a fast-food or bar type restaurant but it's really a nice dine-in restaurant with live music.

The food here is delicious and comes in large quantities so be careful if you're ordering for a lot of people. For appetizer, I tried the chicken empanadas. They were flavorful but a little on the dry side. I ordered the Chicken Bossa Nova for dinner, grilled chicken breast and Brazilian sausage with vegetables. Make sure you try their sausage if you go! It was my favorite part of the whole meal. Everything tasted fresh and stayed warm because it was served on a sizzling platter. All of the entrees come with a side of rice and beans. Like I said, they serve a lot of food so definitely think before you order an appetizer or you can have yummy leftovers for the next day! And just because I love all sweet things, I also tried their sweet fried bananas. They didn't come in syrup, which was a little disappointing, but they were still pretty good. Sadly after all this I didn't have room for dessert and I missed it out on their custard with caramel sauce. (How good does that sound?)

The service at this restaurant is okay. The waitress forgot to bring out the side order with the meal but after that became very attentive and I never had to wait for her. True to the Hispanic custom, the waitstaff don't rush you and let you enjoy your meal and take as much time as you want. If you go later on in the evening, you'll get a chance to enjoy live Brazilian music while you eat.

Cafe Brazil may have some things it can improve on, such as its website, but it's definitely worth checking out for its delicious food.

Cafe Brazil
421 Cambridge Street
Allston, MA 02134
(617) 789-5980

Tiramisu in NYC

My friend and I wanted to meet up to chat and relax in a cute little cafe and decided on Martha's Country Bakery on Austin Street in Queens. The bakery has a few locations in Queens and is supposed to be known for its traditional and home style feel. I didn't realize that I had been here once before and had tried the Roman Candle. It's a spongy cake dessert shaped like a candle, layered with cream and fruit, and encased in a chocolate cylinder to hold shape. It was delicious, just the right amount of sweet mixed with tart.

This time, I decided to try a slice of the Tiramisu and it just wasn't good. The cake was a little dry, with too much chocolate powder on top and not enough mascarpone cheese or espresso. It was served with a dollop of whipped cream, which only made everything worse.

If you want really good Tiramisu, try Pietrasanta restaurant in Midtown Manhattan. I randomly stumbled upon it while looking for dessert and decided to try it. It's a fancy restaurant, definitely catered to a sophisticated customer and great for dates. The waiters treat you like loyalty and you never have to hunt them down. The Tiramisu at this place is absolutely delicious! It's soft and moist and creamy and so good I can eat the whole slice for two by myself in one sitting. The restaurant also has a full menu and pri fixe dinner menu that I can't wait to try sometime soon. I definitely recommend going here if not for a full meal, then at least for dessert and drinks!

Although it doesn't make the greatest cakes, I do recommend checking out Martha's Country Bakery for its pastries and cookies.

Martha's Country Bakery
70-30 Austin Street
Forest Hills, NY 11375
(718) 544-0088

Pietrasanta Restaurant
683 9th Avenue
New York, NY 10036
(212) 265-9471

Chart House

I finally decided to try a seafood restaurant near the harbor in Boston (it only took me like 3 years!) I went to a place called Chart House, located along the water and highly recommended by one of my friends.

From the outside, the restaurant looks like an old lodge or inn where sailors may have stayed for the night; very fitting with the seaside theme. The inside is all dark and cozy, and the staff seems to whisper to add to the sophisticated ambiance of the Chart House. All of the waitstaff is very nice and eager to help you make a choice. You're never rushed through your meal but you don't have to wait forever to get your food either. The waiters guide you through your meal with perfect timing.

The food itself is absolutely delicious! There's something on the menu for everyone, even people who don't like seafood. I started off with the Lobster and Shrimp Spring Rolls which are served sliced in half with a dipping sauce. This dish is soo yummy, make sure you don't eat the whole plate or you won't have room for your entree. I would definitely recommend sharing this appetizer with someone.



For the main course, I order the Jumbo Lump Crab Cakes. I know it sounds really plain but they were the best crab cakes I have. They were just the right amount crispy and soft and served with green beans in this amazing sweet sauce. The Miso Glazed Salmon is also very tasty. It comes wrapped in prosciutto and of course glazed with miso sauce. It's the most different way I have ever seen salmon presented on a plate and it was just great. For drinks, you could of course have a glass of white wine or try one of their signature cocktails. Their mojitos are delicious!


It's a very popular restaurant, especially during the weekend, and I would suggest making reservations before going. If you do end up waiting (it's definitely worth the wait!), you can always enjoy a nice walk along wharf. Chart House is a great place for those special occasions!

Chart House
60 Long Wharf
Boston, MA 02210
(617) 227-1576