Blogger Brunch at Dorado Tacos and Cemitas

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Kathy

I know it’s been almost two weeks since we actually ate this meal, but it was so delicious that I’ve been just reading the recaps (also I didn’t have any of my own photos; all of these are borrowed from other people’s posts, with permission of course).

Photo Courtesy of Brian of http://www.thegringochapin.blogspot.com/

On a bright sunny Sunday after a night of insane thunderstorms, I hitched a ride with the lovely Renee over to Brighton for brunch at Dorado Tacos. We parked and wandered a little bit, Renee introduced me to Kupel’s Bagels (This establishment really should be much closer to my apartment) and then we headed into Dorado. We took our seats and then looked at the menu. A bright little cafe filled with sunshine and energy, I was in love instantly.

Photo Courtesy of Renee of http://www.eatliveblog.com/

I ordered a coffee and doctored it up accordingly (one sugar two creams) and started to drink it. It was perfect coffee, dark and rich without the charaacteristic bitterness that dark roasted coffees can have; this boded so well for my future meal. As the rest of the brunchers trickled in I was excited to see Brian, Amanda, Megan, Lara, and Meesh as well as to meet Kimmy and Jacki (if only briefly).

Photo Courtesy of Renee of http://www.eatliveblog.com/

Once the avengers had assembled, we all collaborated to fight off the bad guys (i.e. eat brunch) and it was PERFECT. I ordered the Huevos Rancheros with Patatas Bravas and there just isn’t anything better than Patatas Bravas. Nothing. They are spicy, crunchy, and all-around spectacularly delicious. I realize I talked about my love of Patatas Bravas before, but these were better. These were spicy enough that I couldn’t finish them and needed backup (thanks Brian!), but in a responsible, I’m-sad-these-won’t-be-good-cold kind of way. And the Huevos – I don’t think there is a better breakfast food. Queso fresco – yes! Perfectly fried eggs – yes! Wonderfully spicy salsa ranchera that kept the whole thing together – absolutely! Perfect company to chat with – you know it. I ended up needing an agua fresca to cool down with; my boring Mainer mouth was just not prepared for that spice, but it was by far, one of the best brunches I’ve had in a while.

Now to go back for lunch… or dinner… or both. Ah the possibilities. Thanks to Renee, as usual, for organizing this shindig. A huge thanks to Dorado Tacos for hosting us so well; opening an hour early to accomodate us while having huge grins and good naturedness about everything. And to the Boston blogger community as a whole – without the awesome community we have here, the oppurtunities for sweet blogger meetups like this would be nil, and that would be very sad. Now, I think I need a taco.

Dorado Tacos is located at 401 Harvard Street in Brookline and is accessible via Green Line or the 66 bus.

Blogger Events and a Cookie Swap!

Posted on December 11, 2010 by Kathy

This past week has been a little crazy but worth it. Monday and Tuesday were busy with work and Wednesday/Thursday were busy with Bloggers!

On Wednesday I went to this little shindig (these photos are not mine, I forgot my camera – Bad Blogger, I know! Brian of A Thought for Food took these) over at Whole Foods on River Street, where they introduced us to the WF version of three buck chuck, a delightful wine called Three Wishes set to release very soon, a wonderful warming winter brew made by Cisco Breweries in Nantucket called Santa’s Beered, and an absolutely stunning Red made in Spain with a delightful back story. And let’s not forget the cheese! The specialty department member, Sean, who was sitting at the cheese table, was helpful and offering up delicious ways to both serve and prepare goat cheese. There was a Peppadew spread that I literally wanted a spoon for. A huge thanks to David over at Whole Foods on River Street for organizing and inviting me to come. It was totally delicious and I had a wonderful time! Also thanks go to Megan for giving me a ride to the event! So exciting to finally meet you, Brian, Tania, Meghan, Athena and so many others that evening! And to catch up with Robin, Liz, and Daisy!

On Thursday, I went to yet another Blogger event, this time it was at Clover Food Labs in Harvard Square. A big Christmas tree surrounded by trains welcomed us as we all trickled in for a cookie tasting! The Chief Cookie Girl (and President), Carol, of Geoff and Drew’s, had kindly offered to give all of us local bloggers the special treat of a divine sample of their decadent (and local!) cookies. These cookies were fantastic. Let me tell you.

A little backstory: Liz of Free Food Boston got a chance to go and visit the Geoff and Drew’s factory back in November and shortly afterward emailed a bunch of us local bloggers offering the wonderful opportunity to try some of their product. And ten of us were very enthusiastic to go and eat cookies, but honestly who isn’t? These cookies were delicious. I was especially in love with the Oatmeal Cranberry which was a perfect texture and had some lovely warming spiciness, which is saying something as I am usually not an oatmeal cookie fan at all!

Geoff and Drew’s started as a late night warm cookie delivery service in Brighton (Wouldn’t that be the best? They would get most of my paycheck, for serious). And grew into what they are today, a world-class cookie ordering and packaging enterprise, full of cool features like cookie wedding cakes and some other really awesome stuff! In need of a quirky holiday gift and can’t think of anything for that person with a sweet tooth? How about Santa’s Shorts stuffed to the gills with cookies! And I can even offer you a 20% discount on these little snacks if you use the coupon code: BLOG20. For serious people, try them. They are truly (and deliciously) homemade.

There were ten of us and I think we ate 20 or 25 cookies before most had had dinner. I’m just saying these were delicious. WORTH IT. Thanks to Liz, Geoff and Drew’s, Carol, and Clover these cookies were well fantastic! Also it was great to finally meet, Fiona and Katie (even though we had met on the T on Tuesday which was AWESOME! She also just celebrated her first Blogaversary so go over there and give her some love!). And to see Liz, Rachel, Meghan, Megan, Daisy, and Jen again!

Bloggers: I am hosting a Cookie Swap at the Whole Foods on River street next Thursday the 16th. Swapping to actually start at 6:30. It’ll be awesome. Email me if you want in or I never received a confirmation from you! It’s going to be AWESOME. I swear.

Blogger Brunch At East Coast Grill

Posted on November 16, 2010 by Kathy

On Sunday morning, in lieu of nursing the tail end of a cold, I went to Blogger Brunch. Frankly, this was a great decision! Everything at this particular Blogger Brunch had wonderful spice. Also, I got to spend some time with and meet some fantastic people: Robin of Doves and Figs, Karen of Gourmet Recipes for 1, and Elizabeth of Free Food Boston just to name a few! BF and I arrived late to the brunch, so we missed the first round of appetizers (I was way looking forward to that banana-guava ketchup!) But managed to get the second and third rounds which included a Banana Rellena (Muy Caliente!), a Smoked Pork Stuffed Banana with Inner Beauty Hot Sauce:

And wonderful Monterey Jack Grits with molasses-glazed Grilled Banana, Pinapple, Jalapenos, Toasted Pecans and Crispy Smoked Bacon:

Boyfriend and I were both hopelessly in love with these grits and left stating that we would order them as full meals with a poached egg in the future. They were perfect, though neither of us has really had grits [Editor’s note: I have too had them before! In the South even!], so we aren’t true judges of southern cuisine but these were heaven and with a piece of the pineapple, it was love in your mouth.

Then came the entrees:

I got a Breakfast platter “In the Style of the Yucatan” which was cheesy Scrambled eggs, Black Beans n’ Rice, Mango-Avacado-Hearts of Palm Salad, Sweet Fried Plaintains, Salsa Roja and a warm Flour Tortilla. I loved the salad and the Plaintains, but my eggs were a little bit dry.

BF got Cornbread Crusted French Toast With Orange Marmalade, Tropical Fruit and Real Vermont Maple Syrup. Two thumbs way up to ECG for the real syrup here, you just showed a couple of New England kids that we can have real syrup if we just look hard enough. Also the French Toast was delicious (I stole some!).

A big thank you goes out to our servers Robin and Arthur who were accomodating and delightful throughout the whole adventure. You were patient with 20+ foodies who had questions and wanted to photograph everything; Kudos! Also a huge and grateful shout out to Renee who orchestrated this whole event, you are awesome! If you haven’t seen her blog yet, go check it out! This was a great Boston Foodie Outing and I can’t wait to attend some more of them!

Weekend of eating out (Part 2)

Posted on November 15, 2010 by Kathy

After my indulgent and delicious dinner at Dali, my weekend of eating out continued with an adventure to New Hampshire to meet up with BF’s family for lunch and geocaching in Plymouth, NH. I had started to come down with a cold the night before and throughout the whole meal I just wanted to be in bed. I ate about 4 bites of the whole meal, being careful the whole time to not actually touch anything that was in a communal dish or plate.

I’ve eaten at the Common Man restaurants fairly often while I’ve been with BF; his mom tends to thoroughly enjoy the food at their restaurants and they consistently have wonderful service. Saturday’s lunch was no exception. We met up in the parking lot of The Common Man Inn and Spa and went inside to a funky dining room full of rustic charm and a truly awesome chandelier.

There was a large block of cheddar cheese and a basket of crackers as soon as we walked in the door. We were seated immediately and the server took our drink orders with a smile and recommendations. I got hot cider to soothe my sore throat and BF’s mom ordered the Carrot Cake – a mix of cider and caramel vodka amongst other things. The hot cider was delicious, perfectly spiced, and felt fantastic on my raw throat.

Next came the appetizers: Poutine made with Gouda was the star of the show.

Mussels simmered in a white wine sauce were a little overcooked but the sauce was creamy and rich – perfect for bread dipping.

As for main dishes, BF ordered the Sugar Shack burger – which he described as anti-climactic (I trust his judgement; he is my resident burger aficionado).

I ordered the Chicken Melt – also anticlimactic and terribly dry.

Next time: I’ll stick to the mixed drinks and toddies; they were delicious. And I’ve never had a bad dinner meal at their locations, but maybe skip the lighter lunch fair.

Dinner at Dali

Posted on November 14, 2010 by Kathy

On Friday night Boyfriend and I (finally) went out or our anniversary. We’ve been together for 6 years and have marked every year that passes with another awesome meal to celebrate us. This was a tradition I started in our first year when we were both broke and I threw us a picnic on my dorm room floor; cheese, sparkling cider, and grapes. It wasn’t fancy, but it was delicious. After that, it was The Boiler Room – a small place near our school that specialized in gourmet “American” cuisine (which sadly, is now closed). But then we moved to Boston and its suburbs where there were more options and the food was even better. Last year we went to the Soiree Room at Upstairs on the Square, where I ate a perfect amuse-bouche of stuffed brussel sprouts while our attentive server helped us choose a perfect wine to pair with our meals. This year BF took the reins and chose our anniversary dinner dining destination, and he made a very good choice. He chose Dali – a place full of just my kind of whimsy; there was something to scope out everywhere you looked. From the ridiculous smiling boar to the tiles in the table, I was caught in the feel of the place.

In our slightly cramped quarters (the hostess sat us beside a large family which could have been easily averted as there were many other open tables at the time) we started the evening off by ordering a liter of the house Sangria which was delicious and made for a wonderful companion drink for the whole meal. Our server was charming – answering questions and helping us with pronunciation when we faltered with the Spanish words. Even though we were sometimes left wanting (they didn’t give us a wine list when we were seated) he came back to the table with a smile and help as often as possible.

We started our meal off with the Plato Mixto, a large plate of Serrano ham, manchego cheese, olives and roasted red peppers. This was delightful and a perfect opening to what soon became a delightful and languid meal. Our second plate was the Alcachofas Rellenas, mushroom stuffed artichokes, which were good but next time I may try something different (I could taste that the artichokes were canned and the tinny taste was distracting). The mushroom cream sauce was delicious and I wanted that as a dip for my bread. Our second dish was the Butifarras con Brevas – Pork Sausage and Figs. The fig sauce for this was especially delicious and I found myself taking small bites of the sausage just so I could dip them in the sauce more than once!

Dish number three was Patatas Bravas which were absolutely wonderful! The crispy potato and spicy tomato sauce topped with a creamy alioli made me giddy with happiness, though I do love a fried potato so I may be a touch biased. Our final plate was pato braseado – which was made from locally sourced duckling in an absolutely stunning mixed berry sauce; I was full yet still kept reaching for more of that sauce.

Next time: I will call ahead; apparently they don’t take reservations but have “preferred” seating if you call ahead. [Editor’s note: Reservations over phone only before 6 pm, “preferred” seating after 6pm if you sign up at the restaurant in person. Call ahead for full details.] I will definitely order the Sangria, it was delicious. I will order that duck again, twice. And I will take my time. Which was possibly my favorite part of the whole experience; I didn’t feel rushed at all, I was at a table-for-two for an hour and a half and I didn’t feel hurried, which left me in a good mood. Even though there was a family beside me and the hostess forgot the wine list, my gripes were small in comparison to the leisure the dinner gave me.