Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Punjab in Arlington is Moving, Expanding

It looks like Punjab in Arlington Center is moving a few doors down, into a larger area. They are taking over the old Buck A Book, which has been closed for a long time now.

Punjab is a big success story; the place is packed every night, and they are considered to be one of the best Indian restaurants in the Boston area. I have not been there yet, but hope to get there either before or after the move, which should be fairly soon.

-MH

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Restaurants in Medford

Medford is a bit of an odd place; it is a fairly large city (about 50,000 people) and has a close-knit, urban feel to it, but it has no bars or pubs, and not a whole lot of restaurants. The restaurants that are here, however, are often very good. So what are my favorites? Well, I can think of two right off the bat: Avellino's on Mystic Street and Giuseppi's Kitchen on Boston Avenue, though the latter is sometimes a bit inconsistent. Avellino's is the place to go if you like sandwiches. They have excellent steak tip subs, from what several people tell me. I really like the pizza there, too.

Some others that come to mind are La Cascia's Bakery in South Medford, which makes Sicilian-style pizza, and Bocelli's, which is right up the street from La Cascia's. Bocelli's has amazing pizza, as well as great pastas and veal. And the basement room is like something right out of a scene in Brooklyn.

One other place I went to recently that I liked a lot was Il Faro, which is located in Medford Center. Il Faro is a bit more upscale than most other restaurants in Medford, but the prices are pretty reasonable. It is a great place to take a date or to go to with a group of friends or family members.

I guess in retrospect, Medford does have its fair share of good restaurants. I just wish they has a comfy pub to go to so I could watch the Sox over a beer or two after having some good Italian food in one of the aforementioned places.

-MH

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Pizza in the Boston Area

Everyone has their opinions on what the best pizza in Boston is, including myself. But usually the same names keep coming up, such as Santarpio's in East Boston, Pizzeria Regina in the North End of Boston, and Emma's in Cambridge. I can't argue with those places, but there are many other, lesser-known pizza places that should be at the top of the list, too (in my opinion!).

Having said that, here is my ever-changing top 10 list of pizza places in the Boston area (in no particular order)

Santarpio's
Pizzeria Regina
Emma's
The Paddock, Somerville
Lynwood Cafe, Randolph
Woody's, Boston (Fens)
Galleria Umberto, Boston (North End)
New London Pizza, Concord
Spruce Pond Creamery, Franklin
Tripoli. Lawrence

Actually, Santarpio's may just be at the top of my list (with all due respect to Regina's). The blog entry from Seven Hills Seven Hills: And Then There's Santarpio's is a great place to read about Santarp's if you are interested in more info on the place.

There are many, many more out there that are excellent, but I'm starting to get hungry from all this pizza talk, so I gotta go!

-MH

Boston's Hidden Restaurants

Tuesday, June 20, 2006

Hidden Restaurants in New York City

As many of you know, the site that I work on has a New York restaurants page that gets up to 100 viewers a day. It is broken down into top hidden New York restaurants and top popular New york restaurants. Of course, since Manhattan has thousands of restaurants lining its streets, these lists are pretty random, though all those that are listed are very good to excellent dining spots.

I would love to hear about some more restaurants in New York City, especially hidden jewels in Manhattan that are great restaurants that tourists don't really know about. If you have any favorites, let me know. I'd love to get to some of them the next time I am in the Big Apple (sometime this summer).

-MH

Monday, June 19, 2006

Morin's Bar and Grille in Attleboro, MA -- A Decent Restaurant South of Boston

A group of us went to Morin's Bar and Grille in Attleboro for Father's Day yesterday. It's a very large restaurant in what looks like an old factory building in the center of Attleboro. They have a section that looks like a diner, another section that is a bar area (complete with a pool table) and other sections that cater to family dining.

Our meals were very good, for the most part. My flatbread pizza was not quite up to par (very doughy), but the seafood dishes that others got were excellent, as was the turkey club. Salads, soups, and desserts were all very good.

I'm not sure I'd go back to Morin's, mainly since it is quite far from where I live, but if you are in the area, it might be worth checking out. The atmosphere is perhaps its best quality--they definitely don't make buildings like that anymore!

-MH

Boston's Hidden Restaurants: A Boston Restaurant Guide

Thursday, June 15, 2006

Middle Eastern Restaurants -- One Gone, and One Still Around (and Outstanding)

Yesterday I heard that Sepal, one of my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants, closed their original Watertown restaurant. They still have one in the MIT student center in Cambridge, but I believe they aren't open for dinner (not yet, anyways), and it's a bit inconvenient for me to get to.

I was very sad to hear this news, as Sepal had some terrific Middle Eastern cuisine, including some of the best falafel I have had anywhere.

With Middle Eastern food on my mind, we went to Rami's in Coolidge Corner, Brookline, and had an excellent meal. In fact, I would say that the food was generally better than the food from Sepal. The falafel, in particular, was amazing; perhaps the best I have had anywhere.

It is too bad that Sepal closed their doors in Watertown, but at least there are still a few good Middle Eastern restaurants left in the Boston area. And Rami's is surely one of them.

-MH

Just Got Back from San Diego

I just got back from San Diego, and once again, it was a great time. The weather was perfect, the people were friendly, and the restaurants were mostly very good. Some of the standout restaurants that I went to were Borrelli's in Encinitas (Italian food), Las Olas in Cardiff-by-the-Sea (Mexican food), Nattiya's in San Marcos (Thai cuisine), Pipes Cafe in Cardiff-by the Sea, and the Tea Pavillion in the Japanese Friendship Garden within Balboa Park, San Diego.

I also got one of those amazing Julian pies at a market in Encinitas, and had several donuts from VG Donuts and Bakery in Cardiff. Too many calories, too much sweets, but boy the pie and donuts were good!