Boston 2010 - Samuel Adams Brewery

A map of Boston's weird train system that doesn't go to enough places. After our lunch at Neptune, we boarded the train again to head to our next planned destination. Where could we possibly be going?

Ta-dah! Samuel Adams Brewery for their beer tasting tour. Loyal blog readers will recall that this reviewer has not had such a good experience with the last beer tasting.

Sam Adams has changed my mind. This was a very legit tasting with an actual brewery tour. Here I am, so excited, holding our free tour tickets and checking out the historic Sam Adams displays.

We didn't go in here but the other tour pictures were of boring steel containers. The tour was quick and short and I'm sure everyone was there for the free beer at the end. We got to taste dry hops and barley, all of which tasted nasty but it was an interesting experience.

At the end of the tour, we each received a Sam Adams tasting glass and gathered into the tasting room. Phil me up buttercup!

Sam's original Boston Lager. Not bad.

We had two more types of beer, a winter beer and a summer beer. I forgot the names of both. None of them tasted too great but they were still better than the nasty ones at Central Coast Brewery. Plus, we got to keep those tasting glasses, yay!

On the way back to the train, we stumbled upon Not-Michaelangelo's David. This cool art gallery made some nifty statues from old industrial parts. There was even a slutty statue which we were too afraid to photograph because the gallery managers(?) were there.

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS
I had alot of fun at the Samuel Adams Brewery Tour. The best part was that it was free and we got to keep the cups. We were only allowed 3 pours but they passed a pitcher down the table and there was always extra so we could have drank more if we wanted. I was impressed with the service, the tour, the atmosphere, and if I liked beers, the Boston Lager's pretty cool. Definitely recommend people check this out.

Samuel Adams Brewery on Yelp

Boston 2010 - Neptune Oyster

We had arrived in Boston in the late afternoon so we didn't get to take the obligatory front of hotel pictures. This was quickly remedied the next day. Here we have the South Station Boston Marriott.

Remember how we were lost yesterday and stumbled to The Red Fez? Never a pair to give up, we set out again to find the oyster house. Again we got a little lost but finally found it down this tiny street. Well duh if you build a street this tiny, how are people supposed to find it?

But alas, we arrived at the famed Neptune Oyster House, a small restaurant on a small street.

This was lunchtime on a Thursday, mind you. Hence the wait and the patrons dining on their lunch break. I'm not qualified to make this guess on the decor style but it looks so 1920's. I liked.

Say, "CHEESE I'm hungry it took me a long time to find this place and more to wait for a seat and now even more to wait for my food so hurry up and take this picture!"

The oyster menu. There was a good selection of different types of oysters, and yes, you can tell the difference between species.

Referring to the menu above, in this picture, starting at the lemon on the left and working clockwise, the oysters were placed in order from top to bottom of the menu. The last thing on our list was Cherrystone clams and that's what ends the circle.

I think the bluepoint and the second one were my favorites. The raw clams were something new. They're definitely different. A little sweet and tasted too briny for me. They're also tougher and more chewy than oysters.

My lobster caprese salad. Everything about this salad was perfect except the bleu cheese. Knowing that I don't like bleu cheese, I didn't ask for no bleu cheese because I wanted to enjoy the dish as it was meant to be eaten. Big mistake because the salad was oh so close to being perfect, with light sprouts and plump lobster tail on a bed of crispy cabbage. And then there was bleu cheese......

Phil's Fried oyster burger. He said it was "good and the fries were good too."

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Neptune Oyster is a quaint little diner with excellent food. Literally a hole in the wall of a small street. It really was worth all the walking and getting lost we had done just to find it, including the previous day's trip where we were so off that we ended up at The Red Fez. My only regret is not ordering the lobster roll, but is it my fault their other items sounded so good? Seafood lovers rejoice! Neptune Oyster is definitely a must-eat at diner. Freshest oysters, clams, and big juicy lobster tail!

P.S. 2 MORE DAYS TO VOTE IN THE POLL

Neptune Oyster on Yelp

Boston 2010 - The Red Fez

Once upon a time, before taking a 4 hour bus ride starting at 2AM on this Lucky Star bus to New York....

...we were on this 5 hour Virgin America flight to Boston. As my Boston pictures were stuck in a memory card for a while, I blogged our trip out of order but in reality, we hit up Boston first.

"Are we there yet?!?!?!" cried the baby.

On our way to the nearest subway station to find somewhere for dinner since the $9 crackers and cheese on the airplane didn't quite do the job, I found my first Boston tourist attraction, albeit relatively unattractive. James Blake House, the oldest house in Boston.

Not knowing how to work the subway system, we got lost on the way to an oyster house and found ourselves somewhere in the middle of somewhere. My stomach at this point was extremely upset that it had not had sustenance since the AM so we walked back to the subway and found this hidden little gem on the way. The Red Fez, Middle Eastern food. [I should learn to take better pictures]

Csar Phil tried the 312 Urban Wheat Ale. A very light, mild tasting beer.

As usual, I got a glass of white wine, forgot which one.

Instead of a bread basket, we got a basket of flat bread and a Mediterranean version of oil and vinegar. This was really interesting. I liked it alot. The bread was so light that it didn't ruin my appetite for dinner. The oil and vinegar had something sweet in it with alot of spices.

Mussels in a rich and sour sauce. Very good. We asked for another basket of flat bread to dip in the sauce.

The turf to our surf. Lamb burger. Tasted like a regular burger to me but Phil loved it.

mmm seared scallops in another delicious tomatoey sauce. EXCELLENT! Scallops are my enemy to cook because I made it wrong once and have been traumatized from making it again.

Took the subway back to the hotel. Having arrived in Boston in the late afternoon and getting lost on the way to the restaurant, there pretty much was no time left to do anything else. We didn't know where to go out for nightlife and more importantly how to get there and what time the subway stops running. End of day 1.

PLEASE VOTE IN MY POLL ON THE TOP LEFT CORNER. I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK

The Red Fez on Yelp

New Poll on the left

<---- Over there is a poll I've added to check in on what the people want. I'd like to hear what you would like to see me write/review. If you've clicked other and have comments or suggestions, please leave a comment on this entry. Zankyu!

Mogo's Food Truck - San Jose

 Hopefully you're well acquainted with New York food carts by now. And this is how San Jose does the food cart thing. I've been unsuccessfully trying (still trying) to get the popular Mogo's Korean BBQ food truck to come by my office for lunch but luckily one night they were serving dinner across the street from my house. After waiting about 10 minutes in line, security guards had the truck move to a different location of the business plaza. I didn't want to lose my spot in line and wait some more so I went home, and came back an hour later at which time the wait to order was negligible and the wait for food was about 30 minutes.

:

 1) Short rib sliders ($6): marinated Kalbi short ribs on 3 attached Hawaiian dinner roll type buns with cheese and their lettuce mix on top

Side view after detaching one of the buns. This did not look like the picture on the menu at first, I thought I was getting ripped off and getting only one slider instead of 3. If presentation mattered, I would say this was sloppy work to make a combined threewich instead of 3 pretty mini sliders as pictured below from their menu on facebook.

But presentation doesn't really matter to me, taste does and this was a win on taste. I've never thought of putting Kalbi in a slider even though I have eaten the combination of Hawaiian dinner rolls and kalbi together but somehow the thought never occurred to me to put it together and sell it.

 2) Short rib burrito ($7): burrito with rice, short ribs, and lettuce.

My sister liked this because it contained the most meat and thus, biggest bang for your buck. However,  I need to repeat myself many times on this point, a burrito is a burrito is a burrito. You can take out the cheese and take out the beans and replace the meat with short ribs but it is still a burrito. And if it is a burrito, it does not taste good to me. I really wanted to like this because I thought it would not be like Mexican food at all. But there is just something so unpleasant to me about burritos. Even though the beef in here was the same as the beef in the sliders, I just didn't dig it.

 3) short rib taco ($2): need I say more?

This tasted fine. I mean it's the same kind of short ribs from the first two items so by the time I had those, I knew what I was in for. This one probably disappointed me the most, and here's why:

Look at this picture from their facebook menu. Wouldn't you think you'd get 3 with one order? I guess $2 for one is on par with the Tres Gringos taco stand but still...I felt mislead. 

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Mogo's is alright. The short ribs are pretty good. I spent a total of $15 for the three items above which isn't bad. Somehow, I feel disappointed. I think Mogo's is so over-hyped that my expectations could not be met. It's seriously the biggest food trend in the South Bay at the moment. I just didn't like following my food around and waiting a ridiculously long time in my car for it. The most annoying thing about following a food truck is that where and when they are serving dinner is not announced until about 1hr prior. What if some of us have dinner plans already or don't wanna drive that far out for food that is just ok?!?!?! I guess I'm spoiled by the New York trucks that are available anytime and everywhere but chasing food trucks makes me grumpy.

Follow Mogo's on Facebook

New York 2010 - Petite Abeille

LAST NEW YORK ENTRY, I SWEAR!

 It must be a very couply thing to go have brunch. You sleep in on a Sunday morning, you wake up and you want some food before going to the farmer's market. Yup that sounds about right. It is also reserved for those who party hard on Saturday and can't wake up in time for breakfast. Sometimes they don't even wake up in time for brunch. I belong to the former category of brunch goers.

Sherry obliged our couply wishes and took us to brunch at Petite Abeille which is the cutest little Belgian place.

Belgian tea pots displayed above Belgian beers.

Someone has cute hand writing.

The mussel chowder that we split 3 ways. This was so good. Just the right consistency. So much better than any of the clam chowders at the Santa Cruz Chowder Festival and it's made from mussels which makes it very unique. A first for me. Highly recommend it to chowder lovers.

I always love me some jiggly eggs benedict boobs atop an english muffin and some smoked salmon. Comes with a side salad and some stoemp which must be Belgian for mashed potatoes because that's exactly what they are. Although the eggs were cooked well, I'm not a huge fan of the hollandaise sauce. I want to say it tasted sour but that makes it sound incredibly awful which it was not at all. Just a slight hint of sour. I've grown really fond of the sauce they use at Crepevine for their crab cake eggs benedict that I always get so this just didn't compare. Future review on that.

Sherbear looks pretty chipper in this. Must be because she's about to eat her stoemp with her eggs benedict boobs atop some spinach.

Phil really enjoyed his ratatouille burger. Yup, made by Belgian mice in the back kitchen. Kidding! It was a burger with ratatouille flavored tomatoes and veggies on top. Comes with a heaping pile of fries. 

OVERALL IMPRESSIONS

Not much to say except brunch is always good and filling. Belgian food is awesome! Only thing missing was a liege waffle.$0 for whoever can tell me what "petite abeille" means. small bee?

Petite Abeille on Yelp

New York 2010 - Junior's Bakery - Chickalicious - Ferrara Gelato - Magnolia Bakery

Chickalicious was hands down the most recommended New York eatery I was told to hit up by everyone before I went on my trip. Sadly, these desserts are anything but Chickalicious. Enjoy anyway, although I know you'll only begrudgingly indulge in these dessert pictures.

Here's the famous Junior's Bakery off Times Square. Famous according to Phil and his unknown sources.

The famous cheesecake he came to eat. I convinced him to get the little fella instead of the regular slice because we were already full from our other snacks that day. He grumbled but I'm sure he thanked me because this little guy was nothing special. There was no wow factor. I actually think Cheesecake Factory was better or on par with this.

After dumplings, Sherbearcares took us to Ferrara in Little Italy for gelato. We could've gone inside but instead we lined up for the cart outside because everything in New York must be eaten from a cart.

mmm an extensive selection of authentic gelato

Phil and I both got strawberry which was dumb now that I think about it. We should have divided and conquered two different flavors and chosen more exotic flavors that really showcase the gelato because really, anyone can make strawberry ice cream.

Two strawberry cones, with full scoops. Yummers! One of the best gelatos ever!

Here's the inside of Magnolia Cupcakes, also famous but is not Chickalicious. I'm surprised at how they look so mom and pop-like but is entirely commercial and touristy.

Non-cupcakes on display.

Their most popular cupcakes on display.

hmm what did I get?

A yummy red velvet. Frosting - pretty good. Appearance of frosting - not so pretty. Cupcake - not bad, a little dry. I think Sprinkles in Palo Alto is still the better.

We have Red Mango in California also, but I've never been so we made a stop after eating at Kun Jip in K-town. mm I love yogurt, more than I love gelato. 

Plain tart with strawberries, mangoes, and blackberries. This was berry berry good.

Junior's Times Square on Yelp

Ferrara Bakery & Cafe on Yelp

Magnolia Bakery on Yelp

Red Mango on Yelp