A Gentle Sting

Fat Udon, you would love this place. Everything from the live jazz band to the "classy hat" theme party that night just screamed your name. Miss you~

The Beehive (5 stars)

No pictures unfortunately, only tantalizing descriptions. The funky decor and mood lighting spoke of a hipster scene but the friendly staff, delicious food, and extensive wine list made us feel right at home. We started with truffled potato and cheese pierogies with caramelized onions and sour cream that literally melted in your mouth. The amount of potato and cheese in each bite was just enough to have you salivating for more without overpowering your senses and sending you to an early food coma.

For the main course, I had a Moroccan couscous with chicken and lamb. The couscous was perfectly seasoned with a depth of flavor that spoke of unknown amounts of careful preparation. The chicken and lamb were also delicious and cooked well without being dry. The one oddity of the dish was, I think, a lamb liver sausage but don't take my word for it. The combination of too much salt and a very strong lamb taste made it the only thing left on my plate at the end of the course. My date had the grilled Zatar-spiced tuna with couscous, candied carrots, and harrisa aioli. I only had a taste but it was delicious with the tuna perfectly cooked and the flavors well-balanced.

Overall a thoroughly enjoyable meal. Unfortunately we were too full to round out the meal and sample their desserts. It will have to be saved for another time. Beehive also receives extra points for the excellent live music, although the chatter was a bit loud and drowned out the music (it's a delicate balance, I'll give them that), and for not rushing us out on a busy Saturday night as we enjoyed our wine and listened to the music after our meal.

- Fizzy

Basement Hideouts - Shiki

Coolidge Corner is definitely one of my favorite neighborhoods in Boston. While roaming around on Yelp, my friend and I found this little basement Japanese restaurant in that area and we decided to give it try. Wow, were we in for a surprise!

Shiki (5 stars)

The moment we stepped foot into the door, we were transported to a tranquil nirvana hidden from sight by the flight of stairs leading down to its entrance. The simple classy decor and attentive wait staff enhanced our whole experience and matched perfectly with the light elegance of the food. The food came in small plates similar to tapas style and perfect for sharing and sampling multiple dishes.

Squid stuffed with sweet rice and shiitake mushroom

The combination of shiitake and squid makes for a surprisingly tasty and fragrant combination that is perfectly balanced by the light sweetness in the sticky rice. The only complaint is that the squid had a slight rubbery texture to it from the way it was cooked.

Futo (large) roll with eel, egg, cucumber, black mushroom, snow crab, flyingfish roe, pickle, sesame

The sheer number of ingredients used in this roll makes it hard to balance the taste while trying (unsuccessfully) to eat it all in one bite. The result? I had no idea what I ate until I looked at the menu again. Tasty, but could be executed better.

Halibut Carpaccio with yuzu and olive sauce topped with shiso

Definitely my least favorite dish of the night. The sweetness of the fish was completely lost to the overpowering taste of olives. Presentation receives full points, taste receives zero.

Clams steamed in sake miso sauce

One of our favorite dishes of the night! The fresh sweetness of the clams was enhanced by the delicate sauce it was poached in. The taste of sake was not evident but it did its work in the background to enhance the sweetness of the clams. Delicious!

Broiled Yellowtail Kama (collar)

Delicious, beautiful, and simple. The best part of the fish was cooked perfectly in this dish, with a lightly salted crispy exterior that protects the white soft flesh underneath that, together, creates the perfect balance of taste and texture.

Sake tasting

We also tried a sake tasting. For $15 we were able to sample 4 different sake!

Detailed description of the four sakes

Expect an absolutely wonderful experience when you dine at Shiki. It offers much more than the typical sushi/sashimi and redefines what you can expect at a Japanese restaurant. The different elements of food, service, and ambiance all combined to create a wonderful meal. 5 stars!

- Fizzy

Wedding Bells

Recently, to celebrate the last moments of a dear friend's single life, we threw a surprise bridal shower at our place. We toasted with peach bellinis, dined on a breakfast casserole, and finished off with butterfly cupcakes all made by the lovely PuBear.

Peach bellini. The "ice cubes" are canned peaches cut into hearts and flowers before being frozen. Yum!

The beautiful cupcakes that she spent TWO whole days on. Absolutely spectacular I must say.

A beautiful picture with the bride-to-be and butterfly cupcake

Everyone celebrating the occasion =)

Practicing for the big day!

- Fizzy

Caked at Cheesecake Factory

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. Happy birthday Glenn =]

Mango Key Lime Cheesecake. Not recommended for eating.. instead use it for...

Face+cake = excellent memories

- Fizzy

Nachos anyone?

After our watching first Red Sox game at Fenway EVER, what better way is there to celebrate than going to the neighborhood Boston Beer Works and ordering the worlds largest plate of nachos?

Yummy, delicious, cheesy, chili, jalapeno goodness!

Boston Beer Works (4 stars)

A solid establishment with good food, good beer, good company. Everything you would expect from a bar/restaurant. What more can you ask for.

-Fizzy

The Daily Catch

The Daily Catch has been a place that the four of us have always wanted to try but it has never worked its way into our busy schedules. Finally, I had the chance to sample its fresh cuisine a few months ago.

The Daily Catch (4 stars)

The dinghy interior and exterior of this little restaurant located in the heart of the North End hides its long history well. Its branch locations have more seating and better ambiance, but we wanted to experience it from the cozy location it all started from. In my experience, it's the hole-in-the-wall joints that can deliver the original experience usually lost at the larger expansions.

Hailing itself as having the best Sicilian-style seafood and pasta in Boston, we arrived with growling stomachs and eager eyes. The menu is written in colorful chalk on a large blackboard mounted on the wall that can be easily changed from day to day. The cramped seating, lack of decor, and brusque service was all forgiven with the arrival of the food. The chef cooks in an open kitchen right before your eyes and we are served the piping hot food straight from the stove tops to our table, still in the cast iron frying pan! I ordered a special of the day, with spinach pasta and bits of fresh scallops, lobster, and shrimp that had just the right amount of creaminess in its heavenly sauce to not overpower the other components. The seafood was also incredibly fresh and, with this one dish, I believe the restaurant lives up to its claim!

However, the squid ink pasta ordered by my companions fell below expectations. Besides the novelty of eating black pasta, the squid ink did not add anything to the dish. The garlic sauce completely overpowered any flavor that may have come from the addition of squid ink and thus it became eating a plate of normal overpriced linguini. Still, I believe the Daily Catch has a lot to offer as proven by the spinach pasta and I would highly recommend coming here with a friend (not for a first date though!)

- Fizzy

Squid Ink pasta

Special of the day with spinach pasta

Hungry Hungry Dinner Guest

Sometime ago in March, PuBear and I had to overcome a significant challenge and venture into territory we rarely ever go into. Normally we're quite healthy and light eaters, which is reflected in our cooking. However, one day, we had to cook a dinner for a guest that, quite literally, eats a mountain of food per meal. And so we experimented with some recipes that we had never tried before and have since still not tried again.

First course: traditional Bruschetta made by PuBear

Okay, I lied. I made this again for my parents and they loved it because it's just that good. PuBear created this masterpiece and it was absolutely delicious. The blend of ingredients in the mouth makes for a wonderful light appetizer. The key here is to use fresh basil and freshly toasted French bread!

Main course: Lasagna made by Fizzy (me)

This came out wayyy better than I could have imagined. The key was the homemade pasta sauce used in the layering instead of using store bought sauce. The mix of sausage and ground beef also added to the deliciousness. For those interested, I followed this recipe to the T, aptly named "World's Best Lasagna" http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Worlds-Best-Lasagna/Detail.aspx

Dessert: Tiramisu made by PuBear

This beautiful creation was a great first attempt. Challenged by the lack of lady fingers in our local supermarket, it turned out better than we could have hoped. The mix of mascarpone, rum, and espresso was perfect. Although not fine bakery quality (yet), we still ate every last bite.

Our guest's verdict? "Ahhhhhh.. zzzz" as he sighs contently and falls promptly into a food coma. Success!

- Fizzy

Boston Restaurant Week Winter 2010

The idea of the joint food blog emerged many months ago but hasn't been fully formed until, well, now. As a result, I have a mountain of material piled up! Get ready to be reallyyyy hungry (I have a midnight snack of corn kernels in warm coconut milk sitting next to me just in case ~_^ )

To kick off the blog, I plan to review the restaurants I tried during Boston's Restaurant week this past winter. Keep in mind that these reviews may not apply to how the food/service may normally be at the restaurants during non-restaurant week days. Also, all the pictures of the food were lost during a virus attack on my computer so the reviews will be brief and with limited pictures =(

Pigalle (3 stars out of 5)

The reason we chose to try this restaurant was due to the number of James Beard awards its head chef has won over the years. When we first stepped foot into this place, we were warmly greeted by the owner/hostess and seated after a short 10 minute wait. The service and ambiance of the restaurant was simply impeccable. However, despite the great first impression, a very unspectacular meal awaited us. The menu overall lacked inspiration which was surprising considering the prestige of the chef. We also ordered a few cocktails that were definitely overly *strong* and barely drinkable. While the food for the most part was seasoned well, the dishes were not particularly interesting and different. Considering the many other fine dining options available in the Boston area, I would not recommend this place to a friend.

Pigalle interior

Wellspring Oysters I believe

Steak Tartare

Duck Cassoulet

Duck, forgot how it's cooked but it's (too) sweet

Beef Brisket

Mixed berry sorbet

Vanilla Creme Brulee

The First Bread Crumbs

Welcome! This blog will document the life of four women and our journey through the world of food as we walk down our different paths in life. Food is a passion and cornerstone in our lives. It brought us closer over the years as we pigged out over 3AM chinese deliveries, relaxed over Thai food after a hard day's work, gossiped over fresh baked cookies, and bonded over a communal hot pot. Food brings people together and that is definitely most true for us. We believe that sharing our food experiences with each other and with you, our readers, despite the distances and constant changes currently in our young lives, that we will continue to foster our friendships over the many years to come.

We intend to blog about anything AND everything related to food as we see fit... so be ready to read an eclectic mix of posts and to salivate over your keyboards!

- Fizzy