Pork Chops & Chicken

Lord Hobo in Cambridge, Ma.

Lord Hobo has been open for a week now and it has been getting nothing but big praise for the most part from those who have visited the new restaurant so far. I happen to agree with the praise.

Lord Hobo is the new restaurant in Cambridge, Ma. in place of the once famed B-Side Lounge. A former bartender of the B-Side gave the best description of the new bar and restaurant. "If there was a movie made about the B-Side, Lord Hobo would be the Hollywood version of the bar." That's because it's been brightened up, walls painted a muted rustic red, the floor was completely redone, the bar widened and finished with new, beautiful wood, and finished with 30 taps in the middle, and the layout of the room has opened up with the removal of oddly placed dividers and booths from the old B-Side. It's really nice and sterile inside.

We went to Lord Hobo last Monday for the soft opening and had a wonderful time just drinking and sampling the über fresh beers. The Spezial Rauchbier Lager was pouring so good. I drank that pretty much all night on Monday and hung out with some good friends from the neighborhood.

Saturday night we went in for dinner.

A tip for those wanting to try Lord Hobo, go early. Get there early or there will be a line to contend with just to even get in. It's not a huge line or anything to be intimidated by, but getting there early gets you a table right away. The worst I heard anyone has had to wait is 20 minutes. Turn over is good and while you wait, you have 30 beers or a good cocktail list to choose from.

Another good tip is that their wine list offers all choices by the glass with the exception of their reserve list. I find that awesome.

We started with the Truffle Chips. They come with a variety of sauces which we were told change every day. These are perfectly cooked hand cut fries. I usually hate hand cut fries. They are usually too soggy, or cut too fat and big. These were right in the middle of soft, not soggy and crispy. The sauces were a garlic aioli, a vinaigrette, and a sweet and garlicky ketchup. I was more a fan of the ketchup.

The fries also tasted so good with the Spezial Rauchbier Lager. Man that beer is so good and so fresh tasting at Lord Hobo right now. And they give you big mugs of it.

We also ordered a charcuterie plate. It wasn't big or grandiose in it's offerings which happened to be a good thing. It's small but if it were any bigger, ordering dinner might have become a problem.

A simple offering of mustards, Pȃte de Compagne (country pȃte) and duck liver mousse. Simple and delicious.

Then we ordered dinner. Todd ordered the gnocchi with oxtail in parma cream sauce.

I had the Shepherd's pie with braised lamb, root veg, and colcannon.

I have to admit I had a hard time with my entree. Todd's was fantastic. It was super rich, hearty, and delicious. Mine on the other hand tasted amazing, but there were some issues with the meal. It wasn't fresh it was reheated. It's a little too expensive for a reheated meal. The lamb was the key. It wasn't hot. It was served warm, and the braised lamb was not soft because of this, it was stiff. The reason I am so torn about it though was because despite being reheated, it still tasted so good. The flavors were excellent. Next time they should make sure it's so hot and have a warning on the skillet. If it comes in a skillet like that, it should be a dead giveaway that this meal is super hot. Sadly it was luke warm. I can't complain too much though because I ate nearly all of it despite my observations about this meal.



Lord Hobo is a really great new place for Cambridge. Lot's of fresh beer, good food, and the way the room is laid out, it's a comfortable place to hang out.

Honorable mentions for the food are the deviled eggs. I tried them on Monday and they were pretty good. The Maine lobster mac'n'cheese on the appetizers has been a huge hit for a lot of patrons so far. I saw the Seared Local Cod, mahogany clams, potato "risotto", leek, trumpet mushrooms being served to a customer right next to me on Monday. It smelled terrific and looked fantastic. The woman who ordered said it was delicious. And I hear the burger is quite fantastic.

After dinner we tried two Nordic beers we have not tired before courtesy of Daniel Lanigan, the owner of Lord Hobo.

Haandbryggeriet Odin's Tipple. A big 11% abv strong dark ale from Norway. This beer is basically an Imperial Stout. It's so big and strong with rich complex flavors like coffee, molasses, tart cherries, and toasted malts. Yet this thing is so drinkable it's almost like a session beer. It drinks real easy, for something so big. Delicious beer and drank like dessert.

Nørrebro Bryghus North Bridge Extreme. An Imperial IPA from Denmark. This too was a tasty beer. Slightly soapy and reserved on it's hops, Euro-style hop characters meaning more hop flavor than bitterness, compared to giant DIPA's from America. Big sweet malts that were not steel-y that is usually the trademark of a DIPA. I don't have too much depth for this beer though. I ruined my pour of it by mistake. My glass had some weird extra bit of a glass shard hanging from the lip of the glass on the inside of the glass. It looked like a chip and naturally I touched and it broke off super fine shards of glass into my beer. Strange. Just a weird side effect from when the glass was made.

If you haven't been in, make sure you check it out. The waitstaff is super friendly and helpful, the beers are very fresh, the cocktails are good, and the food is fantastic. It's a comfortable place to hang out and will make for a great neighborhood bar and restaurant. All the people who were worried about their precious B-Side can relax. I loved the B-Side and will miss that gouda skillet forever, but this will never be the B-Side and they are not trying to be that. They are a totally different entity and in my opinion for the better. I now have a 30 tap bar around the corner from my house.

Admittedly some of the food and beer prices will shock patrons. Those who are craft beer lovers and fans of Daniel's former establishments such as The Moan and Dove and The Dirty Truth, will understand how amazing the line up of beers are and why they are priced the way they are. A couple of offerings of beers on tap are $10 bucks. But what you are not being told by a tiny handful of hater reviews I have read on Yelp, is that you get a 20 oz. mug of rare beer for $10 bucks. For example Spezial Rauchbier on draft in 20 oz mugs that you will never see on tap anywhere else and the bar doesn't even make money on it at that price. Any other bar would charge the maximum mark up to make the money back and still brag that they have an amazing rare beer. Daniel has it because he loves it. It would be one thing if you were being gouged like Bukowskis, where they charge whatever they want on their beers because they can. And they have admitted to doing so from people who have worked there and still work there now. But no one says you HAVE to go to Lord Hobo and order a $10 dollar beer. It's not like every beer in there costs that. Also none of these complainers made mention of a huge line up of Cantillon on tap which is a pretty amazing feat. Some of these beers are not cheap. But the line up is impressive. And the average cost for beers is more like $6 to $7 bucks a pop. More than the price of Highlife, but it's craft beer people. Not all the beers are priced at $10. A lot of people who were expecting this to be the B-Side revamped will be the top complainers about prices. The folks who love Miller Highlife and a shot of bourbon. Nothing is wrong with that, but you can tell they were expecting the same thing when they walked in to Lord Hobo. Get used to it being a craft beer bar. And they also carry a decent line up of Bourbons too! Boston and Cambridge need more of these kinds of places and bar owners who actually give a fuck about their beers and the quality of beer you are getting.

Something else I noticed in a few reviews on Yelp is that people were saying "Lord Hobo is no Publick House." This is an unfair remark in that Lord Hobo isn't trying to be the Publick House. Just a bar with a solid offering of craft beers, cocktails, wine, and food. Also what is unfair is that most people do not realize that David Ciccolo of TPH also went through the exact same amount of scrutiny in the beginning. When he changed Anam Cara, an Irish bar to a Belgian beer bar. The gripes and complaints about the prices on the beer were the exact same. Now it's revered as one of Boston's best beer bars. It just takes a little bit of interest and knowledge in craft beer to understand what it takes to be a great beer bar in Boston.

Thankfully for once, the majority of Yelp users give Lord Hobo high praise. I happen to agree that it deserves good praise. And seeing as how it just opened, like any new establishment, it will take time to work out any kinks they may have even if there are only few. I have to remind myself to avoid shit like Yelp and Chowhound on a regular basis. It's less and less about being helpful sites for tips and reviews on places and more and more about being a place for people to bitch and complain about the tiniest of details when going out. When one person reviews the Maine Lobster Mac'n'cheese as a disappointing amount of food and not make mention that it's an appetizer course, I have to close the book on that. Toss yourself off a bridge, because you are just looking to complain and take it out on these restaurants and businesses the bitter miserable life you lead thanks to Yelp giving you a place to cry and complain. No one says you can't have an opinion but shouldn't it at least be honest?

Edit: I made a mistake with the number of draft lines Lord Hobo actually has. There are 40 draft lines not just 30 as I made mention twice in this review. Plus a few cask engines and a gravity served cask.

I also went back for the burger, and it was pretty damn good as others have expressed.

Sunday Brunch Buffet @ The Wynn, Las Vegas

I was told by several people, if you want to get the best buffet on the strip in Las Vegas it's either at the Belagio or at the Wynn. We went with the Wynn. We did not lose on this deal. And although I haven't seen the Belagio's Buffet, I feel confident enough to say that Wynn Buffet was the best.

The Wynn hotel is amazing. It's gorgeous, has all the high end shopping and beautiful gaming areas. The only problem I had with the Wynn is that you can't win on their video poker machines that well. Their Black Jack video poker removed the double down feature. Total bullshit and scam. Nothing was paying out for me over there.

But this post isn't about the gambling. It's about the food.

The Buffet at the Wynn is huge. It has a whole separate room for just desserts. Of course it has meat carving stations, but everything is super clean and steril and broken down into regions. Asian section, American food, Italian, ect.

Before we went over to the brunch, we stopped to have a drink at Up Parasol while waiting for a friend to join us. I was in the mood for a Dirty Martini and they made me the best Dirty Martini ever. It was so smooth and tasty and I could have had 50 of them.

Up Parasol is a beautiful lounge in the middle of the gaming area. It's bright, colorful, and comfortable with sofas and couches everywhere. The waitress was the friendliest person we had come across in Vegas. And that's saying something because everyone is cool in Vegas. At least to us anyway.

Our friend finally came and joined us and it was off to the buffet. Keep in mind it was a Sunday at noon and the lines to get into the buffet were long. It didn't take too long, but be prepared anyway.

They also offer a cool deal. For $60 bucks you can eat there all day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. It's a good way to economize while you blow all your money on gambling or drinking.

I went the hot route first.

Okay there is a lot going on on this plate. Let me break it down. Sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, french toast, pancake, waffle, eggs benedict, stir fried shrimp, cornish game hen in southwestern sauce and corn, pulled pork with cole slaw on corn bread, and a cheese and beef enchilada.

Every last bit of it was awesome! And you better believe I ate it all.

The cold route.

Shrimp cocktail, Mediterranean tuna ceviche, Tropical scallop ceiche (in cup), sushi rolls, Chow Shao Bao, and smoked salmon. 

There was so much more food to be had, but my belly only had so much room. My husband managed to get some carved meats. Although I wanted them, I am glad I didn't get any carved meats. It would have sat like a lead brick in my belly and I wouldn't have been able to taste all the desserts we had.

Now for the dessert. A small disclaimer is that I did not, I repeat did not eat all that is pictured. I had a bite of each and shared. After the last two plates, there is no way anyone could eat all things I am about to show you.



Grasshopper Mint Slice and Banana Cream Slice.



Blueberry tart and Oreo Mousse slice.



Bailey's Panna Cotta and Hazelnut Chocolate Decadence.

Caramel, Chocolate parfait and Lemon Meringue Pie Parfait , Mango and Lychee Parfait with Tapioca Pearls, and Strawberry Parfait.

And Caramel and coffee ice cream. The coffee ice cream came highly recommended and was amazingly good and creamy.

After this we were the walking dead. Zombies who have succumbed to the dreaded food coma.

Taco Night @ Green Street

Just a quick post from dinner last night at Green Street. Wednesday nights are $4 dollar taco night at Green Street. And not just your average tacos either. Braised duck and oxtail tacos. Yeah, it's like that.

We started with their chicken and bacon croquettes and one of my favorites, their cheese plate with homemade chutneys and preserves.

The cheese plate comes with toasted cinnamon bread, apple chutney with rosemary, Jasper Hill Farm cheddar and Brebirousse d'Argental, a soft sheeps milk.

I greedily began to eat my tacos before I could take a picture of the whole presentation. But luckily I ordered two carnitas tacos. But Todd had a skirt steak taco which I missed. The taco in the very first picture is a carnitas. And this second picture is a grilled fish and carnitas.

Remember folks, these are only $4 bones a piece. Pretty sweet deal.

Green Street is also known for their awesome cocktails.


        
                                 

                                                               

Flora Vieja, Fort Washington Flip, and The Corazón. Tequila drink, applejack, and rum drink. 

This is how Wednesdays go at Green Street.

Dim Sum @ Yank Sing, San Francisco

Lunch with the The Duo Dishes. WORD!

I arrived in San Francisco for the FoodBuzz Bloggers Festival a day early. Checked out the beer scene a little bit and laid low. The next day Chrystal and Amir came in from LA. They run the affable food blog The Duo Dishes. They also happen to be some of my favorite people. Especially after the weekend.

They called me when they got into to town and we were all starving. I got wind on a great Dim Sum place at Rincon Center in SOMA (South of Market st.). The place was called Yank Sing. This came recommended by my friend Anat Baron.

As soon as we got in, the whole place was rocking. We sat down and started ordering before our coats were off.

Immediately they put down in front of us sticky shrimp and candied walnuts.

Then we ordered some stuffed mushrooms.

Fried crab claws with minced shrimp filling.

Spring rolls and pan fried raviolis.

These were probably some of the best sticky BBQ pork buns I have ever had. They were not like traditional Chow Shao Bao with the sticky, steamed dough. But the center was traditional and amazing. These were coated in honey too.

What you need to know about Yank SIng. Its amazing food. And the rounds of food do not stop coming. But you need to caution yourself. It's rich food and you will fill up fast. Also Yank Sing is expensive. We didn't order all that much for 3 starving people and got slapped with a $100 dollar check. But having said that, it was worth it. Best Dim Sum I have had in ages.

After we left Yank Sing we saw a guy named T-Dub right next door at a Taqueria demoing his famous ribs.

Strange place for some ribs at a taqueria. But who cares these ribs were the effing bomb! T-Dub you know what you are talking about!

And that's how you do lunch with The Duo Dishes.

Life & Limb

I was in San Francisco for the 1st Annual FoodBuzz Bloggers Festival. I have decided to begin my San Francisco recaps with the end of the trip at the Life & Limb beer dinner at Ana Mandara which I was lucky enough to have attended.

My good friend Sam Calagione, owner of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery in Delaware collaborated with Ken Grossman of Sierra Nevada in California to create two new craft beers. Life & Limb and Limb & Life.

A brief description of the beers from press release for the dinner at Ana Mandara.

Life & Limb is a collaborative effort, the brainchild of Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Dogfish Head Craft Brewery. Life & Limb is a 10% ABV strong, dark beer that defies style characteristics— brewed with pure maple syrup from the Calagione family farm in Massachusetts and estate barley grown on the Grossman “farm” at the brewery in Chico, CA. The beer is alive with yeast—a blend of both breweries’ house strains—bottle conditioned for added complexity and shelf life, and naturally carbonated with birch syrup fresh from Alaska.

Life & Limb is dedicated to the family of beer drinkers and enthusiasts worldwide who continue to support the little guys, iconoclasts, entrepreneurs, and pioneers who risk life and limb to shape the vibrant craft-brewing community.

Limb & Life is a companion to the big beer It is a 5% ABV small beer--a low-gravity beer made using the residual sugar as "second runnings" from the first larger brew, fortified with American hops. This is a session beer. Its big brother is a sipper. Limb & Life will be a limited draft-only product, a prelude to the bigger beer, available draft only in select bars and restaurants.

After a long weekend of nonstop imbibing on good food and good beers from around the city, this was a great way to end my trip. I left from this dinner to the airport for a red eye back to Boston. It ended up working out perfectly though. After the food and beers I was so tired and exhausted but I caught my flight with an emergency row, isle seat and no one in the middle. Lots of room, full belly, and a slight buzz. Content and ready for a nap.

Let's get to the food!

I arrived at Ana Mandara just in time to drop my 60 pound luggage off with the hostess stand. I made my way up stairs and talked to Ken Grossman and Bill Manley of Sierra Nevada for a few minutes before it was time to ceremoniously tap the firkens.

Ken Grossman tapping Limb & Life.

 
Sam Calagione tapping Life & Limb.

For the record, it only took Ken one or two good whacks at it to tap it. Sam took 3 or 4 girly taps. I am just saying....

Sam and Ken gathered everyone to talk about the collaboration and welcome everyone to the event and dinner.

We were treated to passed appetizers and Limb & Life. Crispy Lobster Ravioli with Mango-Coconut Sauce. Apparently there was supposed to be or there was and I never saw it, Seared Rare Beef with Tamarind. Didn't matter anyway as the Lobster Raviolis were pretty excellent on their own. They paired really well with the Limb & Life.

*I didn't geek out and write down notes for the new beers. It was a social engagement with many people I have never met before. I would much rather sit back and relax and enjoy them with new company rather than be anti-social with my head in a note pad. So you will have to excuse my lack of character description on these beers.

Then it was time for the sit down dinner. I has happy to be seated next to Jay Brooks of Brookston Beer Bulletin and another cool guy named Jay (whose last name escapes me) who used to work for the Rogues Gallery which created the beer Squall IPA with Dogfish Head. The first collaboration of beer and fashion.

Jay now works for Levis which couldn't have been more perfect as my nick name for pretty boy Sam is Levis. He used to be a model for Levis and now I tell everyone to say what's up to Levis over at DFH! I thought Sam was kidding with me when put me next to Jay. Or maybe Sam just forgot I am evil. Either there was great joy and laughter at the dinner. And Jay is a fantastic guy.

As we were seated, we were greeted with Seared Rare Ahi Tuna with Hearts of Palm, Jicama Salsa, and Orange Vinaigrette.

This was paired in tandem with DFH Festina Pêche. A 4.5% sour, peach "Neo-Berliner Weissbier." And the Kellerweis by Sierra Nevada. A 4.8% abv Hefeweizen.

The beer in the wine glass in this picture was the Life & Limb. Sam got me a pour of it before the dinner started.

 

This was a tough call as to which beer worked better. At first I thought the festina Pêche was the clear winner with flavor profiles and complexities but as the course went on the Kellerweis really stood out too. The Kellerweis needed to open up a bit and warm up to reveal all of her secrets. The Festina Pêche was crisp, tart, and refreshing whereas the Kellerweis was soft and subdued. Both good pairings. Both stood up to the tuna while allowing the hearts of palm and jicama salsa to be present as well and not be trumped by the sour notes of the Festina Pêche or the cloudy wheat characters of the Kellerweis.

Up next was the Five-Spiced Crispy Skin Poussin, Sugar Snap Peas, White Corn Pilaf, and Sweet and Sour Sauce.

 

This was paired with Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Midas Touch from DFH.

The SNPA being the countries most recognizable and most classic Americanized hoppy pale ales. Cascade hops with a 5.6% abv. 

The Midas Touch is a big 9.0%. From the DFh website:

This recipe is the actual oldest-known fermented beverage in the world! It is an ancient Turkish recipe using the original ingredients from the 2700 year old drinking vessels discovered in the tomb of King Midas. Somewhere between wine & mead; this smooth, sweet, yet dry ale will please the Chardonnay of beer drinker alike.

 

I have to say that the Midas Touch was too big for the pairing. Too strong. When you taste nothing but alcohol with your pairing, it's obviously the wrong match. Sadly this happened with the Midas Touch. Although Midas Touch is recommended for Asian and Pan-Asian dishes, I think the big, giant, sweet alcoholic characters and malts in this beer needed to be paired with something spicy and hot.

The Sierra Nevada Pale Ale on the other hand was excellent for this course. The hops and sugar snap peas gave for an interesting lingering taste on the palate. Bitter and sweet yet fresh all rolled into one.

The second main course was Wokked Tournedos of Beef Tenderloin, Sweet Onions, and Peppery Cress served with steamed white rice.

This course was paired with SN Celebration Ale and Palo Santo Marron from DFH.

Palo Santo is a big old 12% abv brown ale aged in wooden brewing vessels. Big caramel and vanilla notes.

SN Celebration is an American IPA about 6.8% abv but has the notes of Christmas on this beer. Citrus, piney resins, and spices.

This is a reverse case of the first main course. Where the SN worked better than the DFH. The Palo Santo from DFH worked much better in this case than the SN. Celebration Ale is a big holiday ham kind of beer. Think of all the rich foods at Christmas time and then you will understand where to go with pairing Celebration.

The Palo Santo almost didn't work either. It's giant 12% abv was borderline. But the rich brown ale notes pulled this together with the meat. Despite being 12%, it is the kind of 12% that you don't really notice. You end surprised when you find out just how big it really it. But with the white rice served with meal cleaning the palate constantly, you are reminded a bit more than you probably would be. The earthy greens also helped keep this pairing in line. 

Lastly, dessert. A choice of desserts was presented. Valhrona Dark Chocolate Semifredo, or Flourless Coconut Rum Cake.

 


This was paired with the Life & Limb. I do not have a fantastic shot of the beer that ended the night. But you can see it with the beers in the first pairing, the Seared Ahi Tuna course.

I clearly chose wrong for this course. I went with the Flourless coconut cake. It was delicious and delicate on the coconut, but the beer was a tad too big. I only chose it because everyone went for the chocolate dessert. It was very rich and cocoa-y. It held up a lot better with the Life & Limb.

And lastly Sam and Ken wrapped up our evening with some final thoughts and a toast.

Thank you to Bill Manley for setting this dinner up and working really hard on these pairings. And working to get me in on this dinner. Thanks to Ana Mandara for a really great meal. The restaurant is gorgeous and the hospitality was fantastic.

This was exactly the right way to end my long weekend in San Francisco. A long weekend of food pairings and beer. More on the weekend to come. I was able to get home nice and comfortable and not have to buy shitty airline food. 

Over all I liked the Limb & Life better. I am not sure if that was because I needed a session beer after the hard weekend of 21st Amendment's Back In Black IPA and Pliny The Elder from Russian River. Both Life & Limb and Limb & Life were pretty amazing. The Life & Limb will no doubt be the hit of the party when they make their rounds. Especially when it gets to the Extreme Beer Festival in Boston Barrel Aged!!