Boston100 Blog
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Upper Crust Pizzeria
The Upper Crust Pizzeria has been around for over five years, and is generally regarded as one of the top spots for pizza in the Boston area. Upper Crust has locations on Newbury Street, Beacon Hiill, Coolidge Corner, Lexington, and Hingham, and apparently is opening up new locations in Waltham and Harvard Square this summer. We popped into the Lexington location for some take-out this weekend, and we were very impressed by pizza. If you like thin-crust pizza (which I do), this is the spot for you. The cheese, sauce, and toppings were also quite fresh. The dining room is nice and clean, the service was quick, and the price was good. Overall, we'll certainly head back, especially when the Waltham store opens up. - posted by Mike Andrews @ 10:39 AM 1 comments
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Aegean Restaurant
The Aegean Restaurant is a Greek restaurant located in Watertown with a second location in Framingham. We headed over on Friday night, had a pretty good experience. The dining room is simply designed, adjacent to a coolish bar with two big flat screen televisions that were showing the Sox game. The menu is quite extensive, with a wide selection of meats, poultry, seafood and pasta. Service was also very good. We started with some great Greek Salads and some fresh pita bread with some excellent olive oil. For our appetizers, we went with the Cocktail Shrimp and the Tzatziki - both were kind of mediocre. We then moved onto the Rack of Lamb and the Lamb Kabobs. I thought that the Rack of Lamb was superb - perfectly prepared in an exceptional sauce. Kim enjoyed the kabobs, but they weren't out of this world. The price was an excellent deal - $88 for a three course meal, plus wine, and including tip. I think we'll definitely head back.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 12:12 PM 0 comments
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
UBurger
Sunday night before the Red Sox game we treated ourselves to the relatively new UBurger in Kenmore Square. We loved it. As the name suggests, UBurger is a burger joint, but it also offers a good selection of sandwiches and sides. The dining room is clean, hip, and lively, and service is pretty quick for freshly prepared burgers. We tried the Cowboy burger and the Big Papi Burger - both were outstanding. Even better were the fries, served up thin and crispy, just how I like 'em. The price was about right - $8.50 for a big burger, healthy portion of fries, and a large soda. All in all, UBurger has already cemented itself as one of the top burger spots in Boston.
- posted by Mike Andrews @ 4:56 PM 0 comments
Sunday, April 22, 2007
Restaurant Pava
On Saturday night we decided to try Restaurant Pava, a Mediterranean restaurant in Newton Centre, as we heard a few good reviews. Pava is run by the proprietors of two high-end fashion boutiques located next door. We pulled up to Newton Centre and found a space right up front, and thought we were in for a lucky night. Unfortunately that was the highlight of the evening as it was all downhill from there. As far as the ambiance, some undoubtedly may think Pava has a trendy feel, but we felt like we were eating in a garage. The floors are simply cement (like a garage floor), the walls are minimalist white, and we sat next too a window overlooked by a clothing rack in one of the adjacent boutiques. Also, the chairs were brutally uncomfortable and both the music and the crowd were way too loud. The menu was interesting, offering what looked to be a limited variety of Mediterranean options, including seafood, pasta, meats, salads, and chicken. We went for the Fennel Salad, the Seared Scallops, the Farm-Raise Beef Tenderloin, and the Sauteed Lobster. The prices are through-the-roof for Newton so we expected great things. What we got was offensively small portion sizes, and the food was hit-or-miss. Nothing really impressed besides the scallops, and the few bites of lobster actually served were mediocre. We left hungry even though we finished our meals. Service was very polite and friendly but somewhat slow. Overall, our biggest complaints would be the total lack of comfort, ridiculous prices for Newton, and absurdly small portion sizes.
- posted by Mike Andrews @ 8:26 AM 0 comments
Saturday, April 21, 2007
KnowFat Grille & Panera Bread
On Thursday and Friday we hit up KnowFat Lifestyle Grille and Panera Bread, respectively. KnowFat specializes in healthy, low-fat options - we try to make our way over at least once a week. There are about twenty locales. The Waltham branch serves up tasty food in a very nice, clean location, with fantastic service. Prices are good, too. Unfortunately we stay away from the Watertown branch as the service is just terrible there. Otherwise, we're huge fans. Panera Bread. Panera Bread is a national bakery-cafe chain serving up some great sandwiches on freshly baked bread. Panera also offers great soup options and a multitude of pastries, muffins, and other bakery treats for dessert. We just wanted a fast, good meal for cheap and thats what we got. I highly recommend the Chicken-Bacon Dijon Panini.
- posted by Mike Andrews @ 8:18 AM 0 comments
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Stella
On Saturday we made our way back to Stella, many thanks to some friends who provided us with a generous gift certificate. As much as we loved Stella on our first visit, we were even more pleased the second time around. We're convinced its the best Italian food in the Boston area. The atmosphere is very cool, the service very good, and the price tag is probably the best value in the city right now. Accordingly, Stella left us no choice but to push it into the top ten restaurants (#8 to be precise) in the Boston area.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 8:33 AM 0 comments
Saturday, April 14, 2007
La Casa de Pedro
La Casa de Pedro changed locations in late 2006, so we hopped over to the new Arsenal Street location on Friday. Much like our last visit, our experience was a pretty good one. To start, the new location has easy and free parking, and the new dining room is a great improvement. Its a nice wide open space with a cool Spanish flavor, highlighted by Latin artwork and live music. We went with many of the same enjoyable plates as our last trip, including the Grilled Venezuelan Cheese and the Arepas. We also tried out the Swordfish Tips and a Chicken Quesadilla, each of which were pretty good, not outstanding. Service was above par, and the price tag was a good value for a full meal with a few drinks. Definitely worth checking out.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 4:42 PM 0 comments
Monday, April 02, 2007
Via Matta
We were so pleased with our visit to Via Matta this weekend that we instantly placed in in the top twenty on the big list. Kim had previously attended for a work function, but this was are first venture out together to this upscale establishment. Via Matta is a chic Italian restaurant in the Back Bay that is immensely popular with the hip crowd. As you can see from our lengthy review, we were tremendously impressed with the ambiance, the entrees, the desserts, and the high level of service. So impressed that we might just have to head back for seconds very soon.- posted by Mike Andrews @ 11:41 PM 0 comments
Top Ten Late Night Options
Check out the latest addition to our Ten Top Tens - the Ten Top Late Night Options. Our Favorite late night spots include the Franklin Cafe in the South End, Temple Bar in between Harvard and Porter in Cambridge, and Miel in the Intercontinental Hotel, open 24 hours/day. We also included a few spots towards the bottom which are by no means gourmet but can really satisfy an attack of the munchies on a late weekend night. As always, we encourage you to try out these spots and feel free to chip in with your own opinions!- posted by Mike Andrews @ 11:00 PM 0 comments
