The Painted Burro in Somerville

Davis Square is probably one of my favorite neighborhoods in Somerville, and we're lucky to live right outside of it. Davis is full of great craft beer, delicious food, and even has a movie theatre where you can drink beer while watching a film. Yeah, Davis is pretty much the coolest.

One of Z and I's favorite restaurants in Davis is The Painted Burro (brought to you by the same folks behind Posto and the soon-to-be Rosebud American Kitchen & Bar). The Painted Burro consistently has delicious, innovative Mexican food and fantastic margaritas, which both pair well with the fun atmosphere and the friendly waitstaff. (Remember when I helped judge their Guac Off?).

I returned to The Painted Burro on a recent humid night for drinks and dinner, and the Pineapple Habanero margarita was an ideal way to kick off the evening. (I didn't mark down the price, but it's probably around $10-$11).

This refreshing margarita on the rocks was slightly sweet with a kick of subtle spice. It really hit the spot on such a hot evening. 

A meal at The Painted Burro always begins with complimentary chips and salsa, but I highly recommend ordering some Mango Guacamole ($10) to help use up your chips with. 

This fun take on traditional guacamole adds juicy mango and serrano chile to the mix for a sweet-and-spicy flavor. The guac was obviously fresh, and borderline addicting (as most guacs are).

Another appetizer worth getting here is the "Cholo" Corn Cob ($6).

Perfectly split between three people, the grilled corn is smothered in garlic mojo mayonnaise, cotija cheese, and cayenne. I loved the flavors in this corn, and the cayenne was present without being overwhelmingly fiery. The corn's definitely messy to eat, but isn't that the fun of eating corn on the cob anyway?

For our entrees, everyone at the table ordered tacos, and I went with the one vegetarian taco option (that's on the summer menu): Grilled Summer Squash ($7).

The summer squash tacos were piled high with fire-roasted tomato salsa, basil puree, and cotija cheese. I originally thought a summer squash taco sounded kind of boring, but the abundant, flavorful toppings really made this taco delicious and surprisingly filling. 

The Painted Burro also has a few fish tacos on their menu right now, which always remind me of summer. One of my dining companions ordered the Mahi Mahi a la Plancha taco ($7.50), served with avocado, jicama, pineapple and serrano salsa, and frisee, and she highly recommended it.

Overall, I had another great meal at The Painted Burro, and I love how they tweak their menus with the seasons (especially considering how often I go there). If you haven't been yet, I definitely recommend checking them out for the consistently good food, strong drinks, and inviting atmosphere. (They also apparently have a great brunch, which I need to check out soon).

What's one of your go-to restaurants? 

This meal was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

Drink This: Night Shift Brewing Viva Habanera

Two things I love about living in Somerville/the Boston area: Night Shift beer and The Painted Burro.

Z and I have become regulars at Night Shift's tap room in Everett, and we've more recently discovered the beauty that is The Painted Burro. This Davis Square gem serves up some delicious Mexican food, with reasonable prices and friendly service to boot.

Last weekend, I got to combine both of my local loves at The Painted Burro's 2nd Annual Guac Off, where I was one of three judges (along with Jen Che of Tiny Urban Kitchen and Jay McKenzie, Somerville firefighter and winner of The Painted Burro’s Burro Churro Challenge). I'm the dorky one in the glasses in the picture below.

Source: Marlo Marketing/Communications

During the Guac Off, we had to sample 12 different types of guacamole - the competitors really made some interesting guac creations. Some had booze in them, others had fruit, and one had ghost peppers - grown right in the competitor's backyard. They were all really interesting and creative, but the winning guac went to Somerville local Issac Hendrickson (pictured above, with the giant check). Isaac walked away with a $150 gift card to The Painted Burro, as well as the honor of having his recipe for Granada Guacamole with pomegranate seeds featured on the restaurant’s menu.

While I was eating my body weight in guac, I enjoyed one of my favorite brews to order when I'm at The Painted Burro (and Night Shift's brewery): Viva Habanera.

Night Shift's Viva Habanera is just the right combination of sweet and spicy. This rye ale is brewed with agave nectar, which helps to tame down the spice from the habanero peppers that this beer's aged on. The habanero peppers are present in the back of your throat, but not overwhelmingly fiery, which makes this beer easily drinkable and friendly with food. Especially Mexican food - I love ordering a glass of this and sipping it alongside nachos, tacos, and/or guacamole (clearly).

Viva Habanera is available year-round (and at many local liquor stores), but if you go to the brewery, ask to get it combined with Night Shift's Taza Stout. It's like a rich and delicious chocolate-pepper party in your mouth. 

Have you tried any great beers lately? 

EHChocolatier in Somerville

I have a whole new respect for chocolate now.

Last week, I had the honor of attending a Beyond the Bar chocolate-making class at EHChocolatier in Somerville. Myself and a few other bloggers got to taste a whole lot of handmade, small batch chocolates, while learning a number of techniques for making exceptional chocolate-based confections.

First, a little back story: EHChocolatier was opened in 2010 by the two lovely ladies below, Elaine Hsieh and Catharine Sweeny.

Elaine and Catharine met while making a wedding cake for a friend, after years of careers in internal medicine (Elaine) and at Harvard University (Catharine). Both women also studied at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts.

Elaine and Catharine put a heavy emphasis on freshness and flavor when it comes to their chocolates. All of their products are handmade in small batches, and no artificial flavors or preservatives are used. They even use classic techniques and make each chocolate by hand to create the ideal balance of flavor and texture. And after attending this class, I must say: whatever they're doing works.

Besides getting to taste a slew of chocolates at the beginning of the class, we also got to learn how to make Elaine and Catharine's silky ganache. 

Catharine showed us how to make a sultry ganache with butter, while Elaine filled us in on how to make a vegan ganache (simply use water vs. any dairy).

Then, Catharine showed us how they put the ganache into molds in order to make their chocolates.

From there, the large square of chocolate is cut into smaller, bite-size squares.

At this point, the squares are dipped into tempered chocolate. If you've ever tried to temper chocolate, you know it's quite the process. Elaine taught us a lot of great techniques for tempering chocolate successfully, including using a "spoon trick."

If the chocolate runs off the spoon, it's not quite ready. But if it becomes cloudy, it's also not quite right. The type of consistency you want is this:

It definitely takes some trial and error, but, thankfully, Elaine and Catharine don't have to temper by hand all day, every day. They have a machine to do that for them (although, they still have to test the chocolate every time to make sure it's at the right consistency). 

Once the tempered chocolate was perfect, we all got a chance to dip our own chocolate squares into it. (I failed miserably at this step, by the way. But it's actually quite easy).

After dunking our squares, we "painted" various designs on each one.

The end result comes out looking something like this:

Our class concluded with more chocolate samples. 

In addition to being able to taste a wide variety of quality chocolate, this class was also super informative. I really learned a lot when it comes how to make a fantastic ganache, as well as some great techniques for tempering chocolate. Learning how much work goes into small, bite-size pieces of chocolate also gave me a whole new respect for the craft. It also really helped that Elaine and Catharine clearly love what they do, are good at it, and also really enjoy working together. Their passion, creativity, and camaraderie was evident in each piece of their chocolate.

You can order any of EHChocolatier's chocolates online, or sign-up for any of their classes here. 

What's your favorite type of chocolate? Milk, white, or dark? I'm partial to dark, but let's be honest...I'll eat any of the above.

I attended this class at no charge, but all opinions are my own.

India Palace in Somerville

We love Indian food and we live in Somerville...so don't ask me how we just found out about India Palace.

I have a ton of Restaurant.com credit that I haven't used in...well, years...so when I saw India Palace on the list of local restaurants (that accept Restaurant.com gift cards), I quickly bought a certificate there. The restaurant had great online reviews, and Z and I are always down to try a new Indian place.

On a Wednesday evening the intimately sized restaurant was pretty empty, but the food and service left us wondering why.

Our meal began with the Palace Vegetarian Platter ($7.95), which consisted of pakoras, samosas, and aloo tikki. We also ordered a side of mango chutney.

Everything on the vegetarian platter was incredibly flavorful, well-seasoned, and fried to crispy - and non-greasy - perfection. The accompanying mango chutney was delightfully chunky, while still easy enough to scoop up with a spoon (or a samosa).

For my entree, I went with the Chole Saag ($11.95), made with chickpeas that are cooked with fresh spinach, onions, garlic, ginger, and Indian spices. I ordered my chole saag spicy, and it did have a nice kick to it without being overwhelming.

I have to say that this is one of the best dishes I've had at a local Indian restaurant in a long time. The flavors were just spot-on, and the portion size was huge - Z and I had two meals worth of leftovers between our two entrees! (FYI, Z ordered the Shahi Paneer Korma ($12.95) for his entree - homemade cheese cubes sauteed with fresh ginger, garlic, onion, and tomatoes, then garnished with nuts and raisin - and loved it).

Of course, we also ordered a few different breads to have with our meals. I highly recommend the Broccoli Naan ($3.95).

All in all, we had a fantastic first meal at India Palace, and we will definitely be back. For the great food, friendly service, reasonable prices, and generous portions.

Foundry on Elm's Fall Menu Preview

Last week, I was invited to sample some dishes from Foundry on Elm's new fall menu. Foundry is one of our favorite spots in the 'Ville for good food and craft beer, so I was excited to check out Foundry's new Executive Chef, Jonathan Schick's, latest creations. Each of our courses were also paired with a libation, which...well, makes every meal that much better.

Our meal began with a Yellow Solstice cocktail, made with golden beets that had been muddled with honey, rose water, fennel bitters, gin, lavender liqueur, lemon, and cava. It was complex, yet really well done - sweet, tangy, and not too strong on the alcohol.

Our cocktail was paired with the Roasted Beet Salad, complete with a Vermont goat cheese fritter, baby greens, beet jam, and citrus. I loved the creamy goat cheese fritter paired with the sweet beet jam, and the salad was well-dressed without being soaked. 

Our next course was just a quick taste of a whipped potato, mushroom, and cheese croquette, which was basically flavorful mashed potatoes fried into a ball. Let's just say it was delicious. 

Following the croquette was the Winter Squash Risotto, made with sugar pumpkin butter, bitter greens, and parmesan cheese. This dish was paired with a Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar. I'm a sucker for risotto when it's done correctly, and this was cooked almost perfectly. I also loved the bites of sugar pumpkin throughout, and the beer paired well with this comforting dish.

After the risotto, we enjoyed Pan-Seared Cod served with soubise, parsley paint, lardons (mine was sans lardons), leeks, and red bliss potatoes. This dish was paired with a 2011 Melville Chardonnay. The fish was perfectly flaky and well-seasoned, while the parsley "paint" below - mixed with the soubise - provided a delightful sauce that rounded out the whole dish.

My omnivore dining companions enjoyed a meat dish for their last course, but Foundry was kind enough to make me a vegetarian-friendly dish: Parisian Gnocchi. (Foundry was extremely accommodating to my pescatarian ways the entire evening, and the staff was clearly informed beforehand which diner had which dietary restriction. It was very well-organized, and much appreciated). 

Anyway, about the gnocchi: it was served with a cauliflower puree and Brussels sprouts (a winter favorite of mine). It was also paired with a 2011 Produttori del Barberesco, Nebbiolo del Alba It. The gnocchi was really done well, and I loved the crispy exterior paired with the pillowy interior. The silky cauliflower puree also went nicely with the gnocchi and Brussels sprouts.

Our eating marathon ended with a Warm Gingerbread Spice Cake, paired with a Lustau PX Jerez. The cake was delicious, although I couldn't tell if the extra crispy exterior was from reheating or over-baking. Regardless, the flavors were still spot-on and, being a big gingerbread fan, I'm happy to see its seasonal return. 

We really enjoyed a fantastic meal at Foundry on Elm, and I'm excited to try the rest of their fall menu. 

Which do you prefer: pumpkin or gingerbread?

This meal was complimentary, but all opinions are my own.

My Current Obsessions

I am beyond excited that today is Friday. Has this been the longest week ever for anybody else??

To help kick off this long-awaited Friday, I wanted to share the following three things with you - three things I am currently obsesssed with.

1.) Our juicer. 

Source.

We received this little guy as a wedding gift, and we've seriously been obsessed with it ever since. To be honest, making our own fresh juice gets expensive if we make a batch everyday, so we've been making juice 3-4 days out of the week to save some money. But having fresh, healthy juice even a few days out of the week is such a delightful treat. One combination we're loving: apples, cucumbers, baby kale, ginger, and celery.

2.) Sarma.

Sister restaurant to Oleana and Sofra, Sarma is one fantastic edition to the family - and it's right here in Somerville! Z and I had dinner there last week with two of our friends, and we all fell in love with the food, libations, and decor. The Seven Layer Hummus (pictured above - $11), which is served with falafel crackers, was especially delicious (trust me). This is one restaurant worth the financial splurge.

3.) Stonewall Kitchen.

Fall Surf n' Turf, minus the "turf."

Panna Cotta with Balsamic Strawberries.

OK, so Stonewall Kitchen is more of an ongoing obsession of mine. But I recently was invited to attend this cooking class at their Cooking School in York, Maine, as part of the media (the class was complimentary), so now my obsession is at an all-time high. If you've never been to their facilities in York, I highly suggest making the short 1+ hour trip there. The place is gorgeous, the store has samples galore, and there's even a cafe (which I have never been to...another reason to go back soon!). Oh, and the cooking class itself (like the last one I went to) was informative, interactive, and the end result was delicious. (Pictured above are some of the courses we observed being made, then got to eat).

What are you currently obsessed with?

Yak & Yeti in Somerville

Many people have told me to go to Yak & Yeti for great Indian and Nepali food, but I never had the opportunity to go until a few weeks ago.

Z and I went with his brother and his girlfriend before she jetted off to Turkey (oh, how I wish I studied abroad in college), and this ended up being a great send-off meal.

We started with the Vegetable Platter ($7.99), which consisted of samosa, vegetable pakora, paneer pakora, and aloo tikki.

Everything on this platter was delightfully well-seasoned and ideally fried while lacking any excess grease. We all were slightly addicted to the mint sauce that was served alongside everything, too. 

For my meal, I went with the Aloo Mutter ($10.99), made with green peas and potatoes that were cooked with ginger, garlic, onion, and mild spices. (It was also served with basmati rice).

I got my Aloo Mutter spicy, and it had just the right kick of heat without being too overpowering. This dish was also incredibly well-seasoned, and I had a hard time not eating the entire serving in one sitting (Indian leftovers are the best!).

We also all shared a slew of Indian breads that Z ordered for the table (he studied abroad in India while in college - he knows his stuff), and all were fantastic. 

We really enjoyed our first meal at Yak & Yeti, and I definitely plan to return. [Side note: I used a Restaurant.com gift card for this meal - great way to save a few bucks here!].

Did you study abroad in college? If yes, where did you go?