Gastronomy Blog by Cathy Chaplin

Restaurant Review

13 Oct 2010

Mike’s Pastry – Boston

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Following our spectacular seafood lunch at Neptune Oyster, The Astronomer, Rosalind, and I walked to Mike’s Pastry for dessert. While it is considered something of a tourist trap by the local set, a trip to the North End didn’t seem complete without a cannoli fix to finish.

I breathed a sigh of relief as we approached the store and saw that there wasn’t a line snaking out the door. As one of the city’s most popular cannoli purveyors, along with Modern Pastry down the street, Mike’s is usually chaotic at all hours of the day. Thankfully, that wasn’t the case this afternoon.

The shop sells everything under the sugary sun from pies to cakes to cookies. There’s even a selection of precious little fruits made of marzipan. A few treats on display had our eyes and stomachs wandering, but we stuck with our initial game plan.

At Mike’s, the classic Sicilian pastries come piped with either ricotta cheese, custard, or chocolate cream, while the deep-fried pastry shells are either left plain, dipped in chocolate, or crusted with peanut brittle. A number of special fillings were also available on our visit including lobstertail cream, amaretto, hazelnut, espresso, and chocolate ricotta. Somehow, we managed to agree on one flavor from the bevy of permutations available.

The Florentine ricotta cannolo consisted of a candied peanut brittle shell filled with sweet ricotta cream and accented with mini chocolate chips. The pastry seemed like a perfectly fine choice based on its appearance, but after a few bites, all three of us were completely overwhelmed by its unrelenting sweetness. Furthermore, the double punch of chocolate chips and peanut brittle drowned out the filling’s subtle flavor. It was a swing and a miss.

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Restaurant Review

11 Oct 2010

Neptune Oyster – Boston

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A warm bowl of chunky chowder has its charms, but the number one item on my Boston to-eat list was a luscious lobster roll. While I would have loved to stuff my face with a sandwich from each of the city’s best vendors, time constraints only allowed for one stop. After a good bit of research, including personal interviews with past and current Bostonians, I decided that Neptune Oyster would be the lucky destination.

Located on the edge of Little Italy in Boston’s North End, Neptune Oyster is a charming seafood shack with an Old World feel. Jeff Nace opened the place six years ago, along with his wife Keli, after serving as beverage manager of Todd English’s Olives in Charlestown for twelve years.

The Astronomer and I lunched here with Rosalind and were seated straightaway. Since the restaurant only has twenty-six banquette seats and sixteen bar stools, a wait is usually inevitable during peak dining hours.

Before the star of the Neptune Oyster show graced our table, we shared three light bites. I was also hoping for a basket of fried Ipswich clams (market price), but unfortunately the vendor had failed to deliver them this morning. The first appetizer to arrive was the buttermilk Johnnycake smothered with honey butter and topped with a smoked trout tartar and Little Pearl caviar ($16).

With the exception of the strange presentation, I liked everything about this dish. Who knew that a sweet and buttery cornmeal flat bread would pair so tastily with salty fish and caviar? Certainly not me.

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Restaurant Review

10 Oct 2010

Hungry Mother – Boston (Cambridge)

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Hungry Mother is just about the coolest restaurant name I’ve ever come across. Even though I know it’s in reference to a Virginia state park, a part of me still wishes that it were a shortened expression for “hungry like a mother effer!” Alas, it can only be so in my heart…

I was sent to this Cambridge gem by three trusty sources: my brother, Evelina, and GQ magazine. Opened in March 2008, Hungry Mother serves southern cuisine with an Appalachian bent. Employing local New England ingredients, chef and co-owner Barry Maiden (L’Espalier and Lumière) prepares the homey dishes of his youth using French techniques mastered from years working in fine dining restaurants. The premise of Hungry Mother reminded The Astronomer and me of a less formal and hipper version of Highlands Bar & Grill, our favorite restaurant in Birmingham, Alabama. We were joined for dinner by our friend Matt and sister Rosalind.

We were seated at a table in the bar area because I foolishly made an OpenTable reservation for the week after our trip. The host was incredibly nice about my absent minded move and managed to fit us in even though the restaurant was fully booked. It was really fantastic that he took good care of us even though it was totally my mistake. [By the way, according to Matt, a Boston resident, the service here is heads and shoulders above the rest of the city.]

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