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Best French Fries in Boston and North We are talking about The Best French Fries in Boston and North today.  In addition, we have given you some non-chain suggestions for some other places for truly delicious fries. Burger King (Worldwide)  #10 Talk about night and day.  You would think that the two fast food giants would be similar.  They are not.  The sandwiches are completely different and the french fries might as well be separate kinds of food. Read Entire Article HERE

Best Boston Cream Donuts Boston and North This week we are talking about the best Boston Cream Donuts Boston and North.  We have a lot of donut shops in Massachusetts, both chains and independent shops.  We are not really going to talk about big donut chains as they are not producing very good donuts.  This is mainly because they are using pre-done mixes including fillings and frostings.  Many independent shops have switched over to mixes like Bake N’ Joy etc. and what you end up with is a bland donut with fillings that are too sweet and fake tasting.  Fortunately we have found some quality shops still making donuts the old fashioned way, hand cutting them and making all of the parts (fillings, glazes, toppings) from scratch. Read ArticfleHERE

The Best Steak and Cheese Boston North Unfortunately, most steak and cheese subs you buy are not good.  Every sub shop has them, but is getting a really good one a thing of the past?  We thought so until we did this show. I found this description from Yelp funny and all too true.  “A bunch of greasy waxed paper.  Two cheap, thin halves of a bun, overflowing with very hot, flavorless, overcooked, under-salted beef.  So much of it, in fact, that I had to eat the first half standing over the sink, as tiny, rock-hard pellets of blisteringly overcooked beef fell out of the sandwich and into the sink.  Was there mayonnaise?  Maybe the spirit of some, ethereally dabbed onto the sad excuse for a bun.  Were there hot peppers?  No, not really.  Not so much as you could taste." Is it always this bad?  No, but close. In this area of the country we love our steak and cheese subs and we continue to order these substandard sandwiches hoping for the steak and cheese of years ago. A steak and cheese sub should be a quality piece of meat that is shaved in house shortly before use.  It is cooked in oil on a grill until done.  Not browned and hard, just done.  Cooked veggies are added to the meat to warm up.  They should be soft but still retain their shape and color.  Land O’Lakes cheese is melted on to the meat and veggies and the whole thing is carefully put into a high quality sub roll so that the cheese stays with the meat and veggies and doesn’t end up adhered to the bread.  This is not rocket science, the sub shop owner has to care about serving the best quality product he can and be able to charge enough to earn a living.  Don’t complain about quality if you aren’t willing to pay for it.  Here is our list of the best.

Meat Pies, Every Culture’s Fast Food Almost every culture has a handheld meat pie to call their own.  Handheld pies were a convenient way to feed the working men and use up bits of meat and leftovers.  The Italians have a pork based pie, either round or rectangular and cut into slices. Not that common anymore, there does seem to be a pocket of places in the Merrimack valley selling this type of meat pie.  The Lebanese use a lighter dough made with seasoned beef and onions.  When done right, they are little flavor bombs with a hint of lemon, due to the use of sumac.  Most Caribbean countries have patties and turnovers, with the most famous being the Jamaican Beef Patties which is almost impossible to find a truly homemade one.  Indian cultures have the samosa (lamb, potato, peas) which can be fairly mild in flavor to extremely hot. Read Entire Article HERE

Best Roast Beef Sandwich Boston and North Regions of the country are known for certain foods.  Philadelphia has its cheesesteaks, New York has its cheesecake, Boston has its clam chowder and Maine has its Lobster.  But in addition to those well-known items of regional foods, there are many other lesser ones.  When it comes to Boston, particularly the North Shore you have the Roast Beef Sandwich.  Its popularity extends up to New Hampshire and across to Rhode Island as well.  This is not just any sandwich piles high with roast beef between any 2 pieces of bread.  Oh no, this is a culinary delight and locals are fiercely loyal to their favorite roast beef place. History of the Sandwich Kelly’s, Revere Beach(5 locations throughout Northshore) The history of this sandwich goes back to 1951 and the founders of Kelly’s roast Beef.  Ray Carey and Frank McCarthy first worked together at the Paul Roger House. They then went into business together, opening a hot dog stand next door but still working at the restaurant, where Carey was a manager and McCarthy the chef. One night, a wedding booked for the Paul Roger House cancelled, leaving the duo with several roast beefs. So the beef didn’t go to waste, they ended up taking the roast beef over to the hot dog stand, and there began the Roast Beef Sandwich.  They changed the stand into Kelly's Roast Beef in 1951.   Arby's has publicly cited Kelly's Roast Beef as an inspiration in their book. READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Best Italian Grocers in Boston There is nothing like shopping in an Italian market so we came up with our list of the Best Italian Grocers in Boston.  Since Eataly first announced they were coming to Boston people have been excited about their ability to buy authentic Italian staples in one spot and be able to have a snack while they are doing it.  I will be the first to say that Eataly is a marvelous place.  It’s a mecca for all things Italian.  The market is impressive in the quantity of items they offer.  There is pasta, rice, other grains, sauces, tomatoes, vinegars, spices & condiments, olives/antipasti, oils and many other pantry products.  They also have fresh meats, fresh truffles, caviar, sweets, honey, preserves, and offer online ordering through the website.  But you will need to stop at the home equity loan desk before going in.  Meanwhile, READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

Best Breakfast North of Boston Tuscan Market Breakfast Pizza When we started the research for the best breakfast north of Boston show, we didn’t realize how hard it would be to find a good place for breakfast in our area.  What we found is that it is difficult to find a place for breakfast that is using real ingredients and taking the time to prepare food properly.  We started with some well-known diners, one of which was #1 in the country on The Daily Meal list.  This diner used a lot of frozen pre-prepared items, did not cook the food correctly and used cheap ingredients.  In addition, service was sub-standard and when the bill came, it was also no bargain. We tried another local diner that is always busy.  On a Saturday about noontime, we waited for a half hour.  The restaurant is quite large and was full. Service was actually pretty good but we knew the server from another restaurant.  The food however was below par.  Again, items that used to be homemade were now not, cheap ingredients used and care was definitely not taken with cooking food.  They served some kind of processed cheese sauce as hollandaise.  The cost of our meal was the same as Boston Prices.  This became the norm for most local eateries serving breakfast.  Fortunately, it forced us to go way outside our usual routines.  Here are a few of some bright spots for breakfast. The Breakfast Café, Bradford The breakfast Café is located in a small strip-mall in Bradford, MA.  It is run by a family that has owned other small restaurants in the area.  Our hopes were not high when we saw the location of this tiny restaurant.  Upon entering, you see about 10-12 tables with a few counter stools.  Lots of delicious smells hit you as you walk in and that’s where our hopes began to rise.  The owner greeted us warmly as we entered.  She brought us a good cup of coffee and an even better cup of ice coffee.  The menu was decent size with the front cover listing the specials of the week. Read Entire Article HERE

BEST BBQ BOSTON AND NORTH   Here we have our list for Best BBQ in Boston and North. The Northeast isn’t known for its BBQ, or is it???  We have come a long way in the last few years in the BBQ game but we are no way near a true BBQ capital.   We looked at all of the “Best BBQ lists” and found they have many places in common.  So we went out and tried a real lot of them.  What did we find?  A lot of just Ok BBQ.  We aren’t about trashing restaurants so we prefer to recommend those that we feel are superior or offer something special and not mention those that are lacking. Several of the BBQ restaurants that come highly recommended had meat that was so smoky and so salty we found it almost inedible.  The sides were ok; nothing to write home about and the cornbread was dry and cakey.  Another of the Bests was undercooked quite a bit.  The flavor of the Beef and pork ribs was good (just the right amount of smoke and salt), but were tough and chewy because they weren’t cooked enough.  They also were the most reasonably priced.  Perhaps it was a bad day. One of the best BBQ places for many years had ribs that were dry, salty and too smoky.  They had the texture of being re-heated.  The mac and cheese side was dry, tasteless and re-heated.  It felt like we were eating yesterday’s BBQ dinner.  They were out of several items as well.  Below are the ones we reccomend.  BBQ isn’t cheap so make sure to bring plenty of money. Sweet Cheeks Q, Boston Sweet Cheeks Q is the love child of Chef Tiffany Faison, runner-up from the 1st season of Top Chef.  Chef Faison helped ignite the BBQ craze in Boston when she....Read Entire Article HERE

Essential Eating Guide to Salisbury Beach I grew up going to Salisbury Beach so I feel like writing the essential eating guide to Salisbury Beach is my destiny.  My family had a beach house there where I spent most summers.  And while the landscape has changed a lot since we were kids and teenagers, the food choices have pretty much remained the same. Over the last several years, great strides have been made in reinventing Salisbury Beach which had fallen on tough times.  Much money, time and effort has gone into the redevelopment of the area. Many new condos have been built, decrepit buildings on the water were torn down and a brand new boardwalk meanders along the ocean.  A permanent stage sits in the middle of the main drag to accommodate weekly entertainment.  New tables and benches make eating in the center a lot more pleasant.  For the first time in years, it seems vibrant with families enjoying once again all it has to offer.   I have been a fan of and spent over 40 years researching places to eat at Salisbury.  I hope you too will have a chance to sample some of the best the beach has to offer. Read entire article HERE Pizza

Best North Shore Eats We are talking today about some of the best North Shore Eats.  Salem seems to be one of the up and coming places to eat north of Boston.  Quite a few restaurants have opened over the last year or so there to great acclaim. LEDGER BAR AND RESTAURANT Charcuterie Tray from Ledger Bar and Restaurant The team that brought us The Blue Ox just opened Ledger, located in the historical former Salem Savings Bank building (circa 1818).  The concept of the restaurant is stated as progressive New England with traditional 19th-century dishes, cocktails, and techniques elevated with 21st-century resources.  Matt O’Neill has created a great place with a great menu.  The décor is comfortable and hip with some of the original aspects of the old bank still evident. Some of the highlights are the Popovers served with beef fat and molasses butter and the Steak Tartare with Creekstone Farms sirloin, potato chips, charred onion, horseradish cream, yolk, and capers.  In addition, the family style Suppers (28oz Prime T-Bone or a Whole Fish) served with 2 sides are a nice touch.  Both the charcuterie tray and the Surf Board are delicious and hard to pass up.   Finally on the dessert menu, the Willows is a chocolate cake with chocolate mousse they cover in chocolate ganarche with homemade sweet corn ice cream and housemade caramel corn.  Ledger applies a 3% kitchen administrative fee to each bill in their attempt to level out the income disparity between the front of house and kitchen employees. This fee benefits the kitchen team and is not a gratuity.  Read Entire Article HERE

Boston Cheap Eats RINO’S PLACE, EAST BOSTON Rino's has been in business for 24 years, originally opened by Rino and Anna DiCenso, then they in turn handed over the business to their Son Chef Anthony DiCenso. Born and raised in Italy, Chef Anthony has made Rino's place what it is today.  Because they are located in a congested residential section of East Boston, parking is quite a challenge.  The interior is quite small with maybe 12 tables so a wait of up to 2 ½ hours is not uncommon.  The menu is reasonably priced menu and they serve large portion sizes.  They are known for their huge homemade ravioli, veal and red sauce.  Many off the employees are long-timers so there is a lot of familiarity with the regular customers.  It feels warm and comfortable inside and you begin to wish you too were part of this family. We started with half orders of seafood stuffed mushrooms and crab cakes.  Both were flavorful and delicious and more than enough for two people.  Next we tried the shrimp scampi served with garlic bread.  The shrimp were slightly overcooked but the fragrant sauce and perfectly toasted bread more than made up for it.  A garden salad came with our meal.  The salad was crisp and fresh, served on a cold plate and the house dressing was peppery and everything you want from an Italian dressing.  For entrees we ordered the eggplant parmigiana, added veal parmigiana and included homemade cavatelli that was cooked perfectly.  The veal was not as thin as you usually see it, but it was extremely tender and had a delicate meat flavor.  I find that so often veal that you get in restaurants is mild and flavorless. Read Entire Article HERE

BEST SUSHI IN BOSTON ] Salmon Roe on Crispy Seaweed with Slices of Wasabi   The Best Sushi in Boston can be found in two types of sushi places.  One is the high end expensive sushi restaurant that you frequent to appreciate the quality of the fish, the techniques of the sushi master and the beauty of the presentation. The other is affordable and probably conveniently located.  Because a sushi restaurant is affordable doesn’t mean they are serving subpar sushi, but the meal is probably not all that memorable. So let’s start with the high end Sushi restaurants.   These include O Ya, Uni, Fuji at Ink Block, Oishii and Pabu.  You cannot go wrong with any of these restaurants.  Each one will offer the freshest ingredients made into innovative and unique dishes.  The dishes will be presented beautifully with as much care being taken for the aesthetics of the dish as for the taste of the dish. These restaurants all offer an Omakase that will be a once in a lifetime experience for most people.  And the non-sushi menu can offer real Wagyu beef, robatayaki (skewers), full raw bars and more.  These restaurants will probably have a sophisticated sake and beverage program as well.  The Grand Omakase (21 courses) at O YA is $285 pp with $150 per person with beverage pairing plus tax and 20% gratuity.  That’s $555 pp. Read entire articleHERE

Best Ice Cream Boston and North ICE CREAM!  ICE CREAM! We all have our favorite spot for ice cream.  You might like hard-packed or soft serve, a regular cone or a sugar cone or you might like yours in a cup.  But one thing is for certain, we eat a lot of ice cream between April and October. We mostly limited our picks to shops that make their own ice cream.  Many small local stands use a larger dairy’s ice cream in their shops. TOSCANINI’S, CAMBRIDGE Toscanini's 2 scoop[/caption] After trying many of these shops, Toscanini’s is probably the overall winner for me by a small margin.  It’s hard to imagine a smoother, creamier ice cream with such intense yet mellow flavors.  You know exactly what the flavor is but it doesn’t punch you in the face.  Toscanini’s is the winner for Best Ice Cream in Boston on just about any list since they opened in 1986. Read Entire Article HERE

The Chinese Buffet, a love hate relationship I love all kinds of Chinese food, authentic and the American/Chinese items we are all so familiar with.  Every now and then I am in the mood for Chinese Buffet.  I don’t expect it to be as good as ordering each dish individually but there are places that come close.  The best time to do Chinese buffet is Sunday, usually for dinner.  This is when the big ticket items are on display, like lobster, oysters and prime rib. Bamboo Fine Asian Cuisine, Westford (Locations in Bedford and Dedham as well) The atmosphere is contemporary Asian design with soft colors and soothing music playing.  Bamboo offers a regular menu, daily lunch buffet (12.99) and a good-size popular Sunday night buffet from 5pm-8pm (24$).  The Sunday night buffet has a large amount of seafood on it in addition to the usual Americanized Chinese specialties you know and love.  The buffet includes soup, which the server will bring you upon request.  The usual fare is done pretty well for a buffet.  Chicken fingers have thin batter and are not greasy, boneless spareribs are tender and not chewy.  The crab rangoon actually tastes like crab.  The steak teriyaki is phenomenal; cooked med rare and sliced into strips.  The seafood is really where it’s at here. The buffet offers oysters, tuna poke and several shrimp dishes.  All are fresh and plentiful.  There are usually 5 or 6 kinds of maki rolls, and 4 or 5 sashimi/ sushi selections.  A huge favorite is the pan fried lobster.  It is wonderfully delicious.  The entire lobster is cut up into bite size pieces so there is tail, knuckle and claw.  Just in case it sounds like it is all seafood, don’t worry.  Lots of chicken items, Peking duck wrapped in pancakes with accompaniments, several noodles and rice dishes, salad, desserts and ice cream.  The fried items have a kind of delicate, crispy coating that actually leaves you feeling pleasantly full, instead of bloated.  As with any buffet don’t try to go a half hour before they close…it will be almost bare.  Depending on server, the service can be challenging. Read Entire Article HERE

  June 15th is National Lobster Day and in honor of such, we take a look at the New England Lobster Roll, or Lobsta roll as we Yankees say.    In the Northeast, we have a love affair with lobster.  But it was not always that way.  In North America, the American lobster did not achieve popularity until about 1860.  Before that they were considered the poor man's chicken, was fed to pigs and goats, and only eaten by paupers.  Dirt-cheap and plentiful, lobsters were routinely fed to prisoners, slaves and children during the colonial era.  In Massachusetts, some servants allegedly sought to avoid lobster-heavy diets by including stipulations in their contracts that they would only be served the shellfish twice a week.  Lobsters live 45 to 50 years.  According to Guinness World Records, the largest lobster ever caught was in Nova Scotia, Canada, weighing 44.4 lbs. and measured 42 inches long. Traditional New England restaurants serve lobster rolls with a side of potato chips or french fries.  There are two kinds of Lobster rolls, hot and cold.  The hot has chunks of lobster meat slathered in butter and the cold is mixed with mayo, celery and perhaps some spice.  Both are on a toasted bun.  Maine lobster rolls are usually served on toasted hamburger rolls and Massachusetts and New Hampshire lobster rolls are usually served on a toasted New England hot dog bun. Our list is primarily casual restaurants or shacks, many open seasonally and many accepting cash only.   Keep in mind, if you look at 10 lists of the 10 best lobster rolls, you will probably get 80+ different ones.  Enjoy! READ ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE

  Iconic Old-School Restaurants North of Boston We are looking at Old-School restaurants this week.  Those iconic places that have been around since you can remember, still doing food like they were when they opened. Union Oyster House, Boston The Union Oyster House enjoys the unique distinction of being America's oldest restaurant. This Boston fixture, housed in a building dating back to Pre-Revolutionary days, started serving food in 1826 and has continued ever since. Daniel Webster was a constant customer at the oyster bar. Since 1826, the Union Oyster House has known only three owners.  The Kennedy family were Union Oyster House regulars (and have a dedicated booth), among other well-known diners, and the future king of France lived on the second floor in exile in 1796.  Known for their clam chowder, seafood, lobster dinners, and of course for the oysters.  The menu is mainly seafood but they do have some landlubber options. www.unionoysterhouse.com Read Entire Article

The Well Seasoned Gourmand talks about our favorite cased meat, the humble Hot dogs on this weeks Show. We travel all over North of Boston to the Best hot dogs to share our experiences with you. Fred's Franks Fred’s Franks, Wakefield  Located on a patch of grass just south of the Route 128/129 intersection and just north of beautiful Lake Quannapowitt in Wakefield. Carl Galasso is actually the owner, not Fred.Fred's Franks specializes in grilled hot dogs and sausages that are grilled on The Big Green Egg with old fashion wood coal and applewood.This hot dog trailer is home of the "shnurble," an all-beef Pearl quarter-pound hot dog with chorizo, cabbage, mayo, and house "Sirachababa" sauce. The shnurble also comes in jumbo and super sizes.The sizes for the hot dogs are 1/6 pound, 1/4 pound, and 1/2 pound, with the 1/4-pound hot dog option probably being plenty for most people. Because the frankfurters have a natural casing, they do have a snap.Fred's Franks has an array of special mustards, sweet cabbage, sauerkraut, fresh diced onions, and of course... fresh baked rolls every day! Exit 40 off Rt. 128Wakefield, MA 01880 Fred's Franks Schnurble Continue Reading article

Cabonnay: New Hampshire's Best Restaurant Maybe Ever Fresh, Oasis and Bliss. This is the concept by the newest restaurant in Manchester, NH-Cabonnay. I promise that you will not have been in any other restaurant like this one, not in Boston, not in New York, not in LA It is in a sprawling 9,000 square foot building.  There is empty floor space wherever you look.  It has an industrial vibe about it with exposed steelwork ceilings and concrete floors.  And yet…..utterly calming.  Owner and CEO, Cornelius de Jong has managed to create an impressive unique dining experience out of a rundown building in Manchester. I imagine anyone who had talked to Mr. de Jong a year ago would have thought this was a pie in the sky dream.  That his concept of creating a space that was driven by the care and concern for the guests comfort would fall wayside to cost and the need to produce as much revenue generating space as possible.   Nope.  It is how he imagined it.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              There is a bar (the Bliss Bar) that is all white and silver, very chic and fun at the same time.  There is upbeat music playing and a projector displaying urban scenes on a blank wall.  It totals 24 seat between the 4 tables and bar seats. There are three separate dining rooms.  The first floor space 9 (Called Fantasy dining) only seats 2 or 4 people.  Tables are never pushed together.  If you are a larger party, then you will be sitting upstairs in one of their other 2 dining rooms.  Your senses are overwhelmed as you are seated.  There is a lovely soothing soundtrack playing, a blank wall is has peaceful wine country scenes are being displayed from the projector, and the tables are very comfortably arranged to give a feeling of space.  You feel as if you are being seated at a friend’s house. There are two other dining roo

The Beginners Guide to Chinatown Boston On this episode of The Well Seasoned Gourmand we talk all about Chinese Food including how to maneuver Chinatown if you’ve been afraid to do so. Chinatown can be very intimidating if you’ve never really been there, especially if you don’t speak Mandarin. One look at a menu and many people are apt to run. We’ve been doing the whole Chinatown thing for years and have had many friends ask if I would take them. Instead of getting a busload we’ve decided to dedicate this show to Chinatown. We talk about many places and usually I link websites to my posts, however most of these places don’t have a Facebook Page let alone a Website. So, in our podcast we describe as much as I can, including each recommendations location. We mention several places like Taiwan Café. Some of their best-known dishes include Beef with Longhorn Peppers, pan fried dumplings and crispy fried oysters. However, the menu has over 100 items, it’s in very fine print and you might get discouraged finding things that don’t scare you away as an American. Their menu consists of many traditional Chinese dishes that the average westerner isn’t familiar with like deep fried duck tongue and jellyfish salad. But we talk about all the stuff we know you will enjoy. We also talk about Gourmet Dumpling House, a Chinese Bakery next door that makes awesome pineapple buns and dough wrapped hot dogs. We tell you which place to buy that delicious looking Chinese BBQ you see hanging in some windows. We even tell you about a place where you can buy the freshest organic chicken at half the Price of Whole Paychecks. Finally, we let Mr. Jonathan and Dave chime in and mention a few Chinese restaurants outside of Boston including one place that has a menu half Chinese and half Italian, if you can believe it! So please tune in to this week’s podcast, and get yourself to Chinatown and try some of my favorite Chinese dishes.

The Burger Show & Pickity Place on The WSG This week on the Well Seasoned Gourmand we talk a Spring Time road trip to the Gardens that inspired the Illustrations for one of the most told stories of all time, Little Red Riding Hood. Elizabeth Orton Jones originally illustrated the famous children’s book from Little Golden Books in 1948, by visiting Pickity Place in Mason NH. This charming New Hampshire Farm is still operating at the end of a long stretch of Dirt Road. But these days the old building serves as a luncheon restaurant and souvenir shop. Located behind the building is the entrance to a large garden area. They do sell seedlings of many of their plants the most relevant to me though are the diverse herbs I buy every year. They offer many standards like basil and oregano but they also sell hard to find plants like curry and lemon balm. In addition to being gorgeous grounds as I said they do lunch. Lunch is a monthly changing set menu, 5 courses and reservations are highly recommended, even on a week day. They try and use as much of their own herbs and vegetables from their own gardens as possible and much of the meal is vegetable driven as a result. They do often have meat as a choice of entrée but always also a vegetarian option. It really is a delicious and nutritious experience. I highly recommend going this season, walking among the tall grass, buy your herbs for planting and have lunch. Of course if you’re an over eater as I am you could even make a day of it by going to Parker’s Maple Barn first for breakfast then to Pickity Place for lunch. We also talk about Burgers in and around Boston and North of Boston of course. Last week when we talked pizza everything was easy. No one ever argues that Santarpios isn’t number 1. It’s an understood fact by all true pizza loving Bostonians. The burger however is much more contentious. No one agrees. So as a start we have linked several of the respected authorities Best of Boston Burgers lists, and then we discussed the repeat entries and added some of our own favorites. Some of the places we talk about include R.F. O’Sullivan’s in Somerville and Lynn, Tasty Burger, Skip’s in Merrimac MA, and the highly sought after l