Forage – Cambridge, MA in my overalls… #fobstyle

Oh hai!  It’s been awhile since Yeah I wore overalls, made me feel like a forager lol jk… totally didn’t do it just to dress for the restaurant.

So the night of the big fight on Saturday… Mayweather vs McGregor (FYI where was Bieber? Ha!) I first headed to Forage in Cambridge to grab a quick snack to eat… I say snack because we all know that house parties and any sports game will be plenty of beer, booze, and of course delicious fat-inducing food… which sadly I didn’t take any pictures of. But let’s just say I was pupu-sa’d out from ha! Pupu was, fried shrimp and wings, chicken and beef tacos, etc… the list goes on.

So first off.. Forage is hidden in the middle of a residential area in Harvard Sq. You have to walk down into the basement of what looks to be an apartment complex. The interior is very homey and it looks pretty much like it was an apartment turned restaurant. An inviting bar as soon as you walk in, they have a crazy cocktail list…. but Narrow ways to walk through to get to the bathroom and kitchen…. I was bumping into people just to go pee.

They had gorgeous mushroom artwork like this, which was next to our table, all over.  Wait for staff was a little slow… but being for a Saturday night at least we were seated immediately with no reservations. We were finally given two cherry tomatoes, one each… and salt to dip it in.

I felt like Oliver Twist but I found myself wanting to ask for more. Hungry. Slow wait staff. Waa. When are you gonna take our order?

When we finally got our order taken, btw, not hating, they were super gracious and even apologized straight off for being slow….. we got the bread!!!  They had amazing fresh baked bread… screw my gluten allergy. I eat what I want. They, also simply, just serve it with some delicious extra virgin olive oil… poured right in front of you. Crunchy crust (my favorite!) and a fluffy soft interior… yummy.

We finally got our orders in and the food came out really fast. We ordered three appetizers to share… didn’t realize the portions. “This is what he feeds me when he takes me out on a date!” Haha jk! But I joked about instagram-ing that phrase so I figure better here than nowhere.

This was actually a pretty tasty dish. But the name is definitely not what I thought I’d get. “Cured Fish Plate”

Cured Fish Plate
Cured Trout, Lacto Carrots, Clam Ice Cream, Whipped Brookford Cottage Cheese and Scented Geranium

What made me want this dish was the clam ice cream [duh!] you guys know me too well!  And it was AMAZING!!!!…  I was also curious about what was “lacto carrots” because I just think of lactose, am I right?!?!?!… But seriously. It was ONE piece of trout.  And it didn’t taste like anything, let alone fish or smoked.  Fail.

Anyways next up was the highly antisipating “Confit Lobster Mushrooms”  I love mushrooms… remember when I went on that rage and just ate as many different mushrooms as I possibly could from the farmers market?!…. It was like like 30+ kinds but still :]  So here it is……

DUN DUN DUN *cue music* — oh wait I already started it

Confit Lobster Mushrooms
Cantalope, Blackberries, Salt Brittle

Concept was good.  Execution, not so much.  First of all, the mushrooms were overpowered by everything else, and everything was overpowered by the brittle [which was, btw, not salted]  I felt like this needed some green and some acid to really round up the dish.  Each part on it’s own was great – but come on, it was cut up cantaloupe and blackberries on plate.  Not sure how they did the mushrooms, but definitely not the taste of lobster mushrooms when I’ve cooked it myself.  The texture was meaty but it needed a mushroom taste.. I say add some lemon-y herbs and have a variety of mushrooms to amp up the plate.

And here it comes, what D was coming for — the “Cured Beef Plate”

Cured Beef Plate
Jerky, Biltong, Bresaola, Dried Liver, Mustard, Pickles & Toast

The Biltong was definitely missing from this dish but instead we had a delicious Beef sort of Paté with a big thick disc of beet in it [didn’t really have much taste to it though…. so definitely not pickled].  Yeah I suck at descriptions about this because I couldn’t hear the waiter well.  The Bresaola was tasty, a bit too salty for me, but tasty…. and the Jerky was chewy and full of that good packed in beef condensed flavor.  Gnaw gnaw gnaw.

And then… ” Where is the liver?”

But alas, regretfully, I found it in the parsley and onion salad.  Super condensed, rich flavored liver, dried out and grated onto the salad.  It. Was. INTENSE.

I don’t like liver, aside from foie gras, so this was just eye-twitching for me.  Just a few small flakes packed SO MUCH PUNCH… Now I know why they paired it with the onions and parsley, the mellowed it out a ton — but once I had that liver taste in my mouth I couldn’t get it out.

It was all paired with a great fresh house-made mustard, tons of horseradish in it.  I liked it.  D, not so much haha. MORE FOR ME :]

And for dessert, we got complimentary Tomato Sorbet…. and then two savory ice creams.  A Gochuchang ice cream with Kimchi and a Cilantro ice cream, both with a sprinkling of black sesame seeds.  My taste buds were confused, but apparently the highlights of the night for me were all ice creams.  The sorbet

Me: So how does it taste?
D: Tomato-y
Me: Really? That’s a great description….
D: You try it…
Me: *takes a bite*
D: So how does it taste?
Me: Super tomato-y

This was literally a tomato bomb in your mouth!  Refreshing, smooth, and absolutely amazing!

I had a bite of the kimichi and it was a cauliflower.  They gave just the right amount to balance the sweetness… the gochuchang was seriously ridiculously mind-blowing MIND-F.  Like what is going on?!  Slightly spicy, salty and a good amount of sweetness.  The cilantro I loved… and actually would’ve paired great with the mushroom dish we had above.

So pretty.  All in all, it wasn’t a bad meal, it wasn’t a great meal.  Not sure whether or not I would go back, but then again I only had some appetizers.  XXXOOO

My First Bday Dinner of the Year

Rum shots for my bday!!! what what?!?!?!

And of course the place chosen was jm Curley since we first bonded over out love of burgers.

My Wasabi Beer

Sadly not much of a wasabi flavor, slight heat on the throat.. but tasty nonetheless..

Complimentary Bacon Fat Popcorn

Bloody Mary Deviled Eggs…
tomato, horseradish, Worcestershire, celery salt, bacon

Mine were awesome but these were pretty good, and VERY much like bloody marys :]

My favorite, and now L and I’s tradition of Fried Pickles
zesty-dill house pickles, creole mayo

And of course…
jmC 9 oz. natural angus burger
cheddar, grilled onions, pickles, pop’s Russian, fries

And speaking of fun.. the next day this happened with K

And after a hot shower, a few beers and some yummy takeout… it ultimately led to what adults do on a Saturday night.

DONUTS FOR BREAKFAST at Central.. open 24/7 in Caesars Vegas

Let’s just say this is how the night ended up.

After declaring to the world that I was gonna order a burger and champagne… and ordering Hunger Games on the tellie… this is what happened within 5 minutes…

“At I look like I’m watching the movie”

Womp womp. Clearly, Vegas is too much for me to handle for 5 days 4 nights. Next time… I’ll stick with 3 nights. ;D

BTW
Jennifer is so pretty and Liam is so hot OMG OMG OMG

WHY IS HE WITH PSYCHO MILEY CYRUS?!

[but I guess I’d go psycho too if my bf was filming a movie with Jennifer.. LOL]

Cato was not bad either ;] BTW just realized that Alexander Ludwig is like only 20 years old.. I feel dirty.. but at least he’s legal.. he also looks a LOT older in the movie… OMG

ANYWAYS this is a FOOD BLOG so I should do more than give you eye candy.. and give you actual FOOD PORN.. SOOO

I guess sleeping thru HUNGER GAMES made me subconsciously HUNGRY – what else is new – SOOOOOO first thing is first, FOOD WHEN I WAKE UP

It’s our last day in Vegas…. we both have late night plane departures soooo… we lazy.  I got the hotel to give us til 1pm to check out.. so….

For the first time EVA.. Kelly got up and showered before me. 9! HAHA so we went to brekky at Central, by Michel Richard.  We almost went here for dinner the other night… but the fact that it’s open 24/7 just makes me think DINER FOOD. AND when I called concierge she told me the meatloaf was to die for SOOOO…. breakfast can’t fail :] But it was really really good.

Kelly was gonna get pancakes but then we decided on some doughnut holessssss to share!!!

Fresh Doughnut Holes
fried to order & served  with Vanilla, Chocolate, & Raspberry Sauce
You could see the vanilla bean specks in the vanilla cream.. OMG.. it tasted like melted ice cream… but not as cold. The raspberry tasted super fresh.. I wasn’t into the chocolate tho.. tasted to grainy – the donut holes were hot, fresh, DELICIOUS and a sexy dusting of sugar atop. OH JOY!  Now I’m about to drive to the 24 hour Dunkin Donuts from me to get some….

Wheat Bread with BUTTTAA and JAM

Breakfast is served!!!.. along with my Bellini – which is weird they added OJ to it too… awkward.. it was like a Bellimiosa.. hahaha baby of a Bellini and a Mimosa…OHHH and some Coffee since I haven’t drunk ANY surprisingly… 

Kelly got the Denver Omelet with Ham, Peppers, Onion & Cheddar with House Potatoes

Waiter called her simple.. cuz I made my own omelet.. what can I say I know what I want and I want what I want!

My Egg White Omelet with mushrooms, tomatoes, onions, spinach, jalapeños and broccoli… with the House Potatoes…

CHEEEESE

Breakfast is better with peace/FOB signs!!!!

And of course Kelly got ketchup for her ketchup.. I mean eggs..

Oh and of course I got a side of Bacon! I was pissed when the couple next to me got their food before us.. AND he took my bacon.. cuz I got my food baconless and had to ASK for it… 

Last bite.  I put bacon on my donut hole with chocolate. YUM

SO FULL.. we napped for a bit and watched Hunger Games [again] before we checked out…

Herro… Kitty

Boozeeeyyy drinks at NUMB while we shopped and gambled. I also got us matching engagement rings!!  We got a Purple Haze with extra shots and a Pina Colada/Strawberry Mix with extra shots.  Booze made us buy lots.  Mainly me.

My new BFF – ms. Scuba

Rawr* PURRRRR

Scary Atlantis show. SCARY SHIT!  How is this PG?

…. ok ok after gambling for a few hours after this… and both of us losing… we headed to the airport.. no worries.. we ate again [and drank] before boarding….

Quickie Lunch of Beer and Dogs at Bourbon Steak DC

I was hungry.  So W and I snuck out of the apt to go get some food at Bourbon Steak.  I haven’t been to the DC one since my second trip to DC earlier in the year…. We grabbed a seat at the bar, our usual go to spot at any resto, and ate;  W caught up with a ton of people he used to work with.  THEY. LOVE. HIM. THERE. Hahaha.

W got an Arnold Palmer.. and I was given a Strawberry Lemonade – both Virgin

Since we got some dogs I got a beer as well. YUM

And then the hot dogs from the “Dog Days of Summer” Menu —
” …the popular Red Apron half-smoke with traditional toppings and a corn dog version of the local butcher shop’s cheddar dog.”

Half Smoked and a Cheddar Sausage Corn Dog

Soft Fluffy but not really cheesy.  I couldn’t taste cheddar. I love corn dogs though. NOM NOM NOM.  The corn bread was thick and tasty.

Half-Smoked in a Bun

The half-smoked was a bit tough and chewy for me.  I love the buttered bun though.. was toasted and yummy.

BOURBON BROWNIE

chocolate, marcona almond, whiskey cordial

Not really a brownie at all more of a harder sort of mousse… it was pretty good, and those whiskey candies are AMAZE BALLS.  When you bite into them you get a shot of whiskey. WOOHOO.

AFFOGATO SUNDAE

coffee gelato, marcona almonds, cocoa meringue

DIYwith almonds and toffee, etc.. SO FREAKING GOOD.
And those spikes are meringues :D YAY

MixTec… mexican for dinner.. why? Cuz I’m lazy

Stomach still sick from the day before. Although Pho helped…

Quite a story.. it all started with making clam chowder the day before. Or wanting to. So today I said let’s cook. W wanted pizza earlier after batman so I said let’s make it. aking pizza fresh turned into buying frozen pizza.. turned into buying roast chicken and clam chowder to buying Roast chicken from … and then maybe Gyro.. to MEXICAN! Cuz I love soup, and I’m lazy.

Sopa Azteca

tortilla soup made with tortilla strips in tomato base chicken broth with cheese and fresh avocado.

Vegetarian soup with chunks of avocado, melted cheese in a tomato broth with tortillas melted in.  I’m pretty sure the black soft rings were Pasilla peppers. MMM. – which is common ingredient in this soup.  It was delicious but the tortilla and the heavy amounts of oil from the cheese made it a bit greasy and too much for me.  I actually don’t like tortilla and bread softened and melted into my soups so I’ll probably just stick to the yummy Consomme Ranchero – freshly chopped onions, cilantro, shredded chicken and rice in a light chicken broth and ranchero salsa – that I’ve gotten a few times.

My lone Grilled Fish Taco
Came with a light mango salsa… scallions, cilantro, tomatoes.. but the fish itself was bland and a bit too fishy… def not fresh.. and I swear it wasn’t grilled.. def lightly breaded and pan fried… meh – Lime, guac and hot sauce didn’t help it.. good thing W ordered a lot.

Chicken Quesadila

Beef Quesadilla

Both served with Pico De Gallo, Guacamole, And Sour Cream :] BOTH were bigger than the size of my head – just one piece filled us up.  I was a trooper and tried to eat more too… #BURST.

We both got some Jarritos, Mexican Soda.. but they don’t have my favorite, Guava, so I got lime and W got Fruit Punch. YUM

Specials Only from Legal Seafoods

After a delicious brunch and a day reading at the bookstore…

Before the bookstore I went to get a few dresses at Neiman Marcus for my Birthday in Vegas.. found two extra sparkly super BOMB totally SEXY dresses :]

I love baby shoes!  Baby shoes always makes me want to have a baby.. but the some annoying kid was right next to me while taking this pic…. and I changed my mind.

I bought this book as one of many W’s birthday presents :]

It. Is. AWESOME.

I got these for me :] Read thru a lot of the Hot Dog book, SO good. GET THEM

Boston Mag‘s Best Burgers issue. GO CRAIGIE <3 <3

After a while I headed across the street to get some grub at Legal’s..

We ordered off the Specials Menu, COMPLETELY off of it, except for the Steamers which is a given and a ust-have.

Watermelon, Poached Shrimp, Whipped Goat Cheese and Basil – there was some Balsamic-y sauce on the side which was WAY too sweet.  MEH.

Steamers with Butter

AND THEN we were surprised with a free appetizer from the Chef!!!… Fried Eggplant Parmesan on Crostini. Delicious.

Tempura Flounder on Fried Rice and Pickled Veggies

The Wine that was recommended with my Salmon Dinner… a bit on the sweet side but good..

Cajun Wild King  Salmon on Coconut Rice, Blanched Spinach and Mango/Pineapple Salsa

Absolutely delish!  The salmon was cooked to a perfect medium!  I hate things like rare/med-rare fish [on purpose or not].. like tuna or salmon, gross. But this was PERFECT. Just cooked thru but still suppppper tender, not fishy and just DELISH!

The coconut rice was SO good.. definitely cooked with some coconut milk and toasted coconut. YUM.

I ended the night watching movies downstairs eating snacks :]

Homemade Pita Pizzas at Midnight

I was feeling particularly hungry the other night and made myself some delicious pita pizzas.

I first baked the whole wheat pitas in the oven for a bit on each side til crisp… added a bit of mozzarella cheese to melt on top of each.  Put some Scarpetta arrabbiata sauce on top

Sugo all’arrabbiata (arrabbiato means angry inItalian—the name of the sauce is due to the heat of the chili peppers) is a pasta sauce made fromgarlic, tomatoes, and red chili peppers cooked inolive oil. Basil is sometimes used, although many chefs do not. The dish is usually served with pasta(especially penne and may have chopped freshparsley sprinkled on top.^[1]

…and topped them with toppings and extra extra cheese. Shredded AND fresh mozzarella.

Not sure if I really enjoyed the sauce, need to try it with pasta.  I love you Scott Conant but not sure if a pasta sauce with a shelf life of a year is really my thing.  I was lazy but I should just stick to making my own sauce like I usually do.

Oomphed up Margherita Pizza… extra basi and TONS of extra cheese…  with some freshly cracked black pepper.

Veggie Pizza – Red Onions, Mushrooms, Golden Cherry Tomatoes and Basil – with extra cheese!!!

All ingredients were bought at Whole Foods that afternoon :] And both were topped with a heavy hand of hot pepper chili flakes. I have a HUUUUGE tub of it that I bought at Costco :D

Sudbury Pizza Place

I had a craving for pizza the other night so mommy ordered me a  pizza from a local joint that we’ve never been to but always wanted to try.

Cheap, fresh, delish! — and fast!  Extra cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and onions. YAYYYY – I SPLATTERED it with hot chili flakes and I basically ate the WHOLE PIZZA… – yes it was a large. And yes, I’m a fatass. But yum!

What’s Black & Orange? In this case.. a Burger…

You ever just wake up and know you’re hungry… but you’re not sure for what?! This was one of those days….. we slept in til almost 3 so by the time we walked all the way over, it was SUCH a gorgeous day so we HAD to walk…., to get a burger, it was almost 5.  First meal of the day :]

Burger? Burger!

Black & Orange Burger!

Check out their snazzy, small, but delicious menu.

Beer Battered Onion Rings & Fries...

The onions were hot and crispy and thick…  super tasty right out of the fryer… and the fries had a nice crunch to the crisp exterior… dip dip dip – I usually like my fries skinnier but these were tasty.

Plenty of Mayo dipping sauces… Old Bay, Wasabi, Chipotle and Regular

Unwrapping the glory.. and having a nice cold beer

W got a Rogue State and added on BLT :] Cheddar and pickles… NOM
The Rogue State: house spice blend, chipotle, cilantro

I got the No Burger, No Cry and added LT, Pickles, Swiss, Raw Onions and Mushrooms

No Burger, No Cry: house jerk blend, red onion, habanero peppers

Obviously we both got the heavy weight, half pound, burgers… soooo juicy and thick! What kind of pissy gets a smaller one when you have the option of a BIG FAT ONE?!?!?!.. hahaha…

I actually ended up liking the house spice blend, W’s burger, better.  I didn’t really like the jerk blend in my burger… but with tons of mustard it was still delicious.  I originally got a slap of heat in the back of my throat on first bite from the habaneros.. but then I couldn’t get anymore heat.  Next time I want to try the French and the Curry one :]

Disappointed that I didn’t like the jerk blend, I LOOOOOOOVE Jerked meat…  thankfully W says he’ll make some of his yummy jerk blend for me YAYYYYYY – I actually had a good constant bun to burger ratio too.. I usually end up eating the burger and it slides apart, but this actually stayed pretty well intact.  The bun was tasty as well.. fluffy but thick enough for some grip and texture.

LOVE PICKLES, NOM!

And we came back to find these signs, EVERYWHERE

EVVVVVVVVVVVVERYWHERE

Poor pants :[

Joke of the Day:

Is your fridge running? Yes? Well it probably ran away with your pants!!!!!

Who wants a Gyro?

DC is becoming my second home… I’m starting to really love visiting there, plus the good company doesn’t hurt ;] … so why not spend another long weekend there?!

I got to the airport early but barely ate anything for breakfast so…. even tho it was before noon I got a blueberry beer at Boston Beer Works in the terminal.

I may have spent most of the time just staring at the blueberries go up and down the glass instead of drinking it, but it did make the half hour go by fast.. so was being on the phone the whole time :] TEEHEE.

I got seated in my comfy first row [WOOHOO JETBLUE BABY] and plugged… my earphones into my knee ;]

Terra Blue Chips and a Water later… and two episodes of New Girl, I was in DC!!!! AND HUNGRY… so I dropped off my luggage and we headed straight to get some gyros…. and other mediterranean food – LOVES.

There was a place right by W but there was an even better place just a few blocks away….

Astor Mediterranean

After ordering for us, W had phone calls, I patiently waited at the table and played Draw Something for awhile. HUNGRY HUNGRY HUNGRY.

TAAAA-DAAAAA And note: I am an awesome girlfriend and remembered W loves Mexican Coke in a bottle :]

His Gyro Plate

Seasoned lamb with tzatsiki, feta, tomato, cucumber, red onion & cilantro served in a pita.

Really good and didn’t taste lamby AT ALL! NOM NOM!  Beautifully seasoned and YUM PITA

My Chicken Kabob Plate

A full skewer of chicken breast cubes with grilled mixed vegetables. Served with rice and Egyptian salad.

NOMS!!!! Both were delicious… and the pita… and yogurt sauce… I’m addicted to that stuff… MMMMMMM… The rice I wasn’t as much into, a bit too mushy for me, but I ate everything else :D SUPER STINKY GARLIC BREATH!!!  That green sauce was spicy and delicious!!!! Also the villain that gave me super stinky garlic breath :]

ANNNNNND when we got back… TAAA-DAAAAA

I am officially the best girlfriend in the world – according to ME! Case of Sriracha

<3