Bronwyn | German Sausages and Beer/Wine | Somerville, MA Boston

highly anticipated Bronwyn opened up in Union Square last night. we were lucky enough to get a reservation. i am a huge fan of t.w. food in cambridge. bronwyn is wiechmann and her husband’s new venture. i was super excited for the german wurst and bier meaning sausage and beer in german.

the bar opens til 1am

we sat in the back room, a european feel.

i like the chairs

couple beers were sold out already by the time we got there around 830pm

Ayiner – hefeweizen

i was in love with this grapefruit beer. i usually dont like fruit beers, but this one was really good.

house made sausages: not overly salty and very well flavored.

Bierwurst – pork, egg, spice.

Kielbasa – coriander, garlic, pork

Smoked Soft Shell Crab grilled chestnut, red onion relish, cucumber sauce

Knödel bacon bread dumpling, fiddlehead purée – i didnt really taste the bacon tho

Biernudeln dark beer pasta, artichoke, mustard, blue cheese
somehow i misread the dark beer pasta as deer pasta, so i was expecting deer meat at the entire time. -_-

Jagerschnitzel thin veal schnitzel, foraged mushrooms, walnuts, honey
i really liked this dish.

Oat-honey Challah, Rye Roggenbrot, Bauernbrot, juniper-sesame crisp, butter, sea salt

chocolate cake – i liked the richness of the chocolate, but i found the cake was a lil bit too floury

since it was our first time there, we wanted to sample a variety of dishes. although everything we had was FANTASTIC, i would probably skip the pasta, desserts and some of the starters next time. they have an extensive list of german beer and wine. i would come in for drinks and order bunch of their house made sausages and maybe a pretzel if im super hungry. just now as im writing up this post, i realized i didnt try any of the rieslings!!! i freaking love german riesling. ughhhhhhhhhhhhh how could i not try any?! service was awesome, fast, and accommodating! cant wait to return to try their riseling and more beer!

Bronwyn
255 Washington St
Somerville, MA 02143

http://www.bronwynrestaurant.com/

like my facebook page please! https://www.facebook.com/BunnyandPorkBelly

Asta | Back Bay Boston, MA

it was pork belly’s birfuday last thursday so we decided to celebrate it at Asta.
Asta, standing for Alex & Shish’s Taste Adventure, is Alex Crabb’s first restaurant after serving as sous chef at L’espalier for over five years.

parking wouldve been a pain, but fortunately they share the valet at Deuxave next door.

we sat at the ‘bar’ overlooking the kitchen. i loved the setup. it felt very cozy like i was dining at someone’s kitchen.

asta only offers tasting menus available in three, five and eight courses. they allow everyone at the table get different tasting menus which was awesome. ive read good reviews on the 5 course tasting and someone mentioned the 8 course was ‘overly conceptual’, so i was curious about that as well.

2008 Schoenheitz riesling ‘lisenberg’ alsace

duck heart, green almond milk, carpaccio

8-course tasting #1. oyster smoked and raw with celery juice

5-course tasting #1. peas with sheep’s milk cheese from vermont and mushrooms.

8-course tasting #2. after the storm: seaweed pasta, salmon roe, lemon mussel foam.
this was probably one of the ‘conceptual’ dishes. i loved it! when chef alex brought the dish, it smelled like the ocean. i was a fan of the lemon mussel foam, the whole dish tasted like ocean it was awesome. i loved it how it incorporated visual, smell, and taste.

the chefs were super friendly

8-course tasting #3. poached arctic char with ramps and cheeries.

5-course tasting #2. asparagus with egg and ajoblanco

8-course tasting #4. quail – escagot was stuffed in the quail, green garlic, and fava leaves. this was another one of our faves.

5-course tasting #3. scallop with farro, blueberries, and coriander. the scallop was fabulous
‘

8-course tasting #5. sweetbreads – cepes & shimeji mushrooms, sugar snap peas.

2012 ch. d’Or et de Gueules ‘les cimels’ rose rhone – i wasnt a fan of it

5-course tasting #4. beef ribeye with chopped herbs, stinging nettles, and baby radish.
i thought this was a lil underwhelming and bland. the ribeye was very well executed, but i was looking for a kick to the flavor that it’s lacking.

8-course tasting #6. lamb with beets & scallions – same thing with the lamb: very well executed but a lil bland.

8-course tasting #7. campari stewed rhubarb with ricotta, pink peppercorns and white chocolate. im not a fan of rhubarb, but the flavors worked well together.

coconut cream pie. super dericious. the sweetness was just right.

5-course tasting #5. swiss roll – chcolate, passion fruit, tobacco. im a sucker for passion fruit, this def hit the spot. rich and creamy dark chocolate with passion fruit filling. ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

8-course tasting #8. almond and apricot – rosemary milk. this was served warm. super dericious and satisfying as well.

bunny cookies )))))))) hehehehehehe

i had a great meal at asta. food was light, dericious, creative, and unique in terms of the ingredients, smell, presentation, and taste. the unfamiliar ingredients connected surprisingly well together. the presentation was beautiful. i dont think they were ‘overly conceptual’ either. its like alinea in chicago, they combine food with art. i totally dig it.
like i mentioned before, i totally love the ambience and kitchen setup. very cozy, relaxing, and entertaining. staff was very friendly, knowledgeable, and accommodating. although i wish couple dishes had more flavors, the overall experience was excellent. i will def be back.

Asta
Category: Restaurants American (New) American (New)
47 Massachusetts Ave
(at Marlborough St)
Boston, MA 02115
Neighborhood: Back Bay

(617) 585-9575

http://www.astaboston.com

The Fugu Truck | Boston, MA

i went to check out fugu truck the 1st week they got on the road after their pre-launch party.

they were at their BU west location (855 comm ave)

cold noodles with peanut sauce, shredded chicken, peanuts, carrots, cucumbers, and scallions.

very refreshing and light yet flavorful. the ingredients were mad fresh, you can taste it. noodles were al dente.

kimchi bulgogi panini
super tasty

their grilled pork buns featuring melt-in your mouth pork belly and fluffy buns

it’s only been 2 weeks since their their pre-launch party i already saw a lot improvements. they are constantly working on their menu to provide the asian street food with the best quality. i enjoyed everything we had. everything was exquisitely cut, prepared, and made. Bing, owner/chef of fugu truck, told me that he’s been staying up and prepping til 2 in the morning everyday. he’s exhausted but he has to ensure the quality of the food. like their name ‘fugu’, the preparation of fugu ‘requires an utmost level of devotion and rigorous training’. Bing and the fugu team are def dedicated to the same discipline.

def check them out! my office is actually moving to copley next month, i cant wait to catch them again at their copley location!

for their locations:

http://www.fugutruck.com/#!location/c1inx

https://www.facebook.com/FuguTruck

https://twitter.com/FuguTruck

stay safe everyone in boston!

Tacos & Craft Beer Party with CityGusto

porkbelly and i attended Tacos & Craft Beer party hosted by CityGusto, a Boston based restaurant & event discovery website. the tasting event featured some boston’s best tacos from El Pelon Taqueria, Dorado Tacos & Cemitas and Patron’s Mexican Kitchen all expertly paired with Craft Beers by Sunset Grill & Tap.

Clown shoes tramp stamp
Cisco shredder

plantains

quesadilla

chimichanga

the sauce is super spicy!

famous fish tacos from Dorado Tacos

Founders ipa and Slumbrew cream ale

carnitas tacos from El Pelon Taqueria

Carne Asada taco from El Pelon Taqueria, the steak was tender and very flavorful.

we really enjoyed all the tacos we tasted especially the carne asada from el pelon taqueria. i have been to dorado a while ago, but havent been to el pelon yet which i will check out soon.

http://citygusto.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CityGusto

El Pelón Taquería
Categories: Mexican, Gluten-Free, Vegetarian
92 Peterborough St
(between Kilmarnock St & Jersey St)
Boston, MA 02215
Neighborhood: Fenway
(617) 262-9090

http://www.elpelon.com

Dorado Tacos & Cemitas
Categories: Mexican, Gluten-Free
401 Harvard St
Brookline, MA 02446
(617) 566-2100

http://doradotacos.com

Patron’s Mexican Kitchen
Categories: Bars, American (New)
138 Brighton Ave
(between Linden St & Harvard Ave)
Allston, MA 02134
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton

Super 88 Food Court | One of the Kind | Pho Viet | Smile Thai Noodles | Allston, MA Boston

after the disappointing visit of doowee & rice, we went to super 88 food connection to eat. it’s a food court packed with all kinds different delish asian food.

Pad See Ew – packed full of chicken and veggies.

Smile Thai Noodles
Category: Thai
1095 Commonwealth Ave
Boston, MA 02215
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton
(617) 782-0201

http://smilethainoodles.com

bun bo hue from Pho Viet
very decent

fried lamb sticks from One of the Kind

shrimp dumplings from Dim Sum Chef
pork belly’s #1 fave food is dim sum, he has to get it whenever its available. im sick with dim sum since pork belly demands ALL THE TIME, so i didnt taste it.

we had a great meal at the super 88 food court. great food @ great prices.

1095 Commonwealth Ave
ALLSTON, MA 02134
Neighborhood: Allston/Brighton

Valentine’s Day Dinner | Puritan & Company | Inman Square Cambridge, MA Boston

this was pork belly and i’s 1st vday together after he moved to boston. i was not familiar with the vday restaurant scene because we never celebrated together before since he lived 10 hours away. i really dont care much about vday; im happy as long as i get my white roses, but since now we are together, its a perfect occasion to go out to eat right? NO.

puritan & co. is a relatively new restaurant in inman square. i wanted to check it out cuz i heard a few good things about it. pork belly made a reservation a month in advance with puritan & co. so a few days ago before vday, i went on their website to check out their menu and doing some research like i always do. i saw this valentine’s day Prix Fixe menu on their website. i opened it up and my heart dropped. the menu looks so cliche jus like valentine’s day itself. i felt like i was reading a restaurant week menu. there were a few specific things on their regular menu i really wanted to try like the lamb and duck cuz i heard they only have certain dishes that are good. i made pork belly to call the restaurant immediately to ask if the regular menu available, do we have to get the vday prix fixe menu. they said yes if sit at a table you have to order the vday prix fixe, but you can order a la carte if you sit at the bar. ok so whatever, it was too late to get any other reservations, so i ll deal with seating at the bar as long as i can order off regular menu.

on vday when we walked in, the host told us that by ordering a la carte, they meant ordering a la carte from the vday menu, not the regular menu. my heart dropped again. they didnt make any effort to inform us that there would be a diff menu for vday when they called us to confirm the reservation. even when we found out ourselves and called in, there was a miscommunication. pork belly expressed clearly that we didnt like the vday menu when he called, we still didnt get a legit answer. if i knew this, i wouldve gone to a totally different restaurant.

when im forced to get the prix fixe menu, it reminds me of meals on flights. ‘would you like chicken or beef’ a voice of a flight attendant would be in the back of my head. not to mention their menu looked super cliche. items like seared bass, pork chop, and grilled beef? can it get more cliche than that?

we were disappointed, but still sat down. at least they apologized and be polite about it.

the restaurant was really dark; my photos didnt come out as nice as i wanted them to due to non-existent lighting.

st. urbans hof riesling | house beer

the bread was my fave thing of the night. nice and fluffy while still has this chewy, firm texture. loved it.

the prix fixe menu is $75pp. on top of that, it’s $40 extra to get the seafood tower.
1/2 doz. oyster, 4 shrimp cocktail, 4 bay scallops, ceviche
totally not worth it but whatever, since we are out we might as well jus go HAM. the scallops were sandy and the ceviche was a bit fishy.

steamed egg

nantucket bay scallop crudo
meyer lemon, brown butter, horseradish
again, sandy scallops. disappointment.

assiette of duck charcuterie
chaud froid with black-eyed peas, mustard
duck was a lil bit salty and dry, but overall still kinda tasty

lobster bisque
uni toast, savory granola
another disappointment. very salty. overpowered all the nice flavors that lobsters have.

winter vegetable salad
yogurt cheese, dill oil
it didnt look appetizing so i didnt touch it.

grilled wagyu beef
potato mousseline, hay-roasted vegetables, bordelaise
this was good comparing to other dishes we got. beef is relatively tender. well cooked, and has a nice texture to it.

seared bass
ragout of heirloom beans, vegetables, citrus nage
nothing special about this dish. you cant really make bass taste bad honestly. i would never get seared bass at a restaurant, but i didnt have many choices.

i forgot the names of the desserts. pork belly didnt really like both of them. i thought they were ok.
this one was really sweet, but i liked the texture, and the sourness of the grapefruit balanced off the sweetness. (the sweetness could make the grapefruit tastes more sour tho)

i also liked the texture of this dessert. something butter i forgot

anyways, i really didnt want to hate too much on puritan & co. since they were nice and polite about everything and i wanna give them credits for their efforts. i really liked the ambience, very laid-back and cozy. the meal lasted 2 hours due to slow service, but i dont wanna blame them i understand that its a busy night. the food was very disappointing and overpriced. i dont really mention about prices on my blog cuz good food is pretty much worth anything, but the total came to $280. for this kinda food? no thank you! as much as i would like to try their lamb and duck, i dont know if i would wanna take another chance. i dont know if most restaurants have this kinda prix fixe menu on vdays to make things easier for them. if thats the case, pork belly and i decided to stay in for future vdays after our 1st vday experience.

pork belly bought me flowers yay. unfortunately they messed up his order and the roses are red :’(

im still happy tho ♥