Yakitori Zai @ South End Boston, MA

i had been waiting to check out this place ever since last winter. they finally opened up couple weeks ago and we had chance to go last night. i was extremely excited about it because there is no good yakitori place in boston. we had a reservation at 7:30pm. it was such a horrible night to be out. it usually takes me 25 mins to drive to the south end, but yesterday took me an hour and half. i had to take a million detours due to the corp. challenge bs. everywhere was blocked. i was stuck in traffic and of course i got lost at the end. anyways, i got there an hour late for our reservation with a major headache. thankfully they were not super busy so we still had a table.

sake was very good.

scallops

Chicken liver

guess whats this?

raw chicken with avocado hahaha. first time ever had raw chicken. man it tasted so goood. it actually tasted like tuna. highly recommend !!

wrap it up with seaweed

Washu-gyu very good!

i believe this was the chicken breast. wouldnt get it again. kinda bland.

we ordered like 3 of them. fail

i think this was momo – chicken thigh. mad good. def get this! jus show them this pic when you order.

chicken meatball – tasty

yakitori zai was good. fresh ingredients and well prepared. BUT it wasnt cali shin sen gumi good! it’s overpriced for what it is. shin sen gumi in LA is 10 times better than yakitori zai, but probably 1/3 the price. i still recommend to try once, but it wouldnt visit it regularly.

this place gets 3.8/5 bunny belly.

315 Shawmut Ave
(between Union Park St & Waltham St)
Boston, MA 02118
Neighborhood: South End
(857) 350-4450

http://www.yakitorizai.com

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have a great weekend everyone! good nite.

The Gallows @ South End Boston, MA

i went to the gallows last nite for din din with a friend. plenty of parkings on washington st on a tuesday nite. when i got there gallows was pretty empty, but it started to get busy around 8pm ish.

loved the ambience and decor, very relaxing and causal. service was very friendly and attentive.

SCOTCH EGG

Daily Tacos – salty, meat was not tender, overall flavor was very disappointing

CHICKEN LIVER PATE – wasnt fresh, bread was soggy, weird taste

SMOKED BLUEFISH PÂTÉ – was not as bad as the chicken live pate but wasnt enjoyable either

GRILLED GULF SHRIMP – spice rub, chilled spinach, mango-cucumber sambal. shrimp was over cooked, overall flavor was kinda weird, but was the best dish of the night

SPIGARELLO BROCCOLI RABE- chili flake, lardo, preserved meyer lemon. extremely salty that we had to ask them to take back

THE THOMAS MAGNUM – miso mayo, spam, fried egg, toasted nori, wasabi gouda. meat was mushy, salty, and oily.

i really wanted to like this place because of the nice ambience and friendly service, but the food was TERRIBLE. i mean extremely terrible. very disappointing. i will not return.

this place gets 2/5 bunny belly

Category: American (New)
1395 Washington St
(between Union Park St & Pelham St)
Boston, MA 02118
Neighborhood: South End
(617) 425-0200

http://www.thegallowsboston.com/

Coppa @ South End Boston, MA

i was browsing online then i found out the coppa’s owner and chef is Ken Oringer, same owner and chef with one of my fave restaurants Toro. instead of spanish tapas, they serve italian tapas. that jus sounded heavenly to me. we had to immediately make a trip there to test it out.

when we got there, the wait was an hour and half. we were ready to give up, but we saw they were setting up outdoor seatings. there was no wait for outdoor seats. we immediately sat outside without waiting for an hour and half. score!!!

Pig’s Ear / Pig’s ear terrine with yuzu aioli

foie gras- this was one the specials of the night. fave dish of the night. delish

Funghi Marinati / Marinated mushrooms with Eva’s herbs $5 – this was ok, mushroom tasted like canned mushrooms.

Spaghetti alla Carbonara / House made pasta with smoked pancetta, sea urchin and farm egg – 1st time had uni in my pasta. yumm

the other special of the night, bone marrow. toro‘s version’s way better.

Pepe Bianco/ White clam pizza with bacon and baby leeks – very flavorful but overly salty

Panino di Riccio di Mare / Sea urchin and salami panino with mustard seeds – again, toro’s wayyyyyy better!!

although it was a good meal in general, toro is a lot of better than this place. coppa and toro have pretty much the same concept. i will stick with toro and i dont think i will return to coppa.

this place gets 4/5 bunny belly.

253 Shawmut Ave
(between Bradford St & Briggs Pl)
Boston, MA 02118
Neighborhood: South End
(617) 391-0902

http://www.coppaboston.com/

Tapas @ TORO South End Boston, MA

introducing one of my fave restaurants in bean – toro by ken oringer.

man i dont know where to start. i have nothing but love for this place. toro is a barcelona-style tapas restaurant. they serve spanish-style small plates – tapas. full bar with an awesome cocktail and all spanish wine list. it is accessible by the subway and street parkings usually available. the wait can be long on weekends. i usually come here during weekdays and wait is about 20 mins. i would grab a drink at the bar and my table would usually be ready before i even finish my 1st drink.

very loud and cramped seating. service is acceptable.

today i came to toro with 2 friends. we got there around 6:30 and were seated immediately. i asked for something fruity and summery and the waitress suggested this gin drink. it was fruity and refreshing, exactly what i wanted at the moment.

my friend got this – a vodka drink

corazon- smoked buffalo heart with romesco.

i dun eat hearts so i did not try. my friend loved it. i bet its good too.

mejillones escabeche – warm marinated mussels, fennel, garlic toast.

this was my FAVE dish of all, but i think they changed the recipe. the one they used to have was amazing. this one was good, but not as good as the old one they used to have. im sad that they changed it.

this was the one version

Atun Crudo- yellowfin tuna with white soy, spicy cucumbers, citrus and avocado. they have something like this @ neptune

but this one jus took it to another whole new level.

asado de huesos – roasted bone marrow with radish citrus salad and oxtail marmalade

im not too obsessed with this dish but whoever i come here with they all tend to love it.

uni bocadillo – pressed uni sandwich with miso butter and pickled mustard seeds. simply delish. the taste of ocean.

valenciana paella – shrimp, mussels, clams, chorizo, chicken, and calasparra rice. fresh seafood and tender chicken + bold and flavorful. LOVE

beef tongue. im not a big fan of beef tongues but i totally enjoyed this. best beef tongue ive ever had.

crispy pork belly with snails, fava beans and vidalia onion puree. i am not a fan of pork bellies but this was delish too.

patatas bravas – fried potatoes with alioli and spicy tomato sauce

maiz asado con alioli y queso cotija – grilled corn with alioli, lime, espelette pepper and aged cheese. people rave about this like crazy, but i wasnt impressed. altho it was good, but there are many other things that more worthy to try!

hamburguesas – grass fed mini burgers with smoked tomato, alioli and pickled red onion. it was delish but kinda fills you up. i wouldnt get it again.

the food worth EVERY SINGLE penny you spend here. food is amazing. nothing will disappoint.
this place gets 5/5 bunny belly

1704 Washington St
(between Springfield St & Worcester St)
Boston, MA 02118
Neighborhood: South End
(617) 536-4300

http://www.toro-restaurant.com

Lunch @ Aquitaine South End Boston, MA

i came here with my mom last winter for lunch. they have multiple locations, but we went to the one located in the south end. service was professional. ambience was relaxing and intimate. the food was decent but too salty in general for my liking.

for apps we had duck liver and fish

for entrees we had beef and fish
the beef was extremely salty, but super tender.

desserts:

this nuts dessert was pretty bad. the nuts tasted like they were expired.

569 Tremont St
(between Clarendon St & Union Park)
Boston, MA 02118

(617) 424-8577

http://www.aquitaineboston.com

Lobster Roll @ B&G Oysters South End Boston, MA + Night Out @ The Liquor Store Downtown Boston, MA

i had din din with my girls at the b&g oysters last night in south end. the restaurant is relatively small and the atmosphere is very causal and laid back.

this is another barbara lynch restaurant which means great wine list to me!!! unfortunately i was too drunk the night before and felt sick so i did not try their wine. bummer.

so there kicked in my coke cravings. i freaking love coke.

this olive oil was very interesting. im not saying i loved it, it’s just different from what i usually have. it’s like you can really taste.. olives.. like fresh olives.

i HATE hate hate!! oysters. i simply hate hate the texture. the nastiest feeling my mouth ever felt. so no oysters.

spottail bass. this was pretty tasty actually. i enjoyed it.

here comes the lobster roll that everybody raves abt:

i also had the BLT with lobster. this tasted pretty much what i expected. lobster was juicy, fresh, plump. bacon is bacon. i felt that the bread couldve been a lil bit better. fries were normal. pickles were good. this didnt wow me, but it was good.

a closer pic of them lobsters

a closer pic of them fries. i consider myself a messy eater. i had one of these green thingy from the fries hanging on my face for the rest of the night and none of my girls told me about it. thanks girls.

me and my b.l.t. lobster. who looks better

this place gets 3.5/5 bunny belly.

550 Tremont St
(between Hanson St & Waltham St)
Boston, MA 02116

plus a few pix from the night before:

we went the liquor store in downtown boston. i freaking hated it. lame crowd. extremely loud music that the entire ground was shaking. i felt super deaf the second day.

Brunch @ The Butcher Shop South End Boston, MA

today, i had brunch with my friends and pork belly @ the butch shop in south end. this is actually a butcher shop, but kinda trendy atmosphere.

this is one of the Barbara Lynch restaurants. the food was very fresh and delicious!! service was friendly, but really slow.

i had a horrible morning, so i had to have a glass of wine. i ordered a glass of riesling, i have to say, it was one of the best rieslings i have had in a restaurant.

cauliflower soup. very rich tasting.