Boston on the Go - a Bostonian guide to keeping yourself busy and in the know. Ideas on things to do, places to shop & dine, and what to talk about when you're out and about in the Boston area.

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Cheeseboy Review

Cheeseboy : Grilled Cheese to Go opened recently in the train concourse of South Station. The Boston Globe had an article about the food, and it was only a matter of time before a grilled cheese urge would result in a visit.

Alas, the photos of the actual grilled cheese were not saved on my phone as I got overly excited to wolf it down.

First impression: the line. It looked long but the owner insisted that it would take only 15 minutes to get our order. He was correct. It took about 10 minutes to get to the register and then 5 minutes to get the sandwich. For commuters on the go - one of the target customers of Cheeseboy - this is probably something to keep in mind if your train is about to leave soon. During non-lunch hours, however, the line is likely to be much shorter.

After some contemplation, I ordered The Classic (sliced Italian bread with American cheese) for $2.99 and the Cheddar Delight with bacon and tomato (sliced rye bread with Cheddar cheese) for $5.27. Though tomato soup is available, I did not order it. I ate half of it right away and the other half after getting back to the office to see how well it would travel.

The Classic is very basic but also very good. The bread is lightly crisped on the outside and the cheese is a decent thickness to it. Eating the second half back at the office, unsurprisingly, was not nearly as good. The bread had gotten cold and a bit chewy.

The Cheddar Delight with bacon and tomato on rye was a bit disappointing. The bacon flavor was a good addition, but the cheese did not have that thick quality to it. With so many different ingredients than my first sandwich, it's hard to know if it was the Cheddar vs American cheese change or the addition of the tomatoes and bacon that made it less thick.

One of the nicer aspects of the "to go" idea is that the sandwiches came in mini pizza box. This prevented the grease of the sandwich from soaking through and helped prevent any unwanted smushing. Also, don't forget to grab some napkins as they will definitely come in handy.


Overall, I'd say Cheeseboy hit the spot. The taste was good and the price is about right. A single sandwich may not be enough for a full meal, but adding tomato soup or chips or getting a second sandwich would suffice. Finding a table at South Station is a bit difficult during lunchtime and grilled cheeses do not travel well, so I'm not sure what the optimal consumption plan is yet.

As a footnote, today's profits were being donated to Hole in the Wall.


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Sunday, September 12, 2010

Bailey and Sage Review

Last week we gave you photos of the Baily and Sage menu, and now a quick review.

Bailey and Sage opened recently at 103 State Street, featuring sandwiches and salads. Upon walking into the store, there are two lines, the closer one for salads, where you walk through the line specifying the ingredients and toppings you want, and the second line towards the back where you can order a sandwich.


The layout of these lines definitely leads something to be desired, as the salad line can get congested and makes it difficult to get to the sandwich line. Once in the sandwich line, there is not much space so it gets confusing to determine who is in line and who is just waiting for their order to be filled.

In any case, about the food. Pictured above is half of the Prosciutto and Brie sandwich, which was very good with a generous portion of prosciutto. The dried roasted peppers had a raisin-like flavor and was a a tasty and interesting topping. A friend who is a chicken salad connoisseur had the Bailey and Sage Chicken Salad Wrap and was very impressed.

BUT, the prices are just a tad high for lunch. For the taste and size $10 is probably not a bad price to pay, but it's hard to imagine going there too often.

(BTW, there is no Read More ... this time. Sorry.)


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Thursday, September 9, 2010

Bailey and Sage Open - Menu Photos

The website for Bailey and Sage (www.baileyandsage.com) is not ready yet, but the restaurant is open at 103 State Street serving salads, sandwiches, and wraps for around $10.

Hoping to get a chance to go, but in the meantime pictures of the menu are located below since their menu seemingly cannot be found anywhere else.







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Tuesday, August 24, 2010

D'Guru opens, provides downtown with a new Indian cuisine option

Recently opened on Devonshire Street is D'Guru, a lunchtime spot for Indian food. Prior cravings for Indian food were only partially satisfied by trips to Indian Entrees at the Corner Mall or Bombay Club in Faneuil Hall, with perhaps an occasional trip to the fancier Mantra.

At D'Guru, entree combos are 6.95 for vegetarian, 7.95 for chicken, 8.95 for lamb, and 9.95 for seafood. Samosas are 1.50. Combos come with a veggie side, rice, and bread.


This is primarily a takeout place, as there are only a couple of tables and some high top seats. Given the limited space, the owners of Guru the Caterer had planned to cook the food at their Somerville location before bringing it downtown. This may or may not be the case, but the food seems to confirm transport. Overall the food is quite good - full flavored and some decent heat. But the chicken is a bit overcooked, perhaps sitting in the high temperature sauce for too long, and the naan is a bit thicker and less puffy than normal.

So while the food tastes better than that of Indian Entrees or Bombay Club in the food courts, there are fewer menu options and some drawbacks of their kitchen being located elsewhere. Nevertheless, D'Guru is a great place to work into the lunchtime rotation.

Pictured: Chicken Tikka Masala Combo


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Monday, July 19, 2010

Coming Soon .... ?

It's hard to tell from Coming Soon signs when a restaurant might actually open (interminably long for UBurger on Tremont St ... not too long for Bostone Pizza on Batterymarch St).

In any case, there's more Coming Soon signs for restaurants sprouting up around the city. See what some of them are ...

Boloco (yup, another one of them) - at 569 Boylston St, the old Winston Flowers location

Petit Robert - at 101 Arch St, the Vinalia Lounge spot

Café de Boston - at 75-101 Federal St, the old Rebecca's Cafe location


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Friday, July 9, 2010

What's Your Number? Movie

The past few days the Great Lawn at Post Office Square has undergone a transformation. A lot of Asian lanterns have been hung, high tables set, and a stage erected. All of this is for the movie 'What's Your Number?'

A sign says there will be movie stars in the area, but looking at the IMDB page for the movie, the term "stars" is probably used a bit liberally ;)


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Friday, June 18, 2010

Review: ThinkTank Restaurant/bar/lounge

Recently, we managed to get our arses over to Kendall Sq. in Cambridge to check out the newly opened ThinkTank Restaurant/bar/lounge. Here is our brief review. Enjoy!





ThinkTank is definitely is a change to Kendall Sq. scene. It's not quite pub & bar such as Cambridge Brewing Company, Tommy Doyle's and Flat Top Johnny's, but it's not quite the foodie's paradise such as Hungry Mother. It is somewhere in the middle, which is a good thing for its location.

Place is a hybrid of restaurant, bar, and lounge and has a bit of a dressy yet casual feel. There were peeps who were fairly dressed up, but i didn't feel out of place with my t-shirt, jeans and flip-flops. There are a few TVs to catch some games, an area to stand and chill (later in the night, it will turn into a small dance floor) and several tables and a few booths.

Food is American with Asian and middle eastern twist. We had several appetizers and a couple of sandwiches. We recommend you try siracha wings, pork belly for appetizers and Seoul burger! Food is good and different from what other places in the area offers. There were some interesting cocktails and good selections of beers both on tap and bottles.

Service was great. Staff are friendly and attentive. One of owner/manager, Vincent, came by our booth and talked to us for a bit. Just on a side note, Vincent is a burger connoisseur and gave us a great tip to check out a burger joint in CT which is home of the eldest burger joint (hopefully, we can go there soon and post it on the blog).

Weekends and few times during the week, it will have DJs for music and dancing in the evenings. It is also one of few places in Cambridge with 2am closing time and in couple of weeks will have several outdoor seatings as well.

This is a brief review of ThinkTank. If you want to try something new or are coming to see a film at Kendall Sq., then definitely stop by and check it out.

Photograph of Nicole and Vincent from ThinkTank.








Location:One Kendall Square, Building 300, Cambridge, MA, 02139


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Thursday, March 18, 2010

Boston Wine Exchange now open downtown

Recently opened downtown on Devonshire St (next to the closed Grassroots Deli location), is Boston Wine Exchange.

If seeing the beautiful shelves of wine and liquor and refrigerators of beer isn't enough to entice you, maybe their tasting events and wine tasting machine will do the trick.


The hours are convenient, but seem to be tailored to the downtown area office schedules (Mon-Sat 9 to 9, Sun 12 noon to 6). And to make the store even more convenient, there is curbside pickup and delivery options available!

All that's left is convincing work to do beer Fridays!


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Sunday, February 21, 2010

New UBURGER Coming Soon!

Folks in the downtown area can rejoice that UBURGER will add a location at 140 Tremont St ... near the Park St T stop, in the Stearns building, next to the Lambert's market there.

If you're wondering why we're giving such specific information on the location it's because a good and reasonable burger is hard to come by in the downtown area.


Burger options in the area come down to fast food, bars, and high-end restaurants so to get something like UBURGER or Four Burgers is pretty sweet, though the lines are bound to be pretty insane. Now if we can get an Anna's Taqueria/Boca Grande and a good Indian restaurant downtown, we'll be in good shape.


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Thursday, February 18, 2010

Restaurant Week - Spring 2010

It's become a spring and fall tradition in Boston to have Restaurant Week, where many local restaurants participate by offering three-course lunch menus for $20.10 and dinner menus $33.10. Dates are March 14-19 and March 21-26.

For a list of participating restaurants and their menus (most) visit this site.


Reservations are encouraged - availability at some of the most popular locations are certainly already booked. And be sure to check the menus - some restaurants will frequently produce a mediocre menu hoping to make their normal profit margins. But for the most part, thankfully, restaurants use this as an opportunity to attract new clients and to showcase their wonderful menus.

Bon appetit. Enjoy!


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Grass Roots on Devonshire closing

Sadly Grass Roots Deli will be closing their 183 Devonshire St location on February 26th. The owner mentioned not being able to reach an agreement with the landlord as a reason for closing. This is truly unfortunate as their lunchtime options were always great - oven roasted turkey for sandwiches or plates (where you always ended up wishing there was more delicious turkey) and specials of pork loin, fried chicken, pulled bbq pork, chicken pot pie, and bourbon chicken.

Grass Roots opened another location inside 101 Arch St over a year ago, but that location appears to be smaller and seems not to have the space to offer as many fresh, home-cooked options as they currently do.

Next to the Devonshire location remains signs for a Roly Poly wrap franchise opening soon and supposedly an Indian restaurant that will serve food prepared at their Somerville location will be moving into 185 Devonshire St.


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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

The Evolving Downtown Sandwich Scene

Yesterday Pressed Sandwiches announced that they are temporarily closing their doors - signs to lease their Oliver St location are already in the window. No specific reason has been mentioned yet for their closing.

In the meantime, a new sandwich place, Theo's Sandwich Shop, opened a couple doors down a few weeks ago. Theo's is in a very small location (takeout) and focuses on cheap and large portions.

In contrast is Aristo Cafe, which we blogged about back in December. Aristo Cafe's sandwiches are priced higher for smaller portions than Theo's, but the quality of the ingredients seem better and the sandwiches are light and delicious.

For more thoughts on these restaurants ....


A photo of the menu from Theo's:


I've only had the chicken parm there, which was pretty good. On the plus side, they use breaded chicken cutlets as opposed to a lot of delis in the area that just used grilled chicken. The portion size for a large was ... quite large and at a low price. The downside is that the sauce was fairly plain. Definitely worth a trip back to try out some other options.

I've been to Aristo Cafe three times now - once shortly after they opened and a couple times since then. Aristo has definitely succeeded in creating a European-style dining option. The contents of the cold sandwiches are displayed in a case, and upon ordering the tray of ingredients is taken out and transfered onto fresh baked bread.


The Di Parma is highly recommended, with the subtle addition of melon complementing the prosciutto nicely. The Egg Salad is good with the egg not being overwhelmed by the mayonnaise. The hot sandwich Croque Monsieur is a bit disappointing - the taste of gruyere is lost somewhere along the way. So while Aristo is higher priced, the sandwiches are light and refreshing and are quite fulfilling.


One last personal note on Pressed Sandwiches, I would frequently go there for breakfast sandwiches until about a year ago due to several reasons:
- they stopped doing breakfast specials - this would help lure you in hoping for the prosciutto, fontina, and egg sandwich, and even when it wasn't that special, you would usually get a breakfast sandwich anyway. For me, the Bagel Press.
- for a rather basic breakfast sandwich, the price was a bit high.
- there was a lot of staff turnover

I tried lunches there too but never became a fan.


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Monday, January 18, 2010

Special Election Tuesday

As most everyone knows by now through the countless TV advertisements, news articles, and robo-calls, there is a special election in MA on Tuesday the 19th to fill the Senate seat once held by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy (filled in the interim by Sen. Paul Kirk).

The three candidates are:
Attorney General Martha Coakley, Democrat
State Senator Scott Brown, Republican
Joe Kennedy, Independent

This election, which is too close to call between Coakley and Brown, could very well determine what, if any, bills and policies will become law since, with a Brown victory, the Senate Republicans will have an opportunity to filibuster any future discussions and votes.

Since the election is expected to be sooo close, remember to vote as every vote this time will be important.

For more information on the election and where to vote, please visit this website.


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Friday, January 15, 2010

Khayyam Restaurant review with interview!

When it comes to Persian restaurants in Boston area, there are few options. Let me see, there is Moby Dick near Symphony, La La Rokh in Beacon Hill, and Jasmine Taste of Persia in Watertown.

Now, there is a new Persian restaurant in Coolidge corner, Brookline! It's called "Khayyam Restaurant" and it is a sister restaurant to "Jasmine Taste of Persia". Click "Read more" to read a short review and to hear an interview with the owner, Alex. Enjoy!

Last Sunday evening, I was craving some Persian food and having heard from Boston Gal that there is a new Persian restaurant in Coolidge corner, I decided to give it a try.

Here are some of the things that I have tried:

Appetizer: Kashk Bademjan (a puree of toasted eggplant with sautéed onions, mint & Kashk (Persian cream)

Soup: Aash Reshten (Persian soup: fresh vegetables & herbs, noodles, Black Eye beans, chick peas, & lentils flavored with sauteed onion & mint)

Main Course: Mixed grill dish, Barreh Soltani (skr: 1 Lamb Kebob & 1 Beef Kebob). Comes with saffron rice, oven stewed tomatoes, hummus, & persian salad

Main Course: Vegetarian plate from lunch special: White basmati rice with falafel, grape leaves, some hummus & persian salad

and of course, the meal wouldn't be complete without having some "Doogh" (Perisan yogurt drink).

I have to say that it was pretty good over all. Appetizer and my mixed grill dish were very tasty and I highly recommend them. Soup was good. The vegetarian plate was good over all, but falafel was a wee bit dry. However, delicious grape leaves, hummus and Persian salad made up for it. Staff were friendly and helpful even though it was almost closing time when I visited and the owner, Alex, was nice enough to talk to me regarding his restaurant.

Anyhoo, if you are in a mood for some Persian food or Kebob then check out Khayyam restaurant. It is located in 404 Harvard St., Brookline, MA. 02446. Tel. (617) 383-6264.

Also, not sure when it will end, but they have a grand opening lunch special that is all day long (all 8 lunch specials are $5.99 each)!!!

Now, check out the interview with the owner, Alex!




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