Bangkok City Restaurant

Yet again, here is another gem located near Northeastern University and The Berkley School of Music at 167 Massachusetts Avenue. This is a rather large restaurant for Boston's standards and sports a nice spacious selection of seating inside. Customers can choose to sit at a table like in a typical restaurant or they can sit on cushions on the floor in a more traditional Thai style. As the name of the restaurant reveals, the food is based around a wide variety of Thai food. There are two sections of the menu- one that caters more to American tastes and the second section of the menu offers traditional Thai dishes. I have brought my friends here multiple times and I have yet to have a bad experience. For first timers, I would recommend trying the Green Curry dish with chicken and brown rice if you are health conscious or white rice if just don't care.

Betty's Wok and Noodle Diner

Don't let the exterior of this diner fool you into thinking it is a grease joint. In fact I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was a nice restaurant with amazing food when I first visited it last January. The restaurant serves a unique fusion of Asian and Latino food that I have never seen anywhere else in Boston. And the music is always hopping with a blend of Latino, Asian, and American classics. The atmosphere is fun and cheerful and in the evenings you can expect to eat at a candle lit table. The extra icing on the cake however, is the staff. Often in Boston restaurants I find that you have to sacrifice good service for excellent food or vice versa, but this place has it all. The waiters are extremely nice and attentive. All the waiters make sure to greet you and say goodbye to you at the end of your meal even if they were not personally serving your table. There's something about this added effort that makes for a pleasant night or lunch out. Although the prearranged meals on the menu are tasty, I find that if you are going to Betty's you should mix it up a little and design your own dish which Betty's is known for. As their website explains,

Choose a noodle or rice dish and then add either beef, shrimp, chicken, or vegetables--or some combination of those. Then one of the Lucky 7 sauces--like Cuban Chipotle-Citrus or Fiery Kung Pao--will take your selection wherever you want it to go.

This is a great place for Northeastern students to go to because it is conveniently located at 250 Huntington Avenue near the corner of Huntington Avenue and Massachusetts Avenue across from Symphony Hall. The prices are fairly reasonable with most meals averaging around $15 or $16. Get your friends together for a night out and enjoy this unique Asian-Latino food experience.
http://www.bettyswokandnoodle.com/

An Interview With Libby About Eating Out In Boston

http://www.zshare.net/audio/4466503e367c00/

Ever wondered what it is like to be a real restaurant critic?

As usual I found this quirky article while surfing the Internet. Although it is a bit old since it was written in 2005, I still believe the content is relevant. In "The Secret Life of a Restaurant Critic" Alison Arnett of the Boston Globe answers such perplexing questions as: "How do you stay thin while being a restaurant critic? and Who pays for the food that you eat in the restaurant?" I have always pondered these questions myself. It seems to me that if you went out to restaurants several times a week you would be as big as a house. But, no Arnett clarifies this for us by explaining that restaurant critics only take one or two spoonfuls of the meals they are so often served. This is a great article to read to learn about the inside track of the restaurant critic world.
And of course the link....http://www.boston.com/news/globe/magazine/articles/2005/10/09/the_secret_life_of_a_restaurant_critic/

Caffe Vittoria

Step into this quaint cafe in Boston's historic North End and feel yourself transported back in time. This was the first Italian cafe in Boston when it was established in 1929. Today it has four levels of seating and three liquor bars where clientele can relax for the night over a cup cappuccino or cafe mocha. It is a great place to go with friends after dinner for dessert and a hot drink on a cold winter night in Boston. The cannolis, eclairs, and gelati are delicious. I recommend trying the peppermint chip and cotton candy gelati. And above all do not forget to ask for a cup of hot chocolate since Caffe Vittoria has the best hot chocolate in town complete with a thick layer of rich foamy white whip cream. Bring cash to pay for these treats because they do not accept credit cards as is the trend in the North End. Bon appetite!

The cafe's website: http://www.vittoriacaffe.com/index.html

Guacamole

I feel a little ashamed to admit it, but I had never tried real guacamole until my sister made it for me this past summer. Since then I fell in love with the dip because it goes well with tacos or salsa and chips. I also just discovered these new whole wheat crackers at Whole Foods that are delicious with Guacamole. They are called Carr's Whole Wheat Crackers. Here is how I make guacamole, but you are more than welcome to experiment with different ingredients yourself.

Ingredient List:

3 avocados (for the purpose of this demonstration I only used one avocado but to make enough for guests use three avocados)
A tomato
An onion
A garlic clove
Salt
Pepper
Cayenne Pepper
A lime

Note: Using avocados that are perfectly rip will result in the best guacamole dip. Avocados are ripe when they are dark green and the insides feel soft when you squeeze the avocado.

Finely dice up the onion, tomato, and garlic clove into the smallest pieces possible. Then carefully cut the avocados in half and remove the seed. Cut horizontally and vertically across both halves of the avocado to make it easier to remove the insides.

Then scope the contents of the avocado out into a dish and mash it up with a fork or spoon. It is okay to have a few chunks in the dip, but I like a smoother texture for my guacamole so I try to get the chunks out as much as possible.

Next slowly add the chopped up bits of onion, tomato and garlic clove to the avocado. Mix the ingredients in thoroughly to get an even consistency and flavor. The way I judge how much tomato, onion, and garlic I should add is by tasting the mixture as I am making it. If you think it needs a bit more garlic then add more garlic if you think it needs more onion then add more onion etc. etc. This technique allows the cook to individualize the recipe. Then squeeze in a few slices of lime if you are using three avocados and one slice of lime if you are only using one avocado. Add salt, pepper, and Cayenne pepper for flavoring. Once again taste the mixture as you are making it to judge the amount of seasoning you want to add. Enjoy the guacamole!!!!

Here are some links to websites for other guacamole recipes:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/000159perfect_guacamole.php

http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_20356,00.html

http://www.willsavocados.com/index.php/guacamole-recipes

Tacos!!!!!

Although I'm sure everyone has made tacos at least once in their life, I still find that it's a fun experience to share with others which is why I am including a segment about it on my blog. The ingredients are cheap and easy to find and it's a meal that takes little preparation and tastes great. There is really no right or wrong way to make tacos but here is how I do it:
Here is a list of the ingredients you will need:

Taco Shells
A tomato
An onion
A green pepper
A half pound of hamburger
Salsa
Lettuce
Shredded Cheese (preferably a three cheese packet)

First dice up the green pepper, onion, tomato, and a few pieces of lettuce on a cutting board. Break up the hamburger in the frying pan and cook over medium heat until slightly brown. Add onions and peppers to the hamburger and then fry the contents up together until the hamburger is well cooked and the onions are caramelized.

Lay out three taco shells on a plate. Add the hamburger first then shredded cheese over the top of the hamburger. Put in the microwave for twenty seconds to melt the cheese. Then add the lettuce, tomato, and salsa over the top of the taco. You may also want to substitute the salsa with guacamole sauce which I will explain how to make in my next post. Enjoy your tacos!!!!