Dining out

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88 Wharf

May 9, 2012 in Food, Restaurants by traveleatlove | 10 comments

It may be Wednesday, but I am still thinking about an amazing weekend spent with my husband, eating, relaxing, getting massages, and running errands. Friday night wine and pizza with friends was the perfect way to get into weekend relaxation mode, and Saturday was a day just for us.

We got a late start; I did some work and blogging while he caught up on sleep, and then it was off to West Marine to pick up some boat stuff before a visit to the Hingham Shipyard, one of those places we keep ending up at. It’s a great place to wander around, and I have to admit, we are both pretty much obsessed with checking out boats. I was also really excited to see island roses in bloom. Gorgeous.

We had a quick late lunch at Wahlburger’s (no Donnie or Mark sightings, unfortunately!) and then headed off to Elements for blissful massages.

A post-marathon massage was just what the doctor ordered, and once we were nice and relaxed, we headed to Milton for an early dinner at 88 Wharf. We were both really excited to check out 88 Wharf as it is right on the river and offers some very pretty views.

We arrived at lowest tide, hence all of the mud. As we ate, we watched the water creep back in.

88 Wharf has a great patio space overlooking the river, but it was a chilly night, and we opted to sit inside. I definitely want to visit again to dine on the patio. The one downside of 88 Wharf, to us, was the interior décor. We found it to be a little corporate and cold, lacking character for a restaurant with such nice views. That was our only complaint.

The cocktail list was a challenge; there were too many cocktails I wanted to try. I decided to go with the Blood Orange Cosmo, and it was tart and refreshing.

We skipped appetizers and went straight to dinner. I try not to order chicken when we go out because I can make it so easily at home, but this one was stuffed with Italian kale and soppresatta, resting on a parsnip puree, and served with a mustard jus. I pretty much wanted to lick the plate at the end of my meal. I am obsessed with kale lately and try to eat it whenever I can. I started eating a lot of it leading up to the marathon, and I swear it made me more energetic.

The chicken was really tender, and the stuffing was amazing. The parsnip puree was perfectly creamy; I am sure it was not fat-free, but it was a fun way to eat this root veggie. And the mustard jus just added tons of flavor to everything.

My husband had the flatiron steak and ate every bite of it. We agreed that 88 Wharf’s chef is doing everything right.

After dinner we took a little stroll along the water and then made an early night of it by heading home to watch a movie.

We love exploring Dorchester’s neighboring towns, and Milton is definitely adorable. And speaking of adorable, I know not everyone is a cat-lover, but here’s a little Scout cuteness for you.

Yes, I did put a plastic box on our dining chairs so she can get a better view out of the skylight.

It’s nice to be recapping my weekend with another one just a couple of days away! How is your week going?

Technorati Tags: Dining out, Food, Milton, Restaurants

Tags: Dining out, Food, Milton, Restaurants

Oyster Happy Hour

March 1, 2012 in Food by traveleatlove | 6 comments

Who’s ready for Friday?! I most definitely am. Generally right now I am just ready for a day when I don’t have a fever or major congestion, but that aside, I am excited about the weekend.

It’s my birthday month and one of my favorites of the whole year because I feel it is full of renewal. For more on that and a pretty picture, please check out my post on welcoming March from last year. The month is certainly coming in like a lion!

Tomorrow I hope to get through a 20 mile training run before heading to a very local bar for my cousin’s husband’s birthday. Saturday I am looking forward to a pajama day with some work, taxes, and movies thrown in, and Sunday I will be mixing up cocktails with Jackson Cannon at The Urban Grape. Not too shabby.

Mostly I want time to pass so that it’s next Friday and I can be on a plane to my beloved San Francisco and on to Sonoma. Sonoma helps me to recharge like no other place. It’s magic, and my trip happens to coincide with the visit of some lovely ladies.

Until then, we’re working and loving life right here in Dorchester and taking advantage of some of the great, delicious deals to be had.

Last night, as I was a self-described shut in (working from home gets to the best of us), my husband took me to The Ledge for their dollar oyster night. The Ledge is another fine Dorchester establishment with great food, drinks, and a beautiful, secluded patio.

We each indulged in a Mayflower Porter and shared a dozen Wellfleet oysters which are just a dollar each during The Ledge’s Wednesday Oyster Happy Hour.

These oysters were delightful and briny. The beers were malty and toasty, but I might stick with my standard Guinness and oyster combo next time. It can’t be beat.

I also had the fish and chips, always good at The Ledge, but I really wanted clam chowder and didn’t go with that. Later on I still wanted clam chowder and regretted it. Not a big deal, but I have to remember to get what I want because I usually know exactly what that is.

How is your week going so far? Do you usually go with your gut when it comes to ordering at restaurants, or do you sometimes second-guess your choice, even if it’s really good?

Technorati Tags: beer, Dining out, Dorchester, oysters, Restaurants, stout

Tags: beer, Dining out, Dorchester, oysters, Restaurants, stout

Progressive North End Dinner

February 22, 2012 in cocktail, Cocktails, Food, Restaurants by traveleatlove | 10 comments

Saturday night was one spent eating and drinking my way through Boston’s North End with three fabulous friends. I have been down about work and a few other things, not feeling great about training (until my 18 miler on Sunday which was awesome!) and in general just wiped out, and a night out with Daisy, Megan, and Michelle was exactly what I needed.

For Michelle’s 30 While 30 list, she wanted to go on a progressive dinner, with five different stops: cocktails, appetizers, entrees, desserts, and cocktails again. Over a month ago when we were trying to set a date to catch up, we started on the idea of dinner in the North End which turned into a progressive dinner. If you have an occasion where you need many restaurants close together, the North End is definitely it.

We ate, drank, and a laughed a LOT over the course of the evening. Like I said, it was exactly what I needed.

We kicked off the North End crawl with cocktails at Ristorante Fiore. I grabbed this photo to illustrate that when we met at 5:30, it was this bright out. Yay.

Fiore makes great cocktails and has a fabulous roof deck that is open in warmer weather, a great place to grab a drink and some oysters. On our progressive dinner agenda, we had time for a drink, and I had a cocktail made with gin and basil. It was delicious, herbaceous, and very strong. It definitely kicked off the night on a fun note and got me chatting away.

Next up was a stop at the recently reopened Mare Oyster Bar. We are all oyster fans, so we ordered two each and enjoyed the briny goodness.

Oysters and bubbly go perfectly together, so we ordered a bottle of Schramsberg Mirabelle Brut. I became a fan of Schramsberg on our cave tour, and it was the perfect choice to go with oysters. What I love about this wine is how many layers of flavor it exhibits, starting with the yeasty brioche and moving on to more acidic green apple and lemon. I thought it was divine.

Since we felt like we needed a little more food to add to our drinks, we also split the mussels at Mare and the polenta and clams. The polenta was so creamy and comforting. I tried to make some the next day, and it was gritty and not-so-great. If only I could make polenta this amazing!

I think we were all very happy with Mare Oyster Bar, and I am looking forward to returning for a date night.

With dinner on our minds, we moved on to Mamma Maria, one of my North End favorites. We have celebrated my birthday in their room for two, the Piccolo room, and we also celebrated our first anniversary there. The food is fantastic, and the interior is a quaint old house.

We moved on to red for dinner, Umani Ronchi Cùmaro, a wine made with 100% Montepulciano grapes. This wine packed a spicy punch! It also had a velvety mouth feel and a long finish and went so well with our Italian feast.

My photos don’t do it justice, but Mamma Maria’s pesto is bright, fresh, and bursting with flavor. A little of that on some bread, with a few olives on the side, is the perfect thing to curb hunger while waiting for dinner.

By the time my beautiful Bolognese arrived, I was starting to get full, but I carried on because it was just so good. Is there anything better than homemade pasta?

Prezza was our dessert stop. I had forgotten that I went to Prezza for marathon weekend dinner 2010 and thoroughly enjoyed it. The girls ordered Bailey’s on the rocks while I stuck with bubbles, a glass of Bouillot Cremant. Sparking wines from Burgundy are quickly becoming a favorite for me, and this copper hued beauty definitely went will with dessert. It had a creamy mouth feel but was also bright and fruity. It was love at first sip.

I don’t know how we ate more, but somehow we shared white chocolate bread pudding and fig and chocolate turnovers.

The turnovers had a slightly burnt taste to them, but I actually kind of liked it. It went well with the fig and chocolate and my Cremant. Smile

Completely full, we made our way to our final stop, Bricco (with a stop at Stanza di Sigari, only to find it too crowded and just too smoky for us) for an after dinner drink. Bubbly was my choice there too; a Prosecco that was okay but not as memorable for me as either the Mirabelle or the Cremant. Prosecco just has too much of a pear flavor for me sometimes.

What a night. There was some out-loud singing of Whitney Houston songs as we tried to use social media to find karaoke bars in the neighborhood without luck. At least our fellow North End goers were treated to our beautiful song. I have to say that everything I ate and drank was really pretty great. Girls nights out are an absolute must in life, and I am so lucky to have such fun friends!

What’s your favorite way to spend a night out with friends?