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My Perfect Day of Eating

6 Apr

My friend Dan has a great podcast called The Sporkful, which he hosts with his buddy, Mark.

The tagline for the show is “It’s not for foodies, it’s for eaters.” That just about describes me perfectly.

I don’t like fancy-schmancy food, but I sure do like what I like. And I take it rather seriously.

How much? Well, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, or if we’re connected on Facebook or Twitter, then you have a pretty good idea.

So I thought I’d devote a blog post to my perfect day of eating. And yes, perfect includes not having to worry about calories or ever getting full.

Where would I go, and what would I eat? Continue reading →

Wegmans Is No Stew Leonard’s

30 Oct

According to some of my friends, the opening of a Wegmans store in Northborough was akin to the second coming, or the Cubs winning the World Series.

Getting excited about the opening of a supermarket is not a foreign concept to me, but apparently, this was different.

“It’s not a supermarket,” they said. “It’s an experience.”

Cool, I thought. I grew up in New York, and shopped often at Stew Leonard’s, where there are samples around every bend, and whimsical touches like singing/dancing food help make the shopping experience more fun for shoppers of all ages.

So suffice it to say, I know what it’s like when a store goes above and beyond to make grocery shopping different and a more enjoyable experience.

Would Wegmans be anything like that? Continue reading →

6 Things I’m Not Going to Apologize For

4 Oct

It’s the week between Rosh Hashannah and Yom Kippur.

The custom is you’re supposed to spend this time repenting for your sins and apologizing to people for anything bad you may have done to them during the year so that on Yom Kippur (which begins Friday night at sundown), you have a clean slate.

But I’m not the apologizing type, so I’m not gonna do that.

In fact, here are a few things I’m not sorry for: Continue reading →

More Free Stuff Thanks to Twitter

1 Mar

You may recall that last summer, I used Twitter to get my entire office free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream.

Aside from it being a great marketing program for Ben & Jerry’s, it was lots of fun for me.

To this day, I use the story as just one reason why I think Twitter is worthwhile. I mean, how can you argue with getting free stuff?

Well, guess what: It’s happened again. Continue reading →

Tasty Treat

8 Jul

One of the problems with the cupcake scene in the Boston area — other than the fact that there’s no Crumbs within the state lines — is that most of the places just don’t live up to their names, or the hype.

Kickass Cupcakes don’t.

Sweet’s are not.

Shot Cakes, while tasty and worth the trip, don’t include alcohol shots. (Okay, fine. Maybe that one’s a stretch.)

And so on.

Now there’s Treat in Needham Center, and, well, finally the name fits.

I went in on day two this past weekend (it opened on July 4), had a cupcake called the Plain Jane, and fell in love. Continue reading →

A Mea Culpa

28 Jun

Nearly two years ago on this blog, I wrote that I had tried every pizza and sandwich shop in Cleveland Circle, and all of them had failed to impress me. Well, I need to apologize, because since then, I’ve become quite a fan of Pino’s.

It started when my sister, brother-in-law, and niece were here in December and we wanted to grab some pizza for lunch. I settled for Pino’s because it was closest to me, but was pleasantly surprised by the pie. Since then, I’ve gone back many times and have never been disappointed. The dough is great, the cheese never runny, and the slices are always served at a perfect temperature. I’m no food critic, but I know what good pizza tastes like. In fact, I dare say the pizza at Pino’s is just as good as the pizza at T. Anthony’s, my other favorite local pizza joint.

So consider this a second apology. I apologized to Eagle’s Deli soon after the original post went live, and now I’m coming around to Pino’s too. Let my continued patronage be my penance.

Take Your Shot

14 Jun

Do you remember Trani, that unfortunately named place in the North End where the featured menu item was cupcakes injected with ice cream? I definitely remember it. Well, it has closed and been replaced by a pizza place — yes, just what the North End needed, another pizza place.

But last week, on my birthday, a coworker (thanks, Suzy!) came into the office with exciting news. It seems a new place just like Trani has opened up in the Burlington Mall, of all places. It’s called Shot Cakes, and it has the same basic premise: cupcakes injected with ice cream. There’s one big difference, though: Whereas Trani had basic chocolate and vanilla cupcakes that you wouldn’t necessarily want to eat without the ice cream, Shot Cakes has a whole selection of awesome flavors that are great as is. Red Velvet, Cookie Dough, Cookies and Cream, Brownie, Frosted with sprinkles, and so on. Add in ice cream and some hot fudge (or any of the other toppings, like peanut butter or caramel) and, well, WOW!

Barry and I went to check this place out on Saturday, and I had a Chip Shot Cake Quake. That’s a chocolate cookie dough cupcake, injected with vanilla ice cream, topped with hot fudge, and served in a cup. It’s kind of like a sundae, minus the whipped cream. A-MA-ZING. Moist cake, yummy fudge, and ice cream too. It wasn’t overwhelmingly heavy or filling. And it cost less than $4. Had I been alone, I might have had a second. (Or a third.)

One curiosity was why there was not a bigger crowd waiting for their own Shot Cakes. Maybe we were there at an off time (who knew such a thing existed at a mall food court), but on the off chance that this place isn’t getting the attention it deserves, I wanted to put up a blog post here (yeah, ’cause that will bring the place LOTS of attention). If you like cupcakes and ice cream — and really, who doesn’t? — then by all means make a trip to Burlington and check this place out. (Just get in line behind me.)

Taking It Back

7 Apr

The truth is, Passover really isn’t such a bad holiday. I’d rather have a limited diet for eight days than not be able to eat for one, as is the case on Yom Kippur. But that doesn’t make the end of the holiday any less enjoyable. Last night, as the sun went down, I indulged my two other Passover traditions: eating a pasta dinner from Bertucci’s and taking my extra food back to Star Market. After all, if I’m going to be overcharged for the food, then why shouldn’t I take back all the things I didn’t need when the holiday is over? (I like to think of it as my way of sticking it to the Man.) This year, I had plenty of extra food to return — due to the fact that I brought back a lot of leftovers from New York (mmm … mom’s brisket), and the fact that I ate smarter during the week. I brought back a box of Coffee Cake mix, two cans of tuna fish, a jar of gefilte fish, and a jar of jelly. The grand total for all that: $20.15. I’d call that a success. So … Happy end of Passover. Martin: 1, The Man: 0.

A Passover Tradition Continues

24 Mar

Like the youngest child asking the four questions, or the hiding of the afikomen, I, too, have my own Passover traditions. One of those is posting a rant about how much I hate shopping for Passover food. If you don’t know, dietary restrictions during Passover prevent you from eating anything with flour or yeast in it. And if you’re observant enough to keep the holiday, then you need to purchase Kosher for Passover food for eating during the week. While I’m not the most observant Jew 51 weeks of the year, I often joke that Passover is the one week when I find my religion. As a result, each year I have to buy these “special” ingredients and foodstuffs.

Sunday was my annual trip to Star Market to make these purchases (the holiday starts this Monday night), and like in years past, I was annoyed by how much I was being charged to buy food I didn’t even want to buy. $6 for a box of cookies that might ordinarily cost $2.50. Cake mix for the same price, even though the cake is half the size of a normal cake (if not smaller). A jar of grape jelly for $4. A can of tuna fish for nearly $3. And those were the “sale” prices! Yes, that’s what supermarkets do: They set a price for the Passover food, call it a “sale” price, and mark its regular price a dollar or so higher. It’s like they’re capitalizing on the horrible stereotype that Jews like their deals and would rather buy something on sale than if it was normally priced. And then, because we don’t have the option, we buy all this overpriced stuff, which we only need for a week.

When all was said and done, I had spent $50 on Sunday for my K4P food — and that’s not even counting the perishable stuff that I’ll pick up this weekend. By comparison, on an average week, I usually spend about $20 for my groceries (the beauty of living by myself, I guess). So that’s why I saved my receipt. When the holiday is over, I’ll be partaking in my second Passover tradition: returning all my unopened food and getting my money back. The way I figure it, if the store’s gonna overcharge me, the least they can do is take back and refund my money for the stuff I don’t use.

Happy early Passover to all who celebrate. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

You Know You Want to Try It Too

28 Feb

When I saw on CBS’ Sunday Morning today that there was a pancake batter in a can product called Batter Blaster, I was simultaneously horrified, skeptical, and curious. I mean, pancake batter in a can? With a name that sounds more like a comic-book villain? Seriously? But as someone who likes his pancakes (and waffles) on a Sunday morning, I decided I had to do what any other self-(dis)respecting person would do, and try it.

According to the website, Batter Blaster isn’t available everywhere, but it can be found at Stop & Shop (near the eggs and whipped cream), so I went there. Five dollars and a conversation with an amused and excited fellow shopper later, I was home and cooking. The batter (which, by the way, is made mostly with organic ingredients) didn’t come out in the same whipped-cream style that I’d seen on TV (it was much runnier, despite my shaking of the can), and the pancakes might not have been the thickest ones I’ve had, but they were, as advertised, light and fluffy. Tasty too. I was very impressed. So I kept on cooking and had myself a very good breakfast.

And there you go. I’ve learned something today: Pancakes from a can can actually be good. And now, when I want to have pancakes or waffles on a Sunday morning, I don’t have to worry about mixing up the flour and eggs and other stuff. I just have to look in my refrigerator. Score.

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