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What Time Is It?

17 Jun

So here’s what I don’t get: Why a store that advertises being open until 9 p.m. doesn’t stay open until 9 p.m. Ever since Boston College‘s graduation, the stores in the strip near the T stop never operate with consistent hours. Yes, I know a large portion of their business is away for the summer, but if they’re going to have shortened hours, why don’t they just put up different signs, instead of telling customers they’re still open until 9 p.m. and then closing early whenever they feel like it. Take College Sub, for example. A couple weeks ago I got home from work around 8:30 and thought I’d stop in for a quick sammidge instead of cooking dinner. I walked in, saw the guys behind the counter cleaning up, and they yelled out, “We’re closed!” Hello? The same’s true at Flat Breads, which I don’t think has stayed open until 9 p.m. once since early May. I’m fine with these places closing early. I just don’t understand why they won’t put it in writing so I (and other people like me) don’t expect them to be open when they say they will be.

Bowled Over

11 Jun

Yes, this is another post about how much I ate.

I don’t mind paying $8 for ice cream when it’s all for charity, and as donations go, you could do a lot worse than the Scooper Bowl. Here’s how it works: The Jimmy Fund gets my money, and I get to fill up on all-you-can eat ice cream. Everyone wins! A host of vendors large and small serve up samples of about four flavors each, and if you don’t mind the huge crowd, you could try a whole bunch of flavors in a few short minutes. Me? I tried Edy’s new Take the Cake and Cold Stone Creamery’s Shock-A-Cone, among other flavors. They were good, but the best thing I tried was Ben & Jerry’s new Cake Batter. Sadly, I was also really disappointed by B&J’s ONE Cheesecake Brownie. I bumped into Liz on the way over, so I didn’t have to pig out on my own, and in the end, a good time was had by all. The weather’s going to be hot again today and thankfully the Scooper Bowl lasts for three days. But you’d better hurry; after 7 p.m. Thursday, it’s all over. So if you’re in Boston, head on over to City Hall Plaza, grab a spoon, and dig in.

Three for Fore

8 Jun

Birthday Fiesta 2008 continued today with brunch at Z Square in Harvard Square and then a trip up to Kimball Farm in Westford for some mini golf and ice cream. I’ll say this much about the afternoon: We started out early so as to beat the crowds and the heat, but man oh man was it hot out there. Our ice cream sure did go down easy. And just in case you’re keeping track, unlike last time (and especially because of last night’s meal), I exercised restraint, choosing a frappe instead of a sundae. It was tasty just the same. Oh, and as for the golf, chalk it up to beginner’s luck, but Jeremy beat Nina and I — though in my own defense, I’ll say he only beat me by a couple strokes, and of the three of us, I was the only one to score a hole-in-one. So maybe I’m older and possibly wiser now, but I’m no better in the mini golf department than I was. S’alright. It could be worse.

Birthday Beefy Goodness

7 Jun

NEWS FLASH: Ruth’s Chris Steak House no longer has the Chocolate Explosion cake on its menu.

Apparently, it came off six months ago (and may become a seasonal item).

After a pretty excellent birthday meal Saturday night, this had the makings of a disaster.

Thankfully, my beloved dessert has been replaced by a chocolate mousse cheesecake that, let me tell you, is so so so so sooooo good.

Sooooo, Birthday Meal 2008 was saved. Hooray! Continue reading →

Semi-Sweet

22 May

A quick update on Sweet, the new cupcake store I wrote about on Tuesday. I stopped in Wednesday night to check it out, and despite a steep price of $3.25 each (whoa!), I bought a Sweet Cake and a Dark Chocolate, both with chocolate frosting. I’m no culinary expert, but I’d like to think I know my cake. And I have to say, I was not blown away. The cupcakes were good — better than those at Kickass Cupcakes in Somerville for sure — but they were not as moist and good and, ahem, sweet as those at Shaw’s (yes, I really just said that). And I liked the vanilla one more than the chocolate one too.

I’ll be honest: because they’re so pricey and so small, I expected a higher quality ‘cake. But I’m a generous soul and I’ll allow that I had high expectations. So this will not be the last time I go to Sweet for cupcakes. I just won’t be rushing back.

Now This Is Sweet

19 May

Longtime readers of this blog know about my utter hatred of Johnny Cupcakes. (Alright, fine. “Hate” is a strong word. But I really don’t like the guy.) I mean, how do you open a store called Johnny Cupcakes and NOT sell cupcakes? It’s just cruel. But now the tease in the Back Bay is coming to a close. Today marks the opening of Sweet, an actual cupcake store with what I’m hoping is an accurate name, on Mass Ave. between Marlborough St. and Comm Ave. Hooray! Daily cupcakes include the “Sweet Cake,” which is a creamy Madagascar vanilla bean cake with special Sweet vanilla or Dutch cocoa frosting. Mmmmmm. There will also be seasonal and specialty flavors — and even some Red Sox–themed cupcakes. Granted, the ‘cakes look a little on the small side, but maybe that’s all for the best. Either way, I embrace this new store and hope to make my way over there really soon.

(Thanks to Andrea for the tip.)

A Grand Time

19 May

Diddy was there. So were Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones, John Mayer (minus Jennifer Aniston), Alicia Keys, Josh Groban, Sopranos star Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Quincy Jones, Jon Secada, actor Jeffrey Wright, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, and DJ AM.

Apparently, Nick Cannon (aka the new Mr. Mariah Carey), Kim Kardashian, Whoopi Goldberg, CariDee English from America’s Next Top Model, Pepa from the hip hop group Salt-N-Pepa, and Jenny McCarthy were there, too.

And you know who else was at the exclusive, black-tie, invite-only Grand Opening of the new MGM Grand at Foxwoods? That’s right: me. I snagged a V.I.P. pass to the hottest party in Connecticut this weekend, and the event certainly lived up to the hype. Here are some highlights. Continue reading →

I Scream for Cheap Ice Cream

30 Apr

Hey everyone. Somehow, and I can’t quite explain it, but I totally missed yesterday’s free Ben & Jerry’s ice cream day. Today I won’t make the same mistake. It’s 31-cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins. From 5pm to 10pm, head on over to your local scoop shop and pick up a cheap serving of Mint Chocolate Chip or whatever your favorite flavor is. And tell ’em Martin sent you — maybe they’ll throw on some sprinkles or something. (Or, more likely, they’ll just give you a free spoon. Think of it as my gift to you. You’re welcome.)

Sweet!

7 Apr

Free ice cream and Opening Day at Fenway Park — what could be better? To celebrate the start of home games over on Yawkey Way, J.P. Licks is giving away free ice cream all day tomorrow, Tuesday, at every one of their locations. Woo hoo!

Mmmmmmm …

23 Mar

Farry and Barrah took me to a new brunch place this morning (at least, a new one to me), and all I can say is “mmmmmmm…” Mel’s Commonwealth Cafe is located on Rte. 30 as you’re going from Waltham to Natick, and man, is it ever worth the drive. It’s a nice place, and sure, it was Easter, but it wasn’t overly crowded at 11:30 on a Sunday morning. I wasn’t able to have what I wanted — Fried Dough French Toast, which sounded so good, because they’d just run out minutes earlier — so Plan B was a dish called Country Inn French Toast, which was a moist, sweet French Toast made with a cinnamon swirl bread. Mmmmmmm … I’d have shared it, but I just couldn’t bear to part with a single piece. Barry had a Philly Cheese Steak Omelette, and that too looked good, as did the Yogurt Waffle that Farrah had. (I mention what we all had not to rat anyone out, but to show some of the yummy options because two of these three are not on the online menu.) I’m definitely going back to Mel’s, and I hope I do so soon. It’s nice to have another great brunch option besides Johnny’s. Mmmmmmm …!!

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