Great Bento at Yasu in Brookline!

Thinking about lunch today we had two things in mind - something Asian and something cheap. A Bento box lunch special was precisely what we needed. Having good memories of a meal here some time ago, we headed to Yasu, a Korean, barbecue and sushi restaurant in Coolidge Corner.

The choices for the lunchbox special are pretty straight forward - a few Korean dishes, some sushi combinations, tempura, and a couple of teriyaki dishes. Each comes with a bowl of Miso soup, a salad, rice, and a "chef's choice" surprise. All average around $9, with the exception of one of the sushi selections. I opted for the kalbi(갈비), which is marinated beef short ribs in a "special sauce". Chris went with the spicy pork (돼지불고기), which is fairly self explanatory. After slurping up our miso, which was very good, I was very pleased to see a big bento box chock-full of delicious-looking things headed my way!

In addition to the chosen dish, rice, and salad were 3 pieces of california roll, a noodle salad, and what seemed to be fried orange chicken. The marinated beef was delicious and served alongside the bone it came off of. The "special sauce" was soy-based but I'm not sure what else was going on in there, maybe some ginger, garlic, etc. The "chef's choice" was, indeed, orange chicken with little pieces of baby corn and scallion, and though it was a little bit cold, it was very good. The sushi was pretty standard, and the noodle salad was nice - stir-fried cellophane noodles served cold with little bits of vegetable. It may have been japchae.
Chris' pork was also very tasty. It wasn't super spicy by any means but the thinly sliced pieces of fried pork definitely spent some time with hot chili peppers.

All in all it was a very successful lunch for a total of $24 for two including tax and tip. I'm looking forward to returning!

Goose Island Sofie Belgian Style Ale

Going back to my parents' house in Illinois for the holidays, I am always excited to indulge in local beers I can't typically find back home in Boston. One of my favorite Chicago-based breweries, Goose Island, recently came out with a line of vintage and vintage reserve ales. Thanks to my sister's boyfriend's attempt at buying my affections with beer, I had the opportunity to try two of them, Matilda and Sofie.
While I thoroughly enjoyed both of them, Sofie came out on top. Described as a beer for champagne drinkers, which I certain am, Sofie is a "tart, dry, sparkling ale" with a "subtle, spicy white pepper note, a hint of citrus from the orange peel and a creamy vanilla finish". It was incredibly light and refreshing and had that lovely slightly musky Belgian taste about it. A little more pricey than the standard Goose Island brews, it is certainly worth the extra couple dollars. Rumor has it that Brookline's Public House Provisions had it in stock, but I fear the store has since shut down for good. Regardless, I look forward to trying to rest of the line of new ales Goose Island has to offer wherever I may come across them!