Lala Rokh

I must admit, I hardly ever go to Beacon Hill in the summer....the amount of tourists on Charles Street usually is enough to deter me and drive me nutso but the rainy weather has seemed to keep some of the masses at bay, so I was more than happy to join my friend Julie for some good food and great company at Lala Rokh.

Lala Rokh is tucked away on Mt. Vernon street, right off of Charles St. The food is Persian and has won accolades from around the country. Seemingly small from the exterior, Lala Rokh is quite a large restaurant for the area with butter yellow walls, white table clothes, and warm lighting. Julie and I started off with some wine. The wine list was a good size with about 10 different types of wine by the glass (ranging from 7-12 dollars) and more half/full bottles that you could choose from. I got a delightful Riesling that paired perfectly with my main course.

We started off with appetizers.
(Now, before I begin, I have to tell you in advance: for some reason Lala Rokh does not publish their menu online or have take-home menus available (we thought that maybe the menu changes frequently?) so, being the consummate American, I found it very difficult to remember the names of the dishes we ordered, so you will have to pardon the lack of terms and just play along.)
We ordered two sets of appetizers. One appetizer was a beef croquet and was absolutely delicious. The croquet was a bit lemony and tangy and left our taste buds watering and wanting more. It was served with an awesome fig sauce that we happily slathered on. Our second appetizer was an eggplant tomato medley that was served chopped up—another good dish. It tasted a bit like tomato sauce (no complaints from me!). We ended up using our bread that we were given to scoop it up since it felt more like a dipping dish than something you'd eat with a fork.

For our main courses, I ordered the Loubia which is braised beef with green beans and cinnamon and pollo (pollo is not chicken, it's a type of flavored rice). The entrees were around $17-$22, but the portions were sufficient; and, by the end of my meal, I was full. My beef was excellent. It was slow-cooked, tender, and marinated with a mild sauce that reminded me of Indian food. Actually, to me, most of the food was similar in flavor to Indian food except less spicy (in my book, that's a big plus). Julie ordered another type of beef that had tomato in the sauce and it was excellent as well.

We opted out of dessert. Neither of us found anything that tickled our fancy too much. The desserts did look interesting though, most had some sort of rose water combination to them.

Overall, we had a fantastic dinner at Lala Rokh (in case you were wondering, it means Tulip Cheeks...don't worry, they explain on the back of the menu). The restaurant has a good atmosphere, great food, good portions, competitive prices, and the wait staff is friendly. If you love Indian food you will really like the food here as well. Definitely worth a trip to Beacon Hill....even in tourist season.

Super Shawarma in the South End | شاورما في سوث إند

We were greeted warmly by our gracious hostess for the evening. She quickly sat us at a table for four and brought us menus. She was very excited to tell us that they’d just gotten their license and that beer and wine were now available. She went away, and we sat looking at our menus, very excited that we’d taken the short walk in the rain to Pita.

The atmosphere was clean and warm, and we especially liked the mural of a Moroccan desert village they had painted above the counter.

I asked a few questions, and we gathered that, in fact, Pita is a new establishment as we had thought. It is a family business which opened about a month ago. They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner and have a nice (reasonably priced) catering menu. As mentioned, they also have a beer and wine available.

We decided upon our food—and a glass of wine each. The wine came; it was a Mirassou Sauvingnon Blanc. We received a generous pour of this nice, fruity, not-too-dry wine; and, at $6 a glass, we were very happy.

For food, Jeffrey and I chose Pita Roll-ups, Chicken Shawarma and Kafta, respectively. (Pita Roll-ups are on special for $5 on Mondays!) They come with diced tomatoes, cucmbers, and tahini sauce. Peter chose the Chicken Shish Kabob combo plate, which comes with Moroccan rice and “Mediterranean salad.”

When the food came, there was a slight mix-up with the order (Peter ended up with Kafta—pictured below—instead of the Chicken Kabobs). This was quickly rectified, and P was told to enjoy the Kafta while he (briefly) waited. 

My Kafta shawarma, was really delicious. The katfa were very nicely seasoned and char-grilled. The accoutrements went very nicely, and there was just the right amount of tahini sauce to give that nice flavor yet not be soggy. Jeff also enjoyed his very much: "I really liked the sauce and thought the bread was super good." Before bringing the roll-ups to the table, they were placed on a panini press to warm the bread and give it a subtle brown.

Peter enjoyed his chicken shish kabobs and the combo plate very much. The chicken was extremly tender and moist and seasoned well. (He was not as huge a fan of the kafta as I was, though. While he very much enjoyed the seasoning and flavor, he thought they were a bit dry.) The rice and fresh Mediterranean salad that came with the combo plate were delicious; the star was the salad dressing itself, though. It was like a French vinaigrette, yet it had a wonderful Maghreb herbs-and-spices twist.

I will definitely go back for the friendly service, tasty food, and reasonable prices to boot.

Pita in the South End

I just came across a (new?) restaurant as I was taking a walk in a part of the South End I rarely go to--until now.

I was headed to Zapatos on Albany street (an awesome shop for amazing deals on shoes and various articles of clothing), when I passed this place called simply "Pita." Well, I was both intrigued and excited since I love Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food. So, I walked in and got a menu.

It was, unfortunately completely void of customers at 10:00-ish when I walked in, but the restaurant was nice and clean and seemed fairly new or newly remodeled.

The menu looked great, and the prices were very reasonable. They serve typical breakfast fare from 6am on weekdays, and the lunch and dinner offerings made my mouth water: salads, shawarma, falafel, stuffed grape leaves, baklava, etc.

I can't wait to try them out. (I didn't yesterday since I already had lunch plans.) I'm so glad to have found it, and I plan to become a regular (assuming it's good!).

Does anyone know anything about this restaurant? Know how long has it been there?

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Les Gourmands finally made it there. Here's what we thought. 

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473 Albany St at Union Park St.

Experience a bit of North Africa with Tangierino...

Before having gone to Morocco for five days during my junior year abroad, I never really had experienced the great things Moroccan cuisine has to offer. Since then I have tried a number of Moroccan restaurants, the latest being Charlestown's 'Tangierino' for dinner last night.

Our experience had a rough start since apparently I had made my reservation for Sunday night, and not Monday night. The maître d' was nonetheless kind enough to accommodate us and made sure to tell us she could get in trouble for doing so.

Soon we were whisked away into a truly awesome recreation of a restaurant in North Africa. Arabic music filled the small, almost cavernous dining space where we were seated somewhat low to the ground on thick cushioned chairs, bathed in candlelight. The walls were lined with tapestries, paintings, and even a recreated spout from a communal fountain, something I became familiar with in Morocco. Dark, somewhat see-through curtains separated groups of tables from one another, golden lamps hung from the ceiling, and some of the female staff were even adorned with what looked like belly-dancing attire.


Once seated we were offered the opportunity to wash our hands over a metal basin, with warm, rose-scented water being poured our from a large kettle. Even though I knew what I was getting, I still browsed the restaurant week menu and noticed that there were a couple of changes from online, namely the addition of a shrimp appetizer. The cocktail list looked very fun, so both of us ended up feeling obligated to order something. I started with a North African Devil - unfortunately, I don't recall the exact constituents, but it had Patrón, a spicy olive garnish, and flakes of what looked like mild red pepper floating in it. It was ok, though the olives were absolutely delicious. Chris had a Gimlet, which was nice, but pretty standard.

I started my meal with the Harira, a soup of plum tomato base, chickpeas, lentils, celery, cilantro. I don't know why I expected this to be served cold, but it wasn't. Flavor-wise it was reminiscent of something Mexican, to be honest - perhaps it was the cilantro. Either way I enjoyed the hearty soup. Christopher had a garlic shrimp cooked in a tagine - very good and nicely flavored with garlic, but it struck me as more Mediterranean than North African.

For my main course I chose the Sultan's Kadra - "Za'atar" (زعتر) spiced tender filet of lamb, cheese filled eggplant, shitake mushroom, poached figs, and caramelized apricot in a rosemary reduction. It came nicely presented with the pieces of lamb served over a cross-section of eggplant filled with the cheese and topped with the shitakes. On either side was a poached fig. This was really delicious, especially the stuffed-eggplant, which I included as part of every bite.

Christopher opted for the Couscous royale - tender lamb shank, grilled spiced merguez wrapped in phyllo over seven vegetables couscous. I want to say that on the menu the lamb was described as being a "filet", whereas online it said shank. Well, it was certainly a nice-sized shank served over a ton of couscous laden with vegetables, all served in an earthenware dish. He was also given a vegetable broth on the side to pour over the couscous. The lamb was quite good - I very much enjoyed the subtle phyllo-taste in every bite, giving it a slight crunch on the outside, but keeping the meat on the inside moist and flavorful. His couscous was very good, but it had nothing on the couscous we both had at Red Fez.

After waiting some time between this course and dessert, our selections finally arrived. I decided on something on the lighter side, the "exotic" sorbet of lemon, watermelon, and tangerine served with a dollop of whipped cream. Each scoop had tremendous flavor and was a great finish to the meal. Christopher ate his triple chocolate mousse torte too quickly enough for me to even try it, but I know he very much enjoyed it.

Overall, I was very happy with my experience at Tangierino. The atmosphere cannot be beat, and I would very much recommend the restaurant for a romantic dinner or even for a larger celebratory occasion, as they have a room that can be sectioned off for larger groups. There is so much more to the menu than the restaurant week selections, so I will definitely plan on making a return trip!

photo courtesy of southsmoke.com

Red Fez Redux

Last night, for Tim's birthday, a gaggle of us went to Red Fez. Based on Jeff's posting from last month, I had to try the Muhammara as an appetizer. Rachel Ray would say "Yumm-o!;" but, I think that's annoying, so suffice it to say that it's delicious! Peter liked it too as did the others sitting close-by. I don't know why I've never heard of muhammara before, but I'm sure glad I have now. Thanks, Jeff!

For dinner, I had the Red Fez Lamb. Yes, I know that's what Jeff had too, but I couldn't resist. It looked too enticing on the menu, and given his excitement about it in the aforementioned posting, I ordered it. Boy, am I glad I did. It was fantastic! (Since beginning this blog, I don't seem to have many negative things to say about the food I've had--not that I'm complaining about that--but I just want you readers to be aware that I'm aware of that so you won't just think I say everything is delicious! Anyway...) The lamb was cooked as I ordered it: medium-rare, and it was very tender. It was wrapped in fried (but not breaded) eggplant and served with two sauces: one a tomato-based "Neapolitan", the other a yoghurt-based garlic sauce. The accompanying couscous with spices, onions, and peppers was good enough to have by itself. Yumm-o!!  Ahem...I mean, it was perfect.

While I enjoyed my meal very much, the people who got kebab didn't seem as enthusiastic as I was about my meal. They liked it fine, but for the price tag, I'd expect a little more excitement from them. The portions are definitely big, but let's just say that if you are at the Red Fez, save your craving for kebab for your next visit to Shawarma King, etc., and try something else.

Our server was very nice, and she (and the young gentleman that helped her) handled a large group very well. They were very accommodating, and when--upon entering the room with the birthday cake (candle lit and all)--they realized that the birthday boy had excused himself momentarily, they furtively rushed back to the kitchen only to return later just like nothing had happened. It was very cute. (And where did that celebratory bottle of champagne come from?!)

The décor is fun. I don't feel like I'm in Morocco or anything, but I get it.

To reiterate what Jeff said, they have live music on Friday and Saturday nights, and I would like to experience that...

Oh! I almost forgot to mention my beer. I'd never had Almaza before until last night. I really enjoyed it. It was a nice, refreshing pilsner-style beer from Lebanon. (I might have had 2!) I wonder if they sell Almaza at my local emporium.

The Red Fez

always looking for someplace less run-of-the-mill, it came to no surprise that i wanted to try out Red Fez, a south end establishment offering "Boston's finest authentic Middle Eastern cuisine". and so we departed on our merry way to the restaurant which was a wee bit off the beaten bath for a non-south end resident.

the restaurant itself is divided into two parts - the bar and dining room. the bar was filled with people at their tables enjoying their cocktails and delicious looking starters and entrees. apparently on friday and saturday nights there is live Turkish, Armenian, and Arabic music and the bar area turns into somewhat of a dance floor. we were there on a weeknight, so unfortunately cannot attest to this spectacle.

we were seated at our table for two in the main dining room, which almost had a red glow to it with the subdued lighting. once i had absorbed the atmosphere sufficiently i decided it was cocktail time, ordering a peach mojito concoction with Absolut peach and crushed mint leaves, among other things. it was very refreshing and just what i needed. christopher's margarita was standard, but very tasty.

we started out with the Muhamarra, a hummus-type dip made with roasted red peppers, very flavorful and light. in addition we were provided with oil sprinkled with herbs and lightly drizzled with a dark, tangy sauce of unknown origin. both were devoured within minutes.

for my entree i chose the Red Fez Lamb –lamb cooked in neapolitan sauce, wrapped in fried eggplant and served with light garlic yogurt. it was truly outstanding, and it was a shame i was unable to finish it because it was so delicious. i would have gladly smothered just about anything in the neopolitan/garlic yogurt combo.

christopher was somewhat underwhelmed with his entree, the lamb shish kebab, but only because he was expecting hunks of grilled meat as opposed to the balkan-style kebab meat that is first ground and somewhat on the greasy side. we both has the beirut couscous as our side, and christopher could not stop raving about how good it was, laden with vegetables and spices and oh so good. i definitely concurred.

the only negative part of the evening which wasn't really negative at all was the fact that christopher had to open our bottle of Argentine red for the waitress, for no matter how hard she tried, just couldn't open it. the manager walked by and saw the ordeal, so we were hoping something would be removed from our bill, but alas, it wasn't. we could hardly finish the bottle we were so full.

all in all it was a wonderful meal, and i look forward to my next opportunity there.

Read about a subsequent visit: Red Fez - Redux

*photo is courtesy of the Red Fez website, as I forgot to bring my camera

Oliviers & Co.

This summer, I’ve been a bit obsessed with all of Peter Mayle’s books. You may know Peter Mayle as the author of A Year in Provence. I was reading the third book in the series and came across a chapter about olive oil. It seems our author traveled to a well-known olive oil producer in Provence and got le grand tour. The way he describes the olive oil tasting was so taste-bud provoking that I had to show Bryan. Bryan astutely noticed that the company he went to go tour in Provence has a store here, in Boston, on Newbury Street! And so, on Saturday, we headed over to Oliviers & Co. to see what all the hype was about.

My run-ins with olive oil have always been casual at best. Some oil for cooking here, some oil for bread dipping there but, to be honest, although the taste always seemed okay to me, it was nothing ever to write home about (I hid this fact due to the almost religious sanctity that cooks speak of the substance) and therefore, I was a bit skeptical that the oil I would be buying/tasting would live up to Mayle’s descriptions. Boy, was I wrong.

Oliviers & Co. take their oil seriously. The employees know the product well and are happy to share their knowledge with you. We were helped by a young friendly woman who offered to take us through a petit voyage of the different types of oil the company offered. She handed us two small plastic spoons and off we went. The first, and most subtle of their flavors was an olive oil from Sicily called Pollichino. Pollichino is made from olives planted at an altitude of 2,132 ft. which benefit from the “purity of the air and mild Mediterranean climate”. She poured a dollop on our spoons and I swooshed it around my mouth and pretended like I knew what I was doing. Now, my idea of a good eats is usually not to spoon down pure olive oil with nothing to accompany it but with this oil, I didn’t much mind. The taste was pure, light, and, well, amazing. This is what olive oil is supposed to taste like (what the hell were they serving me at Bertucci’s all these years!). The Sicilians do it right! The next oil we tasted (again from Italy) was a bit stronger with a saltier taste. Our third, from France, was a bit stronger then the previous one and an even saltier aftertaste. Our last dollop was an oil from Provence called Moulin Des Penitents. It was rich and smooth going down. It had such an intense floral taste to it that almost made me taste the bees still buzzing in the lavender. The website is a bit more elegant in describing the smell and taste: a young, green oil, full of sap, which blends together the sweet flavors of exotic fruit and baked apple…elegant and distinguished. These first four oils we had are called “finishing oils” and are typically for bread dipping, etc. but not everyday cooking. The prices run about $42 for 16.8 fl oz.

After our small tasting, we were like two kids in a candy store, picking up everything in sight and longing to taste what was inside the clear glass bottles. We did get to try two other oils that were under the “specialty oil” category. Specialty oils are infused with other herbs at the same time as the olive pressing so the oil picks up on their flavor. We were lucky enough to try the mint and basil infused oils. The mint oil was delicious. I had an upset stomach that day (see previous posting) and just a small drop of that oil helped sooth my stomach for a few hours. The basil oil would be perfect on sliced mozzarella...there would be no need to use basil leaves when serving the classic dish since the oil replicated the taste of the leaves perfectly.

After spending about 30 minutes in the store, we picked out a few choice oils (including white truffle oil!) and headed home, satisfied and dying to go back soon.

Stella's Not Stellar Yet

The perfect summer evening. The perfect dinner companions. It ends there. Peter called as I was leaving work and wanted to know if I wanted to have dinner. It was the perfect night to dine outside, so I thought, "let's go to Stella's!" I had never been and always wanted to eat there. Its upscale Italian. Fun yellow awnings adorn the large windows with lots of patio seating. Peter called an got a reservation. Oh Peter, he always knows how to get a reservation. He just made a call. Unfortunately, the outdoor seating is on a first come, first serve basis and is not subject to the reservations holding us a table indoors. On a whim, we agreed to eat inside. In retrospect, this was a mistake, even if we did have to wait a little while for a table. The restaurant was uncomfortably hot and there was hardly any moving air. The waitress, finally realizing how uncomfortable we were, apologized at the end of the meal, explaining that their AC wasn't working so well. It appears that Stella's is THE hot-spot for pregnant women. I counted at least 3.... Who knows how many other women in the place were knocked-up. The entire middle of the restaurant was occupied by a large table of women gathered for a baby shower (equipped with large cake made out of diapers). Who has a baby shower on a Thursday night at 6:30?


The Food 

Warm, stuffy rooms do not promote appetites. That isn't science, that's experience. I guess tough times has fallen upon Stella's as they only provided us with one small piece of bread (Peter and Bryan had been before and noted they used to provide an entire bread basket). P & B insisted we get this fried risotto ball (arancini) for an appetizer. Unfortunately, only 2 of these balls came in an order (again, Peter and Bryan recalled 3 being previously provided) so we had to split them in awkward portions (aka I took one whole ball and P & B fought over the remaining one). I had swordfish for dinner. Jean and I had been talking about it at lunch, so when I saw it on the menu it caught my eye. The piece of fish was very small. And I don't think I've ever said this, but the potato was the best part of the dish. Bryan ordered a pasta dish which was too hot for me to try and Peter ordered pork which made him want to puke (literally). The pork looked more like veal and was pretty much flavorless (I had to try it).

To drink, I had a Sam Adams Summer Ale...hoping it would transport me back to the summer nights I spent outside at AriBar on Boston Harbor. Unfortunately (I seem to be typing that word a lot), the thoughts of enjoyable summer evenings lasted only for a fleeting moment, because then the music began. Halfway through the meal someone decided to turn on unbelievably loud music. It was so loud and inappropriate that almost everyone in the restaurant looked up when they turned it on. It was strange trumpet music and it was so brassy and harsh that it was hard to hear P & B who were sitting very close by.

The highlight of the meal was a near Andrew Keenan Bolger sighting. We decided, however, that the person we saw was far too tall to really be AKB....but this possibility certainly provided a needed excitement to a rather otherwise disappointing meal.

About the reviewer: Adam is editor of Adam's Blog, a unique look at decorating, food, culture, and other random occurrences. Join Adam for the premiere of his second blog season on August 8th (8.8.08).


For another view, check out Boston Chomps.

Bacon-wrapped, Roasted Walnut-filled Prunes

I made this recipe last night for a cocktail party. I love things wrapped in bacon, and one of my favorite things at our local Venezuelan joint, Orinoco, is their bacon-wrapped, almond-stuffed dates.

I got this recipe from a Greek mezé cookbook given to me by the dean. It was delicious, but I have a few things I would do differently next time.

MAKES 8 TO 12 SERVI NGS
24 large, pitted prunes
1 1⁄2 cups dry red wine
1⁄2 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
24 walnut halves
24 thin strips of Canadian bacon or pancetta
6 slices whole-wheat bread, crusts removed, cut into quarters

1. Place the prunes in a bowl and marinate at room temperature with the wine and
peppercorns for 6 hours. Remove and drain. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a stain-
less-steel baking pan, large enough to fit the bread squares in one layer.

2. Stuff each of the prunes with one walnut half. Wrap one strip of bacon around each
prune and place each piece on one of the bread quarters. Secure with a toothpick.
Place the prunes in the pan and bake for about 15 minutes, or until the bacon has
crisped and the bread is golden.

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First of all, not being forwardly looking enough, I only had 2 hours to prepare this, and if you read closely (as I didn't), you'll see that the prunes are to marinate for 6 hours in the wine. In order to speed this up, I zapped them for 1 minute in the microwave in the marinade and after soaking for an hour or so, I zapped them once more. In all, they probably marinated for an hour and a half, and I think they were sufficiently moist, but I didn't taste much of the wine flavor in the finished product. I'd like to compare this with the procedure called for in the recipe to see what difference the 6 hours make.

Secondly, I didn't use canadian bacon or pancetta. I used regular ol' American-style bacon (smoked poitrine, if you will). This is the kind of bacon I usually see "bacon-wrapped" dishes wrapped in, so I think this is a fine substitution. Unfortunately, I didn't notice that I had bought the maple "flavor" until after I had opened the package. I didn't even know such a thing existed. The maple flavor was quite strong (and this might also be a reason I didn't taste a subtle wine flavor?!). Anyway, I cut the strips of bacon in half and wrapped the stuffed prunes with that.

My last comment would be that--given I used a different kind of bacon--the prunes need to cook longer than the prescribed 15 minutes. I'd say it's closer to 30. I ran out of time and took them out earlier than I would have liked to, and I think the bacon could have definitely been crispier. They still tasted really nice, but crispier bacon would have definitely improved the dish as a whole. (I also didn't serve the bread with it since they had become soggy from the bacon drippings and did not get a chance to crisp up either.)

The Verdict: If you like bacon, dried plums, and nuts, definitely try this recipe! :-) It's easy to make and delicious. You might have to fool around with the oven times to make sure the bacon is crispy; but, if you do, I think you'll be making these anytime you have guests over!