El Pelón Taquería

The only thing missing is that guy's hair!

When we're in the Fenway around lunchtime, our favorite place to go for a quick, delicious (and cheap!) bite is El Pelón. Our favorite thing on the menu is "El Guapo," a burrito that comes with the works--including fried plantains. We often get it with chicken, but on the menu, it comes with steak. It's fantastic, under $7, and we think we look extra guapo walking down the street eating it!

"El Guapo" is our favorite, but we've never been disappointed with anything we've ever ordered--especially the burritos. The tamales are another of my favorites and are stuffed with cheese and hot peppers and served with crema.

Recently, we were saddened when we learned that there had been a fire that closed down the restaurant, but we are happy to report that it has been back open now for a while and whatever kind of fire there was doesn't seem to have done any damage to the areas the customers see! Oh, by the way...the inside is decorated with photos of fans who have snapped pictures of themselves all over the world in the restaurant's bald-guy T-shirts--that's kinda fun. It's also decorated with colorful Dia de los muertos décor that we always enjoy looking at.

The staff is always nice and can often be seen singing along with the music. Food comes quickly, and someone will deliver it either to you inside at one of the few tables or outside at the ample seating at picnic tables out front.

Here is a tempting healthy summer dish!

Grilled Shrimp With Spicy Tamarind Dipping Sauce

This shrimp appetizer almost has the iron of steak but far fewer calories.

Serves 8

24 jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined
8 wooden skewers, soaked in water 20 minutes
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup tamarind paste (found in Asian markets)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tbsp fish sauce
1–2 tbsp red pepper flakes
1 tbsp sugar

Heat grill on high. Thread 3 shrimp on each skewer; season with salt and pepper. Dipping sauce: Mix remaining ingredients in a bowl. Grill shrimp until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. This is pending a very hot grill! TO make certain the shrimp is cooked, it should be opaque and very pink. Serve with dipping sauce on the side.

THE SKINNY 156 calories per serving, 3.8 g fat (0.6 g saturated), 5.9 g carbs, 0.2 g fiber, 23.5 g protein

I recently made some adaptations to this recipes while camping and it was great.

Instead of the Tamarind sauce we used a citrus sauce.

In a saucepan combine 1/4 cup orange marmalade, 1 tbsp horseradish, pinch of minced garlic, a good amount of chopped parsley, 1/4 tsp Tabasco sauce, fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice, 1/4 cup pineapple juice, shot of dark rum and 1/8 cup oil. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

Hamersley's Bistro

Last night, we went to Hamersley's Bistro to celebrate our 1st anniversary. We'd always wanted to go, and thought this was the perfect opportunity. On the whole, our meal was delicious. For appetizers, P had the soupe au pistou, and I had the selection of pâtés. They were both impeccably good. P's soup was full of fresh veggies (from a local farm, supposedly!) with a croûton "gingerly placed on top"--as he says. The croûton was topped with a delicious pesto whence this Provençal specialty gets its name. My pâtés were extremely good too. There was a nice chicken liver mousse pâté, a pork & pistachio pâté de compagne, and duck rillettes (I think with a hint of nutmeg, which worked nicely). These were served with toasts and garnished with a small salad of greens tossed in a light vinaigrette.

For our main course, P chose the roasted chicken, which is reportedly a house specialty. I ordered their pork tenderloin stuffed with asparagus and Morbier cheese with a creamy mustard and morel sauce.

The roasted chicken was amazing (and at least twice the amount food when compared to the pork). It was moist, deliciously seasoned, and served with its onions, some potatoes, and roasted garlic cloves. I hate to say it, but I preferred the chicken to my pork! The pork was delicious, don't get me wrong. The meat was moist and tender. I did think the sauce was delicious, creamy, and had nice acidity to it, but that it was a tad bit too salty. Also, I missed the Morbier: it was not stuffed inside with the asparagus but sparsely sprinkled on top of the sliced medallions--although at the same time, I feel as though the sauce would have overpowered the flavor of the cheese anyway. All that aside, it was delicious.

For dessert, we got a strawberry & rhubarb napoléon with meringue and a ginger cream. It was light, refreshing, and delicious. A great end to a delicious meal!

A La Crêpe Dentelle

The last time we were in Paris, we happened upon this place. We were hungry, it looked cute, and besides, there was a prix fixe menu for lunch that was only €11 (at the time). Well, we certainly were not disappointed! Both of us got the menu, which came with a savory crêpe, a sweet crêpe, and a bowl of cidre. I got the complète (ham, egg, and gruyère) for my savory dish, and the pâte d'amande for my sweet one. They were both amazing, but my dessert crêpe I still think of to this day. It was fantastic! When we left, we said we would definitely go back the next time we were in Paris, so I jotted down the info in my little notebook. I've just dug out this notebook tonight to find the address because we are planning our next trip to Paris, and the taste of almond paste rushed back to me. It took me a while to find it, but I finally did. I was afraid for a while that if I couldn't find the place where I'd jotted down the address that we might miss the opportunity to go back for more deliciousness. That gave me the idea to start this blog--to document for ourselves where we've been and also to share it with others. We are also lucky to live where we do and to be able to eat at some amazing places, and it's also fun to share these experiences with others. We hope you'll do the same! Bon appétit!

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