Cote's

Cote’s
212 Maine Street
Brunswick, ME

This little ice cream stand is a Brunswick establishment. Open only during the summer months, Bowdoin College students often lament the fact that they are denied these tasty sweets while the academic year is in session. But with spring in Maine comes the opening of those two small windows and the wonderful ice cream. The smalls are pretty big so I always get the kiddie sugar cone. I can’t let go of the chocolate chip though I’m told that I’m missing out on some other fabulous flavors such as orange pineapple.

(Image by OZ)

Typhoon - Dessert

Typhoon
725 Boylston Street Lobby
Boston, MA

I ended the meal with a nice fried vanilla ice cream. The ice cream itself is not overpowering but they could use a bit less batter. The chocolate sauce mixes well and goes a long way towards making this a good solid dinner.

My dining companion had the same beef salad, tried one of their sushi rolls (very tasty) and ended with some friend bananas, which looked a bit small. He assured me though that they were just as good as the rest of the meal.

(Image by AG)

Typhoon

Typhoon
725 Boylston Street Lobby
Boston, MA
(Check out their website)

Looking for a tasty treat after walking about Newbury Street? Why not try Typhoon? This “Asian Bistro” has a delicious beef salad. I’ve never had the chance to try any of their entrees (which are not that expensive if you consider that you are in the middle of downtown Boston) as I’ve always been filled by the beef salad.

Tender slices of beef are served on a bed of lettuce topped with peanuts and a rich dressing which is both spicy and sour at the same time. I’m not sure what’s in the dressing besides some chilies and lime but it is an exquisite taste that will stay with you long after the meal is over.

My most recent visit was a bit disappointing. Was it my imagination or did the salad used to be larger? Did they also cut down on the beef? Let’s admit it, this is an expensive salad, coming in at $11 but I’ll still pay it for the flavor of that sauce and the nice people-watching location on Boylston.

(Image by AG)

Good Earth Original Tea

Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy Tea & Herb Blend
Good Earth Teas
www.goodearth.com



I have always enjoyed a good cup of tea, but never have gone out of my way for it; tea usually has been a beverage that I drink when sick or when offered to me.

That all changed recently when I discovered Good Earth Original Sweet & Spicy Tea & Herb Blend. This delicious tea divided and conquered my tastebuds, and now I don't go a day without one or two mugs.

The flavour of this tea is unlike anything I've ever tasted. It hits the mouth all at once, with the sweetness on the tip of the tongue and the warm spice at the back of the throat. The ingredients give some indication to the tea's unique combination of sweetness and spice: the first six ingredients listed after tea are Rose Hips, Chamomile, Cinnamon, Lemongrass, Peppermint, and Papaya. It all makes for a full, bold, distinct flavour.

The tea stands well on its own; as someone who usually adds so much honey that I end up drinking some tea with my glass of honey, this is the first black tea to which I've had no desire to add milk, cream, or sweetener. The box recommends steeping 3-4 minutes, but box directions be damned; I recommend steeping for about 12-15 minutes to allow all of the subtleties of the flavor to emerge.

Good Earth Teas use only natural ingredients and flavors. What's more, the tags on their teabag strings feature quotations from notable thinkers, giving you something to consider as you wait for your delicious tea to finish steeping.

Good Earth Original is a fine tea for burning the midnight oil in one's study, or, for that matter, to accompany anything else at any other time of day. It's the best tea I've ever had. Cheers!

Pho Ha

Pho Ha
610 Washington Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19147

If you find yourself in Philadelphia’s Little Vietnam around lunchtime, check out Pho Ha. This medium-sized restaurant in a small strip-mall is a local favorite and boasts a simple menu of appetizers, pho noodles, and vermicelli dishes.

The fresh spring rolls are brimming with shrimp and vegetables but the wrap was a bit sticky. My guess is that they have these already made. The problem with this strategy is that the wrapper isn’t as soft and fresh when someone actually orders them. The price of the quick service on this front is the less-than-fresh meal. The peanut sauce is also a bit too sweet. The fried spring rolls are fine and may be the superior of the two appetizers.

The vermicelli dishes are terrific but are quite substantial for lunch. (The leftovers were just as good that evening.) There are a few options but we ordered the one with shrimp and pork. The cooks were stingy on the shrimp side, giving only 3-4 per dish. Plenty of delicious and tender slices of pork though. Not a bad combination though I wish one of us had tried to pho. It looked excellent and, with the possibility of vegetable side orders, the meal would have been fabulous.

If the place is crowded, you’ll have to share a table with someone. No big deal though. A pot of tea is provided once you sit down.

(Images by AG)

Fire and Ice

Fire & Ice
205 Berkeley St.
Boston, MA 02116
(Try this or other locations!)

This stylish chain spot may seem like an exclusive club for teens and people below thirty-five but it really is a fine establishment where patrons of any age and come and enjoy. To be honest, it is almost overrun with college students and some very young professionals but you get the occasional family in there as well. The restaurant boasts a bar on the ground floor and a Mongolian style restaurant on floor two. I can't say much about the bar as I've only had one drink there. My Boston-dining companion, however, seems to enjoy it despite once being in the line of fire for an exploding mixer. The strawberry daiquiri that I had didn't seem all that refreshing. It was a bit too pulpy and the alcoholic aftertaste ruined the taste of the berries.

The food, on the other hand, is just great. Here's the set up. You get up to a bar with a bowl and you start scooping raw materials into it. Their seafood selections include big scallops, shrimp, mussels, squid, and fish. (Too bad that their salmon was frozen.) For meats, you get a few varieties of sausage, marinated chicken, different cuts of beef, and full-sized beef patties for burgers. The salad is a bit small with only a few choices for the vegetable lover. The dressings are good though as are the vegetables that one can place in one's bowl to have cooked. There are peppers, mushrooms, peas, etc. Nothing special in the vegetable realm, I'm afraid but they do have a heavenly bowl of chopping garlic from which you can take as much as you can. Noodles are also available for those who are interested though you should note that they bring out a whole bowl of rice for you at the table.

Diners then get to choose from a variety of tasty sauces. The teriyaki sauce is particularly good though I am tempted to try the various chili sauces as well. The problem is always that I am afraid I might not like a new sauce in place of the tried and true teriyaki. You will understand why the selection of the sauce is so important in the next paragraph. I should note that more conservative diners will have their choice of the regular barbecue sauces as well.

So, you have your raw food and your sauce. Now what? You then take all this up to the central cooking area, which is basically a gigantic cooking circle. Here, three cooks greet you, take your raw ingredients, dump them onto the cooker and, when it's time, dump your sauce on top of that. They add buns and cheese for burgers and also provide some interesting dialogue as you wait for your food to cook. Now, this part can take a while because it is basically a bottleneck in the dining process. The lines are sometimes long (unless you get in at the right time) and you end up just standing there, waiting for the cooks to get to you or to come back to grab your sauces. Though watching the pretty food is entertaining, one becomes rather bored with the process after a while.

Two elements prevent you from eating more than two or three dishes at this buffet. First is the line at the cooking area. You're a bit full. Do you really have the energy or the need to go stand up there and wait in line for another fifteen minutes? Second, the portions are pretty bit and, combined with the rice they leave at your table (and the guilt you feel for not eating it), you're not really in the mood to gorge yourself some more. Now, this can actually be a positive as I have left Fire & Ice feeling absolutely stuffed every time though I've always wanted to have more. It's all in the garlic . . .

But why do they leave you the rice at the table? That's really unnecessary and I can't imagine that people consume a whole lot of it. Sorry, but that seems like a waste. The noise level can get out of hand and the cooks sometime force you into song. That's not always what I'm in the mood for while I'm dining out. All in the all though, this is a fine dining establishment that's almost always a treat.

(Image by AG)

Athenian II

Athenian II
846 Washington Street
Middletown CT
(Try this or other locations!)

This chain of diners has kept Connecticut residents happy and full for years. Open 24 hours a day, the Athenian diners are great places to go for a late night breakfast. I’ve only been to the diner in Middletown so I will limit my review to that particular institution. Many Wesleyan students and graduates who have found themselves sitting in the 60s style booths may agree or disagree with my assessment.

Now, let’s be honest. There’s nothing particularly special about the place. The eggs are eggs and the bacon could be crispier. The prices are also a bit high but my some time traveling companion says that any eggs are overpriced. Still, the coffee is free flowing and you get the partially unhealthy breakfast that you expect and order. They know how to do eggs and their fried potatoes are pretty tasty, especially the ones that have been slightly burnt.

As you can tell by the picture, the cantaloupe is also a fine dish to order.

Like most diners they have lunch and dinner specials all day. These can be pricey and range from lamb to stuffed grape leaves. Again, like most diners, their vegetable choices could sure use some improvement. The lettuce looks like it’s pretty drained of any nutrients and the broiled broccoli looks like it might benefit more from the vitamins inside me. The cream of broccoli, on the other hand, is pretty good as is their cream of chicken.

Whatever the criticisms, the food is tasty and you have a good time there. The wait staff is friendly and many of them wander the aisles armed with hot coffee. The management might consider increasing the size of the water glasses though. The shot glass style probably saves on water but it just doesn’t quench the thirst.

If you’re in Middletown and you’re just not in the mood for anything special but want to have an enjoyable time, try the Athenian diner.

(Images by AG)

Introduction

This is a blog about food by people who like food. There may or may not be anything special about the places we go to dine but we’ll write about them anyway. We enjoy tasting new dishes and having seconds of our long time favorites. Over the course of our dining experiences, we will post about some of the dishes we had (or recipes we tried), add a few pictures, and perhaps offer some recommendations for the avid reader and diner.