Flour Bakery

LOCATION: 190 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02210 TYPE OF FOOD: American REVIEW: Hello readers. It's nice to be back finally reviewing on this blog for once. For once. So, what is my amazing return to restaurant review land after seven months? Which place do I happen to fancy? What location causes me to consume its food products? What spot on the planet we call Earth beckons me past its door? What longitude and latitude was I attracted to for a lunch? What was the (insert another word for location here) RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTTTTTTAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT????????????????? Am I just stalling? WEEEEEEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL, okay, okay, I'll stop. I went into Flour Bakery. I actually had a fairly long time deciding what to get (shocker). I had eaten lunch a few times before, with varying levels of quality and enjoyment. The last time I went I had the chicken, jicama and mashed avocado, which was okay but not great. The specials were a quiche with spinach and French feta, some sort of salad, a stuffed bread with sausage and some homefries that were sold out. Since none of those appealed to my culinary muscular hydrostat on the floor of my mouth which manipulates food for mastication, I turned my cognitive process of selectively concentrating on one aspect of the environment while ignoring other things to the regular menu. A grilled tofu sandwich with olive tapenade was appealing, but not by enough. A lamb sandwich was also another appealing option, but with goat cheese (one of the most vile substances on the face of this planet) I had to sadly turn my head away in shame of that horrid ingredient. Finally, I decided within seconds of ordering: a mozzarella, basil pesto and tomato sandwich on whole wheat bread (what a twist! And guess what, Bruce Willis died in Sixth Sense!) and a green iced tea would do nicely. I sat down with the iced tea in hand. The iced tea had a slightly bitter taste, but since I love bitter tea, there was no problem. The tea, luckily, was strong as an iron bar and was a perfect refreshment to have. With ten percent of the tea gone, the sandwich arrived. The first I noticed was the bread: delicious, soft to the touch and with a certain, lovely moisture to it. The next thing that came was the pesto which, despite its deliciousness, was overpowered by the mozzarella and was not present enough in the sandwich. The mozzarella was delicious and fresh as if it just was prepared in the restaurant, and if it overpowered the other elements, that was not a horrible thing. The tomato was at the bottom of the sandwich, and although its amount was small, its flavor and freshness was present as much as the mozzarella. Needless to say, I ate it all, including the iced tea and left the establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money happy. SERVICE: The service at Flour mainly consists of a bunch of college-aged workers behind the counter, and as a result, you interact with them for about twenty seconds. So, because of that, I did not feel an impact, positive or negative. They did not sound impatient or frustrated or happy or really any emotion, but I can't blame them: working in a restaurant at noon on a Sunday makes one busy. So I don't have a "grade" for the service at Flour. "I'm sorry" readers, "but" this "time", I "can't give "an opinion" on the "service" at "Flour" Bakery. Is it "me" or is "something" wrong with "my" keyboard? Heh, it's "probably" nothing. ATMOSPHERE: The atmosphere was busy, like I mentioned before, but was still cozy and welcoming. The restaurant had nicely bright colors and a couple of pieces of not so bad art on the walls. The menu was written on a blackboard in chalk, which gave it a French cafe feel to it (strange, I keep finding Paris travel books all over my house... hmm) that seemed authentic and not forced. The floors were nicely clean and the bathrooms had the same quality as well, even in the spots which are dirty in most restaurants (hint hint). So all in all, the layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient ma- oh, wait hang on, that's the definition of the atmosphere of a planet, um, hang on... let's see... Wiktionary... atmosphere... ah, there it is.. ahem, the particular mood or atmosphere-wait, that's ambiance... the mood or feeling of the restaurant was top-notch (whew, finally). PRICE: The sandwich caused the price of eight dollars in total. The portion size was on the small size, however, but it did fill me up, and based on the quality of the sandwich the price is okay. It could better, but for the quality and the fact that I was full at the end, I'll say the price matched the food. Although I'm no economist. Although I did see Margin Call. Although I studied the Panic of 1837. Although I have read about currency. Although- yeah, I'm no economist. Although... RATING: Flour Bakery is a decently priced, well-done food joint with a great atmosphere and an okay price. A couple of problems with the food and a lack of service does hurt it, and I have to hold it against the restaurant. Now, there is one thing, that as I type this up, there is one thing I have to mention. You see, when I was at the restaurant, I turned my head and I saw, well, how to say this, I saw-OMG SHERLOCK IS ON SHERLOCK IS ON SHERLOCK IS ON SORRY SORRY SHERLOCK IS ON SHERLOCK IS ON, UM UM UM SORRY SHERLOCK IS ON SHERLOCK IS ON SHERLOCK IS ON, HOLD ON GIVE ME A MOMENT GIVE ME A MOMENT- excuse me, ahem, Sherlock is on. Ahem. Flour Bakery gets a four out of five. Now if you'll excuse me, Sherlock is on. Just want to make sure you know that.

An Announcement

So... sorry to say this guys, this post isn't a review. I really am sorry, the reason for it is that I really didn't eat out this month. And once again, sorry for not doing what I wanted and having more posts, but once again, I didn't eat out this month and I have nothing to review.

So... I pretty much had a string of bad luck this month and I apologize for it. I will really try to get out more, but I make no promises.

Instead of doing a review for this post, instead I'll just say a few words and hope you can forgive me for making this horrible, horrible mistake.

Anyway, I have recently started another review blog, this one reviewing movies over on Tumblr. I'll probably update that more frequently, mainly because I watch more movies than eat out. Here's the link, feel free to check it out and as always, comment and send me emails about it with suggestions or comments or criticisms: http://anotherpersonreviewingmovies.tumblr.com/

I do want you to know that I have three drafts in the works over there and not to mention a bunch of ideas for more reviews, so I suggest you stay tuned over there. You might even see a few things coming very, very shortly; stay tuned!

Once again, I really apologize for this, and I promise there will be reviews coming as soon as I go out and there will be more than one a month. I want to continue the awards idea into next year, but I have to actually have something to award. So be patient, things will be coming, and at the very minimum I will update once a month. Be patient, and the updates will follow.

The Biting The Bay State 1st Annual Awards

That's right, I have decided to bow into the Academy Award fever and make my own awards (so what if they were on Sunday? I can still do them). These awards will honor my favorite eats during the year of 2011 in several categories. Enjoy!

BEST BREAKFAST: Since the only nominee is Metro Diner, I'll give it to them. Still, it was a decent breakfast anyway and it is deserving of something.

BEST LUNCH:
Nominees:
*New England Soup Factory
*Deluxe Station Diner
*Wasabi
*Alfileritos 24

And the winner is... Deluxe Station Diner!

This had everything-good atmosphere, nice service, fitting price and stellar food-that the other nominees lacked. This isn't to say that the other nominees were bad (New England Soup Factory is a close second and Wasabi and Alfileritos have something to them), but honestly, in a circumstance like this, the diner would win every time.

BEST DINNER:
Nominees:
*Botin
*Pizzeria Regina
*Bartley's Burger Cottage
*Trattoria Pulcinella

And the winner is... Botin!

Honestly, this was a tough one. In the end, it came down to which had the best food because all the other one were so close. And honestly, the more enjoyable food I had at was Botin, but once again, the other ones were really, really good, but Botin was just better in the end.

BEST ATMOSPHERE:
*Deluxe Station Diner
*Botin
*Alfileritos 24
*Bartley's Burger Cottage

And the winner is... Alfileritos 24!

Another close one, but Alfileritos should definitely get this one. It had an amazing, honestly, AMAZING atmosphere that blows one away. Yes, it is sort of a maze, but that just added to the atmosphere. It's clean, elegant, refined, and makes you want to stick your head in to see it. And that is exactly how an atmosphere should make you feel.

BEST SERVICE:
*Bartley's Burger Cottage
*Botin
*Trattoria Pulcinella

And the winner is... Botin!

It is really hard to do something like this, as service is really hard to review. But what gave Botin the win is that the service was able to move speedily, diligently and without neglect while being able to tend to a twenty-something large group of tourists to my right. If that doesn't make a good service, I don't know what does.

BEST FOOD (that made up for everything else):
*New England Soup Factory
*Wasabi
*Kouzina

And the winner is... Kouzina!

I decided to add this category to highlight the places I went to where the food rocked, but everything else was less than satisfactory. I don't mean these places are bad, they just have some flaws. Of these three choices, the best food would be Kouzina, it was consistent, fresh, and made up for quite a few of the flaws I encountered at the restaurant. It definitely deserves a mention.

BEST MEAL OF 2011:
*Deluxe Station Diner
*Botin
*Bartley's Burger Cottage
*Demos

And the winner is... Botin!

Just read my review and you'll understand. Botin is perfect. The food, price, atmosphere, service, everything. It nailed it. Botin is by far the best meal I had in 2011, and in the best I've had in my life. And why shouldn't the world's oldest restaurant be number one?

P.S. Don't worry, the next post will be a review, and it's not going to be the only one in a month on the last day of the month. My new year's resolution is to update more often, and I'm going to follow through on it. Trust me, you're going to see much more this year.

Tango Mango vs. Anna's Taqueria

A few years ago, there was an article in the Boston Globe. It was about three college students, who, with nothing but time on their hands, decided to sample the best burritos in the city. They all stunk, for their own separate reasons, but in the end, the majority ruled that Anna's Taqueria triumphed over all. Since I read that article so many years, I decided to do my own taste test, but this time between my two favorites: Tango Mango and Anna's. I decided to do it as soon as possible, tomorrow even, a week from then, a month, three years.... well, I decided on the last option of course.

The burritos were arranged the same way; whole-wheat tortilla, pinto and black beans, chicken, lettuce and hot sauce. After they were brought to me blind, I studied them briefly from an outside look (about two feet above the plates, ooh!. As you might believe, I concluded nothing from this look, and I took my first bite.

The first burrito had much, much flavor and when I mean flavor, I mean hot sauce. A lot of hot sauce. I could still taste the other ingredients as well, and I noticed the chicken was close to burnt. This was no problem to me. I took a second bite to reassure myself of my conclusions, found that I was right (aren't I always?) and turned my attention to the second burrito via swinging my head (I think this is what people usually do).

The second burrito... was bland. Beyond bland. It had no flavor. There was no hot sauce, and despite the amount of stuffing, I had very little other flavor. Yes, everything was cooked, yes, the tortilla was steamed right, but I didn't get much flavor. Once again, I took another bite, and I realized I was right.

FINAL VERDICT: The first burrito won my heart and my stomach on this occasion.

IDENTITY: It was Anna's. Despite my hardcore fanaticism for Tango Mango, I chose Anna's. I don't know what to think for this one. I feel I've betrayed myself. But hey, that's okay for my self-esteem, right? Right?

Note About Sportello

This is the first and hopefully only time in which the entire post is not a review, but I feel the need to write a completely new post as an epilogue (just go with it)to my Sportello review.

Sometime in May of 2010, I went to Sportello and ordered whole-wheat blueberry pancakes. It was (note: JUST was, JUST was)the greatest breakfast I've ever had in a restaurant. The review is still there, and I'm not going to change a thing to it whatsoever.

Fast forward one year and a half later. I went there to, once again, eat the blueberry pancakes. However, staring into the black writing on cut-down trees they placed in a case and called a menu in front of the restaurant, I discovered that the pancakes were (gasp! GASP! GAAAAAAAASP!)removed from the menu. While I was disappointed in that fact, I still decided to have lunch there and simply get something else.

At this point, I'm sure you're wondering, "Oh, I see no problem so far." Well, needless to say, at this point I would have to agree with you. But this is where things get worse. Much. Much. Worse.

Perhaps the main reason I went in was one dish that sparked my interest. It was a pasta dish with some sort of cheese (I'm not going through the hassle of looking it up... you'll see why in a moment... YOU'LL SEE WHY! YOU'LL ALL SEE WHY!), olives and braised rabbit. So, of course, by typing this you can probably predict that I ordered it. I did. And eventually it came. I took a bite.

Oh. My. God. When I took the first bite of that pancake that May or April day in 2010, that was my reaction. I had the same reaction with the pasta. However, things were, well, a little different between those two moments. The pancake was one of the best things I've ever eaten, probably in my top twenty-five favorite restaurant experiences. The pasta? The pasta with olives, some sort of cheese and braised rabbit? Well...

The rabbit was poorly butchered, the pasta came from a ramen noodle thing that college students eat, the olives were just meh, and the cheese, THAT GOD DARN CHEESE, overpowered every bite I ate, I couldn't taste a thing but BAD, BAD macaroni and cheese sauce. Basically, the dish was a horribly done version of macaroni and cheese for "adults" and when I mean adults, I mean some person living in East Eurasia who claims he's a quarter Italian.

It's that bad, people. It's that bad.

Will I ever go back to Sportello again? Unless they bring back the pancakes, no. Will my review remain? Yes. But I will never go back to Sportello. Never ever ever ever ever ever ever. Even if I order something else a.) I'll be sad they got rid of the pancakes and b.) I'll have memories of that awful, awful macaroni and cheese. There are no excuses. No one to blame. No way to forget. The only way I can do anything is never go back again and encourage you not to go either. There's no reason for me. There's no reason for you. What. So. Ever. That's it.

So, I think you can guess I didn't like it. I don't know. I hope I drove that point home. Whatever.

Wasabi

LOCATION: Natick Mall Natick, MA (shocker!)
TYPE OF FOOD: Sushi
REVIEW: I'm going to come out and say that I do not like malls. They do not entertain me. They do not amuse me. They do not make me laugh, or cry, or feel any strong emotions (except for bad, BAD deals... this is why we must have haggling, people! Put it up for vote! All for, raise your hands! I can't see them, but... do them anyway! Please?). Malls only make me want to riff every store I pass by alas Mystery Science Theater 3000, but it's kind of odd to hear someone passing by a L.L. Bean saying, "Maine! In Massachusetts!" However, one thing has sparked my interest at the Natick Mall, especially in recent times. And no, it's not Teavana (but they do have Teavana, the samples are so good, especially after the second... third... fourth time you have them! Come on, you've done it... you've done it, right?). The thing came, plop, right in the center of the mall, and it's simply known as Wasabi.

Having been seated down with a menu, I quickly glanced over it. Of course I wasn't going to purchase anything from the menu. All I had to do was wait. Just wait. Why? Because this sushi wasn't any normal sushi you would get at Whole Foods (though Whole Foods sushi is de- another review! Another review!). This sushi was on a conveyor belt, or more correctly, thing that went round and round with dishes of sushi with their names on them. All one had do to (again I use this phrase)was pluck the sushi dish off the belt, take off the plastic cover, place the cover back on the belt, take your chopsticks and dig in. Or more correctly, eat. Digging in's rude, you know?

Before the food came a cup of green tea, which was perfectly brewed and warmed nicely. The first dish I got was seaweed salad. While it sounds strange, it's one of the healthiest things one could eat. The seaweed was very nice, with a somewhat-nutty flavor. There was plenty on the dish, so it took me some time to eat, but I savored every bite of the delicious algae. Next was a salmon-avocado roll, which, being my favorite sushi combination, I took short work of. While I don't normally eat white rice, the white rice here was good and matched well with the flavoring of the salmon and avocado. Next came some crabsticks, which are basically just a long stick of crabmeat on rice wrapped in a thin strip of dried seaweed. The crab had a slight salty, fishy flavor to it and the texture was something along the lines of a carrot stick. I had no problem with this (despite the fact that I don't like very salty food)and the sushi was done pretty quickly. After the crab came more salmon, this time cooked and by itself with rice. This, despite being not the most exciting thing, was delicious and it quickly vanished off the plate. As a palate cleanser, I decided on some fruit kabobs from the belt. The fruit was fresh, juicy and nice, and it was a nice conclusion to the meal.

SERVICE: I probably had less time with the service than any other restaurant experience I've had, to be perfectly honest (okay, not perfectly... I only stole a rocking horse from Britain twice... maybe three times). Considering that for the most part you're serving yourself and taking care of yourself, this is perfectly reasonable (again with the perfectly... I hate that word... yet I used it... twice...). From what I could tell, they did seem to be content and were willing to serve. The tea was served traditionally with pots pouring into cups, but otherwise from being content and willing to serve, the service wasn't significant. Is this bad? No. Maybe a little? Not at all. Can it be better? How can it be? Why are there still questions being asked? Wish I knew? Why is that a question? Can we move on? Sure!

ATMOSPHERE: The main piece that drives the atmosphere is, of course, the sushi bar itself. The floors did seem clean, and the colors that were around me were very nice and refreshing. But it's kind of (leaving it at kind of for now, all you jet fast people out there... come on, you know who you are! The people who can look for cleanliness and get octopus at the same time... you know... those people!)hard when you have to focus on trying to eat and if you can't reach it, you could be out of luck. And when I mean out of luck, I mean for a long time. And when I mean a long time, I mean one or two rotations. And it doesn't go very fast. It. Doesn't. Go. Very. Fast. And. I. Kno- okay, I'll stop with the one word sentences for today. Okay. Next. Th- fine! Fine!

PRICE: Each plate, based on the color of it, has a certain price. For instance, one type of plate could be four dollars, while another could be three dollars. Overall, a meal for three without tip could be about fifty dollars or so, including tea (of course!). Considering the high quality of the dishes as well as the portion size, the price is reasonable (though keep in mind: it's fish, not a vegetable and tofu stew... it's expensive... that's what I'm trying to say... because I should know, I watched two whole episodes of Mad Money... long story). Okie dokie, next section! I can declare that now! I write them, don't I? Don't I? DON'T I?! At least I think I do. Do I? Do I? DO I? Um... I'm losing my mind.

RATING: Wasabi is a new, interesting experience in a place I don't particularly like. The food is very good with a good price to match. While there is little atmosphere present, THIS IS A CONVEYOR BELT SUSHI BAR IN A MALL! The service as well has little to speak of, BUT YOU'RE SERVING YOURSELF! EXCUSES, PEOPLE! EXCUSES!!!! OMG!!! EXCUSES!!!! OMG!!! G.T.G. TELL PEEPS 'BOUT EXCUSES! NOW! YEAH!!!!!!! Sorry, I... uh... am losing my mind. That's it. Well... Wasabi gets a four out of five.

Bartley's Burger Cottage

LOCATION: 1246 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge, MA 02138
TYPE OF FOOD: American (because "burger cottage" is not a cuisine... well, at least until Congress passes my amendment... fourteen more years)
REVIEW: Like the term, "world-famous", "landmark" can be twisted and turned just as any other term. Apparently now, a landmark can mean anything from the Ross Ice Shelf to the Saulnier Mill to 40 Bank Street to the Citigroup Center, so obviously the term's gone through some ebb and flow, to say the least. And now with the fact that Halloween is coming up (oh, it's tomorrow... not exactly coming up), kids everywhere will be using the term in it's many forms: the red house on the corner, the place with the giant Hershey bars, and the one and only, McMansion with the flashing lights, animatronics, massive cobwebs... and that's red and gives out giant... Hershey bars. Perhaps the term is used correctly under some circumstances. Empire State Building? Yes. CN Tower? Yes. Bartley's Burger Cottage? Well... here we go.

Of course, having been to Bartley's how many times over the years (I have no idea, unless you're analyzing my digestive), I knew exactly what I wanted the second I sat down and was confronted with the famous yellow menu. What you might say? Well, it's the most famous thing on the menu. Everyone orders it. When you walk in, you can take one step in, and simply scream at the top of your lungs what it is. Ah, the classic turkey burger on whole-wheat bread with onions and a garden salad on the side, no dressing. How I've heard that cry many a time.

After some time, my salad arrived. You can't really say a whole lot about it, considering how plain it is. The ingredients were fresh, and I ate about half of it before the burger landed on the table. The burger, to say the least, is heaven in a few bites. The whole-wheat toast on it was absolutely firm, but not too crunchy, and I had to calm myself down before I ate my hands. Thank God there were two halves, as I would have thrown a hissy fit had there not been more. I absolutely loved it, and it was the closest thing something could get towards culinary perfection. So, after I paid, I did something I never dreamed of: I left. If only I stayed.

SERVICE: The service is interesting. Not in the fact that they're bad, far from it, but I think they're mostly college students, or around that age. They did seem to be experienced though, besides their age. The service does have the usualness of being patient and making sure everything is fine, with a nice tone in their voice, to top. I do know that this is in a way atmosphere, but the service often resorts to shouting their orders due to the loud grill where they cook the burgers. That isn't a problem, but considering the names of the burgers, don't get freaked out because you heard someone shouting, "One Viagra, with extra rings". Them shouting it happens. A. Lot. If. You. Don't. Get. It. From. My. One. Word. Sentences. Okay. Let's. Move. On.

ATMOSPHERE: This is the real eye-catcher, in a variety of ways. It's kind of hard to describe the atmosphere in a few sentences, but it mainly consists of quirky signs and pictures. For instance, on the far wall from the door, there is a sign that says, "The Final Exam" or something along those lines. It basically describes a variety of complicated things, like removing your own appendix, calming a crowd of people using any ancient language (except Latin or Greek... you're in luck, Kannada speakers), and writing the date in metric. There's a lot of other signs, too, but this always catches my eye when I enter the establishment. And then, of course, you can eavesdrop on some Harvard students as well. Always a pleasure, a conversation about medicine and the body in East Asia and in Europe.

PRICE: The burger was about eight dollars, and the salad four dollars and twenty-five cents? Must I say anything else? The burger delicious, the salad fresh and the price much more than reasonable. Just a little over twelve dollars for a delicious, nutritious, more than fine meal. It really is the definition of a good meal. Now, all I need to do is contact Webster's Dictionary...

RATING: Bartley's Burger Cottage is what everyone really wants: a place with fantastic food, great service, an atmosphere loaded with sights at a great affordable price. Bartley's has been serving Cambridge and Harvard for over fifty years, and it possesses both a old, nice feel as well as appealing to the young crowd. Quite honestly, you need to head to Bartley's. Now. Or. Else. I. Will. Use. The. One. Word. Sentences. Again. Wait. I'm. Already. Doing. It. Okay. Sorry. Bartley's Burger Cottage gets a five out of five.