A Delicious Affair: Rialto at Charles Hotel

Last Saturday I went to Rialto Restaurant at Charles Hotel with Audrey and her family, who came to visit for the 375th birthday and the Harvard College Parents Fund event. The bread basket had crusty wheat roll with soft inside, Parmesan sticks, and focaccia bread rubbed in garlic oil.

The dinner started with a pleasant glass of red wine. I am not a wine connoisseur and have not had much wine, if not at all, but this wine tasted not too strong, not too bland. Just the right amount of preservation.

I had Lobster bucatini with green and red tomatoes, chilis, saffron ($16) as an appetizer. The bucatini tasted a bit undercooked because it was a bit hard and difficult to choose. The tomato sauce with bits of lobster meat and cubes of tomatoes was savory, but I sort of wanted more sauce because I ended up just eating the sauce and not the bucatini.

I ordered the day's special, grilled char with vegetables and some sort of risotta and grilled jumbo shrimps. This sounds crazy, but I really like the heads of shrimps and the black gooey intestine stuff because they are full of flavors! Haha. The char was a bit fatty and the skin was grilled to black and very crispy (didn't eat the whole thing). I like that the char was cooked medium rare because that kept the juiciness of the fish. The risotto was a bit too buttery, but there really wasn't much for me to truly grasp its taste.

The dinner ended with Caramelized autumn fruit tart with maple cream and candied lemon zest ($12). I enjoyed the fig but the rest of the dessert was a bit too sweet. Well, it was just the right level of sweetness, but I need to watch my waistline so I had to be cautious about eating haha. The peach was the perfect texture, the tart and the bottom was not like a typically pie crust in a tart, but softer (more butter, perhaps?). I like the balance between warm peach and a dollop of cool maple ice cream on top.

I really enjoyed the food, but more so the lovely time and interesting conversation I had with Audrey and her family!

A Reward Well-Earned From Studying

While working on some work yesterday, I received a text message from Tyler inviting me to a dinner in Boston with his blockmates. At first I didn't want to go because 1) I was so immersed in my work, 2) I have been a lazy bum in the last couple of days and 3) I went to Boston twice last week. But I would never turn down an opportunity to hang out with the boys in Adams.

Turns out Erik made a spontaneous reservation at the Harvard Club of Boston for dinner, so we took a cab to the clubhouse around 7:15 and had a pleasant dinner there. I got the broiled haddock with jasmine rice and scallion cake, which was quite delicious! I asked to skip the butter because I am watching my waistline...All the guys got the duck confit, which was tempting to order only because it came with acorn squash. Haha

Traditional Harvard Club Broiled Boston Haddock, Jasmine & Scallion Rice Cakes, Roasted Asparagus, Gingered Carrots Topped with Maitre d´ Butter. The haddock was juicy (can't stand dry fish!) but I wished it had been broiled without the bread crumbs on the outside. The highlight for me, however, wasn't the haddock, but the rice cake. I think it was lightly pan-fried because the rice cake was super crunchy.

Sea Salt & Oil Poached “Duck Confit”
Pan Seared with Porcini Mushroom Ravioli with Marinara & Brandy Soaked Plums
Roasted Acorn Squash & Micro Greens with Roasted Garlic Aioli

It was a really long dinner because we didn't leave the clubhouse until around 9:30, granted that we took lots of group photos and toured the place for a bit.

We walked along Newbury street, which was very reminiscent of my Boston Buddies outing with Katya just a week ago. Wow, I really am doing a good job of leaving Cambridge this year. We spotted a small mouse in Boston Commons. Yikes.

After we came back to Boston, Ash and I had a ladies night out with Monica and Luciana. We went to the Donkey Show, which was definitely a new experience that I would not mind not repeating again...a bunch of guys in g-string isn't my thing. Haha

I am glad I had 5 hours in the day to relax and have fun. Enough with studying 24/7!

Waffling Up At Zinneken's

There is a new waffle place in town, and I visited the eatery with a videographer from the Crimson to report on it.

Zinneken's, located on 1154 Mass Ave., serves fresh Belgian waffles, which is different from American waffles in that it is made of dough rather than liquid batter. The space has been vacant since a creperie there closed last year.

The menu featured signature waffle ($4.70) with various toppings, including fresh fruits and sweet sauces) that cost $0.50 to $1 extra. I tried The Gourmand--signature waffle with whipped cream, sliced bananas, and a drizzle of caramel sauce ($6.70).

The waffle was chewier and doughier than the veritaffles, but considering its size I don't think the price was worth paying for.

The last time I was here, I actually just got the signature waffle without all the extra toppings, and I could taste the waffle better.The place itself was quaint and homey, definitely an ideal space to get some busy work done, but not so much dense readings.

Another thing--the waffle has sugary syrupy thing inside that makes it chewier. Well, at least I tasted it the first time I had it but not so much in this one.