Mediterraneo: Surfing the Sea

Mediterraneo is a fancy Italian/seafood restaurant located on the "Avenue" (a signature street in Greenwich with lots of boutiques and shops). I had a three-course meal with Audrey's family, complete with a glass of red wine.

Audrey and I shared Chilled seasonal oysters, champagne mignonette, cocktail sauce for an appetizer. The oysters weren't as juicy or plump as the ones I had in Boston. Too bad the restaurant was very dim and I couldn't see very well.

We both ordered the Grilled organic salmon with butternut squash, broccoli rabe, red wine, quince. As I mentioned before, I order anything and everything that is butternut squash. The salmon was juicy and plump, just the way I like it! I expected an actual butternut squash, not the puree which was a bit too creamy. I loved the broccoli rabe, which seemed to have been grilled.

The Fresh seasonal berries with whipped cream dessert was a bit of a disappoint because there was no cooking involved whatsoever--just a bowl of some strawberries and raspberries with whipped cream and a drizzle of white chocolate syrup. We only had the berries and put the whipped cream on the side. Healthy much? ;)

Le Pain Quotidien: A Sweet Meal

I spent Thanksgiving 2011 at a friend's house in Connecticut. Because our friendship strengthened as a result of our mutual love of food, we naturally went to lots of delicious eateries and restaurants. We went to a chain cafe/bakery, Le Pain Quotidien, where I ordered the most delicious tartini (open faced sandwiches): Ricotta with mission figs, black pepper & organic acacia honey.

Not only did the dish have a great presentation, but it was also so tasty! Every bite of the four triangular pieces left me wanting for more. The sweetness of the fig, the drizzled honey, and the ricotta cheese salad fared perfectly with the tomatoes and the rustic bread. Yes, I am lactose intolerant and my stomach boggles whenever I eat cheese, but I am willing to sacrifice my upset stomach for this delicious tartini any time!

My compatriots had the Smoked Salmon & Scallion Omelettes and the Paris Ham & Gruyère Omelettes, which I am sure were equally as fantastic.


In the spirit of Thanksgiving, we ordered a slice of pumpkin pie to share. The crust, which I always take apart since it's usually too buttery and greasy, was the highlight. It had just the right amount of crunch and softness, if that makes sense. The pumpkin puree wasn't overly sweet and I could actually taste the hint of pumpkin. An excellent way to top off a delicious meal.

Audrey's friend's mom got berry tarts and lemon tarts, but I didn't eat them. I personally don't really like tarts though.

John Harvard's: Good Ole' American Fare

I have never been to John Harvard's Brew House, a classic American pub/restaurant near the Garage, until this semester when I frequented it twice--both times for friends' birthday.

The first time was for Audrey's birthday, and we ordered a Vegetable pizza with grilled broccoli, artichoke, tomatoes, olives, feta, mozzarella, and fontina cheese on whole wheat crust to share. According to the menu, the pizza crusts incorporated grain from the brewing process--yet I was not even tipsy after finishing three slices!

I was a huge fan of the gigantic heads of broccoli, but the pizza itself was too cheesy for a slightly-lactose intolerant girl. I had to take chunks of cheese off the dough, yet my stomach was still hurting a bit afterward.

I was absolutely ecstatic that the Chef's seasonal ravioli was butternut squash! I am the type of person who orders anything, everything butternut squash because it's my favorite food EVER. I asked the waitress to take the cream out. About 7 pieces of raviolis were laid on the bed of sautéed spinach and tomatoes. Yum! The butternut squash filling had the right amount of sweet and savory, though I wish it was slightly less sweet.

Audrey had the Maple Dijon Salmon (oven roasted maple Dijon glaze, jasmine rice, and asparagus). She said the sauce was too creamy.

The second time I went with a bigger group--11 people to be exact--for Will's birthday. The gender ratio was 9:2 boys and girls, so the appetizers that we ordered as a group was very "masculine"--nachos and fried calamaris. I personally don't like chips or fried stuff, so I didn't eat or take picture. The dish I ordered was Grilled Salmon Orzo Pasta Salad (A grilled salmon filet with pesto over spinach, orzo pasta salad, tomatoes, red onion, artichokes, green beans and kalamata olives). Maybe it was because I was starved, but the salmon was cooked to perfection (crunchy on the outside, juicy inside), the pesto sauce on top was flavorful, the orzo was better than the boring rice, and the fresh spinach with sweet Italian vignette was a good balance to the fatty salmon. John Harvard's a good place if you are craving some good ole' American food!

Spice: Too Greasy

As a board member of the Harvard Culinary Society, I was invited to the holiday board dinner at Spice, a Thai restaurant just next door to Sandrine's Bistro. I have frequented Spice more than any other restaurants in the Harvard Square, not necessarily because it's my favorite, but because it's affordable considering it's atmosphere.

Like true foodies, we decided to order several dishes and share them so we could try a little bit of many different meas. The first that came out was Chicken Pad Thai, rice noodles stir-fried with egg bean sprouts, scallions, egg and topped with ground peanuts.

It was sort of unsettling that the dish came out in ~10 minutes, which means it had been mass-cooked. The chicken pieces were really dry and the noodle was drenched in oil, so I had to dab it with napkin before putting it into my mouth.

The Spicy Basil Fried Rice wasn't spicy at all. Like the pad thai, the fried rice was also very greasy, but still flavorful.

The dish that I specifically picked, the Beef Hot Basil Leaves Rice Plate (kra pow, sautéed with onions, bell peppers, mushrooms, carrots and sweet basil leaves in hot chili sauce) wasn't anything special. The beef tasted too jerky, but at least it wasn't super greasy!

Finally, one girl ordered the Spicy Noodles (spicy stir fried yellow noodles with vegetables and chicken) for herself. I had a bit but wasn't a fan of the noodles, which tasted just like cheap-o ramen noodles. Spice still remains my go-to place if I am craving some MSG (since I don't like Chinese food), but I definitely wouldn't recommend it to a health conscious individual.

Sandrine's Bistro: Hoppin' Rabbit

Sandrine's Bistro, located at the heart of the Harvard Square, presents classic and contemporary French cuisine. According to its website, the owner Raymond Ost is one of the most decorated French chefs in the region. With his partner Gwen Trost, he has created "a winning combination of European warmth and style with American efficiency."

I always walked past Sandrine's while visiting some friends in the River Houses, so I was excited to try the place for the first time. My friend I ordered the day's special appetizer, Avocado and Lobster.

Granted, we were surprised when the waitress brought the dish. It certainly didn't look like what I had expected! I have never had a dish with half shell of the entire avocado. The dish itself was presented beautiful, so I was really curious to see if the taste lived up to standard.

It certainly did. Like the unique presentation of the dish itself, the taste was nothing like I had ever tasted. We had to scoop the avocado with a spoon and get the crab meat and carrots/cucumber mixture (I believe it was mixed with mayonnaise and some spicy chili sauce). The savory crab meat went really well with the smooth avocado and the seaweed salad at the bottom. Even the cucumber and the tomatoes on the side, which I assume were used merely as a decoration, were tasty! The only minus would be that the dish was a bit difficult to eat because the avocado kept swiveling to the side.

I felt pretty adventurous, so I decided to order the Braised Organic Rabbit Leg (One rabbit leg with wide egg noodles, mushrooms, lardon, maille mustard a l’ Ancienne sauce). Again, it was my first time having rabbit. What a revolutionary experience! The meat was extremely tender, especially compared to the chicken my friend ordered. The sauce was a little too creamy and had big chunks of pork fat (aka bacon) that I was appalled by, but the combination of egg noodle and tender rabbit meat was fascinating.


This is the Organic Roasted Herbes de Provence Half Chicken with Crushed yukon gold potatoes, sautéed haricots verts, au jus that my friend ordered. Eh. Nothing too special. Just a regular chicken. The meat was a bit dry, but that could be because the rabbit was extremely tender in comparison! Rabbit meat could perhaps be my new favorite meat dish.

Shabu-ya: A Dining Experience

Shabu-ya, a fusion Japanese/Korean restaurant that specializes in Shabu Shabu, is somewhat notorious among Harvard students as a place to get sake shots. One casual Saturday afternoon, I went to Shabu-ya with a friend in Eliot, not for a shot of sake (I'm not 21!), but for some delicious non-dining hall food.

We ordered two servings of Shabu Shabu, while my friend also added an order of Red Sox Maki (tuna, avocado, spicy mayo with tobiko on top).

I had one piece of the roll just to get an idea of what it tastes like. There was a pretty big piece of sushi in each roll. I am not a huge fan of mayo, so I avoided the sauce at the bottom. Luckily the sushi roll itself was very simple without any artificial non-seafood flavors (think excessive mayo & fried stuff). Instead I could taste the fresh sushi itself, along with the savory avocado and crunchy (?) tobiko.

The lighting was great so I couldn't stop taking pictures of the sushi roll!

While we enjoyed the sushi roll as an appetizer, the waiter came by with a platter of vegetables (lettuce, cabbage, corn in the cob, tofu, mushroom) and raw meat (boneless beef short rib) to be dunked in a pot of boiling broth, special shabu sauce (similar to soy sauce but less salty) for dipping the meat and the vegetables, and a bowl of udon noodles.


Eating shabu is a fun experience if you have never tried it. You get to "indirectly" cook the food by dunking it in the boiling broth and dipping it in the sauce. It is also a course meal that involves vegetables and meat as the first course and noodles as the second course. I have definitely had a much tasiter shabu shabu in Korea, but it was nice to get a little taste of "home" in Cambridge. Nonetheless, I think I would rather stick to sushi rolls or Korean food at Shabu Ya because the vegetables weren't very fresh and the broth itself wasn't very flavorful.

The birth of my new blog: Nosh On Me

I love food, and there is absolutely no question about that. I have also kept a personal blog in which I also posted about the restaurants and eateries I have visited. But I realized I wanted to centralize all the food-related posts in one area to entertain other foodies like me.

So I present to you nom (Nosh On Me), my first ever official food blog in which I will post about all the delicious outings, dining hall food, home food, etc.

Below are imported food posts from my previous blog. Expect the future ones to be more detailed, more juicy, more delicious.

nom.
Jane