Best Sandwich Shop in the Square: Crema Cafe

I have been to quite a lot of restaurants in Cambridge, but I haven't taken advantage of all the wonderful little eateries and sandwich shops in Harvard Square. A couple weeks ago, a friend introduced me to Crema Cafe, and it immediately became my favorite sandwich shop in Cambridge.

I ordered the Turkey & Jicama Slaw ($7.50), House roasted turkey with jicama slaw, avocado, bacon, ancho chili vinaigrette, and mayo on a toasted homemade baguette.

I modified the order without bacon and mayo. The sandwich was a bit messy to eat because of all the jicama slaw spilling out of the sandwich. I feel like they added extra vinaigrette to make up for the lack of mayo because it was slightly greasy/oily.

Such a difficult sandwich to devour. The turkey tasted like it was carved right off from oven-roasted turkey on a Thanksgiving night. I wished the chunk of avocado was bigger. The baguette was toasted so nicely and the vinaigrette soaked into the white part of the bread nicely without making it soggy. I enjoyed the crunchiness of the jicama slaw.

My friend had the Spinach Artichoke Chicken ($6.95) with sweet potato chips on the side. She said this is her favorite sandwich and that she gets it every time. Haha.

The sandwich was made with grilled chicken breast with creamy artichoke spread and wilted spinach pressed on homemade focaccia. The focaccia looked delicious, but I'm not sure if my stomach could tolerate the creaminess of the spinach and the artichoke spread. The sweet potato chips were a bit bland.

Creaminess At Sheraton Commander

I went to a job fair and networking event organized by the Office of Career Services

at Sheraton Commander, where I enjoyed a catered roundtable dinner with representatives from Google, Bloomingdale, Abercrombie & Fitch, and other agencies.

The dinner was a buffet style featuring all three courses (salad/bread, entree, and dessert) in one line.

Fusilli pasta with creamy pesto and pine nuts.

The sauce looked way too greasy and creamy. I am also not a huge fan of pesto and pine nuts...the dish also had lots of sprinkles of cheese on top.

Another curly pasta (I am not sure what it is called) with marinara sauce, olives, and...cheese.

Chicken masala in a slightly creamy sauce with roasted mushroom and baby onions

The theme of the night must have been heavy, creaminess. I managed to scoop up some vegetables on the top that hadn't been tainted with the creamy sauce.

Brownies and blondies with chocolate chips.

My plate of food. The bread was nicely toasted. The salad was quite fresh, but nothing too exciting.

The pasta was overcooked. I wish there had been some basil on top, but the olives did the job of adding a layer of flavors. The chicken in the masala was sort of dry. The onions and the mushroom, on the other hand, were full of rich flavors. I especially liked the brown glaze of the onions.

Brittle French Macarons From L.A. Burdick

Valentine's Day is a day of romanticism, affectionate feelings, and sweets. But for a single person like me, it's also a Singe Awareness Day--a SAD day indeed.

On the morning of Valentine's Day, I received a text message from a friend saying that she has to meet up with me today. I had a day full of classes and meetings, but managed to finally see her for five minutes at 10 p.m. Aren't we all busy Harvard students?

She (yes, it's a she. No romantic feelings there hehe) handed me a little box from L.A. Burdick, a sweet shop famous for its chocolate, hot chocolate, pastries, and other confectionary. When I opened the box, I saw another hidden object...I wonder what it is.

Tada! Peeking inside the orange wrappers were three different flavors of French Macaron.

French macarons are sweet meringue-based confectioneries made with egg whites, icing sugar, granulated sugar, almond powder or ground almond, and food coloring.

The three flavors were, clockwise from top, cofffee, chocolate, and mysterious flavor that I never figured out what it was.

The macaron is commonly filled with buttercream or jam filling sandwiched between two cookies. This is the coffee flavor with coffee bean fillings.

Chocolate cream sandwiched between light, fluffy chocolate cookies.

The mysterious flavor...It got a little crack in the bottom. That's how fragile these cookies are.

I ate it Oreo-style: Dividing up the cookies, eating the top cookies, and then the bottom layer.

Perhaps because I had the macaron a day after, the texture of the cookies were not as chewy as I had expected. Neither the cookies nor the cream was too sweet.

The chocolate macaron in its pristine state.

Well...sort of except for that little crack and some chocolate cream oozing out from the side!

Split in half. I microwaved it for 10 seconds because the cookies had gotten too hard.

The chocolate cream slightly melted and was absorbed by the cookies.

The macaron tasted much better after I put it in the microwave. When I took a bite of it, both the creamy inside and the chewy layer outside infused in my mouth.

The coffee macaron cracked into an unrecognizable state. Haha.

These cookies are so brittle if you don't eat them right away.

Thank you my Valentine for the wonderful treat!

Ethiopian Cuisine At Its Best

I had my first Ethiopian food in Berkeley, California, during a Model UN conference at UC Berkeley in high school. At the restaurant, I had no idea what to expect and just went with the flow as the teacher ordered some dishes for the table. Soon the waitress brought us a huge edible platter of vegetables and meat that you eat with your hands. Welcome to the world of Ethiopian food.

Ethiopian food is by far my favorite cuisine. It can be a bit heavy at times because the sauce usually incorporates a lot of oil and butter, but as long as as I am not eating it every single day, I think I can survive.

I went to an Ethiopian restaurant called Addis Red Sea near Porter Square with a friend in Pfoho who I have been meaning to treat to a meal for awhile. We ordered the "Addis Red Sea Special Combo" ($28.95), which featured six highlights/recommended entrees.

Ethiopian food is eaten with hands, which provides such a bonding experience. Probably not the best place for a first date though because it can get quite messy. In addition to the huge platter you get, you also get a basket of injera, or Ethiopian flat bread that you use to scoop up the meat/vegetables.

Gomen Wot, or chopped collard greens cooked in herbed oil with onions, green peppers, and garlic. The collard greens was cooked so thoroughly that it was really soft and tender. I liked that the seasoning for this dish wasn't too strong.

Doro Alcha, or chicken simmered in a mild sauce of butter, ginger, and onions. I couldn't really taste the butter, thankfully. The chicken was tender and the sauce was, indeed, mild. Suitable for those who don't like spices!

Doro wot, or tender chicken marinated in lemon, sautéed in seasoned butter and stewed in a red pepper sauce. I liked the tang of spicyness in this dish, but it was a bit greasy.
flavored with onions, garlic & ginger root with a pinch of cardamoms & nutmeg

Zenge, or exotic beef stew. The beef was a bit tough. The sauce was right in between spicyness and mildness.

Lega-Tibs, or beef chunks sautéed in oil seasoned with onions, green peppers, rosemary, and black pepper. This dish was quite spicy. Like the spicy chicken dish above, it was also too oily.

Ethiopian-style salad with onions, tomatoes, and hot green peppers. I love when the injera underneath soaks up all the flavors from the entree. It tastes so rich!

I think Ethiopian food has a beautiful presentation.

I think the cuisine is an acquired taste. For example, my mom, who doesn't like spices (and therefore no Indian food for her!) probably won't like Ethiopian food either.

The dish is served on a colorful "table" that resembles an upside down sombrero.

Apparently, his name is "Mesob" and he's very fragile. Haha.