From the category archives:

Restaurants

Restaurant Review: Jimmy’s Bar & Oven

by agirlandhermutt on February 3, 2012

The other night I took a little trip down memory lane with a trip to my old ‘hood, Brookline, to have dinner with my friend Megan. Megan, drinks, dinner, Brookline= An excellent Wednesday night!

A few of my friends had mentioned that a restaurant had opened up in my old neighborhood in a spot that was vacant the ENTIRE time I lived there. For 3 years! Megan let me pick the restaurant so we met up at Jimmy’s Bar & Oven.

As I was walking up I couldn’t help but notice that the outside of this place was a little sketch. Very concrete and a few too many neon bar signs. If Brookline had a dive bar, this looks like it would be it. Then I noticed the garage door windows that could open on a great weather night and started to get the idea of this place.

The interior of Jimmy’s keeps with the whole industrial/concrete feel except the lighting inside gives it a nice warm feeling. Exposed lightbulbs and walls continue that warehouse or garage feeling. There was a nice area to sit at lower tables, but there was also a great bar and high top seating available.

From almost any part of the restaurant you can see into the kitchen where the pizza oven was on full force. I can never decide if I like to look into the kitchen or not.

Megan and I decided to sit at the bar for the night. I always enjoy sitting at the bar at places because it gives me a nice view of the whole joint and I get my drinks faster!

Drink for the night was Angry Orchard cider. Crisp and almost like apple juice. These suckers go down pretty quickly. Check out that cool tap though.

We decided to split some fried pickles and stuffed mushrooms first. The pickles came with a nice smoky dip. These weren’t my fave fried pickles because I wanted them to be a bit crispier, but they were certainly a good choice for a fried pickle fix.

The stuffed mushrooms were described as being filled with carrots, red onion, zucchini and parm cheese. Although these look chock full of veggies, unfortunately I couldn’t really taste all the veggies. It was like mushroom with no other discernable flavors. This isn’t necessarily bad, but just wasn’t what I was expecting. There was also some type of foam or sauce on the side. I’m not really sure what this was, but the mushrooms were fine without it. Just a side note…check out that huge piece of basil. What the heck is that about? I don’t care for things on my plate that aren’t meant to be eaten. Leave that off folks!

For dinner we both ordered a pizza. They have plenty of other pasta dishes available but I was hoping to get enough pizza to have lunch for the next day. Score! It was a great size and easily could be split between two people. My pizza was the White Pizza with figs, pears, goat cheese and baby arugula. I love the figs. I love the goat cheese. I could have used MORE pears. I could have taken less arugula. The crust was nice and doughy without being too chewy to be enjoyable. Pizza is definitely something they do well.

When it was time to head out they kindly boxed up my extra pizza. I love when they put the date on the take-out box. This is a great reminder when I go to pull it out of my fridge and realize it is 6 days old.

Overall, Jimmy’s was ok. It definitely adds a nice causal place to the Washington Sq area, but it wasn’t a place that I would make the trip back to my hood specifically for. I wasn’t blown away by all of my apps, but this could definitely be a spot to grab a drink on a nice evening when the windows are open and split a pizza in you were in the area already.

*Just a note: Megan and I picked Jimmy’s all on our own. No free food or drinks for these girls. Honest opinions all the way around!*

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I hope you guys have a great weekend! Super Bowl weekend is here. Anyone else excited?!

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Restaurant Review: Post 390

by agirlandhermutt on January 17, 2012

Each time I head to the Back Bay area I always seem to find a parking spot right around the corner from Post 390. Every. Single. Time. Do you think I just jinxed it?!

When it was my turn to pick a restaurant for my friend Megan and I to meet up for dinner I immediately thought of Post 390. I had heard some good things and was looking to give it a try.

When we walked in I immediately fell in love with the warm décor, large fireplace, and that super cozy feeling the downstairs bar gives off. Post 390 describes itself as a contemporary twist on a tavern and I can totally see that at first glance.

We were seated in the upstairs dining room at a table close to another fireplace and flanked by large floor to ceiling windows. It was a lovely view of the city!

We started off our dinner with a drink and some oysters. My Grape Express drink was crisp, fresh and fruity without being syrupy. The drink is a combo of house made grape infused vodka, white cranberry, moscato and frozen grapes. Its like the pretty sister of a dirty martini.

The oysters were a mix of Island Creeks and something else. Honestly, I can’t remember the other oyster and I didn’t really taste that much of a difference in the two. The Island Creek oysters were firm and super briny. Just the way I like my oyster! The cocktail sauce they serve with their oysters was quite tasty too. I found myself kind of wanting to hold on to the sauce just in case I found anything later in the meal to dip into it. Classy huh?

Eric Brennan, the Executive Chef, has put together a menu that focuses on fresh season ingredients that is both simple, but memorable. Did he hit the mark? I should say so!

It was chilly out and I was looking for something warm and comforting. Pasta does that for me. I went for the Fettuccini with Smoked Chanterelles ($21) with some additions of sugar pumpkin, dried cranberries and whipped ricotta. The bits of sweetness from the cranberries and pumpkin were such a great pairing with the smokiness of the mushrooms and richness of the ricotta. I took half of this home with me and thought about it in my fridge the entire night. I would return to Post 390 just for this plate!

Megan opted for the Grilled Atlantic Salmon dish ($29). This one was a little different than the menu option now, but the basic idea was the same. This HUGE steak was paired with a mingling of clams, chorizo, and baby potatoes. She enjoyed every last drop of this dish. I’m going to take that as a two thumbs up from her.

Before we knew how big our servings would be we had ordered a few sides to split. The grilled broccolini ($6) with fire roasted peppers and red onion was attacked by us first. Everything had a nice grilled flavor, but I wish there had been a little more broccolini on the plate. We only had two spears and the rest of the plate was the pepper & onion goodies.

We also split the brussels sprouts ($7) that were flavored with miso and sesame. The unique flavors were what made us order this and how they all melded together is what makes me want to make this dish at home. I couldn’t get over how well miso went with brussels. Did you have any idea?!

A note about the service. Our server was extremely friendly and knowledgeable about the menu, but at times I felt he was a little pushy trying to get us to order additional drinks or apps. I could see that it might be an uncomfortable experience for someone who wasn’t as vocal about what they do or don’t want during their meal.

As we were leaving I was surprised to see how busy the entire restaurant was. On a Monday night both bars were full, the private dining area was packed and there were plenty of people sitting in the dining area. Post 390 gets points for a great cozy but bustling atmosphere. They also get points for a unique drink menu and nice selection on the raw bar menu. The food was tasty and I thoroughly enjoyed the seasonal approach to cooking. The price point was a bit high for me for an after work dinner, but definitely worth a drop-in for a nice treat!

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*Note: I paid for this meal all by myself. No one invited me here (except for Megan) and this review is filled with my own honest opinions. Thanks!*

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Boston Bloggers Brunch: Temple Bar

by agirlandhermutt on December 14, 2011

FYI…brunch is where it is at. Seriously. It has all the makings of the perfect meal. A combo of breakfast and lunch options, booze, and a nap to follow.

This past Saturday I was thrilled to be a part of my very first brunch with the Boston Brunchers at Temple Bar in Cambridge.

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When I arrived I was greeted with a plateful of delicious bakery bites, including banana bread and a chocolate chip muffin. I’m pretty sure that if given the opportunity I could have munched on the banana bread for my entire breakfast.

While I was perusing the drink list I came across this goodie. A Man-Mosa? Has anyone ever had beer with orange juice? The idea just makes me shudder in disgust, but I’d be willing to give it a try if at least one person says they have done this. No? None of you?

Fortunately I was saved from ordering the man-mosa at the last minute when they brought out a specialty cocktail just for us bloggers. How nice!

When it came to decide what to eat I was having a serious dilemma. They had things like Cinnamon Mascarpone-Stuffed French Toast and House Citrus & Fennel Salmon Gravlax. However, I couldn’t resist the “Croque” Eggs Benedict. They let me substitute smoked salmon for the ham (thank you for the option!). I’m always afraid I’m going to have plate envy. Not this time folks! I was so happy to see this plate when it arrived.

The eggs were poached perfectly. The hollandaise sauce was creamy and just the right amount of heavy without feeling totally overwhelming. When I was done eating I didn’t feel like I had been taking shots of whole milk or anything. You know what I mean, right?

I also loved that there was 2 pieces of sourdough bread that made almost a sandwich with the smoked salmon in between. The homefries were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside. Gross homefries are the killer to any brunch so I was happy to have these make the grade.

My first drink disappeared really quickly (weird, huh?) so I ordered up a spin on the classic Tequila Sunrise. They used jalapeno tequila and it totally worked. Especially since it was about 11am. Woot for mid-morning drinking!

Once I had chug-a-lugged through 2 drinks and a big ol’ plate of goodness I was seriously rethinking the tights that I was wearing. Oy. But wait. Brunch wasn’t over! The servers started bringing out deserts for us all to share. Chocolate bread pudding with caramel sauce, crème brulee with cardamon, pumpkin mousse, and a cranberry cake.

The standouts for me were definitely the bread pudding and crème brulee. The bread pudding was moist, creamy and almost savory. I had no idea I would enjoy bread pudding so much! I think everyone else was surprised by it too because this sucker was gobbled down in minutes.

The cranberry cake was good from what I hear. When the plate got to our end of the table it looked it had been enjoyed thoroughly.

I have to admit that I wasn’t expecting much from Temple Bar’s brunch. I’m happy to report that I was totally off base. Not only was the food delish, and plentiful!, but the service was fantastic. I enjoyed that they offered up a few substitution suggestions, favorite drink choices, and all while being super quick with their service. I will definitely return to Temple Bar and I’m bringing friends!

Big thanks to the Boston Brunchers bunch for organizing a fun Saturday morning and another thanks to Temple Bar for being so accommodating to our group.

Yo. Just a note. Brunch was provided to us for no charge, but all opinions on the food and service are all my own.