Frosty Fun Frozen Yogurt

Since it’s almost summer and the weather is getting warmer, you might find yourself wanting something cold and delicious. If you’re sick of the same old ice cream, I have got something different for you that you have to try.

There are a handful of small takeout places in Boston that offer frozen yogurt with an unbelievable number of mix-ins and flavors. The best place that I have found is Angora Cafe on Commonwealth Ave. Their custom blended frozen yogurt creations are great and they have over 65 flavors that you can mix and match.

I got a coffee butterfinger, caramel vanilla frozen yogurt. Yum.

There’s cheesecake, cookie dough, coconut, Kit Kat, Reese’s, Milky Way, Walnut, Mint Chocolate, Peppermint, Fig Newton, Cinnamon, Grape, Peanut Butter, Granola, Pumpkin, White Chocolate, Pineapple, Ginger Snap, Butterscotch, Oreo, Almond, and MANY MORE!

Angora Cafe is located at 1024 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215 – http://www.angoracafe.com/

Pho Sure.

You’re probably wondering what Pho is. Pho is a very popular Vietnamese noodle soup.

According to our friend Wikipedia, Phở is served as a bowl of white rice noodles in clear beef broth, with thin cuts of beef (steak, fatty flank, lean flank, brisket). Variations include tendon, tripe, meatballs and chicken.

If you’ve never had Pho, you definitely want to head over to one of the many great Vietnamese restaurants in and around Boston. Chinatown is a great destination with many good Vietnamese restaurants where you can get really fresh and flavorful homemade food at a very cheap price. Usually, none of the dishes are over $10 and they are very filling.

One of the most non-Asian friendly restaurants and most well known in the Boston area is Pho Pasteur with 4 different locations. Here is their website for more information.

There’s nothing quite like a big steaming bowl of pho…So, don’t be a phool and get yourself some pho.

Top Secret Restaurant Recipes

I have a book called Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur that I will be selecting some recipes from to post here for anyone that might be interested in making some of their favorite meals at home. =)

The first recipe that I thought I would do would be The Olive Garden’s Italian Salad Dressing because I know it is the only reason I go there.

OIive Garden’s Italian Salad Dressing

1/2 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup corn syrup

2 1/2 tablespoons grated Romano cheese

2 tablespoons dry pectin

2 tablespoons beaten egg or egg substitute

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon minced garlic

1/4 teaspoon dried parsley

pinch of dried oregano and pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients and blend. Chill for 1 hour.

I will posting more restaurant recipes in the future from TGI Fridays, Applebees, Outback Steakhouse and more!

 

 

The Cheesecake Factory!!!

The Cheesecake Factory is SO MUCH MORE than just cheesecake. As a person who doesn’t really like cheesecake (I know, its a sin), I enjoy going to The Cheesecake Factory because it is a chain that knows how to make a lot of things and make them well. The menu is like a book with over 100 items, you would think they would be spreading themselves thin, but everything I have had there has been great.

My favorite item off the menu and the one that I always want to get every time I go is actually an appetizer called Thai Lettuce Wraps. Its fun to create your own lettuce wraps with grilled chicken strips, carrots, bean sprouts, and coconut curry noodles. It comes with 3 delicious dipping sauces; peanut, sweet red chili, and tamarind cashew (my favorite). They actually sell this sauce to buy in their restaurants to take home with you, which I have done.

You can’t really go wrong with anything off the menu at The Cheesecake Factory. They have great pizzas, pastas, salads, sandwiches, steaks, fish, and other seafood.

But of course, the most important part of the meal for many is the dessert. They have an enormous selection of mind boggling cheesecake creations. Even though they will set you back about $6 per slice, it’s worth it. I have heard that the Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake is really good.

Well, I’d be surprised if there was anyone out there who hasn’t been to Cheesecake Factory but you can visit their website for all the details.

For anyone interested, I have also found a link to some Cheesecake Factory copycat recipes http://www.recipesecrets.net/forums/secret-recipe-archive/12816-cheesecake-factory-recipes.html

The Hibachi Experience

As much as I hate to admit it, I think that my favorite restaurant of all time is Bisuteki Japanese Steakhouse. I went there for my first time around 10 years ago and I keep going back several times a year for more and more.

Bisuteki is a hibachi style dining experience where chefs cook and perform entertaining tricks while preparing your meal on the flat grilltop at every table.

Visit YouTube for a video of a hibachi chef in action.

Anyway, Bisuteki is a great restaurant. The food is always excellent and the portions they give are enough for two meals. I usually get the hibachi shrimp complete dinner. Every dinner comes with oriental soup, house salad with ginger dressing, white rice, vegetables, shrimp appetizer and green tea and ice cream. The meals cost from about $16 – $25 for a filet mignon and shrimp combo dinner, which is a little expensive, but not for all of the food you get. And you get a show too.

I am such a big fan of Bisuteki and their ginger dressing especially that I recreated the recipe from several versions that I found online until I got it almost exactly right. Ginger dressing is served at a lot of Japanese and asian restaurants. Well, here it is…

Japanese Ginger Dressing

1/2 cup onion, minced

1/2 cup peanut oil

1/3 cup rice vinegar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

2 tablespoons celery, minced

2 tablespoons ketchup

4 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend on high speed for about 30 seconds or until all of the ginger is well pureed.

If you have never dined at Bisuteki, you are missing out on a lot of fun and really good food. Check out their website!

What do you think???

I just wanted to say that I appreciate those of you who are actually reading my blog. I noticed that one post about Starbucks sent my number of visitors through the roof. So, I was thinking that I should open up the question to anybody who is actually reading this that I am willing to take any suggestions for any restaurants, food, recipes, or anything else that you might want me to feature here on this blog. I am open to any suggestions and would love to hear any feedback that anyone might have. Thank you very much and keep reading. I really appreciate the support. There are going to be a lot more posts in the near future. I’m just working on uploading some really great pictures.

Jen

Secret Starbucks Recipes!

My friend found a downloadable recipe guide to almost all of Starbucks desserts and drinks. So, I thought I would share for all those people who love Starbucks but don’t love paying the $5 for a venti frappuccino everyday. Here is a popular recipe you can try at home…

 

The Frappuccino is blended with strong coffee, sugar, a dairy base, and ice.

3/4 cup double-strength coffee, cold

1 cup low-fat milk

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 cups ice

 

1. Make double-strength coffee by brewing with twice the coffee required by your coffee maker. That should be 2 tablespoons of ground coffee per each cup of coffee. Chill before using.

 

2. To make the drink, combine all ingredients in a blender and blend on high

speed until ice is crushed and drink is smooth. Pour into two 16-ounce glasses.

 

 

For Caramel, add 3 tablespoons of caramel topping to the original recipe. Top each glass with whipped cream and drizzle additional caramel over the whipped cream.

 

GO HERE TO DOWNLOAD A COLLECTION OF STARBUCKS RECIPES!!!

Kinsale Irish Pub

My friend introduced me to this really great place the other day. Theres a good amount of Irish pubs around, but not all of them are great. However, Kinsale Irish Pub near Government Center is a great place to eat and get together with friends.

The Kinsale was designed and built in Ireland so the interior is very warm and cozy with beautiful craftsmanship.

Although the atmosphere is extremely nice, people go to the Kinsale for the consistently good food. A friend of mine makes a point to travel there every weekend and you’ll want to too.

The menu is diverse mixing good old pub food like nachos and mozarella sticks with gourmet entrees like Apple bacon wrapped filet mignon and lobster ravioli.

I went with a small group of friends. We ordered the nachos as an appetizer, which I highly recommend. These aren’t your regular pub grub. They came in a heaping plateful with tri color tortilla chips, salsa, melted cheese. Be sure to substitute the creamy spinach artichoke dip for the chili. They’re messy, but worth it. They call them “Boston’s Best Nachos” and I think they might be right.

I ordered one of the specials on the menu, which was a haddock stuffed with proscuitto in a lemon caper sauce with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. I didn’t think it was possible, but it was as delicious as it sounds. My friends had the steak tips which were tender and flavorful and the classic corned beef sandwich, which was piled high and tasty. They also have a great selection of salads and other dishes.

Another reason to go to the Kinsale is for the live Irish music that is played every night. And, of course, don’t forget their large rotating selection of beer!

The prices at the Kinsale are a little higher than the average pub goer might want to spend, but you don’t mind spending the money for the quality of the food that you get. Dinner entrees can range from about $10-20. If you want something a little cheaper, you can always just order off the pub menu, which has sandwiches and salads and other dishes which are very reasonable, some under $10.

So if you feel like having a little taste of Ireland right in the heart of the city, head over to The Kinsale.

Check out their website for their other restaurants, locations, and menus.

Just a Heads Up…

I just wanted to write a little post to update everyone on where this blog is headed. I know I have been writing a good amount of posts about Asian related restaurants and places. I tend to have a lot to say about Asian restaurants because it is my favorite type of food. I realize that not everyone may be into Asian food so I will try harder in the future to keep my blog very tastes neutral. In the next couple of weeks, I am going to try to get a lot more variety into this blog and write about a lot of different places, cuisines, and ideas.  I’ll be talking about pizza, Italian food, desserts, grocery store items, cereal, subs, and a lot of other tasty topics. I’ll also be including more recipes and helpful tips for dining out in boston in the near future. So, keep reading and enjoy!   =)

Karaoke, Sushi, and a Bento Box, Oh My!

I recently discovered a great place for sushi and all kinds of great Japanese food at really good prices in Kenmore square. It’s called Maluken. Before you settle for Pizzeria Uno for the third time this month, walk around the corner and step into this little restaurant.

Maluken Japanese restaurant is popular for a variety of reasons. The atmosphere is authentic with Japanese decor and waitresses sporting kimonos. The fare includes a large sushi menu and other items. Maluken makes some great Japanese food including tempura (vegetables and shrimp lightly battered and deep fried), teriyaki (broiled seafood and meat with teriyaki sauce), and agemono (deep fried breaded meat or seafood with sauce).

When I went to Maluken, I got the tempura box special. I could barely finish it all because it came with so many things. It included soup, salad, rice, dumplings, and california roll sushi. Even better, my whole meal was only $8.95. I even got some melon and fruit for dessert.

I am definitely going to be going back to Maluken soon. For my next visit I plan on trying their sushi because the sampling that I had was really good. Now that I’m 21, I might also take advantage of the beer, wine and sake that they offer. The big attraction after 9 pm is the karaoke, which I probably won’t be apart of.

So, if you want to try something different and you’re in Kenmore Square, stop over at Maluken for some sushi, a bento, and some bad singing.

Be sure to check their website for more information, directions, and a full menu.