Mei Sum

Sometimes hype can ruin a restaurant experience. I've spent the past four years in Philly finding those perfect go-to meals that I can always count on. But I'm worried that the standard is set too high. Take banh mi for example. General Tso and I used to trek weekly down to Italian Market in Philly to grab delicious banh mi sandwiches, which I was basically obsessed with. So one of my top priorities here in Boston was finding a good vietnamese sandwich shop. After spending a lot of time on yelp, I picked out a spot that seemed promising: Mei Sum. The banh mi was good, but it didn't live up to my memory of what the perfect banh mi should taste like. The sandwich was ruined by my high expectations (but, then again, how can you go wrong for $2.75 a sandwich?). The sandwich was crunchy and had the right amount of spice. I also liked the balance of salt with the tofu. I didn't like the melted butter on the bread; it made the bread slightly soggy and just tasted odd. The caramelized onions were mushy and didn't fit.

I don't know, maybe I haven't looked hard enough for the right banh mi shop (although we did find Nhu Y in Philly on the first try). All I know is that I'm going to continue to have high expectations, in hopes that I'll find some of those amazing dishes that I grew so fond of in Philly. Boston, bring it on!

BIG NEWS

This post is a bit overdue. General Tso and I have big news! We've moved! I'll be living and blogging in Boston, while General will be checking out the NYC food scene. We realize that we haven't posted in a while, but we're ready to come back bigger and better than ever!

On another note, I'd like to advertise one of my favorite sites for daily deals: Slickdeals.net->Local deals->Pick your city. This websites compiles and updates all the deals from daily deal websites, so you don't have to get a million emails every day. I usually check it once a day to see if there's anything I like.

Keep an eye on the blog; we'll have some new reviews up soon!

Giacomo's (Boston)

In September, I went on a month long trip to Boston for an away rotation. Of course, I went to many different joints, located everywhere from South End to Brookline to Cambridge. I'll have all those up later in a dedicated Boston blog, but I had to give this particular restaurant its own blog. Why? Because I own this blog, and I can do whatever I want.

Giacomo's has two locations, one located in South End and one located in North End. People in the know say that the North End site is better, and curiously has a slightly different menu as well, so we went there around opening time at 5:00 PM. By this time, a line had already formed around the corner. "What gives?" I asked my cousin, the person who had originally turned me on to this little gem of a place. Apparently, Giacomo's does not take reservations, and it operates solely under a first-come, first-serve basis. Pretty arrogant, huh? Well, if they keep serving this type of food, I'd eat in the nude if they wanted me to.

After about an hour of waiting, we were finally taken inside the restaurant. As I entered, I was smacked across the face with the incredible aroma of spice, olive oil, freshly cooked pasta, and sex. Okay, not the last one. But it was so good, I literally could have eaten the scent of this place.

Making decisions on what to eat in a place like this is like choosing between children, but I managed to finally make a decision. I ordered mussels in Giacomo sauce, a spicy, slightly briny red sauce that took me by surprise with how much flavor it packed. You see, I am not easily impressed by red sauces. I'm just not a fan of tomatoes. But believe me when I tell you that I could have showered in this stuff. As for the main course, I ordered "butternut squash ravioli with diced asparagus in a prosciutto mascarpone cheese cream sauce." I was like Usher saying oh my god. Texture, flavor, aroma, portion size, balance...all done to perfection. And if that weren't enough, I tasted my cousin's fried calamari and lobster ravioli, which were all so luscious. Oh my god.

Friends, let me introduce to you only the second perfect rating ever given out in Battlefood history. Hooray!

Mussels in Giacomo Sauce

The Best Fried Calamari You've Ever Had

Butternut Squash Ravioli AKA Pillows Of Love

Rating: 5/5 showers of red sauce

Las Cazuelas

On a typical Friday night, General and I were once again debating our plans for dinner. As usual, I ended up getting my way, and we decided to trek up to NoLibs and try somewhere we had never been to before: Las Cazuelas. How a mexican restaurant (especially one with such a good review on Yelp) could slip through my obsessive searches boggles my mind, but once I read about this BYO tequila margaritas, it was decided. General Tso tried to imply that he had suggested this restaurant to me a couple times before, but he's wrong.

Upon arriving, we marveled at the adorable decor. I felt as though we weren't in Philly anymore. We picked up a bottle of tequila on the way and were presented with a pitcher of citrus margarita, which were fabulous. I had high hopes for the rest of the meal.

For appetizers, I got empanadas stuffed with oaxaca cheese and roasted poblano peppers. They were pretty good, but there were only two pieces, and they left more to be desired. Pretty typical. General got pork nachos, which I think was one of the specials. The plate was huge...like bigger than an entree (much less an appy) should be. Initially, he was impressed. But as he ate and ate, and then ate some more, he started feeling a bit woozy. And we didn't even get our entrees yet!

When the entrees did come out, we were barely halfway through our appys. General apparently likes feeling rushed, but not me. It was annoying. I got enchiladas with homemade award winning mole sauce, and General Tso got some sort of steak. My chicken enchiladas were okay; the sauce had a smoky chocolaty taste, which was very distinct, but got kind of old. General was unimpressed with the steak. He said it was sliced the wrong way and underdone. Plus he was still kind of sick from the pork. On the bright side, I got to drink all the margarita while he was moaning and groaning.

Nachos of Death

Empanadas

General Tso's take: Okay guys, let me give it to you straight. None of this sugar-coating that Napoleon likes to do. This was by far the worst restaurant we've gone to. Where do I begin? First they tempt you with an amazing ambiance, good service, and fun decorations. Then, they pound your stomach into submission with toxic meat.

First of all, the pork-topped plantain nachos, while a good idea, was way too big. Tasty, but big. As I was about halfway through, a strange feeling began developing in my belly. I felt a fever coming on. Was I nauseous, or just full? I tried to persevere.

Then, the main course came out. Recommended by our waitress, I felt that a steak was just what the doctor ordered. This skirt steak, however, was so rare I think they just lopped off a piece of cow from out back and put it on a hot plate. Blood dripped everywhere, like some cheesy horror flick. Except the only murder that night was the murder of my taste buds. To compound matters, they cut WITH the grain! "Oh let's see," the chef must have said to himself, "how can I make a tough cut of meat even tougher...eureka!"

Oh yeah, and I definitely got some sort of food poisoning that I had to live with (read: suffer through) for the next 24 hours. Hooray.

Rating: 2.8/5

A Very Quick Way...

...to tell Guy Fiere and Anne Burrell apart: Guy Fiere is the one with the mustache.

Anne Burrell

Guy Fiere...just look at that mustache!