February 9th 2014: Eating 3 Meals in a Short Span of Time

Today, I was to have dinner with friends at Alden and Harlow, a new restaurant in Cambridge. Before that, I took my time sightseeing in Ayer,

Upper Long Pond, ~134 Sandy Pond Road

Littleton,

Long Pond Beach, End of Town Road

Spectacle Pond, 687 Great Road

Mill Pond, 90 Harwood Avenue

Westford,

Abbott Mills, 1 Pleasant Street

Forge Pond Dam, ~1 Pleasant Street

Cameron Senior Center, 20 Pleasant Street

JA Healy Sons Funeral Home

Stony Brook Reservoir,

North Main Street and Broadway

Old Westford Anodizing Corporation Building,

12 North Main Street

Flushing Pond, 18 Tyngsboro Road

Tewksbury,

Ames Pond, end of Ames Pond Drive

Richardson Pond, End of Raymond Street

North Reading,

St. Theresa's Church

Union Congregational Church

Lynnfield

St. Maria Goretti Church

Suntaug Lake, End of Oak Street

and Lynn

First Church of Christ Congregational

Congregacion Candelero de Dios

before finally heading into the town of Brookline for my first meal of the day at Shan-a-Punjab, a new Indian restaurant in town, apparently owned by the same guys from Sher-a-Punjab in Quincy, which I visited once last year. I chose not to have the lunch buffet in this small and haphazardly decorated  place as I had a Groupon, going instead with the Nir Giri Chingri (Shrimp marinated in spices with coconut cooked in south Indian style) for appetizers,

the Salt Lassi for a drink,

the Gobhi Parantha (Multi-layered whole wheat bread, cooked with mashed cauliflower) for bread, 

and the Subz Panchmael (Red, yellow and green peppers, artichokes, asparagus and bean spouts stir fried with panch phoran flavored tomato and green cardamom sauce) for curry.

The shrimp weren't too bad, although that was the only part of the dish I wanted to eat, the rest being onions and coconut flakes. The curry was pretty good as well, although I stayed away from the peppers. I'm definitely not for salty drinks though.

From here, it was on to my next meal at the Mohr and McPherson Cafe in the South End area of Boston, where I had a meetup event to go to.

This place is actually more of a high end furniture store than a cafe. Some pictures I took of the furniture sold here, each worth at least more than a few hundred bucks, follow.

They are not as good at making sandwiches though, the Veggie Reuben I got tasting way too sour for my liking.

Finally, it was time for dinner after a good time spent chatting with new friends at the cafe. Passing by an interesting looking rocket at the VFW Post #8818 in Cambridge,

I headed to the dinner place with my friend. This place used to be Casablanca, a Mediterranean restaurant I went to 2 years ago. The decor has been totally revamped, although I still recognize the rough area where I sat the last time around.

While waiting for my other friends to come, I decided to get a Wunderkind Cider for a drink, and it was actually pretty good for a non-drinker like me.

When our friends finally arrived, it was time to feast. Our starters, consisting of pickled string beans, were interesting, though a little sour for me.

Our dishes were all presented well in tapas style, starting with the Market Crudo (raw scallops, Cauliflower Kimchee, Chili Oil, Uni Aioli), which was simply decadent, especially with the uni.

The Skate Cheeks were up next, equally fresh without any fishiness.

The Island Creek Oyster Gratin (Uni, Creamed Leeks and Guanciale) was so fresh, the oysters actually didn't feel like oysters.

The Clams from Pat Woodbury (Smoked Pig Tail, Parsley and Chile Toast) were excellent as well, especially with the pig tail.

The Wood Roasted Beef Neck (Parsnips, Vinegar, Radishes) was pretty tasty, although I could not tell if the meat was actually any different from regular beef.

The Chicken Fried Local Rabbit (Celery, Apple, Blue Cheese, Chili Oil) was a little disappointing though, tasting just like breaded chicken cutlets.

The Crispy Berkshire Pork Belly had a decent amount of sinful fat, along with a crispy skin to top it off.

The Grilled Foie Gras met expectations,

The only disappointing dish was the Secret Burger (8oz House Creekstone Grind, Your Faith, House Made Roll), which was a little burnt to say the least, and a little bland as well.

It was finally time for dessert. I initially did not think too much of the selection, and I was alaready bursting with food by now, but my friend decided to get the Single Composed Cheese Selection

and the Roasted Parsnip Cobbler (Ginger Ice Cream, Blueberries, Star Anise) anyway.

Unfortunately, the ginger and spices made the cobbler taste really weird, and we ended up leaving most of it untouched, while the cheese was just okay. A disappointing end to a pretty good meal, and a day of eating. I hope I can digest all of it by tomorrow.