Rosenfeld Bagels Review - Newton Center

Looking for bagels? Rosenfeld Bakery is my favorite place for bagels in the hood (Newton Center), and it also happens to be Boston's best! No no, I am not biased or anything. The bagels from Rosenfeld's are chewy on the inside yet slightly crispy on the outside.

The shop is a take out place (no seating) and gets pretty busy in the mornings. You can order bagels to go or get them individually toasted. I can't seem to veer from my usual order of a toasted blueberry bagel with strawberry cream cheese (heaven), though I would love to try the toasted chocolate chip bagel with butter sometime, yes sometime....



I haven't tried the challah bread there (I can never finish a whole loaf of bread before it goes bad) but it seems Rosenfeld's has won awards for it. Rosenfeld's also sells a chocolate chip challah bread that I'm very curious about!



Chomp Meter:
Great bagels, give them a try! Then walk to Peet's for coffee :) You can also pick them up for office breakfasts or weekend brunches.



Rosenfeld Bagel Company
1280 Centre St
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: (617) 527-8080

Blue Ribbon BBQ Review - Southern Goodness!

I usually get take out from Blue Ribbon BBQ but we decided to toss things up and eat there instead. We shared a platter of dry rubbed BBQ ribs with collard greens and black eyed corn. The platter also comes with corn bread making it more than enough food for two!

The BBQ here is the absolute best in Boston. The meat is slightly charred on the outside and tender on the inside. I don't know why people bother with Red Bones :P Anyway, I'm not in much of a writing mood today so I'm going to let the photos speak for themselves:



The sides at Blue Ribbon are as good as the meat! The corn and collard greens were delicious. Finally you have to wash it all down with sweet tea. MMMMM


(Sorry for the blurry iPhone photo...)

Chomp Meter:
IMO this is the best place for BBQ in the Boston area. Great sides, corn bread and sweet tea too! Head here for your fix ...


Blue Ribbon BBQ

(Newton Location)
1375 Washington St
West Newton, MA
tel 617 332 2583

(Arlington Location)
908 Massachusetts Ave
Arlington, MA
tel 781 648 7427

Vino Divino Review, Newton, MA - My Favorite Wine Boutique

Do you ever feel overwhelmed when you step into a wine or alcohol shop? I do.

I never know where to start and walk aimlessly through stores without knowing what to buy. Well, this is no longer a problem at Vino Divino. I've been frequenting Vino Divino for a few years now and love their small yet comprehensive selection. I think it's the layout of the store which is uncluttered and makes for easy browsing.


Source: Photo courtesy of Raphael K (VD's owner) from Yelp.

Vino Divino offers wines from all over the world (Italy, Australia, South Africa) which are displayed with a point rating system. The owners at Vino Divino research wines rated by various sources like Wine Spectator and taste the ones rated between 85-100 points. They then select from these to bring you the best tasting and best valued wines. The store's concept is created with the consumer in mind and is affordable luxury at it's best.

Vino Divino also offers a card with information about the wine with every purchase. I really like that since you can remember the wines you like and quickly refer to it for pairings. The wine cards are also a good marketing tool for the shop, especially when given as gifts!

Here's what one of the cards look like:

Source: Photo from Vino Divino's website.

Chomp Meter Review:
I highly recommend Vino Divino. The store makes wine shopping so simple. Vino Divino is right across the road from Whole Foods in Newton Center. I've never gotten a bad bottle of wine here. The owners are also extremely friendly and knowledgeable. Stop by and give them some support!

Vino Di Vino
899 Walnut Street
Newton · MA · 02461
617-527-VINO (617-527-8466)
877-8DIVINO (877-834-8465)

Hours
Mon to Saturday: 10am - 8.30pm
Sundays: 1-6pm
Tastings on Saturday from 1-5pm

Savory and Sweet at Pie Bakery and Cafe - Newton Center, MA

Pie Bakery and Cafe has been in Newton Center for about a year now. I like stopping by to get a snack. The cafe is pretty unique since it specializes in pies, both of the sweet and savory variety.



The menu at Pie Bakery and Cafe includes items like spinach and feta pie, chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese pie, and an assortment of sweet pies like apple, pecan, strawberry rhubarb, banana cream, pumpkin. The only downside to ordering the savory pies is that it takes about 10 minutes for the pies to get heated in the oven.

I get a craving for "tea" in the afternoons so I got the banana cream pie and some earl grey. The banana creme pie was very light though I'd like it if the crust were a little more buttery. Overall it was good.



Chomp Meter Review:
Savory pies are not as popular in the U.S. as in Europe so this cafe certainly has a refreshing take on the traditional concept of pie here. It's a convenient place for pie and I'm even thinking of getting some here for Thanksgiving. Three chomps rating because not all the pies are terrific but thumbs up for variety and creativity. There's also free wifi but the coffee is only average. I'd get coffee from Peet's instead which is right next door.

Pie Bakery and Cafe
796 Beacon Street
Newton Center MA 02459
(617) 332-8743

Sushi Man Review - Take Out Places in Newton MA

Whenever we are too lazy to drive further out, we head to Sushi Man in Newton off Route 9. The restaurant is a hole in the wall place with about 3 tables and seats at the sushi bar.

Sushi Man is run by a Japanese Chef and his Taiwanese wife. The sushi here is decent with some hits and misses. We usually get the chirashi set and a couple rolls. I'm not really a fan of the chirashi and I really don't know why we keep getting it. The slices of fish are cut too large and the fishy taste can get to be too much. Perhaps the chef is trying to be more like his competitor restaurant down the road?

Venus Roll (L) Chirashi (R)


Chomp Meter Review:
OK if you live in the area. There aren't many choices for sushi. The really like the Venus Rolls there (fresh scallops). The squid sashimi is also thinly sliced to enhance the taste.

Sushi Man
387 Boylston St
Newton Center, MA 02459
(617) 969-7878
Past the Chestnut Hill Mall on Rt.9

Monday Dinner @ Thai Thai Kitchen

If you live near Newton Center, you'll realize that there's a dearth of supermarkets in the area (with the exception of Whole Foods). There used to be an Omni and a Shaws, both of which are now closed. Thus our empty fridge.



Having run out of food, we decided to go to our staple take-out place, Thai Thai Kitchen. It's tucked away on one of the side streets in Newton Center and serves the usual Thai fare. I'm a Pad Ki Mow kind of girl so that's what I got. P got the Basil Fried Chicken.

Pad Kee Mow (L) Basil Fried Chicken (R)


Chomp Meter: It's no Dok Bua or Rod Dee but it serves up decent Thai food and is convenient. An added bonus is the ample parking for a hassle free pick up.


Thai Thai Kitchen
19 Pelham St
Newton, MA 02459
Phone: (617) 527-0285

Takara Sushi - Pass

SO insisted on trying Takara Sushi in Newton Highlands because he was too lazy to drive further. Yelp has it at 4 stars. Despite the rating, I'm always wary about new sushi places because they're usually a disappointment :P So now I get to say I told you so! Hehe

The inside of Takara sushi is actually rather cute. It is filled with Japanese knick knacks hanging from the ceiling. I confess to being tacky and a hello kitty fan so I liked it!



We ordered a chirashi set, a spicy salmon roll, and natto maki. The roll was ok and the natto maki was good (I love natto). The fish was very fresh too and the portions were generous though that's where it ends. We were rather amused by the cuts of fish in the chirashi. All were rectangular shaped. Seems like the chef hasn't had much experience in cutting fish heehee!



Takara Sushi
1180 Walnut St
Newton Highlands, MA 02461
(617) 332-7898

Chomp Meter:
I won't be back, though to be fair the fish they use is really fresh and the portions generous. Oh yes the prices are pretty cheap too for sushi.