Green Land Café: A cherry on top!

Hi - Matt here!
A couple weekends back Jen and I went out to celebrate her birthday with two very special guest diners – Jack and Debbie, Jen’s parents.  We picked Green Land Café, which is located right in downtown Salem. It is very convenient from the train stop – just 200 yards down Washington Street.  Greenland takes pride in “fresh thinking”.  They have shaped their restaurant around sustainability and organic ingredients, grown and harvested locally. Their commitment to sustainability shows throughout the restaurant – including the bar constructed from the building’s original oak doors that were found in the attic when the restaurant was being built.

(photo courtesy of greenlandcafe.com)

Soma - SoMany Good Drinks!

Jen here! A few Saturday nights ago Matt and I headed to Soma to celebrate the 3rd anniversary of his 29^th birthday!

Although we didn’t arrive via choo-choo, Soma is located on Cabot Street only a quick 10 minute walk away (.5 mile) from the Beverly Depot train station. So it is easily accessible by commuter rail or car.

We reserved the overly large square table in the bar (our favorite table) and enjoyed many delicious dishes and drinks with 4 guest diners: Rich & Sarah and Chris & Keira.

Not enough North Shore restaurants have such a stylish, yet comfortable ambiance that draws you in and wraps around you. The dark wood floor, big cozy booth and perfect chillaxing music makes you feel relaxed and excited at the same time. Soma gets an A for lighting. The hanging jelly fish lights dance above you at the bar and the perfectly lit dining room creates a cool vibe. (Oh! And I think they were one of the first restaurants ever to have the Xlerator, which is my favorite invention of the 21^st century. It beats out the Dyson Airblade any day of the week.)

Beyond super cool bathroom technologies, Soma has one of the best drink menus around. The martinis range from perfect pre-dinner libations (The Strawberry Basil Martini or Bourbon Soma Smash) to perfect-ending liquid desserts (The Banana Bread martini – my fave!)

We started with a few delicious appetizers – Classic Caesar Salad for Mr. Matty, Rhode Island style fried calamari for Rich and beet salad with “zingy” dressing for Sarah. Round 1 was a success.

Entrees were the piece-de-resistance. After inquiring with our waitress “what’s the deal with the seasonal vegetable soup” and her response being “it is amazing,” I went right for it – no more questions asked. It was fresh spring vegetables, vegetable nage, parmesan cheese and extra virgin olive oil served in a gorgeous bowl. She was right – it was amazing.

Spring Has Sprung @ 15 Walnut

Last night Matt and I grabbed a spur-of-the-moment bite out at 15 Walnut and were happily surprised to find the spring menu in all its freshness and glory.

I started with the Spring Thai Soup with fresh local spring vegetables, lemongrass and ginger broth. Delish and vegan! For my entrée I tried the Spring Panzanella Salad with asparagus, pea shoots, spring onions, arugula and croutons. I opted sans prosciutto. I still haven’t decided if I liked it or not. Give me a rustic panzanella salad any day of the week, but it didn’t quite deliver to my expectations. My latest opinion is people who like peppery arugula and green goddess dressing will sing its praises. I, however, pushed it around a bit and felt a little guilty when the server cleared our plates.

Matt of course had Caesar salad and shocked the waiter when he ordered a burger instead of his go-to roasted chicken. It was cooked perfectly and rightly paired with a few Whale’s Tale Pale Ales.

The spring menu made me forget my allergies for a couple of hours and reminded me why spring is my 2^nd favorite season – fresh produce!

Bricco….Suave

Choo-Chew headed into the North End a couple weekends back and had one of the most amazing dinners at Bricco!

We took the train in from our respective stations and walked over to the North End for a few apéritifs and antipasto at good, old stand-by Bacco.  Dinner at Bacco is great, but they also have a perfect bar for grabbing a quick drink before jetting off to another delicious North End eatery.

Bricco, located on Hanover, was packed when we showed up around 8pm and we were glad we made a reservation. Bon Appetit magazine votes Bricco one of the top 10 restaurants in the US. Bricco has also received an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine. Restaurateur Frank De Pasquale makes a statement in boutique Italian cuisine here and we were not disappointed. 

I started with the brightest bellini I’ve ever had and Jaime tried the Italian Lemonade. We knew from the first sips that we were in for a wonderful culinary experience.

To begin I had the Zucchini Flowers – stuffed with truffle ricotta cheese and tempura of grilled vegetables. They were simply amazing. The rich tastes had me planning my next French truffle hunting vacation. Jaime had a salad with the freshest mozzarella I’ve ever seen (and tasted – I stole a few bites!). Andy had an eggplant terrine of sorts with mouth-watering marinara. Matt of course had Ceasar salad, but the twist was the yummy, crispy ricotta polpette.

We found a little room for our entrees. I had the Pumpkin Tortelli with amaretti & truffle honey, sage butter, glazed root vegetables topped with ricotta salata. Simply amazing. I’m going to try and replicate this some night at home, but I’m sure I will not do it justice. Jaime enjoyed the pan seared salmon. Andy had the most elaborate-looking entrée – Cestini, which were beautiful, hand-crafted pasta “baskets” with sausage and radicchio filling, truffle fondue, with walnuts and apple. Matt – meat of course – Prime Beef Tenderloin with roast butternut squash and foie gras mash and sautéed organic spinach.

Sadly, we left zero room for dessert and had to roll ourselves back to North Station.

For me, Bricco is one of the Italian restaurants that has set the bar to which I will compare every other.

Salute!

15 Walnut, oh how I've missed you!

After 7 hours at the Wrentham Outlets my bestie (and sister-in-law) Sarah and I headed home to unload our loot, have a drink and pick up Matt before heading out to Hamilton for the evening. After a private showing of all our goodies (Matt was thrilled), we hopped in the car and took off for 15 Walnut – my absolute favorite North Shore restaurant.

For those of you taking to the rail, there are a number of great restaurants in Hamilton within a stone’s throw from the train stop – 15 Walnut and Black Cow just to name a few.

15 Walnut (or as locals call it “The Nut”) recently reopened after a brief hiatus while they expanded and I was anxious to see the renovation and share the experience with our first Guest Diner - Sarah! Reservations are a must as it seems everyone is in the loop with just how fantastic this restaurant is and locals fill it up quickly.

I often ask myself - what feeds my 15 Walnut obsession? I think there are 3 reasons – the food, service and ambiance. I guess they have hit the trifecta.

The food – Their mantra is simple – “Everything on our menu is cooked from scratch with the best of what’s available each season.” 15 Walnut has won many accolades including North Shore Magazine’s 2010 Best New Restaurant and Best Burger. They pride themselves on many local ingredients fresh to the season. The farm-to-table model is quite popular as of late, but truly nothing tastes better than local cheeses, fresh Gloucester fish and just-picked produce. Being a vegetarian, 15 Walnut always has many delicious options that aren’t run of the mill. Chef Sam Hunt is totally my idol and this review definitely will not do justice to the amazing menu he puts together each season. You must taste it for yourself!

This night we enjoyed some great dishes. I always start with the 15 Walnut Salad which is red oak leaf lettuce, candied walnuts, local goat cheese, 30 day house made vinaigrette and fried shallots. Matt enjoys starting with the Caesar Salad (notice a trend). The order usually doesn’t even pass his lips as most of the servers know his dinner line-up. I had the Winter Potage soup (thick puree of winter vegetables finished with truffle butter, yum!) and Matt had his stand-by Roasted Bell & Evans Chicken. Sarah had the Eggplant Bolognese with pillowy gnocci topped with goat cheese that was to die for. Dessert was a sampling of Poached Fig Crème Brulee and Baked Pear Crisp with Maple Walnut Ice Cream. All that being said – my favorite part of the meal was the bottle (and additional glasses) of Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc.

The service – warm, friendly and on top of their game (i.e. knowing when to remove plates from the table – über important to me). What more could you ask?

The ambiance – warm, open kitchen – big cozy booths – gorgeous bar – comfortable high tops and a large, center farm table – ideal for an outing with friends and family. Which leads me to the expansion. We had different views at our table. I loved the coziness of the original layout and find the new section to be pretty run-of-the mill. The transition from gorgeous granite bar to wood leaves little to be desired. The addition appears not thought-out and rather rushed. Matt and Sarah weren’t as turned off. It definitely won’t stop me from going again and again, but the homey neighborhood restaurant feel is definitely not the same.

The Nut is a must if you have never been. End of story.

Over 50? Hale No!

We decided to keep it local for our first Choo-Chew endeavor. The game plan? Jaime and Andy would board the train in Salem @ 5:59PM – North bound on the Rockport line.  Jennie and I would hop on in Beverly @ 6:03 – full steam ahead towards Beverly Farms.  Our agenda tonight – dinner at Hale St. Tavern and a nightcap at Cygnet. (There is a 10:25 train back inbound that worked out perfectly!)

Hale St. is part of the Serenitee Restaurant Group that includes 15 Walnut (a fave!), Cala's, Latitude 43, Backstage Bistro and Alchemy. We have been to most of them repeatedly, so we were excited to try Hale St.


Because it was our first night out as Choo-Chew Diners, we had to start at the Beverly Depot – as this is our home field train stop. So we arrived at the Depot early enough to get a pre-train drink at the bar. 

Service at the Depot is always consistent and friendly, not to mention the complimentary cheese and crackers are the perfect compliment. "Who would wait for a train out in the cold when wine and cheese are a few steps away?" –Jennie

When we arrive in Beverly Farms, we walk to Hale Street which is about a three minute walk from the station.  It’s a very small downtown area with some nice local shops including Glee, J. McLaughlin, The Book Shop and Vidalias.  It's somewhat of a ghost town by now, but we are glad we took the train, because even though most of the shops are closed by 6pm, parking is extremely limited. The Hale St. and Cygnet goers take up most of the street parking.

We get to Hale Street and the place is packed.  The hostess informs us of a 30 to 45 minute wait. Seeing how we have about 4 hours until we need to be back on the train, this shouldn’t be a problem.  We decided to try Cygnet for a drink while we waited for our table. The dining room is very busy and the bar is packed. The layout makes it a bit difficult to just grab a drink, but we manage to nab the corner and make the most of it. We were definitely in the minority – as most of the people here are "baby boomers."  Jaime and Jennie ordered a couple martinis. Jaime thought she would settle right in with the regulars and had an "Over 50" and Jennie had a Flirtini.  I had a Harpoon IPA which is always a safe choice for me, but I wish they had a better selection of craft beers.

We leave to go back to Hale St. as it has been about a half hour and proceed to wait about another 45 minutes until our table is actually ready. The Almost Famous Soundtrack helped pass the time – songs were 2 for $1! This also helped distract us from the two little brats children that were throwing Jenga pieces at the wall for twenty minutes, while their parents acted like they didn’t know them. Flying Jenga called for more drinks. They had a pretty good beer selection.

Ok, now let’s eat.  I start with the Caesar salad, always.  If the restaurant has one on the menu I’m getting it.  They have two sizes; I get the half size, and it was a good portion for a starter.  It has lots of finely shredded cheese on top and a whole bunch of garlicky croutons.  The dressing was ok but was a bit thicker than I really like and lacked a little zip to it. 

Next course – Angus Steak Tips in a chipotle BBQ Sauce – yum.  Asked for them medium and got them medium.  There is nothing that bothers me more than getting meat not cooked the way I want.  These were cooked perfectly and were so tender; the texture was that of filet mignon so it was hard to believe they were the steak tips.  The sauce was this perfect balance of spicy heat from the chipotle and sweetness from the brown sugar, I could literally put it on everything.  The smashed potatoes were chunky and creamy at the same time and you could tell they used lots of good butter and cream to give them that kind of sweet flavor.  Even the vegetable medley of sliced carrots, zucchini and summer squash, that are usually something I could take or leave, were missing from my plate when I was done.  No dessert for me, just coffee, something you’ll see I do all the time because I stuff myself early.

All in all the food was delicious. Service was friendly and we would definitely go back.


Here's what Jaime, Jennie and Andy have to say!


Jaime –
As the seafood lover of the group I felt slightly compelled to try something off the Hale Street sushi menu.  I owed it to the group in order to round out our first Choo-Chew review.


I ordered the sushi special which was a tuna roll with avocado with the added bonus of salmon sashimi draped on top of the roll - perfect cherry on top.  The roll (8 pieces) was drizzled with a pineapple sauce which added a tangy/sweet taste to the dish.   Overall the sushi was very fresh and there was a decent selection on the menu.  Nothing too exotic, but creative combinations and tasty looking variations on all of the favorites.   Some rolls even have North Shore themed names - the Beverly Farms, the Glousta, the Hot Girl.....







While I was super excited to see the sushi and oyster bar options on this otherwise "comfort food" type menu, I have to admit, this did not make the decision-making process an easy endeavor (I have entree commitment issues).  I would have ordered and adored about 95% of the menu.  While I greatly enjoyed the maki, I'm not going to lie, I had my eye on Andy's BBQ plate across the table and gently suggested that I would be willing to try some if need be. 

The atmosphere was lively, fun, and comfortable.  There was a great big communal table in the middle of the restaurant that is a must for me next time I'm there – and I'll definitely be back – I need to work my way through that menu.

Jennie –

I had to try the Grilled Cheese Dipper – for the name alone. It was good, nothing special. It came with a small, chilled tomato soup dipper, which was a bit bland. The fries were delish however! I ordered the Strawberry Banana something-or-other special for dessert. All you have to say is bananas, and I'm getting it!

Overall, we had a great time and would definitely go back. (I actually had gone a few days before and had a great time. I ordered the Hale Street Salad - mesclun greens, avocado, candied walnuts, blue cheese, apples and cider vinegar - which was delish!)

Andy –

I have a hard time passing up southern bbq food, especially ribs and corn bread.  So on this night, my only choice was between the Pulled Pork Dinner and the Hale St. BBQ Plate.  And really, why would I get just pulled pork if I could supplement it with chicken and steak?  The plate also included jalapeño corn bread, baked beans and braised collard greens.  The pulled pork and chicken were excellent and cooked perfectly; the steak was good although undercooked (medium-rare instead of medium-well); Jaime, Matt and I all agreed how good the barbecue sauce was; I really enjoyed the collard greens, which I don’t think I’d had before; and the hefty, moist piece of jalapeño corn bread was delicious.  As I write this I’m finishing off the corner of it that I brought home.

Based on food alone, I would definitely go back to Hale St. Tavern; there was a lot on the menu I'd still love to try, especially the sushi.  With the size of my plate, I didn't have a chance to try any of Jaime's!