A Biannual Trip to Zaftig's in Brookline

My husband and I go to Zaftig's Delicatessen in Brookline, MA twice a year. It's a biannual ritual which coincides with our dental cleaning appointments every 6 months. Our dentist happens to be just down the road in Brookline and knowing that a delicious meal at Zaftig's is on the horizon makes our dental appointments something to look forward to. Zaftig's also has a Natick, MA location. When I was planning my wedding, I made a habit of visiting that location after my bridal gown fittings at David's Bridal next door.

Zaftig's is a Jewish Delicatessen with an impressively large and varied menu. They serve breakfast all day and offer unique items including Cheese Blintzes, Challah French toast, grilled Banana Nut Bread with Date Butter, enormous Omelets, Salami or Pastrami with Scrambled Eggs, Lox and Matzo Brei. They have traditional Jewish dishes and sides including Kugel, Knished, Latkes, Gefilte Fish, Kasha Varnishka and more. Zaftig's also has specialty sandwiches (I recommend The Lupo which is brisket in between two potato pancakes!), burgers, wraps, salads, fish plates and grill & fry plates.

When I visit Zaftig's, I like to get the Create Your Own Omelet for the basic price of $7.95 plus $0.95 for each meat, vegetable or cheese filling that is added on. My perfect Omelet is Mushrooms, Tomatoes, Chives (or Green Onions) and Muenster Cheese. I ordered this and it was perfection! It came with a side of whole wheat toast, potatoes and fresh fruit. Divine!

Carlos got The Lincoln Wrap which had falafel, cucumber-yogurt sauce, radicchio, lettuce, tomatoes and red onion. He chose their homemade potato salad as his side and got some extra of their special pickles to go with it too.

Zaftig's only has a beer and wine license and Carlos really wanted a Bloody Mary to go with his meal. Luckily they had an option! They make Bloody Mary's with Saki Wine instead of Vodka. Carlos was pleasantly surprised and pleased with his drink. I got plain iced tea and the waitress was very generous with refills. We were too stuffed by our meal to contemplate dessert but we were seriously tempted by their Challah Bread Pudding. They also have New York style cheesecake, rice pudding, grape nut custard and lots more.

Zaftig's is consistently amazing and I love going there. The service is excellent, the place is always buzzing with regulars and the food never disappoints.

If you are in the area and want to work off your Zaftig's meal, make sure you walk around Coolidge Corner. You'll find the historic Art Deco Coolidge Corner Theatre, the famous Brookline Booksmith store is on the same block and just down the road you'll find the John F. Kennedy Birthplace Historic Site & Museum.

Phantom Gourmet Food Festival

On Sunday, Carlos and I headed to Fenway Park in Boston for the 2013 Phantom Gourmet Food Festival. Carlos had purchased two tickets in advance and they were $30 each. The festival promised 100 different types of food samples as well as music, dancing and festivities. From their commercial on their website, I thought beer was also included but water, beer and wine cost extra (or maybe I just missed when they were passing out beer?!). Bars and restaurants along Lansdowne Street were open exclusively to Festival goers. The Festival was huge, running all down Lansdowne and onto Ipswich. There were hundreds of people there (thousands maybe?) and the festival ran from noon to 4 pm.

I had a mixed experience at this festival. I didn't want to go but Carlos really wanted to and was treating me to a ticket so that I could accompany him. Phantom Gourmet is a local TV show that reviews restaurants in Eastern Massachusetts (and sometimes in other nearby states) and also highlights locally made products. They have an enormous following and their episodes are incredibly popular. Just watching an episode will make you drool. They drive a lot of business to local restaurants so I really appreciate what they do.

The food they focus on is not really my type of food. I've been on more of a health kick recently and I like to try more ethnic and unique foods as well. Phantom Gourmet's typical cuisine is mostly high in calories, big on flavor and mouth-wateringly sinful. I used to be into that kind of food but haven't been in a long time because of my health problems and my focus on being healthy. Also, on Sunday I was two days into a nasty bout of flu so I wasn't particularly hungry or even happy to be outside. However, I tried to have fun the best I could.

There were lots of fans there at the festival and you could pick them out in the crowd because they were wearing purple, Phantom Gourmet's official color. We got there around 12:30 and the festival was already packed with people. They check your I.D. and your bag at the gate for security. Also because of alcohol consumption it's for ages 21 and over only so it was a nice kid-free event. This was a big plus for me! We didn't know how the festival worked and initially we tried to go to each individual booth from the outside. I realized later that the booths were all set up in one long line and you follow the long line and pass each stall one-by-one to get easier access. Each vendor/restaurant had one or two food samples they specialized in.

Types of food: Burgers, Hot Dogs, pickles, pulled pork sandwiches, clam chowder, grilled clams, soup,  pretzel bread, garlic knots, flatbread pizza, chips, meatloaf, meatballs, chicken pot pie, popcorn, sandwiches, etc.

Types of dessert: donuts, ice cream, cupcakes, brownies, frozen yogurt, etc.

My thoughts and tips: It was well-organized and the chaos was well contained. But festival goers were pushy, grabby and greedy. You'd get a better experience when the crowd has dissipated some.  I recommend going to the festival a good one or two hours after it starts. 

All the food I had was delicious. I came with a list of things I wanted to try but barely made a dent. You have to be open-minded and try what you can get your hands on. And be prepared to wait in a long line for what might be a very tiny sample. Lines move fairly quickly which is a bonus.

I wish the booths had better signage. These are mostly local businesses advertising their products and services and I wish I could have been able to identify better who was who. Some had great signs and gave out business cards which did help.

Overall, it was good and I'm glad I went. I think being outdoors made my flu symptoms worse but I still enjoyed it. Will I go again next year? Probably not. $30 is a lot for what ended up being not a lot of food and for being a bit overwhelming with such a big crowd. However, if you don't mind crowds, are patient and really like this type of cuisine, I encourage you to go! You will have a lot of fun and it's wonderful to be at Fenway enjoying the sunshine and eating lots of great food.

Carlos enjoying some pulled chicken on a piece of toasted bread

Gourmet Popcorn

An all-beef (no pork) meatball. This was the best meatball I've had in a very long time!

Turkey and Cheese Panini with a Brownie Shot. Mmm! I love the addition of a little dessert. Felt more like a mini meal than just a sample.

I was waiting in line for some mushroom bisque which was delicious with a bit of bread from the neighboring booth.

S'Mores Ice Cream from Daddy's Dairy. Oh my goodness this was so good I came back for seconds!

Pretzel Bun. Yowzah! This was so good I gobbled it up.

Fuddruckers Burger. Not too glamorous looking but that beef patty was divine!

Chicken Nachos

Flatbread Pizza

Sweet Potato Fries with Cinnamon and Brown Sugar 

Fried Calamari. Score!

Summer Shack's Grilled Clam with a bean and corn salad. Best thing at the festival! The line was long and I wish I could have had more than one sample. 

Not a lot of people were out in the crowd passing out samples. It was a bit crazy. One brave lady was passing out a tray of tiny cupcakes and we grabbed a couple.

Bag of Sweet Potato Chips

Utz was there handing out potato chips two bags at a time.

I ended up getting 4 of these Kind Bars to take home. The healthiest thing at the festival!

Davis Square Farmer's Market - August 15th, 2012

Farmer's Market in Davis Square Somerville, MA - August 15th, 2012

 Radishes and Carrots 

Heirloom Tomatoes

 

Pumpkin Blossoms

 Local Apples

Fresh Corn

Picked this morning!

 

Squash

 

Peaches

Farmer's Market Haul - 2 cucumbers, 1 green pepper, 4 tiny Heirloom tomatoes, 5 ears of corn and 4 peaches.

Portuguese Festival in Woburn, MA

Last Saturday, Carlos and I headed over to the Portuguese-American Recreation Club in Woburn. They were hosting their annual Festa de Nossa Senora do Monte (translated it reads Festival of Our Lady of the Mount). The festival had a shrine, raffles, food and beverages, dancing, music and even a clown. I'm half Portuguese and my father is from the area of Aveiro, Portugal. I've been to Portugal numerous times and I've even attended local Portuguese festivals. So I kind of knew what vibe to expect. But each festival is different and I was really curious about the food. So Carlos and I went to the festival with dinner in mind not knowing what Portuguese delights would be available.

 

We got their two sandwich offerings. A Bifana sandwich (left) which was a spicy pork patty topped with cooked onions and mixed bell peppers. This was so delicious we ended up ordering another one. The other sandwich on the right is just Linguica. Linguica is fine and all but I much prefer a Chorizo sandwich because that's what I grew up with.

We ordered a bowl of Favas. It was served in a tomato & wine sauce with chunks of linguica mixed in. I don't ever remember having Portuguese Favas so this was fairly new to me. The sauce was delicious but the Favas seemed undercooked. I really wanted to try the tripe but because Carlos was sharing everything with me (he won't try tripe) and it was cash-only and we had limited money I decided to skip it.

 

I'm not exaggerating when I say that Portuguese are potato connoisseurs. They can make a potato taste like the best potato you've ever had and I have fond memories of eating very delicious fries in Portugal. These were no exception. A side only cost a dollar and boy were they tasty.

 

Sumol! My all-time favorite soda. This is a classic Portuguese juice soda that is very popular in Portugal. Specialty Portuguese stores will sell it here and I sometimes like to indulge in a L'aranga (Orange) one. They didn't have that flavor so I got an Ananas (Pineapple) one instead. Still very good!

When sharing with Carlos, I need to fight to get my food otherwise he'll devour it all. Here he is about to devour a Malassade.

We got one Malassade which is a Portuguese fried dough dusted in sugar. The difference between this fried dough and other fried dough is that this one is eggy which makes the dough rich and moist. Delicious!

We had a wonderful time attending the festival and dining on some delicious Portuguese fare! We'll be back next year for sure.

Fresh Peach Pie

This recipe was originally posted on my Thoughtful Eats column on the Woburn Patch.

Fresh Peach Pie

Ingredients:
10-12 ripe fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
3 tbsps of sugar
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tbsp of cornstarch
2 frozen pie shells, thawed
1 egg white with a splash of water, beaten

Peel and slice 10 ripe freestone peaches. Freestone and clingstone peaches look identical so you are more likely to come across freestone ones at your farmer's market or grocery store in August. Clingstone peaches will work they are just harder to slice.

Add the slices to a bowl and sprinkle over the 3 tablespoons of sugar of the top and stir carefully. Let sit for 15 minutes. The sugar will draw out some of the liquid of the peaches. Drain the peaches from their extra juice. This will ensure a less watery pie.

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

Sprinkle cinnamon and the cornstarch over the peaches. Stir carefully until fully incorporated. Add the peaches to one of the pie shells. Carefully cover the pie with the second pie shell. Cut a few slits on the top so that hot air can escape. Unless you are an expert pie crust maker, I highly recommend using Mrs. Smith frozen pie shells.

Take the egg wash and brush all over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown and let cool for at least an hour before cutting in. Enjoy!

Greek Festival - Woburn, MA

Carlos and I went to the Woburn Greek Festival hosted by the Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Church. This festival features games, live music (in the evening), tours of the church and best of all, lots and lots of delicious Greek food. The Festival was very well-organized, the food did not disappoint and while we spent quite a bit of money on food it ended up being a very good deal for all that we got. There are numerous Greek Festivals in the area and I overheard someone say that the Woburn one was fairly priced when compared to the others. Also, it didn't hurt that we lived very close by and that it was an easy walk there too so that saves us on gas and parking fees. Here is what we had:

Carlos got a bottle of Greek Red wine and I got a bottle of Greek Ouzon Soda. Ouzon is an anise-flavored sparkling soda that is sweetened with pure cane sugar. I don't normally drink soda but I thought I'd try out this Greek specialty. The soda is pretty sweet and the anise gives it a nice kick. It did make me wish I brought a bottle of water though. I was pretty thirsty after drinking it.

Carlos got the Roast Lamb plate which came with a roll, green beans in a tomato garlic sauce and a side of rice pilaf. The green beans were definitely from a can but the great sauce made up for it. I had some of the roast lamb and it was very good.

I got the Pastitsio plate which came with the same sides. Pastitsio is a Greek lasagna made up of ground beef in a tomato sauce, macaroni or another type of tubed noodle and topped off with a nutmeg flavored bechamel sauce. It's really quite delicious!

Sampling the desserts was the best part of the evening. We got 4 to try. Baklava (filo dough, walnuts, sugar, honey), a Greek cake I didn't catch the name of, Finikia (cinnamon and orange cookies, soaked in honey and topped with walnuts) and Kourambiethes (crescent shaped butter cookies coated with powdered sugar). My favorite was the Finikia and Carlos' favorite was the Kourambiethes. The Greek cake was so so and while I love Baklava I thought theirs was too soggy. My mother makes an amazing Baklava, a recipe which she has been perfecting for 30 years now. She goes light on the honey so the baklava stays crispy. It's so much better that way in my honest opinion.

Auw Carlos don't be shy!

Overall, I loved the experience. We'll be back next year for sure!