Hey, Presto!

For someone who likes (okay, looooooooves) sugar so much, I am surprisingly lukewarm when it comes to other starchy carbs. I basically avoid potatoes (unless they're mashed), rice (unless it's in rice pudding), and I am not that crazy about pasta, probably due to too much pasta salad growing up and then in college. I like Asian noodles (for some reason, when you make pasta out of rice, I am okay with it), regular Italian food? Take it or leave it. Give me a good steak (minus the frites) and veggies any day.

So when we ended up trying Basta Pasta in Cambridgeport (maybe a 15 minute walk from the Central Square T stop) a few months ago, I wasn't looking forward to it. We were supposed to go to The Similans by Cambridgeside Galleria, but they're closed on Sunday. We ended up at Basta Pasta instead, at the suggestion of our chicken parm aficionado friends.

Surprise! Pasta I actually like! Apparently it is run by Albanians, and if you know anything about that part of the mediterranean, you know that when Albanians leave for a better life, they often end up in Italy (sadly, not always of their own volition; there is a serious problem with human trafficking, and the coast of Italy is only a speedboat ride away, but that's not the case with the owner of Basta Pasta), where he perfected the art of cheap, high quality Italian food. You have to go with the homemade pasta, though- usually the gemelli, and the cheese ravioli. I got the puttanesca sauce with the gemelli, and it was just okay. Let's just say I was set to scare away any vampires that wanted to come cuddle in bed with me that night. Not enough anchovies, and just overwhelming with garlic and spiciness. However, the first time we went, I got the cheese ravioli, and my husband got the bolognese sauce. both of them are great, as is the garlic bread. We haven't tried their pizza, but supposedly it is good. Also, this place is cheap for the quality. It's not exactly a unicorn, but it's not as common as Whole Foods or Dunkin Donuts, either.

You know this place is good b/c it is usually full of cops getting their eat on. If that's not a good recommendation, I don't know what is.

Take-away Curry

Apparently, Central Square in Cambridge is Indian Food Central. I have noticed a few Indian restaurants, but when you actually look them up, man, there are a lot! I walk by India Pavilion every day, and I knew about Shalimar, the Indian grocery store next to Harvest Co-op (and their take-out counter in the back), as well as the possibly-affiliated Shalimar restaurant across the street. But there are several more.

I decided to get Indian for lunch a few days ago, and I was faced with the daunting task of deciding which one to go to. Desi Dhaba? India Pavilion? The other one around the corner?

I decided to head towards the Charles River and go to the take-out counter in India Food and Spices, which is on River St, south of Central Square. I have tried the takeout counter in the back of Shalimar (not the restaurant but the grocery store across Mass Ave.), but it was kind of dirty, and the food was served cold (but microwaved if you desire it). The food was okay, but not good enough to pass up trying a new place.

In contrast, India Food and Spices is at least cleaner (I wouldn't say it's spotless, but it is okay), and the owner doesn't microwave the food for you, and makes the roti right there for you.

The food was quite good, although the portion was small. I think the value here is in the lunch specials, which I didn't get, since I wanted a lamb dish. The lunch values are only available for vegetarian and chicken dishes. Not only do you get the main dish, plus rice and chutney, which is standard with any entree, you also get roti, raita, and pickle. I ordered roti, raita, and pickle separately, but he only gave me the roti (at least I didn't pay for the raita and pickle, though). I also got a mango lassi and a cup of Reena's saffron pistachio ice cream, which is one of my favorites. Unfortunately, the Reena's both here and at Shalimar had a grainy taste to them, like the ice cream had melted and then refrozen. I've had Reena's before (a long time ago, though), and I don't remember it having that texture.

The best part about the meal was the onion chutney that came with my lamb korma. It was to die for! I went back to see if I could just buy a big container of it, but they don't sell it. I got prepackaged commercial frozen cilantro chutney instead, which is actually pretty good. It comes in small cups for convenient serving, and I confess that I ate a cup by myself with no bread or any other dipping starch.

Full tummies, high spirits

Today was a day of exploration. First stop was at Hi-Rise Bread Company on Brattle St. in Cambridge to pick up a loaf of bread. I decided on the potato bread, and decided to get a mini sandwich cookie and a lemonade. The lemonade was fantastic! Much better than the lemonade I had last weekend at a farmer's market in my husband's hometown, which tasted like chemicals, not real lemons. The Hi-Rise lemonade was lemony fresh, tart and had just enough sweetness. The sandwich cookie was also really good. The chocolate cookies had a tiny hint of coffee flavor. So good. I will definitely go back.

Then we decided to go walk around Boston Common and the Public Garden. I fed the ducks, which I wasn't supposed to do, but I didn't see the signs that said not to feed the duck until AFTER I had already finished feeding them. Oops. I quit when one goose started slowly advancing on me. Geese are scary!

We decided to try to have dinner on/around Newbury Street, but one of the problems with this plan is that you end up paying for the rent on Newbury Street rather than your food. We looked at a few different places; Parish Cafe (not on Newbury, but on Boylston), Stephanie's on Newbury, and Upper Crust. We rejected Parish because we weren't in the mood for sandwiches and weren't excited about the other food on the menu, Stephanie's for being too expensive and not really inspiring enough for us to forgo eating at Central Kitchen, which was our backup plan, and Upper Crust because I wasn't in the mood for pizza. We decided to head back to Cambridge to Central Kitchen, but not before we got some ice cream. We went to Emack & Bolio's, because we hit that before we got to J.P. Licks. I have to say.... not as good as Christina's in Inman Square. Not nearly. It was too sweet, the texture was a little gritty, and it didn't have the rich flavor that Christina's ice cream has. I also missed the unusual flavors that Christina's has- flavors like Burnt Sugar and Mexican Chocolate. I am going to stick to Christina's, I think. I will still give J.P. Licks a try if I come across another one.

We then took the #1 bus back down Mass Ave to Cambridge, and had dinner at Central Kitchen. Central Kitchen is remarkable for its casual upscale environment in a sea of dumpy-looking, gritty retail. We split a half-dozen oysters, and I got the mussels and my husband got the rib-eye steak. All of it was amazing. It's a little on the pricey side, but the food is really good and the portions are reasonably sized, so overall, a good deal.

1369 Slides

I stopped at 1369 Coffee House (so named because their first location was at 1369 Cambridge St.) on my way home from the public library so I could get one of their frozen slides, which is basically a fruit icee type beverage. They come in coffee and fruit flavors, and they are the perfect sweet refresher during a muggy walk through Cambridge. They are also good for drinking while studying! I had the peach slide a couple of weeks ago, and tried the mango today. I think I prefer the peach; it's not as sickly sweet as the mango, although both actually taste like fruit, not like an artificial chemical mess.

1369 is the kind of neighborhood coffee place that attracts all types, which is fitting for a place located right in the heart of the People's Republic of Cambridge. You see everyone from the preppy, business-casual middle-aged men having some kind of meeting, to the woman working on a macrame cover for a glass bottle (?) to students to people who, while they may not be homeless, sure could use a shower (sometimes this category includes the people behind the counter too... not always, but sometimes). There is something for everyone at 1369- coffee for the coffee lovers, snacks for the hungry, oodles of exotic teas for the tea lovers (this is me), and even free wi-fi for the students and internet junkies. Not many neighborhoods in America have a hub, but I think that if there is a hub of the Central Square neighborhood (aside from the T stop), 1369 just might be it.