New for me from Trader Joe's

Should it really take 40 minutes to cook anything you buy at TJ's?  Apparently so.  The instructions on Manitoripita say to preheat for 10, cook for 30 and cool for 10...and I ended up with an additional 10 to crisp up the other side.  

Verdict?  On the plus side, they come in their own cooking dish so you don't have to dirty a pan.  On the minus side, you better be ready to eat the entire box in one sitting because filo dough is not really a reheatable commodity.  The flavor?  For me not nearly as good as the mushroom turnovers from TJs but certainly not horrible.

Manhattan, Noir at the Charles Hotel, Cambridge (or how did I miss the news story where they announced that the US Treasury was dispensing with coins)

Noir, in the Charles Hotel at 1 Bennett Street, Cambridge, 617-661-8010, http://www.noir-bar.com/, was recommended by a few people on chowhound.com.  I prefer to sit at the bar unless I'm having a complete dinner but there were not two seats together so we got a table.  They have a nice cocktail menu and I noticed they had Old Overholt Rye in another drink so got the above manhattan with that.  I asked for it stirred which is probably wasn't based on the foam that I hate.  Cocktails cost on average $12 but they offer almost their entire food menu in the bar for between $1 and $5 from 5 pm - 9 pm. And they give you this delicious nut bowl for free, unsolicited.  

It's got almonds, peanuts, and some lovely spicy chinese crackers.  We ordered this lovely flatbread with grilled chicken flatbread for $5. 

I had my doubts about the broccoli and was right.  It was burnt and should be forever left off this otherwise delicious appetizer.  Easy enough to pick the off though.  We also got the greek wrap that came with a bowl of chips.  

Not a big olive fan but that's what you get with greek stuff, right?  I was pleasantly surprised that they were marinated olives instead of those black ones that come in cans.  The sandwich was only $4.

My minor gripe with this place was the noise level.  We were practically shouting to hear each other.   My more than minor complaint was the lack of change.  Our bill was $27.45 (a bargain to be sure so rest assured, I'm not complaining about that).  But the third waitress who provided service to our table (yeah, third) and the one who brought the change simply didn't bring the 55 cents (and she didn't give the "extra" dollar to us as she claimed).  I did mention it but prefaced that we had a wonderful time and didn't expect her to run and get us our 55 cents.  No, my complaint is that she acted so shocked that we expected correct change.  I swear she said, we don't do that.  You read that correctly, we don't do that.  

That said, with that one bit of weirdness, Noir was a very good experience and hopefully next time the weather will be nicer and we can sit on the patio.   

And the perfect end to the almost perfect evening was that the singer/guitarist on the platform at Harvard Square was singing "Brown-Eyed Girl" (just for me, of course) and the Ashmont train came first.

Coffee, mmm

A cup of joe, mud, sludge; whatever you want to call it, Cafe du Monde coffee is the best.  

Buy it here:  

http://shop.cafedumonde.com/coffee.html.

What I bought on vacation

Santa Barbara might just be the best shopping city in the world.  This black patent leather purse was purchased at Yellowstone (527 State St, Santa Barbara (805-963-9609, sorry, can't find a website, just the plethora of yellow type pages places).  The purse is big enough for a cell phone, camera, flat brush, IDs, money and keys.  Sometimes you just want to carry a tiny, tiny bag but sometimes you don't.  The strap, which is long enough to go over your shoulder, tucks into the bag when you want a clutch.  Cost: $32.

This picture does not due this dress justice.  I bought it at Black Star (430 State Street, Santa Barbara 805-962-5611, ditto from above on the website).  It's cotton, lined, sits right above the knee and was only $18.  

World Market (aka Cost Plus/World Market, 610 State Street, Santa Barbara 805-899-8311, http://www.worldmarket.com/home.jsp) appears to be working their way across country so maybe they'll be here soon.  OK, you can purchase on line, but it's so much more fun to fly across the country and wander around.  

Cafe du Monde coffee ($6.99/lb) is, if you like strong coffee, what you want.  So what if it looks like mud when you add milk.  It packs a wallop and tastes good too.  I bought one can of decaf as an experiment and stocked up until I get out there again.  

These cocktail picks were in the 50% off section and cost something ridiculous like $1.75.

I had lunch, as I always do, at Natural Cafe (508 State Street, Santa Barbara, 805-962-9494, http://www.thenaturalcafe.com/).  It consisted of a bowl of roasted red pepper soup (with chicken stock and cream) and a decent sized salad with lots of goodies included jicama and a peach smoothie and bread for, I think, less than $10.00 and I got to sit outside.  Natural Cafe has never disappointed me.

Fish Tacos (or how I spent my summer vacation)

Six days, four fish tacos and I wish it could have been more (days and tacos). Day one, as is tradition, I get my rental car and drive straight to Huntington Beach.  I stop at Rubio's on the way down Beach Blvd. and get two fish tacos and and large iced tea (brewed).  Get myself all comfy on the sand and chow down.  Rubio's fries their fish and there are usually two generous pieces in the soft corn tacos, lots of cabbage and salsa.  Folks, it doesn't get much better than this (OK, Wahoo's is better but we'll get to that later).  Being on the beach, eating fish tacos.  I am as pretty close to heaven as I am ever going to get.  

Next day, I get my fish taco on the way home from the beach.  Normita's Surf City Tacos is on the northwest corner of Beach at Indianapolis (same corner as Hilltop Liquor; if you need a landmark, that's it).  This is a small place (not a chain and one store) with a couple of table outside and a few stools inside.  They fry their fish too and add a lot more goop than Rubio's and it makes for a spicier taco.  They also give you a generous portion of chips.

Wahoo's, pictured above is by far my favorite (in general and for this trip in particular).   Parking at Huntington Pier on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend is not fun but we eventually roll down the windows and ask a guy if he is leaving and give him a ride to his car.  I'm surprised the place is not packed but am somewhat relieved because we are starving.  Wahoo's grills their fish and, as you can see, the dinner platter comes with a huge portion of rice and beans.  They also have brewed iced tea.  I could eat this stuff morning, noon and night.

Last place was somewhere in Santa Monica on my last day.  Don't even know the name and it wasn't memorable enough to write it down.  This was more of a fish fajita than a fish taco so I was somewhat disappointed but the spanish rice was probably the best I've ever had.  

Manhattan (number...whatever)

This manhattan was procured at the Ashmont Grille in Dorchester (right across from Ashmont T station).  The bartender did get a half glazed over look when I inquired about non-blended ryes but recovered enough to reply they didn't have any before I could move on to the bourbon questions.  Oddly, he said Baker and then stopped.  Would I like a taste?  That's what is known as a rhetorical question.  I wondered if there were no others but since I'd never had Baker's, I thought I give it a shot.  It was very strong.  

My friend got the white pear sangria and promptly returned it saying it left a bad aftertaste in her mouth.  
Bartender was very helpful with suggestions for appetizers.  We got chicken satay with cucumber salad and artichoke spinach dip.  The satay was fine; the cucumbers were thinly sliced (instead of diced) and were a little soggy; the spinach artichoke dip was not memorable for any reason.  Total for the night was $38 plus tip.