Oh, I forgot about JMP. It was highly recommended by a couple of people who’s taste I trust. Good to hear your experience was positive. It’s also just a block or two from my son and daughter-in-law’s apt., so I’ll hit them up next time I’m in the neighborhood.
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JMP got a lot of love on the late, unlamented board called “chowhound”. (It’s not literally dead, given the corporate $$$ that sustain it, but for all intellectual and taste purposes it is.)
Here’s one thread:
And, for those who wish to see my younger much more argumentative self in action, here’s another:
This one weaves in and out, but there’s JMP embedded .
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Wow! !0 years ago the intel was pretty positive. I avoided Biryani and Tikka Masala, but I’m guessing it’s all good there! Thanks!
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this is a great tip. thanks!
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We took a ride down to the south shore this week and stopped at the Green Harbor Lobster Pound in Marshfield. We had what was easily the best lobster rolls we’ve had this summer. Fresh, large chunks of perfectly cooked meat, served cold lightly dressed with mayo on a perfectly toasted bun. We opted for the jumbo rolls (of course) which were pleasantly belly busting at $32/per.
They offer a full lobster shack menu of fried seafood, burgers, etc; as well as live or steamed lobsters. We stuck to the rolls this time. There are picnic tables, some with net shading.
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To finish the David Punch Newton trifecta, we got takeout from Buttonwood in Newton Highlands last night. They have a much more static menu, and everything we had was great. We got the ribs, wings, salad, and ceviche, as well as some of their amazing fries. Seriously, they have some of the best fries ever. Crispy even when cold, and they were still hot when I brought them into the house after the short drive back to Newton Center.
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We came >this close< to going there in conjunction with a trip to a Trustees property nearby but never got our act together.
But $32, even for jumbo, is an ouch. We just got back from Downeast Maine where there is a glut of lobster and jumbo rolls were mid-$20’s even for larger sized rolls. We did our best to help out the lobster industry. I’ll try to post our trip report this week.
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Fries that travel, now that’s a technical marvel.
We did takeout from Sycamore this evening, and I was briefly in trouble for forgetting an order of the steak skewers. However there were two extra beignets in our order, which distracted my SO and daughter so I’m no longer in the doghouse.
Putanesca pasta (made with tuna rather than anchovy) was a hit, as were the beans that accompanied the swordfish (which was also good). Their rendition of smoked bluefish pate may be the best I’ve every encountered, with occasional chunks - maybe straying toward smoked bluefish terrine rather than pate. Certainly a country pate, not a mousse. And the “Ghost of Mary” cocktail to go remains one of our faves.
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Maine is always going to be a bit cheaper for lobster. If only it was close enough for a day trip!
The regular roll at Green Harbor was $21 I think, so I think the prices are pretty fair overall. The rolls we got on our last visit to Red’s were $27 if I remember correctly and, slightly smaller than the jumbo from Green Harbor.
I’ll look forward to your ME report.
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I’ve tried to post mostly positive experiences during this pandemic, but I had a pretty disappointing one last night. What would you all expect a “3 piece” fried chicken dinner to be? Perhaps a thigh, breast and drumstick (or some combination of the 3)? That is what I have always expected and received. Apparently at Highland Fried, a 3 piece dinner can consist of 2 small wings and one thigh (not even enough to fill an adult for dinner).
I understand that restaurants are trying to do more with less, but you’ve got to be a bit smarter about how you do things. I’ve been happy to leave tips for take out that exceed what I previously left for dining in during this pandemic. However, in this case I feel taken advantage of and a bit of a fool. It seems extremely shortsighted of Highland Fried, as chicken is a relatively inexpensive protein. Now they’ve lost us as a customer for at least durning this pandemic, but potentially permanently.
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Ouch. Fried chicken is one of those iconic foods and it’s so disappointing when it’s wrong. I wonder if someone in the kitchen made a mistake with your order. Would it be worth talking to the restaurant’s management?
On the other hand, a negative experience like that can well lead to deciding you’re done with an eatery. Depends on one’s personal inclination and how likely it is that management would want to make things right.
Either way, I hope there’s better fried chicken in your future!
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Let’s hope it was an unintentional oversight. Let us know how the discussion with them goes.
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I hope you let them know…that wouldn’t work for anybody! Let us know what they say.
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I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and chalk it up to a mistake. However, I won’t be wasting the time talking to the restaurant about the order. There are plenty of other places to get (decent) fried chicken in the area the few times a year I can justify eating it.
I was more posting here as a PSA. We have become more and more comfortable with getting take out during the pandemic. However, it is not without increased consideration, effort, and as I mentioned before significant tipping to support the industry. Given that, something like this that I might have shrugged at in the past, is annoying.
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yeah, me too and sorry about the Highland Fried experience. For what it’s worth, I got lunch at Semolina Kitchen yesterday and though they are generally reliable and have been a nearby boon for us over the last few months they really missed the mark this time. I have been craving burgers lately (the s.o. doesn’t eat beef so I eat these rarely) and my options in Medford are sort of limited, I’m not a burger snob and a Five Guys or or Tasty Burger or Shake Shack burger is fine, and I know there’s always O’Sullivans but those giant round burgers are not my bag at all).
So I ordered one medium rare from Semolina, which seemed a good bet. The pickup scene there is really well handled, they have a table out front where you get the orders and though personally I am not really ready to eat on their patio, they have that sectioned off really well and it seems like as good a place as any to dine in.
The problem was, the burger was cooked abysmally—it was so far past medium rare as to be beyond well done. If I had been seated at the aforementioned patio, I would have sent this back right off. In addition, the fries that accompany the burger were seasoned well but pretty soggy. All in all, this meal was a fail.
I like this place a lot in general, so I’m considering this a one off. But it was terrible.
But so as not to end on a sour note, I also recently revisited El Vaquero on High Street in Medford. I needed to water plants for some friends who have lit out for elsewhere, and this is nearby. I went here a couple years ago and it was kind of mediocre, honestly, but ownership has changed since then.
It’s still no destination, as it’s not like they make their own tortillas or anything (the Cinco de Mayo bags are obviously displayed, and y’know those are fine but not really special) but there are things that make this place worth a look. The birria tacos are pretty flavorful, and the lamb (aka borrego) is delicious and fatty and not all that common in these parts. In general I’d say that this is a place run by Mexican Americans who care about the way the food they serve tastes.
They have tortas on the menu, and I intend to return to try those. I’m betting they’re better than the ones at La Victoria in Arlington.
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Home Taste in Arlington is still rockin’ it out.
When I have 15 min to spare, I’ll try to report back on our other recent food adventures.
ETA: I’m most excited about several mornings of spicy Asian breakfasts cobbled from leftovers. My admittedly strange faux-Asian breakfasts as of late has bewildered even B, who has been with me for 16 years (we just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday at the scene I’d the crime). I know he was thinking, “that just looks plain weird, man.” What can I say, I’ve been too busy to replenish my Asian food larder.
Sailed on the Thomas E Lannon out of Gloucester yesterday, on which we got married, 10 years to the day, followed by a recreation of our wedding feast at the Lobster Pool in Rockport. We brought along close friends who couldn’t make it to the wedding because they were going to Glacier National Park. Fried food bonanza - scallops, whole belly clams, tuna steak burger, grilled chicken sandwich, hot dogs, decent fries. Lobster rolls needed salt. Lots of beer and rose to round out the meal.
I have another (bad) photo of the food but it would take too much redacting of people’s faces.
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@uni @passing_thru We’ve also had some mediocre-to-just plain bad meals that I chose not to report back on. They’ve all been from places that have historically been good so I’m hoping theses were one-offs. And that other Onions haven’t suffered through any bad meals from these establishments.
BTW Our own way pre-pandemic meal at Highland Fried was decidedly just ok. I think I reported back here but I can’t remember without searching. The mothership is so much better, based on that n = 1.
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Oh, a most Happy 10th, digga! A wonderful milestone, and wishing you both much joy and many more.
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Thanks for this. We’ve ordered from Semolina many times for pick up since the shutdown, and we aren’t ready to dine on their or anyone else’s patio. We had only one off, and that was their forgetting the expensive Jeni’s ice cream (and my husband didn’t check the bag). They immediately refunded the credit card. Otherwise they’ve been consistently great and that’s a very good record, given our frequency. We got pickup yesterday and that blueberry pie slab special was amazing; not too sweet and excellent crust. We requested no whipped cream and they packaged the scoop of ice cream separately in a freezer bag. Impressive. It’s hard to package crisp, hot fries, but the cooking of the burger is something any kitchen that sells burgers should have down.
If I had a fail on the first take out, like that fried chicken, I probably wouldn’t take the time to report to them either. We ate in at the bar at Highland Fried many times pre pandemic and always had a good experience. I’m from the south and I grew up with too much fried chicken so I’ve never ordered it up here…mostly because I don’t like it. It’s easy to do bad and hard to do great, but getting 2 wings and a thigh is just plain sloppy.
We are close to Medford and are always looking for good Mexican, so good to get your perspective on El Vaquero.
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wow. Happy anniversary! It’s so great you got to celebrate the same way! Especially with friends who couldn’t make it 10 years ago. Congratulations!
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