this intrigues me, please report how you like it when you have it
1 Like
Will do. I know BR isn’t a favorite on the board, but I’m feeling grateful to have some fun things that I was able to sanitize and stash in the freezer. We haven’t had the smoked meatloaf from there, but I’m sure we’ll enjoy having it with some homemade sides and some mashed to put the accompanying gravy on.
2 Likes
I hear you. My standards have taken a beating throughout this thing. Something tasty for the freezer is no small thing.
2 Likes
And when you add very friendly service, online pay and safe pickup, it’s a win-win!
2 Likes
Trying Oddfellows Ice Cream for the first time today. My wife has had it, and said it was very good. They’ve started doing online ordering, and either in store pickup, or delivery through Doordash. I ordered 3 pints ($10 a pint), Turkish coffee date caramel, olive oil strawberry jam, and coffee crunch. Will report back when I try them, picking up on my way home from work today.
3 Likes
We did Ebi Sushi from Union square for our Mother’s Day takeout. This place has been on my radar for a while but we just never got to it. Once we ran through our A plan (Sugidama) and our B plan (Genki Ya), this showed up as an option. I was really happy with the choice and we’ll definitely order from them again. Prices were very reasonable for the quantity, and the sushi traveled well and was high quality. The karage fried chicken didn’t fare quite as well as takeout, and we did schedule our order in advance at their recommendation when we called, so it’s possible it sat for some time. Just an excuse to go dine in someday!
6 Likes
Last night was out first time getting take out from Tsurumen. There are only 3 items on the menu and we tried them all.
- I had the Tsukemen. The dipping noodles generally are not my go to, but I had been so long without good noodles that this was like heaven. He is thoughtful about how the ingredients are separated and including some dashi with which to loosen the noddles up definitely worked.
- The pork and rice bowl was straightforward but delicious, as their pork is always delectable.
- The Makitate is like a ramen burrito, a flour tortilla filled with pork, ramen noodles, bean sprouts, onions, sauce and cilantro. The kids loved this one and the bowl. We had ordered extra and the cold Makitate from the fridge made a nice breakfast for me this morning.
It was great to see chef Masuo and his always positive attitude. In addition to these revamped offerings for take away service, you can also buy Tsurumen make at home ramen kits at Ebisuya Market in Medford. As with his normal service, Chef Masuo is consistently refining these offerings to make them the best they can be. File him under someone I will support even more enthusiastically during this time.
7 Likes
I hear they’re re-opening the restaurant itself in some capacity on Tuesday, but they’ve decided to abandon the whole 1000 days theme that they had embarked on. I really hope that means they’ll just stick around as long as they can. I need to get over there to at least get some pickup noodles or see if I can manage to snag one of those Ebisuya kits. There’s only like 10 of those a day, so they can be tough to get hold of.
2 Likes
well, they had expressed hope for this but I guess now they’ll be waiting until June with the rules released today.
2 Likes
I was just wondering this myself - if any of these recent closures would impact his timeline on getting to the 1000 days. Yay for us, if he’s reconsidering, as I really like this place and would welcome a more permanent place in some form.
3 Likes
This was posted on Tsurumen’s Instagram:
“Tsurumen Reboot! We have seen how rapidly Covid 19 has changed the world through new mindsets and perspectives. It has massively impacted Tsurumen, and has changed our thinking about the store going forward. We hope to reopen on 5/19 based on the latest state regulation and of course will comply with the updated changes, but regardless we will not resume the 1000-day concept. Instead, it will be Day 1 in a new world. No matter how the world changes, everyone craves delicious food. We will continue to bring delicious ramen and positive energy to the world, but as the world changes, so will we.”
In talking with them when I picked up take out, it seems like they are taking it day by day and trying to figure things out (as we all are). Chef Masuo is considering this as a new beginning. If we want him to be around in the long term, I strongly urge everyone to support Tsurumen now. They have not been selling out on a daily basis for take out. If business is strong it will give Tsurumen incentive to be here for a long time. There is nowhere like Tsurumen in the Boston area, Let’s support them!
7 Likes
We treated ourselves to takeout pizza from Max & Leo’s in Chelmsford tonight. This pie was the best we’ve had from them yet, besting even ones we had on the premises before.
Pleasant char on the thin crust, not at all soggy or floppy. The amount of toppings was just right.
Socially distanced pickup at the Chelmsford location takes advantage of an auxiliary entrance at the end of the bar. You barely even step inside the restaurant.
Digging into this pizza felt gloriously normal, as we ate and sipped a Jack’s Abby Hoponius Union beer on our porch.
6 Likes
That looks great! Especially the char on the crust.
2 Likes
The faux paper plate is a nice touch. And the sentiment of how much joy a good pizza and beer can bring someone these days resonates with me.
4 Likes
LOL, just our regular stoneware plates. Their look is more versatile than I knew. 
I think your posts got us started on visiting tap rooms that serve good food. 
My husband and I miss fun outings like that, so dinner with better-than-usual takeout pizza scratched the itch.
Next: I’m hoping for the seafood place in town to reopen for takeaway so we can do fried clams and beer. Virtual clam shack!
4 Likes
that looks fantastic! I tried takeout pizza from both Dragon Pizza and T&B Pizza over the last couple weeks with not so great results. Dragon came thirty minutes late (for a 90 minute delivery window) through the Slice app and T&B came fifteen minutes early (from Caviar, I think?), but both were cold on arrival. It was pizza, so a reheat did some work to make them OK, but they sure weren’t optimum. Your pizza looks much better.
4 Likes
Had the coffee crunch last night. Wow, great ice cream! Creamy, super coffee flavored with a nice coffee/chocolate crunch.
4 Likes
My SO’s birthday today, tried the Stir takeout from Barbara Lynch Gruppo (pickup at The Butcher Shop). The meal “kit” was $30pp (did not do the optional virtual cooking class/demo dinner for $75pp, because we used it for lunch). Menu: Asparagus Soup with Saffron Croutons * Taleggio-Stuffed Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Tomato & Olive salad. Took about 90 minutes but it was a worthy splurge in every sense. Saffron croutons (they probably sent $20 woth of saffron) and fresh chive to top the soup, a light cream-base that probably would have been just as awesome without straining.
Served it with a 2016 Gaja Rossj-Bass chardonnay that certainly didn’t diminish the experience.
Pickup was straightforward - their windows are open and you tell them you’ve arrived, and someone brings the order out to the sidewalk. The recipes appear to be from Lynch’s Stir cookbook, but you need to plan ahead to get the sequencing right.
Looking forward to the lamb dinner in a couple of weeks.
6 Likes
That sounds insanely delicious!
2 Likes
'Twas. The asparagus soup was surprisingly simple; I’ll definitely be adding that to my limited repertoire 
I think garlic croutons could serve in a pinch for those days when you don’t have saffron in the house.
3 Likes
