some recent finds around somerville and newton, MA

stopped by dave’s fresh pasta in davis square last week and had a french onion soup toast: caramelized onions on a day-old baguette, topped with cheese, then melted. they prepare them ahead of time, then heat one up when ordered. a real treat @ $3.25. don’t know if they make them all the time, or just to use up day-old bread. i have 3 pounds of sliced onions caramelizing in the oven as i type.

pennypackers in magoun square had a chicken shiitake soup i’d never had before, and also easy to recreate at home: slices of chicken (thighs for me) and mushrooms in chicken stock steeped with star anise and clove ( i think they also used cinnamon and lemongrass, but i didn’t have any stick cinnamon, and don’t really like lemongrass). the only other change i made was to add a bag of baby greens (kale, chard and spinach).

and i finally made it out to morano’s gelato in chestnut hill, which i won’t be able to recreate:) i had intended to have smallest cup with dark chocolate and hazelnut, but they had a dark chocolate sorbet and cherry, so i went for all four. everything i was hoping for a more: the flavors were distinct, and the texture defies description. good thing getting to chestnut hill from somerville is a real schlep on the T.

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