Monthly Archives: May 2010

Toscanini’s (Cambridge, MA)

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The last time Lauren and I visited Boston, Julie took us on a tour of Boston’s ice cream parlors. Over the span of two days, we tasted the flavors on offer at J.P. Licks, Christina’s, and Herrell’s, but we were unable to fit in a trip to Toscanini’s, Boston’s most famous ice cream shoppe.

This afternoon, Lauren, Vidya and I went on a mission to Central Square to see what all of the hype was about. It was a beautiful 75 degree day, and arrived in Central Square ready for a cool treat.

Toscanini’s ice cream factory, visible through street-side floor to ceiling windows, is adjacent to their cafe. It was fun to watch the large machinery, but we did not linger as there was an assortment of 30 flavors beckoning. The staff at Tosci’s are very friendly and are happy to let you try a number of flavors. So try we did, delighting in a variety of flavors that all shared a perfectly balanced, creamy texture.

Our plan was to get one scoop from the chocolate family, and one lighter flavor. Aztec Chocolate was a mix of chilies and dark chocolate, with a delicious start, but a surprisingly intense aftertaste that would likely have overwhelmed a companion scoop. Orange Chocolate was also yummy, but it was when we tried Black Bottom that we were sold. Black Bottom, based on a Southern pie, is a mix of dark chocolate rum ice cream and ginger snap cookies. We paired it with a scoop of B^3 (Brownie, Brown Sugar, Brown Butter). I liked B^3, but our consensus after we polished off the cup was that it would be better if they dropped the brownies and turned it into B^2 (or perhaps made the brownies less dense).

Overall, Tosci’s has their base ice cream formula down pat. It’s clear that they know their trade, and the result is the best ice cream I’ve had in the USA east of Mission-Dolores.

Creative flavors that change daily

The scoops don’t come cheap, but they are quite generous…

…and Lauren and Vid were both quite happy to help tackle the double scoop cup

Toscanini’s
899 Main Street
Central Square
Cambridge, MA 02139
617-491-5877

Daily: 8:00AM-11:00PM

Ess-a Bagel (New York, NY)

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When visiting New York City, we have a few regular pit-stops. One is Ess-a Bagel, a long-time haunt of my family that serves hefty, chewy, delicious bagels and sandwiches. Conveniently enough, the India Visa office is located around the corner from Ess-a Bagel’s 3rd Ave location, so it was very easy to pass the hour wait for our appointment with bagel sandwiches. We also fought jet lag with a “regular” sized black coffee that I could swim in.

Usually we get to squeeze in one visit to Ess-a Bagel, or two if we’re lucky. This time we had a week-long stay, so we had three times to make our way through the list of bagels with a variety of family members. For the record, my favorite sandwich is a whole wheat everything bagel with either egg or tuna salad depending on the time of day. Their cream cheese is also delicious, especially on a pumpernickel or sesame bagel. Yum!

Tuna salad on a whole wheat everything, washed down with lots of coffee

Everything bagel from their extensive “egg” menu – requires big bites!

Ess-a Bagel
831 3rd Avenue
New York, NY 10022
212-980-1010

Calexico Cart (New York, NY)

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This morning we took a leisurely walk from Tribeca to Cousin David’s office in SoHo. We took care of a few errands along the way, and I was already getting a little munchy, though it was barely 11AM. As luck would have it, the next block we stumbled upon a taco truck setting up for the lunch run. I’m always a sucker for mobile food preparation, and the menu looked good, so we queued up in the line that was already starting to form.

I found out later that we had stumbled upon one of the more famous street vendors in NYC. At the time though, all I knew was that Calexico Cart dispensed delicious carne asada and black bean tacos. The hearty portion of steak was well-marinated, tender and juicy. The black bean taco was also addictively flavorful, assisted by their chipotle “crack” sauce and avocado crema.

Since we were meeting Cousin David for lunch, we held back from trying the burritos, but it wasn’t easy (they looked amazing).

Hard at work in the little truck kitchen

I love taco trucks

Close-up of black bean and carne asada taco deliciousness

Calexico Cart
Mobile Location in SoHo
New York, NY
718-488-8226

Lon Hoi Thot (Mae Hong Son, Thailand)

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A few weeks ago, we discovered a delicious purveyor of Easy Thai near the Sunday Market, next to the Toyota dealership. Of the three small rarn ar harn dtarm sang located there, Lon Hoi Thot is the northernmost one (furthest from the market and directly across from the 7-11). They have an English menu available to foreigners, and of course all of the easy Thai classics are available even if they aren’t listed there. One of the family members, Koi, speaks excellent English and has provided me with a lot of pronunciation tips for ordering Thai food.

All of the food at Lon Hoi Thot is fresh and served very quickly from their two cooking stations. My favorite dish of theirs is gai kratiem prik thai (chicken with garlic and pepper). Lon Hoi Thot adds more garlic and chili to the dish than most places, which makes it the best one I’ve had in Thailand. I also really like their pad prik giang (vegetables in red curry sauce), either gai (with chicken) or jai (with tofu and extra vegetables).

When we took Lauren’s family here for lunch a few weeks ago, their comment after the meal was “is this place open for dinner? We want to come back tonight.” Unfortunately Lon Hoi Thot is only open until 4PM, but I took them on a repeat visit for lunch the next day.

The dishes at Lon Hoi Thot are priced similarly to other food stalls in town (about $1), the quality is very high, and the kratiem prik thai is completely addictive. We had some for lunch both yesterday and today, and I may have to stop by tomorrow (our final day in Mae Hong Son) for one more hit.

UPDATE (12/1/2011): I discovered on our return trip to Mae Hong Son that Lon Hoi Thot is now open for dinner! Oh, and the food remains as delicious as I remember it.

Look for the big yellow sign, your smiling hostess Koi (in the glasses), and her mom the amazing chef

Cooking up pad prik giang

Gai kratiem prik thai kai dao – it’s like crack

Pad prik geang kai dao

Pad thai sen yai jay and pad kra pao gai

Lon Hoi Thot
East side of Khunlumpraphat Road/Hwy 108
Across from the 7-11 and the Sunday Market
Mae Hong Son, Thailand
+66 (0) 5362-0690
Daily: Breakfast, Lunch (8:00AM-4:00PM)

Coffee, Tea, Etc. (Mae Hong Son, Thailand)

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When we were on our initial conference call with AJWS and the other SE Asia volunteers, one of the questions asked was, “can I get good coffee?” The response was something to the effect of “this volunteering assignment is a good opportunity to kick your coffee habit.”

While Lauren and I certainly appreciate a good cup of coffee, we also have no problem going coffee-less for months on end. Given that we aren’t in an ex-French colony, we were happy to subsist on tea for our occasional morning beverage. Then we sampled Coffee, Tea, Etc. on the main drag of Mae Hong Son, located in P Nik’s building. Who knew that you could find Seattle-quality cappuccinos in our little provincial town?

The coffee beans used at Coffee, Tea, Etc. are grown locally in Mae Hong Son. They also serve a delicious tea made from Mae Hong Son tea leaves. Gwang, the barista/owner, is a friendly young Thai man who speaks excellent English. Gwang has given us a lot of advice and information during our stay, such as where to make key copies, and the name of my favorite Thai food-to-order stall (Rarn P Dam, located across the street). It’s common for P Dam to deliver breakfast to Gwang, and for Gwang to drop off coffee drinks for P Dam and her husband.

For 30 Baht (under $1), you can enjoy a delicious cappuccino at Coffee, Tea, Etc. with friendly service and free wireless. It turns out that rather than being a place to kick your coffee habit, Mae Hong Son may be a place to develop one.

Happy way to start the day

Our very first cappucino at Coffee, Tea, Etc.

Cross-cultural breakfast: our favorite Thai food with our favorite cappuccino

Coffee, Tea, Etc.
NE Corner of Singhanart Bamrung and Phadit Joncume
Mae Hong Son, Thailand
Daily: 7:00AM-7:00PM

Rarn P Dam (Mae Hong Son, Thailand)

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Across the street from P Nik’s, and next to the CP Fresh Mart, is my favorite Thai food vendor in Mae Hong Son. The setting is basic, though on the larger end for a rarn ar harn dtarm sang, and the food is fantastic. It’s run by a friendly Thai lady, P Dam, and her family. She serves all of the Easy Thai dishes at their finest, and the lunchtime the operation is a sight to behold. Customers come up and give a verbal order, and somehow P Dam keeps all of the requests in her head, even when the queue is more than a dozen people long.

I’ve been going to Rarn P Dam for lunch almost every weekday since I discovered it, and I’m usually the only farang eating there. P Dam also knows that I like spicy food, so I can be assured of ample chilies. Unfortunately, Rarn P Dam is not open for dinner, and they are closed on Sundays, so Lauren wasn’t able to try their food for a few weeks (she lunches with her NGO during the week).

Over Songkran I was finally able to introduce Lauren to Rarn P Dam, and since then we’ve been going for Saturday lunches and the occasional weekday breakfast. All of the dishes are 25-30 Baht (less than $1), the vegetables are fresh and generously portioned, and P Dam is an ace with the wok.

Today, in preparation for this writing, I finally found out the name of my “Thai food stall across from Nik’s.” If you are in Mae Hong Son, you should definitely pencil in a lunch or two at Rarn P Dam. Lauren’s family ate here three times while they were visiting, and I’ll be stopping by for my daily fix until we leave next week. Yum!

P Dam frying up pad thai sen yai