Boston: Formaggio Kitchen

Just back in NYC from a family vacation to Boston...and then Monsieur P and I are off to Paris and Brittany next week. I can hardly wait!

My favorite "food" place in Boston was surprisingly enough not a restaurant or bakery, but a market: Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge. The place is like Murray's Cheese meets gourmet fruit and vegetable shop coupled with sweet gallery galore. The market itself was actually quite small in size, but man did they manage to pack in an impressive bounty of goods, both local and imported from abroad.

Mom and dad bought many different cheeses to take home to Hawai'i. Our cheese options in Hawai'i are fairly limited. Growing up, I used to buy the "fancy" cheeses from Costco because I couldn't find them anywhere else on the island. We have more options now, but still...if only we could somehow import Murray's Cheese to Honolulu...how magical would that be??

We arrived at Formaggio Kitchen on a Saturday afternoon and the place was packed with customers. They were many samples (LOVE samples! ;) and food demos going on. The prepared foods looked quite tempting...
...as did the Poco Dolce tiles! I love these tiles to death and they remind me of college. I started at NYU but then transferred to Claremont McKenna, a wonderful school that was situated in a wasteland of food options. While at CMC I took to mail ordering all my favourite foods, and Poco Dolce tiles, specifically the Ginger ones were always on my must-get list.

Just look at all these options! Ahhh, I would be happy sitting the shop for a whole day just examining and eating everything!

We also bought a bunch of fruits including fresh dates...
...here's what they look like on the inside. I've eaten my share of dried dates, but this was the first time having a fresh one right off the stem!

We also found tiny, tiny apples...
...and a few baskets of gooseberries...
...which were simply too pretty for words! Easy to see how this place will be first on my agenda on my next visit to Boston, no?

P.S.
Congrats to my little sister who just started her first day of college today! ^_^

Formaggio Kitchen
244 Huron Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
(617) 354-4750

Sugar Rush'ed...

...for the week at Serious Eats New York. Plus 'Lunch for One' at Lupa and Olives, and 'A Sandwich A Day' at Lafayette Espresso Bar and Marketplace

Lunch for One: Garganelli at Lupa

Sugar Rush: Liquiteria's Grasshopper

Sugar Rush: Iced Chocolate

Lunch for One: Olive's Vegetarian Sandwich

Sugar Rush: Pear-Almond Cake at Blackhound Bakery

A Sandwich a Day: The Herbed Portabella at Lafayette Espresso Bar and Marketplace

Sugar Rush: Fleur de Sel Cupcakes at Sweet Revenge

Sugar Rush: Gluten-Free Silver Dollar Pancakes at Fairway Cafe

Hope everyone has a great weekend! :)

Hello, Boston!

[At JP Licks. Steph snapped this photo of me pouring on the oh-so-delicious hot fudge]

It's been a year since I last visited. In 2009, we took my sister on a college preview tour...and this year we're back to move her into her new freshman dorm at Boston College! She and my parents have been in orientation sessions all week...leaving me with lots of free time. And what did I do with that time?

EAT ICE CREAM. Goodness this is a glorious ice cream town. Thank you to Steph for accompanying me on a full day of sugar-high in 90F+ weather. More details to come next week ;)

When not spooning up ice cream, I was eating cupcakes from the newest location of Sweet on Newbury, a cupcake-only affair. That's the "Organic Carrot" pictured above, $3.25 apiece. The verdict? TOO MUCH frosting! Or...not enough cake. Two ways to view it.
The cake itself boasted a abundance of crushed pineapple bits, along with shredded carrots, keeping it quite moist, but not mushy. Just wish they had chopped walnuts in the batter! A literal tower of cream cheese frosting and the tiniest gold leaf. The cupcake satisfied my craving with little complaint, but isn't one I'd go out of my way for again. They do some fun summer flavors here, including shocking pink-coloured Pink-Lemonade Cupcakes (with a tiny straw poking out of the frosting), and oh-so-cute Ice Cream Cake Cupcakes.

We also took a family day trip out to Cape Cod, stopping in Chatham for lunch at Chatham Pier Fish Market. Most people inside were purchasing fresh lobsters and fish to take home and cook, but they also have a short menu of chowders, bisques and fried seafood. It's takeout only, but we found nearby benches close to the fishing boats...and had front row views of all the fishermen catching fish and lobsters, as well as a whole pod of seals in the water...no need for all those seal watching tours advertised everywhere!

On the menu: Fried Clam Bellies and Fries...
...and a quart of Clam Chowder to share! It was a short two-hour drive each way from Boston, and we made it back in time for an early dinner at Sichuan Garden later that evening. Hope everyone is having a great week! We plan to go out to Nantucket this weekend, but let's see where Hurricane Earl heads...most of the beaches and ferries out to the island are closed at the moment. Maybe better to take it safe and stay in the city!

Sweet
225 Newbury Street
Boston, MA 02115
(617) 267-2253

Chatham Pier Fish Market
45 Barcliff Avenue
Chatham, MA 02633
(508) 945-3474