Reviews

Scallion Pancakes Taste-Off

Published on May 17, 2017May 17, 2017 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By The Crimson Crave Board

There are a lot of scallion pancakes out there, but not all are made equal. We, the Crimson Crave Board, set out to find which scallion pancakes reigned supreme.

To keep things fair, we set up a blind taste test. We randomized and assigned letters to scallion pancakes from five locations: 9 Tastes, Cilantro, the Kong, Spice, and Dumpling House. A silent tasting and voting period yielded shocking results.

Pancake A: Spice

Caroline: These are pretty doughy and small, which I’m pretty thankful for because I don’t have to commit and suffer through eating a large but mediocre scal-pal.

Saranya: Where are the scallions? This is underwhelming.

Siqi: These pancakes are not crispy at all, but they have a good onion taste.

Pancake B: Dumpling House

Sara: Definitely a taste explosion and great mouthfeel. My oh my! There are scallions everywhere! Just the right amount of scal, just the right amount of pal.

Richa: Yes. This is correct.

Bovey: Nice and chewy, but the sauce is a little vinegary.

Caroline: I love how these have a mixture of textures, the perfect balance of crispy and doughy, packed with that addictive scallion flavor. The scallions in the soy sauce are also a nice touch.

Pancake C: The Kong

Richa: I’m actually offended by these. They taste like regret.

Sara: Mild on the palate, but so mild that it feels like it’s not even there. I feel like there’s no scallion in there… BUT, if you drown it in soy sauce it’s pretty good!

Caroline: These are super fried and basically taste like generic fried dough from the county fair. No scal either!

Pancake D: Cilantro

Bovey: Nice and crunchy, and good scallion flavor too.

Siqi: Good smell, super crunchy, and I really like the soy sauce!

Saranya: Almost too fried? But still really good.

Pancake E: 9 Tastes

Sara: Thick, nice shapes, cute… but lacking serious scal. Floury. The shapes are cute, and almost make up for the lack of taste explosion.

Richa: Same as the first one EOM

Siqi: Not crispy at all, and the salt definitely isn’t equally distributed.

In the end, Dumpling House and Cilantro tied for first and – brace yourselves – Dumpling House was far and away the worst (oh the humanity!) with a nearly unanimous vote. If you’re as shocked as we are, take comfort in Sara’s analysis of the results: “At the end of the day, Kong delivers to your door at 2am and Dumpling House is far. So there’s that.”

Poke City: Hawaii by the Quad

Published on April 10, 2017 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Saranya Vijayakumar ’18 and Sara Surani ’18

Do you love cultural appropriation of traditional Hawaiian foods? So do we!

This week we ventured to Poke City near the Radcliffe Quadrangle and found ourselves pleasantly surprised with the poke bowls! It is similar to fast-sushi in a Subway/Chipotle-like format where you can add toppings and customize your meal as you go.

Saranya ordered the spicy salmon bowl, with edamame, mango, mango salsa, and seaweed salad, topped with crispy rice and toasted seaweed.

Sara ordered the Poke City bowl with spicy salmon, zucchini noodles, brown rice, crab meat, edamame, cucumbers, and mango salad topped with extra mangos and crunchy onions.

Both bowls tasted a lot like deconstructed sushi–a flavor explosion of zesty seafood in exciting colors and textures. However, the key we realized, is to shake up the bowls to mix up the flavors! While Saranya mixed up her bowl, Sara decided not to. After trying both, we concluded that mixing the bowl up was definitely a better call! This not only equalized the flavors and allowed the flavorful salsas, spicy mayo, and soy sauce to permeate throughout all of the rice, but it also made each bite taste just as good as the last (instead of getting all the cucumbers or crab meat in one bite, and none in the next.) However, Saranya thought the ratio of different foods was a bit off, with way too much sushi for the fish.

Even though we didn’t order the poke-rolls (say, sushirrito??), the man behind us who did seemed very content with it!

The space was small and had a cute blue mural on the wall. The service was very helpful, and many of the people who were eating there seemed to be regulars.

Poke City is definitely a great place to try out!

BY CHLOE: Vegan to the Extreme

Published on April 10, 2017April 10, 2017 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Joseph Winters ’20

March 8^th was a sunny day in the Cambridge area. Winds had diminished to just a billowing, and it had warmed up significantly since the frigid weekend. The day before, I had taken not one, not two, but three midterms, back-to-back-to-back.

I felt like vegging out, in the best way possible: with actual veggies.

Luckily for me, a fast-casual New York chain of vegan restaurants called By CHLOE. had just opened on February 23 in the Boston Seaport. A quick Maps search revealed it was a little over four miles away by foot: the perfect distance for a morning jog. I checked out what all the hype was about during lunch that day.

In the diverse world of vegan cuisine, there seem to be two prominent ideologies: one that categorically rejects faux meats and dairy-free “cheeze” products, and one that wholeheartedly adopts them. By CHLOE. is definitely the former, I discovered after examining their extensive menu, boasting lots of “traditional” fast food favorites done without any animal products. They have Mac N’ Cheese, for example, a Classic Burger, or Kale Caesar Salad. The mac n’ cheese has a sweet potato cashew sauce and shiitake bacon, the caesar salad is flavored with almond parmesan, and the burger features a tempeh-lentil-chia-walnut patty. In the to-go display case, they have things like vegan Southwestern Quinoa, Raw Vanilla Bean Chia Pudding, and Matcha Kelp Noodles with cashew cream sauce.

The restaurant’s atmosphere is about as hip as its menu. When I walked in, two friends were lounging around on wiry hanging chairs, and other people dug into salads while sitting around a communal-style table in the middle of the dining area. And since it was lunchtime when I arrived, there was already a substantial line forming behind the pick-up counter. Thankfully, this gave me some time to deliberate over the menu.

Based on an enthusiastic recommendation from the cashier, I ordered the Quinoa Taco bowl (“It’s life-changing,” she had insisted) with a side of Mac N’ Cheese. My food was ready within a few minutes, and I loaded up a couple of dip containers with Beetroot Ketchup and aioli.

“Life-changing” may be an overstatement, but the bowl really was delicious. It was basically a bunch of lettuce with a heaping ball of limey quinoa on top of it, surrounded by little mounds of avocado, tortilla strips, tomatoes, and “chorizo” made from a wheat-based meat alternative called seitan, and then slathered with a mysterious “crèma”. At $12, it was a little pricey, but the serving size was really generous. I left full and very happy. The Mac N’ Cheese was also delicious, although I’ll admit not quite like the real thing. It lacked something—creaminess, maybe?

By CHLOE. is opening a Fenway location sometime soon, and I predict I’ll be a frequent visitor. The cashier who served me told me, talking about the Quinoa Taco Salad, “It’s like, how can this be vegan?!” I think that’s a good way to describe by CHLOE.: it tries to recreate the fast-food experience in a healthier way. With places like b.Good and Clover gaining popularity in recent years, this seems to be a popular trend. It’s about balancing convenience with health. And I am a big fan of the way by CHLOE. tries to accomplish this.

Hi B3ear Ice Cream

Published on March 5, 2017March 5, 2017 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

by Caroline Gentile ’17

This past summer, my Instagram feed was flooded with pictures of rolled ice cream posted by friends interning in San Francisco and New York. Fueled by my novel ice cream FOMO, I searched for a place in Boston that offered rolled ice cream for me to try, but at the time, could not find anything. Finally, at the end of the summer of 2016, Hi B3ar fulfilled my rolled ice cream dreams and opened in Allston (147 Brighton Ave.).

The owner of Hi B3ar also owns nearby Mala Restaurant, and hopes “to give everyone a hot spicy taste then a cold, sweet taste for dessert.” Hi B3ar certainly delivers on the promise of a cold, sweet treat. The shop has 10 different offerings of rolled ice cream, with flavors varying from coffee to chocolate to berry to mango, all for $6.95 plus tax.

My ice cream buddy and I opted to try the First Kiss, which had strawberries, graham crackers, and chocolate sauce, and the Cookie Monster, which had Oreos. We watched in awe as the server poured a creamy liquid onto the cold surface, sprinkled on our desired toppings, and skillfully manipulated the mixture until it resembled perfect rolls.

When we were finally handed our bowls of rolled ice cream, we dug in immediately. While the cold surface had allowed the liquid to take on the perfect rolled shape, it made the ice cream far too cold to taste anything at first. After waiting a few minutes for it to thaw, we gave it another shot. Still, the ice cream seemed to lack flavor, and had a bit of an egg-y aftertaste. It was a generous serving of ice cream, but for $6.95, we had both expected better tasting ice cream.

Though I am certainly glad Hi B3ar has brought rolled ice cream to Boston, I found their ice cream to be lackluster in taste. That being said, the experience of watching the ice cream get rolled up in front of me was worthwhile in itself, and so if you want to try something new, I encourage you to give Hi B3ar a chance!

Ice cream + Donut = A Double Chin Specialty

Published on February 14, 2017 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

by Audrey Thorne ’19

Upon walking into what appeared from the outside a tiny store, I was excited by the vast and chic interior. Toting a wooden bench swing, almost lantern-like lights, both low and high tables, and an open connection to the bakery next door, the space is stunning.

When asked what flavours were available for their ice cream donut sandwiches the man at the counter handed me a menu of the four donut sandwiches offered and informed me that the red velvet had run out. That meant that made my choice easier. Now I was stuck between three options instead of four. Though the image of the Galaxy was visually stunning, I finally decided to get the Nutella and the Matcha. I ordered one of each to go.

Processed with VSCO with c1 preset

I tried the Nutella first. The flavour was reminiscent of a dark hot chocolate and had an overall smooth consistency. There were no surprises to the bite. The chocolate donut matched the chocolate ice cream. The rainbow sprinkles on top gave it a bit of texture. It was not too sweet.

Next I tried the Matcha. The first thing that hits me in the strong matcha flavour from the matcha powder topping the donut. The vanilla ice cream complements the matcha donut well. The donut is moist and the matcha powder is delectable. It is sweeter than the Nutella and more unique. The more I eat it, the more I want.

As far as ice cream donut sandwiches go, I have reached the verdict that the two together are exponentially better than either alone. They’re my favourite couple this Valentine’s Day.

Bergamot & Bisq: Siblings at Their Finest

Published on February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Joseph Winters ’20

Typical college dining calls to mind bowls of brothy ramen, burgers, pizza, burritos—cheap fast food. It can generally be eaten fast (or maybe it must be eaten fast—cold French fries are pretty much only useful as dog food) and seasoned with a healthy tablespoon or two of salt.

Bergamot, on the other hand, is nothing like that.

I had passed by the Somerville restaurant a couple times on runs to Union Square, assuming, as the name suggested, that it was a tea house or café of some sort (bergamot is an orange-derived flavoring for tea). But while you might be able to order some tea with your meal at Bergamot, the restaurant is by no means a teahouse. I spoke with co-owner Servio Garcia before visiting his restaurant this December, when he told me that they specialize in finding ways to “use what we are able to get on hand” locally. From there, Servio works some culinary magic to give those ingredients global flair by using “influences from all over the world.” But mostly, he says, he’s preoccupied with offering “the best dining experience to every one of our guests.”

As I walked into Bergamot, bundled up in my down coat, the host immediately offered to take it, whisking it away to some back room. This was the first indication at I was in over my head; never before had I been in a restaurant this upscale. I took a seat on the bench side of a table for two and observed the interior of the restaurant. Very dim lighting, a few elegantly dressed people, and a very small bar gave the single-room space intimacy. Soft music played, and the people around me talked in semi-hushed voices.

A waiter come to my table and explained that I would be receiving a variation of the chef’s tasting menu: the chefs would select a few items for me to try, serving them in smaller-than-usual portions so that I could try a wider variety of dishes. I thanked the waiter, took a sip of sparkling water, and prepared myself for the culinary surprises that awaited me.

First up, the waiter appeared with “bread service” for the evening. That day’s offering was a cornbread muffin with miso maple butter. It was crumbly and sweet, and I appreciated the miso’s funkiness. I self-consciously Instagrammed a photo of it, unsure of the proper food-tography etiquette for this style of restaurant.

The first real plate came soon after, and it looked like something from the TV show Chopped. Small chunks of beets were delicately piled atop a little schmear of whipped feta, dotted with some “spiced ancient grains” (quinoa and bulgur) and fried chickpeas, then drizzled with a mint and parsley pistou. I was actually pretty impressed that the waiter could remember all of the separate components of the dish when he described them to me. I’m a veggie lover, so this dish was an easy hit. It had tang from the feta, grit from the grains, crunch from the chickpeas, and sweetness from the beets. A definite winner.

Next out was a small bowl of house made cavatelli pasta with pieces of apple, chestnuts, and kale chips on top. It was dressed in chestnut madeira cream—I’m not entirely sure what that even means, but I liked it. There was a really mild, nutty sweetness to the sauce, often accompanied by a squishy golden raisin.

Next I got pan fried smelts, imported from Canada. The five sardine-sized fish were spread on a shallow dish, with pieces of medjool dates, olives, onion, tangerine, and boiled potato speckled between them, all drizzled with a garlic bread sauce (the last drops of which I ended up soaking up with some pieces of potato). This may have been my favorite dish of the night. The fish were served skin-on, nearly whole except for the head, and the skin was crisped to perfection, with an excellently gritty bit of char to them. This worked really well with the crispy boiled potatoes, and the dates were so tender they were falling apart before I could even get them into my mouth.

The next dish turned out to be the only dish I wasn’t pleased with. It was a charcuterie board with five different kinds of meat, each paired with their own kind of sauce or cream or cheese. To begin with, a charcuterie board felt a little out of place after the daintiness of the other dishes. Part of e problem may be that I’m far from a meat connoisseur—I used to be a vegetarian, and to this day eat meat mostly on special occasions. I tried each kind of meat, actually finding that I really liked some of the pairings more than the meats themselves. In particular, the crispy grits that went with a chicken patê were delicious, and the mustard that was paired with the sausage was super pungent. I finished around half the plate before telling the waiter I didn’t think I could finish the whole thing, hoping I hadn’t just committed an egregious faut pas in the foodie world.

Grilled salmon was next, and it turned out to be a testament to Bergamot’s mission of serving globally-inspired foods. Besides being a great piece of salmon (I would know; being from the Pacific Northwest has made me a salmon snob), cooked right to that delicate balance between juiciness and flakiness, it came with pineapple chow, pepper pot sauce, black beans, and molasses ham. This dish, my waiter informed me, was inspired by the owner’s recent trip to the Caribbean. Jamaican influence shone through in the pineapple chow and the molasses ham, but the pairing with salmon was an intriguing choice. “In true Bergamot fashion, here we have a dish putting together multiple cultural influences,” he explained. Completely and unapologetically nontraditional. “Here’s a saag paneer. Sort of,” my waiter told a nearby table a little later, making me smile to myself.

At this point in the meal, I was beginning to feel a little full, and nearly two hours had gone by. But I had no trouble finding room for the final savory dish that appeared in front of me: the Braised Short Plate. It was a simple piece of meat so tender that it was in severe danger of falling apart at a single prod from my fork, garnished with caramelized sweet potato, chimichurri, cabbage, and grape slaw. This plate was a definite winner—the grape slaw was a wonderfully fresh pairing with the rich meat and potato, and the chimichurri was light and tangy. The couple next to me also ordered this dish, and I couldn’t help but overhear their zealous enthusiasm for it, as well. Whenever their conversation lulled, one of them would say, “Wow, that short plate was so good!”

And, of course, there was dessert. I love describing this dish to friends because it combined so many different parts. A ginger snap cookie was topped with a small scoop of ginger ice cream, drizzled with some special cranberry-y sauce, and dotted with red wine poached prunes, these puffy cranberries called cranberry coulis, and whipped pistachio drops. Often when I go out, I look for the kinds of things that I would never be able to make myself, and this was certainly one of them. The cranberries were light and airy like a sort of sweet popcorn, and coated with crystallized sugar. The whipped pistachios were like pistachio-flavored chocolate chips, but softer and creamier. The ginger snap cookie and ice cream weren’t unlike many ginger snap cookies and ice cream that I’ve had, but I don’t think that was the point; the additions were what really made the dish shine.

Finally, after two and a half hours and seven courses, I walked out of Bergamot feeling pretty full but very happy. I had just eaten what had perhaps been the fanciest meal of my life. The food was great and the staff were friendly, knowledgeable, and, most importantly, passionate. As I left, one chef explained to me that recipe development is a joint effort between all staff members. “Every single cook has an influence on the menu,” Bergamot’s owner Servio Garcia told me in an interview a few days after my meal. “They just put ideas on the table,” and through trial and error, they come up a menu that is ever-changing, with no single item remaining on the menu for more than two or three months.

Fortunately for me, Servio invited me to review Bergamot’s sister restaurant, BISq, the very next night. So at 6:15 PM, I made the ten-minute bike ride from Harvard Yard towards eastern Somerville. BISq opened in the summer of 2015 and has since become a unique mainstay of the Boston-area dining scene. Servio describes his vision for BISq as a “wine bar where you can go and have great wines and awesome food.” BISq is best experienced in large groups—the more people in your group, the greater the number of tapas you’ll get to try. Also in the spirit of sharing, BISq offers “whole roasted animals.” Check out their Instagram page for some pretty impressive photos of entire pigs, charred and placed smack in the middle of a family-style table.

When I visited, I did not have quite a big enough appetite for a whole roasted animal. But I did have the opportunity to try some tapas. I was seated in an interesting area, at a bar right in front of the kitchen, so I got to watch the chefs preparing dishes, chopping and frying and slicing with delicate care. There seemed to be two other main areas to BISq, with more space for larger groups, but the room at the front of the restaurant, where I was, was a little smaller.

Based on a recommendation from my waitress, I ordered two veggie plates and two meatier ones: Cast-Iron Roasted Brassicas, Roasted Hen of the Woods, Fried Chicken, and 1/2 Lobster. The veggie dishes came out first. The roasted brassicas—cauliflower and broccoli—were piled in a small heap at the center of a plate and dotted with red harissa aioli. This dish was as delicious as it was beautiful—I loved the fun mix of different colored and shaped brassicas, and the bite-sized pieces were perfectly charred on the edges. But I immediately forgot about cauliflowers when the Roasted Hen of the Woods appeared. This was probably the most interesting dish of my meal. The hen of the woods (mushrooms, not pieces of chicken, as I had first thought) were piled atop a pureed spinach sauce, and some cured egg yolk served as a powdery topping. Each bite alternated between crispy or soft, crunchy or buttery. I had no problem polishing this plate off quite quickly.

Before dinner that night, I had been perusing BISq’s Instagram page, which had heavily featured their fried chicken dish. It turned out that this was because for that week, all proceeds from the sale of this dish would go towards relief for families affected by the East Cambridge fire of December 2016. I’d been craving a plate of my own, so I was excited to see it arrive, coming with a shallow bowl of buttermilk ranch with dots of Thai bird chili salt in the center. Although I think it would be pretty difficult to mess up fried chicken, BISq’s preparation was extra crispy, and that buttermilk sauce was more complex than your typical ranch dipping sauce. It had creaminess, some heat, and a little bit of tang, which came together nicely against the fried chicken.

Embarrassingly, when my 1/2 lobster arrived, I had to ask the waitress how to eat it; I’ve only eaten lobster once before. Was I supposed to crack the legs open? Use my hands? From what I gathered, eating lobster was sort of like an anything-goes mission, where whatever you can do to get at the tender lobster meat is acceptable. I dipped the flesh into a sweet and tart tub of meyer lemon sauce, accidentally splattering a little bit of buttery goodness all over the counter in front of me. I inconspicuously tidied my area up and continued to crack my lobster legs. There were also brussels sprouts with pear butter that served as a nest for the lobster. There are a lot of nonbelievers when it comes to brussels sprouts, but I think they’ve probably just never had them done the right way. BISq certainly does them the right way, roasting them just enough to cook through and absorb the pear butter, but leaving them with enough body of their own to retain some bite.

After scooping up the last bit of meyer lemon sauce, I looked at the wreckage I’d created with some satisfaction. Four dishes done beautifully. Although my meal at Bergamot was an incredible dining experience, I would have to say that BISq is more my style. I would take someone to Bergamot if I wanted to impress them, but I would go to BISq to have a good time. I think this probably fits with the kinds of audiences Bergamot and BISq are trying to cater to; Bergamot is more formal, BISq more casual. But both of Servio Garcia’s restaurants show his commitment to quality food and interesting preparation. I left contentedly to a happy farewell from the waitstaff, my bike ride back to my dorm fueled by the warm memory of chili buttermilk, meyer lemons, harissa aioli, and hen of the woods mushrooms.

Din Tai Fung: My West Coast Adventure

Published on February 1, 2017February 1, 2017 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Siqi Liu ’19

Before my family embarked on our two-week road trip along the Pacific Coastline this December, my dad and I frantically searched the Internet for the best places to eat. I always thought I was the only one in my family with the foodie gene, I was wrong. As it turns out, my dad came up with an impressive list of restaurants for our trip that kept our stomachs as happy as we were from the rides at Universal Studios. During one of our last dinners in Los Angeles, we found a gem that to this day keeps me dreaming of soupy, hot steamed buns: Din Tai Fung.

A bit of a background: Din Tai Fung was founded all the way back in the 1970s in Taipei, where it gained fame from its xiaolongbao dishes. For those who are unfamiliar with this term, xiaolongbao is a type of steam bun that is shaped like a miniature bao and is cooked in a bamboo steaming basket, but has thin, dumpling-like skin. “Xiaolong” literally means “small basket,” standing for the small bamboo baskets they’re steamed in, and “bao” refers to its inherent similarity with the typical steamed meat or red bean stuffed bao you see at Wow Bao. Growing up, they’ve made up one of my favorite breakfast dishes (P.S. If you’re looking to put together a full, Chinese breakfast, I’d highly recommend serving xiaolongbao with hot Chinese soy milk and fresh Chinese crullers).

Going into Din Tai Fung, I already high expectations for xiaolongbao dishes: During my 2012 trip to Beijing, my mother and I visited the some of the most famous xiaolongbao restaurants in the city. But I also knew that Din Tai Fung has some pretty recognizable credentials, too: In the 90s, New York Times rated it as one of the top ten gourmet restaurants in the world; it opened three new branches in 2015 alone; and its website boasts praises from critics in well-known publications like Times and the Michelin Guide.

I was excited—excited enough to endure the one-hour wait as my family perused the menu and debated for the fifth time on whether we should order the braised beef noodle soup or shrimp & pork wontons. The upside is that I got to watch the chefs make xiaolongbao through their glass-window kitchen, which was pretty cool.

We were starving when we finally got our seats, but fortunately, the ball got rolling pretty fast from there. It seemed like only minutes passed before our first bamboo basket appeared on the table. I was surprised not only by how quick the service was but also its style—we ordered four baskets of xiaolongbao/steamed buns, but instead of serving them all at once, they came one by one. That way, none of them was sitting in the corner and getting cold.

Pork xiaolongbao in its bamboo basket steamer

The first dish we were presented was the pork xiaolongbao, and let me tell you: My family inhaled it. They were fresh off the stove, so I picked them up gingery with my chopsticks and took care not to poke a hole in them. The secret to eating xiaolongbao is to take a tiny bite first so the steam from the hot soup inside could cool a little before putting the whole thing in your mouth. And boy, I was in for a treat. The soup was perfectly flavored and not too salty, the skin was the right thickness, and the meat was tender. Needless to say, all ten of the xiaolongbao were gone in under a minute.

But that wasn’t even the best part. The highlight dishes of our dinner were the pork crab xiaolongbao, which I preferred over the plain pork xiaolongbao because I am a fan of seafood flavors, and the sweet taro xiaolongbao, which is simply divine for anyone with a sweet tooth. As someone who is far more of a savory than a sweet person, rarely orders dessert, and doesn’t like chocolate (gasp—I know), the sweet taro xiaolongbao was the perfect amount of sweetness. It wasn’t cloying or sticky, and even after eating practically the whole basket, I didn’t feel guilty.

I was also lucky enough to get a bite of my dad’s braised beef noodle soup, which had really thin, tender noodles and a mildly spicy flavor, but I’d say Din Tai Fung is still better with its steamed bun assortments. We tried to order the highly-recommended shrimp & pork shao mai, but they ran out, so we had to settle for the rice & pork shao mai. It which wasn’t bad, but it lacked the steaming hot soup that you get from xiaolongbao.

Braised beef noodle soup (Thanks Dad!)

Rice & pork shao mai

Divine sweet taro xiaolongbao

Overall, the dining experience was fantastic. I would probably faint out of happiness if Din Tai Fung decides to open a restaurant near my hometown in Chicago or Boston. So, if you find yourself on the West Coast, I beg you to do yourself a favor and try out this restaurant. Whether you’re weaned on xiaolongbao or looking to lose your xiaolongbao v-card, Din Tai Fung wouldn’t disappoint. Case in point: this pregnant lady who used to live in my neighborhood in Chicago craved Din Tai Fung so badly she and her husband flew to L.A. just to eat there. Now that’s true love.

Din Tai Fung

Location: Its U.S. restaurants are sadly limited to California and Seattle, but it has international locations in Japan, China, Singapore, and more.

Reservation: Only take reservations for a party of 6+ over the phone. Otherwise must wait in person, and it’s usually a long wait.

Overall Rating: 4/5

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Atmosphere: 3/5

Green Blender: Blend it Your Way

Published on December 11, 2016December 11, 2016 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Joseph Winters ’20

I love smoothies. Smoothies in the morning, smoothies for snacks, smoothies before bed—there’s no bad time for a smoothie. At home, they served two main functions: 1) they were a good way to eat more greens without even realizing it, and 2) they helped my family reduce waste by allowing us to use whatever fruits and veggies were lying around in the fridge, a little past their prime but still edible.

The ultimate dream would be for Annenberg to have a smoothie station, where students have anytime access to a fridge full of fresh ingredients and a quality blender. Unfortunately, that isn’t quite the case. As freshmen, we’re pretty much stuck with using whatever blender we can find in the dorm kitchens, or renting from the FDO.

Not to mention, the ingredients! I’ve swiped my share of bananas from Annenberg, but most smoothie recipes call for teeny amounts of things like chia or hemp seeds, apple pie spice, fresh ginger… Without frequent trips to Whole Foods, it’s hard to imagine being able to stock the right smoothie ingredients all the time.

That’s what GreenBlender can help with: they deliver weekly smoothie boxes, complete with prepackaged and portioned ingredients that go with five recipes (two servings per recipe—so ten smoothies per week). I was intrigued, so I emailed GreenBlender, and they agreed to send me a box in exchange for this review!

Here are the ways you can subscribe to GreenBlender:

Fresh Start: a week-to-week subscription for $49/box
- $4.90 per serving
Monthly Challenge: a monthly subscription for $176
- $4.40 per serving
Healthy Habit: a one-year subscription for $468
- $3.90 per serving

My box arrived just before Thanksgiving Break, so the recipes were all Thanksgiving-themed. The ingredients were meticulously packaged in plastic baggies, with convenient labels for things I might not recognize, like maqui powder. Plus, I really appreciated that they weren’t the stereotypical smoothie recipes that you might find at some pseudo-health smoothie place, laden with just fruit and yogurt and honey or syrup; three of the recipes had greens, one had a summer squash, and one used sweet potato. No nauseatingly sweet stuff here! Also, everything GreenBlender sent was organic, which I thought was a great feature of their service.

Here are the five smoothies, with my comments:

Maqui Apple Cleanse

This smoothie was surprisingly delicious. It wasn’t too sweet, but very refreshing. I mostly tasted the applesauce, but the grapes gave it some tartness. The squash made the consistency a little fibrous, but that would have been remedied if I’d just blended it for a minute or so more.

1 yellow squash, chopped

5 oz grapes

1/2 cup applesauce

1 tbsp hemp seeds

1 tsp maqui berry powder

1 cup water

1 cup ice

Maple Almond Apple Pie

Many health foodies are familiar with the concept of the “açai bowl”, which is basically a really thick berry smoothie. But I don’t think the açai bowl needs to limit itself to açai berries as a base; I like to make “smoothie bowls,” which are basically smoothies with less liquid. That’s what I decided to do with the Maple Almond Apple Pie recipe that GreenBlender sent. I put all the ingredients into the blender as normal but omitted the cup of water. Into the blender went:

1.5 oz baby kale

1 tsp apple pie spice

2 apples, chopped

1 tbsp maple almond butter

1 cup ice

If you don’t have a powerful blender, I’m not sure this would work, but Vitamixes and Blendtecs should do the job handily! The consistency was a little meltier than frozen yogurt, and while it didn’t taste like a real pie, the apple pie spice definitely gave the smoothie bowl some holiday flavor, and—of course—the kale was undetectable.

I like this smoothie-eating method particularly because I could never drink only a liquid smoothie for breakfast—I’d be hungry within an hour. This way, I get some more carbs from toppings like granola (and a scone on this particular morning!), and a healthy schmear of peanut butter makes it a little more like an actual meal.

Cranberry Ginger

While it wasn’t bad, this smoothie was probably my least favorite of the smoothies I sampled. It was the kind of smoothie someone might accuse of tasting “healthy” in a derogatory way. “Healthy” is a taste I’ve acquired and come to like, but it’s definitely not for everybody. That being said, it still made for a nice smoothie bowl breakfast. I would have added more ginger than the tiny slice that came with the ingredients, though, since I could barely tell that it was there.

1.5 oz spinach

2 oz cranberries

2 dates

1 pear, chopped

1/2 inch ginger

3 tbsp walnuts

1 cup ice

Pineapple Kumquat Passion

When I think of classic smoothies, this is what I think of. Super citrusy, pleasantly sweet, and deceptively green-colored. It was the first smoothie I made, and I shared it with one of my friends. She even woke up for a nap just to share in the smoothie-making. Both of us agreed that it was a quality sip of Vitamin C.

I also commented that GreenBlender helped me control my tendency to shove about five fistfuls of greens into the smoothie in the name of health. Doing this usually makes the smoothie extremely fibrous and completely unsatisfactory—with the recipe they provided, the smoothie had just the right amount of greens: still tasty, but with a healthy boost.

1.5 oz swiss chard

3 oz kumquats

1 orange, peeled

4 oz pineapple

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 cup coconut water

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes

This was the smoothie I was most excited to make. I love sweet potatoes, I love smoothies—what could go wrong?

4 oz raw sweet potatoes

1 banana

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp maple syrup

3 tbsp cashews

1 cup water

1 cup ice

The outcome was amazing—sweetness from the banana, spice from the cinnamon, sweet potato-y goodness from the sweet potatoes. As with many banana smoothies, this kind of tasted like a milkshake. In fact, it was so good that, after my GreenBlender trial, I looked up the recipe and bought all the ingredients at Whole Foods so I could make it again. The second time, I had some extra coconut milk on hand, so I subbed it for the water and got a super dessert-like, creamy consistency.

After my week of smoothies, I was pretty sold on GreenBlender. I recently did a review of the meal delivery service Plated, but my conclusion was that it didn’t make sense for undergraduates on an unlimited, mandatory meal plan. GreenBlender, however, might make sense for those who are already devout smoothie lovers. They ease the difficulty of having to find quality smoothie recipes, go to the grocery store to find the ingredients (where you might have to buy a huge container of maple syrup even if you only need a tablespoon), and haul them back to your dorm kitchen.

Also of note is the fact that GreenBlender publishes all its smoothie recipes to its website! It’s definitely worth checking out, especially some of the candy bar-themed smoothies. Even if you don’t purchase your own subscription to GreenBlender, you can still make some killer smoothies from their enormous recipe index!

Website: https://greenblender.com/

Use the coupon code CRIMSONCRAVE when paying for a 20% discount from Green Blender!

The Six Best Pizzas From Regina’s, Ranked: What to Eat to Console Yourself This Finals Season

Published on December 11, 2016December 12, 2016 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Estefania Lahera’20

It’s that time of year again: finals. We’re tired, we’re cranky, and most importantly, we’re hungry. And let’s be honest: what’s more convenient and comforting than pizza?

But before you reach for the phone and dial up some convenient Harvard standbys that may or may not be amazing because you’ve had a tough day and just want some damn pizza stat, take a deep breathe and hear me out.

When it comes to food, I don’t settle for anything but the best. So, when I was craving pizza several months back, naturally I wanted Boston’s finest. After diligent research, I found my answer: Regina Pizzeria.

Now, you Boston natives might be saying “well duh, everyone knows that”, but as a transplant to the east coast, finding the true “best” was a bit difficult, a bit hidden under the oohs and ahhs of new wave, less traditional pizza places. I’m all for innovative takes of pizza, but not at the expense of forgetting or shunning the classics. It’s the curse of being the best. Everyone knows you’re the best, they know you are consistent, so they decide to try other new places. Which sucks. So of course, I had to go pay Regina’s a visit.

This was way back in September, and I remember it fondly. I had a great experience, but I couldn’t help leaving with a bit of regret, and not for the reason you’d expect.

You see, the menu was HUGE and tiny college-student me could only eat (and afford) so much.

And I wanted just about everything on the menu.

Everything.

So many different combinations called my name, but what was a girl to do, alone in a pizzeria?

I would look crazy to order more than one pizza for one person, but I wanted to have the one best pizza in the best pizza place in Boston. How in the world would I ever know which pizza combination was the best if I only tried one?

Sure, I could go back another day, but it would be difficult to compare. Yes, it is commonly acknowledged that Regina is one of the best, but the lack of consensus of which pizza was the best was a little blemish in the Boston food reporting scene, one I was more than happy to address.

I bided my time, and when I finally joined the Crimson Crave, I called Regina’s to ask about taste testing their pizzas, so that perfectionists like me could be sure to be completely satisfied next time they visit Regina’s.

That happy day came, a day of pizza paradise, when I visited Regina’s original North End location and sampled six of their best pizzas.

So, without further ado, I give you a thorough, diverse study and ultimately a ranking of some of the pizzas Regina Pizzeria has to offer!

The Melanzane.

This was the biggest surprise of the day, the dark horse in this pizza race that ended up being my favorite, and received equally high marks from my fellow tasters. I tacked it onto the order at the last minute, a decision I will never, never regret. Homemade ricotta with eggplant and red onions might not sound like the “go to” for pizza, but it is magic. Literal magic. I don’t know why more pizza places don’t use ricotta, because the warm, soft creaminess of it combined with the tart, crunchy onion and eggplant is to die for. Normally, I don’t even like ricotta or eggplant. I would go as far as to say that I actually dislike ricotta and eggplant. But this pizza, as one taster described it, was “like a combination of lasagna and pizza”, a perfect harmony of classics combined in a way that makes them feel new. I only slightly disagree. It was better than lasagna on pizza (probably because I don’t like lasagna!). This pizza was the perfect medium, light enough to not feel it was destroying your cholesterol, but not so light that it failed to excite the taste buds.

The Giambotta.

The giambotta has a bit of a reputation, and I was expecting it to come out on top. But in a competition where there is no bad, just delicious and scrumptious, the giambotta came in second by an inch. The giambotta is an absolute beast of a pizza, with large chunky vegetables and three meats, because of course pepperoni is not enough; you have to throw in some sausage and salami to really kick things up a notch.

The St. Anthony

If you’re going for a white pizza but are craving meat, this is the pizza for you. Hearty chunks of sweet, crunchy, fresh green pepper paired with various meats seems to be a (welcome) pattern at Regina’s, and the St. Anthony’s was definitely a riff on this. I am a firm proponent of going easy with the meat. Sometimes, to be fair, like with the giambotta, you need a good punch of juicy flavor, but that only works in combinations like the giambotta, paired as it is with an abundance of vegetables. Here, the pepper was enough for the sausage, and the sausage was enough for the pepper, no more, no less. The sausage in the St. Anthony was subtle, where you could actually taste the true flavor of the meat, delicate and balanced, rather than an overload of salt and pepper. This was a quiet favorite, the go to for that rainy day. It’s much more nuanced, relying on the purity of ingredients rather than powerhouse red sauces that dominate the pizza industry. It’s not new-wave inventive with bananas and hot sauce imported from Brazil or some crazy hipster combination like that, but it doesn’t have to be so far-fetched and almost forcefully inventive to be unique and standout.

The Mediterranean.

Here’s the thing about the Mediterranean. You can really, really taste the olives. You can really, really taste that the briney sea flavor, and that’s what transports you. A taster as first remarked that it was too salty, but after taking another bite, this time with some sweet onion and the creamy feta, revoked their statement. The Mediterranean pizza (just like the Mediterranean diet!) is all about balance, and Regina’s hit it on the nail. Again, as a picky eater who dislikes feta, I was pleasantly surprised.

The spinach E Pomodoro.

This pizza comes near the end of this list to the great protest of my fellow tasters. To them, this was their absolute favorite, a fresh, light pie with whole tomato and spinach. They loved the pure tomato-yness of it, the simplicity, the restraint. It’s my ranking though, and torn as I am, something had go near the bottom and I picked this one. It’s just not as much of a showstopper as the others, and I’m a “go big or go home kind of girl”.

That being said, if you’re craving something lighter, even lighter than the melanzane, skip over the first four pizzas in this list and go ahead and order this one. As a health nut in between bouts of indulgence like this, I would definitely recommend this pizza as a wiser choice when eating out with friends. I’m happy that Regina’s accommodates all types of eaters, not just carnivores like me!

Meatball pomodoro.

Placing the meatball pizza near the end, like the spinach pomodoro, was controversial among my fellow tasters. They enjoyed it, especially the gentle garlic flavor, which even I couldn’t pick out. That’s actually quite the accomplishment, to incorporate garlic subtlety without the pungent flavor dominating the pizza, now that I think about it! But I had originally picked this pizza because I wanted to try something under the meat section of the menu, and was expecting little round meatballs on top of the pizza. Because I’m an idiot and didn’t do my research (on Yelp) to ascertain that assumption, I’m taking it out on this pizza and placing it last!

Just kidding. In reality, it’s only last because I don’t think most people, myself included, can handle a meat pizza without some sort of vegetable balance or light counterpart to buffer the heaviness. Were I a 250 lb football player, maybe the ranking would be different, but alas, I’m not.

The aftermath:

Here’s the thing about Regina’s, though: regardless of the topping, every single crust is amazing. The crust just blew all of our minds because it stayed crispy in the center. I cannot tell you how many pizzas I’ve had whose crust is nice and crispy on the outside edge, sure, but once you got to the center, the crust flopped around like a soggy mess. In my opinion, they don’t advertise the brick oven enough, because I’m pretty sure that, along with their secret recipe, is what makes that crust so spectacularly “crusty” on the outside while keeping it soft on the inside.

And that red sauce…. Just perfect. It tasted fresh and tangy and just sweet enough. The garlic sauce is like a underdog that just captures everyone’s heart, and last but not least: they do not skimp on toppings. Each pizza is piled with hearty additions that makes it extra satisfying.

And that is why Regina’s is the best pizza in Boston. Not because of their amazing abundance of toppings (which are all delicious), but because, like with all important things in like (pizza, school, work) the foundation, the crust that goes for every pizza, the two main sauces, the generosity with the toppings, is solid.

And it’s for that reason that looking back, this ranking was sort of ridiculous. It was like trying to rank good, yummy, delicious, delectable, and mouth-watering. They were all good because they all had the same crust, the consistently great sauces, and a generous helping of good quality, well matched toppings. How could that every be bad?

And so in reality this ranking represents is my personal preference of toppings, but more so a confirmation that Regina Pizzeria still dominates the Boston pizza scene.

Therefore, my dear colleagues, next time you’re craving something comforting, especially this finals period when the typical schedule is suspended, just go ahead and treat yourself to some pizza from Regina’s. Best for rewarding yourself after a day spent studying or celebrating the disposal of another final.

I recommend the original North End location, but whether you go to the Fenway location, the Allston location (a twenty minute bus ride from campus!), or somewhere else in the city, a classic institution like Regina’s can’t disappoint. Fulfilling that niche intersection of convenience and quality, local chain has upheld its standards and played a significant part of Boston’s food culture for almost 100 years.

Locations:

The four closest to Harvard are:

Original North End: 11 1/2 Thacher St, Boston, MA 02113

Faneuil Hall: 226 Faneuil Marketplace, Boston, MA 02109

Allston: 353 Cambridge St, Allston, MA 02134

Fenway: 1330 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02215

Reservations: none needed!

Available for take out, curbside, and via DiningIn.

Finally, feel free to follow the Crimson Crave on Instagram at @crimson_crave or if you’d like to see more about my personal food adventures, follow me at @tinyfoodtraveler!

Batali Brings Babbo to Harvard!

Published on November 15, 2016November 29, 2016 by The Crimson CraveLeave a comment

By Estefania Lahera ’20

A couple of weeks ago Professor Sorenson of SPU 27, Science of Cooking, dropped a bomb: Mario Batali would be making a surprise visit during the last week of class!

Now, I grew up with Mario Batali on my television, the jolly, good-humoured Iron Chef whose bright red hair and cheery smile were without a doubt memorable. Coming from Los Angeles, I was privileged enough to visit his acclaimed restaurants there, Pizzeria Mozza and Osteria Mozza, both amazing in their own distinct ways. But I had absolutely no idea that he had a restaurant in Boston, which has been around for more than a year!

And because I’m an curious, dedicated food writer, I knew I had to give it a try. A couple of emails later, thanks to the wonderful PR team of B&B Hospital, my visit was arranged.

I recruited a another writer from the blog to come with me, and we went on a Saturday for lunch.

Getting There:

When you look at the address it’s a bit intimidating. And then you Google it and realize that it’s just a short ride on the Red Line and then a 15 minute walk if you get off at South Station. One subway ride in Boston, I’ve learned, is nothing. And especially in the summer, walking over the bridge from South Station to the restaurant is not only beautiful but but probably a good idea after eating a lovely, satisfying meal.

Babbo is just close enough to downtown Boston to be accessible, but not so close that it’s jam-packed with fanny-pack wearing, selfie stick toting sightseers from the middle-of-nowhere.

And perhaps even more relevant to us, being Harvard students after all, it’s also a 6 minute walk from the Institute of Contemporary Art, which we all know is on your bucket list before you graduate!

First Impression:

A bright, beautiful open space. It was strategic, not picking a location in North End or South End or Back Bay, where all the tables are practically on top of each other, crammed together, never any space, never any room to breathe.

Instead, Babbo is spacious, a luxury in Boston. And that allows for great little perks like an open kitchen where you can see the food being made, the pizza baking in the oven, the plating, the sort of things that brings you closer to the food.

I personally loved the interior design, the elegant, sleek mediterranean styling. It was gorgeous and clean and comforting.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and there were a lot of families. Pizza is, after all, a crowd-pleaser and the restaurant is near a childrens museum. When we entered the host wasn’t at the stand, but after a five minute wait we were seated and all settled.

A slight detour to discuss bread:

There was something notable about the way the bread came wrapped in paper rather than a bread bowl, the breadsticks still in plastic packaging. It was as if to prove that the breadsticks were actually imported from Italy, which was cool.

The bread was standard, not tough or stale, just a hearty Italian loaf you would buy from the supermarket that was baked the night before, as one bakery told me they do in Italy. Props for the authenticity.

The food:

After asking the waiter for suggestions, we ordered the tagliatelle, the goat cheese pizza, and the local shrimp. The menu is a perfect size: not too much, not too little.

First, the shrimp.

It really does not get much fresher than this. The shrimp still had its head on, with little legs or whiskers or something! There are two types of shrimp: really shrimpy, salt, brine-y pure-ocean-tasting shrimp that I personally don’t like, and more delicate, gentle shrimp. These were just in between, which was very interesting, having just a hint of that ocean taste but not overwhelmingly so. They were seasoned aggressively in the good way, a somewhat traditional blend of acid and herbs that never fails. Fresh and flavorful, what more can you ask?

The pasta was a larger portion than expected, a large mountain of tagliatelle covered in a hearty, chunky ragu! You know a restaurant is doing something right when they give more meat than pasta. It was on the more traditional side but done well, a very balanced and satisfying blend of flavors.

The pizza was the real surprise though. The goat cheese, pistachio, red onion, and truffle honey pizza came highly recommended, and with good reason. This is a pizza that makes no pretenses. It is sweet and it is yummy and that’s what matters. The pistachios provide a wonderful crunch and earthy flavor that blends nicely with the sweet honey. I am not a goat cheese person, but this pizza made it do-able, even enjoyable. The goat cheese doesn’t hide, though, it’s allowed to be natural, simple, without transformation, so if you don’t like goat cheese, you should probably order something else. I recommend the meatball pizza!

The crust was excellent, a nice light airiness balanced by a decent crunch, and towards the middle it got a bit softer and floppy but not soggy, which was really, really enjoyable. It had a delicate, almost sour flavor that really worked nicely with the pizza. That’s actually something notable, to have a dough be more just a vehicle and actually contribute to flavor.

I was most excited for dessert, though. The menu is a perfect blend of classic and modern, not too adventurous erring on awful, and not uber traditional boring.

Seeing the gelato pie, which is also done in Batali’s LA restaurant, confirmed my hopes: I knew we were in for something good.

We ordered the Black and White and the pumpkin gelato pie.

By far the best part of the meal. So so so so good. So good that it merits an excess of photographs that do not nearly capture the glory.

Just look at that massive slice of pure gelato. Magic. It felt like a full pint! But what was truly special about the gelato pie was the subtlety. There is nothing I dislike more than artificial flavors, and I think restaurants are often guilty of that when it comes to pumpkin, but Babbo definitely wasn’t. This dessert was a very gentle, natural, balanced pumpkin flavor. Instead of trying to overwhelm you with an excess of sugar, the authentic flavors of pumpkin and cream shined through. The little spice cake cubes, to be fair, weren’t really weren’t necessary and since they were a tad stale, they could have easily been omitted and the dessert would have been perfect. The gelato was just so perfect creamy and airy it could stand alone. It was impressive, actually, how the gelato held its form instead of melting, allowing you to enjoy your dessert without having to rush!

The black and white, dare I say it, was even better. A slightly caramel flavored whipped cream atop of creamy, sweet, chocolate-y gelato with a fudge sauce. It was comforting, it was uplifting, it was happiness. I will probably dream about it. The finishing touch that took the dessert over the edge was little malt-like, chocolate crisps sprinkled throughout so that with every bite you experienced a wonderful crunchy texture that brought the entire thing together.

I loved it.

Babbo was also kind enough to give us a little sampler of italian cookies, which were delicious. The mini brownie was fudgy and rich and super dark, very satisfying. The two varieties of biscotti they gave us were excellent; biscotti often is a sad excuse for a sweet, bland, crumbly bookie, but these were crisp and creatively spiced, one almond and the other with thyme we think. The little tri-colored cake was fruity with a lovely rich chocolate layer that brought all the little sponge cake flavors together. The pine nut cookie was crispy and delightfully subtle, but the real surprise was the one that looked like a macaroon! It was super airy, almost spongy in the coolest way with a malt-like chocolate flavor that was so interesting and fun. That’s the word exactly. It was just fun to eat, the way it felt and tasted.

Overall our trip to Babbo was by far a success. I think we can all agree Harvard students need to explore more, and Babbo is the perfect place to begin! Whether for lunch of dinner, it’s the perfect peaceful escape from campus.

Babbo

Location: 11 Fan Pier Blvd. Boston 02210

Reservation: On their website or through Opentable.

Stand out dishes: Goat Cheese pizza, Black and White dessert

Overall Rating: 4.5/5

Food: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Atmosphere: 5/5

Remember to follow the Crimson Crave on Instagram at @crimson_crave and if you’d like to see more about my personal food adventures, feel free to follow me at @tinyfoodtraveler!