Food Establishment #9 KooKoo Cafe

Today I went to a part of Boston that I don't often frequent, Brookline Village. I signed up for a free intro class at Boston Boabom and got there early so I decided to try this little cafe across from the train. Kookoo cafe, it had a sign out front written in chalk, a wooden door barely shouting it's name, when you walk in you get a nice middle eastern warm feeling. Dark wood lines the walls and floor and the back wall is covered in magnet words for people to be creative. As you walk in the bakery case is in front of you. I ordered a blueberry muffin and a black ginseng tea. I got my milk in a cute lil cow creamer and the tea in a very rustic style HUGE mug. The tables were pleated like outdoor tables but inside. The blueberry muffin was delicious, tasted homemade and was filled with blueberries. The tea was really good as well. I definitely fell in love with this place. The best part, a huge tea and a scrumptious blueberry muffin was $3.99. A new gem for me, if I go back to the karate class it'll definitely be a cool new spot! 

I also went back to Wagamama today with my friend Colin. This time I went to the one in Faneuil Hall and it was much better. My food came out much faster and the system seemed a bit more organized. I still wish you only had one server and there was separate not cafeteria style tables!

A quicky....

I just wanted to make a list of the new restaurant/food establishments I have tried thus far this year.... remember my goal is 20 or more. 

1. Tennessee BBQ, Peabody, MA

2. New England Soup Factory, Salem, MA

3. Top of the Hub, Boston, MA

4. Wagamama, Boston, MA

5. Ruth Chris Steak House, Boston, MA

6. The crepe place in Harvard (I forget the name :/), Cambridge, MA

7. The Purple Onion, Newburyport, MA

8. Chipotle

I think that's it. 12 to go. I can do it!

love ya!

tree

Spring is here!

On my way back home from New Hampshire today Al said he had to go to Loew's and being the loving girlfriend I am I went along with no fight. But, little did he know I really wanted to sneak over to the garden center to get my seed starter kits!! I spent about 30 minutes over there while he shopped and finally decided on an eco-friendly starter kit that is biodegradable when you transplant the pots into the ground. I planted heirloom tomatoes, green beans, chives, basil, cilantro, bell peppers and hot peppers. So exciting!!! I cant wait to see my little seeds grow. I will leave you with some pictures of hope on a gloomy day.

Next eventful day: Beginner crotchet class on sunday!! hehe.

Restaurant Review #1 Top of the Hub

Yesterday was the first day of restaurant week. I went to the highest point restaurant in boston, Top of the Hub!!! I had never been so I took one of my friends from Culinary school and we tore it up, and be tearing it up I mean ate our faces off.

The way I will rate each course is by *,  1 * being the worst and 5 * being the best. I will also comment on the course afterwards. At the end I will comment about restaurant appearance and service. Just remember I am not a professional food critic. I am just a foodie!

Restaurant week offers a 3 course pre fixe menu for $20.09 for lunch and $33.09 for dinner. A new addition to this restaurant week is a 2 course menu for $15.09, but really I look forward to the dessert so I did not opt for that.

Top of the Hub

Appetizer: Roasted Potato Soup *****

~ Came out extremely hot. (Love that!)

~ Not to thick or heavy, it was perfectly nape with a very nice smooth consistency.

~ Nice roasted flavor

Entree: Roasted Lemon Chicken with sweet potato puree and cranberry gastrique ****

~ Beautiful presentation

~ Chicken was perfectly cooked

~ Very small portion of chicken (I understand it was for restaurant week but it was tiny)

~ It took everything Gina and I had not to lick the sweet potatoes and cranberry gastrique off the plate in the very high end restaurant.

~ Sweet potatoes were very smooth and velvety

Dessert: Creme Brulee *** and Honey Yogurt Parfait ***

~ Gorgeous presentation

~ Both desserts had great texture

~ Creme brulee "brulee crust" was not very hard. Did not have the usually "crack" when you go to take a bite.

~ Creme brulee looked like it was starting to seperate.

~ Honey yogurt parfait had good flavor but the butter cookie in between layer was a little too buttery.

~ Passionfruit, raspberry and lemon sauce for parfait were delicious

Restaurant Appearance: High end *****

~ Best view from a restaurant in Boston.

~ Extremely clean, modern look.

~ 360 view of the city

~ Very nice dark bar

~ Huge wine selection displayed in very sleek organized wine closets

~ Piano on one corner of restaurant

Customer Service: Perfect *****

~ Drinks were refilled often

~ Server was extremely friendly and knew his menu with detail

~ Our seats were pulled out for us when we got there and napkins put on our lap

~ Table was kept cleared off, no clutter

~ Courses came out after we were finished with previous course and all came out hot and fresh.

Overall I would give Top of the Hub ****

The place was beautiful, the service was amazing. I am just not sure I would go back there if it wasn't restaurant week. The average check per person is above $50 on any regular day and I am not so sure the food is worth that. I would definitely recommend the Top of the Hub it is definitely a Boston must see.

Next Up: The Melting Pot!