Cambridge: Beat Hotel

Location:

13 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA (below The Gap in Harvard Square)

It takes a certain type of restaurant to get me out on a weeknight after work in this city. The Beat Hotel is that type of restaurant. A grand opening party at a bohemian American brasserie inspired by the Beat generation of the 50s Paris, with live music and cockails named "Electric Sidecar"? Well, the food was just the icing on the cake at that point.

The restaurant features live music e'ry night with jazz, blues and world adding to the bohemian vibe. This night we were treated to Kate McGarry along with Steve Santoro and the Tim Ray trio.

Throughout the evening, our host and co-owner Bertil Jean-Chronberg suggested a variety of American artisanal wines and craft beers to complement the items on the menu. 

Serving a very eclectic menu of seasonal dishes to tempt both the carnivorous palate as well as the herbavore, our table covered the entire spectrum.

We began the evening with flavorful craft cocktails; my favorite was the American Breed, complete with Maker's Mark and St. Edler's elderflower liqueur and apple cider...it felt like the perfect drink for an Autumn evening.

We started with a slew of appetizers, spanning the entire table. A must-try dish is the Hamachi (yellowtail) Sashimi, served on avocado, sambal and black olives...literally melts in your mouth.

There was crispy calamari and tempura veggies, crispy tuna spring rolls, a bohemian platter of hummus, cheese, veggies, pickles, enough for everyone to share.

If that wasn't filling enough, we moved onto our mains, I decided on the 1/2 roasted natural chicken with frites, mustard jus and pickes, generous in portion and robust in flavor.

The Tandoori spiced halibut with lentils and cucumber raita was a tasty alternative to the chicken, and the Earth Bowls (options vary from vegan, shrimp, chicken, steak and salmon) are yet another satisfying choice.

Don't get me started on the desserts...the bread pudding is to die for.

It's the best when you can share in a food experience with food lovers, and amongst these, at my table it was great to meet Tiffany and see Elizabeth who I hung out with in Miami!

If you're looking for a lively spot to wine and dine with live music every night, be sure to check out the calendar at The Beat Hotel.

Thank you to The Beat Hotel for treating us to an incredible evening in Harvard Square.

All photographs ©Hogger & Co., processed with VSCO Film 04

Product: TILDA Basmati Rice

We have this joke about how I love me some rice. There's normal portions of rice and then my portion of rice (imagine, if you will, a pyramid).

It's ridiculous because it's TRUE.

And Tilda's Basmati is rice royalty. Fluffy, long-grained, and non-sticky.

I was ecstatic to collaborate with Tilda on their latest two minute rice packets.

I opened this one up right way and literally two minutes later, pilau (indian masala-spiced rice) was standing up to the other indian dishes on my plate, dishes that took way longer than two minutes, mind you!

If you've ever cooked rice on the stove or in a rice cooker, you know it doesn't take two minutes. And this is no Uncle Ben's two minute rice, this is gourmet, fluffy, long-grained, no-preservatives, BASMATI rice.

It's portioned to serve two (one, if you're talking about me).

I can't even tell you how pumped I am about this product. The other packets didn't last long enough to even try various recipes, I was just happy eating them as is.

And excellent addition to the pantry, well worth having, and so tasty, you may just start eating rice like me.

Recipes to try with Tilda's Steamed Rice Pilau: Tilapia Curry and Indian Style Beets.

New York City: Sapphire

Location:

1845 Broadway, New York, NY

www.sapphireny.com

After taking in the last runway show at NYFW one evening, I was in the mood for Indian food. We ended up at Sapphire which is near the Lincoln Center and across from Central Park. 

The piping hot peshwari naan is, hands down, the best I've ever had! Our food was served onto our plates. The salmon was marinated and flavourful. And our request for less mutter (peas) and more aloo (potatoes) in the aloo gobi mutter dish was in fact, granted and well-executed. 

Everything was incredible! We literally cleaned up every dish to the last morsel. 

We were so content with our meal that we went over to thank the gentleman at the front and tell him that we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. He ended up being the owner, Satish Arora, who then very graciously offered us drinks and desserts at the bar. We obliged and was amazed when we saw a bottle of Crown Royale in his name! 

We had a wonderful time chatting with Satish about his life in NYC and also found some common links of his in Toronto. The decor is all authentic and brought over from India and the restaurant is very popular with celebrities as well.

Thank you for showing us a delightful time Satish, we look forward to coming back soon! 

MA: Priya Indian Cuisine

Location:

1270 Westford Street, Lowell, MA

www.bostonpriya.com

Looking for amazing Indian food in Massachusetts? Look no further than Priya's. 

Authentic north and south indian fare that's well priced and so delicious. We ordered half the things on the menu (some not pictured) and everything was excellent. Service, although friendly, is a bit slow. One of the tables beside us pre-ordered on the phone prior to coming in, which seemed like a good idea as they sat down after us but were eating well before us. 

Still, a great place for indian food and big enough to host parties and functions. (Photos via underwater camera)

Recipe: Beets

Beetroots are one of my favourite vegetables to eat and they're so easy to prepare.

I know people like to have them steamed then served cold in salads, but I am not a fan.  I like them warm when eaten.

So, I'm sharing my Mom's quick and tasty beetroot recipe with all of you.

Ingredients:

BEETS  - a bunch of them, peeled, cut into cubes

1 tsp of OIL

1-2 tsp of CUMIN

pinch of SALT & PEPPER

sprinkle of SESAME SEEDS 

OPTIONAL curry leaves

How to cook:

1 tsp of oil in a hot pan, lower the heat, add the cumin, let it brown a little.

Add the beets, add a bit of water, a bit of salt and the optional curry leaves (y'all know how much I love me some curry leaves), cover the pan and let the beets cook through on low heat.

When the beets are cooked through, sprinkle some pepper and some sesame seeds to serve. 

• And alternative way to cook the beets is to toss them into boiling water (unpeeled) and boil them until soft, then dunk them in cold water and the skin will easily peel off (this way you don't get as much beet staining your cutting board).  Then you simply cook in a pan with oil/salt/pepper/cumin and serve with sesame seeds.

 I like to serve beets with indian style masala potatoes, dal (lentil curry) and rice.  

 

Boston: Kashmir

Location:

279 Newbury Street  Boston, MA

Not only was it packed, which is one reason we thought it might have been a good choice, but it was packed with INDIAN people, which is sometimes a good indicator of a decent Indian restaurant.  Not this time.

Kashmir has terrible, terrible indian food.

I'm from South India where we LOVE our rice to death.  Present me with old rice (where it's clumped together, with bits of rice stuck to the outside rim of the bowl?) and I'm already an unhappy camper.

Tandoori salmon, which came out looking like steamed salmon with an aside of curry to be poured over it.  How is that Tandoori salmon?  It had not a single piece of evidence of having been in a tandoor oven.  The sauce was the same as in the fish curry dish. 

Our bhatura was initially forgotten and then brought out later looking flat, which a bhatura should not be.

Veggie samosas which were filled with mashed potatoes - seriously?  

The eggplant was mushy and tasteless.  The only item we liked were the Kashmiri naans, which were quite good.  Makes sense to me now, why the place is called Kashmir. 

Add slow service and disgraceful bathrooms to round up this review.  

Oh, and when I asked to get the Kashmiri naans to go, big mistake.  The worst thing, ever, that a server can do, is to place other dishes ON TOP of the dish you've asked to take home.  Needless to say, our takeout was tossed right away.

Tell me Bostonians, where the good Indian food at?

Bombay Bhel

Location:

230 Commerce Valley Dr E., Markham

and

2525 Hampshire Gate, Oakville

The one in Oakville is better than the Thornhill location, but for hearty, family style Indian food, look no futher than THE BHEL!

TRAVEL: London, ON: Raja

Location:

428 Clarence Street, London

www.rajafinedining.ca

Had a family anniversary celebration here.  The space is up-scale and elegant and nicely done up for large groups, such as us.

The service on the other hand, could use some tweaking.  Although it wasn't busy, our server took a while to come over.  Then he failed to correctly explain the lunch specials to us so that when we ended up ordering the lunch specials, thinking they were smaller dinner portions, we were surprised to find they really couldn't be shared at all as there was barely enough for one!

Only then were we told  that the lunch specials were "individual" portions not to be shared and that each special came with a side of rice, chick pea curry and salad.  Something we wouldn't have ordered had we understood the server.  They were also overly intrusive with the "How are you enjoying your meal?", "Can I take this away?" stuff.

As it is, I'm sure you'll agree it's the most annoying thing EVER, to have a server ask how your meal is WHILST your mouth is full of your very FIRST bite, forcing you to respond..."ITSFSFIIEN".

The papad chutneys were beautifully arranged.



The onion bhajis were lovely.



The side of rice, chick pea curry and salad.



I disliked that all the meat dishes were served with side salads, as well.  I find it so unappealing when Indian restaurants do that.  Pickled carrots and onions are much more appropriate and flavourful when eaten together.




Variety of naans and breads.


The other curries (not part of the lunch special)









Altogether, the flavours were good, but the portions were far too small for the cost of them ($15-20) and the service could be better.

Amaya Express

Location:

1574 Bayview Avenue, Toronto

The "real" Amaya was closed for lunch and only opened at 5pm so we went express!

Looking like a somewhat modern-retro (isn't that an oxymoron?) cafeteria, we were the only group sitting inside the restaurant; the rest were outdoors on the patio.  We felt like we had the whole place to ourselves! Our server was quick to take our orders and ORDER WE DID!

Spicy Fries:

Mango Lassi:

Lamb Biryani

Sweet and Sour Eggplant

.

Malai Fish

Chicken Vindaloo

Amaya Prawns

Roti

Naan

I was in the company of like-minded gourmands (including A&M who we met back in my "SAD" King review) and we all agreed that the dishes were excellent in flavour and presentation.  Those spicy fries were a highlight and are only superseded by the ones had at Haldirams in Delhi!

TRAVEL: India, Delhi: Yo China!

Location:

Third Floor, City Square Mall, Rajouri Garden, Delhi

www.yo-china.com

Definitely one of the highlights from our trip to Delhi was eating chinese food.  That may sound weird, but chinese food in India is simply superb!  It's spicy and flavourful in the way that chinese food isn't in the west.  The closest you can get to that taste is haka chinese and Spadina Garden comes close, which is why it's a fave of mine.

We were treated to an open menu dinner by the wonderful owners of Yo China!

The service was outstanding, and the presentation of the dishes, exquisite.

Just take a look:

Honey Chilly Potato Fries, which is their signature dish - crispy potato fingers, stir fried in the wok with honey chilly sauce & sesame seeds

Honey Chilly Potato - RS 79

Chilli Chicken, Dry:

Chilli Chicken Dry  - RS 89

Prawns tossed with ginger lemon coriander sauce:

Prawn Singtu RS 159

Chicken Satay:

Chicken Satay RS 139

Legendary Malha Sizzler:Babycorn, Beans, Broccoli, Mushroom and black mushroom, red and yellow peppers tossed in the legendary Malha sauce served on a sizzler

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="576" caption="Chicken Satay RS 139"]

Legendary Malha
Sizzler

[/caption]

Dumplings

Dumplings

Inside the dumplings

Lobster (off menu)

ChickenFried Rice 69

American Chop suey

Devil's Chocolate Cake With Ice Cream

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="342" caption=" Yo ! Snicker Sundae"]
[/caption]

By the time the lobster came out, we were fully stuffed 'cause the portions are massive.

And then when the dessert came out, well, I wasn't going to refuse this:

Highly recommended!!!

All around a fantastic place to get chinese food!

TRAVEL: India: Delhi: Haldirams

Location:

somewhere in Delhi

www.haldiram.com

Anyone who has ever visited an Indian family's home or is Indian is familiar with the Haldiram's symbol.  See below (image from Google)


No Indian tea-time is complete  without Haldiram's.

A bag of bhel puri or chiwda will always be kicking around the cupboard of an Indian home.

So think of the impact of going to a Haldiram's RESTAURANT.  I was amazed, astounded, in awe of the industry that is Haldiram's.

Look at the number of servers behind this counter as you walk in:

now that's service !

There were three people asking me what I'd like.

And then there's the sweets.  My God, the sweets!  Imagine the biggest Indian Mithai (sweet) shop you've been to in Toronto, then triple that!  Row after row of delectable goodness...all so fresh, too!

sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeets

Then there's the "restaurant" part of it, more like fast food, where you pre-order then wait in line and bring back your goods to round tables that you stand at to eat.  It was lunch time when we went and incredibly packed so at least they've figured out that putting chairs into the equation would be a waste of time.

The chinese food was delish!!!  Made specifically for taste buds that can appreciate spice.  I don't know why fries are a chinese dish in India, but we saw it a lot.  Spicy fries.  Can't complain though, I'd never be able to get spicy fries in the Western world unless I made it myself.

the chinese food (with fries)

The channa batura was....well, see for yourself.

channa batura!

HUGE!

You even have to go through a security check/terminal to enter Haldirams.

Now, that's hard-core!

Hemmingways

Location:

140 Cumberland Street, Toronto

Cost: Avg main is $13

www.hemingways.to

In the heart of Yorkville there's a cosy little people (or celeb) -watching pub that has the likeness of some Great-Grandfather's study. Green walls, heavy bookcases laden with old books, equestrian oil paintings lit up with dimmed wall sconces, antique wooden furniture dusty with age ----oh, hang on, that actually is my Great-Granddaddy's study...

I got carried away.

But you get my drift, Hemmingways has the authenticity of an ol' pub that Hemmingway himself might have frequented, but with a menu that's a mash-up of Eastern and Western delights, ie: bruschetta, spring rolls, escargot, Boston Clam chowder, Caesar salads, Greek salads, Tandoori what-nots, roti, pad thai, kung pao whatsits, souvlaki, fajitas....it's a really eclectic menu.

The ambiance at Hemmingways

I had the chicken souvlaki once and it was great; couldn't complain. I did however complain about the wine which tasted like that cloth one uses to wipe up counters...YOU know the one! They even confessed that they had that particular bottle sitting out for a while and opened a new one for me.

Chicken Souvlaki [caption id="attachment_1286" align="alignleft" width="604" caption="Chicken Souvlaki $13.99"][/caption]3.99

Besides that one incident (and I only ordered beer after that night), Hemmingways is quite simply: cosy.

And if you can't make up your mind on what to have for dinner, or if you have picky company to dine with, go to Hemmingways. Lots of food options PLUS beer.

Lahore Tikka House

Location:

1365 Gerrard Street East, Toronto

Cost: $50 for 2 or 3

www.lahoretikkahouse.com

I've been to Lahore Tikka House numerous times.

The restaurant that always seems to be in a state of construction...and serving what feels like practically take-out, under make-shift portables.





You check off what you want from the paper menu, receive a number and with plastic cutlery, paper cups and plates at the ready, you wait....



Wait for the goodness to arrive.

For the unmistakable tune of juicy sizzle on a hot pan.



Lahori Chicken kebabs



The delectable mouth-wateringChicken biryani. A greasy fave.



Instead of the butter chicken they recommended we try the chicken tikka masala 'cause it's spicier. Agreed!



The sizzling King Fish is glorious!



Don't forget to wash it all down with an Indian staple of Thumbs Up. Why is pop always so much better in a bottle?

And although they've been times when we've been left waiting for our dishes a lot longer than at previous visits and even had to re-order (!), for the most part, the service is quite efficient and friendly and doesn't seem to have been interrupted by the renovations that appear to still be underway...





Lahore Tikka is definitely a greasy spoon ladle with a (depending how cast-iron your stomach is) almost-guarantee, but it brings you as close to authentic India as can do. Let's hope they don't lose the cosy atsmophere with the faux-imperial scheme they seem to be coming up with.

Mistaan Catering and Sweets

Location:

460 McNicoll Ave, Toronto

Simply the Best. Samosas. Ever.

As Miranda Priestly would say,

That's all.