Jack talk Thai

Despite it’s totally confusing name (seriously, what is that?)* Chili Duck rocks. It’s the cheapest, fastest, cleanest, and completely awesomest Thai restaurant ever. I enjoy hitting this up during the workday with assorted coworkers, as there is never enough time to have awkward lulls in the conversation. I know what you’re thinking, “there’s always time for awkward silences when you work with a bunch of mental 12-year-olds, Harlow.” Well, let me tell you something, sassy pants. NOT at Chili Duck.

Today I sat down and within 2 minutes had been served water, scanned the menu and ordered my most fave dish (chicken pad thai). Guess how many minutes went by until I was served my steaming plate of hot, noodley, peanuty happiness? 4!!!!

And the price? $8!

Recommendations from coworkers include:

• Thai Iced Tea
• Chicken Madness
• Crispy Pad Thai

Think of it like a Jiffy Lube for Thai food. Only the seats are more comfortable and there’s no Motoring Today magazines lying around. Plus, you’ll definitely want to hit it up again before you go another 3,000 miles.

*We assume Chili Duck comes from one of their house specialties:

#S6 Chili Duck $8.95 / $13.95
Spicy. Crispy sliced boneless roasted duck, topped with sweet chili sauce. Served with steamed vegetables topped with peanut sauce.

nummy!

 

random wondering of the day.

How much sushi does one have to eat to develop mercury poisoning?

I felt it was time for a new source of anxiety for my hypochondria. So I did a little research which included reading various news articles by questionable sources and agreeing only with the ones that said it was okay to eat as much sushi as you want.

This made me feel a lot better:

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shows little restraint in its use of inflated statistics regarding a false dynamic between eating fish and developing, say, cancer or various neurological disorders. In fact, the numbers used by the EPA are so fraught with overkill that, notwithstanding some glutton with an uncontrollable appetite for fish, there is no conceivable way one would die from having consumed sushi or cooked seafood that contained trace amounts of mercury.

Yay! Now I’ll be happily on my way to grab some salmon avocado rolls to-go!

 

Sibling Rivalry

Sibling Rivalry.

Oops Shiloh makes reservation at Sibling Rivalry in Boston without realizing Restaurant Week is still going on in Boston. Phew! with my family in tow I was glad that the prix fixe menu did not disappoint!! I love this place, and so did Brad and Angelina (my parents). The food was fantastic, but even better were the memories of the real sibling rivalry of 1994-98 between WestCoastApple and myself. Ahh, those were the days!

WestCoastApple was smart and well read. She had some tricks up her sleeve but mostly wanted nothing to do with me. Her lack of interest resulted in lack of motivation to produce true sibling suffering. As a younger sister, I had the luxury of time and passion to be at max annoyance 100% of the time.

If you are in the business of being annoying, please take notes:

A taboo buzzer can be a very handy tool. First think of how annoying this device is during an actual game of Taboo. NOW use your imagination to think of yourself locked in your room trying to use the new cordless phone to talk to your nerdfriends. What could be worse that a younger sibling laying at your door with the taboo buzzer in one hand and spare batteries in the other. Nice, right!!!? Point: Shiloh

Car rides. Prime annoyance time. WestCoastApple LOVES to read. That child read books like she was going to end the Gulf War. During long trips to various points on the US map was my chance to break her concentration and sanity in the backseat. The details are foggy but I remember really being able to rile her up.

Lesson three. Eat food off her plate. This still works like a charm. As WCA sits down to a family meal, I am sure snatch my fork and scoop up some noodles or veggies off her plate before she is finished pulling in her chair. This one is sure fire to spur a sibling rivalry and still puts a look in her eye that sends me into hysterics.

As for our diner at Sibling Rivalry tonight there was more sharing than stealth scooping. All the dinners had a nice presentation and fantastic flavor. We recommend this South End hot spot!!

• 525 Tremont Street, Boston, MA

 

douzo = dream!

 

Have you guys been to Douzo? Please say yes.

I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to post about our fave sushi restaurant! Douzo is the BEST sushi in Boston. It’s our absolute favorite and we would go everyday if we could.

Douzo means “Come in,” in Japanese, and if you’re anything like us, you will obey their command. The decor is very clean and open, it’s much more upscale than most of the sushi restaurants we’ve found in Boston. (Read: there are no little pools with golden retriever sized fish staring up at you.)

There is plenty of seating in the dining room, but the full menu is also available at the bar, in the bar dining area, and at the sushi bar itself, where you can watch the chefs make your dinner live!

The food is a fun and funky mix of sushi and rolls, Douzo’s special rolls, and other Japanese fare, like noodle soups and tempura and teriyaki meats and vegetables.

Our favorite roll?

The Phoenix Roll: A crab roll, wrapped in seared salmon and topped with a delicious spicy mayo sauce. yummy!

We highly recommend.

Douzo, 131 Dartmouth Street, Boston MA

 

All Aboard!

Here’s a little heartshaped nugget from down in the financial district.

Decorated in the classically utilitarian French Bistro style (think Gaslight), Kingston Station is reminiscent of a Parisian railway station, offering the Suits downtown a post-work oasis – Gallic style.

I stopped there recently for an apres-work drink and will definitely be buying a return ticket.

Highlights include:

• Wine by the glass, 1/2 carafe, carafe and bottle. (our waiter recommended the Shiraz, and it was out of this world. A little pricey though – $12 a glass and $44 for a carafe! Yikes! Merci, but no merci to that second glass.)
• Happy Hour Special. 1/2 off all appetizers Mon – Wed from 5pm-7pm in the bar and cafe. Also, they offer Late Night food 11 – 1am Wed – Sat at the bar.
• The Truffle Fries. Oh. My. God. You will never want to eat anything else again. Thick cut french fries, drizzled with truffle oil and gruyere cheese. Heaven? Mais oui!

Bottom Line: It’s definitely worth a trip. If you want a great happy hour, this is your ticket. Insert more railroad jokes here.

 

Restaurant Weak?

Well, it’s the end of another Restaurant Week here in Boston, and I have to say, I have been disappointed. I used to think the best way to approach this type of thing would be to hit the priciest joint in town and snag a $33.00 dinner. In reality, this means you will go to a steak place, and they will serve you a mediocre piece of chicken. Because steak is expensive, and idiots restaurateurs are not.

In an effort to combat this experience, four of us (myself and three stunning ladies: Coco, Rowen and Grier) decided to take a chance and try something new. So we went to Rialto in The Charles Hotel in Cambridge. And we enjoyed!

Ambiance: The decor was very clean and bright. It’s a white table cloth and Gerber daisy type of place. Our waitress was adorable and had red hair.

Food: We would rate the meal, overall, a 7 out of 10.

• bread: excellent whole wheat rolls. delicious, served with olive oil and sea salt.
• appetizers: incredible. I had the gnocchi with bolognese, and it was the perfect size. The truffle risotto was also to die for. the apps were definitely the best part of the meal.
• main course: a little disappointing. our adorable waitress highly recommended the pork which both Coco and Rowan got, and it was good, but nothing spectacular. I had accidentally ordered it as well so I was euphoric when I instead was served the balsamic roast chicken, which was quite tasty. The most interesting dish was Grier’s eggplant rolls, filled with angel hair marinara. Yummy!
• dessert: very good. Coco and I took the $4 upgrade to receive the “chocolate crema” (read: lava cake). very delish!
• wine: the restaurant offered featured bottles of red and white wine. We went with the red, and we were not disappointed. their regular wine list was extremely varied and pricey, so if you’re a oenophile, hit it up!

And just when we thought we were finished, another bottle of delicious red wine was delivered to our table. Rowen’s fabulous and thoughtful gentleman friend had called the restaurant and ordered a bottle for us! Swoon!

Overall:Rialto is a really nice dining experience and we would definitely go again. Bonus: now we actually know where Henrietta’s Table is. It looked a little Cafeteria/Hotel gift shop, but we will definitely be sampling brunch there in the near future.

Restaurant Week Best: Da Vinci (short rib ravioli, yum yum) and Rialto.

Restaurant Weak Worst: Boston Public Meat and Excelsior.

 

brunch fiesta!

Brunch at Masa was pretty darn tasty, and the price tag was even better.

We recommend the Fiesta Brunch (prix fixe, $7.95) you receive:

• coffee
• a starter (like fruit salad, or granola)
• and an entree.

I had fruit salad followed by the scrambled eggs.

They were pretty good.

Their remastered eggs benedict with avocados and cheese was way better.

Next time, I’m getting that.

Also, for the non-fiesta brunchers, there was an amazing breakfast burrito. The homefries are in the burrito! dream!

Then we stopped at Flour for a cupcake.

I love Saturdays.

 

heart shaped sandwich.

Happy Suck Day. That’s what we call Tuesday ’round here at Heartshaped.

To brighten your day, here’s a little something for you weight watchers out there. It’s the most delish sandwich ever possible, inspired by the Alpine Slide from Cape Cup in Cape Cod. I won’t even tell you about their sandwich because you will leave your cubicle this instant and make one of those holes shaped like you in the office wall to get there. And they don’t open until noon, anyway. Suffice it to say, it’s heaven on a baguette.

But until you are able to jettison out to the ol’ elbow this summer, this should hold you over.

Heart Shaped Alpine Slide (only 3 Points!)

2 slices Weight Watchers Multigrain Bread (vastly superior to the whole wheat)

4 slices Sara Lee Honey Roasted Turkey (prepackaged)

1 tsp honey mustard (I prefer the Inglehoffer Sweet Honey Mustard Variety, as it features an adorable mustachioed gnome as its logo. Germans are so weird! Except Heidi. xoxoxox Hiedi!)

2 slices Granny Smith Apple (I used the plastic knife from our office kitchen to hack at it and then I ate the rest of it for a 1 point bonus dessert!)

1 wedge Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese.

Toast the bread. Once toasted, spread the Laughing Cow cheese Wedge on one piece. pile on apple slices and turkey. Spread honey mustard on remaining slice. Consume. Grin wildly.

*Note. Heart Shaped Alpine Slide is best enjoyed while reading heartshapedrocks.