My Latest Obsession

First off, I swear there will be real cooking and posting this weekend! I have no big paper due next week, so I'll have a chance to breathe (and eat!).

What has been keeping me fed lately is Chipotle. One of the few Boston-area branches opened down the street from me a few months ago, and I couldn't be happier to have it within walking distance. I've now tried enough variations to have gotten "my" order down - a steak burrito bol with black beans, tomato salsa, and corn salsa. The corn salsa is awesome - spicy and just a little sweet. One bol (I find that hard to write, why can't it be "bowl"?) is enough for two meals, unless I'm starving.

And overall, my order's not a bad choice, nutrition-wise. Some of the other ingredients, though, are a little scary, and I definitely need to kick my chips and guacamole habit (but it's so addictive!).

Root for the Red Sox with Free Ice Cream

To celebrate Opening Day at Fenway, JP Licks, local purveyors of some tasty ice cream (and wacky flavors), is offering free scoops at all their locations today. You can order any of their unique ice creams or yogurts, but why not use the chance to try one of the Red Sox-themed flavors?

-- Rice Dice Kream -- This tastes a lot like a frozen rice pudding, with short grain rice, lots of vanilla, and just a hint of nutmeg.

-- Green Monster Tea -- Just like the name says, this is a strong green tea-flavored ice cream.

-- Manny's Mocha Chip -- Chocolate coffee ice cream shares the batter's box with big chunks of chocolate.

-- One Sweet World Series -- Bostonist's favorite, and not just because of the name. This one features a really strong coffee ice cream with swirls of caramel and chunks of heath bar for crunch.

-- Cherry Garciaparra Ortiz -- This one is clearly not new, but just like Big Papi, cherries and chocolate are always magic.

Bostonist thinks a few more Red Sox flavors should be added to the board. How about some BoysenBeckett, or Coco's Choco Crisp (chocolate ice cream with chunks of Crunch bars)? And of course, Cherry Ortiz should be renamed Cherry Remy, since that's just a name that rolls off the tongue of any local sports fan.

And if the ice cream doesn't fill you up, visit any of the local Chipotle Mexican Grills for free chips and guacamole throughout the day as well!

Originally posted at Bostonist. Victoria Welch and Jocelyn Noyes contributed.

Cheap Eats: The Lower Depths

Don't have tickets to opening day at Fenway? Well, Bostonist can't help with tickets, but we can definitely help with the food.

The Lower Depths Tap Room is located on Commonwealth Avenue in Kenmore Square, only a few short blocks from where all the action will be tomorrow. No matter how busy it gets in the neighborhood, though, this bar and restaurant stays relatively peaceful. It's no sports bar - while there are two small TVs over the bar, they're definitely not the best place to catch the action. Where the Lower Depths shines is with their cheap eats.

When was the last time you got a hot dog at Fenway for $1? The Lower Depths offers $1 Fenway Franks year-round - plump, grilled dogs served on buttered and toasted New England-style rolls. They also offer a Tokyo dog (aka the Dice K Dog) ($2), a panko-crusted hot dog that serves its time in the deep fryer. The coating isn't thick like on a corndog, but is instead light and extra crunchy. In addition, there is a housemade, hot pretzel on the menu ($2.50) that blows away the premade pretzels at the park. It is warm and yeasty and slightly greasy, topped with sea salt and served with a fantastic chunky ale mustard, perfect for dipping.

With prices like that, you might be able to affort a ticket to the park (ok, maybe not). Be careful if you eat there before a game, though, as service can be very slow. Also, be forewarned that they are cash-only.

Originally posted on Bostonist.

I'm a Sucker for Promotional Marketing

With a mere month and a half before Indiana Jones once again graces the big screen, the promotional marketing machine is firing on all cylinders. The latest Indy marketing tools? M&M's and Snickers.


Everyone's favorite saucy candy, Green, can even be seen flirting with Indy on the bag of the limited edition Mint Crisp M&M's, proclaiming that "treasure is a girl's best friend." May I take a moment and stress, as an archaeologist, that treasure-hunting is bad?

Taste-wise, these candies are just ok. They're overly sweet (I know we're talking candy here, but it was still a little too much), and the crispiness is not something I'm really looking for in an M&M. They taste kind of like the chocolate mints you get at restaurants, only not so good. I almost bought the Indiana Snickers too, but it weirded me out with the addition of coconut and the vague promise of some sort of "spice."

I'll be taking the rest of these in to my office, where the rest of the archaeologists can laugh at the altered M designs.

Croissants with no effort

Last week, I was talking to my friend Z, and she was asking where to find a good croissant in the area. I didn't know what to tell her. I mean, I've heard good things about Clear Flour (I usually just get their Venetian olive rolls at the farmers' market) and Canto 6, but I didn't have any solid recommendations.

Until now. And they're in my freezer.


Trader Joe's has recently started selling frozen croissants - 8 mini or 4 chocolate per box. Just lay the frozen croissants on a baking tray and let them proof, or rise, overnight (7-9 hours). Then, just brush with egg (optional) and bake for a few short minutes, and voila, hot and fresh croissants!

With almost no effort, I felt like a whiz in the kitchen. The interior was light and airy, and the exterior had a nice crunch to it. They were even good the next day after having sat on the counter for way too long. The hardest part was remembering to take them out the night before.

All I know is that I am now going to keep a box in my freezer all the time. I mean, you'll never know when you'll need a hot, fresh croissant.

You Can't Eat That in the Theater...

I, like 96% of all food bloggers, love Top Chef. And since I’m a big movie geek as well, last night’s episode was awesome. The cheftestants had to build a course around their favorite movie. While some were well thought out (Willy Wonka and A Christmas Story were my two favorite dishes), some utterly failed, either at picking a movie that would help them in any way or in making a dish that represented the film.

Of course, as soon as Padma announced the challenge, I turned to my roommate and asked what film he would choose. This led us off onto a whole discussion of which foods tie in to which movies and what we would make for this challenge. Here’s what we came up with. I realize that we took it all more literally than the cheftestants did, but hey, no one has to actually eat this stuff.

Indiana Jones – A dish involving snake meat. We didn’t go too far with this because we got sidetracked with dessert – monkey brains! Peeled fruit (like grapefruit) in a sorbet or ice cream, served in a hollowed-out coconut. Oh, and “bad dates” somewhere on that dish too…

Big Night – Big ‘50s red sauce flavors - risotto, timpano, and a whole roast pig. Or simply a perfectly cooked omelette, like the one in the last scene of the film – so evocative of the brothers’ relationship.

Wicker Man – I’d go with something involving apples and bacon, but my roommate wanted to build the apples into the shape of a person (and then light it on fire!).

Lord of the Rings – Rabbit with a hard “lembas”-style bread.

Donnie Darko – Pizza with the toppings split right down the middle – red tomato sauce and pepperoni on one half, blue potato slices on the other half. (This would work for any politically-themed movie, but I love the family’s political talk over pizza in this movie).

Sadly, I couldn’t come up with anything for some of my favorite movies – Empire Records (peanut M&Ms, cupcakes, rock music, and pot brownies?), Mulholland Drive (espresso… and loathing of loved ones?), The Commitments (beer and cigarettes?), or Zoolander (water?).

What would you make?

Quiet Time

So my brand-new computer died on Sunday. I'm more pissed than you can imagine - I was in the middle of writing a big paper and I had just written 4 weeks worth of Cheap Eats posts for Bostonist when it died. I'll be getting a new hard drive soon, and hopefully I'll be able to salvage everything from my old hard drive, but until then, Dell is on my shitlist and I won't be posting.