beantown visitors + #4

deanna and allen came to visit this past weekend, which was much fun - first visitors in july! they had never been to boston before, so it was good being able to show them around. wandering is the best way to get around the city, although i have to admit that i gave them a "quiz" and needed to give them some hints (although they had some good guesses).

in case you don't know what hops look like...there they are! i actually never knew they were a flower. we went on a tour of the sam adams brewery, which was interesting although the brewery itself was small and the rest of the tour concentrated on beer tasting (a big draw for some others, but early in the morning?? ...).

and then headed to the harbor for a ferry ride out to spectacle island... then my camera ran out of batteries, but not before this shot of the water (ica in the distance).

i would highly recommend hopping on a ferry (at the long wharf near quincy market) and just spending the afternoon out on some of the islands in the harbor. it's not too far (within 10-25 mins.), not too expensive ($14 for 2 islands), and is a taste of the sea w/in our grasp.

also met up w/ sung later on for dinner at the barking crab. the decor inside was fun and the place crazy crowded...we anticipated an awesome dinner, but the ~hour wait for our food to come to the table left the experience as underwhelming. the dungeness crab legs were tasty, but i wouldn't recommend the clam chowder unless you want someone else to pop open a can of it for you. (joe's american or even legal seafoods has better.)

but anyways, it's not really the food that makes the visit, but the visitors - yay - and the fun of frolicking in the city together. [note: we actually did frolic, sound of music style. no videos.]

[bostonian #3] : pho pasteur

rice vermicelli w/ grilled pork + spring rolls - one of the favorites

vietnamese food is one of my favorites, probably because of the unabashed presence of meat alongside crisp veggies and mint. mmmm... so when i got to choose the dinner venue pre-harry potter on friday, i asked quyen for a vietnamese place in chinatown and got pho pasteur as my answer.

although people always seem to think of pho when thinking of vietnamese, i personally think vermicelli first - not sure why, but it's my dish of choice. this one was pretty good - tasty pork that was still tender (although burnt in some parts) and plenty of crisp bean sprouts, fresh mint, and julienned cucumbers (some were scored - awesome). the spring rolls were a bit densely stuffed with more pork than anything else, but they were still pretty good.

otto enjoying his monster bowl of pho - the size of his head!

my stomach was full w/o being overfull, perfect for a pre-movie meal. i still like le's over in harvard square a bit more, although this was a good option and the long line outside was a testiment to its name (or the # of positive reviews on yelp.com).

- - -

pho pasteur
682 washington st.
(bet. beach aka la grange + kneeland aka stuart)

(failed) foodage : un-pesto

or, basil + tomato couscous.


my failed - and tasty - attempt at making pesto
and my attempt to post larger photos.*

so i had an ambition to make pesto for the past week or so, but didn't think not owning either a food processor or mortar/pestle set were at all drawbacks to my scheme.

actually, i was wrong. really, you need either one or the other of those items, or at least a blender. hence, my failed attempt.

i tried to do it anyways. i followed the basic proportions provided in a recipe for arugula pesto by clotilde on her well-known blog, chocolate & zucchini, with some modifications:

• instead of arugula, i used normal basil
• instead of pine nuts (which, outside of pesto, i have little taste for), i used almonds.

but really, chopping all of that up with a cleaver (the chinese cook's blade of choice) and then trying to mash it all together w/ a spoon really doesn't work well. i suppose i could've tried smashing it w/ the flat side of my blade or used a meat tenderizer, but didn't think of those alternatives at the time.

i found, though, that it actually turned out pretty well anyways. once i got over the fact that it was NOT pesto but a sort of chopped basil concoction, i mixed it w/ my couscous and diced tomatoes (w/ a bit of lemon juice) and had a tasty (and quick) dinner.

the final result (sans subsequent veggies), packed for lunch tomorrow

ah well. i'll get back into the cooking swing of things and make something legitimate soon. until then...failure at least tastes good :]

* i am far from being a real food photographer, but i keep at it anyways. food looks better when it's big.

play me, i'm yours!

[photo courtesy of lukejerram.com]

this coy phrase accompanied 30 pianos strewn about london, installed by artist luke jerram and just beckoning people to play them. i don't remember how long they were out there, but the last day of installation was yesterday (the day the music died, i suppose). but youtube videos abound of performances, such as:

the 8 hour, 24 piano playing spree of joplin's maple leaf rag

a virtuoso in a young boy playing chopin's waltz in e minor

hm...if this came to boston...