Philips Lunch Again.

Here's a lunch from Philips that was fairly good.  Basically it was a meat sub, that had sausage, onions, shrooms and some other mystery meat in it.  The roll was kind of absurd though, it was WAY to big for the amount of food inside it.  In-fact I actually ripped the sub in half, and put all the filling on one side and just ate that.  Sweet Potato Fries on the side, and the cupcake was supplied by an outside company selling them on behalf of breast cancer so I felt good buying and eating it. It was actually ridiculously good, vanilla on vanilla gourmet cupcake.

Au Bon Pain Napa Chicken with Avocado

Whoa! I bet you're wondering why I haven't blogged it up in a couple weeks?  No you're not wondering... Fine.

Anyway what you see here is a ABP Napa Chicken with Avocado creation.  ABP is pretty solid when it comes to delivering reliably good wraps.  This one was no different.  As usual they use pretty fresh ingredients which included romaine lettuce and cucumber as well as chicken which was devoid of any fatty gross pieces which can instantly ruin a wrap.  The avocado itself MIGHT have been a little on the under-ripe side, but it didn't really detract from the overall experience.  My only regret, I forgot to ask them to use HOT CHICKEN, so I ended up with the cold strips which is never as good.  Take note, this is a fairly healthy option, I ordered it specifically because it was one of the lower calorie options on the menu!
(http://www.aubonpain.com/locations/default.aspx?l=58#location58)

Where are you, you spongy, yellow, delicious bastards?

Today marks an inauspicious day for the United States and dessert lovers  everywhere.  Hostess, an American staple of unhealthy snacks, and baked goods has gone out of business.  This of course begs the question, how on earth will humanity survive post nuclear Apocalypse without Twinkies?

Aware of what little time remained for what could be the last of the Twinkies and being eerily reminded of the wise words of Tallahassee from Zombieland (Zombieland Last Twinkie) I decided to "Nut up or Shutup" and head to my local grocer.  When I arrived, there was only 4 boxes left of the Los Submarinos and I snatched them all.  Along with the last bag of Hostess Powdered Donettes.  Now I'll be honest, I don't think I've ever had a Twinkie before, but the thought of never having an original Twinkie drove me to madness.  Therefore, shortly after I bought them, I opened up one of the individually wrapped cakes and devoured it.

Rule #32, Enjoy the Little Things, you never know when they'll be gone!

Seasonal Winter Beers as Described by Talladega Nights

Dear Lord Baby Jesus or as our brothers to the south call you, Jesus (pronounced Hey Suz), we thank you for Troegs Mad Elf Ale, Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, and the always delicious Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout. 


Troegs Mad Elf clocks in at 11% alcohol by volume.    It's flavored with honey and cherries and has the color to match - it looks like honey that has been tinged red. It's much closer to an after dinner drink than it is a regular beer.  It's a bit pricey, but when you compare the alcohol by volume to normal beers, the pricing makes sense.  Plus it's delicious.  Putting down a 6 pack will get you hammered drunk, but having one in place of desert is always a good decision.







Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale is probably the best beer ever made.  It's an IPA that uses hops that somehow taste like Christmas.  Sierra Nevada says they are using the first hops of the growing season, but the flavor it produces is different from any other IPA I've ever had.  It tastes much more like a winter beer, which is strange since most IPAs produce a citrusy, summery flavor.  I'll be drinking this for the entire winter season and I really wish they would produce it year round.  Everyone should try this beer.


One last thing. (There are swears in this clip)  

Peter's Pizza and Roast Beef

This is a real time post!  I had to run down to the Comcast in Wilmington today to pick up an HD Cable Box (upgrading from standard) for the new TV and low and behold right next door was Peters Pizza and Roast Beef in Wilmington right off of '93.  This was good news, because I was having a little nausea I think because I had not yet eaten or something.  Anyway, pretty standard Roast Beef place, little dingy on the inside as per usual but they did whip up a pretty solid sandwich   I ordered the Super Beef on an onion roll w/ cheese and sauce.  So as usual I was comparing to Harrison's Roast Beef, and while I don't think it was as good it wasn't to far off.  They use the same sauce, and onion rolls and the beef was good; however it was sort of clumpy so a few bites took most of the beef out of the bun.  Also interestingly, the bun was warm but the beef and cheese was cold?  I'd say if you're going to warm the bun (which I love) warm up the whole thing!!  On the side had a bag of BBQ chips, and washed it down with a water.  Overall a good stop, I'd hit it again if I was in the area. http://www.peterspizzaandroastbeef.com/

Sausage and Pasta Stir Fry

This was actually one of the very few meals I've had at work that I've really enjoyed.  First and foremost, they actually gave you a decent portion size, instead of the typical amount which is hardly enough to satiate an infant, never mind a strapping 25 year old MAN RAWR!
So this was a good start, the tray was burdened with food.  The dish itself actually turned our pretty solid too.  I mean it was Pasta, Red Peppers and Sausage sprinkled with a few other roasted vegies.  Can't exactly mess that up right? Suffice to say it was pretty enjoyable, and I sprinkled a little Parmesan cheese on top because I like cheese on everything.

Pan Thai...Serves Pad Thai

Here's another favorite of mine.  This time in Boston, on Westland Ave near the corner of Mass Ave.  Pan Thai!  It's your classic Thai restaurant  nothing fancy about it but they do make a mean Chicken or Shrimp Pad Thai. They have an awesome student menu (which I still use) and if you order from that with a student ID, you can get a bowl of soup as well.  Don't get the vegetable soup like I did go with the alternative, because the Vege soup is wicked bland.  

Anyway, the main course here is Pad Thai.  What is nice is the portion size is pretty outrageous typically. They also cover it with peanut sauce so it's really flavorful.  Honestly, I know it's hard to go wrong with Pad Thai, but this place serves up the best dish in the area, and the food to cost ratio is highly favorable.

Only downside, service is either GREAT or REALLY bad, just depends on who you get and if they speak English.

Andover Bertucci's Shrimp Rossini

So every couple weeks my Mom and I go out to eat to talk about stuff and catch up on life. Typically, and by typically I mean always, we go to Bertucci's in downtown Andover.  I really like this place!  First of all, it has a great menu.  Pretty much you'll be happy with anything you decide on.  Secondly, when I eat here, at least I feel like it's somewhat healthy.  Finally, it's consistent.  The past few times I've opted for the Shrimp Rossini.  It's incredible, Parmesan cheese over shrimp and pasta in this fantastic semi spicy sauce.  Just writing about is has me salivating, yeah picture that one!  Anyway, I'm not doing this dish justice trust me, it's way more than just a few shrimps and pasta all the flavors compliment perfectly and the sauce.  The sauce!! It's so good.

Enjoy!  

Boston Shawarma

Great little Shawarma/Falafel place across from the YMAC on Huntington right nearby where I live.  Stopped in for dinner a while ago and grabbed this Shawarma wrap.  Was really delicious, and will need to go again soon.  Try it out if you're ever in the area, you won't be disappointed. Place is called Boston Schwarma it's at 315 Huntington and they DO deliver.  http://bostonshawarma.net/

Barcrawl Wings and Pizza

These treats are from a recent bar crawl in Boston. I was  sufficiently hammered when I ordered this stuff, starting with the wings at a bar I don't remember and culminating with the Pizza, whilst solo at some random Pizza place.  The crawl for the record was epic, and as usual I was denied access to one bar for belligerence.  Classic Berman.  Anyway, the wings were as I remember, fairly good and relatively meaty for bar wings.  They weren't oppressively spicy either but had just enough kick that they opened my sinuses a bit.  I crushed them down while sitting by myself at the bar, a bit hazy.  Why was I by myself, because I wasn't paying attention and all my buddies had found a table and were sitting behind me.  In any event I sat next to some girl who looked terrified to have some drunk kid pounding wings so close to her, but she was nice enough to not say anything even as I rocked back and forth on the stool.

After a bit more time at this bar, I realized I was finished and just left.  Didn't say bye to anyone, just peaced out and went straight to the closest pizza joint.  Smashed down these slices, and cabbed it back to the apartment to go to sleep.  I assume the pizza was good, it's pizza hard to mess up.

Taco Bell and Pizza Sunday

Decided yesterday that I had waited long enough and was due to try out the vaunted Cantina Bowl from Taco Bell.  Basically I've seen so many ads touting the "Freshness" of this Taco Bell creation that I had to see and taste it for myself.  Now being a guru of the bowl from Chipotle my expectations were high.  They should not have been.  First of all, how fresh can it be when it took "Brandy" from T-Bell about 4 seconds to make it?  Seriously.... I'd rather you say "Ok Mr. dude at the drive through, our Cantina Bowl is fresh so it will take us a few minutes" and just go twiddle your fingers for a minute at least making it seem like your making it fresh.  Nope an incredible 4 seconds after ordering they plopped this bowl of joy onto my lap.  Alright, the rice was hard, the corn was browning, the lettuce was soggy, the tomatoes were flavorless, and the steak was...well the steak wasn't horrible.  The guacamole was a paste though, and sort of scary to swallow.

Suffice to say, Taco Bell is lying, this is not fresh.  Not even close.  HOWEVER, as far as Taco Bell goes it could of been worse I guess, but my advice is stick with the classics at T-Bell, leave freshness to places like Chipotle.

Oh here's some Papa Gino's Pizza I had over at RJ's while watching Football.. Yum.

Conor Larkin's

Went to Conor Larkins, which is Northeastern's little on-campus bar a week or so ago with RJ, pre-gaming for a 7 hour Pub Crawl.  Now 99% of the time I go with the Reuben here, but I was feeling adventurous and decided to try out the Tuna Melt sandwich instead. Listen, it was good.  It's a solid Tuna Melt.  Does it match up with the Reuben  No not even close.  Will I get it again?  Most likely not unless I need the healthier protein.  Fact is, it was very simple, delicious yes, but delicious in the way a home made Tuna Melt is delicious, nothing special about it.  As per usual the Sweet Potato Fries were wonderful though.  Also I love Conors because you can play Mario Cart on N64 there!  Wahooo!   Anyway, next time back to the Reuben for sure.

On a side note, a few days ago I tried this beer RJ gave me.  Really all I can say about it was it's pretty potent alcohol wise, and a lot thicker/hoppier(?) than my usual Miller Lites.