Best and Worst of Bahston!

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Bostons Best and worst
I recently spent a month in Boston, MA. There are many restaraunts with awards and certificates posted all over there walls, which can lure you in to eat. But let me tell you those awards aren’t always the best way to measure a restaurants performance. 1st on the Best list is Café Pompeii, Italian restaurant in the North End of Boston. 282 Hanover St. Boston, MA 02113. Delicious pasta that tasted like it was freshly made in the back. Try the lobster ravioli or the tortellini. They also have a great Sangria. Next on the best list is Modern Pastry shop, 257 Hanover St, Boston MA, right across the street from Pompeii. While the line wraps around the corner for Mikes pastry, the locals recommended Modern and they were right. The cannoli’s are fresh and delicious. The next place I would list in my top places is the Hard Rock café, 22 Clinton st Boston, MA 02109. I have never eaten at a hard rock so I’m not sure if they all are this good. But the food and the drinks were excellent! Try the Hurricane, or the x-rated tea. I wanted to take home their bartender! The food was fresh and delicious. Even the appetizer trio, didn’t taste frozen at all and they were the first place with good cold slaw. The atmosphere was fun and clean which is a plus, and service was great. Next for something a little different a Moroccan restaurant. Tangierino, 83 Main st. Charlestown, MA 02129 (close to bunker hill). WONDERFUL!!!! Romantic atmosphere, great Moroccan décor, lighting, belly dancer. I tried a drink that was Moroccan, a blueberry something martini…would not recommend it. But the food was great! The lamb was tender and a great balance of flavor. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and flavorful. As an appetizer we tried the shrimp which was also flavorful and plump. The entree’s were reasonably priced $30 for duck and $33 for lamb. The appetizers were a little expensive $15 for 4 shrimp. Before the entree’s they bring out bread with a hummus spread and olives, different and a great blend of flavors. Tangierino also offers a lounge and hookah bar downstairs. Try visiting the shops in Faneuil Hall for some great cheap eats. Everything from sandwich shops to Lobster rolls (MUST TRY!!!!).
Pics 1-3from Pompeii

Pic 4 Modern Cannoli and Crème Puff
Now for the Bad Boston. No Name Restaurant 15 ½ Fish Pier, Boston MA. 02210. No Name was recommended to me by a local, but I do not know why, maybe they didn’t like me? I arrived with a party of about 8 people for lunch and we just walked in looking lost, like maybe we are supposed to seat ourselves? Finally a server came up to us, he didn’t speak good English and was not very helpful. The tables had some small paper cups on them and the waiter brought out some water in pitchers. The menu consisted of maybe 10 items about 1 page, I kept flipping it over to see if there was more. One item on the menu was scod…everyone pulled out their phones to google what that was because the waiter was not around for us to ask. When he returned he said that was fish and chips…. On to the food. I ordered fried shrimp and a friend next to me had fried scallops. They were obviously frozen. They tasted like the kind you buy frozen in the grocery store and stick in the over, but worse. The shrimp was on top of the fries which was on top of the cole slaw all squished on the plate and a side of the greenest tarter sauce I’ve ever seen. Another in my party ordered the seafood chowda, which was yellow because of all the grease in the bowl. She couldn’t even swallow her spoonful and sent it back. While this place was known for their fish I tried the broiled salmon and it was greasy and mushy. This place is Must Not SEE, for Boston, stay away from the No Name.
Pic 5

Sushi Lovers Pay Attention

Mate
3101 K St NW
Washington, DC 20007-4404
http://www.latinconcepts.com/mate

I am reviewing this place, but I will let it be known Mate is surely an absolute favorite of mine. If you are looking for great sushi, great drinks, and a fun hip location to hang out with friends then Mate is surely the place.

My cousin and I discovered this place a couple years ago when going to the Georgetown movie theater. We would always see this funky looking little spot on the corner that seemed like fun, but we never went in. Finally one night in our quest for all things new and different we ventured in. We sampled about 4 different rolls (mostly cooked stuff) and we were hooked. Since then we've brought countless friends to the spot and they have also become hooked (including previous non sushi eaters and my 5 year old son that could barely pronounce sushi prior to coming there).

Now if you don't like sushi, then please don't bother coming to Mate, why...because its a sushi restaurant! The only other menu options are some green salad, soup, and dessert (also really good though). They offer a wide variety of options. If you prefer cooked sushi there are about 5 rolls on the menu that will accommodate you (my particular favorite is the volcano roll that is topped with spicy crab salad). If you prefer raw, they make a spicy yellow tail roll (not on the menu, but easily requested) that is great, along with the tiger roll that's pretty good. You can also get yourself a sashimi sampler platter (not my personal thing, but if your into slabs of raw fish its surely the way to go).

The drinks are just as good as the sushi. My personal favorite is the Lychee Martini. For those that like a little more punch try one of their many flavors of Mojito (which can also be made in the non-alcoholic form). If you want something a little more mellow, the plum wine and saki is also a really great option. They have a little something for everyone (man, woman, lush, and lightweight)

The decor at Mate is very trendy. Simple low couches and chairs with bright velvet coverings. Intricate light fixtures. A paneled wall that lights up behind the bar, this is also home of the DJ booth. Just the right amount of color and simplicity to attract the young professional DC crowd. The service is also great. From the bouncers at the front door waiting to check your ID, to the host that is ready and waiting to accommodate you, to the friendly waitresses outfitted in little black dresses waiting to tell you all about menu.

As I mentioned before Mate is a definite favorite place which is why it undoubtedly goes on our LOVE LIST

With a review of:


Will we go there again...Hells Yeah!!! And you should too ;-)

Grace's Mandarin

Grace's Mandarin
188 Waterfront St. National Harbor, MD. 20745
http://www.gracesrestaurants.com/mandarin.html

So during the horrible ordeal with Cadillac Ranch I ventured off to find a subsitute restaurant because our entire party was still very hungry. I saw Grace's and assumed it wouldn't be too crowded since it was something different and most people shy away from different. After struggling to open the huge door, I was greated by two very nice hostesses. I asked one if they could accomidate a party of 12 and she told me a large party had just left and if i waited 10 minutes they could set up a table for our party. YES!!! So within 10 minutes our entire party was seated at a lovely table and the waiter was there to take our orders.

The decor in the restaurant was lovely and went well with the Mandarin theme. Along with the oriental decor were large flatscreen tv's so those of us who cared could still catch the final four games that were on. The bathrooms were even decked out with small flat screens and a feng shui vibe. It was a very relaxed comfortable environment after the hecktic time at cadillac ranch. Some perks even include hooks under our table to hang our purses on.

Now for the food!!! We began with a few alcoholic drinks. They offer a half and half, for those of you in baltimore that means lemonade and sweet tea...add some alcohol and it was hitting! We also sampled a white chocolate rasberry and truffle martini that was delicious.

Next were appetizers. We had an arrangement of sushi rolls that were all excellent. The rolls were pretty big so keep that in mind if you are ordering them as a starter. I also tried the Miso soup which i had never tasted, and I must say it was pretty tastey. Next the main courses arrived. Some hits were the Catfish nuggets and the Jumbo Prawns.

Service was excellent for it to be 11pm. Promt, friendly and great quality food. The prices were good for the amount of food we got and the service. This restaurant was a good end to a bad night.

Highlights: Decor, atmosphere, friendly service from the hostess to the waiter. Fresh tasty, exotic foods.

Grace's Mandarin will be added to our LOVE LIST.

With 4 hearts!

Damn That Cadillac Ranch!!

Cadillac Ranch
186 Fleet Street National Harbor • Oxon Hill, MD 20745
http://cadillacranchgroup.com/index.html

So it’s so very interesting that our first review gets to be a very lively account of our ordeal with an establishment this weekend. Let’s start with a little background. We were going to this place for a birthday. We have been to Cadillac Ranches in other states and had a great time riding the bull and eating good food. So when they opened a location in the National Harbor we were super excited to go. Sent out the e vite, had a party of about 13. The folks at the ranch told us they don’t do reservations, but if we get there early we can put our name on the list. “No Problem” we said.

We get to the place around 8, put our name on the list and they give us a wait time of 90 minutes. Cool beans we say. We head over to the Gaylord hotel for drinks while we wait. So as 9:30 creeps around we never get a call or anything about our table. So we take our party of about 10 at this point and head back over to the ranch to see about our table. We were greeted by 3 bouncers that wanted to charge us $7 dollars to come in. We tried to explain to them we were here for dinner and have had our name on the list for more than and hour, so why do we have to pay a charge. These heathens in an especially rude manner tell us they don’t care, pay or go home. I ask to speak to a manger and this big bald headed Cojak character steps up (later we found out he was not really a manager, which I knew as soon as he walked up, but didn’t want to get belligerent and call him a liar). We explain what’s going on, he says no problem stay put I’ll check on the list and you don’t have to worry about the cover. Problem solved right…Wrong?

20 minutes later we are still standing at the door of the ranch wondering what’s going on with our table. One person tells us “we’re putting the table together” another person tells us “we only have booths left so there are no tables to accommodate a party your size” another says “the owner is here I’ll go get him so you can talk to him”. Another 20 minutes later, still nothing. So we send out a recon crew to find an alternate location. While all this time we still have the guests of our party standing outside damn near being blown away by the wind. Not to mention that while all this is going on the fire alarm in the building keeps going off…

The owner finally comes down to speak with us. He pretty much says that he can seat us, but the hoods in their kitchen are not working so they cannot serve anymore food, but he would be glad to give us drinks. This might have sufficed if we had not been waiting for 2 hours and 15 minutes and if we hadn’t been completely starving and in dire need of food. In trying to negotiate alternate options he got fed up with us, threw up his hands, and walked away. In a 2nd attenpt to speak with the manager/owner JASON he informed us that he basically did not care about our situation because he had other things to take care of. That he was going to have to close down the kitchen because the equipment was malfunctioning and that was why the fire alarms kept going off, and he had other things to worry about then us getting a table or getting back the $7 cover that some in our party had already paid. Leaving us frustrated, cold, and hungry. All 10 of us (some had left by this point, understandably) ended up going to another restaurant at the harbor called Grace’s.

Oh yeah, about an hour after we were sat at the new place, we get a call from the ranch staying our table was ready!!!!!

Complete and total lack of good management and good customer service. BTW we weren’t the only ones stiffed with the cover charge or the inability to seat parties that had left their names hours earlier.

Overall this restaurant has certainly made it to our BLACK LIST
With a review of:
Will we ever give them a try again? As of today no, but maybe in the future we might give them a chance to redeem themselves (Of course depending upon the response we get after we write detailed complaints to their corporate office)