Restaurant Review: Grasshopper

Grasshopper
Allston, MA

So funny, I think
VeggieBean and I
were shadowing one
another at various
Boston area restaurants
this past spring. We
visited Grasshopper on
Mother's Day, and
clearly Sarah had just been there too since a review of the restaurant popped up on her blog just the week before. And of course we both gave a nod to the ubiquitous veggie "chicken" fingers that most everyone loves--the pinnacle of battered deep-fried junk, but oh you just must find a way to rationalize them once or twice a year. So scrumptious.

If you haven't guessed,
Grasshopper is a vegan
asian restaurant. There
are a few around Boston,
but my kids have really
taken a liking to
Grasshopper. The menu
has all the Chinese
restaurant standard
fixtures: spring rolls,
wonton soup, lo mein. Plus
they have many unique
items, even desserts--can you say vegan strawberry cheesecake?!

The menu is ginormous,
and then they always
have delicious specials
every day on top of the
usual selection. It's
hard to choose! Luckily
we have a big family so
we can order a lot to
share. This time I tried
a kale, mushroom, seitan
& veggie stir-fry that
was excellent.

So is there anything NOT
good about Grasshopper??
Well, yes, actually there is:
They don't deliver! You can
eat in, or take out, but they
don't deliver AT ALL. But
it's worth the trip to eat in,
and they have great hours:

11am-10pm daily, except
noon-10pm on sundays.

So if you haven't already,
get yourself over to the
Boston borough of Allston
and have a good meal.

Grasshopper is located
at 1 N. Beacon Street.

617-254-8883

And check out their website,
because you can order online!

Restaurant Review: The Pulse Cafe

On Earth Day we ate out at The Pulse Cafe in Somerville, MA. The food is all vegan, diner-style fare, and we definitely pigged out!

We started with a double
order of nachos, which
came piled high with
chili and nut-cheese. We
added extra guacamole
on top. The kids were
anticipating really liking
these, but I think there
were just too many
flavours happening at once, and the chili and cheese were not their preferred tastes. I think they're just accustomed to my own chili at home.

The buffalo tofu bites on
the other hand were
AMAZING. Our server
was concerned they'd be
too spicy for the kids, but
they loved them! They
came with celery and a
dip. Next time we'll
definitely be ordering more
of this superb treat!

While waiting for our entrees I browsed the vegan literature from the Boston Vegan Association, and various animal rights organizations. This restaurant is quite family friendly, with a decent bathroom and plenty of dining space. There was a queue developing for tables as our meal progressed!

Another nifty thing about The Pulse Cafe is that it serves breakfast all day (despite not being open at breakfast time, LOL). AJ wanted to try the scrambled tofu with toast. The servings here are HUGE, and we all shared some AND brought leftovers home which 3 of us split the next day!





















All the kids had their first-ever root beer floats! And Ryan insisted on ordering a bowl of black bean soup--it was delicious! I ordered the "Bacon Cheeseburger" after seeing a recommendation from a customer on The Pulse Cafe's Facebook page. The bun was tasty, the burger a little plain, but the melted Daiya cheddar and the smoked tempeh strips and condiments were yummy.
My husband ordered the "Philly Cheese Steak". I later heard the whole wheat roll was an experiment--usually they use a white roll--and we thought it was fantastic. This giant seitan sandwich was a major win with us all, and we'll be hard-pressed not to order it again on our next visit! Super!
Despite being extremely
stuffed, we shared one
slice of the Silk Mint Pie,
one of the day's dessert
specials. I'm not a big pie
eater, but everyone
seemed to like it.

We will definitely be
returning to The Pulse
Cafe in the future! It
may rival the kids'
favourite sushi after their quarterly haircut visit in Cambridge.

The Pulse Cafe is located
at 195 Elm Street, Somerville,
MA, about half way between
the Davis Sq. and Porter Sq.
T stops on the Red Line (but
technically still in Davis Sq.).
They are closed mondays.
Call 617-625-1730 for more
info.

restaurant review: Peace o' Pie

We had 30 minutes to waste
until Peace o' Pie in Allston
opened at noon on a sunday.
Luckily the boys were happy
to sit outside next to the
nearby fire station and play
their DSi. It was a sunny fall
day. They were not about to
complain. They were dying
to try this pizza!

The counter towered over
the boys, displaying various
vegan treats like cookies,
peanut butter cups, and
Dandies marshmallows. We
ordered a large pizza and
paid $1.50 extra for the
Daiya cheese (which I
reviewed here) that we
recently tried and the boys
really loved. The usual cheesy topping is Vegan Gourmet, which is my personal favourite so I'd like to order it some time cooked in a proper pizza oven.

The boys dragged a few chairs over to the counter to see over the top. They didn't want to miss the pizza making action! And AJ was very intent on keeping track of the timers affixed to the side of the oven keeping track of everyone's orders.

AJ was
thoroughly
impressed
by the
dough
tossing.
He has
added
pizza to
his future
bakery
menu
he wants
to own
when he
grows up.

Ahhhhh....
fresh hot vegan pizza (topped with spinach & black olives)!
Ryan was almost drooling
with anticipation. His
favourite "soda" Izze and
a certified vegan pizzeria
pizza. A first for all of us!

There were leftovers to
bring home for the rest
of the family to enjoy,
though I'll admit I had
seconds as soon as I got
home.

Not sure when we'll
get there again, but I'm
hankering to try the
cheesy breadsticks,
calzones, and other
pizza toppings such as portobello mushrooms, smoked tempeh, pesto, and sun-dried tomato. Come on thursdays and you can even order your pizza gluten-free!

Now only one complaint...the lack of a public toilet within the restaurant. Sure, you can go nextdoor and beg to use theirs, but that's rather of annoying, especially when you've got kids in tow.

Peace o' Pie is located in Union Sq., 487 Cambridge St., Allston, MA. It is T accessible with on-street parking, with close access to I-90. 617-787-9884
Closed on mondays, the restaurant opens at noon on weekends, 5pm on weekdays.

Restaurant Review: Finagle-A-Bagel

Finagle-A-Bagel

***July 2011 update - restaurant has closed (though there are still other locations in the area)***

It was time to reinstitute "Mama dates" now that Maia is eating enough to spend a few hours at home with Dada. Nate had the first turn so I helped him choose what to do. We knew we were headed to the winter garden fair at Russell's Garden Center, but first we needed lunch.

So we headed a little further in on route 20 to Finagle A Bagel. Nowadays it's referred to as simply "Finagle", but I've been eating at various locations for over a decade and I still call it by its full name. It's a Boston chain that originated in the famous Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Everything is made in nearby Newton, MA.

Nate chose nothing but
avocado to fill his toasted
vegetable bagel. He also
gobbled down most of a
fresh fruit bowl himself. I
swear he ate more than I
did.

All Finagle locations I've been to are unique in that your bagel can ride a conveyor belt the length of the prep counter at kids' eye level, behind glass of course. It zips through the circular cutter and down to the topping station.

I ordered an everything
bagel with my standard
hummus & tomato. The
hummus is always nice &
garlicky.

My only issues with our
visit was being charged $6+
for what was essentially a
bagel with hummus & tomato, not an entire sandwich in my opinion. But a slight language barrier with the sunday staff left me not wanting to engage in a discussion about it...after all, Nate's inherently more expensive avocado bagel was only $2. Go figure.

What's great about this particular location is that there has always been scheduled kids entertainment here for as long as we've lived here. On Mondays from 3-4pm there is music with guitar songs for kids for free. Can't beat that!

Ample parking, conveniently
located on route 20:

54 Boston Post Road,
Wayland, MA
508-358-6282

Restaurant Review: Gianni's

Gianni's Pizza & Subs, Framingham, MA

I love pizza. And I'm
originally from New
York. So when I look
for a good pizza, I want
a thin crust that is not
greasy, a simple tasty
tomato sauce, and being
a vegetarian I obviously
want a good selection
of toppings.

Luckily we live right around the corner from three pizza shops. But only Gianni's has the right kind of crust for us.

Our standard order that
the boys enjoy is a large
pizza, sans le fromage,
with spinach, mushrooms &
black olives. Toppings are
usually $2 a piece, but
they'll add one free instead
of the cheese for their
monday night 2 large
pizzas deal.

While pregnant I got hooked on a cheeseless tomato, garlic, black olive pizza. My non-pregnant self also loves this combo with broccoli.

But if cheese is your
thing, that's good too.
My husband is not
vegan, and he sometimes
stops in for a slice or two
on the way to an evening
meeting.

And if you're not in the mood for pizza (you must be crazy) there are plenty of other options: subs, pasta, lasagna, calzones, appetizers & salads.

There is very limited seating inside, since most people get take-out or delivery (check their website for coupons on pick-up or eat in). In nice weather there are picnic tables out front with umbrellas if you don't mind the traffic.

Definitely the best pizza I've found without heading into Boston proper. Gianni's is located at 861 Edgell Road. 508-877-7697 or 508-877-7704.