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: Lotus Blossom

The Lotus Blossom is one in a
group of four Zagat rated asian
restaurants in the MetroWest
area. The furnishings are more
elegant than a typical chinese
joint, the staff are very attentive,
and of course the prices a bit
higher. But the food is better
so that's okay. And you can
order take-out as well if your not
in the mood for upscale dining.

A beautiful asian rock
garden seems out of
place along busy route
20, but we've enjoyed
it many times while
waiting for the place to
open at noon for lunch.


I brought Ryan here on
St. Patrick's Day for our
monthly Mama Date.
Since it was just the two
of us we ordered the
sauteed seasonal greens
(asparagus), szechuan bean
curd, and some rice. We
tried to make some tiny
sculptures with the clay Ryan brought while we waited for our food, but the service was so fast we barely got started!
We enjoyed our food, but skipped the complimentary dessert sadly because it was ice cream and a banana & milk chocolate fried spring roll with whipped cream & fruit sauce, beautiful, but alas not vegan. Ryan was content eating both our fortune cookies.

We had come here just recently as a family and enjoyed the spinach fried rice (without the egg), and a Chinese New Year special dish with rice cakes & bean sprouts that was fantastic.

The kids receive water cups
with crazy bendy straws,
always a hit.

My husband and I are forever
a bit sentimental about this
restaurant because it is where
we officially became engaged.
We ate here while we waited
for my ring to be resized
smaller at the Jewelry Exchange
just down the road; we decided
to have lunch while we waited, and ended up here. The room we ate in has since been remodeled and the sushi bar added. There is also a buffet at certain times.

Lotus Blossom is located at 394 Boston Post Road (route 20) in Sudbury, MA, 978-443-0200. There is always plenty of parking in the lot surrounding the building.

Restaurant Review: Imperial China

Chinese restaurants
are a dime a dozen,
but this one stands
out in the local crowd.

Located on route 9 west
in Framingham, MA (also
with access from route
30 via the plaza next door) it is convenient, centrally located, and tasteful. Though you can certainly order take-away, you'll probably want to dine in.

We often end up here
on Mother's Day, which
we did again this year.
There is something for
everyone: both Chinese
& Japanese menus, with
a lot to choose from.
Service is always friendly
and the vegetables crisp
and tasty.













There are lots of options for vegetarians on the Chinese menu, though I always re-ask about ingredients. For example, the Szechuan bean curd is made with pork. I always double check about things like that and fish sauce.

My husband always orders
the General Gau's vegetarian
"chicken" off the very front
of the menu. It's a bit too
'realistic' for me, though spicy
and always served with lightly
steamed broccoli.

I personally prefer the General
Gau's vegetarian "beef", also
located on the very front of the
menu. I enjoy the texture of
wheat gluten dishes, and this
always includes a nice mix of
chinese vegetables in a light
sauce.

Ryan always requires an
order of sushi. He usually
gets kappa maki (cucumber)
and oshinko maki (pickled
daikon) and shares a few
pieces with me. The sushi
menu isn't large, and I
wouldn't come here if I
was just in the mood for
sushi, but it's adequate.




We always order a dish of
mixed vegetables, like the
Buddha's delight. Anything
with baby corn and broccoli
is a hit with the boys. Ryan
insisted that he try "every
kind of vegetable" in the dish.


And I can never get enough
pea pods! I don't hesitate on
Mother's Day to order a
dish that is almost exclusively
stir-fried pea pods with some
water chestnuts added for an
extra crunch.



And we always need at least
one tofu dish. AJ and Nate
love spicy fried tofu. I love
the addition of what I believe
are some portobello mushrooms
that make the dish very hearty.
There were certainly no
leftovers of this to take home!


Imperial China does not have
a website or online menu, but
there are a few reviews on Yelp
and on Restaurants.com.

The dinner concluded with
the standard fortune cookies,
or "Pac Man cookies" as AJ
calls them, and orange
wedges, along with a pink rose
for me on Mother's Day.