My friend actually made this Indian yogurt drink for me. It was so easy and simple, but delicious and healthy. What you need though is a personal blender, or Nutri bullet, or Magic bullet…Take 2 to 3 large scoops of nonfat plain Greek yogurt based on your preference of creaminess for the lassi.
Add 2 to 3 tablespoons of mango pulp, which you can buy at a store like Trader Joe’s, based on your personal preference of how fruity you want the drink to be.
Add water and/or ice to dilute the drink based on your preferences. Blend in the magical blender.
Add honey and/or sugar to taste. Voila. As you can imagine, you can change this up and add different flavored yogurt, spices, and/or fruit, or even a little magic juice. 😉
This is a very annoying and strange food habit I’ve developed, but I don’t normally eat/enjoy eating cupcakes. And when I do eat a cupcake, I only eat the icing. Unless the cupcake is really moist or delicious. But since I ate every crumb of the cupcake I got at Georgetown Cupcake, I think this cupcake store has won me over.
all the pink to-go boxesrows and rows of cupcakes
In addition to cupcakes, they have an extensive tea and coffee menu, which I did not know about until I entered the store.
For $3, you can choose any of the delicious cupcakes on today’s flavor list. I was looking for lavender early grey! But alas, they didn’t have it when I went. I heard every day on Twitter they post a flavor of the day. And if you go to the store and name that flavor, you automatically get a free cupcake? Well isn’t that convenient 😉 I’m also in love with the boxes they put the cupcakes in. Pastels and pinks, what can go wrong?
So I got a gluten-free strawberry lava fudge cupcake for myself and a vanilla chocolate for my friend. My diet is not gluten-free, but the regular cupcake didn’t have the lava version. So…
The frosting with strawberry candy bits was fluffy (definitely confectioners’ sugar and other fine sugars involved instead of just granulated), creamy, and not too sweet. That was key, because the lava fudge inside the cupcake was very, very sweet and decadent. The cupcake itself was moist and chocolatey. The fudge combined with the cupcake morsels made the cupcake easy to finish.
Food truck location varies, they have several in-store locations around Boston as well.
Price: $
Stars (out of 5): 4.5
After I got out of class, I waited for 20 minutes for the Bon Me food truck to open their window. I don’t know why I did that, it wasn’t that I heard of Bon Me before (though afterwards, I yelped them and the ratings were quite good so they are very popular) or that I was craving Vietnamese sandwiches/bowls, I was just curious. So I sat there and waited and thought: “this better be good.” And it was. Thank goodness.
The menu is not extensive at all. You can choose any type of dish and add a regular or special filling (basically your choice of protein). But for the low price, they highlight the art of Vietnamese fusion in their food and do what they do quite well. The name: Bon Me, is a play off the Vietnamese word; bhan mi, meaning bread. On the streets of Vietnam, bhan mi like baguettes are stuffed with vegetables, meats, eggs, and even ice cream, to make a Vietnamese sandwich. That concept was brought over to the U.S and incorporated into the bold, unique fusion world. Bon Me serves up non-traditional sandwiches, bowls, noodles, and salads with Vietnamese-inspired cuisine and also cool drinks like Thai basil limeade and spicy ginger lemonade.
After much debate between the delicious looking bowl and the sandwich, I got a miso-braised pulled pork sandwich and a deviled tea egg. The total? $8.50. That is dirt cheap for Boston food. Ok I must say the egg was expensive. $2.50 for one, single egg? Well, at least it was a good egg.
The boiled egg had a fleeting hint of tea, as you can tell by the marbled surface of the egg. (To make tea eggs, the general concept is to hard boil eggs in a tea-based broth.) The yolk was creamy and not dry at all, well done! This variation of deviled egg could not be simpler. The yolk wasn’t even dug up and mixed with mayo or mustard. The mayo was literally dolloped on top of the yolk and paprika was lightly sprinkled over the egg. And lastly, scallion bits topped off the mayo. Genius. The mayo had a kick to it so I think it might’ve been chipotle mayo. I also added a bit of Sriracha to complement the scallion bits.
Let’s now deconstruct the bhan mi sandwich. The baguette was toasted and super crunchy and tasty. The miso-braised pork was seasoned well with black pepper and garlic, but a bit dry. This could be due to the fact that the pulled pork was mostly lean, I wish there were a few bits of fatty meat in there. But no matter, because the meat to veggies ratio was perfect, and the veggies made the whole sandwich pop. The veggies: red onion, daikon, cucumber, carrots, and cilantro, were thinly shredded and pickled with a lightly briny and tangy sauce. Then, a housemade spicy mayo was the right on ingredient to bring the meat and pickled veggies together. Thinking about those pickled vegetables and the cilantro is making me want another sandwich right now. It was fantastic and I couldn’t stop eating it!
it was a very big and filling sandwich
Pro tip: if you like Sriracha, definitely try it on your sandwich because it will make the meat more moist and delicious.
Ok, so BBC. I’ve heard a lot of great things and have been craving a juicy burger recently so this is a long-awaited moment. Their toppings are bizarre, out of this world, unique, but most importantly, paired well with the burgers. Go with friends so you can see everyone’s crazy toppings atop their voluminous patties. Let’s talk about “The King” that has peanut butter, bacon, fried bananas, and cinnamon and sugar. Or the “420” that has everything fried you can ever imagine including mozz sticks, fried mac’n’cheese, onion rings, and French fries. Or the “Sophie” that has candied walnuts and goat cheese (the sophistication of the burger matches the name). Or the “Vermonster” that has sautéed granny smith apples and maple mayo. Or the “Artery Clogger” that has a beer battered and deep fried patty, drenched with bacon and BBQ sauce. Or the “Bahama Mama” that is in fact a conch burger with jerk mayo. For a complete list of the awesome burgers, see the menu snapshots below. No wonder they’ve been featured on Food Network, Guy Fieri’s Triple D show, Rachael Ray, Phantom Gourmet, Boston magazine, the Boston Globe, and of course, Zagat. We had to wait 20 min to be seated, but it was well worth it. We even caught a student recital at Berklee while we were waiting!
They also have a cool frappe menu featuring bacon, nutella, custard, and all that good stuff. We put in an order of “mini mac-ancini” appetizer (fried homemade mac’n’ cheese ball) right away. Hello, calories. I took forever deciding what kind of burger to get. And eventually I settled on the Hot Mess (the burger featured on Rachel Ray), while my friends ordered the Killer Bee, Green Monstah, and the Rundown, respectively. Another friend also got spicy Pterodactyl boneless wings; the pterodactyl sauce is a teriyaki and BBQ glaze.
Great, let’s start looking at some of these burgers. But first, the mac’n’cheese balls were divine. Piping hot and nicely battered, with a kickin’ marinara sauce. The macaroni inside was still cheesy and gooey, but the shell outside was crunchy and crisp.
For a Tuesday evening, the place was packed. Though they were busy, all of our burgers came up fast.
the Killer Bee with bacon, beer battered onion rings, honey bbq sauce, and American cheesethe “Run Down” with fried pickles, potato sticks, horseradish sauce, and your typical lettuce, tomato, and cheesethe “Green Monstah” with homemade guac, pico de gallo, and cheddar jack cheese
All my friends praised their burgers but lamented that the portions were too big to finish. Well, I had no problem finishing my “Hot Mess” burger with diced pickles, red onion, jalapeno, bacon, shredded lettuce, homemade thousand island dressing, sweet potato fries, and American cheese. Basically, I had a nice, flavorful salad on top of my burger. And then sweet potato fries! Haha. I also added on a side of their homemade bahama mama mango salsa and it was amazing.
The sweet and tangy mango salsa went well with the kick of the jalapeno, while the thousand island dressing and the sweet potato fries became a match made in heaven. The meat itself was cooked well for medium, with just the right amount of red and grilled smokiness, but a bit dry. I wanted a more juicy burger.
In terms of the bun and sides. The bun was toasted and oiled, which made it all nice and buttery. The house fried potato chips had a great crunch, but the baked beans and creamy coleslaw were a bit heavy to pair with the huge burger.
And lastly, the spicy pterodactyl wings. Though not spicy at all, the glaze was sweet, smoky, and tangy all at once, while the chicken was juicy and all white meat. The bleu cheese dressing was quite creamy. I had no grievances.
I devoured my burger bite after bite. After the meal I was practically groggy from such a heavy, but satisfying burger. Boston Burger Company, you did not disappoint.
(Eats) By the Esplanade 