Here and There

So today, I have a bunch of mini reviews of some recently enjoyed things from my first month in Boston. Here we go!

My Thai Vegan Cafe is around the corner from campus and is consistently rated one of the best vegetarian restaurants in Boston.

I ordered the Curry Vermicelli Plus which was stir-fried vermicelli with spicy yellow curry, coconut sauce, bean sprouts, onions, scallions, and carrot strips plus a combined mix of veggie-chicken and veggie-beef, veggie-shrimp, tofu and gluten. served with fresh bean sprouts, ground peanuts, lime slice and our own sweet-and-sour sauce.

My dish was very good, however, I expected it to be like a Singapore Noodle-style dish, but it wasn’t. Instead it was more like a yellow thai curry, which still tasted great, but it was more decadent than I really wanted that night. Luckily the garnish of bean sprouts added a nice fresh and crunchy element to the dish to balance out the creaminess. Other highlights from the meal included trying their various selections of veggie “meats”  and the homemade mango bubble tea made with coconut milk. The latter was great. I’m still undecided on the veggie “meats”, but I plan to go back and try more dishes because I was definitely intrigued.

Next! I finally got to go to Sweetgreen! Sweetgreen is a chain of salad restaurants from D.C. to NYC to Boston that focus on serving the freshest, local ingredients. I love-love-loved this place.

I ordered the Wild Child grain bowl which has organic wild rice + organic baby spinach, cilantro, peppers, raw beets, shredded cabbage, carrots, raw seeds, avocado, miso sesame ginger dressing. I also added their roasted tofu for some protein.

I ordered right off the menu and got the Wild Child grain bowl which was one of my favorite salads I’ve ever had. I also added their roasted tofu for some protein (even though without it, the salad would be plenty filling). I loved Sweetgreen because of how easy and customizable they make salads. When you are in the mood for a salad, sometimes it’s hard to find a place where you feel like you’re actually eating fresh vegetables and not just dressing and toppings. At Sweetgreen, there is a huge emphasis on eating the freshest vegetables in the tastiest ways. I wish these places were all over the place because I’m all about healthy and affordable fast food places.

And now onto the Boston Public Market! There was so much to try there, and I know I’ll definitely be back to try more vendors (so keep an eye out for more posts when I do), but on a recent visit I tried two of the most intriguing vendors.

First was the Red Apple Farm which I was definitely inclined towards visiting since it’s apple picking season, but I haven’t been able to go! However, below you can see that I’m not missing out on the best part of apple picking – cider donuts!

The finished product…

The donuts were great and not mention only a $1 a piece! However, the warm cider (not pictured) cost $4 which is a little too expensive for my taste and wasn’t nearly as spiced as I’d like it to be.

Then after walking around for a bit, I went to Bon Me to get a bahn mi! It was delicious and the awkwardly angled photo below does not do it justice.

The sandwich comes on a crusty but soft french roll and has pickled carrots and daikon, cucumber, cilantro, red onion, housemade spicy mayo, and pork pate. You can pick a filling for the sandwich, and I chose the Chinese BBQ pork which was great and not like the sticky, bright red pork you expect from most Chinese restaurants. The pork was really flavorful and tender. Some of the pork pieces were a little too fatty for my taste, but it was only one or two pieces so it didn’t detract from the sandwich too much. The sandwich was huge and only cost $6.96 with tax. Totally affordable and absolutely delicious.

And finally… The Thinking Cup! This little coffee place is a little nook on campus known for serving the highly acclaimed Stumptown Coffee Roasters coffee as well as their amazing grilled cheeses. I haven’t been able to try one of their grilled cheeses yet, but I did get to try their Honey Cinnamon latte.

Honey Cinnamon Latte at the Thinking Cup

I am not a coffee drinker, but there are times when I need that little burst of caffeine so when that comes I always lean towards lattes over coffee. I was excited to try a latte at The Thinking Cup because if you like adding a flavoring (like I do) than you can choose from some of their homemade syrups. I opted for the honey cinnamon syrup. Overall, the latte was quite good however, it was quite dark for my liking, and I found that the cinnamon in the syrup only emphasized the bitterness. I probably won’t get this again, but I’d love to try some of the other flavorings for their lattes (especially the vanilla ginger one!) plus I need to try one of their highly recommended grilled cheeses!

Thank you for reading! Until next time! Xx