The Helmand - @@@@

Went here Thursday night with some friends who used to live in Boston. It was an Afghani restaurant they highly recommended. I can't remember ever having that cuisine, so I was a little skeptical and worried it would be too much like Indian. Looked at the menu online and the Arabic influences convinced me to go.

Am I glad I did. We started with a pumpkin app called Kaddo. It is pumpkin baked with sugar and topped with yogurt sauce and a separate ground beef sauce. It sounds weird, but tastes amazing. The pumpkin was soft but not too mushy. Sweet but not too sugary. Beef sauce savory but not too salty. Overall one of the best apps I have ever has right up there with the stuffed Italian hot peppers from Bravo Franco in Pittsburgh.

For my entree I had the shish kabobs. They were lamb and cooked medium rare. It was seasoned pretty well, but not as good as the Arabic back home in Michigan. Also served with it was pallow rice, which is rice seasoned with cardomum, cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, and black pepper. The rice was kinda Indian-y but ok. My friends got the lamb chops, which looked much superior to mine.

Overall I thought this was a great place and am really glad I tried it. I will definitely come back for the app and the lamb chops. Thanks Aviva for the recommendation!

143 1st St
Cambridge, MA 02142

Tequila Mexican Grill - @@

 

Another mobile posting from a taqueria in Boston.  

We were walking around Downtown Crossing after work today just hanging out and shopping.  While walking around we were getting kinda hungry and saw this place.  It had some good looking tortilla chips on the table and was a real small, local place.  It looks like an old ice cream store with a counter in front that kept all the food warm.

I ordered steak tacos and they came with all sorts of stuff on it.  Lettuce, cheese, pico, sour cream...all stuff I like in warmed corn tortillas.  The "steak" was pre-cooked beef resting in water.  This description isnt the best, but it is like how all pre-cooked stuff is.  While I was not expecting La Pasadita, the meat was sadly not cooked to order.  The small chunks of beef were pretty good, but just not what I was expecting.  Also there was not much flavor or seasoning, even after adding some homemade salsa.

In the group that was eating, I got a score of 3, 2 or 3 and a 2 by me for the place.  It was a good try as I like the small, local places rather than a bigger, standardized restaurant so I am not mad that we tried it.  I would not go out of my way to go there though

55 Bromfield St
Boston, MA 02108

Meadhall, part 2 - @@

So this was dinner, it was a duo of pork. We have ribs and "bacon", which was a slice of pork belly. Actually a hunk of it. The main thing you will notice is the covering of red BBQ sauce. This was too much. The sauce itself wasn't bad, but just covered up the meat flavor more than I liked. I always try and get the food without sauce on it to taste the food and have the sauce on the side for accompaniment.

The pork belly was good tasting, with a good layer of flavor (aka fat) in the middle. The ribs were a bit charred but not the worst I have had. Below sat a cold?? 3 bean salad. Why it was cold below warm food escapes me. Thus it was slightly warmed by the food but tried to be cold. Not a good combo.

Overall the decor was pretty cool, but the food left to be desired. It had the urban loft vibe to it and the upstairs with big leather chairs and flat panels looked inviting. Next time just go back for the wide beer selection. As this is a mobile blog, I have the benefit of asking others what they thought. I got a 1, 3, 2, and 3. This was right in line with my initial thoughts of a 2. I would go back to chill and have a drink especially since it is essentially connected to the hotel, but would explore other eateries if hungry.

4 Cambridge Ctr
Cambridge, MA 02142

Meadhall

Charcuterie/pâté. Not sure what it is, tasted not delightful. Item on right looked like head cheese, tasted even stranger. Kinda like chunky sausage?? Back left item was kinda like cold meatloaf, again not recommended. Interesting way to start the meal. On the other hand the corn chowder was tasty, just a bit much salt.

Kitchen pic 2

Better quality image

Kitchen pic

Trial mobile blogging

Sugar Bowl

vs Va Tech
Cant believe we got into a bcs bowl this year!!