Busan Galbi - @@@

Just got done having a pretty big dinner here in Seoul. For what it was, I thought it was ok. Good not great.

This place is in a pretty prominent section of Itaewon so I think it gets lots of traffic regardless. There was lots of help and they had the charcoal and sesame oil salt that I really like. The meat was good, kalbi being better than the pork belly. Don't know why but I always seem to get the bonus pork belly and not really love it. And it gets me more full. Weird. The kalbi was good, wrapped and marinated like usual. The waitress cooked it so it came out a little more done than I would've made it. The sides were good, had plenty of this green vegetable that I think was sautéed bok choy cousin with a touch of sesame oil. By far the best side. Also good was the super soft tofu in a touch of chili sauce.

A pretty good meal but here I think the meat has to be on point. The kalbi wasn't quite there to get it over the middling review and I am not even going to try and put the address. Just exit Itaewon station from exits 1 or 2 and turn left. You should see it. It's on the 2nd floor.

Ps just got the check and it was pretty reasonable for 2 dishes, 2 rice bowls and a beer was 42k won (~$40).

Tupelo - @@@@

I should preface this that I think this review is actually incomplete. I ordered the gumbo and collard greens which were all good but saw a couple of other entrees that I would for sure try next time such as the fried chicken, hangar steak, and pork lion.

Couple of interesting things about this southern restaurant in Boston. 1 - it is in Boston. Because I sadly have not been to New Orleans before, I cannot be certain that this gumbo was good. It tasted rich. Had all the andouille, pulled chicken, and okra I could want. Rice was not soggy. I enjoyed it. 2 - really enjoyed the fact that my food came out approximately 2 minutes after I ordered. I didn't even have a chance to open my magazine. This is good because what I got should've been prepared hours ago. No quick cooking gumbo and collard greens ever. I personally dislike if a slow cooking restaurant takes forever to get your food out. Hello, the brisket has been cooking for 13 hours...what else do you need to do?? I think it basically took as long to grill the toast and my food was out. Awesome. 3 - some of the best cornbread I have ever had. Moist, not super crumbly, rich tasting butter makes it great. Not the empty plate in the picture. 4 - pickled cabbage on top of greens made a good taste contrast. I think it made it a touch sweet which for me worked well with the greens, again very good to my non-southern tastebuds. 5 - they did not have extra sides that came with the special. At first I was a little mad but then had to respect them that they would only prep enough fried brussel sprouts for the one dish that it came with.

This was a perfect way to kill some time before driving back to Providence. Very informal hipsterish setting, friendly and attentive service, and good food made the inevitable rush hour drive back super easy. As mentioned in the beginning, I would not order the gumbo next time just so I can try some of the other entrees. For New England southern food, I thought it was pretty good!

1193 Cambridge St
Cambridge, MA 02139

The Abbey - @@@@

I debated a long time here between a 3 and 4 so keep that in mind as you read. This is a neighborhood bar that came up in a few articles when I googled "best hamburger Providence". It did not let me down.

First off I got this monster meal for $13 and it was the Roadhouse burger. The 10 oz party was topped with gruyère cheese, bacon, carmelized onions, garlic mayo on a toasted onion roll. Great flavor and was reminded of French onion soup a little, actually a lot. Look at that melted cheese...that's the way to do it! The beef was very tasty and after one bite was dripping with juice. The one downside was I ordered it medium rare and it came on the medium/medium well side. The abundance of fries was a good touch too, they were deeply fried so they all stayed straight when picking them up and had a good fried flavor. They seemed to be fried in something other than vegetable oil and would put them slightly better than average.

In addition I had their clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl to start. The chowder itself was excellent, so hot it burned my tongue. Finished on top with dill, I have discovered that to be a great garnish on clam chowder rather than parsley. The soup was rich and creamy with chunks of clams ad potatoes all throughout. Not as thick as other chowders I have had though. Also could've done without the bread bowl as it didn't add much except more carbs to an extremely carb heavy meal!

All in all I think this is the best burger I have had in Providence so far except maybe Ivy Tavern. I thought the service here was outstanding as well. They have a wide beer selection and would be appreciated by any proper beer drinker but even though I didn't get a beer, my water glass was kept extremely full by the hustling waitress. The clientele seemed to be all locals as this is not exactly downtown which I thought is a good thing. Will definitely be back to try another one of there ~25 different burger combinations.

686 Admiral St
Providence, RI 02908

Nando's Peri-Peri - @@

This place was ok, but the value of it made me push it down a notch. It is billed as a Portuguese, South African chicken restaurant and they specialize in grilled chicken marinated for at least 24 hours. It is then finished with a sauce of choice (think wing sauces) and served. I think of it in the growing fast, casual demographic of restaurants a la Chipotle, Five Guys, etc. I had never seen this place but there are low double digit franchises around the DMV area according to their website.

First off the setup is a little questionable. Think Panera Bread but you get assigned your seat first and the menu is not widely known. You walk in to a hostess stand where you tell them how many you have then are assigned a seat in the dining room. You then have the option to take your paper menu either to your seat or wait in the ordering line. Regardless you have to order at the counter; there are no servers. After the counter line, you then cross the aisle (and into the next people in line) to get to the utensils/sauce/napkin area. Then the self serve drinks are to the side you depart. Interesting concept but I think it is just made more confusing due to the relative unfamiliarity of the patrons which I observed during my visit.

Onto the food, I ordered the 6 wing appetizer and the 1/4 white with Portuguese chips (aka fries) and corn on the cob. The wings I got hot and the 1/4 white was medium. The wings were definitely spicier and had a pretty good kick to it. Probably the upper end of my spicyness level (they have one hotter still). The wings were tender and came off the bone pretty easily but were pretty small. The fact they were grilled made them not as crunchy vs then being fried (which I like more). Good thing they were an appetizer. The main chicken was surprisingly pretty juicy and it seemed half deboned which made eating easier. I preferred the medium spice level sauce brushed on at the end. The fries are how they look, somewhat limpy and not great. Needed salt for sure and I put some of the garlic sauce (too tart) and lemon/herb sauce (too citrusy for fries) on them but didn't help. The best fries were actually the ones that were sitting in the melted butter from the corn on the cob, which was completely normal, if not a little uninspiring for corn with the small kernels and lack of sweetness.

Overall I think the place is a good concept. They serve beer and wine too which would excite people too. The meal though was almost $20 and for that I think could've gotten a better meal elsewhere. I would stick with the chicken if you are good with it grilled not fried. Looking around I see lots of millennials which I think is what they are trying to cater too. They seem to be quite busy too so obviously most people enjoy it. For me it was good to try but would try other spots in the future.

819 7th St NW
Washington, DC 20001

Phillips Street Restaurant - @@@

I was at work late today so I was in the East Providence area for dinner. Did a quick yelp search and was pleasantly surprised to see this Portuguese restaurant close that had great reviews and I hadn't tried.

First off, this place is hidden. It's in the middle of a residential neighborhood and the restaurant itself is in the basement of a hall called the Holy Ghost Beneficial Brotherhood of RI. So I guess if you can find the hall then you find the restaurant?? The decor is straight utilitarian, a bunch of four top movable tables with paper placemats that say "Ooops" in the middle surrounded by cows, fishing, pizza delivery and other assorted odd cartoons. Seriously there is a picture of it on yelp and is quite comical.

As for the food, it was good not great. And pretty good at that. It just didn't have that strong pepper, paprika, hot sauce flavor (but not spicy) that I really like at O Dinis. You can tell as the sauce is much more brown than the steak at O Dinis. I thought it still had really good flavor though and put it on par with Madiera. The Portuguese fries were actually really good, you could tell they just came out of the fryer and had a good mix of some with sauce and some just fried. Broccoli though looked over cooked wasn't bad as it seemed to have been refreshed with some olive oil. Also had the Portuguese sausage as an appetizer and was good, flavorful but not "burn your mouth" temperature hot when I got it. But still had that remarkable Portuguese spice palate that I enjoy.

The service was good, although with only one other table it was easy to be attentive. Tons of Portuguese being spoken which is always a good thing, I think of this place as a neighborhood hang out that serves food. All super friendly people. Would definitely come back for the bife a casa along with some of the other entrees.

51 N Phillips St
East Providence, RI 02914

Iberian Peninsula day - @@@@@

Dedicated yesterday to Iberian Peninsula dining. Quick summary - some of my favorite food they have in Rhode Island.

Lunch at O Dinis for the bife a casa. Great flavor and still in my mind best Portuguese in the area (including Fall River). Easy 4 rating and could be pushing for a 5

Dinner was at Spain of Cranston. For what it's worth I think this is the best restaurant in the area. Was thinking of a restaurant I like more in the RI/southern MA area and could not come up with one. Just amazing flavors with the food, some I usually don't get elsewhere.

Both restaurants had impressive taste, outstanding value, and attentive service.

O Dinis
579 Warren Ave
East Providence, RI 02914

Spain of Cranston
1073 Reservoir Ave
Cranston, RI 02910

Legal Seafood - @@@

Hard to judge a restaurant if you only order an appetizer. Even harder still is to judge a seafood-based restaurant if you don't really like seafood. Well I guess I will try to do both as accurately as possible. For those that are unfamiliar, this is a pretty popular New England based chain that specializes in the freshest seafood and is generally regarded as a good place to go for tourists like me.

I did come for the chowder which curiously enough I do rather enjoy. The creaminess and potato for me is a great combination and what else could I think of in New England that best represents it? Here I think is some of the best that I have had. It is full of "stuff" like clams, potatoes and other things masked by a rich creamy soup base. Put a little fresh pepper on it and I was good to go. Ordered 2 as a matter of fact and they were both served burn-your-tongue hot which I like.

As far as the other items go, can't be sure so I guess this is only a partial review and thus can only go 3. But for good NE clam chowder, this place has it pretty locked down.

2099 Post Rd
Warwick, RI 02886