Hungry for lunch? Head to Foumami for some Pan-asian Flair:)

What to have for lunch...it is something many people think about as soon as breakfast is over..I know I do!

Lucky for those who work in the Financial District, there are many places that serve breakfast and lunch specifically.  Most options fall under the 'healthy, fast food' concept that has really taken off in the past few years. 

On the corner of High and Oliver St., Chef/Owner Michael Wang has taken this concept to the next level with Foumami, an Asian Sandwich Bar.  At Foumami, you can experience a world of flavor and innovation stemming from Michael's roots in Chinese cuisine.  From delicious sandwiches to salads and rice bowls, you really can't go wrong. On Tuesday, the last day before we began rehearsals for our winter/spring season at the Boston Ballet, I was able to get myself over to try out the menu - and I was pleasantly blown away:)

Foumami is a great space, open and inviting.  I went a little after the lunch rush and it is just as well, apparently there is quite a line that keeps up during the day...and small wonder why!

Amidst a menu full of tantalizing sandwiches and salads as well as daily soup specials, my companion (who thankfully knows the menu quite well) and I decided on two different salads and sandwiches. I also ordered a hot Ginger tea, brewed with fresh ginger shoots.  It was probably the most delicious and soothing beverage I have had in a long while.

The first is their Sprouts and Tofu salad, full of crisp and juicy romaine lettuce, spinach, bean sprouts, flash-fried tofu, seared-steamed chicken, kirby cucumber, red radish, cilantro and a sweet and tangy mustard vinaigrette. My first bite of Foumami, even with something as simple as a salad, was delightful!

 The second salad was their Wasabi Caesar. I admit I was tentative at first, simply because I was unsure how the wasabi would be used in the dressing. Chef Michael has managed however to strike a fine balance between all the ingredients. The wasabi is beautifully incorporated, allowing for a hint of the hotness, while still allowing the vegetables to remain refreshing. I could not get enough!

Sandwiches are made on their house-baked Shao Bing bread which is baked fresh every day on site and truly sets Foumami apart. Crisp and flaky on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside, I could have eaten a fair amount just on its own! Add a grilled Rib-eye steak with garlic-soy marinade and sauteed onions and you have yourself a Champ! 

The Rib-eye sandwich is slightly sweet, but the heat is turned up in their Spicy Pork Loin. Now when an Asian eatery declares something as 'spicy', it is within your best interest to believe it. This sandwich, complete with kirby cucumber and seasoned carrots, has quite a kick. The spiciness stopped short of being too spicy however and in fact took on the same addictive quality normally associated with salt;)

 

The salads and sandwiches had already impressed enough, however it was what ended our meal that really blew me out of the water. This summer in Singapore, I was introduced to one of their popular desserts - Ice Kachang. When I saw it on Michael's menu, I knew this place was a gem. Although not a popular item in the cold winter, Michael offered to make a couple especially for us - and during the entire five minutes it took me to devour mine (ok...so maybe a got a little brain freeze), I felt like I was back in Asia.  The contrast of flavors and textures from the sweetened condensed milk poured over the shaved ice, the fresh mango and clementines, mochi and of course, red bean is pure genius.

When summer comes around, I think this 'piece de resistance' will really take off.   By this time, Foumami will most likely be the hottest place to grab lunch downtown.  With Michael's drive and business savvy, I am secretly (and very openly) hoping for another location a little nearer to the Back Bay area...what I wouldn't do for a quick Shaved ice treat or an inspired sandwich during a long day of rehearsals...

Saved by a Lamington

This past week, it seemed the city of Boston had made a New Year's Resolution to freeze everyone. When it gets that cold out, there are few things that make me feel better...I know, I know...I am Canadian - so shouldn't I be used to the cold!? Well, the answer is NO - I really have a bad relationship with it.

Luckily, one thing that makes me feel better is a big bowl of Pho, which, my friend and I found tucked away in Chinatown. The speedy service traditional in most Vietnamese restaurants did not allow us enough time to catch up and my friend, who happens to be Australian and who had another fellow Aussie in tow, had the brilliant idea to check out KO Catering and Pies - Boston's one and only Australian food shop specializing in meat pies.

With this new mission, entailing hot meaty pies at the end, suddenly the cold became all that more bearable. Bearable that is, until halfway through our quest (for some unfathomable reason we decided to walk...), I got an emergency tweet saying that KO was actually closed and would reopen the next day.  Upon receiving this news, I was perhaps not the most gracious guide.

 

Seeing as we were half way there, we decided to at least get a good look of the place, maybe snap a sad pic and then head to a bar along Broadway in South Boston.

Something in my companion's blood must have told him this would be worth it...and it was. With a stroke of luck and a bit of Australian spirit, KO was closed to the public, but still full of a bustling team, getting ready to open its doors after its holiday hiatus.

Baby - it was Pie Time!

 Once our faces had thawed enough to allow for talking, Sam, the owner and genius behind KO, graciously invited us to sit down and enjoy a cup of steaming hot tea - It saved me!

Just getting ready to re-open the following day, there were no fresh pies, but their freezer full of the frozen ones you can purchase for between 5 and 6 dollars to defrost and enjoy at home.

 They did however, have some freshly made 'Lamingtons', a curious cube covered in what looked like toasted coconut. I had never heard or seen such a thing, but my two companions were all in a dither the moment Sam brought them out. So what is a Lamington you ask? (Much as did I at the time) Well, they are simply pieces of yellow cake smothered in chocolate and then coated with coconut.  So simple, and yet soooo delicious.

They went down an absolute treat with the tea! It felt as though we had just stopped by our neighbor's home for a little chat, a little reminisce over the land Down Under. It was so interesting!

Australia has always been a place I would love to visit, but it is quite far away.  With KO Catering and Pies offering up fresh and assorted meat pies (when they are officially open of course!) and many other traditional Australian accoutrements, aka Lamingtons, Tim Tams and Vegemite, at least I know I can swing by for the real deal - which I will certainly do soon!

Presenting the Foodista Archives!

I am very proud to announce my new 'Foodista Archives' page, just launched yesterday. This page (which can be found along the line of tabs near the top of the site), lists all the restaurants and eateries I want to try out as well as many of the restaurants I have knocked off my list already.

The restaurants with one * represent my 'to-eat at' list while the ** signals a spot I have already experienced and indeed, one I have written about. By clicking on a * restaurant, you will be directed to the restaurant's homepage and by clicking on a restaurant with **, you will be redirected to the post I published about my experience. (Don't worry though, I always include a restaurant's website link in any post I write!)

I have high hopes for this list, I think it will serve as a very concrete reminder of just how much work I have cut out for me this year! If you have any suggestions of places that are not on the list, please, please, please send them my way either by commenting on this post, or by emailing me at rachel@frugalfoodista.com

Not your Average Strip Joint :)

I have never been much good at sticking to my New Year's resolutions - but I am not one either to give up on the notion.

This year, I have decided to incorporate my blog into my NY resolution....this year, 2012, I will try to get to as many of the places on my ever-growing list of food spots as possible.  

We are off to a good start in 2012 with a great little gem, located off the beaten path in Watertown.  This gem is named Strip T's and is a peculiar spot I only heard about through SEgallows' recent tweets. 

Generally, any restaurant recommended by a a solid restauranteur in the South End is a spot worth trying and I somehow managed to get Strip T's on my list and checked off within 24hours. (Why not get that momentum going from day one!? )

After a few confused text messages from my partners in crime trying to figure out why on earth I would want to go to a strip joint in Watertown, three of us found ourselves seated in a small, understated sit-down area in Strip T's on School St.

What first appears to be underwhelming, soon turns into a deliciously surprising adventure and it is not wonder why this place has 25 strong years under its belt and is still counting!  Everything but the food is no frills, but there is no need to direct attention to decor when the food is so solid. The staff are professional and friendly, having come from impressive backgrounds such as stints at Craigie on Main, and the service was executed with attention and personalism.  We ordered a slew of appetizers and a few entrees and each was thoroughly enjoyed.

Up first and pictured above was their Pig's Head Toast, served warm and tender with a creamy aioli and a satisfying crunch from  freshly sliced radish.

Next we had their Japanese Eggplant Banh Mi, a traditional Vietnamese-style sandwich with crispy tofu, pickles and cilantro between crusty baguette.  I thought a bit more accent from a sweet or spicy/sweet sauce would have brought the whole thing together, but even so, the Banh Mi was light and fresh.

I was nervous to order the Poutine, being Canadian, I am always tentative and usually disappointed.  Strip T's poutine was on the verge of success with deliciously cooked and seasoned fries and a sweet and salty gravy.  As usual, it is with the cheese that true success goes amiss.  In traditional poutine, cheese curd is a necessity, and although Strip T's did indeed use cheese curd, they applied large cubes of it as opposed to smaller irregular ones...it was delicious, but did not meld together as poutines of my youth did. Still, a valiant and comparably acceptable attempt.

Among the appetizers that were so delicious I failed to get a picture before half of the dish was gone, were the Moxie sauced Chicken Wings (Sooo sweet, tangy and a tad spicy delicious!) and the charred (not fried!) baby octopus.

For entrees, we ordered their Grilled Skirt Steak topped with chimichurri, served over a bed of crunchy watercress, pickled peppers and fingerling potatoes. As many restaurants begin to fall short when it comes to entrees, Strip T's quite excelled. The steak was cut and cooked to a perfect medium rare. The sauce was an interesting choice but matched the presentation and bite of the pickled peppers. This dish was very well done and aesthetically pleasing with dashes of colour surrounding the pretty pink meat.

We were lucky enough to snag the last Rainbow Trout, served broiled and splayed with hen of the woods mushrooms (a nice, meaty contrast to the light fish), creamy roasted chestnut and jasmine rice. The dish was interesting and quite different from the steak, however the fish would have been more enjoyable had it been free of little bones:)

From Vietnamese dishes to American-Mexican and dishes with Japanese accents, Strip T's Chicken and Waffles is a true testimony to the eclectic mastery of Chef Tim (alumni of David Chang's Restaurant Group).  A staple in Southern cuisine, Chef Tim serves his Buttermilk Fried Chicken with kale and a choice of grits of waffles (the latter...duh!).  The chicken itself is delicious, not too heavily breaded and somehow maintaining a juiciness to write about, once everything is soaked in maple syrup, the bitterness of the kale cuts in as a mark of pure and simple genius!

Although we were quite stuffed (not surprising), the kitchen team brought us out some of their pine nut and lavender brittle. This dessert is light and tasty, the intention is both clear and subtle - each bit somehow manages to go through layers of flavoring.

From the start to the finish, this 'sirloin strip' joint will have you pleasantly surprised and incredibly satisfied.  Too bad it is out in watertown, the South End would die for a place like this - modest, true and an exceptional price to quality ratio.

Here's to hoping this foreshadows a year of culinary discoveries like this!