Eat Boutique

Sometimes you just want good pizza. Sometimes you want fancy, gourmet and unique pizza. But sometimes you just want good, reliable pizza. Today was a great day for good pizza.

I’ve visited Angela’s Coal Fired Pizza in Saugus, Massachusetts a few times. Each visit has gotten progressively better. Early on, there were too many toppings, loads of thick sauce and barely any cheese. Who wants a pizza that has every square inch covered in meatballs, with only a few specks of cheese here and there?

Today, Angela’s pizza finally hit its stride. We decided to stop ordering the specials and simply go for a regular pepperoni pizza. It was lovely, not too thin and not too thick. (I prefer thin style but the husband loves Sicilian thick pizza; this was a good compromise.) I also prefer less sauce and more cheese and pepperoni. I believe the sauce should just provide a light blanket, like those used during warm Summer months. I don’t want to taste sauce. I just want to know it’s there and ready to support whatever is put on top.

The cheese on Angela’s pizza was perfect. It provided a layer of medium-depth, with some great flavor. I tasted mozzarella and sharp parmasean. The pepperoni was also ample; I got a taste in every bite. But there was some nice space between pieces, such that the cheese really sparkled through.

Is everyone this serious about pizza? Maybe they don’t speak about it in depth like I am, but I think all folks have very specific preferences for their pizza. I even have preferences for different purposes:

• Sometimes I just want to feel light as air after scarfing down a few slices. In that case, I visit Flatbread in Bedford, Massachusetts (with locations all over New England and one in Hawaii!).
• Sometimes I want to remember my Italian upbringing in Northern New Jersey, where the pizza was a bit thicker and the service very familiar. That’s when I’ll venture to Santarpios in East Boston, Massachusetts. (In fact, I’m overdue for a trip there.)
• And other times, I want fancy, gourmet flavors of figs, truffle oil and gorgonzola with a nice glass of non-Italian wine. In that case, I’ll visit Za in Arlington, Massachusetts.

Today, I wanted good, hearty, regular pizza, and Angela’s pulled through for me. The pizza was perfect. The wings beforehand were delicious - smothered in olive oil, spices, lemon juice and caramelized onions, with juices dripping over thin pieces of dough. The service wasn’t awesome; there are lots of young, inexperienced kids working the front of house. (I always marvel when inexperienced staff is put at the host station. In my mind, you’d want the best there to greet, seat and get to know your customers.) But the pizza was fast and good, and made us forgive our slow, uninformed, less-than-smooth server who actually said, “We’re not supposed to tell you what’s in the sangria.”

Don’t order the sangria. Do order the pizza. It’s lovely.

Angela’s Coal Fire Pizza is located at 880 Broadway, Route 1, Saugus, Massachusetts, 01906. You may reach them at: 781-941-COAL. The photo below is from their website.

Earlier this week, I had a very fine dinner at a cozy neighborhood joint called The Independent. Somerville’s Union Square has very much swanked up, but this place has been a solid pillar as the new establishments open, get too hip and disappear. I don’t get to hang in the area often, so I jumped at the chance to drink and dine with a dear friend.

Our requirements were simple: We needed time for girl chat, a few cocktails and old-fashioned comfort food. We also wanted a place that wouldn’t rush us out the door the moment our bill arrived. Lucky for us, The Independent met all our requirements, and then some!

I arrived a bit early after a somewhat long, drawn out, “meet-15-people-in-5-hours” job interview. I needed a cocktail. Hell, I deserved a cocktail. The Independent has two sides - one is fancy dive bar, the other is restaurant. I cozied up to the fancy dive bar and felt like I was back in mid-90s NYC, sitting at some relaxed, glam-bar on the Lower East Side. (All those cool places have since moved to Brooklyn, or so I hear.) The only difference was that the Irish energy was quite tangible; posters from the Galway Arts Festival on the brick walls, a few Irish gentleman speaking with delicious accents a few stools down, an Irish cook arriving for work, poking fun at his American colleagues.

I ordered a Rosemary-Mint Vodka Gimlet mainly because its main ingredient was an organic vodka called Rain. A little lime, and mint, and rosemary, and, man, it was the PERFECT vodka gimlet. I could have drank 10. That said, the bar didn’t look like the sort of place that served luscious, fancy cocktails. Sitting there, I felt like I should be drinking a tall Chimay ale, or perhaps an Irish Cider. I felt so at home, I didn’t want to move from that bar. But we did.

Once my friend arrived, we ventured into the restaurant and picked out a nice booth in the back. The appetizers were quite lovely - Fried Almonds, Deviled Eggs and Braised Greens. The almonds were fried in some olive oil and herbs until they were hot to the touch. The deviled eggs were so lady-like and yummy, served on cucumber rounds. And the braised greens were mostly kale and chard that had been braised in a rich broth. They were a touch bitter, but refreshingly so. Most restaurant greens come doused in loads of olive oil and garlic. These were quite simple and almost Southern in style.

Dinner was equally comforting. My girlfriend got a huge house burger with fries and a big salad. I opted for the night’s special of braised lamb shanks in a brown sauce over mashed potatoes. The meat fell off the bone, intoxicating me as much as the lovely glass of Saintsbury Pinot Noir, a wine my husband and I had drank daily out in Napa. It’s hard to find it by the glass out there, so I indulged with a lot of passion.

Our server was easy on us. He got our food out quickly, yet didn’t rush us out the door. We were bad customers, in the sense that we stayed and chatted for about an hour after our bill arrived. But there were many open 4-top tables, so I didn’t feel so bad.

All in all, my recommendation is not to go to this place. I’d like to keep it all to myself. Stay away. Please.

The Independent is located at 75 Union Square, Somerville, MA, 617-440-6022. All photos were taken from the their website.

Tryst is a boutique, 30-seat restaurant in the heart of downtown Beverly, Massachusetts - a small town on the North Shore of Boston that caters to a little art college, the Summer beach crowd, local folk and affluent types. This little town has exploded with upscale restaurants on par with those in Boston and better than the places I’ve explored in Newburyport, a larger beach town further up the North Shore. We visit Beverly often as it’s only about 15 minutes from our home and provides a little city-vibe without dealing with Boston commuter traffic.

Lucky for me, we dine at Tryst regularly. We go for the low-key, yet vibrant atmosphere and we keep returning for the fancy French-inspired comfort food. Last night, my sister treated us to martinis at Mandrake (another upscale restaurant/bar in downtown Beverly, though not as nice as Tryst) and a meal at Tryst. We made the reservation a week in advance, and I highly recommend you do the same. With 20 seats at tables and 10 seats at the bar, there isn’t much room for impromptu visitors. Definitely plan well in advance.

The food was as good as always. We had the Endive and Roquefort Salad, which was nicely tart and sweet with extra orange segments, and the Country Pate Plate. The pork pate was thick and chunky. It didn’t compare to the amazing pates at The Butcher Shop in Boston’s South End, but it gave us our fix at a more affordable price tag. (Plus their grainy mustard is so delish!)

Dinner involved a trio of entrees: Roast Chicken for my sis, Grilled Hanger Steak for me (sometimes a girl needs a steak) and Cassoulet for my husband. The chicken skin was crunchy and nicely seasoned, as chicken skin really does need to be salted and peppered well. My steak was cooked with such love, perfectly pink in the middle, served alongside a yummy potato gratin. And my husband loved his cassoulet, as it had a beautiful confit duck leg nestled in the center of the plate.

We opted for a Ruffino Chianti for our meal; it was light and easy with a little personality. It meshed well with all of our dishes, never taking center stage but permitting us to actually taste our food. It was so good but after those martinis, we had to refrain from ordering a second bottle.

Last night, we opted to skip dessert. I had piles of holiday cookies, pandoro and cordials waiting for us at home. But whenever I do order dessert at Tryst, I always raise my hand for the cheese platter. At $16, it’s twice the cost of the other desserts, but well worth it. I always discover a new confiture or pickled vegetable on the plate, and can’t resist finishing the entire dish myself.

Now Tryst isn’t inexpensive; a 3-course dinner for two runs around $125, sans wine. But the wine list is varied and affordable, running between $24-$80. This is definitely a nice meal out type of place, not a weekly indulgence. Unless you’re into that sort of thing (which I am) and can afford it weekly (which I cannot). Still, I’ll return every other month to enjoy a lovely meal that’s both a little French and a little New England… and thus, perfect for me.

It was almost 50 degrees in Boston today. The skies are clear and blue. The snow from earlier in the week is melting, preparing for the new layer of snow we’ll receive on Thursday. I ran out of farm fresh eggs last night while making eggnog for Christmas. I only bake with fresh hen eggs now; the taste is fresh and genuine. So I trekked out to our organic farm to pick up some freshly laid eggs and felt inspired to take a few photos. Green Meadows Farm is lovely this time of year and I love trudging around the property in my snow boots, attempting to out-run the hens and roosters. (A friendly rooster actually followed me around the parking lot as I took photos, like a little assistant.) Here are some photos from today. You can check out all the photos here.

Organic Artichokes (below), Little Seedlings Peeking Through (above)

Organic Beets

Organic Yams

A Sea of Rosemary

My Photo Assistant

Oh my goodness! All I have to say is “Oh my goodness!”

I know Pinkberry has taken the world (or, most of Los Angeles) by storm, but we don’t need them - we have BerryLine! This new independent froyo shop just opened off of Harvard Square in Cambridge, Massachusetts by two “long time friends looking to make their way in the business world.” The yogurt is tart, tangy and creamy - and not overly sweet - precisely how one would expect yogurt that has been frozen to taste. I love the original flavor doused with fresh strawberries and almonds. If you’re in Cambridge, you must try this place. BTW, read what all the Yelpers have to say about it.

Now if only they could come up with a catchy tune to outshine the Pinkberry theme song. I’m a sucker for a catchy tune.

BerryLine is located at 1 Arrow Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 02138; 617-868-3500.