Skip It: Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca

The second "skip it" in a row!? You must think I either hate food or that I'm the most negative person in the world. So not the case; I swear. However, Boston has left me disappointed as of late.

I'm a huge fan of Eataly's La Pizza & La Pasta in New York which is why I was super excited that Mario Batali was opening Babbo Pizzeria e Enoteca on Boston's waterfront. I actually held off all summer, wanting Drew to take me for my birthday. It was perfect timing, too, because we could see fireworks from our seat.

 

Once our waitress finally arrived at our table, we ordered the Mozzarella in Carozza as an appetizer. Basically, it was a very greasy and salty grilled cheese. I hoped the meal would be better. However, not so much. We decided to share the Bufala e Pomodorini and the Prosciutto & Arugula pizzas. The Bufala e Pomodorini was practically inedible. It was soo salty and sour; almost like sour milk. The other pizza was okay but salty as well. Maybe we should have stuck to a Margherita or something more simple that they couldn't screw up.

 

Dessert was good but overpriced for what it was. I opted for the S'mores Coppetta which was basically just chocolate gelato and graham cracker crumbs topped with toasted marshmallow. Drew ordered the assorted biscotti which was a plate of the smallest cookies I've seen in my life!

I definitely wouldn't feel comfortable recommending this restaurant to anyone but I would like to go back and try something else. Maybe they were just having a bad night!? Regardless, I don't see how Mario Batali could let this ridiculousness continue. Let's pray that when Eataly finally opens in Boston, its food bears resemblance to that at its New York counterpart as opposed to the "food" at this monstrosity.

Skip It: Blackbird Doughnuts

Without a doubt, New York has been killing the doughnut game for quite some time now. That's why I was super excited when I found out that an artisanal doughnut shop, Blackbird Doughnuts, was opening in Boston this past winter. 

I was so excited, that I hauled a** in the middle of a snow storm, dodged traffic, and climbed over snow banks just to pick some up. The inside of the shop was adorable and I loved their display. However, the menu was scarce and there wasn't much of a selection when it came to doughnut flavors. Upon much deliberation, I picked out the four best looking ones: Pineapple Habanero, Lemon Coconut, Wild Berry Bismark and Dark Chocolate-Pomegranate.

The Lemon Coconut was my favorite but quite frankly, I wish I didn't spend the money. I would have much preferred a donut from Dunkin's which would have also been roughly 1/3 of the price. Although, fair warning, I do have an unhealthy obsession with Dunks.

Anyways, back to the topic at hand. The doughnuts at Blackbird were way too sweet and it's very rare that I would say that about anything. I have a huge sweet tooth. Also, I probably wasn't supposed to eat the habanero garnish on the Pineapple Habanero doughnut but I did and what an awful flavor to be on a doughnut! Inventive, sure....but at what cost!? I will not be going back to this place and I suggest you don't either. Maybe I would be willing to try it again if they sent me a free box of dunks as compensation.

Red Lantern & Lobster Rangoons

One restaurant/lounge that I love here in Boston is Red Lantern. It opened probably about a year ago in The Back Bay. Their duck buns are probably one of the best things I've ever eaten and don't even get me started on their lobster & bacon fried rice! I was super excited when I was walking out of there one night and came across a recipe card sitting on a table for Lobster Rangoons.

Now, call me stupid but I always kind of assumed one needed a deep fryer in order to deep fry. On the other hand, maybe I was being ignorant on purpose so I wouldn't subject myself to fried food every night. Anyways, once I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. And guess what? It was much easier than I thought!

The recipe calls for Japanese Tonkatsu (katsu) sauce which can be hard to find. Most supermarkets don't carry it. Luckily, I already had some in my fridge because I lovvveee chicken katsu and I always make sure to have some on hand just in case. The only place I've been able to find it is at the Hong Kong Supermarket in Allston (on Commonwealth Ave after passing by Boston University).  While you're there, do some exploring...you never know what you'll find there! To be honest though, you could probably get away without using any of the katsu sauce and the rangoons would still taste fine as it just adds a slight flavor.

I would highly suggest this recipe to anyone! Just make sure you don't burn the rangoons. I found it really helpful to use a thermometer since I didn't have a deep fryer.