Dew You Remember?

What: Mountain Dew Throwback
Where: Oliva's  Market Milford MA
How much: $1.00

(readers, cue Flatts and Scruggs - Mountain Dew) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return) (this finally works again)


I was hanging out with my friend, El Jeffe, and we decided sandwiches were in order for lunch. I was hoping it would be the blogworthy one that I often get at this spot. Unfortunately, the treasure that I was seeking is pre-made and was sold out for the day. You'll have to wait for me to score one for a proper review. I did end up getting another sandwich there, but it was not exactly blogworthy . I will return soon for my original target and share all the details.


El Jeffe had gone to the cooler, while I was waiting for my sandwich to be made and grabbed drinks for El eDos and himself. As he came back to the counter to wait for me, I saw it in his hands.


Mountain Dew.  Not just any Mountain Dew. Mountain Dew Throwback.  Made with Real Sugar. Limited Time Only. The graphics were not the version that I remember from my harder drinking days,  but they did have a certain retro appeal.


Must...Have...Mountain Dew...


I used to love Mountain Dew. I have these cherished summer camp memories of my daily trips to the canteen after dinner with all the other campers to get our fill of candy.  My choice was usually a Hostess Blueberry Pie (which I can't seem to find lately) and a Mountain Dew. It was sugar heaven. It provided all the energy I needed for the hour of full contact soccer or tetherball that we played before the evening activity. When I was feeling the need for a bit more zip, I would go with Hostess Sno Balls instead of the fruit pie, but I never passed on the Mountain Dew.  Later, as I matured, my tastes developed. I found Mello Yello (ahhhhh... J-Mar, I'm still waiting. Isn't your sister coming east?) and later Fresca. You just can't beat a citrus flavored soft drink (and I don't mean lemon lime).

The taste was exactly how I think remember it. One can definitely tell the difference between this version and the regular high fructose corn syrup version. See Throwback link above for more info.


I though the color was a bit pale, but it has been a good thirty years since I was doing the Dew, my memory is not what is was and Mountain Dew seems to have a bunch of varieties that are vividly colored.


This can was the best $1.00 I spent in a while. It put me straight into a taste time machine. Smells or tastes that can evoke such strong memories and emotions always amaze me. I smiled all afternoon.

Banh Mi Battel-Burlington MA

What: Saigon Chicken Sandwich
Where: Cheesecake Factory
75 Middlesex Turnpike
Burlington Mall
Burlington MA 01803
How much: $11.50
Time of visit: a Saturday about 1PM

In case you have not been reading the blog for long, battel is a purposeful spelling in homage to a favorite of mine, Kaiju Big Battel. Lucky for Philly, Kaiju and its live monster mayhem will be batteling after a long absence later this month. If you are anywhere close, you need to experience this at least once in your life.  FreeEye2, Taters and I went a bunch of years back and it will be an event I will always remember.

In an effort to make things a bit more scientific, I will include day and time of said meal if I think it may matter.  A Banh Mi served on a Friday at 12 Noon is bound to be better than one on a Tuesday at 4PM so you may want to take that in mind.

(readers, cue Weezer - In The Mall) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return) (this finally works again)

This day's travels took me to Burlington MA. YM, Taters, SheGong and I were there to see K on top of the podium.  Lunch was the next order of business. K picked where and luckily, I got material for the blog.


Cheesecake Factory is an amazing place, though I hestitate to use the word restaurant. Their food quality is consistant and portions large. The staff is usually well trained and enthusiastic.  Lots of seating, constant crowds and enormous desserts...  It is not a place for exploration, but the menu is so big, everyone can find something to eat. Bonus points for the beer menu at most locations in that they make an effort to carry a local microbrew. Harpoon I.P.A. was on tap here in Burlington MA.

The entree was listed in the sandwich section.  It was labeled as a "Saigon Chicken Sandwich".  Based on the description, I'd call it a Banh Mi attempt, but with a name that won't scare aware the customers. There were "Vietnamese Tacos" on the menu with pork, not chicken and a similar ingredient list.


Banh Mi University graduate? Ah, CF seems to be doomed to repeat the advanced bread course. The sandwich was eaten on premisis, not taken out as is my usual habit.  This made unobtrusive photography a bit difficult.  That said, take out is usually in black plastic containers, probably not the white deli wrap and elastic as I would expect from the genuine article. Bread the big downfall as I would have expected. It was very crusty on the outside much like the bread from my trip to Black Diamond, but fresher. The inside was heavier/denser with larger air pockets and much chewier than my Banh Mi ideal. The "French baguette" was also a bit narrow and the filling kept falling out of the sides. The Banh Mi was served with toothpicks holding it together. The chicken was there in quantity and tasty, looking charbroiled and well flavored with lemongrass as promised in the menu. The chicken pieces were about four by two inch chunks about an inch and a half thick (a bit too thick for my tastes and contributing to the ingredients falling out problem). The pieces were very tender and looked to be breast meat. Plant material was much better than my low expectations. The cilantro was very limp, probably from the heat of the chicken and being crushed  by the bread  by the time it was served. There was not one hint of darkness on the leaves, though I would have preferred a bit more. Carrots were marinated too well/long with rice vinegar and not crisp at all. There were some red onion slivers. The cucumber was sliced into circles and marinated in rice vinegar as well. This was a mistake in my opinion as the sandwich needed the fresh cucumber crunch.  Some scallions were added, though not mentioned on the menu. The smear of "shallot mayonnaise" was generous and moistened everything very nicely. The menu said chiles, but I saw no sign of them. A couple of jalapenos would have been very nice. The Banh Mi did not seem at all hot or spicy. Sandwich size was comparable to most, but as I said earlier, a bit narrow. The sandwich was very thick, mainly due to the dense bread and large chicken pieces. There was a side of sauce that came with the sandwich that seemed more "Thai peanut" than anything else. Decent french fires were served "frites" style in a little paper cone with the meal.  Still not traditional, but at least they were not steak fries. Service was fast for a busy Saturday with no language barrier.


The place was clean. The wait was a thirty minutes. Parking at the mall was as bad as a Saturday at the mall after a recent snowfall can be. I'll give them an extra half a cheek for a chain restaurant making the effort to offer the public an attempt at Viet food. At $11.50, still not the most expensive Banh Mi I've had. It was decent mall meal.


I'd give it 1.5B/6 total.

(__!__) (__!

I'm still trying to get be back to Dorchester MA to get to Chau Bakery and the place that will replace Hau Giang. I did check out the Provience RI Banh Mi scene very unsuccessfully, but that will be a post for later.

Banh Mi Battel-Dorchester MA #3

What: #5 Grill Beef Banh Mi
Where: Lee's Store & Bakery
982 Dorchester Avenue
Dorchester MA 02125
How much: $2.50

I got a disease, a pathological hunger that can only be quenched by Banh Mi.

(readers, cue Ben Lee - Catch My Disease) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return) (this finally works again)

This day's travels took me to Dorchester MA via NH. There are two other Banh Mi destinations down the road in Dorchester (Banh Mi Ba Le and La Baguette) as well as another down the road in Quincy that I have reviewed. Kim up in Portland ME was right, I have to go to Dorchester to experience Banh Mi.

By the way, if you haven't caught up with the past comments, a reader posts that (s)he thinks that Be Le means Paris in Vietnamese.  It sounds right to me. See here. Did you notice the Eiffel town on the sign for Banh Mi Ba Le? Thanks for the info, reader! Also offered up were reviews of their two favorite Banh Mi destinations. When I get to San Diego and Vancouver, you can bet I will be trying them.

Back to the Banh Mi in hand...

Banh Mi University graduate? Oh yes! Magna Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect. Yes, that is my usual luncheon dining table in the picture. Bread was very,very good, but not perfect. It was crusty on the outside as expected, with a slightly thinner crust than others I've had, which was not a bad thing at all. But it just lacked that slightly chewy inside that I prefer. The bread seems identical to Banh Mi Ba Le. The meat was there in quantity and tasty. The shape of the beef pieces was irregular and chunk-like. The pieces were very tender and looked shaved/ripped/pulled on the some of the edges. Plant material was excellent. Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves, though I would have preferred a bit more. Carrots was well pickled, generous and tasty, but not very crisp. The cucumber was long and very thin. No scallions here. The smear of mayo as generous as I have had and moistened everything very nicely. I asked the counter person for spicy. I did get generous helping of jalapenos. They did not seem too hot. The first bite had a little bite, but the burn started to build with every bite. The burn did not last very long. Sandwich size was comparable to most. I did have to ask the sandwich maker to pour some fish sauce on it. You can't see it in the picture and she was not very generous, but the salty savory taste did shine through. Service was not super fast, but that may really have been part of the language barrier. The Boston Phoenix review had very good advice in making sure you ask for "Vietnamese" style.  I asked for #5 "Viet style", held up five fingers and the lady behind the counter went over to the menu sign and looked at me pointed to the text next to #5.  I nodded yes and she started. While the bread was heating up/toasting, she pulled out some lettuce and a tomato and started cutting them up.  I started waving my hands and saying "no, no, I want Viet style...cilantro, carrots". Finally the cashier came over, explained what I had said to the sandwich maker and she pulled out the other set of vegetables out.

The place was clean and parking on Dot. Ave was not as bad as I thought it would be, even with the aftereffects of the recent snow. Lee's is really a small convenience store with groceries, baked goods, cigs and lottery tickets, but a large section of the store devoted to Banh Mi and beverages. At $2.50, an excellent value for the money.


I'd give it 5.0B/6.

(_!_) (_!_) (_!_) (_!_) (_!_)

I guess I'll be back to Dorchester very soon to get to Chau Bakery. Hau Giang seems to have closed and will be renamed. I called the phone number on the sign and the woman who answered said they would open mid-January.

Banh Mi Battel-Dorchester MA#2

What: #2 BBQ Beef Banh Mi

Where: Banh Mi Ba Le

1052 Dorchester Avenue

Dorchester  MA 02125

How much: $3.00

Banh Mi. The motivation to leave the house on a slow winter day.

(readers, cue Jim Rayden - The Vietnamese Baguette Song) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return) (this finally works again)

This day's travels took me to Quincy, but I hit Dorchester on the way over. The is another Ba La down the road in Dorchester as well as another down the road in Quincy that I have already reviewed. I understand there is also a Ba Le out in Worcester MA.  I will try to get to these unreviewed ones as soon as I can.   I'm not sure if or how any are related (honestly, I'm not sure what Ba Le means or is, but there are a heck of a lot of Banh Mi places around the country that are named Ba Le.  Readers can you help? Perhaps Bakery or ((the Viet equivalent of Deli))? ).

The Dorchester location had much in common with the Ba Le in Quincy (which is not very far away).

Banh Mi University graduate?  Oh yes!  Magna Cum Laude. Note the white deli wrap and elastic as one would expect and  I also got a "Golden Bag" like Pho Viet in Allston MA. Yes, that is my usual luncheon dining table in the picture.  Bread was very,very good, but not perfect.  It was crusty on the outside as expected, with a slightly thinner crust than others I've had, which was not a bad thing at all. But it just lacked that slightly chewy inside that I prefer.  The meat was there in quantity and tasty.   The shape of the beef pieces was rectangular, very tender and slightly larger than average.  Plant material was excellent.  Cilantro was crisp and not one hint of darkness on the leaves, though I would have preferred a bit more.  Carrots and daikon also very crisp and tasty and generous.  The cucumber was short and very thin, needing two to cover the sandwich. There were even some scallions.  The smear of mayo was a little light.  I asked the counter person for spicy. I did get jalapenos, though you can't see them well in the picture.  They did not seem too hot.  The first bite had a no bite, but  the burn hit me with the last bite. The burn did not last very long.  Sandwich size was comparable to most.  The thing that really hooked me was a sweet taste that contrasted with the hot and salty.  It seemed to be something in the liquid poured on top of the sandwich. You can see a bit of the evidence in picture three.  Most of the juice seem to run down and may have been the reason why the last bit was the tastiest. Service was very fast. The line was four deep when I got there and people were ordering five and six Banh Mi at at time.  The trays of ingredients were huge and had to be based on the volume of business I saw. The place was clean and parking on Dot. Ave was not as bad as I thought it would be. A great value for the money.

I'd give it 5.0B/6.

(__!__) (__!__) (__!__) (__!__) (__!__)

I guess I'll be back to Dorchester very soon to get to Lee's and Chau Bakery.  Hau Giang seems to have closed and will be renamed.  I called the phone number on the sign and the woman who answered said they would open mid-January.

The English Beat

 

English Beat photos by Mario Buttali

(readers, cue English Beat - Rough Rider) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return) (this finally works again)

(Above link is the English Beat playing earlier on the same tour in White River Junction VT on December 16, 2010 despite what YouTube poster typed)

The YouTube link is a pretty good approximation of the show that FreeEye2 and I went to see at Johnny D's in Somerville. J-Mar was missing in action getting a haircut or something. I got the picture above of Dave Wakeling as he was harassing one of the guys a couple of rows back for not dancing or moving.

The show was very good. What else can I tell you? The show sold out. Being right up front, the sight lines were great and volume was not too bad, though the sound guy was not too attentive to the requests of the band. The crowd was what you would expect, people (more women than gentlemen) wistfully reliving concerts from the prime of their lives.  The skanking was not too crazy.  Extra points to Dave for namechecking The Channel. It was great seeing them in such a small venue, as last several halls played around Boston have been Middle East Downstairs, Somerville Theater and the Paradise.  Tickets were $30, but, in full disclosure, I was on the guess list thanks to FreeEye2 and Rhythmm (EB's drummer). The whole band was very approachable after the show and talked to all who dared.

Oh yeah, thanks to HeiDep for not stepping on my feet too much.


Real concert review from the Phoenix here.

Banh Mi Battel-Princeton MA

What: Banh Mi

Where: Black Diamond

499 Mountain Road

Princeton MA 01541

How Much: $11.00 & tax (includes french fries and cole slaw)

Banh Mi. The words give me pause and cause me to wonder just what and where is the perfect Banh Mi sandwich shop.  Thanks to a heads up from Sunshine, I found a place to try that I have not been to yet.

(readers, cue U2 - New Year’s Day) (clicking on link should open YouTube in a new browser tab so you can hear my selected audio track playing, but you will have to click back on this tab to return) (this finally works again)

This day's travels took me to Princeton MA to take Taters and K skiing.

We followed Edzo, Bakin', Cesius and Ocho up. YM was working. Or eating bon-bons. Or both.

We headed up early to beat the holiday crowds.  When we got to the mountain, something stirred in my slightly coffee stimulated brain after seeing the sign for Black Diamond and got me thinking that this might have been the ski mountain that Sunshine was talking about. I was on autopilot  when I woke up and made myself a capicola and fried pepper sangwich on a Harvest Bakery (Bristol CT) hard roll (aka bulkie roll in MA).  Black Diamond opened at 11AM.  At that moment I was happy to skip the sangwich and worse case, add another blog post from someplace unexpected.  I got my blog post, but none the happier.

Banh Mi University graduate?  No way. Note the white deli wrap underneath the sandwich and no elastic. The whole sandwich was encased in a clear plastic takeout container.  The bread was a huge downfall.  It was called a baguette on the menu, but it barely qualified as "an almost stale sub roll that was way too hard on the end". Maybe due to the fact it was New Year's Day when I visited, the bread baking/delivery didn't happen and they had to use some left over stuff.

The menu says "Asian style sausage flavored with basil and sriracha." Well, it seemed to be an ordinary pork sausage that was tossed in the flattop, flattened and burned to an inch of its life. No taste of either basil or Sriracha. It was fatty and not juicy. Low and slow my not have saved it, but certainly would have made it a step toward edible.

Plant material quality was awful. Cilantro amounted to one limp sprig. Carrots were somewhat crisp, but they were part of some "slaw" that was mixed with some slivers of not so crisp radish.  There was no onion, daikon, scallions or cucumber. More importantly, it lacked any hot peppers and had no fish/soy sauce to give it that salty tang. The mayo was a "spicy sriracha mayo".  It was not the least bit spicy and looked more like Thousand Island dressing. The sandwich had  no afterburn.  Size was smaller than most.

Black Diamond, primarily a sit down restaurant, is upstairs at the lodge.  I was able to get takeout at the bar.  The bartender was nice, but totally didn't get the Banh Mi name.  Then I said "Vietnamese sandwich?" She looked at another staff member who said "Asian sandwich".  I should have known then...

The kitchen was well into the lunch crowd by the time I got upstairs. No excuses for me being early or catching them unprepared.

So you ask me, what was I thinking, or more critically, did I have a right to expect anything else?

I was thinking that perhaps there is a chef out there who was trying do do something different and maybe I would be surprised.  If you call it Banh Mi, you have to have a pretty good idea what it is and what the ingredients are.  The pub already serves some beef, carrots, onions, cilantro, jalapenos and cucumber.  The chef made the effort to bring in the Sriracha, why not some fish sauce or at least some soy. They had the ingredients but couldn't put it together.

Adding to the unusual (for Banh Mi) were the french fries and cole slaw as sides.  These additions kept it from being the most expensive Banh Mi I ever had (which was pre-blog days at T.I. in Las Vegas and delicious).  Fries were steak style and not as good as the ones served downstairs with the chicken strips.  The slaw was typical giant white bucket o' commercial slaw.  I guess that was what all the other sandwiches came with.

I'd give it .5B/6 for at least naming it a Banh Mi and challenging the customer.  My fear is that those who try this version for their first time will never try one again.

(__!

An terrible Banh Mi. Order anything else on the menu. 

The Economist

The Economist has got to be my favorite "old" media transmission unit after The Atlantic. Both have great websites also.

I must say though that I am embarrassed to read this magazine in public as I do not want to be considered one of those pretentious hipsters that carry copies (the red label facing out) to show how smart and informed they consider themselves to be.  The least they could do is post it on their blog. Does anyone smell ice cream?

Anyway, this issue showed up in the mailbox Christmas week.

Great timing!

YM, Edzo, Bakin', Red Bullmoose and Sunshine, are you paying attention?