Gene's Chinese Flatbread Cafe

Why, oh why does this amazing little find of a restaurant have to be so far away from where I live?

Remember how I've been hunting for hand-pulled noodles since like, forever? How, after not being able to find any in Boston, I set out to learn how to make them, culminating in this crazy video that I made for Project Food Blog Round 7? And how I even went to Beijing and tried to learn the art of noodle pulling from a real master?

It's been a tough decade since Noodle Alcove closed.

But the days of waiting are now over . . . sort of.
This past November, a tiny little hole-in-the-wall Chinese "cafe" quietly opened up in Chelmsford, a suburb about 45-minutes outside of Boston. Gene Wu, the proprietor of this humble place, cranks out some insanely incredible hand-pulled noodles, along with several other authentic and very tasty dishes from the region of Xi'an, most famous for its terra cotta warriors.

This place is far, far away from Boston. Expect to drive at least 40-60 minutes, depending on traffic. Furthermore, it's really sort of located in this random spot that's easy to miss. The space sort of looks like a gas station or convenient store.

Clearly, they do a lot of take-out business, as their phone number is plastered all over the place.

Inside, the menu is refreshingly easy. All the dishes are pictured behind the counter and labeled by number in bright red text. The photos make it easy to know what you're getting, which is extremely helpful considering that less people are familiar with Xi'an style food.

You order up at the counter, pay cash, and then wait for your name to be called.

We started with these lamb skewers (I think they were only about $1.50 each), which were fantastic. They were really flavorful, with a complex blend of spices that I can't even begin to list out, but which definitely had some heat.

We got a few flatbread sandwiches (one pork, one beef - $4), which were OK but not great. The flatbread itself was a bit dense and dry, which the flavorful filling did not quite compensate.

The lamb stew  (羊肉泡沫 yang rou pao muo) is a classic Xi'an style dish. Traditionally, the server brings out the dense bread for the diner to break up into small pieces.

According to Mrs. Wu, Gene's wife (who worked front of the counter and also served us our food), breaking bread is a very social affair in Xi'an. People will sit together at the table and slowly break up the break into tiny, tiny pieces while chatting. It's time consuming, but sort of fun because you're also socializing.

When I initially broke up the bread (see pic above), Mrs. Wu told me that my pieces were too big.

"The smaller the pieces, the better it absorbs the soup, which makes for a much more flavorful dish overall."

She handed it back to us and told us to keep on shredding. When the pieces are finally of sufficient acceptable size (about 1 cm squares!), the server takes the bread back and moments later, brings you this amazing soup.

This lamb stew consists of slices of lamb, various mushrooms (e.g., woodear), vermicelli, and a really flavorful broth.

It was warm and hearty, yet not at all greasy. I really felt healthy eating this, like I was being nourished. I really, really enjoyed this soup, and could totally see myself craving this on a cold winter night.

But wait, what about the hand-pulled noodles?

These noodles, called "Biang Biang Mian", are so named because the hand-pulling action make this "bang bang" sound when you slap the noodle dough against the table.

These were awesome. The texture was far better than any noodle in Boston - period. It was thick, chewy, and had that perfect "QQ" bite to it. Tossed with tons of garlic, chili powder, cilantro, and scallions, it is absolutely loaded with flavor, and really quite addictive, might I add.

Oh it's so hard to pick a favorite, because I loved the Xi'an Chilled Noodles ("Liang pi") as well, which are only available on weekends. These noodles are lighter yet also have a really neat, chewy texture that's also quite addictive. The chili oil in which they are tossed is garlicky, spicy, and vinegary. It was refreshing and would be perfect on a hot summer day.

This place is a true gem and I'm so so sad that it's so far away. I'm a little jealous of Bryan, actually, whose office is only 4 miles away from this place. Grrrr - he could eat here for lunch once a week if he wanted!

I had a chance to chat with Gene himself (in pure Mandarin!), who is a really, really friendly guy. He told me he had originally wanted to open up his restaurant in Boston, but alas he couldn't find the right space. So when this space opened up in Chelmsford, he was so anxious to open something by that point, he just took it.

I asked him if he would consider opening up a place in Boston.

He looked at his daughter (a little girl around five years old) and said, "maybe when she goes to college I can move."

That kind of broke my heart right there.

But it's OK, really. I shouldn't be so demanding. Seriously, I'm thrilled that I can drive less than an hour and access some pretty incredible Chinese food. This really has become one of my new favorite Chinese restaurants in the Boston area. The food is excellent, the prices are dirt cheap (the most expensive item is $6.50), and the owners are really, really cool people.

We ended up going back up and ordering second helpings of our favorite dishes - both the Biang Biang Noodles and the Xi'an Cold Noodles!

I guess 13 years is a long time to wait for this place to come to Boston. For now, I'm at Bryan's mercy on whether he chooses to drive there after work to pick up noodles for me.

If you have a car and enjoy trying out new, unusual, and interesting Chinese food, definitely check this place out. There's definitely nothing in Boston quite like it, and I think we are so fortunate to finally have hand pulled noodles in (greater) Boston, once again.

L'Autre Pied

We're not done with Canada yet, although we have concluded all four posts for Montreal. We'll take a brief break from Canada today as we whisk over to London briefly before returning to Toronto and Vancouver next week!

Whenever I'm in London, I find myself passing through Paddington Tube station a lot.

Why?

Many reasons, actually. First, the Heathrow Express runs straight into Paddington from the airport in a zippy 15 minutes. It is undoubtedly the fastest, most traffic-free, and most convenient way to get into the city.

Second, I go to London mostly for business, and my company is actually closer to Oxford. Again, the train that runs to Oxford leaves from Paddington Station. So I find myself near Paddington a lot.

Invariably, the question comes up about where to eat near Paddington. Is there good food in that area?

The last time I was in London, British colleagues of mine took me to a fantastic little French restaurant right in Marylebone, an area that's only about a 10-15 walk away from Paddington Station.The food at this one-Michelin star French restaurant was fantastic, and I was actually quite surprised at how reasonable the prices were.

L'autre Pied is the little sister restaurant to Pied a Terre, the fancier, upscale French restaurant. This (literally) "other Pied" serves excellent food at a fraction of the price of its two-Michelin older sister. We ordered the 9-course tasting, which only cost 49 pounds (about $78). This is even cheaper than the 7-course tasting for $85 at Luce, which Bryan already thought was a reasonably good deal.

We began with a creative and cute amuse: Beetroot cup with lemon mousse. The lemon mousse most definitely was blended with something that had a strong liver essence. Not being a huge fan of liver, I did not love the amuse, though I could see a foie gras lover thinking it was pretty good.

The next course, Avocado Cucumber Cream, was light and airy, and came topped with miniature olive sprinkles and micro chopped herbs.

This next dish totally shouted spring! (it was April, after all). Shaved English asparagus and grated Belper Knolle (a firm, unpasteurized cheese) were served with mizuna cream, lemon puree, and crispy shallots. I loved the intense shots of flavor that came from the various "creams" and "purees", which came as fun spherified balls on the plate.

We soon noticed that the chef really liked to present his sauces in many different forms. The next dish, Roasted Scallop and Tartare, came with black quinoa and "sauces" such as fennel & ginger jelly and red pepper & Kaffir lime "dollops." Everything was executed exquisitely.

Next came Squid "Linguini", which was served with gremolata, smoked anchovies, pine nuts, and semi dried grapes.

The fish course was a Pan Fried Cod, which came with broccoli puree, pickled cauliflower, ruby grapfruit, brioche and black onion seeds. Again, note the creative presentation of the purees and sauces.

For the final meat course, Loin of Roe Deer (venison) was served with baked crapaudine beetroot, smoked bacon puree (another pink dollop!), and tapioca and walnuts cooked in Cabernet (hence the deep red color). The venison was cooked a perfect medium rare, though the baked beetroot was a bit bland in flavor and definitely not a favorite at the table.

We enjoyed a lovely selection of French and British Cheese.

These came with thin, airy crackers (which I loved) and a bit of honey or jam.

Our "pre-dessert" was a great palate cleanser, consisting mainly of fruit.

Our final course was a Baked Vanilla Cheesecake, which came topped with gorgeously caramelized banana slices and passion fruit mousse. Everyone raved about this dessert.

Thoughts

I came out of this restaurant thinking that I would definitely consider coming back. I really enjoyed how the meal focused on generally lighter fare (venison and fish versus pork and beef, for example). I thought some of the courses, such as the asparagus course or the scallop course, were absolutely phenomenal. Other courses, even if they weren't "wow" dishes, were still solid. I even looked back at it fondly after our Michelin experience in Rome, which, although good, was just a tad "lower" than this one in terms of creativity and execution.

Considering how weak the dollar is right now, this is a surprisingly good one-star Michelin "deal" (if there is such a thing!). Perfect if you're passing through Paddington Station and want to enjoy a very good meal in London.

L'autre Pied

5 Blandford St
Marylebone, UK W1U 8


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Joe Beef

This is the fourth post in the Oh Canada series, summarizing some of the great eats I had when visiting various Canadian cities this past year. Other posts in this series include St. Viateur Bagels, Le Bremner, and Schartz's Smoked Meats.

I hate dining alone.

Some people love it. Bryan travels a lot for work and is perfectly content relaxing at a restaurant, reading his iPad, and enjoying a nice meal.

I hate it. When I'm at home in Boston, I would rather scour the fridge and eat scraps of random stuff that I can dig up than go out alone. I get so bored sitting there, staring into space. Sometimes I'll whip out my phone and read emails. But at the end of the day, I would much rather relax at home.

So just a couple weeks ago, I had to go to Montreal for business. Thankfully, the first night some colleagues took me out and I had a lovely dinner at Le Bremner. The second night, however, I was on my own.

I soon decided that the uber famous French restaurant, Toque, felt too formal for a gal dining by herself.

The other famous place, Pied au Cochon, seemed like it had great food, but such huge portions that I (again) really wouldn't be able to enjoy anything if I went there by myself.

So instead, I reserved a table for one at Joe Beef, which turned out to be perfect.

View from Jen's seat at the bar

Joe Beef has a really nice bar where solo diners like me can enjoy a lovely dinner while watching oysters being shuck.  It was great - I sat between other solo diners. We ended up chatting quite a bit and  I learned a bit more about Montreal (from the local guy on my right) as well as about lots of other food related stuff (from the food industry woman on my left).

It turned out to be a really, really fun evening.

But back to the restaurant, who is Joe Beef?
"Joe Beef" was the nickname for Charles McKiernan, a 19th century tavern owner and philanthropist from Montreal whose tavern, "Joe Beef Tavern" refused service to no one. His tavern welcomed people are all races, all classes, etc. and became a social hub for the working class in Montreal.

This man's name was the inspiration behind the newish restaurant in Petit-Bourgogne (Little Burgundy) neighborhood of Montreal called "Joe Beef," which opened in 2006.

Joe Beef has become known in the U.S. largely because Anthony Bourdain visited it on his show. The Joe Beef guys just published a cookbook this year, and they're hot right now. The place is super busy, lines go out the door, and it's quite difficult to get a reservation.

It's hard to describe the food at Joe Beef (it's definitely not just beef!). The menu changes constantly and is written on blackboard throughout the restaurant. The emphasis is on fresh, local ingredients. There's quite a bit of interesting game as well as lots of foie gras.

Most of the vegetables served at the restaurant come from their own garden (at least in August this was true). I had a lovely, simple mixed greens salad that included their own baby kale, bibb lettuce, and a bunch of other greens I can't even name. It was tossed in a lovely smoked vinaigrette and topped with smoked cheddar, pumpkin seeds, and some beauiful red, edible flowers.

One of their signature dishes is a "double-down foie gras," a breaded and deep fried piece of foie gras (not unlike KFC coating) in a sandwich with homemade bacon, smoked cheddar, and mayonnaise. It's crazy decadent, but, according to the girl sitting next to me, "very delicious, though I feel like I might fall sleep right now after eating that."

Don't come here if you're trying to watch your cholesterol. There's plenty of foie gras all over the menu. They serve this particular version which is mixed with marrow and other good stuff, and then stuffed back into the bone. It's sort of a "bone-in" foie gras. There are various liver terrines. They have a lobster foie gras pasta and a seafood stew that are staple menu items.

I tried spicy and flavorful Stuffed Squid. I could not identify all the components, but there was definitely corn in the stuffing, as well as something that was bready which held it all together. The sauce was bright, bold, and piquant. It definitely had some Spanish or Latin American influences. The squid was tender, and the accompanying shrimp was very juicy and flavorful.

Filet Mignon de Cheval (horse)

It's not unusual to see various types of game on the menu. The day I was there, the chalkboafd menu included quail, rabbit, and even horse (which is illegal to slaughter in the US). The guy next to me ordered a "cheval" (horse) filet mignon (which came with a poached egg on top) and was surprised at how juicy and tender it was.
Desserts were fun. I tried something more unusual - a Corn Financier. The financier (which tasted like a dense, sweet cornbread), was served on a smoked husk and topped with real corn. It sat in a flavorful creamy sauce surrounded by fresh and intensely flavorful raspberries and blueberries. The combination worked surprisingly well.

The place was the packed the whole time I was there. By the time I tried to leave, I saw a line that literally went out the door. There must have been at least 10 people waiting in line.

The food is quite good here. I really wished Bryan could have been there because I could have given you such a better sense of the food here. Bryan loves foie gras, bone marrow, and all the sorts of things that Joe Beef does really really well. Alas, I just couldn't eat all that by myself. I will confirm that their lighter options are still excellent. I an also attest that the woman who sat left of me at the bar loved her foie gras double down, and the guy sitting right of me could not stop raving about how good the horse filet mignon was.

Though I wouldn't come here on a regular basis (my arteries would cry uncle), I definitely think it's a destination-worthy restaurant if you're visiting Montreal. They make a lot of unique dishes here. Even if you're not into the unusual foie gras, game meat, or bone-marrow related dishes, you can still try all sorts of other really well-executed dishes.

Seriously, it seems like everything here is really, really good.

Joe Beef
2491 Rue Notre Dame Ouest
Montréal, QC H3J1N5

Schwartz's Smoked Meats

This is the third post in the Oh Canada series, summarizing some of the great eats I had when visiting various Canadian cities this past year. Other posts in this series include St. Viateur Bagels and Le Bremner.

Who would have thought that one of the most famous places in Montreal - a "must-visit" that was recommended to me by numerous people - would be a Jewish deli?

Although the French influence is definitely the first thing you notice when you enter this city (they do speak French after all, and the place is filled with boulangeries, boucheries, and cafes), you soon begin to realize that there's quite a strong Jewish presence here as well.

Montreal is very well known for its freshly made bagels, which resemble New York bagels but are smaller and sweeter (check out the full post here). I soon learned, Montreal is also very well known for smoked meats, especially at this one historic Jewish deli which has been here since 1928, serving up some of the best smoked meat I've ever had.

Schwartz's is no secret to tourists. Just during our visit alone we heard several different languages being spoken in the dining hall. In fact, I ended up sitting next to some Americans from Florida.

Definitely show up early if you don't want to wait in a long line. Above is what the front of the restaurant looked like when I arrived at 11:45AM.

By the time I left (only about 45 minutes later), it looked like this.

Yep - arrive early. It's worth it!

Although the menu offers all sorts of different meats and sandwiches, you should just order their one signature item - basically anything made with their homemade smoked meat. Everything else that they sell (e.g., the sausage, chicken, etc.) is made by others - in other words, outsourced.

The classic thing to get (and what most people ordered), is the simple smoked meat sandwich ($5.95). White bread simply slathered with mustard and piled high with the gorgeously flavorful smoked meat, you really can't go wrong.

You have only one choice to make: lean, medium, or fatty?

We asked the server which one was the best. He said if it was our first time, he would recommend the medium. However, the "fat" one was definitely more juicy. For fun, we ordered one of each: one "medium" and one "fat".

Above is a cross section of the two types: on top is the medium; on the bottom is the fat. You can definitely see a few chunks of fat in the "fat" one on the bottom.

We definitely both liked the "fat" one more. It's definitely more juicy and still very, very flavorful. Of course, the medium one is delicious as well. It definitely tastes like a pastrami sandwich, though I find their meat to be less salty (which I like) and still deeply flavorful.

We ordered a simple pickle as a side, whose crisp acidity worked great to cut the fat of the sandwich.

The guys next to us ordered fries. I can't imagine wanting to eat fries to complement the rich sandwich (which is why I ordered the pickle), but I guess it's nice that they offer it.

You can order various sizes of the meat as "take-away" at the store next door. They sell everything from an entire side of meat ($70-100, sold by weight), to just a few slices sufficient for a sandwich.  I wasn't sure what the policy was for bringing meat across the border, so I did not buy any meat to take home  (sad!).

If you don't feel like waiting in such a long line for a sit-down meal, you can also order takeout sandwiches at their shop next door (which may still have a line, but it moves faster).

I had a great time sitting in this old school Jewish deli. The service is friendly but fast paced. The decor is simple and the prices are cheap. The smoked meat is incredible and probably amongst the best I've ever had (though some say it's equivalent to the sandwiches in New York). I can't say because I've never been to Katz or Carnegie Deli.

If you have time, I'd recommend trying to eat in. However, even if you don't, definitely at least try to take-out one of the sandwiches. They are really, really good.

Schwartz's
3895 Boulevard
St-Laurent Montreal
QC H2W1L2