1 Arrow Street Crepes

Sorry for the dearth of posts the last few days! I attended the 1st Annual Foodbuzz Festival this past weekend. I had a blast, and I will share some thoughts (and pictures, of course!) from that conference once I collect and organize them!

The first time I ever saw a crepe was when I visited France in high school during one of those high school exchange programs. My friend and I were walking down a random street in Paris when we spotted a man standing behind a small street cart. He was making fresh hot crepes right on the spot.

He called out, seemingly specifically at us, "Les crepes! Les crepes!"

Then he winked at us.  I was a bit scared, but also intrigued.

I don't think we actually bought any crepes from him that day, but I'll never forget seeing him make those super-thin pancakes and wondering how they would taste.  Having grown up in Ohio with an immigrant family who mostly ate Chinese food, I had never had one before.

Man, that seemed like so long ago.  At this point I can't even remember when I finally tried my first crepe.  In any event, now I live next to Harvard Square in Cambridge, a city full of interesting ethnic dining options of all sorts.  This includes my own local creperie just a five minute walk from my home.

Arrow Street Crepes is one of the few "French-like" places near my house. It is a fun creperie about a 5 minute walk from the Harvard Square T stop. I'm not sure if it would be considered fully authentic, as the crepes are filled with a melange of creative ingredients, some of which could only be called New American or maybe Californian.  Nevertheless, they have a ton of options (including traditional crepe toppings!) and it's a great, fun little cute place for breakfast, lunch, and definitely dessert!

I enjoyed this breakfast-like crepe named The Eiffel Tower ($8.95). 2 eggs, mozzarella, baby spinach, tomatoes, scallions, red onions, & hot sauce.  Delicious.

You can't really tell much from this picture (except that the crepe is nicely thin!), but this is the Californian which includes avocados, fresh mozzarella, basil walnut pesto, turkey bacon, tomatoes, field greens, and Dijon balsamic sauce.

Of course, you can't leave a crepe place without getting dessert!  Carnivale ($8.25) which has dark chocolate or Nutella with fresh strawberries.  Of course, without fail, this one was pure bliss.  :)

1 Arrow St Crepes
1 Arrow St
Cambridge, MA 02138

1 Arrow Street Crepes

Sorry for the dearth of posts the last few days! I attended the 1st Annual Foodbuzz Festival this past weekend. I had a blast, and I will share some thoughts (and pictures, of course!) from that conference once I collect and organize them!

The first time I ever saw a crepe was when I visited France in high school during one of those high school exchange programs. My friend and I were walking down a random street in Paris when we spotted a man standing behind a small street cart. He was making fresh hot crepes right on the spot.

He called out, seemingly specifically at us, "Les crepes! Les crepes!"

Then he winked at us.  I was a bit scared, but also intrigued.

I don't think we actually bought any crepes from him that day, but I'll never forget seeing him make those super-thin pancakes and wondering how they would taste.  Having grown up in Ohio with an immigrant family who mostly ate Chinese food, I had never had one before.

Man, that seemed like so long ago.  At this point I can't even remember when I finally tried my first crepe.  In any event, now I live next to Harvard Square in Cambridge, a city full of interesting ethnic dining options of all sorts.  This includes my own local creperie just a five minute walk from my home.

Arrow Street Crepes is one of the few "French-like" places near my house. It is a fun creperie about a 5 minute walk from the Harvard Square T stop. I'm not sure if it would be considered fully authentic, as the crepes are filled with a melange of creative ingredients, some of which could only be called New American or maybe Californian.  Nevertheless, they have a ton of options (including traditional crepe toppings!) and it's a great, fun little cute place for breakfast, lunch, and definitely dessert!

I enjoyed this breakfast-like crepe named The Eiffel Tower ($8.95). 2 eggs, mozzarella, baby spinach, tomatoes, scallions, red onions, & hot sauce.  Delicious.

You can't really tell much from this picture (except that the crepe is nicely thin!), but this is the Californian which includes avocados, fresh mozzarella, basil walnut pesto, turkey bacon, tomatoes, field greens, and Dijon balsamic sauce.

Of course, you can't leave a crepe place without getting dessert!  Carnivale ($8.25) which has dark chocolate or Nutella with fresh strawberries.  Of course, without fail, this one was pure bliss.  :)

1 Arrow St Crepes
1 Arrow St
Cambridge, MA 02138

Hi Rise Vanilla Loaf

One of my favorite bakeries in Cambridge is Hi Rise Bread Company right outside of Harvard Square.  They make excellent sandwiches and their breads are incredible.  My all time favorite item there is their elusive vanilla loaf.  This loaf is absolutely amazing.  It has a gorgeous crust that I just can't stop eating. The sugar crystallizes a bit on the edges while baking, giving the loaf an amazing slightly burnt sugar buttery crusty edge. It's hard to explain, but it's oh so good.

When I wrote my wistfully dreamy post about Hi Rise Bread Company a few months ago, more than one person wrote to me telling me that an adaptation of the vanilla loaf recipe was available.  I was so excited!

It took awhile to gather the ingredients together (especially the vanilla beans and the vanilla sugar), but once I had everything I couldn't wait to make my favorite loaf!

You will need 3 vanilla beans for this loaf, which makes this loaf relatively expensive to make.  I was able to pick up vanilla beans at Costco for about $1 a bean (I had to buy 10).  I also saw them at the local grocery store for $5 each.  So, the prices do vary.

You have to plan a few days in advance for this bread, since one of the ingredients is vanilla sugar.  This just involves splitting open a vanilla bean and putting it in a container of sugar (2-3 cups) for a few days.

For a printable version of the recipe, click here.
Adapted from Hi-Rise Bread Company in Cambridge, MA, via Amanda Hesser
(makes 2 loaves)
Ingredients

For the loaf:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups vanilla sugar

1 vanilla bean

1 T vanilla extract

8 large eggs, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

For the syrup:

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup water

2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

Thickly butter two loaf pans and preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit (Note - I halved the recipe because I did not have enough sugar!)

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (upper left photo). Scrape the first vanilla bean and get all the seeds into the bowl, along with the vanilla extract (upper right).Add the eggs one by one and beat to combine (lower left). Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and fold in, mixing minimally with a rubber spatula, until just combined (lower right).

How to split a vanilla bean

Divide the batter between the loaf pans. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the pans and bake another 25-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out almost clean.

While the loaves bake, make syrup. In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water over medium heat.  Note: it takes a while to dissolve the sugar since the ratio makes a pretty concentrated sugar solution.  Just be patient and keep watching the solution - don't make burnt sugar here! Add the vanilla beans and seeds and stir a little to loosen the seeds. Remove pan from heat.

When the loaves are done, cool them for 10 minutes in the pan on a rack, and then turn them out onto the rack.

Brush the loaves generously on all sides with the syrup. Repeat the brushing with syrup a few more times as the loaves cool.  Note: I did not have a brush, but I was able to successfully spoon small amounts of vanilla syrup over the bread.

Enjoy!

Our Verdict
This loaf is delicious, but it's not the same as the Hi Rise Bakery vanilla loaf. This loaf is a little less sweet and less dense. It's fluffier - a bit more cake-like and less pound cake-like than the original Hi Rise version.

Considering that this recipe already involves 8 eggs and 3 sticks of butter, it's a bit scary to imagine what more must be added to make the denser and sweeter Hi Rise loaf!

In any event, this loaf is still very good and I still can't stop eating it.  I've been having it every morning with a nice cup of espresso.  The espresso is the perfect balance to the buttery, rich cake.  This loaf still has the signature burnt sugar crusty edge that I love, and it has a deliciously strong, fragrant vanilla flavor.

Hi Rise Vanilla Loaf

One of my favorite bakeries in Cambridge is Hi Rise Bread Company right outside of Harvard Square.  They make excellent sandwiches and their breads are incredible.  My all time favorite item there is their elusive vanilla loaf.  This loaf is absolutely amazing.  It has a gorgeous crust that I just can't stop eating. The sugar crystallizes a bit on the edges while baking, giving the loaf an amazing slightly burnt sugar buttery crusty edge. It's hard to explain, but it's oh so good.

When I wrote my wistfully dreamy post about Hi Rise Bread Company a few months ago, more than one person wrote to me telling me that an adaptation of the vanilla loaf recipe was available.  I was so excited!

It took awhile to gather the ingredients together (especially the vanilla beans and the vanilla sugar), but once I had everything I couldn't wait to make my favorite loaf!

You will need 3 vanilla beans for this loaf, which makes this loaf relatively expensive to make.  I was able to pick up vanilla beans at Costco for about $1 a bean (I had to buy 10).  I also saw them at the local grocery store for $5 each.  So, the prices do vary.

You have to plan a few days in advance for this bread, since one of the ingredients is vanilla sugar.  This just involves splitting open a vanilla bean and putting it in a container of sugar (2-3 cups) for a few days.

For a printable version of the recipe, click here.
Adapted from Hi-Rise Bread Company in Cambridge, MA, via Amanda Hesser
(makes 2 loaves)
Ingredients

For the loaf:

3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 1/2 cups vanilla sugar

1 vanilla bean

1 T vanilla extract

8 large eggs, room temperature

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

For the syrup:

1 3/4 cups sugar

1 cup water

2 vanilla beans, split and scraped

Thickly butter two loaf pans and preheat oven to 325 Fahrenheit (Note - I halved the recipe because I did not have enough sugar!)

Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy (upper left photo). Scrape the first vanilla bean and get all the seeds into the bowl, along with the vanilla extract (upper right).Add the eggs one by one and beat to combine (lower left). Sift the flour, salt, and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the batter and fold in, mixing minimally with a rubber spatula, until just combined (lower right).

How to split a vanilla bean

Divide the batter between the loaf pans. Bake for 30 minutes, then turn the pans and bake another 25-40 minutes or until a cake tester comes out almost clean.

While the loaves bake, make syrup. In a small saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water over medium heat.  Note: it takes a while to dissolve the sugar since the ratio makes a pretty concentrated sugar solution.  Just be patient and keep watching the solution - don't make burnt sugar here! Add the vanilla beans and seeds and stir a little to loosen the seeds. Remove pan from heat.

When the loaves are done, cool them for 10 minutes in the pan on a rack, and then turn them out onto the rack.

Brush the loaves generously on all sides with the syrup. Repeat the brushing with syrup a few more times as the loaves cool.  Note: I did not have a brush, but I was able to successfully spoon small amounts of vanilla syrup over the bread.

Enjoy!

Our Verdict
This loaf is delicious, but it's not the same as the Hi Rise Bakery vanilla loaf. This loaf is a little less sweet and less dense. It's fluffier - a bit more cake-like and less pound cake-like than the original Hi Rise version.

Considering that this recipe already involves 8 eggs and 3 sticks of butter, it's a bit scary to imagine what more must be added to make the denser and sweeter Hi Rise loaf!

In any event, this loaf is still very good and I still can't stop eating it.  I've been having it every morning with a nice cup of espresso.  The espresso is the perfect balance to the buttery, rich cake.  This loaf still has the signature burnt sugar crusty edge that I love, and it has a deliciously strong, fragrant vanilla flavor.

Prezza (Updated Post)

We went to Prezza again last week with the in-laws.  After noting that my previous review had no pictures (gasp!!! . .forgive me, it 2007 when I just started this blog after taking the bar exam!) I decided it was time for an updated review.

Just a little bit of background.  Prezza, named after the ancient Italian town where Chef Anthony Caturano's grandmother was born, is a modern Italian restaurant that focuses on local, fresh seasonal ingredients prepared with an Old World style.

Prezza has an incredible wine list, boasting over 8000 bottles from over 900 labels.  Not being a wine connoisseur, I can't really comment much about their wines except to say that the wine the waiter picked out for us was quite enjoyable.

Prezza is definitely one of the more expensive and classy restaurants in the North End.  Appetizers range between $15-$16, pastas are around $15 for an appetizer portion or around $30 for an entree portions.  The meat entrees range between $25 and $44.

During our most recent visit, the food was excellent, as was the service and the ambiance.  We purposely brought our in-laws here because they LOVE Italian, and we wanted them to experience the best in the North End (We also took them to Mamma Maria and Mike's Pastry while they were visiting Boston).

Please enjoy some pictures from our meal. :)

Fried Egg over roasted wild mushroom crostini with grilled onions $15
I absolutely loved this appetizer.  The barely runny yolk, once broken, serves as a lovely, creamy binder that brings the entire dish together.  The wild mushrooms had a wonderful, woody flavor and were flavored just right with a little bit of salt.  The entire dish was fantastic.

Butternut Squash Arancini, lobster, mascarpone, brown butter and sage $15
An interesting, creative autumn twist on an old, traditional favorite. Well done.

Lobster Fra Diavlo- Saffron Tagliatelle with roasted tomato, fennel and lobster meat $18 ~ $36
The flavors in this sauce was incredible, although I was slightly disappointed with the texture of the fresh homemade pasta.  In my opinion, it was just slightly overcooked - not quite al dente the way fresh pasta should be other.  The dish was still very enjoyable because the sauce was so flavorful.

Potato Gnocchi “a la Bolognese”- Rustic meat ragout, tomato, porcini cream and pecorino cheese $15 ~ $28
This dish is classic and the meat sauce has great flavor.  The gnocchi also has a wonderful, fresh, chewy texture that is so fun to eat.  I always find that I can't stop eating the gnocchi pieces even though I am full.  Bryan and I both liked this better than the rabbit pappardelle from Mamma Maria.

Paella - Lobster, fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, squid, chicken, chorizo and saffron rice $36
Bryan has ordered the paella several times here, and he attests to its quality.  The seafood is all very fresh, and the rice, which absorbs all the fragrant flavors from the shellfish, tastes delicious.

Wood Grilled Venison, pumpkin risotto, braised greens, red wine-bacon glaze $36
This dish was cooked perfectly rare, and not too game-y.  The sauce was gloriously deep in flavor.  The pumpkin risotto was nice, light, and creamy - a good complement to the rich wine sauce that accompanied the venison.

Rotisserie grilled Wagyu beef, Broccoli Rabe, extra virgin olive oil, and pecorino cheese, Polenta with tomato, basil and Parmigiano
This was the special of the day.  Wagyu is always delicious, even when cooked at home, and this was no exception.  The meat was tender and super flavorful. Well executed.
Although we typically skip desserts in the North End and opt for cannolis at a bakery instead, we decided this time to order some desserts from Prezza.

Limoncello Cheesecake with biscotti crust and blueberries
What a great way to end the meal!  This cheesecake was mild - not too sweet, not too tart.  I typically love tart pies, such as key lime pie.  However, the blueberries were rather tart, and actually ended up pairing perfectly with the sweet, mild, limoncello cheesecake.

The layered pumpkin cake and chocolate tort.  Both solid desserts that tasted great with a small espresso.  :)

Again, in conclusion, Prezza is truly an excellent restaurant, and definitely one of the best in the North End.  If you want a taste of some of the best that the North End has to offer, definitely check out this place right off Hanover Street!

Prezza
24 Fleet St
Boston, MA 02113

Prezza (Updated Post)

We went to Prezza again last week with the in-laws.  After noting that my previous review had no pictures (gasp!!! . .forgive me, it 2007 when I just started this blog after taking the bar exam!) I decided it was time for an updated review.

Just a little bit of background.  Prezza, named after the ancient Italian town where Chef Anthony Caturano's grandmother was born, is a modern Italian restaurant that focuses on local, fresh seasonal ingredients prepared with an Old World style.

Prezza has an incredible wine list, boasting over 8000 bottles from over 900 labels.  Not being a wine connoisseur, I can't really comment much about their wines except to say that the wine the waiter picked out for us was quite enjoyable.

Prezza is definitely one of the more expensive and classy restaurants in the North End.  Appetizers range between $15-$16, pastas are around $15 for an appetizer portion or around $30 for an entree portions.  The meat entrees range between $25 and $44.

During our most recent visit, the food was excellent, as was the service and the ambiance.  We purposely brought our in-laws here because they LOVE Italian, and we wanted them to experience the best in the North End (We also took them to Mamma Maria and Mike's Pastry while they were visiting Boston).

Please enjoy some pictures from our meal. :)

Fried Egg over roasted wild mushroom crostini with grilled onions $15
I absolutely loved this appetizer.  The barely runny yolk, once broken, serves as a lovely, creamy binder that brings the entire dish together.  The wild mushrooms had a wonderful, woody flavor and were flavored just right with a little bit of salt.  The entire dish was fantastic.

Butternut Squash Arancini, lobster, mascarpone, brown butter and sage $15
An interesting, creative autumn twist on an old, traditional favorite. Well done.

Lobster Fra Diavlo- Saffron Tagliatelle with roasted tomato, fennel and lobster meat $18 ~ $36
The flavors in this sauce was incredible, although I was slightly disappointed with the texture of the fresh homemade pasta.  In my opinion, it was just slightly overcooked - not quite al dente the way fresh pasta should be other.  The dish was still very enjoyable because the sauce was so flavorful.

Potato Gnocchi “a la Bolognese”- Rustic meat ragout, tomato, porcini cream and pecorino cheese $15 ~ $28
This dish is classic and the meat sauce has great flavor.  The gnocchi also has a wonderful, fresh, chewy texture that is so fun to eat.  I always find that I can't stop eating the gnocchi pieces even though I am full.  Bryan and I both liked this better than the rabbit pappardelle from Mamma Maria.

Paella - Lobster, fish, shrimp, clams, mussels, squid, chicken, chorizo and saffron rice $36
Bryan has ordered the paella several times here, and he attests to its quality.  The seafood is all very fresh, and the rice, which absorbs all the fragrant flavors from the shellfish, tastes delicious.

Wood Grilled Venison, pumpkin risotto, braised greens, red wine-bacon glaze $36
This dish was cooked perfectly rare, and not too game-y.  The sauce was gloriously deep in flavor.  The pumpkin risotto was nice, light, and creamy - a good complement to the rich wine sauce that accompanied the venison.

Rotisserie grilled Wagyu beef, Broccoli Rabe, extra virgin olive oil, and pecorino cheese, Polenta with tomato, basil and Parmigiano
This was the special of the day.  Wagyu is always delicious, even when cooked at home, and this was no exception.  The meat was tender and super flavorful. Well executed.
Although we typically skip desserts in the North End and opt for cannolis at a bakery instead, we decided this time to order some desserts from Prezza.

Limoncello Cheesecake with biscotti crust and blueberries
What a great way to end the meal!  This cheesecake was mild - not too sweet, not too tart.  I typically love tart pies, such as key lime pie.  However, the blueberries were rather tart, and actually ended up pairing perfectly with the sweet, mild, limoncello cheesecake.

The layered pumpkin cake and chocolate tort.  Both solid desserts that tasted great with a small espresso.  :)

Again, in conclusion, Prezza is truly an excellent restaurant, and definitely one of the best in the North End.  If you want a taste of some of the best that the North End has to offer, definitely check out this place right off Hanover Street!

Prezza
24 Fleet St
Boston, MA 02113