Behind the Food Trucks

0

Do you watch the Great Food Truck Race? I’m obsessed. I love it. They were in BOSTON and I didn’t even know it! I googled to see when it was actually filmed but now I know where they parked. The finale is Sunday night. I’ll be glued to the food network. Anywho, there are a bunch of food trucks that park right near my office and I’ve never shyed away from food truck events.

Last fall I went to this food truck festival and had some fightin’ words.
I happened upon the make-up event for the Greenway’s Food Trucks.
I featured a guest post of a food truck festival.

https://masterfacilitator.com/5m2bagf8pso They do make me wonder about the logistics since that’s my area. Permits in Boston are redonkulous. Trust me, I get permits for parks, parades, food service, fire safety etc and they are no small feat. I also wonder about where they park at night, how they track their sales, hiring, and how they got the truck outfitted to begin with.

https://space1026.com/2024/01/sxn82nz Boston’s probably ONLY helpful page of the city’s website is about food trucks. There’s a schedule of who will be parked where that is searchable. It also has tips to get a business started. Now, maybe you’re not trying to start a business (I know I’m not!) but I got this guest post and thought it was really interesting.

America's Food Truck Infographic
Full 3 Bite Rule Disclosure: This guest post was sent to me as a complimentary guest post to use carinsurance.org’s image if I chose to. My thoughts, opinions, and words are entirely my own. I was not compensated; I just thought it was interesting.

Guest Post: Baking Newbie

3

This is a suuuuuper crazy time of year for me. Think laughing/crying/exhaustion with a never-ending to-do list. I love my job…it just that I have the whole  year’s worth of stress compacted into only a few months. I love that folks wanted to help me with guest posts. Today I have Amy of Wicked Good Travel. You’ve met Amy before, here, and she was here, and I was on her blog here.

https://serenityspaonline.com/w0ei120s Baking and I are not friends. I was always more than happy to reap the benefits of baking that others did, but I wanted no part of hangin’ out with baking on my own. Cooking and I are serious BFFs though. We get along like a house on fire…is that a bad metaphor for cooking? Anyway, whenever baking and I got together it ended in tears, shouting, and hopping up and down in anger. This came along with a huge mess that looked like I’d murdered a platter of cupcakes and then tried to cover up my sins with a bag of flour. Seriously. It never went well.

https://manabernardes.com/2024/xpvj70s But lately as I’ve gotten increasingly better and more confident at cooking I felt like I needed a challenge. It started with homemade pasta. The first batch of pasta dough failed miserably, but then I watched a video and tried again and it worked! Then recently I wanted to make biscuits and gravy, but I didn’t have any pre-made biscuits I could pop in the oven, and I thought ‘well, if I’m really a food blogger, then I should be up for the challenge of making stuff from scratch as much as possible.’ So, I decided to try my hand at homemade biscuits. It all was going so well, until I failed to read the ingredients that said “self-rising flour” and used “all-purpose flour” instead, without adding any baking powder or baking soda. You might think at that point I would throw in the towel. But, that simple mistake suddenly flipped the switch in my brain, and seeing what happened to the biscuits minus that ingredient made it easier to understand why I needed to follow baking instructions more carefully.

https://www.chat-quiberon.com/2024/01/18/nbicodh72v I know, it all sounds so obvious. And honestly, I did always know why following measurements and not swapping out ingredients on a whim while baking was important. But alas, I’m a creative, passionate type and I didn’t want to deal with that rigidity as I saw it. I wanted to be free to throw this in and add a pinch of that, or totally mix it up or sideways and get downright crazy! Since I couldn’t do that with baking, despite my valiant efforts, I shunned the activity.

Order Xanax From Canada Yet, with this recent hiccup regarding the biscuits I found myself getting right back on the horse and the following weekend I made them again. And they came out perfectly. Suddenly, I had found that freedom I always thought was nonexistent with baking. I also found that yes, I could bake. I just had to pay attention as a beginner. Now, I was free to rule the world of baking should I wish! So, with that in mind, I decided to get seriously crazy. I decided… to make scones.

Blackberry Scones

modified from Baking Bites

Ingredients:

Buy Soma Watson Brand 2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter, chilled
3/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup blackberries, fresh or frozen (I used frozen, actually kneads a bit better into the dough)
1 tbsp coarse sugar, for topping (I didn’t have any so I did without)

Directions:

http://www.wowogallery.com/y698hm4sa Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut butter into 6-8 chunks and add to flour mixture, tossing to coat. Using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until mixture is sandy and butter is well distributed, with no pieces larger than a big pea.
guest_scones_flourbutter_590_390
Combine milk and vanilla extract and pout into flour mixture. Stir until dough comes together.
guest_scone_590_390Add blackberries and gently knead into the dough. It is ok if some berries get slightly squished.
guest_scone_berries_590_390 Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and flatten dough into a disc about 3/4-inch thick.
Use a knife to divide disc into six triangles. Place scones on prepared baking sheet.
Sprinkle generously with coarse sugar.
Bake for 20 minutes, until scones are golden brown.
guest_scones_inside_590_390

Buy 1000 Valium Online Again, everything seemed to be going so well, so I snapped photos away ready to blog my triumph. But as the dough came together and I had to roll it out, all seemed lost. It was so sticky and seemed too wet – I couldn’t cut the dough as perfectly as I had expected so I cut rough triangles and gingerly put them on the baking sheet. Hence the lack of photos of the dough. Imagine my surprise when I pulled them out of the oven as the timer bell went off, and cut a piece off with some serious trepidation, and I realized I had made a bonafide scone. They tasted so amazing!! I couldn’t believe it. I’ve already started my next baking venture- I’m going to make oatcakes. The batter is sitting on my kitchen counter as I type, patiently waiting to be rolled out tomorrow, per instructions.

Well, thanks so much to Emily for allowing me a little space on her corner of the Interweb to share my success with you all! I encourage you to give the recipe for Blackberry Scones a go, which can easily become Raspberry Scones, or Blueberry Scones, or Walnut Scones…all I know is we’re gonna be bakin’ away in this house going forward. And I have learned that there’s enough room in my heart and my skills to be BFFs with both cooking and baking.
guest_scones_done_590_390

https://www.chat-quiberon.com/2024/01/18/jfjpb3vh Cheers!
Amy

https://sieterevueltas.net/u6z8t4gix Interested in being a guest blogger? Email emily@thethreebiterule.com for more details!

Guest Blog Post: Dining in Japan

https://gungrove.com/rksnu64h 0

Buy Alprazolam Online Usa Miss Liz just got back from Japan and has all sorts of food/meals to share!

I must admit I was nervous about the food in Japan. I went with two friends from work-Bekka and Rachel. I thought there would be sushi everywhere and I’m not a big sushi fan. Turns out, Japan has a wide variety of food and I was pleasantly surprised. Of course, there were lots of food that I was not ever going to try-ie horse meat.

https://space1026.com/2024/01/wxz7jk4t4zw My favorite meal was at a tiny restaurant that only serves dumplings in the Harajuku region of Tokyo. We found the spot courtesy of Lonely Planet.  We ordered some of each type of dumpling-plain and garlic and leek.  They were warm, tender and delicious. I loved the garlic and leek dumplings. Our meal also came with pickled cabbage (which you see every where in Japan) and cucumbers with miso sauce. The miso sauce was the perfect mixture of tangy and spice with the crunchy cucumbers.
japan_dumplings_590_390
We tried soba noodles for dinner one night. They are cold buckwheat noodles. You dip them into soy sauce. Honestly, I wasn’t into it.

https://www.ngoc.org.uk/uncategorized/future-events/ttyxjkswl Tokyo is famous for its fish market. All the surrounding side streets have tiny stalls selling food. Rachel was adventurous enough to have a huge oyster (again with soy sauce) at 715am.  Some things, none of would try, like the chicken feet.
japan_crabs_590_390
We were always nervous when trying street food. It was never labeled in English and the people selling it rarely spoke English. One day, people were crowded around a stall, we figured it had to be good.  OH MY GOD. This was my favorite food in Japan. Problem is, we still don’t know what we ate. It tastes like fried dough filled with sweetened black beans. Now, that sounds like a silly combo and nothing they would eat in Japan, but it was amazing and the Japanese were lining up for these little snacks.
japan_beanbaby_590_390
It took us a few days to realize, Japan stops serving lunch at 2pm.  Unfortunately, one day, we were really hungry and it was down pouring. We were desperate to find a restaurant that was open and had an English menu.  After 20 minutes of walking around in the rain, we settled on the only open restaurant we could find. They did have a menu with pictures, but no one spoke English. I asked 2 young men in the restaurant what the pictures were and they were able to tell me the following: “Beef, Bird (with a guy moving his arms like the chicken dance) and Shrimp”.  Bekka and I got beef. Rachel decided on “bird” ie chicken fingers.

Before leaving for Japan, I heard about rice balls. I thought I was going to be in heaven. Turns out, its densely packed rice and then fried/grilled and then sits in your stomach like a hockey puck. They sell rice balls, which are not fried but wrapped in nori at convenience stores for quick snacks and breakfast.
japan_riceball_590_390
Rachel did some research in Kyoto in found a really fun local restaurant where we got to sit on tami mats. Kishakura specializes in chicken.  They offered tofu as an appetizer, I passed on it but it looked really pretty.  We share a bottle of local Sake.
japan_nicedinner
One day, we needed to grab a quick meal. So, we had Ramen that we ordered from a vending machine. This is pretty common in Japan for causal restaurants. You order at the vending machine with help of plastic food showing you what your order will look like. The ramen was great. The noodles were thicker than ramen we make a home with boiling water.
japan_ramen_590_390
Finally, sushi! I don’t like sushi, but I tried it in Tokyo at convoyer belt sushi place.  Bekka and Rachel enjoyed it.
japan_belt_390_590
All in all, it was a great vacation and we had some interesting food!

https://www.prehistoricsoul.com/jm6ood5f6 Would you like to be a guest blogger? Email emily@thethreebiterule.com for more details!

Guest Post: A Special Meal For The Birthday Girl

https://fireheartmusic.com/x0z0ja0 3

Here’s the special guest post I mentioned earlier from Justin:

https://mmopage.com/news/nn4ymqyj While I do not share the same enthusiasm for my birthday, I know that birthday celebrations are one of the most important times of the year for my wife. I knew I wanted to cook a special meal for her, and I wanted something without a complex list of ingredients. I also wanted something I had cooked before, to save myself the pressure of testing new things. I went with Columbus’ Pork Chops, and substituted the suggested side of salad and crusty bread for wilted spinach. This recipe is from one of our go-to cookbooks, Rachel Ray’s 365: No Repeats (http://www.amazon.com/Rachael-Ray-365-Repeats-Deliciously/dp/1400082544). When I first started reading through the directions, I was thinking it was too simple for a guest blog post, but once I started preparing and taking photos, I felt like there was enough substance for the many readers of The Three Bite Rule.

Columbus’ Pork Chops

Ingredients:

https://equinlab.com/2024/01/18/hk0o3jmfz 4 boneless, thick-cut pork chops
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pint strawberries, sliced
1 cup basil leaves, chopped
1/4 balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Directions:

Buy Valium Roche Uk Preheat the oven to 375. Season the chops with salt and pepper and let them come to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
columbus_chop_590_390
In a medium bowl, toss the strawberries with the basil and vinegar and let stand for 15 to 20 minutes.

columbus_balsamic_590_390
columbus_veg_590_390

https://sieterevueltas.net/pdzhqhc columbus_mix_590_390

Order Prescription Xanax Heat an ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO to the skillet and sear and caramelize the meat for 2 to 3 minutes on each side.
columbus_cooking_590_390
Transfer the skillet to the oven and roast for 10 to 12 minutes, until the juices run clear and the meat is firm but not hard (I always use our meat thermometer and it never fails to produce perfectly cooked meat!). Let the meat rest for 5 minutes.
columbus_temp_590_390
Mound the macerated berries on top of the chops and serve.
columbus_plate_590_390
I was really impressed with how it turned out, and even more impressed with my plating. I am confident it would have been enough to win over the toughest Chopped judges! It was a pretty straightforward, yet elegant presentation, and Emily was really happy with it.

Buy 5Mg Xanax Online I also wanted to add in a special dessert, and decided that I could gamble on baking something new after the success of the main course. I grabbed a box of Betty Crocker Decadent Supreme Molten Lava Cakes, and to my surprise they turned out perfectly!
columbus_dessert_590_390

Guest Blog: Veggie Rangoons

0

Buy Generic Diazepam 10Mg Today I bring you a guest blog post from a college student in Austin. Joseph Ver is not only learning lessons in the classroom, but he’s learning his way around the kitchen. Without further ado, here he is:

https://modaypadel.com/plydexg2 I can give you a long list of my grievances in having to live in dorm conditions, from loud running and screaming in the middle of the night to my heightened mysophobia, but I feel the winner of the worst reason to live in a dorm is the lack of kitchen. I remember dorm shopping with my mother. I was excited to buy skillets and cutting boards, which is possibly a strange thing for a college bound guy to be excited about. Imagine the tears I shed when I found out that the kitchen was on the fourth floor. Nevertheless, I did try to cook tofu curry on the first week of school. It was a disaster to say the least, and successfully kept me away from that kitchen for the rest of the year.

Fast forward to today, a few semesters later, and I am now living in an on-campus apartment. Sure, I still have to hear my loud peers in the parking lot during thirsty Thursdays, but at least I now have a kitchen to myself (and a roommate). Maybe I should have prefaced this post by saying that I have little to no culinary experience. My training has consisted of helping my Filipino mother cook dinner, experimenting with eggs, watching cooking shows on PBS and the Food Network, and drawing inspiration from religiously watching Top Chef. To say the least, I’m a scrappy cook. I’ll find and follow recipes and add my own little twists.

https://therepairstore.ca/2y7lxnbi5 Starting from the beginning of this school year, I’ve tried my hand at mashed potatoes, chicken teriyaki tacos, mapo doufu, French toast with my very own egg bread, and chicken tikka masala among many other dishes. You can probably tell that I cook a lot of Asian inspired dishes. I think my proudest moment actually stemmed from having to salvage vegetables. Now, I’m stereotypical poor college student on a strict budget. Throwing away food does not make me happy in the least bit.

https://www.justoffbase.co.uk/uncategorized/gsdh0zh5vb Having bought a bunch of vegetables the week before, I remembered that I had to eat my spare broccoli and asparagus ASAP before it truly went bad. I wanted something more exciting than steamed vegetables, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing but merely something I wasn’t in the mood for at the time. I had bought wonton wrappers and a block of cream cheese when I realized that I could make crab rangoon. Having learned how to make this simple Chinese-American restaurant staple a few years ago at an Asian Festival back in San Antonio, I decided to do my own vegetarian rendition of it with a twist. (Keep in mind that this was me throwing things from the fridge together, so ingredients are approximate and rather spontaneous)

Broccoli and Cheese Rangoons

Ingredients:

https://manabernardes.com/2024/jdmhjbpui -A pack of wonton wrappers (Found in an oriental store, but your local supermarket may have them)
-A block (16 oz.) of cream cheese
-A head of broccoli, chopped up into very small pieces
-Three sprigs of finely sliced green onion
-Cooking oil for deep frying
-Salt and pepper to taste
Optional:
-Finely chopped asparagus
-Finely sliced sundried tomatoes
-Finely chopped up of any vegetable that you think would fit in a small pocket of fried goodness

Directions:

https://gungrove.com/hsvqrg62rn This recipe is very simple. Just soften some cream cheese in room temperature, place it in a bowl and mix in all of your veggies nicely.
Now, there are many ways you can wrap the wonton wrapper. The best way is to put around a tablespoon of filling into your wanton wrapper, and fold it diagonally into a little triangle. Seal the wrapper with water.
guest_rangoon_590_390
I don’t have a deep fryer, so instead I just put a considerable amount of cooking oil into my wok and fried it that way.
guest_rangoon_pan
Be afraid of getting hit by crackling oil- it really hurts!

It’s really easy to tell when they’re finished. It’s not like you have to worry about having the filling uncooked and getting sick since it’s merely cream cheese. Go ahead and place them on a plate with a paper towel to cool and enjoy! (One looks like a tiny egg roll, hehe)
guest_rangoon_plate_590_390
Once again, this is a really simple recipe and thing to make and my main point for making it was to salvage vegetables that were going to end up in the trash in a few days. Are there any other recipes that you make on the fly because you want to save certain ingredients? Let me know!

https://www.prehistoricsoul.com/omgpa0fqe Joseph Ver is an SEO intern at SpareFoot.com. He attends Saint Edward’s University in Austin, TX and, aside from cooking, loves watching reality shows (Top Chef, Project Runway, Survivor) and befriending various people on the bus. He also blogs when he actually remembers that he has one right here.

Would you like to be a guest blogger? Email emily@thethreebiterule for more details!

Guest Post: Buffalo Bites

Today I have a fantastic guest blog post for you! This post comes Dana of Nosh. We went to college together and I’ve been loving her blog (like this pineapple salsa recipe! and this edamame salad recipe! and this stuffed peppers recipe!) I’m super psyched to try this one myself! I cannot believe I don’t have any buffalo chicken recipes on the three bite rule!

Here’s Dana:
I’m trying (key word) to lose a few lb’s before my July wedding, and in doing so, I’m naturally craving the worst foods on the planet.  This recipe is surprisingly low-fat (5 wonton wrappers is only 100 calories, and the chicken is boiled in plain ‘ol water and then baked, so no extra fat there…plus wait til you see the coleslaw!) but still tastes like an indulgence.  The wontons would make a great app (oh hey, Superbowl) and the coleslaw is a healthy side made with my favorite Greek yogurt (you can’t even tell it’s good for you!).  Hope you enjoy these and much as I do…and thanks again to Emily for the opportunity to cross over to another awesome blog!

BUFFALO CHICKEN WONTONS

(this recipe makes a TON of wontons.  You can either cut down the amount of chicken you use or if you don’t want to make all of the wontons, you can make as many as you want, freeze the remaining wonton wrappers, and have a buffalo chicken sandwich for lunch the next day with the remaining chicken!  Probably awesome on a salad, too.)

Ingredients:

1 package Nasoya wonton wrappers
2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/2 bottle Frank’s Red Hot (I used Buffalo flavor but i’m sure the Original is just as tasty)
1/4 c. Light Ranch dressing
1 egg white OR water


Directions:

Boil chicken in water (or chicken broth) for 15 or so minutes until cooked through.  Remove from water and set in a bowl.
Once cool, shred with a fork and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Meanwhile, preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Here’s the shredded chicken with the buffalo sauce…this was perfect on a sandwich the next day (said my fiance) and scooped up with celery stalks (said me).
shredbuffchix_590_390
Mix Red Hot and Ranch dressing in a bowl and pour over pulled chicken, mixing to coat.
Arrange wonton wrappers on a sprayed cooking sheet.  Place about 1/2 a teaspoon of chicken into the center of each wrapper. Using the egg wash or water, lightly brush two sides of the wrapper and bring up into a triangle to meet the other half of the wonton, pinching to secure.
Bake for 10-12 minutes until crispy, flipping once.
wontonprebake2_390_590
I sprayed the pan with olive oil cooking spray, so there was no need for a brush of oil or anything prior to baking.
wontonoven2_590_390
Pre-baked
EDITOR’S NOTE: If you want a cheesier, creamier, not as healthy wonton, try adding a bit of cream cheese to the chicken mixture.
finalwonton2_590_390
Gorgeous color on the wontons!


Greek Coleslaw

(this recipe is adapted from Ellie Krieger’s recipe found here.  Of course I didn’t measure anything TOO accurately, and I left out the caraway seeds.)

Ingredients:

1 package Dole shredded coleslaw mix
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt (I used Chobani 0%)
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 c. mayonnaise (I used Hellmans Olive Oil mayo)1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
salt & pepper

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and add to coleslaw mix.
Stir to coat.  Season with salt & pepper.
Refrigerate at least 30 minutes to let “sauce” absorb into coleslaw.

oh heeeey, awesomely healthy wontons and sweet scrumptious coleslaw…don’t mind if I do…
finalwontonplate_590_390

Would you like to be a guest blogger? Email emily@thethreebiterule for more details!

Show Us Your Fluff

Did you grow up eating fluff? I love it. I looooove peanut butter (low fat & extra crunchy, preferably) and it just goes so well with fluff. About a year and a half ago, I brought the makings for pb&f at work. My then-colleague, Mrs. E, grew up in Ireland and just thought it was the strangest thing. Yum. My childhood memories include fluff topping cocoa too.

My blog pal from Wicked Good Travel & Acticities has a give away I’m psyched to share with you. You may remember her blog from my guest post. I’ve been busy eating, cooking, toying with my new camera, swapping, restaurant-weeking, and final wedding detailing. I have lots to catch you up on, but in the meantime, please enjoy some fluff.

fluff_jar_390_590

image courtesy of Union Square Main Streets

Are you a fan of Marshmallow Fluff? Does it remind you of childhood memories of having the perfect combination of a Fluffernutter, do you dream about it swirled into Nutella for a delectable, chocolate, “fluffy” delight?

If you said ‘yes’ then you are in luck! On September 24thUnion Square Main Streets is holding their Sixth Annual “What the Fluff” festival to honor the creamy delight. They’ll have food, games, entertainment, even a celebrity appearance by Susan Olsen, or ‘Cindy’, from the Brady Bunch. And there’s still time to enter the Fluff cooking contest,which boasts some top prizes, including a tour of the factory (a rare treat)!

fluff_cupcake_590_390

Photo Courtesy of Fluff 2010 by Julie Polvinen

To celebrate the local blog, Wicked Good Travel & Activities, is holding a giveaway contest. Just go over to Wicked Good Travel & Activities between August 31stand September 12th and leave a brief comment here in the form of creative recipes, prose, poetry, and more- all expressing your love for Marshmallow Fluff. Two winners will be chosen, so give us your best! One will receive a Fluff tote bag and the other will receive free studio classes at The Training Room. All winners will also be featured on Wicked Good Travel & Activities, Somerville Patch, and Union Square Main Streets.

fluff_bag_390_590

Photo Courtesy of Wicked Good Travel & Activities

So, what the fluff are you waiting for? Enter the contest and SHOW US YOUR FLUFF!

Ima Guest Blogga

I occasionally have guest bloggers but today I am one! Check out my guest blog post on Wicked Good Travel & Activities. The blogger Amy and I are virtual friends and I’m sure you’ll see her guest post here sometime too. Maybe we’ll get a chance to meet in real-life too! I think we could have some amazing themed parties based on some we’ve each had. Check out this one she did!

And how can you resist this guy making an appearance on there too?
windsor

Interested in being a guest blogger for The Three Bite Rule? Email emily@thethreebiterule.com for more info!

Guest Blog: Beantown’s Italian North End from a First Time Visitor

Readers, please meet Mr. B. He was visiting Boston and wanted to share a guest post with you!

Growing up in Chicago was amazing.  The only problem was that I was spoiled by all of the amazing food Chicago has to offer.  Chief among these delectable offerings is Italian food.  I live in Houston now, and unfortunately, I cannot get really exceptional Italian food in the Lone Star State.

I started my day by going on a Freedom Trail Tour learning about the early days of the American Revolution.  At the conclusion of the tour, the guide asked if we had any questions.  I told him that I had a very serious question: where could I get the best Italian food in the North End?  He directed me to a small restaurant off of Hanover Street called Trattoria Il Panino. I sat in the “giardino” or garden room at Trattoria Il Panino.

Normally I order Fettuccine Alfredo or Chicken Parmesan at Italian restaurants, but Boston is known for its seafood, so I decided to try a special called lobster fettuccine with chopped scallops in a “Fra Diavolo” sauce.  The waiter described the dish as being a lobster-infused fettuccine with a spicy tomato-based sauce.  He further explained that “Fra Diavolo” literally means “with the devil.”
guest_northend_pasta_290_200
The dish arrived, and I was surprised at the size of it.  In parts of Chicago, you get an overflowing helping of pasta.  At Trattoria Il Panino, the portion seemed small.  Halfway through the dish, it seemed like I had not made a dent in it.  When I finished the dish, I thought I had eaten all of the pasta in Boston!  The dish was very colorful and appealing.  The chef included chunks of lobster along with the chopped scallops.  He also included jalapeno peppers.  The waiter said that this was nontraditional, but the chef wanted to make sure the dish was spicy enough to do the devil justice.
guest_northend_plate_290_200
The bread was amazing as well.  That’s one of the things I really miss about Chicago Italian food.  In my opinion, the bread makes the meal, and Trattoria Il Panino offered excellent bread.  I overheard the wait staff speaking to one another in Italian, which added to the ambience.  All in all, I recommend Trattoria Il Panino for its wonderful bread, authentic ambience, and creative dishes.

While I was walking from Faneuil Hall to Trattoria Il Panino, I asked for suggestions on twitter for a place to eat in the North End.  One of my friends tweeted that I should try Regina’s Pizzeria.  I made my way there after first lunch.  For second lunch, I had a delicious slice of pepperoni pizza.  The pizza was a large slice of thin-crust pizza.  The pizza was dripping with pepperoni, cheese, and grease.  Although it wasn’t the healthiest choice, it sure was delicious. Predictably, the entire restaurant was packed with to-go orders coming in frequently and hungry patrons waiting outside for a table to open up.
guest_northend_sign
Another of my friends wrote on facebook that I should go to Mike’s Pastry for dessert.  I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  Mike’s Pastry has two long large display cases with just about any type of pastry you could possibly want including cannolis, cupcakes, and Boston cream puffs.  They were super busy.  They had at least six employees taking and filling orders and couldn’t keep up with demand.
guest_northend_200_290
I decided to go with a Boston cream puff…since I was in Boston!  The puff was very large with a Boston cream filling and a dark chocolate shell with white icing.  The amount of cream was overwhelming.  I think the puff should have been served with a spoon, so you could eat enough of the cream to make the proportion of puff and dark chocolate to cream a little more manageable.  I was able to make a complete mess of the situation with cream all over the place!

Finally, I made my way to Gigi Gelateria for some gelato.  What’s a trip to an Italian neighborhood without some gelato?  I chose a small cup of mint chocolate because it’s my favorite.  The gelato was overwhelmingly minty.  It was even a little too minty for me, and that’s saying a lot.  Other than the mintiness, the gelato was very smooth and creamy.  The small cup was also a very healthy serving.  I was unable to finish the small cup.  The furnishings were very contemporary and did not fit into the mold of an old Italian neighborhood.  When I was inside, I could have been anywhere in the country that sells gelato, but not specifically Boston’s North End.  I think my next trip to Boston will include a search for better gelato in the North End.
guest_northend_290_200
Overall, I have to say my experience in Boston’s North End was a success.  Hearing people speaking Italian as I walked through the neighborhood reminded me of some of the little Italian neighborhoods in Chicago.  The food was authentic and excellent.  I give Trattoria Il Panino, Regina’s Pizzeria, and Mike’s Pastry A pluses for their outstanding cuisine and neighborhood charm.  I give Gigi Gelateria a B- for the overpowering flavor and lack of neighborhood charm.  I am anxiously awaiting my next trip to Beantown!

Thanks Mr. B! Would you be interested in being a guest blogger? Email emily@thethreebiterule.com