South End

TGIF!  Seriously, the weekend could not have come fast enough! I had a pretty rotten day- some work stress, got soaked on my way in this morning, and my poor mom was diagnosed with Lyme disease. She is going to be ok but is on some heavy medicine and in a lot of pain. Good thing I was planning on visiting this weekend.

The highlight of the day was the arrival of my Amazing Grass samples! I am planning a review later this weekend, but let me tell you that I have already had the chocolate Amazing Meal, and it was DELICIOUS. I will be going online later this evening to buy a tub! Thank you to Teri from Amazing Grass. I am really looking forward to trying more of their products.

I will be off to NJ for the weekend and not posting tomorrow, but I hope you all have a fab weekend. Below is a review of a great new Boston restaurant. Enjoy! 🙂

After my lovely weekend on the Cape, the hub and I decided to catch up over dinner, and for some time now I had been wanting to try Stephi’s on Tremont, the sister restaurant to the famous Stephanie’s on Newbury, a fabulous place for food and cocktails. Stephi’s is closer to our home, in Boston’s South End, a neighborhood that I LOVE and luckily get to walk through every morning on my way to work.

I have mentioned in the past that the South End is a foodie paradise. I certainly have my favorites – (Petit Robert anyone?)but I also want to try a million other places in the area. I chose Stephi’s for this sunny Sunday night because 1) from walking by, I could tell I would love the interior 2) the menu looked lovely and comforting but also offers a bunch of entrée size salads. After a weekend of indulgence with the girls, I wanted something tasty but healthy too.

We made a last minute reservation on Open Table and arrived at Stephi’s right on time. The hostess knew who we were right away- neat. We were taken to a cozy corner booth and met our server for the evening. I can’t remember his name, but he was fantastic. So attentive, friendly, and knowledgeable about the menu. He kept an eye on us from afar but didn’t intrude at all.

There were several menu items that I wanted to try. I started with a glass of  cava and the hub got a Pinot Noir from MacMurray Ranch in Sonoma County. I loved my cava, but being that it was a chilly night, I had a sip of the Pinot and it was amazing. I hope that we get to visit MacMurray Ranch when we can finally book a trip to CA! It was so earthy with some very nice dark red fruit undertones. After a trip to Portland, OR last summer, I am loving West Coast Pinot Noirs and look forward to trying more.

Our server brought us a delish little loaf of bread that was wrapped in wax paper. We wondered where the butter or oil was, and it turned out to sort of be ON the loaf. The bread was hot and the crust was almost croissant-like. Needless to say, we finished it off. It was the perfect portion to eat while we waited for our meal.

For my entrée I decided on a salad, the Asian Yellow Fin Tuna Salad:
seared sashimi grade tuna with chilled udon noodles,
charred hot cherry peppers, shredded carrots, cabbage
and cucumbers, bean sprouts, spicy peanuts,
toasted coconut and sweet chili dressing

It was perfectly fresh, crisp and flavorful. The coconut and chopped peanuts were a perfect accent to the veggies and the seared tuna. I love some noodles in a salad; they add such a satisfying element. I was completely full after eating about half. The rest was a lovely lunch on Monday!

The hub ordered the LOBSTER SHEPHERD’S PIE.
poached maine lobster layered with homemade corn pudding, garlicky spinach,
caramelized onions, english peas and fresh roasted corn served with creamed corn gravy
topped with chive mashed potatoes

Can we say delicious New England comfort? Normally this would not likely be a meal we would order in June, but if you live in the Northeast you probably know that its been gray, rainy and chilly for over a week. The night was cool, and this dish was decadent.

We ended up too full for dessert and took a walk to the dog park nearby to get some activity in. We may have picked up a red velvet cupcake from the South End Buttery on the way home, but I will post about that on another day . . .