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Doretta, Twice in One Day

July 8, 2016 in Food, Restaurants by traveleatlove | 2 comments

Summer Fridays. The phrase is one of the sweetest in the English language, I think, and I have been trying to take as many as possible this year. My schedule is such that I work Saturday and Sunday mornings and into the night many evenings, so finishing work by 1:00 on Fridays is often my goal.

Recently I enjoyed a summer Friday in town that included lunch AND dinner at Doretta. It all started with lunch plans with a friend who also has summer Fridays. We both wanted to try a restaurant we hadn’t been to yet and wanted somewhere with a patio. Doretta Taverna & Raw Bar fit both of those requirements and was also close the red line, perfect for us.

Summer Friday patio lunches call for bubbly, and I was absolutely delighted with the wine list at Doretta. I don’t have a ton of experience with Greek wine but loved this NV Domaine Spiropoulos Ode Panos Organic Brut. It was nice and dry, a rose gold color with brioche, lemon, and green apple notes, a perfect pairing with the feast we shared.

{Crisp Zucchini Chips with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce}

Zucchini chips are pure heaven, light and crunchy, dunked into cold and refreshing yogurt. Our Village Salad felt very traditional; I could picture myself sitting outdoors in Greece, surrounded by whitewashed walls and blue sky. This is definitely one of the most delicious ways to get vegetables.

{Village Salad}

{ Crunchy Eggplant with Smoky Yogurt, Tomato-Harissa Compote, and Crushed Pistachios}

The Crunchy Eggplant was on the opposite spectrum of the chips and salad. It was warm and hearty, and we dug into the rustic, smoky tomato with abandon.

When lunch was over, we went our separate ways, and I met other friends for coffee and then cocktails, where we started talking about how much I loved Doretta. They work in the neighborhood and insisted we go back and try the Espresso Martini. How can I say no to that?

{One of the best Espresso Martinis in Boston. . . my other favorite is at dbar!}

By that time it was dinner, so of course we ate again.

{Oysters with Cucumber Mignonette}

We ordered a bunch of items, but I only caught photos of two. I absolutely loved the cucumber mignonette with the briny local oysters, and the shrimp were lovely, with a nice hint of dill and great crunch from the bread crumbs.

{Warm Shrimp with Lemon, Dill, and Crunchy Bread Crumbs}

Doretta instantly became a Boston favorite and a place that I could definitely enjoy dinner out while still staying somewhat healthy.

Happy Summer Friday!

Tags: Boston, Food, food blog, food blogger, martinis, oysters, Restaurants, summer

Lower Mills Tavern

June 14, 2016 in Food, Restaurants by traveleatlove | 3 comments

Dining in Dorchester just gets better and better! This year we’ve seen the arrival of Dorset Hall, and just a couple of weeks ago, Lower Mills Tavern opened their doors (and windows) to a very excited neighborhood. In that stretch alone now, we have Ester, BRED (and awesome burger place), Kapow (for Thai), The Ice Cream Smith, and Sweet Life Bakery, which is now open for drinks and dinner. We can walk to the are from home, and it’s nice to be able to split up a meal – drinks in one place, appetizers in another, an ice cream for the walk home.

I won’t lie; I was sad when Lower Mills Pub closed. It was a neighborhood-y no-nonsense pub with a great pint of Guinness. I know it had plenty of regulars who miss it, but I am excited about the new life that has been breathed into the space.

Lower Mills is a very cute area and is accessible by the MBTA trolley from Ashmont Station. It’s also very easy to get to by car, and parking in the area is plentiful.

We’ve had two great experience at Lower Mills Tavern so far; I am a big fan of their Brown Derby cocktail but also love that they have a bubbly on the menu that is NOT Prosecco. I prefer my bubbles to be dry, and the One Hope Brut is delicious.

On our first visit, we went for the charcuterie, Beer Braised Pork Sliders, and Bacon Batter Hushpuppies with Chipotle Sausage Gravy.

While we didn’t choose the healthiest items on the menu, we did choose a whole lot of deliciousness, especially the hushpuppies dipped in gravy. Portions were great for sharing, and these three items left us full and happy.

On our second visit, we kicked off the evening with oysters. These were from New Brunswick and were nice and briny and small, just the way I love my oysters.

My husband had the already-famous LMT Burger, while I went for the Fried Chicken Sandwich without the bun and a salad, trying to be sort of healthy. Aside from the whole “fried, smothered in cheese, topped with bacon, and dipped in buttermilk ranch” bit it was totally healthy. Salad!

This was so good! Lightly fried with a nice crust and with the perfect toppings. This sandwich without the bread will be a craving of mine in the future!

The staff that we have encountered at Lower Mills Tavern have all been super friendly and accommodating; everyone is very excited about the opening and being part of the community. I am thrilled to have another place for local date nights and for meeting friends and neighbors.

Tags: Boston, Dorchester, Food, Lower Mills, Restaurants

Summer Weekend Love

June 10, 2016 in Food, Living, Travel by traveleatlove | 3 comments

Do you make a summer bucket list? We’re working on ours lately and it involves lots of time outside and on the water, farm fresh produce, grilling, outdoor movies, concerts, and a lot more. It’s my favorite season by far. Being barefoot and salty makes me happy down to my soul. Unlike last summer where we traveled a ton, we only have one trip planned this summer. Otherwise I plan on soaking up the amazingness that New England dishes up in this season.

We kicked off summer as early as we could and despite some very rainy Sundays (Seriously, why has every Sunday been rainy? It’s my favorite boat day!) have some weekend favorites to share.

There’s so much to do and see near Boston. A few weeks ago we visited Scituate for a beach walk and brunch at Atlantica, which is fancy and a little pricey but totally incredible and great for a special occasion.

A window seat, hot donut holes, and a fruit cocktail started brunch off perfectly.

A Blood Orange Old Fashioned. . . because it’s brunch!

Brunch at Atlantica is a giant buffet featuring all sorts of stations like prime rib, pasta, fish, omelets, salads, seafood, and a huge dessert table. I piled my plate high with grilled vegetables, shrimp, quiche, short ribs, bacon, and salad and ate every bite. It was heavenly. Sometimes I steer clear of buffets because I assume the quality won’t be great, but that was not the case here. Everything was so good! I decided I want to have brunch here again during one of my Chicago Marathon long run weekends so I can really try everything and not feel bad about it!

brunch at Atlantica

My sister got me these cute Lilly Pulitzer wine glasses; they’re plastic, making them perfect for boating! I plan to fill them with lots of pink wine this summer. While people have starting going bananas for rosé in recent years, we’ve been fans of dry rosé forever (one of my very first blog posts covers one of our favorites, from Travessia Urban Winery, right here in Massachusetts) way back when everyone thought White Zinfandel was the only rosé out there. We continue to find favorites; follow this space for tasting notes!

Speaking of boating, we’ve been doing as much of it as we can. Saoirse is smaller than our last boat, making it easier for us to dock without help. As a result, we’ve had a few relaxing dates by boat, including one to Legal Harborside, a perfect place in Boston for sunning, sipping (and slurping) away a summer day.

Getting outdoors has been a ton of fun, and we’ve been trying for more active evenings. Instead of just appetizers and cocktails, we add a walk in. Walking around Lower Mills in Dorchester is so pretty and gives us the ability to visit several bars and an ice cream shop all on foot. I love the small town feel of where we live and the access to water that we have so close by!

I also love my garden. Having a yard so close to the city has been a game changer for me. My garden brings me so much joy and peace. The raspberries are on their way! Also planted: zucchini, acorn squash, hot peppers, tomatoes, string beans, arugula, peas, shallots, strawberries, and basil. Stepping outside into that space grounds me so much.

Since we do live near so much green space, we finally bought a soccer ball to kick around. Neither of us are World Cup bound anytime soon, but we get in some good exercise chasing each other around and dying laughing. It’s the perfect time of year to behave like a kid again, which is why soccer is followed by ice cream.

We plan on lots of day trips from Boston to places like World’s End in Hingham, beaches in Ipswich, dockside dining in Portland, and so much more. What are your summer plans?

World's End