Midnight Ramen at Uni Sashimi Bar

Ramen is hot hot hot in Boston right now.

It's inexplicable, but for some reason there's apparently a vast shortage of good ramen in this city, and people are sitting, glued to their computers, hoping to have a chance to experience a seriously good bowl of ramen.

In some ways it's true. There really aren't that many ramen places in this city. Ken's Ramen Shop in Allston closed last year, and it seems like the only other place left is Sapporo Ramen in Porter Square, whose five or so tables just can't seem to fill the demand of the entire city (evidenced by the perpetual long lines outside).

So what do you do when there's tons of demand?

You fill it, of course.

Soon after the Guchi's Midnight Ramen craze began, Ken Oringer jumped on the ramen train by offering late night ramen at Uni (his Sashimi bar next to Clio) from 11PM - 2AM on Friday and Saturday evenings. Oringer says he's been wanting to do ramen for years, and this worked perfectly with the reopened renovated Uni space. Soon after, Myers + Chang followed suit and added it to their lunch menu as well.

A couple weekends ago, a group of us decided to skip normal dinner to visit Uni to slurp some ramen into the wee hours of the morning.

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The Monday Club's new Food Bar

I love dining at the bar of a nice restaurant.

The bar is a bit more relaxed, a bit more personal, and the food is just as good. Usually, you have an expanded menu, consisting of both the bar menu (typically a bit less expensive), and the dinner menu.

Not everyone eats at the bar, so there's less pressure to order an entire full-length dinner without feeling like you're being cheap. It works great for people with smaller appetites like me.

In fact, we almost always eat at the bar at our favorite local haunts.

Imagine how thrilled I was when I found out that my favorite al fresco dining spot was opening a bar, complete with a new bar menu.

Perhaps Monday Club will become a year-round destination now?

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Terra (Napa Valley)

This is part 4 of the Napa Valley Adventures series. Other posts in this series: Ad Hoc, Bottega Ristorante, Joseph Phelps Winery, and Etoile.

Usually, I don't pay much attention to the people dining around me at restaurants. Occasionally I may glance at other diners' dishes for inspiration, or perhaps I'll overhear a funny conversation. In general, however, I'm pretty oblivious to my surroundings (hello inner Meyers Briggs "N" personality type).

But then there was that dinner at Terra in St. Helena, Napa Valley.

An older couple, probably in their seventies, was enjoying a meal right across the (small) room from us.

I think we were struck by how sweet they were to each other. Throughout the night, the man referred to promises he had made to his wife, and how he intended on keeping them.

And then we found out they had been together for fifty years. They were celebrating their golden wedding anniversary.


Bryan quietly pulled our waiter aside.

"We'd like to treat them to their drinks. Whatever they are drinking, just put it on our tab."

Bryan turned to me.

"Fifty years is a long time!"

I briefly had a flashback. Probably 15 years ago, a year after we started dating, Bryan had given me a card. It had a picture of a really old couple, riding bikes, holding hands.

"I look forward to growing old together with you."

What better place than Terra to celebrate such a momentous occasion. We absolutely loved this restaurant. The ambiance is really romantic, the service is excellent, and the food is top notch.

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Korean Bulgolgi

Up until I was around eighteen, I was woefully unenlightened when it came to certain Asian cuisines.

My family rarely, if ever, dined at Korean restaurants when I was growing up. I still remember finally visiting a local Korean restaurant with my parents while I was in college and being tickled at all the lovely free "appetizers" or "tastes" that came out (think various types of pickled vegetables, tofu, and other little bites).

Ever since college, I've learned to love Korean food. The rich, fiery, and complex flavors of this delightful cuisine borrow influences from China and Japan yet maintain much of their unique originality.

Alas, since Bryan's not the biggest fan of Korean food (and we've been together essentially since college), I have never really explored cooking the cuisine that much (notice the dearth of Korean restaurants and recipes on this blog?).

Thankfully, I still get my fix at times. I hit the jackpot when my sister married a Korean (Hi Mike!). Mike's a fantastic cook and knows how to make all sorts of amazing Korean dishes.

One favorite I've always been dying to make is bulgolgi, Korean barbecued beef. Perhaps you've seen it at Korean restaurants where they have the grill right at the table. Mike was super kind and shared with me his recipe for making this timeless classic.

This dish is a huge crowd-pleaser. I've made it at various potlucks and it's always super popular. It even won a competition at my church years back.

Try it out - you won't be disappointed.

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Firebrand Saints

When I was in college at MIT, dining choices around campus were really, really slim. We usually ordered out from places like Quan's Kitchen, Pu Pu Hot Pot, or Mary Chung. For Italian, we would trek all the way to Bertucci's or Cinderella's on Main Street (a pretty far walk from west campus dorms!). Once in a blue moon, we would hop on the T and go to Chinatown or the North End.

How much more fortunate are today's students! In the past two years, Kendall Square has transformed from a hungry, relatively food-starved techland to a vibrant area hailed by many to be the "next hot restaurant neighborhood."

So many new restaurants have moved into the area recently. Lucky students even have a great boba place virtually on campus.

I've tried Abigail's, Area Four, EVOO, Catalyst, and Think Tank. Mead Hall, Fuji, Voltage Coffee (and many others, I presume), are still on my "to try" list. It's hard to keep up with all the openings.

A couple weeks ago, we came one step closer trying all these new offerings in Kendall. After hearing great things about Firebrand Saints, a friend asked us if we wanted to try it together. Within two hours of that phone call, we found ourselves in Kendall Square, ready to check out yet another new restaurant.

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