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Slainte was a disappointment because of the food, but if we had just gone for drinks, it would have been great.

I don't review a lot of bars, because the real appeal is enjoying a beer with my friends. But I have reviewed some -- places with especially great selection or especially bad service, or restaurants whose drinks really impress.

Establishments I've previously reviewed are linked to the appropriate post; in between are some quickie reviews.

Boston Beer Works -- Click to read my previous review.

Cornwall's Restaurant -- Not much of a website, so I'll fill you in. You walk in, and there's a huge bar with a nice draft selection. To your right, a pool hall. To the back, dartboards and a bookshelf crammed with board games. Perfect for chilling with friends.

Crossroads Coffee -- No alcohol, but that doesn't mean you can't hang out over a nice beverage. Click to read my previous review.

Croxley's -- An international beer menu and 10-cent wing nights. The beers can get pricey, so practice moderation and enjoy your chicken.

Derek's -- Click to read my previous review.

Flanigan's Boat House -- Click to read my previous review.

Irish Pub -- No, really, that's the name of the pub. Limited selection of really nice house beers. The everyday menu is not all that remarkable (though there's nothing wrong with it), but their specials are great -- especially the $10 dinners. I got an amazing steak dinner for a Hamilton once!

Kelsey's -- Click to read my previous review.

Kildare's -- A fun experience, but pick your moments; I've been unimpressed with their dinner menu, and on Friday nights it's way too crowded to be fun enough to justify the cover charge. Stopping for a pint between crowds is nice, though, as there are lots of booths and corners for you and your friends to hide in.

Miller's Ale House -- One of Chris's favorites, with good, affordable food; good, affordable drinks; lots of specials; and tons of games on the big-screen TVs. Watch your moments here, too, as different crowds tend to come in waves. Definitely worth learning when the frat boys arrive, whether to attend or avoid.

Old Eagle Tavern -- Within walking distance of my parents' house, it's where I go at the end of an evening with friends. Says Dan: "Great food and beer selection. Reasonable prices. Manayunk atmosphere, Roxborough prices."

Slainte -- Click to read my previous review.

Smokeless Joe's -- Click to read my previous review.

Sunset Grill and Tap -- Click to read my previous review.

Wayne Gretzky's -- Click to read my previous review.


Go forth and drink responsibly -- and have fun!

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Maybe I'm a little bit of a beer snob. I really don't like mass-market beers. And I love microbrews -- and fake microbrews. And there's a lot to be said for brewery tours and tastings if you're looking for something to do in your hometown, or the town you're visiting.

So here is a round-up of some breweries I've toured and microbrews where I've dined.

Allentown Brew Works -- Tasty food, tasty beer, reasonable prices, and they're open on Sunday evenings after everyone else has closed.

Blue Point Brewery -- Chris got me into their Blueberry beer. After the brewery tour, try free samples of most of their beers and cheap samples of the rest -- and buy a jug of your favorites.

Boston Beer Works -- Click for my previous review.

Brooklyn Brewery -- Learn about the history of the brewery and the making of the beer, then settle in their tasting room to try different varieties, order in a pizza, and maybe pet one of the cats if they'll let you.

Iron Hill Brewery -- They have several locations and some great food, and there's typically a real nice dinner special on Sunday nights. Every location I've been to has parking issues, though, so arrive a bit early to look for a spot.

John Harvard's Brew House -- They have good beer and great food. There used to be several locations in the Philadelphia area, but it's probably for the best that there's not anymore -- I could easily get addicted to their lobster bisque. And then there's the burgers and wings and specialty steaks...

Manayunk Brewery and Restaurant -- The food is hit-or-miss and the beer is a matter of taste, but it's quite pleasant to sip a sampler while overlooking the Manayunk Canal.

Rock Bottom Restaurant and Brewery -- A tiny bit pricey for dinner, but if you get there while happy Hour is still on, you can fill up on half-price appetizers and inexpensive beers. The King of Prussia location has a brew called Billy Penn's Curse that I love.

Sam Adams Brewery Tour -- A really nice tour, and great tastings -- typically, samples of the Boston Lager, a seasonal, and a specialty brew. The suggested donation of $2 goes toward charity; you get to keep your tasting glass, which costs $2 in the gift shop anyway.

Stoudt's Brewing Company -- If you're lucky, like we were, your tour will be given by Ed Stoudt himself. The man has some very strong opinions about beer. We didn't stay for dinner, but we did snack at the oyster bar, which was very nice.

Steam Whistle Brewing -- A tour and tasting at this Canadian brewery takes place in a historical building in Toronto. They collect, sterilize, and reuse their heavy-duty bottles. Good times.


So, go forth and drink responsibly, and if you're underage or driving, just enjoy the good food.

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Tapas. I love tapas. Chris loves Tapas. You know this.

Here is a round-up of some tapas places we've been to, linked to the appropriate post.

Cafe Buenos Aires

Fressen

Tapas y Tintos

Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurant

Enjoy!

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Cover of The Simpsons Movie (Widescreen Edition)Updated 1/2/10

I've reviewed quite a few things along the way, and most of the stuff I've encountered has been largely positive, but with qualifiers: you should see this movie if you like mindless summer flicks; you should read this book if you like historical biography, and so on.

There are a few things, though, that I recommend across the board; I may not expect you to completely agree with me, but I think you should -- no, must -- at least check them out.

Must read

Maus Parts One and Two.
The Gift of Fear.
The Commitment.
Kockroach.
Lonesome Dove.
The World of Jeeves.

Must watch

clerks. and clerks ii.
The Prestige.
The Simpsons Movie.
Prince Caspian.
Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
John Adams.
Up.

Must...eat?

Tasca (MA)
Tio Pepe (NY).
Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Must.... other, I guess

Rondout Inn (NY).

The Dream of Gerontius
Composed by Edward Elgar, 1900
Text by John Henry Cardinal Newman, 1865

You should know
Chris and I recently celebrated our 5th anniversary since we started dating. I spent the weekend in Boston, and we decided we wanted to go to the theater. There weren’t any plays that caught our interest, so since Boston has a world-class symphony, we decided to attend that, instead.

The performance we saw had a pre-show lecture that was free for ticket-holders. We took a copy of Newman’s poem to follow along.

So?

Of course, that went a bit awry. The plan was good: Chris would drop me off at the door and then park while I got our tickets at will-call. Then he’d meet me and we’d attend the lecture, then the performance.

It started out fine. There was no line at will-call, and as soon as I had my tickets in hand, the doors opened. No Chris. I sat there for a while, until I got a call – he’d had to drive about halfway back to his apartment to get parking, and would be taking the T to the symphony. I was to go in on my own.

At this point, the lecture had already started, and I was so worried about Chris and getting his ticket to him that I couldn’t concentrate. The text messages we exchanged when he arrived didn’t help – for one thing, I don’t have an unlimited text plan, so they cost more than they should. Ultimately, I sat through about ¾ of the lecture by myself and retained very little.

After the lecture, I slipped out, got an intermission pass, and gave Chris his ticket. We then settled in for the show.

It was a little hard to follow. I couldn’t understand quite what was going on without following along with the text, and when I followed the text I didn’t feel like I was sufficiently appreciating the music. Also, and maybe I’m expecting too much acting from choral music, but when the mezzo-soprano singing the part of the guardian angel was reassuring Gerontius, or when the tenor singing Gerontius discussed his fear or uncertainty, I didn’t get any of those feelings. The music was lovely, and the story was good, but I just didn’t feel it.

That said, I’m terrible with foreign languages, so seeing a piece originally written in English was very nice.

Rating
Do your homework first
Symphony tickets can be expensive, so I would recommend doing some research to see if you’d be into it, first. Listen to the CD; read the poem. Go from there. Personally, I liked it, but I didn’t love it. I could see people loving it or hating it. Don’t take a gamble.

The rest of the Internet
The Wikipedia pages for the oratio and the poem.
The Boston Globe reviewed the performance.

Boston Beer Works
61 Brookline Avenue
Boston, MA 02215
Opposite Fenway Park

You should know
Chris had been wanting to take me here for some time, but other things had always come up. Finally, the last time I went up to Boston, we got our chance.

So?
Yes, I understand the Super Bowl is the single greatest annual event in American sports. That doesn’t mean I want to be surrounded by giant plasma TVs showing clips of previous Super Bowls – two or three different ones at once, in fact – while I’m trying to enjoy my meal.

Also, there was a slight chill in the air. I hate sitting in a draft.

I got a Cambridge Burger (“Beer Works® Classic Burger topped with sautéed mushrooms & Swiss cheese, $9.95”) with a Hercules Strong Ale (“The port wine of beers. Barley wine, meaning literally a wine brewed with barley. This beer is quite strong, with a fruity, floral bouquet and a warming, bitter finish. Meant to be sipped as an apéritif, rather than quaffed as a beer”), while Chris got a Dreaded Green Monster (“Grilled chicken breast strips with basil pesto, parmesan & melted mozzarella on a baguette, served with house red sauce & Classic Fries, $9.95”) with a Centennial Alt (“Alt-bier originates from Dusseldorf, and is the German version of a pale ale, with deep amber color and a very malty flavor. Brewed with German malts to provide its signature rich toasted malt flavor, it is lightly hopped with German & American hops”). The food was good – and huge – but not spectacular. I’m not going to veto it next time I’m in a group that wants to go, but I’m probably not going to suggest it, either.

Then again, Chris finds both the food and the beer “awesome.” Boston Beer Works is a microbrewery, and they rotate a good percentage of the beers with the seasons. Every week the selection is different, and each month there are new entrees on special, so it’s possible that any other week I might have had a more positive experience.

Rating
Why not?
While it wasn’t really my thing, there wasn’t anything really wrong with it. If the sports-centric atmosphere (right across from Fenway park and everything) and the food and beers sound appealing to you, by all means check it out. But if your tastes are more like mine, you might not be impressed.

The rest of the Internet
An article on Boston.com.
A write-up at ReelBeer.com.
TableCritic.com offers a non-beer-drinker's perspective.
Lord of the Fries named thirs the Best Fries of 2006.

Sabur
212 Holland Street
Somerville, MA

You should know
I flew up to Boston to visit Chris for our fourth anniversary. We wanted to do something that was both nice and different for dinner, so after some web searching, we settled on Sabur.

So?
The restaurant was nearly empty when we arrived (around 6:30), but was filling up by the time we left. It was brutally cold that day, so I was hoping for a warm corner of the restaurant – and the cooking hearth definitely helped keep the dining room toasty.

After taking a long time to decide which of the amazing-looking entrees we wanted, Chris settled on the “Duck Breast with Porcini Risotto and Swiss Chard, Red Currant Sauce,” ($23.75), while I opted for the “Salmon in Filo Pastry with Shrimp Mousse and Spinach, Saffron Lobster Sauce,” ($22.75). While Chris’s meal was tasty, we agreed that I won – my fish was absolutely amazing. We each had a glass of house wine with dinner, and I had tea after.

As you might be able to tell just from our selections, Sabur features food based on various types of Mediterranean cuisine – “ranging from Italy, Greece, Southern France, and the Balkans to North Africa and beyond,” according to the website.

We ate in the Main Room, which is furnished with lovely Bosnian copper tables; diners can also eat in the Mediterranean Lounge.

Rating
For a special occasion
Now, I’m pretty frugal, so under normal circumstances I don’t opt for restaurants where the entrees are over $20. I’m happier when total – including a drink and tax, and maybe even tip – is around $20 (or lower. I’m not proud).

Still, if you’re looking for an affordable splurge (yeah, yeah, oxymoron, I know), I very highly recommend this place.

The rest of the Internet
A great review at Boston's Weekly Dig.
An equally positive write-up at Boston.com.
A less favorable review, but with some nice pictures, at Minty Choco Chip.
A recipe for duck with porcini risotto.

Finale
1306 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA 02446

You should know
I was visiting Chris in Boston, and we’d both spent the day working and stressing, so when Chris reached a stopping point, I declared, “We both need chocolate.”

He responded, “I know a place.”

We got there 15 minutes before closing time (11 PM on a Sunday – not bad), and determined that if they weren’t willing to seat us, we’d run across the street and buy some candy at Trader Joe’s. A supermarket is more likely to let you in ten minutes before closing than a restaurant, right?

We made it, though, and we weren’t even the last people seated for the evening.

So?
Our server was more gracious than she had to be, considering that had we and the following group not shown up, she probably could have gone home earlier. On the other hand, since we knew that, we tipped well, so of course she was gracious.

We were seated in a corner booth, which I loved – it was cozy, we both got to sit in booth seats instead of one of us in a booth seat and the other in a hard chair, and we were perpendicular to one another, which makes for excellent date seating.

I got the Manjari Mousse (“Bittersweet chocolate mousse layered with chocolate buttermilk cake and tart French apricots, served with a napoleon of blackberry cabernet sorbet and strudel dough, 11.95”), and a pot of chai tea, while Chris got the Molten Chocolate (“Baked-to-order warm chocolate cake with a gooey center, served with coffee gelato and milk chocolate covered almonds, $10.95”) and "some girly drink" that he doesn't remember. Both were excellent; each of us liked our own choice better than the other person’s.

The décor is lovely (there are pictures up on the website, linked in this entry’s title). The presentation of the desserts is also stunning – my food was decorated with what I can only describe as sugar-based-glass. Which I did, in fact, eat.

Rating
Go if your budget allows
This may seem contradictory given my last review, but the food here really seemed more luxurious. When you consider our individual desserts were only a few dollars cheaper than the dessert we split at Max Brenner, well… I haven’t compared them cheesecake-for-cheesecake, but that’s my experience. A great place for a splurge, though.

The rest of the Internet
A nice item at TAB Brookline.
Enthusiastic reviews at Virtual Tourist.
A business article on the restaurant, complete with a recipe, from Rensselaer Magazine.
An article on Finale, and dessert restaurants in general, at TheStreet.com.
The folks at Eat and Destroy prefer the chocolatey cocktails to the actual desserts.

Sunset Grill and Tap
130 Brighton Ave.
Allston, MA

You should know
Chris invited me, Brian, and Paul to Boston for a weekend. He was excited to take us to this restaurant, because he loves the wide selection of beers they offer.

So?
I had a Kopparbergs Pear Cider to start. It was excellent – sweet and fruity, like a gently sparkling fruit juice. This was dangerous stuff; it didn’t taste hard at all. I highly recommend it. To eat, I had a chicken avocado melt with curly fries (“Golden ale bbq chicken topped with pepper jack cheese, avocado wedges, lettuce and tomatoes on a toasted roll,” $8.50).

Chris had an “interesting” Rapscallion Blessing to drink, and a Cuban Reuben (“Grilled soft loaf bread layered with thinly sliced pickle, ham, pulled pork, imported Swiss cheese, and our ruby-q sauce,” $7.50). He then followed up with a Post Road Pumpkin Ale, which he also described as interesting.

Brian had the steam beer burger (“Our famous ½ lb fresh ground sirloin cooked on our steam grill to preserve its optimal flavor and juices,” $4.89, plus $1.95 for curly fries) and a Vermonter Style Ipswich Harvest Ale that he very much liked.

Paul got a Smuttynose, which he considered “very dry” “no overpowering aftertaste.” His meal was either a special or has been discontinued since then: a T-bone steak with black beans and garlic and scallions.

The waitress also accidentally sent us a pumpkin porter, which was good, but not really my thing. “I hate porters, but this is not bad,” was Chris’s endorsement. Though it’s called a pumpkin porter, it’s really more pumpkin pie spice you can taste, which works pretty nicely. Since no one actually ordered it, she comped it; in other words, the service could have been slightly better, but was pleasant and attentive, and no one was complaining about free beer.

Rating
Check it out
We were all at least satisfied with our meals and drinks; I for one was thrilled with mine. The menu has a lot of variety, though not much for vegetarians, and the beer selection is great.

The rest of the Internet
A review at Boston CityScene.
An article about the Grill at The Man Room.
The restaurant was Beer of the Week at The Oyster.
Beercook tries to replicate the Raspberry Mako Shark Stix.

SoulFire
182 Harvard Avenue
Allston, MA

You should know
I know, I missed two weeks. Job interviews, travel, illness, and computer problems are all good reasons, but sorry excuses. Believe me, I will make it up to you.

I was in Boston visiting Chris. This is one of his favorite places.

So?
That day, we hit a two-for-one deal on pulled pork sandwiches ($6), which we got with a side of potato salad. We split a house salad ($5).

The sandwiches were much bigger than I expected; I couldn’t finish mine. It was delicious; the restaurant has a bar stocked with different sauces, so that you can season your sandwich your own way.

The potato salad was great. That was a relief; bad potato salad can be really bad. The house salad was also very good, but huge – a good deal for $5, but too big even split between two people on top of sandwiches. However, the onion pieces were way too big; I don’t mind onion in my salad, but I want a bite of food to have more than onion in it.

The atmosphere was nice, though since I’m not a football fan, I was getting a bit tired of watching 20-year-old football games everywhere I went. That could have been a function of the week, though; we were just days away from the Super Bowl.

Rating
Get it while you can
Chris is a bit worried about the place closing down. There are never many people there when he goes, he says, and the two-for-one deal seems pretty drastic. Of course, it’s as much a takeout place as it is a dine-in restaurant – maybe even more so.

Either way, the food is excellent, so if you’re in Allston, take advantage while it’s still there.

The rest of the Internet
Dining Out Boston seems to agree with me -- and now I want to try those macaroni bites.
Good reviews at Yelp.
The restaurant now hosts the Exploit Boston Game Night.
Mike at The Food Monkey loved the restaurant and hosted a podcast with the owner and pit boss -- and there's a recipe!
A southerner was impressed at Open Guide to Boston.

Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurant

1612 Commonwealth Ave.
Brighton, MA 02135

You should know

Chris and I are big fans of Tapas. Especially good tapas. When I visited him in Boston, we checked this place out.

Tapas is tough to split, especially when one person naturally eats more and faster than the other, but the check is being split equally. So when intended to get the Prix-Fixe meal instead.

So?

The website says there’s a Prix-Fixe menu on Sundays, but when we went they told us they didn’t, despite it being a Sunday evening. So we looked over the menu to pick out some dishes to share.

We got patatas bravas (“Cubed fried potatoes in a spicy tomato cream sauce topped with garlic aioli. $4.50”), setas ronan (“Portabellas with shaved manchego, capers, red onion in vintage sherry vinaigrette. $5.95”), cazuela de cordero (“Sangria braised boneless leg of lamb with root vegetables scented with fresh rosemary and thyme. $6.50”), and pollo al jerez (“Roasted breast of chicken stuffed with chorizo, manchego and spinach served in a sherry mushroom sauce. $15.95”). We also got a pitcher of sangria.

The food was amazing. The potatoes were not quite as glamorous as the menu made them out to be, but were good; the chicken was absolutely amazing.

The restaurant was dark, but it was a cozy darkness. We were seated in a distant corner, which I loved – all too often, restaurants seat me directly in a draft and I freeze while I eat. Not here. Once we had decided what we wanted – and how we were splitting it – dinner was a lovely experience.

Rating

Go here
Now, to be fair, I’ve yet to stumble upon a bad tapas place. That could be because Chris and I are pretty careful to check places out before we go there; if we’re in the mood for tapas, or sushi, or even just diner food, we go to Citysearch and try to find the best place within our budget. It might make for boring reviews, but it makes for incredible dining.

That said, the food was, in fact incredible, the setting was perfect, and the service was good. Yes, we would have liked some consistency when it came to the existence of the prix-fixe menu, but all in all we were happy with our experience.

The rest of the Internet

Reviews at Yelp.com and Judy’s Book.
MIT’s Essential Vegetarian recommends Tasca for herbivores.
Some pictures of the food you can get, courtesy of Hiroko loves Food.