TJ M.'s Profile

I'll let you in on a secret.... Pushcart is the dark horse for the "best pizza in Boston" award.    It's not fancy and it's not particularly Italian, however I stopped going to Regina's after I had my first Pushcart pizza.  

Recommendations:
- The sausage is wonderful
- They have hot peppers (not crushed red peppers) that are unbelievable if you like spicy
- The mix green, red and yellow bell peppers into one mix if you want them on your pizza... again, excellent.

I'm a little biased since I work at FlipKey, but I do feel FlipKey offers one of the best services to find vacation home rentals.    If you are looking to rent a beach home on the Cape for a week, a ski cabin in Vail or just a mountain getaway in the hills of North Carolina you'll find plenty of options on FlipKey.com.

The current downsides to FlipKey - (1) there are thousands of guest reviews, but since its a relatively new site many areas do not feature guest reviews  (2)  only a small percentage of the home can be booked online - you will have to email or call the rental manger to make a reservation  (3)  no European homes (coming soon).

We finally stopped into Falmepoeira and loved it.  It provides a very bohemian vibe and the staff couldn't be more friendly or welcoming.

We both ordered different versions of the modern melted cheese sandwiches and they were great.  I believe the sandwiches are named after the owner.  (Recommendation:  The avocado version is better than the Japanese apple version).

We are definitely planning to go back...  many of their sandwiches make for a perfect alternative to the typical breakfast / brunch... if you are looking to mix it up this is the place.

Holy monkey.... Do NOT rent from this place.   The average wait time to simply "check in" is 90 minutes.  I'm not kidding.  They hand out hot dogs to help people cope with the ridiculous wait.  It was so bad the last time I was there that I ran across the street to Thrifty, paid twice as much for a smoke ridden car.

When I returned a few days later to drop off  the car the line was LONGER compared to the day I arrived.  I asked Thrifty about it and they said a lot of their business comes from people pissed off at Advantage who walk across the street in frustration.

I'm done giving three star reviews... a restaurant is either good or it's not.  For me being "good" means your food is well worth the price you charge for it.  Grotto would not qualify for this..  

The Good:
- Cool vibe inside.  Tight quarters, but has the speak easy feel of a lunge in Brooklyn
-  The wait staff are great.  Very friendly, attenttive, etc. etc

The Bad:
-  The food is average.   Crab ravioli.. average... Buffalo mozzarella salad is a bit above average.   The spaghetti and meatballs blow.. they talk it up highlighting their "wonderful tomato sauce", but I can promise you their wonderful tomato sauce is average at best....  The sweet potato raviolii is propbably the best dish on the menu... I actually give that one two thumbs up.

- For the price, it's just not worth it.  You'll come out of Grotto at $50/head (assuming you have a glass of wine) and you'll think of the 20 other restaurants that would have been more satisfying for the same price.

Figs rocks.   Figs offers probably the best thin crust pizza in Boston... It's affordable, has a cool decor and the wait staff is always pleasant... especially Catherine on Sunday nights.

Figs is a no risk dinner outing.  The only knock is that the tables are pretty close to each other, which sucks if you have a bunch of losers sitting next to you..  However, Figs attracts a pretty decent crowd, so chances are you won't mind and might make some new friends.

Post dinner you can trip into Sully's or the Warren Tavern to round out the night.

Although the restaurant is new I'm not giving them a pass.   Fact is, the food is average and the prices are steep.    Four of us visited Central 37 last Saturday and were genuinely excited to check the place out.   We tried to expand our reservation, but they claimed to be booked.  When we arrived the place was a ghost town and we were the only ones in the main dining area.  (Note:  It was raining pretty hard outside, which could explain the absence of other diners).

We found the wait staff to be extremely pleasant and "excited" about the menu.   Our waiter got us all riled up, but when our food finally arrived it just didn't blow us away.  Don't get me wrong, it wasn't bad, but the final bill came out to $80/head, which simply was too much given the lackluster finish of the meal.

Will I go back for dinner?  NO
Will I go back for drinks on the roofdeck later in the summer?  YES

I can see why people would bash this place, but I like it.   The pizza is great.  The jalepeno and sausage is unreal and the staff is pretty friendly. I recommend skipping a table and just grabbing a seat at the bar.   They have two plasmas that will always have a game on.

Biggest Con:  They don't serve pizza at lunch, which is absolutely retarded.  How can you carve out a name known for upscale pizza if you don't serve pizza!

A cool concept bar and restaurant - a hotel lobby bar without the hotel.  It's a small, but hip atmosphere and the the staff is great.  In fact, this place is over staffed.  The bar just opened and they have two bar tenders, a manager, a host and three waiters, which all takes up about half the occupancy of the place.  

The food and cocktails are pricey.  A dinner for 8 people (with drinks) was about $700 (including tip).  The average entree is $30... but the fool was good... i'll give em that.   I recommend either the Filet Migon or the pork chops... truly works of art.

Ultimately this is a great place for two... tops four.  Very much a date/conversation environment.

As a resident of the North End I can promise you this is one of the best places around.  The food is pricey, but first class.  Make sure to get a reservation and ask for a seat on the first floor and not the basement.

The open air layout is also a plus... but that only holds for the summer and spring.