Summer Winter: Lunch Once Again

I returned to the new Summer Winter at the Burlington Marriot for lunch. My previous lunch experience had been excellent though my recent dinner experience was just good.

Interestingly, we sat at the exact same table that we had on my previous lunch visit, next to the windows looking out on the greenhouse. It is a good location and we could watch a woman tending to the plants.

We began our lunch with one of the Small Bites, House Made Seasonal Pickles ($3). It seems the norm that all Small Bites are accompanied by warm triangles of delicious pita bread. This is certainly a good thing. The pickles slices were good-sized and had an intriguing taste, a mix of mild sweet and sour, with a definite cucumber taste. Very good pickles and definitely something I would order again.

We also had Shrimp Escabeche ($14), which consisted of six shrimp that had been marinated in a mild sauce. They were on a plate with thin carrot slices and I think some type of onion. The shrimp seemed fresh and they tasted very good.

For lunch entrees, we had the SW Hamburger & Fries and the Fish Tacos.

The burger was actually a cheeseburger. It is a good-sized burger with what could be a tasty sharp cheddar cheese atop it. It comes on a soft, butter-grilled roll and accompanied by a large portion of crisp french fries with sea salt. The burger was quite juicy and flavorful. The fries were also quite good, cripsy with a good potato flavor. For a simple burger and fries, this was an excellent lunch.

The fish tacos consisted of three oval "fish sticks," filled with a sweet, flaky white fish and covered by a crunchy batter. These were certainly nothing like a bland frozen fishstick. You got to make up your own tacos, adding the fillings you wanted. Each tortilla has been grilled. You could fill the taco with salsa, ancho mayonnaise, and a hot sauce. You also received rice and beans. Again, this was another excellent lunch. Quantity and quality were both very good.

We even ordered dessert, though we had already eaten plenty. We chose the Chocolate & Caramel Sampler for Two. If you love chocolate and caramel, this will be your version of heaven. You get a large, rich chocolate/caramel brownie (with a small pile of whipped cream), a bowl of chocolate mousse and four chocolate/caramel cookies. The brownie was rich, moist and delicious. The mousse was intriguing and tasted like it had some kind of liquer in it. The cookies had thin, circular chocolate cookies with a thin layer of caramel between them. Another very delicious treat.

Ok, so this was another excellent lunch. Prices are reasonable, quantities are good and quality is very good. I would highly recommend Summer Winter for lunch. They make high-quality comfort food as well as fresh seafood and some creative appetizers.

Beija: Boston Cachaca

One of my new interests last year was Brazilian Cachaca, a drink similar in some ways to rum but made with fermented sugarcane juice rather than molasses. But as I mentioned before, there are not many brands of Cachaca available locally. That is changing for the better.

Today's Boston Herald newspaper has an article, Sugar Daddies, about a couple Bostonians, Kevin Beardsley and Steve Diforio, who have created a new Cachaca, called Beija, that will debut soon. The Cachaca is made from 100% pure sugarcane which has been hand-cut and hand-harvested. It uses only first-press juice only and begins distillation within ten hours of being harvested. The U.S. has officially designated Beija as the world’s first “virgin cane rum.”

A few Boston restaurants already carry it and it should be available in stores by the end of the month.

The Beija sounds quite intriguing and I will keep my eye out for it and will report back once I have tasted it.

WBW #41: Friuli-Venezia Giulia Whites

Today is another Wine Blogging Wednesday, the 41th edition of this wine blogger tradition. Started by Lenndevours, Wine Blogging Wednesday is a day when many wine bloggers all drink wines based on a shared theme. Then, each blogger posts a wine review and links them to the central site.

This month's theme was chosen by Fork & Bottle and it was Friuli-Venezia Giulia whites from Italy.

I was unfortunately unable to participate in this month's event. But I do recommend that you check out the reviews from all of the participating wine bloggers. You are likely to learn of some interesting new wines. Individual wine bloggers will be posting their reviews today and then the Fork & Bottle will post a summary soon after.

Stoneham Sun: All Seasons Table

Welcome to 2008! My third column in the New Year of "A Passionate Foodie" can be found in the January 16 issue of the Stoneham Sun newspaper. This is my weekly column that concentrates on reviews of local restaurants as well as other interesting food and wine topics.

The new column was published today and is currently available online. The new column is a restaurant review of All Seasons Table, a new Asian fusion restaurant in Malden. Their cuisine includes dishes and foods inspired by Japan, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Singapore.

If you have any questions or comments about my column, feel free to add them here.

Next week, I will present another restaurant review of Summer/Winter a new restaurant in Burlington.

Dine with passion!

Saké Terminology

There is a rich vocabulary in Japanese that revolves around Saké. In some respects, the terminology is even more detailed that what exists in English to describe wine. I have already provided a number of Saké terms in my previous posts this month. But here is a partial list of some additional Saké related terms.

Izakaya: A Saké bar. Izakaya also serve food and used to be the place working men in Japan would go for a drink after work. Nowadays there are many more Izakaya, or all different types. Izakaya are also sometimes called akachochin (which means "red lantern"). This is because you often find red paper lanterns in front of izakaya.

Sakaya: A Saké store. Though more literally it can be any store that sells Saké.

There are numerous terms used to refer to the temperature of Saké. English does not really have specific terms to refer to the serving temperatures of wine.

--Kanzake: This refers to heated Saké in general. It may also be referred to as O-kan, a slightly honorific term.
--Nurukan: Warm Saké
--Atsukan: Very hot Saké
--Jo-on: Room temperature Saké
--Hiyazake or Reishu: Chilled Saké

There are also various terms to refer to the different styles of Saké.

--Karakuchi: Dry Saké
--Amakuchi: Sweet Saké
--Hojub: Richer Saké
--Nigiyaka: Lively Saké
--Omoi: Heavy Saké
--Karui: Light Saké
--Tanrei: Lighter Saké
--Marumi ga aru: Well-rounded Saké
--Shibui: Astringent Saké

Kaori: The fragrance of Saké, equivalent to the "nose" in wine.
Ato-aji: Aftertaste

And finally, here are two more important Saké terms.

Umai: Good or delicious Saké. A nice compliment for a Saké you enjoy.

Yake-zake: This is drinking to get drunk. Not just a couple glasses of Saké. This is when bottle after bottle gets emptied until you stagger home.