Tag Archives: sweet potato fries

Simply Irresistable

Posted on by

9

Hello, hello loves!

There’s a little part of me that gets a slightly apprehensive about doing posts that are heavy on the meat factor – I know a lot of you are vegan or vegetarian, and I dunno – it just does. haha I’m not a vegan or a vegetarian, though, I appreciate both like nobody’s bizznazzz. However – labels aside  I just don’t eat a ton of meat – especially red meat – cost-wise and taste-wise.

However, every now and then I really appreciate a killer burger or a great steak. …Especially when that burger is a Boston institution….

Ahh, Mr. Bartley’s Burger Cottage - seriously, the best burgers in Boston, in my opinion. They grind their own meat on premises, Guy Fieri has paid them a visit, and honestly I’ve never had a burger of theirs and regretted it – and there are A LOT of burgers to choose from.

Sometimes you just gotta go for it, get messy and dive in – head first.


I knew I wanted a raspberry lime rickey without needing the menu- they’re famous for ‘em. They’re also famous for their frappes!

Then it was time to study the menu – I love that it changes, and that all the burgers are named after Boston celebs/sports figures/policitians, other popular culture figures or just something funny/uncomfortable to say (the Viagra, anyone? – actually, I do want to get that one someday).

I ended up settling on the “Michelle Obama (she’s hot & spicy) blue cheese burger with cajun seasoning and fries.” I subbed sweet potato fries. Nom and Blue cheese – bring it on.

No nonsense. Seriously – such a fantastic burger . They actually know how to cook a burger to order, and keep it feeling like a  burger that you feel like was just grilled up in your backyard. The MObama was delicious! and woo – the cajun seasoning gave it a definite kick! Plus – you know me & sweet potato fries…love at first bite.

My friend, Amanda, ordered the “Jersey Shore Burger (over the top)with bacon, cheese, grilled mushrooms & onions, w/ onion rings” which looked sooo good! I took a picture of it – but it was blurry and didn’t do it justice…but trust me – cheesy, mushroomy amazingness. We were talking about how they should do a fried pickle topped burger for Snooks. haha

We both ended up as members of the clean plate club:

An awesome meal, a great server – I totally forget his name (I want to say it was Ryan?), and a fun evening of sharing ketchup with the people on a date next to us (they cram you in there, and force you to make friends – it’s great!). They don’t have a bathroom (grandfathered in – that’s how long they’ve been around) and only take cash – so be prepared! Trust me it’s allll worth it.

Then we decided to “walk off” our dinners (okay, I know, I didn’t actually walk off the calories of that sucker) by walking from Cambridge back to Boston. …over the river we went – this was interesting for me as the girl with a slight fear of heights…wobbly knees were definitely present as we crossed over the frozen Charles!

Love my city at night!

  • What is something that your city, town, etc. is known for??

The Trident

Posted on by

4

Hello, hello!

Last night was a girls’ night out – and for dinner – we ended up at Trident Booksellers & Cafe. I know I’ve talked about the Trident before on this little bloggie, but it had been a while since I’d been and I was craving it – like woah.

 

click for source

 

It’s the cutest little independent bookstore (and cafe) located on Newbury. It’s got stellar food, and a great, relaxed, hipster-y atmosphere. Plus, they serve breakfast alllll day (yes!!), and are pretty much the only thing on Newbury, that isn’t a bar, open past ten (they’re open until midnight). Also, they’re one of the few places in the city where you’re not rushed out of your seats…in fact, you’re encouraged to chill and take your time. Love it.

I knew going in that I had one thing on my mind. Their sweet potato fries. Fantastic. They’re definitely some of the best I’ve ever had, and served with two different sauces – a garlic/chive? mayo and a curry mustard – that are so good.

For the record…photos were taken with my Fx Camera on my phone…it just felt right to have them be a little old-school.

Also – it was coooold yesterday – with a hot beverage on the mind, but it being too late to wisely have a latte.. I decided on their chai. Delicious, and honestly, I don’t even like chai – but I like Trident’s chai. Enough said.

Cinnamony and spicy – and in one of those huuuuge mugs – you can’t beat it.

Now, I’ve been to Trident a few times now…and I keep repeating myself – I’ve gotten their falafel wrap and their Cape Codder a number of times…so I was determined to try something new. I did just that and went for BREAKFAST. Yes, breakfast for dinner…one of my favorite traditions.

My choice – their apple and brie omelette. Why? Because it was unique? Yeah. Because it had brie in it? Definitely. I would have *never* thought to put apples and eggs together, but this worked soooo well!

It was an eggy envelope of buttery, cheesy, tart, fruity goodness – and their portions are huuuge. I took a picture of the whole plate – but I have no idea where it went. I ate the whole thing though…sans my toast. I will be experimenting with apple-filled eggs in the future.

It was literally the most random but most amazing meal.

They have a vegan cashew chili that I’ve been wanting to try, too…. next time, next time.

Minnie&Meals

Posted on by

5

Hey, hey loves!
How’s everyone doing?? Well, I hope! I’m actually back at my mom’s this weekend to do a little shop-shop-shoppin’ (tax-free, of course)…and while I didn’t get everything I was looking for – I did make some great finds!!

Of course, any good shopping trip is fueled by good eats.

My morning was fueled by Chobani‘s Pomegranate Greek Yog cup! For me, it is just the perfect combo of silky, tangy, sweet and crunchy – plus, it’s just a protein packed start to the day.

So mi madre and I did laps of the mall…I’m sort of a “have a plan before springing into action” kind of gal…when it comes to clothes shopping at least. Eventually we landed in Banana…where I didn’t get anything..but wanted a lot. haha However, we eventually ended up in Gap and Forever 21, and I walked away with lots of tops. :)

My fave:

Back-story: Minnie Mouse was the first Halloween costume that I can really remember wearing – I just love/d her!! If I can find the pictures of me as Minnie…and scan them…you will be witness to 4 year old Jil in all her Minnie Mouse glory. haha

Ohhh – I can’t forget the ever present mall treat – GLORIA JEAN’S…love them. I got my usual ice cap with a shot of hazelnut…however, I forgot to take a pictureeee. Boo.

We finished up our shopping spree with some perusing at Target…where of course – you walk away with tons more than you went in for! (aka…we went in for ice cube trays…and came out with a lot more than just ice trays…haha).

The afternoon consisted of lounging around…and as my mom would say – “appreciating the fact that it is Saturday” – …with popcorn of course.

Dinner was a joint effort – my mom made an awesome turkey salad with cranberries…just a touch of mayo. I contributed sweet tater goodness! :)

Really satisfying…and just homey. :)

I’m gonna wrap it up for now – but there is definitely a lot on my mind in terms of the blog…which I will definitely want all of your input on!! :) Really, truly! So be on the lookout for that! :)

Baking

Posted on by

12

Whew – it is HOT out there!! It fluctuated between 92 and 96 degrees today…I’ve never been more thankful for an air conditioner. Plus, if I hadn’t had an AC – I probably would have spent today holed up in a coffee shop or a library.

I woke up at 5:30am parrrrched! I don’t run my AC overnight, and I had to get up…chug water (I felt hungover) and turn that sucker on!

I managed to sleep for a few more hours (turning off my AC at around 6:30), and even though it was warm (read: 80 degrees) – I wanted a cup of coffee. There’s just something so comforting about it. For those wondering, my creamer crisis has been resolved. haha Yum. Perfect.

After a warm cup of joe, I wanted something cold – and I decided to deviate from my oats. A smooothie was in order, and I decided I wanted to have fun with it. I had fresh mango, strawberries and raspberries in my fridge so I decided to make a tie-dye-esque (enough hyphens for ya?) I did the mango first with water, a little Truvia and TJ’s orange, peach, mango juice. Then I did some POM, raspberries, strawberries, some Truvia and a teeeeny bit of vanilla. …and layer and swirl! haha

I had envisioned it swirling more in my head, but it was still pretty, delicious and it reminded me of my recent trip to Vegas – sans the booze…though – as an afterthought- this would be AWESOME with a little rum or vodka!

I did course work all morning, and was very ready for lunch when the time rolled around.

Arugula, tempeh, Babybel light, snow peas, mixture of mustard and balsamic dressing

Midafternoon munching?… pudding cup! Dulche de leche goodness.

I worked on a lab throughout the afternoon and was pretty darn productive – my apartment was sort of baking in the sun at that point so I upped the AC…this also gave me the opportunity to use my oven and bake up some sweet potato fries and some barbecue tempeh!

So good – had some (read: a lot) of snow peas with this as well…they just went unpictured.

I plan on spending my evening cleaning, hydrating, getting caught up on work/e-mails, and planning my weekend! haha …is it Friday yet?? :-P

Hope you are all splendid and someplace cool!!

Let the sun shine in…

Posted on by

11

Ahh, good evening everyone!! It’s been a long day. Started out in NH but now I’m settled back into MA. :)

My NH breakfast started out with unpictured java and some Nutella overnight oats. I finally got the liquid to oats ratio right – thanks to Kat’s suggestion of just eyeballing the liquid just past the dry oats – then mixing. Thanks, girl! Plans soon, k?? :)

These were delicious – a combo of vanilla extract infused into the oats, crunchiness of almonds and the Nutella made for a great morning meal. Then again…you could probably put Nutella on cardboard and it’d taste good.

Once arriving in Boston (and maneuvering the T with my suitcase…all while being asked by different people simultaneously if they were getting on the right train), I plopped down on my couch and just vegged for a minute.

Then I went into cleaning mode. I knew I wanted to do some hardcore cleaning. Oh man, was I in for a surprise. I contemplated taking photos but it was just gross. I have really high ceilings in my apartment – so my cabinets are about a foot or so from the ceiling (making them prime shelving! – esp. in a studio). I went up there to clean today and I was utterly disgusted. I honestly don’t think a single person who ever rented this place out had cleaned up there. Maybe they didn’t have as many pots/pans/kitchen appliances as me and therefore didn’t need it…but ick. It was a sticky sheath of grime. It took almost an entire bottle of cleaner to finally feel okay with putting my stuff up there. Eeep! It’s clean now though!

I didn’t have much food in the apartment and I was hungry long before I got the chance to go grocery shopping – which I did do eventually. I just munched my way through the afternoon…TJ’s string cheese, a LUNA a found in the back of a cupboard, sparkling water (okay, not a snack but refreshing), and lots of TJ’s tabouleh – it’s so fresh, I love it!

I also ended up picking up a bunch of these beauties from Trader Joe’s, as well.

Dinner was a mishmash of “old” and new. I had a couple of frozen Morningstar Farm buffalo wings left and some sweet potatoes that I had chopped a while ago – so those went in the oven. I also had some arugula salad with cranberry balsamic dressing. Yum.

For me, tonight will be spent relaxing, reading and perhaps some television. Depends if anything decent is on. Plus, I’ll have a house guest soon. Wahoo! haha :)