Henrietta's Table (Cambridge, MA)

Our Rating:

5 out of 5 seats at the table

When We Went:
We went to Henrietta's for a fancy dinner one night after work. We met some friends. It was a much anticipated visit to a place that we had all heard about for a long time (if you can't tell the expectations bar was set quite high).

The Food:

Wow. This is good. We ate a full meal and had desert. Not that the portions were small, we just wanted the full experience. It's not required to talk about what we had because everything we had, and everything we saw bring brought to other tables was great. If you visit, ensure that you get some of the side items. They were particularly good.

The Place:

Henrietta's is located in the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, Cambridge, MA. It is a great location. Henrietta's entrance is somewhat confusing. There is a small store in the front selling local food and culinary items. Walk past that to get to the dining room area. Each of the tables are comfortable and relaxed. The atmosphere is fancy, but in (again) a relaxed way. One of us had just gotten back from two weeks of fabulous meals in Cannes and Nice and really enjoyed the unrushed pace of eating at Henrietta's.

Just had to link to a picture of their dining room...




Info:

http://www.henriettastable.com/

One Bennett St
Cambridge, MA 02138

(Harvard Square; Charles Hotel)

Phone: (617) 661-5005

Baja Fresh (Hingham, MA +)

Our Rating:

5 out of 5 tortillas

When We've Been:

Many a night that we were looking for really good Mexican without cooking ourselves, or without taking a long drive, or without . We normally do call ahead / takeout.

The Food:

It's fresh. Might seem obvious, but you can really tell that the ingredients are fresh and they make everything on site that day. We really like the tacos (tres tacos mean a great thing, with Chicken and Carnitas never a bad choice). The Fajitas are really great. They come with a few shells and beans and rice. It your looking for something a little lighter the chipotle glazed charbrioled chicken salad or the chile lime chicken salad are really great, even if your not normally a salad person. Although they are tasty and tempting we've resigned ourselves to normally NOT getting an appetizer because with the meal sizes, which are somewhat generous a appetizer split among two people just makes eating dinner painful because you really don;t want to leave anything on the plate. It's all just too darn good.

The Place:

Baja Fresh is a chain. There's never anything too fancy or worth too much comment in a chain restaurant. The store is kept clean, and the seating is somewhat standard fast food issue. We much prefer taking things home and enjoying their great food in a more comfortable local.

Info:

http://www.bajafresh.com

92 Derby St. Suite 100
Hingham, MA 02043

(781) 740-4578

Stars (Hingham, MA)

Our Rating:

8 out of 10 well... Stars...


When we went:

Too many times to remember how many times... So it can't be that bad. We've eaten there, and taken out.

The Food:

Food at Stars is really great. They have a good burger, they have good clam chowder, they have good French onion soup, and they have some fancier food. They do these basics so well and that's what brings us back.

I think we get in the mood to eat at stars. I'm not sure how to express this, but there is definitely a craving associated with each trip there.

For those beer enthusiasts, they have a around the world beer club. Which generally means a good seleection of beer for everyone else.

The Place:

Stars is often crowded. It's 1/2 a sports bar, so we assume that's the way it should be. It's also located in downtown hinghan, right across 3A from the harbor, so it's in a great location. Our single complaint about Stars is that it's often deafening loud. We've _almost_ gotten up on more than one occasion to leave because of the noise. It's not entirely the fault of the management that some of their patrons have imbibed more than they should and are screaming at each other across the table, but there's something to be said for cutting people off before it gets to that point. In general it's loud, and normally it's just loud, not oppressive, but again, we've had a bad experience and it always flavors our view.

So again, stars is in a nice spot. Inside is done very well, the bar / sports bar side sports a number of large flat panel TVs. The non-bar side of stars is a bit cramped, but again done nicely and normally loud, but comfortable.

Map Etc:

Address:
Stars on Hingham Harbor (official name)

4 Otis St

Hingham, MA

Phone: (781) 749-3200

Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/87s6g

Punjab Cafe (Quincy, MA)

Our Rating:

9 out of 10 Samosas

When we went:

We went to Punjab Cafe in the middle of October. It was a rainy day, but well worth braving the storm.

The Food:

Their food is pretty traditional Indian restaurant. We're not experts on the region, but this is the standard fair. The food was outstanding. They are able to control the level of spiciness if you have someone who is new to Indian food and doesn't appreciate the heat. We had an assortment of their stuffed breads which was outstanding. It's always nice to be able to get a few different breads. The Aloo Nan was especially good and the Pashawary Nan was a hit with the kids. We had the Tandori Tikka which was outstanding. The chicken came over a bed of onions and peppers that was very good. The Aloo Mutter was very good. A nice creamy sauce, but not too creamy. The heat level was just right. Unfortunately we didn't have room for any desert. If fact we ended up taking just about half of everything home. It made a great lunch the next day. They wrapped up everything very nicely.

The Place:

We were there at what was definitely rush hour. A enormous group of likely 25 people had come in, and continued to come in to fill the medium sized dining room. It was a little busy but we only had to wait ten minutes or so for a table. We never felt neglected. Punjab Cafe is located on Rt 3A in Quincy. It's a place that we've driven past sooo many times and always noted that we needed to try it out. It's roughly across from Quirk Nissan and the CVS. Very close to the Original Dunkin Donuts shop, if your into that sort of thing. The dining room is nice. It's a typical store front. There is a raised bar area that the owners use as a serving area. The interior was decorated nicely, and everything was very clean. Judging by the crowd assembled there the night we went (we were eating somewhat late) they will need to be searching for a bigger space, which is a good thing.


WebSite / Map / Etc:

http://www.punjabcafe.com

Google Map of Punjab Cafe: http://tinyurl.com/87s6g

Punjab Cafe

653 Southern Artery

Quincy, MA

(617) 472-4860

Snug (Hingham, MA)

Out Rating:

15 ounces out the full pint

When we went:

We first experienced the Snug in Early October 2005. It wasn't our plan, we stumbled upon it after not waiting for a table at another Hingham restaurant. We were glad that the other restaurant was full.

The Food:

The menu is relatively short, but none of us went home hungry or disappointed. The Bourbon Marinated Steak Tips were a definite hit. The Chicken Pot Pie was very good. Again, with a simple menu there's not much to say other than everything we had was great.

The Place:

Cozy definitely describes the Snug. It's a really nice bar, with a very family feel. After walking in you instantly feel at home. The keno screen is a bit out of place, but the TVs on each wall and above the dining room area blend right in. This is a definate place to add to the short list if your looking for a place to watch the game and have dinner.

Website / Maps / Etc:

http://www.snugpub.com/

The Snug

114 North St

Hingham, MA

(781) 749-9774

Google Map:
http://tinyurl.com/dwuac

Rustic Kitchen (Hingham, MA)

Our Rating:
7 out of 8 Pizza slices

When we went:
A few times during the Summer of 2005

The Food:
The Food at Rustic Kitchen is very good. It's classic Italian. The wood fired Pizza oven, and Pizzas are something to note. They are of the personal and thin crust variety and very tasty. Nothing overwhelming with respect to portion size, but often we've ended up taking home 1/3 of the pizza after sharing an appetizer with someone else. The Calamari appetizer (with pine nuts, Jalapenos, and lemon pepper aioli are) is a must. It is quite different from every other calamari we've tried. The thinly slices jalapenos make it quite tasty.

The Place:
The Derby Shops are great. It's a refreshing format. Small and Big stores mixed in a outside Mall arrangement. Great chain stores that you see all over like Barnes and Nobel, REI, and others and others you don't like Berkinstock or Cold Stone Creamery.

The Rustic Kitchen itself is really very nice. It is welcoming, but feels a little like a chain (it is, but it's a local / small chain). It has a large outdoor courtyard (we've never sat there though) and a few interior areas. We have say right in front of the wood fired Pizza oven. It was interesting to see the people preparing the pizza and other dishes that were made in that area of the kitchen. Another time we sat in a booth at the bar and watched the Sox.
Website / Maps / Etc:

Rustic Kitchen
94 Derby St

Hingham, MA

(781) 749-2700

http://www.rustickitchen.biz

Google Map: http://tinyurl.com/9afr4

Bob's (Medford, MA)

Our Rating:

Ten out of ten chicken cutlet parm sandwiches

When We've Been:

We've been to Bobs too many times to count. Normally for lunch or dinner, Bobs always satisfies. We've also used bob's for catering. They do a great job and really please a crowd.

The Food:

The store is filled to the brim with Italian specialties, take home / prepared food, cooked to order meals, subs and sandwiches, and meats available from the deli counter. More often then not we ended up getting some of the Italian food specialties (Regina cookies, rolls, etc) and getting a few subs / sandwiches. Meats from Bobs are always of very good quality. The Stuffed Italian peppers and prepared salads section are something that shouldn't be passed up.


If your looking for an Italian caterer in the Somerville / Medford area you can't go wrong with bobs. If your looking for a hot or cold sandwich or something a bit more fancy for dinner again Bob's delivers.

The Place:

When entering bobs your magically transported to little Italy or the North End of Boston. Bob's is a classic delicatessen and market. It's a nice clean place. There are always more than enough people behind the counters to take your order and prepare things. Everyone there always seems friendly.

Info:

http://www.bobsfood.com/


324 Main Street
Medford, MA 02155

(781) 395 0400
(800) 380-BOBS