Boston Part 2: B & G Oysters and SoWa Open Market

A definite food must on the East Coast is seafood. Especially when you live in Switzerland, which is pretty far from any ocean's coast. The only thing going for the terrible hostel we stayed at was the proximity to Tremont Street where there are a bunch of restaurants to get your seafood fix. After reading good reviews, we chose to go to B & G Oysters on Friday night without having a reservation. We ended up getting seats at the bar, the only drawback of which was the jacked up air conditioning blowing down our necks. 

B & G Oyster's specialty, as their name implies, are their selection of fresh oysters, but I just can't get myself to slurp down a slippery glob of potentially food-borne-illness-laden saltiness. My friend ordered one and quite enjoyed it. I feasted on the bread and olive oil instead. For my main I had the American red snapper with baby carrots, fennel and yogurt puree, and pickled fresno chili. It was very good and fresh. My friend went with a Maine lobster roll with fries and bread and butter pickles. I had a bite of the roll and it was really delicious. Nothing like the mayonnaise dripping one she had tried at Faneuil Hall Marketplace earlier that day. And the fries, a seldom food I treat myself to since they often just aren't good enough to waste your calories on, were very tasty due to some herbs mixed into them.

Afterwards we had a drink just down the street at The Beehive, a fun place to hang out with a bar upstairs, and a bar and stage for performances downstairs. 

One of my favorite places in Boston was the SoWa Open Market on Sunday. There's everything from farm produce, to T-shirts with moustache themes (what's with the moustache craze in the US???), to food trucks (still a big trend in the US). We first checked out the farmer's market, then moved on to the shops in the buildings between the farmer's market and the food trucks and arts and crafts. We stumbled upon a bead shop called Bead + Fiber where I ended up buying some strands of stone beads to make new jewelry. Then we moved on to the arts and crafts and food trucks. We bought jewelry at the lovely stand of Freebird Designs. Stern Design Works also had some pretty cool jewelry including see-through pendants with miniature animals trapped inside. Unfortunately we were still full from our breakfast at Flour Bakery and Café so that we didn't get a chance to try food at any of the food trucks, but I did squeeze in a drink at Bon Me (a play on banh mi, the Vietnamese term for bread). The cool thing is you can cut the line if you're just ordering drinks and no food. I chose the Thai basil lemonade. It was really refreshing. 

Boston Part 1: Flour, Crema Café and more

Breakfast at Flour Bakery, Boston

Finally I made it to the East Coast. It only took 29 years! First stop was Boston followed by Washington D.C. and finally New York City, the mekka of food, all in two weeks' time. With more time I would've loved to have explored outside the cities. I will just have to go again!
This first Boston post is dedicated to one of my favorite topics: desserts and coffee. These are always a must, first to start the day and second to continue the day. 

The best bakery my friend and I visited was Flour Bakery + Café. Flour has three locations but we ended up going to the one in South End, nearest the hostel we stayed at. The first time we went I had a sticky bun--for me a typical American breakfast pastry and an absolute must-have when in the Unites States--and an iced latte. Both were very good. The second time we went there I couldn't resist the berry muffin top as I'd never had one before. It was also very good although a little on the oily and cakey side. If I hadn't been worried about my luggage getting too heavy I would've bought their cookbook Flour directly at the bakery. As luck would have it, I'm currently borrowing it from a friend. I will try a recipe first before deciding on ordering it online. 

Crema Café in Cambridge

Iced Mocha and
Coconut Macaroon

In Cambridge I got  a delicious iced mocha and coconut macaroon at Crema Café. From there we picked up some goodies at L.A. Burdick chocolates, a place my family had recommended from their trip there last year. The fleur de sel and vanilla caramels we got tasted good but were a little hard to chew. However, the presents I bought there (chocolate covered hazelnuts and chocolate penguins) resonated very well with the recipients. Afterwards we went on a Hahvahd tour, a fun way to get acquainted with the history of Harvard. 

Kilvert and Forbes

Quincy Market, which is a part of Faneuil Hall Marketplace, really is a tourist trap, offering so-so food for over-the-top prices, but you can get some good sweets there. I ended up buying a congo bar at Kilvert and Forbes. A congo bar is made of brown sugar, flour, chocolate chips and walnuts. Hard to go wrong there, right? It was rich, but delicious, a perfect pick-me-up to counteract jet lag on my second day. 

Pinkberry

Finally, Boston is the place I first tried the frozen yoghurt at Pinkberry. I'd heard mixed reviews about it before but I really liked it. It's a perfect little dessert (if you get the "mini" size---which most people do not get) that is refreshing and doesn't leave you feeling full.


Another place with good coffee drinks is L'Aroma Café and Bakery. I recommend the iced mocha. 

Acero Gelateria in Basel

Acero Eiscafé

Finding house-made ice cream in Switzerland, at least in the German speaking part, is not easy. You'd think the closer you got to Italy the easier it would be, but something happens between Germany and Italy and it's not the Röstigraben. It's more like the Ice Cream Abyss. This is very hard to deal with as a German-American. In the US you can get ice cream everywhere and there are loads of brands and flavors to choose from. I remember this one time during my last year at UCD while I was living in an apartment with three roommates we at one point of time had over 10 flavors of ice cream in our freezer! Those were the days...And in Germany every city has several gelaterias to choose from. The quality of those gelaterias is a different story, but at least there are options! 


In Basel, when you're really desperate for ice cream, your safest bet is to buy some at Coop or Migros. If your ice cream-must-have-attack (believe me, this does exist!) happens to you during the day and you're close to Sprüngli (Barfüsserplatz or SBB), then you can get their delicious chocolate ice cream-one of my favorite store-bought ice creams. My other favorite brand is Häagen-Dazs. The problem is that it's getting harder to come by in Basel. You can find it at Globus, but CHF 11.90 for one pint is just plain ridiculous. The other day I found it for CHF 9.90 at my favorite Coop Südpark, but there were only two flavors to choose from: Macadamia Nut Brittle and Cookies and Cream. Ironically, my favorite Häagen-Dazs flavor is Vanilla Swiss Almond but I've never seen it outside the US. If you're up for some swanky ice cream you can indulge in the magnificent ice cream at Teufelhof, where one scoop costs CHF 4.50. Their vanilla ice cream is to die for and makes their Eiskaffee almost totally worth the steep price of around CHF 15. They also have other seasonal flavors, such as rhubarb, which are very tasty.


Fortunately since last year there's ice cream to be found in Kleinbasel at the Acero Eiscafé (they also sell cakes and panini but I go there for the ice cream). Their flavors are constantly changing (they offer 12 flavors daily-check their website for the daily offering) and they sell not only regular ice cream, made solely with organic milk, as well as sorbet but also lactose-free ice creams made with organic almond or rice milk. I've already gotten ice cream there a couple of times during the last couple of weeks. Today I had fior di latte, straciatella and amarena. Of those three the straciatella was the best. My favorite flavors I've had so far are the chocolate and the amaretto. I've tried the ones made with nut milks before but still really prefer the regular dairy ice cream. The little courtyard in back of the café is nice to sit in but it feels a little cramped there so I prefer to take my ice cream outside and just a couple of yards away to the banks of the Rhine.


I heard rumors that Acero may have to close due to having too few customers. It would be such a shame! I can see, though, that they would have issues getting enough customers as the café is not easy to find and you have to walk all the way to the back of the café to get the ice cream. I'm sure if they sold it at the front window they'd get much more traffic. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that Acero will make it!

Fior di latte, Straciatella, Amarena

Today's flavors

Oriental-Style Chicken Salad and Rice Noodle Salad

One of my best friends once gave me a cookbook called The Cuisine of California by Diane Rossen Worthington. It has turned out to be quite the gem. Every recipe I've made out of it has been really delicious. The other day I was craving the oriental-style chicken salad. I still haven't found the right rice wine vinegar for the dressing (I use a rice vinegar meant for sushi, which is okay, but I believe there's better kinds out there) but the dish tastes wonderful anyways. Since I had leftover dressing I used rice noodles instead of chicken the next day to make a rice noodle salad. Rice noodles only take about 4-5 minutes to cook so it was a really quick dinner to make. 

Serves 6-8
For dressing
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon peanut butter
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of Chinese hot mustard (haven't searched for this ingredient yet)
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons hot pepper oil (didn't use this, although I'm sure the heat would add a nice touch)
1/4 cup sesame oil


3 cups chicken stock or water combined with 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 pounds chicken breasts, boned
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 medium European cucumber, julienned
2 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro


1. For dressing: combine all ingredients except the oils and whisk well to combine. Slowly whisk oils into dressing until combined. Set aside.


2. In a medium, deep skillet or a large saucepan, bring chicken stock or enough water to cover chicken to a simmer. If stock doesn't cover chicken, add water to cover. Add chicken breasts and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on size, or until just tender.


3. Cool chicken in liquid. Drain chicken and remove skin. Shred by tearing meat into long, thin pieces (or slice with a knife, if desired). Reserve in a medium serving bowl. 


4. To toast sesame seeds, place in dry medium skillet over high heat. Shake until seeds turn light brown, about 2 minutes. Remove immediately from skillet. Reserve. 


5. Add cucumber, green onions, and 1 tablespoon cilantro to bowl with chicken. Add dressing and mix well. Taste for seasoning. Garnish with sesame seeds and remaining cilantro. 


May be prepared up to 8 hours ahead through step 3 and kept in refrigerator. Toss with dressing just before serving. 

Chocolate in London, Paris and Zurich

Wow, what a week! Within one single week I tasted chocolate in London, Paris and Zurich. Not bad, huh? But I'm pretty sick of chocolate now (I never thought I'd ever say that!).

Last weekend I was in London and was able to stop by the shop Melt in Notting Hill. It was a very cute shop with a small selection of chocolates and chocolate bars. Perfect, as too large a selection makes me suspicious as to the freshness of the products. I bought the dark chocolate bar with mint (which never left London), the dark chocolate with sea salted caramel bar (which didn't make its first night back in Basel) and the dark chocolate bar with orange (which I just took a nibble of and presumably will disappear within 24 hours). As the name suggests, these chocolates melt in your mouth, creating a very smooth and fresh feeling. Very tasty and definitely worth another visit the next time I go to London.

When my sister was in Paris a few weeks ago she bought me a bar of dark chocolate with orange from Jean-Charles Rochoux, a shop I had recommended to her from my last trip to Paris last fall. It was so delicious that I decided to stop by the shop again this past Wednesday while I was on a work trip to Paris. And I was not disappointed. I bought a chocolate bar filled with praliné and caramel and topped with almonds as well as a selection of little chocolates. All were very tasty and fresh, but my favorite was the raspberry one called "maraba". Raspberry and dark chocolate are a couple wed in heaven. Mmhmm. 

When I found out that the Salon du Chocolat was to take place for the first time in Zurich at the end of March I knew I would have to go visit. That's exactly what I did yesterday. There was a small number of exhibitors from Switzerland and other European countries, most of which I'd heard of before, such as Sprüngli, Cailler, Honold, and Beschle. After snatching free samples of chocolate Luxemburgerli and dark chocolate truffles from Sprüngli (and they taste so much better fresh!) I went to the Beschle stand, a chocolatier from Basel. I'd only ever tried their chocolate here and there and was excited to have the opportunity to try some different flavors at their stand. I tried dark chocolate and ginger, white chocolate and lassi, white chocolate with blueberries and almonds as well as dark chocolate with rosemary and lemon thyme and dark chocolate with pistachios and fleur de sel. The latter two were my favorite and I bought a bar of each. Normally I don't care for chocolate that has flavors usually found in savory dishes, but the rosemary and lemon thyme chocolate was really delicious and fresh-tasting. A palate-cleanser.