Portuguese sweets in an unlikely location

Last month, I met a friend in Boston and we spent a few hours wandering around. We were in Chinatown, and on a mission to find an Asian market called Super 88, but we had no luck. We saw the parking area, and a sign with an arrow that said "Welcome" but we could not, for the life of us, find the door. Anyway, we set off to find an Asian bakery instead, and stumbled upon a place called Great Taste Bakery (63 Beach St). We found lots of the expected, and a bit of the unexpected. There were tons of yummy-looking pastries screaming our names, but the thing that jumped out at me the most were the Portuguese pastries (!!!!). They looked exactly like the Pastéis de Nata or Pastéis de Belém that we ate on our weekend trip the Portugal last year. They're made of delicious custard, surrounded by flaky pastry, and bruléed on the top. Of course, we grabbed a few for the road, and they the taste was quite authentic. What a find!

Back to Dalí!

My dad and I visited Dalí again in Somerville, MA. We ordered most of the same things we did last time. The food was INCREDIBLE. The only problem with going there for dinner is that you keep comparing it to other restaurants afterwards and nothing measures up....

We started with:

• Warm homemade bread with a garlicky (and a little olive-y) chickpea spread
• Cava Sangria (Sangria made with Cava -- Spanish sparkling wine)

For tapas, we ordered:

• Tortilla Española - warm potato and onion omelette... my favorite Spanish food
• Pimiento del Piquillo - delicious red peppers with a shrimp stuffing
• Lomito al Cabrales - thin pieces of pork tenderloin in a light and creamy sauce of Cabrales and mushrooms... my favorite dish of the night!
• Langostinos a la Plancha - perfectly grilled prawns in their shells
• Esparragos Blancos - white Spanish asparagus with two sauces

For dessert:

• I had Flan de Leche de Cabra (flan made from goat milk)
• My dad had Manchego y Membrillo (classic Spanish sheep cheese with quince paste)
  

Little Bites in Boston!

My dad surprised me recently with an invitation to a tapas restaurant... Last week, when I travelled to Boston with my parents, we stopped off in Somerville for tapas at Dali (Restaurant & Tapas Bar). Here is what we enjoyed:

• Warm homemade bread with a garlicky chickpea spread
• Plato Mixto - a selection of Spanish cheeses, Serrano ham, salami and roasted peppers
• Tortilla Española - warm potato and onion omelette... my favorite Spanish food
• Pimiento del Piquillo - delicious red peppers with a shrimp stuffing
• Lomito al Cabrales - thin pieces of pork tenderloin in a light and creamy sauce of Cabrales and mushrooms... my favorite dish of the night!
• Conejo Escabechado - red wine braised rabbit
• Langostinos a la Plancha - perfectly grilled prawns

We washed everything down with fruity sangria (and for my mom, a cerveza). For dessert, we enjoyed Flan de Leche de Cabra... Flan made with goat's milk. Rich, creamy, sweet and delicious. Served with a berry sauce, it was the perfect ending.