cafe nuovo review

after a rather successful date night at Fenway, I convinced Sam to wake up early and venture into the north end with me.  ever since i began visiting boston, the north end has always been a favorite place of mine- the crammed streets, familiar faces, and legendary recipes are all quite appealing.  there are small boutiques hidden in the attics of restaurants, and street vendors who sell delicious espresso and fried dough.  mike’s pastry and modern pastry dish up some of the best cannolis in new england.  locals identify with a certain bakery or pizzeria and will stand by them for the rest of their lives.  i’ve grown up with mother anna’s pasta and mike’s cannolis thus I’m quite partial to both.  but there’s something that i’m leaving out.  i rarely explore the north end during the daytime.  i had never been in search of a restaurant place or a great cup of coffee before 11am.  so when we walked down salem street and came upon Cafe Nuovo- a chic little place, I thought it might be worth it to take a risk.

i was surprised that there was a place serving breakfast on a wednesday morning at 10:45am.  but pleasantly surprised i might add.  the hostess let us pick our preferred area of seating- so we chose stools that faced a window looking out at salem street.  the decor was modern yet approachable, and i felt like i was in montreal once more.  our waitress diligently took our beverage orders and we began to peruse the menu.

this is where i became overwhelmed.  there were so many dishes that i wanted to try- scrambled eggs with truffle oil, italian vegetable frittata, creamy polenta, and milanese style pork.  there was an entire section dedicated to omelettes, belgian waffles, and pancakes.  all of a sudden i just wanted every single item on the menu- it was so hard to decide what to get.  but when the time came, sam and i decided to SPLIT the eggs benedict with half a maine lobster ($12.50) and a belgian waffle with maine maple syrup and fried chicken ($10.25)- with the obvious side of bacon.  as we waited for our food we people watched and engaged in a light-hearted conversation.  it was nice being able to enjoy breakfast with someone like sam- we were able to take our time and let the day begin the way it’s supposed to.

the waitress brought us our meals, and needless to say we were impressed.  the belgian waffle was perfectly crisp and the fried chicken was pretty light in comparison to other fried chicken and waffles i’ve consumed in recent months.  the chicken was moist and seasoned well- all that was needed was a bit of tabasco, and that plate was phenomenal.  the lobster eggs benedict was my favorite part though.  the eggs were cooked PERFECTLY, and the lobster was served in a generous portion.  i don’t know how many claws i got, but i was really surprised that much meat came from one lobster.  the hollandaise sauce was nice and savory and was great to dip the left over english muffins into.  then of course the homefries and bacon were nice accoutrements and ensured that our meals ended on the highest note possible!

all in all, i loved cafe nuovo.  i’d really like to go back again for breakfast and dinner too! if you ever find yourself venturing through the north end, take a quick trip into cafe nuovo, and you’ll be glad you did!

a dinner held in memory

cooking is in my blood.  my grandmother, hailing from vietnam, owned a vietnamese restaurant in portland for a good 10 years.  and my father’s biggest passion besides fishing, was cooking- thus it’s easy math to realize that i’m a chef since birth.  last monday, a year since my father passed, i decided to cook dinner for my mother and myself that consisted of all the food he enjoyed. 

years ago, when he was 22, he worked at the portland fish market, and every day he brought home one claw lobsters- which he called, WONCWAWLOBSTA.  so obviously i had to cook lobster! not one claw, two claw! in addition to the lobster, i decided to make steamers with marinara sauce.  obviously, there was salada and corn- but i’m just going to focus on the two entrees.  i steamed the lobsters, cracked ‘em, and served them with clarified butter.  the steamers entailed a bit more.  recipe below.

steamers marinara

2 pounds of steamers- rinsed!
can of whole tomatos
one vine tomato
bunch of parsely
basil leaves
carrot
celery stalk
white onion
4 garilc cloves crushed and minced
olive oil
generous amount of dry white wine
salt
pepper
parmesean cheese
1 tbsp of butter

rinse your steamers- if you do not, you will be left with sand in your dish, and that’s not pleasant… trust me.  let the steamers drain in a collinder, while you chop the onions and mince the garlic.  on the stove have a deep pan with olive oil on the bottom, and put the garlic and onions in so they can mingle.  when those become translucent, add the parsley and salt and pepper.  (the amount depends on your taste buds).  when those are nice and translucent add the chopped carrot and chopped celery, and sautee on medium heat for 3 minutes.  chop tomato and add to pot with half a can of whole tomatoes.  take a fork and smash each whole tomato in the pan, so chunks are evenly distributed.  quickly move the veggie mixture from the pot to a blender, and blend until smooth.  move the sauce back into the pan and add the steamers on top.  pour wine over the clams, and add the rest of the whole tomatoes.  cover pan, and let steam for 20 minutes.  when the shells have opened, then your steamers are done.  add the tbsp of butter and the parmesean cheese over the top just to give the dish a little more deliciousness.  garnish with chopped parsley and basil, and a warm baguette.

sorry the photos are terrible.  but enjoy la norriture.

miss e.