Review: Acitrón

Frederick Kalil reviews

Having always been of the belief that good Mexican food needn’t suck the wallet dry, I habitually tap into Arlington’s modest — and very good — spots when I get the hankering. It’s come to my attention that the pattern of falling into habit and coddling assumptions resulted in harboring a blind spot to Acitrón, which I had last visited at least 10 years ago. A look at the current menu convinced me that a return was in order.

Starters worth attending to

The first-listed item on the menu is a sauced cornbread appetizer priced at $12, seemingly the kitchen’s bold, throwdown challenge to my faith in simpler Mexican fare. This pan de elote, made with peppers and cheese, is napped with an expanse of poblano cream sauce and impresses as a full-scale dish. Moist and puddingy but admirably crusted on the bottom, it might equally be enjoyed as a dessert. The abundant sauce was declared “velvety” by an impressed tablemate.

Review: Home Taste

Frederick Kalil reviews

A recent check-in at Home Taste, satellite of an identically named mothership in Watertown, brought a fresh reminder of the challenges faced by restaurants.

People are ready and eager to eat out, yet understaffing and economic pressures result in a compromised experience.

However much we long to click our collective heels together and magically return to the before times, we’re left to make the best of it.

Hand-pulled noodles

Featuring prominently on Home Taste’s extensive menu are hand-pulled noodles, presenting an obvious bet. The server was helpful in recommending which dishes are a good choice of treatment for the thick-style noodles, and our selected version with pickled chilis and bok choi was by consensus judged a success. We were instructed that the chilis and bean sprouts crowning the bowl are meant to be mixed in with the heap of noodles before digging in.

Tangy and savory, the dressed noodles were agreeably chewy if perhaps very slightly overcooked. Also, they are so long that you may want to drill yourself on chopstick skills beforehand. No one quailed at the heat conferred by the chili pickle.

Review: Prep Neighborhood Kitchen

Frederick Kalil reviews

Located in a former pizzeria, Prep Neighborhood Kitchen has an interior that appears much the same as numerous pizza parlors populating Mass. Ave. Couple of dudes behind the counter in a modest kitchen, small handful of tables for those disinclined to have their pie consigned to the sweatbox of a cardboard takeout container. So much for appearances.

A look at the lengthy menu forced a quick huddle, hatching a strategy: one item from each section. Faced with the question of whether the result might be overordering, we zeroed in on highlights, which seemed a prudent recourse. In the order of easiest decisions, the dishes called Snacks are labeled as “great for sharing.” Broccoli rabe with chili crisp polled highly at the table, and it did not disappoint: The greens were perfectly cooked, not tough or bitter (if you’ve tried preparing these at home, you’ll understand). A bed of whipped feta offered contrasting texture, and drizzles of chili crisp added a complementary kick. Crowning the hill of green were vibrant yellow pickled shallots contributing a judicious accent of sweetness.

Frederick Kalil reviews

Devotees of longtime Arlington restaurant Toraya will doubtless be familiar with the trajectory of its peremptory closing and postpandemic reopening. For those who have yet to discover the place, I can attempt to convey why it has gained a reputation as one of Arlington’s favored dining spots, if no longer a well-kept secret.

Since 1999, the restaurant was in a tiny spot across the street from Arlington High School, where it was a favorite of local cognoscenti. It reopened Dec. 31, 2021, in a new space, a year and a half after its lease was terminated. As before, the kitchen is occupied solely by Shinji Muraki. The food is as devotedly crafted as it’s always been.

Frederick Kalil reviews

When your mother admonished that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, she couldn’t have foreseen the dawning of the donut benedict. Admittedly, uncertain times call for innovative solutions, yet the prospect of a pizza donut at any hour may be enough to trigger existential dilemma in all but the stoutest of constitutions. Judging by the number of cheery faces at Donut Villa, I’m inclined to surmise that the kids are all right, and likely it’s the cranky food writer who needs a changing. 

My visit to Donut Villa Diner occurred in its opening week at dinner hour, my intent being to explore the entrée selection. The homemade crab cake I had set my mind on wasn’t available, but the Ahi tuna sandwich represented a suitable stand-in. The hunk of fish was cooked to a perfect medium-rare, treated to a toasted brioche bun and anointed with a characterful chipotle mayo. Fries accompanying all sandwiches are of the crispy-coated type and externally sourced, as are the decent sweet potato fries. My dill spear delivered a good amount of flavor.

A first impression of Makalu begins with the emanation of aromas extending to the opposite side of Mass. Ave. a block away. The Nepali and Indian food restaurant opened about four months ago during a challenging year that’s seen the comings and goings of a number of dining spots. If the experience of a recent visit is a fair indication of quality, I hope to see this one live long and prosper.

Frederick Kalil reviews

Arriving hungry and with our olfactory senses aswim must account for our unbridled order of starters from the two-sided menu. Potatoes are a feature of Nepali cuisine, and the deftly fried round cakes of aloo chap make a strong proponent for the case. A nicely varied internal texture revealed a filling flecked with green herbs and the occasional morsel of tender garlic. Flavorful on their own, they were accompanied by mint-cilantro chutney. Appearing separately on the table was a spicy red dipping sauce. Said to be tomato-based, describing it as such renders a disservice to its tantalizing mélange of tastes. 

Menu descriptions take you only so far, after which a leap of faith is indicated. Chaat is a good example, as no verbal rendering of its ingredients could be adequate preparation for what landed in front of us. Nevertheless, I’ll try: imagine an imposing plateful of sweet and salty layers composed of potato and pea samosas pooled in green and brown sauces with rivulets of yogurt, layered with chickpeas, topped with juicy chopped red onion, finished with sliced scallion and festooned overall with crispy chickpea-flour tendrils. But reducing it into components diminishes the impression that drew responses of childlike delight on its appearance. (“This is totally dessert.”)

UPDATED Dec. 21: The Boston Globe's Best area restaurants in 2022 says: new neighborhood joint: “BoonNoon Market in Arlington. Here, Nutthachai “Jeep” Chaojaroenpong (DakZen) serves bright, craveable Thai dishes cooked to order as you browse your way through the store, picking up house-made snacks, herbal remedies, instant Thai noodles, and so much more.”

BoonNoon Market has garnered plenty of attention in recent months, and with good reason. Co-owner Nutthachai Chaojaroenpong will be familiar from his stint at food destination Dakzen in Davis Square.

Frederick Kalil reviews

If BoonNoon’s menu selections at first glance appear more modest, it allows a sampler to tackle the menu head-on. De rigueur items such as pad thai and chicken satay appear alongside less familiar ones likely to engage the curiosity of area chow hounds. Regular visitors will be enticed by featured additions that make it worth straying from standby favorites to investigate; for example, slow-cooked nam daeng ribs with Chinese broccoli. But the personal touches and warm hospitality are what you’ll take away with you from your visit. 

While earning his master's degree in marketing communications at Boston College, Chaojaroenpong’s first start-up, Rootastes, served healthy corporate lunches around greater Boston. Thirty-three-year-old Jeep, as he’s familiarly known, learned cooking with his mother in Pak Chong, Thailand, an area located between the central culinary region (gra prow, tom yum, and curries) and northeastern Isan (larb, som tum with sticky rice). Dishes unique to BoonNoon include original recipes for spicy satay noodles, wings zab and a lemon chicken variation on gai manow, traditionally made with lime. 

The nickname? Chaojaroenpong’s culinary-trained father had an auto-body shop and drove a military green Jeep. (Jeep’s older and younger siblings went by the names Chev and Benz. I’m informed that Benz is a not uncommon nickname thereabouts.)

After about 16 years of dining at a family table for three or more, David and I find ourselves without offspring companionship many nights. As serendipity would have it, restaurants are creating bar menus and, even better, bar specials to enjoy midweek, when presumably bars aren’t three deep with folks clamoring to drown the stress of the working week.

But I have a feeling this quiet lull in the work week is all about to change. We found it a delightful change of pace to belly up to the bar on a Tuesday, instead of boiling up yet another pot of pasta or rifling through take-out menus. It seemed to make Friday arrive a little faster.

The first in our series of bar-food investigation began at Not Your Average Joe’s. It is running a "Buck-A-Shuck" night starting at the blue-haired hour of 4 p.m. Yay!

We’ve been old since our 30s and get up before 5 a.m., so where do I sign up for dollar oysters at 4 with a great Provencal Rose? Why, NYAJ, of course.

We were greeted immediately by Robin, who took about three minutes to become a friend. Yes, she’s on Facebook! She hooked us up with, first a dozen, then another, of very fine Duxbury oysters. The beer selection for D (my husband) was pretty good, with local and big names on tap.

And my dry, blush wine? Why yes, I will have the big pour. It’s more economical after all. Warm focaccia with a grated-cheese-infused dipping oil for him and, you guessed it — fries for me — and it was a solid meal.

NYAJ's unexpected salads

Before you get all judgy regarding my lack of veggie, on the next visit I really enjoyed the sesame hoisin salmon salad (which didn’t need the sticky glaze, and was improved by quickly swiping it off) but had to cut back on oyster consumption considerably.

I’ve got to hand it to NYAJs; it does some very creative and unexpected salads. And I’ve never been disappointed by one. D likes the ahi tuna wontons here, but they were slightly greyish on this night and not up to par.

On yet another Wednesday, the oysters were Canadian, and no offense to our charming neighbors above the border, but we New Englanders got it all over you in the bivalve department. D and I customarily turn over the shells after slurping each oyster, but two of our shells from the great white north were not even deemed slurpable and were inverted upon inspection. By this, our third Wednesday, the bar was packed, and our Robin was too busy to even bring it to her attention, so we chalked it up to, you win some … and this time two were lost.

Waltzing over to Tango

Then we proceeded — no, not on the same night — to Tango, where there is an ever-changing $5 bar snack menu Monday through Thursday. Argentines know their way around meat, so, although the steak skewers that we swooned over on a previous visit weren’t available, we knew the chicken ones were a must order.

We also tried the Shishito peppers, the chorizo sandwich, an empanada and bacon-wrapped dates.

First, our bartender delivered some rolls, "fresh from the oven." Unfortunately they were obviously fresh from the freezer first. But I swear you could dip an old shoe in chimichurri sauce, and it would taste great. For the uninitiated, chimichurri is the condiment of Argentina, and it is a vinegar-driven, herbaceous, garlicky bit of wonder that brightens and yummifies everything it anoints.

The peppers were surprising. Literally. One was rich and verdant, and the next was delightfully piquant and spicy. The empanada was nondescript and unworthy of another order. The chorizo, more resembled polish kielbasa, but the sandwich was still satisfying slathered in chimichurri.

Even so, the star was again the skewers, which were juicy, tender and utterly perfect with onion and pepper layers. This time a little chimichurri for dipping pushed the flavor into the stratosphere. Oh, and the bacon-wrapped dates. They were a last-second addition, but we were so glad we went for them. Little morsels of sweet and smoky roasted heaven. Don’t miss these. Specialty cocktails here lean to the sweet side, but the wine selection is good. D had a bit of trouble finding a beer he loved, but next time we’ll get a nice bottle of Argentine red.

Trek to Tryst

Our last sojourn in the bar-food odyssey brought us to Tryst. I’d heard it was for sale or some such and wanted to find out what that meant for the future of the restaurant. Turns out another bar patron was a regular and said the "buyer" was not planning on changing it but wanted to partner with the chef/owner to learn the business.

I ordered the Mary Ann from the specialty cocktails menu. It contained Hendricks gin, Campari, grapefruit and orange juices, and sounded tart enough for my taste. It wasn’t. But a quick squirt of lemon juice from an attentive barkeep made it right. It was in a highball glass with a soda straw and would be much better sipped from a martini glass. But other than all that, it was a decent drink.

D was happy with his beer choice, a Jack’s Abbey IPL. I’d heard the kale and brussels sprouts salad was one of Arlington’s best dishes and wanted to order this, but the guy next to me was enjoying his, and I could see that I’d have a hard time avoiding the parmesan (dairy intolerance), so I skipped it.

But you now have it on good authorities — my friend, and the dude to my left, that it’s damned good. I ordered the steak frites with roasted kale that was just OK, and D had a sausage and rabe flatbread that he thought was the best of all the bar options we’d sampled in these few weeks.

Which leads me to my favorite thing about eating at the bar — chatting it up with folks nearby. Or not. It’s easy to not participate if you’d rather, but I will say that I’ve had some of the most interesting interactions with fascinating folk over bar snacks lately. There was Harry, who was on his way to visit his ailing mom, and Deborah, who works on body alignment at her clinic here in town, and old friends who we hadn’t seen since our kids played on the same soccer team.

And the bartenders in each of the three spots: Robin now greets us by name. And Gabriel at Tango had firsthand perspective about the leaders in Brazil. The guys behind the bar at Tryst were already running at full steam at 5:15, so no time for idle gabbing here. Yes, every seat was full, including bar tables by 5:30. But they still took good care of us.

Overall, I would say it may be my favorite way to dine, but I hesitate to do so, because evidently a lot of Arlingtonians agree and also have no shame about dining at the ridiculous hour of 5 p.m.

Not Your Average Joe's

645 Mass. Ave.
Website 
781-643-1666
Hours

Monday, Tuesday: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Wednesday, Thursday: 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday, Saturday: 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.,
Sunday: Noon to 9 p.m.

Tango

464 Mass. Ave.
Website
781-443-9000
Hours

Wednesday, Thursday: 5 to 10 p.m.
Friday, Saturday: 5 to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 4 to 9 p.m.
Monday, Tuesday: 5 to 10 p.m.

Tryst

689 Mass. Ave.
Website 
781-641-2227
Hours

Dinner: Monday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.
Friday, Saturday: 5 to 11 p.m.
Sunday: 4:30 to 9 p.m.
Brunch: Saturday, Sunday: 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

This review was published Saturday, May 7, 2016.

In addition to reviewing restaurants and their food, Lori Uhland of Arlington styles homes and events at www.stagerightlori.com. She specializes in big-bang-for-your-buck functional design and loves all things delicious.

Hibernating? Snowed-in? Got that not-so-social inclination? I feel ya.

It’s snowing. Again. Still. Relentlessly even! My Stratton neighborhood seems more like a rabbit warren of shoveled paths and plow piles. I’m hardly motivated to brush my hair, much less get dolled up for an evening out, find a parking space, trudge through snow banks (in boots that don’t work with my outfit anyway) and pay an expensive dinner tab.

So I’m not reviewing a local restaurant this month. I’m staying in. Who’s with me?! OK, OK, I might brush my hair. For you.

And for me, so I’m not caught in some prestorm french-toast-fixins frenzy at the supermarket, I lay in supplies ahead of time.

Here are some incredibly simple (because I know you are worn to a nub from all that shoveling) One-Pot-Wonders and Snowed-In Suppers that I’ve come up with over the years that use a lot of pantry items or stuff you can keep in the freezer.

These are not just comfort foods; they are wrap-their-arms-around-you-and stroke-your-furrowed-brow-and-say, “There, there. Spring will come again,” easy ideas. Even if you don’t like to cook.

I realize I’m late to this snowmageddon. But my warm wish to you, fellow Arlingtonian, is that you might take this little ditty to the market next week to prepare for the next onslaught. Then brush your hair and invite the neighbors over for something delicious.

Turkey Chili Verde

Brown 1 lb frozen ground turkey, seasoned with less salt and pepper than you would normally use, in a big pot.
Add 1 medium onion diced and 1 poblano or other mild pepper diced
Add ½ bottle of beer and bring to barely a boil just to cook off alcohol (chicken Stock can be substituted)
Turn heat to low, add the remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.
1 jar salsa verde (fairly salty, thus the reduced seasoning)
2 cans Great Northern or pinto beans
Serve with Blue Corn Tortilla Chips, sour cream or shredded pepper jack cheese, fresh lime wedges, and jalapeno hot sauce.

MakeYourOwnDangPizza

Buy fresh pizza dough from Trader Joe’s or Capri. Throw it in the freezer when you get home. On the morning of Pizza Nite, take it out and put it on the counter. Open the plastic bag and pour in a T or two of olive oil and squish the bag around a bit. Leave it there all day. At dinner time preheat the oven to 500. The dough will be swollen. Add a bit more oil to the bag to make sure you can pull it out without sticking. Cut into two or four pieces depending on the desired size of your pizzas and let each pizza chef stretch their own disc. Scatter cornmeal on a cookie sheet if you have it. If not, don’t sweat it. Place each stretched pizza dough disc on the pan (you will probably need two) and swirl a glaze of your favorite jarred marinara sauce on top, almost to the edge. Sprinkle mozzarella, parmesan, pepperoni, onion, cooked sausage, mushrooms, olives…. Drizzle with more olive oil (good for all that chapped skin!) Cook until the outside edges of the dough begin to brown. Serve with a smile.

Faux Foodie Jambalaya

(So named because even your foodie friends will be impressed)

Heat a cast iron or enameled Dutch oven on high. Add 2T of your oil of choice. I’m rocking coconut oil of late. Add bite-sized sliced Andouille or chorizo sausage. Trader Joe’s sells a very spicy chicken Andouille that works well, but only if you like it *hot*. While the sausage is browning, Dice 1 large onion, 3 stalks of celery, and 1 large green bell pepper. Add to the pot with either 1 t Cajon seasoning or a shake of salt, pepper, granulated garlic, dried thyme, and Cayenne pepper. Stir in for a minute and add 1 jar of mild chunky salsa, 1 c water, 1 C dry white wine (or 2 c water + a splash of white vinegar), and ¾ c Basmati Rice. Then stir in 1 bag of frozen uncooked shrimp. Put the lid on and turn down to simmer for 25 minutes.
Serve with chopped scallions and an array of hot sauces.

Lazy Gal’s Pulled Pork

Put a 3 to 5 pound Pork Shoulder/Butt in the crock pot covered with chili powder or similar Seasoning of your choice. Add 1 and ½ c Orange Juice. Cook on high all day. Serve with soft rolls, Cole slaw and pickles.

Roast Chicken Pot Pie

Yep, this is a twofer; apropos to multiple snow days. First, roast a chicken. I like using a small oval Dutch oven that rather conforms to the shape of a medium sized bird and taking the self-basting lid off for the last half hour to brown. Salt, pepper, lemon and garlic will do the trick and make the whole house smell delicious. Bake some potatoes while you’re at it, then whisk a little flour into the pan drippings and add some milk—voila, gravy for the potatoes and the base for Phase two.
After supper put the whole pot with leftover chicken in the fridge. The next day, take ready-made pie crust or puff pastry out of the freezer to thaw on the counter for an hour or two. Then pull off any remaining chicken meat and chop into bite sized dice. Add frozen peas, carrots, even pearl onions to the pot. Top the chicken, veg, gravy mixture with pastry crust (cutting decorative shapes out of the trimmings is a fun snow-day activity for the kids, too—put those on top for your own signature pie) and bake until brown.

Baked Spinach and Artichoke Dip

It’s practically a meal and can be made with vegan mayo if you are so inclined.
Combine 1 can drained artichokes chopped, about 10 oz frozen spinach thawed, 1 c shredded Parmesan cheese, 1 cup mayonnaise. I also like to add a little Cayenne or crushed red pepper, but this is entirely optional. Bake in a crock or small baking dish until brown and bubbly. Chances are you don’t have fresh bread in the house so serve with pita chips or toast up slices of some old bagels brushed with olive oil on a cookie sheet.

Frittata

Eggs keep for a good long time, and I always have them. Frittatas are the answer to transforming workaday leftovers into something snow-day wonderful. Last night’s pasta, roasted potatoes or rice upgrade a same-old omelet into a substantial frittata with just the flip of a spatula. The trick is to combine the starch with the eggs before adding to the frying pan (remember--hot pan, cold oil, food won’t stick) and don’t use a non-stick pan because the whole thing goes under the broiler after you’ve added virtually any sort of leftover veggies and cheese. So let’s review: Heat pan. Add oil or butter. Dump scrambled egg combined with leftover starch in pan. Distribute cooked veggies and shredded or sliced cheese on top. Finish cooking under the broiler. Serve in wedges with a Romaine (also keeps for over a week) Salad tossed with lemon and good olive 0il.

Happy hunkering! See you with the thaw.

This series of recipes was published pon a snow-filled Monday, Feb. 9, 2015. When she’s not reviewing restaurants or cooking. Lori Uhland of Arlington styles homes and events at www.stagerightlori.com. She specializes in big-bang-for-your-buck functional design and loves all things delicious.

Torta de Milanesa at La Victoria Taqueria

UPDATED, Nov. 4: It snowed in Arlington on Sunday, Nov. 2, and my mind is floating away on the balmy breezes of a beach town in Mexico. Veracruz, Mexico is on the Gulf Coast, north of Oaxaca and west of Tabasco. Street food there is a tradition and an art.

Alex Barrientos, Arlington resident and owner of La Victoria Taqueria, the Mexican street-food restaurant across from the Regent Theater, at 12 Medford St., is from Veracruz,and he’s brought us his memories. I had a nice chat with him, and these are some of them.

Alex combines dishes the Barrientos family shared over the Sunday supper table with the grab-and-go favorites that locals and tourists clamber for in his home town. His first La Victoria Taqueria is the beloved Beverly spot with a dedicated following. Alex’s North Shore customers are always recalling, misty-eyed, their favorite taco trucks in Southern California or torta stands in Puerto Vallarta. He knew a food-loving town like Arlington would be a perfect choice for his next location.

La Victoria’s tacos and tortas represent Mexico’s first- and second-most popular street foods. And these are not the tacos you grew up on with shells out of a cardboard box. Fresh tortillas, never-frozen veggies and meats, salsas and moles that are the product of generations of recipes are the stuff these tacos are made of. These are going to give a whole new meaning to Taco Tuesday at my house.

A torta is the sandwich you didn’t even know you’ve been dreaming about. La Victoria uses the special telera bun, the only choice for tortas in Mexico. It’s sliced, filled and pressed into the crusty-on-the-outside-gooey-on-the-inside piece of heaven that you find in only a perfect Roma panino or Havana Cubano. When it comes to choosing your filling, there is a range that spans from vegetarian options to a daily special lingua (beef tongue).

Owner provides primer

I asked Alex for a primer on some of the staples of his menu. Carnitas is a slow-braised pork that is first marinated overnight and then roasted for several hours in the oven, then shredded and added to a dish. Barbacoa is the beef version of carnitas.

Pastor is the street food that calls to you from down the block because the smoky sweet and spicy fragrance is epic. Pork is first marinated in ancho and guajillo peppers, onion and pineapple and then stacked on a vertical rotisserie in a trompo, or funnel shape, similar to the Greek gyros and Middle Eastern shawarma. Then as the meat chars and caramelizes on the outer edges, it’s carved off and piled on your taco or torta. Um, is it hot in here?

Then I asked about elotes, the street food I had heard famed restaurateur, cookbook author and TV personality Rick Bayless waxing poetic about. Elotes is an ear of corn skewered with a stick and rolled in first mayonnaise and then fresh cheese, dried chili, lime and salt. Alex explained that it is everyone’s favorite summer snack, and La Victoria serves it when corn is in season.

This was music to my ears, you see -- I’m a corn snob. Growing up on the Jersey shore, my mom would serve only corn that had been picked that day, preferably that hour. I love the sensibility that says, it’s worth the wait for the freshest, tastiest produce. It seems Barrientos feels the same way.

So I’m willing to wait for August to sink my teeth into this fabled treat. Alex says it’s always on his summer catering menus, and it’s like a party on a stick. Hmm, party you say? Heck, my birthday is in August and let’s see … I can mix my killer fresh fruit 100 percent agave margaritas, get the pastor carver humming along to the mariachi tunes, light some lanterns and … ahem, I suppose I do digress. But it’s daydreams like this that’ll keep me going while I’m scraping ice off my windshield in a few weeks.

So in the meantime, I will practically be pacing the sidewalk out front of La Victoria Taqueria for its opening. After the last inspection Tuesday, Nov. 4, Alex and his staff opened the same day.

And while we are all suffering through another long, cold snowy winter, we Arlingtonians will have the true tropical flavors of a sunny cobblestone square in Mexico to keep us warm.

This story was published Monday, Nov. 3, 2014, and updated the next day. When she is not writing, the author, Lori Uhland of Arlington, styles homes and events at www.stagerightlori.com. She specializes in big-bang-for-your-buck functional design and loves all things delicious. She plans to review the food at La Victoria Taqueria.