Where I Love to Eat

Here's the top ten meals I've ever eaten. in no particular order. Forgive this self-indulgent post that I write while very, very hungry.

1. Sofra, Watertown MA
http://sofrabakery.com/
The Shakshuka, or eggs poached in tomato with pita crumbs, is outrageous and served in the classiest metal pan.

2. Blue Shirt Cafe, Somerville, MA
Mediterranean salad wrap and a chocolate mocha smoothie. My go-to lunch for when I'm too hungry to make a decision.

3. Blue Room, Cambridge MA
theblueroom.net
I had this watermelon, onion, and feta salad this summer with mint and olive oil dressing. It's probably not on the menu anymore because they rotate seasonally, but it lives on in my memory as being the strangest combination of foods that ever worked successfully.

4. Cafe Barada, Cambridge MA
http://www.cafebarada.net/
Labany and olive sandwich. Labany is a thick yogurt, not unlike sour cream at all. The sandwich is wrapped in pita and has lettuce and tomato.

5. Dali, Cambridge MA
I go through phases with Dali. It's the kind of place you don't need to go to more than a couple times a year because their menu never changes and it's really rich. But the richly decorated walls are worth the trip and the marinated olives are a meal in themselves.

6. Xinjiang Restaurant, Beijing, China
The most incredible eggplant I've ever had in my entire life. I will spend the rest of my life trying to figure out how it was both mushy and crunchy. I probably don't want to know.

7. Some alleyway, Xi'an, China
When I was "off the veggie wagon" on my trip, we had these lamb kebabs that were absolutely ridiculous. We got lost looking for the Muslim quarter and wandered down a back alley. We found a "restaurant"- some friendly looking people cooking in a small room. Mom, I hope you're not reading this. The small chunks of meat were served on bicycle spokes. I mentally checked the date of my last tetanus shot and chowed down. Fancy food be damned. This was amazing.

8. Paella, somewhere in Madrid
I used to go to this place on the corner and get paella with black rice. I'm not a big fan of seafood but it was delicious- salty, full of texture and flavor. I found out later it was black because of squid ink. Hmm.

9. Healthy Nasu Bowl, Tampopo, Porter Exchange Cambridge MA
Fried eggplant and tofu, chunky udon noodles, ubiquitous brown sauce, broccoli and carrots. Followed by an almond bubble tea at Tapicha.

10. Planet Salad, Veggie Planet Cambridge MA
The salad dressing is so good here it must be made with uncut heroin. The tofu croutons are tofu in its finest form, which is of course fried beyond recognition.