Taste of Cambridge 2009

By: Paola Mesadieu

On Thursday, June 25th, the rain gods took a break from dousing New England with unrelenting rain showers just in time for the 7th Annual Taste of Cambridge food festival. With cuisines from India to Ireland, the Taste of Cambridge “celebrates the diverse dining scene of one MA’s most historic cities”. Held in the court yard of the classically chic, Charles Hotel, Thursday’s savory food bazaar was jammed packed with food aficionados and curious tasters alike. Proceeds from this event benefited Youth on Fire, a care center for homeless / street-involved youth, and Club Passim’s Culture for Kids/Music Speaks, a free, monthly, multicultural program whose goals are to provide children with exposure to other cultures and peoples.

Starting off with something familiar

I ventured into the festive melee of food, music, and laughter for my first sampling. As the fates would have it, I stumbled upon Koreana, Cambridge’s premier Korean restaurant (and my shameless addiction). I sampled their kimchee (pickled cabbage with spicy seasoning), Gal bi (grilled, marinated beef), and chapchae (stir-fried cellophane noodles). The serving size was just enough to leave me with room to move on to the next food station.

Trying to stay cool

I will admit, the warm weather did play somewhat of a role in my sampling choices. Due to the humidity, I gravitated to any table that offered a cool and refreshing treat. Therefore, I found myself enjoying a creamy summer gazpacho from Small Plates and a flavorful shrimp gazpacho from Legal Seafoods. I topped off my night with a scoop of delicious homemade Black Raspberry ice cream from Lizzy’s Ice Cream.

Want to see some of my highlights for TOC, check out the following clip

Free 12 oz Drink at Borders!

Welcome to Finance Foodie’s new series: Fiscally Fun Freebies. Working in the finance field has taught me a lot about hardwork, the value of a dollar, and the importance of saving for a rainy day. This series will bring you the scoop on all the free food and product offerings from around the nation – because who doesn’t love a truly free lunch!

The Finance Foodie knows that in this tough economy, every dollar (or in this case $4.00) counts. Therefore, for this installment of my "Fiscally Fun Freebies"

Free 12 oz Drink at any Borders' Seattle's Best Cafe!





From June 26-July 2nd, with a Borders Card (application is free and easy in stores)

Birthday Bonanza at O Ya Boston

By: Finance Foodie

This past Saturday, I had my two-week belated birthday dinner at O Ya, the Japanese restaurant located in Boston’s Leather District. I had already heard the rave reviews about the wonderful and innovative the dishes at this place, so I was uber excited to actually see/ taste the food for myself. A recap of the night as follows:

5:50pm: Arrive at O Ya, 10 minutes early for our 6pm reservation. Decide to wander around the neighborhood for bit. Stop by the bookstore nearby hoping to catch up on the latest gossip from . No luck, but the rainbow flag displayed prominently outside the door should have tipped me off that this wasn’t your local Borders.

5:55pm: Walk inside the restaurant. Notice that O Ya is really tiny and seats about 30 people max. Also, the place was already half full. Bostonians eat really early compared to New Yorkers!

6:00pm: We sit at the “chef’s table”, so we get to watch the sushi chefs prepare each dish. How entertaining! Also, noticed I am completely overdressed in pearls and heels compared to the rest of the patrons. Was told later that O Ya’s dress code is “come as you are”. So that explains all the jeans and basketball shorts (!) I saw.

6:30pm: The plates at O Ya are served tapas style, which means small plates at entrée prices. First dish of sushi is out: salmon with unfiltered wheat soy moromi and yuzu. Very flavorful but nothing too special.

Arty Party: MFA Summer Masquerade Party Boston

By: Finance Foodie

I have gotten the opportunity to attend a plethora of eclectic parties in Boston - from the star studded fabulosity (RoxComp) to the awesomely over the top (GPOE) to the just plain delicious (Taste of South End, Taste of Beacon Hill). All these events have shown me that Boston is definitely not the sleepy city I assumed it to be, but yet I still wondered, “What is the must attend party of the year here?” This past Saturday, I found my answer: The Museum of Fine Arts Summer Party. Over 400 of Boston's most social, esteemed, and beautiful young professionals attended this sold out event, which was organized by the Museum Council and held to benefit the Museum's Artist in Residency Program.

Below is my “pseudo twitter” of the night. Note that I do not actually have a “Twitter” (pro-blogging!), but this was what would have appeared if I did twitter.

9:00pm: I arrive on site at Museum of Fine Arts. Two lovely sopranos are outside serenading the guests as they enter the building. Classy.

10:10pm: Head up the grand winding staircase. Enter the cavernous main hall where the festivities are already in full swing. This was my first time visiting the MFA in Boston and I was completely blown away by the sheer beauty of the place. Felt like I had just walked into a party at the Palace at Versailles.