Walter's

Waaalllt! That’s my baaaarrrr! Sorry, you know I can’t resist a LOST reference. When I walked up to Walter’s, and hopefully to the amusement of my companions, I couldn’t help but echo Michael’s overused yelling for his son. Located at 2 Portland Square, Walter’s is a classy joint with its sleek interior, seasonal menu, and excellent bar.

For my cocktail I ordered a Wild French Ginger—Citadelle French gin, domaine de canton French ginger liquer, and candied ginger. I always applaud bars when they are able to make delicious cocktails without overloaded them with cloying syrup. The Wild French Ginger was thankfully not overly sweet and it had a nice kick from the ginger.

Jonah Crab Claws were the first appetizer we sampled. The claws were ice chilled, which contributed to their distinctive texture—the flesh was smooth and cold and had a sweet, oceany flavor. They were served with a South Beach dipping sauce.

Next up was Greek lamb sliders. These little beauties were crafted with Greek sausage, Camembert, and a spicy Cara Cara orange gelee on flaky rosemary biscuits. These were the sliders that inspired us to have our own slider throwdown. Cara Cara apparently is a type of red Navel orange—it made a delicious sweet and spicy gelee topping for the slider that combined smoothly with the rich and buttery Camembert. The sausage was moist and flavorful and paired nicely with the biscuits.

 

Last on our order was oxtail spring rolls, which were prepared with roasted corn, poblano peppers, and smoked mozzarella, with a spicy avocado crema and tamarind yuzu ponzu dipping sauces. The combination of these ingredients gave the spring rolls a smoky and spicy flavor, but I didn’t get any distinctive taste from the oxtail. I’d never had it before, so maybe I just couldn’t gather the flavor of it in the midst of the other intoxicating scents and tastes within the spring rolls. Having two options of dipping sauces was a nice touch, and I favored the smooth and creamy avocado crema. 

I would definitely revisit Walter’s to sample some of their other cocktails and extensive bar menu. Their entrees sound delicious as well, but if you can’t go wrong with a couple of small plates and drinks at their classy yet comfortable bar.

Boda

Sitting at the bar with my older sister at Boda and enjoying creative cocktails with Thai tapas, as rain outside mists the streets of Portland, Maine, is an excellent way to begin any evening. Especially when those cocktails involve Thai Basil and ginger, and the cuisine entails oysters, quail eggs, fiddleheads, pork belly, and quail.

I ordered the Thai Basil Tom Collins, which was light with citrus flavors and dancing with just bit of spiciness and anise flavor from the Thai Basil. Sonya sipped on a ginger cocktail, the exact ingredients unknown to me, alas. In any case, I can vouch for the tastiness of the drink. Both of these cocktails made lovely pairings for the Thai food we’d soon be devouring.

First up were oysters served raw with chili-lime dressing and fried shallots. Each oyster not only delivered the quintessential Atlantic Ocean brininess, but also surprised the taste buds with spicy chili and citrusy lime. The fried shallots were a little over the top but still pretty good. If the flavor of the oysters is overpowered by the shallots then you can always take some off, but the crispiness added an interesting texture when juxtaposed with the raw, slippery oysters. The delightful sea flavor of the raw oysters doesn’t really come through until after the initial flavors of the garnishes wanes. It’s an interesting experience with waves of flavor and texture, but in my opinion plain raw oysters are still the way to go if you want to really be at one with the oyster.

We ate the oysters alongside a dish called Kanom-Krok that consisted of quail eggs seasoned with soy sauce and scallions. A little poking around on the Internet reveals that Kanom-Krok is typically a dessert dish of little, round coconut-rice puddings. They look quite appealing, actually, but I have to imagine that Boda is using the term to refer to the cooking process where the individual eggs are cooked in the shallow, round indents of a cast-iron pan. These hot little quail eggs had a very nice saltiness due to the soy sauce, and the rich flavor really exploded when the egg yolk breaks in the mouth. 

We ordered one of the special appetizers—a fiddlehead salad with rice noodles and shrimp. This distinctive salad had an enjoyable spicy element to it, and the seasonal fiddleheads were beautiful to look at in all their spiraled glory and were cooked perfectly. 

We also couldn’t resist the pork belly skewers marinated with salt and sprinkled with chopped scallion. Need I elaborate? No, I think not. I’ll just throw some adjectives at you: Unctuous. Delectable. Savory. Awesome.

For our final dish we shared some quail served with a spicy sauce. There’s something about crunching down on a little bird that is so satisfying. I thoroughly enjoy gnawing the crispy skin and flavorful flesh of quail while snapping teeny, tiny birdie bones. It might sound primitive, but to me it is joy. Bliss. Unfortunately this picture in no way does justice to this dish.

Anyplace that serves tapas or small plates is perfect for sampling lots of dishes, and Boda is no exception. Whether you’re out with a bunch of friends or just catching up with one of your favorite people, Boda is a great restaurant to try out a variety of superb and satisfying Thai cuisine.

Song of the Week: Ginger

Ginger Tea

We all know that getting sick sucks. Being sniffly, coughy, or nauseous is no fun. But what does this have to do with food?

Ginger.

It’s my favorite cure all home remedy. Sometimes you need to reach for the cold medicine, but ginger can also be a big help on the road to feeling better. Ginger has been used as a medicine for different ailments for centuries, but I primarily turn to it for the common cold (or when I’m cooking Chinese food). Some claim that it’s an “antiviral” food, but I don’t really know if it has been scientifically proven to help with colds. And I don’t really care because I know that it works! Ginger is also known to curb nausea, so if you’ve got a stomach bug it could be helpful as well.
 
Whenever I feel like I’m getting sick I make up a batch of homemade ginger tea. You can buy ginger in pill form at the store or premade ginger teabags, but I prefer to take it back to the basics and make ginger tea from scratch. And what’s better when you’re sick than a warm cup of tea?

First you start off with ginger root. I like to make a big batch of tea and save some in the fridge, so I usually get a lot of ginger. Peel the ginger with a sharp knife and cut it into chunks.

 

 

Then place the pieces of ginger in a pot and fill it with water. Bring the pot to a boil and allow the ginger to seep into the water for at least fifteen minutes. Sometimes I let it go longer if I want to make a particularly potent batch. When the water begins the change color you know the ginger is starting to work some of its magic.

 

And that's pretty much it--just ladle out a cupful when you think the tea is ready. Some people like to add a little lemon and honey, which can also be helpful to soothe a sore throat. I prefer it straight up, but that’s just me being hard core as usual. I love the spiciness of the ginger and there’s something about such an intense flavor that just makes me feel like I’m doing something healthy for myself.

I realize that this post is not exactly overflowing with scientific evidence and that some will say that consuming ginger to prevent or remedy the common cold is an old wives’ tale, but from my own experience I’ve found it to work very well. Of course, there’s shame in turning to the pharmacy in a time of need, but many people prefer to try home remedies first. Even if the ginger tea can’t make you completely better, the warmth and spiciness of it still makes you feel good when you’re ill. Stay healthy and be well!