The stomach is mightier than the pen

If you were to present the Eating Club with the choice of a successful eating schedule versus a successful blog, we would choose eating every time.

I believe that one or two members have vowed to post from some of our ventures, but when it boils down to it, our priorities are in the field. We gotta spend the time and energy out there, where food beckons.

See Exhibit A: The Eating Club's history to date

6/7 Henrietta's Table
6/14 Oleana
6/21 Helmand
6/30 Tupelo (Wed.)
7/12 TW Food
7/19 Tu y Yo
8/2 Matthew and Paola's/the greatest meal that ever was
9/15 Bergamot
9/22 Foundry on Elm
9/29 Han River (Wed.)
10/4 Punjab Palace
10/11 El Paisa
10/18 Lord Hobo
10/20 Pumpkin Beer Flots/Liz's infamous "i'm too full to eat" text
10/25 La Verdad
11/1 Red lentil
11/29 Savory Pies at Unit 10
12/14 Not Your Average Joe's/Youth Group fundraiser
1/10 Taberna de Haro
1/24 Rod Dee


That's right - we've hit gathering #20! Congratulations to the Eating Club are best shared in person, seeing as I'm guessing about 2 members of said club will read this post by May. Onwards to the next table!

'Tis the Autumn edition!

Oh, poor Eating Club blog. It's true that we went on a summer hiatus, but it's also true that this poor blog has had its fair share of neglect already.

Eating Club went back into the streets on Wed. Sept. 15th at the much talked-about Bergamot in Somerville. The top-notch quality of food can be illustrated by the fact that it was PACKED on a Wednesday night. Oh yes, and Eating Club has also moved to Wednesdays. We've truly taken on the "and so is every other day" half of our slogan.

The following week, a small contingency hit Foundry on Elm - the new Davis Square hot spot that marks it's signage with "fine food, proper ale." Indeed, they provide.

I'm not gonna comment too much more expect to say that my Bergamot highlights were definitely the chanterelle mushroom gnocchi, and the passion fruit pudding. And even though I didn't eat 'em, Foundry gets Eating Club props for a massive and saucy plate of mussels.

It's only down from here

A momentous Eating Club moment... on Monday, August 2nd, we ate the best meal that ever was.

Paula and Matthew graciously invited Eating Club to their beautiful home in Charlestown to eat a 7 course meal of what can only be described as pure heaven. As in, if one could eat bites of heaven, surely this is what it would be like.

Unfortunately, I gobbled up the first course salad before a picture was taken, but I didn't make that mistake again with the rest of the evening. Behold! And don't read the rest of this post lest you wish to ever enjoy any meal you'll ever eat again. Because, although we had an amazing time, as we walked out the door, we felt a little sad that nothing we eat in our normal lowly lives will ever taste satisfactory again. I must add my gratitude that each meat-oriented dish was altered for a personal vegetarian experience (as reflected in the pics). This was one ridiculously planned culinary adventure. The dishes featured items from Paula and Matthew's own garden, to boot.

First, here's the menu that Paula sent out to get our palettes prepared:

eating club
monday, aug 02

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snake sashimi

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lizards on a stick

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poison ivy salad, dirt vinaigrette

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horseshoe crab soup, grasshopper croutons

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spider meatballs with earthworm spaghetti

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baked alaskan with flaming moths


And now the pictures!















introducing... the finger lime. a most delicious and fun palette cleanser hailing from the foreign land of australia.















chef Matthew cleaning up the dry ice

Eating Club heads south

Breaking the slight blog hiatus... here are some pictures from the DELICIOUS Tupelo which Eating Club took over (well, maybe only took up half the restaurant) on June 30th. Inman Square delivers again! We'd eat here forever if it wasn't going to give us premature pulmonary issues. see exhibits a, b, c, d...



Fried oysters



Something else fried



Chicken and waffles



Jambalaya



Crepes



Fish something with cheesy grits


And now for the action shots!










Happiness is...

Helmand 'Cream Pudding', Will You Accept this Rose?

Admission from Gazelle: in addition to eating I have a minor obsession with the Bachelorette (not Ali specifically, just the franchise itself). This post about Helmand's amazing cream pudding is inspired by Ali's performance on tonight's Bachelorette.

With the guys dressing for the Cocktail Reception, Ali informed host Chris Harrison that there will be no reception because she has made up her mind on which guy she would no longer like to receive. (Sidebar spoiler alert: apparently winning an olive oil wrestling match against other men is no guarantee for future romantic spoils).

She told Chris we are going right to the Rose Ceremony. That's what I'm doing with my post - we are going right to the end, my other meals need not be described, as I'm in love with Helmand's Cream Pudding!

Don't get me wrong, this is all so hard, I mean all of my Helmand meals and the afghani meals of my eating club friends have changed my life in such profound ways and have all the qualities that many diners want in a four-course dinner but when you meet a dessert like this, you realize this is why you contribute to a food blog!

You can read a lot about Helman's kabobs and other entree dishes on yelp but not enough people praising their cream pudding. I would go there again just to get the cream pudding.

I don't need many paragraphs to convince you only this sentence - It's the perfect cross between creme brulee (a little too rich) and yogurt (a little too bland).

Next week...the most dramatic Eating Club post EVER!

Bring out the Helmand and bring out the best

Eating Club saw its largest turn-out ever this week (#3) to visit Helmand, a Cambridge establishment serving Afghan food. We welcomed newbies Andrew "Laney" and Naveen, plus all the original club members were present. (See pictured from left to right: Evadne, Naveen, Liz, Rachel, Andrew, Moose, Christine and Gazelle).

Overall, we had a positive experience. They were able to accommodate our group perfectly at their table-of-grandeur... a domineering dining table fit for royalty. Evadne and Andrew were bestowed the honor of sitting at the heads while simultaneously cursed with the honor of shouting back and forth.

Some communal tidbits: Service was very attentive and prompt. The menu provides a great variety of dishes making it difficult to choose among what seem like equally delicious selections -- perfect for Eating Club who likes to order diversely and share. They open up with delicious/plentiful flatbread served with butter and a variety of 3 sauces ... which could distilled to the descriptors of yogurt, mint, and spicy.

A number of appetizers were ordered - all devoured relatively quickly. Everyone ordered a different dish, though 4 members all ordered some variety of lamb. We might have some trouble recalling the exact names of dishes, but I hope people will take on the challenge of describing theirs well enough to be sorted from the others. Although there was a momentary scare that dessert would be foregone, Andrew and Gazelle stepped up to the challenge.

individual assessment:

I ordered a vegetarian appetizer (2 puff pastries, one with leek and scallion, the other with potato), as well as the Vegetarian Special dish (which comes with 4 elements plus rice). I would absolutely order the app again - it came with a yogurt sauce and was generously portioned. My Special was good - not great - but perhaps just overshadowed by Naveen's dish, which offered up a little more punch (spiciness) and taste. I'd probably stray from the Special on my next visit. However, the highlight of the dish was the pumpkin, which, fittingly, can be ordered on its own. So, having gotten my inaugural attempt out of the way, a mix-and-match approach to Helmand would be the best for the future. App, side, entree to share to start. Add onto that as appropriate for the numbers you're bringing. I partook in the carafe of red house wine which was worth its price though not particularly impressive. I also shared Gazelle's cream pudding dessert which was an excellent conclusion to the meal -- light, tasty and heavily fresh fruited, it fulfilled its role of dessert to a T (I've heard that the idea is for the sugar to help cleanse your palette and settle your stomach from a large meal).

We haven't implemented a number system, but I find them helpful... so here goes. Food: 8/10, Atmosphere: 7.5/10, Overall: 8/10 (+ factors: bread service)(- factors: they take your bread & plate away when your entrees arrive)

four words to sum up oleana.

sultan's delight & baked alaska.

although eating club had it's third meeting last night, we have all failed to sufficiently honor the second meeting hosted by our new friends at Oleana. the food was delicious, the service could have been better.. (mostly makimoose's service), and the decor though lovely a little air circulation would have been greatly appreciated (this could just be the jealousy speaking after nosing around to look at the patio as well as the fact that it was a perfect night to eat outside.)

i think the baked alaska deserves a special mention. not only was it delicious and the perfect size for five to share, but i think it was the perfect end to a great meal. i will admit that as the resident unit 10 baker i certainly have more of a sweet tooth than some of the other founding eating club members. however i see a pattern even in these first three meetings.. we all eat and share a wonderful meal and then hem and haw over whether anyone will get desert. i move that rule number 4, 5... i don't remember how many rules we have yet.. should be that we always order one desert (at least) for the table to share.

i think the past two weeks have proven that no matter how full you think you are, there is always room for a bite or two of baked alaska.