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To me, Afghan food has always come across as a paler version of Turkish or Northern Indian, often skimpy on the portions (though I love the charcoal flavor on those kebabs). Asheh keshida ($9.95), homemade noodles with a "tangy" (actually, one-note) yogurt, butter, and garlic sauce, was filling but not satisfying. I did enjoy the sour-tasting, not-too-thick cherry doogh ("natural yogurt drink"; $1.95).
Bamiyan
358 Third Ave. (at 26th St.)
212-481-3232
Small "Middle East and Oriental grocery." Lemon pistachios ($2.40 per quarter-pound) had a little preserved-lemon flavor, but not enough for me to consider buying them again.
Nader Food Market
1 East 28th St. (Fifth-Madison Aves.)
212-686-5793
The "fresh rolls" (special; about $5.95) were nothing special, my friend Jesse and I agreed; the "seafood madness" ($13.95), "famous on Phuket Island" was a timidly seasoned, chewy assortment of squid, shrimp, bay scallops, mussels, and vegetables. Good rendition of drunken noodles ($8.95).
Pepper Sky's A Thai Sensation
20 Pearl St., Cambridge
617-492-2541
Lots of character to this place — hand-lettered signs, orders shouted out loud — though too much self-awareness of their reputation for burgers, frappes, and lime rickeys, and a bit too much attitude. I don't know just what's in grapenut custard ($2.99) — it might simply be grape seeds, although many recipes call for the cereal of the same name — but I like the pleasant flavor and the scattered, slightly grainy pockets of "nuts," wherever they come from.
Mr. and Mrs. Bartley's Burger Cottage
1246 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge
617-354-6559
One of the few items missing from Pho Hoa's menu was banh mi, the Vietnamese hero available here in a half-dozen versions. Lu's also offers a shelf of sweet soupy desserts ($1.50 each), though unhelpfully all are labeled "sugar, bean, coconut milk"; this one is a tide pool of not readily identifiable ingredients plus two types of seaweed. I enjoyed it, but I also enjoy all the sights and smells of beachcombing.
Lu's Sandwich Shop
15 Beach St., Boston
Exceptional, extensive Vietnamese menu, even if today I encountered a little misstep in my order. I noted especially the bo la lot, here translated as "grilled mint beef"; lotus rootlet salad; the "beef seven courses" meal for two; small selections of lau (seafood fondue, or hot pot) and tom hum (lobster); 20 varieties of pho with a pictorial guide to the various meats; and the plum, soy, fish, and hot sauces that stood ready at every table. I intended to get the $6.50 lunch special, with rice, of muc rang tien muoi (pan-fried squid with spiced salt); I was billed $9.95 for what I was later told was the full dinner serving. Not perfect tenderness — I couldn't bite cleanly through — but very good, with a good amount of pepper salt, on a spicy salad.
Pho Hoa
17 Beach St., Boston
(one of two locations)
617-423-3934
Nongshim hot and spicy shrimp flavored crackers (75 g.; 59 cents), from Korea, are like skinny Cheetos, but the shrimpy, slightly spicy flavor is less cloying.
Truong Thanh Liquors
65 Beach St., Boston
617-542-9373
Or Super 88, depending on which signs you believe. Meat counter, vegetables, desultory selection of seafood, large but generally unexciting selection of groceries. An exception was mut bi dua (melon candy; 6 oz.; 99 cents); it has a tantalizing texture almost like sugary crudités.
Cheng Kwong Market
73 Essex St., Boston
617-482-3231
Pleasantly jumbled grocery; not large, but it had a few new ones on me, including Lanzhou brand melon seeds (340 g.; $1.95) roasted with liquorice. An amusing nibble, but for me they did little more than whet my appetite. See Sun's idea of a point-of-purchase item is a package of cream prune drops, a poor man's hard candy that quickly goes soft. They are creamy and pruny, however, and just 25 cents.
See Sun Market
25 Harrison Ave., Boston
A ricotta-filled sfogliatella (about $1.75) was moist and lemony; ditto a poppyseed hamentash. Chocolate-chip-covered cookies ($10 per pound) were excellent.
DiMare Pastry Shop
12 Largo Drive South, Stamford, Connecticut
(behind the Springdale railroad station)
203-967-CAKE
Thank you!
