Tempura Fried Savings!

This past week my parents, aunt, cousin, some family friends and I took a trip to the pretty crazy Medieval Manor in the South End for my Dad’s Birthday.  We got to the area about two hours before doors started and we needed something to do so hey, why not get some snacks and some drinks and get a bit full and loose before a 5 course meal loaded with beer, right?  Oishii, on Washington Street, provided us a pretty nice patio and a treat I did not expect from such a fancy place; a really inexpensive tempura menu!

While I would have loved to have had some sushi, this meal was totally on the folks so I wanted to stay relatively cheap, and I have never been one to turn down anything fried, so we hit the menu pretty hard, getting everything from the tempura fried avocado (which was really good) to the lobster (which unfortunately, was my least favorite).  The best one we had though had to be the Sweet Potato, which was just perfectly fried and provided a salty crunch and a sweetness that played really well together.

The best part about these crispy little guys was the price, with most of the veggie items costing around $2 , and the seafood ones being around $5 (though the shrimp runs you $10, you get 2 pieces).  So if you are a little light in the wallet but want a good snack on a pretty nice patio full of all kinds of awesome people watching (and some radical dogs too), Oishii might be the spot for you.

Oishii 3
1166 Washington Street
Boston, MA 02218

Who likes being cheap?

A friend of mine clued me into the wonderful Mt. Vernon Restaurant in Somerville.  Knowing my love of lobster but also my hatred of spending lots of money on things I love, he really was correct in pointing me here.   With two compatriots in tow, we set off for the adventure late on a Sunday afternoon to try their twin lobsters for $12.99 deal.

Stepping into the Mt. Vernon is truly stepping into another time.  The bartender was wearing a white shirt with a black tie and a black vest, and the wood paneling and wooden bar seemed out of place compared to the urban neighborhood just outside its doors.  It seemed like we had stepped back in time, to a place men would put hats on before they left the house.  The bar was stocked with classic regulars pounding High Life out of pony glasses and picking the meat out of the lobster shells as if it was the most natural action they had ever performed.

After being seated, out vested waiter (who was quite the character) took our drink and meal orders.  A round of High Lifes, a coke and some waters, some fresh bread and 20 minutes later we were digging into some pretty sweet lobsters.  A decent size, and plenty meaty, each of us got two 1 1/4 lb lobsters right in front of us with some drawn butter (how else are you gonna eat these things?).  I got a side of cole slaw that was pretty darn great as well, and the fries seemed to be a hit.  After a while, our party had enjoyed just about every part of our lobsters and settled in content.  The meat was perfectly cooked, the butter just perfectly melted.  Our waiter said they had sold 1600 lobsters that day and because of that they had run out of the popovers that usually come as a side dish.

Getting two awesome lobsters for $12.99, man that’s a deal you would have to be a fool to pass up.    They have other lobster items, like the special this past August, Lobster Mac and Cheese.   And the $7 beer and a burger special is pretty grand too, served only at the bar but still.   So I guess I would say go here if you want cool stuff in a cool place for a pretty cool price.  HUZZAH!

Mt. Vernon Restaurant
14 Broadway
Somerville, MA