Pass the Lipitor

After a relatively miserable week of food at the CERN nuclear physics lab outside Geneva (menus proton and neutron at the cafeteria every day for four days, guuuuuhhhh) my friend Donat took me and some others to a lovely restaurant on the water at Lake Geneva. Apps of escargots and air-dried beef - the beef resembling a pastrami taste, fantastic, served with cornichons and pickled mushrooms - and a dinner of fresh lake perch meuniere. Local white wine, vinho verde-ish with an almost-fizz.

I was happy. Gorgeous clear late afternoon blended into a clear night. I was provided a glass of the local hard liquor. Relaxed and mellow.

Then dessert menus came out. I see a dish labeled "meringues de gruyere" - a hard sugar-and-egg meringue, topped with gruyere double cream - 48% fat, people - on top of two scoops of ice cream. I had to do it.

It may well have been the richest dish I have ever consumed. I struggled to finish it...but somehow, somehow, survived to the end. The picture above pulled from google images doesn't do it justice. If you ever get a chance, try it. Then call your doc to schedule that angioplasty you've been putting off.

Capone Foods - Union Square, Somerville

Capone Foods

One of the true hidden gems of the greater Boston area, Capone Foods makes restaurant-grade pasta and sauces as well as carrying staggeringly good balsamics.

It's a small shop, smaller than a grad student's apartment. You walk in and immediately on the right are several tall freezers packed with tasty goods. One is full of prepared pastas and dishes - parmigian of eggplant and chicken, stuffed shells, etc. - which I haven't tried.

The other freezers are the reason I make the trek to union square once every few months. Packed with amazing pasta, the kind of stuff that makes you appear to be a gourmet chef after 15 minutes of salted, boiling water.

The tortellini and gnocchi are superb. I can without hesitation recommend the smoked gouda, porcini, and bolognese tortellini, and also the sweet potato and chive gnocchis. The black pepper is something I love but you really gotta love black pepper :-)

There's a full freezer of sauces - fantastic putanesca, alfredo with shallots, marinara, porcini. the newburg sauce is exquisite.

Ravioli are also standout here. The lobster ravioli (pair with newburg!) is top shelf and I am addicted to the sweet potato version. There's a handy chart on the wall for pairing sauces and pastas out of the freezer, and great friendly service if you're stuck.

Rounding out the place is a set of barrels of olives, homemade ricotta, and the right to buy sheets and fresh cut pasta behind the counter. And if you're in the mood to spend $100 on a bottle of balsamic you're in the right place.

It's not in the most convenient place on earth - union square tends to disorient non-residents and people who haven't invested in learning the quirks of east somerville streets - but it's worth the effort. Not open after normal business hours during the week but open on saturdays. The web site is user-friendly and they'll deliver to you if you just can't get there..

Gets four stars from the visiting scientist.

Clearing out the cobwebs around here

It's not like that many people read this blog last year, but I've gotten enough requests to relaunch that I'm gonna give it a try.

Since I last blogged there's been a lot of change in my life. I'm living downtown in Boston, I'm still spending too many hours strapped into seat 42c, my kitchen underwent a 75% reduction and I do my laundry at the laundromat now. Guuuhhhhhhh. Other than the first part of that, seems sad.

But I've got a lot of good stories and diary entries stored up from the road, and a mandate from some friends to start aggressively documenting Boston foodstuffs and out-of-the-way restaurants. This is for you guys.