Review: Ghazal

…And while we’re at belated reviews, how about the newest addition to JP’s Indian offerings?

Review: JP Licks

I once had a terrible experience at JP Licks. I almost broke up with them over it. In fact, I didn’t return for almost a year. Here’s what happened: a very good friend of mine from Oregon was in town, traveling across the country with his buddies in a vegetable oil-powered van. Most of them were dirty hippies, and several of them were vegans. It was a nice summer evening and they’d already had dinner, so we decided to see if we could find something vegan at JP Licks. I was at the end of the line of these several unwashed boys, and unbeknownst to me several of them had already asked the dude behind the counter if anything on the menu was vegan. (I mean, you’d think sorbet could be vegan, right? And it’s freakin JP, for crying out loud. Soy is a staple of the collective JP diet.) By the time I got up to the front, I made the innocent mistake of asking if any of their offerings were vegan.

“WE HAVE NO VEGAN ITEMS,” the guy bellowed. I’m not kidding—he yelled at me. Needless to say, I left in a huff, and didn’t come back for a long time.

But then I came back, and it turns out they have some really good ice cream. The problem is that they’re extremely popular, so in the summer you’re probably going to have to wait in line anytime you go, particularly around seven or eight at night. Just be prepared for that.

I recommend trying something off the flavors of the month board. Recent favorites have included Oreo mint and peanut butter ripple, which has a ridiculous amount of peanut butter in it. Prices are definitely higher than somewhere like Baskin & Robbins, but you’re also going to get a considerable amount of ice cream no matter which size you order.

I’m told they also serve waffles on weekends, and they roast their own coffee.

Review: Same Old Place

If you’re like me, at some point in your life you’ve thought, “I know it’s not even eleven o’clock in the morning, but man, I could really go for a cheeseburger.” And you might not have done anything about that thought, because you assumed that if you walked into a restaurant at 10:45 and asked for a cheeseburger they would laugh or point, or possibly invent a cruel song based on words that rhyme with your name.

But if you go into Same Old Place, they will say “Do you want fries with that?”

Review: Real Deal

So I’ve been wanting to try out the Real Deal ever since it moved in (it seems our fair main street goes through waves–first too many ice cream stores than seem feasible, now too many sandwich shops) and for one reason or another never seemed to get around to it.

One of those reasons is one I want to at least mention: the potentially super offensive naming of their signature sandwiches.

Vee Vee: Take Two

On Saturday night, known to all of Boston as A Severely Hot And Unpleasant Night, I decided that the Sig Fig and I should peel ourselves off the furniture and actually go out and do something. As I slowly nixed every restaurant we walked by on Centre Street, she turned to me and said, “You secretly want to go back to Vee Vee, don’t you?”

Well, I wasn’t really trying to keep that a secret, no.

This time around I felt a little underdressed–shorts and a t-shirt, albeit a classy one–but no one sneered at me or anything. The place was less busy than it had been last Tuesday (which is kind of weird, right? I mean, I know it was wicked hot out, but it was still a Saturday night) so the ambiance was significantly more pleasant. Like, we could hear each other talk and everything.

The Sig Fig suggested that perhaps my last review didn’t quite convey just how much I like this restaurant. Let me be clear: I Love this restaurant. I would have Babies with this restaurant. I would have babies and sell them on the street if this restaurant told me to.

Not a lot new to add, since we did a lot of repeating from last time–I had the deviled eggs again, because they’re cold and the white bean stuff is so damn zingy; Sig Fig went with the pea tendril salad, which she enjoyed just as much as I did when it was on my plate last week. She also had the same entree (quinoa croquettes), which she enjoyed with just as much gusto. I opted for the primavera risotto, which was pleasantly not as rich and heavy as many a risotto can be. My only mild complaint would be that the fava beans were kind of blah- I would have preferred more asparagus. Once again we died over the flourless chocolate cake, while I drank the other port option. (Tasty! I would say the crusted port is a bit smoother all around than the tawny, though I recall the tawny having some luscious warm caramel notes.)

Anyway, we’re big fans.