Smashburger and some cool shops in Westwood

Tonight, Emily and I had the chance to join some of our fellow Boston bloggers at the new Smashburger restaurant at University Station in Westwood. Smashburger is a restaurant chain based in Colorado, but is expanding into the Boston area in the coming years. They are planning on opening 22 stores and I would be really excited if a few opened in Boston or south of Boston! It is so good!

Anyways, let's get on to the food and pictures! First, we had some parmesan truffle smash-fries and then some onion rings, which were both lightly fried and perfectly seasoned. I would have to say out of all of the sides, fried pickles, sweet potato fries and lightly fried veggies, the veggies were my favorite!

They have a soda fountain where you can fill the cup yourself and we were excited that they also had Honest Tea available as the iced tea. I love that stuff!

Then we had a sampling of a bunch of the burgers on the menu, and I would have to say my favorite was the BBQ Bacon Burger which happens to have some cranberry sauce mixed in with the barbecue sauce. We later found out that the influence of cranberry in the sauce happens to be unique to the stores in New England. For example, in other areas it's just barbecue. Emily happened to really like the Spinach, cucumber and goat cheese chicken sandwich.  We didn't have a chance to try it but the Cobb Salad looked amazing and it was HUGE.

To end things we tried three of their shakes... Oreo, Nutter Butter and PB&J. I happened to like the PB&J a lot!

NOTE: We were provided with this great food and some fun promotional items. All opinions are our own and no other compensation was provided.

A great brunch cruise in Boston aboard the Odyssey!

We had the opportunity to go on the Odyssey Brunch Cruise a few weeks ago. We had a great time and would recommend it for people celebrating a special occasion (anniversary, birthday or mother’s day) or if you get the chance to have a romantic morning out.

First we got to the Odyssey dock right behind the Boston Harbor Hotel just before the 12 pm boarding time. We had our picture taken before boarding with the boat in the background and were greeted by one of the ship’s crew. Once aboard, we were taken to our table and then had an hour to walk around the boat and eat before the boat left the dock. 

We met the chef and food and beverage director who gave us an overview of the menu as well as explained the new Bloody Mary bar which they were debuting that morning. We enjoyed the food and live music, although they weren’t the best live musicians we’ve ever heard, it was still a nice complement to the cruise rather than canned music from an iPod.

One of the things Dave thought was cool was that you could go all around the ship and even to the top deck and see the planes overhead as they prepared to land at logan. We were also treated to a private tour of the captains deck (which you have to request) but it was a pretty cool view!

Emily thought that hanging outside on the top of the boat was one of the best parts because it such a nice day out, there was a beautiful breeze and it was very relaxing.

The food options were varied as you had the chance to eat breakfast, lunch and dessert, so just be sure to have an empty stomach before going!

Lastly when you disembark you have the option to purchase your photo that they took at the beginning of the cruise as well as the crew says goodbye and offers chocolate dipped strawberries which was a really nice way to end such a great morning.

We were graciously given a certificate for dinner for two aboard the Odyssey to give away to one of our lucky readers! Please enter using the rafflecopter widget below and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTE: We were provided with two complimentary tickets aboard the Odyssey Cruise to facilitate this review as well as a voucher to give away to one of our readers. There was no promise made of a positive review. All opinions expressed are our own.

Lunch at Chopps in the Burlington Marriott

I had the pleasure of enjoying a delicious lunch from Chopps American Bar and Grill at the Burlington Marriott a few weekends ago.  It was great opportunity to try a location outside of Boston with a few fellow bloggers. It's a great option if you are looking for a night out. 

We had a lot of food and it just kept coming and coming with each dish better than the next… We also had the Consulting Chef, Daniel Bruce (from the Boston Harbor Hotel) as well as the Chef de Cuisine, David Verdo and the general manager, Davide Crusoe come out and speak about each dish we were eating as we were seated at the Chef’s table, which gave us a clear view of the open air kitchen.

Enjoy the following scrumptious photos - and be sure not to miss the end of my review all of the way at the bottom!!

The amazing house-made tater tots

Chef de Cuisine, David Verdo (left), Consulting Chef Daniel Bruce (right)

Dave with the dessert

Dave's plate of food - SO DELICIOUS

The lounge entrance to Chopps

Line-caught cod with fingerlings and corn puree

Long bone veal chop - one of my favorites!

The kitchen view

A closer look at the kitchen from our table

Lamb Lollichopps

Lobster Salad

Tomahawk Ribeye Chop for 2 - sourced locally from Pineland Farms in Maine!

Melon and Prosciutto salad with Arugula, Chili Oil, Hazelnuts and Balsamic glaze

Flash fried Scallops and Shrimp with a lime tartar sauce - it was hard to not devour the entire serving!

NY Strip Steak also from Pineland Farms

Another last photo of the tater tots as they were my absolute favorite!

All in all, this restaurant aims to please - the wait staff couldn't have been nicer or more attentive and the chefs prepared such an amazing assortment of dishes and desserts, this place would be an excellent option for parents looking for a nice night out!

Since you know we like a good deal, I found out that if you like their page on Facebook, you can receive a 15% off coupon for the next time you visit!

NOTE: My meal at Chopps was complimentary with no guarantee given for a positive review. All opinions and photos are my own.

A Rockin’ New Menu at the Hard Rock Boston

As the Hard Rock Cafe celebrates their 25th year in Beantown, they have also coincidentally been working to redesign their menu. I had the chance to try a lot of items with a few fellow bloggers and let me tell you, they are pretty darn good! I think I’m still stuffed and it’s been a little while… It took the Hard Rock over 14 months to come up with these items after getting feedback from customers and testing out items. The wait is well worth it! Every item I had the pleasure of trying was delicious!

When I first arrived, I was taken to a private dining room (the Cavern Club) that had been set up for all of us. There was a main table which displayed all of the items on their new menu with custom printed compact discs to show the food item. It was a really nice touch!

The executive chef of the restaurant came out and described each course to us as we were eating it and what the Hard Rock did to come up with new items.

The Chef explaining the menu items

The first course was the arugula salad which was a great way to start of the meal - delicious, nutritious and light.

Then we had the barbecue sampler and oh-my-goodness it was mouth wateringly good. Everything had been either slow roasted or smoked overnight - the chicken, the smoked beef brisket slider and the ribs and everything was truly delicious.

This beef brisket slider was SO tender and SCRUMPTIOUS!

Alongside each of the meal samplings we had the chance to try some of their signature drinks… I found that the mini margaritas (so called “Air Mexico or Air flights” weren’t really my cup of tea, but other people said they were tasty.  They tasted too strong for my liking.

Don't worry... I didn't drink all of these ;)

I figure if I’m going to have a drink it should taste good and I shouldn’t be able to taste the alcohol… which brings me to drink #2, the pressed Red Berry Press drink. OH MY GOSH, this drink was simply delectable and smooth. Be careful since many of us who tried it said you just could not taste the alcohol at all. Kinda dangerous (but fun!) They explained that they make it with fresh strawberries, raspberries, lemonade, lemon-lime soda and Clementine Vodka, all served in what looks to be a coffee-press item that is pressed three times (we got to press it!) to mix up all of the fruits and juices and then poured. The beauty of this drink is that as it gets depleted the juices linger and get stronger so it tastes more fruity and delightful.

Then we had the burger sliders which were scrumptious. I didn’t particularly care for the fiesta burger (which had a little kick to it) but the tango burger and brand new Grilled Vegetable Sandwich were a huge hit! Yum!

By this time an hour had passed and as if we weren’t stuffed enough, they brought out the big guns… a huge, honkin’ Cowboy Rib Eye steak that was a 16-ounce, bone-in steak cooked perfectly along with a side of Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus. They even had us try their new Grilled Salmon as well… Can you guess how I thought it tasted? Let’s just say I wouldn’t be writing about it if it didn’t exceed my expectations.

Alongside this dish they brought out the Twist and Shout drink, something I had never seen before, a mixture of spiced rum, dark crème de cacao, Guinness, chocolate syrup, salted caramel and vanilla ice cream, topped with whipped cream, chocolate syrup, caramel and — BACON BITS. Holy moly, that drink had everything but the kitchen sink and was SO smooth.

Oh, I forgot to mention, if you didn’t get the steak, they brought out their famed Twisted Mac n Cheese with Chicken, which looked so good, I just had to take a picture of it!

Then came dessert. I didn’t know what to expect except if it was just like earlier dishes, it would certainly NOT disappoint and it certainly didn’t. We got to taste the trifecta of a hot fudge brownie sundae, the brand new Oreo Cheesecake and an apple cobbler with ice cream. The cheesecake was made in-house with oreos and baked in their cheesecake along with an oreo cookie crust. As someone who loves oreos, this was just amazing. The apple cobbler was perfect and crispy and just so great. The brownie was delicious too. Can you tell I have a little sweet tooth?

Lastly they served dessert along with the Salted Caramel Cafe, which had Tia Maria, Baileys, Salted Caramel Syrup, half and half, and hot coffee topped with chipped cream and pieces of caramel corn along with caramel sauce. Just so tasty.

I remember collecting Hard Rock cafe t-shirts when I was a kid, and unfortunately the one that I still have no longer fits me, otherwise I would have worn it. Thankfully at the end of our meal, we had the pleasure of picking out a new t-shirt. They really treated us like royalty. The staff was so friendly and the hosts were amazing. I would certainly recommend dropping by for a visit for a special date night or even if you’re just in the area with the kids!


 As a special note, if you're around on Wednesday, July 9th and are in the city in the evening, in honor of their 25th anniversary in Boston, the Hard Rock guys are throwing a big concert in City Hall Plaza with none other than the SPIN DOCTORS. So cool. More information can be found on facebook, here: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10152571707926613

NOTE: There was no compensation for this meal provided other than they gave me all of this great stuff to try out at no charge. All opinions are my own and there was no promise made of a positive review.