Food update

We've slowly learned where to pick up a few of the things we've been missing (like affordable peanut butter), and joining Costco has made a lot of things more affordable. But there's still a handful of products that are limited (such as the preferred brand of soygurt) or still unfindable (oat bran pita). Hello Internetz; I will order all the orders.



We're still not eating out often (to stay on budget), but we are exploring from time to time. We're finding that most places are disappointing. They're either good, but hideously overpriced for what they offer, or expensive and nowhere near the quality that their foodie menu indicates. Even the local Fire and Ice equivalent is overpriced.

Josh commented that the problem with most local foodie-style restaurants is that they're inconsistent. They may be wonderful one night, but two weeks later and they're terrible. We're certainly encountering this. And it makes planning motss.con limiting.


What's most frustrating is restaurants and cafes up near north campus. They're not downtown, and there's plenty of space (retail areas have had vacancies the entire time we've been here), yet they're still charging as if they're right in the heart of downtown. Almost all of these places feel like they're charging $4-6 more per dish than they should, given quality, portion, and location. (And in some cases, there's no table service, and they're still charging $20/entree.)


We've had mixed results with Yelp. While we're relying on recommendations by friends who've been to school here (and these recs are reliable) for conscious nights out, we also want to be able to spontaneously walk to any of the places nearby and trust that we're not going to pay $18 for a plate of kofte. (No sides; just the kofte.) This far from downtown, that just feels outrageous. I mean, for many of these places, I'm paying the same as I would in Davis Square or Back Bay. Again - the wages around here certainly don't allow for going out to eat at these prices.


However, Restaurant Week here is a much better bargain than Boston. We had a delightful meal at one of the local vegetarian restaurants, where I also found dairy-free desserts to make me happy :) I think we'll continue to take advantage of RW bargains this summer, and check out as many places as possible.



Still seeking a replacement for Burdick's. Nothing's measured up so far - not even Zingerman's. I'm rather sad.