Amherst and food! Vol. I

ABC's Haddock (front) and Jambalaya

I just wrote the title and thought to myself, I must start using less exclamation marks. I was reading famous quotes from Fitzgerald on Huffington Post (I think...probably in honor of the new Gatsby movie coming out) and one of them said something like this: Cut the exclamation marks...it's like laughing at your own jokes! And I think he was right...of course the one I just used was a part of his own quote, or I'm just adding it because it felt appropriate, but overall I have always been self-conscious about using too many exclamation marks or smiley faces, especially the famous :D! (What a combo.) But you see, sometimes you have to put it there, otherwise people will not get your tone...but I'll do my best in not laughing at my own jokes. But it's going to be challenging, 'cuz let's face it...I'm hilarious (dot)

I also want to apologize for being absent from my blog. I am sure you are aware that it was the finals week and April was CRAZY, and I just submitted my last final exam and the first thing I did was rushing here. Not a single day went by that I didn't think about writing here. But neither did I have the time, nor did I watch any movies in recent weeks. This blog is my haven...a stairway to my dreams. I am excited to see Baz Luhrman's The Great Gatsby, which opens tomorrow. I am visiting my sister and I have the difficult task of convincing them (she and her husband) to go see the movie with me. They are not crazy movie-buffs as me and my brother, but appreciate good movies and I have almost persuaded them...but we'll have to wait and see. They also appreciate calling off plans at the last minute!

But they have to suck it up and go with me. After all, it's my birthday "week"! Yes, happy my birthday to you. I have started celebrating and receiving gifts for a few days now. My friends decided to celebrate it with me before I left Amherst and when I got here, I got the gift my brother had mailed my sister for me, and my sister has been spoiling me by taking me to malls and treating me to dining out. But it still doesn't feel like my birthday. I mean I wish I had stayed at 23. For some reason I feel old while I shouldn't! You must have felt it, like I did, when we were like 10-year-olds and whenever we saw someone who was 25 we would consider them "old" and light years away from us but as we got older, the gap started to close down and now I even have arguments with my 30-year-old friends to convince them that 30 is not old! But if I feel like this at 25, I can't blame them. I don't know what's happened to me over the past year but my dreams and desires have changed. I have always been a romantic, but now it's lost its lustre for me. Everything has shifted towards a new arena. I have never been a stable person in my desires. I want to be ever changing and at the same time want to have a stable life AND have excitement in my life and never be still! What the hell is wrong with me?! I blame America! I am getting old, and wiser. Who would say they're getting old and "non the wiser"? Or maybe what I'm feeling is just being old and not wisdom. What a waste of time!

What am I doing with my life? I have always been a dreamer and my brother and mom have always backed that because they are dreamers themselves but my sister and dad have a more realistic, down-to-earth approach towards life. But I have always dreamed big and never settled for ordinary and probably never will...but not getting what I dream about bums me out more than it would a realistic person...and they seem to be more successful because they have been more practical. Just hoping my house of dreams doesn't crumble on my head!

Anyway, enough said about me. Since I haven't watched any movies but was dying to write in my blog, and couldn't just suffice to rambling on about "getting old", I went through the notes I had made on my phone about possible future posts and found the one about best "food and hang out" places in Amherst. I must say here that second to journalism (or maybe third to it, because I also love being a chef), I have always loved being a tour guide...probably because I am good at reading maps and like to talk about history trivia and according to my roommate, have a "mental GPS"! Of course, this is not a good day to brag about my map-reading skills and if my sister was reading this post right now would have scoffed "yeah, right"! Because on our short road trip today, I had a hard time estimating where to make a turn on the GPS map...but I blame the GPS! It always looks farther in the map than what it really is.

As I was saying, I also love and appreciate good food...any food for that matter! I mean, I never complain but trust me, I also have a good "menu navigator"! So, everywhere I go, I am always excited about exploring new places for eating out and where to take my friends if they ever visit. I have only lived in Amherst for 9 months now and still have a long way to go in exploring food venues, but from what I have gathered so far, I have narrowed down the places I've loved and the things I have eaten there that I think you might like. This list includes places from Amherst, Sunderland, and Northampton. The order is mostly based on what I love and the atmosphere but I didn't put that much thought into the order. So here we go:

 

1. Bart's (Downtown Amherst):

If you see me in real life, you would know just by a glance that I must like my dessert! I was recently watching an interview with Victoria Beckham where she said she never takes even a bite of a cookie or any other sweet. One of my goals in life is to make a lot of money just to be able to spend it on good food! How can you make that much money and not appreciate food?! Well, I try to respect everyone's point of view but I love ice-cream. I can't believe it took me almost 8 months to try this place! When you step in Bart's, you would find yourself facing so many different choices, from frozen yogurt to coffee and cookies, but what I would recommend is getting a sundae. Any sundae, from classic, where you'll have your own choice of ice-cream and sauce (my favorite being peanut butter!) to banana split and a jumbo sundae that I don't remember the name of but you would definitely need to call an ambulance to wait outside for you because you will either have clogged arteries or would most likely die of excitement and pleasure! My favorite so far has been the brownie sundae, which is basically a warm piece of brownie topped with ice-cream and the amazing home-made whipped cream they have. I am not big on whipped-cream, mostly because of its calorie (but what does a little whipped cream do compared to a brownie, right?! But I have always been opposed to this kind of thinking...I mean there are groups of people who criticize other people for eating a burger or a pizza with a diet coke, making fun of them that why would you have a diet coke when you are having a high-calorie food! But why criticize? I think it is a good idea to avoid extra calories when you have the option, while enjoying the food you crave. Do you have to commit suicide, food-wise, when you want to have a slice of pizza?!). So...yeah...if you like whipped cream and don't mind a high-calorie food once in a while, you should definitely try Bart's. Your satisfaction is guaranteed.

Bart's - Banana Split

  2. Amherst Brewing Company (or simply known as ABC, located 15-minute walk from downtown in Amity st):

As you can guess by its name, this place is recommended if you want to have a good drink. The food is also decent...actually the word "decent" doesn't do it justice...it's really good! The ABC burger and fish and chips have been my favorites for greasy foods and Haddock for a healthier choice! My friends love their Shepherd's Pie, but I don't since it tastes like Abgoosht! But if you like Abgoosht, you should try it, but I must dare say that my Shepherd's Pies are much better!

But let's get into business: drinks! The first time I went there, was back in the early weeks of my stay in Amherst. I tried the pomegranate martini, and I was sold! I said, I am definitely coming back...and I did! But if you are a big fan of tequila and Long Island Iced Tea in particular, you are going to appreciate what they have to offer. It is absolutely refreshing and the best I have had so far. The alternative for this, if you have a hard time getting the "buzz" from a drink as I do, would be their infamous "Grateful Death"! It's basically the same thing as Long Island, but with cranberry and blue instead of Coke. You will most certainly have a grateful death by drinking it!

If you are a beer-person you would have a wide array of beer options from their own brewery which is pretty good. I recently had something called Two Sisters which had a chocolate-i taste to it and was really good. I have also tried their mimosa and gin & juice, which weren't half bad but definitely not as good as the ones I mentioned.

There are also pool tables and a foosball table where you can have fun with your friends (what I did on my birthday).

3. Mission Cantina (a 5-min drive to South Amherst from downtown):

I was recently introduced to this place by an American-Iranian friends mostly because of our mutual love for margarita! Theirs was to die for! I absolutely loved the place. It's a cozy, small Mexican restaurant (but is currently being expanded) and they have friendly staff and chef, who came to say hi and was an absolute delight!

What I had at this place was a taco combo and I got to choose 3 different fillings, mine being the fish, the beef, and the chicken...and I literally scraped my plate! The beef was so-so but the fish...exquisite! The combo also had a choice of bean, I can't remember the name but mine was like mashed black beans, and it was reaaally gooood! We also asked for appetizers, warm nachos with 3-different salsas, which was really tasty. One of the salsas was the traditional, the other that I think was called Hawaiian or just had pineapples (and that's probably why I associated the Hawaiian name with it), was sweet which wasn't my favorite, and the third one which I loved was a dark, hot one. Don't miss this place...it's a diamond in the rough.

4. Local Burger (Northampton):

I have no recommendations for this one because it's helpless...whatever you get would turn out to be awesome! Just show up and order whatever, and walk out with a heavy gut and a long way to burn it off but saying to yourself "totally worth it"! Ooh, get the fries too!

 (Unfortunately, I didn't get to take any picture the only time I went there).

 

5. House of Teriyaki (Sunderland):

As you can guess by the name, this is a Japanes-Korean place. You would find the best sushi and sashimi in town here and a killer seaweed salad! They also have non-seafood options for those in your company who are...well...not wise enough to appreciate sushi and rolls! The first time we went there, me and my friend ordered two entrees which we couldn't finish because of the large portions. On entree had sashimi and sushi...I had never had sashimi before but it was kinda "heavy"...it would make you full fast. The other one was a non-seafood...I think grilled chicken strips with a seaweed salad and fried sea-veggies which I did not like. Only the deep fried sea-veggies...just because it was too greasy and you would just feel oil melting in your mouth when you ate it! They also serve an "obligatory" soup there which I am not a big fan of, but I have two friends who absolutely hate seafood but have liked the soup! So I think if you like seafood, you'd hate it...if not, it would be the other way around!

What I would have to note about this place is that they don't serve alcohol, neither do they serve sake! Which is weird but I have seen a group of young people bringing a pack of beers with them...I don't know if they actually drunk the beers there but that might be an option if you're dying to have an alcoholic beverage with your food.

I think five is good for now. I actually had prepared a shortlist of 10, but since the post is getting too long and I, personally, get bored when I see a long post in a blog, and also since my eyes are drooping of sleep, I would have to cut my post short here and come back tomorrow (hopefully) to finish it up. So, stay tuned!

A quick note, though...I just found an app called "FoodSpotting", which was suggested on an Iranian cuisine page on FB, and I have found it quite helpful. It detects your zip code and suggests the top-rated restaurants and the best foods you can get there. It is also free...so that's a plus. And wherever you go or plan on going, you can enter the zip code of your destination to get tips! ;)

Isn't technology just yummy?!