Amherst and food! Vol. II

So, we didn't get to see The Great Gatsby. Surprised?! Not me! Therefore, here comes the next few places you can enjoy while visiting Amherst:

 

6. Lone Wolf (Downtown Amherst):

I am not doing this place justice by putting it in the number 6 position. Actually, the order, at least in this case, is irrelevant. I was so proud of myself after having written the last post when I thought that I had evened out all different kinds of restaurants (Asian, Mexican,...), but it was only after posting it that I realized I had missed out my favorite brunch place. I now regret not putting it at the top of my list!

The following day of my first day in Amherst, me and my family decided to go out for brunch and after an online search we decided to go to "The Lone Wolf", and I am so happy that we did. Because even now it counts as one of my favorite places that I've ever had brunch at (followed closely by Waffle Shop in State College!).

This place is so good that I have never seen myself or any of my friends be disappointed, or actually not be highly satisfied, with what we've got. You just can't go wrong with what they have to offer. Friendly staff is a plus at this place. Unfortunately, and surprisingly for me, I have never taken a picture of my food at Lone Wolf. This is actually another good sign that you should try this place. It means that it looks so good that I have never even gotten a chance to take a picture before I had gobbled down what was on my plate!

This place will keep you going back for more :)

 

7. Hangar Pub & Grill (5 minute drive from down Amity road from downtown Amherst):

With their website named "Wings over Amherst" you can guess what this place is famous for. Their chicken wings are to die for. They also offer ribs but I, personally, am not a big fan of ribs and it seems like neither are my friends because we have always ordered chicken wings. Since I only like chicken breast (not because I am a weird nutritionist, it's just about the taste!), I always order the boneless version but from the looks on my friends' faces when they were having their "actual" wings, I can tell that it's as tasty. They also have a variety of flavors and sauces that you can choose from and are so delish!

As a side, we always order the waffle fries (but this time I am a weird nutritionist who disapproves, but eats the waffles anyway!), just because my friends love them. Have never tried anything else as a side myself.

As for drinks, I have never been there to have drinks but once I ordered a glass of Shiraz (who on earth drinks red wine with greasy wings???) and didn't like it.

 

8. Go Berry (Downtown Amherst):

I know there are different places for Frozen Yoghurt in different parts of the country, but if you are ever in this area, the place to go is Go Berry! I don't know how many branches and in what parts of the country or area they have, but I have seen one in Northampton too.

Unlike many other FroYos, this one is not one of those self-serve ones where you can pour and weigh your own but they offer three different cups and sizes (being S/M/L) and the small one that I have always gotten is more than enough because the texture is so thick and great. The toppings are a little pricey but I think it's worth it. Unlimited chocolate/honey sauce for the topping! For the topping get the Bobba-something (I can't remember the actual name), which pops in your mouth and has a funny feeling to it!:D

 

9. Antonio's (Downtown Amherst):

While writing the previous paragraph, I was thinking of where I should write about next, when Antonio's popped into my head and made me cut the Go Berry paragraph short!

Antonio's must be one of those places that would count as a landmark in Amherst! It is one of the "musts". If you ever ask a local where you can get good food with great price, I am almost certain that this name will come up. So, the order number in this case can also count as irrelevant.

On its door head it says "Pizza by the slice". You can choose different types of their never ending variety of pizzas and as a girl actually 1 slice and if I am reaaally hungry 1.5 suffices! If you're a guy, I would say at least get two!

I have never met two people who have liked the same kind of pizza at this place only because they offer different kinds enough to meet all kinds of expectations and cravings. I, as a humble "opinionist", am a big fan of their mushroom-steak. But you will definitely get what you came looking for at this place.

 

10.  Moti (Downtown Amherst):

I wanted to make this a top-10 list, so this last one was a tough one to choose from the list I had. But since I wanted to even out different kinds of places in my shortlist, although I had better options in mind, I am going to go with Moti as my number 10 but mention the other places as a "p.s.".

Moti is actually owned by an Iranian lady called "Mohtaram", hence the name Moti! It claims to serve Persian and Mediterranean food but it does not offer authentic Iranian cuisine. Its menu is kind of westernized/Americanized.

The food I would recommend for you to have is their "Famous NY lamb and chicken" which is delicious with a reasonable price. They are famous for their wraps, which are OK but I wouldn't call them GREAT and they wouldn't be my first choice. As for the appetizer, I would say their hummus. (I just remembered this table that tracked down your religion based on your food choices and the cutoff point between being a Jew and a Muslim was liking hummus! :)) If you like it you're most probably a Muslim!) Anyway, their salad, doogh, and I've heard their Mirza (-ghassemi) are also good. But I am dying to try their Dolmades once, especially that this dish is the specialty of my hometown! (It is almost like sushi...rice and herbs wrapped in grape leaves, not with fish though! But I know some like adding beef to the combo, but I don't like it that way!

I wouldn't go near their Koubideh wrap but the chicken wraps are OK and the best wraps (from the ones that I've tried) would be the Barg wrap.

Their Lamb Stew is funny in not having consistent taste! Once I tasted it and it tasted like Abgoosht (an Iranian dish that I don't like...I know I know...you're mad at me...calm down!), and the other time it tasted like Khoresh Gheyme (which I love! Hah?! Right?! Right?! Like me better now?!) but I don't want to take the chance in case it is one of the days that it tastes like Abgoosht!

Anywho, I think I basically covered every single option there was on Moti's menu!

I would like to say Bon Appetite in advance. Hope you have enjoyed these two posts. I am sure you did if you love food.

In Ratatouille (the cartoon), there is a scene where the boy (can't remember his name...Renato, was it?!), tells Ego (the food-critique): "You are too thin for someone who likes food"! and in response Ego says: "I don't like food, I LOVE it, and when I don't like it, I don't swallow"! Unfortunately for me, I have swallowed so many not so good tasting foods! :D So I don't look thin. But first of all, I am not a picky eater...not anymore at least! I mean, I can tell what food is good and which one is not but I don't complain a lot about what I eat. And secondly and most importantly, how would I have ever known all these good foods to write these posts, to guide you, if I hadn't tasted all these foods?! :)

The other places I would recommend goes as follows:

Pasta E Basta (Downtown Amherst): I've only been to this place once and it was AWESOME! I don't know why we don't go there more often! We ordered a large pizza for three, and we weren't even near finishing half of it! I think it was Alfredo pizza but I am guessing all their pizzas would be delicious based on only one. Yes...it was THAT good!

The only complaints I have about this place is that our food was brought to our table late and some parts of the crust was actually burnt! But overall it was a good experience.

Packard's (Northampton): This is a good place to have drinks. Don't recommend the burgers. Do recommend the fries!

Arizona Pizza (Hampshire Mall, Hadley): I just searched their menu online to look for the name of the pizza I had the first time I went there and found out that it's not actually a local place and have many other branches in other places like Florida, so this one doesn't count but I'm gonna go ahead and write about it anyway.

I didn't find the pizza I had there the first time. They have either eliminated it because it wasn't that popular or haven't gotten the chance to add it to their website yet, which is unlikely since this is 8-months ago we're talking about! Anyway, it had bleu cheese topping and it was good. But the best one would be hands down their Cheese-steak Pizza. Again...satisfaction, guaranteed!

I also had a glass of Chardonnay there once (again, who the hell has wine with their pizza??) and it was so gooood! But this one is probably local...I don't think they'd serve the same brand of wine in all of their branches...or maybe they do! I'm not sure. But anyway...so...yeah...go for it!

Speaking of pizza, still the best kind of pizza I've had in the US so far would be Domino's Extravaganza! I mean OH MY GOD! Even, thinking about it makes my mouth water! I made a few alterations while ordering it online, but I think it would be good any way you'd try it.

Ooh, one other place, non-specific to Amherst, that I just tried and obviously am excited about is the Friendly's ice-cream...I mean YUM-MY!

There are many other places in Amherst I still need to try, namely Judie's and Chez Albert. Judie's just because everyone else has tried it. What I've heard is good there are their pop-overs and cheese cakes, but I am not sure how accountable the opinion of these people was! Chez Albert is a little pricey, I've heard, so that's why we've never been. And I have no idea what it would be like. I think it was mediocre compared to their prices but again...I'm not one hundred percent sure.

There is a bagel shop and a doughnut bakery in downtown Amherst which have the priority in my list! I'll definitely try them and get back to you as soon as I get back to Amherst! ;)

I miss that place! Amherst I mean. It's amazing how attached you can get to a place in only a few months and call it home. It's the place with all the wonderful people. There's something to it. I can say I've never met any "bad" person per se in Amherst...what draws them all to this tiny place...I don't know!

But if you are ever around, try to visit it and just let me know and I would be more than happy to show you around! :) But try to visit some time between April and October because other than that the weather is just YUCK and I hate to stay out in the cold! :D

So...yeah...that's about it!

By the way, It's funny how I didn't have any pictures of any of the foods I've had at these places!
This must've been a bore for you to read a photo-less post! Sorry about that :)

And oh! Happy birthday to me! :) Finally! The quarter of century is here!

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?!