Besito Mexican Restaurant

Besito Mexican Restaurant

The Burlington Mall

75 Middlesex Tpke

Burlington Ma 01803
781-272-9900

www.besitomexican.com

Today we celebrated my birthday. The wife and kids took me out for a wonderful dinner to Besito Mexican Restaurant in Burlington MA.

I have heard of this restaurant before but I have never had a chance to get there. So I was very excited that we going to try it.

We start off with Guacamole Tableside.

They did a nice presentation and did listen to us when we asked for lite on the salt.

Out next came the Tortilla Soup one of Alex’s and my favorites.

This was a really nice take on the soup. The soup comes with pulled chicken, avocado, queso Chihuahua, cilantro, pasilla chile, crema, onion, tortilla strips. Then when it gets to the table they pour the hot broth over it at the table. This made for a nice presentation at the table, plus this was delicious.

Next came the Chicken Flautas. (Like a taquito) served with queso fresco, crema, salsa verde cruda, salsa de guajillo, onions, cilantro. Theses where very good.

There are small, if distinct, differences between the two Mexican specialties. First, while taquitos are generally made with corn tortillas, flautas (Spanish for "flutes") are usually made from rolled-up wheat flour tortillas

Queso fresco — "fresh cheese" — is a Mexican cheese, traditionally made from raw cow milk or a combination of cow and goat milk. In the States, we'll most likely find pasteurized versions.

The flavor is pretty innocuous — fresh, bright, milky, and mild — but is a perfect complement to a variety of dishes, by either providing contrast to a heavier dish like enchiladas or huevos rancheros, or by complementing something equally light, like salads or grilled vegetables. Queso fresco has a trademark salty-sour kick, and while it's creamy by nature of its freshness, it's not rich or buttery tasting. 

For the main course Alex and the wife had

IRON SKILLET TACOS

Queso Chihuahua melted in an iron skillet & warm soft corn tortillas

Alex had the pork (Pastor) pineapple & guajillo marinated pork tenderloin, pineapple pico, salsa verde cruda, salsa guajillo

They did a nice job on this, a little spicy for Alex but I had a taste and liked it.

Angela had the Grilled Chicken, queso Chihuahua, poblano rajas, pico de gallo, salsa verde cruda.

Again they did a nice job on this but I like the pork better.

In Mexico, queso Chihuahua is commonly recognized as a soft white cheese available in braids, balls or rounds and originates in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

For my dinner I had the El Dorado

A pan seared Mahi Mahi that was crab & blue corn tortilla crusted with chayote, tomatillo con crema, cilantro. But the star of this plate was the sweet corn atole, that also was served with this. It just worked perfectly with the fish.

(Atole or Spanish a'tole (help · info), from Nahuatl ātōlli [aːˈtoːlːi]), also known as atol and atol de elote, is a traditional hot corn- and masa-based beverage of Mesoamerican origin.)

Lea Had the Crab Budin

This was jumbo lump crab & shrimp, spiced tomato salsa, queso Chihuahua, salsa poblano crema, pico de gallo, layered between two tortillas.

The table tasted this and this was fantastic.

Sorry I forgot that we also did get a side of the Street Corn queso fresco, chile molido, off-the-cob. I like the corn this way, it easier to eat then off the cob.

Now for Lea’s favorite part we each had a margarita. Everyone said that the drinks were excellent.

I had the El Pepino Margarita and it did not disappoint. Avión Blanco Tequila, cucumber, jalapeño, Cointreau, agave nectar, fresh squeezed lime

Bonefish Harrys

Bonefish Harrys

218 Cabot Street

Beverly, MA   01915

978.969.2423

www.bonefishharrys.com

First, I am sorry I have not been keeping up the blog. It is just that the places I have been lately really haven’t done that much for me. So as Steve always says if you don’t have anything good to say, don’t say anything at all.

Ok that said we went out last month to this place called Bone Fish Harry’s in Beverly. 

At first, I thought it was a little fancier than it really is. A matter a fact it is the kind of place you would like to go on Saturday night and sit at the bar and have some good bar type food.

There were three of us and we started out with:

AVOCADO RANGOON

With tomato, roasted corn, bell peppers with cumin cream sauce. These were a good start. I could eat these at the bar with a beer.

COCONUT CRUSTED JUMBO CRAB CAKE 

They were pan seared, mango radish salsa, and sweet corn crema.

Good crab cakes maybe not the best. But still good.

If you have not been to this restaurant before, they let you pick your protein, then the style dish you would like, and then the rub/seasoning or sauce you would like.

I picked a build your own Taco with Mahi Mahi and chipotle honey

The taco was a standard flour tortilla, shredded pickled cabbage, pico de Gallo, cheese + house cilantro white sauce.

But the fish was fresh and lite. Overall a good taco.

On the side I had a blue cheese walnut slaw.

Now I did not care for this (To much blue cheese) but the wife did like it.

 

BLUE CHEESE WALNUT SLAW

Shredded red and green cabbage in creamy yogurt and blue cheese with crunchy walnuts

So Alexandra and the wife had the (Ancient Grain Bowles). They came with

your choice of protein, tender ancient grains, roasted beets, sweet potato, feta, black bean glaze.

One had the Scallops and one had the Tuna.

From what they said these were excellent.

The food was very good, the service was fair, and the drinks were pretty good too. 

 Overall this is a place I would go back to, but I would dress casual and sit at the bar

Strega Prime

Strega Prime

100 Sylvan Rd

Woburn, MA 01801  

781.933.3333

https://www.stregaprime.com/

 Just like the upcoming Super Bowl with the invincible Patriots, how do you summarize a reputation of greatness inside the review of one game?

So how do you review Strega Prime?

Are you going to get a bad meal there? I don’t think so.

From the service you get when you walk-in ‘till you walk out the door, they seem to do everything outstandingly.

Don’t get me wrong, this is a higher-end restaurant, and they should do it right for you. But still, like the Pats, they make it look easy.

That said, this is what we had.

1^st Quarter:

Tuna Tartare

Spicy Ginger Sauce, Avocado, Sesame Aioli. And these fantastic homemade crackers.

This is the way to serve Tuna Tartare. A classic play that always does its job. It is reliable and in this case, delicious. It was fresh, clean, and refreshing. Not complicated, and the dish just let the Tuna speak for itself.

 

2^nd Quarter:

We also had the Beet salad.

This was served with Goat Cheese, Mache, Pistachio, and orange segments.

And just like Danny Amendola, the wife was a big fan. Beet salad is the wife’s new favorite thing. And, I will guarantee this is a nice way to start your Strega experience. Gee, I wonder which smart person told her that beets are good?

Mache greens are a cold weather salad green akin to Tatsoi and are named thus as they are planted after the corn harvest. Not only does mache go by the name “corn salad green,” but it is sometimes referred to as “lamb's lettuce” or “fetticus.”

 

3^rd Quarter:

Okay, onto the main course. The game isn’t even close, with the Pats in the lead heading into the second half.

The Wife called the play Rack of Lamb served with Mint Jelly. This was cooked perfectly. So perfectly.

On the side, she had the Risotto. Nice side for the Lamb.

Passing the ball to me, I went with the old standby: Bone-In Delmonico. Again, it was cooked just right. The meat was so tender, you could cut it with a butter knife. 

4^th Quarter:

The only thing that made this game better was the Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Puree with Pecans.

Smooth, light and fluffy. Doesn’t sound like much, but trust me, this was an ideal side for the steak.

It was lighter than standard mashed potatoes or creamed spinach and more satisfying. The contrast of flavors  in these plays threw off the defense. It was enough to score every quarter. The plays varied from crisp to fluffy to refreshing to savory to tender.  

 

 

Final Score:

 In the end, the team doesn’t disappoint. If you can just go, enjoy, and relax, you will have a great experience at Strega.