Virtual YouTube Tour of Boston

The Poor Student has linked all of the Scootin' in Boston videos with annotations to let you see Boston in a "choose your own adventure" kind of way. Let's say you're watching the video of Hammond Street and would like to go straight on Beacon Street to see Boston College, instead of turning onto to Hammond Street. Just click on the annotation and a new window will open with the video of that ride. Of course we haven't covered all of Boston yet, so the coverage right now is limited. However, you can see quite a lot of Boston from the comfort of your desk, in case you're getting ready to visit Boston or maybe you're just nervous about driving around the non-parallel streets in Boston.
(Scroll down to see a map of some of the routes that have already been covered by The Poor Student.)

Playlist of all Scootin' in Boston videos:

Here is one of the annotated videos:

Scootin' in Boston - Scootin' around Boston area colleges

This is the playlist for the Poor Student's new series, "Boston area school tours". There are 4 parts:

1. Schools in the Jamaica Plain area (includes Roxbury Community College, Northeastern University, Museum School, and Mass Art)
2. MIT and Harvard (in Cambridge, MA)
3. Boston College (Chestnut Hill)
4. Berklee College of Music and Emerson College (art schools in Back Bay and Downtown Boston)

Enjoy!

JP Kitchen - in Jamaica Plain

The first time I went to JP Kitchen, I ordered the seafood special. It came with a bread roll instead of rice. Whatever. When I got home, I was a little surprised to see that it was deep fried, which is not a bad thing but I was expecting that it was cooked in a wok. Whatever. There were a few chunks of fake crab and the jalapenos kinda threw me off. I liked the squid and shrimp though. It was tasty but I wanted to try something else. This is the kind of dish that needs another dish to go with it.

Salt & Pepper Seafood

A couple of days later, I tried their combo #34. It included lobster sauce, which is actually made of pork. I really liked the fact that it came in a separate container with a lid, within the box. At some places, they just  put it in one of the dividers of the box so it spills all over the place. JP Kitchen's lobster sauce is also unique because there are scallops in the sauce! At first, I was wondering what that round white thing was and was pleasantly surprised to find not just one, but 3 scallops! The rice was good and had plenty of shrimp. Not too salty either. I'm usually ambivalent about crab rangoon but these were actually quite good. I'd actually order this combo again in the future. As you can tell in the picture below, it's a lot of food and enough for at least two meals. You might want to add some sauteed veggies to make it a healthier meal though.

Combo #34 - shrimp fried rice, crab rangoon, and lobster sauce

The lobster sauce has scallops in it!

If you can't finish the lobster sauce, save it to use for cooking some vegetables such as Chinese cabbage or spinach. It's a tasty sauce that you can put in a frying pan, add your chopped veggies, and make a nice side dish in about 10 minutes or less. Or, if you're just really lazy, make some rice and pour the sauce on top for a meal.

More dishes from subsequent visits (to be updated with each visit):

 Click on the pictures for a larger image.

Franklin Park - Jamaica Plain

Franklin Park is where the Franklin Park Zoo and a large public golf course are located. It's also a great place to jog, take a walk, or have a picnic. A lot of people go there on holiday weekends. If you'd like a more peaceful place to see, check out the Forest Hills Cemetery, on the other side of Morton Street.

Circuit Drive/Jewish War Veterans Drive runs through the park and goes around much of the golf course. However, about a third of Circuit Drive is closed to vehicles. In this episode of Scootin' in Boston, the Poor Student rides around the park and shows you the golf course and the entrance to the zoo. The tour starts at the usual location, the corner of Forest Hills St. and Williams St.

Map of the ride, starting on Forest Hills Street, ending at Blue Hill Avenue

Scootin' in Boston - Amory Street

In this episode of Scootin' in Boston, we go up Amory street starting from the north (turning of Columbus Ave.) and ending up at around English High in Jamaica Plain, by Doyle's Cafe. Enjoy!

Scootin' in Boston - Arboretum and Allandale Farm

In this episode of Scootin' in Boston, the Poor Student starts at the entrance of the Arboretum at Washington Street (by Forest Hills Station) and goes west, through the Arboretum, turns right onto Centre Street, and left onto Allandale Street. Allandale Farm is a working farm with a farmstand (store) and a CSA program. They also carry baked goods from Clear Flour Bread Bakery (Brookline) and Canto 6 (Jamaica Plain).

At Grove Street, we turn left to get onto the Roxbury Parkway via a rotary and then head back to Centre Street via Veterans of Foreign Wars Parkway. Finally, we go through the Arboretum again to get back to our starting point (at Forest Hills Station on Washington Street).

This route generally has less traffic than Washington Street. For the most part, the roads are well paved with only a few bumps along the way.

Scootin' in Boston Series - JP to Roslindale Village

The Poor Student scoots from Franklin Park in Jamaica Plain to Roslindale Village and back to Jamaica Plain. Roslindale Village is a cool shopping area with an interesting mix of restaurants, shops, and businesses. Check out the bakeries and small restaurants there! Here's the route:

Here's the video of the ride:

Fiore's Bakery - Jamaica Plain

Fiore's Bakery is right beside the Harvest Co-op in Jamaica Plain, MA. They have been there for quite a few years but most recently, they've been offering a lot of gluten-free and vegan baked goods and sandwiches. The other day, I was walking past there and thought it looked a little different. I hadn't been in there for at least a year or more, so I went in to see what they had in their bakery case. To my surprise, they had almond macaron! The guy called them "macaroons," so I had to double check to make sure they were not those coconut cookies that I don't like. Macaron are a French thing, made with almonds and egg whites. I just had to try those and added a cupcake just because those looked good too. If you want those macarOOns with the coconut bits, they have those too.

Almond Macaron and a cupcake

As I was walking home, I ate one of the macaron and realized that the guy put 2 in the bag! Yay! They're actually $4.99/pound, around 50 cents each. I was actually tempted to go back and get some more because they are really good! Even though they're not sandwich cookies like they are traditionally made in France, the macaron was very good. It had the texture that you want - slightly crispy on the outside and soft & chewy on the inside. However, they are a bit on the sweet side so make yourself a cup of tea or coffee to cleanse your palate between bites.

Almond Macaron

As for the cupcake, it was alright. Compared to the macaron, it was like an afterthought. Having said that, I'm usually not a big fan of cupcakes, so I'd suggest that you go try them yourself to make your own judgement on those. I didn't try any of their sandwiches but if you need gluten free or vegan food, this is one place to go. The other place would be Fazenda, across the street from Forest Hills station.

Perfect almond macaron

Not bad but not as great as the macaron!

Blue Nile (in Jamaica Plain, MA) - Finger-lickin' good, literally...

This was my first experience with African food, not counting African coffees like Kenya AA and Ethiopian Yirgacheffe. Blue Nile is an Ethiopian restaurant located in Hyde Square, on Centre Street. It's right beside Food Wall, which is the go-to Chinese takeout place in Jamaica Plain. The motivation for trying Blue Nile was actually an episode of The Simpsons. Remember when Marge, Lisa, and Bart became foodies after they ate at an Ethiopian restaurant?

Yeah, that episode inspired me to try Ethiopian food! I wish I were making this up but it's true. I really didn't know anything about Ethiopian cuisine except that they grew wonderful coffee beans. Anyway, I'm very glad that I tried Blue Nile because Ethiopian food is delicious!

Tikil Gommon (top left), Shiro Wet (top right)?
Siga Wet (bottom)

I had the Nile combo, which includes a meat dish and 3 vegetable dishes for takeout. When she gave me the box, it was quite heavy! It came with 2 rounds of injera bread. One was used to line the box and one was placed on top of the meat and veggies. It was a lot of food! I couldn't eat it all in one sitting and the leftovers lasted for about 2 more meals. It was very tasty with all of the different items seasoned just right. I had the Siga Wet (Beef), Shiro Wet, Tikil Gommon, And Yatakilt Wet. Check out their menu. The combo is definitely enough for at least 2 people. Here are some pictures of my first meal from Blue Nile:

When you open the box, it looks like this. 

The beef and vegetables are under the injera bread.

Everything was seasoned perfectly. Plenty of injera bread to scoop it all up!

The brown stuff is the Siga Wet (beef).
The veggies (bottom right) is Yatakilt Wet.

I'm not sure this is the right way to scoop
but it sure tastes good!

Anyway, try this place! They do take-out and your food will be ready very quickly. If you're going to the new Whole Foods in JP, Blue Nile is on the other side of the rotary so you can just pick up some takeout on the way home.

Another place to get Ethiopian food:

A couple of months ago, I was at the South End Food Emporium and was tempted to buy a package of injera bread. However, there were a 

lot of them in one package and I wasn't sure I could eat all of them so I just bought some green Ethiopian coffee beans and went home. Now that I know that I like injera bread, I'll probably go buy a package of it at the South End Food Emporium the next time I'm there to buy more green coffee beans (they have roasted beans too). Injera bread can be used to scoop up anything resembling a thick stew or dip.

I need more practice...

This is when I had to stop eating because I was full!

Scootin' in Boston Series - Youtube Playlist

Now that the Poor Student has made 6 videos for the Scootin' in Boston series, we now have a reason to make a Youtube playlist. If you'd like to keep up with this series but don't want to subscribe to anything, just bookmark this page and watch the playlist below whenever you'd like. However, the Poor Student will continue to make individual blog posts to give more details about each video and a map that you can look at while you're watching the video.

Enjoy!

J.P. Licks - JP stands for "Jamaica Plain"!

J.P. Licks started in Jamaica Plain and I feel lucky to live so close to their very first location and flagship store on Centre Street in JP. It might not be the cheapest ice cream in the world but even for a poor student, it's an affordable treat. After going to Same Old Place for a pizza slice, JP Licks is the perfect place to go for dessert, as if the pizza didn't raise your cholesterol levels enough. If you're lactose intolerant, JP Licks actually has lactose-free ice cream and some sorbets. There are usually only a couple of lactose-free flavors and a couple of sorbets to choose from but it's better than nothing. They also have frozen yogurts (soft and hard types), which opens up more options for some lactose-intolerant people because those probably have a bit less lactose in them than regular ice cream. I especially like the peanut butter soft-serve frozen yogurt.



In addition to their ice creams and frozen yogurts, they also roast their own coffees and you can buy the beans too. Since I roast my own coffee, I don't buy their beans but sometimes have a cup there with my ice cream. Try putting a spoonful of vanilla ice cream (instead of cream and sugar) in the coffee. If you're there at the right time, the coffee roaster will be roasting the beans at the back of the store and you can watch the whole process. It smells good for a while but after about 5 minutes, it doesn't smell so good.

Recently, they have introduced some coconut milk ice creams. Um, yeah, I was making those at home last summer. I'm glad they finally figured it out though. :) If you're wondering how you can make your own coconut milk ice cream, check out my blog post from last year on making non-dairy ice creams.

Most recently (May 2012), they've released a few hemp ice cream flavors. I tried the one with peanut butter and it was a bit too sweet for my taste. I could definitely taste the hemp though. The pure hemp flavor was less sweet and pretty good. Maybe I'll try making my own hemp ice cream at home this summer. The thing about hemp products is they're more expensive than soy or coconut products. A quart of hemp milk is usually just under $4, compared to about $2 or $3 for a quart of soy milk or dairy milk. Still, you can make quite a bit of ice cream with a quart of hemp milk.

Scootin' in Boston

The Poor Student just got a Tachyon helmet camera and can't wait to scoot all over Boston with it! Below, the first two scootin' videos are posted. The first one is going from Jamaica Plain to Super 88 in Allston/Brighton and the second one is the return trip. Check 'em out!

This video series is intended be useful for new students coming to Boston, people who are curious about what Jamaica Plain and other places look like, tourists, people thinking of getting a scooter but don't know what it might feel like to ride one, people who used to live in Boston and would like to see how the place has changed, and anyone else who is too lazy to ride down the streets of Boston themselves. The map of the routes is posted under the videos below. The Poor Student points out various places on the streets too in the commentary.

Enjoy!

JP to Super 88

Super 88 to JP

Start at the bottom right for the trip to Super 88.
The second line is the difference in the return trip.

The Same Old Place - Restaurant Review - Jamaica Plain

On Centre Street in Jamaica Plain, there are a few places where you can get really good pizza. There's the Real Deal with their fancy combinations and the JP House of Pizza on the other side of the street. Same Old Place is unique just because their pizza is tasty without anything fancy on it. The guy making the pizza is visible from the front window so you can watch the whole pizza-making process. However, he might get a little creeped out if you actually stand there staring at him while he works...

Yup, that's the window where you can stare at the pizza guy...

If you look at their menu page profile, you'll see that they're open early at 7 a.m. for breakfast until 11 p.m. and their menu is quite long. In addition to their pizzas, they have various types of burgers, subs, pastas, and sandwiches. They also serve beer. You can tell they have a loyal following from the friendly banter between the customers and the people behind the counter. There was a shooting in late 2010 at Same Old place and the JP community came out in support a few days later by having a peace vigil even though it was cold and windy. I suppose JP is just a very cool neighborhood too.

The last time I went there, I finally ventured into the room that's at the back of the restaurant, to the right. There's a large TV on the wall so you can watch TV while you're eating your meal. The restroom is in the back corner and it's very clean. I liked sitting at the large table with the bench, facing the TV. The place was about half full but it didn't seem loud and I could hear the news clearly. I had the cheese pizza combo, which includes 2 cheese slices and a small 12 oz soft drink. It was a little too much pizza for me. I usually get just one slice and a small drink. The slices are pretty big but the crust is very thin and topped with plenty of cheese.

Anyway, this place is great for poor students who want some great comfort food at almost any time of the day. A slice  and a soda is under $5 and there are all kinds of other things to eat for less than $10. Go try it!

Ghazal Indian Restaurant - Review

Ghazal is a relatively recent addition to the row of restaurants on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. They might not have the following of Bukhara but that's just because people just don't know about Ghazal yet. All of my room mates who have tried Ghazal love it and either go to Ghazal more or at least just as often as they go to Bukhara. You have the option of dining in or ordering takeout or delivery (on the phone or via Seamless web). (By the way, if you use the Seamless web link here, you can get a $5 discount on your first order, if you're new to the site.) It's one of the few places that don't charge a delivery fee on top of the tip. I like that.

The fact that you can choose to have your food as hot or mild as you like is a great thing. If you think you can take it, the nice chefs at Ghazal will make your meal "Indian hot," which means that it is way hotter than any American food you've ever had. Seriously. Personally, I'm too much of a wimp for that sort of thing. Medium is about as hot as I'll go.

Ok, so what do you order when there are so many choices on the menu? If I'm getting delivery, I like to get the Special Dinner for one. If you're eating with someone, there's also a dinner for two (which is probably enough food for 3 or 4). For less than $25 per person, you will get more than enough food for one meal, unless you're a football player, in which case it will be just enough (see picture below). It includes a samosa, soup, rice, naan bread, crispy things (sorry, I don't know what they were but they were really tasty), a curry dish of your choice, rice pudding (aka "kheer"), and coffee or tea. Oh yeah, you also get 3 sauces: a green one, a brownish one, and a reddish-orange one with onions. The green one is spicy and minty, the brownish one is sweet, and the reddish-orange one is spicy with oniony goodness.

So, how was it? I enjoyed all of it except for the samosa, which was ok but nothing to write home about. Perhaps it would have been better straight out of the fryer. Next time, I'll put it in the toaster oven for a minute before eating it. All of the dishes were nicely seasoned and balanced. The curry dish I chose was the lamb and spinach one (saag?). The fact that they give you rice, crispy things, and naan is great because you can have different dipping instruments for your curry (and soup). That just makes eating Indian food fun! The mulligatawny soup was flavorful and complemented the curry and samosa. For desert, the rice pudding (aka "kheer") has some cardamom in it, which adds a nice flavor to it. After a big meal, the rice pudding was perfect because it was light. The coffee came in a deli container and it was what it was. All in all, it was a really good Indian meal and I would definitely order it again for delivery or take-out.

Meal for one - enough for at least 2 meals!

Rice pudding "kheer" - flavored with cardamom - Perfect ending to a big meal.

BMS Paper Company - Jamaica Plain

While the name of the place might not sound like they sell food, they do! BMS Paper Company is actually a large warehouse-type store that serves catering companies. Recently, they were featured in a clip on NECN. However, anyone can go in there and buy whatever they want. Unlike Costco or BJ's, there is no membership fee or anything like that. So, what can you get there?

Today, I got a pound of butter ($2.99) (equal to 4 sticks but in one big block), 3 Litre bottles of ginger ale (on sale, 3 for $1), a 5 lb bag of 1/2 - oz frozen meatballs ($14.99), 100 chicken bouillon cubes ($5.99), a 40 oz bag of frozen corn ($2.79), and a double shot glass ($0.99). If you buy bouillon cubes from the supermarket, they're about $4 for only 25 cubes. The meatballs are not only a great bargain, they're also fully cooked and very tasty. If you'd like bigger meatballs (twice the size of the ones in the larger bag), they have 1lb bags for $4.69.

So, now that I have all this stuff, perhaps it would be helpful to suggest ways to use up those bouillon cubes, the bag of corn, and the meatballs.

1. If you have noodles or pasta, make a chicken broth with a bouillon cube and make a noodle soup. Add 5 to 10 meatballs (depending on how hungry you are) and some frozen corn to the broth while it's simmering. When the broth comes to a boil again, add your cooked noodles and let it heat up again. When it's bubbling, take it off the stove and serve. The bouillon cubes are also a good way to create a chicken broth base for soups and casseroles.

2. The meatballs are good for spaghetti and meatballs. Just get your favorite jar of tomato sauce and some pasta from the store and you're all set. To be extra fancy, add some Italian herbs (e.g. oregano, basil, etc.) and grated parmesan cheese. By the way, BMS also has very large containers of herbs, in case you want those. You'll save quite a bit if use a lot of herbs and spices at home.

3. Adding corn to whatever you are cooking (e.g. the noodle soup) is an easy way to get some fibre and vegetables in your diet. For breakfast, if you are making hash browns, throw in a handful of frozen corn. If you like broccoli and cauliflower, BMS also has bags of mixed veggies, green beans only, and broccoli only. The advantage of using frozen veggies is that they won't rot in your fridge and you won't feel like you have to use it right away.

One of the more recent new products at BMS is the feta cheese. They have a slab and a box of crumbed feta chunks. The other cheeses in the refrigerator case are American, provolone, and mozzarella. Those come in cubes, slices, and shredded forms. The feta might be a good amount for a regular household of 3 or more people but the other packages of cheese are quite large. However, if you are planning on making a large lasagna or having a party, the packages would be perfect. Cheese also freezes well so you don't have to waste any leftovers.

BMS Paper Company is on Washington Street between Green street and Williams street in Jamaica Plain. They have a small parking lot and it's within walking distance to Green Street station (orange line).
Here's the yelp review with a map: http://www.yelp.com/biz/bms-paper-supply-jamaica-plain

Triple Eatery - Jamaica Plain

This is the first in a series of good places to eat in Jamaica Plain. I had a Buy With Me deal for Seamless Web (which is pretty cool, by the way) and decided to try Triple Eatery because it looked like the better choice for Chinese food. With 132 regular items, 4 "Health Diet" items, and 26 House specials, you're sure to find something that will satisfy everyone in the house.

I ordered the Triple Delight House Special ($9.50), small Spicy Hot & Sour soup ($1.95), Fried baby shrimp ($5.25), and spicy Szechuan dumplings in hot oil ($4.25). The only reason I got so much was because the Buy With Me deal was for $20 worth of food. The only item I would not order again is the shrimp, just because I was expecting a lighter batter. They were tasty but not my kind of thing. On the upside, the shrimp came with a creamy sauce that could be used on a sandwich (e.g. a Reuben). The soup had a kind of spiciness that strengthened as I ate it. At first, I thought it was quite tame but eventually, I imagined that it could slap your sinuses around if you had a cold or stuffy nose. The dumplings were actually a larger portion than I had expected for the price. They were tasty and would be good in a noodle soup too. The highlight was the house special, which was the most expensive but also the largest portion. It had shrimp, beef, chicken, and veggies in a tasty sauce. That dish alone was enough for at least two people (or maybe one big football player). If you make your own rice and order a couple of house specials, that's enough food to feed at least four people (who are not football players).

So, if you have a group of people and need a lot of tasty food for about $5 to $10/person, try Triple Eatery. The video below is a brief scooter ride along Hyde Park Avenue and Cummings Highway to Triple Eatery. Enjoy!

Shrimp, House Special, Hot & Sour Soup, and Szechuan dumplings

I've ordered from Triple Eatery many times...

Happy Family - beef, pork, shrimp, chicken, and veggies

Eggplant in garlic sauce (left) and family style tofu (right)

Family style bean curd

broccoli with garlic sauce

Fried chicken

Fried chicken with shrimp fried rice

Dip the scallion pancake in the hot & sour soup!

Scallion pancake cut up for you 

Scallion pancake and hot & sour soup

Hunan shrimp lunch special includes soup