The Poor Student's Search For Poutine in Boston

In case it's not abundantly obvious, the Poor Student is Canadian. One of Canada's contributions to the world in the culinary world is poutine, which consists of freshly cut fries, squeaky cheese curds, and gravy (preferably made from scratch). In Boston, even putting gravy on your fries is considered strange. Growing up in Toronto, fries with gravy was a something to be had at least once or twice a week in the school cafeteria. The cheese curds were an addition thought up by the French-Canadians in Quebec, where good food is a religion. If you're ever in Montreal, make sure you stop by La Banquise or if you're on a tight budget, La Belle Province for some authentically awesome poutine.

In Boston, there are at least three places where poutine is available: Saus (near Union Oyster House), Grass Fed (in Jamaica Plain), and All Star Sandwich (in Cambridge). Romano's in Roslindale has a version of poutine but they don't use cheese curds and they add bits of steak to it. Not bad though. Actually, Grass Fed didn't use curds either. The last time I tried to find cheese curds at a grocery store, I was unsuccessful. The lady at Roche Brothers in West Roxbury told me that they have 10-pound bags of curds and they use that to make their fresh mozzarella. I just could't imagine how I would use a 10-pound bag of curds!

Saus specializes in Belgian street food place and if you've ever been to Belgium, you'll know that they're famous for fries. Moule et frites (mussels and fries) is a very popular dish there. If you get fries on their own, they are usually served in a paper cone, which is what Saus does too. However, if you get the poutine, it's not served in a cone because that would be outrageously messy. The cheese curds are actually curds and the gravy is pretty tasty. Since they serve beer, you might as well have a beer with the poutine.

I haven't tried the poutine at All Star yet, so if anyone has, please leave a comment and let us know how it is!

For more places to find poutine, check out CBS's page:
http://boston.cbslocal.com/top-lists/bostons-best-poutine/

Haymarket - Boston

For the poor student, Haymarket is the place that will keep you eating well without constantly asking your parents for money. There are a few of catches though:

1. Some vendors are a little rude.
2. The produce might be ripe, so you need it eat it soon.
3. It's only open on Fridays and Saturdays.

Catches #1 and #3 cannot be changed. However, if you become a regular customer, the vendors will probably eventually recognize you and share a joke with you every week. For example, the potato guy recognizes me and knows that I like the purple spuds. As for the days that haymarket is open, you'll want to go at about 4:30 or 5 p.m. to get the best prices because that's when they're trying to get rid of their inventory. However, if you want the best quality stuff, early in the day is better. Either way, you'll still get better prices than at the supermarket.

The ripeness of the produce is something that you can't really change but if you're willing to invest about $50 for a good dehydrator, you can create dried fruits and vegetables that can be stored for months in sealed plastic bags or air-tight containers. Keep your fruit in the fridge if possible. Dried fruit can be eaten as snacks or used for baking cakes. If you check the prices of dried fruit at the store, you'll see that you can create dried fruit for less with haymarket fruit. However, if you buy fruit at a regular store, it might be cheaper to buy dried fruit. For more information about this, see my blog post on dehydrating fruit.

Dehydrating your veggies is a good way to save space in your kitchen and can be rehydrated and used for soups and stews. You'll notice that the flavors are more concentrated and can make your own soup mixes to take to work. Mushrooms that are reconstituted with hot water will produce a nice flavorful and aromatic broth for cooking.

Positive things about Haymarket:
1. The food is very cheap!
This is probably the most important reason to shop here on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. Even if you get one or two duds in your bag, you'll still be saving a lot of money and eating healthier than if you bought your fruits and vegetables at a regular store. A lot of the produce is perfectly good and can be preserved by either dehydrating it or putting it in the fridge. Vegetables and fish can easily be cut up and frozen in plastic bags.

2. Easy to find and convenient
Haymarket is accessible by public transit on either the orange or green line. If you go out the orange line exit, it's just outside the station. Walk past the t-shirt vendor and turn left when you get to the corner. The stalls start a few steps away and cover about a block.

3. Interesting people (who are not students)
Let's face it, if you're a student, you probably see the same people all week. It's refreshing to see a bunch of non-students once in a while, isn't it? Haymarket has a very multi-cultural mix of people and the tourists will come by to check out the place too, on their way to Faneuil Hall. Besides, where else can you see a sign like this:

4. Interesting products in the stores

In addition to the stands filled with cheap fruits and vegetables, there are a few stores with a lot of products that you probably won't find at your local grocery store. Goat meat, Middle-Eastern foods, and a great variety of spices await you in the stores down the steps. You can also get very reasonably priced fish in those stores! We're talking less than $5 a pound of tuna or salmon, depending on availability. If you need a whole salmon, they might have that at only $3.99 a pound. At the cheese place, they have a different variety of cheese each week. For the more adventurous, it's fun to try a couple of cheeses each week and it'll cost you only $5 for two chunks. The thing about cheese is that it's already aged - what's another couple of weeks gonna do?

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!

Scootin' in Boston - Searching for Ribena

In this episode of Scootin' in Boston, the Poor Student rides from Route 9 to Kiki's Kwik-Mart (in Brighton) via Washington Street. For those of you who are not familiar with Ribena, it's a British black currant syrup that used to be available in Asian markets. However, the only place in town that carries it in Boston now is Kiki's in Brighton. If anyone knows of other places that carry Ribena, please leave a comment.

The video footage was from a Sunday afternoon ride at the end of August, before the students moved back to Boston. There was very little traffic and it was nice ride.

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 - Brookline Village to Bentley University

In this episode of Scootin' in Boston, the Poor Student starts from Harvard Avenue & Route 9 and rides all the way to Waltham via St. Paul Street and Route 20.

This is the route covered in the video.

Scootin' in Boston - Bentley to Cleveland Circle

In this video, the Poor Student scoots from Bentley to Cleveland Circle (in Chestnut Hill), passing through Waltham, Newtonville, and Newton. To make your tour more interactive, the video has been annotated (as of July 7, 2013) so that you can click on annotated links within the video if you want to turn right onto the Hammond Parkway or Hammond Street. The new videos will open in new windows. This is the route (start from the top-left):

Start at Bentley University

The video starts with a brief tour of the Bentley campus and a trip to the gas station to pump gas. If you've ever wondered what pumping gas into a scooter looks like, check this video out! The Poor Student also shows you which roads are messed up and which ones are well-maintained. Enjoy the ride!

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.

Chinese snacks - Part two (Roast Duck)

Half a roast duck from Chinatown, Boston. Only $9!

While most people might not classify roast duck as a "snack," it can be. In Chinatown, look for the windows with various roasted animals hanging in the window and you'll probably find a great deal. For only $9 at most places there, you can get half a duck, roasted and chopped up into bite-size pieces with some sauce to go. With that half duck, a whole bunch of things can be prepared at home.

1. First, get the meaty breast pieces and have those as a snack or main dish with your meal. When you get home, it's probably going to be hard to resist having a piece or two as soon as you open the box and get a whiff of the roasted duck aroma. Or, if you would like to make appetizers, cut up some of the meat and use it with scallions or other vegetables for wonton appetizers (see my blog post, "Wonton wrappers - not only for wontons!"

If you ask for the duck in Chinese, they might give you the head
and all the internal organs! Otherwise, they'll probably assume that
you won't appreciate those parts.

2. Then, there are going to be some bony parts, like the neck and rib section of the duck. In the picture above, there's a head and a bony piece on the left. Keep those because you can use those to make a tasty duck broth. Just boil the bones in some water with some scallions and whatever you'd like to add. Take the bones out and strain it if you think there are still some pieces of bones in there. The skin is tasty so leave that in there.  For a more fancy version, check out eHow. Here are some dishes you can make with duck broth:

• Add noodles and vegetables to the broth to make a noodle soup dish.
• Use the broth as a base for dumpling (or other) soup. Whatever you would make with chicken broth, you could probably make with duck broth.
• Braise vegetables with the broth.
• Use the broth to make polenta.
• Instead of using water, use the broth to make rice.

The head and internal organs, ready to store in the freezer.

For more inspiration, here are some websites that feature duck broth:

The Japanese Food Report

Chowhound

Chinese snacks - part 1

If you go to any large Chinese supermarket (e.g. Super 88, C-Mart, etc.), your whole grocery bill should be lower than if you go to Shaw's or Stop & Shop. One of my favorite aisles is the snack section, with imported Asian sweets and snacks, all for great prices. In this post, I will review one of those snacks: Crispiroll - Latte Coffee.

Each box is only $3.49 at C-Mart, in Chinatown. There are 32 pieces in each box. According to the box, these snacks are from Taiwan and "suitable for ovo-lacto vegetarian," in case you were into that sort of thing. The cappuccino on the box looks much better than the snack, right? Well, it turns out that the snack doesn't really look as tasty as the picture. However, for $3.49, it's a pretty good snack for munching on while you have a cup of coffee. What else could you get for about 11 cents a piece? When I opened one of the packages, I could smell coffee. The "cream" on the inside is not really smooth on its own but you won't notice it because the brown outside part is crunchy. All in all, it's like a cheap and smaller version of Pirouline rolled wafers but a little crunchier and coffee flavored. Think of it as pirated Pirouline, if you will. I'd buy this again.

Nice picture on the box. Only $3.49 for 32 individually wrapped pieces.

32 individually wrapped snacks

Comparison of the real thing with the picture.

Of course the picture looks better!

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

Welcome!

I've been a poor student for a long time. However, this doesn't mean that I don't eat well. Boston has some great food out there and this blog is about helping you, my fellow poor students, find some good eats without emptying your (or your parents') wallets. If you have tried any hidden gems, please let us all know! Tell us what you ate and give us an honest brief review (but keep it polite because my Canadian sensibilities don't respond well to nastiness). What drew you to the place? Finally, let's keep it under $10 for lunch and $15 for dinner, ok?

Click here to see the introductory trailer for the Poor Student's youtube channel!