Out to Eat: Spike's Junkyard Dogs

My little brother, Zach, a college student who lives just off Newbury Street in Boston, has been raving about Spike's Junkyard Dogs for months. After our visit last Friday night, I can finally say I understand what all the fuss was about.

Now, if you're like me, and you eat mostly fresh veggies and whole grains, and you're concerned about maintaining a nutritious, sustainable, and predominantly local diet, you're probably thinking hot dogs? Is she crazy? Allow me to explain. Spike's is a small chain of franchises scattered through Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Their hot dogs are 100% beef, with no sugars, sweeteners, by-products, or fillers. Their soft French rolls are made on the premises daily and are a huge leap from the spongy, preservative-laden hot dog rolls we're all used to.

Check out those buns!

When it comes down to it, these hot dogs are certainly not the healthiest option you could possibly choose. But I believe in moderation, not deprivation, and that means occasionally eating something just because it tastes great, even if it's not nutritionally perfect. Spike's dogs are a worthy indulgence. But if you're more strict than I am, Spike's does offer fat-free veggie dogs at the same (low) price. I haven't tried them, so I can't vouch for their taste.


Spike's dogs come plain ("The Mutt") or with a variety of toppings; Zach ordered the Texas Ranger (BBQ sauce, bacon, and cheddar), Dan selected the Ball Park Dog (onions, cheddar, and mustard), and I opted for the German Shephard (mustard and sauerkraut). All the dogs cost between $2.99 and $3.99, depending on toppings, and unless your appetite is an untamed beast, one dog will certainly do the trick. For $6.65, you can get any dog, plus curly fries and a soda; the fries are excellent, clearly freshly made and never frozen. Maria always gets the chicken tenders, and I could see why: they were juicy and yes, tender, with a perfectly crisp and slightly spicy crust. Spike's also offers salads, subs, and grilled chicken sandwiches.


The only part of the meal that was even slightly disappointing was the sauerkraut; it wasn't "sauer" enough for my taste. But, as I've mentioned before, I really like vinegar and very tangy flavors, so this falls more to personal preference than to any error on Spike's part. Ultimately, Spike's offers delicious dogs at great low prices, and I will definitely eat there again.

Spike's Junkyard Dogs
1076 Boylston Street (Corner of Mass Ave)
Boston, MA
-eight other locations throughout New England

Shipping Off to Boston!

We're heading down to Boston tonight to spend the weekend with Zach and Maria - always a good time. Remember when I raved about Anthropologie? Well, this weekend I'm going to set foot in one of their stores for the first time, and I won't have to walk away disappointed, since Z&M gave me a gift certificate for Christmas (thanks guys!). I'll be back next week with a restaurant review or two, a wrap-up of my Anthro experience, and the special surprise project I mentioned recently. And don't miss the return of Salad Days next Wednesday.

What about you? Any plans for the weekend? Please share in the comments, and have a great one!

Out to Eat: La Verdad Taqueria

La Verdad Taqueria
1 Lansdowne Street
Boston

I had read about La Verdad Taqueria in Food & Wine magazine, and what struck me, besides how good the food sounded, was that the prices were actually in my realm of possibility (unlike the vast majority of the restaurants that they write about). Right across from Fenway Park and just down the street from the legendary Avalon Ballroom, La Verdad has smartly positioned itself as both a grab-and-go fast food window and a sit-down restaurant. We chose to sit down and at 10:00pm on a Thursday night had no problem getting a table. There were probably fewer than a dozen people there (including waitstaff and bartender), which was surprising, given how good the food was.

We ordered Oaxacan wings to start; they were delicious. I feel like I might need my thesaurus for this entry because that word describes everything we got. Delicious, delicious, delicious. Maria opted for a burrito, which was huge, and came with wonderfully thin and crisp plantain chips on the side. Zach went for the carne asada tacos, which he happily wolfed down. Dan selected turkey pastor tacos and I chose the chorizo y papas tacos, and we traded one of each. The turkey pastor, which came with mole sauce and a red chile sauce, was very good and very spicy. My chorizo- and potato-filled tacos were so good that I ate them all before I remembered to take a picture. I would definitely order them again, although there are so many other tasty-sounding options that it may be a while before I do. If you are either very adventurous or very old-fashioned, you might also enjoy the tripe tacos, tongue tacos, or the tripe, tongue, and chorizo tacos.

Turkey pastor tacos - mmmm!

The four of us split an order of churros with chocolate and dulce de leche for dessert. Without question, these were the best churros I have ever had (and, having spent three months in Spain, I have had A LOT of churros). They were perfectly crisp but not weighed down by excess grease.

The only minor disappointment was the drinks; I got a grapefruit soda-orange juice-tequila concoction and Dan got a watermelon margarita. Both were good, but not $10 good when you're paying $9.50 for a plate of three tacos and sides. (Which reminds me - the tacos came with queso blanco, refried beans, and "Yucatan slaw" - all so tasty that I could have happily made a full meal out of them). If you are a real tequila nut, you'll certainly be satisfied with the vast array that they offer. Next time, I'll probably stick to the fresh-squeezed juices for $2.50. And yes, there will definitely be a next time.

big plans for Boston

We spent the holiday weekend in Boston with my little brother Zach and his girlfriend Maria (Hi Maria! Thanks for reading!). Generally, when we go down there, we just hang out in their apartment, watch movies, and relax. Occasionally we'll hit up the MFA or some fun attraction like Tomb. We had big plans for this weekend, including visiting Cambridge, going to the Garment District for dollar-a-pound vintage clothing, heading to some cool bookstores, eating at a few restaurants (including Flat Patties, their favorite burger joint), and enjoying Maria's home-cooked dirty rice.

Unfortunately, I went and thwarted all those plans by getting sick. Really sick. Three-days-glued-to-the-futon sick. So it ended up being a chill weekend after all, with a few movies and a lot of downtime. I did manage to pull it together to watch the fireworks over the Charles from the unbelievably-crowded Mass Ave Bridge. It was an excellent show.

Before I got sick, we had one dinner out at the tasty and affordable La Verdad Taqueria. Pictures and a review to come in the next post.