Last weekend I had the privilege of dining at Ducali in the North End along with some fellow bloggers and cookbook author Crescent Dragonwagon. I was particularly excited to meet Crescent, who I have been a fan of for years. I received one of her earlier books, Passionate Vegetarian, from my mom about ten years ago. During lunch, Crescent answered all sorts of questions about beans, her favorite recipes, the writing process and more. She is an excellent storyteller with a warm personality. Her newest book includes dozens of creative bean recipes inspired by a wide variety of cuisines: Black Bean Fauxjoada, a meatless version of the Brazilian feijoada; Tamale Pie; Maya’s Magic Black Beans with Eggplant and Royal Rice; and desserts like Sesame Seed Chickpea Flour Cookies, and Red Bean Ice Cream. The book also includes a guide to dozens of varieties of beans and directions for cooking and use. It is an excellent resource for bean fans and skeptics alike. 

The setting for this pleasant afternoon was Ducali, a pizza restaurant and bar in the North End just across from the Charlestown Bridge. We started out with an appetizer of Carciofi-  Broiled Artichoke served with homemade garlic aioli. 

Photo courtesy of Bianca

Caprino e bacca- Baby spinach with goat cheese and dried cranberries. This salad came with a towering pile of fresh spinach and a modest sprinkling of cheese and cranberries. I’m not sure if there was any dressing. While I do love a plate of unadulterated greens, in lieu of dressing, the toppings need to be a little more robust. I was far more impressed with the pizzas than our appetizers.

Spinaci- Fresh mozzarella, garlic and spinach, topped with black  pepper and Romano cheese. The fresh (not frozen) spinach was the focus of this pie. A thick layer of it lay on top of the crust. The mozzarella and romano were applied somewhat sparingly which I enjoyed. The salty romano and the sweetness of the spinach made for a nice pairing. Out of three we tasted, the crust on this pie was the best , thin with a nice chew. White pies often come piled high with cheese to make up for the lack of sauce. With this pie, the spinach added the perfect amount of moisture, allowing for a pleasantly minimal amount of cheese.

Photo courtesy of Bianca

Rugola- Mozzarella topped with arugula, drizzled with truffle oil and topped with shaved Parmiggiano Reggiano. Again, I was delighted at the plentiful pile of bright green atop this pie. The mozzarella and thin crust formed a chewy base for the crisp truffle-accented arugula. The parmesan added a wonderful richness though the pieces were a touch thick, they would more aptly be described as parmesan chunks.

Melanzane e zucchini- Grilled eggplant, mushroom, zucchini and mozzarella topped with fresh goat cheese. I expected to like this one a lot but it fell short. The eggplant was dry and chewy and I did not enjoy the seasoning on the zucchini. Thankfully, the other two pies more than made up for this.

I was not familiar with Ducali prior to this lunch and I was pleasantly surprised with the quality of the pizza. A nice thin crust with flavorful cheeses and toppings.     I’d recommend going for lunch as sunlight floods the restaurant during the day and offers a view of the waterfront and Charlestown in the distance. It so happened that our pizza selections ended up being all white pies. I’m curious to return again and see how the red pies stack up.

Ducali
289 Causeway St.
Boston, MA

The shop is small with two glass cases displaying over three dozen varieties of cookies, including almond macaroons, sandwich cookies, shortbread, linzers, and drop cookies. Most cookies are adorned in some way another, with a drizzle of icing or a coating of chocolate. I am often skeptical of “pretty” cookies because they so often go for looks over substance. Lakota’s succeed at both.

The first cookie I ever tried was a lemon macaroon. I went into the bakery with the intention of getting a diverse selection of cookies, but try as I might, I just kept returning to the sandwich cookies.

The mocha cream sandwich has two mellow tasting butter cookies that give way to a richly flavored mocha buttercream.

The lemon cream sandwich had no shortage of sugary buttercream filling surrounded by crisp butter cookies. The lemon flavor was more sweet than tangy and pleasantly reminded me of a certain powdered sugar-covered lemon cookie that I ate when I was younger.

The chocolate cream sandwich was very Oreo-esque, with a crispy, dark cocoa cookie and grainy buttercream center. The chocolate coating took the richness of the cookie to another level and helped to marry the textures of the crispy cookie and the fluffy buttercream.

Lakota cookies make for an elegant and inexpensive (did I mention each cookie is only $1.35?) sweet treat for one, or get a box-full the next time you need to bring something to a get-together. If you find yourself at Cardullo’s, Formaggio or any of the other shops the cookies are sold, keep an eye out for them. Or for the full experience, make a date to visit the shop in Arlington.

Lakota Bakery
1375 Massachusetts Avenue
Arlington, MA

On one of the unseasonably warm days last week, my mom and I took a walk to check it out. The space is tiny with an unassuming exterior. Inside is a stainless steel counter with a dozen or so pastries out on display. There are a few tables and a bar at which to stand and enjoy a coffee drink. We surveyed the pastry offerings and picked out a few to try.

I am always game for an almond croissant and Oro’s was highly attractive. It was flaky around the edges with a glossy, golden finish. The almond mixture soaked into the croissant dough and made for a tender, almost cakey interior. There was also a nice contrast between the crunchy toasted almonds on top and the moist, sweet almond mixture inside.

The chocolate chip scone was buttery and tender. The broad chocolate feves were a nice alternative to smaller chocolate chips and augmented the chocolate factor. It was good and would satisfy a scone craving any day.

Our favorite selection by far ended up being the miniature cookies. I suspect that they are frequently overlooked by patrons. Displayed in small glass jars, the cookies do not immediately scream for your attention like the large square of banana bread with sour cream chocolate frosting, the brown sugar pecan sticky bun or the golden croissants. It is easy to assume they are just filler and the price probably does not help this misconception. Two for $1?! How good could they be? The answer is, very good. It would be a grave mistake to visit Oro and not get some of the cookies.

Firstly, there is the Whole Grain Chocolate Chip. This is no run-of-the-mill chocolate chip cookie. It is made with ground oats which give it a wonderfully hearty texture. It has a nice, crisp outside, finished with a sprinkling of coarse sugar. The Chocolate Dots, small chocolate truffle cookies, were very moist and fudgey and had a delightful but not overly intense chocolate flavor. Lastly, we had the peanut butter cookie sandwich with chocolate ganache. This was good, but not as outstanding as the first two. The cookie had a good flavor but was a touch dry on that day and could have used more chocolate ganache. We ate the cookies on a bench right outside the cafe and before we left, we stopped inside to stock up on more of the chocolate chip and chocolate dot cookies. They were just too good, and too great a bargain, not to get more. I am eternally grateful to the Lunch Studio ladies for introducing me to Oro, which will certainly be added to my repertoire of regularly visited bakeries.

Oro Bakery
375 Broome Street
New York, NY

Come dinnertime the space is packed with young professionals and NYU students. If they’re initially attracted to the stylish atmosphere, they’re returning because of the good food.

I chose the Crispy Eggplant torta with panko-crusted fried eggplant cutlets, Chihuahua cheese, avocado, fresh Piloncillo tomatoes, pickled jalapeño, cilantro and chipotle BBQ sauce. This was the only vegetarian torta if you don’t count the Mexican grilled cheese. Breaded and fried eggplant isn’t usually my thing but the sandwich as a whole sounded delicious, and it was. The eggplant was tender, with just a light crispy coating of panko. The cheese and sauce added a nice creamy richness and really helped bind all the components together.

The Braised Short Ribs torta was a winner, with braised steak short ribs, spicy black beans, avocado, pickled red onion, jalapeño, and cilantro. The meat was incredibly tender and flavorful. The sweet and tangy pickled red onion was particularly outstanding and added wonderful flavor and texture to the sandwich. The tortas are served on fluffy and slightly sweet semolina rolls.

Each order of guacamole is made fresh right before your eyes at the counter. Instead of with chips, we paired the guacamole with fried plantains. This was the one item we tried that could stand to be improved, being somewhat dry and chewy rather than soft with a nice caramelized exterior. The guacamole is excellent. They prepare it simply, adding just a few ingredients and leaving several chunks of whole avocado.

Just three days after Tortaria opened, it was already drawing crowds. If you happen to be a tequila connoisseur, that would be a whole other reason to visit. In addition the tortas, there are taquitos made on hand-pressed masa tortillas and a selection of side dishes. The restaurant is fortunate to be in prime location, but even if it weren’t, the food would be worth venturing out of your way for.

Tortaria
94 University Place
New York, NY