Brunch at @Commonwealth Cambridge

First sorry folks for not posting anything in April or May, have no felt very inspired since I was in Cox's Bazar and posting a away. My camera is currently gathering dust. But I promise I will be back soon.

Kendall Square near MIT is a pretty posh part of Cambridge/Greater Boston. Modern architecture was always a pleasant sight for my biking days, aah how I miss. Somedays I don't think about my days in Boston, because it hurts to miss it so much. Anyway- all for you big foodies, I sacrifice.

You guys probably know by now I'm not a brunch person, but my friends certainly are. And I always end up having brunch when Jeff is in town. But I'm glad, it pushes me to explore a different kind of restaurant that I usually wont.

So this is Commonwealth Cambridge.

It was a beautiful day. I biked and took some photos <3 p="">

Oh yes and the rowers were there <3 a="" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgswD96__kwJi-7ng0o8su9Zn1dJs9tCleya_VDaovJSE7kcOVLMfq2CShs0uBmavnUhqCDtE62dt2a0l0F0UGLYGliH5fD6FpG-Ey3CnP1SdkYdqnqfi23g1sfgiJbcLgK3A6z8jQ_sJim/s1600/IMG_7022.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">

Our table

The different kinds of Brunch Items.... 

Regular steak hash bcaon and eggs kind of thing, not my style really but seemed to be okay

This was my order- a Mexican infused brunch item and I liked it. (you know me I like to eat lunch/dinner food for breakfast)

But the best part....wait for it! This lovely lady, chef who works here is friends with my friend Taj, so we got to have the best bread in town <3 america="" and="" butter="" homemade="" honey.="" i="" miss="" much="" omg.="" p="" so="" with="" you="">

 We ended with some doughnuts, not my fav item here. But THAT BREAD THOUGH.

Someone take me back like right now. #BostonImissYou


Thanks Taj, Ezzy and Jeff for this outing.

Okay foodies- till the next episode.

500,000 hits and Luna Cafe

OH MY GOSH. You foodies have blown up  my views to 500,000! I came to post the first post of 2015 to thi surprise. Thank you thank you thank you. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoy posting. Before I forget please don't forget to support my music by purchasing here : www.armeenmusa.bandcamp.com

Anyway- Here is a post from the end of summer in 2014. I have moved to Dhaka and not a day goes by that I dont miss my home in Boston. Yes! I am in a very different kind of bliss here, surrounded by family and attention and love. But I miss my wandering freedoms, my solitude and Oh I miss the Foooood! Yes I know , I left Boston, because they did not have Bangladeshi food (or reasons as such) but after 2 months of eating it everyday, a small part of me misses the variety and the quality of Boston eats!

To cross of my to-do list I went to Cafe Luna to have the lobster eggs benedict. To work up an appetite I biked to Harvard and then to Central Square in Cambridge.

 

It was right before the Rowing Festival weekend, the last summer day in fact!

 

Lucky for me the Hubway stop is literally outside the little square of shops where Luna is located. Oh man even writing this - I can't believe I wont be able to take a 5 minute bike ride whenever I want :(

Oh well I was lucky to have it when I did. Anyway, back to the brunch- I ordered the lobster eggs benedict- its was $18 and the most expensive thing on the menu- but it was what I had come to eat.

While I waited with a drink at the bar (which I didnt drink because it was not yummy) (I sat there- tables were crowded) I took in the vibe of the little place, slight dark vibe with the blaring sun outside. The bartender and I talked some about our blogs, I actually gave her this page address, so HI to you! (if you ever read it!)

She did some pretty nice coffee art and we chatted for a bit. I rarely talk to people on my alone time meals- but this was nice <3 br="">

And then it came: The masterpiece I was waiting for. I even got some extra hollandaise sauce :P :P (what a cheek I am becoming!)

It was a beauty to look at. c'est nais pas?

I love the little fruit bowl that I took away with me in a plastic cup (Man, I'm such a demanding customer!) 

Okay I'll admit, the more I ate it, the more I realised that my interest towards brunch food is not very high. The food was good no doubt, hollandaise perfect, crab fresh, but Brunch really not my thing- unelss its at FLOUR. (my favourite Boston Restaurant)

But I loved the vibe of the place, hell I love every place in Boston. I miss you my home.

Leaving you with a photo of looking out a wonderful band I've stumbled upon 

Graceland, America , Sushi. (Osaka, Coolidge Corner)

It's no secret I love living in the US. Maybe because of music school, maybe because of the sunshine, the diversity- I have fallen in love with being here (well Boston to be precise, I'm pretty sure there are parts of America I wouldn't want to live in.)

One of the interesting things foodwise in this country is American sushi. It has mayo, eel sauce, jalapenos and what not! Chefs go crazy creative with american sushi rolls, I love it!

*Nusha are you reading this*

It was restaurant week and here I was studying for an exam- so what better combo- a nice restaurant to study in! (Osaka in Coolidge Corner, one of my favourite areas!)










My vegetarian friend had veggie sushi, I had never had had sushi with someone who didn't eat fish, so I was amazed to see how lovely it could be. Vegetables are so beautiful and colourful naturally- the more I try to be healthy, the more I realise that.

I of course had the sashimi (my favourite) and then the most sauced up pretty looking Americanised yumm sushi roll.

One a personal note: I was editing these photos photos it seemed perfect to fall at the same time as the release of my latest song Graceland.

The song reflects an immigrant story at first sight, but really the story of everyone- who is looking for somewhere to be free. For most of my life I thought it was finally leaving Dhaka that I found my Graceland… Even though I never wanted to leave initially, I had a tough time there, I felt judged, I felt like an outsider, in the "high society" areas but especially in the music industry.

I found myself and my freedom once I started living and learning in this beautiful Berklee community but also the beauty of my anonymity in Boston. All of this is true- but as a person, a soul my Graceland is music and I no longer want to feel that animosity towards Dhaka or anyone there or anything ever really.  So here goes- my online friends, you are the first to know- I'm moving back to Dhaka. I have many reasons to go, before you ask, but the first one is that my heart told me to- and I've always followed my heart
Here is the video of Graceland- please love, share and send me feed back!


L

Graceland is the first single from Armeen's upcoming album "Simultaneously" - Buy it here : http://armeenmusa.bandcamp.com
http://amzn.com/B00MF936SM
https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/graceland-single/id906276567


Written by Armeen Musa

GRACELAND

a hundred thousand miles she goes
to find herself a brand new home
she leaves behind the riches she knows,
to her graceland she arrives.

the dirty stares of the crowds
the petty things people said out loud
she leaves behind those horrid sounds
to her graceland she arrives

she holds her little brothers hand
as she walks on to this foreign land
she'll make it here and thats her plan
to her graceland she arrives

She's working at starbucks 6 to 3
she'd never had to make her own cup of tea
But now she finally feels free
to her graceland she arrives

World Cup and Burritos

 I'm not a sports person and that's the truth. Only when Bangladesh  In my 4 years of Boston, it was only in my 3rd year I really knew what the superbowl was only because I was in transit and it was showing Red Hot Chilli Peppers' Superbowl performance and it drew my attention.

However- I am Bangali and that means I am inherently bound to be super excited when the Football World Cup comes around every 4 years. I watch much of the games ( a little screen open during work) and suddenly google the hell out of the players and join in on the online banter.

This is the first time I'm in the US during the cup and so I thought it befitting to watch the game at a proper sports bar.

Phoenix Landing in Central Square Cambridge was known to be one of the top spots. I was greeted by a long queue and a flautist playing various patriotic songs for the US at the door.

And What a beginning to a game, USA scored a goal in the first minute. however the dark pub with its overcrowded audience was too loud for my sensitive ears to handle- plus I was hungry and didnt want to wait forever for a table. So me and my football enthusiast (Bangali of course) friend Shumi went hunting for a better place to watch in peace. We stopped by the Middle East for a few minutes before coming to the conclusion the dingy layout and slow service was annoying us. Thanks to yelp, (yes yes yes, still using yelp) we read the a small Mexican place was also showing the games down the street. AND FINALLY we found bliss.

This little Mexican place had two small screens, a few tables and plenty of space to breath.

Beantown Taqueria - Mexican Soul Food www.beantowntaqueria.com/

So we sat with our orders to have a grand time. 

Shumi ordered a fish sandwhich and I ordered a burrito bowl (bhaat for the Bangal) and it was delicious.

The end of the match was so incredible, Ghana scoring and USA retaliating in a split second. But the funnest part was watching the game in Spanish! The commentators' regular tone of voice is as excited as a regular one's super excitement at a goal or something. AND when there's a goal, forget about it- the sheer intonations and movement of the voices were to be admired. I have actually started watching all the games in Spanish for this reason. Brilliant voice work!! 

I thought it was very sweet when the immigrant staff like myself watched the game in hope, waiting for US to score- and his joy when his newfound home country won was priceless. You have to hand it to America , even the Bangali in me feels like this place is my home. 

Okay homies, one more thing, my campaign to raise money for my first ever English album is one, so PLEASE check it out/share/contribute/send me feedback. Anything is appreciated!!

Trattoria il Panino - North end'a best

The North End. One of my favourite areas in Boston, you instantly feel like you're in Italy with the narrow lanes and Roman Catholic Churches and architecture. generations of Italians have lived and worked here.

The restaurants in this area are a mix of mom and pop dark dining to fancy Italian places. I haven't explored a lot, but since Zj is visiting and she had a craving for ravioli so it only seemed right to bring her here (plus we had the harbour to visit.)

After walking around The area we went searching for the right restaurant: needed to find something under $20 but good and had ravioli on the menu. And after some search we found it. I rarely go into restaurants without doing a ton of research, but ever since ness pulled out (yes I'm still upset about it) haven't had a lot of choice.

And boy was this the right choice. We ordered lobster ravioli in creamy sauce and ricotta ravioli in tomato sauce.

Those of you who know my taste buds, I'm not huge on tomato sauces, they usually taste generic and bland. Ummm, this was the opposite, SO AMAZING. 

The ricotta was fresh, BUT THE SAUCE. oh gosh I want to go back!

The lobster ravioli was super as well, creamy and rich ! 

The portions were huge! I loved the presentation- I love eating out of pans!

Me and Zj devoured as much as we could and had some ravioli left over 

This has been one of my favourite meals ever! Must try for anyone in Boston! (Except my friend Nusha who lives in Italy and refuses to eat Italian food anymore )

Haru Boston

end Zj is in town!! While hubby is work shopping at Harvard, we went around giggling around the city. Lunch was at Haru, I wanted to show her American sushi!

Here are some shots of my two rolls. The rolls were pretty good, price was average, however my main put off was the spicy mayo- it was tomato ketchup mayoish - no spice.

They did give us the sauces for free and our service was good (a teensy slowish) and warm.

We had the spicy tuna covered in salmon and jalapeño (good)and another full fried roll (so so)

Overall I guve it 3.5/5 for service and location and freshness of fish.

Xinh Xinh cafe

So this place gets the highest rating on yelp for Pho (yes ever since Ness got shut down after OpenTable bought it out, I've had to resort to yelp) so I thought id try it out.

So my new roommate and I grabbed a bite and it was pretty good.

The rolls were fresh and the broth was good.

Overall if you're in Chinatown and want Pho you can hop in. However it's not as good as Le's in Alston. I give it a 3.5/5