The Best Things the Eater Boston Team Ate This Week: Fried Clams and Tortellini en Brodo

Welcome to The Best Things the Eater Boston Team Ate This Week, summer 2020 edition. On some Fridays, we each share a dish or two that really hit the spot in the past week. Given the current circumstances, we’ll mainly be discussing delivery and takeout options, as well as some drinks.

Want to share your own favorites? Join our Facebook group to give and get recommendations for local dining.

Here’s our spring 2020 archive, our winter 2019-2020 archive, our fall 2019 archive, and our top 20 dishes of 2019 as a whole.

September 18: Fried clams and tortellini en brodo

Chubby’s original fried clams at Woodman’s of Essex
119 Main St., Essex

My fiancee and I were in need of some new houseplants, so we recently took a drive up to the North Shore to Corliss Brothers Garden Center and Nursery in Ipswich in search of succulents and spider plants. No trip up Rte. 133 is complete without a stop at one of its several excellent fried clam joints. There’s much debate about which is best between Farnham’s, Woodman’s, and the Clam Box — if forced to choose, I’m probably in camp Farnham’s, but not by any wide margin — but we love all three and chose Woodman’s on this occasion because its premises offer the most space to physically distance from other patrons.

My fiancee ordered a lobster — I like lobster enough, but all the cracking and digging and poking is a bit fussy for a person of my temperament, which is to say, impatient — and I ordered a box of Chubby’s original fried clams. We ate and drank beers with a view of the marshland that runs behind Woodman’s ample outdoor dining area and watched as a group of paddle-boarding weirdos floated down the river that runs through the marshland, struggling to remain upright as a boat passed. Several fell in. I laughed at them, ate more clams, and drank more beer. —Terrence B. Doyle

Bolognese tortellini from Capone Foods
14 Bow St., Union Square, Somerville

I want to share one of my household’s pandemic staples (that will surely become a regular weeknight staple in “normal” times, whenever those may be): super-easy tortellini en brodo using Capone Foods’ frozen Bolognese tortellini and whatever broth, ideally chicken, we’ve got on hand. (Capone’s is currently open for same-day online ordering/curbside pickup.)

I think I’ve mentioned my Bologna trip here before; sorry that I won’t shut up about it, but the food was incredible. We fell in love with the tortellini en brodo, among other dishes, and we’ve painstakingly made tortellini from scratch a few times since coming home. (We got some great pasta-making tips from a private lesson with Carmelita Caruana while we were there — look her up if you’re going to be in Bologna!) But making tortellini from scratch takes hours and patience and nimble fingers, and who wants to put in that effort most nights?

Fortunately Capone’s Bolognese tortellini — stuffed with prosciutto, mortadella, and Parmigiano Reggiano — is a short walk away and tastes quite similar to what we ate in Italy.

Boil it according to package directions, heat up some chicken broth, combine, grate some parm liberally on top, and add some pepper if you’d like. (Apologies to Italy if that’s not technically “allowed.”) It’s embarrassingly easy and feels like cheating, especially considering how long it takes to do it from scratch, but there’s no shame in taking shortcuts in the kitchen. Eat what you want! Cook it however you want! There’s a time and place for handmade pasta — maybe a slow Sunday afternoon with sunlight streaming through the windows and the stress of the world not weighing on your shoulders. But in the middle of a pandemic on a busy weeknight, I’m opting for 15 minutes of next-to-no effort, and I’m lucky to have a great little Italian shop like Capone’s in the neighborhood. —Rachel Leah Blumenthal

September 11: Treats From Pop-ups

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Pistachio gelato from La Bottega; dumplings from Mimi’s Chūka Diner; Bengali kati rolls and shingara from Nibble Kitchen; chocolates from Petrova Chocolates; chashu garlic pizza from Yume Dough Katare; lamb-stuffed naan from Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine
Nibble Kitchen, 1 Bow Market Way, Union Square, Somerville; Yume Wo (Dough) Katare, 1923 Massachusetts Ave., Porter Square, Cambridge; Silk Road, 645 Cambridge St., East Cambridge

It was a really good week of eating, and it seems I mostly ordered from pop-ups, which feels very of-the-pandemic-era, especially considering I found out about them all via Instagram.

Instead of playing favorites, I’ll give a brief rundown of the week’s highlights:

• La Bottega: This local gelato pop-up from Kevin Walsh and Victoria Campbell often makes appearances in front of Field & Vine (9 Sanborn Ct., Somerville) on Saturday mornings during the Union Square Farmers Market and also provides desserts to Create Gallery & Cocktail Lounge at Bow Market (1 Bow Market Way, Somerville). The pistachio gelato brought back memories of my pre-pandemic trip to Bologna, and I can’t wait to try the desserts at Create, like a salted caramel ice cream drumstick with peanut butter brittle and chocolate dip.
• Mimi’s Chūka Diner: Speaking of Create, Mimi’s popped up there last weekend, doling out pork and vegan gyoza as well as Sichuan-style wontons. This chūka ryori (Japanese-style Chinese food) pop-up from B&G Oysters alums Ted Woo and Jon Awerman has been making the rounds this summer and also delivers frozen dumplings on Sundays. My household especially loved the wontons, but the gyoza were also top-notch.
• Bengali food at Nibble Kitchen: Bow Market’s Nibble Kitchen features a rotation of several different chefs and cuisines, depending on the day. On Fridays and Saturdays, chef Afruza Akther serves a Bengali menu that includes chicken kati rolls on irresistibly flaky paratha, a flatbread. You must get the shingara as well — Bengali samosa — stuffed with a flavorful spiced mix of potatoes and peas.
• Petrova Chocolates: Betty Petrova, who works at Uni, makes gorgeous chocolates on the side, for pickup and delivery around the Boston area. Keep an eye on Instagram for flavor announcements and updates; DM her to order. The Thai basil limeade is especially awesome.
• Yume Dough Katare: I wrote about this yesterday, but in short, one of our best local ramen shops is now sometimes a pizzeria. (And the pizza features pork and garlic, just like the ramen.) Interesting pandemic partial pivot; I’m into it.
• Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine: An exception to my foray into pop-ups this week, Silk Road Uyghur Cuisine is a regular, permanent restaurant — and an excellent one at that. I got delivery from the East Cambridge original, but there’s an Allston offshoot as well. The lamb-stuffed naan is a must. —Rachel Leah Blumenthal

September 4: Kielbasa in the woods

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Country smoked spicy kielbasa from Fox Country Smoke House
164 Briar Bush Rd., Canterbury, New Hampshire

My husband and I escaped the city for a few days last week to a fairly isolated Airbnb in Canterbury, New Hampshire, an easy drive from Boston — about an hour and a quarter without traffic. We had dreams of sitting outside, mask-less, breathing in fresh air far away from people; grilling a lot; and doing nothing. That’s pretty much what we did, along with meeting the menagerie of animals on the property, including a strange mini horse named Buckshot whom the hosts described as “possibly inbred.” A dog named Patsy and a cat named Butter spent a lot of time with us at our grilling area, which looked out onto the pasture where the other horses, Tucci and Chester, grazed; two guinea hens named Pip and Pop honked around the yard nearby, except for the day when they temporarily absconded with a herd of wild turkeys; a handful of tiny puppies and kittens rounded out the group.

As for the food, we brought some standard groceries and stocked up on extra provisions at a local farmers market during our stay, but the highlight was the kielbasa we bought shortly before arriving at the property (and again before heading home) at Fox Country Smoke House in Canterbury. Essentially a cabin in the woods, the tiny shop — founded in 1969 — is located down a few bumpy roads, very close to Canterbury Aleworks, which we unfortunately didn’t have a chance to visit.

Spicy and smoky, the kielbasa was just the right thing for a pandemic-era summer night of charcoal grilling in New Hampshire with a weird mini horse and an enthusiastic dog keeping watch.

Fox Country’s smoked pepper bacon, smoked cashews, and smoked mozzarella were all hits, too; for several lunches, we made grilled cheese with the mozzarella, some Allagash White-infused cheddar, and gruyere. The kielbasa, though: That’s the one we’d probably willingly make a three-hour road trip to purchase again.

Fox Country distributes to retail shops around New Hampshire, but the only place to get any of its products in Massachusetts, at the moment, is SpringDell Farm out in Littleton. (If you are a specialty food shop in the Somerville/Cambridge area, I will be forever indebted to you if you get in touch with Fox Country and start carrying some of this kielbasa.) Apparently the company ships holiday packages around the United States, though, so keep an eye on its website when Christmas gets a little closer.

By the way, here is a video of Buckshot the mini horse. —Rachel Leah Blumenthal

August 7: Sichuan treats, lots of good bread, banh hoi, and more

Rachel Leah Blumenthal/Eater

Cumin lamb, dry hot chicken, and spicy pork dumplings from Five Spices House
546 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge

My fiancee and I recently joined two of our dear friends for a socially distanced backyard lunch hang, during which we gorged ourselves on various Sichuan treats from Five Spices House’s Central Square location. We ordered what seemed like half the menu, but the standout dishes were the cumin lamb, the dry hot chicken, and the spicy pork dumplings.

The lamb was tender and piquant and came dressed with a silky, cumin-forward sauce and sauteed vegetables. The dry hot chicken was juicy and crispy, and we probably should have gotten two orders because the four of us tore through the takeout container in a matter of minutes. The dumpling wrappers were that perfect consistency that exists somewhere between fluffy and al dente, and filled with spicy, salty pork — they were the perfect complement to the funky, juicy IPAs we were drinking.

We hadn’t hung out with anyone in this manner since the pandemic began, and so this was a nice reintroduction to dining with friends. We sat further apart than we normally would have; we all wore masks when we weren’t eating or drinking; but the company was good, and the food was good too. We’ll take what we can get right now, I suppose. —Terrence B. Doyle

Cornbread from Sarma; Parker House rolls from Puritan & Co.; gyro from Opa Greek Yeeros; banh hoi from Viet Citron
249 Pearl St., Somerville; 1166 Cambridge St., Inman Square, Cambridge; 378 Highland Ave., Davis Square, Somerville; 47 Middlesex Tpke., Burlington

It’s been a bit of time since we’ve updated this roundup; the calendar has been a blur lately, and I don’t know about Terrence, but my household has mainly been focusing on home-cooking lately, only occasionally interspersed with takeout and delivery. (You don’t need to hear all about my husband’s multi-day lasagna Bolognese adventure since you won’t be able to try it, but it was definitely a recent standout.)

But some of that takeout and delivery has been great, so we wanted to revive this weekly-ish roundup to share our favorites with you. (You can also check out our map from a few weeks back that showcases our top picks from the first several months of the pandemic; I expect we’ll update it with some more options soon.)

Several recent highlights for me: Bread! The jalapeno and feta cornbread from Sarma and the Parker House rolls from Puritan & Co. made for memorable accompaniments that threatened to overshadow the rest of their meals. (But dessert from Puritan & Co., a Campari-infused grapefruit mousse, also shared the spotlight.)

I also had a spectacular gyro from Opa Greek Yeeros (continuing along the bread theme, the fluffy pita was especially good.)

And on a day when I had to annoyingly trek to Burlington for an errand — ok, it’s actually not that long of a drive, but I’ve barely left Somerville/Cambridge/Boston in weeks, so it felt like a huge trek — it granted me the opportunity to try new-ish Vietnamese restaurant Viet Citron, of which I’ve been hearing great things over the past few months. Now I find myself trying to come up with reasons to return to Burlington, because I want more of Viet Citron’s food. Not to mention the fresh, tart limeade. The banh hoi with crispy pork belly (and a perfect little egg roll on the side) made for a lovely weekday lunch. —Rachel Leah Blumenthal