The Round Up: April 2025
Food:
April started off strong with National Burrito Day (4/3) with our favorite spot in the Boston area (Anna’s Taqueria) doing a buy-one-get-one-free burrito deal. So you know we had to participate.
I finally got to cross Saltie Girl off my Boston bucket-list restaurant list and it did not disappoint. Everything was incredibly delicious, and they have the best lobster roll I have had in the area to date.
April brought our Passover seder and it was such a lovely meal and time with all of our family! You can see everything we made here.
My family came in for Passover and we took them up to Portland, ME for the day because they had to try Mr. Tuna. It was delicious as always! We tried the Mr. Tuna maki for the first time and it was amazing!
Another one of our fave spots to bring visitors is Puritan & Company. We have been a few times since moving up to the Boston area and it remains one of our favorite spots. It is consistent, great quality, and the service is unmatched.
In efforts to try all the amazing Khmer spots in Lowell, MA, I was able to cross my second spot off the list - Kao’s Kitchen. It was really delicious and flavorful. The standout to me was the deep fried pork rolls. It was like a spring roll filling in deep fried tofu skin. Such a good texture and flavor.
I finally tried Yume Ga Arukara and it was unreal. I will be thinking about this udon until I next have it. They only have udon on the menu (cold or hot, normal or spicy, beef or no beef). I ordered hot, normal and beef (add an egg) and my dad got the hot, spicy and beef. Both were honestly incredible and perfectly done. I can’t wait to go back and try the cold udon.
We went back to Il Ponte and downtown Woburn, MA and it was just as good as the first time. Il Ponte is easily the best Italian food I have tried in the Boston area since moving here in September. Everything we have tried there is incredible quality and super well made. This is definitely going to be one of our go-to spots!
We had some delicious Israeli food in Brookline at Za’tar. Everyone in there was so nice and we loved our food. We will definitely be back for endless pita.
We had one of the first nice days this spring so we wiped down the grill and had a lovely grilled meal! I am excited to get more use our of our grill this summer!
We had a surprise visit from some friends that celebrate Easter so I made them a pseudo-Easter dinner of some roasted carrots, roasted broccolini, chicken pie and salad. And for dessert I made Hailee Catalano’s olive oil upside-down pineapple cake. It was honestly unreal!
The North End got a new restaurant a few months ago, called Little Sage, and we tried it this month! I loved the vibe of the place and I was incredibly excited to try it! There were some really delicious bites and some things that were a bit less overwhelming. Definitely worth a try if you are in the North End!
We had lunch in at Minglewood Harborside in Gloucester, MA and I had some of the best clam chowder I have had since moving to the North East.
Other:
I went to my first Red Sox game at Fenway! It was fun and also freezing!
My sister painted me the most adorable tomato plate! I cannot wait to use it!
Like I mentioned above, my family came to visit so I took them up to Portland to walk around for the day. I have only been to Portland twice, and both times in the winter, I am really excited to see it when it gets warmer and the city really comes to life a bit more!
One of my favorite chefs to follow online (@HaileeCatalano) just released her first cookbook, By Heart. I am so thrilled for her and so excited to own this book! I can’t wait to get cooking from it!
I finally got a (little) garden on my patio and I can’t wait to see the progress. I will admit that I was a bit intimidated to get started - I just didn’t know where to start or what to buy - my dad was in town and took the guess work out of it, so that was really helpful! We planted tomato plants, all kinds of herbs, lettuce, strawberries, kale, broccoli, jalapeños and more!
We took a day up to Rockport, MA and it was so lovely! We had been up to Gloucester before but had never gone over to Rockport - while they are close in proximity, they seemed super different. I much prefer Rockport, because the houses are stunning and the town has some incredible art galleries and small shops. I can’t wait to go back in the summer!
Two things I watched this month that I absolutely loved: (1) The Pitt on Max - what an incredible and stressful show! (2) the movie, Warfare. This movie is about a very specific, and lifechanging, moment during the Iraq war. It is raw, stressful, heroic and worth a watch.
Lenny:
