Quests

This page is extraordinarily out-of-date, so peruse at your own risk. Quests are my ongoing searches for the best ______ in and around Boston (and occasionally elsewhere). Often aided by my trusty dining companions and guest bloggers, I've been busily searching, tasting, re-tasting, and re-re-tasting (and going to the gym). Lots of posts are coming soon; check this page for updates.  Current quests:

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Cupcakes

One day, my coworkers and I had a sudden craving for cupcakes around 3pm. We had already taken a long lunch, so we resisted the urge to go on an expedition, but the craving kept coming back nearly every day around the same time, stronger and stronger. Finally, the Cupcake Quest was born. We only have a few options within a short walk from the office - Shaw's, Finale, and perhaps a few others farther away - so our questing has extended to nights, weekends, and vacations. We will stop at nothing to find the perfect cupcakes in and around Boston, as well as wherever else we may find ourselves. Some days, we even go on double quests. If you enjoy reading about our cupcake quests, please consider buying us a gym membership. (Just kidding...kind of.)

In this quest, we'll explore things like frosting-to-cake ratio, frosting adhesion, toxic frosticity, moist/dry, and a whole lot more. There are no rules: we're not limiting ourselves to tasting one plain vanilla cupcake at each location. We'll get whatever looks good...or maybe two or three.

Posted:

• Cake & Shake: A cupcake/milkshake truck. Nothing better. (TravelBite: NYC)
• Cakeology: Tasty Little Darlings, Straight to Your Door!
• Cheesecake Factory (via Barnes and Noble Cafe): As Good As Their Cheesecake
• Cherry Bomb Bakery: Shiny and New
• Danish Pastry House: Downpours Won't Keep Me Away
• Flour: A Comfortable Classic
• Gingerbread Construction Co.: OMG 
• J.P. Licks: Large, Messy, Luxurious (but stick with the ice cream)
• Kickass Cupcakes: We had to go back for more cookie dough. 
• L'Aroma Cafe: Leaves a bad taste in my mouth. 
• Le Petit Cupcakery: Mini = Dry. But...bacon! (TravelBite: NYC)
• Magnolia Bakery: Hype Ruins a Good Thing (TravelBite: NYC)
• Petsi Pies: Worth a Trip Through the Sketchtacular Tunnel 
• Seattle's Best Coffee (at Borders bookstore): Get cookies instead.
• Shaw's Supermarkets: Minis and Gourmets
• Sportello: Peanut Butter Frosting To Die For
• Starbucks: Why does everything taste like coffee?
• Sweet: Sugar Explosion
• Sweet Bites: Key Lime Cheesecake Cupcake! (guest post by Joel Edinberg)
• ***The Chocolate Tarte: THE REIGNING CHAMPION***
• Wedding in Florida: Hamburger Cupcakes! (TravelBite: West Palm Beach, FL)

Posted by Joy Uyeno on our sister site in Oregon, Fork it over, Portland!: 

• Cupcake Jones: Long Distance Cupcake Love 
• Sweet Disposition 
• Cupcake Jonesing

Already visited; need to write up:

• Finale  (great frosting, disappointing cake)
• Whole Foods (Bread & Circus)  (surprisingly one of the best so far)
• Appleton Bakery (kind of like a less exciting version of Flour's cupcake) 
• White Mountain Cupcakery (Conway, NH) (too much mediocre frosting ruins a good thing)
• Russo's (Watertown, MA) (like everything else at Russo's, pretty awesome) 
• White's Pastry (Hingham, MA)
• South End Buttery
  

Want to visit:

• Mix Bakery
• Cinnabon, maybe? (I'm intrigued by their new cupcake line.)
• Sweet Tooth Bakery
• Lyndell's Bakery
• Party Favors
• Crema Cafe
• South End Buttery
• Kupel's
• Daniel's Bakery (not sure if they have cupcakes) 
• Treat Cupcake Bar (Needham) 
• Quebrada Baking Co. (Arlington)
• Fiore's Bakery (JP)
• Lulu's (recently reopened in new location)
• Biga Breads (Charlestown)/Cakes (Milton) (same owner)
• Cupcakory (mobile)
• Mike's (Davis Sq.) (spotted huge cupcakes there recently but too full to eat them)
• Francesca's Cafe (South End)

Want to visit (but travel required):

• Yum Bunnies Cakery (Belmont, MA)
• Sprinkles (NYC)
• Burgers and Cupcakes (NYC) (I went there a few years ago...before I was officially cupcake questing. Need to revisit!)
• CupCapes (Falmouth, MA)
• Babycakes (Quincy, MA) (So many people recommend this one to me!)
• Sugar Bakery (West Roxbury, MA)
• Billy's Bakery (NYC)
• Sin Cupcakes (Malden, MA)
• Wild Orchid Bakery (NH)
• Cupcake Charlie's (Mashpee, MA) 
• Cupcake Cafe (NYC)
• Crumbs (NYC)
• Georgetown Cupcake (DC)

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French Onion Soup

Cheesy, oniony, wonderful. The more the cheese melts over the edges of the crock, the better!

Posted:
None yet!

Already visited; need to write up:

• American Craft  (amazing the first time, terrible the second time - must revisit)
• Marliave  (with braised short ribs! omg)
• Corrib Pub  (best cheap pub-style one so far)
• Bistro du Midi  (one of the best so far)
• Asana  (bonus points for creative presentation)
• The Asgard  (this one had leeks - yum!)
• Nordstrom's Cafe (pretty decent)
• Black Horse Tavern (Bridgton, ME)
• Red Fox (near Jackson, NH)

Want to visit:
I don't know! Where do you like to get French onion soup in Boston?

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Cider Donuts

Cider donuts are the greatest thing in the world. I haven't had them in Boston yet, but they've been known to make appearances at farmers' markets and Sportello. This quest isn't necessarily to find the best cider donuts in Boston, but just to find cider donuts, period. I first tasted them at the Gathering of the Vibes music festival in Connecticut last summer, and they were amazing.

Posted:
None yet!

Already visited; need to write up:
Gathering of the Vibes
White Mountain Cider Co. (Glen, NH)

Want to visit:
Sportello

Want to visit (but travel required):
Smolak Farms (North Andover, MA) (plain, sugar-coated, and sugar-and-cinnamon-coated! oh my!) 
Cider Hill (Amesbury, MA) 
Russell Orchards (Ipswich, MA) 

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Back to Basics

A different type of quest! This is my attempt to immerse myself in the cultural and historical context of food as well as learning the basics of cooking. I'll be using online courses, reading books, and maybe taking some real-world courses involving all aspects of food, and I'll report back here about what I've learned. Hopefully you can learn something too!

Coming Soon:
Mother Sauces
Knife Skills 

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If you have any suggestions for places where I can find the best cupcakes, French onion soup, or cider donuts in/around Boston, or resources I can use to learn about food, leave a comment and I'll be sure to check it out if I haven't already!