i read last night that street sense is about 50/50..

[SuffolkGirl]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

yeah, the chocolate buffet is sort of a brunch deal. they have something like 100 different chocolate dishes to choose from.

now that i'm probably better able to deal with an excess like that, i may try it this year!

as to my tastes? i like ethnic foods more than whitey foods. high quality sushi/japanese food is easily my favorite, but i also love good thai, indian, vietnamese, mexican, brazillian, french and probably a few others i'm not remembering at the moment.

if the food is worth it, i generally dont mind paying a higher price for it.


so, got any recommendations?

The absolute best Szechuan food anywhere can be found at Mary Chung's on Mass Ave/Central Square, Cambridge. I recommend the Dun Dun Noodles, with Suan La Chow Shuaw and refreshing bean sprouts. It is absolutely authentic - it is always packed and has been around for over 20 years. It's not all that pretty inside, but the food is fantastic and the price is right.

[Norfolk]

My picks
French
L'Espalier

Italian
Taranta
Pagliuca's Ristorante

American/Steak
Abe and Louis

[Indian Charlie]

Yeah, I love thai as well. I go to a thai place in dover, nh that is awesome. it's run by this tiny little thai lady who's really cool. she usually sits down with me if she's free and will chat away while i eat. sometimes though, she'll bring me back into the kitchen where she'll make me up something she and her thai friend are eating. usually something weird you'd never find on the menu! she's asked me even if i would be interested in meeting a cousin or niece of hers back in thailand! the food is incredible too.

what i really miss are japanese and vietnamese food. back in the LA area, not 3 miles from my house (between santa anita and fairplex) was this amazing japanese restaurant. not that i'm a big believer in restaurant guides, but zagats had this place as the 2nd highest rated restaurant in all of california one year. the dude was a genius and was 1/4 the price of the better known and more fashionable places in LA. oh well.

as to the chocolate buffet. i think it runs only in the cooler months of the year (which to me seems like about sept through june!). I guess people are more in need of a serotonin boost in the winter months? if you're interested in that, i'll forward you the info. truthfully though, it looks a bit obscene!

Originally Posted by Sightseek

I'm so finding that chocolate buffet.

Ooooooh, Thai food is my absolute favorite. Darn, I wish I could remember this place I went to on a date once, it was beyond awesome. I'll have to do some research to see if I can find it. I know there are a few in the Copley Square / Newbury St area. I can never do Indian because back when I was looking for an apt in Boston it seemed like every apt unit smelled like curry and it completely turned me off. I've always heard that Cambridge has a lot to offer in the way of dining...and it may be a little easier to navigate about in the car.

Back when I lived in RI (yes I've lived in 8 different states) there were a few REALLY great Thai and Japenese Steak houses, which I have yet to find their comparision in the Saratoga/Albany area.

[Indian Charlie]

suffolkgirl and norfolk. nice to see some locals here!

since i am still relatively unfamiliar with boston, maybe one or both of you could arrange a get together at suffolk, and perhaps dinner after? all your suggestions sound good!

[Bystander]

I live in Boston. There are great restaurants all over the city ranging from just about every kind of ethnic fare to upscale American. The trick is to stay away from the tourist traps- Quincy Market, Fenway, waterfront (Barking Crab, etc,) - and stick with the neighborhoods like Jamaica Plain, Beacon Hill, Back Bay, South End, North End, Cambridge, Somerville, Brookline... even driving North of Suffolk for 15-20 minutes you'll find great North Shore spots that are easy to drive to and to park. And it's really not that hard to drive there, you just need to be a little- ah- aggressive. Use a map. And get a Zagats.

And in defense of Revere Beach, it's been cleaned up a lot. You rarely even find syringes on the beach anymore...

[SuffolkGirl]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

suffolkgirl and norfolk. nice to see some locals here!

since i am still relatively unfamiliar with boston, maybe one or both of you could arrange a get together at suffolk, and perhaps dinner after? all your suggestions sound good!

I am sure as the date gets closer for the MassCap we can organize a get together for DTers... and we'll even move the thread and responses to the Get togethers room!

[DJK]

As soon as Suffolk announced the MassCap, I wrote it on my calendar in pencil ... been burned before. I do hope to make it.

I do enjoy going to Boston, although I don't do it often enough. When I do, it's usually for a museum or something like. I've actually only been to Suffolk a couple of times, and the last was for the last MassCap.

And the only place I've ever eaten in Boston that I remember is ethnic American - Durgin Park!

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by SuffolkGirl

The absolute best Szechuan food anywhere can be found at Mary Chung's on Mass Ave/Central Square, Cambridge. I recommend the Dun Dun Noodles, with Suan La Chow Shuaw and refreshing bean sprouts. It is absolutely authentic - it is always packed and has been around for over 20 years. It's not all that pretty inside, but the food is fantastic and the price is right.

Touche! Mary Chung's is delicious, although I dont think I had that dish.

As for the Mass Cap, I will certainly be there...I hope Street Sense does make it up, it would be a great boost for the track. However, in his last race before the Derby and I think the BC Juvenile, SS raced over the Poly, so the KY Gold Cup seems to make more sense. I wouldn't doubt the wooing going on by the Suffolk folks, they are notoriously hard chargers in attracting draw horses when they can actually run the race.

[Indian Charlie]

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

Touche! Mary Chung's is delicious, although I dont think I had that dish.

As for the Mass Cap, I will certainly be there...I hope Street Sense does make it up, it would be a great boost for the track. However, in his last race before the Derby and I think the BC Juvenile, SS raced over the Poly, so the KY Gold Cup seems to make more sense. I wouldn't doubt the wooing going on by the Suffolk folks, they are notoriously hard chargers in attracting draw horses when they can actually run the race.

hey shippers, this guy named morty in esoteric central, he likes your irish chick avatar and wanted to know who that is!

[letswastemoney]

Originally Posted by Suffolk Shippers

Touche! Mary Chung's is delicious, although I dont think I had that dish.

As for the Mass Cap, I will certainly be there...I hope Street Sense does make it up, it would be a great boost for the track. However, in his last race before the Derby and I think the BC Juvenile, SS raced over the Poly, so the KY Gold Cup seems to make more sense. I wouldn't doubt the wooing going on by the Suffolk folks, they are notoriously hard chargers in attracting draw horses when they can actually run the race.

That's true considering they attracted Cigar and Funny Cide

[boswd]

and skip away as well


I would be soo stoked if Street Sense came. Would make for one helluva return for the fabeled MassCap.

[Suffolk Shippers]

Originally Posted by Indian Charlie

hey shippers, this guy named morty in esoteric central, he likes your irish chick avatar and wanted to know who that is!

I honestly haven't a clue...I came across her in a Google images search and said
"well hey now, this is my kind of girl".

She is a great avatar.

[Norfolk]

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/rac...inal-prep.aspx
From Thoroughbred Times
Nafzger narrows options for Street Sense’s final prep

by Jeff Lowe
...
Nafzger said Street Sense would not race before the last weekend of September, eliminating the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs and Super Derby presented by Youbet.com (G2) at Louisiana Downs as possibilities. Both those races will be run on September 22.

“It will be on September 29 or 30,” Nafzger said on Thursday morning after conferring with owner-breeder James Tafel.

...

[Sightseek]

Bummer for Suffolk Downs but that could mean the JCGC instead

[docicu3]

Too bad the boost that Suffolk would have received from the champ racing there would be just what they need. Maybe they'll move the date of the race.

And maybe the Breeders Cup will be only one magical afternoon like it has been in the past and in my dreams I see different colored saddle cloths to identify the contestants......no wait it's a BC Trakus device I see now during a nap where the little chicklets still project in BC purple but you can actually tell which damn horse is leading the race........radical I know, but perhaps in a perfect world.

[ArlJim78]

so which races are on the 29th or 30th?

[docicu3]

Ky Cup at Turfway

Hawthorne Gold Cup

Jockey Cup Gold at Belmont

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Norfolk

http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/rac...inal-prep.aspx
From Thoroughbred Times
Nafzger narrows options for Street Sense’s final prep

by Jeff Lowe
...
Nafzger said Street Sense would not race before the last weekend of September, eliminating the Massachusetts Handicap at Suffolk Downs and Super Derby presented by Youbet.com (G2) at Louisiana Downs as possibilities. Both those races will be run on September 22.

“It will be on September 29 or 30,” Nafzger said on Thursday morning after conferring with owner-breeder James Tafel.

...

Stinks but oh well we all knew it was longshot anyway. I will still be a the MassCap regardless who shows up. So we'll all have to figure something out on where to meet and such. Oh by the way any first timers to Suffolk or the boston area, IMHO the best hot dogs in the city are at Suffolk Downs, handsdown.

[SniperSB23]

Seems to me they are pointing to the race on the poly but leaving open the possibility of the JCGC in case there are a few defections and it comes up light giving them an easy opportunity to pad the HOY resume.

[paisjpq]

I hope he goes to turfway (so I can go)...but I think sniper is right about the JCGC