La Provence Patisserie

La Provence Patisserie: Pretty much "meh". I've been having a craving for waffles for weeks, but I haven't been able to work up the effort to go to a highly rated (and probably packed) restaurant for breakfast. So today I searched on Yelp for waffles nearby, sorted by highest rating and picked this place. I tried: Belgian waffle, chocolate covered brioche french toast, machiatto, apple/carrot/orange juice, croissant, red velvet cupcake, caramel macaroon, and raspberry macaroon. The waffle and french toast were pre-made and then toasted, a big letdown because they were missing that freshly made texture and cooled off quickly...in fact they were pretty forgettable, though the waffle was better than the french toast (flavorless except for the chocolate sauce...so like eating chocolate sauce on a slice of bread). The machiatto was ok, but not strong enough...it's not a european macchiato, but americanized so there was more foam than coffee. The apple/carrot/oj was too carroty and didn't have that fresh oj flavor (and oranges are so good around here right now). The croissant was made with real butter, but had an odd aftertaste. The caramel macaroon was super salty, super sweet, without enough toothiness for me (more just mushy with the slightest crust). The raspberry macaroon was better...same texture, and the flavor seemed just a bit artificial (but maybe that was just because I needed to wash the sugar salt out of my mouth first, but simpler. Finally, the red velvet cupcake had some pretty tasty cream cheese frosty over a very moist but relatively flavorless cupcake...maybe it tasted slightly like chocolate.
So, meh.

Monster Thai, and Cafe Bolivar

Monster Thai: Yay yummy Thai food. And cheap too. Double thumbs up on the fried banana in springroll wrapper with coconut ice cream, and also for the excellent soup. Pad Thai and Red Curry and Pineapple Fried rice were all good. The vegetables in the red curry were great. They also spice the way you ask...medium means medium, good job. My thai ice tea was pretty good, though just a bit light on tea. It's a tiny restaurant...about 6 tables inside and another 2 outside, but they deliver. And they were empty between noon and 1pm on a Saturday, which for yummy Thai food is a bit distressing.

Cafe Bolivar: Our fifth time here. The limeades have been amazing four of those times, and still pretty good the other time. The arepas are always great....yum warm corn bread-like sandwich. This time I tried one of their sandwiches, serrano ham with roma tomatoes, olive oil, and black pepper. Very good.

Vizzi Food Truck

Vizzi Food Truck: Saw this while passing by the Daily Pint. Tried the slider sampler (beef, chicken, chickpea), the chicken piadina, and the carnitas tacos (special). They each came with spicy popcorn mixed with thinly sliced figs. The chicken was the least interesting, ok flavor but boring. The beef and carnitas were excellent, and the chickpea patty was spicy-hot but little flavor. I would eat there again, though I would avoid the chicken next time.

King Hua, SinBala

King Hua: Went out for Dim Sum. It was ok, but nothing special. Less deep fried foods than Boston's dim sum, but more MSG and not as flavorful.

SinBala: We then stopped for shaved ice. This place was completely packed, with a waiting list, even though the place next door was empty. So we got our shaved ice to go. We chose condensed milk, small red beans, rice-flour balls, taro balls, and I forget the fifth thing. It came in two containers...toppings in one and ice with maple syrup in the other. So that made it tough to eat on the go, but it was still very yummy. The lunch food here looked good too.