Originally posted on April 23. You should really check out Bridget and the Squares. Also, Laura is now 25. Time! It marches on.

Name: Laura Bridget Regan
Age: 24
Occupation: Musician (lead singer/pianist for Bridget and the Squares)/Nanny
Neighborhood: Medford

MenuPages: What's your current favorite restaurant?
Laura: East Coast Grill isn't exactly in Boston, but it's close enough and too good not to mention.

MP: What’s your favorite meal in Boston?
Laura: I actually have three. On the cheap side of things, the Buffalo Burrito from Boloco with tofu, buffalo sauce, rice, blue cheese and celery is perfect. If I have a little more money, I love the hanger steak at Atwood's Tavern in Cambridge. With mashed potatoes and a vegetable like brussel sprouts or broccoli... tastes like mom's home cooking but not really because my mom can't cook like that. If money is no object, I crave the seared tuna with roasted vegetables at East Coast Grill with a bonus side of mashed sweet potatoes with walnuts. Oh, goodness.

MP: So, where do you do your grocery shopping?
Laura: McKinnon Meat Market in Davis Square. The meat is cheap, but it's still good and they have great produce as well. I also do Whole Foods for special stuff like goat cheese and Annie's Mac'n'Cheese.

MP: Alright, Laura. You seem like you have the whole food thing under control, so tell us: what’s the best-kept dining secret in Boston?
Laura: There are a lot of great places just outside of downtown Boston like Soundbites in Ball Square, West on Centre in West Roxbury, and Kelly's Diner in Ball Square. Oh and Haveli in Inman Square has great Indian food.

MP: Where do you go for a drink after a long day of nannying?
Laura: The Druid, Atwood's Tavern, Charlie's Kitchen, Bukowski. I like to drink. The margaritas at Redbones in Davis Square are also delicious.

MP: Okay, one last question: new Kenmore Square or old Kenmore Square?
Laura: I didn't really experience the glory of the old Kenmore Square but the new one is way too ritzy and sterile so I would have to go with the one with more character. Old Kenmore all the way.

McKinnon Meat Market, 239 Elm St, Somerville, (617) 666-0888
Kelly's Diner, 674 Broadway, Somerville, (617) 623-8102

Want to be the subject of the next installment of "You Are What You Eat?" Drop us a line.

Originally posted on April 10. We wish people would email us to be profiled for this feature. Also, Jess is now 24.

Name: Jess Mullen
Age: 23
Occupation: Bookstore Receptionist/Student/Blogger (One Falling Star)
Neighborhood: Roslindale

MenuPages: So, Jess, what's your favorite restaurant in Boston?
Jess: I love Betty’s Wok and Noodle! You walk in, and it’s got this cool swinging 60s look (but chill, and kind of dark), with music ranging from the 40s to the 70s that all the waiters dance and sing along to (I would too – sometimes I do). And the food – I haven’t even tried most of the dishes, but they all look good. My favorite thing on the menu is the customized noodle dish, where you choose one of four kinds of noodles, one of eight kinds of sauce, a protein (like chicken, or tofu, or shrimp), and then – and this is great for me because I’m picky – you can either let them throw in whatever vegetables they feel like or you can choose from a veggie bar. Then they wok it all together to make the best food you’ve ever had. The drinks are great, too. They have a few delicious sangrias, a few sakes on tap, and a lot of sake-based cocktails. SO good. And such a good time.

MP: What's the Boston-area meal you crave most?
Jess: I’d have to say the Lunch for Henry pizza at Veggie Planet. The whole grain crust is topped with sliced butternut squash, goat cheese, and caramelized onions. I don’t actually like caramelized onions, so I substitute broccoli, and it is awesome.

MP: Where do you do your grocery shopping?
Jess: I am spoiled by having Roslindale’s Village Market at the end of my street, so I tend to go there out of convenience. I love Trader Joe’s, but only go when I feel motivated to take the Green Line. And I am overwhelmed by the cluttered greatness of Cardullo’s. Sometimes I buy tea or Cadbury chocolate there.

MP: Do you miss any now-closed Boston restaurants?
Jess: I miss Curious Liquids. If you look in the basement of the Fox News station (awful!), the one that’s across from the State House, you can still see the little alcoves in the wall where they had those antique easy chairs and coffee tables. Sitting in there with a caramel mocha steamer and pretending to study is one of my favorite memories of growing up in Boston.

MP: Where do you go when it's drinking time?
Jess: I’m a big believer in the People’s Republik [in Cambridge], with its Communist memorabilia (including a Russian “Dr. No” poster!), but I also love Atwood’s Tavern. I think they have about 15 beers on tap – the kinds of beers you don’t see on tap very often, like Belhaven and Sea Dog Blueberry. And the people who work in both places are very friendly and have great taste in music.

One Falling Star [Official Site]

Want to be the subject of the next installment of "You Are What You Eat?" Drop us a line.

Name: Lena Chen
Age: 20
Occupation: Student/Blogger/Freelance Writer
Neighborhood: Harvard Square

MenuPages: What's your favorite Boston restaurant?
Lena: Blue Fin in Porter Square, which serves up fresh and affordable sushi (without drinks, it's a challenge to go over $25/person). My dad owns three sushi restaurants in San Francisco and I've been eating it for years. If there's anything I've learned, it's that bargain sushi can be hit-or-miss, but overpriced sushi is almost always all hype and no bite. I'm picky about the quality of my fish (dining hall California rolls don't make the cut) and I can tell you that my under-$20 meals at Blue Fin trump the $100+ dates at Uni any night. (And for the record, that is a ridiculous sum to spend on a first date!)

MP: Agreed. What is your favorite meal in the city?
Lena: The Middle Eastern coffeehouse Cafe Algiers serves a merguesa (spiced lamb sausage) sandwich with hummus on flat bread. It's very savory and well-seasoned. But when I'm looking for comfort food, I go to Peach Farm in Chinatown. While moving me into Harvard, my mother spent freshman week scouring Boston's Chinese restaurants and determined that Peach Farm was the most authentic Cantonese in the city. I still call her while ordering to translate to waiters my favorite dishes.

MP: As its title implies, a lot of your blog, Sex and the Ivy, is about dating and sex. What are your favorite date restaurants?
Lena: In Cambridge, Temple Bar's atmosphere is romantic and upscale without being pretentious, and all its dishes are equally impressive. It's hard to find a place that does everything well, but the bar as great as its kitchen. When you really want to prolong your time with someone, a superb dessert and drink menu is key and this place doesn't disappoint with after-dinner offerings.

MP: You're from the West Coast originally. Have you found any sushi/burrito places in Boston that come close to living up to the ones back home?
Lena: I don't even attempt to look for authentic Mexican here. I've been over the border quite a few times and there's just nothing beyond the Southwest that can compare what Mexican food tastes like in Mexico! Sushi, on the other hand, can be fantastic in Boston. My favorite restaurant, besides the aforementioned Blue Fin, is Fugakyu in Brookline. I also have a weekly dinner date with a girlfriend at Cafe Sushi in Cambridge which marks down nigiri to $1/piece on Sundays. What can I say -- I like it raw!

MP: Where are your favorite places to grab coffee?
Lena: I don't drink coffee (we stick to smoothies in So Cal) but Cafe Pamplona in Harvard Square is a landmark and has a great signature drink called Coffee Pamplona which is a shot of espresso with sweet condensed milk. For an uncaffeinated pick-me-up, LA Burdick is where to go for the richest, chocolateiest hot chocolate you'll ever taste.

MP: What do you think is the best-kept dining secret in Boston?
Lena: BerryLine is a frozen yogurt shop in Harvard Square that just opened this fall and has become a campus sensation. It's not typical frozen yogurt in that it has live cultures and actually tastes like yogurt instead of ice cream. They also use fresh, locally grown fruits and berries, unlike the syrupy stuff typical of ice cream toppings. The owners, who got their Ph.Ds at UCLA, were inspired by the local Pinkberry craze in Los Angeles and decided to bring the concept to the East. This place hasn't been discovered by too many Bostonians yet but it's going to be huge.

Sex and the Ivy [Official Site]

[Photo: Lena Chen]

When we heard that Herald food critic Mat Schaffer had written a play (full disclosure: we heard this from our mother, who knows Schaffer), we had a lot of questions. Fortunately, Shaffer has a lot of answers. His play Simon Says, which follows a dramatized seance, opens tonight at the BCA Plaza Black Box. Earlier this week, we caught up with Schaffer to talk about Simon Says, his job at the Herald, and where he eats on his days off.

MenuPages: You’re a food critic and a playwright. How do you balance these two very different jobs? Does one inform the other?
Mat: Working on the play and my restaurant reviewing is like holding down two full time jobs. Add to that my two-hour Sunday morning show (the Boston Sunday Review on WBCN 104.1 FM), and it's like three full-time jobs. Since I began working with my director in February, Simon has been rewritten over 30 times. Some days, I write in the morning--either Simon or the Herald or free-lance work, did the Boston restaurant guide for Epicurious, prepare my radio show in the afternoon and then dine out at night. It can feel schizophrenic. Writing the play and my reviews are alike only in the sense that I write to be read aloud. But in the Herald, I write with my voice, in Simon, the characters have developed their own voices.

MP: What (if any) other plays have you written?
Mat:This is my first play.

MP: What are your favorite places to eat when you’re not working?
Mat:I dine out for work 4 to 5 nights a week. When I'm going out for fun I frequent a small group of favorite places in Chinatown and a handful in the South End (where I live). On a blizzardy night, you will usually find me at Anchovies on Columbus Avenue.

MP: What do you cook for yourself?
Mat: I don't get to cook as often as I'd like. But I'm adventurous in the kitchen. Last weekend, I made Hunanese smoked tofu with Chinese celery from a new book by Fuchsia Dunlop, the Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook. Last night I covered a pork roast in achiote paste and lime juice, wrapped it in banana leaves and slow roasted it for 4 hours in a Dutch oven until it fell apart. Check out the recipe in Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday.

MP: Which now-closed Boston restaurant do you miss the most?
Mat: What now closed Boston restaurant do I miss the most? Carl's Pagoda on Tyler Street, Chinatown. Best tomato soup, clams in black bean sauce and scrambled egg with shrimp ever. RIP.

MP: We’ve noticed that your Herald reviews often tend to have a lot of great things to say about a restaurant, but a low letter grade. How do you decide on a letter grade? What’s the difference between an A- and a B+ restaurant?
Mat: The bane of my job is determining the grade. I wish the review could stand on its own--but chefs, readers and my editors insist on a grade. How do I decide? It's ultimately based on whether the restaurant lived up to the expectations it set for itself and whether the cost reflected the experience. The difference between a B+ and A- can be something as small as a service gaffe or as major as a poorly grilled steak. There's also some I-can't-explain-it-definable comparison with the hundreds of restaurants I've reviewed in Boston--I was hired as the critic at Boston Magazine back in 1994--over the years. Because I've writing about people's livelihoods, I try to be as careful as possible. But in the end, it's all about my experiences dining at the establishment on 2 separate evenings and describing--as fairly as possible--what occurred and what I did or didn't like--and why. Now, with Simon Says, the other shoe is going to drop--and the critic is going to fair game for criticism. OUCH!

Food & Dining [Boston Herald]
Simon Says [Boston Theatre Scene]

[Photo: Simon Says Cast Photo, Faith Ninivaggi]

Name: Joan "Jo" Horner
Age: 42
Occupation: Culinary Instructor/Personal Chef/Food Writer
Neighborhood: Newton (Auburndale)

MenuPages: What's your favorite restaurant in Boston?
Jo: My favorite Boston restaurant is any kitchen with Lydia Shire at the helm. She is my cooking goddess.

MP: What's your favorite Boston meal?
Jo: My favorite Boston meal is really totally dependent on my mood. It could be dim sum at China Pearl, BBQ at East Coast Grill & Raw Bar, churrascaria at Midwest Grilll in Cambridge, steamers and cold beer at Summer Shack, or my dad's chicken cacciatore.

MP: Great! Where do you like to do your grocery shopping?
Jo: Since I am obsessive about sourcing authentic ingredients I have a long, long list of my favourite places to shop.
Russo's in Watertown for produce, John Dewar in Wellesley and Newton for meats, my new love Captain Marden's in Wellesley for fish, Penzey's in Arlington for spices, Formaggio Kitchen in Cambridge for cheese, Polaine bread and some of the best charcuterie in the city, Super 88 for Asian ingredients and for the fun of seeing all those bits from nose to tail in the meat case, Waltham India and New Apna Bazaar on Moody Street in Waltham, the Newton and Waltham Farmers Markets in summer, Sevan Bakery and Arax Market on Mt. Auburn Street in Watertown for some of the best muhamara in the city, Gigi's Mozzarella House in Everett for homemade scarmoza and fior di latte.

MP: Wow! So, what do you think the best-kept dining secret is in Boston?
Jo: With the proliferation of food bloggers in Boston I don't think there are any more best-kept dining secrets in the city. The internet has become the go to place to find out where to eat in and around Boston and everyone, it would seem, has an opinion.

MP: What closed restaurant do you miss the most?
Jo: The restaurant I miss the most is Biba.

MP: Where do you like to drink?
Jo: I like to drink in my garden in the evening. Lately the drink of choice is Campari, Tanqueray and tonic with loads of lime. Can you tell I like bitter? Seriously, I never go to bars anymore, I lived with a jazz musician for 5 years before I met my husband and I think I've seen more than my share of barstools and schmoozed with far too many bartenders waiting for his shift playing the piano to end.

MP: One last question: where do you get your coffee in the morning?
Jo: For a girl who can be rather snobbish about food, I'm not a coffee snob. Newton must have the largest number of Starbucks per square mile for a city of our size so it is rather hard to miss hitting one on my way to teach a class. But a Dunkin' French Vanilla, iced, light, no sugar, will do in a pinch.

Amuse Bouche [Official Site]

Recently, we had the opportunity to spend a day on the set of Blue Ginger chef Ming Tsai's cooking show Simply Ming. Over the next few weeks, we'll be bringing you interviews and stories from our time at the show. Today, current Improper Bostonian cover boy and chef extraordinaire Ken Oringer talks to us about his favorite places to eat and why his empire has been expanding so quickly.

Name: Ken Oringer
Occupation: Chef/Restaurateur, Clio, Uni, Toro, La Verdad, KO Prime
Neighborhood: South End

MP: What’s your favorite restaurant in Boston?
Ken: Well, it’s not quite in Boston, but Blue Ginger. It does not get any better than that. It’s a restaurant that’s just gotten more and more consistent over the years. Still very very creative, still reasonably priced, it’s casual, it’s fun, it’s everything I love in a restaurant. Spicy, flavorful, love it.

MP: Excellent. What is your current favorite meal in the Boston area?
Ken: I’d probably have to say Sapporo Ramen. Miso ramen with butter, it’s probably my favorite. The most comforting dish that you can probably eat.

MP: What do you think is the best kept dining secret?
Ken: La Verdad! (laughs). No.
MP: Not during baseball season!
Ken: No. Best kept dining secret, I think is Taiwan Cafe. It’s off the beaten track a little bit, and they make all their own dumplings, everything. I love the food: it’s unusual combinations that you really don’t see much of in Chinese restaurants. I think if it were on one of the main streets, it would do probably twice or three times the volume it does now, but it’s just off the beaten track and upstairs.

MP: Where do you drink?
Ken: Gosh, let’s see. I like to hang out at Via Matta, the enoteca, especially at this time of year when the weather’s nice. I love to sit outside over there. Tremont 647: great place, wonderful cocktail list and same thing, it’s a funky atmosphere, really fun, and Andy Husbands is great, bar food that you can sit there for hours just nibbling and having cocktails.

MP: What neighborhood do you live in?
Ken: South End.
MP: And do you do your grocery shopping there or -
Ken: I do my grocery shopping at 7-11, Chinatown and Whole Foods.

MP: It seems like you’ve expanded a lot recently.
Ken: (laughs) A lot recently.

MP: What prompted the move to expand?
Ken: Well, I think that it’s all about timing and Clio is ten years old, Toro is now going on year two and Uni has been five years. I have a wonderful team of people running them, and so it’s given me a little bit more leisure time. I figured its better to do it now. I just got married a year ago, and if I don’t do it now, I probably won’t do it, because we’re starting to think about family and things like that, so I want to get everything, all the pieces in place now and so just be able to have fun with it and then start thinking about a family in another year or so.

MP: Was it a conscious decision to sort of expand into as many cuisines as possible?
Ken: Nah, it just kind of happened. It’s just cuisines that I love and a Mexican restaurant is something I’ve always wanted to do, whether it would have been a street cart or something or a little divey taqueria. It just happened to happen with some friends of ours and the same thing with the streakhouse. I love classic steakhouses and it sounded like fun. The hotel that it’s in is wonderful, and everything just seemed to work out.

[Photo: Boston University]

Last week, we had the opportunity to spend a day on the set of Blue Ginger chef Ming Tsai's cooking show Simply Ming. Over the next few weeks, we'll be bringing you interviews and stories from our time at the show. Today, a very special edition of You Are What You Eat with Ming himself.

Name: Ming Tsai
Occupation: Chef, Television Host
Neighborhood: Natick

MP: Which restaurant, aside from your own, is your favorite in Boston?
Ming: There are many favorite restaurants depending on style of food. It’s like asking a chef what's your favorite dish! Hands down if you want New French, New American food, it’s Ken Oringer. (NB: Chef Oringer was sitting next to Chef Tsai throughout the interview) His restaurant Clio is actually celebrating ten years. It’s just pristine food. Kenny happens to be not only next to me, but he’s one of my best friends. And then, funny enough, in the same building, in the Eliot Hotel, there’s Uni, which is a fantastic sashimi bar. I love raw fish and sashimi. I trained in Japan. As good at that level of Uni is Chef Ting, who has Oishii Boston. He makes fantastic sushi. Kenny doesn’t really do sushi at Uni, he does sashimi. Oishii Boston is really the Nobu of Boston. He does that new type of Japanese food. Fantastic. For Italian, I love Via Matta. Chinese, for dim sum, I love China Pearl Restaurant, Taiwan Cafe as well. For Mexican, there’s a Patrick Lyons joint called La Verdad, which, believe it or not, Kenny’s probably involved in that one as well. Best noodles are in Porter Square at a place called Sapporo Ramen. Largest $8.99 bowl of noodles, you get the miso butter, it’s delicious. And, don’t forget the Japan café…Japonaise Bakery (120 Beacon St, Brookline, (617) 566-7730). It has the Japanese donut, which is filled with red mung bean, no, sorry, the azuki bean with cream: best dessert ever.

MP: That’s great. What would you say is the best kept dining secret in Boston?

Ming: Hmm. I certainly don’t think enough people have been to Oishii Boston yet. You know, it’s kind of a little bit off the beaten track. I guarantee if you discover it, you’ll go back. It’s absolutely delicious. Just pristine Japanese products, produce, meat, seafood, the whole nine yards. I don’t know if Sapporo Ramen is a secret anymore. All of the chefs have been talking about it for ten to fifteen years, so I’m not sure if it’s a secret, but if you have ten bucks to spend on a great lunch, that’s the place.

MP: And where do you like to go drinking?
Ming: I don’t drink. But when I do (laughs) I like Silvertone. They have fantastic mac and cheese besides great cocktails. Just a great little atmosphere. I like the enoteca area of Via Matta. I think that’s always fun. Toro is a Spanish place has fantastic sangria and something called a Peron, which is this thing you fill with champagne and it brings me back to my college days, you bring it up and you shoot champagne into your mouth from a couple feet away, which is always kind of fun. And then just down the road from there is Stella. Yeah, I think Stella’s a nice hangout. And Pho Republique. That’s a great hang, too. I love that place.

[Photo: Ming Tsai]

Name: Laura Bridget Regan
Age: 24
Occupation: Musician (lead singer/pianist for Bridget and the Squares)/Nanny
Neighborhood: Medford

MenuPages: What's your current favorite restaurant?
Laura: East Coast Grill isn't exactly in Boston, but it's close enough and too good not to mention.

MP: What’s your favorite meal in Boston?
Laura: I actually have three. On the cheap side of things, the Buffalo Burrito from Boloco with tofu, buffalo sauce, rice, blue cheese and celery is perfect. If I have a little more money, I love the hanger steak at Atwood's Tavern in Cambridge. With mashed potatoes and a vegetable like brussel sprouts or broccoli... tastes like mom's home cooking but not really because my mom can't cook like that. If money is no object, I crave the seared tuna with roasted vegetables at East Coast Grill with a bonus side of mashed sweet potatoes with walnuts. Oh, goodness.

MP: So, where do you do your grocery shopping?
Laura: McKinnon Meat Market in Davis Square. The meat is cheap, but it's still good and they have great produce as well. I also do Whole Foods for special stuff like goat cheese and Annie's Mac'n'Cheese.

MP: Alright, Laura. You seem like you have the whole food thing under control, so tell us: what’s the best-kept dining secret in Boston?
Laura: There are a lot of great places just outside of downtown Boston like Soundbites in Ball Square, West on Centre in West Roxbury, and Kelly's Diner in Ball Square. Oh and Haveli in Inman Square has great Indian food.

MP: Where do you go for a drink after a long day of nannying?
Laura: The Druid, Atwood's Tavern, Charlie's Kitchen, Bukowski. I like to drink. The margaritas at Redbones in Davis Square are also delicious.

MP: Okay, one last question: new Kenmore Square or old Kenmore Square?
Laura: I didn't really experience the glory of the old Kenmore Square but the new one is way too ritzy and sterile so I would have to go with the one with more character. Old Kenmore all the way.

McKinnon Meat Market, 239 Elm St, Somerville, (617) 666-0888
Kelly's Diner, 674 Broadway, Somerville, (617) 623-8102

Want to be the subject of the next installment of "You Are What You Eat?" Drop us a line.

Name: Jess Mullen
Age: 23
Occupation: Bookstore Receptionist/Student/Blogger (One Falling Star)
Neighborhood: Roslindale

MenuPages: So, Jess, what's your favorite restaurant in Boston?
Jess: I love Betty’s Wok and Noodle! You walk in, and it’s got this cool swinging 60s look (but chill, and kind of dark), with music ranging from the 40s to the 70s that all the waiters dance and sing along to (I would too – sometimes I do). And the food – I haven’t even tried most of the dishes, but they all look good. My favorite thing on the menu is the customized noodle dish, where you choose one of four kinds of noodles, one of eight kinds of sauce, a protein (like chicken, or tofu, or shrimp), and then – and this is great for me because I’m picky – you can either let them throw in whatever vegetables they feel like or you can choose from a veggie bar. Then they wok it all together to make the best food you’ve ever had. The drinks are great, too. They have a few delicious sangrias, a few sakes on tap, and a lot of sake-based cocktails. SO good. And such a good time.

MP: What's the Boston-area meal you crave most?
Jess: I’d have to say the Lunch for Henry pizza at Veggie Planet. The whole grain crust is topped with sliced butternut squash, goat cheese, and caramelized onions. I don’t actually like caramelized onions, so I substitute broccoli, and it is awesome.

MP: Where do you do your grocery shopping?
Jess: I am spoiled by having Roslindale’s Village Market at the end of my street, so I tend to go there out of convenience. I love Trader Joe’s, but only go when I feel motivated to take the Green Line. And I am overwhelmed by the cluttered greatness of Cardullo’s. Sometimes I buy tea or Cadbury chocolate there.

MP: Do you miss any now-closed Boston restaurants?
Jess: I miss Curious Liquids. If you look in the basement of the Fox News station (awful!), the one that’s across from the State House, you can still see the little alcoves in the wall where they had those antique easy chairs and coffee tables. Sitting in there with a caramel mocha steamer and pretending to study is one of my favorite memories of growing up in Boston.

MP: Where do you go when it's drinking time?
Jess: I’m a big believer in the People’s Republik [in Cambridge], with its Communist memorabilia (including a Russian “Dr. No” poster!), but I also love Atwood’s Tavern. I think they have about 15 beers on tap – the kinds of beers you don’t see on tap very often, like Belhaven and Sea Dog Blueberry. And the people who work in both places are very friendly and have great taste in music.

One Falling Star [Official Site]

Want to be the subject of the next installment of "You Are What You Eat?" Drop us a line.