Dining Out: Happy's Bar + Kitchen

Chef Michael Schlow is a Boston celebrity. His Italian restaurants, Radius and Via Matta, are staples for the city's upper crust, and two years ago he opened Tico, his take on Mexican. A few weeks ago Schlow opened his fourth downtown restaurant, Happy's Bar + Kitchen.

In an interview with Stuff magazine, Schlow described his vision for Happy's, "I wanted to have the classic local neighborhood joint — with the saloon-keeper type who wears a bow tie, knows everybody who comes in, and is always standing behind the bar polishing glasses. I knew this guy in upstate New York who had a joint called Gus’s and was the quintessential saloon keeper. I thought a lot about Gus’s when I came up with the concept for Happy’s. I want Happy’s to feel like it’s been there forever."

When asked what would be on the menu, he answered, "Everything I really like to eat and cook. I am going to have a ball. I am not aiming for Michelin stars. Blue-plate specials, chicken nights, Saturday steak nights, a raw bar, and a real bar. Black-and-white milkshakes. Huge breakfast platters with fresh-squeezed OJ. We’ll serve our pastrami sandwich with a side of Dr. Brown’s celery soda — whether or not you’ve ordered it. We call our chicken soup 'international, non-denominational, bi-partisan chicken soup,' with matzo balls, basmati rice, and Sardinian fregola. The real problem is that the menu is so huge because I want to put everything I love to eat on it."

After reading chef Schlow's goals for Happy's, I was expecting a hodge podge of decor and menu items.

Happy's is in the space formerly occupied by Burton's Grill on Boylston Street behind Fenway Park. The sign above the awning is cartoonish, with a giant red arrow pointing you to the front door.

My gut instincts about the hodge podge were correct and the front bar area of the restaurant was an explosion of bright paint colors and a menagerie of wild print furniture.

We had a reservation and the hostess walked us to our table which had tangerine colored chairs and robin's egg blue colored napkins. This may seem an odd duo, but blue and orange are actually complimentary colors on the color wheel.

Across from our table, set into the wall, were two intimate booths. The charcoal gray leather banquettes were set against a midnight blue wall. If I were to come again, I'd definitely call and request one of these booths.

On the opposite wall, there were antique style chandeliers above each and every booth. Are you sensing the hodge podge of decor?

While I was standing and photographing the chandeliers, our waitress tapped me on the shoulder and said, "If you like those chandeliers, you have to see the light fixture above the hostess stand! Did you catch it when you came in?" I hadn't, and so she walked me back to the front and pointing upward toward this:

The fixture is made of tea cups, silver serving trays and spoons! Each tea cup is hanging from a spoon curved up into a hook. This is so "Alice in Wonderland" and I loved it!

After extensive snapping, I was finally ready to sit back down and start eating! The menus at Happy's have this strange, blurry picture across the front. The hodge podge strikes again!

The inside of the menu sports happy faces. How appropriate!

We were having a tough time deciding on food, but we didn't have any hesitation ordering drinks. My dinner date ordered the drink special - a basil margarita. She let me have a few sips and I thought it was flavorless. It tasted like water. I ordered the A&P cocktail which tasted like juice and came with a bonus - a sugar rim!

While deciding what to order, our waitress brought us a big piece of doughy bread with a plate of olive oil and a side of salt and black pepper. This white dish with floral, rose colored designs reminded me of my grandmother's house.

To start, my friend ordered the french fries with gravy. She decided to order it because we saw a dish go by that looked like a terrarium of gravy as soil, with french fries sticking up as the plants. Later we found out the dish we saw was actually the reverse potato skins. We were disappointed when this plate arrived instead of the terrarium, but that disappointment quickly vanished with the first bite of fries. These french fries were fantastic! They were perfectly crisped and salted and they were majorly addicting!

For my first plate I ordered the homemade ricotta served with toasted bread. The cheese was topped with red pepper flakes, sage and olive oil. The ricotta mixture spread across the toast so easily and that smooth, creamy taste coupled with the crunch of the bread was sublime.

For dinner, we both went the salad route. My dinner date ordered the sashimi salad which came with tuna and salmon over a bed of mixed greens, cucumbers and carrots. She said the fish was fresh (it should be, it's raw!) and that she loved the garnish - tempura chunks!

I chose the arugula salad which came topped with large pieces of freshly shaved parmesan cheese, lemon and olive oil. This salad is a restaurant standard and Happy's version wasn't anything special.

What was special however, was my side dish of cauliflower with creamy chipotle and "crunchies." This dish was outstanding! The cauliflower is creamy (like mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving), but the chipotle added a welcomed kick and the "crunchies" added a depth of texture. I would go back to Happy's just to eat this.

Though we didn't order them, next to us two girls ordered the Buffalo wings which smelled amazing! Even I was drooling!

In the middle of our meal the lights dimmed unexpectedly. I asked my dinner date, "What time is it? 8:00pm?" Sure enough, 8:00pm is the start time for the mood lighting! Ha!

After cocktails and two great courses we were completely stuffed. We had heard our waitress tell another table there was Nutella pie on the dessert menu, but we just couldn't manage another bite.

A few moments later our check arrived decorated with three pieces of candy. I think this is a very cute touch and it reminded me of the fun, surprise factor of trick or treating.

Dining at Happy's is like being inside Michael Schlow's teenage boy mind. The restaurant has photos of Garfield and Tony the Tiger. The wait staff wear concert t-shirts from Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd shows.  The menu has nachos, potato skins, wings, meatballs and mac and cheese. In the words of Katy Perry, it's a teenage dream.

Have you been to Happy's? Did you dig the hodge podge vibe?

Dining Out: Moksa

For months I have been hearing about the opening of chef Patricia Yeo's new restaurant, Moksa. The buzz started in the fall with reports that the chef, formerly of Ginger Park and Om, was planning a personal venture in Cambridge. Bit by bit, the details came to light - the place would be in Central Square, the menu would feature Asian food served tapas style, and finally, it would open in March.

After weeks of anticipation, I finally made a reservation to try Moksa with two friends. We took the T from Park Street to Central Square and popped out at the Mass Ave and Prospect St intersection. Moksa is just two blocks away, right next to one of my favorite dance spots, the Phoenix Landing.

Before we even set foot in the restaurant I knew I would love it. Not only did they have a chalkboard sign out front (my favorite type of decor), but it was sporting a hot pink drink!

The door to Moksa is branded with the restaurant's logo. On the other side of the door is a bar area that feels more like a night club than a restaurant.

 I love the green back lighting and the cloud inspired light fixture.

The hostess took us to our table in the main dining room. That space has black walls, wooden tables and chairs and pops of red and orange from the place settings.

I love the tin of chopsticks on every table. 

The dining room pumps dance and techno music. Think Robyn, La Roux, Madonna (circa the "Ray of Light" era), Lady Gaga and David Guetta.

After we settled in to our booth our waiter appeared to offers us cocktail menus. The menu is centered around the Chinese signs of the zodiac - the dragon, the rat, the pig - you get the drift.

In addition to a cocktail for every sign, there were also scorpion bowls for sharing. This is my kind of place!

After much deliberation we selected cocktails and eagerly awaited their arrival.

We went with the silver peony, the peking sailor (the pink drink advertised on the chalkboard) and the shanti shanti.

The silver peony, which was sake, cucumber and lavender, tasted like baby powder. I was really not a fan. The peking sailor, which was gin, elderflower and cucumber, tasted much like a Pimm's cup, which I think might have been because of the cucumber. The shanti shanti was champagne and grapefruit with a sugar rim, which was the perfect summer time drink.

Next we shifted our concentration to the food menu. Moksa's menu is designed for sharing, which means you can try a handful of different things without feeling like a piggy. Between the three of us we ordered eight dishes.

The first dish to arrive was the crab rangoon. The girls said the outside was crunchy while the inside was stuffed with a hearty amount of crab meat. Though crab rangoon is normally known (and loved) for it's cream cheese, the girls said they barely tasted any cream cheese, they only tasted the bold flavor of crab. 

The crab rangoon came with a side of apricot mustard which they both agreed with an odd combination, but a winning one. The hint of fruit was subtle, but the grainy texture of the mustard added a nice additional level of texture and flavor to the dish.

The second plate to arrive was the Vietnamese summer rolls. This brightly colored appetizer had some height! The vegetables were crisp and snapped when you bit into them.

The vegetable dumplings arrived next and these were the stand outs of the night. These dumplings were heavenly! They were served piping hot, packed with veggies and swimming in a salty, soy sauce. If you visit Moksa, this must be the first thing you order. Seriously.

For one of our heartier dishes, we chose the 20 vegetable fried rice. I am not sure which 20 vegetables made it into the dish, but it tasted super fresh. Sometimes fried rice has that day old, congealed taste, but this dish was excellent. I had to stop myself from shoveling the whole bowl into my mouth.

While we put a dent into the fried rice, the tofu roti arrived. I was completely underwhelmed by this dish. Despite being advertised as chili lime, the tofu had zero taste. The corn tortilla the tofu was sitting on lacked that taco-like crunch, leaving the dish completely flat.

Our last dinner dish was the silver pin noodles. The noodles had tofu and mixed vegetables and had a serious kick to them. If you can't handle the heat, don't order this one!

You would think after all those plates we'd stop, but I had seen on a friend's blog (read her Moksa review here) that the restaurant offers green tea ice cream, which I was dying to try, so when our waiter asked if we'd like to hear the dessert specials for the evening I said, "yes!"

We did decide to order the green tea ice cream, but also opted for the sweet potato beignets.

The ice cream arrived and it was a brilliant, Ninja Turtle green. I had high hopes for this frozen delicacy, but every bite tasted like having green tea leaves in your mouth. Instead of ice cream with a hint of green tea, it tasted like a frozen cup of green tea that had been steeped for too long. Bust!

The sweet potato beignets were actually donuts. They looked like and tasted like sugar covered donuts. They came with a dulce de leche dipping sauce and a chocolate dipping sauce. I liked the dessert, but I don't need to order it again.

Overall, I found Moksa to be confusing. Does it want to be an Asian restaurant or a night club? How can it have dishes that are incredible as well as dishes that taste like nothing? Why was our waiter attentive for the first hour and then he vanished? I was actually comforted to learn that the Boston Globe's food critic, Devra First, had the same opinion, writing, "I want Moksa to pull itself together. I want food that is hot, sour, sweet, and salty all at once, that makes my taste buds do the wave. I believe Yeo can achieve this. But it’s getting harder to keep the faith."

When we were leaving the restaurant I noticed that Moksa actually has an outdoor patio! I'm not sure why I didn't notice this when we walked in, but that was a pleasant discovery.

The moral of the story is: don't waste your time ordering the whole menu at Moksa. Go for a late night out with friends where you drink, nosh on dumplings and bob your head to Robyn's "Call Your Girlfriend."

Listen: Memorial Day Weekend Playlist

Good morning! As you're reading this I am driving to Connecticut for my best friend's wedding. When she says "I do" on Saturday, I'll be standing right there next to her in a beautiful, purple dress.

Memorial Day weekend is one of my favorite times of year because it's usually the first weekend that the weather is nice enough for BBQs and the beach! Most people head out of town to the Cape, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, New Hampshire or Maine to make the most of the weather and the extra vacation day.

What do you need while driving to these sunny destinations? A road trip mix, but of course! Here are the three songs I am obsessed with right now and plan to blast at full volume with all my windows down.

"Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen
Mock if you must, but I cannot get enough of this song! I flip between all the radio stations in my car every time the song ends to see if it's playing on another channel.

"Brokenhearted" by Karmin
I have a special place in my heart for Karmin because their lead singer, Amy, used to be in a Boston wedding band called Kahootz that played at my cousin's wedding back in October 2010. The band was incredible and it's no surprise that Amy has skyrocketed to super stardom. Karmin is comprised of Amy and her fiance, Nick, who are both graduates of the Berklee College of Music right here in Beantown.

"Lights" by Ellie Goudling
Ok, I know this song is over a year old, but I am just now coming around to loving it. I play it while getting ready every morning to pump me up.

Now that you know what I'll be belting out as I whiz down the Mass Pike, I want to know: what do you have on your road trip playlist for this weekend?

Dining Out: Catalyst

Over the past few years Kendall Square in Cambridge has experienced an explosion of restaurants. I've been keeping my eye on the new hot spots, however Kendall isn't really convenient for me to get to from home or from work.

When looking for a place to toast to a friend's 30th birthday, Kendall seemed a good meeting place as I was coming from downtown and she was coming from Winter Hill in Somerville. After brainstorming a few locations, we decided to meet at Catalyst.

I had been dying to dine at Catalyst since it opened and was giddy with excitement as I approached the front door.

The trees on the sidewalk seemed to frame the entrance to Catalyst perfectly.

When I first walked in my attention was drawn to the bar area which has a 360 degree fireplace and the most stunning lighting installation above the lounge area.

How gorgeous is this? I was hypnotized.

If you don't score a seat in front of the fireplace, fear not, you can sit against the floor to ceiling windows and look out onto Kendall Square.

Catalyst also has a beautiful bar in front of a wooden wall. I love all the textures in this space.

On the far right wall, the Catalyst team is growing plants! They live in industrial style, vertical pots.

There are two sections of the dining room. The front section has an open feeling and the ceiling is adorned with purple, blown glass light fixtures that looks like flowers.

When the birthday girl arrived we were seated in the rear dining room which has a view of the open kitchen. It also has three beautiful, sunflower yellow, light fixtures.

As soon as we took our seats I noticed our knives were standing straight up! I've never seen a restaurant table set like that.

The menus had Catalyst's signature rooster symbol in the top left corner.

The drink menu was particularly amusing with its fun cocktail names. One of the drinks is called "Your last night alone." I like that kind of fortune at the start of a night!

While we perused the menus our waiter, Juan, brought us a bottle of Catalyst branded water.  It's these little touches that really make a restaurant memorable.

The birthday girl decided to start with the hysterically named drink "Your last night alone" which was Hendricks, St. Germain, cucumber and rose. It came in a champagne flute and fizzing away as Juan placed it on the table. He looked at her and said, "Your last night alone, madam." Ha!

Nothing on the cocktail menu really spoke to me, so I settled on a glass of sauvignon blanc which came in a stemless glass.

After placing our order, Juan brought us a basket of bread with a small plate of butter. Though I didn't sample the bread, I could see the pieces of rosemary in each and every bite.

To start, we both ordered soups. The birthday girl chose the parsnip soup with crab which came in an elegant presentation. After two spoonfuls I asked her, "How does it taste?" to which she answered, "It tastes like I could eat this every day!" She said it didn't taste too strongly of root vegetables and that she loved the lemon oil. Though there was crab meat in the dish, she suggested that the soup didn't need it. She raved about the flavors in the soup and assured me it was the ideal dish for a cold night.

I decided on the caramelized onion soup. These onions were pureed into the smoothest, velvetiest soup. The onion flavor was so rich and the addition of the raclette toast was heavenly. The toast had that crouton crunch and the cheese added that ooey gooey element that we all love in say, a grilled cheese.

For the main course, the birthday girl selected the tournedos of beef which came in a Top Chef-like presentation. She shared that her meat was perfectly, beautifully cooked and had a great sear on it. She said the meat melted in her mouth and the sauce was savory, nicely reduced and had a lot of zing. The meat sat on a bed of Swiss chard which she applauded, "The chard was greasy, yummy and ahhhhhhh! Perfect." Her only complaint was that the two tallegio cheese raviolis were underwhelming.  She said they didn't add anything to the dish.

For my entree I selected the cavatelli pasta with peas, spring onions, mint, lemon and pecorino cheese. The pasta was a bit too thick and gummy and if you got a bite with too much mint, it tasted like toothpaste. I definitely would not order this dish again.

As we were celebrating, we had to have dessert! The birthday girl decided on the Meyer lemon pudding cake. She described the dessert as lemony, citrusy and tasting like lemon meringue pie. She liked the dill garnish and the white chocolate ganache underneath.

Though I often say I'm not a fan of fruit desserts, the pear almond financier appealed to me. Shocking, I know. The dessert tasted like shortbread and was made better by combining a forkful of cake with a dollop of the creme fraiche ice cream.

The ice cream however, tasted like absolutely nothing on it's own. It had a small hint of butter if you really concentrated on the taste, but that's pushing it.

To wash down the dessert we sipped on coffee and passion fruit tea. I love passion fruit tea, but it's really hard to come by anywhere other than Starbucks or Whole Foods.

After hours of catching up, gossiping and noshing, it was time to go home. I made a quick trip to the ladies room and found myself loving the simple design centered around wood walls, clean lines and green plants.

I wasn't madly in love with the food or drink at Catalyst, but I was in love with the design and vibe of the space. I would happily meet friends there to sit in the beautiful bar and lounge area. Additionally, our waiter, Juan, was kind, funny, knowledgeable and very attentive.

Have you been to Catalyst? What was your winning dish?