Went to Ma Soba in Harvard Sq. (at the end of the Holyoke Center -- where Cafe Marino's was for a while) -- the place was very dirty -- including bird droppings all over the outdoor cafe & the birds were going inside to eat off of people's left overs which were on a cart of dirty plates.
Boston, MA
Ma Soba - BAD REVIEW
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- I just had the pleasure of dining at a new Greek place in Burlington VT. It's located downtown on Cherry Street, just up the block from Church Street (and all the vendors there). There's a parking garage half a block away, and on the street parking at meters, but downtown Burlington is pretty busy in the evenings, so I just gave up and went to the garage. The menu didn't have very many items to choose from, but I suspect it was done that way in order to do a few things very well. The prices were moderate. Appetizers ranged from $3.95 to $7.95 (for the sampler platter), salads were from $3.95 to $5.95, dinners ranged from $9.95 to $13.95 (for the lamb kebobs). Most dinners were $11.95. The bread was pretty good, and plentiful. The waitress didn't have to be asked to refill it. There were three of us, my husband and I and our date, K. We started off with an hors d'oeuvres sampler platter. It had 2 dolmadas, 2 wedges of spanokopita (baklava-shaped and sized), 2 wedges of tiropita (two cheeses baked in filo pastry with herbs), a largish splat of hummus, a largish splat of tzatziki, 4 kalmata (sp?) olives, 2 chunks of feta, one marinated artichoke heart split in half, veggies to garnish, and lots of pita bread. In the past I've felt that Greek restaurants find one or two herbs or spices they liked and used 'em on everything. I didn't feel that way here. The spanokopita didn't have the same flavour as the tiropita, or the dolmadas. The flavours were intense and some went together better than others. But nothing was bland. The tzatziki tasted fresh and had a zing I haven't had since we ate at "It's Greek to Me" in Minneapolis over four years ago. I was very pleased with everything on the platter. I suspect that it would be very easy to make a good meal just from ordering a couple of appetizers, the portions were reasonable. For dinner I ordered chicken kebobs, my husband had shish kebobs (pork), and K. had souvlaki. All these came with potato, rice, and house salad. The potatoes were so so. My meal came with roasted potatoes, as did my husband's. The souvlaki was served with fries, which were really good. My roasted potatoes could have benefited from being smaller and a little more seasoned. The rice was ok. I'm not so fond of tomato rice so I can't really comment. My husband seemed to like it. The salad was *wonderful*. They use a lovely oil and vinegar dressing with some herbs I couldn't identify mixed in. It complemented the greens and veggies perfectly. I couldn't identify all the veggies in the salad but the menu said there were ten different ones in there. I believe them. They also use escarole, which I happen to adore. The chicken kebobs were well seasoned and grilled with onions, green peppers, and tomato. The portion of meat was very generous, to the point of being skimpy on the veggies. I would have liked more grilled onion. And there was only one piece of tomato on my kebob. The chicken was a tiny bit overcooked, but not so much as to make it unpleasant to chew. My husband made a similar comment about the shish (pork) kebobs. But the meat was neither over nor under spiced, and had a lovely grilled tasted, they used a real flame grill. We decided to go out for ice cream, so we didn't have dessert there. But the menu indicated that they had baklava, and a daily selection of home made cakes (that I saw in a display cooler on the way in and they looked GREAT), and a couple other things. All were under $2.50. We only ever drink water with our meals, so I can't comment on the beverage prices. The atmosphere was wonderful. Lots of murals painted on the walls in the style of painting done on Mykonos Island. The detail in the murals was delightful. Each mural had a small plaque describing a bit of history of that particular style or artwork. There was pleasant greek music playing over the stereo system. They have many levels for serving and we sat in the area that was up a small flight of stairs. The restaurant is handicap accessible and totally smoke free (as are all restaurants in Vermont that don't have Cabaret licenses). The chairs were comfortable (no arms), but the tables were a little crammed together. One had the impression that they could make everything a little more open if they took out one or two tables. We ate early, so it wasn't very busy when we got there, but it filled up fast. I think the locals know a good thing when they see it. Our waitress was polite, competent, attentive, and didn't intrude when she wasn't needed. She kept our water glasses full, which is a good way to get a good tip out of me. :) On the whole I enjoyed the experience a great deal. We will definitely be making a point of going back there often. And not only because it's the only real Greek restaurant in Vermont. :) I wonder if they'd be willing to add skorthalia to the menu? - -- Siobhan Perricone (my PGP public key is available by fingering, or on my web page at: www.sover.net/~hawthorn/s-pgp.txt) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: 2.6.2 iQBVAwUBM+AJwT84MuHb/8TlAQEERAH8CxBPjBEJiTUxEp9DOwXotMhF5IhJStEQ qSEHGoMXfLK/mc/Wxj+FhUc8LJp14Aas9Glwf80c4HKvDBlU+UuDuQ== =8B6E -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----