Toraya: Sushi Hidden Gem

I don't think I have an unusual story when it comes to sushi. For the majority of my life, I wouldn't dare try it. But when I moved to LA after college, after a significant amount of peer pressure, I decided to give it a shot. After all, it's basically the unofficial official food of LA. Turns out I was wrong about sushi and that I very much needed it in my life. I got pretty spoiled in LA, as there's a quality sushi place on roughly every other street corner, but upon moving to Boston, it took me a while to find a spot that I really loved. The place I finally stumbled upon was Toraya -- a little hole in the wall hidden gem in sleepy Arlington (and conveniently, about a 10 minute drive from our house). 

As far as I can tell you can't go wrong here. Maybe start with some green tea and gyoza. Then you'll want a little sushi. Or maybe a lot of sushi. Whatever floats your boat (speaking of boats, maybe you want one of the table-sized wooden boats full of sushi).

If you're still hungry (or if sushi really isn't your thing), try the Nabeyaki Udon, an udon noodle soup with chicken, mushrooms, a poached egg, and two gigantic tempura shrimp. I can only go a couple months at a time before I'm overcome by severe cravings for this soup. My husband has similar cravings for their steak teriyaki, served alongside rice and tempura vegetables.

Long story short, if you're in the Boston area, give Toraya a shot. On the other hand, this place is tiny, and it's hard enough to get a seat as it is, so maybe just stick to your "big city" sushi places in Boston. Leave the suburbs to us! 

Barismo Coffee Roasters

This weekend on our way home from lunch at Lone Star Taco Bar (yes, it's so good that we went two weeks in a row), we stopped in Arlington for an after lunch pick-me-up at Barismo, a local coffee roaster. They sell their beans at various spots around town (and even have a bike delivery service), and while we usually grab a bag when we see it on the shelf, this was our first visit to their "home"! They've recently expanded, enabling them to serve their coffee with a few tables inside and a patio out front.  

While they also offer espresso-based drinks, we opted for pourover coffee using V60 ceramic drippers. The barista carefully tested the water temperature and slowly poured over the freshly ground coffee in little concentric circles.  While she poured, we browsed the shelves of coffees, teas, and brewing equipment and took a peek at their roasting setup. Once it was ready, our coffee was served in cute mismatched mugs and saucers.

We took our mugs outside, as it was a beautiful day, and we made ourselves at home at one of their new patio tables, surrounded by planters of happy little yellow flowers. We sipped slowly, trying to enjoy the warm weather before summer gives way to chilly fall. 

Barismo is a small space that's not too much to look at, but if you want quality coffee brewed not 20 feet from where it's roasted, it is most definitely worth a trip to the suburbs. Thankfully for us, it's just a couple miles away!