The Chacarero

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“A Chacarero is a traditional Chilean Sandwich. It begins with homemade bread, that we bake fresh daily. The main ingredient is either tender grilled steak or chicken or both). Then with your main ingredient, we add steamed green beans, giving it that authentic Chilean touch, Muenster cheese and fresh tomatoes. To that we add an avocado spread, salt, pepper & our secret hot recipe to complete the sandwich. Of course any ingredient can be omitted, just let us know!”

The manfriend has been telling me about Chacarero for some time now. The exchange pretty much goes like this “we had Chacarero for lunch, it was soooo good. You should go there someday… when you don’t have to work, because they aren’t open on weekends.” Hmmph.

This time was different though, upon his return he handed me this crumpled paper bag and inside I found my first and certainly not last Chacarero sandwich.

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A little bit closer, so you can read the mouth-watering description for yourself. (And see what remains of my self-done manicure… yes, that’s glitter. I have no shame.)

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I reheated the sandwich in the toaster oven. I assure you it wasn’t burnt deeply toasted upon receipt, I just got distracted while it was heating up. To be honest, it didn’t compromise the taste of the sandwich one bit (I can say this because I ate the other half lightly toasted tonight). And yes, you read that right. This is only half of the sandwich. It’s literally the size of my head. Okay, maybe my head is a little bigger but I do have a good size dome.

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You can see the layers of the sandwich in this photo. I’m drooling again.

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And here, at last… isn’t it beautiful? Green beans on a sandwich is so unusual yet so awesome. They give each bite a nice crunch. Want. More. Now.

There are two locations in Boston (addresses on the bag). So if you work in the city, go get one and bring one to me too. Please and thank yas.

Have you ever had Chacarero? What’s the strangest ingredient you’ve ever had on a sandwich?

Two Blondes Walked Into a Bar…

Actually a brewery. Last weekend en route to visit family and friends in Maine, I picked up my buddette (budette?) Shari at South Station. We made it to about Portsmouth before we needed food (& drink) and the pup needed out of the car. We chose Portsmouth Brewery for lunch.

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{My upper-level people-watching perch}

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{x2 (one for me and one for Shari)… mmm, refreshing}

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{deliciousness to share}

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{for me}

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{for my buddette (budette?)}

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Overall, we were pretty happy with our meal. While Shari took a phone call, I wandered into LeRoux Kitchen where I proceeded to drop dollar bills on more Olive Oil and Balsamic. Be on the lookout, I’m already in love with my purchases.

If you’re in the area, check out Portsmouth Brewery… and if you’ve been to Portsmouth and have any recommendations for great grub and libations, leave ‘em here!

>Oh so pretty…

>

     Last night we headed into the South End to take advantage of the $1 tapas at Estragon. I had learned of this amazing deal on another blogger’s site and then headed to Estragon’s web page to get the details. Along with the menu for the $1 tapas (offered Mon-Fri from 5:30-7, when seated at the bar), I saw that Pretty Things Beer and Ale Project was going to be there doing a complimentary tasting.

     I first learned of Pretty Things, based in Cambridge, MA, at the American Craft Beer Fest back in June at the Seaport World Trade Center Boston. I will admit, it was their pretty banner that enticed me to stand in the long line for my 2 oz sample. At the ACBF I sampled Jack D’or, their flagship beer which is a Belgian style brew.

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      Last night, they were giving very generous pours and I had the opportunity to try their Baby Tree, a quadruple brewed with dried plums. It was very tasty.pretty things  They also had St. Botolph’s, a malty brown ale, to try… I heard it was quite good.

The masterminds behind Pretty Things, Dann and Martha, were hosting the tasting and were even pouring the beers themselves. It was quite evident that they take great pride in their product, as they took the time to greet each person in line and describe their beer as they poured.

All in all, a great event and I look forward to picking up some of their brews. I’ll post more about the delicious tapas we sampled at Estragon later…