rob gross

Prompted by a favorable brief mention in the Boston Phoenix last
month, a friend and I tried Angela's Cafe, at 131 Lexington Street, in
East Boston tonight. I checked for directions before going, and it
was a good thing that I did; the restaurant is small and in a
residential neighborhood, and not all that easy to spot. (It is not
that far from Rino's on Saratoga Street, if that helps you place the
neighborhood.) Parking was a bit tough; on-street parking is
permissible, but limited.

Our order was prompted entirely by the Phoenix article. We started by
splitting an order of guacamole ($9) which was probably large enough
for three or four to split happily. The mixture had a lot of large
chunks of avocado, some onion, and some cilantro, and also a bit too
much salt for my taste (but the accompanying chips were completely
without salt).

My friend had the chicken mole quesadillas ($10), which consisted of 3
quesadillas, a small amount of rice which was pronounced perfect, and
some black beans. The mole sauce is the reason to get this dish: the
waiter (the chef's son) explained afterwards that the sauce contains,
among other things, some chocolate, some banana, some almonds, and a
lot of different spices. It was smoky, rich, complex, and a bit
spicy.

I had a bowl of soup ($10), which was a large bowl of chicken soup
with some sort of starch floating in it, with lettuce, onions, and
some spices delivered on the side (not unlike Vietnamese pho in
spirit, though the execution is quite different). It was a good thing
to eat on a very cold night.

A friend came by as we were finishing eating, and informed us that we
should have asked about the daily specials, which are not printed
anywhere; they consist of whatever the chef decided to cook that day.

The service was excellent (as was the rice pudding, which was ordered
just to take home for tomorrow night's dessert). The only qualm I
have is that the restaurant is not large (perhaps 25 seats in all),
and it would be disappointing to go all the way to East Boston and not
get in. But there are enough alternatives within a five minute drive
that you should take your chances.--Rob

--
Rob Gross (617) 552-3758
Department of Mathematics http://fmwww.bc.edu/gross/
Boston College gross@bc.edu
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467-3806