Phantom Gourmet: Great 8 Take-Out Restaurants
Restaurant quality food, right in the comfort of your home, and you don't have to cook a thing. These are the eight Greatest spots Phantom has found for take-out.
Modern Rotisserie
Newton
Kicking of the Great 8 is Modern Rotisserie in Newton. Comfort food to go simply doesn't get any better than this. Mashed potatoes and gravy, Cheez-It mac and cheese, sugar roasted butternut squash, and the most perfectly delicious Rotisserie Chicken you'll ever eat.
"The skin is like a piece of candy; it looks like a crème brulee. And the chicken itself, the meat is succulent, it's tender, it's buttery."
Zo
Downtown Boston
Zo is a tiny little take-out spot where they bring authentic Greek street food to the streets of downtown. Just like in Athens, you can get delicious marinated pork, or tender juicy chicken, sliced right before your eyes, from a state of the art vertical rotisserie that sears the outside, and slow cooks the inside. Then, it's served on toasty, puffy, golden-brown pita bread.
"The pita bread is cooked off on a char-broiler, so it gets a little charred. It stays soft and chewy, but it has a little bit of smoky flavor."
Frigo's
Springfield
Another Great 8 winner is Frigo's in Springfield, Mass. This Italian superstore is a butcher shop, bakery and deli all rolled into one. First and foremost, Frigo's is known for their famous sandwiches. Stacked and packed on crusty fresh Vienna rolls, the grinders are ginormous, and the must order for meat lovers is The Carnivore sandwich, which starts with 8 ounces of roast beef.
"Then we're putting our bacon, horseradish sauce and sharp cheddar cheese and we're just melting that for a second to get the bacon and all of that working. Then we're putting that in the half of a Vienna loaf of bread with either lettuce or tomatoes."
House of Siam
South End
If you're looking for Thai to go, look no further than the House of Siam. This South End staple offers some of the best Asian fare in the city delivered to your door by the super stylish Joe Thailand. Their legendary Pad Thai is served in gigantic proportions with rice noodles, chicken, shrimp, and ground peanuts. The chicken satay is perfectly seasoned, and the pineapple fried rice is incredibly fragrant. If you're looking for an appetizer to go, try the tasty, toasty Golden Bags stuffed with ground chicken, onions and sweet corn.
Watch: Great 8, Part 2
Quans
Hanover
Quans in Hanover is a 12,000 square foot, 300 seat Asian restaurant that's changing the way people eat Chinese on the South Shore. There are crispy chicken wings, tender beef teriyaki, golden fried shrimp, plump egg rolls, and an ample stack of sticky-sweet boneless spare ribs. There's also a selection of sushi like the Lobster Tempura maki featuring avocado, cucumber, and fried lobster over a drizzle of spicy mayo. With a second sit-down location in North Attleboro and take out spots in Mansfield and Weymouth, they specialize in authentic Asian fare to go.
Harrows Chicken Pies
5 Locations
Another Great 8 winner is Harrows Chicken Pies, with five locations including Reading, Saugus, and Dedham. These, flaky golden meals are filled with house made gravy, slow-cooked veggies, and big chunks of plump white meat chicken. Plus, there's home-style mashed potatoes, fresh-baked blueberry pie, and soft, squishy dinner rolls perfect for ripping, dipping, and mopping up every last drop of this quintessential comfort food.
Sonny Noto's
Wakefield
Sonny Noto's in Wakefield serves up oversized Italian entrees and larger-than-life sandwiches perfect for putting back in the comfort of your own home. There's the Steak Tip Sub, marinated with a sweet, top secret marinade, but Phantom prefers the steak and cheese loaded up with lean shaved steak and smothered with American cheese.
Fiorella's Epress
Brighton & Belmont
Rounding out the Great 8 is Fiorella's Express in Brighton and Belmont, which are quick-service spin-offs of the outstanding Fiorella's restaurant in Newtonville. The Express locations offer fresh pastas cooked to order, like the Chicken Napolitanto made in a creamy pink sauce or the meaty Bolognese over fettuccini. They also offer sandwiches served on fresh braided rolls and perfectly-cooked, hand-stretched pizzas piled with toppings.
Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.
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