PigTrip Unimpressed by Sinclair; Toscano Reviewed; More

Harvard Square's newish The Sinclair fails to excite experienced barbecue and burger blogger PigTrip. The yuzu and buffalo wings "sucked." They "have no crust" and "feel rubbery." A cost of "$2.25 per piece, only compounded the suckage." After a disappointing meal, including a burger where PigTrip "can't taste the beef," the reviewer placed consulting chef Michael Schlow on "double secret Todd English alert." [PigTrip]

In a two star review, the Globe's Devra First doesn't seem to love Harvard Square's Toscano, but still thinks "the right concept has found the right space." The Cambridge outpost of the Beacon Hill restaurant by the same name is located in the former Cafe of India space, and serves a "crowd-pleaser" of a menu. "Tender" meatballs "with great flavor" have centers that are "lukewarm." The "doughy and undercooked" margherita pizza ended up in a kiddie to-go box, but calamari in gratella, "a dish so clean and pure there's no room for error," is flawless. "Middle-of-the-road" desserts make her glad "L.A. Burdick is right next door."

Inman Square's cricket-themed bar Hit Wicket was the subject of Luke O'Neil's Thursty column in the Metro, and the drinks writer was intrigued. One cocktail in particular - the Vodka Puri - "made with vodka, date chutney, pani puri mix (traditional Indian cooking style spices), mint and cilantro" is served with spiced potato shells designed for the drinker to pour the cocktail into. "It's the most savory, spicy cocktail" O'Neil has ever had and he declares it, like cricket, "worth trying ... if only to see what the rest of the world is so excited about." [Metro]

Mobile made-to-order ice cream sandwich truck Frozen Hoagies is a "home run concept" for Cook's Illustrated's Liz Bomze. Filing her review for Serious Eats, Bomze is a fan of the truck's choice in using Arlington's Chilly Cow ice cream, finding it "dense [and] satiny, with clean true dairy flavor." Moderately disappointed by the chocolate chip cookies, taking issue with the "cakey center" when Bomze wanted a crunchier cookie, she still found them tasty, "capably serv[ing] their purpose of acting like edible bookends." [SE]

Amelia's Taqueria shouldn't be confused for Anna's, despite the similar name says Glenn Yoder for the Globe's Cheap Eats column. One notable difference on the menu of the Allston taqueria, located at the former site of Grill Station, is a torta - a "delicious" flatbread sandwich with a choice of meats and toppings. Guacamole is "pale green but with excellent flavor," and, like all other toppings, "can be added to the dish at no additional charge." Yoder finds Amelia's to be "a seemingly perfect option for Allston." [BG]
Correction: Due to an error on the Globe's website, a previous version of this article indicated Devra First had chosen not to give a star rating to Toscano.