Parsnip, Effie's Kitchen, Rino's, Double Chin: Reviewed

Corby Kummer visited Parsnip in Cambridge for Boston Magazine. "There's something immaculate and buttoned-down about the food," he wrote, and the best dish was the veal medallions, served tender and underlined by a "densely flavored" stock. The lamb noisettes were likewise indulgent, he wrote, and other entrees like the sole with lobster tortellini were "equally unapologetic." Kummer noted that the most vivid food came at the upstairs bar, including the lamb kebab served with whipped goat cheese and the crisp salt-and-vinegar chips.

There's been a burst of Greek food in Greater Boston, and The Boston Globe's Sheryl Julian visited Effie's Kitchen in Roslindale to get a sample of such fare. The place is "essentially a takeout spot with carefully prepared food made to order," Julian wrote. Avgolemono, or Greek soup, "is better here than almost anywhere else it's served," she said, and the thick chewy pita held up even when it was bursting with toppings. Vegetables on the Greek salad were "top quality," and the weekly special — pastitsio — was rich and delicious. Julian also praised the phyllo-rolled spinach, feta-filled bougatsa, and the "soothing" rice pudding.

Nestor Ramos visited Rino's Place for The Boston Globe, where he found fresh and flavorful pastas, complex sauces, and top-rate chops and steaks — but also a three-hour wait for a table (which he blames partly on a visit the place received from Guy Fieri, as well as its proximity to the airport). But the food erases any anger over the wait, he wrote. Some highlights: house-made wild boar sausage with broccoli rabe, grilled octopus that's "expertly cooked," and scallops in a limoncello sauce. As for the pasta, linguine is "the star of the show" in the bolognese, and the lobster ravioli "is a perfect dish," Ramos said. He praised the veal porterhouse and the ossobuco on risotto, as well as the chicken parmigiana.

And for The Improper Bostonian, MC Slim JB headed to Double Chin, a Hong Kong cha chaan teng-style restaurant in Chinatown. ("Cha chaan teng" refers to "an inexpensive diner/cafe serving lots of caffeinated drinks, local dishes at all hours, sugary treats and the exotic fusion cuisine that is Cantonese-Western fare.") There, he found a mixed bag of "humble Cantonese dishes" such as a bowl of soup with a choice of noodles and meat ("some topping better than others" but, overall, a "cheap, fast and filling" meal). "Think diner fare, and expect some shortcuts," he noted. The more interesting dishes are the "Canto-Western" options, like Spam and taro fries; a dish called Poutine Your Mouth; and a ramen salad, which he found to be one of the "winners" on the menu. There are also some "super-sweet" desserts that require "a few friends to help, and extra insulin."