Wings and Pies in Somerville on a Sunny Day

It's mid-March, and it's more spring than it is winter. After spending a week missing out on the sunshine, I finally decided to get up off my ass and take a stroll in Somerville yesterday. The purpose was threefold: to bask in the sunshine, to get some exercise, and to check out some food places. A search for the best buffalo wings in the Boston area led me to Wings Over Somerville (among others), and a search for a good dessert place led me to Petsi Pies. Both places are a reasonable walk (10-20 minutes) from the Porter Square T stop, so that's where I decided to go.

Usually, when faced with an escalator alongside a flight of stairs, I take the stairs. I usually do so semi-automatically, but yesterday, I chose the stairs a little more deliberately, since one of my reasons for being out was to get some exercise. Maybe I should've paid more attention to the fact that among a trainful of people getting off at that station, only 2 others besides me opted for the stairs. If I'd given it more consideration, I would've realized that it was an incredibly long flight of stairs: 9 sets of 10-12 steps each, with a landing only a couple feet long in between. I did eventually realize it, but by then, it was too late to turn back. I wanted to stop for a brief rest a couple times, but that would've been embarrassing. So I kept at it, and once I reached the top, I mentally patted myself on the back for the accomplishment while trying to catch my breath. And then I turned the corner and was confronted with another flight of stairs, not as long as the one I had just climbed but not a short one either. I took the escalator.

And thank God I did, because I had a good walk ahead. I went straight down Somerville Avenue, walking past a bunch of gas stations, a cafe, a park, a teenage couple, a bunch of skate rats, a carwash (whose driveway was on/parallel to the sidewalk I was walking on--I was walking on the sidewalk and got honked at by a car trying to get past me to get to the carwash).

Upon arriving at Wings Over, I ordered a DC-3 (the smallest size of boneless wings, about half a pound, for $6.99) in Red Alert buffalo sauce (third among 5 levels of hotness). The wings come with celery sticks and your choice of blue cheese or buttermilk ranch dressing. The place is small, just a counter and a few chairs--for delivery and carry-out only. I hung out for a few minutes while waiting for them to prepare my order--they cook to order, which is great. The boneless wings are good, not mind blowing, but good. They're made of strips of white meat, lightly breaded. Each piece is completely covered in the buffalo sauce but not drenched. In fact, there was practically no extra sauce at the bottom of the container. This was a bit of a disappointment for me, as I, unlike some people, kind of like sweeping my chicken across the extra sauce so that every side of every bite is covered in sauce. Nevertheless, even with just enough sauce to coat the wings, they still were tasty. The Red Alert sauce is described on their menu as "hotter than most hots," and it's got some kick, but to me, it's just right. I do, however, like spicy stuff, so perhaps for some people, this already would be hotter than "just right." Nevertheless, there are two more levels of hotness above this one, so people who like their wings really hot have options beyond this one. The buttermilk ranch is creamy but otherwise unremarkable. Then again, I'm not a big dressing person.

I'd go back to this place if I happened to be in the area and wanted something to eat. I wouldn't go out of my way, though. There are other buffalo wing places I'd like to check out, and those take priority over a return trip to Wings Over.

After getting the wings, it was time to hit Petsi Pies on Beacon Street. Somerville Avenue and Beacon Street lie parallel to each other, and both are intersected by Lowell Street. However, the commuter rail tracks lie in between the two streets, which makes it impossible for Lowell Street to go straight though on street level. There's a nice little walkway under the tracks, and once you emerge, Petsi Pies is right at the corner.

The shop is also small. There's enough room only for a table with plastic utensils and things, a small table and a couple seats pushed against the wall, and the counter, with some of their pastries on display. Behind the counter is a rack with all the pies. I ordered a 4-inch roasted vegetable and goat cheese pie ($4.95), a 6-inch apple pear cranberry pie with brown sugar walnut topping ($7), and a red velvet cupcake (). I decided to take them home.

I walked back to the Porter Square T stop, and this time, I decided to take the escalator all the way down. I know walking down is much easier than walking up, but with my pastries in tow, I didn't have a free hand to hold on to the rail or grab onto it in case I tripped, and if I did fall, I'd have a long, steep way to fall. A train arrived as soon as I got to the platform, and since Porter Square is pretty near one end of the Red Line, there were a lot of vacant seats. From my seat, I observed how over the course of the trip, the people on the train changed: ages, outfits/occupations, races. It was interesting.

When I got home, I tried the stuff from Petsi Pies. The savory pie is good. The roasted veggies are fresh, the crust is flaky, and the goat cheese is flavorful. The sweet pie is okay. The filling is a little sour/tangy for me. The brown sugar walnut topping is pretty good, although there are a few whole walnut chunks, which are okay, but I would've preferred if the nuts were finely ground and better incorporated into the topping. The crust, like that of the savory pie, is nice and flaky. The red velvet cupcake is good. It is topped with frosting--not too sure if it's cream cheese because I don't get an definitive cream cheese flavor--and red sugar. It has a little less frosting than I'd like, but it's good creamy frosting that isn't too dense/heavy, and I like the texture of the red sugar. The cake is good too. It has a hint of cocoa but not overwhelming to the point that it tastes like chocolate rather than red velvet. The texture is good too, not too fluffy/airy but also not too dense. I'd definitely go back for this cupcake, and I'd love to try another one of their savory pies as well as some of the other delectable-looking pastries they have (including scones, brownies).

A nice afternoon overall. I got my exercise, my dose of sunshine, a bit of exploration of a neighborhood I'd never been to before, some decent boneless buffalo wings, and some nice pastries.