Hebert Candies

One of my favorite, and sweetest, childhood memories, is of visiting my grandmother. She and my aunts lived over on the other side of the city, and we were frequent visitors. They had a giant TV that sat on the floor, encased in wood. And they always had multiple boxes of Hebert Candies chocolates, both white and milk. The chocolates were small solid squares, about 48 of them or so in a plastic sleeve, a little pocket for each piece of chocolate. Between the 5 of us kids, we'd eat probably two boxes in one sitting. Not the cheapest snack!

Hebert Candies was a family owned business since 1914, but in 2005 it was acquired by a larger company. They've saved the Hebert Candies name and have recently launched a new candy bar: The Fully Loaded line. They're on sale this week at CVS for $1.50 each. I bought one - dark chocolate, shaped into 12 squares, each filled with margarita lime liquid filling. Delicious. The filling offers a nice, tangy taste, and if you let the chocolate melt in your mouth, you will be able to appreciate the chocolate taste. I've had dark chocolate that has a stronger chocolate flavor, but I think this one is good blended with a filling. I ate the whole candy bar and it was only 10 grams of fat (or was it 15? - who cares? I never eat candy bars. It's better than eating the Pepperidge Farm Chocolate right off the styrofoam tray with a fork. When it's still partially frozen.)

Anyway. They also have apple, raspberry, and some other flavors.

Bukhara Bistro - Yummy Indian Food

Twice, within three days, I had the pleasure of dining on food from Bukhara Bistro, located on Centre Street in Jamaica Plain. This Indian food is just superb. The first meal was takeout. We had samosas, chicken saag, chicken korma, and a lamb dish that I didn't try. Naturally, it came with delicious jasmine rice. The rice was cooked perfectly, and was not mushy at all. Each grain was separated from the rest, you know? The chicken saag was quite spicy, and the chicken was very tender. The korma had a great rich flavor, and the chicken here was tender as well. I love it when you don't need a knife to cut the chicken - it cuts easily with a fork. The samosas were filled with potatoes and peas, and came with that delicious sweet sauce. Overall, a filling, tasty meal.

A couple of days later, I was at the Wake up the Earth festival in JP and was starving. They had tons of food vendors set up and I could have chosen from a number of good burrito places, but it was Cinco de Maio and I was going out for Mexican that night. Then, I smelled the wonderful scent of curry and headed immediately to the Bukhara booth. For $8, I got enough food to feed two people: rice, chicken saag and vegetable korma. Really, quite delicious. I can't say it enough. I've seen Bukhara at an arts and music festival in Cambridge as well. If you see them, definitely try their food. I will certainly go back to Bukhara. I've actually eaten in the restaurant, for lunch, and it was great as well.

The Turkey Bacon

The Turkey Bacon sub is by far my (and my sister's) favorite sub. The best one around can be had at Steve's Pizza in West Boylston. I stopped by on my way home from work on the way to a class in Holden. I had about 40 minutes to get from Steve's to Main St, Holden, eat my dinner, and get to the class by 6:30. I didn't have the number programmed, so I ordered when I got there: Small Turkey Bacon with everything, plus pickles. It took about 10 minutes, cost $5.75, and was big enough (about 12 inches!) that I was full from half and the rest will be tomorrow's lunch. Sweet.

About the sub: plenty of turkey, good quality, not slimy, not too much that you feel sick chomping through a whole pile of turkey; good bacon, appropriately crispy, more meat than fat (yay!). Overall, a good deal.

Worst Turkey Bacon: The Boynton. Not much turkey, about 8 inches long, too much lettuce, hard, pale, tasteless tomatoes, and last time I ordered takeout, they forgot the bacon. Really. How can you forget the bacon on the freaking Turkey Bacon sub? I will never order it from there again. My friend ordered a BLT, and there were like two pieces of bacon on it. HOW RUDE.

Panera Bagel

Running late to work and hungry, I stopped at Panera for a bagel and a coffee. I picked the Asiago cheese bagel with veggie cream cheese, and a medium hot coffee.

First, I found I had to pump my own coffee. I kind of don't like that. I'm okay with adding my own milk but I'd like to get the cup with the coffee already in it.

Second, the bagel was to go and they didn't spread the cream cheese. Now, if it's to go, wouldn't you think, maybe I'm getting in my car, so how would I spread the cheese while driving? So I did it myself in the place.

Third, the bagel wasn't really a good bagel. It actually seemed like it was made from butter roll dough. It was really greasy, nothing like those great Bagel Time bagels. I wish I had just gone there. It cost about $4. Too much, if you ask me.

Satisfying the Mall Thirst

You have five dollars, you’ve been at the mall for four hours, and you’re really thirsty. You need a pick-me-up, and a water or a Coke just won’t do. You want a good, satisfying beverage. I’ve been in this situation twice recently, both times at the Providence Place Mall.

The first time, I’d been to each and every shoe store twice, and bought some at the very first store I entered. This day called for an Orange Julius. Last time I had one was probably at least 5 years ago, at the Auburn Mall. The OJ tastes the same as it did back in the day: orangey, creamy, and slightly unnatural. This one wasn’t as foamy as I remembered, but it did the trick. Price: about $4.

The second time, I was wiped out and had a long night ahead of me, so I opted for the caffeinated route. There’s a coffee shop right outside of Nordstrom’s. You can get normal coffee there, plus all the fancy stuff, and dessert. I went for the Iced Caffe Mocha. My shopping buddy got the Iced Caramel Mocha. Both were fantastic: just enough caffeine, the flavoring didn’t overpower the coffee flavor, and the grande was large enough to make it all the way home from Providence to Worcester (though, I sipped it kind of slowly, I’ll admit.) Price: about $9 for the two coffees.

(by the way, I think $4 is RIDICULOUS for an iced coffee, but I'll indulge if the occasion is right.)

Mmm Pudding

Today I had a chocolate pudding from the work cafeteria. For a mere 90 cents, I got a nice big cup of puddin' with a dollop of whipped cream on top. It it the spot, right about when I was getting sleepy at my desk.

This brings me to another pudding I had recently. It was Jell-o pudding snack cups from the refrigerated section of the grocery store. It was really pretty awful. Not creamy at all, kind of metallic tasting, and not low-fat. If it was low-fat, I'd be okay with it, because at least I would have saved some calories on bad flavor. But this was definitely not worth the calories. I think the Hunt's ones are good. But def not the Jell-o. Bleah.

O'Connor's

Saturday night, there were 2 of us for dinner, and we didn't do call-ahead seating for O'Connor's. The wait was about 30 minutes, which wasn't bad, considering the parking lot was almost full. At O'Connor's, there's no better place to wait than the bar. They have a great selection of beers on tap (Guinness, Wachusett, Harpoon, Bass, and revolving microbrews). I chose the Opa Opa IPA. Pretty tasty. Not as hoppy as Harpoon but good. My Dining Companion (DC for short) had the Guinness and said it was very good.

We were seated in practically the last table in the place - meaning, it was like, waaayyy in the back, around two corners, and in the corner. Not a bad table at all, really.

For dinner, I had the Tortellini and Chicken. Delicious breaded chicken sliced and placed atop a large bowl of tortellini swimming in a parmesan cream sauce, with peas and bacon. Really good. Before, I had a salad, which was also great. Fresh lettuce, good Italian dressing (I think it was a red wine vinaigrette). I might have ordered the soup instead of the salad but the choices were Broccoli and Cheese, Cream of Mushroom, and Clam Chowder. Why do restaurants do that? Put all cream soups on the same day? How about a broth soup, people?

DC ordered the Tom Brady, which is an 8oz filet with blue cheese on top, all on top of mashed potatoes and sauteed onions. I tried the filet and it was really flavorful. The blue cheese added just enough zest, and it was cooked exactly as ordered.

No room for dessert.

Two tips for the ladies:

1) Don't match your dining companion drink for drink if you don't want to forget your leftovers in the car.

2) Leave breadcrumbs when going to the bathroom. You might get lost going back to your seat.

Awkward Coffee Experience

I'm not a coffee snob. Quite the opposite. At work, there's coffee to buy (Seattle's Best but not really the best, in my opinion - too bitter) and there's coffee for free. I like good coffee, but I don't want to pay for it every day. I'd rather buy shoes than coffee. The free coffee is some no-name brand, and every day there's regular, decaf, and two flavored ones. The flavored ones are always gross, like mint chocolate or acid-stomach Irish Creme. In the summer, there's free iced coffee, but they stop making it around September. So, what I do is, fill a big cup with ice, pour some plain free coffee in the cup, add more ice, and top it off with skim. What I get is a big cup of watery iced coffee. Not delicious, but it gets me through the morning, I don't get really jittery from excess caffeine, and I avoid the coffee-withdrawal headache I'd get if I skipped it.

On the days I'm really late to work, I'll often stop at the Bean Counter on Highland Street. My theory is, if you're late, you're late. What's 5 more minutes? I either get an iced coffee, with milk (they don't have skim, so I have real milk), or a hot coffee, something with some flavor. The iced coffee at the Bean is good enough to drink black, and I always like the hot coffees as well. Recently, I started getting lattes, and you really can't go wrong with a latte. They're better at Starbucks than at Dunkin Donuts, and are also good at Bean and the new place in Holden, Sweets and Java.

To get to the point, usually I'm in the Bean Counter in the morning, and I'm in and out pretty quickly. It's always pretty busy, with people in line and sitting at tables. The other night, I met a friend for a coffee around 6 pm. It was Thursday (I know this because I had to get home for a new episode of The Office), and the first room (the one where you enter) was pretty empty. Just one person at the front table. We decided to sit in the second room, which I guess you could call the back, even though it's just as close to the street at the first room. Anyway, there was just one other party at first, and they were pretty quiet. Then a few more tables became filled up, with people either reading, on a laptop, or writing a paper or something. It was still really quiet, even with all these people. Except, of course, for me and my friend. We were catching up, and were talking at a normal volume, not loud or anything, but after a while, we felt like we should start - not quite whispering - but - talking more softly. There wasn't any music playing where we were. I think there was a radio on behind the counter but it seemed to be for the people working there, not for the customers. The lights were blazing bright, the walls were painted a light beige, and the tables were white formica-topped. There were paintings on the walls, but they were really small, and got lost on the sand-colored wall.

Basically, the atmosphere sucked. The coffee was good, but I wouldn't go there again for a sit-down coffee. This isn't the first time I've felt this vibe, and if it hasn't changed in two years, it's probably not going to. My suggestion: warm up the wall color, add some non-fluorescent lighting, some tablecloths or something, and definitely a little background music.

The Flatbread Company Falls Flat

A group of 9 visited the Flatbread Company in Bedford, Mass. last week for a lunch. The food was simple and okay but the setup and functioning of the place was disgusting and annoying. More to follow . . . with pix.

I want to wash out my mouth with soap. It would taste better.

Recently, Price Chopper jumped on the organic foods bandwagon and introduced a brand called Wild Oats. They even had two coupons in their sale flyer recently, so I clipped them and went happily to the Chopper to pickup some discounted organic eats.

One coupon was $1 off any Wild Oats brand item. I opted for this delicious looking Orange Tangerine natural soda. It was a nice orange color, decent packaging, and usually natural sodas are pretty tasty. Not this one. This nastiness tasted like old musty orange drink. Drink, not juice. It was gross, and a total waste of money on my part and effort on theirs. What a disappointment.

If you're looking for a natural soda, I'd say, try Hansen's. For orange soda, Polar Orange Dry is my pick any day. Regular, not diet.

Update!
I emailed Wild Oats with my complaint:

Dear Wild Oats,

I recently purchased Wild Oats Natural Orange Tangerine Italian Soda, and
was completely dissatisfied. The product tasted old, and didn\'t really
taste like tangerine at all. I only had one glass and discarded more than
half the bottle. I paid $.99 for it (priced at 1.99 - 1.00 off coupon.)
The cap says: Prod:052606, best by 082607. It is not out of date.

So...not sure if it's a bad batch, but the bottle says Satisfaction
Guaranteed and I am not satisfied.

Here's the reply (which came just three hours later):

Thank you for contacting Wild Oats with your comments. I am sorry to hear
about your poor experience with our soda. I would like to offer you a coupon
to replace this item. If you are interested, please reply with your address
and I will get one in the mail for you right away.

Thanks, Mom, for making the suggestion to contact them!

Good Ice Cream

Ben and Jerry's on Newbury Street


Overall, a good experience here. The line was practically out the door when we got there, but it moved quickly and in no time, we were embarking on a sugar rush.

I paired the Phish Food (surf and turf edition, with both chocolate cows and fish) with Strawberry Cheesecake on a sugar cone. Both delicious. The SC tasted a lot like cheesecake, and the Phish Food was, as always, great. Chocolate ice cream, caramel swirl, chocolate fish. It was a beautiful day for a snack and we were even able to get a table outside in the sun.

My nephew got the Black Raspberry frozen yogurt. He's a Black Rasp connoisseur - gets it everywhere he goes. He seemed quite pleased with it and ate the entire thing before I'd even finished my first scoop. I noticed that there were real raspberry chunks swirled in. Impressive.

My brother got the new flavor, Creme Brulee. Custard ice cream with swirled caramelized sugar. The caramelized sugar was crunchy, not smooth or soft like caramel. He said it was good.

One final note: You know it's expensive. You could buy a pint for less than you pay for a small cone (2 scoops) but I don't think there's a 7 Eleven on Newbury Street.

Miracle of Science

Saturday night
Miracle of Science Bar and Grille
321 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge

Out for a few beers with a brother and a friend on Saturday night. Where to go in Boston when you're driving, don't want to pay for parking, want good beer on tap (you know, not clear beer like Bud light), and maybe a little snack? We tried the Miracle of Science. The parking was easy, just around the corner. We got there around 10 and were able to get a table with 1 chair and a bench, so room for 3.

It was pretty busy - great people watching at this bar.

The food menu is listed on a chalkboard, in a periodic table of elements. Element "Hb" was for a hamburger.

I shared a chicken quesadilla with my brother. It was delicious, reasonably priced ($4.95, I think), and large. They had 5 beers on tap, including Guiness, Ipswich Ale (I had it, it was good), Bass (also good), and HopDevil IPA.

I'd definitely go back here if I was looking for a casual dinner and good beer, with atmosphere.

Lookin' for a good turkey club?

Try Friendly's. The turkey club is fantastic. And right now, it's a special, so you get a free Happy Ending sundae with it. Yahoo!

Good Eats in Great Barrington

Barrington Brewery

I recently spent the afternoon in the lovely western Mass town of Great Barrington. This is a great little town, and it was my second visit there. The first time I went for lunch at Baba Louie, a for-real excellent pizza joint. That was before this blog, so there's no official review, but suffice it to say, the pizza with figs, mozzarella, and caramelized onions is to die for. And, they have Berkshire Brewing Co. beer on tap.

On my recent visit, four of us had lunch at the Barrington Brewery, which is on the same road as the Wonderful Things yarn shop, for you knitters out there. (We got there shortly after they closed, so didn't get to browse a giant yarn store, but there's always next time.)

The atmosphere at the Brewery is quite comfortable. High ceilings, lots of tables and booths, and large windows which let in a lot of natural light. Off the main restaurant room is a tavern, where they have tacked up hundreds of different beer coasters on the walls. It looks like a fun place to have a beer and an appetizer.

After rave reviews of the chili from one of my dining partners, 2 of us ordered the cup of chili and salad combo. This chili was delicious. Large pieces of ground beef, kidney beans, and smaller black beans. Great chili flavor, and none of the kickback I usually get from the chili at the work cafeteria. The salad was also delicious with romaine, mixed with some field greens, red onion, grape tomatoes, and scallion-herb creamy dressing. Since it was lunchtime, I decided against the beer, and instead had a pink lemonade. It hit the spot.

The rest of my party was similarly pleased with their meals: Vegetarian chili, Salad of the Day (toasted pecans, blue cheese, and grilled chicken on a green salad), and a half a corned beef sandwich.

We all shared a large order of hand-cut french fries. I'd come back just for the fries. And the chili.

So Co Creamery
5 Railroad Street


Ice cream at the So Co Creamery is pricey but delicious. I had the Take 5, which was chocolate ice cream, chocolate and peanut butter swirl, peanut butter cups, and pretzels. Though I didn't really notice the swirl, I did enjoy this flavor. Hugh chunks of the pb cups!

Others in the group had the mint chip and the snickerdoodle. Both received the thumbs up.

It's Good To Go

There's a new coffee shop in Holden, called Sweets and Java. I decided to go there yesterday after I read about it in the Telegram.

First, a tip on where it is. If you're coming from Worcester, and take Reservoir Road, or Salisbury Street, take a left on Main. It's past the center, and it's on the left. I drove by it because I was looking for it on the right. Why, you may ask? Because as I was driving up Main Street, I noticed that the street numbers on the right were even. Like, Al Fresco is #680 Main Street. Somehow, the normal odd/even numbering conventions flipped as they traveled up Main Street.

I was short on time, so I ordered my sweet and my java to go. For me, a decaf latte. For my friend, a regular americano (house blend). To share, a peanut butter mousse chocolate square. The latte was delicious. Very hot, but not scaldingly hot, smooth flavor, and not burnt tasting at all. I don't take sugar in my coffee, and this coffee stood very well on its own. My friend was pleased with her coffee as well. It's the kind of place where you put your own dairy and sugar in, and since I use skim, and don't take sugar, I didn't know what "extra cream, regular sugar" meant. I asked the folks at the counter. They left a reasonable amount of room for the cream, and told me I should go with 2, maybe 3 sugars. There was skim, whole, and half and half, but no cream. I just went with the half and half.

The peanut butter square was awesome, imported from Modern Pastry in the North End, Boston. Oreo cookie crust, super peanut buttery mousse, and thick chocolate frosting on top. It was so good I could have eaten the whole thing, but I knew that it would be so I bought it with the intent to share. It was pretty big and really, a whole one would have been just a little sugarly irresponsible.

I plan to go back soon to have my coffee there and read a book, when I have more time. There are several chairs and a small leather couch in the front, and the walls are a deep red color reminiscent of my own living room (so I'll feel right at home). When that happens, I'll let you know if it's a good place to read.

Campbell's Chunky Grilled Chicken and Sausage Gumbo

Best canned soup ever: Campbell's Chunky Grilled Chicken and Sausage Gumbo. It's spicy, full of flavor, and filling. Perfect for a cool night, where you want to warm up and you're moderately. Toast up some sourdough bread and butter it with real butter, for best results.

Hunka Chunka PB Fudge

I went to lunch with E, a frequent dining companion. When asked what she felt like eating, E said "Something really bad for me." So, to Friendly's we went. (Tatnuck Square, Worcester)

E loved the barbecue cheddar chicken melt (hold the bacon), and I thoroughly enjoyed my medium-well All America burger (L,T,O, no cheese, but mayo! Yes!). They don't serve ginger ale, which is always a disappointment, but the fountain Coke was a good substitute. I also got a glass of ice water and it was pretty good. No nasty chemical or bleach taste.

The meal was capped off with a Happy Ending sundae for me (Hunka Chunka PB Fudge ice cream, hot fudge sauce) and a Reeses Peanut Butter sundae for E (vanilla ice cream, Reese's peanut butter cups, peanut butter sauce, and hot fudge). It was a chocolate and peanut butter day for us. Both sundaes were delicious. I'm craving another one now. But I'm making do with Trader Joe's milk chocolate cranberries (good in small doses - no need to eat more than 15 or so at a time.)

Haiku (again)

My trips to Haiku are looking like they might be a regular thing. I went a couple of weeks ago on a Sunday night with my Sushi Dining Companion (SDC for short). We sat at the bar; not the part where you can watch the sushi being made, but the part in front of the TV. The Grammys were on, so we watched as we, at and chatted with the bartender.

I had a Jameson and Ginger to start... not sure why but I was feeling the Jameson. I was turned onto this delightful drink at a friend's Christmas (not Holiday) Party. It was tasty.

In addition to some repeat maki from our last visit, we ordered the Veg and Shrimp Tempura appetizer. This was amazing. The breading was great, hot and crispy - probably panko breadcrumbs. The shrimp were about 4 inches long, and tasty. Zucchini, onion, and sweet potato were also included. A sweet soy sauce was included for dipping.

We tried something new this time: the Northboro roll. This was a roll filled iwth salmon, scallop, and another fish, rolled in breading, and fried quickly. The fish was fully cooked. This was delicious! I could probably make a meal out of the whole 8-piece serving alone, it was so chock full of fish.

Again, Haiku proved a good place for an adventurous dinner.

Hospital Food

Dairy Queen was recently a short-term resident of UMass Memorial Hospital, and had the opportunity to sample the delicious cafeteria offerings. Here, she'll review both the clear liquid diet and the regular diet provided by the Morrison Catering service.

Clear Liquid
Not much to say about this diet. At least there's variety. Apple juice, ginger ale, water, broth, coffee, tea (no milk), and Jell-O. I've learned that I don't really like orange Jell-O. Also, the containers they use to make the Jell-O and to serve fruit in are really difficult to open. (I should note, maybe not so difficult if you're not on morphine.)

Regular Diet
This diet was actually pretty good. On Saturday morning, I had scrambled eggs, a sausage patty, and a corn muffin for breakfast. Delish. The eggs definitely had salt in them and all the food was really hot. It comes in an insulated container with a lid. To drink, coffee and OJ. Both good. Now, it's possible that I loved the food so much because it was the first solid food I'd had since Wednesday night, but I don't think so.

Lunch was not as good. Chicken and rice soup was SO bland. The broth was water, no seasonings. I sent back the fruit cup because I was paranoid that the melon was tainted. I'm sure it wasn't, since I learned later that the Dole contaminated melons never made it to retail stores. Better safe than sorry, though. The banana that replaced it was good.

Dinner was chicken marsala, rice, and mixed vegetables. Very tasty. Dessert was vanilla ice cream. Yum.

Breakfast the next day was a scrambled egg, bacon and cheese breakfast wrap with a hash brown that looked like the Micky D's hashbrowns. Tasty! I didn't like the wrap, but I usually don't. I just ate the filling. Again, coffee and juice.

Lunch the next day was a fruit, cheese and turkey plate with a bowl of cream of broccoli soup and a chocolate brownie. The soup was really delicious. I was wary, but pleasantly surprised. The fruit plate had green grapes, strips of real turkey, not deli meat, and cubes of sliced orange cheese. It was odd but refreshing. The brownie was good.

Overall, I thought the food was good and the service was really good. If I wanted something else, they were happy to comply. If you have to eat hospital food, this is pretty good.

(That's not to say that I didn't totally enjoy the decaf dunkin donuts coffee that my friend gave me one night.)

Quick Bites: Canyon Cafe, Cheesecake Factory

Location: Canyon Cafe, Westboro, MA
Meal: Dinner

Appetizer sampler: Calamari was really good. Very greasy though. Mushroom egg roll was kind of unusual, with the mushrooms and purple cabbage all falling out and being messy, but it tasted good. Chicken spring roll was delish.

My entree: Taco salad with grilled steak, snakebite beans (corn soaked until it's mushy but still bland), and salsa ranch dressing (bland). I substituted romaine lettuce. It was really nice and crispy, not brown, very fresh. Good salad but the steak could have used more seasoning. I like it spicy!

Strawberry margarita, frozen. Tasty!

Location: Cheesecake Factory, Burlington Mall, Burlington, MA

Appetizer: Lettuce wraps. As always, delicious and messy. Always recommended though.
My entree: SPICY CHICKEN CHIPOTLE PASTA: Honey Glazed Chicken, Asparagus, Red and Yellow Peppers, Peas, Garlic and Onions in a Spicy Chipotle Parmesan Cream Sauce.

It was delicious! Almost as good as the spicy pasta from Uno's.

Dessert: Chocolate mousse cheesecake. Pretty good. Not great. Too mousse-y, not cheesey enough.

Others at the table got chicken marsala (loved it!) and fish and chips ( great!). The ADAM'S PEANUT BUTTER CUP FUDGE RIPPLE (Creamy Cheesecake Swirled with Caramel, Peanut Butter, Butterfingers® and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups®) got the most votes.

The key lime cheesecake was pretty tasty - very tart! Might be a good summer dessert.

Spago!

Location: Spago, Caesar's Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada
Meal: Dinner

Of all the meals we ate in Vegas, this one was the best! It was the one really expensive meal that we ate and boy, was it. But really, every last bite was delicious!

We had reservations, and were seated immediately. Our waiter, John, was very friendly, and even took our picture for us. It came out really crappy, but still, he was nice. (more about him later)

Our table was not the best table - it was right by the door to the kitchen. But we aren't high rollers so we didn't expect the best table. And really, we had a view of the whole restaurant so it was fine.

We each started with a mango martini. These were very yummy, though they did taste mostly like juice. Here's a shot of it:

They brought some bread and I think dipping oil. It was delicious, but I did feel a little uncouth because I wanted to try two pieces, and the waiter had a big platter that he served us individual slices of bread from. Kind of odd. Would have preferred a small basket with a few pieces for the table.

For my entree, I ordered the Sauteed John Dory over Spaetzle, with 2 different delicious sauces. The John Dory is a white fish, like sole. It was wonderfully seasoned and sauteed so that it had a crispy coating of seasoning. I'd never had spaetzle and it was pretty good. It's crispy pieces of dough with cheese and onion mixed in.

My friend ordered the Black Truffle Crusted Irish Salmon with Sunchokes, Black Trumpet Mushrooms, Confit Bacon and Brussel Leaves. She loved it. She said it was really rich, cooked perfectly, and filling but she wasn't too full for dessert. I tried a tiny piece and found it very flavorful. The black truffle crust was unbelievable.

Here are some pictures. I had to adjust them so they aren't perfect, but I was trying to be classy in the fancy restaurant and didn't want to use the flash.



For dessert, we ordered a sampler that came with mini bites of apple tart, lemon lemon lemon custardy cake with berry sauce, creme brulee, and chocolate mousse. Also it came with an espresso martini shot and a Bailey's martini shot. The sampler was good, but we decided that we might have been happier sharing a full-size dessert. Now, back to John, the waiter. He liked us and gave us 2 free shots (same as what came with the dessert sampler). That was nice!




Overall, I really liked the food, and if I was near another Wolfgang Puck restaurant and had money to burn, I'd definitely eat there.

Westside Steak and BBQ

Westside Steak and BBQ has opened up in the same location that a failed BBQ place resided, at 2 Richmond Ave in Worcester. Since I was really tired, due to a late return from Vegas last night (really, 2am this morning), I stopped by for some takeout. I was hoping that the food quality would be better than the now-defunct Casper's. I was pleased and if I used the star rating, I'd give them a 3.5 out of 5. But I'm not doing stars so I'll just tell you about the food.

I ordered a pulled pork sand with fries and slaw. The sandwich was huge; I wasn't able to finish it. The BBQ sauce was standard, zesty barbecue, not really hot. I prefer the N. Carolina sauce on pulled pork. (Try Tennessee's BBQ in Framingham and Franklin. Unbelievable.) The fries were nice and crispy but they're the kind that have that coating on them, like Burger King. They aren't my favorite. I was too full to eat the slaw so I'm saving it, but I tried a bite. It was very good. Crisp, fresh, cold, and not too mayonnaisey.

The meal was $6.99 plus tax.

The decor is nice. A mirror lines one wall and a large mural lines the other. The tables are wooden with comfortable cane-back chairs. There is real silverware, and food is served on ceramic plates. The last place that was there served on styrofoam and the tables had holds in them so the drinks sweated onto your clothes. It's byob.

For a quick dinner option, I'd say this place is pretty good. I'd like to go back and try the rest.

Coming soon... Good eats in Las Vegas

Dairy Queen is at a conference in Vegas and is taking advantage of the good dining. She'll have photos and reviews when she returns!!

Pomodoro

Location: Pomodoro, Washington St, Brookline, MA
Meal: Sunday Brunch

Pomodoro is a small space in Brookline, 2 doors up from Matt Murphy's. I've been there for dinner before, and yesterday, I met the family for brunch. There were 3 adults and 2 kids (one in need of a high chair). Without reservations, we waited about 20 minutes for a table. The place was very busy and noisy as there was a jazz band playing, but it wasn't too noisy to talk without yelling.

The brunch menu offers more than 10 choices, each $10. Choices ranged from a yogurt, granola and fruit bowl to shrimp and asparagus bake. Two of us went for the Pork Confit with Roasted Vegetables and Scrambled Eggs. The pork was a confit because it was slow-cooked in duck fat. This made it quite savory and delicious. The pork was shredded, then mixed with vegs like potatoes, onions, green peppers, etc. and stacked, with scrambled eggs on top of the stack. We both loved this and ate the entire serving.

My brother ordered the Petite Steak with Poached Egg and Hollandaise. I tried a piece of steak and it was very flavorful. Lots of seasoning on the steak, and a really good hollandaise.

One of the kids ordered tortellini with butter. We could smell the butter from the other side of the table but this kid wasn't sharing. The other kid brought his own graham crackers.

I'm telling this out of order, but that's because I wanted to get right to the entrees. While I was waiting at the bar for the rest of my party, I snacked on some bread and olive oil. There was foccaccia and thick toasted italian bread, and a large plate of olive oil with green and black olives. Some of the olives were tiny, like the size of a pea. Pretty tasty. This was awesome.

The coffee was okay. Not awesome.

They also serve fresh-squeezed OJ, which was downed very quickly by my sister-in-law and nephew, and mimosas and bloody marys.

I'm definitely planning a return trip.

Haiku

Location: Haiku, Park Ave, Worcester, MA (formerly On the Rocks, next to El Basha West)
Meal: Dinner

It's been a couple of years since I've had sushi and I was pleased to find out a new restaurant had opened up nearby. Haiku features the sushi stylings of Kenzo, who used to work at Zipango on Shrewsbury Street. I was excited to see that he brought the Tiger Eye roll to Haiku.

I met a friend for dinner on Monday night. It was busier than expected for a Monday but it was a holiday. We were able to get a table right away. They have a full bar and an extensive wine list but I was in the mood for a beer. I ordered a Stella; my friend ordered a Coors Light. After at least 10 minutes, the waitress returned, beerless, to tell me that they were out of Stella. I chose a Sam Adams. She returned after another 10 minutes, still empty-handed, to tell me they were out of Sam Adams, but they had Sam Light. I went for it. Mere moments went by before we both received our beers. Finally. I wonder why there was the wait for the Coors Light, though, since they had that.

We ordered four rolls: Philadelphia Roll (wrapped in smoked salmon), avocado roll, Tiger Eye, and The Worcester Roll. The Tiger Eye is delicious, fully cooked, light tempura on the outside, with a flavorful sauce. I love this roll. The Worcester Roll is rice, beef, sweet potato, and some green sprouty things. This was also good but I liked the Tiger Eye better. My friend really enjoys the avocado and philly rolls. Overall, we were both very happy with the meal.

One thing - there was a piece of hair on the tablecloth. Clearly not one of ours. We were at a four-person table, and it was on the side that we weren't sitting at, so it wasn't that bad, but if we'd been sitting there, I might have been skeeved out. The place is nicely decorated and other than the hair, it seems very clean. I would not let that put me off from going again.

The sushi, beautifully displayed on the plate, from front to back: Avocado roll, Tiger Eye, Philadelphia Roll, Worcester Roll.

A haiku

A winter dinner
Appetite sated by fish
Rice, seaweed, and more

Finder's Pub (again)

Location: Finder's Pub, West Boylston, MA
Meal: Dinner, Friday night

This was another good Finder's experience. I ordered the Waldorf Chicken Salad, which was chicken salad with cranberries and walnuts, on top of salad with green grapes and green apple slices. I substituted romaine/iceberg blend for the spring greens because I wanted the crunch. The waitress suggested the balsamic vinaigrette and it was a hit.

Buffalo Girl had the buffalo chicken salad, which was delicious. And large.

Steak and Potatoes had the baked haddock with rice pilaf and baby carrots and loved it. I've raved about the baked haddock at Finder's before and Steak and Potatoes seconds my review.

Uno Chicago Grille

Last night I met some friends to do some returns at the Blackstone Shoppes in Millbury. The mall was packed. It took 3 left turn light cycles for me to enter the mall road. This was around 6:15 pm. We put our names in at two restaurants because the waits were equally as long at both. We figured, we'd take the first page. Uno's won over Red Robin and boy, am I glad. I had the best meal. I ordered the Uno Firecracker Pasta. It's penne pasta with a spicy alfredo sauce, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, and sauteed chicken. When they say spicy, they really mean spicy. This was not that fake spicy that other places say, like when you order the "extra hot" buffalo wings and still need a tub of Frank's Red Hot to get some heat on those wings. The portion size was great, as I had leftovers for dinner tonight. The breadstick was also ideal. Buttery, with shaved parmesan cheese crisped on top. The side house salad with italian dressing was also good, but in a "salad is good for you so eat it" kind of way.

My dining companions were also quite happy with their meals. They shared the sausage flatbread pizza and a honey crisp chicken salad. This salad looked great. Tons of bacon and cheddar cheese. The dressing was given the thumbs up. The only comment I heard was that there could have been a little more lettuce. The pizza disappeared pretty quickly as well. Oh, and the 2 year old with us ate almost 2 whole pieces of cheese pizza so I'm going to say it was a success.

Sweetness alert: The BBQ sauce they use on the BBQ pizza is citrusy. We found this out because the staff puts out flatbread pizzas for the hordes of waiting patrons.

Question: There was a big bowl of red delicious apples by the door, right next to the tray of individually wrapped toothpicks (handy). Were these Uno's version of the after dinner mint? Should we have taken some?

Tostitos Scoops - Disappointing

I've had Tostitos Scoops several times, always from a big bag, and I've liked them. But yesterday at work, I bought a $.99 big grab to go with my sandwich and I was very disappointed. They were flavorless. There wasn't enough salt and they tasted like baked tortilla chips. Wasted calories. Of course, I saved about 1/3 of the bag and ate them today, with today's sandwich, hoping that they'd improved overnight. They hadn't.

The Flying Rhino

Location: The Flying Rhino, Shrewsbury St, Worcester, MA
Meal: Lunch, Friday afternoon

Three of us went for lunch one Friday afternoon last month. It was around 1, and it was still really busy in there, but we were seated right away.

We started with an appetizer of goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and pesto, formed into a terrine. This was really tasty. The pesto had a lot of flavor. I don't like goat cheese but the others do, and found it delicious. The toasts that it came with were also good. Still warm and not too hard.

We each ordered a sandwich: Veggie Wrap, Cuban Panini, and Chicken Wrap. Two out of these 3 were good. The cuban panini was not really good. There was something in it that had a funny taste, sort of metallic. The sauce on the chicken wrap was yummy and creamy. The veggie wrap was chock full of good veggies, with quite a variety. All came with fries. They were good. I ate every one.

Here are some pictures of the food!

Drinks and Dessert at Bertucci's

Location: Bertucci's, Atrium Mall, MA
Meal: Dessert, Friday night

One of my friends, a frequent dining companion, and I were looking for some dessert at the Atrium Mall. We had eaten dinner a few hours earlier at the Cheesecake Factory but had been too full for dessert so thought we'd window shop and then head back later. Well, at 8pm there was a 45 minute wait so we quickly turned around. There's not a large selection of eateries in this mall, so we headed over to Bertucci's to see if they had dessert. They did, and the bar was empty (there are only about 5 stools at the bar).

We were going to get a nice coffee drink to go with some dessert but it was really warm in the mall. My friend came up with the brilliant idea of White Russians! Yum! Bertucci's made this drink really well. 2% milk, vodka, and Kahlua. There was quite a kick to the drink. We also shared the chocolate mousse cake, which was a multi-layer cake with whipped cream and raspberry coulis. Delicious, really big, too much for us to finish, even while sharing.

Yellow Tail Pinot Noir

I tried the Yellow Tail Pinot Noir at my friends' Christmas Party last week and it was really good. Great flavor, light but not watered down, kind of berry-ish.

The Melting Pot

Location: The Melting Pot, Framingham, MA
Meal: Dinner, a celebration

For those of you who don't know, The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant, not a place where people of all ethnicities have settled in harmony. Everything on the menu, except the salad, is supposed to be dipped in a hot sauce, whether it's sweet or savory.

Because there were 5 of us, we decided to get two of the "Big Night Out" option. This option is designed to serve 2, and you get 2 salads, 1 cheese fondue, 1 meat selection (there are three options), and a dessert selection. I passed on the salad, since I'd had one for lunch, but rumor has it, they were delicious.

The cheese course was tasty. We got the cheddar and the santa fe cheeses. The neat thing about the Melting Pot is that the waitress creates all of the dips at the table. She brought grated cheese, added the beer base and the cheese to the pot, stirred it up until it was all melted, and then added flavors like garlic and jalapeno. The cheese pot was a hit with the whole table. We mostly ate the tortillas and bread that came with it. I was the first to have a bread castaway in the cheese, and it led to veggie and meat castaways in the following courses.

At this point, we were all pretty much full, but then the meat courses came out. We chose one with mushrooms, potatoes, chicken, steak and ravioli, and another with all that plus shellfish (shrimp and 2 lobster tails). The meat came out raw and we cooked it in pots of almost-boiling broth, flavored with burgundy wine. The broth was really good. The wine added a nice full flavor.

The table pretty much all agreed that the best part of the meat course was the beef rubbed with a portabello paste. The mushrooms and potatoes were also delicious. There was a sour cream based sauce that went very well with the mushrooms.

A couple of years ago, Buffalo Girl and I went to a fondue restaurant in Montreal. We'd never had fondue in a restaurant and did not know what to expect. At that place, the meat was shaved very thin, and it cooked in less than a minute. It was easy to tell when it was cooked. At the Melting Pot, the meat came in chunks, and it made me nervous. Undercooked chicken is not something I want to eat, but overcooked chicken is also unappetizing. It was hard to tell when the chicken was done and the lighting was dim so it wasn't necessarily possible by looking. A few times, the steak was left in for the suggested 3 minutes and came out pretty rare. Some people might like that. I don't love it.

Moving on to dessert. (full yet?! I was.) Plus, we'd already been at the restaurant for almost 2 hours and we were all getting kind of antsy.) We ordered 2 different chocolates, milk chocolate with peanut butter and oreo cookie (dark chocolate, my favorite). The dipping snacks were bite-size versions of cheesecake, brownies, strawberries, bananas, and some other things I can't remember now. All good, but a little sweet, and too much after the first 3 courses.

Prices are pretty high at this place. The Big Night Out ranges from $84 - $92 (approx) and that does not include drinks or choosing specialty broths. I think I would share one Big Night Out with 3 people, depending on how hungry we were. I would also like to go back for just apps and drinks. One note: Beer selection sucked. Pretty much your standard clear beers and Sam Adams.

Linguine's (II)

Location: Linguine's, Marlboro, MA
Meal: Lunch (takeout)

Linguine's has a really good tuna sub. The basics: Tuna, lettuce, tomato, onion, on a sub roll that is kind of chewy and has cornmeal on the crust. The tuna is really fresh, just enough mayo, and delicately seasoned. I did add some pepper and little salt, but it wasn't really necessary. Price: $4.95. The sub is probably about a foot long, and they cut it in half. I actually shared it with a friend because a whole sub is usually too much for me to eat at once. Not that I don't but then I'm really full.

Snack Time!

I'd rather buy a big jar of applesauce and pack it in a reusable Tupperware container, instead of buying single serving snacks. Last week, though, I received a big box of free stuff from Rachael Ray magazine and their advertisers. One of the snacks was Mott's Blueberry Applesauce. This snack was delicious. The blueberry flavor was really prominent and since the ingredience only included apples and blueberries, and a little citric acid, it wasn't overly fake-sweet. I might have to get more of these sometime.

Fun colorful packaging



Wonderful purply color

Bagel Time

Location: Bagel Time, Park Ave, Worcester, MA
Meal: Breakfast (late to work!)

There's a reason Bagel Time wins best bagels each year. They're awesome. The bagels are dense, boiled bagels with a shiny crust. I always get a spinach garlic bagel and last week, I had the scallion bacon cream cheese. Full fat. YUM. It's best when the bagel is still warm from the toaster.

They also have decent coffee but I don't know what kind it is. Only thing is, they use paper cups and the coffee is really hot and they don't have those extra cardboard pieces to slip around. So, remember to grab extra napkins.

Bagel Time is a once in a while place for me because eating that much cream cheese at once can't be good for me, and $5 for breakfast is a little much to make it a daily habit.

Mmm Mangorita

Location: Naked Fish, Westboro, MA (it's a small chain, though)
Meal: Drinks only

When hearing I was heading out to the Naked Fish for drinks, my friend the margarita connoisseur recommended their mango margarita. I went for it and it was delicious. The drink is called a Mangorita and is in the Specialty Drinks section of the drink menu. Ingredients were Sauza Gold, mango puree, lime juice and Grand Marnier. It came in a festive bowl shaped stem glass with a sugared rim, on ice. The mango puree was thick but not too pulpy, and I couldn't even taste the tequila. Though, there was definitely some in there. (I had some food so don't be concerned about that.)

They have lots of other drinks that sound good too. My friend got a mango Mai Tai, and loved it. There was dark rum floating on the top and she didn't realize until she bit into the cherry and realized it had been soaking in rum.

I also like the bar at the Naked Fish. It's sufficiently dark, with nice lighting and sweet leather chairs and couches. Really comfortable. I've eaten dinner there before and the food's really good. Kind of pricey - better to go on the corporate card.

Archer Farms Ginger Beer

Target has an exclusive brand, Archer Farms. I've had some hits and misses with this brand. The ginger beer soda is in the middle. It has some pretty good ginger flavor, but I don't think it's as good as Shweppes ginger ale - not enough crispiness or bubbles or something. I have one bottle left from a 6 pack, so I'm going to try to mix it with some liquor. It will probably hold up, maybe better than ginger ale.

Finder's Pub

Finders Pub is the only place around here that serves their meals on Fiestaware. I think it adds a nice homey feel to an already comfortable and good-eatin' restaurant.

Tonight, I had the Bud Light draft. It's a steal at $1.95/pint. I also ordered the baked haddock dinner. It came with a very large piece of haddock, perfectly cooked, with a light topping of bread crumbs that were appropriately crispy. I chose the mashed potatoes as a side. They were delicious, and had little bits of potato skin in them, so I knew they were real. The pat of butter I added made the experience even more decadent. The vegetable side was mixed vegetables: broccoli, parsnips, carrots, green beans, cauliflower. They were pretty awful - unflavored (I chose not to add the butter provided), and kind of soft and I guess overcooked. But I ate them because they're good for me.

My dining companions, Buffalo Girl and Steak and Potatoes, had the BLT on white with fries and the Sirloin Tips and Tomatoes Salad. The BLT was okay, a little dry. The sirloin salad was very good. It looked good from where I was sitting. Romaine lettuce and spring greens, very red plum tomatoes, onions, gorgonzola cheese, and steak tips. S and P chose blue cheese dressing and was very happy with his meal. His only complaint was the tips were cooked more than he'd like. He ordered medium-rare and they weren't rare enough.

Johnny Rockets

Location: Johnny Rockets, Burlington Mall, MA
Meal: Late night dinner.

First of all, let me say that going to Johnny Rockets after 10 pm on a Friday night is probably not the best idea. It left the service a little lacking, but overall, it was a decent experience. I think that they were pretty much done for the night and we happened in after a marathon shopping event. There were about 2 other parties there, and the waiter seemed to be pretty new. He was really nice, though, and as attentive as he was able to be.

There were 2 of us, and we both ordered cheeseburgers and cherry Cokes. I got the half onion rings/half fries. My friend got just fries.

The burgers came out separately from the fries. I guess they cook the burgers out back, and the fries are made out front, behind the counter. So there was kind of a lag between when I got my fries/rings and when my friend got her fries. Once we had all the food on the table, we realized that we could have shared a small order of fries and have still been totally full. As it was, we barely made a dent in the sides. I ate the entire burger, though. It was good, and cooked as I requested (medium).

You get these neat little paper dipping bowls that you can put the ketchup in. They also have something called "red red sauce", which is a ketchup-based sauce for fries and burgers. I can't figure out what else is in it. It was okay but I didn't put it on my burger. Burgers come with mustard and mayonnaise. Love it.

It's a good place to go for a table-service meal that is reasonably priced in the mall. The decor is flashy.

Another cool thing is they have straw dispensers on each table, and the waiter pulled up the top so we could each grab a straw when he brought our Cokes.

Muffin

Location: The Bean Counter, Highland Street, Worcester, MA
Meal: Breakfast

I was running late today so I didn't have time to make breakfast. I decided to swing by the Bean Counter and pick up a coffee and hopefully a sinfully delicious pastry. I usually go for the chocolate croissant, and those are always delicious. Today, they were all out of croissants. There was a customer giving the cashier some feedback on that very fact. Nice feedback, but it had probably been going on for quite a while before I got there, and I think the girl working was holding her patience very well.

I settled on a muffin, and while I'd like to give it a thumbs up, today, it was a half-thumb. The muffin was raspberry lemon, and the flavor was very raspberry and lemon, but the muffin was definitely overcooked. The top was hard-ish and chewy, there was melted sugar and other sticky stuff all over the outside of the muffin paper, and the muffin inside the paper had a thick overcooked crust. The center was really good - if only it was all cooked just enough, instead of too much.

The coffee was good- Kenya AA with milk. Smooth, creamy, not bitter, and very hot.

Tony's Pizza

Location: Tony's Pizza, Sutton, Route 146
Meal: Dinner (around 5:30 pm on a Friday)

After a shopping trip in Providence, Buffalo Girl, Mom, and I headed home. We stopped by Tony's Pizza for some dinner. This place was crazy busy. It was dinnertime so we expected it to be a little crowded. It was a madhouse, what with takeout orders being picked up, numbers being called over the loudspeaker, and lots of hungry people waiting for their food by the counter. We ordered pretty quickly, 3 fish and chips, a Greek salad, and 3 small sodas. They also serve beer and wine here. We found a good sized booth by the window. The only downside was that it was right beneath a speaker, and the volume was kind of loud.

Our food came out very quickly - around 10 minutes, which was great. We'd just gotten our sodas.

Each fish and chips order came with 2 large pieces of fish. The batter was thin and pretty tasty. The plate was piled with french fries, way too many to eat. They were not my favorite kind of fries, they were not smooth. But, they were hot and crispy. I ate one piece of fish, and too many fries. Then, Buffalo Girl and I dug into the salad. We were stuffed, though, so couldn't eat as much as we'd like. The salad was very good. You have to be sure to ask for Greek dressing (it's Ken's), otherwise you will get Italian. Lots of feta, tomatoes, I think iceberg lettuce, kalamata olives, purple onions.

I liked it at Tony's. The food was good, the price was right, and it was a good stopping point on the way home from RI.

Crapsto's Part Deux

You know what was really funny though? Mom thought that the greek dressing was soup, but really weird looking soup. Because it came in a ramekin with a spoon!! If they were going to do it that way, it should have come in something like a creamer or a cruet or something. Not a ramekin!

The Golden Arches

Saturday late dinner

After a nearly fruitless Christmas shopping excursion Steak and Potatoes and I emerged from the mall just before closing time. It was too late to go out for a full service dinner so we decided to swing through McDonald's and pick up something unhealthy but tasty. As usual, we chose our meals from the dollar menu. One McChicken sandwich (recommended by Dairyqueen), two double cheeseburgers, a fruit and yogurt parfait, and two small fries.
When we pulled up to the cashier we were told that the fries would be three minutes and if we'd like to park he would bring our entire order over to us. After ten minutes a polite and apologetic teen brought us our food and told us he had upped our fries to larges because of the long wait.
Bonus!
The parfait was not bad. The strawberries were quite flavorful but the blueberries ( I think they were blueberries) had zero taste.

Overall it was a fairly routine trip to McDonald's. Low cost, good taste, moderate guilt.

Crapsto's

Location: Christo's Restaurant, Stafford Street, Worcester
Meal: Dinner, Saturday evening

Dinner at Christo's was an altogether bad experience. I'm going to just list all the terrible things that happened.

• The service was horrendous. We were basically ignored for a good portion of the evening. It took almost an hour to get our entrees. We were provided with 2 drink servings; you know, firsts and seconds. The wait staff was made up of about 4 college age girls, and an older woman who seemed to be in charge. Except that she didn't seem to mind that the wait staff was, for the majority of the time, leaning on the waitress counter, chin in hand, slack-jawed and blank-stared.
• We never got the extra napkins we asked for, so took some off the next table. The table was NEVER cleared. We were surrounded by dirty, empty dishes and glasses for a good 40 minutes after we finished eating.
  
• We were never asked if we wanted dessert. We didn't. But they should have asked.
  
• We sat for at least 20 minutes waiting for a waitress to come by to see if we wanted the check. Then we waited another 20 to get it after we asked for it. When we got it, there was an 18% gratuity added on. For shame, Christo's. Just because we had a large party, we weren't going to tip for shitty service. The waitress took it off. But really now. How rude. We tipped about 10% and even that seemed wrong.
  
• Almost all of the specials were seafood-based. There were at least 30 seafood casserole type entrees. Apparently, they were trying to use it up before it went bad.
• Out of the 7 seafood entrees, they mixed up 5 of them. The waitress claimed she wasn't very good at telling the seafood entrees apart. The she laughed. Yeah, real funny. One of our entrees was actually given to another table, so that person was the only one who got hot food because they put a rush on a re-do. I had the haddock. it was kind of rubbery. I also had the greek grean beans. The beans were the consistency of a shoelace and there were way too many tomatoes. They were basically gross.
• One of us ordered the monte christo but said, just turkey please. They also put in ham, and forgot the maple syrup.
• The greek salad was just an insult. It was as if the chef said: "To make salad, remove all green leaves from a head of iceberg. Chop up the yellow center and place on plate. Add a miniscule amount of the rest of the ingredients. Serve with super long green onions or scallions or whatever. Dressing goes in a ramekin with a spoon." Nice. Why wouldn't you do the same for the maple syrup? That came in a plastic to go cup with a cover.
• Prices were way too high for what we got. Entrees were around 13. The scallop casserole had about 5 scallops, the small ones.
  
• The saddest part was, this was to celebrate a birthday, and the waitress knew it was a birthday celebration and obviously didn't care. The memory is just painful. I hope next year's is better.
  

The Aegean

Location: The Aegean, Framingham, MA
Meal: Dinner

The Aegean is in a new location on Route 30 in Framingham, behind Shopper's World. A friend and I tried to go there on a weekend night, at the height of dinner hour, and the wait was over an hour and a half. This time, we tried on a Thursday night.

The inside is beautiful. The space is very large, and has an open floor plan with 2 levels. We were seated on the second level, at a two-person table that was next to a curved wall that looked over on the lower level. We were right in the middle of the restaurant, with a view of the whole room. The table was set very nicely, and the bathrooms were really nice, and very clean.

Dipping oil and a selection of breads came out quickly. Delicious! The oil was very flavorful and the bread was delicious - pita and another type of bread. I ordered a class of Greek red wine, a Pinot Noir, I think, and my companion ordered a Greek white wine. Both were delicious. I wish I could remember the names of them but the meal was about a month ago and I didn't take notes. Now, I carry a notepad.

I ordered the chicken gyro dinner; my companion ordered the lamb gyro dinner. The came disassembled on an oval plate - a row of tzatziki, a mound of chicken or lamb, and a mound of vegetables (lettuce, tomato, onion). The chicken was nicely seasoned and the tzatziki was wonderful. The lamb gyro also got rave reviews. There was enough for me to take leftovers home and have a second meal.

We shared a dessert, galaktobouriko, which is a custard filling with filo dough crusts and honey. It was delicious and tasted just like my grandmother used to make. They served it with cinnamon and whipped cream but I like it served simply, with a glass of milk or cup of tea.

The Aegean is a good destination for a nice dinner. Prices are in the medium to high range, but the gyros were actually not too pricey, about $13 each. Just try to get there early on the weekend.

Great Greek Salad

Location: Leo's T Bird Pizza, Chandler Street, Worcester
Meal: Lunch, Sunday

I've been to Leo's a few times over the past several years - it seems that I always go there with one particular friend. Every time I go, it's always good, and the folks who work there are always super friendly. This time, both I and my dining partner ordered the Greek salad. This was a great salad. It was really big, so big I couldn't finish it. My friend could, but she's eating for two. There's plenty of feta, good kalamata olives (pits in, yay!) and it comes with 4 large slices of very soft pita bread. The best part, though, is the dressing. It's creamy and tangy, and the menu says it's homemade.

P.S. They also have the Coffee News, so it's cool to dine in alone.

A Dunkariffic Experience

Location: Dunkin Donuts Drivethrough, Grafton St, Worcester

DD Employee: I'll be right with you...I'll be right with you... One minute

[3 minute wait]

DDE: Ok, what can I get for you? (Lots of water running, clinking of metal on metal, and many conversations in the background)

Us: Small gingerbread latte, no whipped cream.
DDE: Anything else?
I've changed my mind so:
Us: Actually, please add the whipped cream.
DDE: Okay.
Us: Also, a medium half coffee, half hot chocolate.
DDE: That's basically a dunkaccino.
Us: No, I just want regular coffee, not the cappuccino coffee.
[Lots of back and forth, until finally, we drive up to the window.]

Here's where it gets interesting. One DDE takes our money, and returns with our change. Another employee altogether delivers my gingerbread latte, but forgot the whipped cream. He quickly returns with the modified drink, and kind of looks at us. We ask where the coffee/cocoa is.

DDE: Oh, that's right. (because it's been all of 3 minutes since we ordered)

He returns quickly with the coffee/cocoa, and pleasantly asks how my latte is. We chat about whether it's coffee or syrup (it's syrup with caramel and gingerbread flavoring), and then, drive off, laughing. The funniest part was that the DDE was checking in on us as if we were dining in. It was the slowest drive through experience, but not unpleasant.

Friendly's

Location: Friendly's, Tatnuck Square, Worcester, MA
Meal: Lunch, weekday

When you go to Friendly's, you pretty much know what you're getting. The food quality is consistent, the fries have been good since high school, and they've even added some decent healthy options. The other thing is, now that friends and family are having children, it's a good place to go that has reasonably priced food for kids and grown-ups, and this place actually likes having the kids there.

On a recent visit, I got the Tuna Roll (tuna, cheese, and lettuce), on light rye, with fries, and a Sprite. I was disappointed by the lack of ginger ale on the menu, but the Sprite was good. The only feedback I have on my meal is the tuna could have used some seasoning, like salt and pepper. I had to rush out and couldn't stick around for dessert, which was quite a disappointment.

Service was good. The waiter was attentive and called the second-youngest member of our party "the youngster". So cute.

Why Food Network is Good for You

Tonight on Good Eats, Alton Brown said that egg nog is good for counteracting the acetaldehyde production that results from drinking alcoholic beverages. It's in direct competition with the grease-heavy diner breakfast that has been the usual hangover breakfast of choice. I'll have to try it.

Quick Chicks!!

Remember Quick Chicks? Well, if you're having a craving for the popular college food, hit the McDonald's Dollar Menu. The McChicken Sandwich is a good replacement - breaded, deep fried, mayonnaise, and lettuce. It brings me back to days of Daka and WPI.

the Little Penguin

Location: Austin Liquors, Gold Star Boulevard, Worcester, MA

The Cabernet Sauvignon by the Little Penguin was on sale for $9.99 / 1.5 liter bottle, so I picked up a bottle for Thanksgiving. We found that the red wine actually went pretty well with the traditional Thanksgiving meal. The flavor was mild, light to medium bodied. The wine actually looked like it was watered down, but didn't taste watered down. For a reasonably priced bottle of wine, I'd get it again.

Snack Attack

Store: Christmas Tree Shops, Olde Shrewsbury Village

For a snack attack during the Christmas shopping season, I recommend Utz Cheddar and Sour Cream potato chips. They were a bargain at 69 cents for a 5 oz. bag. These chips are great. The cheddar flavoring is not laid on too heavily, and is consistent across all chips. The grease factor is low and you can taste the potato. You might want to get more than one bag. I wish I had.

Not so Lucky

Location: Lucky's Cafe, Grove Street, Worcester, MA
Meal: Lunch

I've never been to the Blue Cricket on Chandler Street in Worcester. Mom and I tried to go there on a a Monday at about 1:45. It was closed. The door was unlucked, but the sign said "Closed". At 1:45. It seemed a little early to be closing for the day, but we actually don't know if they're even open on Mondays because their hours aren't posted anywhere.

We ended up at Lucky's Cafe, because they still had a half hour left. I'd been there before and remembered it being pretty good. This time, not so good.

I had the special sandwich: 3 cheese pita melt with onions, artichoke, and tomatoes. There was way too much cheese - it was like all melted cheese, which made it hard to choke down. And they forgot the tomatoes.

Mom had the ham, cheese and asparagus wrap (lettuce, tomato) and a tea. The sandwich was way more substantial than mine, and I actually had the leftovers. It was good but I think the asaparagus was a weird touch. The bad part was the tea. The presentation was awful. It came in a tiny cup, without a saucer. It just looked awful sitting there, tea bag string hanging down to the table, a little water foam on top, since the tea hadn't steeped or been stirred yet. So with no saucer, where does the used tea bag go? I guess wrapped up in a napkin. Ick.

They did have some really beautiful photographs displayed, taken by Don Bullens in Key West.

Don't Drink the Water

Don’t drink the water at TGI Friday's at the Blackstone Shoppes in Millbury. It is unfiltered Millbury tap and tastes like bleach. Which then leads me to: better not order any soda. Stick to beer.

We went on a Tuesday night and it was surprisingly busy. Maybe that was why the fries and burger weren't hot.

An eating break

Last week, I was on vacation and had all the time in the world...to shop Peapod online and have my groceries delivered! The ultimate in lazy, practical, or something. I got a lot of good, healthy food - soup, salad fixins, and yogurt. I also ordered a delicious can of Pringles (reduced fat, of course) and a package of double stuff oreos (to make up for the reduced fat Pringles).

With all this eating out and ordering in, I thought it was high time I returned myself to the gym. And wouldn't you know, they have brand new treadmills!! That have TVs!! Personal ones!! This is really awesome. Now I can watch Seinfeld, or whatever crappy sitcom I want, instead of CNN or Fox News, which is always on the big TVs.

No worries - I have plans to go out to eat very soon, and even if I don't, I do plan to eat some prepared food that I'll tell you all about.

P.S. I was not saying Seinfeld is a crappy sitcom. Just other sitcoms.

P.P.S. Maybe Seinfeld was not the best choice of sitcoms, in light of the Michael Richards press.

Max Stein's

Restaurant: Max Stein's
Location: 94 Hartwell Ave, Historic Lexington, MA
Meal: Lunch
Day: Friday

A group of six, we drove out to Lexington to celebrate a birthday. We managed to beat the lunch rush by arriving around 12:30, and were seated at a nice table at the end of the room.

Max Stein's has great atmosphere. The lighting is soft, with dark woodwork and light colored walls. There is fairly large bar - it looks like a nice place to go for drinks and apps. We sat in the main room, where the tables were outfitted with white tablecloths, water goblets, and cloth napkins. The chairs, though, were fantastic. Plush leather, rounded, padded backrest and seat. These chairs were the best. Especially after a long drive on little sleep.

We had bread and butter, and here too, Max Stein's was top notch. There were three kinds of bread: french, garlic-infused french, and cranberry. The butter was whipped. Need I say more?

The good:
The fried haddock sandwich was good. The piece of fish was large, and the vegetables on top (LT) were fresh and crisp.
Three layer chocolate cake with whipped cream was decadent. We shared it and it was big enough to go around. Maybe that was because it was for the birthday diner.
The tea came in the cutest round stainless steel pot, with round ball feet.

The bad:
They forgot to put the candied walnuts on RunnerGuy's Goat Cheese Salad. Two other diners had the Caesar salad and they forgot the dressing for both. Not to mention, the chicken on the salad was not as moist as it could be. And only 2 croutons! 2!

The awesome:
The bathroom. Huge, clean, fancy, and paper towels that are practically cloth napkins.

Overall, I'd give it a good review, but might want to test out lunch again before I dropped the cash for dinner.

The Mediterranean Cafe

Restaurant: The Mediterranean Cafe
Location: 33 Blackstone River Road, Worcester, MA
Meal: Dinner, Saturday night
Attendees: Diary Queen, Buffalo Girl, and Steak and Potatoes

When you hear "Mediterranean food" the first thing that probably comes to your head is "Oh, that's Greek food. Lamb, gyros, and feta." A visit to The Mediterranean Cafe will set you straight. Mediterranean cuisine is considered the cuisine of the countries who border the Mediterranean Sea, and that includes Italy. Now that that's settled, let's get to the meat of things.

The Mediterranean Cafe is on the former Millbury Street, and is a small building across the street from the White Hen Pantry. They have a light-up sign, so it's easy to find. Parking might be tough during the busy times. We were able to parallel park in the driveway, and there is probably room for 4 or 5 cars. We went around 8, and there seemed to be some empty spots on the street.

The menu here leans heavily towards Italian food, notably pasta. You will also find a lot of Green items, such as Greek salad and chicken and other meat kabobs. They don't have gyros. You can choose from 5 different sauces (red, tomato cream, alfredo, oil and garlic, and ... one more. can't remember.) The main meat options were chicken, seafood, and veal. No steaks or red meat, except for meatballs.

Buffalo Girl and I had the Greek salad. It was delicious. Lemon mint dressing, tomatoes, cucumbers, feta, super large pepperoncini (almost 3 inches long and hot!) red onions, and calamata olives. The only flaw we found all night was with the olives - they were flavorless. Steak and Potatoes (a frequent dining companion) had the house salad with good blue cheese dressing.

For entrees, BG and SP had the Chicken and Broccoli with alfredo and penne. They both really liked it. I sampled and it was great. Good alfredo sauce, with plenty of cheese flavor. I had the Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti. They make their own marinara sauce, and it was nice and tomatoey, fresh tasting, not too sweet, nor very thick. It's like I'd make it at home. It came with two thin tender breaded chicken breasts, cooked to perfection. We all ate about half of our huge portions, and took the rest to go. My favorite part of to-go: the waitress fit it all into a small container, which takes up less room in the fridge. Today, I'm having leftovers for lunch.

Dessert - Even though we were full, we shared the cream puffs. They were the opposite of how you might think of cream puffs: filled with chocolate mousse, topped with whipped cream and white chocolate sauce. Delicious.

Fundraiser Chocolates

There aren't too many children in my neighborhood, and I feel like, if they make the effort to climb all 36 steps to ring my bell and ask me to buy something, I'll help out. (steep, huh? The picture cuts off some of the bottom steps.)

So, in September, I bought some Kathryn Beich peanut butter cups. They just came last week and boy, are they good! Melt in your mouth chocolate, and great peanut butter filling. Doesn't taste nasty, like those gross Palmer Easter candies.

I also bought some PB Cups and Dulce de Leche Girl Scout candies. They are waiting on the dining room table for me to either eat, in a fit of weakness, or give away, in a fit of generosity. I'm dying to know if they're good, though, so they probably won't last too long. (Oooh, maybe I'll bring them to Thanksgiving.)

Quick Bites: Dunkin, Big Y, and Honey Dew

Dunkin Donuts: I really like the festive fall pumpkin muffins. I got one on Saturday morning and it was really good. I got one on Monday morning and it was a little dry. Both were purchased at Dunkin in Tatnuck. My plan. to avoid overspending, and having to go to DD on the way to work, is to make the Pillsbury Pumpkin Quick Bread on Sunday and eat that all week. It is delicious. Moist and full of pumpkin flavor. I sometimes add nuts, raisins, or dried cranberries.

Big Y: In a pinch, Big Y pizza from the "ready to eat" section does the trick, and for $20 you can get a pizza the size of a poster ("party size")

Honey Dew: I like their hot coffee. I do not recommend the apple fruit stick twisty thing. It's kind of dry. I wonder if it would have been better if I had dunked it in the coffee.

My Friend Joe

Trader Joe's is the kind of place I shop at no more than once a month. I do a big stock-up of frozen and non-perishables, and usually pick up a gallon of milk because it's just so darn cheap there. Recently, I bought a bunch of frozen items, and I've been slowly going through them. Here's a roundup of the most memorable items, frozen or otherwise.

Kung Pao Stir Fry: Good. Cooked up in 5 minutes, good peanut sauce, not too sweet. The packaging says 2.5 servings. I'd say more like 1.5 or 2 reasonably sized servings.

Asparagus Risotto: Blah. No flavor.

3 cheese pizza: Okay. Tiny. Better to get a fresh one from the local pizza place.

Blue Corn Jalapeno Corn Bread: So so good. Blue corn bread!! Very moist and not really crumbly like regualr corn bread. And the heat it delivers sneaks up on you - first you swallow a bite. Then about 30 seconds later, you feel the jalapeno in the back of your throat. Not too much, just enough.

Charles Shaw Cab Sauv: Great. Goes down easy. I've had really bad CS, though. It's hit or miss but for $3, who's complaining? Not me.

Green Beans, Frozen: These are the best frozen grean beans. Whole, bright green. A rebuy, definitely.

The Perfect Cookie

A few days ago a wrote about the Blue Hydrangea Bake Shop. And last month, I visited Sweet Melissa's bakery in Park Slope, Brooklyn, NY. I like the idea of independent bakeries with pretty pastries, and unique desserts. What I don't like is that these kinds of businesses think that, because they are independent, they can charge an outrageous price for something that you can make just as easily yourself with a box mix from the grocery store and it might even taste as good. As Buffalo Girl said, "I'll stick with Widoff's."

Widoff's is the best bakery in the city, in my opinion. They have awesome bulkies, with and without seeds. A holiday in my family would not be the same without some fresh-that-day Widoff's "bookies". Their bread is delicious. They have a rainbow of colors of butter cookies. But the thing that pulls me to Widoff's more often than not is the chocolate chip cookie. This cookie is thick, buttery, and full of chocolate chips. It's about 4 inches in diameter, and the last batch I got was about 1/2" thick. I ate the whole thing on an empty stomach (Yes, dessert before dinner. It's okay, I'm a grownup.) and didn't get sick.

I know that Buffalo Girl's favorite cookie is the Widoff's Black and White. This is not your usual, New York Style black and white cookie. To us, that's just an imposter. This is a butter cookie, also about 4 inches in diameter, half chocolate, half vanilla. Crumbly, sweet. Unbelievable.

Best part about these cookies: $0.60 each. Not no dollar fifty for a cookie the size of a sand dollar.

Burritos, Tacos, and Beans, Oh my!

It seems that Mexican food is good to get on the run. And surprisingly, the Worcester area has more than the pond scum that is Taco Bell.

Buffalo Girl and I needed to get a quick dinner before going to see The Departed last Tuesday night. (It was $5 movie night at Showcase North.) We decided on takeout from Tortilla Sam's - 2 spinach and chicken burritos with black beans and rice, and a Vitamin Water came to just over $10. Scrap the Vitamin Water and it was about $8.50. The burritos were delicious. Fresh tortillas, stuffed full of chicken, spinach, and rice. The sour cream was a nice addition. They're not too hot (spice-wise), but the seasonings are very flavorful. One burrito and half of the beans/rice side was plenty for one. The beans/rice side was wrapped separately, in a covered plastic tub, and it was still piping hot after a 10 minute ride to the movie theater. $10 a person = Bargain Tuesday Night.

The next trip, I was on my own. I was in desperate need of nourishment, after a trip back from Boston in the rain, and before a visit to Babies R Us for a baby shower gift. The Blackstone Shoppes don't have a lot of options for takeout, so I ran into Qdoba, hoping it was a cut above the Bell. I was pleasantly surprised by a tasty beef soft taco. The salsa verde was hot but not painfully so, and the filling was tasty. I also got a chicken soft taco, which was good, but not as good as the Tortilla Sam's chicken. It was almost $5, which I thought was a little high, but I didin't feel sick after so it was worth it.

Delux - Love it!

Location: Delux
100 Chandler Street, Boston, MA
Meal: Dinner, Saturday night

My friend M and I went out for dinner on Saturday night. We had plans for a couple of weeks and I was excited to get together with her as it had been a while, and I always enjoy going out in Boston. We knew we wanted to go somewhere casual, and on the reasonably-priced side, so I did some research on Boston.com/Cheap Eats. Delux sounded pretty good. The South End is getting to be more of a destination, and the scenery in some sections is nice, lots of trees and brownstones.
The restaurant is on the corner of a street, and is a long, fairly narrow room. The front has about 10 tables, and the bar runs along the left side, back half of the room. We waited only about 5 minutes for a seat, and ended up sitting at that table for about 4 hours! And nobody hassled us to leave. It was great.

Atmosphere: dark lighting, lots of Elvis memorabilia, record album covers paper the walls. Casual, fun, funky. I hear they have outdoor seating in the nice weather.

Food: Delicious. M and I split the special app salad: Pear, arugula, endive, in a balsamic vinaigrette. It was really good. The arugula was a little stemmy, but still, tasted good. Plenty to share. For my entree, I got the grilled cheese with portabella mushrooms, red peppers, and cheese on sourdough. It also came with coleslaw. The crust on the grilled cheese was unbelievably crispy - not soggy at all, definitely made by an experienced chef. The cole slaw was delicious, and seemed to be obviously freshly made. There was the standard cabbage, but there was also red onion, which added a nice tang.

M got pumpkin ravioli with a nutmeggy cream sauce. She ate the entire plateful, with the exception of the one ravioli she gave me. I loved it. There was plenty of pumpkin filling, the pasta was very tender, and the sauce was a perfect complement.

Beer: They have 3 beers on tap: Guinness, Pilsner Urquell, and Tremont ale. I started with a Tremont ale. It was nice and cold, but I moved to Pilsner after one, because I didn't want to fill up on beer. I've never had it - it was good - sweet flavor that I was not expecting.

Overall, this was a great place for dinner. I think that there are probably times where you have to wait a while for a table, but we got there kind of late, around 9, so we must have missed the crowds. The menu changes every 6 weeks, so we plan to go back!

A lovely spot for some lunch

Location: SpecialTeas
10 Church St, Northboro, MA
Meal: Lunch

Three of us at work have been working together for about six years now. It's hard to believe it's been that long. We used to all sit within 5 feet of each other but over the years, we've become farther apart. Now, we try to get together for either lunch or dinner at least once every couple of months. Last week, we went to SpecialTeas. This place is great!! It's in an old Victorian house right in the center of town. They have a limited menu- mainly, soups, pressed sandwiches, salads, and at least 30 kinds of tea.

One of my friends got the special soup of the day, butternut squash and curry soup, a melt, and hot chai tea. She said: "I loved my meal, from the melt, to the soup, to the chai!!" The other friend got the tomato soup, a melt, and hot chai tea. She was also impressed. The girls got the special: soup and half a melt, and said it was very filling.

I ordered the special sandwich, basically a grilled cheese and ham on sourdough, with coleslaw. When our meals came, they'd gotten my order wrong and had made an omelet. While it looked delicious, I did not want eggs. Of course, the waitress was very apologetic and had my real meal out very quickly. In the meantime, though, she offered me a bowl of soup. I opted for the curry. It was delicious!! Not too heavy, just the right amount of spice. I also got the homemade lemonade, which was great. Sweetened, not overly.

The atmosphere is really nice and comfortable. The only thing is, you might want to allow more than an hour. There were a lot of people there (pretty much all women!) and the kitchen is pretty small.

Next time, I might like to go for tea and dessert. They had several options of what looked like homemade desserts, and the hot tea comes in a cool clear glass teapot that is kept warm by being seated above a tealight.

Prices are reasonable - sandwiches are around $8.

Blue Hydrangea Bake Shop

Blue Hydrangea Bake Shop
June Street, Worcester, MA
Meal: Indulgent Snack after Hassling Morning Getting Lost in Boston

There's a new bakery in Worcester, in the plaza next to Nancy Chang's. I think it's in the old Indigo Bistro, or maybe next door. Anyone remember that place? They had great fresh squeezed juices.

I like to support the local business owner, so I stopped in on the way home yesterday and bought two items: a small Pear, Apple, Cranberry tart and a Peanut Butter Truffle Brownie.

Tart: I just ate this and it was great. Small, about the size of a piece of pie. It had a good pie crust, plenty of fresh filling, and the top was all crumbly. Granted, I could have shared it and still have been satisfied, given the slightly sick feeling I have, after downing all that sugar. Price: $4. (overpriced, but homemade and good for every once in a while)

Brownie: This I ate yesterday. The brownie was about an inch think and had a quarter inch layer of PB truffle topping, then chocolate over that. It was good, but I think the truffle was a little too sweet. I would have preferred it swirled throughout rather than spread thickly on top. Price: $2.50. is that overpriced? Not if you're used to buying pastries at Rosie's. Yes if you're used to buying a mix for $1.00 on sale and getting a whole tray for about $2.00 total.

I like the place though - it's very wide open and you can see all the ingredients they use. I'd like to try their cakes sometime.

Apricot Wheat Beer

I've just discovered Ithaca Beer Co. Apricot Wheat. It is delicious! Light, fruity, great apricot smell, and not too sweet. Have you tried the Wachusett Blueberry Beer? It's similar to the Apricot Wheat, but I could actually drink a few of the Apricots and not get sick of the fruity flavor. This sentiment was seconded by Buffalo Girl and a dinner guest, and I believe RunnerGuy also enjoyed his 12 oz. bottle. (Purchased at Austin Liquors, where Buffalo Girl likes to do all of her Christmas shopping.)

Tonight, I'm using it to wash down some Wheat Thins Toasted Chips - by far better than the originals.