February 19th 2012: Brunch at Dinky's Cafe, Shrewsbury, and a Night Out in Boston with Good Friends

I had alwasy wanted to try out the brunch at Dinky's Restaurant and Cafe in Shrewsbury, but never really had a chance to do so until today as a break from work. This place only opens till 1 on Sundays, and accepts only cash, withe the feel of a casual diner. Looking at the menu and feeling hungry, I decided to go for the Triple Bypass, consisting of 3 eggs, toast, sausage, homefries, bacon and corned beef hash. I had to say that the meal was really delicious, with me finishing everything on my plate.



However, eating so much for lunch did affect how much I could have for dinner. A few friends of mine had come to town from New York for the President's Day weekend, and although I wasn't able to spend much time with them, I managed to make time to head out to Boston for dinner with them today.

We initially wanted to go to Toro, a famous tapas place in South End, but because the wait turned out to be over 2 hours, we decided to head somewhere else instead, to Stella, a somewhat classy Italian restaurant, along the same street. Thankfully, our party of 5, all shivering from walking out in the freezing cold, did not have to wait very long before getting our seats.

We started off by having an appetizer, namely spicy mussels, with a saffron cream sauce mixed with roasted peppers, white wine and garlic for dipping bread in. Exceptionally tasty and flavorful.

We then each ordered our own dishes, with me ordering the Quattro Funghi Pizza, which I initially thought had real oysters instead of the mushroom kind, while my friends ordered other things like the duck confit pizza with caramelized onions, the Stella homemade Gnocchi, and Braised Short Rib on pasta.



Quattro Funghi Pizza



Braised Short Rib



Duck Confit Pizza



When we were all done with our delicious food, we decided that the night was still young, so we headed somewhere pretty close by for a drink: The Parish Cafe on Massachusetts Avenue. This place looks like a typical bar, but because it was freezing outside while we were walking, all I wanted was a cup of hot chocolate. It definitely was not on the menu, but my friend had the sense to ask the waitress if they served any, and they actually did!

When my drink came with 2 stir straws, I used the, cautiously, not knowing what to expect, and to be honest, it was one of the best hot chocolates I've ever had, especially coming from a bar setting.

On top of this, my friends decided to get a banana pound cake, which was really delicious as well.

With that, I gave all my friends a ride home, and then prepared for another long day at work on President's Day tomorrow.