May 29th 2013: Dinner at Eighty Ates, Dudley

Today after work, my friend wanted me to grab some dinner for her, so I decided to use my Groupon at Eighty Ates in the town of Dudley.

This place is actually pretty decently decorated for a small town place.

Using my groupon, I decided to get the Three Cheese and Potato Pierogis (mini-pierogi fried in garlic sage butter, served with side of sour cream) for appetizers,

and the Beef and Bella (Twin tornadoes of beef mariated with garlic and olive oil, grilled, sliced thin and topped with slices of grilled portabella mushrooms, drizzled with garlic au jus) for my main dish,

while I got the Tortellini Carbonara (cheese filled Tortellini sauteed with imported ham, sundried tomatoes and pea pods in rich cream sauce) for my friend.

The pierogis tasted pretty bland, while the tortellini tasted pretty weird to me. The beef however, though a little overcooked (I ordered rare), was still really good, and I finished it all while boxing the rest to bring home to my friend. I think I'll give this place the benefit of the doubt, assuming I got the wrong dishes, and give it a slight recommend.

After leaving the place, I headed home,

Hometown Bank,

Thompson Road and East Main Street

happening to pass by a newly constructed monument to the old Slater Cotton Mill on the corner of Worcester Road and East Main Street.

May 28th 2013: Dinner with Friends at Cheesecake Factory, Boston

Today after work, my friend and I headed into Boston and Cambridge to view a few apartments she intended to rent for a few months, and meet up with friends at the same time. After viewing the apartments, we dropped by Made by Me in Cambridge to pick up the FUGU clay fish I made a few weeks ago. It turned out pretty well actually.

We then decided to head to the Cheesecake Factory located at the Prudential Center.



Parking was a little hard to find, but luckily I managed to find one pretty close to the place.

After getting seated in the pretty nicely decorated chain restaurant, we decided to get some appetizers and drinks, namely the Crispy Crab Bites (Bite-Sized Little Crab Cakes Served with Mustard Sauce),

the Vietnamese Tacos (Steamed Asian Buns with Roasted Pork, Marinated Cucumbers, Carrots and Onion with Chiles, Cilantro and Sesame Seeds),

the Portobello Mushroom Avocado and Zucchini Fries,

and the Santa Fe Salad (Lime-Marinated Chicken, Fresh Corn, Black Beans, Cheese, Tortilla Strips, Tomato and Mixed Greens with a Spicy Peanut-Cilantro Vinaigrette).



All the dishes were really good, especially the tacos and the dipping sauces for the fries and the crab. It might be a chain restaurant, but the food was really delicious.

It was a fun night catching up with friends, but as the restaurant closed up, and I had to work early tomorrow, we were forced to bid adieu and head home for the day. Looking forward to more times like this now that my good friend is back from China.

May 27th 2013: Spending Time with My Friend at Home

Today, my friend who came back from China had to go get a phone, and after doing so, we decided to have lunch at the new Italian restaurant that just opened on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, Volturno. This place is a pretty upscale looking bar restaurant with 2 ovens at the back of the restaurant.

For our meal, we decided to get the Arugula Salad (Blue cheese, toasted hazelnuts, arugula),

the Volturno Pizza (San Marzano Tomato Sauce, Buffalo Mozzarella, Arugula, Prosciutto)

and the Gargarnelli (Speck, Radicchio, Great Hill Blue Cheese, Onions) pasta, which my friend even ordered another plate of because it was so delicious.

 

Definitely, this place is one of the nice additions to the city of Worcester.

Later tonight, when we decided it was time for dinner, I decided to head to the town of Grafton nearby to grab some food from Pearl Cafe, a typical Chinese takeout place, ordering the Chardonnay Shrimp (served on spinach and noodles in wine sauce) and the Red Curry Delight (jumbo shrimp, scallops, chicken sauteed with vegetables in curry coconut milk broth).

The curry wasn't too bad, although the chardonnay shrimp was just typical stir fried food. Oh well, what can you expect from a Chinese takeout place anyway. 

With that, a fun Memorial Day weekend ended on a much quieter note. I'm glad I got to spend it with friends though.

May 26th 2013: ATVing in the White Mountains

Today, my friend and I headed into the White Mountains to have our first experience at riding an All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) in a tour organized by Outback Kayak in Lincoln NH.

After a 2.5 hour drive and doing our paperwork, we were told to drive into Woodstock NH to a place along Route 3 to find where all the ATVs were parked. Unfortunately, no address was available, so we were pretty unsure of whether we had passed the place on several occasions. Thankfully, we managed to find it in the end without having to make a U-turn.

After getting suited up with helmets, gloves and jackets in the cold weather today, we selected our ATVs, with me taking the slightly tank-like one, while my friend took the one which looked more like a bike. That was pretty much a mistake as I realized that it was much harder to turn the vehicle, and it felt more unstable as well, as though I could possibly tilt over at any moment. The whole way I was on the vehicle while going through mud puddles, trees and rivers, all with the surrounding mountains in the background,

I had a really uncomfortable time, even getting stuck at some points, and I was starting to think that ATVing is going to absolutely be a once in a lifetime thing for me. Thankfully, I had an opportunity to ask my friend to switch vehicles with me, and while I was on his vehicle for the rest of the tour, I had much more maneuverability, and it felt like I was back on my snowmobile again and back in my element.

I guess one important lesson I learned today was that the machine matters for ATVing.

After our fun time in the White Mountains, we headed away from there to find something to eat, settling on the Sunny Day Diner, a small diner in Lincoln NH along Daniel Webster Highway near its intersection with Connector Road.

As always, my friend decided to get an omelette together with a Root Beer Float,

while I got the Salmon Stack (fresh poached salmon atop a bed of steamed broccoli, scrambled eggs and a grilled wheat bread slice, with homemade Hollandaise sauce on top, served with hash browns).

The Salmon wasn't too bad, but overall, the place was just like any other small town diner in terms of food and ambiance.

With that, we headed back to Showcase Cinemas in Lowell MA to watch Fast and Furious 6, which was definitely better than Iron Man 3, after which we went back to my place to pick up my other friend who had been staying at home all day to take her out to a Japanese buffet dinner at Minado in Natick MA, where we had a great time for the rest of the night before my best friend went home to NYC.

May 25th 2013: Spending My Memorial Day Weekend with My Best Friend

The first day of the Memorial Day weekend started with my friend and I looking for a place to eat breakfast in Westborough before heading to Regal Cinemas in town to watch the movie Iron Man 3. After looking at Yelp, I decided to go with South Street Diner, a really nice place which looks more like an upscale restaurant than a diner.

The place was crowded, but thankfully there was still one table available for us. After looking at the menu, my friend decided to get the Farmer's Omelette (Sausage, ham, bacon, peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes and cheese),

and I got the Cabot Cove Benedict (2 Dropped eggs, Maine Lobster, tomatoes & Asparagus on a English Muffin topped with Hollandaise Sauce served with Homefries).

Both dishes were pretty okay, but I don't think lobster goes well with eggs benedict. I still think this place is worth coming back to though.

After watching the movie, which both of us felt wasn't really that great, we headed home to play some video games. Later in the evening, I had to go to the airport to pick another friend up for the weekend, so my best friend and I decided to get some Korean food at Dabin, a restaurant in Lexington that my friend recommended to me once, and today was finally my chance to try it out. This place  is pretty nicely decorated, and there was quite a few items on the Japanese Korean menu I have never tried before. 

We decided to share the appetizers,

getting the Toban Yaki (Seafood and vegetables, cooked on a ceramic plate)

and the Sam Sek Jun (Pan-fried cod, zucchini, and shitake mushroom, stuffed with beef).

I also got the Fish Egg Nabe (Fish egg stew with house-made hot and spicy sauce),

while my friend got the Soft Tofu Geegae (A stew of uncured tofu, oysters and pork).

All the food was really good, and the fish was really fresh. I only thought that the Toban Yaki was a bit too expensive for a few pieces of salmon and vegetables.

With that, we headed to the Boston Logan Airport to pick my friend up, and head home for the night. I ended up sleeping early, as we had All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) driving to do tomorrow in New Hampshire.

May 24th 2013: 2nd Farewell Lunch for My Colleague at Red Pepper, Framingham

Today at lunch, some of my Asian colleagues decided to give a second farewell lunch to my friend who was leaving for another company, this time at a famous Szechuan Chinese Restaurant, Red Pepper, located in Framingham.

This place serves authentic Szechuan cuisine, and we ordered family style, so I was able to sample a lot of dishes today. Pictures of them, most of which were pretty spicy, though tasty, follow.

Sliced Beef and Tendon with Chilli Sauce

Dry Braised Lamb with Spicy Sauce in Hot Pot

Shredded Pork with Spicy Garlic Sauce

Cumin Flavored Lamb with Chilli Sauce

Deep Fried Chicken with Dried Chilli Peppers

Pork Blood, Beef Stomach and Soybean Sprout Stew

Tea Smoked Duck

Dry Braised Mushrooms with Spicy Sauce in Hot Pot

Stir Fried Kai Lan

Poached Fish with Cabbage in Hot Chilli Sauce

Stir Fried Pea Shoots









After work, I headed into Malden to do more food truck stuff, but before that, I decided to grab dinner at Aldo's Cafe in Stoneham.

This place is a pretty decently decorated family style Italian restaurant, and has interesting complimentary bruschetta starters.

For my food, I decided to get the Escargots Rockefeller (pan seared with spinach, in garlic butter sauce) for appetizers,

and the Pork Valdostano (boneless pork loin, pan seared, with shallots, mushrooms, spinach in sherry wine sauce, topped with mozzarella and prosciutto, served with angel hair pasta),

which came with a complimentary salad.

Both dishes were a little bit disappointing. The spinach felt a little undercooked and still raw, spoiling the appetizer for me, while the pork was a little dry, although the dish itself was pretty okay. Overall, I would not come back here, mainly because there re better restaurants around.

After doing my food truck stuff, I headed back home, and was just in time to receive my best friend, who was coming from NYC for the Memorial Day weekend to spend some time with me. Looking forward to the weekend now.

May 23rd 2013: First Farewell Lunch for My Colleague at Via Italian Table, Worcester

Today, we had a farewell lunch for my colleague, a close friend of mine, at Via Italian Table in Worcester.

I have been here several times before, so I decided to get different stuff this time around, getting the Fried Marinated Artichoke Hearts (lemon basil aioli)

and the Braised Short Rib Ragu on Cheese Ravioli.



Both dishes were really delicious, especially the artichokes, although the ravioli was a little cold in my opinion.

For dessert, I decided to get the Taste of Italy, consisting of a hazelnut-chocolate truffle, vanilla almond panna cotta with Amarena Cherry, and an orange scented Honeycake with ricotta mousse. 

My friends made me eat each one with a single bite, and I was able to do so except for the cake, which I was forced to cut in half to eat it. The only thing I did not like was the panna cotta due to the almond taste.

After work, I had to go do some food truck stuff in Malden, so I decided to grab some dinner at The Banshee, an Irish sports bar in the Dorchester area of Boston. Like The Pub in Somerville, I had to order a lot of food here just to satisfy my Groupon. 

I got the Guiness Braised Beef Stew (slow braised choice beef and select vegetables, simmered in hearty broth, served with mashed potato and bread),

the Irish Quesadilla (corned beef, mashed potato and aged cheddar cheese, served with Jameson sauce),

the Irish Cocktail Sausages (maloney’s irish pork mini sausages with hand cut fries & curry sauce),

the Dublin Bangers and Mash (Maloney’s Irish bangers, mashed potato, onion gravy & baked beans),

and the Curried Chicken Wrap (grilled chicken breast, tangy curry aioli, sun dried tomatoes, red onion and lettuce on garlic and herb wrap).



I actually liked the Irish dishes I tried here, especially with the curry sauce for the cocktail sausages. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was the wraps, for which the chicken was too dry, and niot much curry sauce to say the least.

With that, I went to do food truck stuff for the rest of the night. Got to do the same thing tomorrow again.