April 30th 2017: Breakfast in Somerville, Dinner in Worcester

We went to try out the new concept in Somerville, the Oat Shop, a cafe which specializes in, what else, oats.

We got the Savory Oats with Sriracha Fried Egg (cashew butter,  soy sauce and sriracha sauce, topped with a fried egg),

which was absolutely delicious, and already giving us ideas of what we can do with oats instead of rice.

Not being full just yet, we trooped nearby to Mr. Crepe, a popular crepe place, no further explanations needed.

Despite the long wait in line, the Super Pesto Crepe (Smoked chicken with fresh mozzarella cheese, roasted Portobello mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, homemade pesto and baby spinach)

definitely did the trick for us. No wonder this place is so popular.

For dinner, we decided to try out Anh Thu, a Vietnamese restaurant which has now relocated to 91 Stafford Street, taking the place of Pho Lam, from the last time I visited. Some changes to the decor of Pho Lam, but not much.

This time, we got the Che 3 Mau (red/white, mung beans pandan jelly, coconut milk) dessert

and the Com Tam 7 Mon (served with broken rice, grilled pork chop, grilled shrimp, ground shrimp patty, ground shrimp patty with tofu wrap, ground ham patty, shredded skin pork and quiche).

The rice was delicious actually, because of the myriad of ingredients, although the dessert looked really unappetizing, looking more like mud then the mixture of red, white and green it was supposed to be. So not authentic, in our opinion, and such a disappointment after a good meal. Not coming back again because of that. A good breakfast experience today in Somerville though.

April 29th 2017: Dinner at Bonchon Chicken, Boston

At Bonchon Chicken in Boston, one cannot go without ordering their Fried Chicken with Soy Garlic. We also got the Okonomiyaki, and the new thing we tried today were the Oysters (served on the half shell with wasabi dressing and scallions).

Pretty good still, and actually crispier than Choose and Mix. From here we headed to Constitution Beach in town for the rest of the evening. Not sure if we can dig for clams here.

April 28th 2017: Mediterranean at Doretta Tavern and Raw Bar, Boston

Tonight, we had dinner at Doretta Taverna and Raw Bar, a relatively new Greek restaurant that has opened up in place of Via Matta, which I visited a long time ago. I somehow don't remember the old decor any more, but there's definitely been a change.

We got the Family Dinner for 2, which basically is a 5 course tasting menu with full portions. We got the Fava (caperberry/scallion) and Whipped Feta (jalapeño) spreads, which came with pita bread as our first course.

Pretty good spreads, but after finishing everything, I could hardly stomach any more. I never knew feta could be whipped that smooth either.

The Village Salad (traditional)

we got for our next course was not bad either.

Next came the mezze portion of the meal consisting of 100 layer spinach pie(dill cream/kalamatas),

the Pan roasted shrimp (kataifi/candied walnuts/honey)

and the Lamb meatballs (cumin tomato sauce/yogurt/nigella).

The spinach pie had a little too much olives, being a little strong on flavor, but the sauce for the meatballs was really good, although the meat itself was a little on the hard side. I liked the shrimp the best, being a little Asian flavored.

I wondered how I could take much more, but there was more to come in the main course, being the Branzino (quinoa/pepper/ouzo fennel/capers)

and the Lamb shoulder (loukaniko/lentils/turnip/kumquat).

The fish was not bad, though a little on the sour side, but the lamb was simply heavenly. I couldn't eat much of it though. Good thing for leftovers.

For dessert, we got the Baklava (pistachio, honey, phyllo, tangerine puree) and Galaktoboureko (semolina custard, dried fruit syrup).

The Baklava was a tad too sweet, but the latter dessert was pretty perfect with the crispy dough and soft sweet custard.

Overall, I think this place is worth a second try, despite some misgivings.

April 27th 2017: 5th Time at Choose and Mix, Worcester

Clearly, Choose and Mix is our new to-go place in Worcester, for today was our 5th time there. We got the Spicy Pork (tender pork marinated in a hot flavorful Korean BBQ sauce) this time around, among other things.

Delicious as always, can't really go wrong here.

April 25th 2017: Korean and Dessert in Worcester

For the fourth time, we were at Choose and Mix, the new Korean place in Worcester, for lunch. This time, we got the Crispy Chicken Wings with Sweet sauce on the side,

and the sweet potato noodles with Teriyaki sauce and tofu.

The wings are definitely better with sauce already on them than on the side, while the noodles were pretty good.

For dessert, we headed to Yoway Cafe, where we got the Kiwi Special (Kiwi, strawberry, whipped cream, sauce) Crepe.

Pretty good as always.

April 23rd 2017: More Daffodils in Rhode Island

It turned out to be sunny today, so we decided on the fly to go find more daffodils, which we did at the Blithewold Mansion in Bristol RI, although I had initially thought the gardens were free to the public, but they were not during normal operating hours. Thankfully the house

and the flowers,

along with the views of Bristol Harbor,

were beautiful today, and the daffodils were definitely a better sight than they were in Connecticut yesterday.

From here, it was on

Mill Pond, 60 Poppasquash Road

Bristol Town Beach

to Colt State Park, where the views of the sea were pretty amazing today.

From here, we headed into Barrington RI,

County Road Bridge, 97 County Road

St. John's Episcopal Church

17 Lorraine Street

Echo Lake, 90 South Lake Drive

Barrington Congregational Church

having our first meal at Crepelicious, a cafe specializing in crepes in town.

We got the Vanilla Crepe Cake

and the French Toast Crepe (mascarpone, cinnamon, sugar, strawberries, maple syrup),

and after enjoying them so much, we decided to try the Green Tea Crepe Cake as well,

Unfortunately, it was a bit of a disappointment as there was too much matcha in it. Overall though, pretty good crepes at this place.

We headed next to check out Barrington Beach,

a nice beach from which one can see Conimicut Light in Warwick RI in the distance.

We also went to check out Nayatt Point Light, which is now a private residence,

from which one can see Conimicut Light much closer as well.

With that, we headed into Providence RI,

Reverend Monseigneur Galliano J. Cavallaro Statue,
Atwells Avenue and Dean Street

for a meal at Don Jose Tequilas, a pretty nice Mexican place in town.

We got the Jorocho (black bean soup with avocado)

and the Borrego a la Barbacoa (Tender pieces of leg of lamb slowly cooked in a Guajillo sauce, served w/ rice, beans, corn tortillas, & Pico de Gallo)

The soup was pretty good, as was the tender lamb with the sauce. Not bad a meal at all. Would not mind coming back again.

Our last meal of the day was back in Massachusetts, at Jalapeno's Grill in Bellingham, another Mexican place.

We got the Roasted Corn

and the Costillas De Puerco (Roasted baby back pork ribs cooked for 5 hours in pasilla, ancho, chipotle sauce with onions, cilantro and Sol beer. Topped with tangy Barbacoa (BBQ) chipotle sauce. Served with Mexican rice and vegetable of the day).

The corn was pretty tasty, but the ribs were a little dry and did not have enough sauce. Not coming back here again. With that, a weekend of enjoying daffodils was finally at an end.