December 31st 2021: Family Lunch at Sole Proprietor, Worcester

Today, the family decided to have lunch at Sole Proprietor, a seafood restaurant in Worcester which we have been to many times in the past. This time around, we got the Strawberry Mojito (Bacardi Limon, strawberry liqueur, mint, lime juice, strawberry purée and soda, with a sugared rim),

the STEAMED MAINE CLAMS ( 1 lb. with butter and broth),

the BUSTER ROLL (Jumbo lump crab meat, spicy mayo, crab stick, cucumber, and scallion,

topped with wasabi sauce and toasted panko crumbs),

the STEAMED MAINE MUSSELS (1 lb. of fresh mussels, steamed with garlic and white wine), 

the OVEN ROASTED CRAB CAKES (Over chipotle corn remoulade and arugula with lemon vinaigrette),

the PEAR & WALNUT SALAD (Romaine and arugula tossed with a honey tarragon vinaigrette, walnuts, dried cranberries and Bleu cheese. Topped with red wine poached pears),

the STUFFED SOLE (Crab stuffed Sole topped with seasoned bread crumbs and lemon butter.

Served over jasmine rice and sautéed spinach),

and the PESTO SCALLOPS & SHRIMP (Pan seared scallops and gulf shrimp tossed with cavatappi

pasta and tomatoes in a pesto cream sauce).

The drink was just so-so, but all the food dishes were delicious. The seafood was really fresh, especially the sweetness of the clams, the crispiness of the crab cakes and sushi, and the flavor of the pasta. Definitely much better than the Restaurant Week meal we had a few months ago.   

December 30th 2021: Quick Bite from Auntie Anne's, Marlborough

 Today, while at the Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough, 

We decided to get a quick bite from Auntie Anne's there. which I visited once a long time ago. This time, we got the Strawberry Smoothie

and the Original Pretzel Nuggets.

Nothing special, and the smoothie was a tad sweet, as expected.

December 19th 2021: Lunch in Framingham, Dessert in Hopkinton

 Today, we decided to have lunch at the Buckley Kitchen and Bar, a pretty nice bar restaurant in the town of Framingham.

We got the BUCKLEY MAI TAI (dark/light rum, coconut, tropical juice),

the NICOISE (hard boiled egg, lemon and herb potato, green bean, evoo, seared tuna, spinach,

cucumber, parsley, balsamic dressing)

the CREAMY CHICKEN RIGATONI (tomato cream sauce, mushroom, bacon, roasted garlic, spinach).

and the Clam Chowder.

Pretty good food, fresh ingredients, the pasta not too sour, although the drink was a little strong for me. 

For dessert, we went to Muffin House Cafe, a non-descript place in Hopkinton, the Natick branch of which I visited once in the past and had a good muffin from.

We got the Blueberry, Pistachio,  Sweet and Sour, Banana Nut and Cranberry Apple Walnut, 

of which I liked the Bluebetty and Sweet and Sour the best, although the cranberry one was not bad too. Didn't like the pistachio and banana nut flavors though. Overall, not as good as the muffins from Jordan's Furniture in Avon.

December 17th 2021: Hiking in Harvard

 Today, I decided to do some hikes in the town of Harvard, starting with the north section of Delaney Wildlife Management Area, the south section of which I have visited a few times in the past. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

Nice views of the largest two marshlands here, although all the other water bodies were nothing to speak of.

Next, I headed to the Smith Conservation Land area, which I entered from 199 Whitcomb Avenue in Littleton to check out Black Pond from the other side from where I visited a long time ago. The path I took here is shown below in pink.

Nicer views of the pond than before, and great improvement to the trails here.

Going to have to come back again though, as I missed two other water bodies to the left of Black Pond. Oh well.

From here, my last hike for the day was at Blomfelt in town, where the path I took is shown below in pink.

The fire pond at 59 Ann Lees Road was not bad but did not need a hike to get to,

while there was nothing much to see from the Ayer Road side. 

Not coming back again.

With that, I called it a day for hiking, deciding to go get some food from Siam Pepper, a Thai restaurant nearby.

Unfortunately, they were only doing takeout today, so I had to eat my PAD THAI (A Thai signature dish, this delicious noodle entree is comprised of rice noodles stir fried with egg and garnished with bean sprouts, scallions, & crushed peanuts.) in my car.

Pretty tasty though. With that, and end to a day of hiking in Harvard.

December 12th 2021: Rice Noodle Thai Eatery, Natick

 Today, we decided to head out to Natick to check out Rice Noodle Thai Eatery, a small but new place in town.

We got the Som Tum (Green Papaya Salad, Famous Thai salad. Chopped green papaya, carrot, shrimp, string beans, tomatoes, peanuts in spicy home made dressing),

the Shoyu Ramen (soy sauce flavor with pork belly Cha-shu, bamboo shoots, seaweed, boiled egg and scallions. ),

the Prik King Shrimp (sautéed shrimps in chili ginger sauce with green bean, kaffir lime leaves and red peppers.)

and the Mango with Sticky Rice (Sweet coconut sticky rice with ripe mango) for dessert.

The ramen was just so-so, coming from a Thai place, but all the other dishes were pretty good, especially the shrimp. Worth coming back here again in future.

Recommended Places to Visit: Maynard

Recreation

Arts Performances

Acme Theater
61 Summer Street


Water Bodies
Mill Pond
12 Clock Tower Place


Hiking
Recommended:
Assabet River Rail Trail

End of Florida Court

Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge
End of White Pond Road

Durant Pond Conservation Area
44 Durant Avenue

Ice House Landing
Winter Street and Boeske Avenue

Tried:
Glenwood Cemetery
Parker Street and Walker Street

Silver Hill
End of Silver Hill Road

Blue Jay Woods
End of Blue Jay Way

Vose Pond

Puffer Road

Architecture

Monuments

Memorial Park
Summer Street and Nason Street

Places of Worship

United Methodist Church
2 Summer Street

St. Bridget Church
1 Percival Street

Union Congregational Church
80 Main Street

Mission Evangelical Congregational Church
19 Walnut Street

Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church
15 Prospect Street

St. Mary Indian Orthodox Church
65 Great Road


Town Facilities
Town Hall
195 Main Street


Historical Buildings
Charles A Welch Masonic Lodge
100 Main Street

Commercial Buildings

Clock Tower Place Office Park
12 Clock Tower Place

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Western
110 Grill (chain)

129 Parker Street

Recommended Dishes:

Asian Calamari

River Rock Grill
163 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Pan Seared Scallops
Gazpacho
Tiramisu
Casablanca Braised Beef

Peyton's Riversedge
86 Powdermill Road
Recommended Dishes:
French Onion Soup
Peyton's Steak Tips
Shrimp Stuffed Poppers

Tried:
Japanese
Smack Noodle
45 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Smack Bun
Tom Yum Ramen
Crazy Noodle


Chinese
China Ruby
42 Nason Street
Recommended Dishes:
Pork Fried Rice
General Gao's Chicken


Korean
Little Pusan Restaurant
83 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Suntofu Chigae
Bulgogi

December 10th 2021: Three Short Hikes in Stow and Maynard

 I started today with a hike at Whitney Field in Stow, where the path I took from 266 West Acton Road is shown below in pink.

The water body here was nothing to speak of though.

Next, Red Acre Woodland nearby, where the path I took from 108 Red Acre Road is shown below in pink.

This time around, the small water body here was not even close to the trail.

My last hike for the day was at Vose Pond in Maynard, which was not so much of a hike as it was a slow drive along an unpaved Puffer Road behind houses. Even then, the pond itself was nothing much to look at, though better than the previous two today.

Disappointed, I called it a day for hiking, heading into Hudson for some Brazilian food from Gauchao Burgers, a hole in the wall place, getting the X-Tudo Burger (Bread, hamburger, egg, bacon, ham, mozzarella cheese, lettuce tomato, corn, potato sticks, mayo).

Pretty good burger. The only good thing about my day today.

December 7th 2021: Swedish and Italian in 1 Day

 Today, while at the IKEA in Stoughton, we had to get more of the Swedish food as always, this time getting the Salmon Fillet (sustainably sourced salmon fillet with a green chili hollandaise sauce, veggie medallion and seasonal vegetable),

and the Veggie Balls (with tahini Romesco sauce, rice pilaf and seasonal vegetables).

Cheap and good as always from this place.

For dinner, we decided to stop by the Olive Garden in Framingham, which I visited once a long time ago.

This time, we got the House Salad (Our Famous House Salad served with our signature Italian dressing),

the Shrimp Fritto Misto (Over a half pound of shrimp mixed with onions and bell peppers, hand breaded and lightly fried. Served with marinara and spicy ranch.),

the Chicken Marsala (Lightly floured grilled chicken breasts topped with savory mushroom and marsala wine sauce. Served with a side of fettuccine alfredo,

and the Shrimp Scampi (Shrimp sautéed in a garlic sauce, tossed with asparagus, tomatoes and angel hair).

The shrimp was a tad salty, with little shrimp to boot and more peppers and onions instead, not my favorite two things in the world. The marsala dish was interesting in that alfredo sauce was used for the pasta and marsala for the chicken alone, which was pretty good though, as was the scampi pasta dish. Overall, at least everyone enjoyed shopping for furniture today.

December 5th 2021: Robot Dinosaurs in Boston

 Today, we headed into Boston, getting a New England Clam Chowder Bread Bowl from Boston Chowda Company, a stall located within Quincy Market.

Nothing special, all bread with not much soup. 

With that, we headed to our event for the day, Dino Safari, an exhibit of moving robot dinosaurs, which our little one was very intrigued with, but not worth the ticket cost in my opinion. At least our little one enjoyed the event.

After leaving the exhibition, we decided to head to the nearby Starbucks for a break,

getting the Chestnut Praline Latte ( signature espresso and velvety steamed milk, and then add flavors of caramelized chestnuts and spices—all topped with a holiday finale of whipped cream and specially spiced praline crumbs),

the Blueberry Scone (A traditional scone with blueberries, buttermilk and lemon),

and the Kale and Portabella Mushroom Sous Vide Egg Bites (Delicious chopped kale and portabella mushrooms delicately folded into cage-free eggs with Monterey Jack and cooked using the French sous vide technique ).

The drink was pretty good, as was the scone, but the surprise was the eggs, which was surprisingly tasty for something that did not look like much. Healthy too!

From here, it was on to dinner at Mariel, a Cuban restaurant in the Financial District nearby. Really nice inside, but we were surprised when they told us that they were not child oriented. Oh well.

We got the Old Habana (guava, rum, lime juice, mint soda),

the Chicken Tots (cuban sweet potato, spicy caribbee mayo, key lime),

the OCTOPUS PINAREÑOS (pork belly masitas, sour orange-mojo butter, green papaya, thai basil),

the CUBANO (roast pork, sweet ham, pickles, gruyere, scallion, cilantro),

the FUFÚ GNOCCHI (plantain dumplings, garlic-brown butter, aji picante, pecorino)

and the ICE CREAM SANDWICH (mojito-mint, passion-papaya, ruby-guava, chocolate bocadito cake) for dessert.

Except for the tots, which were a tad dry, everything else was pretty amazing. The octopus had just the right amount of tanginess, even with the onions, while the pizza tasted just like the namesake sandwich. The gnocchi was hands down the best dish of the night, looking like seared scallops and having a bounce to their texture, not the mention the flavors, simply delightful. The combination of ice cream flavors was excellent as well in the dessert. Can see why this is one of the top restaurants in town. With that, a perfect end to a day of robot dinosaurs in Boston.