September 23rd 2014: Tapas Dinner at Sangria's, Attleborough

I headed out for lunch today, ensuring I parked legally this time around. My lunch spot today was the Z Cafe, a pretty nice cafe in downtown Worcester.

After looking at the menu, I decided to go with the Slightly Spicy Shrimp with Cajun Corn. It also came with a side of cucumber salad

and Lobster Bisque, which was pretty good.

Aside from having to pick out onions from my plate as I am not much of a fan, the everything was delicious, although it got a little salty at times. Another good lunch place to come to.

After work, I headed to the town of Attleborough for dinner at Sangria's Tapas and Wine, a Potuguese tapas restaurant in town. A nice place, but not much people here on a Tuesday night.

With my deal, I got 3 small dishes, namely the Cabrito Guisado (Traditional Northern Portugal style goat stew),

the Moelas De Galinha (Braised chicken gizzards, in a spicy tomato and white wine broth)

and the Entremeado (Grilled pork belly served over grilled oranges).

All 3 dishes were really good, especially the sauces for the goat and the gizzards. I might not get the pork belly next time though, mainly because of the simplicity of the dish.

I also got the Arroz De Pato (Oven-baked rice casserole with pan-seared shredded duck, bacon & chouriço, finished with Portuguese olive oil & topped with grilled oranges) for an entree.

I don't know why, but it tasted strangely of alcohol. Anyway, I did not have much space left in my tummy, so I packed it to go. Hopefully it will taste better tomorrow for lunch.

After my plate was taken away, my waitress came back with a tray of desserts. I ended up getting persuaded into getting the Sweet Angel Hair Pasta,

which would have been perfect if not for the prevalence of cinnamon in the dish. I still managed to finish it though.

Overall, definitely worth the drive out here tonight.

September 22nd 2014: Dinner at JM Curley, Boston

Today after work, I had a meetup dinner to go to at JM Curley, a bar restaurant in Boston that purportedly serves one of the best burgers in town. Everyone got the same thing, the 9 oz. natural angus burger (cheddar, grilled onions, pickles, pop’s Russian, fries).

It was already really good, but it would have been better with the minced bacon that some of my friends got as well.

Definitely worth a mention.

September 21st 2014: Sightseeing After Coming Back From Michigan

Coming back from a fun wedding in Michigan, I took a few pictures of Marblehead from the plane,

 as well as the Boston Harbor Islands.

The Graves Lighthouse

Deer Island

The day was still young, so I decided to spend the rest of the day sightseeing, starting off with a late lunch at Sully C's Bar and Grill in Saugus. The Raiders and Patriots game was just about to end, and thankfully we won because of a pretty wacky interception by the Patriots. For food, I went with the Fried Pickles (with ranch sauce)

and the House Favorite BBQ Combo (Sirloin Tips and Hot Sausage).

The pickles weren't too bad, while the steak tips were pretty tasty and tender. The sausage however, tasted a little too herby for my liking.

After lunch, I headed to Nahant to do some sightseeing there, even as the fog started to settle in. The first place I went to was the Fort Ruckman/Bailey's Hill area, where the path I took from the junction of Trimountain Road and Bass Point Road is shown below in black.

I first went up the Fort Ruckman area, where there were nice views at the top. The views from Bailey's Hill were a little harder to get to, but better when on the rocks.

After leaving the area, I could only visit a few other places in town

Bear Pond, End of Willow Road

Tudor Beach,

Willow Road and Valley Road

St. Thomas Aquinas Church

Stony Beach,

Marginal Road and Ocean Street

Nahant Public Library

Town Hall, 334 Nahant Road

Marjoram Park,

Willow Road and Wharf Street

Tudor Wharf, End of Tudor Wharf

Curlew Beach,

Furbush Road and Willow Road

Nahant Village Church

before it became way too misty to explore any further.

I decided to head to dinner instead, where I had reservations for a 5 course tasting meal at The Blue Room in Cambridge.

This place has pretty decent decor with outdoor seating as well, looking pretty upscale.

I had great hope for the food that was to come. The first course was a starter, Fried Chicken (buttermilk biscuit, coleslaw, jalapeno butter)

Although the chicken was really crispy, the other components did not give it much more flavor, and I was disappointed overall.


The next dish to come was a soup, the Celeriac and Chestnut Soup (apple, glazed chestnuts, radish, lemon yogurt).

Thankfully, the components of this dish came together pretty well, the sourness of the yogurt and apple blending with the sweetness of the chestnut soup.

Next up, a pasta dish, the Gnocchi (tomato brown butter, jamon iberico, fine herbs). 

The sauce was way too sour for my liking, and the cured ham way too salty.

The presentation of the Bluefish (salt cod brandade, Pat's Clams, Pickled Garlic scapes, Provencal vegetables)

gave me hope for something better, but this time everything on the plate was really salty.

As if it could not get worse, the Hanger Steak (roasted rutabaga, hakueri turnips, carrots, bayley hazen butter, Broccoli rabe veloute)

was way too tough to eat, and I was already too full to finish more than a few bites of it anyway. 

After packing it to go, my dessert course arrived in the form of Cornbread (black pepper ice cream, strawberry soup, fresh corn and basil).

At least the meal wasn't a total waste, as I enjoyed the dessert thoroughly. 

A Thin Mint also came with the check,

and thankfully I still had space for it.

Overall though, definitely not coming back again. Can't believe I spent $75 on this.