November 8th 2014: Checking Out the Fall Foliage at Quabbin Park

I started out early this morning in the city of Brockton, visiting several places in town

Fire Station #3,

916 North Main Street

Prince of Peace Lutheran Church

St. Edith Stein Church,

71 East Main Street

Angelo School

Winthrop Square Clock,

North Main Street and East Main Street

St. Theresa Church

Iglesia de Jesucristo El Buen Samaritano,

54 Wyman Street

New Life AME Zion Church,

51 Turner Street

Memorial,

Legion Parkway and Warren Avenue

Perkins Park, 42 North Main Street

Christ the King Church

Wendell Avenue Alliance Church,

33 Wendell Avenue

Fire Station #4, 305 Crescent Street

Plouffe Academy

Brockton City Hall

Central United Methodist Church

Brockton Assembly of God

Unitarian Universalist Church

Before heading to the town of Stoughton to try to get breakfast from Ore A Love Story. Unfortunately, it did not seem to be open when I arrived, so I resorted to getting a Boston Creme Donut from Honey Dew Donuts next door.

Thankfully, the restaurant was now open when I left the place, so I was able to go ahead with my original plan to use my deal here, albeit a little fuller after the donut.

Here, I got the Carmen (anchovies, plantains)

and the Petion Ville (salted cod fish, plantains) omelettes,

as well as the Portuguese Sweet Bread French Toast.

The toast had a little bit too much cinnamon for my liking, while the omelets were pretty dry and bland as well. Oh well.

With that, I headed for home to pick my friend up, passing by the Faith Tabernacle Church in Worcester,

but as she was still at work, I decided to head to Clinton instead to check out the Clinton Historical Society, which was open this time of day. Pretty nice museum to say the least.

From here, I went to pick up my friend, and we went to Quabbin Park in Ware, where the views of the fall foliage were beautiful and serene, although the weather was really cold.

When we were finally done exploring the place, we decided to head to Millbury for dinner at Feng Asian Bistro.

We had to wait a little while before getting a seat, but it was worth the wait I guess. We got the Seaweed Salad (pickled vegetables), the Bamboo Steamed Edamame (Hawaiian black sea salt),

the Popeye Roll (peppered tuna, spicy crab, avocado and kaiware with sesame soy paper, topped with eel and salmon, served with spicy mayo, wasabi mayo and eel BBQ sauce),

the Unagi Sashimi, the Spicy King Crab Roll,

the Spring Garden Roll (salmon, kani, jalapeno, avocado and seaweed salad, topped with eel and crispy kani, served with spicy mayo, tai mayo, momiji and eel BBQ sauce)

and the Lobster Rock and Roll (lobster tempura, mango, maine lettuce, topped with baked spicy scallops, spicy king crab, white enoki mushrooms and parmesan cheese, served with spicy mayo, taimayo and eel BBQ sauce).

All the food was pretty good, the highlights being the spicy mayo wasabi mayo BBQ sauce combo, which was really tasty with everything, and the crispy kani strips.

We also got the Twenty Layer Crepe Torte (Delicate Crepes Layered with Chantilly Cream and Macerated Berries),

a delight as always.

After dinner, we walked around the Blackstone Valley Shoppes for a little bit to window shop, then headed to Inhouse Coffee in Worcester to play some board games, getting the Green Tea Steamer and the Extreme Toffee Steamer. As I had had a mint earlier, the toffee was a little bitter at first, but it got better after a while.

Unfortunately, the night had to end with the cafe closing.

Looking forward to spending more time with her next weekend.

November 7th 2014: Meals in Quincy

Today after work, I decided to head into Quincy for dinner at Rozafa Mediterranean Bistro.

Before that, I went to grab some pizza from Sofia Pizza House, getting the Bianca Pizza (Eggplant with broccoli and garlic)

and the Hawaiian Pizza (Ham, Pineapple and Bacon).

Both pizzas weren't too bad, the surprising one being the eggplant which looked pretty bland but actually tasted decent.


At Rozafa, I decided to get the Eggplant Tart (Homemade eggplant parm served with fresh mozzarella and tomato sauce) for an appetizer,

the Pasta and Faggioli soup,

and the Tagliatelle al Porcini (Fresh egg noodles served with a cream porcini mushroom sauce and topped with truffle oil) for my main dish.

The soup was quite tasty, while the eggplant was crispy and thankfully not too sour. I do not think I should have gotten the pasta, as it was on the verge of being bland, with no other ingredients in it. 
With more left to spend, I resorted to dessert, getting the Bananas Foster

and the Apple Cider Donut Holes with coffee.

Both desserts were pretty good, especially the caramelized bananas. Overall though, due to a slight lack of ambience and the mediocrity of the food, I probably won't be back here again.


After dinner, I headed to Randolph to watch some movies at the Showcase Cinema De Lux, deciding to go with "Fury", a war movie based on a true story, set near the end of World War
II, starring Brad Pitt. Really good show, I recommend going to watch it. With that, I called it a night. Really looking forward to checking out the fall foliage with my friend tomorrow.

November 6th 2014: Dinner at Zaftig's, Brookline

Today after work, I had a meetup dinner at Zaftig's in Brookline.

I arrived early as always, and decided to get some dessert from Party Favors, a pretty large candy shop nearby, getting a box of truffles

and a dozen mini-cupcakes, namely the Lemon, Raspberry, Petite Nutella Latte, Oreo, Red Velvet, Peanut Butter, Hostess, Boston Cream, Chocolate Caramel, Salted Caramel Mocha, Chocolate Mousse and German Chocolate ones.

Pretty good cupcakes actually.

I arrived at the brunch place on time, and only had to wait for a while till everyone else arrived.

My friend strongly recommended the Banana Stuffed French Toast (In a bourbon-vanilla batter with date butter and berries), which she got,

and another got the Grandma's Brisket (Slow cooked in natural juices served with vegetable gravy and kasha varnishkas), which I was considering getting as well.

I decided to try the Jewish stuff instead, getting the Zaftig Combo (Cheese blintz, potato pancake, potato knish, sweet noodle kugel)

and the Matzo Brei (Softened matzo crackers, pan fried with scrambled eggs, topped with cinnamon sugar).

The little Jewish snacks were not too bad, but the matzo eggs were really bland. Another case of ordering the wrong stuff I guess. Overall though, I would think this is one of the better breakfast places in the area.

November 5th 2014: BBQ Dinner at Sweet Cheeks Q, Boston

Today after work, I had a meetup dinner to go to at Sweet Cheeks Q in the Fenway area of Boston.

Before that, I decided to grab some pizza for tomorrow's lunch from Pan Roma Pizza nearby in Brookline. I got the Pulled Pork Pizza (pulled pork, bacon, sweet potatoes, BBQ sauce)

and the Down Under Pizza (shrimp, lemon, pineapples, mozzarella cheese, BBQ sauce),

choosing from an interesting selection on the menu.

The crust was very soft, different from most places I have been to, but both pizzas were actually pretty good, especially the pulled pork.

From here, I headed to Sol Azteca, a Mexican restaurant nearby, to use another deal of mine.

Here, I got the Camarones Veracruzanos (shrimp cooked in sauce of tomatoes, mushrooms, capers, almonds, raisins, white wine).

Although the ingredients looked interesting, the sauce itself tasted a little weird. Oh well.

Finally it was on to my BBQ meal for the night.

We had to wait a little while for everyone to arrive before we could sit.

We started off with buckets of biscuits, which came with honey butter.

The biscuits were just alright, but the butter was simply heavenly. Everyone could not stop eating at all.

For food, I decided to go with the Fat Cheeks Tray, choosing the Natural Pork Belly, Prime Beef Brisket, and Pork Sausage, coming with sides carrot and raisin salad and BBQ Ranch Beans.

Other things my friends got were the Buttermilk Fried Chicken,

Potato salad, Collard Greens, St. Louis Pork Ribs,

the Pulled Pork and the Mac and Cheese.

I liked the brisket the most, being moist and fatty, the best I have had to date. The ribs were not too bad either, as was the pulled pork. I loved the beans as well, while the carrot salad was pretty good as well. 

On the other hand, the macaroni was a little hard for my liking, while there was not enough fat on the belly. The sausage was bland and dry, while the collard greens and potato salad were just average.

Overall though, this is definitely one of the better BBQ places I have been to.

November 4th 2014: Pizza from Northeast Pizza, Leicester

After work today, I went to get pizza from Northeast Pizza in Leicester. This place has locations in East Brookfield and Barre as well. I went with the Sweet and Sour Chicken Pizza

and the Chicken, Bacon and Ranch Dressing Pizza.

The taste of the sweet and sour pizza was pretty interesting, and overall, not too bad a meal.

November 1st 2014: Brunch at Stephanie's East Boston, Boston

I had an early flight to catch to San Francisco this morning, so while waiting to board the plane

I decided to get brunch from Stephanie's, a new restaurant affiliated with Stephanie's on Newbury located within the Boston Logan Airport.

I decided to get the Crab Cake Benedict (sautéed crab cakes with poached eggs, topped with jalapeño hollandaise).

It was pretty good, if not for the onions everywhere. I think I definitely need to eat a proper meal at one of the other affiliated restaurants in town in future.