January 7th 2016: Lunch and Dinner in Worcester

Lunch today was at the Press Box, a divey sports bar in Worcester, where I got a Pastrami Sandwich. Not bad, but nothing special.

For dinner, we decided to head out to Red Pepper in town for a Szechuan meal, getting the Twice Cooked Pork with Black Curded Beans and Pepper

and the Ox Tail Soup.

The pork was pretty flavorful, and the soup was really nutritious. Good non spicy stuff for a change.

January 6th 2016: Seafood Lunch at West Boylston Seafood, West Boylston

I grabbed lunch today from West Boylston Seafood, a seafood place in West Boylston, getting the Whole Belly Clam Lunch Basket.

Pretty tasty, and it's been a while since I last had whole belly clams.

January 5th 2016: Grabbing a Donut from Donut Star, Grafton

Today, I grabbed a Boston Cream Donut from Donut Star, a breakfast place in Grafton that has donuts as well.

Nothing special.

January 4th 2016: Catching Up with Friends at Island Creek Oyster Bar, Boston

I went to get a Hot Chocolate from Stir Crazy, a small cafe at 79 Worcester Street in the town of Grafton

before getting Chinese takeout from King Jade II across the road, getting the Orange Chicken with Egg Roll and Pork Fried Rice.

Nothing special though.

After work, we went into Boston to meet up with a good friend who was in town for the week. It was so cold that we had to run inside Hotel Buckminster for a bit

before heading to our destination for the night, the Island Creek Oyster Bar, a pretty upscale seafood place nearby.

While waiting for friends to come, we got a few oysters

and the Abigail's Delight (house soda of fresh pineapple and homemade orgeat) for a drink.

When they arrived, we got down to ordering food, getting the Fish and Chips (beer batter, malt vinegar aïoli), the Lobster Knuckle Spaghetti (maitake mushrooms, charred leeks, white truffle butter)

and the Ethel's Lobster Roll (rosemary roll, cole slaw, kettle chips).

Pretty amazing and fresh seafood, especially my spaghetti. For dessert, we got the New England Cheese (Kingsman Ridge),

the Burnt Marshmallow Ice Cream

and the Caramelized Custard Tart (almond, winter citrus)

The desserts were not bad, especially the tart, but I don't think the cheese and ice cream were worth paying for. We had a lot of fun figuring out whether the 3 scoops were different flavors or not. We had to get the waitress to tell us that they were all the same.

To put it simply, a great night meeting up with old friends. Way too cold though.

January 3rd 2016: Visiting the Boston Public Market

We went into Boston today to check out the Boston Public Market, a small market with all sorts of specialty foods,

including sea urchin (uni).

We got a mini apple cider donut from the Red Apple Farm store,

which was absolutely scrumptious.

Our next meal was at the Grand Canal, a bar restaurant nearby.

With my deal, we got a lot of food, getting the Canal Sampler (a trio of Shepherd’s Pie (ground beef, carrots, onions & herbs in an Irish brown gravy, topped with mashed potatoes), Irish Beef Stew (slowly simmered beef in rich broth with carrots, onions, celery and potatoes) and Chicken Pot Pie (chicken carrots, celery, peas and potatoes in a thick chicken broth topped with flaky pie crust)),

the Chicken Cordon Bleu (breaded chicken cutlet stuffed with swiss cheese and ham, served with mashed potatoes and vegetables),

the Salmon Nicoise salad (mesclun greens, artichoke hearts, capers, anchovies, black olives, tomatoes, onions & hard-boiled eggs with a balsamic vinaigrette),

and the Salmon Burger (home-made salmon patty, with a lemon aioli sauce on a wheat bun).

The stew and pies were really delicious, as was the salmon burger with its tangy sauce. The chicken was not bad too, although the salmon salad was just alright. I was surprised how perfectly cooked the sweet potato fries were though.

Not a bad meal actually.

January 2nd 2016: Checking Out Casinos in Plainville and Lincoln RI

We started out today checking out the Plainridge Park Casino in Plainville, which has changed a lot since the last time I was here, when it was still just a horse racing course.

We then went for a quick bite from Don's Diner, a small diner in town,

getting the Clam Cakes.

Pretty crispy, though cooked with old oil, and not much clams.

Our next meal was at Angelina's Italian Restaurant, a sports bar and Italian restaurant in Wrentham.

The place was totally empty the whole time we were there. We got a Clam Chowder,

the Kettle Steamed Mussels and Clams Combo (Diavolo sauce)

the Seafood Stuffed Clam

and the Veal Saltimbocca (Sauteed veal medallions with mushrooms, prosciutto, smothered with a sage veal jus and mozzarella).

The soup was a little on the oily side, while the stuffed clam had way too little clam. Worst of all, the prosciutto was way too salty in the pasta, which was way too bland. The mussels were the only thing that were somewhat alright, but nothing special. Definitely not coming back again.

From here, it was on to the Twin River Casino in Lincoln RI.

A pretty big casino, with a lighthouse in the main hall, but full of cigarette smoke in the smoking area.

We ended the day shopping at the Emerald Square Mall in North Attleborough. A pretty small mall, though with 3 floors.

January 1st 2016: Dinner with Family at Anh Hong, Boston

We went out for dinner at Anh Hong in the Dorchester area of Boston here, getting the Soda Hot Ga (Egg Soda)

and the Ech Xao Sa Ot (frog legs with lemongrass),

among other things. Pretty good stuff as always.