September 25th 2021: Two Town Festivals in One Day

 This morning, after checking out the new Major Howard Beal School in Shrewsbury as part of the Spirit of Shrewsbury festivities,

we headed to IKEA in Stoughton, a Swedish furniture store which I have visited before in the past.

This time around, we got the Kevita Master Brew Kombucha Ginger (Fermented with our proprietary kombucha tea culture), Chicken Tenders (with fries and seasonal vegetables) and Swedish Meatballs (beef and pork meatballsw tih mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, cream sauce and ligonberries).

The drink was gingery, gassy and not to my liking, but the chicken tenders and meatballs were good as always. My little one was still hungry though.

From here, we headed to Halloran Park in town,

where Stoughton Day was ongoing.

Typical fair, nothing special. From here, we went back to check out the Stoughton Public Library, which is small but nice inside.

From here, it was on to dinner at Arturo's Ristorante, a really nice Italian restaurant back in Westborough that I visited a long time ago, before I even started my blog. I don't remember it being that nice inside.

I don't remember what I got before, but today, we got the SUZY’S RED SANGRIA (Red wine sangria made from Suzy’s own recipe.),

the MISTA (cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, kalamata olives, red onions, candied walnuts, crumbled blue cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, over mixed greens),

the SHRIMP COCKTAIL (Jumbo Shrimp, poached and served chilled with house made cocktail sauce and lemon),

the PASTA DI NAPOLI (shrimp, scallops, lobster, diced tomatoes, citrus and fresh herb cream sauce, fresh pappardelle pasta),

the SPECIAL FISH (Pan seared fresh local striper topped with peperonata (Local grown red and yellow peppers) Served on white bean ragu with crispy green beans).

the ZAZZA (Thin layer of fresh garlic, olive oil, fresh plum tomato and basil topped with mozzarella),

the Mussels (Hollander Mussels from Maine sautéed with garlic and white wine served with a garlic crostini),

the FRUTTI DI MARE (Calamari, Shrimp, Scallops and Mussels sautéed in a spicy tomato sauce over linguine)

and the Tiramisu for dessert.

The drink was alright I guess, but the food was really good. The salad had a good combination of flavors, even from the blue cheese, which wasn't too strong in flavor. The seafood was really fresh, especailly the scallops in the pasta, and the garlicky flavor of the crispy pizza made my day, along with the sauce for the mussels. Only the tiramisu was a letdown, being a little soggy and bitter. Overall though, a good end to a day of town festivals.

September 19th 2021: Zuma, Boston

 Today, we decided to splurge a little at Zuma, a new Japanese restaurant in Boston located within the new Four Seasons Hotel at One Dalton Street.

This upscale restaurant has locations all over the world.

For drinks, we got the yuzu blossom milk punch (vodka, yuzu, milk, orange blossom water),

which apparently had clarified milk in it,

and the tensei ‘endless summer’ tokubetsu honjozo (kanagawa) cold sake.

We got the miso shiru (miso soup, tofu, wakame, scallion)

and the Tempura Yasai Moriawase (assorted vegetables)

for our little one, although he would have none of it. The soup was salty, and the tempura low on crisp as well. 

For the rest of the table, we got the Premium Omakase, which consisted of the suzuki no osashimi

(sliced seabass sashimi, yuzu, truffle and salmon roe),

the kureson to kyyuri no salada (watercress salad, wasabi, pickled cucumber)

the kaisen taru taru kyabia zoe (salmon and tuna tartare with rice crackers and lotus root chips),

the Hotate no ume shiso mentaiko yaki (Grilled Scallops with Pickled Plum with shiso and mentaiko butter),

the Wagyu Tartare (truffle ponzu, black truffle, saikyo miso bun, scallions)

Sushi Sashimi Plate (arjun negi toro maki (fatty tuna, finely diced scallion), hamachi (yellowtail), sake (salmon), suzuki (seabass), otoro (fatty tuna),

the kinoko no kama meshi (rice hot pot with wild mushrooms, japanese vegetables and preserved truffles),

the ainame no koumi yaki to kousou (grilled chilean seabass with green chili and ginger dressing), yaki toumoro koshi (sweet corn, shiso butter, shichimi pepper) and us prime beef (24 oz bone in ribeye, preserved black truffle, truffle ponzu butter),

Sencha,

and a dessert plate including yuzu cheesecake (raspberry granita, black sesame and yamamomo), chawan mushi (coconut custard, tropical fruit, passion fruit foam), green tea and banana cake (coconut ice cream, peanuts and toffee sauce), Molten Chocolate Cake with Caramel filling, Chocolate Mousse Sumo with Mango.

Very good presentations to say the least. Only the salad was a little underwhelming, but honestly I am not sure it was worth the 150 bucks we paid, per person. Overall, a decent experience, but not worth the price tag.

September 18th 2021: Applefest, Northborough

 Today while passing through Westborough 

Gurdwara Sahib

and Northborough, we found out that Applefest was going on, and decided to check it out for a bit.

Small town fair, nothing much really.

For lunch, we headed into Marlborough to give An Nam Vietnamese Grill a second try. This time around, we got the Dark Brown Sugar Milk Tea,

An Nam Bowl ((Special noodle salad, Combination of pork, shrimp, 1 imperial roll with chilled rice vermicelli, lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, pickle carrot and daikon, scallion oil, fried shallots and crushed peanut),

the Tofu Garlic Noodles (Saute teriyaki tofu with garlic noodle, onion, carrot, scallion, Thai basil, bean sprout, cilantro)

and the An Choi Fries (Cajun garlic fries topped with grilled steak, grilled onion, chicken liver pate, fried egg, cilantro, side pickles).

The noodle salad was not bad, as was the drink, but the garlic noodles were a tad salty, while the fries were somewhat soggy. Overall, two tries at this place and disappointment galore. Will definitely not make the same mistake again.

September 16th 2021: Getting Food in Clinton

 Today, while in Clinton, we decided to get food from Pressed'O Organic Juice Bar and Cafe, a small hole in the wall cafe in town.

We got the Acai Bowl (acai, banana, almond milk, granola, berries)

and the Creole herb Marinated Chicken Panini (Lettuce Tomato, Cucumber, Mango Chutney, Pickliz).

The acai was a little too watery, while the sandwich was just so-so. Not worth our time really.

For our little one, we went to the McDonald's in town, getting the Glazed Pull Apart Donut (coated in a delicious, sweet glaze)

and the Big Breakfast with Hotcakes (warm biscuit, savory hot sausage, fluffy scrambled eggs, crispy hash browns, and golden brown hotcakes with a side of real butter and the sweet flavor of maple).

Just alright stuff, especially the doughnut. Not my cup of tea.