November 10th 2016: Caribbean Dinner at Addie Lee's Soul Food, Worcester

We decided to stop by Addie Lee's Soul Food, a small cafeteria in Worcester serving Caribbean food, for dinner tonight.

Pretty simple menu, from which we got the BBQ Ribs

and the Oxtail Stew.

The ribs were not bad, and the stew was delicious like a curry, with equally tasty cornbread.

Not a bad meal to say the least.

November 6th 2016: Latin American and Mediterranean in Revere, Taiwanese in Waltham

We wanted to use some coupons in Revere today, and started off with Sabor Salvadoreno, a cafeteria like Latin American place in town. We got the Maranon and Sebada drinks,

both of which tasted strongly of cinnamon (not to my liking),

the Montanero (chicharron, platano, huevo, arroz, Frijoles, Ensalada)

and the Plato Salvadoreno (Pollo, Huevos, Platanos, Ensalada, Frijoles, Yuca).

We liked the seasoning of the meat, but overall, nothing special.

Next, we headed to the Mediterranean Cafe, a surprisingly nice looking cafe bakery nearby, where we got 2 pieces of pastry,

I actually would recommend this place if you happen to be in the area, although it is in a crappy part of town.

Lunch was at Mulan in Waltham, a Taiwanese place which I have been to many times in the past.

We got the Cuttlefish Dumplings

and the Beef with Leek Wrapped in Pancakes.

the pancakes were good as always, while the dumplings were not bad, despite being all black. Don't think they were worth the price though.

November 5th 2016: Sensorial Experience at Le Laboratoire, Cambridge

We started out today with breakfast at The Spoon, a pretty new and popular diner in the town of Hopkinton.

We got a lot of food with our coupon, getting the Hot Chocolate,

the Fruit Cup,

the Steak and Eggs (6oz sirloin steak served with 2 eggs, toast and 2 silver dollar pancakes),

the Veggie Ben (2 poached eggs served over a bed of sauteed spinach, sliced tomato, grilled zucchini slices, pesto sauce and multi-grain toast, topped with hollandaise sauce)

and the BBQ Chicken Wrap (Crispy Chicken, Tangy BBQ sauce, Fried Onion Strings, lettuce and tomato).

The vegetarian dish was actually pretty good, mainly because of the pesto sauce, but the steak was a little on the tough side, and there wasn't anything special to the wrap. Overall, not sure I will come back here, even though the ambience is pretty nice.

Later in the evening, we were in Cambridge for our Sensorial Experience at Le Laboratoire, a futuristic museum with unique food technologies.

We were a little early, so we decided to check out Cafe ArtScience next door, an upscale place which serves some of the food inspired by the museum.

We got the Pear Honey Bavarois (honey sorghum, thyme, Pain d'Epices, Opalys cream, Amaretto Ice Cream),

which was plated really well and delicious to boot. It made us want for more and expect more from this place come dinner later.

After pre-dinner dessert, we headed to the museum next door, where we were allowed to look at some engineering exhibits.

It was fun at first to be able to interact with the exhibits and watch them change shape, but it got boring pretty quickly. It was cool to learn that the mechanics in play have actually been applied for real useful purposes though.

Our sensorial experience began with a cocktail crafted by the bartender at Cafe ArtScience,

which was pretty good.

We then got to try "Whaf " drinks, made from a carafe which turns liquids into inhalable clouds through the use of supersonic waves,

tasting the smoke using specially designed straws.

The chocolate flavor was definitely better than the tequila, with me being able to taste the sweetness in the fumes, although still pretty faint.

Next, we were presented with the o-Phone,

which gives off scents as they are sent from someone else or when a story is being told. If only the scents were stronger though. We still had fun trying to guess the smells coming out from it anyways.

Next, we got to taste inhalable powders,

which were okay, but failed to catch on commercially.

We also got to try some WikiPearl ice cream, consisting of a protective layer covering a sphere of ice cream,

which was presented to us in an interesting looking "bowl".

I did not take to the taste of the ice cream though.

With that, our sensorial experience was at an end, and we headed back to Cafe ArtScience for our dinner proper.

Our water came in cute little pots and cups,

and we got the Aunt Dottie Oysters (clarified cider, caviar vinaigrette),

the Smoked Coho Salmon (grilled cream cheese sandwich, pickled shallot and parsley salad, with Royal White Sturgeon Caviar on side)

  and the Duck Meat Balls (Burgundian Escargot, ricotta, gnocchi, Madeira).

The oysters were alright I guess, and the salmon was pretty good, as were the meatballs, but overall, I really don't think it was worth the price we paid, even though we got complimentary mini-macarons at the end.

I do have to say that the melt-in-your mouth caviar was definitely much higher in quality than regular Japanese tobiko. We might come back here for dessert though.                        

November 2nd 2016: Waiting a Long Time for Burgers at Mooyah, Northborough

Tonight, we decided to check out the new burger place that just opened up in Northborough, Mooyah, which has locations all over the States. This place is pretty much a fast food outlet much like Five Guys.

We got the Mooyah Cheeseburger (Beef Patty, tomato, lettuce, cheese, Mooyah sauce),

the Half and Half (Hand Cut Idaho Fries and Sweet Potato Fries) and the Chilli Cheese Dog (Hebrew National all Beef Hot Dog, Chilli, Cheddar Cheese).

 The hot dog was alright I guess, while the fried were pretty good. The burger itself was delicious with its Mooyah sauce and crispy patty. Unfortunately, it took over an hour before our food finally came because of the crowd, but we were compensated with 2 free burgers the next time. Not sure I want to come back at this time of day for them again though.

October 30th 2016: Haunted Happenings in Salem

We started out today with some breakfast at Cafe Avellino, a small cafe in the town of Swampscott.

We got the Spicy Turkey and Avocado Panini (shaved turkey, sliced avocado, muenster cheese, cranberry mayo),

the Spicy Spinach Omelette (egg, spinach, tomato and garlic, parmigiano),

and the Raspberry Bowtie and Raspberry Square.

The food itself was not too bad, although the desserts tasted weird at times.

Overall, nothing special.

After breakfast, we headed into the town of Salem, where the Halloween event of Haunted Happenings was ongoing.

Not really into Halloween, so to me it was just another regular fair, nothing special.

We stopped by Kushco Bistro, which we initially thought was more of a restaurant than the cafe it was.

We got the Portabella Mushroom Panini (portabella mushroom, swiss, caramelized onion, spring mix and dijon mustard),

the Baked Eggplant Panini (baked eggplant, fresh mozzarella, roasted peppers, tomatoes, spring mix, sundried tomato paste),

the Brownie Sundae (vanilla froyo with walnuts, strawberries, chocolate sprinkles and fudge)

and a Smoothie (apple juice, strawberries, pineapple).

The sandwiches tasted really weird because there were too many spices in them, but thankfully the drink and the dessert were not bad. Not recommending this place again though.

We also stopped by a Japanese restaurant nearby, Koto Grill & Sushi, which was decorated for the festivities, and very dark inside.

Being very full from everything we had had, we just decided to go with the Yaki Soba (stir fried noodles with shrimp),

which was just so-so. Overall, nothing interesting on the menu, and not coming back again.

With that, we called it a day for checking out the Halloween festivities in Salem.