Friday, October 31, 2014

Temazcal Lynnfield

Time to try the fish tacos at Temazcal Tequila Cantina in Lynnfield for lunch.


Warm chips that are excellent and again the bean spread was the best of the three condiments.



Fish Tacos ($13) comes with Saffron Rice and Beans. The green strips with the salad and the tacos were NOT bell peppers. The fish was nicely cooked, very moist and flaky. There was a lot of the pickled cabbage beneath the fish, but it was really tasty. They were really busy at lunch time today.

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Snappy Pattys Medford

Snappy Pattys in Medford has finally added burgers to the menu in addition to the famous sliders, and they are also adjusting the prices of the rest of the menu items. Nice to see them working and adjusting as needed.



Classic Burger - Onion, Lettuce, Tomato & American Cheese ($8) here with a hold the tomato. I got fries with that! Nice surprise and the fries were excellent. Burger comes out medium rare as ordered. The bun was big and a bit dense but apart from that, I was very happy.

Wednesday, October 29, 2014

MuLan Waltham

It's only a twenty min ride to MuLan in Waltham, and there is plenty of free parking if you get there early enough.



Soup and water quickly joined the peanuts and pickled cabbage. They are using a laminated menu at lunchtime but they also now have the quality bound ones. The soup here is always very good, but today it was again just lukewarm.



Salt and Pepper Pork Chop lunch combo ($8.95). Apart from the standard (BIG) chicken wing and this is a proper chicken wing with both the wing and tender included. The salad was a seaweed salad (nice) and broccoli. I really really don't like broccoli but decided to try this and I have no clue what they have done but this cold broccoli was delicious. I'm still in shock. The pork was, as always, perfectly cooked and scrumptious. Love this place.

Tuesday, October 28, 2014

Cilantro Woburn

Headed back to Cilantro in Woburn for some more Thai or maybe some Vietnamese lunch. Parking here on Main street has been pretty easy, there is always the big communal parking lot on the hill behind the restaurant if all the on-street parking is taken.



Drunken Noodle ($7.95 at lunch) was a big plate of food with plenty of nicely cooked chicken. All the veggies were also cooked perfectly, and they had a nice crunch. This was marked as two peppers on the menu, and the spiciness was pretty much spot on for that. Very nice lunch and perfect for a blustery day like today.

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Bonefish Grill Burlington

There was funnily dressed little people everywhere when I tried to make my way to Bonefish Grill in Burlington for some Sunday Brunch. Turns out that all the merchants in the Wayside Commons were giving out Halloween Candy to the kids. Neat idea but the throng of pedestrians with kids was a bit much.



Standard Eggs Benedict (9.7), with Potatoes Au Gratin, was fine but probably the most boring of the Benedict's I have had here. Got some Halloween candy on my way out.

Saturday, October 25, 2014

FuGaKyu Lynnfield

Again I took the short ride up to FuGaKyu in Lynnfield for some, hopefully, nice Saturday lunch.


Nice window table and as you can see, the bamboo shades was down. Makes you feel good here just sitting down, the place settings are so neat. Look at that little fish to rest your chopsticks on.



FUGAKYU NOODLE. Served with salad & fruit ($12.50). This is a pick your own with choices for Toppings, Noodle and Broth. I picked Seafood, Udon noodle and Spicy. As expected it wasn't a ton of seafood but enough and everything was cooked perfectly. Not sure what to do with the shiitake mushroom so I just left it. Was it spicy? Yes, but not overly so, didn't overpower the seafood. Looks to be a ton of noodles right?



Turns out that the bottom of the bowl is filled with shredded cabbage so the amount of noodles was just right for lunch. The cabbage was in fact pretty tasty in that spicy broth.



No takers for the outdoor seating. Nice and sunny day but we are at the end of October after all.

Friday, October 24, 2014

WooRi Arlington

WooRi in Arlington got written up in the Boston Globe this week and was absolutely packed at lunchtime today.



The Banchan with my lunch special today was cucumber and daikon, onion and kimchi. All was delicious and really well made. I was surprised at how good the onion was.



Spicy Squid Lunch special Combo ($11) with Crispy Rice Cake as the special snack. The rice cake was spicy and crisp with an interesting texture, really chewy but it did grow on me, and I finished it. The spicy squid was basically the same prep as the spicy pork belly. The squid was a bit unevenly cooked with some pieces bordering on chewy. The spicy sesame paste is a nice addition with another layer of spicy.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Masa Woburn

Masa in Woburn recently changed their lunch menu, so I decided to pay them a visit for lunch today.



You still get the breadbasket with cornbread and couple of slices of delicious rustic bread. Cranberry Chipotle, Honey Molasses Butter and Habanero Apricot spreads are also included. The chipotle had a nice kick to it today. Of course, you get linen napkins.



Soup, Salad and Sandwich or Taco (9.95). The soup of the day was a lentil soup today, and that won me over. The soup was really good, rich and very flavorful. Sandwich was the Cubano, also tasty but might have been in the press a tad too long since it was overly crispy. The Caesar salad is their variation with Crispy Blue Corn Tortillas and Cotija Cheese. A very pleasant meal in a nice room and the service is always very good. They also have a frequent lunch program, pay for four, and the fifth is free.

Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Beijing Chinese Dining Lexington

I went back to the recently opened Beijing Chinese Dining in Lexington to try something that the last time piqued my interest.


Chinese Muffin Stuffed with Pot Roast Pork or Beef ($7.95) here ordered with pork. This is what I got, no rice or soup was included. If you google the Chinese characters on the menu (肉夾饃) it translates to Rou jia mo or meat burger, and that's exactly what it was.



Inside is chopped pork with cilantro in a very dense and chewy bun. It was OK, not very exciting and the bun was too dense for me. I got here just before noon and the heat was off and it was freezing inside and didn't warm up for about 15 minutes so don't get here early on a cold day. I never understood why restaurants put names like "Yu Shiang Chicken" on the menu unless they are looking for a Chinese clientele only. How about Chicken in Garlic sauce? Maybe this is why they only had a couple tables going at lunchtime today.

Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Szechuan's Dumpling Arlington

Overcast and gray today so I decided to visit Szechuan's Dumpling in Arlington to try a noodle soup for lunch.



Pork and Pickled Vegetables Noodle Soup ($8.95). There was a lot of good stuff included with the pork and I like the thicker noodle but unfortunately, the whole thing was very bland, could have done with a handful of seasoning. A good amount of pork and there was some shitake mushrooms included as well. I'm currently reading Nicole Mones "The Last Chinese Chef" so there might be a lot of Chinese food eaten this week.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Punjab Arlington

Punjab in Arlington is my Monday Indian lunch restaurant. Lunch prices recently increased by a dollar but that was kind of expected, don't remember when the last increase was, and I have been going here for years.



Interior is very nice, and I like the little patio area next to the windows. Notice the crooked lamppost in the background. How drunk do you have to be to hit a lamppost in the sidewalk?



Today I just ordered an appetizer of the specials menu, but I got the lunch lentil soup anyway. Guess it pays to be a regular.



Chili Wings ($6.95) from the specials section of the menu. Breaded, then deep fried and finished off with a chili sauce. Perfectly cooked and really tender and juicy and HOT. They had a good kick, not deadly, but very nice.

Saturday, October 18, 2014

Origin Thai Bistro Tewksbury

Origin Thai Bistro in Tewksbury opened recently in a spot left by another longtime Thai restaurant, Tuk Tuk.



Interior isn't very exciting, but they had good quality furniture, and the big windows let in plenty of light.



I got a salad with my lunch order, and that was a nice surprise. It also had a very nice dressing, not the ordinary orange stuff but something tasty.



Drunken Noodle. ($7.95). Soft flat rice noodles with red & green bell peppers, onions, string beans, bamboo shoots and flavored with basil leaves. My choice of meat was pork, and it was nice and tender. You also get a crispy spring roll with your lunch. The crispy roll was good, with a nice dipping sauce. The whole dish was very nicely spiced with a nice kick from the two pepper marking. Veggies were nicely cooked, and there was tons of pork included, and the bamboo shots had been nicely julienned. A really nice rendering of another classic dish and an old favorite of mine.

Update. I went back here for lunch again the next day since I was in the area.



Duck Volcano ($10.95). Crispy boneless half duck served with steamed fresh vegetables, with a sweet chili and yellow onion sauce. This was supposed to be two peppers, and I also asked for it spicy, but it lacked heat and hence was way too sweet. The steamed veggies were broccoli, so that was another miss and to top it off, the duck was really really dry.

Origin Thai Bistro on Urbanspoon

Friday, October 17, 2014

Temazcal Lynnfield

Temazcal Tequila Cantina in Lynnfield is the latest restaurant addition to the Market Street complex.



They are located next door to The Yard House, and they also have a heated outdoor patio.



Enormous bar with seating all around. TV's everywhere. The interior is very pleasant.



Very elegant silverware and of course, linen napkins. The chips were excellent, fresh and warm and come with a green salsa and a red one as well as beans. Neither of the salsas was outstanding, and the best one was the smooth beans, they were very flavorful and tasty.



Chile Relleno ($15) with braised short ribs, poblano, corn salsa, pico de gallo, cotija cheese, Mexican saffron rice and black beans is what the menu said. Not sure if it was cotija cheese or not and there was also a very light salad with avocado slices included. There was no pico de gallo. The Chile Relleno was an open poblano chili with the short ribs on top. This was very nice and really tasty. The black beans were my least favorite, and when I mentioned that the beans with the chips were way better than these, the waiter said that these was vegetarian... Service was very good, and it's a really pleasant place. I have to come back and try the fish tacos, they looked really good.

Temazcal Tequila Cantina on Urbanspoon

Thursday, October 16, 2014

Sichuan Gourmet Billerica

I had to go back to Sichuan Gourmet in Billerica to see if the Hot and Sour Wonton soup was as good as I remember it.



The Hot and Sour Wonton Soup ($8.95) was again delicious and really both hot and sour, and I'm still surprised at how much I like this. The Bok Choy is nicely cooked, and there is a ton of wontons included. After I had eaten myself silly, there was still about ten of them left.
Question, what shot looks better? I usually do the first one but 90% of professional pictures user the overhead shot like the second one.

Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Cilantro Woburn

Back to Cilantro in Woburn to try an old favorite dish of mine, one that I try in every Vietnamese Restaurant.



Bun Thit Nuong ($7.95). Choice of meat on top of vermicelli, shredded lettuce, mint, beansprouts and roasted peanuts. Served with nuoc cham. Here it is with pork, you can also get it with chicken or beef. First, the noodles were piping hot, so often you get this with lukewarm noodles. The veggies were cut nicely and really fresh but the star of the dish was the pork. Not the leanest cut but really tender, nicely marinated and nicely charred on the grill. One of the best rendering of this classic dish. The nuoc cham was also good and I'm assuming it was homemade. Very quiet today but it's an gorgeous day, almost spring like.

Monday, October 13, 2014

Chili's Burlington

Chili's in Burlington again tempted me with a free appetizer when buying an adult entree so I decided to give them another try. I didn't have high hopes but they have added some new things to the menu and the "Fresh Mex" section looked somewhat interesting. Barnes & Noble are next door and always worth a visit



Every table now has a touch screen device, you can order drinks and desserts as well as pay the bill. I really like the pay at the table, no hassle and your card never leaves the table. Of course, in Europe this has been the standard for at least ten years.



Southwest Pairings, Chose Two ($8). Green Chile Enchilada and Beef Enchilada was my two choices and it also comes with rice and beans and a salsa. The rice was WAY under-cooked but the beans were delicious and the salsa had a good tang to it. I expected the green chili enchilada to have a green chili inside but it was just chicken with a green chili sauce on top but the chicken was nice and it was chicken chunks and not just shredded chicken. Beef enchilada had ground beef inside as expected and it was nicely seasoned. This whole thing was a nice surprise, way better than expected.



The free appetizer to go was Wings Over Buffalo (normally $9.79) with celery and blue cheese dressing. This will make a nice dinner tonight.

Sunday, October 12, 2014

Bonefish Grill Burlington

Back to Bonefish Grill in Burlington for some more brunch on a nice and sunny Sunday.



Cajun Shrimp omelet (10.3) with goat cheese, onions, sweet bell peppers +creole sauce. This was delicious and the omelet was way better than the last time, I think I must have gotten an all eggwhite omelet that time. This time it was nice and yellow and really delightful and very tasty. Potato au Gratin was cheesy and cooked perfectly. As you can see I got my nice and sunny window table again.

Friday, October 10, 2014

WooRi Arlington

Back to WooRi in Arlington for some more (hopefully) great Korean food for lunch.



I asked for some proper banchan and this is what I got. From the right we have cucumber kimchi (excellent!) followed by potato salad (?) and to the left a white kimchi that was also excellent, never had this before. On top is crispy shrimp, shell on and covered in a sticky sauce. This tasted really strongly of shrimp and was a bit weird to eat due to the shell still being on but I found myself keeping eating these guys.



Special Lunch Combo ($11) and this time I went for the pork belly and steamed dumplings as the snack. The dumpling was excellent, bursting with the filling and with really nice and tender skins. The pork belly was excellent too and was served with soft onions and beansprouts. I was a bit worried about the portion size since the Kalbi I had the last time was a bit stingy on the protein. This was a good portion with plenty of lightly grilled pork belly. You have a choice of spicy or not and the spicy version had a bit of heat. I'm really happy with my lunch today and they were pretty busy at lunch.

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Szechuan's Dumpling Arlington

I really wanted to try the Hot & Sour soup that's included in the lunch menu at Szechuan's Dumpling in Arlington.



The soup was very light but come out piping hot. A fairly thin soup that had a hint of Hot but was lacking Sour. There was few slices of shiitake mushroom floating in there but overall it was very lackluster.



Beef with Hot Green Peppers ($7.25) was OK but lacked in hot peppers and in fact, a good amount of the peppers was just bell peppers. Good amount of beef and the lunch is now served on small plates. Only a few tables was occupied at lunch today.

Wednesday, October 8, 2014

Cilantro Woburn

Time for a second visit to Cilantro in Woburn to see what the Thai part of the menu is like. I already know that the Vietnamese part was pretty good from my previous visit.



The lunch specials ($8.95) includes a cup of chicken soup. There were a few strips of chicken hiding in the depths. The soup was OK.



I ordered the Red Curry and asked for them to really make it a two pepper dish and that they did so that was good. The spring roll was crunchy and not bad. The red curry was mostly raw veggies with dry chicken but it was nicely spiced. It was really busy at lunchtime and that's nice to see.

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Three Amigos Stoneham

I have been going to Three Amigos in Stoneham occasionally over the years during numerous different ownership and never been really happy with anything here. Combo Plates are about $13 and that's a bit expensive for lunch but I decided to try them again today for lunch. I was really going to Felicia's for their Tuesday Lobster Roll Special but that was no more.



It's a small place with Mexican bric-a-brac all over the place but the place is bright inside with booth seating to the right. It's also BYOB.


You get (not homemade and cold) chips with either a mild or a hot salsa and I tried the hot salsa that wasn't really hot but just tasty.



From the specials menu, I choose Pork Tacos ($6.99), two soft tacos with a very good pico de gallo, shredded lettuce and Guacamole. The pork was a surprise, tender and very nicely seasoned and there was a really good amount of it. This was the best dish here so far and I might actually go back.

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Thai E-Sarn Cuisine Arlington

Time for some more special Thai food at Thai E-Sarn Cuisine in Arlington. Hopefully another good lunch.



On the specials menu, they had another handwritten special added. Duck Larb ($12.95) that I decided to try. As a larb, it was fine, seasoned really well but the duck was a bit chewy.


Much to my surprise, a bowl of duck soup was included and this might not look very exciting but it was the highlight of the meal. A rich broth that had chilies added made this soup really delicious.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

Blue Ribbon BBQ Arlington

I had something else planned but when I saw on Facebook that Blue Ribbon BBQ in Arlington had Pork Belly Sliders on today's specials menu my plans quickly changed.



Pork Belly Sliders ($8.49). Three sliders with two sides come with grape tomato relish, mayo and shredded lettuce. My sides was the standard mashed potatoes and baked bean. Both are delicious even if the mash has potato skins left in it.



A better picture of the pork belly. Delicious lunch again.