Pollos A La Brasa El Chalan East Boston

The first choice for lunch in Revere had decided to take a vacation week, so the backup was Pollos A La Brasa El Chalan in East Boston. No website but a menu can be found HERE. The prices are slightly out of date.

This is the actual name. Much to my surprise, there was free parking available all over the place.

The upstairs dining room that is also away from the front door. The people were very friendly with limited English, but that wasn't really a problem.

The downstairs dining room. Everything was neat and clean.

A simple fresh salad is included, and you even get a slice of perfectly ripe avocado. The green dressing was outstandingly good with a hint of heat. It's also good with the chicken.

Of course I had to have the Rotisserie chicken since that's what they are known for. Quarter dark (9.95) with one side. The half chicken is a better deal since it's only three bucks more. The previously frozen fries was cooked as well as they could be. The chicken was fantastic! Really! Crispy skin that had a ton of seasoning and moist and tender chicken. I was really happy with this.

Address: 405 Chelsea St, East Boston, MA 02128 Phone: (617) 567-9452

Namaste Stoneham

What used to be Taj Indian Bistro is now Namaste in Stoneham. When I walked in I was recognized by the owner who used to manage Rang Bistro in Stoneham. This was a bit remarkable since I haven't seen him in a number of years and it was also pre-beard.

They are in a small plaza off Montvale Ave and are hard to see from the road. Plenty of parking.

They do a daily lunch buffet ($11.99) and the interior looks exactly as when I visited in '16 including the sushi boats.

The first visit to the buffet yielded some cold pakoras, potatoes and pea curry, saag paneer, tandoori chicken, basmati rice and chicken curry. The potatoes in the potatoes and pea curry was overcooked. The saag was excellent and really tasty. The tandoori chicken was tender and moist but it was all white meat. The chicken curry was bland. On my second trip, I stuck to the tandoori chicken and the saag.

You also get freshly baked naan and it was really good. Be aware that the suggested tip is calculated including the tax.

Address: 58 Montvale Ave, Stoneham, MA 02180 Phone: (781) 438-9688

Yassou Arlington

Yassou in Arlington Heights opened this Saturday so it was kind of too early for a visit but I decided to give them a chance.

There is free on street parking but not a whole lot. I took one of the sunny window tables. There are three more four tops down on the right.

They have the proper rotisserie spits for the chicken and pork. No pizza yet, but it's coming.

I went with the Pork Gyro ($7.50?) with the tzatziki on the side.

Here it is opened up. The house-made fries could have been good but they were stone cold and unsalted. There was a good amount of raw onions and that was fine with me. There was also some tomatoes hiding in there. Some of them could have been sliced thinner. The pork was excellent, juicy and tender and there was a good amount of pork. The tzatziki was pleasant with a very mild yogurt. Overall I was very happy with this gyro and will be back. I spoke to the owner before leaving and he wanted to give me more fries but I was full. Everyone there was very nice and friendly. Considering that this was the third day they were open, they are doing well.

Address: 1323 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02476 Phone: (781) 777-2770

Not Your Average Joe's Burlington

The last of my birthday benefits was a $15 off coupon from Not Your Average Joe's, so I headed out to their location in the nearby Wayside Commons in Burlington.

It was actually sunny today. Plenty of parking.

I like the inside with its nice booths, and I got one next to the windows.

No napkin wrapped silverware here, but the real thing. The dipping oil is nice, but the bread today was very dense. When I mentioned this to the manager, who always walks around, his response was, I'll tell the kitchen.

I decided to order two appetizers and start with the Nachos, but the NEW ENGLAND-STYLE CRAB CAKES (14.50) arrived first. "Two hand-formed patties of lump crab with chopped red peppers and celery, pan-seared and served with sriracha remoulade and dressed arugula". Not sure what makes this New England Style? Anybody? The crab cakes were very light and tasty and had real crab in them. The remoulade was very good, just wished there was more of it. The salad was also very tasty especially after I had tossed it, so the dressing was properly distributed.

The NACHO AVERAGE NACHOS (11.5) arrived five minutes after the crab cakes. "Crispy corn tortillas layered with chipotle-braised chicken and melted pepper jack cheese, with cumin sour cream and avocado salsa". Hold the sour cream. Sorry, but five small pieces of avocado doesn't make this an avocado salsa. Having said that, this was an excellent dish and well engineered as well. Every chip had melted cheese and chicken on it, and the chicken was tender and super tasty. The cheese was actually peppery, and the chips were light and crispy. I really enjoyed this dish even if it was cold when I got to it. The service was amicable.

Did you know that a coyote runs 28mph faster than a roadrunner?

Address 4c Wayside Rd, Burlington, MA 01803 Phone number (781) 505-1303

Island Creek Oyster Bar Burlington

My first choice for lunch doesn't serve lunch on Saturdays, so I ended up at Island Creek Oyster Bar in Burlington instead.

They are located in The District, so parking is not an issue.

The inside is modern and sleek with plenty of light. They got really busy shortly after this.

Water, bread and butter arrive promptly. The bread was nice but the Cajun and Honey whipped butter with salt on top were excellent. What a nice touch!

I started with the SALMON TARTARE (13). "Cucumber, sesame, red onion, chive". The chive oil had been replaced with chili oil that was very good but in short supply. The potato and sweet potato chips were also very good, and I don't even like sweet potatoes.

This was followed by CRISPY FISH SANDWICH (15) with spicy tartar, Old Bay fries. The fish was good and made a reasonable attempt to be crispy, The tartar was mildly spicy but really tasty. The bun was super soft and really pleasant. The fries were excellent, crispy and soft on the inside and seasoned really well. The slaw that's hiding behind the sandwich was finely sliced but lacked a dressing. Service was very pleasant.

Just for the record: A person born in 33 was 45 in 78.

Address 300 District Avenue, Burlington MA 01803 Phone number (781) 761-6500

Bobby C's Melrose

I had business in Melrose so I decided to pay a second visit to Bobby C's in Melrose. On my first lunch visit here, I had an excellent pork chop and was especially impressed with the house-made vinegar peppers.

No outside seating this time of the year. There is on-street parking and also parking behind the restaurant with a separate entrance. Don't park anywhere else, you will get towed.

The inside is nice and bright and impeccably clean. They expected a big bridal party so my window table was gone.

Fresh bread arrives quickly with an excellent dipping sauce. Of course you get good cutlery and linen napkins.

I had my eyes on the Linguini Alle Vongole ($11.99) since my last visit. "Fresh little necks and baby clams sauteed and served with a choice of marinara or white wine sauce over linguini". White wine sauce of course. Both the little necks and the chopped clams were cooked perfectly so they were tender and juicy. All the flavors had melded into the sauce flawlessly. This was delicious and I have to go back to try more dishes. The service is very professional, yet friendly. BTW, this was called Vonole on the lunch menu.

How close to Malden are we? Half a block further down is the border sign.

Address 20 Main St, Melrose, MA 02176 Phone number (781) 662-5472

Pressed Cafe Burlington

Pressed Cafe in Burlington isn't exactly my cup of tea but they serve Shakshuka and that would fit nicely in this terrible day. It was interesting driving at lunchtime today, to put it mildly.

They are located in The District so there is plenty of parking.

The inside is nice and bright with plenty of seating including window seats. They were feeding the snow crew today. You order at the counter and the food is brought out to you.

I went with the aforementioned SHAKSHUKA ($12). "MIDDLE EASTERN DISH WITH FRESH TOMATOES & RED BELL PEPPERS, TOPPED WITH POACHED EGGS & FETA CHEESE, SERVED IN A PAN WITH A SIDE OF FRESH BREAD AND SCHUG (MIDDLE EASTERN CILANTRO HOT SAUCE)". They do like their uppercases.. The Shakshuka was delicious and the eggs were runny, at least for a while. Adding the Schug gave the dish a whole new dimension and the hot sauce was impressively hot. I also got some tahini that I didn't know what to do with, so I just ate it with the bread. The bread was excellent, nicely toasted and buttered.

Address: 200 District Ave, Burlington, MA 01803 Phone: (781) 365-1412

Margaritas Waltham

Margsmex loaded my card with $10 for my birthday so I headed down to Margaritas in Waltham since the food and attitude is so much better than their Lexington location.

The inside goes all the way down to the corner. They have reserved parking in the back.

The inside is bright and clean. All the decorations are imported from Mexico.

Today the chips were warm and fresh. The chunky salsa is quite good even if it is heavy on the tomato and they really like their onion chunks. Rolled up silverware is the norm but the waiter handed me some fresh napkins.

I picked the Chile Relleno ($12). "Available while they last on Friday and Saturday only. Roasted whole, fresh poblano pepper battered and stuffed with cheese, topped with mild red chile sauce and crema. With Mexican rice and beans". I added Shrimp (+$2) and that was worth the money, big and perfectly cooked shrimp. I also ordered it with refried beans and they failed on the delivery of that. I forgot to say hold the sour cream but it was just a minuscule amount and it was easy to remove. The poblano pepper was properly cleaned and really tasty.

My waiter later brought out a side of refried beans. They are excellent, well seasoned and tasty. It would have been even better if they weren't stone cold.

The Chile Relleno was sitting in a pool of grease. Not sure what happened, maybe they overcooked the cheese so that it split? The service was OK.

Address: 211 Moody St, Waltham, MA 02453 Phone: (781) 893-9990

TWK Winchester

This month the Serenitee Group loaded a free entree and dessert onto my Reward card, good at any of their 9 restaurants because I have a birthday this month. The offer is good for the whole month with no restrictions.

I headed out to The Waterfield Kitchen in Winchester since I really like the place. Free on-street parking but not a lot of it.

I got a nice table in the bar area. You also have a nice view of their patio. The old bound menus have been replaced by a printed sheet.

A Yelp check-in yielded a free Spicy Maki Roll ($12) and I opted for the Salmon roll. It was spicy and unlike most other "spicy" rolls this one was made with chunks of fish and not the normal mush.

For my free entree, I picked the PAN SEARED DUCK BREAST ($28). "Butternut Squash, duck fat potato & baby kale hash, cara-cara gastrique". The squash got 86'ed in favor of asparagus. The duck was cooked perfectly with crispy skin and was super tender and well seasoned. The hash was tasty and had the tender asparagus mixed in. Turns out that cara-cara is blood oranges. This was an excellent dish with everything cooked perfectly.

This isn't listed on the webpage so it has to be from memory. Cara Cara Cheesecake ($8) with Grand Marnier whipped cream and shaved chocolate. It was very tasty but a bit heavy. Service is always impeccable here.

This is the newly built patio and it extends down to the bow windows.

Address 14 Thompson Street, Winchester, MA 01890 Phone number (781) 729-0204

Tavern in the Square Burlington

Today I headed out to Tavern in the Square in Burlington to take advantage of my free birthday appetizer. This is one chain where it's worth signing up for their loyalty program.

They are big, and you can see the outdoor patio on the far left.

For my free appetizer, I picked the Fried Calamari (14). "Pickled Green Tomatoes, harissa aioli". I got both legs and rings, so I was happy. They were fried perfectly. I finally figured out how to get the diced green tomatoes involved. Pick up a calamari, dip it into the excellent aioli, then snag a piece of the diced tomato with the aioli and you get everything in one bite.

This was followed by the Bayou Chicken Pasta ($16.50). "Spicy blackened chicken, sweet corn, jalapeño, bacon, parmesan cream". The pasta was al dente, the chicken was good and blackened. There was even sliced jalapeños in there, and it was pleasantly spicy. I wish there were more of the sauce. This was a surprisingly tasty dish. I sat at a hightop at the bar, and the service was very good. With my free birthday app, $10 in rewards dollars and a $5 Wednesday discount, my bill come to $1.62 before tip. How can you beat that?

Legal Sea Foods Burlington

Since January 15 is Chowda Day, Legal Sea Foods are offering a cup of chowder for $1 with an entree. I haven't been to their Burlington location in ages, so it was time for a visit.

It's weird with no Sears in the mall. They are located next to the entrance. Plenty of parking but never any close by.

After some hassle, I got a booth next to the windows.

I got warm rolls (good) with rock hard butter (bad). Here's my $1 New England Clam Chowder (7.50). Their chowder has always been excellent, and this was no exception. Thick and tasty with plenty of clams.

For my entree, I picked the Louisiana Gumbo (16.95). "Shrimp, spicy andouille sausage and crispy fried okra with jasmine rice". This was really good with a nice dark roux and plenty of decently sized shrimps. I liked the ocra even if it didn't stay crispy in the gumbo. It even packed a bit of heat. I really enjoyed this despite the price. Cheapest dish on the lunch menu was 14.95 apart from the salads. Thinking about this, it was worth the price.