Ixtapa Woburn

Ixtapa Mexican Grill & Cantina in Woburn are doing takeout from noon to eight.

Chile Verde (13.95). "Chunks of pork loin cooked until tender in a mild green tomatillo sauce of green peppers, onions, cilantro and spices". Chips and salsa were included, as was the stale tortillas. Everything was just lukewarm. I did the same dish from Mexico Lindo in Melrose last week, and everything was piping hot when I got home. The pork was tender, and the sauce was OK. It had some heat, but I would have liked some more acidity from the tomatillos. The rice was OK. Last week's takeout was way more generous with the protein.

Black & Orange Woburn

Black & Orange Bar and Grill in Woburn is still open for takeout lunches and dinners.

Mondays still have the half-priced burgers deal. Cheese Burgers "Half pound, hand packed served on a brioche roll with fries and coleslaw". Here is the DOUBLE CLASSIC (16 full price). "Two, eight ounce hand-formed patties, cheese". From the five choices of cheese, I picked the jalapeno-jack. The burgers were ordered rare and were rare+ when I got home. The burgers were also a true half-pound, none of this "I was 8 oz in a previous life". I swapped the tomato slice for onions. Hold the buns. The slaw was excellent, crunchy and with just the right amount of dressing. The fries were also cooked perfectly and seasoned right out of the fryer. Eat locally!

Black & Blue Burlington

Black & Blue Steak and Crab in Burlington is the latest addition to The District area. They are participating in Dine Out Boston week(s), so this was a chance to get a reasonably priced visit.

Plenty of free parking.

The elegant dining area. In fact, the whole place oozes elegance.

The ginormous bar area with nice window tables.

Impeccable table setting. You get warm bread with stone-cold butter. The bread to the left was rosemary Foccacia sans rosemary. The one to the right was a very pleasant pretzel-like bread.

The Maryland She-crab soup (6.75) was not part of the Dine Out Boston, but I ordered it anyway since it's a soup that I really like. This version was excellent, tasty and really well seasoned.

I started with the Caesar salad from the Dine Out Boston lunch menu (20). The romaine was fresh, and the unseasoned croutons were tender. The dressing was creamy, but that was it. It was very bland.

Black and Blue Burger. "Blackened 8oz burger with blue cheese, smoked bacon & hand cut french fries". Isn't all bacon smoked? It was ordered rare+ and hold the tomatoes. It didn't work too well since it was cooked medium-well and they held the onions, so back it went. The second attempt was medium, and now I'm giving up on getting it right. It was a loosely packed patty that was still juicy. If it was blackened, it was without any spices. The blue cheese was mild, and of course, the burger was unseasoned. The fries saved the day. Hand-cut fries cooked perfectly, and they were even salted. The service was OK, no water refill was offered. They did comp the soup due to the overcooked burger, and I appreciate that.

Address: 400 District Ave, Burlington, MA 01803 Phone: (781) 365-1626

Purple Bamboo North Billerica

They have now reopened under new management. No more Hot Pots. Now they just serve American Chinese food. They never responded to their contact us form.

On my way back from NH, I stopped for lunch at Purple Bamboo in North Billerica. Somebody I trust about food recommended this place, and I had to ask why?

It looks like your average suburban old school Chinese restaurant. A quick look at the menu confirms this.

The inside was really well kept and impeccably clean. This is the bar area with bar seating and some high tops.

The dining room was nice and bright.

This is what is easily overlooked on the lunch menu, and the reason he recommended this place. They have several different Hot Pots for $10.95, and the seafood one tops out at $12.95. I went with lamb and the standard chicken broth. Next time I'll spring for the spicy broth (+1). You get a big bowl with veggies and a choice of "undo or rice noodles". I went with the udon. You also get a side dish with chili oil, garlic and scallions. There is also a bowl with a dipping sauce. The veggies were fresh, and the chicken broth was OK. The meat starts out frozen but is sliced so thin that it defrosts in no time. The corn on the cob goes in first and comes out last. I forgot to cut up the bok choi, so it was a bit unwieldy to eat. The waitress warned me that the meat was sliced so thinly that it should only cook for 30 seconds. Well, five seconds are more likely. This was plenty of food, and I was very happy with my lunch, especially for the price. They got a few more customers but never got busy. The service was pleasant.

Address: 265 Boston Rd, North Billerica, MA 01862 Phone: (978) 294-8994

El Jalisco Beverly

I have heard good things about El Jalisco Mexican Grill in Beverly, so on this Taco Tuesday, I headed up there.

They are located on the main street, and there is only metered parking. The city tax is 75 cents/hour. They have the same infernal meters as Medford.

It's small, but the inside was pleasant and impeccably clean.

You get warm chips (stale) and an unremarkable salsa plus refried beans. It was extremely difficult to get something onto the chips. They should rethink this, so it's possible to scoop things up.

Their Taco Tuesday specials are three Chicken Tacos ($6.99) or three Beef Tacos ($7.99). You only get cilantro and onions on the tacos on Taco Tuesdays. Beans and rice are also included. The beans were cooked nicely and were well seasoned with a hint of heat. The rice was pleasant with some nicely cooked veggies included. My double wrapped beef tacos were really good with tender beef that wasn't mushy. I had a hard time deciding which salsa was the best. The green one was really good and had some heat, but I think the red one was the best. It was also the spiciest one.

I tried to take a photo to show the generous serving of beef, but it didn't really work. The service was very pleasant and I'll be back.

Address: 150 Cabot St, Beverly, MA 01915 Phone: (978) 969-2269

Thmor Da Revere

I had some pleasant Cambodian food at Thmor Da in Revere on a previous visit. No website.

Metered parking only, and it's a busy street, so grab the first spot you find.

It's a really small place. Bathroom? Through the kitchen.

This is a small Special Chow Foon with Seafood and Beef (8.50). The squid was cooked nicely as was the shrimp that, of course, still had the tails attached. There was also sliced fish cake. The beef was chewy, and some veggies were cooked, and some were not. Overall it was bland. The noodles had been nicely charred and were good. Plenty of sauce and I like that, but it needed seasoning.

The menu said "Green Papaya Salad with Shrimp (8.50)". The picture on the menu had fresh shrimp on top. What did I get? No shrimp. "We only use dried shrimp in the salad". Bull. The salad was OK but lacked brightness. I have seen complaints about uneven food quality and I do have to agree. Looking back at photos on Y***, it seems that the fresh shrimp has always been absent.

Address: 144 Shirley Ave, Revere, MA 02151 Phone: (781) 286-2554

Blue Moon Grill Wakefield

Blue Moon Grill in Wakefield is one of my favorite restaurants in the area. The food is excellent, and the service is always great.

There is only on-street parking, but I have never had a problem finding a space. DO NOT park in the plaza next door.

They get busy on the weekends, but it was only a short wait at noon today. It tapers off after noon.

They are now introducing weekly specials, and this week it's the "Chorizo Eggs Benedict topped with a Chipotle Hollandaise Sauce". Keep an eye on their IG page for the specials. The homefries are very tasty. The poached eggs were cooked perfectly. The chipotle hollandaise sauce was excellent. The star, as it should be, was the chorizo. A hint of heat and tons of flavor. The muffins are featherlight. This is only available until Thursday, but they might be able to make it upon request.

The owner, Christin, brought out a side of their new and improved corned beef hash. It's made with house-made corned beef, and it's really really tasty with excellent texture.

Address 955 Main St, Wakefield, MA 01880 Phone number (781) 245-4470

I was invited as a media guest, but all opinions are my own.

Gaslight Lynnfield

Gaslight Kitchen & Bar in Lynnfield is located in the Market Street complex and they are participating in the Dine Out Boston 2020. The lunch picking is getting slimmer and slimmer in the burbs. There is a number of really good restaurants participating, but apart from Davio'S, the menus are the same year after year, so I was happy to see that Gaslight had a new menu.

They have an interesting pricing for the event. Lunch is $20 for two dishes, and the dinner is $33 for three dishes, all from the same menu. This means that you are paying $13 for either a starter or a dessert at dinner. Yay for lunch. I picked the "Whipped Goat Cheese Crostini with caramelized pear, truffle honey & rosemary". Make that arugula. Fresh nicely grilled bread, mild goat cheese, a nice slice of pear and honey that wasn't overly sweet. This was very tasty.

For my main, I picked the "Braised Pork Osso Bucco with saffron risotto, green beans & crispy onions". All the beans, except one, had the string removed, but the ends weren't trimmed. The pork on the bone was juicy and tender, the sauce was excellent. The risotto was creamy with nicely cooked rice. Everything was seasoned properly. This was such a delight that I'll be back next week for the same dish.

They start you off with some hot crusty french bread and butter that was spreadable. You get your own water bottle and I'm all for that practice. The service was excellent as usual. More of the interior can be seen HERE and it's a very nice interior.

Address: 1100, Market Street, Lynnfield, MA 01940 Phone number: (781) 334-3433

Gaetano's Stoneham

Gaetano's in Stoneham is participating in the Local Eats 2020 week that started yesterday and runs through Sunday. I had a very pleasant breakfast on my last visit. They offer a 25% discount on their regular lunch menu.

They are located on Main Street, and there is only street parking available, but at least it's free. You can see the outdoor seating area to the right. I just noticed on their IG page that there is free parking behind the restaurant.

The bar and the upper dining room.

You get bread (the end was stale) and butter (rock hard), but the middle piece was really good.
There were several dishes on the lunch menu that looked interesting, but I settled on the Baked Scallops Florentine (15). "Scallops, Garlic, Shallots, Parsley, Spinach, Bread Crumbs". The scallops were good sized and cooked perfectly. The whole dish was very tasty and enjoyable. The mashed potatoes were the real thing with lumps. Unfortunately, it had been overworked and was a bit gluggy. Service is always pleasant here and Debbie, a veteran of 28 years here, remembered me from my previous visit and promptly comped my meal since she really liked my previous write up. How nice was that? Made my day.

Address: 271 Main St, Stoneham, MA 02180 Phone: (781) 279-0100