John's Bar & Grill Beverly

My forays into Greek food in the area had not met with much success until I found Brothers Kouzina in Peabody in '17. Friendly staff, table service, and by far, the best kokinisto around. Their souvlaki plates and gyros were excellent, with the gyro meat coming freshly off the rotisserie. The Reuben and the Corned Beef Hash quickly became favorites. When they closed, it opened a big void in my lunch adventures. Some of it was filled by other Brothers, but none could replace Brothers Kouzina.

Then I heard a rumor that the chef at the much-missed Brothers Kouzina had opened his own restaurant, John's Bar & Grill in Beverly, so I had to check it out. It was true, John can be found in the open kitchen cooking away, and his wife is hosting on the weekends. All the old favorites are on the menu. 

They are on the other end of Cabot Street from the Anchor. Plenty of parking in the lot opposite the restaurant.

There are two vertical rotisseries in the kitchen, so the gyros (yee-ros) should be good. This is the much-missed Chef John in action.

The inside is very nice and impeccably clean. There is another dining section across from the kitchen and a bar area even further to the right.

I decided to try the two eggs breakfast with Corned Beef Hash ($8.48, not on the menu). It was as good as before, with very few fillers, and was very tasty. Homefries were nice with peeled potatoes. The light rye toast was properly buttered all over. The eggs were cooked as ordered but lacked browning, as usual, so they were more steamed than fried.

On my next visit, I had to try an old favorite, the Pork Souvlaki Plate ($13.99). "Served with a warm pita, greek salad, rice pilaf and tzatziki". I asked for roasted potatoes instead of the rice, and that didn't really work. My waitress promptly brought a plate of roasted potatoes, so I was happy. The rice was actually very nice, but the slightly lemony roasted potatoes were excellent. The pita had been toasted and was very crispy on one side. The greek salad was huge and very fresh with a mild dressing. I asked for the pork cooked pink, and it was. Didn't expect three skewers at lunch, so that was a delightful surprise. I don't really like yogurt, but the tzatziki was excellent and tasty. This is easily two meals for me. Did I say that I was very pleased to find Chef John again?

Baked Lamb ($13.99) aka Kokinisto with double roasted potatoes. Tender lamb and lemony potatoes, and it doesn't get any better than this. The traditional red sauce with greek seasoning was the best I have had in quite a while.

When I got here on Easter Sunday, there were several lamb dishes available. My previous selection of a breakfast dish went out the window. I picked the "Whole roasted spring lamb" with double roasted potatoes. It might have been whole at some point, but the pieces were roasted separately. The lamb was tender and actually tasted of lamb, and that's not very common these days. The lemony roasted potatoes were, as usual, excellent. Sorry for the terrible picture, but this was the best I could do.

More breakfast for lunch on a sunny and mild spring Mother's Day. Meaty Scrambler ($9.99). "Three eggs scrambled with bacon, ham and sausage, topped with American cheese". It's a simple dish, but oh so delicious! Homefries were cooked perfectly, and the cheese was melted. It was loaded with meats. The light rye was toasted perfectly. Well, at least three out of four pieces were. It was also buttered all the way to the edges. I'm not very happy if I get toast with a blob of butter in the middle. What are they thinking? There should have been leftovers of this, but I ate all of it. Burp!

We are getting near the end of the Covid-19 restrictions since I got a real menu today. I really can't recall the last time this happened.

Lunch Specials are served every day from 11 to 4. I picked the Baked Haddock (13.99). "Fresh native haddock baked in a lemon butter and wine sauce with cracker crumb topping". I picked mashed as one of my sides. -We don't do mashed anymore. It just gets wasted. I picked rice and green beans. No choice since the other veg was broccoli. I asked for lots of extra sauce. When the dish arrived, I got mashed potatoes! She made them especially for me! Things like this make me like this place even more. The beans got left on the plate since it was your typical greek cooked to death beans. Of the promised sauce, there wasn't any trace. None. The fish was dry, and overcooked, and/or previously frozen. The texture was not good. Clearly the worst dish so far, and it's surprising since everything else has been excellent.

HOUSE DELUXE ($14.99). "A Mouth Watering Combination of Gyro, Pork Souvlaki, Spinach Pie, Tzatziki and Pita". I thought this was part of the lunch specials and comes with starch and one veg, but it turns out to be part of the plates section and hence comes with rice and salad. The rice was quickly swapped with the excellent roasted potatoes. The salad is BIG with a nice dressing, but all the veggies need to be cut in half to be usable. It had plenty of crumbled feta. The pork souvlaki was cooked pink, so it was tender and juicy. If you are the first one to order gyro meat off the rotisserie, it's a good chance it will be a bit more than crisp on the outside, and it was. I should have entered through the bar entrance, so I could have had a look at the rotisserie before ordering. It was still tasty. The pita bread this time was really fresh and nicely warmed up. This is a lot of food, and I'm looking forward to my dinner of leftovers.

Today (Saturday 05/29/21) was the big day, no more masks! I must admit that this felt really strange after everyone being masked for 14 months. If asked to wear a mask, just do it. Don't argue since the business has the right to require it.

The service here is always excellent and friendly, and nothing is ever a problem.

Address: 392 Cabot St, Beverly, MA 01915 Phone: (978) 969-3871

The blog now has a new format. It will have more content and fewer posts. Please let me know what you think, good or bad. Use the contact form, or put it in the comments field. If you don't want the comment published, add NP since I approve all comments before publishing them. You can also email me.

Nappi Medford

Nappi Restaurant is world-famous in Medford for being an old-school Italian eatery and having no set menu. They just applied for outdoor seating again, and that would be nice. They are BYOB with no corking fee. Cash only. The restaurant is run and owned by Joe Nappi (Chef) and his wife Anna (FOH).
If you go at lunch, be aware that the butter will be rock hard since it's just out of the fridge.

On-street free parking, and at least at lunchtime, there was plenty of spaces. Nappi's or Nappi? Joe said that the name is Nappi, but it's his restaurant, so using Nappi's is also correct. It says Nappi's on the lunch menu.

The very nice inside is fairly small, and those Italians can be loud! The window tables to the right seem to be reserved for Joe and his friends.

Imagine my surprise when I was given a lunch menu with prices. On the menu, it said Porkchop with vinegar peppers ($14.95), and she asked if I wanted spicy peppers! Of course. I asked for the pork chop to be cooked pink, and after some discussion, she said she would see what she could do.

They did come out pink, and when the chef comes out, he agreed that's how they should be cooked. The food was delicious with properly fried potatoes, and the vinegar peppers were HOT. Much to my surprise, I got two pork chops and didn't expect that. The bread was fresh and soft, the butter was not.

Lunch Ziti Carbonara —$10.95 on the menu, $12.95 on the check. I had to ask if the Carbonara had peas? No. Mushrooms? No. So, it's a proper carbonara. Getting spaghetti instead of ziti was no problem. The pasta was cooked nicely, but the creamy part had split. The bread was fresh and soft, the butter was not. The barriers for the outdoor seating are in place.

When I got here for lunch in early May, the outdoor seating was in place. Almost warm enough to have lunch outside. The only good thing about the Covid-19 pandemic is that we will see a lot more outside seating, and I hope it will continue.

It's Friday, so a lunch Clams w/ Spaghetti —$13.95 on the menu, $14.95 on the check— seemed appropriate. The spaghetti was cooked al dente, the clams were tender, the bread was soft, the butter was not. They were really busy today at lunch, so the sound level was really overbearingly high.

Lunch Pork Cutlet Parmigiana w/ Pasta ($13.95). Chicken parm has no appeal to me at all. Normally it's just white meat and a bland tomato sauce. However, a pork parm is right in my ballpark. When Chef Joe brought the dish out, he said he made the pasta sauce especially for me. Normally it's just the pasta. How nice was that! The sauce was excellent. The tomato sauce with the parm was nice and bright, and the pork was tender and juicy. The pasta was cooked al dente, so I have nothing to complain about. Not too busy at lunch today, so the noise level wasn't bad at all.

I was going to finish this write-up with a fish dish from the lunch menu, but then I spied a dinner special on the specials board. Best-laid plans etc.

Stuffed Calamari ($18.95) with Squid Ink Pasta (+2). The Calamari was perfectly cooked and was meltingly tender. The stuffing was subtle but so are the taste of calamari. The pasta was, of course, cooked al dente. The sauce was excellent and seasoned really well. Two of the three bigger pieces actually had stuffing. Suspect that the third stuffing had fallen out and was mixed in with the sauce. As you can see, there was plenty more calamari mixed in with the pasta. It was an excellent dish.

I might never finish this write-up since I saw a stuffed pork chop on the specials menu! And I bet the stuffing is on the inside! Sorry, just a poke at everyone that serves the stuffing on top. That's called baked and not stuffed.

What's the difference between squid and calamari? About $5 a pound. Squid and calamari are two different beasts. Squid is cheaper and tougher; calamari is more tender and expensive.

Haddock Pizzaiola ($15.95) with penne. The fish was cooked perfectly, and the penne was al dente. It was a big piece of haddock. The tomato sauce was excellent, and made with fresh tomatoes, and was seasoned really well. The name comes from the seasoning you normally use on a pizza.

Address: 370 Salem St, Medford, MA 02155 Phone: (781) 391-7900

Not Your Average Joe's Peabody

Not Your Average Joe's in Peabody is located in the Northshore Mall. In January, NYAJ sent me my birthday gift with an expiring date of 05/25, so it was time to use it. The Burlington NYAJ is only doing takeout, and it was a good reason to try another location.

They have pleasant patio seating, but it was a bit too windy for me.

I think I like the interior here a bit better than Burlington. They are not accepting cash.

You can add a salad for $2.50, and I picked the Caesar. The romaine was cut into nice small pieces, and the dressing was surprisingly pleasant. The croutons were so hard that I feared for my teeth, and the parmesan had seen better days. 

The dipping oil had a way better proportion of cheese to oil than Burlington. The Focaccia was fresh.

BBQ MEATLOAF ($17.75). "Grilled meatloaf made with beef, pork, smoked mozzarella, veggies and herbs, with a tangy bbq gravy, mashed potatoes and seasonal veg, topped with crispy onion strings". The veggie of the day was broccoli, but there was no problem getting the tasty spinach instead. The crispy onion strings weren't, but the onions were cooked well. The mashed potatoes were light and fluffy, but unfortunately, the skins were left in the mash. Icky! The meatloaf was excellent, light and well seasoned. The mozzarella was present in the meatloaf. Here the gravy was actually a tangy bbq gravy, as opposed to what I got in Burlington. Extra gravy, please! The service was absolutely delightful.

Address: 210 Andover St Unit P127, Peabody, MA 01960 Phone: (978) 839-5637

Deli King Tewksbury

Deli King in Tewksbury is another self-service restaurant similar to Brothers. They are located on Rte 38, and it's a convenient stop if you are going to the nearby big Walmart that beats everyone's prices on Bob's Mashed Potatoes. Deli King was recommended to me for having an excellent Reuben.

The cooks look like they just broke out of a greek prison, but it turns out that they are quite friendly, especially if you have visited a couple of times. However, they have completely failed to answer important questions like Why do you serve baked lamb on Saturdays instead of the promised baked pork chops, and Why do you have roasted potatoes only on Wednesdays?

The takeout menu hasn't been updated, so the prices are a bit out of date. However, the prices on their website are correct.

Plenty of parking, and there is even parking in the back with its own entrance.

The inside is light and airy. The seats in the booths have seen better days. The restaurant is impeccably clean.

Deli King delivered a classic Reuben ($9.25) executed perfectly. I got it made with light rye since I'm not a fan of dark rye and, of course, extra dressing. Nobody gives me enough dressing. The Reuben was griddled nicely with the cheese melted. Plenty of corned beef brisket that was tasty, but why do they slice it so thinly? The corned beef was evenly distributed on the bread and wasn't just a lump in the middle. There was plenty of crisp sauerkraut. The pickle was unremarkable. Nothing to complain about except the cash-only policy, but I can handle that.

They have comfort food, and the portions are big. Here is Thursday's special of Roasted Pork Dinner with two sides ($14.95). There were no roasted potatoes, so I went with the real mashed potatoes and breakfast potatoes. The real mashed potatoes were delicious, and the breakfast potatoes were nice and crispy. I got two big pork chops on the bone. Unfortunately, the pork chops were really dry. The gravy was excellent and really tasty. I'll try this again since I liked everything apart from the dry pork. How can a place like this not have roasted greek potatoes every day?

I went back at a later date for the same dish, and this time the pork was cooked way better and was really enjoyable. Two thickly cut pork chops for this price is a really excellent deal. I went back to the serving counter on my way out and got more gravy for my leftover pork chop. I forgot to leave a dollar on the table for the bussing lady on this visit.

If you get this to go, it's so much food that they have to use aluminum foil to cover instead of the intended cover.

Breakfast for lunch, and there is nothing wrong with that. This is the Corned Beef Hash ($8.95) with two over-easy eggs and light rye for my toast. The corned beef hash was good, and there was plenty of it. Homefries were cooked perfectly and even seasoned. They were also peeled, and that's another plus. The eggs were cooked as ordered, but since they were cooked on a flat-top, they were more steamed than fried and completely lacked browning.

Baked Stuffed Haddock ($13.95) is a special on Wed, Fri and Sundays. Shown here with the real Mashed Potatoes with Gravy and Roasted Potatoes instead of veggies. It's a huge piece of fish that today was on the dry side. The "stuffing" is crab and bread crumbs, but the stuffing is only on top. That's not really stuffed, is it? I have only once got fish with the stuffing inside, and that was at Cafe Escadrille. Asking for some of the cooking liquid resulted in them using a slotted spoon pretending to add the liquid.

Roasted Potatoes are only available on Wednesdays. Why? *shrug*. None of Wednesday's specials goes especially well with roasted potatoes. The roasted potatoes were excellent and slightly lemony. Mash with gravy was an interesting concept with fish. This time I got tartar sauce that wasn't too bad even if the tartar ingredients were chopped too coarsely. 😢

Roast Leg of Lamb ($14.95) is only available on Mondays. Mashed and Home Fries since there are only roasted potatoes available on Wednesdays. Tried again to find out why, but nobody knew. "We only do them on Wednesdays." The mashed is the real deal, and the home fries are excellent, peeled and seasoned. Look at the amount of roasted lamb I got! The tender lamb was seasoned, and so was the excellent gravy. Of all the places that I have had this dish, this is by far the best rendition. The only improvement to this dish would be some lemony-roasted potatoes. 😄

Baked Lamb aka kokinisto ($14.95) Friday or Saturday only. Same sides as the last visit. Roasted potatoes would have gone well with this. The lamb was tender, and the sauce was tasty, and for once, I got enough sauce. There were a lot of bones, but I think it was all lamb shanks, so this is understandable.

A cup of New England Clam Chowder ($3.75 or $4.50, not sure what I got charged) is only offered on Fridays. The chowder was on the thin side and needed seasoning but was loaded with potatoes. I wish the same was true for the clams, but the clams that showed up were nice and tender.

Since my first visit, I have had my eyes on the Three-egg Omelet with Corned Beef and Cheese ($9.25). I asked for the omelet runny, and I got it. This is a simple dish, but it was delicious. The perfectly cooked home fries added more deliciousness. Not sure why it's marked as a special since it's available every day?

While I was standing there waiting for my omelet to cook, I asked why there was no stuffing in the baked stuffed haddock?

- There is stuffing.

- But only on top and nothing inside.

- Ask grandma, that's how she cooked it.

Address: 885 Main St, Tewksbury, MA 01876 Phone: (978) 858-3855

The blog now has a new format. It will have more content and fewer posts. Please let me know what you think, good or bad. Use the contact form, or put it in the comments field. If you don't want the comment published, add NP since I approve all comments before publishing them. You can also email me.

The Stones Stoneham

The Stones Common House and Kitchen in Stoneham opened in April of '18 and have now restarted serving brunch on Sundays. If you want to see the very pleasant inside, check out my post from a previous visit.

Plenty of free on-street parking. There is also parking in the communal lot around the corner. I got a nice high top outside that's just being cleaned after me. There are barriers in the street to protect the outside diners. They also have outdoor seating to the right in the little alley. I wish that Rang, just around the corner, would serve outside as well, but they are still takeout only.

From the brunch menu, I picked the Brunch Fries ($12.00). "Hollandaise, bacon, fried egg". The amount of hollandaise was not very generous, so I quickly got some on the side. The fried egg was cooked nicely. The bacon was fried to a very hard crisp and had lost all of its bacon goodness. The fries were very unevenly fried and unsalted. If fries like these aren't salted when coming out of the fryer, the salt will not stick. I now had to stick the ends in the salt cup, which doesn't work out very well. The service was pleasant. The only problem with sitting outside is that the food cools down really quickly.

Address: 380 Main St, Stoneham, MA 02180 Phone: (781) 435-1344

Torito Danvers

Torito Mexican Restaurant in Danvers opened about three months ago on Rte 1 SB. If you are coming from the south, I would recommend taking 95 instead of Rte 1 to get here. Everything on Rte 1 is always on the other side. Strange, isn't it? Torito is part of a nationwide chain, but its menu is a bit different from the corporate menu. Unfortunately, they have no Taco Tuesday specials, but who needs them with such reasonable lunch and dinner prices.

Plenty of parking. Yes, this was formerly a Chili's, and anything moving in had to be an improvement. There is a big area to the right that is ready for outdoor dining.

The interior is pleasant and divided into sections like this one. Comfortable bar seating in the middle.

Excellent chips and pretty boring tomato salsa. However, a restaurant that gives me refried beans with my chips promptly gets on my good side. If you are given a dinner menu at lunch and have to ask for the lunch menu, you promptly get on my bad side.

You can add soup to your lunch for $3.75, so I went with the CHICKEN ENCHILADA SOUP. "Creamy, rich, slightly spicy chicken broth topped with chunks of chicken breast, queso fresco, and pico de gallo $5.99". Creamy it was not. I was going to complain about the raw onions, tomatoes, and jalapenos that were dumped cold into the soup until I reread the menu. I took the leftover soup home, and after cooking it for 5 minutes, the soup was very agreeable. The promised chunks of chicken had been replaced with thinly shredded chicken. The soup itself was very savory.

Lunch CHILE VERDE ($10.99). "Tender pork simmered in a mild tomatillo sauce. Served with rice, beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, and warm tortillas". The corn tortillas arrived later but were fresh and tasty. The Chile Verde was excellent, tart from the tomatillos, and properly seasoned with tender pork. The rice needed seasoning, and so did the refried beans. The refried beans did have a nice texture. It was a really ginormous serving for a lunch portion, and it turns out that all lunch portions are very substantial.

If you call yourself a Mexican Restaurant and don't have Chile Verde on the menu, are you really a Mexican Restaurant?

They have FIESTA COMBOS on both the lunch menu and the dinner menu and the prices are the same. Again I had to ask for the lunch menu. All fiesta combos are served with rice and refried beans Choose from the following: Enchilada Tostada Burrito Taco Tamale Chile Relleno Acapulco (Choice of 1) $9.99 Cancún (Choice of 2) $10.99 Cozumel (Choice of 3) $12.99.

The choice of one Chile Relleno for $9.99 or two for $10.99 wasn't really a choice at all! I'm not sure if they read my post on IG, but this time the salsa was very palatable, and both the rice and the beans were seasoned. The poblanos were cleaned properly, and not a seed was present. The batter was very light, and this is as good as this dish can be. I also got lucky and got one spicy poblano. You never know what you will get, and you mostly get mild ones. Frying something crispy, then putting sauce on top doesn't make any sense to me 😡.

Lunch CHILE COLORADO ($10.99). "Tender chunks of skirt steak simmered in Colorado sauce and served with rice, beans, lettuce, pico de gallo, avocado, and warm tortillas" The tortillas didn't make it. The beans were still tasty, as was the rice. The Chile Colorado was fantastic! I have only had this dish once before, and it was just beef in a tomato sauce. That was a bit surprising since that restaurant has an excellent Chile Verde. This dish had a skirt steak that was tender and tasty, and the sauce was excellent, rich and almost spicy. The two avocado slices were soft and ripe. What an excellent dish this was. This time I got a lunch menu with the dinner menu.

I have always wondered where the name comes from. I mean, what has Colorado to do with Mexican cuisine? Turns out that the name derives from the Spanish word colorado, which means colored red, and so named because of the deep red color of the sauce. It's crazy delicious, and it's all about the chili peppers.

It's Cinco de Mayo, so it seemed appropriate to visit again for my lunch. I'm working my way down the lunch menu, and today it was time to try the FAJITAS ($11.29) from the lunch menu that I again had to ask for. "Your choice of grilled steak or chicken, flour tortillas, beans, rice. Garnished with lettuce, sour cream, cheddar cheese, pico de gallo, guacamole, and warm tortillas". Grilled steak, of course. Everything advertised was present. I forgot the "Hold the sour cream". I usually stay away from this dish since you often get overcooked and dry steak. The steak was tender but overcooked. The warm tortillas were fresh. The blob of guacamole was sitting on a mound of lettuce, but that's kind of expected. I wonder how much bigger the dinner version is for $16.99?

Their Margaritas are gigantic, 25 oz for $14.49.

The service has always been excellent and very friendly.

They have several burritos on the lunch menu, but I will not review them. I can't appreciate the mess that's served. I like to choose what I put in my mouth. I will agree that the burrito is convenient when eating on the go, but it's not for me.

Be aware that if you are heading back towards Rte 128, this green arrow at the intersection is kind of lying. The traffic coming from the left also has a green light. Doesn't this defeat the purpose of having lights? It really should be a blinking orange light here.

Address: 10 Newbury St, Danvers, MA 01923 Phone: (978) 304-1203

The blog now has a new format. More content and fewer posts. Please let me know what you think, good or bad. Use the contact form, or put it in the comments field. If you don't want the comment published, add NP since I approve all comments before they get published. You can also email me.

Maggie's Farm Middleton

Maggie's Farm in Middleton moved to their new location just up (down?) the road from their old location recently. I liked the old place even if it was small.

The Serenitee Group now operates 10 restaurants, including Taj (Indian) and Little Red Rooster (Fried Chicken takeout and delivery), both in Gloucester. The latest addition, Chancho's, a SoCal Mexican restaurant, is set to open in Maggie's old location soon. They will also be reopening Alchemy at MarketStreet in Lynnfield (Alchemy had been located in Gloucester until 2016).

All restaurants have a Sushi chef on staff, except Tai and Little Red Rooster. I think this is brilliant since it adds a very popular cuisine that a lot of people like. Nothing wrong with having a drink and a maki roll.

They are located in a newish plaza with a decent amount of parking. The outdoor patio is almost ready for prime time. The bad news is that there is now a chocolateria next door.

The inside is light and airy. Nice booths separated by plexiglass and a humongous bar. Lots of hightops around the bar. Open kitchen in the back. They are packed at lunch and also at dinner. I'm surprised that they are so busy at lunch, most places aren't.

The nice mural on the wall is from the old place. Distance to the rest of the restaurants in the group is also on the wall, including Chancho's at 0.6 miles.

Sitting at a hightop in the bar is very nice, and you can see the whole restaurant.
I decided to splurge on the "Smoked St. Louis Ribs full rack served with hand cut fries & coleslaw" from the specials menu. The ribs were fall off the bone as expected since there was no pretense to be "real" BBQ. The meaty ribs were very tender, and the BBQ sauce was excellent. As usual, the fries are outstanding. The slaw lacked dressing, and whatever dressing there was needed more seasoning. Service is always impeccable here and very pleasant.

I have never tried a fish dish from them, and the Baked Haddock ($25) sounded good. "Ritz cracker crumbs, green beans, mashed potatoes, lemon butter sauce". Extra sauce and upgraded to mashed with cheese and bacon (+2). The fish was cooked well, and the mashed is excellent. The beans were crunchy but could have been cleaned better. The liquid in the casserole was lemony and really tasty.
Lots of places call a dish like this stuffed, but since the crumbs are only on top, it isn't really stuffed, is it?

What's better than free food on your birthday? The Serenitee Group loads a free entree and dessert on your card, valid for the whole month of your birthday.
I picked the Seafood Casserole for my entree from the specials menu. "Haddock, scallops and shrimp served with broccoli and red potatoes". No problem changing the sides to spinach and mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon. On my last visit the mashed wasn't really up to scratch, but this time they were perfect. Light and loaded with cheese and bacon. The casserole had perfectly cooked sea scallops, shrimp and haddock. The sauce was very tasty, and I really enjoyed this. Growing up on frozen icky spinach, who would have thought that I would ever enjoy spinach? Well, this is as far as you can get from the frozen variety. Of course, an extra extra Dry Tanqueray Martini doesn't hurt the experience.

Bacon Wrapped Maggie’s Meatloaf ($20). "Broccoli, bacon-cheddar mashed potatoes, mushroom gravy". No problem getting the excellent spinach instead of broccoli. Extra gravy of course. I don't like mushrooms but decided to take chance, I could always pick them out. Turns out that the mushrooms were delicious. The humongous meatloaf was very good and tender. The mashed were again dry and a bit stodgy but with plenty of bacon and cheese. The Serenitee Group had loaded $10 on my card. They do that occasionally, so it pays off being part of their loyalty program.

They shortly thereafter loaded a free appetizer on the card, and since I have had my eyes on their nachos for a while, it was a good time to try them. Maggie’s Crazy Nachos ($14). "Tortilla chips, cheddar, monterey jack, black beans, corn, jalapeños, pico de gallo, sour cream, guacamole (add grilled chicken or pulled pork 6)". Hold the sour cream. Since I thought I should spend some money, I added the pulled pork. This was an excellent rendition of this classic dish. The cheese was soft and melted and was on all the chips. The cheese is there to add creaminess and not more crunch as when the cheese is crisped up. The chips were thin and fresh. Not sure what they have done to the pickled jalapeños, but they were very mild. I got a surprising amount of the pulled pork that was very tender. I never order pulled pork, so I'm not sure if it should be this sweet? When I got the check, there was no extra charge for the pulled pork! As an appetizer, this is good for four people.

Address: 189 S Main St, Middleton, MA 01949 Phone: (978) 539-8583

The blog now has a new format. More content and fewer postings. Please let me know what you think, good or bad. Use the contact form, or put it in the comments field. If you don't want the comment published, add NP since I approve the comments before they get published. You can also email me.