Khao Hom Billerica

Khao Hom Thai & Pho in Billerica is now open for dine-in. I really have missed this gem of a Thai restaurant during the pandemic. I'm so happy that she survived and stayed in business. I wasn't too worried since most of her business is takeout anyway.

They are located in a small plaza not far from the Wilmington border. I can take the backroads to get here, and it's an exhilarating drive.

Nothing inside has changed apart from the screened-in front counter.

My first dish dining in choice was my favorite dish, Khao Soi with duck ($13.95). "Egg noodles in a curry sauce with pickled green mustard, red onion, cilantro on topped of crispy egg noodle". Now they know me, so when I order it spicy, it's spicy. You mix everything together, there goes the crispy noodles, and get a bowl of goodness. The crispy noodles are really for decoration anyway. Despite being seriously spicy, it was still very flavorful and with all the required Thai flavors present. It had a very pleasing texture due to the crispy noodles, red onions, and green mustard. The duck and it was plenty of it, was cooked to perfection as was the noodles. 08/08/21

Crispy Pork Basil ($12.95). "Fried pork belly w/ green and red peppers, basil". This is an excellent dish if you like pork belly. Extra spicy, of course, and that's without saying anything. Despite being extra spicy, you can still taste all the flavors. It was also a generous portion. The new takeout menu now states that lunch is only served until 2 PM, Tue-Fri. 08/25/21

Since I'm using my gift card, I figured I could splurge and start with the Chicken Satay ($6.50). "Chicken marinated in Thai sauce served on skewers w/ peanut & cucumber sauce". I expected the skewers to be the tiny ones you usually get, but what arrived were four ginormous skewers. Look at the size of them! Not sure what they were marinated in, but it was reminiscent of a Chinese curry. Delicious and seasoned really well. Cooked perfectly with a delicious peanut sauce. Not sure where the very lightly pickled cucumber and carrots fit in, but I ate it all. I suspect the menu should have said "w/ peanut sauce & cucumbers." 09/01/21

My mains was the dinner-sized Pad Kee Mao with Duck ($12.95). "Wide noodles, egg, onion, bell pepper, basil, chili, garlic". This is a delicious dish that unfortunately looks terrible in the picture. There was an astonishing amount of tender duck hiding in there. Spicy? It was nose running spicy, but still very delicious. 09/01/21

Drunken Noodles is the literal translation of Pad Kee Mao because the theory is that these spicy Thai noodles should be eaten with an ice-cold beer and that they are an excellent cure for a hangover.

This is not a closeup of a small bowl of soup but a real shot of the Wonton Soup ($5.50). "Shrimp and Pork marinated in house sauce wrapped in wonton wrapper". Remember those mini wontons with lots of loose wraps that you get in most Chinese restaurants? Not here! The wontons are the size of (Swedish) meatballs. The soup actually had a taste, and there were bits of fried garlic floating around. I was almost done after finishing off the delicious soup. 09/22/21

Duck Curry ($12.95). "Coconut milk, pineapple, green and red bell pepper, tomato, basil". I had no idea how to eat the rice, so I had to ask. Traditionally, you put some curry on the rice and eat it, then repeat. I ordered it extra spicy and got plenty of bird's eye chilis. The duck curry is based on red curry, and it was delicious. There was also plenty of duck that was really tender and succulent. I ended up using the soup spoon and loaded it up with various bits and pieces and rice, dunking it in the curry and inhaling it. Probably my second favorite dish here. 09/22/21

This is simply called Spicy Green Bean and ordered with duck as my protein ($12.95). "Green bean, bell pepper, onion, basil". I forgot to tell her extra spicy, and she forgot to mention it to the chef! Regardless, it had a bit of heat and was, as usual, very tasty. I really like the duck, and there is plenty of tender and succulent duck. The sauce was very palatable and delicious. These are just about the only veggies that I like, so this dish really suits me. Just wish that the beans had been correctly trimmed. 10/13/21

There has been plenty of duck in this writeup, but I'm using my gift card and can splurge a bit. Besides that, you can never have too much duck.

Other interesting dishes are the Kimchi Curry ($12.95) and Dry - Pho ($8.95). One of my favorite lunch dishes is the Stir Fry Gapao ($8.25). Their Pad That and Larb are excellent. The Pad Thai isn't as super sweet as in most places. Pro-tip: Order the fish NOT crispy otherwise, it's overcooked. Panang Curry isn't on the menu but can be had if you ask for it.

The lady running the place couldn't be more pleasing. Nothing is ever a problem, and the service is super friendly. Don't miss the condiment racks on the shelf. Pickled jalapenos are surprisingly tasty and do wonders for a Pad Thai.

Address: 258 Salem Rd, Billerica, MA 01821 Phone: 978-362-8269

Children see magic because they look for it.

-- Christopher Moore

Blue Moon Grill Wakefield

I love Blue Moon Grill in Wakefield! The food is excellent, and the service is always great. There is nothing wrong with breakfast for lunch, and they also have lunch items. More importantly, they have Scali bread.

They are only open for breakfast and lunch and get wicked busy on weekends. You can call ahead for reservations. Their prices are very reasonable, especially since you get three eggs with your egg dishes.

They are located on the busy main street so parking can be iffy. Read the signs and DON'T park in the plaza next door. Of course they added outdoor seating.

The chairs are new, and there are plexiglass separators between the tables. There is more seating in the back left. Or should that be, front right?

OLD FASHION BISCUITS & GRAVY ($11.95). "Eggs, biscuits, & sausage patties, topped with homemade sausage gravy. Served with home fries". I always tend to ask for Scali Toast, and this time I actually got it instead of the home fries. The owner must have remembered that I'm not fond of their home fries. This worked out really well. My over-easy eggs were cooked perfectly and were actually fried, as you can see. So many places give you eggs with no color at all. They are more like steamed eggs and not fried eggs. The biscuits are soft, and the sausage patties are tasty. The hero here is the appropriately peppery sausage gravy that is chock full of sausages. The Scali slices are cut in half so that they can be properly toasted. 07/08/21

EGGS & HASH ($9.95). "Potatoes & lean corned beef with three eggs any style on top. Served with home fries & toast". The corned beef hash is excellent and made with corned beef brisket and not round. The home fries have improved, but they are not nearly as good as when they were peeled. Eggs cooked perfectly as usual. I'm not sure if I'm happy to get one egg with three yolks when promised three eggs 😁. 08/05/21

CRABMEAT EGGS BENEDICT ($11.95). "Eggs Benedict claw crabmeat, add asparagus or tomato (1.00 each), topped with hollandaise sauce. Served with home fries". I added asparagus and got a boatload of them for $1. I don't think they only claw crabmeat anymore, but real crab, at least that is what it tasted like. It was also way less crab than when it was claw meat. Two of the three poached eggs had a runny yolk. The hollandaise sauce was 10 seconds away from a complete split but wasn't as lemony as on my last visit. Homefries were almost as tasty as the old version. Their English muffins are light as a feather. 08/27/21

Irish Omelette ($9.95). "Grilled corned beef hash, home fries, cheddar cheese wrapped in an omelette". I ordered it wet, and it was. It was also loaded with their excellent corned beef hash. I got two toasted pieces of Scali bread and two untoasted. I also ordered a side of sausages (+2.95). 09/10/21

IRISH EGGS BENEDICT ($11.95). "Eggs Benedict with corn beef hash, topped with our own homemade hollandaise sauce". Two of the eggs were poached correctly, the third one was not. The hash was tasty, big chunks of corned beef and diced potatoes and onions. The home fries were cooked well but with the skin still on. The muffins are feather-light. The hollandaise sauce lacked lemon, and this time it had split. 10/08/21

For some reason, they use their excellent house-made corned beef brisket for the hash but are using round for their Reuben. The reason? We have always done it that way, and the previous owners did it the same way. Hence, no Reuben was included in this writeup.

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

On average, bad things happen fast and good things happen slow.
-- Stewart Brand

My Diner Melrose

My Diner in Melrose was the second location for this delightful little chain diner. They moved to takeout only and are now back to dine in again. I'm so happy that they survived the pandemic. Turns out they didn't. This was the only place where you could get a Turkey Dinner with all dark meat. No more, all white now. Makes me wonder if they even roast their own turkeys anymore. Let me know if anybody else offers turkey dinner with all dark.

New owner as of 01/25/21, and they don't respond to emails or to the contact form. They are not associated with the Boston location.

They have parking behind the restaurant, and there is free parking across from their parking. There is also outside seating.

It's not a big room, and there are seats at the counter. The staff is super friendly, and nothing is ever a problem here.

Corned Beef Hash with three eggs ($7.95) over-easy was my first dish here dining in. The hash is excellent, well seasoned, but was really crisp. My fried over-easy eggs were cooked as ordered and were actually fried. Look at that nice color on the eggs! A far cry from the steamed eggs you usually get in other places. The homefries are excellent. My Scali toast was only 2/3 toasted as usual since the slices don't really fit in the toaster. Some restaurants manage, don't know how? Bigger toasters? I think I'll have to switch to the light rye that I also like. 06/27/21

I'm starting to use the gift cards I bought for my stimulus money. My lunches are now only costing me a (generous) tip.

Meatloaf & Eggs ($8.95). Three separate perfectly fried eggs. They must have seen my IG post where I complained about the partially toasted Scali bread. The toast is now cut in half and properly toasted! The home fries were a bit darker today but still good. The meatloaf was moist and very tender. It didn't have much texture, but this beats a dried-out meatloaf. I really enjoyed my lunch today. 08/05/21

Buffalo Chicken Mac & Cheese ($9.95). Do you want grilled chicken or fried chicken? Is the fried chicken previously frozen? No, we cook it to order. The elbow macaroni could have been more al dente but wasn't ruined. There was a lot of the fried chicken that was still crispy despite being in the sauce. And it was not overcooked, so I was pleased. The sauce was tasty, and I was delighted with my lunch (and dinner 😋). In fact, there was so much chicken left that I had one more dinner left. 08/24/21

Turkey Chili Cheese Omelet ($7.50) with a side of Corned Beef Hash ($3.95). The home fries were excellent today. I asked for the omelet to be cooked wet or lightly cooked. It wasn't, but it had a nice color 😊. The turkey chili filling was really watery and tasted just barely of chili. Having had the leftovers for dinner, the slightly reheated chili was actually tastier that way. The hash was very thin and crisped up on the top and seriously crisped up on the bottom, but it was palatable. 09/05/21

Corned-Beef Hash Benedict ($8.95). "Poached Eggs with Corned-beef Hash". The hash was better this way. If you order it as a side or with eggs, ask for the corned beef hash not to be crisped to death. The eggs were way overcooked and had just a smidgen of runny yolk in the middle. There is something wrong when the kitchen can't poach an egg correctly. Cooking 101 failure. You get three eggs. Home fries were still good. The English Muffins were light, and btw, they are not English. I asked for a side of Linguica sausage ($3.75). It was dry, but that might be normal. The Hollandaise was bland and not a very generous serving. 09/23/21

They have a Fried Fish Dinner on Fridays that I was going to try. However, I have decided that fried haddock is a waste of a meal. Even if the batter is seasoned, and it rarely is, the fish itself is too bland. Reheating leftovers will dry out the fish, and it's often dry to start with.

Nobody could tell me what the cut used in their corned beef are, so their Reuben goes unreviewed. I have seen a few go by, and the corned beef is thinly sliced, so no clue there.

Address: 399 Main St, Melrose, MA 02176 Phone: (781) 662-6777

Not all those who wander are lost.
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

Tavern In the Square Burlington

Tavern In the Square in Burlington occasionally load a $10 promo on my card. That is just about the only time I frequent them.

It was an absolutely perfect day.

Mac +Cheese ($16). "4 cheese, farm cream, potato chip crumb top [add buffalo chicken with blue cheese, smoked chicken or bacon - 3]". I added buffalo chicken (actually +3 and not -3). The promised potato chip crumb didn't make it. On a subsequent visit, there was a vestige of crumbs on the top. Not nearly enough to be browned. The M&C was excellent, creamy, and really rich. The buffalo chicken tried to pretend that it was crispy but failed to convince me. It also lacked the buffalo seasoning, or if it was any, it was so mild that the taste was nonexistent. The blue cheese melted nicely into the creamy sauce, but it was also really mild. Am I the only one who thinks $16 for an M&C is ridiculous? I had a free lunch (-$14.95) on my card, so that helped.

Fish + Chips ($18.50). "Chip crusted haddock filet, house fries, slaw, malt tartar." This is restaurant stupidity at its worst. If you try to cut into this super crusty fish, you will smash the fries underneath, and how are you supposed to salt the fries? In the meantime, the dressing from the slaw will soak into the bottom layer of the fries. STUPID! I asked for another plate, and put the fries on one side and the fish on the other, and left the slaw on the first plate. Civilized. The fries are excellent, apart from the soggy ones. The fish had a super crispy coating but could have been cooked a lot less. It was still sort of flaky but not moist. The slaw was delicious. The tartar sauce was excellent. STUPID!

This time they loaded a free appetizer on my card, so I headed down for brunch on Saturday. This is the Taquitos ($12). "Tres queso, chorizo scrambled egg, pickled jalapeño salsa, cotija". Apparently, the weekend appetizers don't qualify as appetizers since the system refused my free appetizer offer. I found no chorizo in my scrambled eggs. There were also no jalapenos involved in the salsa. The portion was big enough for lunch for me.

They loaded a free appetizer on my card, and I found out that an appetizer is not an appetizer during brunch. This time it worked, and I got the BBQ Chicken Pizza ($13.50) for an appetizer. "Bbq sauce, sharp provolone, fire roasted corn, bacon, onion jam". This was a pleasant pizza with a nice thin crust and appetizing toppings. Wish there was more bacon. Only in America will an appetizer serve as lunch. Bonus point if you know what I was watching.

I had to try the Boiled Dinner from them that's available during March. "Corned beef brisket, root veg, potatoes, savory broth, cbv mustard". CBV mustard stands for Craft Beer Vinegar, and it was delicious. The corned beef was excellent, even if it was sliced with the grain and not against it. What were they thinking! The potatoes and the carrots were cooked properly. The white root vegetable was not. The traditional cooked cabbage was replaced with raw sliced cabbage, and that worked out really well. It was tasty and added a bit of texture. The broth was fantastic. Really tasty. The service is always pleasant here, and the $10 added to the card made the visit even more enjoyable.

They didn't just load $10 on my card, but the week after, they loaded another $10. Brunch Breakfast Skillet ($17). "Three eggs, potatoes, bacon/ham/sausage, toast, fruit". I added a side of bacon (+$5), so it would be over $20. Best laid plans, you can only redeem one at a time. I didn't realize that the "/" was an OR sign. Would have ordered another side then. There are three over-easy eggs on the bottom. I got rye for my toast, which was too dark for my liking. Wish they had light rye. The bacon was cooked nicely apart from the slices that shattered when I put my fork into them. The potatoes were cooked perfectly but had the skin left on. The thing in the black container was the terrible whipped butter. The melon was unripe, watermelon was edible, the next piece was not, but the strawberry was fine.

Address: 100 District Ave, Burlington, MA 01803 Phone: (781) 272-9000

I was wondering why this frisbee kept looking bigger and bigger. Then it hit me.