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 my usual window table in the bar area.

PAN SEARED SCALLOPS rock shrimp & corn risotto, fresno chili oil. The scallops were cooked really well. The risotto was very dry on the outside, but creamy on the inside, can't really figure out how that happened. There was plenty of tasty rock shrimp. The risotto was unseasoned. The chili oil was very mild. Due to the risotto, the dish didn't impress me.

For my dessert, I picked the Lava Cake. "Blackberry coulis, Richardson's black raspberry ice cream". This was one rich cake! It was also liquid in the center. The ice cream was delicious.

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

American Legion Arlington

American Legion Post 39 in Arlington is serving lunch Tues-Fri 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and is open to the public. They publish the weekly menu on FB and on their website.

Free on-street parking and there is also a lot behind the building. This is not the entrance to the dining area. The real entrance is in the back.

The bar/dining area. This is a private club, so be aware that smoking is allowed inside. That was not a problem today. The people were very friendly.

Clam Chowder ($3) was the soup of the day. It was a bit thin, but very tasty. It was also a bit light on the clams, but the clams that were present were tender.

This was the reason I finally decided to go for lunch. Whole Fried Clams w/ 2 sides ($12). For my two sides, I went with fries and a salad. The salad was very fresh and pleasant. What dressing do you want? Caesar, please. They had everything except caesar, so creamy Italian it was. The whole belly clams were cooked perfectly with a very light and crispy batter. The fries were also cooked really well and just how I like them. What a deal for $12! I asked how much would an extra extra dry Martini be? $4.50. In an itty bitty glass? She showed me the Martini glass and it was bigger than mine. Cash only.

Address: 370 Massachusetts Ave, Arlington, MA 02474 Phone: (781) 648-9872

Sizzling Kitchen Lowell

Sizzling Kitchen in Lowell does Korean, Thai, Vietnamese and Italian. They don't have a website, but a menu can be found on their FB page. New menu yesterday so the link is broken. If you follow me on IG, you know that the spring rolls are good, the Pho less so. They have parking on the side of the building. They now have a Website.

Vietnamese Sausage Spring Rolls (Nem) ($6). "Vietnamese pork Sausage, Vermicelli, Pickled Relish, Cucumber, Mint Lettuce?, softened rice paper. Served with fish dipping sauce and Crusted peanuts". This was fresh and tasty but didn't resemble the Nem I fondly remember from France. I'll have to talk with them about the menu descriptions on my next visit. A new menu means increased prices.

The Sizzling Shrimp Scampi ($12.50 at lunch) intrigued me. "Shrimp sauteed with lemongrass, scallions, garlics, tomatoes, pepper flakes, and white wines in a lemon butter sauce. Served with pappardelle pasta". There was also some super fresh and nicely toasted bread included. Including whole cherry tomatoes might look good, but add nothing to the taste. Cut them in half. What are they thinking? The shrimp was cooked perfectly, but why do they leave the tails on? Now I have to pick them up, and it's messy. What are they thinking? The dish had enough garlic to keep the vampires out of downtown Lowell, but I like garlic and expected it. I had to ask if the silky smooth pappardelle pasta was homemade? Nope, Market Basket. It was good enough to pass for homemade. The dish was also pleasantly spicy. There should have been leftovers, but I finished all of it. Everyone who works here is super nice. It was really pleasant to see them being busy at lunchtime today.

Address: 602 Merrimack St, Lowell, MA 01854 Phone: 978-221-5705

The Wardhurst Peabody

I was intrigued by the Wednesday lunch special at The Wardhurst Restaurant & Bar in Peabody.

Plenty of parking in the private lot and they are not far from Rte128.

Fresh warm bread and butter are included. You have a choice of two sides, and I got the Ceasar salad that is not listed on the menu. The salad was fresh, the croutons were rock hard and the dressing was a bit to sharp for me.

Wednesdays special is the Roast Pork ($9.99) with their own gravy. I know that the mashed are the real thing from having had the Shepard’s Pie here on a previous visit. The mash is unseasoned, but I can deal with that. It also benefitted from adding some more butter. The pork loin was tender, but I'm not a fan of the gravy. A nearby table got the green beans, and they looked to have been cooked right.

This is the regular daily specials. They had a few more dishes on today's menu.

I can see a Prime Rib in my future, this looks like a great deal. The service here is very pleasant, and my waitress was super helpful. The food isn't exceptional but is solid homecooked food served in a pleasant environment.

Address: 31 Lynnfield St, Peabody, MA 01960 Phone: (978) 531-9730

Mount Vernon Somerville

Time for a brunch visit to Mount Vernon restaurant & Pub in Somerville.

Parking enforcement here is vicious, but luckily they have two parking lots behind the building.

Sunday brunch buffet. Normally $18.99, but if you are on their mailing list, today it was $12.99. A raw bar with oysters, littlenecks and shrimp in the middle. Cakes to the right, nothing exciting here so move on. Fresh fruit behind me, including raspberries and blackberries. Omelet and carving station in the back. The prime rib au jus was nice and pink and juicy. Horseradish at the raw bar. They also have a whole turkey. The oysters and littlenecks was very fresh, but watch out for shell fragments.
The scrambled eggs were light and fluffy. The thinly sliced bacon was tender but the breakfast sausages didn't impress. They had BBQ chicken wings that were really good, juicy and almost crispy. The home fries were just overcooked steamed potatoes with the skin left on. I obviously skipped a lot of the stuff and I can only eat so much. Occasionally they have twin lobsters for a really good price.

Address: 14 Broadway, Somerville, MA 02145 Phone: (617) 666-3830

Giacomo's Melrose

Time for some Italian food and I have found that Giacomo's Ristorante in Melrose is very good and they now serve lunch Mon-Sat.

They are located in Melrose center, and there is plenty of communal lots around. There is also free on-street parking. 30 minutes on one side and two hours on the other. This is not the entrance. The real entrance is on the side of the building where they have a vestibule to keep the frigid air out.

The inside is very nice and there is a dining/bar area further up. Behind me is the window tables and the windows are opened in the summer.

You get fresh crusty bread and butter. Linen napkins with silverware inside. A nearby table ordered a glass of wine, and I must admit that it was a very generous pour.

I started with one Beef & Pork Meatballs marinara sauce 3/each. This was a gigantic meatball in a very pleasant marinara sauce. The meatball was tasty and tender.

This was followed by the Shrimp and Scallops from their House Seafood Specials ($17). Choice of pasta and I went with the linguini. I have has their Scampi sauce that I really liked, but decided to try the Giacomo sauce (Lobster based red with a touch of bechamel). I was glad that I did since it was excellent. The pasta was cooked al dente as it should be. This was a really enjoyable lunch with pleasant service.

Address: 454 Main St, Melrose, MA 02176 Phone: (781) 620-1191

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

India Kitchen Watertown

India Kitchen in Watertown is located in the middle of nowhere, but at least it's on this side of Watertown. They have only been open for a couple of months.

There is only on-street parking and not a whole lot of it, but at least it's free.

The inside is nice and bright with good quality furniture. Unfortunately, you get the dreaded rolled up silverware that leaves you with a minuscule wrinkled up napkin.

They don't have a lunch menu. I picked the Vindaloo Curry ($12). "A fiery combination of ginger, spices, chili peppers, and vinegar from Goan coastal region". It was served with a small salad that was OK. The leafy bits could have been fresher. The "fiery" part was completely absent, but it was seasoned really well and was tasty. The vinegary part was also absent. A plus is that the chicken was all dark meat, and it was really tender and juicy. Not sure what the tomatoes on top were doing there. The basmati rice could have been fluffier, and it almost looked like short grain rice, but I think it was long grained rice where every grain was broken. It also lacked seasoning. The service was pleasant even if no water refill was offered. I'll be back since they have some interesting curries on the menu. 

Address: 45 Lexington St, Watertown, MA 02472 Phone: 857-760-7176

Tavern in the Square Burlington

I really like the loyalty program at Tavern in the Square in Burlington. Not only do you get a free appetizer during your birthday month, but I occasionally get an email with "We haven't seen you in a while, here are ten bucks for your next visit".

Not a very exciting day, but it's the middle of January, and we just had a couple days in the 70's.

I like my two top in the corner.

For my free appetizer, I picked the Smoked Wings ($13). "Your choice of honey sriracha, buffalo, stone ground honey mustard, bang bang or plain". I went with the honey mustard. The wings were super juicy and faintly crispy. However, they lacked both seasoning and smoke flavor. The honey mustard was OK, I did expect coarser mustard. How am I supposed to get the sauce on to the wings? When I finally figured how to eat the green tomatoes in the Fried Calamari dish, it gets 86'ed from the menu.

My mains was the Sirloin Steak Tips ($21). "[12oz.] tamari marinade, garlic mashed potatoes, roasted green beans". The tips were very very tender and cooked as ordered. Salt and pepper were needed. The garlic mash was lumpy and needed lots more butter, but at least there were no skins involved. The beans were on the verge of being overcooked. The service was very pleasant. With my two $10 off and the birthday app, my bill was $1.07. Tipped on the original amount of course.

Address 1 New England Executive Park, Burlington, MA 01803 Phone number (781) 272-9000

Casa Blanca North Andover

Casa Blanca Mexican Restaurant in North Andover offered a free Nachos Supreme on their FB page, and I think they have done this before, so it might be worthwhile to follow them. They only serve from the dinner menu on the weekend, and the website forgot to mention this.

This is not the entrance but the bar area. They have private parking.

The inside was pleasant, and the bar/lounge is behind the counter.

I quickly got chips (cold) and salsa. The chips could have been fresher, but they were tasty. I really really liked their salsa, very tasty and I did eat too much chips and salsa.

Here is the aforementioned Nachos Supreme (8.95). "Choice of ground sirloin, chorizo, barbacoa or shredded chicken. Served with refried beans, onions, tomatoes, fresh jalapeños, sour cream, guacamole, and cilantro". I went with the Chorizo, and it was Mexican chorizo. Hold the sour cream. This was really tasty, and I really enjoyed it. The guacamole was fresh, and the thickly sliced jalapenos weren't too spicy. You never know what you will get. The refried beans were just a very thin layer beneath the chips. I had to take my entree to go since I was done after this.

I picked the Combo Laredo (Choose 2) (12.95). "Enchilada, Chile Relleno, Tostada, Burrito, Taco, Tamale or Chimichanga". I picked the Chile Relleno and Enchilada with Pork Chile Verde served with rice and beans. The rice and beans were tasty, would have liked a bit more texture in the beans. The Chile Relleno only filling option was cheese. The poblano was cleaned properly (yeah!) and had just a thin layer of batter (yeah!). The enchilada was a bit light on the sauce, but the Pork Chili Verde was excellent. If the kitchen does a good chili Verde, they do everything well.
Service was excellent with frequent check-ups from the very nice waitress. She even put chips and salsa in my leftovers, how nice is that?

Address: 1070 Osgood St, North Andover, MA 01845 Phone: (978) 683-1177

Buono Bistro North Andover

My first choice for lunch didn't work out, so I stopped by Buono Bistro in North Andover instead. I had a pleasant lunch here on a previous visit.

This is not the entrance. There is parking on the side of the building.

They have a very pleasant dining room, and I got a sunny hightop next to the windows.

Fresh crusty bread with an interesting dipping oil. Linen napkins and good cutlery. They have a reasonably priced lunch menu.

Today I went with the Baked Haddock ($13). "Lightly breaded baked haddock served with fresh herbs, roasted potatoes, and julienne vegetables". The fish was seasoned and cooked really well. The potatoes were overcooked and had thick skin left on. The veggies that weren't overcooked was undercooked. The service was very pleasant. They have a Groupon+ available. Unfortunately, mine had expired, so I only got a 5% cashback.

Address: 220 Sutton St, North Andover, MA 01845 Phone: (978) 258-0658

Fuego Salem NH

Fuego Latin Fusion Bar & Restaurant moved here a while back, and I'm still not sure where the old location was. GPS all the way. The new location is really close to the border.

Easy access from Rte 28 and lots of parking.

They have a very nice dining room with booths and also a big bar.

They only serve lunch Fridays and Saturdays, but they have a $10 lunch menu. I picked the mix and match tacos that are served with choice of rice and black beans. To the left is the Boom-Boom Taco. "Battered shrimp in boom-boom sauce, caribbean slaw and crispy onion strings". The strings were good, and the shrimp was cooked well. The sauce had a hint of heat. Next is the Ahi Tuna Taco. "Rare sesame seared ahi tuna, mango habanero aioli, cabbage, avocado". The avocado was ripe, and the tuna was seared well. Half the taco was sans the aioli, and there wasn't much habanero present. The poblano rice is gone and replaced with lime-cilantro rice. I picked the Mexican rice that was just tomato flavored rice. It was also barely lukewarm. The black beans soup was excellent and really tasty. The service was pleasant. They were not very busy at lunch.

Address: 438 S Broadway, Salem, NH 03079 Phone: (603) 458-6585