Saturday, October 24, 2020

Burtons Burlington

When you sign up for the Loyalty program at Burtons Grill & Bar they give you a $25 bonus and I headed out to their Burlington location today.


In addition to serving inside, they also have outdoor seating on two sides.


I took a seat in the bar and had the whole bar area to myself.


My plans for today were completely shattered when I saw that they are doing their own Dine Out week. Ends tomorrow. Two-course lunch for $20 sounded like a very good deal. I started with the Roasted Beet Salad. I'm not too fond of beets but enjoyed the salad nevertheless.


The Reuben showed up on the special menu. "Angus corned beef, local sauerkraut, imported swiss, russian dressing, griddled marble rye. Served with fresh cut french fries.". I ordered extra dressing. This was one of the better Reubens I have had. The corned beef was tender and very tasty. The sauerkraut was crunchy and tangy. The dressing was also very good. The marble rye didn't make it, but the light rye did. That was fine since I like light rye. The french fries were very good, but a tad overcooked. It turns out that in order to use the bonus, your bill has to be over $25, and much confusion arose, but the manager quickly sorted things out. There was a surprising number of guests dining in.

Address: Middlesex Commons, 43 Middlesex Turnpike #10b, Burlington, MA 01803 Phone: (781) 221-2281

Wednesday, October 21, 2020

Revolution Hall Lexington

Revolution Hall in Lexington is part of the Craft Food Hall project that currently has two locations. The third location in Chelmsford is closed at the moment. I found the concept very intriguing when I first heard about it. Having done sous-vide since Anova did crowdfunding for their first sous vide device, I really like this way of cooking. No chance of overcooking anything.


They are located as far from Lexington center as you can get, but the good thing is that there is almost no food competition in the area. Plenty of parking and they have a good amount of outside seating.


The big bar in the middle and the three food options can be seen in the back. To the left are the Vessel section (vegetarian), the Sousviderie, and hidden by the beams are the Project X Pizza. I really like the open space concept. Get a card and scan the appropriate menu section and order online.


Get your drink card, linked to your CC, and after that, it's pour your own. Need more info? Just tap the screen and more detailed info pops up.


I started with the Caribbean Pork Tacos (2 Tacos). "White Corn Tortilla/ 12 Hour Sous Vide Pulled Pork/ Avocado Lime Slaw/ Mango Salsa/ Sweet Pineapple Fire Sauce/ Cotija Cheese/ Cilantro / Lime Wedge". The thin corn tortillas were nicely torched and really fresh. This was a tasty taco! I'll be happy to try some of their other taco offerings.


I also got the Chipotle Burger 8oz. "House dust infused / torched havarti/ chipotle aioli/ lettuce/ banana pepper / sweet chipotle seasoning / potato bun". Add South West Fries for $2, they are worth it. Excellently cooked and well seasoned. The burger was cooked at 135° and was tender and juicy. La Frieda beef is a high-quality brand. The toppings were good and the potato bun was super fresh and tasty. I normally leave the bun, but not here. The "house dust" is a cinnamon chipotle rub.


This is the advantage of sous-vide cooking. Perfectly medium all the way out to the edge with a light sear put on before serving.


The Sousviderie in action. At least part of it.


The hangout area with air hockey and ping pong table.

Address: 3 Maguire Rd, Lexington, MA 02421 Phone: 781-778-7158

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

Friday, October 16, 2020

The Wardhurst Peabody

The Wardhurst Restaurant & Bar in Peabody is open for dine-in, dine-out and takeout. They are also participating in the Peabody Dine Out during October. Dishes are $20.20 with two sides and dessert.


The tent is now heated.


The bar is now enclosed and the dividers are in place in the dining room.


I had the Prime Rib (14oz) today, and it was excellent. It was a very generous 14oz. The Prime Rib was super tender. Also available are the Fried Chicken Plate and Stuffed Shrimp. Double Stuffed Potato Round was new to me, but they were really good. I got another order instead of veggies. Their fried chicken is excellent with an outstanding batter.


Chocolate Chip Bread pudding was more pudding than chocolate chip. I'll stick with the Lemon Mascarpone cake for dessert. It was very quiet at lunch today, but people were probably afraid of the rain. The service is always friendly and pleasant.

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

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Red Heat Tavern Wilmington

 Red Heat Tavern in Wilmington is open for dine out and dine in. They now have five locations and are part of the Burtons restaurant group. If you sign up for their loyalty program, you get a free appetizer on your birthday. This was my first chance to use it since the Covid-19 started.


Plenty of parking even with the big tent taking up space. The tent is not heated but has sides to keep the chill out.


For my free appetizer, I picked the RHT Nachos (14.95). "House-fried mayan white corn tortilla chips, chicken, cheddar jack cheese, roma tomatoes, cherry peppers, grilled corn & black bean salsa, RHT sour cream, scallions". Hold the sour cream. The scallions didn't make it, but they are not missed. This was a well-engineered plate of nachos, with toppings on every layer. The chips were excellent, thin and crispy. I would have liked to see more cheese, so it would be more goey. The nachos were very tasty, but goey they were not. The service was friendly.

Address: 300 Lowell St, Wilmington, MA 01887 Phone: (978) 447-5669

Friday, October 9, 2020

Brodie's Pub Peabody

Brodie's Pub in Peabody is participating in the Peabody Dine Out during October, and they offer 20% off during lunch 11:00-04:00 daily. Turn out you need some sort of ticket that I didn't have, but I got the discount regardless. Update: reading the promo again, you don't need a ticket.


There is free parking up the street otherwise, it's only a quarter/hour on the street. 


It's a small place, and the bar area is closed except for the two-top at the end that I claimed.


NY Style Reuben (12.99). "Marble rye, swiss, sauerkraut, russian dressing". It was a big heap of thinly sliced corned beef that was very tasty, but it was from the round, and not from the brisket. Only a half can be seen here. I picked the steak fries as my side, and they were good. The Reuben was huge, and I really like that they use marble rye, since I'm not a fan of the dark rye. The bread was fresh and toasted. The cheese was melted correctly, and I really liked that the sauerkraut was in the middle, so that I could make two sandwiches out of a half. The dressing comes on the side, and that makes perfect sense to me since I can now add as much as I like. There is a tart pickle included, and despite the rumors, it's not made in-house. The bartenders were kept busy between the indoor and outdoor seating. Outdoor seating?


Welcome to Brodie's Backyard. Plenty of tables with heaters. Max 90 minutes.

Address: 10 1/2 Lowell St, Peabody, MA 01960 Phone: (978) 977-9988

Wednesday, October 7, 2020

Jacqueline's Grocery Store Lawrence

Jacqueline's Grocery Store in Lawrence is world-famous in Lawrence for their fried chicken.


They are located close to both Rte 28 and 110. On-street parking only, but there are several 15 minutes spots around.


The famous fried chicken to the left, roasted pork belly (Chicharrones) in the middle, and roast chicken to the right. That's what she called the pork belly. Chicharrones is normally just the rind.


I wanted legs only, and luckily they didn't have any. "9 minutes" and I was happy to wait. This is very confusing, but you can not order by piece, but you show the money, and they load up the box. She forgot that I wanted pork belly as well as the chicken, so she loaded about 10 legs into the box. after removing some I was left with four legs, and six big pieces of pork belly. The chicken was crispy on the outside, but the outside of the meat was a bit dried out. Heat to high? The inside was really moist and juicy. It was also a tad bit salty and I normally like salt. The spicy part was absent. The pork belly was excellent, juicy with a really good crackling on top. I'll go back and try them again.

Address: 334 Lowell St, Lawrence, MA 01841 Phone: (978) 837-3300

Tuesday, October 6, 2020

Buffalo Wild Wings Burlington

I haven't been back to Buffalo Wild Wings in Burlington for a really long time, but it was time to go back since it's half-priced traditional wings on Tuesdays. There was a rumor that they would discontinue this, but luckily it never happened.


The big parking lot was mostly empty, but the takeout was really busy.


Tables are distanced, and every other booth is closed.


It's now BOGO on Tuesdays for traditional wings. Pricing has also changed, and it's now $9.69 for 6 wings. I was soo excited about the wings that I forgot to order my usual flats only and extra crispy. The drummies usually get overcooked, but today they were fine. The flats give you more crispy skin. I went with the new Thai Curry and Caribbean Jerk. The Thai Curry was listed a bit higher than Caribbean Jerk, but it was just pleasantly spicy. The sauce had a hint of curry and maybe lemongrass? It was really tasty and I liked it. If you don't see any sauce on the Caribbean Jerk it's because it was very sparse, and I got extra on the side. The Caribbean Jerk is really my favorite. Very true to a real jerk sauce. Fast food it's not, it took quite a while to get my wings, but takeout was flying out the door. The service was very pleasant.


Friday, October 2, 2020

The Pushcart Cafe

The Pushcart Cafein Tewksbury was much talked about pre-COVID for their self serve salad bar. Obviously, no more self serve these days. They have a very extensive menu.


They are located in a BIG plaza with plenty of parking. They have a few tables outside and a few inside as well.


You order at the counter and then hang around. They were really busy at lunchtime today, and that's good to see. I don't mind waiting if a place is busy.


I have heard good things about their Chili, so I ordered a medium (16oz $6.99) that was way cheaper than last weeks 12oz for $7.22 at a nearby place. The chili was very sweet and needed a lot of salt to balance that out. It was tasty, but I would have liked more heat and chile flavor. There were chunks of ground beef, but not a lot of it, and with the beans, it was more like vegetarian chili.
The small Caesar ($7.99) had garlic croutons and fresh romaine with a pleasant dressing. Unfortunately, the croutons were all dark bread that's not a favorite. Not exactly an excess of parmesan cheese either, and it was dry. The pita bread was fresh. I'm not complaining about too much romaine, but how would you mix in the dressing? This was takeout, so I just use a larger bow at home to mix it in.

Address: 1777 Main St, Tewksbury, MA 01876 Phone: (978) 849-3323