Birthday Delights

Many places will give you something for your birthday if you sign up for their newsletter/club membership etc. I'm a big fan of free stuff, so here's what happened during January.

The Serenitee group will give you a free Entree and Dessert good for the whole month with no limitations. Maggie's Farm had an Australian Rack Of Lamb on their specials menu. "Served with Mashed Potato, Broccoli, and Cilantro Chimichurri Sauce." The broccoli quickly got replaced by asparagus. I ordered the rack of lamb and again got lamb chops. I meant to ask my server before ordering but forgot. This seems to be a common thing these days. A Rack of Lamb ≠ Lamb Chops. The lamb was tender, well seasoned, and actually tasted of lamb for once. The mash was very pleasing, but the asparagus was not appropriately trimmed since the woodsy ends were left on. Serius kitchen fail. The chimichurri was excellent, very flavorful, with a hint of heat. Service here is always excellent.

Key Lime Pie with whipped cream & lime zest. This was excellent the last time I had it. However, this time it was more of a cake than a pie. Very dense and dry. Not their best effort.

Fogo de Chao Gives you a $25 gift card good for two weeks around your birthday for lunch or dinner Churrasco experience. It is also valid for brunch, and the Sunday Brunch was wicked busy. You get $15 just for signing up.

Millers Tavern $10 off during your birthday week. Cast Iron Macaroni and Cheese ($14.49). "Five cheese baked elbow macaroni and cheese, topped with Ritz cracker crumbs. Add Bacon (1.95), Lobster (7.95) Buffalo Style-Fried buffalo chicken, scallions, blue cheese crumbles (3)". I added Bacon and Buffalo Chicken. Guess what happens when you add crispy chicken and smother it in the sauce instead of leaving it on top? I expected crispy bacon, but that was not to be. It was just heated up in the sauce. The sauce was tasty with the buffalo seasoning and the blue cheese. However, it had split badly. When I mentioned this to my waitress, she offered to have the kitchen redo the dish. At this time, I was so cold that I needed some hot food in me, so I declined. The temperature when I arrived was 56 and had reached a balmy 59 when I left. I don't recommend going for lunch unless you want to wear your coat. There were no crackers on top, nor did the promised scallions make it. I just tried the app I downloaded for the temp at home, and it's not very accurate. It was still cold inside.

After putting this review on their website, they quickly reached out and gave me a refund. The review was also removed.

Not Your Average Joe's $15 off exp June. I visited the Peabody location since the Burlington location isn't very good.
BBQ MEATLOAF ($17.95). "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 seasonal veg was quickly swapped with green beans. The beans were crispy to the point of being uncooked. The mashed was the real deal since it had lumps of unmashed potatoes. It also had slimy skins left in. The gravy was actually pretty good this time. The meatloaf was tasty and well seasoned. The promised onion string had morphed into onion rings that were sort of crispy and not bad at all. I also added a small Caesar salad (+2.50). The greens were fine and came with the dressing on the side. The problem with this was that the bowl was so small that the dressing could not be mixed in. The bread plate comes to the rescue. The croutons were soo hard that they weren't edible. The warm focaccia and the dipping oil were on point. My server was excellent and friendly.

Tavern In the Square gives you a free appetizer during your birthday month. Appetizer BBQ Chicken Pizza. "Bbq sauce, sharp provolone, fire roasted corn, bacon, onion jam." This was a pleasant pizza with a nice thin crust and appetizing toppings. The pizza was tasty, even if the bacon had been carbonized. Wish there was more bacon. Putting BBQ sauce on chicken doesn't really make it BBQ, does it?

Jersey Mike's 72 Points added for a free small sub. I'll pass on this for now. Not impressed with my previous visit.

6 free birthday Wings from Buffalo Wild Wings. Used, no picture.

Red Heat Tavern Free Dessert Pass
Chick-fil-A Free Cookie Good for a month Pass
Blaze Free Dessert Pass
Burtons Appetizer with an entree. Pass No lunch menu and too expensive.
Fiorella's Free Entre IF you buy one at the regular price. Pass
Frank Pepe Program has ended.
Margs Nothing this year.

Did I miss anyone?

Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?

-- Friedrich Nietzsche