Shopping Detour at Spruce Pond Creamery

Spruce Pond Creamery and Franklin Flatbread Pizza

www.franklinpizza.com

370 King Street

Franklin, Ma

508-520-7900

Menu: Pizza, Pasta, Sandwiches, Salads, Ice cream

Atmosphere: Casual pizzeria and Ice creamery

Kid Friendly: If Ice cream is ever not Kid Friendly, then it is being served in a bar.

I wanted lunch, and why my husband wanted to check out a place called Spruce Pond Creamery made no sense to me. I was hungry though, and hunger for me means severe loss of brain power so I went along with his idea.

We were on our way to the Wrentham Outlets when we took this detour. This was not a case of twisting my arm. I am not a shopper. In fact, I pretty much loathe shopping except for maybe 4 times a year, and there is nothing that makes me loathe it more than crowds. When I saw the line of cars meandering off the the exit to for the outlets, there was no chance I was staying in it.

Lou knows me so well he actually said it before I did. As soon as he pulled into the back of the line he asked, "You want to get some lunch instead of shopping?"

It took me a second to process it, then I saw the same line on the other side of the highway getting off the opposite exit going to the same outlets. My worst nightmare! All I could think was, "Get me the heck out of this line before we are on the off ramp with no option to get out!"

Lou quickly pulled back onto 495 and we were out of there. We took out Lou's iPhone and used the app, Around Me, to see if we could find a restaurant nearby. Lou picked the Spruce Pond Creamery. I don't know what made him think they would have food, but it was only about a 1/2 mile off the next exit on 495, so we checked it out.

This is the first thing I noticed. This place looked like a very colorful ice cream stand to me, and it was getting a little chilly out. Lou looked at the main sign, however, and it said they had flat bread pizza, so we went in to check it out.
It turns out the Ice Creamery has an inside seating area, and a wood burning stove where they make some delicious pizza. They also have sandwiches, salads, and pasta dishes, various bakery treats and of course homemade ice cream.

Lou was excited when we sat down because he spied this cream soda in the display case.
For lunch we got the flat bread because it was the highest thing billed on the menu, and it looked really good on our neighbors table. We chose to split our pizza in half. One side was the Lightning Rod-hand-made herb & garlic sausage, organic tomato sauce, blend of organic cheeses, sautéed organic green peppers, sliced organic mushrooms & balsamic-splashed sautéed organic yellow onions.

The second side was Ben's trip to France- Organic eggplant & organic Roma tomatoes over organic garlic-infused extra-virgin olive oil base, with grated Reggiano Parmigiano cheese and balsamic-splashed organic yellow onions

I don't really get the name choices, but I guess I should thank Ben for going to France and coming up with this original pizza choice. It was a delicious blend of ingredients.

The staff at Spruce Pond was friendly. The ordering was a little unorganized. There was a line at the counter when we walked in, and several parties sitting down, but it wasn't clear if you should stand in line, order and then sit, or sit and wait for a server. We went to get in line and we must have had, "We are ordering lunch and sitting down written all over us, " because as soon as we stepped in the back of the line, we were told to sit and wait for a waitress.

A sign saying, "Seat yourself for eat in", would have been a huge help.

We didn't get ice cream, but the line for it was steady the entire time we were there, and it wasn't a very hot day, so it must be pretty good.

Outside the Creamery has a beautiful landscape rolling down to what can only be the Spruce Pond. I can imagine a lot of families hear hanging out on the hottest of summer days. It is a little far for us, but if I ever make the foolish decision to head to Wrentham on a popular shopping day, I will know I can always detour it to Spruce Pond Creamery.

Picco South End Something for Everyone

Picco Restaurant
513 Tremont Street
Boston, Ma 02116
617-927-0066

Menu: Pizza, Pasta, Salads, Sandwiches with a twist, full bar, and ICECREAM!
Kid Friendly: Absolutely
Atmosphere: Lively bright, laid back
Prices: Small Pizza and a cup of chili cost us $20 may seem like a lot but typical for Boston

Lou and I hit up Picco today for a little light lunch. Picco is in the South End of Boston towards the end of Tremont Street right before you drive over the Mass Pike. I had been to Picco before, but knowing I would write about it on my site, I took my surroundings in a bit more on this visit. What I decided was whoever is running/owns Picco is a genius.

I have only been to Picco during the day for lunch like today, so I always thought of it as pizza's, calzones, sandwiches, salads, and icecream, but what I paid a little more attention to today, was the bar.

During the day when Lou and I have been there, there is always an eclectic bunch. Families, couples, friends grabbing a bite, but what I realized was at night, this place must be a completely different crowd. Sure there were a couple people at the bar during the day, but there were a lot more people in the dining area having pizza and icecream.

The things I observed that make this place genius:


1. Two top tables which can be configured in any pattern to accomodate any size group.
2. Ice cream on the menu, making this place immediately kid friendly during the day


3. The menu items are typical but not plain. Pizza crust is light and toppings are original


4. This place can easily morph into a great place to hang at the bar at night


5. The dining area and bar are strategically separated by a long banquette with glass on top, giving the perception of complete separation.


6. There are those great curtains around the door for the winter to keep the cold out when people open the door.


7. The kitchen is wide open so you can see what the cooks are doing.

On this visit, Lou and I were greated at the door and sat within a couple minutes. There were a lot of kids in the dining room with their moms and most looked like they had just come from a ballet class. Lots of little girls with buns in their hair. A lot of the kids were coloring on plain white paper.

We stopped in to have just a small bite to tide us over until dinner, so we had decided to have pizza before we sat down, but once I looked at the menu, I had to get a cup of chili as well. In the end we ordered a small mushroom and sausage pizza and a cup of chili.

The chili was delivered first and it was a pleasant surprise. Instead of ground beef, the meat in the chili was tender pieces of steak. There were black beans and it came with a side of cornbread. The chili was great with a good hot spicy flavor. The cornbread was light and flakey. When the pizza came it was a perfect portion. 4 pieces in about an 8 inch round pie. The mushrooms were portabello and the cheese was ricotto. The toppings were perfectly balanced. The pizza crust was thin and crispy, and reminded me of a pita. When the pizza was served to us, it was placed on top of a large can instead of a fancy pizza platform. It was resourceful, and looked interesting. Picco gets green points for that one.

We didn't get desert this visit but a lot of kids were enjoying icecream. One of the more interesting flavors was honey. There isn't a huge selection, about 12-15 flavors, but definitely something for everyone.

I also noticed a great selection of beer behind the bar. Any bar which carries Lindeman's Framboise, definitely has an eclectic selection and knows their beer. Another interesting point about the bar is later in the evening we mentioned our visit to Picco to a friend. His reply was I love that place! They always have a great selection of beers! Proving my point.

If you want a light bite, afternoon snack, after work drink, or nightcap. Picco's got something for everyone.

Fuddrucker's

Fuddruckers


Route 1 Saugus, Ma
114 West North Andover, Ma
Jordan's Furniture, Reading, Ma
Village Mall, Methuen, Ma

Menu: Fresh Burgers, chicken, Salads
Kid Friendly: As friendly as it gets
Atmosphere: Family fun and Freedom
Price: Great place to bring the family for good food at a reasonable prices

"Welcome to Fuddruckers Home of the World's Greatest Hamburger, How may I help you?" That is how we used to answer the phone when I was 23 years old and working at Fuddrucker's in Saugus, Ma.. Eighteen years later, I am still going to Fuddruckers to get great food.

I hadn't been to Fuddruckers in a while, so when my good friend Banks asked me about going there this weekend, I jumped at the chance. A lot of people may read this and say, why review Fuddruckers? It is pretty well known, a lot of people have tried it, but I promised myself when I started writing this blog I would write about every place I ate at for a year. I am also pretty sure, if you have been to Fuddruckers and like it, you may not know everything that makes it oh so good.
Fuddruckers was started by Phil Romano in the 1980's. No matter what anyone tells you about the name, his intention was just what you think it was. The name was thought up over a night of drinking, and was meant to make you turn your head and question, "What did you just say?"
Phil Romano is a very successful restaurant entrepeneur. He creates concepts, makes them work and sells them. You may have heard of Romano's Macaroni Grill? Same guy.

Romano's philosphy is fresh, bountiful food. Go into any Fuddruckers and you will see what I mean. The buns are made fresh daily. The meat for the burgers is ground daily and pattied. The produce bar and condiments are plentiful and all you can eat. Milkshakes are made to order, and cookies, brownies and pie's are baked daily. Fuddruckers built its reputation on great burgers, but it also has fabulous chicken sandwiches and salads. This trip, I noticed the addition of turkey sliders and burger sliders on the menu. One of the best things about Fuddruckers is your meal is completely customizable to your liking. Want some cheese on that sandwich? Bacon? Mushrooms? Ask for it to be added at the counter. Are you more of a lettuce, tomato, onion or pickle kind of person? Dress your sandwich up at the produce bar. There's pico de gallo and jalepeno peppers for people who like it spicey. BBQ sauce for some southern flavor, and all the melted cheese you want.

This trip I opted for the original chicken sandwich. It is a 6 ounce chicken breast grilled and flavored with spud spice (Fuddruckers special spice mix), served on a pefectly grilled fresh bun. I also got my favorite, chili cheese fries, a basket of wedge cut fries smothered in coney style chili, and cheese. Softdrinks are from the fountain and all you can drink. Fuddruckers also serves up bottled beer.

The atmosphere at Fuddruckers is family fun and freedom. You order at the counter and sit where you want. Chairs and tables can be easily reconfigured to fit larger groups. Games are abundant to occupy the kids. The one in Saugus even has an old car/table you can sit it.

Fuddruckers began in Texas, but today you can find them all over the US. In Massachusetts you can find a Fuddruckers in Saugus, North Andover, Reading, and Methuen. Jim Boland is the owner. When you enter his franchises you can tell Jim is fully involved in the communities his restaurants are in, and committed to giving back.

If you are a Fuddrucker's fan, now you know a little more. Never been there? What are you waiting for? The World's greatest hamburger is waiting!

A Lesson Learned

El Oriental De Cuba

http://www.elorientaldecuba.com/

416 Center Street

Jamaica Plain, Ma 02130

Menu: Authentic Cuban Cuisine

Kid Friendly: Lots of Kids with their parents, pics all over walls

Atmosphere: Lively, authentic, inviting, neighborhood friendly

Price: Dinner for 2 with an app, no beverages was about $36. They didn't charge us for one entree so it ended up being $21.

This entry is particularly hard for me to write because I had such high expectations for this restaurant, and they fell short. I think it may have been my own fault. Lou and I have been scoping out El Oriental de Cuba in J.P. for over a year now. Everytime we drive by we make a comment that we have to go. This Sunday was finally the time to do it. We stopped by the Reggie Lewis center in the morning to check out the Boston Vegetarian Food Festival. It was free and we are always trying to eat healthier so we thought we would check it out. The capacity of the hall the food fest was in, was not nearly big enough to hold the crowd. We found ourselves fighting to get anywhere close to the stands, and in the end we opted to leave and go get something to eat at a sit down restaurant. Since we were close to J.P., I thought we could finally check out El Oriental de Cuba.

Everything about the restaurant screams authentic Cuban. From the colorful exterior, to the decor, the music and even being greeted in Spanish when we walked through the door. The atmosphere is lively, and diverse. There are beautiful pictures of Cuba adorning the walls as well as many faces from the neighborhood. We were sat under a picture of the owner, Nobel Garcia, and the one and only Luis Tiant. The service was quick and very friendly. We were mainly served by a younger man, but there were two other girls working who both assisted with our table through out the meal. One of the things I mention in my other posts is that Lou and I often get sat at corner booths. Another phenomenon of our dining out adventures is, if we go to a popular place, we beat the crowd by about 5 minutes. What I mean is we step in the door, there is no one in line, we sit down, and then a crowd forms to be sat. Judging from the crowd that day, this is an extremely popular neighborhood place.

I named this blog a Lesson Learned because I REALLY wanted to love this place. Everything about it was pointing to awesomeness, but what I think we did was order incorrectly. The menu at El Oriental de Cuba is vast. They serve breakfast, sandwiches, entrees, apps., juices. I couldn't decide what I should eat. I looked around at everyone else's plates and they looked so good, but I couldn't decipher what they were eating. Some kind of pork? chicken? In the end I figured nothing could be bad so I settled on the Tilapia Filet with Garlic sauce. Lou decided on the Red Snapper with Garlic sauce, and we would share the Cuban tamales as an appetizer.

The appetizer came and it far exceeded my expectations. The tamales were served on top of the corn husk they most likely were cooked in , and they were the traditional corn dough stuffed with a small amount of pork and chiles. They were delicious. I couldn't wait for dinner.

When our dinner arrived, this is when our meal took a turn, but I really do think, we ordered the wrong thing for this particular restaurant. Lou had ordered the red snapper filet with garlic sauce, but when the meal came, the kitchen had made a mistake and cooked him the entire fish. It did not look appetizing in the least. There was so much garlic sauce poured over it, it looked like a shallow bowl of soup with a giant fish hanging out of it. The staff acknowledged, they had screwed up, and we would be charged only the filet price, but honestly we probably should have sent it back. Lou ended up eating so little of the fish, it was a huge waste. I wasn't any help. It was difficult to navigate with the plate being over powered by the soupy garlic sauce. My tilapia filet came out as ordered. It too had a lot of the garlic sauce on it, as well as a lot of onions and peppers. The fish was ok, the sauce was very salty. I could see the garlic, but the salt overwhelmed any taste of garlic. The sides which came with our meals were the best part. We had the choice of yellow of white rice. I got yellow, Lou got white. The yellow was not surprisingly more flavorful, and had beans throughout it. We also had the choice between sweet or salty fried plaintains. I got the sweet, Lou the salty. Both were very good, I preferred the salty, Lou the sweet:). There was also a small garden salad on the plate which consisted of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes and raw white onions. There is oil and vinegar on every table for the salad. Lou had one more choice as a side that I did not, and that was black or red beans. We opted for the red. They reminded me of soupy baked beans, with not as much flavor.

In the end, based on this visit, I have to give El Oriental de Cuba a mixed review. The tamales and plaintains were outstanding. The fish was a disaster, the sides would have been a nice compliment to a better main dish. My Lesson Learned is next time I go to a restaurant where I am unfamiliar with the cuisine, I will ask the waiter for a recommendation. I think if we had gone with chicken or pork, our experience would have been very different. I think we will return and give it another shot. The staff was so nice, they ended up not charging us at all for the second entree, and we never asked them for any type of special treatment. If anyone reads this who has been to El Oriental de Cuba, please tell me what to order!

How do you know your boyfriend loves you? He brings you to his favorite pizza place

Pino's Pizza at Cleveland Circle

1920-A Beacon Street

Brighton, Ma

617-566-6468

When Lou and I were first dating, I was living in Brighton. Whenever you first date anyone and really like them, you want to know if the feeling is mutual. Both parties tend to hold their feelings close to their heart. They don't want to be the one to get hurt, but Lou gave away how he felt big time by bringing me to his favorite pizzeria. No guy brings you to a place he frequents as much as Lou frequents Pino's when the food is THAT good, unless he doesn't mind seeing you there in the future.

I honestly can't objectively give a review of Pino's food as a whole, I haven't had anything there but their sicilian pizza, but the sicilian pizza is SO good, it is worthy of it's own post.

Pino's is situated in a row of stores and restaurants on Beacon street off Cleveland Circle, right near Boston College. There are about 11 big booth's and 1 long table to sit at. Nothing fancy, but who needs fancy when your having pizza? The walls are adorned with beautiful pictures of Italy, and the Italian soccer team. There is one cooler with drinks to choose from and a short counter.

For as long as Lou can remember going to Pino's the same guys have been working there. Specifically there is an old man working there who he affectionately calls, "The Old Man". Lou told me a long time ago that when the "Old Man" is working, the Sicilian pizza always tastes just a little bit better. Over the past five years of eating at Pino's I have to admit he is right, but the pizza is so good regardless. I would go there anyway.

When we go to Pino's our order is always the same 4 to 5 slices of Sicilian, and a Peligrino Arranciata to wash it down. The Arranciata is an orange flavored soda. I have had the Sicilian with various toppings, broccoli, sausage, pepperoni, and bbq chicken, but I have to say my favorite is always the plain. I don't know the secret to Pino's Sicilian pies, but I can tell you, the cheese is melted perfectly, the blend is yummy, the top is soft, and the crust is 1/4 inch of crunchie goodness. The service at Pino's is always quick and friendly.

Pino's is not the most romantic place around. There are usually college students and tweens flowing in and out when we visit there, but the symbolism of the gesture of bringing me there when Lou and I were first dating, was one of the most romantic things I remember back then. Pino's is tradition worthy.

Zaftig's Delicatessen

Zaftigs!!!

335 Harvard St
Brookline, MA 02446-2907

(617) 975-0075

http://www.zaftigs.com/

Menu: New Jewish-style Delicatessen, with a lot of traditional favorites, but new dishes as well, this is not a kosher delicatessen.

Kid Friendly: Kid's menu, Highchairs

Atmosphere: Bustling Family environment

Prices: Average for Boston/Brookline. Expensive for students

Lou and I went to brunch at one of our FAVORITE places this weekend, Zaftig's Delicatessen. Zaftig is a Yiddish term meaning; buxom: (of a female body) healthily plump and vigorous.

After eating all the wonderful food here, any woman will feel like a Zaftig. Zaftig's is what you would call a 'new Jewish'-style delicatessan. They have the traditional offerings like potato pancakes, matzo ball soup, and hot corned beef, but Kosher it is not.

When I was doing some research on line before writing this, I noticed there were A LOT of people who have blogged about the food at Zaftig's. Going there on any weekend for brunch you can see how popular a place it is by the crowd gathered outside waiting for tables. Don't let that crowd discourage you though. The longest we have waited for a table is 15 minutes. There are about 125 seats in the restaurant. This includes a small lunch counter, and the turnover happens fairly quickly. There isn't much room inside for waiting other than a small entrance, so many families wait outside. Recently I noticed, Zaftig's installed a speaker system they can call through their phone to outside, making it easier to call names of people waiting out there.

Lou and I mainly hit up Zaftig's for brunch, but their lunch/dinner menu are just as delicious.

Breakfast is served all day and some of our favorite's on the menu are:

The Banana stuffed French Toast $9.95

In a bourbon-vanilla batter with date butter and berries,

Banana-Walnut Pancakes $8.95

With date butter,(strawberry butter is also available for pancakes) and

San Francisco Joe’s Special $10.95

House made ground turkey hash, mushrooms, onions, spinach and egg, topped with grated asiago

It isn't an inexpensive breakfast but is a delicious breakfast! Parents with kids going to college in Boston, this is a great treat for those weekend visits!

The service at Zaftigs is always efficient and friendly. As long as we remain in Boston, it will be a neighborhood favorite of ours.