I went there Sunday evening. It was quite busy and I decided to get takeout instead of waiting for a table. As it turned out, it took even longer to get my takeout than it would have taken to be seated. (Also noticed my takeout sitting on the cold windowsill well before the person there did and had to ask for it.) Between that stuff and just watching awhile my sense is service still needs some sorting out.

The menu has all sorts of great options. I had the cauliflower app which was very yummy. Also the veggie lasagna, which was ok but way too heavy on lentils for my taste. The sauce had a nice flavor but the whole dish wasn't really what I think of as veggie lasagna.

While you can get better seafood than Legals, and you could get unlucky with something at Legals (like pretty much anyplace), I've always found it very consistently good. If someone has an itch to try the place and will be in the area, I see no reason to not go there.

I would not put Legals remotely in the same category as Red Lobster. Granted I haven't been to a Red Lobster in a very long time, but I'd be fine with going to Legal's anytime and have zero desire to enter a Red Lobster. I can think of many local seafood joints and even pizza/sub shops around here that probably serve better seafood. I suspect most people in the area feel the same, as it's like 100 miles to the nearest one - think there used to be a few around that didn't last.

Downstairs Taiwanese is one of our favorite places to eat around here lately. Ordering food from upstairs while sitting downstairs is a nice option to have, but of cousre you lose something of the Japanese dining experience. Be prepared that the servers downstairs may not be familiar with things - last time I tried that I didn't get the things it was supposed to come with (like miso soup) and had to wait around for soy sauce. Maybe the reverse would work better, dunno.

Had sushi upstairs a few months ago and it was great. Been meaning to get back. Chatted with a sushi fan sitting next to me at the sushi bar and he raved about it - said went out of his way to get there whenever nearbyish (he was from Andover or someplace not too close.)

(Upstairs did used to be problematic way in the past, with some previous owners, I had given up on it. I don't even recall what the food was like, as service was so messed up you were even lucky to get what you ordered.)

shucks. For a moment there I thought I might get a chance to use the certificate I have for Mantra.

Last time we were at Asian Gourmet in Concord they handed us flyers for some CNY thing. They were things for 8-10 people. In hindsight I wonder if they were meant for takeout, since the place has 2 tables that could maybe squeeze 8, and that's a stretch. But I'd expect interesting specials at the very least. Bamboo in Westford (which is related to Mandarin in Reading) has done stuff in the past, I think I remember them talking about having a dragon - don't know this year as we haven't been there in quite awhile. They had of course decorated and were giving out red envelopes. Neither of those is really north though.

Tried Burton's a few weeks ago, 4 of us. I had the beet salad and roasted corn risotto, both great. Beet salad was actually about the beets rather than the too common greens with a few beets, enjoyed that for a change. Don't remember what the other 3 people had but everyone was happy with their food. Will go back.

Definitely make reservations unless you're going fairly late. We had tried once previously and there was a 90 min wait on I think a Tuesday night.

Saw an ad for this place in the local paper, apparently it is attached to the sub shop in Littleton Center. Can't find a menu or anything on line so wondering if it's just the sub shop food with a place to sit, or something more.

No idea of "best" but I've been to China Pearl many times, and Hel La Moon once. Both are good and do carts.

I like meatloaf sandwiches cold.

But, it would be really nice if everyplace made clear that a given sandwich is hot or cold, if it's not on some list under hot or cold or otherwise obvious. Or ask. I know I've had some rude surprises. My pet peeve is when someplace puts lettuce on a sandwich then toasts it, gross.

I assumed they only did the grande if you asked (and always figured they'd just add still more rice) so dunno. The rice and beans were pretty nicely cooked this time.

(Talking about Acton.)

Anyone been here lately? I'd given up on it, but on a whim decided to give it another chance at lunch today. Got the special, which was a steak bomb burrito - actually had a pretty good amount of meat and veggies. Stayed together well, which I think was helped by it not being mostly rice as in the past. Ordered it with the wicked hot sauce which didn't used to be on the menu - not sure I would quite call it wicked, but did have a decent degree of heat. At $8.50, it was substantial and tasty enough that I didn't feel ripped off.

Wondering if the special of the day was a fluke, or they have generally improved things?

same here - had to get up early and drive up there with the in-laws, wait around for hours, and I really didn't see what the big deal was.

We tried Sprigs I think in June. We thought it was ok, fine, but really didn't do enough for us that we have a desire to go back. Maybe it has changed since then. I definitely didn't think it was in the same league as Primo.

yeah, that immediate area has little for restaurants let alone good ones, and as said isn't very walkable. But downtown Waltham has lots of choices. You could probably get a cab from the Westin or maybe there will be someone at your meeting with a car who wants to go. Or maybe the hotel shuttle will go downtown.

question about Blue Stove location - where exactly in the store is it, and which entrance would result in the shortest walk? Was thinking of going there soon but would have someone along that I need to keep this in mind. And if it's upstairs we would need to use the elevator rather than the escalator.

I know it's technically a fruit, but I detest avocado. Nasty tasting, slimy thing.

I love those too, used to be easy to get someplace I regularly shopped but I haven't seen them in years. But funny timing, not long after I saw this thread I saw the George's bakery ones at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods. Eating some right now!

The wafflemaker in question is (allegedly) nonstick.

That is a good point about the oil. If you're making your own recipe make sure it's a waffle batter and not a pancake batter, though I'm not sure if that will affect the sticking qualities or just the texture of the waffle. Usually waffle batter is thicker with more fat, I think the extra fat in the batter is intended more for crisping than not sticking, but it can't hurt.

IIRC = If I Remember Correctly

I had that same model for like 30 years and didn't have that problem, but as it was such an old version maybe it wasn't identical. I finally got rid of it when I couldn't stop stuff from sticking but that took a long time. If I oil it's very lightly. not with PAM but with one of those oil sprayers you fill yourself. If stuff starts sticking on these because the finish is going, or maybe gunked up with cooked on oil, I'm not sure adding lots of oil really helps anything.

Perhaps experiment with the amount of batter you use. No matter what wafflemaker I have the best results when using as much as possible without it going out the sides when it starts to cook. Not enough batter might in splitting like that. Always tricky to get right. If you don't measure now I suggest actually measuring what you are putting in for a given recipe, then sticking to that if you find success.

(After trying and quickly dumping a new cheapy, now the happy owner of a Caphalon No-Peek.)

While working out the how spicy part may be tricky, I certainly wouldn't fault parents for the problem or for bringing their kid to an Indian restaurant. Given how picky many kids are, and the junk often eaten, I applaud a 4.5 yr old American (I assume) kid who loves Saag Paneer. And his parents for that matter.

We stopped at Duckfat today. Interesting menu. The sandwiches we had were great (although I wished for a real plate instead of the little bamboo board they served it on, not to mention a real glass to drink out of rather than a little jar with big threads.) Soup we had was also great. Salad my neighbor had looked great. (Wish I didn't have such a good view of her salad, not crazy about the tight counter-only seating, it's not a comfortable place to eat.)

The fries, I don't get the big deal, seems like a gimmick. They were just fries, no special flavor imparted by the duck fat and they weren't crisp enough for my taste. The "truffled ketchup" tasted like regular ketchup. Meh.

Need to modify my comment on TC Lando's - I usually get slices, and they're great. But I ordered a whole pie today, the crust was totally different and really didn't do it for me. I'm thinking they use the same size doughball for a large and for whatever they cut their slices from (which are huge.) The crust on the slices is much thinner. Or maybe it was just a fluke today.

tried those a few days ago and I agree, they were yummy. Like the guts of a samosa, great with some chutney.

Agreed, the Indian place in the B Mall food court has been very good as long as I remember going there. Best bet in the food court if you like Indian.

We'd given up on this place years ago but have gone twice since hearing about the changes. We like that it's different than the Chinese at most places around here and everything we've had has been pretty good and sometimes excellent. Lots of Chinese customers. Service is very efficient, orders taken promptly, things arrive quickly, orders always correct - almost too efficient sometimes with trying to clear things before we're quite done with them.

Portions are large with reasonable prices and it's easy to order too much food in the the course of wanting to try a variety of things. 2 of us wound up with food for 6 the first time. We learned and wound up with food for 4 the second time. Which is fine, I'm just as happy to take some home.

I tried Sorrento's a couple times and found it greasy and buried in way too much cheese for my taste. That was a long time ago, what is it like now?

I'm partial to Pizzeria Presti (Burlington and Westford.) And while I'm mostly a NY style pizza fan, I do like a good Sicilian 'za and they do a good job of that too.

Also TC Lando's in Acton is pretty good.

favorite - a couple times I went there right after opening, and they had these fresh donuts in the bakery area that were kind of like a jelly doughnut, except filled with bean paste. Still warm and seriously yummy.

now that you mention it I agree about the black beans - a bit too firm.

I kind of wonder why anyone would choose this space for a restaurant, given the parking issue, when there's that empty McD's across the street with tons of parking. I assume cost, but the McD's building sure would be so much more convienient.

Passed by there around lunch with the intention of stopping but lot was full. Decided I wasn't all that hungry yet and returned mid-afternoon. Lot was still almost full even though not all that busy inside at the time - there is not nearly enough parking for this building, but we knew that already. Pleasant simple decor, certainly miles better than the previous place (not hard!)

I had the Mixed Grill burrito, which is the regular with zuchini/portobello/pepper. Large. tasty and well made, though maybe a bit pricy for what it was. If it had cheese I sure didn't detect it, but not a big deal to me. I didn't think their "hot" sauce was very hot. But all in all nice to have a new and pretty good option in the area. I can see stopping here fairly often.

As far as funky fusion burritos, if they bug you just don't order them. There's plenty of "normal." I'll probably try that Thai one sometime when I'm in the mood.