ReluctantOperaChick's Profile
Diet Soda + Cake Mix = How does this Work??
I just want to reiterate what someone else said - you don't need cake to practice your decorating on. You just need something the right shape and size. You can buy styrofoam dummies at floral supply/craft supply places, for example; that's what bakeries use for the cakes they keep on display. I've given demonstrations where I've turned cake pans upside down and decorated them.
Le Lyonnais in Acton - discuss.
(Please.) I remember this place as being a very special French treat when I was a wee lass many decades ago, and I was floored to discover it still exists. Given that there are no restaurants in the Acton area to speak of, why does no one speak of this one? I am surprised that I don't even hear bad things about it, if it isn't any good anymore, and I'd think if it was good people would be turning somersaults over it.
So what's up, Metrowesters? Is it good, bad, indifferent?
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Le Lyonnais Restaurant
416 Great Rd, Acton, MA 01720
Specialty/gourmet food stores north of Boston?
Sure there is. I could order any of several brands from amazon.com, among other places; I just would prefer to buy it locally if I can.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/search/ref=sr_nr_scat_16318021_ln?rh=n%3A16318021%2Ck%3Alavender+extract&keywords=lavender+extract&ie=UTF8&qid=1283132206&scn=16318021&h=c73cd9429f4d02e9f368426244418acb36532f40
Specialty/gourmet food stores north of Boston?
We now live in Haverhill, and I need to find a source for a few ingredients. (At the moment I'm especially looking for lavender extract, and maybe some candied violets.) Are there any specialty food stores up here? I am familiar with Butcher Boy in N Andover.
And if not...what stores do you like nearer or in Boston?
Service for Kitchen Aid Mixer
Can I ask, what was a lot of money? I need to take mine in too, and I'd like to be prepared.
Haverhill: Which Market Basket? And which meat market?
So we just moved to Haverhill, and as a confirmed Market Basket lover I need to figure which ones are good and which are skeevy - 'cause we all know, some are kinda scary. Went to the one downtown, but no seafood or bakery and seemingly limited selection - are others better?
Also, there seem to be a lot of meat markets up here; what's good? Is Butcher Boy a good choice, or are there better?
Feel free to send me anywhere else you like in the Mingya Valley! Thanks!
Tell me which Concord Area restaurants a Camberville Foodie would like?
Re Billerica: Dissenting view of Riverview; worst breakfast I can remember - lord, the food was awful - and lousy service. I'd go to Belly Buster, on 3A in Billerica, instead; nothing special, but reliable, fairly cheap diner-style breakfast and good, fast service. Sichuan Gourmet is great great great sichuan, but has lousy generic-Chinese (not a dis, just a point to remember if, like me, you often dine with someone who dislikes spicy food and prefers generica).
If you're gonna be out this direction, explore north up route 3. Search the NE board for threads about Lowell, and especially look for lexpatti's posts - she's a great resource about restaurants in this area. Lowell has more interesting and better Asian restaurants than anything closer to Boston, and the dining scene there is much better than I, at least, ever expected when we moved out this way. We had an awesome breakfast this morning at Dream Diner in Tyngsboro, a minute or two off of route 3, and I know there are a few other places in the area we want to try.
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Sichuan Gourmet
502 Boston Rd, Billerica, MA 01821
Dream Diner
384 Middlesex Rd, Tyngsboro, MA 01879
Latino groceries between Billerica and Lowell?
In case it's ever helpful to anyone else I thought I'd mention that the Market Basket in Tewksbury has a good selection of Central and South (more Central than South) American products - cheeses, groceries, etc.
Good Eats in Bedford, MA?
Dalya is nice, food is good. If you want really fantastic awesome Sichuan food in not much of an atmosphere, head overto Billerica to Sichuan Gourmet (search this forum for more posts; it's one of the best around, and you'd never believe it if you just saw the strip mall it's in or knew how lousy the rest of the restaurants in Billerica are). I agree that Flatbread Pizza Co, in an office park on route 62, is really good. It's a tiny chain (like maybe five or so restaurants, got started in VT) that prides itself on organic/natural/local everything. Nice quality results.
Wish we had more exciting stuff to tell you about around here!
Lowell restaurant near High School for dinner tonight?
We're headed to a Lowell Summer Music Series concert tonight, and looking for a place to have dinner beforehand. We'd like to only park once if possible, not sure if there's anything in that area. Any ideas? Thanks!
Latino groceries between Billerica and Lowell?
I need a quick rec for a market/grocery store with Hispanic stuff somewhere in the Lowell/south-of-Lowell area (I live in Billerica). I'm really not looking for anything terribly exotic, just some corn tortillas that don't suck (is that local brand, what was it called, Maria and Richard's or something, still around?) and some cotija or other Mexican cheese. Thanks for any help!
Finding kitchen supply stores?
I'm surprised no one mentioned Gerrish Peters, on Broadway in Lawrence. Been there a long time, and it's been a long time since I was in there, but it's the kind of restaurant supply store you're looking for. Looks icky from the outside (or used to), but check it out.
Fantastic Artisinal Bakery in Winchester
Oh, I had some of his bread from the farmer's market - really excellent. Good luck to him and yay for Winchester!
Where to get chihuahua cheese?
I'm searching for chihuahua cheese, and I don't think I've ever seen it around this area. I just want to make queso fundido, nothing terribly elaborate - is there another Mexican cheese I can use? I live in Melrose so would love to find it around here somewhere, but whatever. Thanks!
Misery in Melrose
Sweet Tooth is taking that spot on the corner of Franklin right by the tracks - Depot Deli, which deserves to die.
That space barely has a kitchen, though. I asked the kid who waited on me in ST yesterday about that - he was pretty surly (forced to work front of the house in the slow afternoon and pissy about it) and said smaller kitchen, bigger dining room, and we don't need much kitchen space. That surprised me; bakeries don't need huge kitchens, but they do need some. Maybe they outsource more of their baked goods than I realized.
Misery in Melrose
Where's Petrone's? And I, too, promise to keep your butcher shop in business.
Chowish places that haven't caught on
I love 3 Amigos too, and especially their homemade soft corn tortillas with carne asada - and yeah, that pork chili verde is great too. The owners are sweethearts, too. Atmosphere isn't my favorite, but the food is consistently good.
Wegman's scoping out a site in Westwood, MA
Totally not a nostalgia thing in the slightest. I moved to Philly in my thirties (grew up here); my husband worked in Princeton and somebody sent him to Wegman's as a place to pick up lunch one day, and he came home raving about it. So we went grocery shopping, and I was blown away.
The skepticism that Wegman's can really be that fantastic is interesting evidence that there is nothing in this area remotely similar, so it's hard to imagine why people would get so excited about a supermarket. But really, it is that exciting.
Wegman's scoping out a site in Westwood, MA
I totally get why you'd say that, and I'd probably be right there with you...but I have been to the Mountain, and I have drunk the Kool-Aid, and believe me, once you have experienced Wegman's, you'll understand why his post reads as it does.
Wegman's scoping out a site in Westwood, MA
When I lived in Philadelphia, we drove nearly an hour to Princeton to go to Wegman's probably every other weekend.
Though I don't really see what difference it makes, whether citydwellers will drive to Westwood Station or not. The majority of greater Boston's population is in the "greater" part, rather than Boston.
Dettorre's in Wakefield
I'm looking forward to trying this place - was just wondering about it yesterday as I drove by.
I noticed some positive reviews for Georgie D's in Stoneham recently. Anyone want to weigh in on that, while we're on the subject of inexpensive Italian in the area?
Famous Dave's Saugus location closed
Oh my gosh, I'll gladly suffer a glut of chainmex if we get a Trader Joe's! Eeeeeeee, yay!
Has anyone eaten at Kromel's Playhouse Cafe in Stoneham recently?
I was there quite a while ago (maybe as long as a year now, actually a bit longer because it was before my twins were born in November 2006) and remember that the Kro of Kromel had left (Melissa is the mel). They were talking then about changing the name, which, um, YEAH, because Kromel is one of the worst restaurant names I think I've ever heard, but anyway, I have been sort of wondering why they hadn't - probably just the cost of new signage, menus, etc. So no, I don't think there is new ownership there, just a new name reflecting that the partnership dissolved some time ago.
I hate private labels.
Huh. What makes you think brand names are somehow more trustworthy than TJ's or Costco? Do you really "know" who made a product just because it has a name on it other than that of the store?
Food Police. Too overzealous??
Yup, has been since June 2006.
Would've liked to have been in Chicago that August for this protest - http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/23/us/23chicago.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
Food Police. Too overzealous??
And just as we have regulatory and legal ways of dealing with domestic violence and child abuse, we have health codes for foodservice establishments. However, no one is interfering with what you cook or how you store your food in your own home - those transfat regs won't keep you from boiling up a vat of hydrogenated fat on your own kitchen stove - so I don't really see how the "food police" are "interfering in people's private lives." No one is inspecting your counters to make sure your eggs are put away and your chicken isn't thawing at room temp. Health codes protect the public, in situations where individuals aren't in control of the conditions of food preparation.
Is there such a person as a "CHOWHOUND" purist?
I really dislike the assumptions contained in the question. Obviously, as one can see by reading the replies, there are chowhounds who don't use microwaves. But why they should be designated "purists," as though they are somehow more pure (pure what?) than others who use microwaves, I don't particularly understand. We all have our preferences and opinions about tools, ingredients, and techniques. Labeling certain of those opinions "purist" is arbitrary and silly. If you don't like microwaves, fine. I don't like pre-ground coffee, or silicone bakeware, or spice blends. But I don't attach some kind of spurious moral superiority to those choices.
Food Police. Too overzealous??
I think the thing lots of these responses, and OP as well, are ignoring, is that these regulations are designed to protect the most vulnerable. Children, the elderly, pregnant women, and anyone with a weakened immune system are FAR more vulnerable to food-borne illness - and they can DIE from it. A couple of days ago, two elderly men in central MA died, and a woman miscarried, all from listeria, presumably milk-borne. These things do happen, and when they happen they can be deadly.
I am guessing that most of us posting in this thread are pretty healthy adults, with immune systems that hum along pretty efficiently. I do most of the same things as OP, and I don't get sick much, either. But I am a lot more careful about what I expose my one-year-olds to, and when he was alive, my friend who was going through chemo.
We are taught food-safety practices that are designed to avoid what can be very serious consequences, by being more careful than is always necessary. By the same token, you might be able to get away with running that red light where you never, ever see any opposing traffic 99% of the time, but that one broadside collision could easily kill you and the other driver. So you stop for the red light every time - or if you don't, you know the risk you're taking, and you make your judgments accordingly, and I hope you don't run the light with your kids in the car. Thus too with food safety. I know that I might possibly get salmonella from eating raw eggs, but I make chocolate mousse with egg yolks, eat undercooked breakfast eggs, and munch on raw cookie dough all the time, because I believe that risk to be small. However, when I'm cooking in a restaurant (where I can't know who will eat my food), or for friends or family members who might be more vulnerable, I may make different choices.
Food Police. Too overzealous??
And, of course, Chicago and its foie gras lunacy come to mind. The food police, sadly, are not imaginary.
