TrollKing's Profile
Looking for Thanksgiving options in Western MA.
Reservations have been made at the Cranwell Resort. I emailed the Old Inn but they didn't reply.
Looking for Thanksgiving options in Western MA.
The fact that I'm writing this in November means I'm probably already screwed for reservations. Anyhow, are there are any recommendations to meet for Thanksgiving? My radius stretches from Springfield to Hartford to Stockbridge.
Needs recs for Newport - guys weekend
Myself and friends from college are having a guys weekend coming up and I could use some recommendations for a group dinner, 10 or so. Looking for something besides the Red Parrot or Brick Alley I think. Cost is not a factor, but we'd also lean towards casual rather than formal. Tastes are all over the board.
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Red Parrot
348 Thames St, Newport, RI 02840
Where can I buy heart+lung in hartford, ct or springfield, ma area?
Try New Boston Beef in Thompson CT. Their website advertises "select cuts available".
http://www.newbostonbeef.com
Enricos in Sturbridge..
I've been there 2x in the last few weeks. It's easily the best pizza for miles (and miles) around. The only downside is the seating area is small and fills up quickly at night. Guess it'll have to be take-out!
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Enricos Brick Oven Pizzeria
500 Main St, Sturbridge, MA 01518
Lunch before CT Wine Trail
I'd suggest lunch at 85 Main in Putnam, then on to Sharpe Hill. The wineries in the Stonington area are then fairly close.
Also see http://www.ctwine.com/
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85 Main
85 Main St, Putnam, CT 06260
Good place to eat away from the crowd after college graduation in Worcester
O'Connor's in West Boylston is minutes north of Worcester. Dino's is decent Italian and is just off Plantation St. Also Cafe Trattoria Espresso is good and BYOB, but I don't know how early they open for late lunch/early dinner. With good highway access, Il Forno in Westboro is very central too.
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Il Forno Restaurant
765 W Main St, Branford, CT 06405
Salem, MA recommendations
Get there early and park in the municipal garage. From there the rest of the town is easily accessible.
Wedding thoughts on Paddy's, Misquamicut or Mystic Aquarium...or others?
My suggestion is Eisenhower House in Newport. We did that for our wedding and it worked out very well. Catered with a lobster boil, great view to boot.
We also looked at Mt Hope Farm in Bristol. Awesome view and three different sites available, one on the water and two inland.
I've been to a wedding at Blithewold Mansion in Bristol. That was spectacular.
There are several wineries in the area also; Sakonnet and Greenvale are the more picturesque.
Fast Food Chains in CT- What's best?
Try Rein's Deli off 84 in Vernon or West Springfield. Not a chain per say but worth the trip.
Five Guys Nashua opening Oct. 12!!!
A Five Guys recently opened in Marlboro and I went a few weeks ago. It was a damn good fast food burger. I love the choice of toppings offered. The fries were excellent, and they have vinegar on the counter, which suits these fries well. The burger was a hair better than a Wendy's burger on their best day, and superior to McD's or BK any day.
Worcester-pre or post Opera (on screen)-Best Italian/Tapas choices
Bocado Tapas generally gets good reviews on this board, although I haven't been personally.
For Italian, either Via or Il Forno are both good. Via is more upscale, and Il Forno is just plain solid. I've been to both and been very happy with the meal. Il Forno is BYOB.
Need simple ideas for Burlington VT?
I'll be visiting with family this weekend and would love some restaurant ideas. I've coined the term "CAFE" to describe what we're looking for; cheap, American, family, easy.
If there's something out there besides Applebee's, I'd love to hear your suggestion. These aren't my food preferences; I just need to accommodate the entire crowd. Thanks!
Ethnic lunch in Worcester?
Others on the board have mentioned One Love Cafe on Main St. I've never been. It's Jamaican cuisine.
Mexican in Worcester - 2 reviews
Apparently. When we got there they were out of the Cochinita. More reason to return.
Mexican in Worcester - 2 reviews
Had the opportunity to try Mexican on consecutive weekends. Here's the skinny;
Mezcal - Place was packed on a Friday night. We had a big party (16) and they handled us admirably, but this place isn't meant for big groups. Parties of 2-4 are better off. Decent but overpriced margaritas. Good salsa and guac. Entrees were hit and miss. My chile relenos were ok. Carne asada was great, as was the duck special. Apps such as corn and lobster fritters, queso, and pork taquitos were good to excellent. One friend had a burrito and did not like it. In short, this place is trying to blend traditional Mexican fare with a trendy fusion dishes, resulting in a mixed experience for our group. I'd go back but wouldn't knock myself out to get there.
Baja Grill - Small on looks, big on taste. Saturday night dinner for 4, no waiting, plenty of empty seats. Salsa and chips were average. Good apps - taquitos, tamales, queso. Very good paella. My companion asked them to prepare it without ancho chiles and they obliged, as each dish is made fresh. Decent steak fajitas with excellent home made corn tortillas, but needed to ask for more; they're coaster-sized. Good burrito and quesadilla said my companions. Service was attentive for the most part, but there is room for improvement. We needed to ask for silverware, and the waiter seemed to forget that we hadn't ordered our entrees once the apps came. It's BYOB so the bill was cheap, maybe $60 for 4. Look past the lack of decor and go for the food. I'll definitely go back here to try the other menu items.
Good Friday Fish In Worcester
There's Harry's in Westboro, but it will be crowded and they only take cash. I've heard the Boynton has good seafood also.
Or you could head up to O'Connor's in W. Boylston, they have many good fish options also. There's also West Boylson Seafood. It looks small and casual, but could be a diamond in the rough.
Mystic restaurant for college tour
As a graduate of Conn College, I can appreciate the need for a good off campus dinner spot. The places you try now could be the spots you go to again on parents weekends in the future. On a college student's budget, most of my off-campus meals were Chinese or pizza, so anything else was a luxury.
Paul's Pasta is in the CoCo off-campus go-to hall of fame. The fact that its still there 15 years after my college years is a testament to its quality. Try the spaghetti pie.
Go Fish is good. I recall the Daniel Packer Inn in Mystic to be very good, albeit pricey. If you want some cheaper local seafood, either Sea Swirl or Cove Fish Market might be open by that time of the year.
Good Mexican Food?
Casa Mariachi in Putnam CT is shaping up to be a hidden gem. I've been twice in the last month or so. I had basic taco entrees both times, but they were good. Bottomless chips and salsa is also a crowd pleaser. It has a deep menu selection and my friends who've been to Mexico say the food holds up to authentic. It was crowded both times we went, though Putnam doesn't have much to choose from, so anything different from the norm gets some attention. We were even lucky enough to get free tequila shots on one visit. The only downside I saw from my visits is the service. On my first visit, it took over 15 minutes for the waiter to take our drink orders after being seated. More of a fluke, as once they started attending to us, they didn't slip up.
Any good restaurants between Worcester and Mystic?
I second the suggestion of 85 Main in Putnam. Limited menu choices, but very good food, and a decent bottled beer selection (for the area).
For a more mainstream menu, try the Courthouse. Its just down the road from 85 Main. Serves typical pub food, steaks, some fish, pasta etc...I've never been "wowed", but never disappointed either. The menu offers a wide set of choices for a variety of eaters.
Brief review of Sakura Steak House - Middletown RI
My friends and I ate there Saturday night. We had hoped to go to Sea Shai, but the Middletown location is closed for the winter and since we were close, it was more of a last resort since we had sushi on the brain.
For the purpose of this review, I'm only concerned about sushi, as that's all I had. The sushi eaters split 2 sushi boats and 2 special rolls. Each boat was @ 30 pieces and 2 rolls for $50. The sashimi and rolls were good, but nothing extraordinary. The salmon still had ice crystals in it. The highlight was the special rolls. We ordered the Twister and Thames rolls. Both were awesome. I wanted more special rolls.
The service was horrible. I know this place is new, but c'mon. When she asked about drinks, I spoke first and ordered, and then she walked away without taking anyone else's drink order! The mixed drinks are overpriced and the margarita my wife got was horrible. Basically, the waitress didn't want to be bothered by our needs.
All in all, an average eating experience.
Singapore Sling: Which Gin?
I prefer Bombay Sapphire for gin and tonics but it would be wasted in a Singapore Sling. For mixed drinks, try normal Bombay, or maybe Tanqueray Rangpur Lime.
Westboro route 9 not to miss?
Harry's is great seafood and other stuff. Cash only though.
I like Il Forno. Casual and good italian and BYOB.
Worcester area - date spots cozy/comfy
I'd suggest Cafe Dolce on Shrewsbury St. for either dessert and coffee.
Avoid Cafe L'Elizabeth's in Providence
Ugh. Where to begin. Myself, my wife, and three other couples went this past weekend for dessert during Waterfire. Never again.
The prices aren't on the menu and we didn't ask. Our bad. Buyer beware from now on.
The atmosphere is quaint at first glance, but when you look beyond the mismatched furniture from your Aunt Ruth's house, you'll see it to be dingy and rundown.
The Sir Thomas chocolate dessert was average at best. It could have been Sara Lee pound cake for all I know, but the whipped cream was good. My friend had the torte cake and said it was good. They were out of the cheesecake special, so my friend ordered plain cheesecake and said it was very good. The coffee drinks were average.
They were out of milk for the tea, but provided half/half. They didn't bring sugar, we had to ask. The credit card machine was down, so we were all lucky to have enough cash.
We ordered 4 pots of tea, 3 coffees with liquor, 1 soda, and 4 desserts. Grand total = $170. The cheapest item was a $6 can of Coke, the coffees were more than 2x that. They automatically added a 20% tip for our group of 8, although the service didn't merit that much. When my friend asked one of the hosts about the accuracy of the soda cost, the man didn't return with an answer.
This was a somewhat spontaneous decision to visit. I had been 8-10 years ago and remembered it to be a charming place with great desserts. I didn't even know if it was still in business, but as were were out already walking for Waterfire, I had no means to research and had to draw from memory. If I had prepared, I would have checked the web beforehand. In doing so, I would have found most people had the same experience (or worse) and I could have saved my friends and myself a quite a bit of money.
This place offers average food and mediocre service for criminally high prices. In fact, our dinner earlier (for 10 people) at Uno's was less $. Even if you have money to burn, you can do better elsewhere.
Breakfast in Sturbridge, MA
Annie's is very good but typically crowded. Churchill's on Route 20 west past the Pike ramps serves typical breakfast fare also, and is open later.
Surya on Shrewsbury St. in Worcester?
So my friends and I went to Surya last weekend. We were a party of 10 and got seated immediately. The place was pretty empty, so I can tell that the booming chow biz on Shrewsbury St. is leaving them a bit behind. They're also tucked into a little strip plaza and harder to find.
The group ordered mostly the basics, like nan and Chicken Vindaloo and Tika Masala. All of it was just spicy enough to please. Everyone was satisfied with their meals and went home full. The service was a bit on the slow side, and orders were brought out as they were done, rather than all at once. At least this means the food was always hot from the oven. We'll definitely go back when we're in the mood for Indian cuisine again.
Quick question re Kitchen Little in Mystic, CT
From everything I've heard and seen, yes, expect some waiting. Make sure to have cash, and try for a seat at the counter.
Surya on Shrewsbury St. in Worcester?
How is this place? How about other suggestions for good Indian food in Worcester/Central MA? The place needs to be reasonably priced and can sit a group of 8-10 for dinner. Thanks!
Wedding Venues in a beach town for 150 people?
Congrats! Here's my take...Rent the Eisenhower House in Fort Adams State Park for (IMO) the best view in Newport. Set up gifts, cocktails and apps inside, then rent a tent for the outside and hire a caterer for the sitdown. The house is very affordable. Lots of good catering options in Newport to boot.
2nd choice would be Blithewold Gardens in Bristol. I've also heard the Octagon on First Beach is great.
Also consider renting a cruise ship from Bay Queen, Warren RI. You're inside, with windows, on the water.
