Food
Recipes, Restaurant Reviews, and More ...
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Lunch at Fritz, Keene, NH
After picking up my nephew at the bus station, we decided to have lunch. Fritz was very close by, and I was aware of the restaurant because they host an open mike. It had been on my list of places to scope out for quite a while. I ordered the cheeseburger and fries. My nephew ordered fries and a turkey club sandwich. The portion was generous and they were fresh and tasty. My burger was fine, but nothing out of this world. My nephew said he liked the club sandwich a lot. I do want to give Fritz some kudos for being one of the few “sandwich” restaurants I’ve come across…
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Lunch at Solea, Waltham, MA
After shopping in Waltham at an Indian grocery called Patel Brothers, we decided to give Solea a try for lunch, for a couple of reasons. First, we’d never eaten there before, and second, we had been invited to a potluck Tapas party on Sunday, and we were looking for a little inspiration. Sadly to say, we didn’t find it at Solea. My wife and I shared five Tapas plates: baked goat cheese with tomato & basil; snails; a Spanish antipasto platter, a moroccan sheherd’s pie, and a fifth dish so bland that neither of us remember what it actually was. Our choices can charitably be described as a mixed bag. The…
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Dinner at the Gibbet Hill Grill, Groton, MA
On several occasions I’ve dined at the Gibbet Hill Grill in Groton, Massachusetts. This is a restaurant that never disappoints, and it has a menu that is right up my alley–red meat and lots of it! Opened in the fall of 2004, The Gibbet Hill Grill is family owned and offers up a nice variety of gourmet steaks–but for my money, it isn’t the the steaks that makes this place special. Tucked into the menu are several items that place the cuisine here squarely into what can best be described as a gourmet version of American/New England comfort food. From the grilled farmhouse cheeses or the braised short ribs on the…
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The Northern Tip of America’s Pizza Belt
Living in New England places me squarely at the northern tip of America’s pizza belt, a region defined by New York food critic and Iron Chef windbag Jeffrey Steingarten as stretching from Philadelphia in the south to Boston in the north, roughly spread out along the Interstate 95 corridor. Major stops along the Pizza Belt include Phildaelphia, Trenton, New York, New Haven, Providence, and Boston, with each exacting their own regional influence on what is arguably America’s favorite ethnic fast food. Steingarten describes the predominant style of pizza along the pizza belt as Neopolitan-American, and credits the existence of the pizza belt to the influx of southern Italian immigrants into this…
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Brunch at the Highland Kitchen, Somerville, MA
A couple of Sundays ago we had a family brunch at the Highland Kitchen in Somerville, Massachusetts. My wife Elisa had found some online reviews that were quite favorable, so we made reservations. Tucked away on Highland Avenue and owned by Chef Mark Romano, formerly of the Green Street Grill, the Highland Kitchen is a perfect example of an inexpensive neighborhood eatery that serves up exceptional food. When we arrived there were quite a few people waiting to be seated–reservations are only provided for parties of six or more. I ordered the chicken liver omelette with home fries. The omelette was among the best I’d ever had, and the home fries…
