LOBSTER TOUR: LOBSTER SLIDERS AT COOK

The weather is hot and humid. Cool off by having these lobster sliders at Cook in Newton, Massachusetts. The cold lobster salad is nestled between two rolls. It's served with a mesclun salad and homemade potato chips. Eat Up New England recommends a Clown Shoes Clementine beer to go along with it.

@cookrestaurant

GOODBYE TO GRAPPA

Grappa's Chocolate Bomba

For years, Grappa in Watertown, Massachusetts was one of Eat Up New England's favorite spots for Italian. It was so intimate. The food was delicious. The owner remembered us every time we stopped by for dinner. But this Valentine's Day, something had changed.
Eat Up NE had reservations. When we arrived on Saturday night, we were forced to wait with two other couples in the freezing cold entryway. The two servers were unfamiliar. 15 minutes went by and they paid no attention to us. When one of them finally checked in on us, her demeanor was cold. She told us we had to wait even longer. It didn't matter that it was Valentine's Day night and we had reservations. We left and ate somewhere else, promising we would never return. We never did.

Last week, it was reported that Grappa was shutting down. Eat Up NE is not at all surprised based on the last visit. Who knows what happened. It seems like there was new management in place. It's a shame. Grappa is a textbook example of how a perfectly good restaurant can go downhill so fast.

MORTENSEN'S ICE CREAM CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

Mortensen's Ice Cream is celebrating 100 years in business. Yesterday, their shop in Newington, Connecticut celebrated by handing out free soft serve ice cream cones. Mortensen's has been family-owned since 1915 when Elmer Mortensen was delivering milk door to door. Check out Eat Up New England's archives for more on this special place.

DELICIOUS CIDER DONUTS, COFFEE & MORE AT BOLTON ORCHARDS

Eat Up New England discovered Bolton Orchards today while passing through Bolton, Massachusetts.  This place has everything you need. They have huge bins of apples, vegetables, jams, cheeses, pies and everything you'd expect to see for sale at an orchard. They also have an Italian bakery with pastries, cookies and cakes. There's a deli with sandwiches made fresh. They also have soups, salads and pizza. There's also a small coffee shop, Red Barn Coffee Café, with hot and iced coffees, teas, hot cider, hot chocolate and lattes. Eat Up NE recommends their chocolate raspberry hot coffee.

For the summer, customers can enjoy ice cream from their outdoor ice cream window. Choose from more than 30 flavors from Attleboro's Bliss Dairy. Eat Up NE recommends their wild blueberry crumble. They also sell pints/gallons of ice cream.  No trip to an orchard is complete without a cider donut. You can see them made fresh Fridays-Sundays. We bought a half dozen and they were still warm and crisp, covered with cinnamon. Bolton Orchards also sells bottles of their cold apple cider. You can try some for just 5 cents a cup!

www.boltonorchards.net

EAT UP IN NYC: ANOTHER TRIP TO BECCO

Eat Up's favorite spot in NYC is Lidia Bastianich's Becco. I've blogged about this superb Italian eatery before and had to go back on a recent trip to the city. Once again, I ordered three pastas. Everyday, dinners are treated to endless portions of three different pastas. This time, it was spaghetti with marina, penne with beef and vegetarian cannelloini. As your plate empties, the servers just keep offering you more and more pasta. It's truly amazing. A delicious and always memorable dining experience.

www.becco-nyc.com

POTBELLY'S

Potbelly is one of eat Up New England's favorite national sandwich chains, discovered on a trip to Washington, D.C. several years ago. There are now several locations in Massachusetts including Boston, Burlington and Cambridge. EUNE's favorite sandwich to order is their "Pizza Sandwich." It's stuffed with meatballs, pepperoni, capicola, mushrooms, provolone cheese and marina sauce. It's soooo good warmed up. It really is like having a pizza in sandwich form. Try one along with one of their famous milkshakes that comes with a cookie on its straw.

www.potbelly.com
@potbelly

EAT UP IN NYC: FILL UP YOUR PLATE AT MANGIA

Mangia is the perfect place for busy New Yorkers to grab a healthy, filling and home-cooked meal on the go. Eat Up New England recently enjoyed lunch at one of their locations. They'll make sandwiches, salads or coffee for you, but EUNE went for their tempting hot and cold buffet. There are huge plates of pasta salads, vegetable dishes, fruits and other Mediterranean favorites. Mangia also has rotating hot dishes every day. When EUNE was there, it was salmon and radiator with vegetables. Diners can also choose from several sliced breads for a side. If you have room for dessert after all of that, they offer endless possibilities. There are pies, tarts, cheesecakes, profiteroles and they all look so good!

www.mangiatogo.com
@Mangia_NYC

LOBSTER TOUR: BARLOW'S CLAM SHACK

Eat Up New England's Lobster Tour stops by Barlow's Clam Shack in Buzzards Bay. This old-fashioned clam shack is located right across from the Cape Cod Canal. Signs posted read, "Wicked Good Lobster Rolls," so EUNE decided to give one a try. Their lobster rolls come with large pieces of lobster meat and a generous portion of fries. It was wicked good and you can't beat the price - just $13.99. You can eat your roll inside, outside on their patio or do what EUNE did and take it across the street and enjoy it by the water.

FOOD TRUCK WEDNESDAYS IN WATERTOWN, MA

Sunny days and tasty local food trucks seem to go hand in hand in the summer. Yesterday, Eat Up New England checked out Food Truck Wednesdays in the parking lot of the Arsenal Project in Watertown, Massachusetts. The Bacon Truck was there and I enjoyed a bacon grilled cheese and some bacon hash from them. Bon Me, Mobile Munch Kitchen, Uyghur Kitchen and Frozen Hoagies also take part. There's also live music. Food Truck Wednesdays are held from 11am-2pm through September 16.

EAT UP IN NYC: BROOKLYN BAGEL & COFFEE COMPANY

Bacon, egg and cheese on an everything bagel

BK Bagel has several locations. This is the line outside of their Chelsea store on a Sunday morning.

Choose from one of their many spreads for your bagel.

Sweet & salty: onion bagel with strawberry cheesecake cream cheese

Eat Up New England is just back from 4th of July weekend in New York City and there's a lot to share with you! Let's start out at Brooklyn Bagel & Coffee Company. This place is so popular that there are often lines out the door! They make all of their own HUGE New York bagels. There is every kind of bagel you can think of. They also have an enormous choice of toppings. Every week they have a cream cheese of the week. This week it's strawberry cheesecake, which I really liked. I also enjoyed one of their bagel sandwiches - a bacon, egg and cheese on an everything bagel. It was so filling that I barely had room for lunch! No bagel is complete without some coffee. They have a large coffee bar with hot and cold coffees. I enjoyed their hazelnut iced coffee. If you're not in the mood for a bagel, Brooklyn Bagel also has omelets, lunch sandwiches, soups and pasta salads.

www.bkbagel.com
@bkbagel

GET YOUR RED, WHITE AND BLUE BAGEL!

It wouldn't be the 4th of July with red, white and blue bagels at Bruegger's Bagels. The bagel shop is offering these patriotic bagels today and tomorrow like they do every year. Have a happy 4th of July from Eat Up New England!