Saturday, August 26, 2017

BRUNCH AT GASLIGHT IN BOSTON

JOE Saturday, August 26, 2017
Julia Child's raspberry shortbread
Omelette Lyonaisse
Entrance and outdoor patio
Gaslight
www.gaslight560.com 

Summer is winding down, but at restaurants like Gaslight in Boston's South End, customers can still find plenty of sunshine and cool breezes. Eat Up New England was lucky enough to enjoy Saturday brunch on their outdoor patio. The spacious stone patio is dotted with tables and umbrellas. There are string lights above. Geraniums and petunias provide added summer ambiance. It is the perfect setting for the perfect French-inspired meal.

 Gaslight's prix fixe brunch is the best deal in town at just $11.95 per person. The meal starts off with TWO drinks. Choose your juice: orange or grapefruit. Choose your caffeine: coffee or tea. Then, my favorite, Julia Child's spiced shortbread with raspberry jam. It's a fantastic sweet treat before the main course arrives. There are usually four options, including omelets, scrambled eggs and vanilla French toast. The French toast is FANTASTIC, but this visit I ordered the Omelette Lyonaisse, which is filled with caramelized onions, gruyere cheese and potatoes.

Gaslight serves brunch on Saturdays and Sundays all year. Eat Up New England highly recommends getting a meal or two in on that patio before the cold weather moves in. , , ,

Tuesday, August 22, 2017

WELCOME BACK SWEET TOMATOES!

JOE Tuesday, August 22, 2017
Open again
Sweet Tomatoes in West Newton, Massachusetts is finally back open. The popular pizza place has been closed for 18 months after a car crashed through their building and killed two people. 

 Eat Up New England enjoyed a couple of their HUGE slices for lunch today. It was very busy. I also overheard a few people congratulating the owners on their re-opening. ,

Wednesday, August 16, 2017

NEW FOODS AND FAN FAVORITES COMING TO THIS YEAR'S BIG E

JOE Wednesday, August 16, 2017
The Big E
September 15-October 1, 2017
www.thebige.com

This Big E is less than one month away. The annual fair in West Springfield, Massachusetts will feature all sorts of new foods to try, along with fair favorites.

A Belgian Waffle Sandwich will be served by Amy's Sweet Treats for the first time this year. It will be made of two thin waffles with Neapolitan hard ice in between them. Also new, Porky's will be serving up at BBQ Brisket Sundae. Hofbrau's Joe's will be serving up a Burger Bomb, a burger topped with cheese, bacon, onions and sauerkraut before being wrapped in pastry dough and deep fried! The West Springfield Lions Club with be offering their Flatliner Burger, two layers of cheeseburger and chili. topped with fries, cheese sauce and bacon. For dessert, Deep Fried Holy Cannoli will be on the menu at Coffee Break. 

 The foods fairgoers know and love will be making a return. Marion's Fried Dough will be making Deep Fried Oreos. The Donut Family will have their Cinnamon Caramel Apple Mini Donuts. Poutine Gourmet will be serving plenty of poutine. Moolicious will be making their Blueberry Pierogi Sundaes.

Stop by on September 15 to see V-One Vodka make the world's largest Cosmo. The drink will be made in front of the crowd and smaller portions will be sold for $10 with proceeds going to the Cancer House of Hope in West Springfield. There will also be a Sam Adams Brew Garden with pub food and salads, while the New England Craft Beer Pub will have lobster mac 'n cheese, beef stew, popovers and a fair favorite called Beer-Amisu.





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Sunday, August 13, 2017

BIG BEER SELECTION & COMFORT FOOD MENU AT THE BREWERS COALITION

JOE Sunday, August 13, 2017
California Club
Many of their draft beers are served in mason jars.
Beer bottles line the wall.
Brewers Coalition
brewerscoalition.com
Newton, MA

Brewers Coalition in Newton, Massachusetts describes itself as a "neighborhood restaurant and bar with a focus on craft beer." This is a restaurant for beer lovers. They always have so many varieties on tap, like Narragansett's Del's Shandy, Eat Up New England's favorite summer shandy. If you can't decide on what to drink, go for their Brewers Beer Browser, with 5-ounce pours of any four draft beers you'd like. They also list their current draft beer selection on their website.

 Their menu goes along nicely with their beers. I often make a meal out of their sliders, three mini burgers with a pile of their homemade fries. I also enjoy their California Club, which is stuffed with chicken, bacon, avocado and tomatoes. Appetizers include nachos, calamari, chicken quesadilla, wings and edamame. Brewers Coalition has many meal-sized salads like their Coalition Stuffed Wedge and Roast Chicken & Apple Salad. They also offers many "Specialties," which tend to change throughout the year. For summer, they have dishes like fish & chips, baby back ribs, mac & cheese, penne ala vodka and a black & bleu sirloin. One year, they featured a tasty turkey & stuffing wrap around Thanksgiving.

Brewers Coalition cooks up Sunday brunch most of the year, except during the summer.  Check out their other two restaurants, John Brewers Tavern in Malden and Waltham, Mass. , ,

Tuesday, August 08, 2017

EAT UP NEW ENGLAND FINALLY TRIES SONIC

JOE Tuesday, August 08, 2017
The many options at Sonic's drive-thru.
#4 Combo Meal
Sonic in Peabody, Mass

Sonic
www.sonicdrivein.com
Locations: Stoughton, Somerset and Smithfield, RI

 Sonic has been slowly expanding in New England for a few years. Eat Up New England has always wanted to try out this national chain and FINALLY got to. I went though the drive-thru of their Peabody, Massachusetts location. The lunch line went fast on a quiet summer Monday. Customers can also eat inside or outside in their cars, where carhops will deliver the fast food on roller skates.

I ordered the #4 combo meal: a Bacon Cheeseburger Toaster with tots and a small lemonade. The burger was sinfully good, stuffed with lettuce, BBQ sauce, a large onion ring, cheese, bacon, and pickles. The tots were crispy on the outside, yet soft and flavorful on the inside.

So, besides the tots, what puts Sonic on the map? They have a massive selection of drinks.  There are several frozen lemonades and limeades. They have slushes in every flavor imaginable. Sonic also has candy slushes, like a Green Apple Jolly Rancher with Hard Candy. Many of these drinks are half off during happy hour. They also have a bunch for hot dogs on their menu like their Chili Cheese Coney, Chicago Dog and Cheesy Bacon Pretzel Dog. Yes, you can even get a corn dog. For dessert, there are milkshakes, waffle ice cream cones and a bunch of candy bar concretes. , ,

Monday, August 07, 2017

KICKING OFF "DINE OUT BOSTON" AT STREGA IN THE NORTH END

JOE Monday, August 07, 2017
Course 1: Calamari
Course 2: Fettuccini Carbonara
Course 3: Tiramisu
Strega on Hanover Street
Strega
www.stregaristorante.com

Dine Out Boston is in full swing, and there is no better place to kick off restaurant week than in the North End. Strega is offering a three-course lunch menu for just $20. 

We had the best table in the house. Up front, with the window open on a beautiful summer day. It was only made better by this fine food and a parade that just happened to be passing by.

The meal started with their delicious olive bread, olive oil and olives. For course one, I enjoyed their light and fresh calamari, which is served with plenty of warm sauce. I really enjoyed their fettuccini carbonara for my main course. The pasta was homemade and the sauce was perfectly creamy. For dessert, I choose the cold and refreshing tiramisu over a cannoli.

Dine Out Boston is going from August 6-11 and 13-18.  Log on to DineOutBoston.com to check out menus from restaurants in Boston and the 'burbs. , , , ,

Friday, August 04, 2017

OREO COOKIE MONSTER AT MARYLOU'S

JOE Friday, August 04, 2017
Oreo Cookie Monster
Marylou's Coffee
www.marylous.com

 Marylou's Coffee is one of Eat Up New England's favorite local chains. It's known for their unique flavored coffees like Banana Split, Butterfinger, Chocolate Mint Cookie, Strawberry Shortcake, to name just a few. Eat Up New England's favorite non-caffeinated drink is their Oreo Cookie Monster. I often order it at their Sagamore Beach location before spending the day at the beach. It's so cool, refreshing and amazingly tasty. , ,
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