Chow in the Western Burbs

Question

Would love to hear of some faves in west of Waltham...Concord, Sudbury, Wayland, Weston, Bedford. I like:
Walden Grille, Concord
51 Main Street Maynard
Acapulcos, Sudbury
Coach Grill, Wayland
Dalia's, Bedford
Little Pusan, Maynard

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walden grille
Concord, MA, Concord, MA

Answer

Christopher's in Maynard and Coach Grille in Sudbury are both good and Luigi's and Lotus Blossom are both passable.

Answer

Green Tea 2 in framingham - very hot and fresh chinese/seafood/dimsum
Sichuan gourmet framningham - spicy chinese-sichuan style www.greenteaframingham.com
Peking Tokyo - west acton - excellent takeout Chinese - i order off the chinese menu for authentic dishes http://www.pekingtokyoasianrestaurant.com/menu
Twin Seafood - Concord - Fresh fried seafood and fish&chips for takeout www.twinseafoodofreading.com
Dairy Joy - Weston/Hudson - excellent onion rings, fish sandwich, cant afford the $35 large ala carte clams.
Hudson super buffet- Chinese buffet place but the chinese food isnt all that good. I like to go once in a while for the all you can eat crab legs, oysters, clams, shrimp.
Kimballs Ice cream- Westford http://www.kimballfarm.com/
Bamboo Chinese - Westford. I like this for the Sunday night dinner buffet. All you can eat ginger scallion lobster!
Bedford House of Beef - Small sub place that makes great chicken kabob subs and ok fried seafood and roast beef sandwiches.
Uncle Cheungs - Framingham. Decent northern dim sum and specialties off the purple menu
Dominics - Waltham. Nice italian subs
Beijing Star - waltham. Order off the chinese menu only. 
Solea Tapas - waltham. www.solearestaurant.com 
Lotus Flower/Blossom - Framingham/Sudbury - fresh americanized chinese food. 
Escargot- Marlborough - small/quirky/ thai/french place in marlborough center. Easy to miss. Excellent food though.
SouthEast Asia - lowell. I love their spicy food and their buffet is great and cheap! I go just about every week. http://foodventure.com/Buffet.ASP

Answer

It's kind of a culinary wasteland around around these parts especially for dinner. But hey, I could live on Kimball's Ice Cream without needing to twist my arm very hard to get me over there.

Things get better as you get to Waltham and Arlington. Sel de la Terre is the only good dinner destination in my book if you don't want to drive eastward a few miles.

For lunch, Concord has a lot of GREAT options: Cheese Shop, La Provence, Farfalle, Sally Ann's.

Answer

Cast Iron Kitchen in Maynard has taken over where the Quarterdeck Restaurant used to be (the Quarterdeck retail spot still occupies the space next door). Anyway, I checked it out this week and was very pleased - nice comfort-food based menu, very reasonable prices ( $9.50 for a great burger with awesome fries) and excellent beers on tap (Allagash White, a Gearys & a Gritty's option, Magic Hat). They have done a really nice job with the space and everything coming out of the kitchen looked good. I hope they make it, it's a great neighborhood restaurant to have around. I think the waitstaff needs some polish (most of them seem young/green), but I will be back.

Answer

Every now and then you can read strings in here about northwest dining, but it really doesn't ever get much better.

For Concord, I'm not a big fan of Walden Grille, Vincenzo's, PapaRazzi (being kind with only "not a big fan"), but the Main Street Cafe and Serafina's have some good moments.

Maynard, I thought the beef at Christophers was good, but not much else. 51 Main is average, Monsoon is ok, and the Thai place at the end of Nason is ok.

There was a string recently about Dairy Joy in Weston. I've been, and I don't get it. I thought the food there was on par with Sierra's. I wondered when they last changed the fryolator oil.

Sudbury, love Oishii, Fugakyu is pretty good, Sky is pretty good, Sierra's is as close to bad as I've had in a long time.

While I love living in this area, I mostly go elsewhere for food.

Answer

For anyone closer to the Maynard/Stow area, take 62 the other direction into Hudson. You can get a nice meal at Chloe's and Sophia's.

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Chloe An American Bistro
23 Main Street, Hudson, MA 01749

Sofia Ristorante
158 Main St, Hudson, MA

Answer

Had dinner tonight at the Cast Iron Kitchen in Maynard. In short it was killer. Nice cozy ambiance. Friendly waitstaff. Chilpotle Squash soup was outstanding. My wife had the Tuna Steak and I had the Short Ribs; both were as good as I've had and the presentation was gorgeous. We split a fruit tart for dessert; it was out of the ordinary with a balsamic based sauce...fresh, subtle and delicious. And all reasonably priced with parking out front.

Answer

There is great food in Concord at Serafina's. Try the bar menu. Fabulous. I have eaten there since they opened and have never had a disappointing meal.

Also, no one mentioned Bullfinch's in Sudbury. Outstanding and a hidden gem.

Answer

In down town Maynard a new sub shop openned up-Willys Phillys- the subs and onion rings are very good--not cheap! I thought okay another sub place in Maynard-but it is very good and a little different!

Answer

I tried CIK in Maynard this past Friday night and my experience was quite similar to some of the other CHers. I thought the food was pretty good--quite good in some cases--but the decor is off-putting and the service untrained and clumsy at best. The prices are very reasonable and the portions are substantial. I liked little touches like the warm pistachios before the meal came and the little conversation starter cards at each table. We ordered several starters: the tuna tartare on panko-breaded nori crisps. the fried baby artichokes, shrimp with garlic and butternut squash and chipotle soup. The first three were terrific but I thought the soup was disappointing. First of all, wrong season! Second, tasted a lot like pumpkin pie filling without any of the smokey spiciness that chipotle should have brought. We shared an order of the steak frites and after the first order came out while we were eating appetizers (sent back), we received a brand new plate with hot, crisp hand-cut fries and perfectly cooked flat iron steak. I thought the shallot, mustard sauce was spot on. I just returned from a trip to Paris where I had several versions of steak frites that didn't compare. Desserts are not a strong point, don't bother. We tried the chocolate lava cake and it was completely forgettable. Wine list is interesting and very reasonably priced. Lots of convenient on street parking. For those in the western burbs--Concord, Acton, Sudbury, Framingham, Weston, Wayland, Stowe--it's well worth a visit.

Answer

We were regulars at the Quarterdeck so decided to give Cast Iron Kitchen a try. The decor is unchanged, but everything else is new. We loved the menu - strong Tapas (small plates), creative salads, and great beer and wine list. The bartender sent over a nice sample of a few beers and we started with the Fried Artichoke Hearts - nice starter with a pleasant Aioli sauce. Unfortunately it went down hill from there. The Sizzling Shrimp Tapas was made with "boiled", water-logged shrimp that I think had been stir-fried last second in a garlic sauce. Fresh, raw shrimp - quickly sauteed would have prevented this travesty. My husband's Chili was good, the Romaine Salad - just average.

This place has potential. The menu is really fresh, creative and fun. They source their meats from Northeast Family Farms, and use Free-range Chickens. I think they need to follow through with "fresh" preparations. Lay off the pepper and salt (lighter touch - please) and work to make their food as fresh and exciting as their menu. Next time we will eat at the Bar (great bartender), sample some of their great beers and give their tapas another try.

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Cast Iron Kitchen
177 Main Street, Maynard, MA 01754

Answer

We went back to 51 Main this weekend and it's still a bit erratic. The wine list has some interesting half-bottles on it, something we usually doesn't see in the burbs but we couldn't get the bartender to take our order and there were only a half-dozen people at the bar. He was very focused on unloading boxes of beer into the cooler! 

The hostess graciously accommodated our request to decline a table right near the kitchen and wait for a booth that was ready to become vacant. The waitress was efficient but not friendly, and the bacon-wrapped scallops were just great, as always. 

My partner's lamb chop was stunningly good, thick and cooked exactly right, but it was covered with a super-sweet apple cinnamon sauce, right out of a jar. He scraped off the sauce and enjoyed the chop very much.

The lowlight of the evening was the chicken marsala over pasta. The marsala sauce was also right out of the can/jar/bag. It was slick and shiny the way processed sauces are, and had just the barest chemical hint of marsala. Marsala sauce is cheap and easy to make from scratch, and can sit without breaking; why can't they make the real thing? The inconsistencies of the restaurants in the western burbs drive me crazy!

Answer

If you're talking out west, then it's Tomasso Trattoria for me...fresh, fresh, fresh...try the soppresata pizza...some people dream in color, I dream in soppresata. But the best part is that they have this market next door (Panzano), and you can pick up the best cheeses, wine, bread, and prepared foods...I can't talk about it anymore; I'm getting too hungry...gotta go, but take my advice...

Answer

Our favorites, belated, but there are some relatively recent posts...

Belle's Bistro, Westford
Chloe's Bistro, Hudson
Haven't been to Dalya's (Bedford) in a while, but enjoyed it. (Did our rehearsal dinner there.)

Christopher's isn't on our go-back-in-a-hurry list. Nor is 51 Main (both Maynard).

Places we've gone with both sets of out-of-state parents and our kids, but not for, say, our anniversary: 
Il Forno (Acton) and Atlantic Sea Grill (Acton).

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Belle's Bistro
2 Power Rd, Westford, MA 01886

Answer

I live in Sudbury. If we're in the mood for a good but not fancy dinner, we typically head over to Maynard, to Blue Coyote. Way above average pub food and a good beer selection. You *must* try their pork bbq quesadillas! 

We also like Monsoon a lot. Finding a great Indian place is hard in the Boston area, but Monsoon is pretty good.

For Mexican we like Acapulco, which seems to attract a fair number of Hispanic eaters, so I assume it's kind of authentic but who knows... We live in walking distance to Sierra's on Rt 177, but the only reason I would go there is the Margaritas, the food is awful.

Bullfinch on Rt 20 is quite good too and has a nice atmosphere but in my mind a bit pricey relative to the quality of the food.

Arguably the best dinner you can get in Sudbury is at the two Japanese restaurants, Fugakyu and Oiishii Two. I don't see much difference in quality between the two but I like the decor of Fugakyu better, and it is a bit less pricey. Fugakyu is our favorite lunch place.

Another Asian restaurant in Sudbury I can recommend is Sweet Pepper, the Thai restaurant on Rt 20. It used to be our favorite place in Sudbury but for a couple of years the quality of the food had gone down south. A couple of months we went back and were surprised that it was back to the previous standards. Will try it again.

Stay away from Lotus Blossom. It was great when we moved to Sudbury 12 years ago but those days are long gone. Greasy, westernized Chinese.

Other places in the Metrowest area we like:
- Chloe's Bisto in Hudson. Never had a bad meal there.
- Lumiere in Newton. The best high end French outside of Boston (of course can't hold the candle to L'Espalier)
- Sel de la Terre at the Natick Mall. Great Mediterranean
- Dalya's in Bedford. Nice decor in the main downstairs dining area, bland in the upstairs rooms
- Aegean in Framingham. There is no authentic, upscale Greek in the Boston area, this place is reasonably close, and they have Retsina!
- Last week, we tried Not Your Average Joe on Rt 27 in Acton and were pleasantly surprised.

I know I am going to be blasted for it, but if you have kids, the place to go is Bugaboo Creek in Framingham. Just relax, go with the flow, have a large ice-cold beer, and the talking animals don't seem so bad anymore. Plus, compared to other, way more expensive steakhouse chains, the food there is actually surprisingly good.

Answer

Can't really go wrong with any place on Moody St in Waltham, here are some of favs in the neighborhood:

Erawan of Siam
Tuscan Grill
Sadies - great bar food
Guanachapi's (River St Location, better than Moody) - great real Mexican/C.A. food
La Campagnia

The only thing we are really missing here is a GREAT Chinese place, but you can go to Rice Valley, one town over!

Answer

Had dinner at La Campania in Waltham last night. Solid as usual. Great food, served in a casual country Italian atmosphere... excellent caring service... and a fine, almost exclusively Italian, wine list. I can't think of a place anywhere in the area that matches up. Boston pricing, but they deliver on every level.

Also, like the Coach Grill in Wayland. Straight forward steak house and they do a nice job... although haven't been there in a while.

Answer

There are a few outstanding (and pricy restaurants) west of Boston. The best would be a tossup between Maxwells148(Natick), La Campania(Waltham), followed closely by Il Capriccio(Waltham) and Lumiere(Newton)...they are all excellent fine dining experiences 

Dalya in Bedford is great...middle east and Mediteranean...Have not gone to Sel dela terre in Natick,,,the one by the water in Boston is a culinary marvel. Scutra in Arlington is pretty good too(Flemish or Belgium...like french country).

Some excellent, less pricy places:
La Buena Vita in Arlington( great Sauces and different variety)
Zocalo in Arlington( The best Mexican food...the usual enchiladas but try the stuffed poblanos for a different treat, especiually with Mole)
Great Wall in Bedford has good specials every day but most people get the buffet
Luigi in Bedford a real value...get the mussels appetizer and you cant beat their wine prices
Not Your average Joes in Lexington(they do most sandwiches salads and pizza well and have incredibly tender fried calimari- I hate chains(well the idea of chains ...but I like Legal and Mccormick and schmicks and some of the steak houses)
Gingers in Bedford has nice Japanese and pretty reasonable.
I like the Burgers and salads at the Forge Room with jazz in the colonial Inn in concord...

Answer

We had dinner last night at Serafina in Concord, and as usual it was uneven. The sea scallops with butternut squash risotto were well-done to overcooked, which works for me but probably wouldn't for most. The squash in the risotto was not cooked enough; the grainy squash texture was jarring compared to the creaminess of the risotto. My husband's sirloin was really grisly, and the accompanying mushrooms tasted vinegary.

My biggest complaint at Serafina's is the service. The young hostess looked and acted like she wanted to be anywhere else but at the restaurant, and our waitress was brusque to the point of unprofessional. The odd thing is that the women working the packed (as always) bar go out of their way to be friendly and accommodating, so pretty much all other staff suffer in comparison.

They ought to expand the bar in that place. Every time we go, there's barely room to stand in the bar, and the dining room is two-thirds empty, and no one ever seems to leave the bar to go to a table!

Answer

Call me crazy, but I quite enjoyed Joe's American B&G in Framingham last night. The meatloaf was outstanding, and the bite of cod I tried was terrific as well.

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