http://www.rubytuesday.com/
My husband and I go to Ruby Tuesdays every other month or so. The one in Concord has changed it's decor to go along with it's new theme of Simple Fresh American Dining. All of the random objects were removed from the walls and was replaced with simple shapes and colors. It's warm, modern and inviting.
As usual we were seated by the hostess soon after we arrived. We got a booth on the right side of the restaurant. They had some new drinks on the menu as well as new specials. On one of the things on the table was a great Mother's Day idea. You can go there from the 9th to 11th and get an appetizer to share, salads, meals and a dessert to share for only 34.95. They also now have a drink of the day. The one for Tuesday looked great, but I don't drink during the week. It's the Ruby Relaxer: Skyy Vodka, Malibu Coconut Rum, DeKuyper Peach Schnapps, pineapple and cranberry juices, and fresh-squeezed orange juice.
Our waitress was a young girl, maybe in high school. She was really nice. She took our drink order and came back quickly. I ordered the freshly made lemonade in strawberry. I have tried most of them at this point. They are thick and yummy! My husband got a coke, as usual.
Then she took our dinner orders. I usually get the mini burgers with the salad bar for 8.99. It's a really good deal and the burgers are so cute and yummy. My husband decided to get the same thing. We headed up to the salad bar and made our choices. They've added this apple salad to the salad bar that is de-licious. I can't quite figure out what it is made with, but it's white (maybe yogurt), with chunks of apples and other yummy things. I always get a large portion of that with the regular salad stuff. My husband loves the pasta salad, although he just eats the pasta and picks out all of the veggies in it.
I hadn't even gotten through my salad when the burgers came out. The burgers are cute little guys with a pickle, cheese and onion straws on them. They also come with seasoned fries, but I don't usually eat too many of them. I saved the apple salad for dessert because I wanted to eat the burgers while they were warm. That worked out well. My lemonade had run out just after the mini burgers came out and without even saying anything the nice waitress brought me another one. Neither of us had room to try anything off the dessert menu, we were stuffed!
Over all the decor change is great, the waitress was awesome and the food was delicious. There was only one thing that was not great. They had one of the waitresses vacuum the floor in our dining room with one of those swift broom things. She really didn't need to be doing that when people were trying to eat.
Over all I give Ruby Tuesdays in Concord 3.5 stars. It's a good chain restaurant.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Johnson's in Northwood, NH
http://www.johnsonsdairybar.com/
Tonight we got a call from the in-laws asking if we wanted to meet them at Johnson's so my husband said ok. I was already in the process of making fajitas, but we can have those another time I guess. So we hopped in the car and headed over to Johnson's. It's on Rt202 about 10 min. or so from the Epsom traffic circle. We thought we had some time getting over there because there is normally standing room only in the wait line at 5:00, but my in-laws had gotten right in and were waiting for us at a table. It was a good thing they got there when they did, as the parking lot was over flowing and there was a line already by the time we got there.
Johnson's has a country motif, with lots of light wood paneling and country red and green colors. We have been there many times and have always had great meals and service. Tonight was no different. The wait staff is usually young, which is fine. You have to be quick to work there, it's non stop at dinner and lunch. Our waitress was a teenage girl, who was nice. She came over and took our drink order first. I ordered a fresh brewed ice tea, everyone else ordered water. She came back quickly and gave us our drinks.
Then we ordered our appetizers. They bring you a soft round bread on a breadboard with butter when you arrive. The in-laws had finished most of it by the time we arrived. The piece I had was good. It was light and soft and tasted good. I always get the mushrooms, you get a TON and they are delicious and affordable at $5.99. My MIL got chowder. After she put that order in she came back to take our orders. My MIL got the baked haddock and fantail shrimp on special, I got the baked stuffed haddock, my husband got the chicken fingers meal and my FIL got the steak tips.
The appetizers came out pretty quickly. The plate of mushrooms was over flowing. The were lightly battered and just the right temperature. No one burned their mouth on the hot spots. It comes with a side of ranch dressing, that isn't very tasty. I prefer them in sour cream, especially when we have left overs. With the four of us trying some there were no left overs tonight :(
The meals came out about 15 minutes or so after we had finished our mushrooms. Everything was cooked to perfection. All of the condiments were also correct for what we had ordered. I've had the baked stuffed haddock there several times because it is SO DELICIOUS! I don't know how they cook it, but it is so light, fresh and covered in the best stuffing I've ever eaten. I usually don't get to most of of the sides, which for me was a baked potato and coleslaw. Tonight was no different than in the past, it was perfect! Everyone meals looked fantastic as well. The portions are great sized, leaving no one hungry. The steak tips also looked cooked to perfection and flavorful. One spoiled dog enjoyed a steak tip in the car, while another overweight and very spoiled dog enjoyed several chicken fingers at home. The bill was $78 for everything.
Johnson's is always clean, quick and delicious. We have never, ever received bad service there. The food is not too expensive and you get great portions. We've only had their ice cream twice, but it is quite delicious as well. I give Johnson's 4 stars out of 5.
Tonight we got a call from the in-laws asking if we wanted to meet them at Johnson's so my husband said ok. I was already in the process of making fajitas, but we can have those another time I guess. So we hopped in the car and headed over to Johnson's. It's on Rt202 about 10 min. or so from the Epsom traffic circle. We thought we had some time getting over there because there is normally standing room only in the wait line at 5:00, but my in-laws had gotten right in and were waiting for us at a table. It was a good thing they got there when they did, as the parking lot was over flowing and there was a line already by the time we got there.
Johnson's has a country motif, with lots of light wood paneling and country red and green colors. We have been there many times and have always had great meals and service. Tonight was no different. The wait staff is usually young, which is fine. You have to be quick to work there, it's non stop at dinner and lunch. Our waitress was a teenage girl, who was nice. She came over and took our drink order first. I ordered a fresh brewed ice tea, everyone else ordered water. She came back quickly and gave us our drinks.
Then we ordered our appetizers. They bring you a soft round bread on a breadboard with butter when you arrive. The in-laws had finished most of it by the time we arrived. The piece I had was good. It was light and soft and tasted good. I always get the mushrooms, you get a TON and they are delicious and affordable at $5.99. My MIL got chowder. After she put that order in she came back to take our orders. My MIL got the baked haddock and fantail shrimp on special, I got the baked stuffed haddock, my husband got the chicken fingers meal and my FIL got the steak tips.
The appetizers came out pretty quickly. The plate of mushrooms was over flowing. The were lightly battered and just the right temperature. No one burned their mouth on the hot spots. It comes with a side of ranch dressing, that isn't very tasty. I prefer them in sour cream, especially when we have left overs. With the four of us trying some there were no left overs tonight :(
The meals came out about 15 minutes or so after we had finished our mushrooms. Everything was cooked to perfection. All of the condiments were also correct for what we had ordered. I've had the baked stuffed haddock there several times because it is SO DELICIOUS! I don't know how they cook it, but it is so light, fresh and covered in the best stuffing I've ever eaten. I usually don't get to most of of the sides, which for me was a baked potato and coleslaw. Tonight was no different than in the past, it was perfect! Everyone meals looked fantastic as well. The portions are great sized, leaving no one hungry. The steak tips also looked cooked to perfection and flavorful. One spoiled dog enjoyed a steak tip in the car, while another overweight and very spoiled dog enjoyed several chicken fingers at home. The bill was $78 for everything.
Johnson's is always clean, quick and delicious. We have never, ever received bad service there. The food is not too expensive and you get great portions. We've only had their ice cream twice, but it is quite delicious as well. I give Johnson's 4 stars out of 5.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Kowloon
http://www.kowloonrestaurant.com/
The Kowloon is a famous Asian restaurant on Rt 1 in Saugus, MA. It is advertised and talked about on The Phantom Gourmet quite regularly. My husband and I used to drive by it frequently on our commute to his home from where we went for undergrad. He had eaten there a few times, but we had never been together. We discussed that we could go there after the Red Sox game on 4/20/08 since we would be down that way anyways. Boy was that a HUGE mistake and waste of gas!
You are greeted by a very busy lobby area. There are posters signed by famous people who have eaten there, including the local WWE champ John Cena, who has several posters signed in the lobby. We were quickly escorted through several themed dining rooms to our booth facing Rt1. The decor was tacky, not delightfully tacky, gross tacky. There were dirty dishes right next to our booth in two locations, just sitting on trays. There was a busy take out area near us as well. The restaurant was extremely noisy and dirty. I was scared to use the restroom because the door was a fire exit door with a ladies sticker on it that lead to a sketchy back room through 2 different doors to the extremely unclean bathroom. I needed to wash my hands after being at Fenway, but there were probably more germs in the bathroom there than in all of Fenway Park. It was so disgusting, I will spare you the details. The plates, cups, forks, etc were extremely old and not clean. We probably should have left at that point, but we were tired and hungry (and it gets such rave reviews) so we stayed.
The menu is enormous, every Asian culture is represented. The bar menu looked good, but with everything on the menu being overpriced I decided to hold off. Their poo poo platter selection was disappointing. We decided to give it a try anyways. When the young waitress (somewhat resembling Daisy from ROL2, but with black hair) finally came over to take our order we ordered the Peninsula Pu Pu Platter with Egg Roll, Spare Ribs, Chicken Wings, Fried Shrimp, Pork Strips and Crispy Wontons and beef teriyaki for 23.95 (way over priced!) with fried rice. I ordered Avocado Mongo Maki and the House Veggie Roll (Spinach, Kampyo, Oshinko, Avocado, Cucumber) for an appetizer. We also ordered tea and coke. My husbands coke was so small for 1.95. The tea was scalding hot and took forever to cool down. The little cups to put the tea in were well worn and sketchy.
The sushi came out first. The waitress brought over the little bowl for the soy sauce, but there was no soy sauce in sight. She said something like I will be right back to fill that, but never returned while I was eating the sushi. The sushi was blah, nothing special. It didn't taste fresh or good. The presentation lacked pizazz. It wasn't worth ordering.
The poo poo platter and rice came out next. The fire in the pot in the middle of the platter was enormous. My husband was actually scared about it burning him because of the way the air was pushing the 8 inch flame towards his face while he ate. The platter was on an old sectioned tray that was brown and clearly from the 60's or 70's. It had a nice coating of decades old grease on it. I'm not even sure how they would clean it?? It had 1 egg roll in it filled with finely diced veggies. It was cut into 4 pieces so it was not easy to get out of the platter. There were these round donut looking things in one section. We figured out quickly that it was the shrimp. The shrimp was ok, probably the best part of the poo poo platter. The shrimp wasn't too fishy smelling or tasting. The teriyaki was bland. It lacked that tangy flavor that most places have. The wontons were nothing special, they should have been crab rangoons. The pork was ok, it wasn't dry, but it was kind of bland. The chicken wings were crispy and tasted good. The rice had little flavor, it mostly tasted like onion. It didn't seem fresh either.
We will NEVER EVER eat there again. It gets NO stars!!!!!! I don't know what the fascination is with the place, but it's an over priced joke! Nothing was fresh, the decor was hideous, and the disgusting dishes and bathroom were horrifying. I have had better Asian food at the mall and even China Pacific. If you are looking for a place to eat while on Rt 1 go to Kelly's Roastbeaf, Polcari's, The Hilltop Steakhouse, anywhere besides Kowloon. If you want good Asian food go to Chen Lang Li in Bow, NH.
The Kowloon is a famous Asian restaurant on Rt 1 in Saugus, MA. It is advertised and talked about on The Phantom Gourmet quite regularly. My husband and I used to drive by it frequently on our commute to his home from where we went for undergrad. He had eaten there a few times, but we had never been together. We discussed that we could go there after the Red Sox game on 4/20/08 since we would be down that way anyways. Boy was that a HUGE mistake and waste of gas!
You are greeted by a very busy lobby area. There are posters signed by famous people who have eaten there, including the local WWE champ John Cena, who has several posters signed in the lobby. We were quickly escorted through several themed dining rooms to our booth facing Rt1. The decor was tacky, not delightfully tacky, gross tacky. There were dirty dishes right next to our booth in two locations, just sitting on trays. There was a busy take out area near us as well. The restaurant was extremely noisy and dirty. I was scared to use the restroom because the door was a fire exit door with a ladies sticker on it that lead to a sketchy back room through 2 different doors to the extremely unclean bathroom. I needed to wash my hands after being at Fenway, but there were probably more germs in the bathroom there than in all of Fenway Park. It was so disgusting, I will spare you the details. The plates, cups, forks, etc were extremely old and not clean. We probably should have left at that point, but we were tired and hungry (and it gets such rave reviews) so we stayed.
The menu is enormous, every Asian culture is represented. The bar menu looked good, but with everything on the menu being overpriced I decided to hold off. Their poo poo platter selection was disappointing. We decided to give it a try anyways. When the young waitress (somewhat resembling Daisy from ROL2, but with black hair) finally came over to take our order we ordered the Peninsula Pu Pu Platter with Egg Roll, Spare Ribs, Chicken Wings, Fried Shrimp, Pork Strips and Crispy Wontons and beef teriyaki for 23.95 (way over priced!) with fried rice. I ordered Avocado Mongo Maki and the House Veggie Roll (Spinach, Kampyo, Oshinko, Avocado, Cucumber) for an appetizer. We also ordered tea and coke. My husbands coke was so small for 1.95. The tea was scalding hot and took forever to cool down. The little cups to put the tea in were well worn and sketchy.
The sushi came out first. The waitress brought over the little bowl for the soy sauce, but there was no soy sauce in sight. She said something like I will be right back to fill that, but never returned while I was eating the sushi. The sushi was blah, nothing special. It didn't taste fresh or good. The presentation lacked pizazz. It wasn't worth ordering.
The poo poo platter and rice came out next. The fire in the pot in the middle of the platter was enormous. My husband was actually scared about it burning him because of the way the air was pushing the 8 inch flame towards his face while he ate. The platter was on an old sectioned tray that was brown and clearly from the 60's or 70's. It had a nice coating of decades old grease on it. I'm not even sure how they would clean it?? It had 1 egg roll in it filled with finely diced veggies. It was cut into 4 pieces so it was not easy to get out of the platter. There were these round donut looking things in one section. We figured out quickly that it was the shrimp. The shrimp was ok, probably the best part of the poo poo platter. The shrimp wasn't too fishy smelling or tasting. The teriyaki was bland. It lacked that tangy flavor that most places have. The wontons were nothing special, they should have been crab rangoons. The pork was ok, it wasn't dry, but it was kind of bland. The chicken wings were crispy and tasted good. The rice had little flavor, it mostly tasted like onion. It didn't seem fresh either.
We will NEVER EVER eat there again. It gets NO stars!!!!!! I don't know what the fascination is with the place, but it's an over priced joke! Nothing was fresh, the decor was hideous, and the disgusting dishes and bathroom were horrifying. I have had better Asian food at the mall and even China Pacific. If you are looking for a place to eat while on Rt 1 go to Kelly's Roastbeaf, Polcari's, The Hilltop Steakhouse, anywhere besides Kowloon. If you want good Asian food go to Chen Lang Li in Bow, NH.
Fratello's in Laconia
This blog is dedicated to Alexander Rowson, whose wake we attended and then went out to eat after.
My husband and I visited Fratello's in Laconia when we were dating about 8 or so years ago. The decor has stayed the same. It's in an old bank with a piano in the corner, a fountain in the middle, a former vault now used as a wine cellar, and an upstairs dining room. There were only a few people in the restaurant because it was so late and a Monday. Our waiter was a nice man in his 50's. He was extremely courteous and attentive. He brought us all water, we desperately needed after standing in line for over 2 hours to express our sympathies our family friend Dave and his wife. He took our drink order and brought what had been ordered out very quickly. I got a bottle of Pellegrino. It was refreshing. He took our orders, women first, I ordered the chicken saltimbocca and a side salad with blue cheese. My husband got his usual chicken parm. After he took our order he brought out warm, delicious bread sticks with 2 kinds of spreads. One was butter and the other may have been flavored cream cheese. The bread sticks and spreads were so yummy! The salads came next. My FIL got a Cesar salad with his meal that was on the small side. My salad was a house salad that was also on the small side, not worth the extra cost. It had black olives on it, which I detest! It ruined the salad in my opinion. The dressing was good though. I won't bother ordering a salad again, unless it's part of the meal.
Our meals came pretty quick. The portions were just right. My meal was ok. There was one overall taste. You couldn't taste the prosciutto very well or the artichoke. It was well cooked though and the sauce was nice. My husband complained that the chicken had a crispy coating on it, but in my opinion it was probably cooked the real Italian way. We were exhausted and still had a long drive home so we didn't order dessert.
Overall I would give Fratello's 3 stars. We might check out the one in Manchester sometime. http://www.fratellos.com/index.htm
My husband and I visited Fratello's in Laconia when we were dating about 8 or so years ago. The decor has stayed the same. It's in an old bank with a piano in the corner, a fountain in the middle, a former vault now used as a wine cellar, and an upstairs dining room. There were only a few people in the restaurant because it was so late and a Monday. Our waiter was a nice man in his 50's. He was extremely courteous and attentive. He brought us all water, we desperately needed after standing in line for over 2 hours to express our sympathies our family friend Dave and his wife. He took our drink order and brought what had been ordered out very quickly. I got a bottle of Pellegrino. It was refreshing. He took our orders, women first, I ordered the chicken saltimbocca and a side salad with blue cheese. My husband got his usual chicken parm. After he took our order he brought out warm, delicious bread sticks with 2 kinds of spreads. One was butter and the other may have been flavored cream cheese. The bread sticks and spreads were so yummy! The salads came next. My FIL got a Cesar salad with his meal that was on the small side. My salad was a house salad that was also on the small side, not worth the extra cost. It had black olives on it, which I detest! It ruined the salad in my opinion. The dressing was good though. I won't bother ordering a salad again, unless it's part of the meal.
Our meals came pretty quick. The portions were just right. My meal was ok. There was one overall taste. You couldn't taste the prosciutto very well or the artichoke. It was well cooked though and the sauce was nice. My husband complained that the chicken had a crispy coating on it, but in my opinion it was probably cooked the real Italian way. We were exhausted and still had a long drive home so we didn't order dessert.
Overall I would give Fratello's 3 stars. We might check out the one in Manchester sometime. http://www.fratellos.com/index.htm
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Made in NH Expo
My friend Hillary and I decided to go to the Made in NH Expo last weekend. It was extremely crowded, but at the same time really great! We tried a lot of great food that I'd like to blog about.
The first thing we tried was Gak's Snacks cookies http://www.gakssnacks.com/. I had the brownie chocolate chip cookie. These cookies and the inventor were featured on NH Chronicle not too long ago so I recognized them. The cookie was SO YUMMY!!!! It is a healthy cookie, free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, GMO's and trans fat. Even with all of that stuff not in it, the cookie was delicious! They are also organic. A box of cookies is about $4.99 at Hannaford stores in NH. I didn't try the other flavors, but if you want a good snack for your family give these a try.
The next thing that both of us LOVED immediately was the buffalo chicken dip from Freetown Yankee Food Market http://freetownyankee.com/. They had samples served with Chuck's Moose-a-licious Antler Chips (which are antler shaped, gluten free, white corn chips). It had a bright buffalo sauce color and was thick and full of moist chicken. It only lasted 2 days at home. My husband and I devoured it. The lady at the booth said to try it warm, so the next time we get some we will do that. It's a perfect dip for a party!
We also both really liked Good Neighbors Organic products. Hillary purchased the black bean dip and I purchased the tabouli. The tabouli is really good. It's fresh and doesn't have the strong flavor and after taste that I have experienced in the past. It's kind of refreshing, if you can think of tabouli as that.
We decided to take a rest and have a snack so we both purchased a Caesar salad from the Common Man, who had a large booth. My salad came with a crab cake. The crab cake was ok, it wasn't the best tasting crab cake I've ever had, but it was alright. The salad was good though. It had crisp lettuce, grated cheese, and creamy dressing.
We walked around some more and had some kettle corn from White Mountain Kettle Corn http://www.whitemtnkettlecorn.com/. I've had this before. It's really yummy! It's just as good as when you get it fresh at a country fair.
There were many chocolate booths there, some fancy and some simple. We stopped at the Ava Marie Chocolates booth (http://www.avamariechocolates.com/) and tried their Maple Syrup Dark Chocolate Square. There was no thinking, we both got our money out and purchased a package for home immediately after the chocolate hit our tongues. These chocolates were DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! The dark chocolate was perfect, not bitter, just perfect. The soft center had the most minor hint of maple syrup, making it soooooooooo good!! If this store was closer to me I would be a regular customer for sure! It's in Peterborough, which is closer to the Keene/VT side of the state. :( Their website shows that they won the best of NH in 2007. Having tasted several different chocolates at the expo I know why they won that award. Not only was the chocolate the best at the expo it was the most affordable. (just a FYI....my birthday is next month hint, hint, hint ;) )
Hillary and I tried lots of chocolates, chips, dips, salsa and other things as well. I would recommend going to the Made in NH Expo to people who are understanding and can handle being in large crowds. At some points we were packed like sardines.
The first thing we tried was Gak's Snacks cookies http://www.gakssnacks.com/. I had the brownie chocolate chip cookie. These cookies and the inventor were featured on NH Chronicle not too long ago so I recognized them. The cookie was SO YUMMY!!!! It is a healthy cookie, free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, GMO's and trans fat. Even with all of that stuff not in it, the cookie was delicious! They are also organic. A box of cookies is about $4.99 at Hannaford stores in NH. I didn't try the other flavors, but if you want a good snack for your family give these a try.
The next thing that both of us LOVED immediately was the buffalo chicken dip from Freetown Yankee Food Market http://freetownyankee.com/. They had samples served with Chuck's Moose-a-licious Antler Chips (which are antler shaped, gluten free, white corn chips). It had a bright buffalo sauce color and was thick and full of moist chicken. It only lasted 2 days at home. My husband and I devoured it. The lady at the booth said to try it warm, so the next time we get some we will do that. It's a perfect dip for a party!
We also both really liked Good Neighbors Organic products. Hillary purchased the black bean dip and I purchased the tabouli. The tabouli is really good. It's fresh and doesn't have the strong flavor and after taste that I have experienced in the past. It's kind of refreshing, if you can think of tabouli as that.
We decided to take a rest and have a snack so we both purchased a Caesar salad from the Common Man, who had a large booth. My salad came with a crab cake. The crab cake was ok, it wasn't the best tasting crab cake I've ever had, but it was alright. The salad was good though. It had crisp lettuce, grated cheese, and creamy dressing.
We walked around some more and had some kettle corn from White Mountain Kettle Corn http://www.whitemtnkettlecorn.com/. I've had this before. It's really yummy! It's just as good as when you get it fresh at a country fair.
There were many chocolate booths there, some fancy and some simple. We stopped at the Ava Marie Chocolates booth (http://www.avamariechocolates.com/) and tried their Maple Syrup Dark Chocolate Square. There was no thinking, we both got our money out and purchased a package for home immediately after the chocolate hit our tongues. These chocolates were DELICIOUS!!!!!!!! The dark chocolate was perfect, not bitter, just perfect. The soft center had the most minor hint of maple syrup, making it soooooooooo good!! If this store was closer to me I would be a regular customer for sure! It's in Peterborough, which is closer to the Keene/VT side of the state. :( Their website shows that they won the best of NH in 2007. Having tasted several different chocolates at the expo I know why they won that award. Not only was the chocolate the best at the expo it was the most affordable. (just a FYI....my birthday is next month hint, hint, hint ;) )
Hillary and I tried lots of chocolates, chips, dips, salsa and other things as well. I would recommend going to the Made in NH Expo to people who are understanding and can handle being in large crowds. At some points we were packed like sardines.
Beefside Concord, NH
So there was nothing thawed for dinner, and it was too late to cook, so we decided to go to Beefside on Manchester St in Concord. http://www.beefsiderestaurant.com/
We've eaten there once before and hadn't been in a while. It's a local dive that has really good roast beef sandwiches! When we get take out we usually get their roast beef sandwiches with sauce and one with mayo and fries. We decided we would sample some of the other food on the menu. When we got there it was pretty busy. When you enter you are greeted by the take out menu and the place to pick up your order. After 2 nice waitresses told us they would be right with us we were seated in a booth. The decor is pretty diveish. There are lots of random pictures on the wall, from Celtics and the Three Stooges to a sign that says something like: All gentlemen guests eating with a woman other than their wife please sit in the back. The entire place is covered in wood paneling. I'm sure the regulars don't mind the decor. The waitress happened to be the one that we had when we ate their once before. She was a bit gruff. In between taking our drink order and coming back to take the food order she served the people next to us their soup. After not so gently placing the soup on the table she threw, I mean threw, the crackers at the area where the soup was. Yikes!
I ordered the pulled pork dinner with fries and corn bread with a strawberry shake. My husband ordered the ultimate chicken sandwich with fries and a chocolate shake to be brought with his meal.
The Sox home opener was on the large TV to the right of us so we watched that while we waited. She brought my shake pretty quickly. It was more like strawberry milk than a shake. I don't think there was much ice cream in it at all. It was skill kinda yummy. I was pretty intently watching the Sox ceremonies when there was a loud slam at our table. It was our food. I guess that was one way of getting our attention! She left a bottle of bbq sauce and our dinners. She forgot my husband's chocolate shake and said she would go get it. My husband was confused about the sandwich because he thought it would come on a bulkie roll and it came in a sub roll, but he ate it anyways. My plate had quite a bit of food on it. The fries were golden brown and beer battered. They were quite good. The pulled pork was little to be desired. It did not have much sauce or flavor. I added the sauce to it and it still didn't do the trick. The corn bread looked good so I gave it a try. It was moist, not gritty and big. It did have a greasy bottom on it though that was rather unappetizing.
The waitress came back to check on us and realized she had again forgotten his shake. She returned with a chocolate shake with syrup drizzled in the glass. The shake was thick and yummy. It was actually one of the best chocolate shakes I've tasted in NH. It was to bad my husband was already full and didn't even drink 1/2 of it.
Overall I would give Beefside one and a half stars out of 5. I think we'll stick to take out. If you want good pulled pork try Arnie's on Loudon Rd. in Concord. The portions are small, but the pork is great!
We've eaten there once before and hadn't been in a while. It's a local dive that has really good roast beef sandwiches! When we get take out we usually get their roast beef sandwiches with sauce and one with mayo and fries. We decided we would sample some of the other food on the menu. When we got there it was pretty busy. When you enter you are greeted by the take out menu and the place to pick up your order. After 2 nice waitresses told us they would be right with us we were seated in a booth. The decor is pretty diveish. There are lots of random pictures on the wall, from Celtics and the Three Stooges to a sign that says something like: All gentlemen guests eating with a woman other than their wife please sit in the back. The entire place is covered in wood paneling. I'm sure the regulars don't mind the decor. The waitress happened to be the one that we had when we ate their once before. She was a bit gruff. In between taking our drink order and coming back to take the food order she served the people next to us their soup. After not so gently placing the soup on the table she threw, I mean threw, the crackers at the area where the soup was. Yikes!
I ordered the pulled pork dinner with fries and corn bread with a strawberry shake. My husband ordered the ultimate chicken sandwich with fries and a chocolate shake to be brought with his meal.
The Sox home opener was on the large TV to the right of us so we watched that while we waited. She brought my shake pretty quickly. It was more like strawberry milk than a shake. I don't think there was much ice cream in it at all. It was skill kinda yummy. I was pretty intently watching the Sox ceremonies when there was a loud slam at our table. It was our food. I guess that was one way of getting our attention! She left a bottle of bbq sauce and our dinners. She forgot my husband's chocolate shake and said she would go get it. My husband was confused about the sandwich because he thought it would come on a bulkie roll and it came in a sub roll, but he ate it anyways. My plate had quite a bit of food on it. The fries were golden brown and beer battered. They were quite good. The pulled pork was little to be desired. It did not have much sauce or flavor. I added the sauce to it and it still didn't do the trick. The corn bread looked good so I gave it a try. It was moist, not gritty and big. It did have a greasy bottom on it though that was rather unappetizing.
The waitress came back to check on us and realized she had again forgotten his shake. She returned with a chocolate shake with syrup drizzled in the glass. The shake was thick and yummy. It was actually one of the best chocolate shakes I've tasted in NH. It was to bad my husband was already full and didn't even drink 1/2 of it.
Overall I would give Beefside one and a half stars out of 5. I think we'll stick to take out. If you want good pulled pork try Arnie's on Loudon Rd. in Concord. The portions are small, but the pork is great!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Vineyards in Belmont, NH
My husband felt like having steak tonight so we searched online for any good steak houses near us. All of the chain restaurants came up and then we came upon a new restaurant named Vineyards in Belmont, NH. Their website looked pretty good, (http://www.eatvineyards.com/) so we decided to give it a try. The 25 minute drive up 93 took us past the Tilton outlets and Winnisquam Lake to a new strip mall in Belmont on Rt 3. The building seemed new and modern. When you walked through the doors you were greeted by prepackaged desserts ready to be served in 2 large cases with a small view of the busy kitchen area in between. The ambiance was warm and refreshing for that area. The decor was Italian vineyard themed with warm, rustic colors throughout. I was confused where the hostess area was until a woman finally came to greet us. She was a bit strange with a very busy patterned bright yellow and black dress on, white platform lace up sandals, and a cropped white sweater that may be from Old Navy's spring line. She took my name and spelled it incorrectly (of course) not asking me how to actually spell it, and told us the wait would only be 10 minutes. I think we actually only waited about 5.
We were seated in a nice booth on the right side of the dining room. The tabletop was smooth with a dark finished butcher block type pattern. The seats had a nice, rustic colored pattern and were high enough that you didn't see anyone else behind or next to you. There were fresh flowers in our booth. Our waitress was a nice girl who was prompt and polite. She asked us if we had been there before and we said no. She told us that they will be having a new menu soon and that some of the items are no longer available. The menus were well worn and didn't include a drink menu, which was surprising seeing as the name is Vineyards and you would think there would be quite a wine menu, but there wasn't. The specials were really well priced and sounded good. The waitress took our drink order and came back quickly, but not too quickly, so that we had time to decide what we wanted order. Not having a menu for the bar I just ordered water with lemon and my husband ordered Coke. The Coke was the good kind that tastes better than from a bottle because there is more syrup in it. I ordered the prime rib special, medium well, for $13 with mashed potatoes, broccoli and ranch dressing on my salad. My husband ordered the porterhouse for $23 with mashed potatoes, no veggies (god forbid he ate broccoli), and parmesan peppercorn for dressing on his salad.
After a few minutes the waitress came back with a family style salad, two great portions of salad dressing, warm buns, and a small plate with butter and garnish on it. We were really excited about the salad, there was a ton and it had great veggies in it like grape tomatoes, banana peppers, cucumbers, green peppers and great croutons. Both of dressings were really creamy and delicious. The buns were warm and delicious as well.
When the meals came out the waitress was not the one that had taken our order. She gave him my prime rib and me his plate. There was also a baked potato on his plate instead of mashed. The porterhouse was confusing to us because it had a t-bone in it. This could be correct, we're not really meat connoisseurs. The prime rib was a bit dry, but when I added au jous to the meat it was good. The mashed potatoes were delicious! There were bits of skin, just the right texture and great flavor. The broccoli was steamed well and was just right. His steak was very large and grilled well. The waitress came to check on us several times during our meal and was courteous. When the waitress came to check on us after we had finished she took our dishes and wrapped up the t-bone for Shelby. There was no dessert menu so she brought a tray with a couple of the dessert choices on it. They looked good, but we had our eye on the chocolate cake that was in the case when we entered the restaurant. We asked if there was any left and she said yes. Having seen it in the case I was a bit skeptical of it's moistness as it had already been cut and packaged up. When we got the cake the waitress had added some whipped cream dollops to the side and some powered sugar for decoration. I was right about the moistness. It was a little on the dry side. The frosting was nice and thick. It's not something I would order again.
Over all I would give it 3 stars out of 5. I'm sure we will go there again. It has a great location in between Winnisquam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee. It's certainly a great addition in an area known for it's extremely tacky places like the Naswa, and the extremely outdated like Christmas Island. I bet there will be lines out the door during the busy summer months!!
We were seated in a nice booth on the right side of the dining room. The tabletop was smooth with a dark finished butcher block type pattern. The seats had a nice, rustic colored pattern and were high enough that you didn't see anyone else behind or next to you. There were fresh flowers in our booth. Our waitress was a nice girl who was prompt and polite. She asked us if we had been there before and we said no. She told us that they will be having a new menu soon and that some of the items are no longer available. The menus were well worn and didn't include a drink menu, which was surprising seeing as the name is Vineyards and you would think there would be quite a wine menu, but there wasn't. The specials were really well priced and sounded good. The waitress took our drink order and came back quickly, but not too quickly, so that we had time to decide what we wanted order. Not having a menu for the bar I just ordered water with lemon and my husband ordered Coke. The Coke was the good kind that tastes better than from a bottle because there is more syrup in it. I ordered the prime rib special, medium well, for $13 with mashed potatoes, broccoli and ranch dressing on my salad. My husband ordered the porterhouse for $23 with mashed potatoes, no veggies (god forbid he ate broccoli), and parmesan peppercorn for dressing on his salad.
After a few minutes the waitress came back with a family style salad, two great portions of salad dressing, warm buns, and a small plate with butter and garnish on it. We were really excited about the salad, there was a ton and it had great veggies in it like grape tomatoes, banana peppers, cucumbers, green peppers and great croutons. Both of dressings were really creamy and delicious. The buns were warm and delicious as well.
When the meals came out the waitress was not the one that had taken our order. She gave him my prime rib and me his plate. There was also a baked potato on his plate instead of mashed. The porterhouse was confusing to us because it had a t-bone in it. This could be correct, we're not really meat connoisseurs. The prime rib was a bit dry, but when I added au jous to the meat it was good. The mashed potatoes were delicious! There were bits of skin, just the right texture and great flavor. The broccoli was steamed well and was just right. His steak was very large and grilled well. The waitress came to check on us several times during our meal and was courteous. When the waitress came to check on us after we had finished she took our dishes and wrapped up the t-bone for Shelby. There was no dessert menu so she brought a tray with a couple of the dessert choices on it. They looked good, but we had our eye on the chocolate cake that was in the case when we entered the restaurant. We asked if there was any left and she said yes. Having seen it in the case I was a bit skeptical of it's moistness as it had already been cut and packaged up. When we got the cake the waitress had added some whipped cream dollops to the side and some powered sugar for decoration. I was right about the moistness. It was a little on the dry side. The frosting was nice and thick. It's not something I would order again.
Over all I would give it 3 stars out of 5. I'm sure we will go there again. It has a great location in between Winnisquam Lake and Lake Winnipesaukee. It's certainly a great addition in an area known for it's extremely tacky places like the Naswa, and the extremely outdated like Christmas Island. I bet there will be lines out the door during the busy summer months!!
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