Food on Our June 2017 Trip

On our trip to Boston, we had some great food on the road and in Boston.

In my brother's town, we ate ate Hot Rods BBQ which had really yummy barbeque and tasty local beers.

The next day, we stopped for lunch in South Britain, Connecticut, hoping to find a British-like pub. We found Maggie McFly's, which isn't quite a British pub but is delightful nonetheless.

Maggie McFly's

I had a local brew from Two Roads Brewery. No Limits Hefeweizen is a classic Bavarian wheat beer and tasted very good.

The beer

Since it was Sunday, they had a brunch menu available. I decided to mix my German beer with some Mexican food and had the breakfast burrito. It was packed out with cheese, onions, peppers, sausage, and bacon, with a side of home fries and the usual sour cream, salsa, and guacamole on the other side. 

Breakfast burrito, maybe not so well paired with a beer but that's the way it went down

We also had an order of pretzels which were fabulous--warm and soft and buttery.

In Boston, the first night we ate at Parish Cafe (recommended by our DK tourism book), known for highly individualized sandwiches made by two brothers. I had the Mexican Meatball, which had the right amount of spiciness and a fun mix of greens for the "salad topping" which I usually abhor on burgers. Cole slaw and potato salad rounded out the plate. I had a summer ale which was a little too IPA for my tastes.

Mexican Meatball at...

...Parish Cafe

One night at the hotel I worked on the blog at the bar and sampled some local brews. Jack's Abby Smoke & Dagger Black Lager is refreshingly different from a usual lager, with a dark and smokey flavor that I enjoyed. The brewery is in Framingham, Massachusetts, so it is fairly local.

Allagash White Belgian Style is brewed in Portland, Maine, so it's less local. The beer is a wheat beer with spices and it isn't as pleasant as other Belgian and Belgian-style beers that I've had. Something about the spice combination isn't satisfying to me. Oh well.

Only this picture came out, alas

Just off Harvard Square is Mr. Bartley's Gourmet Burgers, a Harvard landmark according to our travel guide and their very own sign.

A simple sign for an unassuming (sort of) place

The menu is full of comically-named burgers, some more funny and/or more appropriate than others. 

A sample of the menu

An eclectic interior too!

I had the John "Solly" Solomon burger because it had pineapple on it. The burger was delicious and the onion rings were light and tasty.

Teriyaki and pineapple! With onion rings!

For dinner that night, we went to a nearby restaurant, Basta Pasta, which is highly rated by locals. I had the stuffed eggplant on homemade pasta which was scrumptious and perhaps a bit too much for one meal. The kids got individual pizzas which were so big that we brought a whole pizza back to the hotel. It was dinner the next night!

Stuffed eggplant

February 2017 Kids Pics plus!

The library was a source of fun story times and crafts, including seasonally appropriate snow globes and snow play.

A snow globe made for mommy!

A new cover for Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day

We took Uncle Gerry out for a hibachi dinner. The toddler loved seeing the big flames at other tables. When it came time for our table to have its show, he was much less enthusiastic.

Enjoying the first part of the show

What's the chef doing at our table?

Fear the flame!

Close up of distress

Zombie parents were spotted (and videoed) dancing at local swing venue Bavarian Brauhaus restaurant!



The restaurant has a big band on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month, though the videographer posts a few days afterward (thus this isn't in the January pix since it wasn't available till February). We wanted to check it out. The kids were there (you can hear the toddler shouting at certain points). Dinner was yummy and dancing was fun!

Valentine's Day was fun but we only took one picture.

My daughter's big Valentine's Day kiss

Saint-Saens, France

Saint-Saens is a small town in France where we spent the first night of our Normandy trip in April 2014 (I know, these posts are all out of order!). The town was a convenient stop on the way to our main hotel, so it wasn't any big local attraction that brought us there. We stayed at a wonderful bed and breakfast, Le Logis d'Eawy. We had a large family room with two separate bedrooms.

Le Logis d'Eawy, St.-Saens

Master bedroom (with tapestry!)

The rest of the master bedroom

The hotel's courtyard

The hotel recommended a lovely restaurant for dinner that was just down the road 30 meters. The restaurant had a fine three-course meal for the parents while J and L enjoyed chicken nuggets (funnily, the French call them "nuggets" while in the UK they are often called "goujons").

The restaurant's exterior (seen the next morning)

The next morning, we ate a great local breakfast at our hotel, which included baked apple, a regional specialty.

Breakfast (baked apple in upper right)

French pastries, of course!

We walked around the town and discovered some interesting bits. The Dillard Fountain in front of the church was built in honor of Monsieur Dillard, who was mayor at the end of the 1800s and left a legacy to the town.

Dillard Fountain

Nearby is a sculpture by British artist Geoff Troll that was put up in 1997 when the town square was refurbished. J and L posed by it and then were surprised to discover the "arch" is really two naked people. Luckily, the picture is of their backsides, so I hope readers will not be offended.

L and J pose in an "archway"

The town has a lot of charming architecture.

A fun building

We also discovered a World War I memorial by the church.

WWI Memorial

The church is tomorrow's post!

Black Hog BBQ and Bar, Frederick, Maryland

Black Hog Barbecue and Bar in Frederick has just the sort of American dining experience we were hoping to have while back in the USA.

Black Hog BBQ and Bar, Frederick, MD

We went as a group, including the zombie family, Granny and Grandpa, cousin A and her parents, and Auntie R. It was decided amongst almost everyone that each family would pay for their own dinner. The decision would keep from fights over the check, though normally for us people would fight over who was treating everyone else!

We arrived and asked for a table for ten. After some dragging by the hostess (and I do mean literally dragging tables around), we were seated. The menu has lots of options--beef brisket, pork, ham, chicken, burgers, slaw, fries, onion rings, corn bread, etc. J had macaroni and cheese. L had a sausage, which was much better than the hot dog she had earlier in the week ("Mummy, why doesn't my sausage taste very good?" "Because it's a hot dog, my dear."). I had the three meat plate with Arkansas barbecue beef brisket, sausage, and barbecue pork. My sides were cornbread and Texas-style pinto beans. It was too luscious to stop and take a picture of, my apologies, dear readers.

Everyone enjoyed their food, especially the corn bread and the Arkansas beef.

J was looking at another camera

And yet another camera

We loved the food so much, the next night we ordered a pound of Arkansas beef, barbecue chicken, and some coleslaw. This food supplemented the leftovers we were trying to finish so the fridge in the rental house would be empty. We were very happy to get another taste and will definitely go back if we are in Frederick again.

At Grandmama's House 2013

During our visit to America, the first place we went was Grandmama's house. We had lots of fun just hanging out at home.

Auntie M and Grandmama both had new outfits for L, which she gladly tried on. Cousin A also had an excellent dress.

L in cool summer fashion

A ready to go to church

Even better than a nice dress, A got to read with J. He's at the point where he can read to her from a lot of early reader books, which was fun for both of them.

J and A read together

L released her artistic talent with a watercolor book Grandmama bought her. Grandmama may have gotten more than she bargained for because she was drafted into the painting process. She was very happy to do so.

L and Grandmama working together

Happy in their work!

We did go out on Sunday for Uncle Ed's birthday to a Teppanyaki restaurant. We had a party of thirteen at a table that was basically a large grill. The chef came and cooked right in front of us. The start of the show was good but made J a little nervous, especially when the chef poured oil all over the grill and lit it on fire to get it ready for cooking. Soon enough, the chef made a small volcano out of some onion rings which amazed everyone.

The flaming volcano bit

The chef was very talented, tossing around his spatula, knife, ingredients, and spices with graceful ease. He even bounced an egg on his spatula several times to our delight. One egg wound up in his hat. At the end of the meal, he had a few scraps left over and asked if anyone wanted to compete in a contest. Having gone to these diners before, I knew what was coming and volunteered first. He took a little bit of chicken and flicked it in the air towards me. I tried to catch it in my mouth but was not successful. He gave me a second chance but it was not meant to be. Several other siblings tried it out. Even J had a go, though his morsel landed on his cheek rather than his tongue. He loved it. A good time was had by all.

Daddy, J, L, and A

Silly trio

The only bad thing is I didn't get a group shot for the blog. Luckily, the restaurant takes such pictures and my sister was able to scan it and send it along.

The family

It was fun to visit Grandmama's house with all the family visiting, but more fun for the kids was Grandmama's playground, which we'll see in the next post.

Spanish Food

It should come as no surprise that while we were in Spain, we ate food. Having small children means we had to compromise on what we were eating. Typically we ate dinner at our hotel/apartment, so we could eat earlier and eat food the kids are familiar with. But we ate out for lunch most of the time and the kids (especially J) were good at trying new things.

When we stopped for a snack in Marbella, I had the traditional breakfast for the region. Toast is served with olive oil and a tomato sauce that is not much more than tomatoes run through a blender. The tomatoes came in a fancy pouring jar and the whole thing was a refreshing snack. Spaniards would typically have coffee con leche with this dish, but not being a coffee drinker I opted for tea.

Bread, olive oil, tomato puree

J had a delicious carrot cake, though he was initially put off by the sauce they had drizzled on it. He had a taste and really loved it. It was a caramel sauce. Usually he's not a big fan of sweets but he loved this.

In Malaga, for our tapas lunch we tried to order the chicken nuggets for the kids, but they were out. We also tried to order a fish dish that was not available. We settled for the Serrano ham, a salt-cured meat that dries in the crisp mountain air. J tried some and loved it in spite of his initial hesitancy. We also ordered a pizza, which was surprisingly unpopular with the children. They gobbled up the cheese plate we ordered (Manchego cheese made from ewe's milk), along with our side of bread.

On our trip to Ronda, we had tapas at one of the local restaurants, Veronica's. Perusing the menu, I spotted something called "dogfish." Having never seen any catfish in England or Europe, I was curious to try this canine icthus. My wife was hesitant. We also ordered Serrano ham. J wanted a Spanish omelet, which is basically eggs and potatoes. A plate of Manchego cheese finished our order. We were a little intimidated by the prices but had the wonderful surprise of full plates coming to our table!

Tapas from Ronda

The other great surprise was the dogfish. It came as deep-fried nuggets. They were quite flavorful and had a wonderful lemony taste. My wife's fears were eased. We all enjoyed our food quite a bit, being the best meal out we had up to that point.

The next day we stopped for a snack in Antequera, where L had the thickest hot chocolate ever and we had the greasiest churros ever. Churros are a light dough deep fried in some sort of curved shape. Ours came like that fish symbol for Jesus. Perhaps they were going for one of those "awareness" ribbons that people wear on their lapels (cholesterol awareness?). The churros were yummy but we could feel our cholesterol skyrocketing. As for L's hot chocolate, chunks of chocolate were floating in it. My wife poured the leftover milk from our tea into L's beverage, and it barely made a dent in the thickness!

J was afraid to try the ominously lit snack

L couldn't wait to try them!

In Granada, we had a snack at one of the local cafes. The locals were ordering bread with olive oil and/or tomatoes, we ordered pastries.

Spanish pastries

My pastry looks kind of meaty, but it is actually coated in strawberry paste and then a thin layer of white icing to get that pink, porkish hue. J and Mommy shared a chocolate-covered cookies (that's already cut up into pieces). L saw a jar of what seemed like M&Ms. When we asked the guy at the service bar for some, he gave us a strange look and a small scoop. L loved them. And, we weren't charged.

Later, we had a fabulous lunch at a restaurant called Martin's near our apartment. We ordered tapas again. L and J asked for salad but we parents were not careful about the salad we ordered. We wound up with a plate of tomato slices and mozzarella chunks drizzled with balsamic vinegar. It was very tasty but the kids only wanted the cheese. We also ordered a plate of cheese and calamari. For some unexplained reason, the waitress (or Waitrose as J referred to her) brought us a small plate of tiny mussels and another bowl of eggplant, tomatoes and onions, which were all very yummy but soon became too much food. We couldn't finish the calamari, which was also quite good. The calamari plate decoration was some fancy green leaves, which satisfied L's salad craving in a way the tomato dish did not. So it worked out. At the end of the meal, J had us all say it was "delicioso," which he learned from Dora the Explorer.

From the store, we bought a box of Spanish cookies, a mix of mantecados and polvorones. The cookies are a bit powdery but not dry. Cinnamon is the standard flavoring, unless the cookie (each was individually wrapped) had some special flavoring, like cacao (chocolate) or coco (coconut) or limon (lemon). We loved all the cookies.

By the time I took the picture, only the box was left

At the Alhambra, one of our courses at lunch was a yummy soup made with egg, Serrano ham, bread, and broth. It was delicious and delightful to the eye as well.

Granada-style soup

On our last day in Spain, we finally had paella. This dish is a spicy rice dish, usually focusing on either seafood, meat (carne!!) or vegetarian option. The cafe had one waitress/cook/barista/cashier, so I think the dish was more pre-fabricated than most paellas you can find. We liked it but it didn't knock us out.

We had mixta (seafood, carne, and veggies!)

The food in Spain was really good though we haven't fallen in love with any dishes enough to try to recreate them at home. We're looking forward to our next trip to Paris and Germany, which will begin soon!

Victory at Red Lobster

You may remember from previous posts that one thing zombie parents dread is going out to eat in a sit-down restaurant. Sure, a place like Chick-fil-A or Wendy's is a lot easier because the food is a lot faster and the restaurants often come with child distractions like play areas or kid's meal toys. Sit-down restaurants have distractions like crayons and doodle paper but the kids can't run around like they do at more casual places.

We decided that we need to give the children more practice at sitting down and behaving in restaurants because that is just part of life for us. So today we went to Red Lobster for lunch. We had a gift card from Christmas (thanks Granny and Grandpa!) and it was a convenient conclusion to running Saturday morning errands. We arrived about 11:20, so the lunch rush hadn't started. After briefly admiring the lobster tank, we were shown to our table.

Jacob and Lucy both had high chairs and sat catercorner from each other. Lucy doodled on her paper kid's menu with the crayons provided. Jacob started looking through the table menu that advertises all the appetizers, special meals, drinks, and desserts. Angie and I made our choices and chose a chicken strip meal for the children to split. When the waitress came for our order, Jacob pointed to pictures in the table menu of what he wanted: lobster tails and a margarita. Luckily the waitress paid more attention to his parents than to him. We all enjoyed a laugh at Jacob's request, which only encouraged him to make further requests later. He loved the waitress.

The salads and fabulous biscuits (I don't know how they make them so great) came quickly. Lucy and Jacob started on biscuits while Angie and I started our salads. After a while, Lucy asked for salad. Angie wasn't finishing hers, so she gave Lucy a bite. At first, Lucy made a face but she ate it up and asked for more. Jacob loved his biscuit and his milk, not asking for anything else.

Eventually the meals came and we cut up the chicken into bite size pieces. Angie offered them french fries since their side was fruit. The kids ate it all up like there was no tomorrow. Lucy kept asking for salad, which amazed and delighted us. Jacob was content to dip his chicken and his fries ten times in the ketchup in defiance of the absent Grandpa. Everything was going so smoothly.

Then we were finishing up and asked for the check. We paid our bill and cleaned up a bit, then headed off to the car. We stopped at the lobster tank on the way out to say goodbye. Then we climbed into the van and headed for home.

It was the best dining out experience we've had at a sit-down restaurant. The kids stayed at the table and didn't even ask to go wandering around. The meal was yummy and a good time was had by all. Part of the success was being there early so food wasn't delayed. Also, it was just us four so it wasn't a big family order. And the food delivery was well paced--salads and such came quickly and covered until the main meal arrived. Jacob enjoyed looking at the little menu and interacting with the waitress. Maybe we'll try a Tex-Mex place next. They give chips and salsa early which should help, along with the fun decor and maybe even a tortilla-making machine! Regardless, I hope we can repeat this success in the future.