SUGGEST A RESTAURANT FOR REVIEW: email MSDNeditor@aol.com Anthony's Trattoria The best thing about Anthony's is the owner himself. He seems to want to please anyone that comes in, asking how people like their food, inquiring about how the food was after it is served. This small restaurant, which delivers to Canton, Stoughton and Sharon, has good fresh food. The half pound burger I had was cooked exactly as specified, and was absolutely delicious. I didn't like the fries, however. I'm a big fan of cut up potatoes, with skin on. These fries, with that coating you find in some restaurants, are crisp, but tasteless. Anthony said that he has used the potatoes without coating, but they don't hold up for to go orders. "They get soggy and soft, and no one likes fries like that." I do understand his point, but perhaps he can serve legit fries for those ordering in. It's a start. The menu at Anthony's features pizza (I liked the Sicilian sheets ($19.95), which must be ordered 24 hours in advance.) The fresh garlic pizza ($6.95) was good, but for some reason no one wanted to get too close to me. I also tried a Buffalo Pizza ($7.95) (off the gourmet menu) and it was tasty, if not too strong. Others that looked good included the Meat Lovers Pizza ($9.25) and Portuguese Pizza (Lunguica & onion/$8.50). An excellent variety of Calzones, Subs, Sandwiches, and salads is also available. Specialties wraps also looked tasty. I also had a chicken parmesan meal (at different sittings, of course!) that included a nice portion of pasta and chicken, garlic bread, and a side salad for $10.95.
Rating: 3
Basil Leaf Cafe My wife and I love Vietnamese food and were so excited to see this restaurant open at the site of another of my favorite places, No Fat Lifestyle Grille. The parking lot was full on Friday night as we arrived, and we were lucky to get seated right away. Seating is limited to about 50 people or so. This Vietnamese Noodle Soup and Grilled Cafe offers paper menus, with some familiar appetizers, grilled meats, vermicelli bowls, soups, and vegetarian dishes. The servers were busy, and we sat for 15 minutes before someone came over. When we asked the waitress a question, it became apparent she spoke little English. She signaled another waitress who spoke our language, but that waitress never came over. I asked a few people behind the counter whether a dish came with rice, and no one spoke English. A young lady dining there answered my question. After speaking with a friend eating at a nearby table for some quick advice, we ordered GOI CUON TOM (spring rolls made with shrimp, mint, lettuce, pickled carrots and vermicelli wrapped by steamed rice paper and served with a peanut sauce.) We also ordered TOM NUONG (grilled shrimps), SATE GA NUONG (chicken teriyaki), Steamed Rice, and PHO HAI SAN (seafood soup with scallop, shrimp, fish cake and squid.) Some of the food arrived about twenty minutes later, with the grilled shrimp and spring rolls arriving first. The spring rolls were tasty, with a spongy texture and a dipping sauce similar to the satay sauce in Thai restaurants. My wife got a bonus in hers---a chicken bone. Ironically, chicken is not one of the ingredients of the spring roll. The grilled shrimp were tasteless, and still had the veins inside. They were so bad an to be inedible and we sent them back. If you are expecting shrimp out of their shells, cooked perfectly and tasty--you came to the wrong place. They were impossible to "clean" enough to eat. Arriving next was the chicken teriyaki. What this actually was were skewers of inexpensive cuts of chicken, in a similar taste to a chicken satay at Thai restaurants. They tasted alright, but were served without any sauce. I used the leftover peanut sauce from the spring rolls, and they tasted good enough to finish. Twenty minutes later, the soup arrived. The boiled rice never came. The soup has a pleasant enough broth. The included shrimp were shucked and deveined, and were acceptable in taste. However, the other seafood components were putrid and inedible. I tried a few pieces of "scallop", "Fish cake" and "Squid" and all were horrid. The rice noodles in the soup were so salty as to require water with every bite. Needless to say, we left almost a full bowl (and they are generously sized) of soup. We were never given napkins, refills of water, utensils or anything else from our overworked and undertrained waitress. I told the man behind the counter that it was one of the worst meals I have ever had, and he didn't seem to understand what I was saying. If you want Vietnamese food, stick to the place across from Randolph High School in Shaw's plaza there. This place is not ready for prime time. . Rating: 1 (lowest) Try somewhere else.
Blanchard's Tavern I'm almost hesitant to write about this jewel nestled on the Randolph-Avon line. An authentic tavern of 1780 (built in 1748), it is the only operating tavern of the Colonial period north of Williamsburg, VA, devoted to drinks, snacks and entertainment of 1780. This delightful chunk of history is comfortable, friendly, and a lot of fun. The night we visited talented tenor troubadour Larry Carlson was entertaining with songs of the sea, bawdy ballads, and a great voice. This Carver resident, and history professor at Thayer Academy, was delightfully entertaining with his renditions of songs over 220 years old. Blanchard's Tavern is run by the Blanchard Nonprofit Trust and is ALL volunteers. From the bartender, who serves English, Irish and American Beers, hard and mulled cider, mead, colonial wines, General Washington coffee, and Colonial tea; to the friendly helpers who offer food like pork and beef pies, Brunswick Stew, Vermont Bread with Harvarti Cheese, and Syllabub, Blanchard's Tavern is a place you will want to return to again and again! Like Cheers in the late 1900s, it's a place everybody knows your name. We met some of the most interesting, warm and friendly people in just a couple of hours at Blanchard's, and look forward to going back. Blanchard's offers different entertainment and specials on Saturday nights starting at 8 p.m. For information on specific offerings, call 508-588-1620, or visit their website at www.blanchardstavern.com. The facility is available on a limited basis for rental. But beware: a ghost (possibly a Revolutionary soldier) named "David" lives in the house. From the days of locals ducking Indians, to the Underground Railroad, the secret passageways and the quaint elegance of days gone by still reside at Blanchard's Tavern! Rating: 5 (highest)
The Daniel Webster Inn Restaurant Review by Mark Snyder We were seated adjacent to a magnificent courtyard, featuring beautiful Christmas lights and a wonderful gazebo. The atmosphere is upscale, but warm and comfortable just the same. The historic Daniel Webster Inn caters to demanding people from around the globe, who want to partake in the luxury of the health spa, the refined elegance of their rooms, or simply to get a meal that you won't forget for a long time. We started with braised short rib potstickers, a Caribbean-style dish, featuring fresh fruit salsa and savory planters semi-glace. The Crab Nori Roll featured Risotto, a large amount of scrumptious crabmeat, and fresh vegetables rolled in Nori and deep fried. It is served with an avocado remoulade. But, a more pedestrian item really ran away with our taste buds at appetizer time. The Shrimp Cocktail was the best my wife and I have ever tasted. Colossal-sized chilled Gulf Shrimp, served with a tangy horseradish cocktail sauce, it was just amazing. We took our time, each getting two shrimp, and enjoyed them thoroughly. They were fresh, cooked perfectly and served with a wonderful sauce. A can't miss appetizer choice! My wife ordered her dinner off the menu. I went with a dinner special. Pam got Grilled Australian Lam loin, rubbed with Moroccan spices, and served with goat cheese and mustard fondue, minted almond couscous, and rutabaga fries. I ordered the Asian short ribs, served with Hoison sauce. Both dishes passed the taste test, but my wife's simply mouth-watering lamb had her taking time to enjoy each bite. Daniel Webster Inn offers fine dining for reasonable prices in a cozy historic and homey atmosphere. We give it FOUR STARS for gourmet greatness! The Belfry Inne & Bistro Nestled on a quaint street in the village-like downtown area of Sandwich on Cape Cod, is the upscale, classy and thoroughly scrumptious Belfry Inne. This splendid bed and breakfast is coupled with a gloriously classic restaurant, which serves premium quality foods at a premium price. If you're looking for a special occasion place--birthday, anniversary or other event--you can't miss with this wonderful place. We started off our meals with Thai peanut-dusted shrimp, with Thai basil noodle salad, toasted peanut oil, and sweet coconut peanut sauce ($12). The jumbo shrimp were amazing, and the noodles-with the sweetness of the accompanying coconut-flavored mix--were an excellent ancillary taste. We also got the black sesame-seared sea scallops, with red curry coconut sauce, pineapple raisin relish and Thai basil ($12). The huge scallops were cooked perfectly (a must for that particular seafood to stand up) and the sesame flavor was simply amazing. The accompanying bread--served hot and with flavored butter--was also delicious, but my wife and I were trying to save calories for the good stuff. For the main course, we chose Atlantic halibut steak with black olive crust, virgin olive oil whipped potato puree ($30). This fish was to die for--and I don't normally like fish! The black olive crust (even if you don't like black olives) was NOT overpowering, but provided the necessary flavor to enhance the perfect halibut steak. This was also served with zucchini tomato stew with fresh herbs. We also ordered the yellow fin tuna tataki with crisp vegetable lo mein noodles, spicy red pepper coconut sauce with sesame glaze ($29). The tuna was ordered medium well, and arrived as raw as sushi. Evidently, this is how this item is served everywhere. My wife enjoyed it, I stuck to the halibut. We ended a delightful evening with dessert, ordering two pedestrian items. We'd recommend walking down the street to an ice cream shop at there corner of Jarves and Rt. 6a to complete the meal. But, if you're looking for a wonderful, classy dinner--served by professionals who know their food--then it's worth the trip to Belfry Inn. And, if you're thinking of staying on Cape Cod, why not stay at the Belfry, featuring three gloriously-restored buildings in historic Sandwich Village. Featuring handsome furnishing, classic architecture and wonderful amenities, you can't go wrong at Belfry Inne and Bistro. Rating: *** ( 3 out of 4 stars) VERY GOOD Mahachai Restaurant Mahachai is a small, comfortable Thai restaurant located in Canton Center. This storefront serves delicious food, with excellent service from start to finish. Mezza Luna
R Place at the Berkeley
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