I’ve heard so many good things about Mel’s Commonwealth Cafe in Wayland so one morning we went to check it out.
The service was okay, a little slow and they weren’t that busy.  I got a low-fat yogurt waffle with light whipped cream and strawberries:

 
Ethan got pancakes:

We also shared an order of bacon, turkey sausage and homefries:

I’d say the best part of the breakfast was the waffle, everything else was mediocre.  The bacon was paper-thin and seemed plasticy, the homefries were luke-warm and were mushy even where they looked like they should have been crispy.  I know  people LOVE this place and someone will give me a  hard time for not liking it here, but we just found it to be okay at best.  They seemed to do a good business at their take-out counter and had a lot of regulars who chatted it up with the staff.  Maybe we just got a bad order, it wasn’t the worst ever but we probably won’t be back between the service and the food.

For all my needs I only want to spend a dollar on I got to Ashland for the Dollar Tree.  Unlike the misleading “Family Dollar” in Framingham, where item’s are more than a dollar,  the place tells it like its and states on it’s signage “Everything’s $1.00” and this is true.
They have some name brand items but a lot of lesser-known brands so you may find something like “Cress” toothpaste or “Captain Munch” cereal but you know…what do you want for a dollar?
On my last visit, there was a grandmother walking around with her grandkids and as I was passing them , they were walking by some erasers and the little boy who was maybe 7 said “Rainbow erasers, that’s the best they could do?”
Surprised, I raised my eyebrows and smiled and the grandmother patted me on the shoulder and started laughing. It was just so odd, I didn’t even know what that was supposed to mean.
They looked adequate erasers to me:

It was just funny to hear anyway.
Also, I’d like to add that this is a great place to get mylar balloons for an event like a birthday, babyshower etc..  they inflate them too- all for just $1!!

The other day I was going to Michael’s Craft store in the old Cloverleaf Mall Plaza (I guess it’s still called Cloverleaf but it was much better as a mall, than the plaza it is now) and I noticed Owen O’Leary’s has closed(!)
I have such mixed feelings about this place.  I worked here when I was a student at Framingham State College and was part of the original staff when they opened in 1996.  It’s weird to see it closed.
I have so many memories of that place, it was an absolute zoo on the weekends.   It was a challenge just trying to get drinks/food to the tables because the bar was so packed.  I remember waiting on nice regulars and the quirky Guitar Center guys.  The group of jerks from Mathworks who would come in for their Friday after-work TGIF! drinks.  The “rough and tumble” guys that dwelled down in the pool room all night.  One time this guy who looked like Greg Allman just walked in, went right to the pool room, found this guy who was leaning over the table preparing to shoot, punched him and walked out.
Dreading to fulfill a promise of picking up a shift for “Roast Night”, an all inclusive meal for $6.99, and people still demanding to upgrade items for the same price (like a hot fudge brownie sundae instead of the scoop of ice cream the meal comes with).
The manager throwing plates, supplies or anything in grabbing distance if he was mad and staff getting the hell out of the kitchen when that happened.
The obnoxious cook who would make offensive jokes and thought he was God’s gift to women.  The dishwashers who barely spoke English and called him “mono blanco”, and learning that means “white monkey” (and then bonding with the dishwashers).
Last call being at 12:30am and not getting done with sidework until almost 2am, walking to my old Honda Prelude exhausted, with achy knees and then listening to Norm Nathan on WBZ while driving home.

That was some of the toughest waitressing I’ve ever done.  I’d say it would tie with working the graveyard shift at the old Athenian Restaurant in Framingham.  I’m exhausted just thinking about it! 
Anyway, goodbye Owen’s.

I don’t drink a lot of beer but when I do, it’s to really enjoy the craft of a fine brew.
One of the few beers I feel is a taste experience is “Blackened Voodoo”.   This is actually my all time favorite beer (lager), ever, ever. 
The New Orleans based brewery was destroyed by Katrina in 2005.  I would hear report/rumors that they were trying to rebuild and/or find another brewer to produce from but whenever I asked my local liqour store(who was very compassionate)  they said they had not heard anything.
Every few months, I’d try to google up any news on Blackened Voodoo and see if there was any news.  The other day I found that a brewery in Wisconsin is infact producing Blackened and Crimson Voodoo!  At first I was weary that there might be something about the new brewery that would not be able to make Voodoo the same way, but the article I read stated that the Dixie brewmaster makes many regular visits from New Orleans to Wisconsin to ensure the ingredients, process, and product are up to Dixie standards.
I emailed the distributor in Colorado and asked them if there were any places in MA they supply Blackened Voodoo to and they said they would get back to me.

In the meantime, I called my usual store who didn’t have it and thought, on a whimp, that Kappy’s in Sudbury seems like the type of place to carry such a beer.  I called and sure enough they did!
When I got to the store, I eagerly scanned the shelves, I felt like I was looking for my sister at baggage claim, I was so excited.  Then I saw the beautiful 6-packs of Blackened Voodoo.  It was a sweet reunion!

I got home and opened one, right from the sweet smell I knew this was the same brew I knew and loved. 

And it was,  I can’t even describe how much I love this beer!!   Kappy’s totally made my night (and the rest of my life!).
I love you Kappys, thanks!

After the final dissapointment  at “Fun & Games” in Framingham, we decided to check out the Fun & Games at Village Green in Natick.

Sadly, this was just as dissapointing.  They have this “game garage” arcade:

The garage features 5 or 6 games I don’t play or I’ve never heard of like “EggVenture”

and even the one classic game, a re-furbed Pac-Man, has a weird feel to it, you can’t see but the white letters are actually japanese (I think)

So in that way, this Fun & Games is a disappointment.
Although we’re not huge mini-golf people but we ended up playing it since we were there and found it to be a pretty decent course.


It has a colonial theme and is kept up well.
We’d like to know what this guy is doing though:

Writing about all this remnids me:  Wasn’t Good Time Emporium supposed to move into the old Sam’s Club on Speen St.?

I like Weston Nurseries(located on 135 in Hopkinton) because there is a great assortment, nice people and a beautiful layout.
Whenever I go here for something I always end up walking around and looking at everything thinking I can somehow fit it in my tiny yard.  It’s a great place to go and just look at everything to get ideas.  If you need advice the people there are very helpfull too.


Ethan and I went here one morning in May and tried to do a one stop shop to landscape our yard in a day.  We bought flowers, shrubs, vines and grass seed.  Which they have an impressive selection of. 

Inside the shop they have all sorts of fertilizers, weed killers, garden trinkets, pest repellent and more.

Also, on Friday’s they host a Farmer’s Market in their parking lot from 12-6.  You can get vendor information on their site: http://www.westonnurseries.com/

Since I’m sitting at the computer sweating at 10:30PM I thought I’d post about our recent trip to Tasty Treat in Ashland.   This is one of our top picks when it comes to going out for an ice cream.    I guess there’s nothing too special about it but it’s a nice place to go for an ice cream and although we haven’t played it, they offer mini golf and you can sit on the benches and watch people play.

Ethan got some sort of peanut butter ice cream and I got a German Chocolate Cake, which is my favorite here and that’s what I usually get everytime.
 
They don’t seem to have a website but they’re at 16 W. Union St. (Rt. 135) and are open year round but obviously summer is their time to shine. 

(Photo from January)

Growing up right on the Holliston/Milford line, we frequented Lincoln Discount Drugs which in the past 2 years has become Milford Discount Variety, which I think is going to focus more on alcohol but they have kept a lot of old merchandise in hopes of people buying it. 
I remember coming here with my sister and playing “Crystal Castles” while our mom was shopping.  Almost as entertaining was the blood pressure machine in the back by the pharmacy.

Like Village Stationary in Holliston, I like to consider this place a “living museum” of sorts.  Here one can find all sorts of artifacts from make-up, to books, to software.
I haven’t been in a couple of months so I’m not sure if they’ve finally cleaned everything out but on a somewhat recent visit  I made some purchases:
 
I tried to give this to my sister to put in her son’s nursery but she refused it.
 

I can’t use it but  was compelled to bring home with me:
 
Classic Ziggy cardboard stand-up for my desk.

Not to mention a bunch of old Halloween decorations which I don’t feel like digging out of the basement right now but they’re great, old school paper cut-outs of witches and monsters.

Some items that didn’t make the shopping cart but are “musuem quality”:
80’s “Ouch Kit”
 

An Organizer (judging from the “ice cream fantasy” theme probably at least mid-80’s):

Outdated Commuter Cup (with adhesive tape):

Ancient cake decorations:

Oh Lincoln, so many good times but alas, you must become an beer and wine outlet.  I’ll still stop in, like I said I’m always curious to see  what they still have no the shelves and wonder WHY they keep this stuff on the shelves.

Russell’s Garden Center in Wayland is right on Route 20 and I used to think they were overpriced and maybe they are with something but what garden center isn’t?  I like they huge variety of plants and they also have a giant giftie type area that also sells practical /interesting  garden accessories.
If you’re looking for vegetable plants this is a great place to go, but  go early in the spring or they’ll run out of some things. They were all out of brussel sprouts when Iwent in early June but I did get some tomatoes, cucumbers and a gorgeous eggplant.

There are animals for the kids to see and it’s just pretty to walk around and look at everything.
Even Ethan will come with me to look around:

Here’s a little of what to expect:

Gerardo’s II  on Rt. 9 (232 Turnpike Rd.) Westboro is another place I’ve been by 100’s of times but never thought of going in because it’s easy to pass and right by an on ramp and I just never bothered stopping in.  Since I started working in Westborough, I made the effort to go check it out.
Inside is small but they have an impressive assortment of pastries, cookies and cakes.

The nice lady at the couter told me they also  make custom cakes and offer much more than what they have in the case, you just have to ask.

I decided to get a few treats for home which were some cannoli and a creamcheese brownie that was excellent.
The cannolis I got were plain, chocolate and tiramisu.

This is a great little bakery and they seem to do pretty well even though they are in kind  of a random location but the treats are good enough that it’s worth stopping in.

The other day, the Metro West Humane Society was kind enough to let me come in and take some pictures and tell me about their cat shelter. They run a no-kill facility and have set adoption hours on Sundays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. This is right on the Framingham/Ashland line on 126.

Before I came here I was afraid I would be depressed seeing a bunch of cats in cages and meowing to be let out, but this wasn’t the case at all. I was surprised/impressed with the free roaming space for the cats. Some cats were just walking around in the halls and other cats are kept in community rooms. Only those cats that have to be, are in cages but even then the cages are very roomy and are like a double-suite rooms with a bed on one side and a door they can walk through to get to the other “room”.

The cats here seemed so content and comfortable and the MWHS does such a great job at keeping the rooms clean and supplying them with multiple food/waterbowls, litterboxes, toys and beds that the cats that share a room do not have to fight over anything. In fact it was interesting to see so many cats getting along. Maybe it’s just because my cat hates other cats and won’t let us get a new one, but it was nice to see so many cats getting a long in the same building.

Here’s some pictures from my visit:

There is also a gift shop where manufactured and hand-made items are for sale and all profits go to the shelter of course.

There is also a wall you can buy a tile in memory of a pet and it have their name up on the Cat Walk wall.

They always welcome financial donations but are just as grateful for any dry and canned food donations as well.

And finally, I’d like to mention their event on Saturday, June 7th. The 11th annual Walk for Animals

For everything you would want to know about the Metro West Humane Society, including adoption hours, cat profiles and other events please visit their website http://www.webpaws.com/mwhs

Bazels Sub & Pizza has been on Rt. 16 (Washington St.) in Holliston since I can remember.  We used to get pizza here because there was no where else,  since we lived so far from downtown.  Our next closest option was Papa Gino’s in Milford but we would end up getting pizza from here more.  None of us live in Holliston  anymore, we haven’t been to Bazel’s in at least 15 years but recently we were together and decided to take a trip down and taste a slice of history. 

Inside is a small but accomodating shop with seating for probably 15 people.

We got  small mushroom and onion pizza and a Greek salad, both were pretty good.

The pizza had a nice crunchy crust and sweet sauce.  The cheese was well melted and they didn’t skimp on the toppings.

The salad was very fresh and came with a generous amount of feta cheese.

I want to go back and try a sub because they looked really good.  I think we enjoyed our lunch because it was a bit of nostaligia but I think they really make a decent pizza and it’s good to see Bazels is still going strong.  They’ve also made it to the internet!  http://www.bazelspizza.com/

When my sister and I were little (4-6 years old) our parents used to take us to Gene’s Italian Restaurant in Milford, I want to say it was on Central St. but I could be wrong.  I remember inside was interesting (to me as a kid anyway),  kind of dim with  curtains and a stage of some sort and they’d have someone walking around the diningroom playing an accordion.
My parents liked to take us there because you could get spaghetti and meatballs for $1.50.

You might be thinking, “Okay, okay what does this have to do with WMRC? Jeez.”  Well, this bumper sticker is the only direct connection I have to Gene’s.  I can’t imagine how my parents never take a picture and documented the family eating such a bargain meal, but somehow it never happened.  There was a pile of these WMRC  bumperstickers by the door and the little smiley face appealed to me so I took one.  When I got home, I stuck it on my night table. 

This night table eventually got moved down to the basement and through the years when I’d go down there to look for something and see this and think of Gene’s Italian Restaurant.  I ended up removing the bumper sticker and painted the nightstand, which somehow is now my current nightstand, and laminated this sticker since I think it’s the only one in existence, not that any one cares, but I do.  I keep meaning to try to listen to WMRC but never think of it since I’m a die-hard WBZ girl, so when I’m on the AM dial, I’m always at 1030 but looking at their programming, I might give them a try.  I feel I should after having their bumper sticker for 30 something years.

Looks like their slogan is now “A First Class Radio Station” but I’ll always prefer “Radio is Beautiful” 🙂

Last week we were in the mood for a burger and heard that the Met Bar at the Natick Collection has great burgers.  I usually stay away from the mall but it was a weeknight and I had to get special colored m&m’s from the “Sweet Factory” for my sister’s baby shower so we ended up here.

The Met has a dining room, booths by the bar, a regular bar and a “burger bar” where you can watch your burger cooked in the open grill area.

We started off with a couple of drinks.  Ethan got some sort of blood orange or pomegranate martini and I just got a Lime Rickey but it was excellent, made with fresh crushed raspberries.

Now I forget what kind of burger Ethan got, but looking at the pictures they both look the same because the put the burger on top f the cheese and everything else you get.  I remember Ethan got a burger that was named on the menu and I “created” a make-your-own burger.   They offer a variety of burgers, including turkey, veggie, and black angus and a choice of  white or whole wheat multi-grain buns and a seemingly endless variety of toppings and condiments to go with it.  I got a black angus burger with sheep’s cheese, horseradish sauce, mushrooms and sprouts on a multi-grain bun:

Below: Ethan’s mystery burger

The burgers were really good  and they came with fries that were okay, not bad but not amazing and a nice little side of pickles.  The service was okay.  I know I read  from some people’s reviews that the service is terrible but it was okay, maybe a little slow.  I did get the feeling our waiter was a little shticky, trying to up-sell dessert at the end asking how we can’t have room for dessert when we just ate those “little” burgers (I don’t think they’re little, and they’re very filling) but it’s not hard to just say no.  So it wasn’t too bad since that was the worst of it.
I’m guessing for a few reasons we probably just won’t find ourselves here again but I would recommend it if anyone was curious about it like we were.

Minado is just to the left of Sherwood plaza (if it’s not still Sherwood Plaza on Route 9 in Natick).
This place is more than just sushi, they have hot dishes, BBQ, salads and a nice assortments of salads and desserts.
I love coming here for the variety but at $25 a pop (cheaper for lunch), it’s nice to get your money’s worth too so coming hungry is a good idea.
Inside is modern with high celings and neatly displayed food:

Hot dishes:

Salads/Noodles:

Sushi:

Plate 1: Bunch of different stuff; Tempura, sesame crusted tuna skewers, shumai, crab cake seaweed salad, Japanese eggplant, shitake mushroom salad, asparagus, salmon.

Plate 2: Nigiri, sushi, sashimi,  an oyster, soba-seaweed salad, lettuce salad

For dessert we went to the crepe station and watched the crepe guy do his thing:

I got chocolate and some fruit  from the dessert bar:

The desert selection also includes little bite-sized cakes and pastries:

Real sushi connoisseurs might look down on this place but it’s really good for what it is, variety and the quality is good.  It’s no Oiishi but it’s not trying to be and the variety of dishes makes for a really nice meal.