Met Bar and Grill

This past weekend we headed to the Natick Collections so my son could go to Build-A-Bear to make a bear for his soon to be sister. I decided while we were there it would be a great opportunity to try Met Bar and Grill.

Appearance: Met is located inside the Natick Collections. As you enter it looks like a small Retro Bar, but there is a fairly large dining area located behind the bar. It looks a little like an upscale steakhouse with an open kitchen.

Food: The dining menu has all of your steak house options, but we ordered from the Burger Bar menu. My wife ordered the Chicken Club (Grilled Chicken Breast / Applewood Bacon / Green Leaf Lettuce / Thick-Cut Tomato on white Pullman) pictured above and a Grape soda. It was an over sized sandwich that was good, but needed a sturdier bread, and was served with excellent fries and pickles. My son chose the Mini burgers off the kids menu with Chocolate milk, and he seemed to enjoy it. I decided to try the Dallas Burger (Blue Cheese / Onion Rings / Bacon / Bar-B-Que Sauce on Sesame Seed Bun) with a Raspberry Lime Rickey. The Raspberry lime Rickey was the best I have ever had with fresh raspberries and limes in it. The burger was excellent, but much to small for the size bun it was served on.

Value: Not really sure how to attempt this one. The food was great, but Lunch cost me $50. My son's meal was $9.50 alone off the kids menu, and did not include his $3 milk. Why not just say you do not have a kids menu.

Service: The service was OK. We were quickly grated by the hostess and seated. Drinks and meals came up in a timely fashion, but we did not see our waiter again until it was time to clean the plates off the table

Overall, it was a good experience, but i can not say I would do lunch here again with the prices. I might be willing to try it for dinner

Met Bar and grill
1245 Worcester St
Natick, MA 01760

http://www.metbarandgrill.com/

Halfway Cafe

Yesterday We had the day off to register my Son for Kindergarten, and after that decided to go check out the Halfway Cafe in Marlborough and use the gift card we received for Christmas.

Appearance: The Halfway Cafe is set right on Route 20 in Marlborough. The parking lot is very small, but I guess there is a lower lot behind the building. When you enter, the bar is to the right, and dinning area to the left. Having my son we chose the dining area. There were a couple of TVs on sports channels, and some sporting memorabilia on the natural finished Wayne's Coating walls. The dining area is very small.

Food: The menu consists of your normal bar grub at cheap prices. My son ordered the Grilled cheese and chocolate milk, and said it was good, but how can you screw up grilled cheese. My wife decided on the Philly Cheese steak with hand cut fresh fries, and I must say it was excellent. I started with a side salad, and ordered the Ray's size Steak tips in the house sauce with the hand cut fries, and I was not overly impressed, it was just OK.

Value: The value is exceptional!! The Lunch specials started at 4.99, and they have the monthly 7 for $7 specials, which is 7 things for $7 each. Our lunch came to $30

Service: I have to say the place was not very busy when we were there, and it was very pokey. It must really be slow for dinner. Our waitress was nice, but I thought it was wrong that she asked if I wanted the side salad with my tips, and then charged me extra for it. I thought it came with it the way she asked.

I can't say the Halfway Cafe was the best place around, but definatley a good place for a cheap lunch.

http://www.thehalfwaycafe.com/

Just Playing with a rating system

Hi Everyone,


I am just playing with some settings on the Blog. One of the setting I changed is to have emails sent out to some individuals when I make updates to the blog. If you are not getting emails and would like to, please let me know.

Also I am adding some Fork icons i found online that I am thinking of using as a rating system. I just wanted to see what they look like posted.

Alicante Mediterranean Grille

This past Saturday night we went out to dinner with some friends to Alicante's in Mendon. We have been here multiple times now, but this is my first review on the place. I decided to try to add my first picture, but it was really dark in the Bar area, and my camera phone does not have a flash. This is a picture or the home made chips they serve at Alicante's, and they are to die for.

Appearance: Set on Rt 16 in Mendon with a very small parking lot there is a valet parking area. There is a very nice bar with seating area to wait for your table in. We got to check out the bar area for about 2 Hours. On the way to the dining area, you pass a coat check closet if you wish to use it. The dining area is full of tables along the long widow overlooking the lake. At the end of the restaurant is a waterfall wall. Every table has a candle on it.

Food: We started off in the Bar with some home made chips, they girls had soda's, my friend had a Corona, and I had a couple of Blue Moon Draughts.

Once we were seated we started off with some Lettuce Warps (Crisp Iceberg Lettuce Cups, With Grilled Chicken, Roasted Peppers, White Kidney Beans, Goat Cheese And Toasted Almonds ), and Brocheta (Bourbon Marinated Beef Tenderloin Skewers, With Grape Tomatoes And Fresh Mozzarella). The Lettuce wraps were good, but would have been better if the Lettuce was crisper. The Brocheta was just amazing, the most tender and flavorful pieces of steak ever.

For our main course both the girls opted for the Pollo Parmagian (Boneless Chicken Breast With Our Roasted Garlic And Basil Marinara, Topped With Mozzarella), which they both enjoyed. My friend chose the Risotto (Shrimp, Sea Scallops And Salmon, Pan Seared With Shallots, Evoo, White Wine, Lemon, Oven Roasted Tomatoes And Baby Spinach With Our Slow-Cooked Arborio Rice), and he said it was excellent, and I decided to try the Ternera Serrano (Provimi Veal, Layered With Spinach, Serrano Ham, Asparagus And Provolone Finished With a Jerez Sherry Sauce) which was wonderful. The Veal had such great flavor and just melted in your mouth.

For Dessert we all got something different, Our friends got the Tarimusi, and the Banana's Foster Cheese Cake, and said that they were both excellent. My wife chose the Creme Brulee, her favorite dessert. I decided to give the special a shot. 2 crepes filled with Black Berries, Blueberries, and strawberry's with Vanilla ice cream all drizzled with Carmel sauce. It had to have been one of the best desserts I have ever had.

Value: Alcante's is pricey, but well worth the money. You get excellent food every time, and are not rushed. We spent about $20 at the bar, and our dinner tab came to around 140 without tip plus a $4 tip for the Valet. It is just a really nice night out with a great dinner.

Service: The hostess was really nice, she came to find us in the bar when our table was ready. The bar wait staff was a bit slow, but they were very busy. The waiter was great, but did have a very Strong accent making it hard to understand him. Valet was speedy!! Overall service is 5 Star.

If you are looking for a really good restaurant for a special occasion of some sort then you must try Alicante's, I promise you will not be disappointed.

Alicante Mediterranean Grille

84 Uxbridge Rd

Mendon, MA 01756

http://www.alicantema.com/

Val's Resturant

About a week ago, we had to go pick up my Wife's car from the shop in Holden, so we decided it would be a great night to try out Val's Restaurant in Holden on our way. My parents had recomended Val's to us.

Appearance: You walk into a beautiful Bar with with plenty of seating, and a leather sofa in front of a stone fireplace. The dining area is full of both tables and booths, and the walls are covered with framed photos from some local Photographer.

Food: The menu consists of a little bit of everything. My Wife decided to try Val's Oven Baked Pasta with Meatballs. She was very pleased with the cheesy dish. My son chose the Kids Pizza which was defiantly home made, and devoured the whole thing. I chose the Lamb and Chicken Kabob's served on a bed of excellent Rice. I thought the kabob's were delicious. All meals came with a family style salad, and fresh bread.

Value: The prices are very reasonable. Our dinner came to just over $30

Service: The hostess was very pleasant, and seated us right away. No wait at 5:30 on a Friday night, but there was a wait when we left. Our waitress was very attentive to us all night.

Defiantly would suggest giving Val's a shot if you are ever in the Holden area.

Val's Restaurant
75 Reservoir St
Holden, MA 01520
http://valsrestaurant.com/