Lauren M.'s Profile

Joyce recently catered my bridal shower down in Lowell, MA.  Not only is she very friendly and professional, her food is absolutely delicious.  All the flavors from a charred eggplant dip with fresh out-of-the-ground veggies, to yummy skewers made both for the vegan with artichoke and the meat eater with proscuitto and salami were mouthwatering.  Her presentaion of every dish was beautiful with all sorts natural garnishes...curled green onions, flowers made from radishes and even edible flowers.  Her lemon diamonds were to die for and the beautiful vanilla and vegan chocolate cupcakes with raspberry and mint glazes were fantastic.  And of course, I can't forget the delicious drinks... fresh raspberry lemonade, iced tea and a wonderful and refreshing white sangria.  She helped make my bridal shower a very special day and I loved every moment of it.  Thank you so much Joyce!

This may have been the best massage I've ever had.  Emily has soft but strong hands, hit every pressure point with perfect pressure and took her time with every knot in my body.  She found knots I didn't even know I had.  I was absolutely relaxed the entire session and was completely relieved and satisfied at the end.  I will definitely go back and I highly recommend Emily if you're looking for a massage therapist.

I had lunch here the other day with a girlfriend and quite enjoyed every moment of it.  We sat on the patio and sipped on a few glasses of wine while relishing the beautiful weather.  The bread was kind of like a focaccia that they served with a yummy herbed olive oil.  I had the chicken and orzo salad with a balsamic vinagrette.  I cleaned my plate.  My friend had the grilled chicken sandwich.  I didn't try her sandwich but it seemed almost like my salad but on bread and without the orzo.  The bread looked just like a pizza crust which I probably would have really enjoyed.  The service was attentive and friendly.  I will definitely go back for another nice lunch when I'm in the area.

I heard mixed reviews about Mary's.  I think it was just ok.  I got the mushroom burger and I felt it was nothing I couldn't have made myself.  In fact, I'm possitive I could have done better.  I think 1/2 lb burgers are totally unnecessary as well.  I could barley finish the first half.  If I was starving and in need of a ton of meat, I would crawl up the street for another Mary's burger, but hopefully next time I need my burger fix, I'll go to the grocery store to pick up my own ingredients.

Coming from San Francisco, I have high expectations for sushi.  Sushi Sasa was amazing!  They passed the test.  All the rolls were delicious and the service was friendly and attentive.  The wine was delicious as was the desert.  We probably ordered at least 10 rolls between the 4 of us, as well as the typical edamame and a starter and we cleaned all the plates.  I was very impressed.  My only issue was the table and chairs.  They were quite uncomfortable and reminded me of something I would see at IKEA or even target.  The table was lopsided and a bit rocky and made our soy sauce spill a few times, but the food was exceptional, so it's all ok.

Great local neighborhood bar.  I like the laid back vibe inside with the couches, chairs and boothes.  There is a pool table and a number of tvs for the sports fan.  I just noticed the back patio which is nice for some fresh air, or the occasional smoke.  The bar top is pretty cool which is designed with about a million dice.  Their drinks are reasonably priced and there is some pretty good bar food.  Good little pizzas and they have tater tots!  I LOVE TATER TOTS!

Delicious panini's.  I wish there was one closer to my house in Uptown.  I loved it!  Great ingredients and combos.  Great bread and delcious spicy pickles.  I love those spicy pickles ;)

Great location.  Great happy hour.  Great back patio.  And AMAZING Kobe Sliders (if they're not overdone).

If I could give 3.5 stars I would, but I can't.

I thought Avenue Grill had a lot of potential.  I like the decor and the big windows facing the street.  The light around dinner time was perfect shining through the windows.  Our service was not exactly on par though.  Granted it was quite busy when we got there, it died down pretty quick and was mostly empty by 8:30pm.  

It took about 10  mintues before the server even came to our table, at which time we had to ask for the cocktail menu.  Once he came back, another 10 minutes later, we were able to order our cocktails and appetizer, as well as a cup of chowder for my boyfriend.  I had the citron nirvana martini which was quite good.  It had a bit of a kick to it with the crystalized ginger.  I really liked it.  We order the mussles to start with which was probably the best part of the entire meal!  They were fantastic and I highly recommend them.  As our server was clearing our app. dish, he mentioned that the clam chowder would be right out.  We then ordered another cocktail and bottle of wine.  About 15 minutes later, the drinks arrived.  And about another 15 minutes later, our entrees arrvied.  I thought it was strange that the server would remind us about the chowder, and then forget it all together himself.  We never received the chowder.

I ordered the seasame seared ahi with wasabi potatoes.  I thought the ahi was delicious as was the ginger it came with.  Unfortunatly, I was unable to taste even the slightest hint of wasabi in the potatoes.  I think it would be have been great if I had.  It also came with two fried samosas.  I'm not exactly sure this was the best addition to this plate.  Already having a side of potatoes, I wasn't exactly looking for another starch, let alone another form or potatoes.  Either way, the ahi itself was great!

My boyfriend ordered the lamb chops.  Being one of the more expensive things on the menu, we were both very unimpressed with this dish.  It was ordered medium rare, and came out just about walking.  It was definitely underdone and underseasoned.  The veggies it came with were overcooked and the risotto cakes were pretty bland.  Again, very unimpressed.

Desert was great.  I think the deserts were amazingly priced and quite tastey.  I had a scoop of the mango gelato with two biscottis for only 2 bucks!  I thought that was great!

Over all, 3.5 stars is what I think they deserve.  I hear their ravioli is amazing so I look forward to my next visit to try those out.  And to get another order of those mussles. :)

Comfort food.  Delicious comfort food.  I started with a wonderful Greek salad.  It was a lot bigger than I thought and all very tasty.  I shared the baby back ribs with my boyfriend.  We almost got the fried chicken as well (which I heard was great) but thank god we didn't cause I was actually uncomfortably full after sharing the ribs.  They were awesome!  Falling off the bone with sweet BBQ sauce.  The side of slaw and wonderful baked beans paired perfectly.  I had to go straight home and veg on the couch before I could do anything else with myself.  I cant' wait to go back.  But I'll have to look into making reservations or going at a different time cause the wait when we got there was 45 minutes.  Good thing two seats at the bar opened up cause we were in and out of there in 45 mins.  So look at the bar before you decide against the long wait.