Lorenzo A.'s Profile

If you've read the rest of the reviews you'll know by now that they have nice decor. I've been in twice now and appreciate that there's a shop around that isn't a national chain.

The food is okay but pricey. I ordered a chicken pesto panini sandwich on french bread and my sandwich bread was burned. A sandwich an drink of Nantucket Nectar cost just shy of $10 ($9.35 I think it was) but you don't get chips or even a pickle! Their sandwiches are fine (when not burned) but for a little bit more of a drive I could have had a Subway sandwich with chips and a drink for about 7 bucks.

I'd go again, because it seems like a nice friendly place to hang out. Maybe I'd try one of their coffees. The place was named one of the best of NH in New Hampshire Magazine's best of the state 2010 issue. Value, it's not but a good place to sit and eat or drink it can be.

I was in the mood for a Vietnamese sandwich and stumbled onto this place when I was trying to find another Vietnamese restaurant my friends recommended.

First, sandwiches are not on the menu. Second, if you plan to use a debit or credit card be aware that they have a policy that says you must charge at least over $15. This makes eating by yourself during lunch is going to impact your ability to use a card because the lunch special is not going to cost enough.

The menu was large and had lots of choices. I was surprised to see General Tso's chicken, thinking this was Chinese, but maybe it's Vietnamese as well. I had a ginger chicken plate with a side of white rice. I ordered spring rolls that were okay but even better when dipped into the accompanying peanut butter sauce.

The service staff was quick but also a little irritated that I didn't know what I wanted as soon as I sat down. They must have asked me 3 times if I was ready when I was still flipping through the menu. The dining area was loud at lunch, more the fault of the crowd there at the same (ringing cell phones, screaming kids, loud talkers). There are TVs on in the dining area but this wasn't part of the noise issue. The decor was simple and plain, with tables all having plastic flowers. The place is a bit dive-y but seemed clean.

The meal was okay but not great, especially considering the atmosphere and the fact the sandwich I was hoping to get wasn't even an option. I'd suggest looking at their menu before committing to eat, in case you don't see what you want or if you plan on using a credit/debit card.

Not bad, but I still wish I had found the other place my friends had recommended.

I grew up in Texas so, needless to say, Mexican food is something I know really well. The decor here is fine but not authentic, but that's okay. The food was fine. I loved the salsa and ordered a taco and enchilada plate. The enchilada was fine and the taco was okay but the ground beef tasted off. The service was great and the prices were decent but not exactly a deal at lunch time. There aren't many great Mexican places in NH so it's nice I found a decent place in the area.

Sun Moon stars Herbals is a shop that is unique to the area. You should take a look at the big collection of herbs for teas and medicinal use. There are a lot of consignment prodcuts from scarves to candles to soaps and greeting cards. Almost everything is made locally so it's great to see a purchase goign right back into the NH community. Being made locally does come with a slightly larger price, but no larger than other locally-made product shop. The decor and teas are refreshed often so stop by every once in a while. My favorite items are the greeting cards and the lip balms, with flavors that are delicious.

This place is about 1 block from the Boston Chinatown entrance so it's alone from the rest of the restaurants, which are all clustered on the other street. I thought I'd be doing myself a favor by getting away from the tourist traps, especially since this place was recommended in a travel guide I had with me. I made a mistake.

First, let me say the travel guide said to get their dim sum but, being that I wanted sweet and sour chicken, I went against their recommendation and the big sign outside the restaurant that says dim sum, so maybe that is what they're good at. The meal I had definitely was not what they were good at.

First, I was seated at a table facing their lobster and fish tank and saw that they had a dead fish, about 2 feet long, still in the tank, though separated from the rest from the partition but still sharing water with the other animals used for meals. It was right then that I was glad I didn't want to order seafood. The decor was seriously dated. The carpet had definitely seem better days, being dingy and well traveled on.

The sweet and sour chicken was not all batter, as some places tend to be. This was all chicken but it lacked flavor and the batter was dark brown and tasted overcooked. The white rice was fine. I originally wanted ice tea but they didn't have it so I went with the hot tea, which was fine.

When it was time to check out I waited for a while for someone to recognize that I was trying to get their attention. At first the 9 waiters were chatting near the kitchen and then, when I was ready for the receipt they were lined up against a wall, which could make your meal uncomfortable if they're watching you eat the whole time. 9 waiters were lined up and not one brought my check when I finally asked. I had to ask a couple of times before they found someone who could be bothered to print the ticket.

I'd say that if you like dim sum, maybe give them a chance but, considering how many places there are around, I'd say try some place else first.

I like Thai food but had not been to a place that left me just absolutely impressed with the cuisine; that is, until I went here with my wife and her parents.  In all there were 6 of us. I called ahead and made a reservation, which didn't even require a name. When we arrived 2 tables were put together for us in a nice corner that fit the group well.

We ordered several appetizers, each were great and we would have kept eating them, had we not finished them. The most popular item for most of the family was their triangles, which had curry on the inside. My favorite was some chicken on a skewer that came with some amazingly delicious sauces to dip it in. One was sweet with mini diced veggies in it (loved it!), another was a a duck sauce, and another was soy sauce.

The family ordered a variety of meals and we all sampled each other's plates. Everything was good.  My dish was the crispy chicken basil which, as it turns out, was also the featured dish in a Boston Globe article I could see from my table.  The thing was mouth watering.  

Some of the family had dessert. My wife had a Thai ice cream, while 2 others had Thai ice tea. It was great. The straw paper wrappers were turned into a rose. Cute.

Even if you prefer Chinese, as I usually do, I would recommend you drop by.  If you're not sure what to try, I don't think you'd go wrong by ordering anything but I'd suggest the crispy fried chicken basil.  Lots of people were apparently doing take-out but this was such a nice place that even the Boston Globe article from 2008 mentioned that these people are losing out on a bright, cheerful atmosphere hidden in Medford.  

We drove over from Saugus, MA (took about 30 minutes with traffic) but it was worth it.  Parking on the street stinks but my in-laws said they found some municipal parking near by.  Enjoy this treasure, it's the best Thai I've ever had and it may be yours too once you've gone!

This place is great and I've been by twice.  The setting is in a church that has been renovated into a restaurant.  The menu offers a pretty good selection of choices of what to eat. My vegetarian wife was able to find a few choices that she would be happy to choose from.  The staff is knowledgeable and helpful.  If you are a beer drinker they have a challenge where you can get your family crest displayed on the restaurant wall if you purchase and drink one of every alcoholic drink on the menu.  The food was great and the place can get crowded in the evenings. The restaurant also features live music on most evenings. Plan ahead and you'll enjoy yourself.  This is not just the best restaurant in Epping, NH it is one of the best restaurants in the state.

There's not much bad about this place if you are looking for sandwiches or a meeting place. There's not much that stands out as being above average though either.  I went in and ordered a sandwich and, though it was on their chalkboard menu, the staff said they stopped making the sandwich a while ago.  I like that you get a choice of potato chips that are more unique than the typical Lays brand chips.  The problem is that some chips flavors are delicious and some were repulsive.  Play it safe with flavors.  Overall, I'd go back again but this isn't going to be my sandwich shop of choice. Of the relative few places to eat in Exeter, you can't do much better but you also can't do much worse.  Finally, this place can get crowded rather easily so plan you visits around lunch and dinner times.

This place surprised me. I'm a big fan of the TV show LOST and here I was, in Lowell, MA in the middle of a run down downtown area looking to eat and a logo of the Dharma Initiative (a group from LOST) was staring at me. I went in and immediately found a comfortable looking place with a small but respectable menu. I ordered a burger, asked for it well done and got an order of Belgian fries.  When my food arrived the burger was bland, dry, and completely black all over. Maybe this was the result of a true "well done" as seen in the UK. I was expecting it USA style. My mistake?

The price for a burger, fries, and drink were near 12 dollars. Ouch. The fries look hand made but were greasy, limpy, and a mess. I went a second time, trying to not ask for well done but my burger remained unimpressive, especially since Applebees does a much better burger for less and it was a 10 minute drive a way. Never again. Might be good for a drink/alcohol, but not much else.

I went in after passing by a few times. I met Jen and she was very friendly and explained their menu.  Their menu is pay one price so most things on the menu are $6.95.  She said the burritos are huge and filling and described the choices of beans and types of meat.  I chose the order of two tacos, which came with beans and rice.  I chose the refried beans.  The food arrived in a nice basket and had plenty of fixings on the tacos.   I can tell you from experience, having eaten many real authentic tacos in my life, that these are among the best I've had in New Hampshire, the other being at Margarita's Mexican Restaurant in Exeter.

The refried beans were great, as were the homemade tostadas (tortilla chips for those of you Mexican-impaired. ;) )  The only thing was that the rice was bland. Jen was very much open to suggestions, she had come by several times and asked for input. Apparently the restaurant had been open for just 4 weeks and had put lots of effort and recipes into trying to get the rice just right.  She said they were still trying to get it right so I offered some of my suggestions of what my family's recipe used.

The atmosphere is nice.  I went after the lunch rush around 3:00 so I had the place pretty much to myself.  The food was a pretty good value, especially for the flavor.  Even with the bland rice, the overall meal was great enough to warrant another visit.  The menu isn't big enough to satisfy all needs for Mexican food (mostly nachos, burritos, tacos, and quesadillas), but they are open to suggestions.  Jen said they just added a vegetarian option after another customer suggested it.  I really liked that they were big on flavor, experience, and making sure you were satisfied.  If you are in the Raymond or Fremont area, pay them a visit and tell them Lorenzo said hi!