Christine S.'s Profile

I don't like their pizza. Ok that's said (and my husband is a fan) but I just have to write regarding their eggplant Parmesan. It is excellent time after time. Don't even bother ordering anything else. Salad bar is eh. Pasta ok. But the eggplant... now that's another story. Its layered sort of like lasagna. Thin slices of eggplant with just the right amount of coating and cheese between the slices. Smothered with a just right gravy. No overpowering extra spices and you can really taste eggplant. Go ahead, try it, then head over for some comedy next door. A nice night out without going into the city.

Food is a step down from your local pizza shop that does take out Italian and I agree with other reviewers that the service leaves much to be desired. Ok what is the deal of charging 8 dollars for a sandwich and having to pay for a side of fries? Oh and don't be suprised your charged for the rolls too if you want some with your gravy. Eggplant parm. was very greasy. Actually turned me off from ordering it for a while until I had a wonderful suprise at Prince Pizza (another review I guess). Went here a few times, wrote it off the list. Too bad too because I had hopes of a local hang out place. Wouldn't go here even for a salad (also over priced). They need to re-invent themselves and stop resting on their long standing history in the neighborhood. Go to Papa Ginos up the street, at least you'll pay the right price for what you get.

Average. But Im bias. I really did like the old hole in the wall. It was about bands on the weekend. Getting to know the person sitting next to you and really good BBQ coming out of the kitchen often with the owner in tow asking if you liked the hot sauce and if the new corn bread recipe was a hit or a miss. They perfected the corn bread and it is still great. The rest is over polished, too trendy and misses sometimes. Staff is great and its a good place to meet for drinks and apps though.

Three words: Corned Beef Hash. Did you get that? Ok there are lots and lots of wonderful breakfast items on the menu. And I can see why you would gravitate towards the plate size blueberry pancakes that are light and fluffy BUT.... this is one of the only true hold outs for home made hash. The hash is so good, its the reason for 10 years of patronage by three generations of my family. Oh guess i should talk about some other things too, like the great renovations completed about a year ago. Full bar for evening fare. Great family owned atmosphere. And yup, there's a line, but heck you wait longer for food to arrive waited on a busy day and you don't get to watch your food prepared (always a little bit of an adventure eating out in a place you can't see the kitchen). Two cup limit? Yikes didn't notice that. Though it might be something they want to reconsider. Heck just put the refill pot out on a table in the dining room. we'll all serve ourselves. On that note, think of the bus person, drop a few bucks on the table when your leaving. You know you dribbled just a little...

Ok admitting right away that this is a limited review based on bar eating. With that being said, you can not miss the onion soup at this place. Basically the best in the nation if you ask me. And so far on all occasions this has held true. Bread is an excellent accompaniment. Had other bar bites like the lamb pops which have a wonderful mint sauce and a grilled to perfection and stuffed mushrooms. The mushrooms were also great. Service was pleasant and house wine went well with the ordered items. Think Ill just keep going back and order everything off the apps. menu.....we of course always starting with the onion soup..

For 100 dollars a plate. The food should all be excellent. Not ok, not passing but excellent. I agree with other writers that the bread basket is nice as is the onion soup. Steaks are actually a hit or miss and for the money missing isn't really an option. Two out of four of our steaks were cooked right and tender. The other two, one over cooked and the other gristly were a disappointment. The sides, mushrooms, were great and we all scoffed them up. Expected more from the creamed spinach. It was bland and flavorless. What a shame, had this same dish at a Capital grill in another state and it was awesome. Service was the best part of the whole experience but you know you pay for the whole package. Probably wont head back here again. Going in town, to Ruth Chris for our next big dinner out.

This corner spot is a tough sell. Not sure why. The decore is wonderfully relaxing, and Italian music flows between the white table clothes like a soothing balm. Great place to go after a stressful day. I would disagree on the comment about the portions. I tried something completely new. A house dish with chicken, spinach, tomatoes and a wonderfully light very flavorful sauce. I ended up bringing half home for lunch! My husband had the shrimp scampi which included 6-8 large shrimp in a simple garlic sauce. Just the way it is suppose to be. Service was excellent. Wine prices reasonable. Its good Italian food and I would highly recommend this place. Its time folks to come out to the local places. Get away from the Macaroni Grills' (yuck) and Bertucci's (Ok but nothing to rave about). Have some control over your meal and see what a chef will prepare for you. Its a nice night out.

Definitely recommend a visit to Lowell and a first stop at the visitors center. Here you can watch a brief film on the history of lowell and the cloth industry. Then grab a walking map and start out. Follow the trail through old and new. Signs are up along the river to point out old buildings and describe how the river and the trains were used to bring this small farming community to a huge manufacturing center in just a few decades and then it faded as fast as it grew. Its a wonderful contrast between old and new, nature (the river) and man. After, check out one of the little pubs or restaurants. They are mostly locally owned. Stay away from the few chains that are up there and you'll continue your experience of a true American City. The museum and tour maps are free (thanks fed gov) but you can donate a buck or two to help keep it that way. Also a little store with some interesting items is at the visitor center. And galleries line the walkway, so if you enjoy art, poke your head in a few of these too. Also free.... unless you can resist and buy a piece. Enjoy!!

The pluses, nice bar area. Decent beer specials. Huge menu so everyone has to be able to find something they like. The no bars side. A bit over priced on some items (cup of soup and side salad is 9.99 and guess what, you can get a cup of soup or salad and a mini burger With fries for that same price. Seems odd). Appetizers lots of fried food. We couldn't tell the difference between some of the items. Need to kick up the spices a bit on things like chicken fingers and cut back on the coating on the moz slabs (yes slabs not sticks. And the moz is pretty good actually). House salad tastes like refrigerator. Not sure what thats about. If you closed your eyes you wouldn't know the difference between the lettuce and the tomato. Hey buy local guys. Main course, I had prime rib. Nice flavor but over cooked. Cutting back the menu and focusing on some items might be nice. Wait staff was good. If I went back again, I'd stick to a sandwich or something.

I agree with other diners. This is the place to go for taramisu. Excellent. Wait staff can be a little on the rough side and they don't take credit cards so if you plan to have a few after dinner drinks with your dessert make sure to visit the bank up the street before you go. It was slow the saturday night we went.  Maybe that would explain the sour attitude of the employees. I think its about the business right guys. Lighten up and you might find that work isn't all that bad.