Erin "The Gherkin" N.'s Profile

First things first: be prepared to wait. But remember that good things come to those who wait. Patience paid off in this instant as we waited almost an hour for a table on Sunday but were then greeted with huge portions of scrumptious dinner plate-sized pancakes. The staff all seem very stressed out but still competent. Our kind waitress even brought over a bowl of very fresh fruit salad (on the house) for my boyfriend and I to munch on while we waited for our food.

While I certainly hope they get their routines and wait times down soon I absolutely can't complain about the food. I had the Almond Joy Pancakes and they came out piping hot and studded with tasty chocolate chips, slivered almonds, and a generous helping of coconut.

Give this place a chance and I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

I can't believe that I've lived in my neighborhood for over two years and never knew about this spot until last week?! I feel almost devastated thinking about all of the great sushi that is literally just a hop, skip, and a jump away from me that I've missed out on eating.

Friday evening my boyfriend and I went here for dinner. He actually discovered Hana while out for lunch with some co-workers and was eager to introduce me to the restaurant.

We ordered an appetizer of steamed gyoza, several rolls and an order of nigiri. Everything was fantastic. Very fresh and well presented. What struck me the most about this restaurant was the fact that I actually found myself enjoying some of the rolls that I don't usually particularly care for, generally rolls made with salmon, the most.

Overall Hana has an excellent variety of sushi including some funky unique rolls like the Las Vegas (Eel, Cream Cheese, and Avocado that is deep fried) and the French Kiss (Deep Fried Shrimp, Smoked Salmon, Tuna, Cream Cheese, Avocado, Crabstick with a Special Sauce). Perhaps I'll give those a try next time. In addition the staff is exceedingly friendly and greets you cheerfully as you enter and leave the establishment. I enjoyed my meal here very much and will absolutely be back soon.

At the recommendation of a friend my boyfriend and I had a late lunch here during the Motif festival last weekend. Unfortunately the weather wasn't particularly cooperating so we were fairly chilled to the bone by the time we ventured inside the cozy little cafe.

In an effort to warm ourselves we both ordered steaming hot mugs of Chai Tea Lattes. They were excellent. Just what we needed to clear our frozen heads. Next we each ordered gourmet wraps. My boyfriend had the Curried Chicken salad while I had the Caprese.

The Caprese was served on a fresh spinach wrap with tomatoes, mozzarella, mesclun greens and a tasty pesto sauce. I was so hungry that if I could have arranged to have my jaw open on a hinge and stuff the entire hearty sandwich inside I would have. I'm glad that I didn't though because I would have missed out on all of those great flavors.

The wrap is served with a small bag of my favorite local Cape Cod Potato Chips and we split a scrumptious cookie that I believe was some sort of spiced oatmeal, white chocolate, cranberry concoction with a hint of orange. I'm just dying to recreate them at home.

While we were eating in the small sitting area we enjoyed a lovely view of the tide. It's a bit cramped back there but I was grateful to have a place to sit down for a few moments after all of our sightseeing.

The staff was unfailingly friendly and really one of the few drawbacks that I can think of is the fact that they don't accept credit cards. We had to skip over to a nearby ATM before ordering.

If I'm ever in the Rockport area I will absolutely eat here again and recommend that you do the same.

Some friends and I had lunch here today. It was very good. All of the food was fresh and tasty and the service was excellent. They have good simple well done dishes. I had the chicken pot pie and my companions has the flat bread pizza and a grilled chicken sandwich. We all left completely satisfied.

I also really enjoyed the stark grey atmosphere and modern feel of the restaurant. I will absolutely be going back.

Completely unbeknown to me these amazing Lotuspad yoga mats have been for sale literally right down the street from me for years.

According to the website: Lotuspads are earth-friendly, biodegradable yoga mats with vivid saturated colors, organic dual surface patterns, and an amazing cushion and grip that will help you go deeper into your poses with comfort and style. Personally I'd like to curl up on mine and take a luxurious cat-nap all afternoon, but that would really defeat the purpose.

So far I've been very impressed with the mats I purchased. I picked up an "Earth" yoga mat in shades of green and brown for CK and a "Lotus" mat for myself. The Lotus mat is, of course, gorgeously bright pink. Apparently pink is said to encourage compassion. These mats are definitely thicker and much easier for me to use on our hardwood floors in the apartment. Part of the issue that I personally had with trying to start-up my home practice again was the awful wrist pain I would get from trying to hold various poses while using my old cheep mat. The quality of the Lotuspad seems to cut down on the sometimes harsh impact that I feel when I'm out of shape and hopefully this will encourage me to continue to ramp back up into a more frequent practice.

For all the moms out there you should also take note that Lotuspads makes mats for children as well. By the way, if you're local to the Boston area you can place your order online and then have the option of picking up your mats and accessories in person at their location in Central Square. You can even connect with the founder of the company, Katy, on twitter.

I'm so incredibly excited to try to get back into yoga on a more consistent basis and I definitely owe a portion of this joy to my new Lotuspad mat. Thank you Katy!

My experience at Eyes Over Copley was out of this world good. I can't stress enough how fabulous everyone (from the optometrists to the assistant) who works in the office are. These people are customer service mavens. The actual eye exam is very thorough and frankly I found all of the cool imaging machines that they use to take 3-D images of your eyes fascinating.

Once they figure out your prescription, an angel (I'm serious. She's a saint.) helps you pick out the perfect pair of glasses for your face type. I've never received so many compliments on a pair of glasses before. Her assistance and recommendations were absolutely right on.  If you need new glasses you have to visit this establishment.

I was incredibly disappointed with the meal I had at Not Your Average Joe's. While our waitress was very pleasant and attentive my food was prepared in an extremely sloppy manner. We ordered the buffalo-Caribbean chicken tenders and they couldn't have been presented in a more unappealing way; slapped down haphazardly on a piece of wilting lettuce without any attention to detail at all. My entree of short rib stroganoff was practically inedible. All of the noodles were clumped together in a disgusting blob at the bottom of my plate. I guess someone forgot to stir the pasta while it was cooking? To top off the experience my wine glass was covered in spots and the floors were covered in food. Needless to say I wont be going back.

One of the things that originally drew me to In Season was that they actually allow you to choose the items you want. I find this so much more useful and functional than receiving a weekly mystery box of fruits and vegetables that I quite possibly don't have any interest in. After all, a girl can only eat so many apples and bean sprouts...

The products available for purchase include dairy, fresh pastas, fruits, vegetables, meats, bread, and more. Your delivery date is based on your location. For instance, I live in Cambridge, so my food arrived Tuesday morning bright and early (before 8:00 AM). I was beyond happy with the presentation of my order. The delivery person placed all of my perishable items in the cooler I set out in our lobby, and my other items were neatly packed in brown paper bags. All of the produce was clean and attractive (even the potatoes were tidy), and not a single egg was broken. I point this out because PeaPod always breaks my eggs and it drives me crazy.

In Season is a bit pricey, but no more so than Whole Foods. My only true quibble with the service was that the meat comes frozen. I guess I was expecting brown paper packages tied up with string and a hand delivery by Julie Andrews, but let's be realistic, the majority of the fresh meat I buy ends up in the freezer anyway. I doubt I'll be utilizing this service every week, but I want to stress again that the quality of these products is phenomenal and I definitely envision having a delivery from time to time.

These delectable pastries are the epitome of why I pretend that all vacation meals are "calorie-free." Walking into the bakery we were immediately faced with an incredible dilemma - which doughnuts would we choose from the glass case?! There were just too many amazing frosted, sprinkled, and fruit glazed doughnuts. It was an overwhelming choice to make before 9:00 AM and pre-coffee.

Eventually I decided to try a plain glazed ring that was absolutely enormous, as well as a "Feather Boa" which was topped with pink icing and fluffy coconut. CK picked out a raspberry glazed ring and a crinkly Old Fashioned. Paired with a cold glass of milk, I ended up on a sugar high for hours. Of course we went back again the next day. So I can highly recommend the Blueberry Cake doughnut to you now too.

Although I was disappointed not to have the opportunity to stuff my face with challah bread drenched in an Orange Bourbon Butter sauce, our lunch of fish and chips held its own admirably.

The restaurant was quite busy, but we were seated after only a short wait. Mere minutes after we ordered, large golden battered pieces of flaky cod without a hint of "fishy" taste (just the way we both like it) were brought to the table. Our fish was plated alongside thick french fries and a serving of cole slaw with generously cut veggies splashed with malt vinegar. I even dipped my fish in the tartar sauce, which in general I find revolting, but this one had a sweet pickle-like flavor that I really liked.

Cafe Nola is a very sweet little restaurant and a perfect place to enjoy a meal after the quick ferry ride over from Seattle.