Andrew "Unforgivable" E.'s Profile

All the odds say that this should be my favorite place to eat - right down the street from me & great food.  As it turns out it might be one of my newest favorite places, but I feel like an idiot because I've lived in Somerville for almost two years and I just went here for the first time last week.  If you happened to be reading this and in a similar situation, let me put it to you bluntly: go here and get a freaking sandwich.  Explore the place and buy some pasta.  Get your meats here for your sandwiches you bring to work.  It's a small place, but if there was some way to measure it, the QOA (Quality of Awesomeness) per square foot is off the radar.

Some people get excited about their first born, buying a new HD TV, or getting out of a city for a weekend.  I, on the other hand, get excited about new fast food places opening within 20 minutes of where I live because, well, I'm fat.  So when I heard about Sonic opening up in Peabody, I had to A. Find where it is, and B. Go there.

I made my trek early, around 11:00, to get there for 11:30, wait in line for 30 minutes, and eat my meal at noon.  Some people plan vacations, I plan meal times.  As I crept closer to the window, music blasting, excitement and hamburgers filling the air, I realized I have absolutely no clue what Sonic's main menu items are.  I saw a menu around the corner so I felt relieved that I could wait and analyze the menu for the perfect decision.  But they also had the sprinklers on, which I'm only aware of because after I moved around the corner where the first menu was, I was promptly sprayed and had to close my window.  This was in combination with a woman in black standing in front of my car waving frantically for me to pull ahead as 15 cars vied for a sacred position in the Sonic parking lot.

I finally get to the menu, the Mecca as proclaimed by friends who had traveled to far distant lands to find a Sonic.  Stories of food, shakes, tots filled my mind as I ordered.  "I'll take a Super Sonic Cheeseburger," I proclaimed.  "WHAT!?!" yelled the voice in the box.  I had to move up, which for some reason the drive thru window was actually slightly confusing.  I got some tots, a Chili wrap contraption, and a chicken sandwich.  I paid my fare, and then tore into the bag like a badger on steroids (or rabies).  The cheeseburger was huge, the chili wrap was sloppy, the fries were soggy...

...ladies and gentlemen, it was fast food.

So this is the newest incarnation of the new frozen yogurt trend emerging throughout the Boston area.  Everyone is bat-shit crazy for Fro-Yo, and while most of these treats taste great, this place falls short in quality and atmostphere.

First, we walk into a spacoius white looking room with bad techno-ish music blaring over the speakers.  For a second I thought I took a bad batch of ectascy and woke up in the emergency room.  To confirm that thought, I look over to my left where the TV has a man with his head on the hood of a car and blue flashing lights.  I think its a music video, but no, it's just the show Cops.  Chill.

Next we walk into the actually confusing line where we have to order at the cashier in the back corner of the room with four employees staring at me like they are ready to gouge my eyes out.  I quickly and nervously order the Boston Chiller, which is a concoction of Ginger Ale and Vanilla Ice Cream. . Sounds good, actually tasted good, but realized very shortly after that I had paid $5.50 for Ginger Ale and Vanilla Ice Cream.  Yes, $5.50.  Chill.

But what really got me was what my friend ordered, something with raspberries which they meticously counted out.  Look, I know times are rough in this economy, but here you are counting to make sure you have exactly six raspberries on a frozen yogurt when you have four people standing around doing absolutely nothing, and then over charge people for frozen yogurt.  Chill.

The best part of this place is not the food, or the atmosphere, but the colorful bathroom.  It was the only part of the place that looked like it had a soul.  And for that, I give it two stars.

This is a fantastic place to go for breakfast.  The very simple reason is the food is excellent - fluffy pancakes, tasty and stuffed omelets, and the seafood eggs benedicts are really something special.  Even for those who are picky will find something they enjoy on the menu.

Being someone still fairly new to the area, I had no clue about the restaurant war between Soundbites and Ball Square.  I simply saw two lines out the door, stood in the middle and was greeted by Mike from Ball Square Cafe as my group and I were trying to make a decision.  Mike is extremely friendly and personable, and because of this small gesture (and the food), I am now a regular at Ball Square.

Bartley's Burgers is one of those places that you have to go to if you are new in the area, but there is no rule on having to actually enjoy the burgers.  Yes they are big, but this is a case of bigger not being better.  Just too much, can't really get more than 1 or 2 topping on the burger, which is disappointing.  I'll give credit where credit is due - the milk shakes, fries, and onion rings are delicious.  An easy meal if you want something to fill you up.

I've been going to Minervas since I was in a stroller, and there is something that still drives me to this place when I'm in the area.  My favorite has to be the meatball sub, but the pizza's, steak bombs, and caesar salads are all great finds for a good lunch or early dinner.  While you can sit and eat in there, my suggestions is to grab your meal and head to Fort Phoenix right down the street.  This is one of the better pizza sub shops in the area, and I will not only continue to go here for the food, but the people behind the counters are always accommodating and helpful in making selections.

As a well-known, highly recognized dessert restaurant, Finale disappointed me.  My guests and I ordered three desserts - red velvet cake, gingerbread whoopie pie, and the gigantic chocolate and vanilla cupcake.  The red velvet cake was the only one that I enjoyed, while the gingerbread and cupcake where disappointing.  All three were basically frozen, making it nearly impossible to even cut or take a bite, and I think that contributed to not being able to really taste the desserts.  I will not be going here again, which is unfortunate because it's a good concept for a restaurant.

I'll keep this short and simple - they use real mushrooms.  I'm tired of all these other places using canned mushrooms.  In my opinion, fresh ingredients are key to having a solid take out meal.  If someone is throwing canned mushrooms onto a pizza I might as well do it myself.  But this place does not cut any corners, the pizza has excellent sauce and cheese and a perfect chewy-crunchy crust that makes me very happy.  Not to mention, the people running this place are genuine and you can have a good conversation while waiting for your meal.  Even though this place has less than 15 reviews, the place has been around for 55 years and go here when looking for an excellent pizza.

PS - Bring cash, they don't accept credit cards.

So I read here that the dumplings were good.  And the place is called Wangs.  OK, I get all that.  But the food was eh.  I decided to go with the Spicy Chicken with Thai Basil and it was a typical, run of the mill type of Asian meal that I could get at any Joe and Dicks China Place.  The crab rangoons were unfortunately stale tasting and could have used more cream cheese and crab.  The beef fried rice was actually really good and had some nice chunks of beef mixed with a not so greasy rice.  And, of course, the dumplings were phenomenal.  The pork-leak dumplings were seasoned correctly and had that nice light texture of ungreasy dough with a soft middle section.  Overall, I was disappointed with the actual meal, but the the dumplings make this visit not a lost cause.

They have a good buffet in the afternoon, lots of good choices if you are in the mode for something different.  I've had a falafel there for diner once, not the best but I've had worse.  Prices are solid, you get a great deal during the lunch buffet.  I have not experience the customer service problem that other people have, but I'm sure it's over dramatized.  If you go in for lunch and you are sitting down, get the lunch buffet.  All the food they normally serve on the menu is usually available for the buffet.