Restaurant Review: Grasshopper

Grasshopper
Allston, MA

So funny, I think
VeggieBean and I
were shadowing one
another at various
Boston area restaurants
this past spring. We
visited Grasshopper on
Mother's Day, and
clearly Sarah had just been there too since a review of the restaurant popped up on her blog just the week before. And of course we both gave a nod to the ubiquitous veggie "chicken" fingers that most everyone loves--the pinnacle of battered deep-fried junk, but oh you just must find a way to rationalize them once or twice a year. So scrumptious.

If you haven't guessed,
Grasshopper is a vegan
asian restaurant. There
are a few around Boston,
but my kids have really
taken a liking to
Grasshopper. The menu
has all the Chinese
restaurant standard
fixtures: spring rolls,
wonton soup, lo mein. Plus
they have many unique
items, even desserts--can you say vegan strawberry cheesecake?!

The menu is ginormous,
and then they always
have delicious specials
every day on top of the
usual selection. It's
hard to choose! Luckily
we have a big family so
we can order a lot to
share. This time I tried
a kale, mushroom, seitan
& veggie stir-fry that
was excellent.

So is there anything NOT
good about Grasshopper??
Well, yes, actually there is:
They don't deliver! You can
eat in, or take out, but they
don't deliver AT ALL. But
it's worth the trip to eat in,
and they have great hours:

11am-10pm daily, except
noon-10pm on sundays.

So if you haven't already,
get yourself over to the
Boston borough of Allston
and have a good meal.

Grasshopper is located
at 1 N. Beacon Street.

617-254-8883

And check out their website,
because you can order online!

Restaurant Review: Rainforest Cafe

Rainforest Cafe
Burlington, MA

There are many Rainforest
Cafes around the country
and the world. Every
January, one of our
nephews (the kids' cousins)
has his birthday dinner at
the Rainforest Cafe at the
Burlington Mall. Even now
that he is a teenager, this
is his choice destination.

The appeal is obvious.
The surroundings are
unique and entertaining,
and if your kids aren't
vegetarian, then the
kids menu will feed them
CHEAPLY. But they have
to make money, right?
So the adult entrees stick it to you. And if you are vegetarian, then your choices are limited. If you are vegan, well, forget about getting out of there on a budget, because there is nothing vegan on the children's menu.

Kids like Maia and
Nate can just share
off a grownup meal.
Maia was more inter-
ested in running around
checking out the many
tropical fish tanks
anyhow, saying "weesh!"




























There used to be more vegetarian fare available years ago, but now vegan choices on the menu are pretty limited. You can order the veggie burger (and fries cost $1.29 EXTRA) for $10.99, but make sure to ask them to hold the sauce because it's made with mayo. The burger itself is actually pretty tasty--you can see Ryan yumming it up. But still, what a rip off for the money. The guacamole on top was browning upon arrival, the fries barely warm.

To be fair, the menus vary by region. But the menu at our nearby location is HUGE, yet it is almost entirely meat and seafood. Rainforest friendly? Um, no. Okay, maybe if rainforest animals were on the menu (alligator sausage, monkey brains, etc) then the moniker would make some sense.

But visit the massive gift shop (you can't avoid it since you have to pass through it to enter the restaurant) and you'll see that the message is all about rainforest animals as friends, saving the rainforest, etc. So you'd expect some environmentally friendly, local, vegan or "healthy" foods on the menu in my opinion. Not so much.

The Rainforest Cafe is all about pleasing the average Amercian palate and clientele, in a Disney-like "wild" environment. We enjoy our annual visit there, but it's not somewhere we go regularly for a good family meal.

This Rainforest Cafe is located inside the Burlington Mall (section B, lower level, between Nordstrom and Macy's), 781-272-7555. The Burlington Mall is located on the Middlesex Turnpike, near the intersection of route 3 and route 95 (128).

Restaurant Review: Oga's Sushi

Oga's Sushi, Natick, MA

You know when you walk
into an asian restaurant
and all but one table is
servings asian clientele that
the food is worth the price.
Of course you'd never guess
it from the boring exterior--
the place almost looks closed. But inside you'll find elegant decor, a marble sushi bar, and stainless steel dining tables. If you want a more private Japanese dining experience, check
out the sliding doors at the back of the room in the pic below...you can close yourself off from the rest of the room!

Oga's Sushi is literally the
name of the master sushi
chef and owner, Toru Oga.
He makes even the most
ordinary vegetarian maki
rolls look extravagant.



We went to Oga's again recently
for our anniversary. There was
not a crowd of course on a weekday
afternoon. The service--two
waitstaff just for us--was stellar.

We started with the standard
edamame, a huge bowl.

My husband ordered some miso
soup, and we shared a spectacular
soba noodle salad.

Next came the sushi. Oga's has more vegetarian and vegan sushi options than I could order at one visit!
Check out the salad roll, with
almost transparent slices of
tomato on top.

And what review would be
complete without showing off
my handsome dining companions
...my husband and 9 month old:













Oga's Sushi is located in
Natick, MA, on route 9
(915 Worcester Rd.) west-
bound, near the intersection
of route 27. 508-653-4338
Plenty of parking in the
shared lot at Sunnyside
Plaza.

Restaurant Review: Bruegger's Bagels

Bruegger's Bagels, Framingham, MA

I know what you're thinking...Not another bagel restaurant review!!
Well, when you have kids and you don't do junk fast food, you go to bagel joints. The food is quick, usually fresh, the kids like it, and most of the time the bathrooms are clean and easy to spot.

And a family of six can eat
cheap, especially at places
like Bruegger's where they
tend to heap the toppings
on their bagel (round or square)
sandwiches. Just get sliced
toasted bagels for the kids
and a tub of hummus, or
order yourself a Leonardo da
Veggie (without the cheese) and
spread the toppings between
the kids' bagels.

Don't tell the kids, but I
actually don't care for
Bruegger's hummus! Maybe
I'm just a hummus snob--
or connoisseur--but it's too
herby and dry for my tastes,
but the kids like it and it's
thick like my homemade
stuff so it doesn't fall off the bagels while they eat it.

Bruegger's does have good
soup to make up for their
less than stellar hummus.
There's usually a vegetarian
offering--though not always
vegan. Their fire-roasted
tomato soup is excellent. But
the lentil & spinach soup
contains parmesan (though it's
clearly marked--they're good about that sort of thing).

And they have nice sour
pickles, but you have to
order a sandwich or ask
for some on the side.
Besides the usual fruit
cups, salads & coffee,
this Bruegger's has Naked
juices and a basket of mini
Lake Champlain dark
chocolates for sale in front of the register...the kids know I can't resist a good chocolate!

This Bruegger's is located
in Shopper's World in
Framingham, which is in
between route 9 & route
30. 508-875-5244

There is plenty of parking
nearby, but the spaces
immediately in front of the
restaurant may be full at lunchtime or during birthday parties at the Snip-Its nextdoor.

Restaurant Review: Boloco

Boloco, Natick, MA

Last weekend after a visit
to the Lego Store at the
mall, we went nextdoor to
the burrito restaurant
Boloco. It is sandwiched in
between The Container Store
and Ben & Jerry's with an
unmistakable red facade.

Inside the ceilings are high
and the decor is dark, all red
and black. For a restaurant
that families frequent I sure wish it were more cheerful and comfortable. Too bad its location doesn't allow for outdoor seating on a beautiful spring day.

The menu consists of 8 various
burritos, or you can create your
own. Vegetarian fillings include
organic tofu, fajita vegetables &
guacamole. (There is a complete
downloadable PDF version of
the menu available online.) The
kids and I ordered the Summer
burrito with mango salsa and
added some organic tofu. I thought
this was a tasty combo; even Maia
enjoyed the bits of mango,
along with some rice & beans.
Wheat tortillas and brown rice
are available for the burritos.
The boys enjoyed some blue
corn tortilla chips & a side of
guacamole for dipping.

Boloco also offers a wide array
of smoothies (some include soymilk and sorbets). There is also a vegan House Salad. Even peanut butter & jelly is available for ultra picky kids. The breakfast menu is small though, with no vegan options (but they don't open til 11am so who cares). Check out their website for nutrition and allergy info.

Boloco is a certified green restaurant with locations around MA, NH & VT (you can also order ahead online). They have won 2 Best of Boston awards. This Boloco is located at 1265 Worcester Road (rt. 9) in Natick, MA, 508-907-7286. Lots of shared parking, though many people use the lot as overflow parking from the Natick Collection mall.

Restaurant Review: Lotus Blossom

The Lotus Blossom is one in a
group of four Zagat rated asian
restaurants in the MetroWest
area. The furnishings are more
elegant than a typical chinese
joint, the staff are very attentive,
and of course the prices a bit
higher. But the food is better
so that's okay. And you can
order take-out as well if your not
in the mood for upscale dining.

A beautiful asian rock
garden seems out of
place along busy route
20, but we've enjoyed
it many times while
waiting for the place to
open at noon for lunch.


I brought Ryan here on
St. Patrick's Day for our
monthly Mama Date.
Since it was just the two
of us we ordered the
sauteed seasonal greens
(asparagus), szechuan bean
curd, and some rice. We
tried to make some tiny
sculptures with the clay Ryan brought while we waited for our food, but the service was so fast we barely got started!
We enjoyed our food, but skipped the complimentary dessert sadly because it was ice cream and a banana & milk chocolate fried spring roll with whipped cream & fruit sauce, beautiful, but alas not vegan. Ryan was content eating both our fortune cookies.

We had come here just recently as a family and enjoyed the spinach fried rice (without the egg), and a Chinese New Year special dish with rice cakes & bean sprouts that was fantastic.

The kids receive water cups
with crazy bendy straws,
always a hit.

My husband and I are forever
a bit sentimental about this
restaurant because it is where
we officially became engaged.
We ate here while we waited
for my ring to be resized
smaller at the Jewelry Exchange
just down the road; we decided
to have lunch while we waited, and ended up here. The room we ate in has since been remodeled and the sushi bar added. There is also a buffet at certain times.

Lotus Blossom is located at 394 Boston Post Road (route 20) in Sudbury, MA, 978-443-0200. There is always plenty of parking in the lot surrounding the building.

Restaurant Review: Finagle-A-Bagel

Finagle-A-Bagel

***July 2011 update - restaurant has closed (though there are still other locations in the area)***

It was time to reinstitute "Mama dates" now that Maia is eating enough to spend a few hours at home with Dada. Nate had the first turn so I helped him choose what to do. We knew we were headed to the winter garden fair at Russell's Garden Center, but first we needed lunch.

So we headed a little further in on route 20 to Finagle A Bagel. Nowadays it's referred to as simply "Finagle", but I've been eating at various locations for over a decade and I still call it by its full name. It's a Boston chain that originated in the famous Faneuil Hall Marketplace. Everything is made in nearby Newton, MA.

Nate chose nothing but
avocado to fill his toasted
vegetable bagel. He also
gobbled down most of a
fresh fruit bowl himself. I
swear he ate more than I
did.

All Finagle locations I've been to are unique in that your bagel can ride a conveyor belt the length of the prep counter at kids' eye level, behind glass of course. It zips through the circular cutter and down to the topping station.

I ordered an everything
bagel with my standard
hummus & tomato. The
hummus is always nice &
garlicky.

My only issues with our
visit was being charged $6+
for what was essentially a
bagel with hummus & tomato, not an entire sandwich in my opinion. But a slight language barrier with the sunday staff left me not wanting to engage in a discussion about it...after all, Nate's inherently more expensive avocado bagel was only $2. Go figure.

What's great about this particular location is that there has always been scheduled kids entertainment here for as long as we've lived here. On Mondays from 3-4pm there is music with guitar songs for kids for free. Can't beat that!

Ample parking, conveniently
located on route 20:

54 Boston Post Road,
Wayland, MA
508-358-6282

Restaurant Review: Papa Gino's

Papa Gino's, Sudbury, MA

The boys' preschool was
having a fund raiser night
at Papa Gino's. The
restaurant donated 20%
of sales to the preschool!
So of course we made an
effort with 2 large orders
of fries and a large pizza
(no cheese) with broccoli,
mushrooms & black olives.

I hadn't eaten at a Papa
Gino's in a long time. The
crust was much better than
I remembered; in fact I'll vote it
the second best crust in the
MetroWest area that I've had
so far, though I still have
many more places to try.

The prices were very reason-
able, the restaurant was clean
and comfortable. My 2
complaints would be that the broccoli on the pizza was obviously raw when topped since it was still crunchy, and the ketchup for the fries was only available in those obnoxious individual packets.

Papa Gino's is a New England family pizza restaurant with a decent ingredient list online.

This Papa Gino's is located at 104 Boston Post Road (rt. 20), Sudbury, MA. You can order online or by calling 978-443-7136. There is plenty of parking.

Restaurant Review: Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut
Natick, MA

How did we end up at the Pizza Hut in Natick on a sunday morning at 11:30am? The public school gives out free pizza coupons to the kindergarteners who read the most books. While I do not approve of rewarding reading with food, what's done is done; Ryan came home with a Pizza Hut coupon and was very excited to have earned it.

I used to go to Pizza Hut every wednesday evening in high school. Back then I was lacto-ovo veg, not vegan. After hearing we'd just taken the kids to Pizza Hut, an acquaintance asked me, "What on Earth can a family of vegans eat at Pizza Hut?" LOL. The list is short, but satisfying...

Their thin & crispy (my fave), hand-tossed, and dessert crust dough are all vegan, so you just have to specify which kind when ordering. All the pasta is vegan. Some of their pasta/pizza sauce is vegan, some aren't, so again you have to specify. But even their dessert icing is vegan! And many have a salad bar.

We usually order the
Veggie Lover's thin &
crispy style without
the cheese. Often they'll
swap out the cheese
from a single-topping
pizza with an extra veggie
for the same cost (for
Ryan in this case).
And we just order water
since all the drinks are
junk in my opinion.

Their available veggie toppings are mediocre. But what has changed the most over the years is the value...or lack thereof. The Veggie Lover's pizza is not very impressive, except for the whopping pricetag. Still, for a family of our size, spending only $20 on lunch isn't bad I guess.

Service at our local Natick
franchise was slow but
friendly. It's a smaller
dining area, but this Pizza
Hut gets a lot of take-out
& delivery business.

Not someplace I'd choose
to eat often, but I'm
sure we'll be here again
with more reading reward
coupons. Sigh.

This Pizza Hut is located on the dreaded route 9, eastbound, in the Sherwood (Christmas Tree Shops) Plaza.
508-650-1100. 1274 Worcester Road, Natick.

Restaurant Review: Subs & More

Subs & More

Located amidst the construction
chaos on Concord Street in the
Saxonville area of north
Framingham, Subs & More
replaces a string of unsuccessful
restaurants in the little building
next door to Subway and across
the street from the Carpet Mill
Outlet Store. The only other review online I could find is here, with just a brief menu overview.

The dining area is very small,
but most people order take-
out. The restaurant also
delivers for $1.50 extra ($10
minimum). The decor is funky
and neat, but just don't come
here with a large family or a
big group.

The menu is mainly Turkish & American fare. There are a lot of appetizers, many vegetarian, some vegan, such as the Lentil Kofte, Humus, Saksuka, Dolma (stuffed grape leaves), & Falafel. The owner was kind enough to
give my husband a free sample
of Dolma when he said he was
taking photos for a blog review
(thanks to both, for the sample,
and to my husband for stopping
off on Halloween evening &
remembering to take some pics).
The Dolma were actually the
best I've had--any I've had
previously have been very oily and heavy--these were not.

My husband ordered a falafel wrap, and he got a second one for me with added humus. The plain falafel wrap was rather dry, but the one with humus was pretty good. The humus had grated carrot in it which was very tasty.

Most of the menu is heavy on
the meat. There are American
favourites like burgers, bbq,
pasta, subs & fries. And
familiar Turkish offerings such
as kebabs, gyros & greek
salads. There are also
gourmet panini sandwiches like
the regional "Red Sox" and the "Mass Pike", Turkish style sandwiches, or one vegetarian with mushrooms, roasted red pepper, cheese & black olive paste. All paninis are served with rosemary focaccia bread.

When my husband was asking
about ingredients, he was in
turn asked if he could eat
peanuts since some foods are
cooked in peanut oil. It was
nice to hear they were truly
looking out for their patrons'
interests. My husband did his
best despite the occasional language barrier. I would like to order again--maybe the falafel salad or the appetizer platter (choose any 4 appetizers for $10.50).

I hope this restaurant makes it in the questionable economy and not-so-stellar location. Their Halloween decorations were over the top and really caught my eye.

Subs & More is located at 1609 Concord Street and has off-street parking available. Open 7 days a week, 11am-9pm, closes at 8pm on sundays. 508-202-4688. subsandmore@hotmail.com

'09 UPDATE: Apparently I wasn't the only one who though the plain falafel wraps were a bit dry. The carrot salad inside the wraps now contains a yogurt dressing. So if you're dairy-free, you need to ask them to leave it off. Sigh...

'10 UPDATE: With the construction done and off-street parking available, stopping off for sides of falafel has become more enjoyable! It appears as if the restaurant is doing well. They are sporting new signage on the side of the building advertising "Mediterranean & Turkish" fare.

Restaurant Review: Acapulcos

We love Mexican food, especially when it's at a family friendly place like Acapulcos. The original restaurant is in Sudbury, MA on route 20, the location closest to us. But there are 12 locations around Massachusetts, and 1 in Connecticut.

On Father's Day at 5pm
the restaurant was already
pretty crowded. Service is
always quick though, with
a basket of hot tortilla
chips and both mild & hot
salsas delivered immediately.

The staff all speak Spanish
& English, and there were
a few Spanish-speaking families there that sunday evening as well, always a good sign.

The menu is large, and there is even a vegetarian section. We always order a few huge veggie green burritos for everyone. There is a children's menu, but nothing on it is vegan.

The portions are big! Here is
the veggie green burrito: rice
& black beans, tomato, onion,
peppers & lettuce wrapped in
a flour tortilla and topped with
fresh cilantro, tomato, onion
& salsa verde. We order ours
without the cheese or sour cream,
but there is a nice side of chunky
fresh guacamole with each dish.

Despite only ordering 3 burritos
for 5 people, we always leave
with leftovers (which make a
fabulous breakfast by the way)!

And there are crayons with
placemats to color, water for
the kids with tops and straws,
and helium balloons to take home.

No matter what your diet or how picky your kids are, you're
bound to enjoy Acapulcos!...or as the kids call it "Ah-po-cocos".

Happy Father's Day!