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New
England dining >>> Massachusetts best-worst dining reviews
Best and
Worst Dining in Massachusetts, 2001
This is our
first year in existence at Visiting New England.com, so, therefore,
this is our first "Best and Worst" dining review. We
are always looking for reader's feedback, so if you agree or
disagree with some of the selections below or would like to add
your own, please Write us!
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Dining
Best Seafood:
The Daily Catch, Brookline and the North End of Boston. Legal
Seafoods may get all the accolades, but we think the Daily Catch
offers fresher fish and better preparations. It is a "hole
in the wall," but who cares when the seafood is top-notch?
Worst seafood:
Michael's, Newburyport. Pretty waterfront location, pretty bad
seafood with too much breading, small portions and unimaginative
creations.
Best steaks:
Ken's Steak House, Framingham. Certainly not a trendy choice,
as this steak house has been around seemingly back to the days
of Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker. Ken's, however, seems to keep on
delivering, and at a better value than the highly touted Morton's
and Capital Grille.
Worst steaks:
The Stockyard, Brighton. The New Balance shoe factory is next
to the Stockyard. It might be hard to tell the difference between
the taste of a sneaker and a steak.
Best neighborhood
restaurant: The Newbridge Cafe, Chelsea. Rude waitresses, down
and out atmosphere and some of the best steak tips in the world.
Worst neighborhood
restaurant: Applebees. Even the chicken tenders stink.
Best pizza:
Spruce Pond Creamery, Franklin. Don't let the soccer mom/minivan
environs of Franklin discourage you: Spruce Pond Creamery serves
up the freshest, most innovative organic pizzas that we've sampled,
to date. Goat cheese, herb blends, non-nitrate pepperoni and
bacon, it's all delicious.
Worst pizza:
Fenway Park, Boston. Needs to be placed on waivers.
Best Italian
restaurant: Luciano's, Wrentham. We've always had great meals
here, and place this long-time favorite above anything in the
famed Boston North End. Great atmosphere and service to match.
Worst Italian
restaurant: Papa Ginos, various locations. Chef Boyardee with
seating.
Best Chinese
food: Jade Garden, Arlington. The great Chang An in Concord might
be the popular choice, but this year we take Jade Garden because
of its tasty "no MSG" selections, a terrific nightly
buffet and an extremely friendly waitstaff.
Worst Chinese
food: Chopsticks, Leominster. We bow our heads to the plastic
tiki Gods, as we would have preferred food to go along with our
MSG.
Best Thai
food: Thai World, Medfield. Sometimes Thai food can weigh you
down with heavy sauces, too much salt and poorly balanced meals.
Thai World, on the other hand, offers extremly fresh dishes,
wonderful vegetable selections and a perfect Pad Thai.
Worst Thai
food: Any mall food court establishment.
Best diner:
Shawmut Diner, New Bedford. Great home cooking along with wonderful
hosts, Phil and Celeste Paleologis.
Worst diner:
None. You don't pay for the atmosphere, so the food better be
good. And it is, no matter what diner you frequent.
Best brunch:
Lake Pearl Luciano's, Wrentham. Great selection, high quality.
From the basics like bacon and eggs to the delicious pasta, fish
and chicken dishes, we recommend not eating a few days before
to get ready for this grand experience. Atmosphere is nice, too,
situated on beautiful Lake Pearl.
Worst brunch:
Justin's Hearthside, Hanover. As we walked alongside the brunch
tables, we kept waiting for something good to eat. It didn't
happen.
Best fast
food: Kelly's Roast Beef, Revere Beach and suburban locations
(Natick, Danvers and Saugus). The roast beef is delivcious and
the clam plate is a glutton's dream -- plenty of clams along
with a mountain of onion rings and french fries. There's nothing
like sitting on a wall overlooking Revere Beach, eating at Kelley's
and watching the hilarity of muscle heads and beach babes walk
by.
Worst fast
food: Buzzy's, Boston. The darling target of local comedians.
Unbelievably bad.
Most scenic
location: The Old Mill, Westminster. Beautiful pond and waterfall
next to an old gristmill setting. Food is above average, with
the best bet being the Sunday brunch.
Worst scenic
location: Sbarro's on the Mass Turnpike.
Best ice
cream: Crescent Ridge Dairy Bar, Sharon, Mass. The cows are just
a short distance from the ice cream stand. Ice cream couldn't
be any fresher.
Worst ice
cream: Friendly's. Tastes like some of the stuff you'd buy at
the market. Come to think of it, you can buy Friendly's ice cream
at the market.
Best clam
chowder: Legal Seafoods, various locations: Thick and full of
clams, the way it should be.
Worst clam
chowder: Mildred's Chowder House, Hyannis. Ironic, isn't it?
Best caesar
salad: Rossi's, Millis. Full of healthy greens and a "just
right" dressing.
Worst caesar
salad: Cafe Escadrille, Burlington. Well-known for its caesar
salad, we found it to be rather bland.
Best breakfast:
Dalimpio's, Hyannis, Mass. Everything you'd want for breakfast
is here at great prices, high quality and huge quantities.
Worst breakfast:
Barbara's Kitchen, Arlington (CLOSED). Once asked for toast at
breakfast and was told they were out of it.
Best subs:
A&A Deli, Arlington. A master cook lurks somewhere in this
convenience store. Great subs, terrific home-cooked meals.
Worst subs:
The pre-packaged selection at Mobil gas stations.
Do you have
a favorite or least favorite? Write us!
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