@bear@Madrid Before taking the long trip up to halibut point, just make sure the parking lot is open. In recent days they have closed it due to over-crowding. I think that applies to almost any place anyone goes to these days… Please double-check about procedures.
By the way, due to unforeseen circumstances, we stayed relatively close to home today. We directly called and got a 1 pm reservation at True West in Acton on their front patio. Watermelon salad with steak, veggie burger, hot dog, nice beer and wine poured by someone else (to paraphrase Devra First) was another moment of awesome. We tried to stop by Acton Arboretum afterwards as “penance” but the parking lot was full so we headed to our Concord friends’ driveway, where we spent a lovely afternoon drinking good Bent Water beer and cold Austrian white wine. Spring onion had a blast on their trampoline with the 7-year old friend. Grilled halibut with garlic scape pesto for dinner. And more wine. Ahhh
yep, we will and we just rejoined Trustees of the Reservations a couple of months ago. A couple of weeks ago I think I read you could reserve a parking spot, but I may be deluded! Everything is changing day by day and we’d check day of before leaving home. Thanks for the reminder. I still check before one of us goes to Trader Joes or Whole Foods to see if they’ve changed the hours or the senior hours (the older adults in our home are 65 this year).
Oh, I meet friends at the Acton Coffee House on occasion, and always hear good things about True West. Thanks for the intel, and my beer-loving son would appreciate a decent veggie burger with a cold brew. And I could definitely love some wine poured by someone else. (Thanks, Devra.) I’ve spent some time in the Arboretum and can imagine it’s pretty full these days. Glad you were able to regroup and get mellow with wonderful food, drink and most importantly, good friends.
We’ll definitely have a backup plan when we head to Halibut Point.
Yes, we’re thinking about the bathroom thing as well. It’s challenging, and hoping as the surge calms down, it won’t be such an obstacle. And, Happy Meeting Anniverary! What an incredibly meaningful marker. And I get how totally stressful the celebration might be for your son.
For the cheesehead: Get Dad a Victory Cheese Box , created to support the domestic artisanal cheesemakers and mongers during the pandemic. Go to www.victorycheese.com to find out where to purchase one. Each version contains different regional selections.
Thanks. It’s a confusing property, actually managed by both DCR and Trustees.
“Halibut Point is cooperatively managed by The Trustees of Reservations and the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), which acquired an adjoining 54-acre state park in 1981 with the assistance of The Trustees. DCR operates a small visitor center and museum dedicated to telling the story of Cape Ann’s historic granite industry.”
Yes, it is currently closed. I thought I remembered they opened it at one point but likely the crowds led to the decision to close again.
The Trustees section was open in April; I saw this Globe article and checked it out on the Trustees site at the time…true then, not now!
EDIT: link to the Globe article
Everything is changing these days day-to-day it seems and we always check web sites before heading out…even to see the Trader Joes and Whole Foods have changed their opening hours!
We picked up takeaway from Oleana this afternoon at 4; they started earlier in the week. Those amazing tuna deviled eggs were as good as ever. Topik, Stuffed Potato Hummus, Pinenuts, Currants, Tahini, Arugula, was one of the best things we’ve eaten this year. Sortun’s legendary attention to detail in the restaurant is fully evident in the take out. The arugula was separately dressed in something light and lemony. I could eat this dish every day. We got 2 orders of the Za’atar Bread (provisions section of the menu, not cold meze section; that comes with Sorrel Cacik; also from that section of the menu, the delicious Lebanese green olives)…4 generous delicious pieces, great with the stuffed potato hummus. Also the Grilled Asparagus, Swiss Chard Pancake, Shanklish, Almonds, which we saved for tomorrow because for the very first time, after wanting it for years, we also got the legendary Baked Alaska! It survived take out very well. A bit too sweet for me from the very sweet coconut strands, but the passion fruit syrup cut the sweetness for us with a very bright, appealing counterpoint. My husband, who is famously scared of calories and scorns dessert, ate his half very readily.
The whole process went very easily; order online, register a pick up time, pay online, pick up at a window on the street. Included were a note from Ana welcoming guests back and a nice print out explaining how to serve each dish. The menu is limited but what we got were all legends.
We also got a 4 pack of beer that we picked up chilled. Beer and wine seem close to retail prices, which is so nice. Others are offering beer and wine at close to what you’d get charged in the restaurant. That’s fine, but we tend to order takeaway alcohol more frequently from restaurants that are selling at close to retail.
All in all a very excellent experience. Ana’s thought this out so well and planned thoroughly. We will do it again, very soon!
With the hot, steamy weekend, we did a takeout order from Tony’s Clam Box this weekend in Quincy. Fried food always suffers from takeout, but I have to say this was not bad, given the circumstances. They have a nice patio with outdoor seating, so dining on site is an option if you don’t mind the heat. They’ve also added a few additional seats and tables on their outside deck. They are making folks wait outside pre-ordering, so it was a quite a long line to get in for pick up.
I have to say that it had been a while since I’ve had fried clams, and it really did hit the spot. We also got a calamari roll, fried scallops and some extra cole slaw.
man, I have been dying for fried clams lately. I need to scratch that itch.
In other news, Sun Kong in Malden is back open for takeout. I picked up some dim sum one morning last week and it was OK, though it took them forever and they botched one part of my order. It’s also odd as they have it set up so that you have to pick up outside at the front door, but they didn’t seem to be paying a lot of attention to who was showing up there at least on the morning I went.
It was sure good to eat some dumplings and shrimp rolls though. I’ll give them another shot soon to see if the floundering was a one off or something more chronic.
yeah. I’m a Clam Box of Ipswich aficionado, but I kind of assume that going there at present would be a nightmare. (There’s always giant lines there at the best of times!) I might have to settle for Fresh Pond Seafood as a tide me over.
My LexFarm booty today. Kale, butter lettuce, basil, broccolini, milk, Bread Obsession sunflower sourdough. All grown organically and no plastic bags to speak of.
I needed this so badly today. We had to bid farewell to a dear friend on Monday. Tonight is the memorial at a beautiful park in Arlington and I’m not sure if I can keep it together. But beautiful vegetables help as our dearly departed friend was a renowned musician, artist, lover of everything green and beautiful. She was a wonderful cook who embraced the same international flavors that we did (puckery pickled onions, cilantro, padron peppers, all things Asian spicy, umami, etc). She gifted us with homemade jams and chutney sauces at holiday time. She helped us with our pathetic raised beds. I haven’t been able to bring myself to planting anything in the beds because she moved to Northern Cali and then promptly got sick. And then she wasn’t able to eat anymore because of the effing cancer/treatments. But she loved when spring onion sang/read Carole King/Arnold Lobel “Chicken Soup
And Rice” to her by video when she was at her weakest. I know she would want me to keep embracing life - eating, cooking, going to the farm with spring onion (she and her partner Darol Anger did a benefit for the farm a few years ago).
The clouds have parted where we are. Take pause to relish life, no matter how topsy-turvy it is right now.
OH, digga, I’m so sorry for your loss. Thank you for the beautiful tribute to your dear friend, and for sharing the richness that her presence brought to your life and to the people that she touched. May you find comfort in your grief in this season of bounty and rebirth, with so much loss and uncertainty surrounding us.
We did Fresh Pond Seafood as an office lunch the other day. It was actually my first time getting take out from them, and the various lunch specials made everyone happy and were well-priced. It’s a heck of a time in 94 degree weather to eat clam chowder, but I liked theirs. It’s pretty thickened, so I know some purists will scorn it in favor of a thinner milk-based broth, but the flavor was excellent and it had plenty of chunks of clam. I could do without all the styrofoam cups, but the take-out waste issue is something I’m temporarily trying to let bother me less. (with very little success, I might add…) I got the clam plate lunch special, which had pretty good clams- not quite up to Clam Box standards, but they did sit for a bit and steam in the container so you really can’t compare. The fish plates were very nice pieces of haddock, and the one person who ordered chicken tenders declared them top notch, although anyone who orders chicken from a seafood market deserves to have their tastes roundly questioned.
