Restaurants that I go back to. Gene's Flatbread Cafe Woburn.

I’ve had this happen on Caviar, where I can get food delivered from any of the places in Union Sq or Davis Sq. that are available but Highland Kitchen is not listed even though they’re less than a mile from me in Medford. I don’t really understand why this is the case, but the area algorithm doesn’t seem to be straightforward somehow.

The Westford location reopens, for pre-order takeout only, on Thursday 5/14! It’s farther from me than Woburn but MAYBE the delivery services, with their weird concepts of delivery areas, will include me.

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Welcome news indeed about Gene’s in Westford!

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So…on Tuesday, Gene’s reappeared on my UberEats app, but was listed as currently unavailable, whatever that means. Not the same as closed, which appeared on some other restaurant listings. Today - mirabile dictu! - it was open, I ordered, and just had my first #4 in a couple of years. #10 will be dinner today and tomorrow. A one-sheet paper menu was included in the bag. It includes mention of delivery via GrubHub, DoorDash, and UberEats, so I assume it was newly-printed. I mention his because it includes the Boston location. Westford is only open Thursday through Sunday.

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Glad you got your Gene’s delivery!

Thursday though Sunday days of operation were in effect in Westford for awhile. We’ll probably try next week, as people missing their Gene’s favorites in Westford are probably hitting up the place with gusto.

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My youngest and I stopped in Woburn today, on our way home from H-Mart in Burlington (posted elsewhere).
Feeding 3 for lunch we ordered the lamb with hand pulled noodles, lamb flatbread, 1 skewer of grilled lamb and the house noodle soup. Easy on line ordering which let you pick the spicy level, parking was across from the store and the order was ready when we arrived. It was our first time (not the last though) and it was great. I really really liked the lamb with noodles, nice heat great broth and those noodles are exactly what I conjure up in my head when I think of hand pulled. The sandwich was very oily but had great taste. Onions nicely cooked as was the lamb. Felt like it needed something fresh? Cilantro or something? But we ate it. I think the house noodle soup was well received, I could not get my spoon near it. The lamb skewer was well seasoned (I did get a bite) and DS would probably order the 10 ct next time.
Hot & Sour Dumpling soup next for me, has anyone tried the sour spicy shredded potato side?
Can’t believe we waited this long!

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You REALLY MUST try the #10, hot and sour soup with housemade pork dumplings. There are a dozen or so generous dumplings - it’s enough food for two meals. I like to get the flatbread sandwiches as takeout, adding fresh sliced cucumber jarred red bell pepper at home.

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It’s one of my favorites. Both the dumplings and the soup are excellent.

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That’s the one I’m eyeing for my next trip. Sounds really good. We make a Thai cucumber salad that would be a great addition to the sandwich. Fresh cukes would work too. I thought maybe some cilantro but that’s not one of my favorites. I will just have to get 2 and experiment. :rofl:

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What’s the recipe for the cucumber salad?

It started as the Thai recipe from an older NYT cookbook. But DH has streamlined it.

6 tablespoons white vinegar and sugar, 3/4 cup water, salt and pepper in a pot. Simmer till the sugar dissolves. Pour over a peeled sliced cucumber, red onions and jalapeno peppers (optional if you don’t like the heat). Let sit till cool. Thats it, simple but really good, especially during the summer over glass noodles, shredded carrots and grilled pork or chicken or shrimp, a few peanuts.

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Oooh, I need to make your cucumber salad @grumpyspatien . I already do marinated—quick pickled?—cucumbers but somehow never thought of this treatment.

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It is really good and goes so well with so many things. I hope you enjoy it.

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We returned to Gene’s in Westford for the first time since he reopened for takeout. The website has been redesigned to allow for online orders and payment.

We noticed that you can now request different levels of spiciness for the #4 hand pulled noodles. Did we go for extra spicy? Of course we did.

Good news: The noodles were extra spicy, which played well with their signature garlicky punch. Yum.

Less-good news: Apparently not all the kinks have been worked out with the ordering system. The staff didn’t know about our order yet when we arrived at the promised pickup time on a slow Sunday night. No big deal. They prepared the order while we waited in the car for 10 minutes.

We’re thrilled to have Gene’s back. It’s a bonus to be able to request different levels of spice on the #4.

Hmmm, now I wonder what the “meat” add-on is for the #4 because that is another option we didn’t know about before.

Note: Check Gene’s days of operation before you order. The online ordering for Westford says they’re open on Wednesday which they are NOT. Westford is open Thursdays through Sundays only, as noted upthread.

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I’ve been begging (in my heart, and I think on this board in the past) that Gene add a meat option (especially lamb) to #4. I’d DIY it often, adding 3 lamb skewers to a #4.

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Perhaps Gene’s heard you? I don’t yet know what the meat add on for #4 consists of.

We ordered three cumin lamb skewers as a separate menu item and didn’t investigate the meat add-on. Because we’ve been DIY-ers like you.

Also we were ravenous after a long day of yard work and thinking—well, it just seemed like too much thinking.

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You can do yard work and think at the same time?
I avoid both, even as individual activities, and I’ve never imagined that it was possible to do the two together.

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How strange. I distinctly remember you telling us that someone was once astonished to learn that you are actually paid to think. The @fooddabbler biography gets murkier and murkier…

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Hey, just because I’m paid to do something puts me under no obligation to actually do it. I’m murky indeed…

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Devious. :slight_smile:

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