This Is Framingham

I had to stop by the Clerk’s office this morning on my way to work and when I went to feed the meter, I saw this sticker saying you get 10 minutes for free if the meter is at 00:00.  This may be common knowledge to most people but I never usually have a need to park downtown so this was kind of a treat for me.
I got my 10 minutes but also added a dime just in case it took longer than 10 minutes (and it did).  Anyway, if you didn’t know that about the meters, now you do : )

When I go down route 9 eastbound, I always see the sign for “Wicked RC” and I always wonder what it is and forget to look it up.  I finally I got around to it and asked the manager, Gus, if I could come in and take some pictures and ask him some questions and he was nice enough to say yes.
Wicked RC is remote control race car central. In addition to providing a track for racing, there is a rock course for ATV type remote controlled vehicles. They also offer repair services and have a big wall of motor parts for the fix-it-yourselfer.
They hold races on Mondays and Fridays and also host birthday parties.
The track is made with movable barriers to be able change the course for each race and you can control your car either on the ground level or from the loft type area on the second floor.

I’m not an RC racer but I like that this is something different in Framingham and it actually draws people here. Gus said they get people from NH and RI since there are very few RC racing venues and  there aren’t any this big.  For more information check out their site: http://www.wickedrcracing.com

I love Fanny’s salad dressing and was surprised to find that La Cantina now offers a Balsamic Vinigrette version. I bought some and sent it to my sister in Oregon who is a devoted Fanny’s original fan and got a bottle for Ethan and I to try.
It’s great stuff. Since we bought it I haven’t used original at all, not that I won’t use it anymore but it’s very good. I highly recommend anyone who is looking for a new salad dressing to give it a try. I’m guessing they offer it at La Cantina but I found it at Stop & Shop.

I normally don’t like Family Dollar (208 Waverly St.) because unlike Dollar Tree, most of their items are more than a dollar but I do like coming here once in a while to get subjects for my food comparison blog, secondratesnacks.com.   Today’s find was a perfect product to evaluate against Spam called “Treet”:

Ethan cringed when I came home with this knowing he’ll be a good sport (as usual) and try this out with me.  I’m guessing we’ll get a half-bite into this and call it quits, but you never know.
Some other treats I picked up at Family Dollar were fake peanut M&M’s and “Prime Time” microwave popcorn (to be compared with Jolly Time).
They do have some major name brand products too, in case anyone is wondering.

Although the location of this post is based in Hopkinton, I thought it was interesting that Weston Nurseries sells a variety of Azalea they named “Framingham” to commemorate the 350th anniversary of our town.  Nice to see some metrowest-botanical support for the ‘ham

One of the nice things about working in a restaurant is the ample access to food.   I work at the 400 Plus Restaurant, and on the off hours we sometimes get creative and invent new dishes.
Today the owner and his son came up with something they call “Nachos Italiano”.  It’s fried wedges of flour tortillas, topped with meat-tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and diced cherry peppers.  This creation was so good they decided to make it a special appetizer that you can ask for.  I highly recommend it.

The 400 Plus is at 430 Franklin St.  Stop by and check them out!

Driving to my weekend job at the Sherborn Out, I drive behind the prison and it becomes the cusp between downtown blah and beautiful Sherborn”countryside”.  I came across a band of turkeys crossing the road. Of course once I got the camera out they all made their way into the woods but I’m always amazed how anything outside of a house lives in the winter especially when we the cold weather we had last week.
Anyway, it was nice to see some “nature”.