This Is Framingham

Last week my boss and I decided to take a fieldtrip to Eastleigh Farm and take part in their $1 scoop ice cream deal.
I had never been to the farm but I’ve heard about it a lot this year due to the Board of Health recently approving the sale of raw milk and all the hubbub that went along with that .
The shop is in a rustic building at the front of the property and inside they sell all their goods like milk, ice cream, cheese, eggs and more.

The ice cream they sell is not made with raw dairy and they have a lot of flavors to choose from.
Annie got chocolate chip and I got Almond Joy.  The cones are a very decent size for $1.

The price goes up after July 4th, to how much I don’t know, but I think this heat wave we’ve been having is a great reason to take a trip to the farm and get a $1 cone!  For more information checkout Eastleigh’s site at: http://eastleighfarm.com
 

I signed up for Metrowest Bootcamp 2 weeks ago and I love it.  They offer 6am or 6pm sessions at Farm Pond and since I get up early, I chose the 6am time.  I hate to say it, but I just can’t see myself doing all this stuff on my own, so it’s great to have motivation from the instructors.  They’re really nice and know what they’re doing - since I don’t, it’s a huge help to have the direction they give.

They have us do all sorts of “drills” and exercises and although I was in some pain getting used to the workout, it feels good and it’s such an awesome way to start the day.  Also, it’s a nice way to get to know people who live in the area, I’ve met some great people and have fun comparing what hurts the next day :)
For more info check out their site: http://metrowestbootcamponline.com
 

 
Due to a number of people recommending the Artistic Edge Salon, and the fact that I needed a haircut, I decided to check them out. 
The owner, Jennifer Brumm has a comfortable salon set up at 79 Main St.  For me, getting my hair cut is like getting my car’s oil changed, I know I should do it but it always seems to be a pain to actually go get it done.  Since I needed to take advantage of a day off from work and just finally go get my haircut, I called and asked Jennifer if she could fit me in that day.  She was booked but she has a couple of other girls who work for her and use the same cutting techniques, so I booked an appointment with Gretchen.

(Kim, Jennifer and Gretchen)

I thought it was interesting that they specialise in “dry cutting” which is a technique Jennifer learned in Chicago, some places in Boston do it but she’s the only one in this area who does it.  I’ll admit, I was a little sceptical, and even thought they just wanted to save on water or something but I was really surprised later when I washed it, that my hair (which usually puffs out when it air dries) stayed “normal” looking.  I couldn’t believe it.  So I asked Gretchen to write a little something about why dry cutting works so well.  Here’s what she said:

“The reason cutting hair dry is so beneficial is because when you cut hair dry you can see were the hair falls naturally. When cutting hair wet you can not see a persons natural part, wave or kink especially people with cow licks and curly hair! Dry cutting curly hair is crucial. If you cut curly hair wet you can not see were the curl begins, if you cut curly hair with out knowing were the curl starts you ruin the cuticle and natural starting point of the curl which will lead to split ends and frizzy curls instead of healthy bouncy curls”.

Anyway, this was my latest discovery in hair salons in Framingham.  You can check out their site for more info: http://artisticedgehairsalon.com

Friday night I went to check out Luke Foley (pictured above, left) at his gig at the Eagle’s hall.  Normally I wouldn’t find myself at a 18+ event but I know Luke from work and have been hearing him talk about his DJing for a while now, so I finally got around to seeing him in action.
Being the old lady that I am, I got there when the doors opened at 8:30pm and stayed for about an hour.  It started to really get hopping when I was leaving (coincidence?) and there ended up being 250 people!  Luke knows how to get the crowd going and it was fun just to see the kids have such a great time.

Luke is available for parties, Bar Mitzvah’s, etc… and can be contacted at LightzOuttEnt@aol.com and by phone at 781 572 9894.  Great job Luke-ay!

I’ve only been to Cintolo’s once before to get some signatures to run for town meeting but I heard they sell great homemade sausage on Thursdays so I went to check it out.
For anyone who doesn’t know, Cintolo’s is a little neighborhood market that has been in business for 70 years and people who go in there end up talking with Mr. & Mrs. Cintolo for a while, sometimes pulling up a chair and staying a while.   The nice thing is that if they don’t know they don’t make you feel like you don’t belong there. When I went in to buy the sausage, Mrs. Cintolo was asking me how I planned on cooking it and gave me suggestions on different recipes. 
Also, I  though it was cute that even though they’ve been in business so long and have a regular clientele, she was interested in how I heard about them.  She was just so nice and easy to talk to.  I went in there to get one thing and ended up talking with her for 10-15 minutes and she asked me to come back and let her know how I liked the sausage.
I sauteed it with onions and peppers and it was dee-licious!

This is one of the most adorable small business in Framingham and worth making the trip for sausage.
Cintolo’s is at 371 Grant Street.  They don’t have a sign anymore, I forgot to ask if it was because of a storm or the ridiculously strict sign regulations in town, but you should be able to recognize it by the striped awning in front of the store.

Doug Stephan of Eastleigh Farm (used with permission)
According to their site, Eastleigh Farm has been okayed (again) to sell raw milk starting in March.
There are people who think it’s a good idea and those who think it’s a bad idea but what it comes down to is that it’s a choice people can make, just like people choose how well they want their burger done.
Personally I’m not a big milk drinker, but I do enjoy cheese made from raw milk and I know there are lots of people who prefer to drink raw milk. I think it would be great for Framingham to be known as a location where you can get raw milk and support a local farm. When I talk to people who don’t live in town they’re surprised when I tell them we have actual farms here - they think Framingham is just crime and shopping.
I had the pleasure of talking with Doug Stephan a few weeks ago and he said the milk will start off being available as milk shares and then in a few months most likely be available by the bottle and then move onto cheese, yogurt and ice cream as well.
Everything you’d want to know about this, like why people want to drink raw milk, and more about the farm can be found on their website: http://www.eastleighfarm.com

Tonight my friend Miah and I went out for sushi at Samba. I’ve gone here for hibachi and Ethan and I love their Pad Thai, but I’ve never gone here for a sushi evening so that’s what Miah and I did.
We sat in the lounge (also a first) and started off with some drinks, I got a chocolate martini and and Miah got something fruity that the waiter suggested.

We got some edamame and a sushi/maki combo for 2. This was really enough for 3, maybe even 4 and hasd a nice variety of nigiri and maki which was delicious.

I think the best roll was was the spicy tuna maki, which Miah agreed was particularly good.

We had such a great meal here and now have three reasons to go here. Whether it’s for hibachi, Pad Thai or sushi, I’d be happy to go here anytime and it’s good to see that so far Samba hasn’t succumbed to the failed restaurant curse that had plagued this location for previous businesses. Good job Samba!