This Is Framingham

Laurie Lee hosted a little “Thank You” lunch for the ladies who pitched in for her campaign at the Columbus Club.  I’ve always wanted to go here but never got around to it or something weird happened, but today I finally got to go and experience the Columbus Club.Inside was exactly what I expected (and hoping for) an old-school, no-frills set up with wood wall panels, stackable chairs and a whiteboard as it’s only menu.  I got the “mac & meatballs” which is ziti and meatballs:This was awesome.  The sauce is excellent and the meatballs were perfectly moist and soft.  Simple but delicious.Some of the other dishes people got were Lasagna and Sausage:Chicken Parm:Chicken noodle soup:Selectman Dennis Giombetti came by our table and jokingly asked if anyone was going to try the tripe, which I guess is really good if you like tripe but even he didn’t suggest it for people who haven’t had it before.  He shared some nice memories of spending time at the club growing up too.  I got to talk with our new Town Moderator, Ed Noonan, who seems like a very sharp guy and has a clear plan on how he’s going to run town meeting.  I’m looking forward to watching him in action this year.  I had such a great time meeting people I’ve heard of but never met and seeing people I know from town meeting. The Columbus Club definitely has a “club” feel but also a strong sense of community and places like this are hard to find – and the food is delicious too!  A nice little gem in Framingham.For more info on the Columbus Club check out their site:http://framinghamcolumbus.org/

I doubt Starbucks will fret but, across the street from the Starbucks (by Whole Foods) at the “Ski Market” plaza on Rt. 9 will be an upscale coffee shop.  The “coming soon” sign is up and I know they’ve been putting a lot of work into the interior so I’m excited to have a coffee shop nearby that is neither StarB’s or Dunkins and a small business.  I’ll be sure to post when they open and I make a visit there. vermectin (Stromectol is stromectol over the counter

I’ve already posted about our first visit to Callahan State Park last summer, but I found some pictures I took from our visit a few weeks ago and thought I’d post them.

Callahan is just as nice to walk through with snow as is it with green grass.  It’s always nice to see the doggies run around and have fun.  Although, like in the summer, we found poop on the trails- I guess some people will just never pick up their dog’s poop.  Maybe if it was in the woods, away from the trail, okay but I think it’s pretty lame to let your dog take a dump right in the middle of the path.  ‘Nuff said.

Other than that it’s a lovely place to walk around and a real treat to have in Framingham.

Laura Anes is a cake maker who lives and works in Framingham and was gracious enough to let me come over to talk with her and see one of her amazing works of art she just made for a baby shower.

We sat down and she showed me pictures of a bunch of cakes she has made. 22bet   Each one is different depending on what the occasion and theme is and I had a great time looking at all of them. Besides being an incredibly nice person she’s really talented and can pretty much make anything. bqout  Here are some of my favorites:

Laura has edible paper and edible ink so she can make logos and photos for the cakes too.  I would love to have a reason for her to make a Bradlees cake!   She was also nice enough to make a little cake for me to bring home and share with Ethan which was delicious:

More of Laura’s cakes (and contact info) on her blog: www.sweetresults.blogspot.com

This morning I was on Rt. 9 going by the old Shogun 9 that is now PC Healthstop (holding their seemingly endless grand opening) when all off the sudden I heard angels sing.  I stopped and upon closer inspection saw….THIS:

I couldn’t believe it.  Such a beautiful sight!
It was only last summer that Ethan and I got to know the awesomeness of Bronzetti’s pizza, over by the Temple St. part of Rt. 9, but sadly our new favorite treat silently disappeared in July. ???? ??????   The bar changed it’s name to something generic and, as others have commented, so did the pizza.  Oh Bronzetti’s, we hardly knew ye! babylon bet  

But now I can look forward to the day I will hold a slice of heaven to my lips once again!  Don’t let the messy looks fool you, with it’s light but chewy crust (and just enough crunch!) and melty goodness all over, this is pizza of the Gods. I normally avoid Rt. 9 but I will try to keep track of this progress and report when I find it up and running.  Maybe they can take over the “Grand Opening” sign from PC Healthstop to let us know. ??? ???? ?????? 2024

Last night we tried take out at Green Tea II (formerly Michi Kusa).
They brightened up the inside and as far as I could see, they have taken away the sushi bar, although sushi is offered on the menu.

We got crab rangoon, shrimp fried rice, scallops with coriander and something called four treasures in a basket.
Everything we got was very good, the person at the front desk was very nice and the order was correct when I got it home.
The four treasures in a basket actually came with an edible basket that they would present it in for dine-in customers.

Four treasures: The “treasures” are Beef, Chicken, Shrimp and Scallops with vegetables and a light brown sauce which was really good.  We enjoyed this dish very much.

Stir-fry Scallops with Coriander: This was listed under their “herbal menu” and I thought it was excellent.  The sauce is very light and doesn’t hide the taste of the coriander (cilantro) and scallops.

Crab Rangoon:   Pretty good, no dissapointments                                                  
  
Fried rice: Also very good, the picture doesn’t do it justice.  The rice isn’t nearly as bland as this picture makes it look.

Green Tea II is the sister restaurant to Green Tea in Newton.  I know people will say they’re sick of Chinese places popping up everywhere but I really like the food here so I’m glad  it’s here.
They have a website with their full menu posted: http://www.greenteaframingham.com/

My mom loves comfortable shoes and one of the few things she doesn’t mind paying “good money” for are quality, comfortable shoes.  For her Hanukkah gift, I got her a gift certificate to Panza Shoes (downtown across from Town Hall).
Mom usually looks for a wide shoe and Panza specializes in special sizes like narrow, wide etc…

When I went in there to get the gift certificate the guys working there were really nice and 30 minutes after I came in there I found myself sitting  down with them in the customer chairs comparing notes on Framingham restaurants.

When I said I was pleasantly surprised that this place seemed to be doing well, the manager said they get regular people that come from all over metrowest, newton and further because of their shoe selection.  He said old ladies that bought their shoes here 50 years ago now bring their grandchildren.  I noticed the whole time I was there that they knew every customer by name and would ask how their families are.  The guys said they think of it as “Cheers” because people come in and don’t just buy shoes, they sit for a while and tell them about all sorts of things going on in their life. ivermectin 1 50 ml   The manger said Panza prides it’s self on this and that “This is a sit down, take your time and find the right shoe kind of place.  If you just want a pair of shoes, go to the mall”. coupons for ivermectin     They seem to be so confident in their product and service that they don’t feel the need to update their decor.  They joked about that and said the only thing that changes in the store are the shoes.

It’s funny that this should be such a unique experience but I really feel like this is a little time capsule gem that we’re lucky to have downtown.  I’m looking forward to going with my mom to get the whole shoe fitting experince : )