This Is Framingham

I haven’t posted since April 1st?  This month has flown by,  jeez!
I get emails now and then about the apparently very missed KFC on 135 which closed maybe a year ago now.  I never went there and don’t miss it but people sometimes ask me what’s going in there so I’m happy to have a report.  As I was running by the location by last Monday I saw this sign for “Carrie Anne’s”.    I’m pretty sure I was the only one of the 27,000+ running by here thinking “Hey! I’ll have to blog about that!”.  I just got around to it today and  I tried googling them but just got a facebook result.  On their info page they describe themselves as “Homestyle breakfast, drive through and more”.  There are photos of the extensive work being done for remodeling and what looks like some practice runs of baking (the donuts look awesome) and they look like a happy crew looking forward to opening up shop there.  I wish them the best and can’t wait to try it out.  They certainly have been putting in the hours to make this happen.  Search for them on FB if you’d like to check out their photos.

Zaftig’s (of Brookline) opened a branch in Natick.  It’s just on the line of Framingham and replaces a former Framingham deli that moved there so I felt it was worth posting about, so I did 🙂

I actually went there twice in the past week (a rarity these days of going out at all, never mind the same place). Once with my friend Rachel and once with my aunt and uncle so I’ll have pictures form both days.
First I’ll say they did a nice job with the remodeling.  It’s pretty much the same layout but have added more food cases and a sit-down counter.
When you get seated, a server brings over bagel chips and a cheese spread:

The chips are light and crispy and they spread is lightly seasoned.  It’s easy to snack on these until they’re gone.
When I went with Rachel we got a sample plate and some potato knishes.  The sampler had a meat knish, slice of kugel, potato latke and cheese blintz.

I was a huge fan of Joan and Ed’s meat knishes and while everyone does knishes a little different, I always find myself comparing them to J&E’s (and my own).  The knish was pretty good, I thought the dough was great and the filling was pretty good but a teeny bit dry (compared to…) but flavorful and enjoyable.

Everything else on the plate was good, not amazing but not disappointing either.
Although Rachel really didn’t like the potato knish because she felt is was too creamy with just bits of potato instead of it being more of a thicker mashed potato filling that she was expecting:
Last night my aunt and uncle split a Ruben with coleslaw instead of sauerkraut

They both thought it was great and complimented the potato salad too.
Ethan got a grilled cheese with challah bread and bacon that he said was as good as it looked (and it looked amazing)

I would have taken a bite but I had enough going on with my smoked fish plate:

I decided to get challah toast instead of a bagel and chose a combo plate that offers your choice of three fish from their list of 8.  I got nova, belly lox and a scoop of whitefish salad.  Everything was so good. I love whitefish salad and they did a great job with it, not too salty and not too much mayo.
I forgot to mention we also got some matzo ball soup, which again was great and the matzo ball is nice and soft like a matzo cloud!

I think Zaftig’s is a welcome addition to metrowest. It’s not cheap, and I know the place has got mixed reviews because of that being worth the food but I think it’s easy to go anywhere else and pay as much for lesser quality food.
We liked it and while I won’t be there all the time, I’d consider it a treat to go back and would love to try breakfast items like chocolate brioche french toast.  Everything on the breakfast end looked delicious.  Also the service might be hit or miss. Rachel and I had a rude waitress who didn’t seem to care about her tables but last night we had a polite and courteous waiter.  Both times it was not very busy and as someone who has waited tables since I was 19, there is just no excuse for being rude. Regardless of the possible service issue (maybe that girl won’t last long), I’m looking forward to someday going back.
Also for all information including menu with prices please check our their website: http://www.zaftigs.com/