This Is Framingham

Last May I was all excited at Town Meeting that we approved funds for repairing the crumbling steps in front of Town Hall/Memorial Building.  As the months went by I figured there must be some plan in action but then a whole year went by and still here in August 08 nothing seems to have changed except the arrangements of the cones and the deteriation of the steps.
I’m sure other people have noticed too since it is such a visable structure representing the town and they have done such a nice job with the landscaping and brickwork in front of the building, it’s a shame the steps remain neglected.
I went to the Christmas tree lighting ceremony in December ’06 where everyone crowded around on the frontsteps and people had to watch where they were standing and make sure they weren’t on a piece of crumble.  I can’t imagine the challenge of what that was like last year or what it will be like this year if they are still not repaired.
I’m starting to investigate and will post any information about progress on this I can find out if anyone is interested.

We made it over to the newly opened, Old Station Steak House, which is, as I mentioned before, a Brazilian buffet, not a steak house really but we’ve been waiting to be able to go in this H.H. Richardson designed building which is on the National Register of Historic Places and Ethan has never been inside.  I haven’t been in here since it was Ebenezer’s.  When we first entered, the stairs leading up to what used to be the bar (where I celebrated my 21st birthday) are now blocked off and that area must be used as an office or storage.  It’s a shame because that was a fun bar.   I have to say though, they did a great job with the bar area downstairs and it looks really nice.

The dining room is spacious with it’s tall ceilings and roomy seating plan and unlike when I was 21, I can appreciate the history of the building through it’s architecture and features like the fireplace and window styles.

I took a bunch of pictures of the food on the buffet but lost them somehow, so I’ll just show you our plates with what we got:
My plate: Cauliflower, broccoli, beets, fried boneless chicken, fried banana, polenta, steak fries, collard greens, and one of 4 meats brought to the table, a chicken sausage.

Ethan’s plate: Fries, chicken, salad, rice and he got some meats that came to the table too.

 Here’s the chicken sausage as it was brought over:

This was the same way the brisket and short beef ribs were brought over too.

The staff was very nice and would come over asking us if we needed anything and the meal is a good deal price-wise too because it’s all you can eat and includes the meat carver coming to your table, all for $9.99 rather than how some buffets charge by the pound.

Although I do still wish this was more of an Ebenizer’s type place, I think this would still be a great place to meet someone after getting off the train for a drink in the bar.  The food was pretty good too, even Ethan who has a little higher standard for buffets than I do, thought it was good.  AND, it’s looks nice inside, they’ve done a good job keeping the character of the building, maybe because it’s on the National Register of Historic Places, but still, it’s one of Framingham’s more interesting buildings and a good place to dine at and take in some history.

Walking home tonight we passed by Sullivan Tire, who set up a cute display of tires in honor of the Olympics.

Tonight we went to check out the now open British Beer Company.  We went around 4:45pm and there was going to be about a 15 minute wait unless we sat in the bar area, which was fine, so we sat there.
It is pretty much what I expeted it to look like in there, kind of like the old Desmond O’Malley’s, with a lot of dark wood and dimly lit atmosphere.

The beer menu is extensive with a wide variety of British and non-British beers in bottles and on tap.  I asked the server about two particular beers and she said I could taste for myself and brought over two samples of the beer I was asking about.   That was great because one was much better than the other so I ordered a pint of the Hobgoblin Ale (in a Blackthorn glass), which I highly reccomend. 

Ethan just got a gin and tonic (not worth photographing) and we both got fish and chips so I just took a picture of mine:

The fish and chips comes with fries, 3 giant onion rings, coleslaw and a gravy boat full of tartar sauce.
Everything was really good although the fries tasted like common fries that are used in a few different restaurants but the onion rings seemed to be home made. ???? ??????   The coleslaw was a bit mayo-heavy but good and the fish was great.  It seemed to be fresh fish and was perfectly moist and flakey inside it’s crunchy beer-batter case. ????? ???????? ?? ?????? 2024   This grainy photo doesn’t do it justice but it was very good.

I probably won’t go back for a little bit just to let the crowds die down, the lobby was full of waiting people when we left around 6pm and as someone already said, ther bar was packed on a weeknight.  I hope it has at least one slow night that would be good to go enjoy a few beers with friends with out as much noise, but I may just be gun shy of crowded bars from my past life as a cocktail waitress.
I think the BBC is a great addition to Route 9 and I’m looking forward to going back and trying the Chicken and Leek Pie. ???? ???????

I spent the past few days in the lovely White Mountains in NH.  We also took a trip to Weirs Beach where they have a waterslide and I noticed an orange(ish) trailer in the parking lot.

Upon further inspection:

I don’t think they have a store up there but maybe just sell out of the trailer for bike week or something. Anyway, it was kind of funny to see something Framingham related up there and reminded me that eventually I want to go in the store and buy a big belt buckle.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the summer.  I like out-door swimming, waking up to daylight, ice cream at the beach, not having to bundle up when I leave the house, etc… but as some readers know, Halloween is my favorite holiday and I get a small thrill out of seeing the first appearences of Halloween products for the season.  Such as this simple display at the Stop & Shop on Old Connecticut Rd. I saw last night.
Not full blown Halloween but we see some nice autumn colors and the m&m’s suggest a little creepyness.  No bad for mid-summer.

I was reading an article in the MWDN about how a non-profit opened a home for Autistic people in Marlborough and there is mixed reaction about it.
A quote from a neighbor of the new house stood out to me:

“”I’ve read their (the non-profit’s) mission statement and they want to be the next SMOC. I worked in Framingham and I don’t want to see this town turn into the next Framingham.”

Here is the article if anyone is interested: http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/news/x478787558/
New-Marlborough-group-home-opens-to-mixed-reactions