This Is Framingham

Saturday was so nice out we decided to walk downtown.  While we were there we went to Anastasia’s. 
Anastasias is one of the more welcoming storefronts downtown with its bright colors and modern light fixtures seen from the street and seems to be fairly new/renovated.

We’ll get the pizza sometime (as it’s been advised by some readers) but that day we were in the mood for steak and cheese subs.  I got mine with mushrooms and Ethan got his with onions and peppers.
Here’s mine:

The cheese is under the steak, which I always think is a little weird but it tastes just as good and maybe that’s how its supposed to be done.  It was pretty much what I expected, nothing spectacular but not disappointing either.  It hit the spot and I’m glad this place is walkable from home. 

I’m looking forward to trying the pizza sometime.

 
I was thinking about how I haven’ been to Desmond O’Malley’s in about a year.  For some reason I always forget it’s even there. This morning I drove by and saw they were doing construction/renovation there and did a little investigating.
Looks like it will be unveiled sometime this month as the Metro 9 Steakhouse, still owned by Desmond O’Malley’s.
On their craigslist post, looking for wait staff, they describe themselves as an upscale steakhouse:

A fine dining experience awaits our patrons in an upscale, sophisticated setting located on Rte 9 in Framingham, MA. Metro 9 will serve affordable, high quality steaks, chops and fresh seafood ranging from $16 to $26. With our November 2006 opening, we are now seeking quality-minded individuals ready to provide the best dining experience in a professional manner to our customers.

Sounds interesting if the food and service is as good as it seems it should be.  Probably not a place I’d go to all the time but I’ll definitely check it out.

Tucked away on Franklin St. is the dispatch station for Tommy’s Taxi, who I think is the most recognized taxicab service in Framingham, possibly all of metro west too. 

I’ve never needed to use a cab, but if I did, I’d call them and ask if they could pick me up in that 1950’s cab they have sitting out front. They’d say “No, it’s just for show”, I’d ask “What if I give you an extra $5?” and they’d say “Lady, it doesn’t even have an engine”.  I’d say “Ok, $10 but that’s my final offer” and then they’d hang up.

Sorry, since I’ve never used them I felt I had to make up a fictional experience.  They must have stayed in business this long for a reason though.  They’re celebrating 60 years of service, good for you Tommy’s!

B&R Bakery is I guess what you’d call an artisan bread bakery.  They make breads for some “finer” restaurants in Boston and they opened up shop in the Cochituate Road/126 plaza earlier this year.
They don’t have a sign and you probably wouldn’t even know it’s there unless you already knew about it.  I think they really concentrate on the wholesale since there is just a lone employee working the counter, that sometimes you have to ring a bell to get to come out from the back.  Not a bad thing, it’s almost like it’s a treat for regular non-restaurant-owning people to be able to buy stuff there.

In addition to breads they have cookies, muffins and croissants too.
They also have a lot more than what is displayed.  On the wall are chalkboards that list off their inventory.

I went in there Saturday and asked for a recommendation for sourdough bread.  The girl at the counter was very friendly and suggested one of the sourdoughs listed on the board and went out back to get one and show me.  They sell these giant loaves whole or by the half so I just got half.

It’s a pretty hearty loaf.

Nice to have a bakery like this in Framingham, I think we lucked out since these types of places are usually in Cambridge or somewhere trendy.

This is a martial arts studio downtown.  I have nothing to say except I’ll probably never have the nerve to go up those steps because “Anything goes”.

My cousin Amy and I went to The Aegean on Route 30.  I haven’t been there since they moved into the old Chi-Chi’s so it was nice to finally check out the new location. They did a remarkable job remodeling inside.  The dining room is spacious with two levels and pleasant lighting that is just dim enough to be comfortable yet not awkward.

When we sat down our server brought over a bowl olive oil with feta cheese and some bread. ????? ??? ???????   The feta was soft and flavorful, not the plasticy hard stuff like at grocery stores. 

We decided to get an appetizer of fried cheese, pretty good but we could probably have done without, but we wanted to try it.

We both got the house salad with yet more feta cheese and a very light, tasty dressing.

For entrees, Amy got the spinach pie with rice and green beans and I got the special of tilapia with tomatoes, mushrooms, capers and garlic which was really great.

The portions were so big we ended up wrapping up half of our dinners. ???? ????? ???? 777 Somehow we took a look at the dessert menu anyway.  We always say we’ll just look at the dessert menu but end up splitting something.  Tonight we split the chocolate mousse cake.

This is a serious cake, very intense chocolate I can’t imagine one person finishing the whole thing themselves- but very good. ??? ????

The service was excellent too, from our professional server to the course timing and waters being filled throughout the meal.

Also, very nice and clean bathrooms (sorry, no pictures!)

Thumbs up for The Aegean!

I noticed a new banner up on Union Ave. 

I hope the printer didn’t charge them for this – unless they have a time machine!  I’d definitely go if they have a time machine!