Recommended Places to Visit: Lynnfield

Recreation

Shopping Malls
Christmas Tree Shops
28-34 Broadway

Parks

Pillings Pond
~538 Summer Street

Architecture

Monuments

Town Common
Main Street and Summer Street

Places of Worship

Centre Congregational Church
5 Summer Street

St. Paul's Episcopal Church
127 Summer Street

Messiah Lutheran Church
708 Lowell Street

Lynnfield Community Church
735 Salem Street

Our Lady of the Assumption Church
17 Grove Street

Calvary Christian Church
47 Grove Street

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
400 Essex Street


Commercial Buildings
Century 21
433 Broadway


Town Facilities

Town Hall

55 Summer Street

Fire Department
59 Summer Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Western
The Ship Restaurant
24 Broadway
Recommended Dishes:
Swedish Meatballs
Caribbean
Cheesecake Trio

Italian

The Fat Cactus
215 Broadway
Recommended Dishes:
Beef Empanadas 
Tequila Lime Wings
Diablo Wings
Baja Spicy Popcorn Shrimp
Bandido Ribs
Deep Fried Ice Cream

November 20th 2013: Dinner at The Ship Restaurant, Lynnfield

Today after work, I decided to head all the way to the town of Lynnfield to have dinner at The Ship Restaurant. I was regretting my decision on my way there, having to go through a lot of traffic, and it took me more than 2 hours to get to my destination. When I got there, however, I could only be amazed at the place, as it is located beside the Christmas Tree Shops here,

 and the place itself is literally in the shape of a ship.

The decor inside is also much like a ship,

and with all of this, I was already expecting a good meal to come out of all of this. I was not to be disappointed. For appetizers, I decided to get the Swedish Meatballs (new potatoes, pickled cucumber, lingonberry jam).

Each of the component ingredient came separately, and each were tasty in itself, but when put together, it was a marvelous smorgasbord of flavors. Best meatballs I have ever had.

Next was my main dish, the Caribbean (grilled jerked chicken, pink peppercorn rum sauce, pineapple, coconut rice).

The chicken was actually pretty flavorful, although it got a little dry after a while, and the vegetables and rice were really tasty as well. Still not disappointed.

I had already spent what the groupon required, but I was so pleased with my meal that I had to try the dessert as well, even though I was already very full. I decided to go with the Cheesecake Trio (mango, key lime, vanilla bean, with chantilly cream).

Once again, really good, although I could barely finish everything.

Definitely a place I would bring friends to in the future. A pity it is so far away though.

November 16th 2013: Dinner at Venetian Moon, Reading

Today, after a day of doing food truck stuff at the Egleston Farmer's  Market in Jamaica Plain,  I decided to do a little sightseeing in the town of Lynnfield

Lynnfield Community Church

Our Lady of the Assumption Parish

Century 21

Calvary Christian Church

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

before heading to the town of Reading for an Italian dinner at Venetian Moon. This place is pretty upscale, with a lounge area downstairs.

For appetizers, I decided to get the Venetian Carozza (slices of fresh mozzarella, artichoke hearts, fresh basil leaves and sliced Roma tomatoes wrapped in thinly sliced prosciutto di Parma, served over baby greens drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and fig balsamic vinegar), which was a pretty fancy salad. Not too bad though.

For my main dish, I got the Crema di Mela (Green Apples Flambeed in apple vodka before adding light alfredo sauce and a touch of grated parmesan, served over ricotta raviolis).

The apples basically made up the essence of the dish, although the raviolis were really filling and I could barely finish it.

I still had dessert to go, so I decided to get the Salted Caramel Crunch Cake (Light, but buttery, vanilla-flecked pudding cake holds waves of rich caramel cake with a salted caramel crunch layer, and a creamy custard finished layer of caramel).

I have to say, I enjoyed my dessert, although after a while, it became just a little too sweet with all that caramel.

Overall, a pretty decent meal. Another good restaurant in the town of Reading.

October 30th 2013: Dinner at The Fat Cactus, Lynnfield

Today after work, I had to use a Groupon  before it expired, at The Fat Cactus, a Mexican restaurant located in the town of Lynnfield. I had originally wanted to have dinner with  my friend in Cambridge, but as the Red Sox had a World series game in town tonight,  the traffic heading into Boston was hell, and was already backed up all the way to Framingham. I decided to get out as quickly, stopping by the Willis Pond beach at the end of Lake Shore Drive in Sudbury to take some pictures instead.

From here I drove all the way to Lynnfield for my dinner. I wasn't feeling too well at this point, but I still decided to go ahead with ordering a lot of food to fulfill my groupon. With the Red Sox game about to start, I ordered several appetizers, and although I was about to order the Tequila Lime Wings (marinated in freshly squeezed citrus juices, a hint of tequilla then fried) to fulfill my Groupon, the wings were 30 cents a piece this very night, so I was forced to order the Beef Empanadas (Ground black angus sirloin spiced with fresh cilantro, stuffed into pastry pillows with Mexican Cheeses and fried, served with sour cream and homemade salsa) as well. getting 2 Tequila Lime Wings and 2 Diablo Wings (marinated in Mexican Buffalo sauce) instead. I also got the Baja Spicy Popcorn Shrimp (baby gulf shrimp dipped in buttermilk then tossed in combination of spices, corn flour and fried, served with Baja dipping sauce). For my main dish, I got the Bandido Ribs (full rack of baby back pork ribs roasted low and slow with sugar based dry rub then baked with sweet and tangy barbecue sauce, served with seasoned fries, red cabbage slaw and cornbread), and finally the Deep Fried Ice Cream (Vanilla Ice Cream Ball rolled in cinnamon sugar and corn flakes, then deep fried to crispy shell, topped with strawberry syrup) for dessert.

Tequila Lime Wings

Diablo Wings

Baja Spicy Popcorn Shrimp

Beef Empanadas

Bandido Ribs

Deep Fried Ice Cream

The wings were simply excellent, especially the tequila lime ones, having a good amount of tanginess. The popcorn shrimp were pretty unique with the spice factor, while the empanadas were awesome as well. However, I was already full before I could even finish the shrimp and the empanadas, so I had to wrap them up before my main dish came. The ribs were not too bad either, although I could barely stomach even 3 bone portions. There's always space for dessert though, although the cinammon kinda spoilt it for me. By the time I left, the Red Sox had scored 3 runs, and there would be 3 more on my way home. I'm glad they won the World Series. Go Sox!!

July 21st 2013: Dinner at Sports, Spirits and Steaks, North Reading

After a long day of doing food truck stuff, I decided to go have dinner at Sports, Spirits and Steaks, a bar restaurant in the town of North Reading.

Before that, I decided to do some sightseeing in the town of Melrose, heading first to Lewis Monk Memorial Park, which has views of Ell Pond.

Next, I went on a short hike up to High Rock, the trailhead located at the end of West Hill Terrace. The rough path I took, due to the presence of so many side trails that I had to just focus on going up and up and up to get to the rocky outcrop with a decent view of the Boston skyline, is shown below in pink.

The views from the top follow.

From here, I headed into Lynnfield, visiting a few places

Pillings Pond,
~538 Summer Street

Messiah Lutheran Church

before heading into North Reading, visiting a few more places there

Trinity Evangelical Church

Reading Cooperative Bank

Edith O Leary Senior Center

Flint Memorial Library

Police/Fire Department

Town Common,
Park Street and Haverhill Street

Batchelder School

before finally heading for dinner. The restaurant itself was pretty void of people when I arrived. I got down to ordering immediately, having a lot of money to use on my Groupon. I got the Garden Chili (ground beef, beans and Southwestern spices, Topped with shredded cheese, sour cream and a stack of tortilla chips) for my soup, the Buffalo Bleu Chicken Skins (Crispy potato skins topped with a delicious blend of buffalo chicken, shredded cheese & bacon bits baked to a golden brown and drenched in homemade bleu cheese dressing) and Coconut Shrimp (Crispy shrimp tempura, lightly battered and rolled in fresh coconut shavings, served with secret dipping sauce) for appetizers, the El Tiante Chicken Fajita Torpedo (Chicken tenderloins with tomatoes, peppers, onions & fajita spices, covered in Cheddar & Monterey Jack cheeses) for my main dish, and the 6 Layers of Chocolate Cake (Colossal layer upon layer of dark, moist chocolate cake sandwiched between the silkiest smooth chocolate filling and topped with chunks of chocolate) for dessert.

Garden Chili

Buffalo Bleu Chicken Skins

Coconut Shrimp

6 Layers of Chocolate Cake

El Tiante Chicken Fajita Torpedo

The chili was a little too sour for my taste, while the shrimp and Potato Skins were pretty good. I had originally ordered the Red Sox Steak Tip Torpedo, but got the chicken one instead, which I did not like at all because of the onions and peppers in it. Due to the lateness of the night, I decided not to complain about it as I did not want to wait any longer for food, and I was already pretty full by now anyway. The cake itself was way too intense for me as well. Not a good experience overall, and I had tons of leftovers to take home.

Moreover, after leaving the place for home, I have since realized that I left my precious binder back at the restaurant. Guess I need to go back there again tomorrow.

March 2nd 2013: Doing the Flying Trapeze in Reading

This morning, I had to do some food truck stuff with my friend in Malden, so I headed to there, passing by Charles Park in Cambridge

River Court from Charles Park

and a few churches in Everett.

St. Anthony's Parish, 38 Oakes Street

Bethel Revival Center

After I was done with my food truck business dealings, it was time to head to the town of Reading to have a try at doing trapeze acts at TSNY Beantown, a trapeze school located within the Jordan's Furniture complex there, passing through the town of Wakefield along the way.

Most Sacred Sacrament Church

While waiting for the flying trapeze class to start, I walked around inside the mall, taking pictures of the interesting statues within, most made out of jellybeans!!

Boston Red Sox Green Monster
eating a NY Yankee

Mock State House

There's also a musical fountain here as well.

Finally, some pictures of the trapeze structure I was to swing from.

I have to say that the trapeze class was an extremely fun experience, with me doing knee hangs, hands-free, but nerve wracking at the same time as I had to learn to look straight down at the ground below me and not freak out. I also positioned my legs wrongly at times, and felt like I would slip out of the bar at any moment.

I even strained my back a little in the end, trying to do a back flip. Oh well, guess I'm not as agile as the little girl who was wowing us with all her tricks on the trapeze bar today.

After the class, I headed off toward my next destination: lunch at the American BBQ in the town of Beverly, passing through the towns of Lynnfield

Bell

Memorial

Town Common,
Main Street and Summer Street

Centre Congregational Church

Fire Department

St. Paul's Episcopal Church

Town Hall

and Danvers.

Christ the Redeemer Anglican Church

This place is actually one of the better looking BBQ places I have been to so far, filled with pig paraphernalia, although the food was not as good as at Blue Ribbon BBQ in Arlington.

I got the choice of 3 BBQ Meats, getting the Texas Smoked Sausage, Pulled Pork and Beef Brisket, along with Baked beans and dirty rice on the side. I also got a Lime Rickey Drink and two desserts, namely the Apple Crisp and the Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce.

Lime Rickey

Apple Crisp

Bread Pudding with Praline Sauce

3 BBQ Meats

After my lunch, I proceeded to sightsee in Beverly for the rest of the day. First, I headed nearby to walk around Shoe Pond on the corner of Mckay Street and Balch Street, with Sheehy Park on its southwestern corner.

Sheehy Park,
McKay Street near Sturtevant Street

Shoe Pond

Birds on Shoe Pond

Shoe Pond in Ice

Shoe Pond Dam

After Shoe Pond, it was on to other places in Beverly before heading to the Hospital Point Lighthouse area in town, with the hope that all the snow had melted in the beach area.

The Gar Hall, 8 Dane Street

Dane Street Church

Beverly Public Library

First Assembly of God

Church in the Cove

Bass River
from Bridge Street Bridge,
Bridge Street near Margin Street

Immanuel Congregational Church

McKeown Elementary School

Beverly Seventh Day Adventist Church

Bass River Lodge 141,
10 Charnock Street

Second Congregational Church

Memorial United Methodist Church

Beverly Town Common,

~32 Essex Street

Hardie Building,
Montserrat College of Art

Beverly Municipal Airport

US-1 Huey Helicopter

MIG 15 UTI

The lighthouse is actually privately owned, but the view from the end of Bayview Road beside it wasn't too bad at all, with the town of Salem to the southwest.

Hospital Point Light

From here, I headed to Rice Beach at the end of Ober Street nearby after parking in the lot for Lynch Park, which looked a little like a private beach, but with nice views as well.

Finally, I headed back to Lynch Park, and explored the beautiful park, which has an Italian garden as well as awesome views of Salem Sound, until the sun went down.

Italian Garden

The beach areas

From here, I decided to call it a day for sightseeing, and headed to Organic Garden Cafe, a vegetarian restaurant in town, for dinner.

Amazingly, the place was full of people, and I should have made a reservation in the first place. I ended up waiting around for a bit before I could get a table. With my groupon, I decided to get the Chuck Berry Smoothie (Strawberries, blueberries, banana, date, and agave) for a drink, the OG Sliders (Four mini–portobello burgers, tomato, and sprouts on a sunflower–flax onion rye bread with cashew cheese) and Quesadilla (‘Jack cheez’, avocado, and pico de gallo in a golden flax 'n corn ‘tortilla’ with dipping hot sauce) appetizers, and the Nut Butter ‘Squash’ Ravioli (Heated raviolis in red beet ‘shells’ with rosemary walnuts, and cashew alfredo) for my main dish. 

Quesadilla

OG Sliders

Nut Butter Squash Ravioli

At this point, an old man who had difficulty walking on a walking stick came into the restaurant and tried to sit at a nearby table, but the waitress came to tell him that the table was reserved. I decided to invite him over to my table, and even gave him some of my food, which I was having a little trouble finishing. At the end of my really tasty meal, which I always get when I go to vegetarian restaurants, I had a new friend, who is now perhaps my oldest Facebook friend. He definitely made my dinner much more interesting as well.