January 13th 2014: Dinner at Allora Ristorante, Marlborough

I decided to stick close to home for dinner tonight, and chose to check out Allora Ristorante, an upscale Italian place in the town of Marlborough. I've passed by the restaurant many times in the past, but never got to try it until now.This place is pretty nice for a small town place, so I hoped the food would be equally as good.

I decided to get the Lobster Chowder (seared sea scallops over chunks of lobster with house-made bacon and roasted herb potatoes in a light cream drizzled with pesto aioli), half expecting a bowl of soup to come out. It was much better.

The presentation itself was pretty good, but the taste itself was pretty amazing as well. I didn't expect to get full, but somehow I was struggling towards the end, although I could not resist lapping up the sauce with bread. 

Definitely a recommend if you are in town. 

October 24th 2013: Dinner at Fanz Sports Grille, Marlborough

Today after work, I decided to try the  Fanz Sports Grille for dinner, a bar restaurant located in the town of Marlborough. After looking at the menu, I decided to get the Philly Cheese Steak Eggrolls (hand cut steak simmered in house blend spices, wrapped with American cheese and lightly fried, served with red pepper dipping sauce), the Spicy Fried Pickle Chips (Pickle Chips deep fried in house recipe beer batter, seasoned with cajun spices, served with ranch dipping sauce) and the Bourbon Steak Tips (marinated steak tips coated in Fanz signature bourbon sauce, with bacon and cheddar mashed potatoes and garlicky green beans).

Philly Cheese Steak Eggrolls

Spicy Fried Pickle Chips

Bourbon Steak Tips

The pickles were pretty interesting, though a little salty after a while of eating. The eggrolls were really tasty, especially with the dipping sauce, while the steak tips were cooked just right. This place is actually pretty good with its bar fare. I might just give it a recommend.

August 28th 2013: Dinner at All Star Bar and Grill, Marlborough

Today after work, I decided to have dinner at the All Star Bar and Grill in Marlborough. Before that, I headed into Southborough to do some hiking there.

My first spot was the Breakneck Hill Conservation Area, the parking lot located at ~74 Breakneck Hill Road. The map I had while exploring this place was very inadequate, so I kept losing track of where I was. There is a much better map of it, shown on the map for the Turenne Wildlife Habitat in town. The paths I took while here is shown below in pink.

On my first pass, I walked the right hand side loop to the top of the hill, where there were pretty nice views of the rolling hills.

but got lost after getting down, bumping into cows grazing on the fields, who kept mooing on my approach. Thankfully they did not charge me, and I had no idea if the electric fences were working.









When I finally got back to the road, I realized how lost I was as my car was far down the road. When I got back to my car, I realized that there was a better map posted on the sign there than the one I had in my hands, and as I had not seen a proper view from the top of the hill, I thought I would have better luck this time. I kept to the left side the second time around, but ended up at the same place I was before with not much of a view. With that, I headed back down to my car, and to my next destination at the Turenne Wildlife Habitat, found on a dirt road off 11 Walnut Drive. The path I took while here to try to find the Bird Garden is shown below in pink.

Somehow at the end of my trek, I emerged onto an open lawn which seemed to be someone's backyard, so I decided not to proceed any further and head back, but apparently there should be a nice view of Mount Wachusett in the distance. I shall be better prepared the next time I come back here.

With that, I headed to Marlborough for dinner. The restaurant was hard to find, as it is situated within the Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel, which is situated on a lone side road that I had to drive through in order to get to it. As I could not find the road for some time. I wasted almost half an hour trying to find the place, even heading into the Embassy Suites Boston nearby to try to find it.

Inside Best Western

When I finally found the place, it was actually pretty nice for a bar, being in a hotel naturally. For food, I decided to get the Portabella and Spinach Ravioli (tossed in olive oil. white wine, garlic sauce with asparagus, sundried tomatoes and hint of lemon), which was pretty good, with lots of tomatoes and asparagus,

and the Strawberry Tiramisu (Three Layers of Light Golden Chiffon cake filled with strawberry whipped cream filling topped with whipped cream and strawberries), which was presented really well and tasted just as good.

I wasn't expecting to enjoy my meal in a hotel, but this time I was actually quite satisfied with my experience here. I'll put a recommend on this place.

Recommended Places to Visit: Marlborough

Recreation

Water Bodies

Williams Lake
~300 Lakeside Avenue

Fort Meadow Reservoir
Bolton Street near Blaiswood Avenue

Hager Pond
~694 Boston Post Road East

Beaches
Memorial Beach
671 Hosmer Street


Parks

Ghiloni Park
239 Concord Road

Hiking

Cider Knoll Conservation Land
Stow Road near Simpson Road

Jericho Hill Recreational Area
496 Brigham Street

Shopping Malls

Solomon Pond Mall
601 Donald Lynch Boulevard

Architecture

Monuments

John Brown Bell
Main Street and Bolton Street

Brigham Park
West Main Street and Mechanic Street

Places of Worship

Bethel Presbyterian Church
22 Mechanic Street

Immaculate Conception Parish
11 Prospect Street

Saint Matthias Parish
409 Hemenway Street

Saints Anargyroi Greek Orthodox Church
9 Cashman Street

First Church in Marlborough
37 High Street

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
240 Hemenway Street

Sisters of the Good Shepherd Convent
400 Cushing Hill Drive


Town Facilities

Town Hall
140 Main Street

District Court
45 Williams Street

Fire Station 2
98 Pleasant Street

Public Library
35 West Main Street

Fire Department
215 Maple Street


Commercial Buildings
Old Victoria Building
277 Main Street

Best Western Royal Plaza Hotel
181 Boston Post Road West


Dams
Tyler Dam
193 Robin Hill Street

Historical Buildings
Franklin D. Walker Building
255 Main Street

Old West Meeting House
86 Pleasant Street

Old St. Ann's Church
Lincoln Street and Gibbon Street

Old Victoria Building
277 Main Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Western
All Star Bar and Grill
181 Boston Post Road West
Recommended Dishes:
Portabella and Spinach Ravioli
Strawberry Tiramisu

Fanz Sports Grille
757 Boston Post Road East
Recommended Dishes:
Philly Cheese Steak Eggrolls
Spicy Fried Pickle Chips
Bourbon Steak Tips

Italian

Sorento's Italian Gourmet
128 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Portbella and Spinach
Seafood Risotto

Allora Ristorante
139 Lakeside Avenue
Recommended Dishes:
Lobster Chowder

Tried:
Western
Lago Grille
265 Lakeside Avenue
Recommended Dishes:
Hand Cut Choice New York Sirloin

Bolton Street Tavern
587 Bolton Street
Recommended Dishes:
Potachoes
Crock of Chili Con Carni
Mixed Marinated Grill 

Firefly's
350 East Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Jamaican Jerk Chicken Po' Boy


Japanese

Fuji Steak House
200 Boston Post Road East

August 27th 2013: Dinner at Sully's First Edition Pub, Marlborough

After getting my hair cut today, I decided to do some hiking in Southborough before going to dinner at Sully's First Edition Pub in the town of Marlborough. The first place I went to was the Sudbury Reservoir Trail, located at Partridge Hill Road and White Bagley Road. I was intially going to walk the trail, but I realized the views from the roadside were pretty good enough anyway.

I also tried to visit the Sudbury Dam, but as it was off limits to the public, I decided not to take any risks getting caught for trespassing, although I did catch sight of the huge dam there.

From here, I decided to head for dinner, passing by the Marlborough Fire Department along the way.

The pub itself is pretty small, and the menu pretty limited as well. I finally settled on a ginger ale and the Baked Stuffed Scallops (stuffed with seafood stuffing), which was not really any good at all.

Definitely not a good dining experience, although the Red Sox did rout the Baltimore Orioles tonight in baseball.

August 26th 2013: Dinner at Lago Grille, Marlborough

Today after work, I decided to use my groupon at Lago Grille, located within the Holiday Inn in the town of Marlborough. Before that, I decided to go hiking at several places in Westborough and Southborough.

The first place I went to was the Westborough Wildlife Management Area, located at ~246 Milk Street. The path I took here to view the water bodies here is shown below in pink.

The water bodies themselves were not much to look at though.

Next, I headed to the Veterans Freedom Park, which is more an open space field than a proper park, with trails leading to a view of Mill Pond.

The last place I headed to in Westborough was the Hidden Meadow Conservation Area, where the path I took view the water body here after parking at the corner of Long Drive and Cook Street is shown below in pink.

The puddle of water here was not even worth a picture though. From here, I decided to go check out Crystal Pond near 9 Crystal Pond Road in Southborough. In order to get to the pond, one must actually get out of the car and walk a dirt path to it, but as it was getting dark, I decided to bring along my torchlight as well. The path I ran is shown below in pink.

It was pretty dark though when I finally reached the one spot to take the picture of the pond.

From here, I finally headed to dinner in Marlborough.  As one can expect of a restaurant in a hotel, the decor was pretty nice, but on the same note, the number of people here this time of night was very little as well. After looking at the menu, I decided to get the Hand Cut Choice New York Sirloin (center cut, grilled, mushroom demi glaze,mashed potatoes), which came with a side caesar salad as well.

Unfortunately, the sauce was a little too salty, although the meat was tender. Not coming back here again I guess.

August 19th 2013: Dinner at Sofia Ristorante, Hudson

Today after work, I decided to use my coupon at Sofia Ristorante, a small town Italian restaurant located in the Hudson town center. Before that, I went into Boylston for a hike at the Hillside Trail Network, located at Elmwood Place near Main Street. The path I took to find Flagg Pond here by walking on the path behind the football field here, which had many kids training today, is shown below in pink.

The pond itself was nothing much to look at though.

Flagg Pond

Other places I visited in Boylston follow.

Boylston Historical Society

Rocky Pond,
Boulder Way and Rocky Pond Road

From here, I headed into the town of Berlin to visit the Fishing Derby Pond at Berlin Memorial School, which was nothing much either.

Northborough was next.

Bartlett Pond from Watson Park,
41 Lyman Street

Smith Pond, ~75 Otis Street

My last stop was at the Tyler Dam at 193 Robin Hill Street in Marlborough.

From here, I headed into Hudson for dinner. The restaurant itself had some interesting decor,

but it was pretty empty tonight, and the Beef Fagottini I got, which was stuffed with parma ham and cheese,

 was too salty, although I still managed to eat all of it. Not a place I will come back to.

August 16th 2013: Cruise Night in Lancaster

Today after work, I decided to check out Cruise Night, an antique car show put on at Kimball Farm in Lancaster every Friday night in the summer time.

The show itself was just a congregation of old cars from the surrounding neighborhoods, as can be seen from my pictures below.

 Other than that, the emphasis was more on the seafood sold here, and the ice cream, which I got the Frozen Pudding flavor. It was okay I guess, tasting a little weird at times.

After seeing the show, I did some sightseeing in Lancaster,

White Pond, ~230 White Pond Road

Town Beach, End of Fire Road 4

Hudson

Bruces Pond, ~164 Apsley Road

and Marlborough, where I first went on a hike at Holt's Grove to find the old ice skating pond here. The path I took while here after parking at the Marlborough High School parking lot is shown below in pink.

The pond itself was small and nothing much to look at, although I managed to catch sight of frogs in the water.

Next, I headed to Ghiloni Park for a walk to see the water bodies there, taking the path shown below in pink,

walking around the basketball courts and soccer fields, which were full of people playing.

The water bodies themselves were mere puddles of water though. After leaving the park, I also visited Hager Pond at ~894 Boston Post Road East,

and the Jericho Hill Recreational Area at ~496 Brigham Street, where I climbed up the old ski slope there to catch the views from above.

The old ski slope

View from the top

Heading to grab dinner at the Bolton Street Tavern, a bar restaurant where I had a groupon to use, I found a family style restaurant which was pretty void of people this late Friday night.

For food, I decided to get the Potachoes (Fresh cooked sliced potato chips topped with melted cheese, bacon and scallions served with sour cream and salsa on the side) for appetizers, the Crock of Chili Con Carni Bread Bowl (Thick and Hearty topped with melted cheese served with nacho chips) for soup and the Mixed Marinated Grille (A combination of chicken teriyaki, marinated sirloin tips and barbeque shrimp, served with rice and vegetable of the day).

Potachoes

Crock of Chili Con Carni Bread Bowl

Mixed Marinated Grille

The potato chips were disappointingly bland, while the soup was just so-so as well, but my entree actually surprised me at how well it was cooked. The chicken was not dry as it usually is here in the US, and the beef was cooked just right for me as well. Unfortunately, I could not finish everything, so it's more leftovers for lunch.