Recommended Places to Visit: Spencer

Recreation
Parks
O'Gara Park
95 Valley Street

Luther Hill Park
End of Park Street

Beaches
Brooks Pond
Brooks Pond Road between Washburn Drive and Oakham Road

Hiking

Spencer State Forest
Howe Pond Road near Lyford Road

Water Bodies
Cranberry Meadow Pond
Cranberry Meadow Road between Jolicoeur Avenue and Briarcliff Lane

Browning Pond
Browning Pond Road near Browning Pond Circle

Thompson Pond
Thompson Pond Road between Westland Drive and Oak Lane

Stiles Reservoir
Chickering Road between Styles Avenue and Wilson Avenue

Sugden Reservoir
~50 Lake View Drive

Muzzy Lake
Maple Street and Adams Street

Architecture

Monuments

Bemis Memorial Park
West Main Street near Podunk Pike

Soldier's Monument
~193 Main Street

Vietnam Memorial Park
80 South Spencer Road

Places of Worship

Mary Queen of the Rosary Parish
60 Maple Street

First Congregational Church
207 Main Street

St. Joseph's Abbey
167 North Spencer Road

Hillside Baptist Church
472 Main Street

First United Methodist Church
161 Main Street

Schools
Wire Village School
60 Paxton Road


Town Facilities

Town Hall
157 Main Street

Richard Sugden Library
8 Pleasant Street


Historical Buildings
Old Fire Station
~157 Main Street

Old Building
239 Main Street

Old Ragsdale Kia
324 Main Street

Restaurants

Highly Recommended:
Western
Black and White Grille
206 North Spencer Road
Recommended Dishes:
Ribeye Surf and Turf

Mexican
Mexicali Grill
117 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Mexicali Chimichanga

December 1st 2013: Sightseeing in the Fog

Today, despite the gloomy weather, I decided to head out to do some sightseeing. Not having any specific plans, I decided to head out west this time, visiting Paxton

Kettle Brook Reservoir #4,
Reservoir Drive near Pleasant Street

Illig's Pond, 19 West Street

and a few places in Spencer, including the Sugden Reservoir Dam, which I visited in the dark the last time I was here.

Sugden Reservoir

O'Gara Park, 95 Valley Street

Muzzy Lake,
Maple Street and Adams Street

Vietnam Memorial Park,
80 South Spencer Road

I also visited the Luther Hill Park, located at the end of Park Street, which has a pretty decent beach and a disc golf course. Unfortunately, it is only open to Spencer residents.

before deciding to hike a little at the Spencer State Forest. The paths I took to view the water bodies here is shown below in pink.

I tried to find the water body to the right at first, but ended up getting lost and heading back to my starting point. I gave up at this point, and decided to view a little more of Howe Pond. Here are some pictures I took while I was here.

From here, I headed into the town of Charlton to visit some water bodies.

Railroad Pond,
New Spencer Road and Old Spencer Road

Wee Laddie Pond, 65 Gould Road

Little Nugget Lake, 69 Nugget Drive

Hultered Pond, 57 Northside Road

Finally, I decided it was time for some brunch at Fedele's Coffee Shop and Restaurant, a small town breakfast place at 13 Central Street in the town of Southbridge.

After looking at the menu, I decided to get a cup of Hot Chocolate, the Steak and Eggs, and a side of Corned Beef Hash and Kielbasa.

Hot Chocolate

Steak and Eggs

Kielbasa and Corned Beef Hash

The food was actually really good, especially the meats, and I surprised myself by finishing everything I got. I surprised the restaurant owners as well.

After lunch, I visited a few places in Southbridge,

The Arc

Carpenter Pond,
Snow Street and Martin Street

then headed into Sturbridge for a bit

Cedar Pond Recreation Area

Pistol Pond, 310 Charlton Road

Long Pond, 37 Champeaux Road

before finally calling it a day for hiking. From here, I decided to try the Cedar Street Grille in town for dinner. This place actually looks pretty upscale, and the menu was pretty interesting as well.

For food, I decided to get mostly appetizers, namely the Pork Belly (crispy fried pork belly, apple & beet puree, maple drizzle), the Crazy Dates (stuffed dates, bacon, goat cheese) and the Pumpkin and Sausage Mac and Cheese.

Pork Belly

Crazy Dates

Pumpkin and Sausage Mac and Cheese

All the dishes were very well presented. Both the pork belly and dates were scrumptious, but the most amazing of all was actually the Mac and Cheese. I never knew pumpkin could go so well with it.

That was not the end of it though. For dessert, I decided to get the Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Tart (Coffee Bean Creme anglais, fresh whipped cream).

Its not like the overly sweet pecan pie I am so used to loving, but the tart was still good.

Overall, this is definitely the best restaurant I have been to in Sturbridge to date, hands down. A definite must try for anyone in town, especially if you are stopping by on the way back from a car ride to NYC. I should have come here yesterday.

October 7th 2013: Dinner at Danger Zone Saloon, Warren

Today after work, I decided to brave the rain and head out to the town of Warren for dinner at the Danger Zone Saloon. I passed by the City Pond at ~81 Chapel Street in Leicester

and the Sugden Reservoir in Spencer,

where I was able to walk up to the dam on Lake View Drive, but by then, it was already too dark to take a picture of it. Finally in Warren, the place was pretty much a small town bar, with nothing much for food. I went with a half dozen Chicken Wings in BBQ sauce, and some Onion Rings.

The food was alright I guess, although the onion rings were a little burnt. Not a place to come back to for sure.

July 30th 2013: Dinner at Solmar Restaurant and Pub, Springfield

Today after work, I decided to go use one of my Groupons in the city of Springfield, at Solmar Restaurant and Pub, but before that I decided to do some sightseeing in Worcester.

Venerini Academy

John Street Baptist Church

Church of St. Andrew the Apostle,
5 Spaulding Street

Elizabeth Street Schoolhouse Condominiums,
31 Elizabeth Street

On my hike at the Coes Reservoir, the path I took to go around part of the reservoir is shown below in pink.

 The beautiful pictures I took of the water follow.

Bridge over the dam

At the beach

Coes Knife Dam

My next hike was at Parson's Cider Mill, where I took a picture of the Goddard Memorial close by before embarking on it.

The path I took to see the water bodies here is shown below in pink.

The ponds here were pretty decent too, as can be seen from my pictures below.

The Mill Dam

The first Pond

The second Pond

I continued on my path toward Springfield, passing through the towns of Spencer

Old Ragsdale Kia of Spencer,
324 Main Street

and Warren along the way.

Quaboag River

Wrights Complex Lower Dam

Old Wrights Mill,
South Street near Main Street

Old St. Thomas Aquinas Church,
43 North Street

St. Stanislaus Church

When I finally reached Springfield, it was already dark. Thankfully, the kitchen of the typical bar restaurant was still open, so I was able to order the Caldo Verde (Kale Soup) and the Ameijoas A Portuguesa (Clams Portuguese Style, With Cheese) for appetizers, the Arroz de Tamboril (Monkfish with Rice, with clams and shrimp) for my main dish, and the Rice Pudding for dessert.

Ameijoas a Portuguesa

Caldo Verde

Rice Pudding

Arroz de Tamboril

The soup was only a little lukewarm when served to me, and it was more like kale in a watery mixture of mashed potatoes, although the clams were pretty good with the bacon, cheese and hot sauce. The monkfish had a nice chewy texture to it and was not dry at all, but there was too much cinnamon on the rice pudding and for a moment I thought I would get poisoned by it, so I decided to leave much of it behind.

With that, I drove all the way home, satisfied with my exploits for the day. I'm glad I chanced upon that dam in Warren.