Showing posts with label Winchester. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Winchester. Show all posts

Sunday, October 27, 2013

October 27th 2013: Dinners in Winchester and Lexington

The food truck had to cater a wedding at the Griffin Photography Museum in Winchester today, so while it was being set up, I decided to go find a place to buy some pizza for the rest of the guys, and had to settle for Lucia Ristorante nearby, which apparently is a branch of the upscale restaurant I went to in the North End of Boston a long time ago
I decided to order takeout, getting the Ammazzafame (Penne, Porcini, Sausage, Broccoli, Sun Dried Tomatoes and capers), which was the exact same, delicious pasta dish I got in Boston, and the Pizza del Buongustaio (White pizza with mozzarella, potatoes, pancetta, gorgonzola and fresh rosemary).
Ammazzafame
Pizza del Buongustaio










The pasta was excellent as always, while the pizza was just alright, perhaps because we had to serve customers for quite a while before we could even get a chance to eat.

I decided to leave the food for my friends though, and left early to grab a second dinner at the Vine Brook Tavern in the town of Lexington. Despite its name, the place is actually pretty upscale, complete with a constantly changing artisan menu. The dish that interested me the most was the Roasted Trout (Bacon Maple Apple Stuffing, cider beurre blanc, caramelized brussel sprouts), which I ordered naturally.
It was definitely not something I will regret for a long time. The presentation was excellent, the fish was crispy yet moist, and the stuffing was simply heavenly. Definitely several levels above Lucia.

Thursday, August 22, 2013

August 22nd 2013: Salem Tunnel Tour in Salem

Today after work, I had a tour about the old tunnels built in the town of Salem with Salem Tunnel Tour. Before that, I decided to grab some dinner at Sakura, a small Japanese restaurant in the town of Winchester. After looking at the menu, I decided to get the Una Coco Maki (apple, kani, tempura crumbs topped with eel, coconut flakes, homemade sweet sauce),

which actually was pretty good.

I was almost late for my tour, but somehow I managed to find parking right next to the Custom House, which is pretty difficult on a Thursday night, so I was right on time. I was the only one on the tour tonight though.

I have to say, the tour was a pretty enriching experience. I never knew that tunnels existed below Salem, even though I have been here quite a few times, even more that they were everywhere here, linking all sorts of buildings to each other. Even houses were built with 4 chimneys to support the tunnels. Of course, these tunnels were used for all sorts of purposes over the years, especially illegal means, like smugglers trying to avoid paying taxes on goods etc. However, most of these tunnels have been filled up or used for sewage or electrical and gas lines, even covered by large rocks used as memorials. I was still able to see some of the openings though, like one on the Salem Common, and one that looked more like a drain on the roadside.
Tunnel entrance on the Salem Common
another Tunnel Entrance











Tunnels with power lines



It was also interesting to note in winter, one can see the entrances to tunnels, as the air there is warmer and melts the snow faster. His stories got me to buy his book, Salem Secret Underground: The History of the Tunnels in the City. I look forward to reading it. 

My tour guide was apparently psychic as well, so our conversations also included haunted houses in the area, murders and conspiracies that people till today were still trying to hide, and he showed me pictures of ghosts manifesting as orbs, and his own personal experiences with spirits and demons as well. Apparently they don't like cameras and like to drain their batteries or damage them. My tour guide did tell me about the House of Metal Creatures as well and how ghosts would drain camera batteries if we tried to take pictures of the sculptures there.

After I was tempted to go and see if his story was true, but as it was already dark, I decided to come back another time in the day to do so.

With that, I headed home for the day, satisfied that this tour was worth my travelling all the way to Salem.







Thursday, February 14, 2013

Recommended Places to Visit: Winchester

Recreation
Water Bodies
Judkins Pond
Skillings Road and Shore Road

Winter Pond
Woodside Road and Chesterford Road

Wedge Pond
Main Street and Lake Street


Parks
Chefalo Park
Washington Street and Mount Vernon Street

Bellino Park
Main Street and Swanton Street

Elliot Park
Main Street and Lake Street


Beaches
Boorggaard Beach
4 Palmer Street


Architecture
Monuments
Memorial
Mystic Valley Parkway and Main Street

Town Common
Church Street and Waterfield Road


Places of Worship

First Baptist Church
90 Mount Vernon Street

St. Mary's Church
158 Washington Street

Second Congregational Church of Winchester
485 Washington Street

St. Eulalia Parish
50 Ridge Street

First Church of Christ, Scientist
114 Church Street


Schools
McCall Middle School
458 Main Street

Lincoln Elementary School
161 Mystic Valley Parkway


Town Facilities
Public Library
80 Washington Street

Public Safety Building
32 Mount Vernon Street

Town Hall
71 Mount Vernon Street


Historical Buildings
Sanborn House Historical and Cultural Center
15 High Street


Commercial Buildings
Northmark Bank
26 Mount Vernon Street


Restaurants
Highly Recommended:


Italian
Lucia Ristorante (chain)
13 Mount Vernon Street
Recommended Dishes:
Ammazzafame
Pizza del Buongustaio


Tried:
Japanese
Sakura
910 Main Street
Recommended Dishes:
Una Coco Maki

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

February 13th 2013: The Harlem Globetrotters at Tsongas Center, Lowell

Today, I was forced to take the day off from work as I had a doctor's appointment in the morning in Lexington, and tickets to go watch the Harlem Globetrotters at the Tsongas Center in Lowell later this evening.

I decided not to waste the day away, waking up early and passing through several towns on my way to Lexington, including Berlin,
St. Joseph the Good Provider Church,
52 West Street
Bolton,

First Parish of Bolton










Stow, 
St. Isidore Church
The Center School
The Stowaway Inn
Maynard,
Maynard Town Hall, 195 Main Street
Union Congregational Church









Holy Annunciation Orthodox Church


Charles A Welch Lodge, 100 Main Street
Mission Evangelical Congregational Church










and Sudbury.
St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church













After my doctor's appointment in Lexington, I did some sightseeing in town before heading to Arlington to have lunch at the Blue Ribbon BBQ.
Pilgrim Congregational Church
Countryside Bible Chapel








Lexington United Methodist Church


St. Paul Evangelical Church
Trinity Covenant Church










Blue Ribbon BBQ a typical looking BBQ place, though more like a takeout than a sit-in place. Having $15 to spend, I decided to get the Trio Platter with Pulled Pork, Pork Ribs and Beef Brisket, and poured samples of every sauce available to try.
The Sauces
Trio Platter











The meat was actually really fresh and good, with the ribs just falling off the bone easily. Some of the sauces were a little too spicy for me though.

After my lunch I resumed my sightseeing, passing through Winchester,
First Church of Christ, Scientist
and Stoneham.
All Saint's Episcopal Church
In Stoneham, after taking pictures of the places I had missed out on before, I decided to grab my pizza dinner from Amore Pizza in town, ordering the Italian Cold Cuts Pizza, consisting of provolone, hot ham, mortadella, and salami, the Spicy Sausage Roll-Up, containing garlic, pickles and tomatoes, and the Coated Skinny Fries, all to use up my $15 groupon.
Italian Cold Cuts Pizza
Coated Fries




Spicy Sausage Roll-Up
All 3 were just so-so from a typical pizzeria.

From here, I headed into Burlington,
Fellowship Bible Church
St. Mark's Episcopal Church










Wilmington,
St. Elizabeth Episcopal Chapel
Grace Chapel










Billerica,
Community Congregational Church
New Colony Baptist Church


North Billerica Baptist Church

and finally Tewksbury,
John F Ryan School
Tewksbury Public Schools
Tewksbury Police Headquarters
Tewksbury Public Library



















St. William's Church


Tewksbury Country Club







First Baptist Church

Tewksbury United Methodist Church
Lowell Assembly of God










before heading into Lowell where the Harlem Globetrotters would be playing.
First Church of Christ, Scientist,
195 Andover Street
Kittredge Park,
Chestnut Street and Park Street



St. Michael's Church









5th Street Baptist Church









Centralville United Methodist Church

Spanish Church of the Nazarene,
51 1st Street
Dick Lepine Real Estate












Finally, I decided it was too dark to take any more pictures, so I headed to the Tsongas Center within the campus of UMass Lowell to go see the Harlem Globetrotters.

I managed to find free parking nearby, thankfully, and headed into the building to collect my tickets.
Tsongas Center at night
Picture of Paul Eftemios Tsongas
Inside the Tsongas Center










The Concession Stand
When I entered the basketball arena, there was already a basketball game going on between 2 sets of kids, and they were pretty good actually (much better than me, at least).


















After the game ended, I decided to head down where they were selling Harlem Globetrotter merchandise, and I decided to get a Harlem Globetrotters Basketball for myself.
Soon after, the event started. The announcer mentioned that the trophy on the sidelines would be awarded to the winner of the game, which would have different new rules added to each quarter in the basketball game to make things more interesting.

The mascot of the team, Globie, first came out and performed a "magic" trick, where he had 4 people sit on chairs in a tight circle, and after getting them to lie down on each other's laps, he removed all the chairs until there were none left, and the people still stayed in position. Pretty cool stuff.
Globie

Starting the Magic Trick
Time to pull out the chairs










No Chairs!!
Pulling out the last chair










After that, it was time for some cool breakdancing moves, with Globie pretending he was Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson impression by Globie









Soon after, the Globetrotters themselves arrived on court and introduced themselves, doing cool basketball tricks all the while.









The game then started, with the new rule for the first quarter being that people could shoot 4-point shots from 4 spots on the court far beyond the 3 point range, and the players were actually pretty good at that. Other funny stuff included the players climbing up the nets and disrupting play and aggravating the referee.

Hanging from the basket
Doing a funny walk










Handler's Signature Pose
Free Throw Time










During timeouts, there would be entertaining performances as well, sometimes including the audience.
Girl Twirling a ball












An especially funny part was when a large balloon mascot, Big G, came out and started breakdancing.










The second quarter had every shot points doubled for the entire quarter. One player climbed up the net and stayed up there regardless of the referee asking him to come down, which was pretty hilarious.








They also tore the clothes off an opponent.

The new rule in the third quarter was to play with 2 balls for the first 2 minutes. The players were actually pretty skillful at manipulating and playing with 2 balls sometimes my themselves and scoring as well. The balls were pink to symbolize the fight against breast cancer as well.









Other antics followed.










During another break, the players got the audience to dance to the cult song YMCA.









After that, they got a kid to mimick the players' moves in order to win a T-shirt, and he actually did a really good job. The guy he was trying to mimic could not resist laughing after a while. They gave him the shirt of course.






























The game soon ended after that, the fourth quarter having 4-point shots like the first one. It was then time for autographs, which I decided to get on my ball from Globie, since that name was more significant than the players' names.
Moose Signing Autographs

Globie Signing Autographs

My Signed Ball

With that, I headed home, happy that I finally managed to get to watch the Harlem Globetrotters. They were very funny, although towards the end, their basketball antics kinda got a little old.