Falls Pizza

CHICKPEAS: 3

This past week, we got take out from Falls Pizza on Main Street in Chicopee.  We ordered a Greek Pizza, an Italian Sub and a Buffalo Chicken Salad and the total bill came to $27.  The wait time was 20 minutes for pick up, which was very reasonable, but after getting home and eating, I wasn't impressed.

Garlic Bread

The chicken on the salad was chicken cutlet, cut into pieces, and covered in buffalo sauce.  I had recently had a very spicy buffalo chicken salad at the Southwick Inn, so I ordered this salad mild to be safe.  I felt that the mild buffalo had a strange sweet after taste.  Additionally, the salad came with garlic bread that was soggy and chewy.

Italian Sub

I didn't have any of the sub, but my fiance enjoyed it.

Pizza

We shared the pizza, which had feta, tomatoes and gyro on it. Overall the pizza was delicious.  While my salad was a miss, the Pizza made up for it.

I may find myself going back to Falls Pizza for pizza, but I am interested in finding another takeout place in Chicopee for salads.  Suggestions?

Kathy's Dinner

CHICKPEAS: 4

6 Strong Ave, Northampton, MA

On our way to the Yankee Candle Flagship Store, we stopped for breakfast in Northampton.  This was a fairly impromptu trip, so I looked for a diner on our way.  Similar to my post office experience, the first diner we went to was closed.  We headed back into town to find Kathy's Diner and were quite pleased we did!  I discovered another blog that details the history of Kathy's.  It has quite the history, and has had many names.

Aside from the authentic diner charm, we were initially impressed by the holiday decor.

Place mats and Mugs

The walls were also are decorated with all sorts of memorabilia, which helped keep the conversation going, as people watching was not really an option.  It was not very busy the day we went, and I suspect it was because the colleges were on break.

Kathy's has a huge selection of pancakes, with all sorts of fruits, nuts and more in them.  My Fiance ordered banana chocolate chip pancakes and a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich.

I ordered Texas french toast and a side of eggs.

Everything was delicious and our waitress was very pleasant.  With a coffee, our bill was around $13.

It should be noted that Kathy's is open until 2am on the weekends!

Day Trip: OSUSHI, Boston, Massachusetts

CHICKPEAS: 3

We grabbed dinner at OSUSHI on our trip to the see the Boston Pops.  OSUSHI was conveniently located in the shopping area of the Westin Copley.  While the entrance was from the mall, it was easy to feel like you were in a cozy restaurant once seated.  We were seated at a high top table near the windows so we could look out over the street.  We had purchased a gift certificate to OSUSHI from Ruelala (an invite only, flash shopping site).  The deal we purchased was $30 for $50 worth of food at OSUSHI.   The prices were high so it was easy to exceed the $50.

To begin, we ordered edamame and a fresh spring roll.  The spring roll was quite good with shrimp and raw tuna in it.  Unfortunately, our waitress's single blunder was forgetting to bring out the edamame.  Once we reminded her, she brought it out at room temperature instead of steaming.

Fresh Springroll

We ordered 4 rolls to share.  Overall, they were good, but as you can see, two were quite big (in terms of diameter).  Really large sushi is difficult to eat gracefully.  From top to bottom we got the follow rolls:  Dragon, Miso Sexy, Spicy Scallop, and Vegetable Tempura.

Sushi

All of the above and one beer came to around $75.  I would go back if I was staying at the Westin and wanted take out to bring back to my room, or if I found another coupon/deal.  Otherwise, you can find sushi of equal or better quality for less.

Day Trip: Biltmore Bar and Grille, Newton, Massachusetts

CHICKPEAS: 5

Last weekend, we took a trip to Boston to see the Pops!  We stayed over night and had breakfast the next morning with friends.  As Newton residents, they knew just where to bring us: The Biltmore Bar and Grille. The menu was creative, the restaurant was eclectically decorated with a collection of old signs and the company was excellent.  All in all, it was one of the best breakfasts I have had in quite a while!

To begin, they brought us breakfast bread.  It was warm and delicious, so much so that we ate it all before we had a chance to take a picture.  This also happened with the order of sticky buns we got to start.

I ordered the S.S.B.L.T.  (smoked salmon, bacon, lettuce and tomato with an egg) which came with a side of sweet potato home fries.  It was the best breakfast sandwich I have ever had.

SSBLT

My Fiance decided on Huevos Tacos (sot corn tortillas stuffed with sauteed onions, peppers, chorizo, colby cheese and eggs on the sunny side, with pork shoulder hash).  Guacamole with breakfast! ... Why didn't I think of that?

Huevos Tacos

My friend ordered French Toast Crunch (thick sliced cinnamon swirl bobka, coated with captain crunch and corn flakes, vanilla frosting and warm apple butter syrup).  I had a bite and had momentary regrets about my selection (even though my sandwich was awesome!).  Oh, and that is ball of butter, not ice cream (I asked). 

French Toast Crunch

Our other friend got a daily special.  I can't remember what it was exactly, other than we fondly referred to it as the meat plate.  He cleaned his plate with no trouble.  

Meat Plate

Our four entrees, sticky buns, two juices, and one coffee came to around $60.  A bit more expensive than our usual breakfast haunts, but well worth it!

Pho Saigon

CHICKPEAS: 4

When we saw that Pho Saigon was ranked as the number one restaurant in Springfield, MA on tripadvisor.com, we bumped it up on the list of places we needed to try.  We went last Friday night, right before going to Bright Nights.

We drove through a less than pleasant area of Springfield on our way there, but the location of Pho Saigon felt much safer.  We were able to find parking on the street in front of the restaurant, but I imagine that parking can sometimes be difficult to find.

We arrived around 8pm and two tables had just opened up.  The reviews online all comment on spectacular service and they certainly lived up to their reputation. The waiter spent a good two minutes carefully wiping and then drying the table and was always refilling our water and respectfully checking in.

Neither of us have much experience with Vietnamese food, but the menu had pretty thorough explanations.

To start, we got fresh spring rolls with chicken, shrimp, vermicelli, and fresh vegetables wrapped in rice paper and served with a very delicious peanut sauce.

Deliciousness

I ordered pho with rare steak, beef meatballs, brisket, flank, tendon and rice noodles.  The serving size was enormous and it was quite delicious.  My fiance had the smaller version of pho and another appetizer as his meal. 

The pho came with a plate of sprouts, basil, lime and peppers for you to use as you pleased.

We each had a different method to eating our pho.

I ate everything out of the broth first

My Fiance at all the broth first

We were both stuffed with our pho and barely touched the other appetizer, steamed rice crepes with pork.  

Additionally, we got a bottle of wine.  Wine lovers should be warned that there is no wine list.  The menu has a list of 6 or so varieties of wine by type.  There is no information about vineyard or year. 

All in all, we spent around $50.  Next time we go, we will have to make an effort to order off more than the first page of the menu!  

The Details:

Pho Saigon

400 Dickinson Street

Springfield, MA

Monday-Sunday, 11AM to 9PM (Closed Wednesday)

Partners Restaurant

CHICKPEAS: 4

Before we discovered Copperline, we used to go to Partners a fair amount.  We still go when meeting up with friends from Southwick, as we did last weekend before tree hunting.  I enjoy Partners because their menu has a selection of healthy options (fruit cups, wheat pancakes, sweet potato pancakes and more) as well as the less healthy diner foods.  Partners is usually packed on Sunday mornings, so get there early if you don't want to wait.

Here is what we had to eat (four of us...):

Grilled Muffin

Asparagus and Mushroom Skillet (daily specail) 

Side of Home Fries with Onions

Scrambled Eggs, Chocolate Chip Pancakes and Sausage

Bacon, Egg and Cheese Sandwich 

Corned Beef Hash, Eggs, Home Fries and Toast

The Asparagus and Mushroom Skillet was delicious, although heavy on asparagus and light on mushrooms.  Everyone else enjoyed their meals as well.  I will say the service was a little below par the day we went, but it is typically pretty good. 

Total Bill (incl. 2 chocolate milks and 3 coffees): $42

The Details:

Partners Restaurant

485 Springfield Street

Feeding Hills, MA

Sakura Sushi Buffet

CHICKPEAS: 4

We both love sushi and were delighted to hear about an all you can eat sushi buffet in Northampton.  We have gone probably 5 or so times in the last two months.   Sakura is currently running a special through the rest of the year.

The deal:
All you can eat lunch or dinner: $9.99 (dinner is normally $15.99)
Happy Hour from 2:30-4:30pm: $6.99

Now, we aren't people who frequent buffets on a regular basis, but we feel that we need to take full advantage of their current special!  Sakura has an assortment of traditional Chinese dishes including fried rice, lo mien, spare ribs, crab rangoon, and more for those who don't like sushi.  Additionally, there are some Japanese dishes that I won't try to name.  They have a few soups, a selection of fresh fruit, and some desserts.  The Chinese dishes are less greasy than I would expect at a buffet and are in general pretty good.  The sushi is good.  I usually get some maki and a lot of nigiri.  I will say that the sushi has less fish in it than you would find at an upscale sushi restaurant, and I believe even less during the happy hour.  Additionally, we recommend filling up on dinner because the desserts are lacking (although there is a soft serve machine if you like ice cream).  Still, we believe it is a good value and as mentioned we continue to go back for more!

Here are some plates from various trips:

Aldi Food Market

This past weekend, we did a little grocery shopping at Aldi in Springfield near the Eastfield Mall.  Neither of us had been before, but we had heard raving reviews from friends and family.  Our trip was successful.  We left with three large bags of groceries and spent $30.00.  I was exceptionally surprised at how clean the store was. 

Some things to know about Aldi before you go:

1.) You will need to put in a quarter deposit to get a shopping cart.  (Since you have to return your cart to get the quarter back, they don't have to hire people to collect the carts).

2.) They don't have name brands.  Almost everything in the store is a store brand.  

3.) You have to pay for bags.  Expect to pay 6 cents for a paper bag or 10 cents for plastic. (Or save the earth and bring reusable!)

4.) You have to bag your own groceries.  (Again, savings from hiring baggers translate to cheaper grocery costs). 

5.) They take a limited number of payment options.  I forget exactly what they were but they included Cash, Food Stamps and Debit/ATM.  Credit was not an option.

Because almost everything is store brand, and the store in Springfield is pretty small, they don't have a lot of reduced fat options for crackers, soups, etc.  The dairy products, such as yogurt and milk, do come in low-fat varieties.  Additionally, there were lots of healthy cereal options mimicking the name brands (FiberOne, SpecialK, etc.).  We mostly stocked up on the basics: crackers, cereal, pasta, granola bars, chips, canned tomatoes, tomato sauce, frozen veggies, yogurt, cheese, seltzer water, and more!  If you need a very specific spice (though we did buy some spices too!), or ingredients for a complicated recipe, this is not the place to go.  If you want affordable groceries for everyday eating and snacking, definitely check it out!