TJMaxx in Springfield

I have been anxiously awaiting the new TJMaxx in the Springfield Plaza in Springfield and it finally opened about a week ago.  I tried to get my fiance out of bed for the 8am opening, but we ended up getting there are 10.  We were greeted at the door and given reusable shopping bags that say "I <3 TJ."  Score!

The store was very nicely done.  They had a large selection of Tommy Hilfiger purses, and all of the linens were organized by color.  I was really impressed by the overall quality of the displays and the items. I am a tiny bit worried that it was a big show for the grand opening and the stock will decline in quality.  Only time will tell.  But for now, head over there and score some good deals.

We left with a screen cover for our new iPad and a toy for our dog. :)

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)

Bright Nights

Bright Nights, Springfield, MA

The holiday season is here!!  We happened to be in the Forest Park neighborhood last night, so we went to Bright Nights a earlier than we had planned.  Bright Nights is a fantastic holiday light show through Forest Park in Springfield.  I had never been to a light display and I feel like I have been missing out.  It was absolutely spectacular!  We can't wait to go back.

When you arrive you are asked pay a fee, turn off your headlights and turn on your parking lights.  They give you a scratch ticket courtesy of Friendly's (we won a free cone) and a coupon for a future visit ($5 off).  You can also get a coupon for your first visit on the organization's website.  There is a radio station you can tune in to, as if you were at a drive-in movie, that plays holiday music.  Halfway through the park, there is a concession stand.

Here is a taste of what you will see (I apologize or the low quality iPhone pics):

There were tributes to all the holidays of the season.

There were themed sections including Whoville/Suessland and Toy Land.

Whoville

Cat in the Hat

Horton

Toy Land

There were also magical animated displays: reindeer that jumped over you, a nutcracker firing a canon, the game of life, volcanoes and more.

The details:
Dates/Hours:
November 24 - December 5 : Wednesday,Thursday and Sunday, 5pm-9pm and Friday and Saturday 5pm-11pm
December 8 - January 2: Nightly, Sunday to Thursday, 5pm-9pm and Friday, Saturday and Holidays 5pm-11pm

Admission:
Monday - Thursday, $15
Friday - Sunday, and Holidays, $18

Cafe Lebanon

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CHICKPEAS: 3


Last week, we met a friend at Cafe Lebanon in downtown Springfield.  It was dead on a Tuesday night during the holiday week.  We were seated in a booth with no one sitting anywhere near us.  I felt the menu was lacking Lebanese authenticity, but I am definitely not an authority on Lebanese food.  Judge for your self...

To start we got hummus and the hummochos.  The hummus was heavy on tahini and light on lemon (I love lemon in hummus).  The guys both loved it.

I got a side of cauliflower as my meal that was quite delicious with a cheesy sauce and artichoke hearts.  

Our friend got chicken and rice.  I was very surprised it didn't come with a vegetable.

My Fiance got spinach pie and some other appetizer that was ground meat in little pockets. 

All of that food, two beers and a soda came to around $60. 

We would go back, but its not at the top of our list.   We found a Restaurant.com gift certificate for the East Longmeadow location and bought it on sale.  That would make another trip more likely.  

Red Rose Pizzeria: A Lesson in Overeating

CHICKPEAS: 5

A week or so ago, we went to Red Rose Pizzeria in Springfield for dinner.  While the purpose was to get dinner on a Friday night, we ended up over indulging and departed with enough leftovers for about 5 more meals.  I am surprised they didn't need to roll us out the door!

Red Rose Pizzeria - The exterior

My Fiance had gotten take out from there before, but neither of us had eaten in.  The hostess is straight ahead when you walk in, the main dining room to the right, and a bar to the left.  There were at least 20 people waiting for tables when we arrived.  This is both a good sign and a bad sign.  It is good because it means the food is worth waiting for, but obviously bad because you have to wait!  Luckily, the bar area is quite large, so there was plenty of space for those waiting to spread out.  I wish I had timed our wait in minutes, but all I can offer is that it was long enough for us to get drinks at the bar, and to consume about half of them.

The Bar

Now, here comes the part over indulging....

Red wine

Bread (free) and Salad for two or more (after we had each eaten some)

Chicken Parm Sub

Margherita Pizza with Ricotta

We were seated at a four top (thankfully! I am not sure where all of our plates would have gone otherwise) and had a very nice waitress.  We realized that we were over ordering, but who doesn't like leftover pizza.  We figured we would have enough to eat for breakfast the next morning.  That was wrong.  Very wrong.

Leftover Pizza

We each had pizza for at least three other meals and a late night snack.  We additionally brought home half of the sub.

On our way out I noticed that you could see them making the pizza dough!  I snapped a picture through the glass and the hostess then invited me into the kitchen and took my picture with the cooks!

Pizza Dough!

Overall, the pizza was great!  There is a reason why Red Rose Pizzeria is the Number 1 restaurant in Springfield, MA on Urban Spoon.  The pizza was not cut into the traditional triangle slices (see picture above), which made them easier to eat by hand.  The salad was HUGE and came dressed, so if you are picky, you might want to specify that you would like it on the side.   It would be easy for at least 6 people to share the salad if not more.

The Round-up:
1/2 carafe of wine
Salad for 2+
16" Pizza
Chicken Parm Sub
Total = ~$60.00

The Lesson: Next time we will get the salad for two or more, and a small pizza!

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!