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.  

Pioneer Valley Flea Market

After our disappointing trip to Al's Diner last week, we headed to the Pioneer Valley Flea Market at 2200 Northampton Street in Holyoke.  Our friend was looking for small tables, we were just poking around.  We saw lots of paperback books, old bottles, VHS tapes, kitchenware and junk.  We didn't leave with anything but some good stories of the strange things we encountered.  Here are some highlights (good and bad):

Some people don't have booths inside

I think this guy sold fishing gear 

Old tools

One man's junk, another man's treasure

Tooth pullers

 Race car track

The snack bar decorated for the holidays

Yup, that hole is for exactly what you imagine

You can find everything, including the kitchen sink

"Knifes"

Cherub lamp

An old sled and some lighters

The Details:
Pioneer Valley Flea Market
2200 Northampton Street
Holyoke, MA

Sundays year round
7AM-4PM

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:

Al's Diner

CHICKPEAS: 1

We went to Al's Diner with a friend before going to the flea market (post to come).  We got a little confused getting their because 2 of 3 smartphones had some street names labelled wrong.  Once we got there, I was very excited because the outside had the authentic diner look.  We lucked out and got a table right away as there are only 8 or so booths and then a dozen seats at the counter.

14 Yelle Street, Chicopee, MA

Lone man working the grill

The tables had a cute little juke box.

But that is pretty much where the good review ends.  The menu was pretty short with little creativity.  My Fiance ordered a coffee which came with cream in it without that being requested, and our friend ordered a hot chocolate.  The hot chocolate didn't come 'til we asked for it a second time.

Plain Omelet? Isn't that just scrambled eggs?

We all ordered breakfast sandwiches and they were fine.  We also ordered a side of homefries to share, which were very disappointing.  They tasted like they had been frozen and had no flavor at all.  Even doused with ketchup and salt they couldn't be rejuvenated.  Additionally, they take cash only (fyi).

Breakfast sandwich and hot chocolate

Blah homefries

What we ordered:
(1) Coffee
(1) Hot Chocolate
(3) Breakfast sandwiches
(1) chocolate chip pancake
(1) side homefries
Bill = $16.00

Bottom line:
We won't be going back.

Copperline Eatery for Breakfast

CHICKPEAS: 4

As I have mentioned, we LOVE Copperline Eatery in Chicopee, MA.  On a recent weekend, we went for breakfast on Sunday.  The line was out the door when we arrived, as Sunday is definitely their busiest day.  Thankfully, we were able to snag a couple of seats at the counter.  While I normally wouldn't post twice about the same place in such a short time frame, I had to share the new information we got by sitting at the bar.

Copper Counter

1.  The counter is copper. Get it...? 
2. The homefries are premade in batches and stored on the stove.  Then they are moved to the grill where they sit beneath the ham to get some extra flavor until you order them!  DELICIOUS!
3. If you go on a Sunday and there is a long line, make sure you check the bar.  Often there are seats available.

Homefries under the ham

Since we are talking about it anyways, here is what we ate...

Banana Pancakes, Eggs, and Ham

Bacon, Egg and Cheese on a Water Roll, Homefries, and a Grilled Muffin

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!