BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (ayersian)

Sat, 15 Sep 2012 16:53:10 GMT

Karilyn, our primary tour planner, was busy with moving this month, so I took over the tour and planned an evening close to home for her. In attendance this month were Karilyn, Heather, Paul, Dale, Sandra, Amy & me. I’ve been intrigued with bar pizza for quite a while but have never tried any in Massachusetts, so we began the tour by meeting at Emma’s Pub & Pizza in Norton to share a few pizzas. After drinks and a few bowls of complimentary popcorn, we ordered three pies: plain cheese, meatball & mushroom, and Joe’s Spicy Sausage. I’d forgotten how much I like meatballs as a pizza topping, and the mushrooms were fresh and sliced at varied widths (thank you to Sandra for choosing this great pairing!):

Joe’s Spicy Sausage featured Italian sausage, hot pepper relish & onions. I’m always skeptical of onions on pizza but I wasn’t going to pitch a fit about it; I could always pick them off, no problem. These onions, however, were nearly minced and seriously complemented the sausage and spicy peppers. This was a fabulous pie and one that I’d definitely order again:

Our next stop was a mile down the road at Wendell’s Pub for their famous Buffalo wings. The place was packed when we got there, so after waiting a while for a table, we settled for two adjoining booths. Dale ordered some onion rings for our table, and despite the heavy batter, these thick hoops were quite tasty:

We compromised on the Regular heat level for the wings, though afterward Dale commented that he could’ve handled more heat. Everyone loved the wings, and I told our server that they get better and better every time I visit. They stay very crispy after being tossed with sauce, and Wendell’s does not coat them with tons of sauce like many places do:

It was so noisy in the restaurant that we practically had to yell to converse with each other! This was crazy for a Thursday night; can you imagine the scene on the weekends? Of course, Wheaton College up the road is now in session, so that could’ve explained the crowd. Wendell's is our favorite place for Buffalo wings in the Bay State, and we were happy that everyone enjoyed them as much as we did!

Our dessert stop was Uncle Ed’s Back Porch, about three miles from Wendell’s. They feature homemade ice cream and desserts and had around 30 flavors when we arrived. Dale & Sandra ordered warm Grape-nut pudding, which sadly I forgot to sample but they both deemed delicious:

Heather got a cone of Muddy Sneakers, and Karilyn ordered a Mint Chocolate Chip sundae, and the ice cream was so vividly green that almost glowed! Amy & I ordered a sundae with Muddy Sneakers and Red Raspberry Chocolate Chip, the latter of which I’d never heard of before. I’ve seen Black Raspberry everywhere but never Red Raspberry. The flavor was very fruity with large chunks of chocolate throughout, but the Muddy Sneakers totally bowled us over: LOTS of crushed Oreos and chocolate chunks with a fudge ribbon. The only photo that was useable (you photographers know how difficult shooting ice cream is with a flash and with a mantle of whipped cream!) was this shot of Paul’s handsome Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip sundae. He was amazed at the symmetrical channels of melted ice cream flowing down the side of the dish!

An old-fashioned ice cream bar with horseshoe-shaped counters, Uncle Ed’s has gone undiscovered by the Roadfood community until now, as far as I know. We definitely be returning to Uncle Ed's for more of their great fare and friendly service!

Another memorable tour of great food with close friends! Thanks to everyone who came out this month, and especially to Sandra who drove up from New London to join us! Chris

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (wanderingjew)

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 15:57:40 GMT

Ok, we're back on again- see everyone in a couple hours ( We may be a little late)

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (wanderingjew)

Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:09:09 GMT

Bad news.

I won't be able to make it tonight

I have an emergency dental situation that I have to take care this afternoon.

Have fun everyone!

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (billyboy)

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:37:04 GMT

I can't help but laugh at (err, with) you eating the leftovers though I probably would have done the same thing. I can't even handle vindaloo these days. After a skirmish with some "Liquid Stoopid" hot sauce I instituted a rule by which I don't indulge in any foods whose names are linked to dares, suicides, any variations of the word "stupid", h-e-double hockey sticks or comparisons to Dante's Inferno lest my ego write checks that my body can't cash!

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (ayersian)

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:21:21 GMT

billyboy

Wish I could be there. Will anyone be attempting the Double Dare wings at Wendell's?

Heavens, no! Well, not me. I tried them once and regretted it. It numbed my entire mouth, and I only ate two of them. I took home the leftovers and ate them again, which was another mistake. The 3.5 level is the perfect one for me! Chris

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (billyboy)

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 23:17:37 GMT

Wish I could be there. Will anyone be attempting the Double Dare wings at Wendell's?

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (ayersian)

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 21:33:26 GMT

Hey gang, let's meet on Thursday at 5:30pm at Emma's Pub & Pizza at 130 Mansfield Avenue in Norton. We can share a bar pizza or two, then head over to Wendell's Pub at 30 West Main Street for Buffalo wings, etc. And dessert will be ice cream at Uncle Ed's Back Porch at 416 Old Colony Road. Sound good? See you all on Thursday! Chris

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (wanderingjew)

Mon, 10 Sep 2012 11:18:07 GMT

Ok, looks like Norton is it.
Have we figured out a time that we will be meeting and where?

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (karilyn)

Fri, 07 Sep 2012 07:59:43 GMT

Heather will be joining me . . .

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (wanderingjew)

Wed, 05 Sep 2012 08:34:49 GMT

Sounds like a plan!

As some of you already know I will have an additional person attending. Just an fyi, she doesn't eat much.

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (karilyn)

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 23:17:25 GMT

Thanks for planning this Chris!!! I'm still in the thick of unpacking and I'm back in my classroom this week. I'm beyond busy!

I'm excited about this itinerary . . . I'll be there!!!

Looking forward to catching up . . .

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (ayersian)

Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:58:39 GMT

Hi everybody,

I think it's appropriate that since Karilyn has done the lion's share of overall planning for the Monthly Meet-up, we come to her this month. Her hometown of Franklin is only 15 miles from Norton and a handful of interesting eateries:

We start at Emma's Pub & Pizza at 130 Mansfield Avenue in Norton (the original location is in Bridgewater). The pizza they serve is the style known as bar pizza: thin, cracker-crisp crust, sauce and cheese browned to the edge of the crust. I've always been curious about this style and Emma's in general, but I haven't tried it yet.

Then we drive down the street about a mile to Wendell's Pub at 30 West Main Street for their excellent Buffalo wings. I wrote the Roadfood review for this place, and I love it. Their burgers are also great, but man, the wings!

And to cool our palates for dessert, there's Uncle Ed's Back Porch at 416 Old Colony Road, about 3 miles from Wendell's. We haven't been here yet, but they have 30 flavors of homemade ice cream -- and that's enough for me. (They only have a primitive website, so the link above is a local review.)

What do you think? Let me know... Chris

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (wanderingjew)

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 16:36:05 GMT

from rural North Caroline (35 miles NW of Charlotte)

I spoke with Paulde yesterday and suggested Natick

Re:BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (karilyn)

Fri, 24 Aug 2012 21:27:36 GMT

Less than three weeks away . . . Hmmmm . . . where to go??!!!!!

BOSTON MONTHLY MEETUP . . . Thursday, September 13th (karilyn)

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 00:29:26 GMT

Tonight's gathering in Chinatown is complete so we're ready to plan the next one. Some ideas were kicked around . . . Spalla's in Natick for Chicago Hot Dogs and Italian Beef Sandwiches . . . Grill'n Greek in Natick . . . . Casey's Diner. Just suggestions for now . . . all up for debate! Any new faces who want to join us - you're welcome to suggest a place that you'd love to try.