Went out for dinner with our friends after hubby's commencement.

We arrived at around 9:45 and the kitchen was probably about to close. But they let us in anyway cuz' we had a reservation.

Villa Francesca is located in the North End area in Boston.
Overall I think the atmosphere was pretty good. The food was not bad either.

Just a quick summary of what we ordered.
Since I can't remember the names of the dishes I'm just gotta leave it to your imagination.

Appetizers:



Entree:




Their linguine was pretty good actually. And the Mahi and the risotto were delicious too.

Desserts:



I personally think the desserts were average. The tiramisu was not too bad. But the custard they used in 2 other desserts was a bit too thick. Shouldn't be too picky though should I. =)

Overall this place was quite pleasant. I didn't get a "WOW" from any of the dishes but it a good restaurant. A bit pricey though. (hey but I won't complain cuz' there are a lot of bad Italian restaurants out there in North End and I've experienced some before)

I think this is more like a 3.5 out of 5. But since I there is no half star icon...I'm giving it 4 this time.

★★★★☆

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確かに自由ヶ丘にもある（？）よね。
同じ店じゃなてくも、同じコンセプトのお店があるはずです。

Ｃｏｌｄ　Ｓｔｏｎｅ　Ｉｃｅｃｒｅａｍって冷たい石のテーブルの上でお好みのアイスとトッピングを混ぜてくれる特別なアイス。

ボストンにもあるので前から食べてみようかなと思っていたが、初めて食べたのがつい最近の話。

ジム帰りに一人で入ってみたのはＢＵの近くにあるＣｏｌｄ　Ｓｔｏｎｅ。
天気がまだそんなに暑くないため、お客さんもガラガラ。
店長さんが優しくていろいろ説明してくれました。

作るときはこんな感じ



店長さんが頑張って笑顔をしてくれましたよ〜（ちょっと不自然だけど。へっへっへ）



出来上がり〜♪
イチゴ、ブルーベリー、クランベリーが入ってるアイスです。



感想は・・・普通？だったかな・・・
アイスの味は美味しかったけど、フルーツが硬すぎて個人的にはその食感があまり好まないかも？

値段は：$4.75でした。

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Charley's in Summary:

Great location
Average food
Friendly but nobrainer service
Okay price

★★★☆☆

Nacho was ok. The guacomole wasn't that good but still ok.


cocktail shrimp (prawns to be exact) are good.
I mean, nothing can really go wrong with it right?

The salad at the back was probably a side dish. Very normal salad, dressing was more than average.

Now the calamari, the batter was good. But they sub half (or more!) of the portion with chili rings! I'm not sure about others but I personally think it's a rip off. Was it like $10 for this much of food?



I shouldn't be too harsh on this place since it's just a casual hang out and the location takes up half of the cost. It makes a good place to have a glass of beer or 2 when you're tired from walking. Would be wise to focus more on the environment than the food.

I'd recommend it for a drink rather than a real meal.

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I was looking for something to do and found this culinary council thing at Macy's.

It was a life culinary demonstration at the Macy's in downtown Boston. The chef is a young guy starting to gain fame. I haven't seen him yet on Food Network but he has a show there.

Anyway, it's a free event but of course it involves some marketing here and there.




The event was set to start at noon. My friend and I got there a bit early to secure good seatings. They set up a stage and some chairs by the kitchenware corner on the lower level.

When they were getting ready to start I took a snap shot of the ingredients for the day.



Introducing our chef, Dave Lieberman. Pretty cute guy! Yale graduate too! =)



These are the appy and dessert we got from ther servers.
Crab meat guacomole (ok good), potato skin (not so good), and chocolate fudge minis (very moist, YUM!).



Let's get cookin'!




This spring salad was easy and delicious. Using egg yolk as part of the dressing was a very nice idea indeed!


My first time having morel mushroom. Very rich flavor and it goes well with the whipped cream in the sauce. But somehow the scallop wasn't the best. Maybe a bit more grilling would do the trick.

Hey but what can I complain more about! Free food free drink and a big discount card!
Wish they'll have more of this soon!

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先日Ｎｏｒｔｈ　Ｅｎｄで食事したあと、前々から入ってみたかったＮｅｐｔｕｎｅ　Ｏｙｓｔｅｒにも行ってきました。

本当は最初ここで食べるつもりだったけど、人が多かったため諦めたんだ。
12時まで営業するということで、空いてきたときに入ることにしました。

10時半に入ったが、キッチンのほうはもう既に終わりましたので、Ｒａｗ　Ｂａｒのみになっていました。

店内おしゃれなライティングでデートには最適だ。



　　


久々いい雰囲気でワインを飲みながらオイスターを食べました。（大満足！）


注文したのは・・・






ここは有名でいつも人が多いです。
今度raw bar以外のものも食べてみたいですね。

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