our top ten new-to-us restaurants:

while living in a hotel, and we didn’t even have a fridge in our room, we managed to try as many restaurants in this area as possible. which, was fun. and most of the time, delicious! only a few places were not-so-great and didn’t make our list!

* nick’s pizza is right down the street from our house – their cheese pizza {thin crust} is uh-mazing.  the kids love it & we can get a large cheese pizza delivered to our front door for $9, for a city – i think that is a pretty great deal!

* johnny’s luncheonette is in newton, and it’s a total tourist stop. great atmosphere – retro 50’s diner. our little kiddos love the toys they hand-out to play with while you dine, and we all love their food.

* 5 napkin burger. downtown boston, an upscale burger joint with to-die-for rootbeer floats that are served all snazzy.

* maugus. in all my years, i have always loved a good-family-owned restaurant with a small-town feel. this pile of red bricks is also right down the street from our home, and for breakfast or lunch, you can’t find anything more affordable that is this good! we feel like locals when we dine. in fact, this afternoon husband and i stopped by here for lunch. our waiter told us that we were sitting next to youkalis’s ex. wife… {youkalis is a red sox player.} – husband leaned over and discreetly whispered in my ear, “honey, this goes without saying, but anytime you can be-friend a red sox wife or ex-wife, please do.” ha!

* peet’s coffee & tea house. this is a favorite local shop, our kids beg for their white hot chocolate, everyday.

* milestone. a little boutique-inspired-cafe downtown wellesley. i love their rustic/fresh menu. miss four loves their free mints.

* the cottage. my favorite stop if i am choosing where we eat. i mean, how can i not be swept off my feet by a california-styled restaurant boasting new england charm with the most amazing menu around? i’ve declared this our sunday-dinner & special occasion restaurant. they give the kiddos these little wax sticks to play with, and besides the time kj ran into a waiter on his return from the restroom {yes, the waiter was holding an entire tray of drinks that spilled – in complete-movie-esque-slow-motion-style} the kids have managed to have good behavior & they continue to let us come back. should you decide to dine here, please order the ‘baked haddock.’ it’s incredible. and, the kids love their “build-your-own-sundae” dessert.

* comelia’s. a local food chain with pasta i could eat every single day if i wanted none of my clothes to fit.

* dunkin’ donuts: i think we have eight of these shops on our street alone. no kidding.

* wasabi. a sushi joint at our local mall in framingham. the sushi is being made by the sushi chefs in the center of all the tables, then they place it on plates with little lids and send it around this conveyor belt – you choose what you’d like & based on the color of plates you’ve chosen at the end of your meal, they add up your bill. i know it sounds a bit sketchy for good sushi, but it’s a really fun concept & the rolls were so yum.  you can also order off their menu.

* forty carrots. cute name, right? it’s the cafe at bloomingdales, and until we moved here i’d never been. they take basic foods like grilled cheese & spaghetti and make them off the charts. AND. they serve cold coke/diet coke in mini glass bottles.  AND, they have super-unique coloring sheets for kids – we were all busy with the cool activity page!

..i’m sure there will be more favorites – soon!

dear readers, do any of you have recommendations of places we should eat/try while we are here???
xo.