I can’t remember when I first heard about Mom and Pops Burgers, but I knew I wanted to try them out. When we were down at the Cape we took a day trip down to Chatham and we stopped here for a bite to eat. The weather was iffy – so sitting on the patio was going to be a gamble with the kiddos, so we waited for a table inside (your order at the counter and they call your number – you bring it to your table). It was fairly crowded, but we lucked out. Let me tell you that the burgers were DELICIOUS! I had the cheeseburger with lettuce, onions, pickles and “pops sauce” (ketchup and mayo based sauce) – all the burgers are made to order and you can call in your order if you are in a rush for time. The kids had hot dogs and they were completely happy – and of course we had the fries and frappes.

What other kinds of burgers do they have on the menu?

CALIFORNIA BURGER
Pepper Jack Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Mom’s Sauce

CHILI CHEESEBURGER
Chili, Cheese Sauce, Pickled Jalapeño Peppers, Onion, Mom’s Sauce

EL DYABLO BURGER (HOT!!)
Hot Habanero Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Shishito Peppers, Mom’s Sauce

NAUGHTY DYABLO BURGER (HOTTER!!!)
Ghost Pepper Cheddar Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Pickled Jalapeño Peppers, Shishito Peppers, Mom’s Sauce

BACON AND BLUE CHEESEBURGER
Blue Cheese, Bacon, Lettuce, Mayo, Tomato

STEAMED CHEESEBURGER
Aged Sharp Cheddar Cheese, Lettuce, Onion, Pickles. Please allow 15 minutes of cooking time.

Next time we go we will have to bring my dad, I’m betting he would LOVE the steamed burger!!

What else do they have besides burgers and dogs?

BLT
Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo

CHILI
Chili, Cheese Sauce, Onion

FRIED CHICKEN SANDWICH
Lettuce, Tomato, Chipotle Mayonnaise, Mom’s Sauce

FRIED CHICKEN TENDERS

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH
American Cheese

MOM’S HOMEMADE LUMPIA
Hand-rolled Filipino Pork Eggrolls served with Sweet Chili Sauce

PLANTAIN + BLACK BEAN VEGETARIAN BURGER
Lettuce, Onion, Avocado, Sweet Chili Sauce – contains dairy

SALA
Avocado, Black Beans, Tomato, Monterey Jack Cheese, served with choice of Balsamic Vinaigrette, BBQ Sauce, Chipotle Mayo, Honey Mustard, Mom’s Sauce or Sweet Chili Sauce – For additional charge, add Beef, Chicken, or Veggie Patty

FILIPINO PORK BURGER
Adobo seasoned pork patty, house-made Papaya Slaw, Chili Garlic Mayo

Mom and Pops Burgers

1603 Main Street, Chatham, MA

http://www.momandpopschatham.com

Open 7 days a week 11:30am – 8pm

Parking located in front of the restaurant, along the right side and in the back – look for the marked spots.

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Growing up, I was pretty proud that I had never been to the town bar, the Dudley Chateau. Since moving back to the suburbs, I can’t even tell you the amount of times I’ve been there. And I brought kids. Townie bar with children. Yup, I’ve turned into that person. The bar is located on a pond, so people have a nice view when the weather is cooperating. The inside is exactly what you would imagine and there are definitely regulars there at the bar, but I guess you could argue that I’m almost a regular.

My mom loves the burgers, they’re not bad. You can get a regular or a mini. They offer your typical bar fare, chicken tenders, wings, nachos, and chili. They have a variety of wraps, wraps and burgers. The fries are good, but the onion rings are better. The mushroom burger is tasty, more so than the steak sandwich. Most entrees hover around $10. They have a kids menu, and for around $5 you can get 2 sliders and fries, a grilled hot dog with fries, mac and cheese bites with fries, or chicken tenders with fries. They all come with a Hoodsie cup, yay!

Service is good, attentive and pleasant. Parking is in a lot out front.

Dudley Chateau

20 Crest Road, Wayland, MA

http://thedudleychateau.com

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When you have an almost 13 year old coming to visit, it’s hard to find things that she would want to do. We finally settled on heading over to Patriot Place to do “Espionage” at 5Wits (which she ended up thinking was pretty cool) and ended up doing 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea afterwards. Red Robin wouldn’t be my first choice to eat, but it was guest’s choice.

They serve over the top milkshakes and malts in flavors like mint brownie and nana nana moo moo (banana puree and Hershey’s syrup), smoothies and ice cream sodas.

They also have a selection of bottomless beverages like prickly pear lemonade and very berry limeade.

This place is great for kids. They have something that will appeal to even the fussiest – pasta with red sauce, pepperoni pizza, chicken fingers, grilled cheese, meatballs, mac and cheese, and even bite sized corn dogs. Kids also get bottomless sides: fries, carrots, salad, broccoli, apples, fruit salad or mandarin oranges. My son would be in heaven! While I’m not sure that I would categorize this burger as “gourmet” ike Red Robin does, it was certainly edible. The sautéed shroom burger comes topped with swiss and a little too tough mushrooms. I chuckled a bit when it says, “pair with Heineken” on the menu.

Our server was friendly and attentive. The restaurant is great for large parties or those stopping in for a quick bite.

Red Robin

201 Patriot Place, Foxboro, MA

http://www.redrobin.com/

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Nancy, Kim, Leah and I headed out to the Neiman Marcus Cafe for a “company holiday party”. Nestled away on the second floor of Neiman Marcus in the Natick Collection, this cafe is a private little oasis. In fact, I never knew it was there until Kim told me we MUST go. We are greeted by the manager, Hans. He’s old school and the customer service is top notch (we would expect nothing less at Neiman’s!). Every meal starts out with a little shot of the most delicious chicken broth you have ever had, and for some reason, it feels so luxurious. Next, popovers. I could stop there, but I won’t. Two words: strawberry butter. Yup, AMAZING! The menu has a little bit of this and a little bit of that: seasonal soups and salads, sandwiches, quiche and burgers. I have the Cafe Burger ($17): white cheddar, crispy fried onion rings, applewood smoked bacon and roasted garlic aioli, served with a side of truffle fries. It’s a days worth of calories in one meal, but it’s the holidays and I’m treating myself (I’m worth it!). It’s a delicious burger – perfectly cooked and there’s just something delicious about the bun (bonus points that it didn’t get soggy). Don’t get me started on the truffle fries – thin and crisp, perfectly salty and delicious.

Neiman Marcus Cafe

2nd Floor: 310 Speen Street, Natick, MA

See their website here.

You may be wondering what the photo on the left is. While we were celebrating, we were also toasting a friend, Flo, who we lost very suddenly. We couldn’t believe the news that she had passed, we were just on a trip with her a month ago to the North Fork. Florence was an amazing woman, a good friend and a PR dynamo. She was a joy to be around and she will be missed. Here’s to you Flo!

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I love to shop over at Legacy Place, except in the winter when it is super cold (it’s an outdoor mall). Even then, I still go and head over to the MET Bar and Grill Dedham to warm up and fuel up before taking on round 2. The bolognese is always a winner for me because they don’t over sauce the dish (and extra points that it isn’t that generic “red” sauce).

This time we also tried the avocado toast ($12) that came topped with burrata and chili flakes and a beautiful mountain of Parmesan cheese. Yes, there really is toast under there, seeded seven grain to be exact. Super delicious and not just a dish that you have to enjoy for breakfast.

You can almost always get a seat without a wait at the MET Bar and Grill, they have a pretty large space. The service is friendly and efficient so you can be in and out and on your way to shop until you drop!

Where is your favorite place to get avocado toast?

MET Bar and Grill

400 Legacy Place, Dedham, MA

http://www.metbarandgrill.com

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Just look at those chandeliers!

We started off with the crab cake deviled eggs. These are not your grandmother’s deviled eggs!

We also had the buffalo cauliflower with blue cheese yogurt dipping sauce ($11) which was just the right amount of spicy.

You won’t find this on their regular menu, it was a special the day we were there – but it was too good not to share. A brat on a pretzel bun with sauerkraut and dijon mustard served with a side of house made potato salad and a second kind of sauerkraut. Perfect for a fall day!

Beat Brasserie is known for their bowls, natural grain and salad bowls, with your choice of toppings. We went with the bowl azteca ($14.50) adobo spiced quinoa, tomatillo salsa, corn, squash, green beans, avocado and baby spinach. You can add a protein on, we chose the slow cooked pork shoulder (+$3) but you have a choice of artichoke falafel, roasted free range chicken, seared all natural shrimp, seared salmon, grilled skirt steak of seared za’atar spiced ahi tuna.

I wasn’t so sure about the artichoke falafel, but our waiter said that they were delicious, and we HAD to try them. Great recommendation on his part.The flavor was very subtle and really, the artichoke was put in the food processor, so it just added some moisture to the falafel.

How can you pass up a burger that sounds this good? “Prime natural beef hamburger ($18) with port wine aioli, crispy fried onions, and served with a side of fries”. We added on some cheddar and bacon for $1 each more. The bun was buttery and delicious and the burger had all the right  textures and flavors. The fries were crispy and sprinkled with just the right amount of salt.

Desserts are my thing. I love a good apple crisp and this one did not disappoint – served warm in a cast iron skillet, topped with vanilla ice cream and a nice oat crust, I gobbled up the majority of this even though we were ‘sharing’.

Generally I don’t waste my time with anything chocolate at a restaurant, let alone a mousse, but this one was excellent – I may have even liked it better than the apple crisp. It was light as air and the perfect texture so that it melted the second it hit your tongue. It was just the right amount of sweetness and you never wanted it to end.

Disclaimer: I was invited to Beat Brasserie to try their new lunch menu. My meal was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

Beat Brasserie

13 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA

http://www.beatbrasserie.com

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The thing I miss most about living in the city are all the restaurants to choose from. While I am excited to add some new restaurants to my repertoire, there just aren’t as many to choose from out in the ‘burbs. So we headed out to try Prime 131 Grill in nearby Wayland. We are told that Mondays are pretty popular here (read: make sure to get a reservation), it’s burger night where you can get a burger for $5 (but you have to buy a drink with it, so it’s more like $7 if you go with a non alcoholic beverage). Tuesday nights they have $5 off steak entrees and on Wednesdays they have prime rib night for $15.95.

We wander in fairly early and it is crowded but not crazy. By the time our burgers arrive, this place is full on busting at the seams. The classic cheeseburger regularly is priced at $13.49, so this is a bargain. The plate comes out and the presentation leaves something to be desired, it looks a bit sparse and there really aren’t that many fries, but hey, it’s $5. The burger isn’t anything to write home about, but again, it’s $5. Maybe the items on the regular menu are more my speed, we will definitely give this place another try on a non “special” night.

We did however enjoy the mud pie for dessert. The healthy sized portion came out and we devoured it.

Have you been to Prime 131 Grill? What did you get and what did you think?

Prime 131 Grill

131 Boston Post Road, Wayland, MA

www.prime131.com

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I love the decor -from the lights to the bright red chairs that add just the right pop of color.

As you can see, we were in during the holidays (I’m way behind!!).

The counter is a great place to get a view into the kitchen and check out all the action!

As always, we get a bunch of plates to split so we taste a little of everything.  Look at how lovely this red zen rickey is and yup, it tasted as good as it looks!

We started off with the dumplings, $11, that were plated on a dish made by Boston potter, Jeremy Ogusky. I love Jeremy’s work, I have the white pasta bowls at home…

I used to hate Brussels Sprouts when I was a kid…although I can’t actually remember my mom every trying to make me eat them…They are so in these days and I love to see what chefs do to make this dish their own. These crispy sprouts are served with  malt vinegar aioli, pork fat crouton and harissa spice ($9). Love the flavor and the texture of these sprouts!

I never pass up a fried chicken sandwich when I see one on a menu. Townsman serves theirs with a garlic scape aioli and greens with a side of some delicious dill pickles and house made chips. The chicken was perfectly crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside – perfect!

Of course we saved room for dessert and none of them disappointed.

Leah isn’t much of a dessert person, but we both enjoyed these mini ice cream sandwiches!

How cute is this mini ice cream cone?

Townsman

120 Kingston Street, Boston, MA

http://townsmanboston.com/

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Everyone I know who has been to Charleston said that we HAD to go to Husk. Located in an old house from the late 19th centuty, Husk is run by James Beard Award winning chef Sean Brock of McCrady’s.

The decor inside is simple and chic. We headed there for lunch on day 2 of our trip.

I love the chalkboard that tells you where all the ingredients come from!

The restaurant has its own garden and they try and grow as much produce as they can for the dishes that they create.

The bread comes from Butcher & Bee, where we had lunch eh day before. If you want to pick up some of your own bread, they are at the Farmer’s Market over in Mount Pleasant on Tuesdays.

Of course I had to try the burger that came with a side of potato wedges.

The cheeseburger ($11) was delicious, thin double stacked patties smothered in cheese and the bun held up very nicely. I was full but it wasn’t heavy at all.

We also had the shrimp and Edisto grits ($16) that our waiter said were the best in town. The dish came with N’Duja and tomato emulsion, charred peppers and herb chimichurri with KY bacon. I’m not a huge grits fan, but these were delicious. A perfect texture and it didn’t leave you with a heavy feeling in your stomach like some other grits can.

For dessert we had the cheesecake ($7), how beautiful is this presentation? It was light, had a graham cracker crust and was served with some delicious blueberries. Our meal was excellent from top to bottom, I would highly recommend Husk to anyone traveling to Charleston. The service was top notch as well, our waiter was friendly, efficient and knowledgeable.

Husk

76 Queen Street, Charleston, SC

www.huskrestaurant.com

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When we got in to Charleston, we dropped our bags at the hotel and ran over to Butcher & Bee for lunch before they closed (they’re open 11am-3pm daily). They have a cute little patio area outside, but you’d be crazy to melt out there when you can sit in the cool a/c inside! UberX was about $6.

Their menu changes daily, so you have to check their Facebook page to see what they are serving!

I love the decor inside, from the reclaimed wood counter to the chalkboard art menu.

There’s a long communal table down the center of the restaurant with a few smaller tables around the outskirts. The chairs are mismatched, making the place a little quirkily and charming.

There are so many delicious sounding items on the menu it is hard to choose just one thing. I go for the burger ($12) with mushrooms and gruyere. The bun is perfect – it is lightly toasted and it holds its own until the very last bite. The beef just tastes fresh and I love the mushroom and gruyere combination. I love that they didn’t skimp on the cheese – that’s a huge pet peeve of mine. They have a contest and if you Instagram your burger with the hashtag #Burgerfordays you are entered for a chance to win a free burger!!

The bbq grilled squash sandwich was a delicious surprise. Often I find dishes that are meatless are a bit bland, but this one rocked my world. Zucchini, peach compote, arugula, pickled cabbage and mustard tahini ($9). The flavors were bold but really complimented each other, I never would have dreamed up this combination. In fact, I’m still dreaming about this sandwich!

Butcher & Bee

654 King Street, Charleston, SC

http://www.butcherandbee.com

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