Moody Street in Waltham has become quite the foodie destination. A friend came in from out of town and we went to Tempo Bistro, a recommendation from his brother who lives close by. The restaurant was jammed and service was a bit slow at times, but we were catching up, and didn’t mind. The menu changes seasonally. Appetizers include items like: flash fried calamari, sweet potato braves, shoestring truffle fries, fried Brussels sprouts and smoked bacon. Salad options include burrata and truffle honey, kale caesar, roasted beet and goat cheese and an asian chopped salad. Entrees son dad so delicious it was hard to choose just one thing: spring carrot vegetarian ‘bolognese’, spice rubbed rare yellowfin tuna, grilled Berkshire heritage porterhouse pork chop and grilled all natural angus prime hanger steak.

Desserts change daily, but here are some sample items: raspberry ricotta cake, flourless chocolate cake, blood orange vanilla creamsicle, coconut lime pound cake and ice cream sundaes.

Appetizers will run about $10, while entrees are $19-$28. They have a great cocktail menu featuring some killer signature craft cocktails. Head in on Tuesdays for $1 oysters. Fridays and Saturdays they offer late night food, $5 breakfast sandwiches and $10 kobe beef bacon cheeseburgers from 10:30pm – 12:30am.

Upcoming events include a rose the night away dinner on July 19th and a tacos and Don Julio tequila night on July 26th.

On busy nights, parking can be tricky, so get there a little early. Street parking and small pay lots nearby. Open for dinner only, Monday through Saturday.

Tempo Bistro

474 Moody Street, Waltham, MA

https://www.tempobistro.com

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Let me start by saying that the photos that you are about to see don’t even do this place justice. The Backroom at Moody’s is one of the best places I’ve eaten in a while. I can’t wait to go back, but have to lose 10 pounds first. So you walk in off of Moody Street (street parking and metered lots close by) into the deli. Pick up some charcuterie or cheese or even a sandwich to go.

They expanded the deli to include a dining room out back, the backroom. It fills up quickly, so reservations are important. The bar is hopping and we grab a great table, from which we can see into the kitchen.

A little amuse bouche.

There is a huge selection of charcuterie, pick one, three or six choices:

We start with the “never the same wagyu meatballs” a mixture of their best cuts of meat, fresh herbs and tons of cheese. Heavenly.

The spaetzle, which is not on their current menu.

The Brussels sprouts, which again, are not on their current menu – they were delicious. Add bacon to any vegetable and I’ll eat it!

They had a great pickle jar filled with local vegetables that we gobbled up right along with our charcuterie plate.

The pasta was so delicious, I only wish that the portion size was larger, it left me wishing/craving for more. The “bacon and eggs” is bolognese, black pepper mafaldine pasta and a poached egg.

The smoked wagyu brisket was so melt in your mouth delicious, when we all took a bite, we immediately wished that this was the only thing that we ordered.

The gnocchi was delicious – again, no longer on the menu, but other current menu items that sound delicious are: shrimp and chorizo ravioli with farmers cheese, saffron cream and calabrian chili; the wood fired littleneck clams, or the rigatoni with 7x wagyu beef shank, confit tomato, parsnip crema and fried sage.

My husband wanted to try the breakfast sandwich that was on the deli menu and they were kind enough to accommodate us.

We all wished that we wore sweatpants to this dinner because we were so stuffed. Yes, in a good way, with rich, delicious food, but we had to sit a while to digest, because we seriously couldn’t move.

I highly recommend you try out their restaurant, but if you can’t make it in, they also cater. They brought food to my old office one day and let me tell you that their sandwiches flew out of the kitchen. They aren’t your regular sandwiches, they are sandwiches kicked up to a whole new level. And to see PR girls devouring sandwiches, you know they MUST be THAT good. I can personally vouch that their charcuterie platter is both delicious and beautifully presented. Let me let you in on a little secret. Two words. TRUFFLE. CHIPS. They’re housemade and they are out of this world. In addition, they do a breakfast catering option, here are a few things to get you drooling:

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I know what you’re thinking when I say I was invited to Not Your Average Joe’s for a harvest dinner. You’re probably thinking of the older locations, like the one in Watertown. But the new location in Waltham is the future of the brand. The restaurant is conveniently located right off of Route 128 and has plenty of parking. They have a great outdoor space, and even though it was a bit chilly, we cozied up to the fire pit before dinner (they have blankets if you want them). They are planning for a bocce court and other outdoor activities when the weather gets warmer.

We head inside and there is a great little waiting area (bottom right). Rumor has it that when CEO Steve Silverstein came in to the restaurant, he thought that the waiting area needed additional seating – so he and his wife jumped in the car and brought back some great Anthropologie chairs!

The restaurant has a large bar area where you can watch the game or meet some new friends at a communal high top table. I love the counter at the bar, it has seashells in it (top right)! The bar has 20 beers on tap and an extensive wine collection, including 21 of which you can get by the glass. The traditional dining room has a table that faces right into the kitchen – so fun to watch the hustle and bustle. The best part is that if you are sitting in the main dining space, you can’t hear the games being played at the bar, instead, you hear music.

Did you know that Not Your Average Joe’s works with local charities to help them raise money? For a month, on Tuesdays, they have this promotion, all you have to do is download the certificate on the website and bring it with you (either printed or on your phone), and 15% of the cost of your meal will be donated to the charity.

We were fortunate enough to sit with Executive Chef Jeff Tenner for our meal and he walked us through every dish. He said that the menu at Not Your Average Joe’s changes every quarter and you can expect 8-10 new dishes every three months. Jeff started off in the business in Portsmouth, NH where he owned and operated his own restaurant. He later moved into the corporate world, working for companies like Bertucci’s and Legal Sea Foods. Chef Tenner put out a very approachable menu with some classic favorites and some dishes that are a twist on the original.

Not Your Average Joe’s is known for their delicious bread. It’s baked fresh daily and comes to the table with olive oil, red pepper flakes and Parmesan cheese.

We started our evening out with the deviled eggs. They were topped with sriracha chili spice and togarashi spice along with some crushed potato crisps. I’m generally not a fan of deviled eggs, but these were delicious. They were different enough from the traditional version to make anyone give this dish a second look.

The mango shrimp rolls were one of my favorite dishes. Sweet chili poached shrimp with mango, cucumber, mint, cilantro and rice noodles wrapped in a fresh roll and served with a peanut dipping sauce. What makes this dish special is the sauce!

The Caribbean buffalo chicken tenders are hand breaded and tossed with a mango, buffalo bbq sauce and is served with a pineapple jalapeño salsa. Again, another twist on a traditional dish. I loved the sauce, it was a little sweet and a little zippy.

The butternut squash flatbread was a table favorite, it came topped with a sage pecan pesto, roasted butternut squash, shaved Brussels sprouts, caramelized onions, smoked mozzarella and was finished off with a balsamic reduction. This is such a fall dish – some really great flavors here. The crust was thin and a little crispy with a great flavor.

Generally I don’t eat salad, but this super crunch salad had so many delicious things in it, you almost didn’t realize it was a salad. It came loaded with grilled chicken, quinoa, green apples, pistachios, avocado, spinach, mint and cilantro. The dressing was an orange sesame flavor that went well with the dish. I love the texture in this salad – the crisp apples, the crunchy nuts and then the smooth avocado as a balance.

The mustard crusted chicken was marinated in three mustard marinade and lightly breaded with panic crumbs. The dish is pan seared and served with green beans and garlic mashed potatoes (not shown). The mustard taste was really subtle which I really liked and those garlic mashed potatoes were heavenly – they were prepping me for Thanksgiving!!

Another table favorite was the Vietnamese salmon that was spice rubbed and grilled and served in a lime infused chili broth with rice noodles, crunchy vegetables and crushed peanuts. I loved the asian flavors in this dish and it’s not every day that you see a fish dish served with noodles – yum!

The spaghetti squash bolognese is for you veggie lovers! This dish is the vegetarian version of the Italian classic with  roasted spaghetti squash, a mushroom bolognese, sautéed spinach and it is topped with romano cheese. Again, some really nice fall flavors here.

Yes, the food keeps coming! The rosemary skewered scallops come from New Bedford and they are served over a bed of Israeli couscous, grilled corn, bacon and tomatoes. The dish was finished off with an orange chipotle glaze. I loved everything about this dish, not sure which I liked more, the scallops or the couscous salad it came on.

The cranberry teriyaki roasted chicken was another table favorite. The pan roasted Bell and Evans chicken was served with a house made butternut squash and ricotta cannelloni. It was hard to choose a favorite part of this dish since both the chicken and the pasta were excellent. The chicken was tender and juicy and the squash cannelloni was so flavorful. Both would be great solo dishes, so together, they made a great pair on the plate.

As if I had any more room in me by the time that we got to dessert. We started with the goji berry apple crisp with cinnamon spiced apples, goji berries and ginger in a brown oat crust. It was served a la mode with vanilla ice cream.

The carrot cake was gluten free and yet still delicious! It had a delicious cream cheese frosting and was drizzled with a caramel sauce.

And we ended the night with Not Your Average Joe’s signature dessert, the peanut butter thing: vanilla ice cream with peanut butter and chocolate chunks, that is rolled in Oreo cookie crumbs. It was drizzled with hot chocolate and caramel sauce table side!

Disclaimer: I was invited as a guest to the Not Your Average Joe’s Harvest Dinner. My meal was provided complimentary. All opinions are my own.

Not Your Average Joe’s

56 Market Place Drive, Waltham, MA

www.notyouraveragejoes.com

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Bonefish Grill recently opened in Waltham. I grew up nearby and remember when this area had nothing but the Westin Hotel and the Bertucci’s. Now there’s a Starbucks, a Market Basket, even a Marshall’s nearby! Great to have Bonefish here for some variety in dining options!

I had visited the Bonefish recently in Westwood, check out my review here.

The spacious bar area has high top tables and the main dining room has both free standing tables and booths.

I love the wall art that is made up of tiny mirrors.

Bonefish offers two private dining areas that can be combined into one large room. The large windows allow a ton of natural light which was really nice. The rooms come fully equipped with an audio/video set up, perfect for a casual business meeting or a “when you were young” slideshow at a baby shower.

We started the evening with a 2014 Masianco Pinot Grigio and Verduzzo that would pair well with the first three courses. The wine is Masi’s white “supervenitian” that has notes of tropical fruits and honey with a dry finish and a citrus twist.

We started with the blacked Baja fish tacos topped with cabbage, Pico de gallo and lime crema.

Next up, the signature Bang Bang shrimp – crispy breaded shrimp tossed in a creamy, spicy (just a little kick) sauce. Did you know that they sell more Bang Bang shrimp than all other menu items put together!!

The cilantro lime shrimp salad came beautifully displayed.

When they pulled off the glass cylinder, the shrimp fell into place perfectly. The salad had roasted corn, black beans, Feta cheese, grape tomatoes, red onion and a cilantro lime vinaigrette.

The lobster flatbread was a favorite among guests – topped with cold water lobster, mozzarella cheese, red peppers and a lobster infused sour cream.

By the time we go to the main course I was stuffed! The surf and turf was presented on one plate, but I wanted to give each piece it’s own spotlight.  The Ahi tuna was served Pan Asian style.

The Chilean sea bass was served with a mango salsa.

The filet mignon speaks for itself – check out those beautiful grill marks! One thing that I didn’t know about Bonefish is that they really go out of their way to accommodate food allergies – they have a special place on the grill reserved for making gluten free items.

For dessert we had the seasonal pumpkin creme brûlée, spiced up with cinnamon and nutmeg and topped with a healthy dollop of whipped cream!

You may also want to check out their drink menu, check out this beautiful espresso martini they served!

Disclaimer: I was invited to Bonefish Grill for a media preview dinner. My meal was provided compliments of Bonefish Grill. All opinions are my own.

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The place has an old school feel to it, and it’s definitely a neighborhood kind of place. As the regulars were filing in for lunch, the guys behind the counter knew exactly what they wanted and called their customers by name. I like that kind of service-it shows you care about your customers and appreciate their business.

They have pasta, sandwiches, paninis, soups and salads. You can even order your meal on their iphone app! They bake all their own bread, ciabatini, which is SO tasty. Their sandwiches can run up to $8.50, but don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed.

It was so hard to decide what I wanted, so I bought a ton of stuff and brought it all home. Their arancini’s are HUGE. They could be a meal all by themselves. At $3.50 each they are about the size of a tennis ball. They are light and not overly cheesy.

I didn’t realize they had meat inside, but that was just a bonus! The outside was light and crispy, they were some of the best arancini I have had.

I picked up a slice of pasta fritatta, which they described as carbonara in a pie. I thought the flavor was good, but it didn’t really heat up very well. I think this would have been better if I had it while I was at the restaurant.

Pollo-Breaded chicken cutlets topped with housemade fire roasted peppers, olives, capers, and goat cheese ($8.49). I loved the flavors in this, although I have to admit, I’m not really an olive or a goat cheese kind of gal. The chicken was crisp on the outside and moist on the inside. I love the peppers, it really added something special to the sandwich.

Melenzane-house made neapolitan Melenzane ‘al funghetto’ topped with smoked mozzarella, and basil ($8.49). Really nice flavors, I really enjoyed this one. I ate half of it while I was waiting for my boss-the sandwiches are quite large, you could share one! I sat in the sun filled window at a table, but they also have stools to sit at the counter that runs along the window.

Parma-imported ‘black label’ parma ham, basil marinated tomatoes, fresh mozzarella ($8.49). Again, really nice flavors with this. I loved the saltiness of the meat and the fresh mozzarella.

Domenics

987 Main St, Waltham, MA 02451

781.899.3817

http://getdoms.com

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