Pepe's 274 Franklin St. (April 29)

Overall impression:  Yummy pizza, but maybe a better place to have drinks than dinner.

 https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pepes-Pizza/105541532867953?fref=ts

First of all, some context:  Eric and I went to Pepe's on an evening in which there was some disarray, so my first impression may be skewed. We arrived on a Wednesday at 6:30 pm, and they had leftover guests and setup from a private event earlier in the day. I felt like we were crashing someone's wedding party - the tail end with the holdouts who may have overimbibed, plus maybe an exhausted child. It wasn't bad, but also not the ideal situation. Adding to the slightly surreal feeling was the fact that the three televisions above the bar were tuned to wildly different programming - Wheel of Fortune, an early-start Red Sox game, and CNN's coverage of protests in Baltimore. (Protests, not riots - though they kept hyping it up as if it was only inevitable rioting would break out. Odd reporting.) Anyway, I was  a bit discombobulated.

It seems like Wednesdays would be a good day to go normally - there was all you can eat pizza: $6.99 for cheese, plus $1 for each topping. Made fresh, not-buffet style or heated for hours. The server brought me a gigantic mushroom pizza that was technically more than I could eat (leftovers will be tomorrow's lunch). Maybe Eric could eat more than one pizza on his own, but I have doubts. He had pasta alfredo with broccolli. It was ordered with spaghetti and it came with penne. He also had to ask for the salad first, I guess they usually serve it at the same time as the pasta. None of these things was such a big deal, and would have probably been forgotten had the pasta been spectacular. Not spectacular, though, just good. He liked the taste of my food better.

Our server was very nice. But busy, she seemed the only server at the time. The atmosphere is much more bar than restuarant. Also, the bathrooms are down a hall and weren't all that clean. But on the plus side there is an outdoor patio that could be great if the weather were warm (someday...). We won't become regulars for dinner. However, I organize a monthly or so "happy hour" with work colleagues - I might put Pepe's on the list of places to meet up.

Salt and Pepper, 268 Lincoln St. (April 19)

Overall impression:  Good food, great space.  A nice option if you are in the neighborhood for breakfast or lunch.

https://www.facebook.com/salt.pepper.breakfast.lunch

  Salt and Pepper is right across the street from UMass Memorial, Hahnemann campus. This is not far from our house (5 min drive,  or a very long walk), so it was worth a try. I've been curious since the restaurant space changed hands a couple years ago - from the outside it looked like a lovely remodel. However, though it was on my list of places to go it was never very high on that list. (Kind of like the movie that is perpetually at #40 in our netflix queue.) Maybe because it never looked too busy from the outside. But in this case looks were deceiving - it was full of people at 10 am on a Sunday.

The interior lived up to my expectations - it was very lovely. Or maybe just my style. Soothing modern black and gray, a long bar and many wooden tables kind of squished together. Plus a bench seat with cool cushions along one wall. More ambience than other places I've gone for eggs and toast (we didn't try lunch). Eric pointed out that the soundtrack left something to be desired. Or, just wasn't our style (Casey Kasem in reruns or greatest hits). But hey, I hadn't heard 9 to 5 for a while, and sometimes you gotta go with Dolly Parton.

There seemed to be only one very busy waitress, so it took some time before we could place an order. But once the order was in the food was out - in about 5 minutes. I had my usual (eggs, toast, potatoes - all just fine), our friend Melissa had her usual (eggs benedict - good) and Eric had the same as me, but with Kielbasa. I'm a vegetarian, and I tell you his Kielbasa looked pretty good. He was very pleased.

There are a few drawbacks - Salt and Pepper isn't handicapped accessible (I don't know if there was a non-stairs entrance in the back, but the restroom is only reachable via steps). There wasn't jam on the table (we could get strawberry or grape if we asked), and the bathroom wasn't that clean (not disgusting or anything, just needed some sweeping and restocking). This could be due to being short staffed. For basically taking care of the entire place our waitress did a great job.

Maybe in the summer I will go back for morning coffee or a noontime break from gardening. It is a 30 minute walk from our house, which should be perfectly fine in the sunshine. Happy this neighborhood place is there.

Bay State Shawarma, 86 Water St (April 11)

Overall impression:  Yum.

A direct quote from my husband:  "Ok, that was some amazing, amazing shawarma."
http://www.baystateshawarmaandgrill.net/

I had to convince Eric that we should go out for lunch on Saturday. (I've got to get in my weekly quota of new places!). He really wanted to try Bay State Shawarma, but we'd been out for dinner the night before and were meeting a friend at a different restaurant later in the evening, so the thought of venturing out again was a little much. Once we made it there, however, we were very happy. It is so worth dragging a tired body there. The food is delicious.

I wanted falafel and stuffed grape leaves, so I got the veggie plate. It included said items as well as pita, hummus, baba ganoush, rice, salad and pickled veggies. I couldn't eat it all. The falafel and hummus were my favorites, the hummus being nice and garlicky. Eric got the beef shawarma plate. He says it was divine. While we were there another couple came in and got tons of food and bread to go - they were loading up for a trip to NYC.

The dining room is no frills, order at the counter and grab a table. But it is sunny and clean, and was busy even early on a weekend morning. There is a market and bakery in the back. I only explored the market for a few minutes while we were waiting for our order, enough time to check out the spices.  They were very reasonably priced and various (I even found frankincense there, which I thought was interesting even though I am not versed in its uses). Lots of sweets for sale too, I may have to get some of those to bring to my class sometime as a treat.

I think this place has got tons of appeal. We'll be going back again for the tasty food.

Cafe Reyes, 421 Shrewsbury St (April 7, 2015)

Overall impression:  Bright and happy atmosphere, awesome food. Unfortunately open only 7-3 on weekdays, but definitely worth leaving work for a lunch break.

http://www.cafereyes.org/

Spring is almost here, so close. Though tulips are slowly peeking up the world is still mostly gray and muddy. So I felt the need to find a cheery place - and Cafe Reyes is definitely it. My small family unit (Eric and I and my mom, visiting from MN) met our friend there for lunch. Four people, nine different dishes, plus plantain chips to start. Reports: Melissa  - excellent, Eric - very good, me - super tasty and fresh, mom - good (she's Scandinavian, from her that is a glowing review).

I got the Cafe Reyes salad, which had amazing mango dressing, and a side of rice and beans. After seeing the empanadas that others ordered (chorizo and cheese + La Empanada Cubano) I really wish that they had vegetarian options on that front. But there is a veggie sandwich, I'll have to get that next time. My mom got a tuna sandwich she was pleased with, and all my companions loved the plantain chips (I have a banana aversion, and can't do anything even close to bananas). Melissa actually got the fried sweet plantains, a special favorite for her. She also had a yummy-looking pastry.

This breakfast/lunch place is very colorful inside, with vibrant music.  (The speakers may be a little too loud, but that is the only negative part of this review.) There is not an associated parking lot, but parking right on Shrewsbury street is no problem. The restaurant is just a few minutes walk from my husband's work, so he can go there for lunch frequently. I have to wait until flexible work days or days off, unfortunately. But I definitely want to go back whenever I can! I say check it out!

Brief apology:  Its been two weeks since my last blog. I was out of town unexpectedly for sad reasons, and Murphy's law dictated that I got sick right upon my return. But I'm going to try to stay healther and get back out there regularly again.