Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse

Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse

1250 Market Street

Lynnfield MA 01940

781.944.4810

Center Cut Filet Mignon

http://davios.com

This weekend we were treated to a nice dinner at Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse in Lynnfield Ma.

We went there for my wife’s office Christmas party.

Some people have a problem with Christmas parties in January, but I like them. They give you something to look forward to after all craziness of the holidays is over.

Now I have never been to Davio’s before and I was looking forward to it. 

We start out the meal by ordering some appetizers for the table.

First we ordered the spring roll sampler. One of each the following:

-Philly Cheese Steak Spring Rolls®, Spicy Homemade Ketchup, Spicy Mayo

-Chicken Parm Spring Rolls®, Marinara

-Buffalo Chicken Spring Rolls®, Blue Cheese

-Shrimp Cotija Spring Rolls™, Citrus Aioli

-Reuben Spring Rolls™, Thousand Island

Now these tasted fantastic but they were not very large. More like spring roll bites,

which was a bit disappointing.

We also had Davio's Meatballs.  These were two big meatballs, which the waitress raved about, and we all felt were good.  My wife and I are Italian, so to us, they did not stand up to the hype.

The next appetizer made up for it. We had the Tuna Tartare, with Avocado, Chili Aioli and the Herb Pasta Chips. This was one the best Tuna Tartare I have ever had and based on the conversation with everyone else at the table, I was not alone.

The next course was a good Caesar salad.

This was very good.  Plenty of dressing and big enough to share, which my wife and I did.

Note: The salad's creation is generally attributed to restaurateur Caesar Cardini, an Italian immigrant who operated restaurants in Mexico and the United States. He invented the dish when a Fourth of July 1924 rush depleted the kitchen's supplies. Cardini made do with what he had, adding the dramatic flair of the table-side tossing "by the chef. he

The main course included a 10 oz. Center Cut Filet Mignon for the wife, that at first came out over done. But the waitress (who was outstanding) quickly came back with a perfectly cooked steak that was as good as a Filet can be.
For her side, she ordered the a-la-cart Baked Eggplant with Mozzarella. This was also very good, and large enough for two to share.

I on the other hand went for the Grilled Center Cut Veal Rib Chop with Creamy Potatoes and Asparagus.

I can tell you I cleaned my plate. This was delicious, cooked just the way I wanted (medium rare) and was as tender as could be.

Baked Eggplant with Mozzarell

Grilled Center Cut Veal Rib Chop with Creamy Potatoes and Asparagus

I would recommend Davio’s Northern Italian Steakhouse. The food was very good and the staff was excellent. But this is not a cheap place to eat so keep that in mind when you do go.

Ipswich Brewery

http://mikethefoodspecialist.blogspot.com

Ipswich Brewery

2 Brewery Place
Ipswich, MA 01938
Corporate Office: (978) 356-3329

http://www.ipswichalebrewery.com

On this weekend’s trip we went to The Ipswich Brewery.

It’s funny out of the four of us I am the only real beer drinker, so this place was perfect for me.

Because it is a brewery they have a good list of different beers to try and they serve them in flights.

Again great for me.

I started with the Classic Flight that included:

Original Ale

IPA

Route 101

Oatmeal

Stout

All were good but the Original Ale and the Route 101 is the two I liked best out of this flight.

Next I went with the Ipswich Ruby Red IPA. This was good medium body beer with a nice flavor.

The wife got the No Bite Flight that included:

iBelge

Cream Ale

Blueberry Shandy

Cranberry Beret

She liked the Cranberry but I enjoyed the iBelge most out of this flight.

Ok now for the food:

Overall the food was ok. Standard pub food, but you go there for the beer 1^st.

We had the Pot Roast Poutine (crispy fries, shredded beef brisket, Pineland Farms cheddar curds and brown gravy).

We could have or should have order another one and had this as our meal. This was excellent and without a doubt the best part of the meal.

For our main meal I had the Brewer’s Burger. This is a standard chargrilled angus 8oz, burger and includes shredded lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion and cheese and fries.

This was a good burger, not great but good. (They did over cook it)

The wife ordered the Fish and Chips (crispy fried fresh haddock fries and coleslaw).

She was not real happy with this. It really was not crispy and lacking in flavor.  You would think a brewery would have a beer batter, but it did not.  It was tossed in a light flour coating and then fried. 

So overall I would go back and have some beer, as that was very good, and order some appetizers.  

Don’t look for a high end meal there.

Bartaco

Bartaco

1 Willett Ave

Port Chester, NY 10573

bartaco.com

(914) 937-8226

On our weekend trip we needed a place where the kitchen would stay open late. So the four of us set out for a place called Bartaco. I had never heard of this place before, and they do not have a location in Boston...But they should!

What a cool, fun place to go and have a few drinks and some good food. For the younger crowd they have a great bar scene.

Bartaco serves upscale street food in a very casual environment. Serving, as you could assume by the name, tacos, along with guacamole, tamales and other sides.

First, the wait staff was great!  We had 2 waitresses, and they could not do enough for us. With their help we placed our order.

We started with some guacamole and chips plus the cheese quesadilla. Both of these appetizers where good, but I would not waste any room for them again.

I would save my appetite for the tacos and the rice bowls.

They suggested we do the tray of tacos and two rice bowls. Now, the tacos are small, two bite tacos, so that allows you to try three or four different kinds.

We had the fish, chicken, sesame ribeye, fried oyster and the pork belly. All of the tacos came dressed and ready to eat. The pork belly was the best; perfectly cooked and served with a delicious slaw and sauce.

We also had the rice bowls; a chicken and the sesame ribeye both were delicious.

But one of our favorite items was the grilled corn with lime, cayenne and Cotija cheese.

If you order this (And I think you should) ask them to remove it from the cob.

We finished our meal off with some Churros with chocolate sauce and Key Lime Pie in a mason jar. Both were excellent, but I was too full to eat anything else.

So if you are ever around one of these Bartaco’s, I would drop in.  You won't be sorry.