Tuckaway Tavern

The Tuckaway Tavern

And Butchery

56 Route 27

Raymond NH

Website

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

When I first heard of The Tuckaway Tavern, I was worried, places with alot of hype around them make me nervous, there comes with them a kind of pressure to like them, not only for what they do, but for those who tell you that you just have to try the place, or because you want to be fair, and not let down your followers, thats why I was abit scared to do this review at first, I found myself thinking "Is this place REALLY as good as the hype?", "Could it all be as good as it looks when they are on tv?", "Is there a downside I don't see?", "Are the rumors about the up to three hour wait times real? and if so, are they truly worth the wait time?", so many questions going through my head, but finally, I decided it was time to just dive in head first, and not be put off by the hype, the awards, and the pressure to do a good review. And I must tell you, in all honesty, I am so glad I did, because The Tuckaway Tavern is truly amazing. 

And by amazing, I really do mean, amazing, their pedigree is incredible, several best of awards given out by New Hampshire Magazine, Yankee Magazine, The Hippo Press, as well as local food programs The Phantom Gourmet and New Hampshire Chronicle, for both the restaurant, and the butcher shop they have attached to them. Yes, you read that right, they have a full service butcher shop attached to them, aside from being an food person's dream, what this means for you as a customer is, say you order some of their best in the state steak tips, and love them so much, you want to take them home to share with your friends, or want to piss off a vegetarian you know, or maybe some crazy shut in relative that you cook for sometimes, that means you can walk right from the restaurant where you just ate them, and buy however many pounds you wish to take home, and the quality is exactly the same, because their butcher shop, is their suppler of all things they make. So you can literally take home the exact same meal you just ate if you wish. Isn't that the greatest and craziest thing you've ever heard? Personally, I love it.

Now before I get into the food, I want to stress something I feel is important, the restaurant itself, is very small, I estimated at most, maybe 100 seats, maybe alittle more, and though that might sound like a good size, remember, with all the hype this place has, people are coming in groups of 4 to 6 and sometimes more, infact when I went, my mother and I were the only group under 4 people that I counted in the entire place, this means the place fills up fast, and there WILL BE A WAIT, infact, we got to the Tuckway almost an hour before they opened, were allowed inside the building about 30 minutes before they started serving, and we were the forth people on the list to get in, and by the time they started serving, there was a line out the door of people waiting to get seated, meaning people know to get there early if they don't want to wait, and from what i gather, yes, the rumors posted on facebook and twitter of up to three hour waits sometimes are infact true. But they do allow you to call ahead and reserve seating for whatever time you wish, and do their best to get you to your reserved table at the right time, but its truly a case of knowing that the wait if you don't get there early, is truly worth it. I can not stress enough though, even though the wait is well worth it, you really should either get there before they open so you're seated right at opening, or call ahead and get your spot for whatever time you want as quickly as you can, this is infact my one issue I could find with the entire establishment, but I guess thats the burden of success.

Now for the food, though I will admit their menu reads like a mad chef's fever dream of unique creations I'm pretty sure you can't get anywhere else, and their social media is riddled with one day only specials that are just as insane, I have to admit, after trying what we did, I would be abit more adventurous with their menu my next time back, though admittedly as new comers there, we stayed in the shallow end of the pool so to speak. We started out with a buffalo chicken dip and house made cajun style pita chips. What this basically is, in simple terms, is a chicken puree, or, for the more astute among you, chicken humus, though i found myself wishing it had come with some blue cheese to add to it on the side, this was phenomenal, I've never even dreamed that chicken could be made this way, and I really wanted more, the pita chips were great as well, some places add spices or salt them, Tuckaway just leaves them as they are to be enjoyed, I couldn't stop eating this, it was just great, and I can't wait to go back for more.

My mother had their Meatbal Melt, which is their homemade meatballs, served with homemade tomato sauce and provolone cheese between two of the most well toasted s;ices of garlic bread ever! The cheese melted perfectly into the sandwich and the meatballs just disintegrate in your mouth like a good meatball should, it could however have used abit more tomato sauce. It was served with what I must say had to be the freshest coleslaw I think either of us had ever had, I honestly think they made it right before bringing it out to us, it was that fresh and flavorful, not that kind of coleslaw thats still good, but you can tell has been sitting around for awhile, though i must admit, I kind of think that sort of thing would never happen at Tuckaway, I really doubt they'd let their standards get to that point. I had what is called The Whole Tucking Farm, or as some of you might know it, that last picture over this paragraph thats had you drooling as long as you've been reading this, The Whole Tucking Farm is as follows; a 1 pound freshly ground beef burger, with a fried chicken cutlet on top of that, as well as a thick cut slice of smoked bacon, all covered in cheddar cheese and what they call Tuck Sauce, which is sort of a thousand island meets a thin but flavorful vinaigrette style salad dressing. This monster was beyond words, along with the fresh cut fries, this thing will fill you up, but you will still want more, it has to be one of the greatest things i've ever eaten in my life, you get abit of everything in every bite, some beef, some chicken, some bacon, some cheese, the sauce thats just oozing all out of the burger, I really am struggling to find words that fit just how good this burger was, well aside from yelling "go put it in your stomach now!" over and over in a loud booming voice, which I could do, but it might make things abit awkward between us, and nobody wants that, so seriously if you make it out to Tuckaway Tavern, the whole tucking farm is a must try.

There isn't much else to tell about Tuckaway Tavern, the food was beyond amazing, the staff was fast, extremely polite and helpful, and the food came to us in maybe the fastest time I've ever had at a restaurant, this place truly is worth allof the hype its been given, and I strongly suggest making a trip there if you're in the area, and if my review hasn't convinced you, then allow that image of their meat counter in the butchery shop, and the picture of their signature lobster roll to help with that, by the way, though i do not eat seafood, I feel I should point out, on mondays and tuesdays, their gigantic lobster rolls are by one, get one free, just figured you seafood fans would like to know that. Anyway, why ar you still reading this, get in the car and get out to Tuckaway, its well worth the drive, and the wait.

---

Chris

Thanks Michele!

Stopped by one of my favorite places for snackage in the state today, Michele's Gourmet Popcorn, was out that way reviewing a place I'm gonna post about tomorrow, anyway, stopped into Michele's because we always do when out that side of the state, and wanted to pop in one last time before the new store opens, because, well, maple popcorn.

As you can see we got a ton of great stuff, popcorn cupcakes and a case of my favorite locally made soda which i can't get on this side of the state, even though I have many times posted on social media asking why not. But thats a rant for another time.

Anyway, I just wanted to drop a post thanking Michele for a lovely time and a fun talk while in her shop today, not many owners will do that sort of thing and interact with the customers on that level, truly a class act, there should be more shop owners like her.

For now though, just look at how amazingly good these cupcakes are... Sorry for the blur, was trying to adjust for lighting, failed miserably....

I truly can't wait till the new store opens in October.... Also, if you are ever up in the 603 (thats new hampshire for the unhip or those that aren't good with area codes), seriously, you need to make a trip to get their popcorn and baked goods, and other sweats, of which i restrained myself from getting all of today lol...

---

Chris

The Velvet Cactus

The Velvet Cactus

7655 Old Hammond Hwy.
Baton Rouge, LA

Website 

Facebook

 

I’ve never written about food before. Well, I’ve written reviews, but never a blog experience. Here goes nothing. My bestie Raegan and I have taken to lunching every Friday now that my work schedule permits it. Today’s adventure was actually planned for another place, but we happened along this delightful establishment, The Velvet Cactus, on our way to the other place. I won’t mention the name because we still plan to go there. Upon entrance to The Velvet Cactus, the place looks cool as hell! 

The outdoor seating area is modern and fresh with polished chrome chairs and a large waterfall and lagoon with misters keeping outdoor patrons cool during these sweltering Louisiana summers. The place has not been open very long, and is quite busy for this time of day. It’s a sort of Mexican-Louisiana fusion place. Which, I will be honest, we have no shortage of around here, BUT, when a place smells THAT GOOD on the outside…you can’t help but want to try.

Waiting to be seated, I was checking out the art for sale on the walls. I honestly wanted to buy at LEAST 4 pieces. I love when restaurants display local artists, and/or good or wares for sale. It shows their dedication to the community, (something corporate restaurants lack). Their list of today’s special cocktails was displayed, on a chalkboard at the hostess stand, one being the “strawberry mint margarita”, which of course I had to try. It was such a gorgeous drink, I almost did not want to drink it. Almost...

We ordered a couple appetizers, because, what’s a new place without delicious appetizers? First up were the smoked pork tamales. As you can see, they were HUGE. Made with corn masa, 17 hour smoked, shredded pork with peppers and steamed in a corn husk. I mean, it speaks for itself really. They are in itself a meal for one person. We also sampled the shrimp cakes, which, isn’t a typical thing here as much as crab cakes.

They were BEAUTIFUL!! Gulf shrimp, roasted corn, bell peppers, chipotle aioli and pico de gallo. I mean, have you ever seen such a fresh seafood cake before? AND PICO ON IT???????????????? YES PLEASE!!!!! For our entrees, Raegan had the daily special; gyro tacos. I have never heard of a gyro taco in Louisiana before, so naturally we had to. Each entrée got two sides, so she opted for the chipotle cheese grits and the borracho beans which are cooked with Dos Equis and bacon. The portions are HUGE as you can see and neither of us could finish it all.

For my entrée, I had the pork pibil tacos, which are made with charred onions, smoked pork, peppers, cilantro and chipotle aioli. I can’t stress enough the flavor of this pork. It melted in my mouth. I also opted for the chipotle cheese grits, but I chose the creole cole slaw for my second side. I am very picky about cole slaw so I always try it at different places and I was totally impressed. It was crunchy, slightly sweet, vinegary and everything else slaw should be. We did not even have dessert because there was no way I could have enjoyed it as I should due to be stuffed to the brim. And, now that I’ve relived this experience in the writing of this blog, I feel I must go now to satiate my current appetite! Hope all of you can check out the place one day if you’re ever down in my parts! Bon apetite!

-------

Ashley

 

So this happened the other night...

So one of my first reviews, and often returns, Sandwich Master out in Rindge has not only expanded their menu to a 7 page booklet of awesomeness, but has also become not only thee place to get subs in the area, but is fastly becoming one of the best places to get a burger in my valley.

Behold, their triple bacon cheeseburger, yes you read that right, TRIPLE BACON CHEESEBURGER, one of the greatest creations of mankind, right there done to perfection on a plate, i had two of them with what is their medium order of fries, (fries come in small, large and family, so large is their medium) and oh my god, was these good! I am very picky about my burgers as those of you that read my reviews know, and these, these had to be some of the best ones I've ever had, EVER. It is abit on the pricy side though, at just about $14 per, but the trade off is worth it, the burger is made of three freshly made, never frozen high quality beef patties and everything else is fresh and locally obtained as well, they pride themselves on that sort of quality, which is one of the reasons we keep going back.

So if any of you were looking for more of an excuse to go out to Sandwich Master in Rindge, now you have it, go swing by and give Earl some business.

i want more just looking at them.. lol

----------


Chris

Vicuña Chocolate Cafe and Factory

Vicuña Chocolate Cafe and Factory

15 Main St.

Peterborough NH

Website

Twitter

Facebook

Afew days ago, i was sitting at home watching a local magazine style show that focuses on places and people all over my beloved granite state, when something caught my eye, now its not uncommon for them to feature things out here in my part of the state, we are after all an artistic and musical mecha of sorts, well for New Hampshire anyway, but this had nothing to do with that, this had to do with a local woman named Neely Cohen, all around titan in the pastry and chocolate world as well as a former winner on the Food Network program "Sweet Genius", who with a kickstarter campaign started Vicuña Chocolate Cafe and Factory in a small hole in the wall sized shop literally 4 minutes from where i live in Peterborough. Now, i do love my chocolate, blame my mom's love of dark chocolate for that, and i do love to share wonderful places to go or buy amazing things to eat, and the idea of one of these places literally being down the street from me pushed this place right to the front of my must see line. And oh my god am i glad i did that.

Now going in, I knew that this place was an everything made on properly type of location, their chocolate bars are made in house, their pastries are made in house as well, as is some of their more unique items, they are the only place in New Hampshire, and by a quick googling, one of the only places in the US, where you can sit in the cafe, and partake of an old world tradition that is starting to make a come back the world over, drinking chocolate, think of it like a purer form of hot chocolate or hot coco, they also are one of the only places I am aware of that offers a tea made from the husk of the Cocoa pod from which the beans used to make chocolate comes from, tea being a secret passion of mine, I'd never heard of this before, apparently its very healthy for you, which is nothing new, well atleast to the those in the know on the whole "dark chocolate is good for you" movement.

We went in first thing on a Sunday morning, before the crowds showed up, i like to do that, it gives you time to look around and really get a good look at the place. We met Neely the owner, who was very friendly and talkative, and incredibly knowledgeable about her craft, and when you look into her history with chocolate, which goes far beyond winning a competition show on Food Network, way beyond, she has actually picked cocoa pods at the very farm where she gets her supplies from. There is even a place in the cafe were you can watch the staff making the chocolate on property, they weren't working when we went in, but I would assume it gives the place a sort of magical Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory like feel, but you know, with out a creepy boat ride through a tunnel or midgets that are forced to work there for asylum from the ravages of their homeland or any of the many unsafe dangers Wonka had on property. Honestly, if we had more time, i would have loved to sit and try their drinking chocolate, it smelled so very good, plus it seems like the kind of experience i need to have in life, sitting down, with a nice chocolate and coco nib brownie and having some drinking chocolate, sounds old timey, but awesome. My only real complaint about the cafe itself is it felt like it needed arm chairs, but i guess with their product the stains would be insane to clean. Oh well. Still a great place honestly.

 

As for their products, I mean thats why we're all interested in this anyway isn't it? They sell their in house made chocolate bars, chocolate chip and sea salt cookies, coco nib brownies, drinking chocolate, poor over coffee and cocoa husk tea. Now let me first tell you this, the coco nib brownies, are with out a doubt, the greatest brownie I have EVER had. They are moist and batter like inside, while still full of flavor from the nibs, and from the perfectly crispy outside, i seriously wanted to keep eating them till i couldn't handle putting anything else in my stomach, they were amazing, and honestly worth the drive to this place alone. The chocolate chip and sea salt cookies are just as amazing, a nice crisp bottom, a nicely golden browned top, with nothing but moist cookie dough like inside with giant chunks of chocolate, and just enough sea salt on the outside to make it taste amazing, i really wish she had these and the brownies in dozens, I'd go broke, but I really wish she did, it would be a gold mine. I honestly would love to go back for some of their drinking chocolate and husk tea, they seem incredibly good by the way they smelled from behind the counter. But really, you're all wondering about the chocolate bars themselves aren't you? They offer five kinds of chocolate bars, of which, they are made with bolivian dark chocolate, which is about 80% pure, too those that don't know, 80% pure is as close to pure chocolate as you will ever get, they mix the ground up coco beans that make the chocolate with only pure cane sugar grown not far from the cocoa beans themselves, which means you're getting a chocolate bar thats chocolate content is honestly possibly the most pure you will find anywhere in the world. As for their five flavors, they are pure chocolate, sea salt, yellow chili, coffee, and nib flavored, and now and then they make limited editions, when we went in, we got the last two of their honey and candied ginger bars, which btw, were like heaven in chocolate form. Seriously, you all need to try this stuff atleast once, its truly amazing, and ever so good, honestly there aren't enough words for how good the bars are, I am actually drooling abit wanting to go back for more while I type this, which really is something.

 

So the big question, is it all honestly worth it? Now I will say this, though the brownies and cookies were reasonably priced, between $3 to $4 per, which isn't all that bad, for the chocolate bars themelves, it is a case of paying extra for the high end quality, the fact there are only two things in the bars you are gonna pay for the purity, the bars are around $9.50 ot do per bar, which I am sure some of you just had a heart attack over, but honestly think about the quality of what you're getting, a chocolate bar that has only chocolate and pure cane sugar in it and is between 80% to 85% pure, which is about as pure as you can get with chocolate anywhere in the world, anywhere, and as most of you know, for that kind of quality, you do have to pay abit more for. So in the bigger picture its abit pricy, but you won't regret it, so its more of a not every weekend thing like the brownies or the cookies, but still a great treat. Honestly once you get to Vicuña and you try all they have, you won't be surprised why, though they are only open on weekends, and only in business sense last October, they've already been in Bon Appetit Magazine, New Hampshire Magazine, The Boston Globe, and many other publications both local, national and international. So if you're ever up around my little town in the middle of nowhere on a weekend, and you feel like trying something sweet and unique, then give Vicuña a try, honestly, you will fall in love, just as i did..... seriously i want one of their brownies like right now.... like RIGHT now.

------

Chris

Sauce Making #2: Volcanic Ash

Ok, some of you have heard rumblings of a creation of mine called Volcanic Ash, which is, a salsa, a very hot salsa, like is dangerous to the touch kind of salsa. and something i am very proud of infact. See, how Volcanic Ash came about is simply, it was on a suggestion, it was a suggestion by my dear friend Ashley, for whom it is named, she was doing some "market research" for me by testing out my Barbecue Sauce and Blu Cheese dressing on her family and friends, and after them raving about it, and her raving as well, she mentioned that she felt i would make a great salsa, something i had never tried before, simply because i'm not a big salsa fan personally, but i figured as a thank you for her help, i would make an attempt, though I will admit, once she said to me "i'm from Louisiana we like everything hot as can be..." in answer to how hot she wanted me to make it, its fate was sealed, this would be one of the hottest salsas ever, just because, and as a thank you for her help, i named it Volcanic Ash, because, it just makes sense...

Now, lets have a look at how to make it shall we?

First you drain your jarred peppers, i prefer pickled habaneros and jalapenos for a little sweetness that should be there to lull you into a false sense of safety, do not leave them in the pickling brine, that will just water things down and really thats the last thing we want.

Now, take your drained peppers, if you have them, and mix them with the other, i won't tell you what they are because its a secret, but, there are seven of them total, put them in your blender or food processor because you don't want the stuff from these on your hands, unlike all that hand crafted stuff i was on about in Part 1, simply for your safety you don't want any of this touching you.

now once you've blendered your peppers into a nice paste, mix them with some tomato puree and some tomato paste that have been mixed together into a thick sauce, use a wooden spoon and make sure they're all mixed together and its thick but smooth.

Now i didn't get a picture of this step, but, next you add tabasco sauce, bird eye pepper hot sauce, and some of that red hot sraracha hot sauces with the pissed off rooster on it, hot sauce people will know exactly what i'm talking about, all of which are available over the net or in most grocery stores, make sure you mix this well as well.

Next step is key, you have to add this stuff, no knock offs, no other brands, it has to be puree of the carolina reaper pepper from puckerbutt peppers, the only people who make the caronlina reaper, the world's new hottest pepper, sure this stuff costs $20 for a 2 ounce bottle, but you gotta pay for the heat if you want it. This here is the same as adding 6 of the world's hottest pepper, which as you can guess will give you one hell of a kick. Be very careful with this stuff when you mix it in, do not get it on your hands, or near your eyes or anything it can and will burn you if you are not careful, mix it in one bottle at a time, its just easier that way.

and after you bottle them the same way i showed you how to bottle the blu cheese, you should have a pile of bottles like this, i should state, when making this, always use small bottles, because large amounts of it are often to much for your average person to handle, even if they're someone that claims to down hot things like they're nothing. I have seriously seen people who eat some of the hottest peppers on the planet like they're candy drop to their knees in pain and crying and sweating from this stuff, its truly no joke, its seriously like eating lava, or well, Volcanic Ash if you will.. lol


anyway, thats it for now... back soon with more stuff....

----

Chris

Sauce Making #1: Blu Cheese

So, as some of you know, I am a rather accomplished cook in my own right, one of the things i love to make is sauces, now i do have a barbecue sauce that some of my readers have tried and swear to be the best they've ever had, but even more, each of them thats tried it, has loved my blu cheese dressing, which is something that truly came from the food gods.

So I figured, just for fun, I would show you how i make it, not giving away all of my secrets of it though, cuz, you know, trade secrets, and in part 2, i would show you have i create the hottest salsa ever...

Anyway on with this....

 

 This is everything you will need for making my blu cheese dressing, though you can add to it ifyou like, sometimes i add real chopped up bacon or chives, or something both for that extra kick over the goalpost.

Mix the ranch dressing and the sour cream and the powdered ranch together in a big metal bowl, cuz, thats just how the professionals role yo.

Add in the hand chopped four wedges of blu cheese, yes, it has to be four wedges, and yes, it has to be as finely hand chopped as you can get it, otherwise it won't come out right, because when you do it in a food chopper or processor, it doesn't work the same and just becomes lumps of blu cheese like gunk, so, hand chopped is important, it should take you about 15 or so minutes to get it right, you want as much as you can.

It should look like this when you're done mixing everything together, make sure you take a good five to 10 minutes to mix it, so its properly combined and everything you could probably do it for less, and maybe use a hand mixer, but, I rather the old fashioned way, there is something magical about doing things by hand when you can.

Now onto the fun part....

When filling the jars, its important to do so on a level surface, and its important to use a filler funnel like you see in the picture, just like when you put home made jams and jellies and preserves in a jar, you need as much open space as possible, I tend to make enough to fill 5 to 6 full jars of blu cheese dressing and atleast one half jar, be very careful when doing this, because, it can become very messy,

and in the end, you should have of bottles that look something like this, yummy yummy in your tummy blu cheese dressing, that is good on just about everything. 

So thats how you make that, i'll be back in a minute with something else!!!

-----

Chris

George's Deli

George's Delicatessen

1224 Gorham St.

Lowell, MA

Website

Facebook

I know its been abit of time sense I sat down and wrote a review here, something i hope to change because I do love to do these, and I love the feedback I get from all of you who read what i write here, all the thank yous and suggestions. So with that said, I figured my first review of 2015 would be something special, not just a rare hidden jewel that most might just look past with no second thought, but a place that is special to me personally, and when I think of such a place, there is only one answer that comes to mind, a small out of the way place by the name of George's Deli, a place thats as much a part of my family as it is a part of the city from where we originate, you see, as we recently figured out in preparation for this review, my family has been going to George's for 46 of their 48 years in business. Its the first place most of us ever had take out from, and probably the one place you can get us all to go too in large groups now.

 Don't mind my mother and my uncle jeff in the shot, this was the closest i could get of a clear shot at the counter
all day, they were pretty busy when we went.

At first glance George's might seem like just your average small run down local neighborhood submarine sandwich shop with a slant toward Italian food, and to some degree that is exactly what it is, but yet, its also alot more, you see unlike most sub shops they make all of their subs to order, and put them together with the care that only comes from being in business for almost 50 years time. To put it as someone I took there once said after their first time "This ain't no Subway, thats for damn sure.". Though they do bring in some things, stuff like french fries and small things like that, they make the stuff that matters in house, as any place that wants to stay around as long as George's has should. For George's their key in house made product is their tomato sauce, and judging by the things they put it on, they are well aware of just how good it is.

You would think that like most places in the same field as George's that they would have one signature thing on the menu, you know, a draw, a thing you can't get anywhere else and people will drive for miles to get, but if you ask my family, and others who know of this little gem of a place to eat, you'll get a different answer from each person to what that is. To me personally, its what i got on our recent visit there, and what i get most of the time, the veal cutlet sub, or to some veal parmigiana, I like it served with extra sauce and provolone cheese, and a large plate of fries to stuff in the sub for extra yum factor, and because making food touch grosses out my aunt laurie, who just made a crinkly nose face when she read that, there is just something perfect about the way they make the sub, nicely fried breaded veal, just swimming in cheese and sauce, its honestly the only way I've ever had veal and truly enjoyed it. I also love their steak and cheese sub, but we'll get to that in a minute. If you ask my mom what she feels is their signature, she'll tell you either what she ordered when we went, the meatball sub, in house made meatballs cooked on a big flat grittle, then dropped into a sub roll and stuffed with cheese of your choice, and as you can guess, swimming in their home made tomato sauce, like i told you, they know what brings the people in and keeps them coming back, though my mother will also tell you her truest love on their menu is their traditional torpedo. Though some regions call it a ham and cheese, or some call it an Italian, in truth the torpedo is a hybrid of the two, made with ham, salami, cheese, tomatoes, shredded lettuce and normally abit of Italian dressing, my mother will tell you, she can not find anywhere that makes one the way George's does, I've seen her ask at other places, they really have clue how to get it right, much to her sadness. My uncle got what we around here call a Steak Bomb, I'm not sure if the term is universal or just a regional thing, but its a steak and cheese sub, which is a definitively east coast american classic, with peppers and onions, which yes, smelled as good as it sounds, even though i personally am not a peppers and onion person, well to be fair, its more that they don't like me more then i don't like them.

So you must be wondering, why would I review a place that by all accounts just seems like a little hole in the wall place that isn't really all that high end or stand out to the average food lover out there (for realz, i hate the term "foodie" btw), and the answer is very simple, to me, this is where it all began, most people's first non-homemade food is a place like Burger King or McDonald's, mine was here at George's, and sure, you could dismiss it as just some little out of the way sub shop, but to me, and more so, to my family, it'll never be that, its so much more then that, and sure as we all have grown older and spread out as we have, found other places we love to eat, if you mention to one that you're going to George's, and ask if they wanna go with you, you'll more then likely get a yes as an answer. So if you're ever down in Lowell, and you wanna get a feel of what the city's food scene is really all about, head up by George's, sure its across the street from a graveyard, and its small, but you won't be let down, i promise you won't. Plus, chances are atleast one person in the dinning room will be related to me, which, for some is kind of a bonus.

---------

Chris