Korean Dinner at Seoul Kitchen in Westford

We wanted to celebrate Dary's milestone 21st birthday over some nice cocktails and dinner so we headed over to The Sunset Tiki Bar in Westford.  Stupid us, we never made reservations and the wait would be over an hour and a half during prime dinner time.  Since we were starving, we opted not to wait and check out other places nearby.

After a few google searches for "sushi", we found Seoul Kitchen a few miles away serving, "creative sushi, traditional Korean and craft cocktails."  The restaurant was pretty busy when we arrived. Diners enjoyed the warm summer weather on the patio while imbibing pints of imported beers.

Bachelorette party at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch & Spa in Scottsdale

Hyatt Gainey Adults Pool

I love any reason to get away so I was super stoked to be going to Lisa's bachelorette party weekend in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Everyone thought we were nuts, "I'ts going to be soooo hot!", "You guys are crazy!" "What are you going to do in 100 degree weather?!!" Despite all the doubt, we continued on with the plan and settled on Scottsdale in mid July weather. Plus, all the hotels in Scottsdale were running specials, we got the third night free at the Hyatt.

Salad # 17: Pineapple habanero crab cake

Crab cake avocado corn salad

I love crab cakes but ordering them at restaurants can get really expensive. I'm pretty sure I paid $16.00 for ONE SINGLE piece of crab cake at Del Frisco's Grille before. Yup, I was SUPER PISSED.

Rainy days calls for pho at Cilantro in Woburn

When it rains, nothing cheers me up more than a nice hot bowl of Pho, a traditional favorite Vietnamese noodle soup. I'm spoiled by the many options in the Lowell area with so many local mom and pop shops but it's quite a different story near my work in Burlington, MA. I've been quite loyal to Pho 1 Woburn but sometimes the parking and wait just doesn't cut it.

Lg. Pho with rare steak and meatballs at Cilantro

Girl's Night out at Strega Prime in Woburn

I received an email invite for dinner and was sold at "RESTAURANT WEEK. Yup, count me in for dinner with 7 other girls at Strega Prime in Woburn. I'm no newbie to the restaurant but it's always fun to get out with the girls, take some tequilla shots, let our hair down and converse about things we probably shouldn't discuss at the dinner table.

For the Boston restaurant week special, Strega Prime was offering a 3 course dinner menu for $38.00. Starters included chilled corn soup, caprese salad and smoke tuna tartare.  For dinner entrees, patrons could choose between the 6 oz filet, grilled salmon, cornish hen or pappardelle.  The two dessert options were chocolate cream pie and creme brulee.

Amore Mondays at Carrabba's Italian Grill in Tynbsboro

The Mo and I have never dined at a Carrabba's restaurant before.  We were in the area after stocking up on some goods at Costco down the street and wanted to grab dinner before heading home.  He found a credit card offer for $10.00 off $25.00 or more so we headed to Carrabbas's Italian Grill in Tynbsboro.

The restaurant was pretty busy for a Monday night.  Our server greeted us and gave us our menus and to our surprise, there was an "Amore Monday" special with prix fixe selections that include a full size appetizer, soup or salad, entree or dessert (in lieu of the app) starting at only $12.99. What a steal! Not only do we get 3 courses, we also have the coupon! (Not to mention the free bread basket!)

At first I thought the appetizers would be on the smaller side, but once the calamari and caprese were brought to our table, I realized I was wrong.  The calamari was OK but the caprese salad was amazing.  I love the contrasting course black pepper and salt with the sweet balsamic glaze.

Carrabba's calamari 

Salad # 16: Loaded Wedge salad with bacon and more

This is going to be short because I'm a bit embarrassed this is considered a salad. It's high in fat, calories and it has no nutritional value. Even the "green" stuff called iceberg lettuce doesn't really have much to it. Despite all of that, I still LOVE it and it's one of my favorite staples at a steakhouse.

My version includes iceberg lettuce, lots of bacon, balsamic glaze, olives, red onion, Danish blue cheese and of course extra blue cheese dressing.  Sometimes I like to be fancy and throw on some sliced scallions for garnish.

Mami- Eggroll's loaded wedge salad

Best sushi in the area at Sushi Yanagi Chelmsford

The Mo left me for a long weekend of debauchery in Vegas for a bach party and there was no way I was going to sit and mope around the house and eat frozen dinners.  I rounded up the friends and we headed to Sushi Yanagi in Chelmsford for a sushi fest of our own.

Salad #15: Tropical fruit with grilled shrimp spinach salad (under 300 calories)

Tropical Spinach Salad

This salad is AMAZING and only under 300 calories! There's a bit of prep work included so it's not something you can just whip up together in a jiffy.

Salad #14:Black Fig & Gorgonzola Meets Chickpea & Quinoa

One of my new favorite places for lunch is Papa Razzi Metro in Burlington. Of course I've already blogged about it before HERE, but today its a special post because it s bookmarked in the "28 Days of Salad" section.  

The lunch menu has a few choices for salad, pizza, panini as well as some limited entree offerings. Typically, I'd go with a panini and fries or a pizza but today I went with a salad. I love their fluke panini and I'm a HUGE fan of their vegetarian option which has chicken pea and quinoa cake (and I'm not even VEGETARIAN)!

I decided I wanted to create a salad that wasn't on the menu by combining two different dishes. Luckily for me, the chef was pretty accommodating and created a delicious lunch! I know I know, I'm a pain in the ass and I can never just order a standard dish of the menu, and so the Mo and Jill tells me so.

Metro Customized salad
Black Fig & Gorgonzola Meets Chickpea & Quinoa 

The BEST DONUT ever at the new Boston Public Market

To escape the summer heat, the Mo and I headed into the air conditioned newly-opened Boston Public Market  that showcases close to 40 different local vendors hawking the most fresh butchered meats, organic vegetables, homemade dressings, beautiful floral creations, local craft beers and the like.  If you're not in the mood to shop and carry around good, you can still enjoy the atmosphere and dine at one of the eateries or snack shops.

Seafood Shack, mini -golf, bumper boats and more at Kimball Farms in Westford

Kimball Farms in Westford has got to be the best "non-coastal" place get your fried seafood fix. With three lots, parking is plentiful.  The Mo and I went on a beautiful summer Saturday night for dinner. It was past 7 and the line for the seafood grill and shack was still going strong.

Salad # 13: Peephup Tmei "French Beef" Salad

I'm sad to say that my FAVORITE salad on this blog series so far is one that I didn't make.  Lisa & BG introduced me to this salad a few months back when they brought it over to my place for pot luck.  When she first told me, "We're gonna pick up a beef salad form Peephup Tmei, BG really likes it", I was a bit confused.  Is she bringing beef plear (the Cambodian raw beef salad cooked in lime juice).

When the dish arrived, it was not your typical Cambodian salad.  It was grilled (or fried) marbleized cut of beef atop a bed of spring mix, topped with sliced black and green olives, red onions, carrots and bell peppers. The salad had already been mixed with the restaurant's house dressing.  (No you can't buy it on its own either, I already asked)

Peephup Tmei French Beef Salad $18.00