Suggestions for Wakefield or Stoneham?

[bflocat]

Hello Hounds,

I'll be visiting the Boston area for a wedding in early August, and I'm looking for some recs in the Wakefield/Stoneham area for a couple meals. Any spot we should try to hit for a great breakfast? Good, light lunch?

More urgently, I'd like a suggestion for Thursday night - we'll be getting into town later in the evening (8pm at the earliest) after spending 8-9 hours in the car, so I don't want to drive more than 15 minutes from our hotel (Sheraton Colonial in Wakefield). We'd like a spot with a more casual atmosphere, and food type doesn't matter as much as the ability to get a great draft beer. It doesn't have to be in Wakefield or Stoneham - I've just never been to the area, and these towns look to be closest to where we are staying.

Any help would be much appreciated!

[bflocat]

Reporting back for anyone who may travel this way in the future...

We rolled into town around 8:30pm after a long, traffic-filled drive, and headed straight to Sushi Island. It was great. All fish was incredibly fresh and flavorful. We stuck to nigri and sashimi, and were completely impressed.

We hit Zalek's for lunch the next day and it was just ok. They were just opening, so maybe not ready for visitors yet, and seemed pretty discombobulated. The sweet potato fries were standard, but I liked the grilled pizza flavor. And it certainly was a good deal. Blue Moon Grill worked much better for us. All of us got terrific breakfasts at really reasonable prices. And it was so cute, too!

Perhaps our favorite spot was the Gingerbread Construction Company, which we managed to visit 3 times in 3 days. Maybe that wasn't so good for our health. These are definitely NOT muffins! They are delicious, moist, flavorful cupcakes. I'm not a frosting fan, but their's is actually great. Between 4 of us, I think we tried 12 or 13 different "muffins", and all were fantastic. Wow...I'm half sad and half thrilled that we don't have one of those here...

[rlh]

Really glad to hear someone else who shares my appreciation for those dessert muffins (and another validation for Sushi Island - shockingly good, eh?) - but they are dangerous!

[chompie]

i dont know where you are from, but if you have a Bluecanoe/Irving gas near you, then you can get some consolation from missing Gingerbread Co. I actually prefer the blueberry muffins from there, and its a convenience store! but the blueberry muffins are great and they have really good cupcakes too. So hope you live near one!

[bflocat]

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'm glad to know there are options in the area...

So, doesn't sound like a lot of great beer-drinking dining spots. My husband is a brewer, and huge fan of microbrews, so if we wanted to grab a good brew after we ate dinner, would anyone have rec's of a place with good offerings? We don't care much about atmosphere if we're just drinking...

[chompie]

there is a brewery in Salem but cant think of the name. Actually the bar/restaurant at the Sheraton you are staying at, is really good. I posted about it if you search here. They have a big active bar so might have a lot of choices..not sure for draft though. On Friday nite they have a decent buffet which varies from BBQ/clambake to Pasta buffet and Prime rib buffet on Sat. Very comfy too. Christophers in Reading has great homey breakfasts. Brothers Kouzina very close up rte 1 has breakfast and nice greek food. If you need a snack, the Bluecanoe across the street has great muffins and cupcakes, surprising for a gas station but i actually like their blueberry muffin much better than Gingerbread Co. Of course I heartily second the rec for Zaleks. Very casual but great food. Harringtons food has seemed better lately. I used to hate it but had a great meal recently and probably a good choice of beer and irish music. Thurs nite after 8 is hard to find anything open. The 99 about 1/4 mile away has ok casual food and bar. Its a standard american food chain but it will be a good choice for that hour. If you want to go further up the street on rte 1, Calitris has great Italian food and is open til at least 10 and the bar is open til 11 with 1/2 price apps after 10. You can go up the road to Saugus on Rte 1 for some Chinese/Japanese/Thai. Its a huge landmark known for its pupu platters. You might try a search here for north shore microbreweries. There used to be a bunch but theyve closed..

[bflocat]

Thanks so much for the detailed info. I am so weary of hotel bars/restaurants, so I would not have even considered eating at one, even if it was most convenient, but now maybe we'll give it a shot. And we're definitely going to try to hightail it into town so we can give Zaleks a try on Thursday night (we've got a wedding Friday nite and BBQ Saturday, so it'll be our only chance).

Thanks again!

[elcaminogirl]

I think you mean Boston Beer Works--278 Derby Street
Salem, MA 01970

[mcel215]

I like Cafe Molise in Wakefield and Angelo's in Stoneham. I am a huge fan of Zaleks, but it's BYOB. As for breakfast, I would just do your dining room at the hotel.

Also, after your long drive, you may want to pick up pizza and subs at Toody's in Wakefield.

Here's a good thread for more suggestions:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/412301

[Ladycale]

For breakfast I'd try the Omelette Headquarters in Wakefield for something really casual. For something with a little more atmosphere I'd try Aroma Cafe on Main street Reading.

For Thursday night, you could try for delivery... Though I'm not sure which places deliver to Wakefield. Pho#1 in Woburn will deliver to Reading, but I don't know if it extends to Wakefield... Any hounds in Wakefield with good delivery options?

Zalek's is great for a casual atmosphere and good food. Duck walk is expensive Thai, but decent. Sushi Island is very good. I haven't been for a while but Molise in Wakefield was good italian the last time I tried...

[shaebones]

I think Zalek's delivers now.

[rlh]

Duck Walk Thai next to Sushi Island (great!) is really good as well (and I like Zalek's, too) - if you want a decadent dessert-style muffin for breakfast or a snack, try the Gingerbread Construction Company on the main street into downtown Wakefield - favorites are pumpkin (ask for no frosting), Carrot (with frosting), and Strawberry Shortcake

[Gio]

Actually, If I had just spent 8 - 9 hours in a car I wouldn't even want to go out of the hotel.
The hotel has a lounge and a dining room.

However, you're about 10 minutes from the hotel to the Blue Moon Grill at 955 Main St. .
Zalek's is at 21 Princess St and is about 8 minutes away.
Sushi Island is at 397 Main St. and is about 7 minutes away from you....

Just do a Mapquest search....Safe Travels!

[lulu806]

Breakfast:
Blue Moon Grill - pretty much everything is great but their banana stuffed french toast shows up in my dreams. It's on Main Street in Wakefield in the Greenwood Section. It's tiny and on the right across from a gas station.

Lunch:
Zalek's has great, fresh, inexpensive seafood (and sweet potato fries). It's in downtown Wakefield, across from the police/fire station

Sushi Island for great sushi which is also downtown Wakefield.

Billy's Roast Beef has INCREDIBLE roast beef and fried seafood. That's Main Street in Wakefield, past the Blue Moon Grill, right before you enter Melrose.

For beer, I would go to Harrington's in downtown Wakefield. Casual Irish pub, food is okay, nothing to write home about but will be satisfying.

[almansa]

Try Sushi Island on Main Street in Wakefield. Order specials. Or around the corner on Water Street is a quite good Indian restaurant and also quite good pizza (only) place, both of whose names escape me.

[Chris VR]

The Indian place in Wakefield is closed (was India's Finest, will be a new Italian restaurant because lord knows we don't have enough of those around here).

I like Sushi Island and while I also like Duck Walk for Thai, the other place (which is a bit hard to find because it's not on Main Street and now Al's amnesia got me because I can't remember the name of it either) can be better and is definitely less expensive, but their crispy tamarind duck isn't as good as Duck Walk's. But I don't think you can get draft beer at either.

Your best bet for draft beer is probably Harrington's on Water Street. I've only had dinner there once and was unimpressed but it was rught in the middle of their bustling Friday night happy hour scene so it probably wasn't a fair assessment. Just stay away from Dockside.

I like Ristorant Molise for Italian but you won't find beer there either.