Church/Burton's/Cabot's/NewbPort

[Joanie]

Took a longer than usual lunch and 4 of us hit Burton's in the Fenway last week. Not overly busy at 1:00 or so. I'd had it in my head that I was getting a burger and even tho there were good sounding items on the menu, stuck with the original plan. Burger was cooked a little less than medium and wasn't nearly as flavorful as the Marliave one, but it was good and came w/ excellent skin on fries. I'd ordered swiss but got cheddar and while they offered to redo it, it wasn't that big a deal. Friend's grilled chicken/pancetta/etc. sandwich on ciabatta looked amazing. The salmon piccata w/ pasta also was very good as was the reuben which came with an excellent unmayonnaisy cole slaw. Because she messed up the cheese, she gave us dessert for free which was super nice. We split the gingerbread ice cream sandwich w/ pumpkin ice cream and caramel sauce and I can't imagine one person eating that. The room is pleasant, most entrees were $9-12 and it's nice to have as a lunch option.

Finally ate at Church again since we were there on a test run just before they opened. Service at the bar was great. Many good sounding things on the menu including splitting a bunch of apps. but I got the chicken w/ mashed and grilled asparagus. I think they described the chicken as pressed. Not sure but it had a good crispy skin to it but they went a little overboard with the salt. Another friend had ordered that and agreed. Asparagus was a little overcooked but overall I enjoyed it ($16.95). Friend's bacon wrapped pork loin w/ cheese grits and collards was good (that was my first choice), esp. the grits. She had the kiwi drink and I enjoyed the cucumber "martini", one of my favorite versions these days.

Did the Ipswich/Newburyport combo starting with a fried clam/scallop plate w/ cole slaw and onion rings at the Clam Box Sat. afternoon. There was a small line of about 6 people in front of us at about 2PM and even fewer once we got inside. Clams were excellent as usual and the scallops were fine but lacked some of that sweetness you get with them. $19.95 for a 2-way. We then stopped by Russel Orchards for a cider donut and I think I like the Topsfield Fair ones better (but it's been a while). They were fresh and good tho, 3 donuts with a cold cup of cider it was $2.40. Walked around the Nport art galleries then checked out the menus at 10 Center, Glenn's and Michael's, ended up with M's cuz I'd never been and there were spaces at the bar. It was much less $$ than I had anticipated, most items are <$20. I really wanted something with black pepper vodka but she had no ideas (other than a Bloody Mary) and no fixins for a cucumber martini. Nor any blue cheese stuffed olives. So I did get a Bloody Mary and that helped clear out my stuffiness with the pepper vodka (and a pre-made mix). We split a crabcake with a little corn salad and a half portion of duck carbonara ($9 and 10). Lots of crab but could have used a bit more of a sear on the outer edges. The pasta dish was pretty good altho creamier than I'd call a carbonara and too many red peppers in there for my taste. We ended with a drink at Aquatini, I had a coffee w/ kahlua and amaretto and he had a Belgian beer that cost $9. Nice bartender.

Took the nephew and niece over to Cabot's in Newton for a sundae, it was my first time there. I had a cheeseburger w/ grilled onion patty melt and a side of cole slaw ($6.99 I think). I'm a sucker for patty melts and enjoyed this altho the bread wasn't buttered enough before grilling, a decent size burger tho. Got a coffee kahlua fudge brownie cone to go, not an overly coffee flavor but hit the spot.