Lunch in Lowell?

[crabtree]

Any recommendations for a nice place for lunch in Lowell, near the Tsongas Arena?

[RoyRon]

I would give a strong recommendation to Tepthida Khmer a Cambodian on Chelmsford St in Lowell. Excellent Cambodian food is a very nice restaurant. The service is very gracious too. I have had lunch and dinner at Tepthida Khmer many, many times and have never been disappointed. I would recommend the Loc Lac with Beef, the Drunken Noodles and any of the soups. There is one I order with shrimp that has tomatos and pineapple in it that is very tasty.

[amatto]

I second the recommendation; good food, good atmosphere, good service. Not as cheap
as other Cambodian restaurants in Lowell, but more finish to the place.

[lexpatti]

was recently introduced to this place - LOVE it!!!! fresh fresh, great flavors, excellent tom yum soup too.

[lgss]

Life Alive!
http://www.lifealive.com/menu.html

[hotoynoodle]

pet peeve alert: 1) the home page does not give the address of the place. 2) clicking on "visit the store" also does not give the address.

[ScubaSteve]

i know it should be on the home page but if you click on Contact Us then click on Locations you'll find the address.

[lgss]

194 Middle Street, Lowell, MA 01852

978-453-1311

Thanks for pointing this out. By going to the site to find the address to see that they plan to open a Boston location!

[lexpatti]

I too give a thumbs up for Live Alive - awesome dishes!

[galangatron]

i know you asked for recommendations near the tsongas arena but i would take advantage of the flourishing se asian restaurant scene in lowell. it is one of a kind. red rose (cambodian), pho 88 (vietnamese), phien's kitchen (laotian), and senmonorom (cambodian) are all good choices

[greygarious]

It only opened this month so I have not seen any actual reviews, but what I read a few months ago about what was planned for Dharma Buns sounded great - spaically-made sandwich rolls, Belgian fries, and a big selection of Belgian beers.

I have not been in a few years, but liked the food at Bombay Mahal. However, the best thing I ever ate in Lowell was a banh mi from a dingy convenience store.

[hotoynoodle]

have had a few sandwiches at dharma buns. they roast their own beef and turkeys. the roast beef and rib eye sandwiches were great, the turkey, meh. the turkey sandwich was really tiny too, especially when compared to the others. it's a very small menu, like 4 or 5 sandwiches, the fries and over 60 beers -- all in bottles, though, no taps. big space, but it feels very sterile.

[kad barma]

Dharma buns often does a special on pastrami, (it's not on their standard menu, which is very short), that they do with carmelized onions and provolone cheese with Dijon mustard on a fresh-baked baguette they call "The Nightmare" and it's the sweetest dream of a sandwich you can imagine. The burgers are big favorites with my kids and others whom I've taken there, (I like them too), and they can be had almost any way you can name. The fries are very, very good, (not quite Duck Fat in Portland good, but they'll certainly do), and if you get their onion rings on the perfect day they are amazing. All come with choices of specialty mayonnaises (my favorite is the chipotle) and their bottled beer selection is incredible. (They have easily over 5 dozen labels in the fridge at any given time). I like the Lagunitas Maximus myself, but I still have about 4 dozen flavors to go before I know for sure...

[Food4Thought]

I've had a few good (to very good) experiences @ SE Asia 9+ months ago but more recent reports suggest something possibly amiss there. A CH search on "Lowell" should provide a bevy of results.

[hotoynoodle]

southeast asia changed hands and has gone badly downhill.

downtown lowell is eminently walkable. etsogo does good sushi, la boniche is pretty and does decent "french bistro" and viet-thai, while lacking much ambience, is great for noodles and crazy cheap.

[hargau]

I still like it. Yea its not going to win any awards for atmosphere (place is a dive) or cleanliness (menus sticky and tables sometimes not wiped down fast) and yea if you go during a slow time the buffet may have some empty bins or bins that have been sitting.... But if you hit the buffet at 11-11:30 most days its really good. Or if you go in the evening and order off the menu its really good too.

[hotoynoodle]

viet-thai is right around the corner and also does a lunch buffet, although they don't have a liquor license.

[hargau]

I dont care about liquor, i didnt even realize SE Asia had one. Viet thai doesnt have the buffet on the weekends.

[greygarious]

http://bistrobroad.com/
http://www.thesunblog.com/gourmetgal/

The above links are to the same person - the first is a new site that replaces the latter, which was a food blog for the Lowell Sun. The writer, Kathleen Pierce, is very up-to-date on the food scene in the greater Lowell area. Also, check CH posts by lexpatti.

Lowell's restaurant choices are mostly ethnic, but the closest place to the Tsongas arena is Cobblestones, which is typical American food with an emphasis on steak. What type of cuisine are you looking for?

[crabtree]

Thanks for the links. We don't have any specific cuisine in mind - we would be open to pretty much anything.