Plaza Restaurant re- opens

The Plaza Restaurant, just off the square in Newton on Spring Street, is opened again. The hours are from 7am until 9 or 10 pm... In other words it serves all three meals. I will get there soon to eat.

Hampton Diner - Dinner -

Half Roasted chicken.. comes with soup or salad along with vegetable and potato. This is just what it says.. a half roasted chicken but what is special is the sauce, which is essentially pan drippings. The meat fell off the bone and the pan drippings it reminded me so much of how my mom roasted chicken. To top it off, it is a reasonable portion. This diner along with most diners serve too much food. I will try this one again. I think it was $11.95. Drink and dessert (if needed) are extra.

Grecos have retired

Grecos Italian Deli in the Hampton plaza is now closed. They have retired after 38 years of providing us all with wonderful food. They had the best sub in town along with wonderful Italian specialties and home-made Italian dishes. I will miss them... but wish them well on their long-deserved retirement.

Victoria Diner - Branchville

The diner on Route 206 in Branchville (just at the crest of the hill - it is easy to drive past) has reopened at the Victoria Diner. It is a small, traditional diner with six stalls across the from and a counter. The food is very tradition diner fare (not expanded diner like Yetters or The Hampton Diner.) The place had only been open for a couple of weeks and when I went in at 11:30am on a Sunday, it was busy. If you like traditional diner food.. give the place a try. It is on Route 206, just at the crest of the hill past the 2nd Branchville light. They have a nice large parking look. The place promotes a web site which is not up and running yet (8/7/11.)

New Thai Restaurant coming

There is a new Thai Restaurant coming to Newton (sometime in September 2011.) It is on Woodside Avenue in what used to be Memories Ice Cream Parlor (some parking lot at Seplow's Liqujor.)

I wish it well. Now we will have competition and contrast to the Thai place on the square in Newton. I don't understand why food places in the Woodside location don't work out. It has the best parking for a food place in town. The last couple of places had great food but did not last. Come on people.. get out there and support our locally owned restaurants!

Shawnie Boy's - Breakfast/lunch

This is a new lunch place in what used to be the "Lunch Box" in that funny round shaped building on 59 Diller Avenue by the Newton/Sparta Road traffic light. I have been there twice. First I had them make a turkey and swiss sandwich which was made on delicious thick rye bread. It was piled high with moist turkey and only cost $5.00. The second thing I purchased was their breakfast burrito which had sausage, eggs, potatoes, salsa and sour cream. It had a great flavor but was a little sloppy for me (I think it could do without the sour cream.) The place has "street foods from around the world" including things such as Italian Hot Dogs, Cuban Sandwhich, Beef Gyro, Pulled Pork Sandwich, Crab Cake Sandwich, Fish and Chips, Falafel, Lamb Kebab, Chicken Muffuletta and many other things. It is an interesting selection and all home made. I definitely will be back. The one downfall is the parking, which is limited but they do deliver. Give this place a try. They a mix of some of the usual plus interesting things you can't get elsewhere around here. They also have wi-fi.

Diner baked goods

If you are tempted by baked goods, diners know how to display them. Unfortunately many of them look better than they taste. Of the two diners in our area (Yetters, and Hampton Diner), there is no contest. Yetters by far has MUCH better baked goods. Their baklava is very tasty where Hampton's is sweet but rather tasteless. Yetter's pies are better too. As a fan of coconut custard, Yetters is a real custard which breaks with a light of the fork. So, in this New Year you plan to break your diet don't be tempted by Hampton Diner's baked goods.. Make the trip to Yetters and really enjoy the calories!

O'Reilly's New Menu

O'Reilly's Grill on lower Spring Street in Newton has changed its menu which now has some new items which I enjoy. The place is an Irish Pub so one does best by trying the Irish favorites. First of all, they have incredible mashed potatoes so anything that is made with them, already has a step up. On the new menu there are two new entrees which I like. First the Irish stew. It is made with Guiness stout which gives it a luscious flavor. The other new entree is meatloaf. It is the kind my mom used to make. It is served with the mashed potatoes, nicely cooked green beans and a great dark mushroom gravy with large pieces of mushrooms. In the soup section of the new menu is chili. It is a Texas chili so it has no beans, but it also is made with chunks of real meat, not chopped and the tomato sauce is made with fresh tomatoes. It is a sure winner served in their smaller sized soup bowl. I be if you want an entree size, they would do it for you. Check out the new menu at O'Reilly's.