A Day in Massachusetts - Nov. 7, 2009

Chris and I made plans to drive up to Framingham, Massachusetts. We had a few things that we needed. It was a nice sunny cool New England fall day. We left early and got to Framingham in about an hour and a half. Our first stop was Nordstrom's at the Natick Mall to return two dresses I had ordered for my daughter's upcoming wedding. They both looked so promising online, but just were not right. The Natick Mall is huge; however, it seemed pretty deserted. That was a big surprise to me as Christmas is right around the corner. We looked in a few stores, but the "dress" was not to be found.


Next on our list was to go to Trader Joe's to stock up on some "Two Buck Chuck" wine, which is actually 3 bucks in Massachusetts and Las Vegas. In California, it is $2! We have Trader Joe's in Connecticut, but they are not licensed to sell alcohol, so we make trips to Framingham as needed!


Our next stop was Whole Foods or as we affectionately refer to it as "Whole Paycheck!" I didn't find anything to purchase, but Chris bought some fresh shrimp and some Gigante Bean Marinade. Chris is on a kick to make his own Gigante Beans, which are giant butter beans from Greece. I am sure that on our trip to Manhattan next month, we will be in search of some!


Ok....lunch is the next stop. That is always an issue for us in that area, because we just have not found the "right" spot yet.



Our friends, Dave and Christina recommended the British Beer Company from their last trip up to Framingham, so we figured we would give it a try. The interior was very nice, with dark wood and a blazing fireplace.

I ordered the veggy pasty pie which was roasted carrots, parsnips, leeks, red onions, mushrooms and grilled fingerling potatoes in a light mushroom gravy. The BBC's version of a British tradition that starts with fresh dough brushed with oil and fresh herbs, then baked until golden brown. It was also served with a side of sweet potato French fries. ($9.99 very good, but filling for lunch. I also am not a big fan of sweet potato fries!)

Chris ordered the fish tacos, which were blackened haddock served in freshly made corn tortillas garnished with homemade pickled jalapeño relish, diced fresh avocado, shredded lettuce and freshly made salsa. ($10.99, they were good, not as good as Rubio's Tacos, but good. It also came with some kind of salsa with clove in it...Chris is not a big fan of clove!)

All in all, it was good and we will plan on stopping for lunch there again! I think our bill with tip came to $27. Here is their website: http://www.britishbeer.com/index.asp

Chris suggested we stop at the Wrentham Outlet on our way home to see if I could find my dress there. I had doubts about finding a dress at an outlet, but figured, if he is offering to go shopping, I was going to take him up on it. Well, we soon figured out why the Natick Mall was dead....all the people were shopping at the outlet! After waiting a long time in traffic to just get to the outlet parking lot, we found no space available. It was incredible. We spotted a woman walking and asked if she was going to her car. I swore I would never do that, but desperate times call for desperate measures! We followed her and got her space, with other drivers shooting us daggers!

After looking in a few stores with no results as I expected, wouldn't you know it, Chris pointed out a store and he found "the Dress!" Who could believe that?

So all in all, it turned out to be a very productive day. Dress down, now on to the "Shoe" hunt!

Wish me luck!!