Conference 7.286::maynard

    
    	Pretty good selection of italian food, good tasting, but was
    	semi-cold when served, inexperienced waitress messed up the
    	order.  The Bar seems sterile, no backround music, there was
    	an echo! and the bartender was quick, but he shook the Madras
    	that I ordered.  I'll give them a couple months to shape up
    	then try again.  I thought the prices were reasonable though.

    We dropped in for dinner a week ago.  It's very very noisy.  There
    are no sound absorbing things around like rugs or wall hangings.
    Food is a little over priced for what you get.  It was tasty enough
    and the menu has an interesting variety.  Service was poor.  I wouldn't
    go back for a while.  At the moment, I'd hit the Mail Coach instead or
    if in need of an Italian fix, I'd go to Monty's in Leominster.
    
    

    .2s impressions are in line with my own, except I thought less of the
    food -- it was uninspired. I got chicken cutlet parmigiana. the chicken
    was cut thin, heavily breaded, and overfried, making it somewhat dry.
    The pasta was limp -- very overcooked. The sauce was thick with nice
    fresh tomato flavor -- but a little too salty for my taste. The salad
    was small (nouvelle?) but with an excellent homemade dressing. 
                                 
    I don't think there was a non-smoking section.  
                                                         
    The cathedral ceiling may look nice, but it really amplifies sound.
    I thought I was in a railroad station instead of a 20-table restaurant.
                                                         
    I don't know if I'd go there again too soon. 
                                                         
                                                         

    I think Alfredo's may be gone. It's looked pretty empty for the
    past week or two. Anybody have official word?
    
    Joe
    

    Re: .4
    
    Can't remember the exact details, but Alfredo's is closed and I
    believe there will be a Mexican restaurant moving in there.  The
    new owner will be the guy that owns Michael's Restaurant in Concord.
    
    Keep in mind this is only a rumor but I believe Alfredo's will be
    moving into the May Ling.
    
    					Steve

    The story I heard was a Tex-Mex Restaurant is going into Alfredo's
    and the owners are the people from Michael's.  Alfredo's is moving
    to the Mail Coach in Acton on Rte. 2A but they have to do some 
    renovations to the kitchen before the town will give them a permit.
    
    That's the rumor this week.

    Re: .6 (Alfredo's to the Mail Coach)
    
    That's it!  I don't know what made me think of May Ling, but anyway
    thank's for clearing up the confusion.
    
    					Steve

Oh my, what's going to happen to the beste Pizza within 30 miles then?

There was a piece in the Action Unlimited about that.  The woman who 
owned it said that she had been running it since her husband died 
and that the time had come for her to stop.

She said that the 'food and atmosphere would stay the same', I don't know 
if that was just a calm-the-customers statement, or if she is staying
on for a while.

Too many restaurants to match too many pronouns.  Which restraunt isn't
going to change?

    RE: .8
    
    _Nothing_ will happen to the best pizza in 30 miles... Rossini's
    isn't going anywhere! 
            
    Tom
    
    (The previous is a personal view point and does not necessarily
    reflect the opinions of the management of Digital Equipment Corp.)

    Re .6  It looks like your info is correct.  The name of the new
    restaurant is Sierras, and it very likely serves Mexican Food. 
    
    Does anybody know whether the resataurant is open yet, and if so,
    whether the food/atmosphere are good?
    
    Joe

    I had lunch there on Saturday.  The atmosphere is "sort of cute"
    in that it pretends to be an outdoor Mexican cafe only indoors.(If
    you see it you'll know what I mean).  The layout of the place is
    very reminiscent of Michaels.
    
    I found the menu to be an interesting mix of Mexican dishes with
    moderate prices (that is, moderate for DINNER, there was no "lunch"
    menu and $10-15 for a lunch entree is too high).  I ended up with
    the Hot Fried Chicken Salad (~$5) and my fiance had the Crabmeat
    Salad (same price).  The chicken was quite good (interesting dressing)
    although the crabmeat had a bit too much lemon juice (?) for my
    palate.
    
    Over-all...give it a go.  I'd be interested to get folks' impression
    of the entrees (which I'm too cheap to spring for).
    
    Bon appetit
    Tom

    I had dinner at Sierras about a week ago.  Yuppified Mexican-like food
    (and atmosphere) - it's good, but it's not in any Mexican tradition I'm
    familiar with.  A good example of what I'm talking about:  the menu
    lists ten flavors of Margaritas, none of which is the traditional one.
    
    To indulge in an analogy, Sierras is to Mexican food as Polynesian
    drinks/pu-pu platter restaurants are to Chinese food.  Note that
    there's nothing inherently wrong with Polynesian drinks and pu-pu
    platters, unless you were expecting Crispy Orange Beef or Delights of
    Three.
    
    Attentive, prompt service.  I found the room noisy and somewhat
    crowded, but not unpleasantly so.
    
    The place was pretty full on a Monday evening.  They said they had a
    half-hour wait the previous evening.

    Maybe the Sierras stuff should be moved to a separate note.
    
    My wife and I went there last night.
    
    The pluses:  clean and courteous service.
    
    The minuses:  The food was _not_ Mexican.  You couldn't get an
                  enchalada, taco, or tamale.  Soft drinks were
                  Pepsi-based.
    
    Okay for a visit, but we'll trek further out for the real stuff.
    
    Steve Kallis, Jr.

>    The minuses:  The food was _not_ Mexican.  You couldn't get an
>                  enchalada, taco, or tamale.  

    There's more to Mexican (or Tex-Mex) food than tacos, enchiladas and
    tamales. I liked that they had a more varied menu.

    					-- hs 

	I stopped in there and was also not impressed. Maybe I'll go back
	and give it another shot.

	Yes, there is more to Mexican food than what the previous note 
	suggested but I think if you want to compare places those are good 
	dishes to use for comparison. And since those dishes are so well 
	known they ought to be served. 	I haven't even heard of half those 
	dishes they serve - but I imagine they could be tasty! 

	I ordered the "Texas mixed grill" or something like that and didn't 
	really like it. The beans were good. They tasted like _Rosarita_ 
	refried beans. The rice didn't really have a flavor and I'm used to 
	the orange looking rice (tomato sauce is added to make it look like 
	that). This rice was yellow with peas and corn and whatever else 
	"Texas Spanish rice" has in it. The strips of meat were excellent! 
	Yummy! The chorizo was so disappointing... I'm not sure what kind of
	chorizo that was. And it wasn't mixed with anything, it was just 
	sliced in half and served like a slice of sausage. I was expecting 
	Mexican chorizo mixed in with eggs, the way it's served out in Arizona, 
	New Mexico, California, Colorado, Wyoming. I don't know how it's done 
	in Texas... The barbequed chicken was also good. The chips and salsa 
	were not cheap - almost $5.00 for something that I assumed would be 
	free. Hey, "Las Brisas" by the NE Aquarium gives 'em to you for free. 
	Another surprise was bill at the end of the night - too expensive for 
	me for a quiet night in my neck of the woods.

	And one last thing, since when did African antelope start hanging
	out in Texas? Have you noticed those horns on the wall? Those don't
	appear to be native Southwest antelope/deer. 

	Mark

    
    Where are all these restaurants located ?
    
    Ron

	Re. .18

	If you're referring to the Western and Southwestern states mentioned
	in .17 ah, I gotta confess, I guess I didn't mean restaurants. I have
	relatives in those states, yeah, Mexican-Americans like me, and I was
	referring to their cooking. However, my suggestion would be to try
	a small family run type of place, the kind that's located in a 
	Mexican-American neighborhood - I've found they tend to have good
	food. I'm assuming OFFSHR = _somewhere_in_California_ - there are
	lots of Mexican-American neighborhoods there.

	If you were referring to "Las Brisas" it's to the left side just as 
	you're exiting the New England Aquarium - they also have good food.

	And I realize this doesn't pertain to "Alfredo's" so back to the
	topic of discussion. (I just figured since he asked I'd answer!).

	Mark

    Alfredos is now where the Mailcoach was on 2A.
    
    I stopped in there last night.  Had a drink and pizza at the bar.
    Place is very nice inside but over priced, at least at first glance.
    I guess I miss the casual atmosphere of the Mailcoach.  This is 
    bright, "yuppie" place... I don't mean that negatively but I'm
    just a little tired of every place trying to be like that.
    Menu has Spaghetti for $6.30 without meatballs.  Lasagna and things
    like that are in the $8-10 range.  Meat dishes in $12 range.
    By way of comparison, a very large plate of Ravioli at Silvesters
    in Bolton is $5.  Anyway, I'll probably try a dinner there sometime
    to see if it lives up to the $$.  
    
    Large pizza is really a medium size.  Limited toppings for $1.50 each.
    It was homemade and good.  House wine is good, but small glasses. 
    Nothing like the huge drinks or portions you get at Crossroads.
    
    I'd like to hear some other comments.

    I tried Sierra's for lunch for the second time today, and the
    results are GOOD!  The first time was the first week they 
    opened, and they didn't have a luncheon menu, so while the
    food was great, the servings were huge and expensive (for
    lunch).  Now they do have a luncheon menu.  Same sort of
    things as the dinner menu (some ARE the same dishes), but
    in smaller portions, priced $5-$6.  I'd recommend giving
    the place another shot if you were put off a bit the first time
    like I was.  Recommendations:  Quesadillas Sierra's and 
    Chicken Quesadillas were both excellent.
    
    Bueno Appetito (or something like that)
    
    					Dave