This Is Framingham

Any title I had for this post was going to be tacky so I didn’t even bother finishing it.
As part of my job at the History Center I get to look through lots of boxes with all sorts of artifacts in them.  I recently came across a box that had a bunch of old cocktail stirrers from old restaurants.  I got a kick out them and thought some of you might too. 

From left to right is Ken’s Steakhouse, Finnerty’s (Wayland), Maridor, Timothy’s Too, Framingham Motor Inn, Framingham Liquors and the Knaughty Knights Lounge- whatever that was.   It must have been where Molly Mallone’s is now at the Sheraton Tara.  Not sure if it was a regular restaurant or more of a “gentlemens” bar but anyone remembers that place, I’d love to hear what it was like.

Tonight my friend Miah and I went out for sushi at Samba. I’ve gone here for hibachi and Ethan and I love their Pad Thai, but I’ve never gone here for a sushi evening so that’s what Miah and I did.
We sat in the lounge (also a first) and started off with some drinks, I got a chocolate martini and and Miah got something fruity that the waiter suggested.

We got some edamame and a sushi/maki combo for 2. This was really enough for 3, maybe even 4 and hasd a nice variety of nigiri and maki which was delicious.

I think the best roll was was the spicy tuna maki, which Miah agreed was particularly good.

We had such a great meal here and now have three reasons to go here. Whether it’s for hibachi, Pad Thai or sushi, I’d be happy to go here anytime and it’s good to see that so far Samba hasn’t succumbed to the failed restaurant curse that had plagued this location for previous businesses. Good job Samba!

Everyday I get the mail the Trolley Square post office and about once a week I go to Taste of China (which is in the same plaza) for their Hot and Sour soup.
I know it doesn’t look like much from the outside, and actually it looks like even less on the inside, but I went there a while ago on my friends recommendation and found the soup to be really good.

They do fill up the container, I just remembered to take the picture after I already had some.  I’ve tried Hot and Sour soup from a few places in town and this is one of the top contenders.  The only thing is that you have to ask for them not to put MSG in (if you care about that) but they’re happy to leave it out if you don’t want it.
I haven’t tried anything else there but for $2.10 (sometimes I’ll get a small order of brown rice for $1 more) it’s such a great bargain lunch.

I was looking to get my awesome Jordan Marsh print framed and I didn’t really want to go to AC Moore or Michael’s because there is something weird to me about always offering 50% off framing, they don’t do their work in-house and I like to use local businesses. I’ve never had anything framed before and some people recommended Framed in Time in Saxonville so I thought I’d check them out.
When you walk in, you can see there are a ton of options for frames.

Right from the start, the girl behind the counter was so incredibly nice and helpful when I explained what I was looking for and the budget I was working with. She picked out a few suggestions based on the colors of the print and the thickness of the frame that would be needed due to the larger amount of glass that would be need as this was a larger poster rather than a small desk top item I was looking to frame.

I picked a light wood frame even though the interior of our house has dark wood trim, I thought the light wood went well with the print. I went to pick it up today and when I saw the finished product I realized I made a mistake and I just knew Ethan wasn’t going to like it in the house.

As much as I hated to do it, I asked the guy “So….what if I needed this re-framed? How much would that cost?” and instead of rolling his eyes or sighing, which I was afraid he would do, he said “Oh, if you pick a frame that’s in the same price range, there’s no charge at all”.  I told him I was so sorry but now that I’m looking at it I just know my husband won’t like this and I guess I’m not crazy about it either.
The guy said no problem at all and that it’s big enough that he can cut it up to use for something else and that infact he just got a new frame in this price range that is the same thing but in a walnut color. He brought out the frame sample and it was perfect.

It was so nice of him to not only to be so accommodating to me changing my mind after the frame was done, but he didn’t try to up-sell me on a more expensive frame and he was really nice!
I know we’ll be happy with the new frame and I’m so glad I went here. Such a nice small business in town, they get to be filed in the “yay” category of the blog!

Check out their site for more info: http://www.framedintime.com

Today I stopped in at Sweet Boutique to say goodbye because they’re closing up shop at the end of the month. I didn’t go in there all the time but when I did, I ended up talking with Jean, the owner, or her daughter Michelle for a while and they are both such incredibly nice people.
When I walked in, Michelle’s husband who owns the Bedrock Comics next door, recognized me and cheerfully teased me that I finally got a new camera. I thought it was funny that he remembered how crummy my camera was over 5 years ago when I posted about his shop.
We had a nice talk about Framingham and what it’s like for small businesses in town. It’s not easy. I understand there are rules and everything, but from doing this blog and talking to a lot of small business owners, I hear a lot of anguish they get from the town with permits for signs and flags just to let people know they’re open. Framingham can be a really tough place to run a small business and compete with the big businesses, a lot of which are “exempt” from the same rules to hang the same types of signs. It can be really frustrating.
It’s not all town-related reasons that they’re closing. Online vendors and the fact that specialty candy is available even at places like Marshall’s and TJ Maxx have been slowly effecting business since they started 6 years ago.

Goodbye to a really nice small business and good luck to Jean and Michelle!

I was looking through the permit listing on the town website and noticed some recent permit action at 2 Beacon St. The photo above is when this location was Michi Kusa but it was last occupied by Green Tea II. Ethan and I loved a scallop dish of theirs and were really bummed out when they closed.
As of January 12th, there are permits approved for a liquor and victualer license under the business name “Green Tea 2″, so I hope this means they’re coming back. Stay tuned!

Sometimes I walk to work and when I do, I like to add on another few minutes and get a yogurt or piece of fruit at Whole Foods because they open at 8am.  I’d always like to go to Trader Joe’s but they aren’t open until 9am (which is when I have to be at work)- until now.  The other day I went to Whole Foods and as I was walking through the Trader Joe’s parking lot to go to work, I saw someone walking out with groceries- but it was only 8:30am!
I went in and an employee said hi and we started talking about the new hours (8am-9pm) and she said they just started the new hours this week.  It seems like a minor thing but it’s a nice convenience to have them open at 8 now since I’m a morning grocery shopper on the weekends and would sometimes plan my grocery shopping around TJ’s opening at 9am.
Anyway, I just thought any fellow morning shoppers would be interested to know this.