What are some of your favorites?

By Stephanie Burke

Hi All! Sorry for my absence...but I'm back and plan on making the blog better than ever! While I've been away I've been lucky enough to experience some pretty great restaurants! I love trying new places and new dishes!

On Valentines Day I went to one of my favorites, The Pushcart in Saugus, MA! If you haven't been you should definately make it a point to try it. They have this amazing new appetizer called Shrimp Margarite...it is amazing! This place is a definate must try! It is good for all occasions! Family dinner, girls night or even a romantic meal...The Pushcart is perfect for it all.  

Stay "tuned" to my blog as my next visit will be to seafood favorite, Legal Sea Foods! I can't wait to bring you all the details from my visit.  

Help me figure out where I should try next. What are some of your favorite places to eat?

My Return to Poetry

                  By Stephanie Burke 

Hi Readers! It ha been a while! I apologize for my absence but you know what they say "life is what happens while your making other plans" . 

I have returned with a treat for you! Well at least I hope you think is a treat! As some of you know I began writing my writing poetry. As of late I have steered away from poetry and been writing both fiction and nonfiction. Well I have decided to "return to my roots". Below is a poem... Hope you like it and I'd love to hear your thoughts. 

Life

I have been happy

I have been sad 

I have been loved 

I have  loved 

I have broken hearts

I have had my heart broken 

I have been beautiful

I have been ugly 

I have been hopeful 

I have been hopeless 

I have been optimistic

I have been pessimistic 

I have had joy 

I have known strife 

I have lived for others 

I have been lived for 

I have prayed to god 

I have been asked to pray 

I close my eyes at night with all of these emotions and I'm greatful... Greatful because it's life 

The Little Team that Could…Red Sox 2013 World Series Champions

By Stephanie Burke

Last night the Boston Red Sox made history and won the World Series at Fenway Park.  A team hasn’t clinched a World Series there in 95 years (since 1918)! What is so amazing is that this team was all but counted out at the beginning of the season.  In April everyone in the sports world was picking them to be in last place…but this team showed them all they were wrong.

After a disastrous 2012 season that was followed by allegations of an out of shape team that feasted on Chicken and beer…the Sox ownership made some changes.  They replaced failing manager Bobby Valentine with John Farrell.  Farrell was familiar with Boston having worked under former Manager Terry Francona as the pitching coach for the Red Sox from 2007 to 2010.   

John Farrell took this “rebuilding year” team and brought them not only TO the World Series but they won it! They are like the little team that could! First winning the ALCS and then surprising everyone with a phenomenal World Series clinch in Game 6 at their home field!

Shane Victorino started it off with a three-run double in the third inning. Steven Drew had a home run in the 4^th inning and Mike Napoli had an RBI that helped put the sox on top.  Then pitcher John Lackey, who was in the middle of the chicken and beer debacle, redeemed himself in the eyes of Sox fans everywhere.  Lackey pitched 6 and 2/3 innings allowing only one run! Lackey also became the first pitcher to start and win a Series clincher for two different teams (he pitched the Angles to a win in 2002 as a rookie). To close out the game the Sox turned to closing pitcher, and ALCS MVP, Koji Uehara who struck out Matt Carpenter for the final out of the series!

Not surprisingly Red Sox designated hitter, Big Papi (David Ortiz) was named the series MVP.  Papi walked in four of his five at bats (twice was intentional by the Cardinals) and struck out in the other one. But overall overall, Papi was 11-for-16 in the series and had a .750 on-base percentage as he reached base safely in 18 of his 24 at bats.  He had two doubles, two home runs, six RBI and walked seven times, tying the World Series record set by Boston's Carlton Fisk in 1975.

It really was a team effort with Dustin Pedroia, David Ross and Xander Bogaerts (to name a few) all contributing along the way.  This team went from last to first and beyond! The rallied around the city of Boston who needed this win more than most.  They gave Boston something to believe in after tragedy struck in with the Boston Marathon bombings in April and they kept on giving all season long. 

Eating out...it should be fun right? Well then don't go to this place...

By Stephanie Burke

If you read this blog then you know I regularly bring you reviews of restaurants.  I feel like if I find a good meal somewhere then I should let people know about it.  Well there is a saying "you take the good with the bad"...so here is the bad.  I recently visited The Chateau in Burlington, MA. I have been there many, many times before but this may be my last visit.  It wasn't the food that drove me away but the customer service...or lack there of as the case may be.

I had the misfortune of having the rudest waitress I have ever encountered in my entire life.  It was such a bad exchange that it left me not even wanting to eat the food I had in front of me.  I don't know about you guys but when I reach a certain level of anger I'm just not hungry anymore.

I won't give specific details of the altercation but it was just that...an altercation.  I suddenly found this waitress yelling at me as if I was fighting with a sibling or something.  It took me back and my usually witty banter left me....I just sat there, mouth open, totally aghast.  After the fact I had many, many things spring to mind that I should have said but at the time, in that moment, I had nothing.

One thing is for sure the next time I am deciding where I want to eat The Chateau will be a place I avoid!  To me the experience of dining out should be a pleasant one...from the moment you walk in to, the moment they thank you on the way out.  Everything from ambiance, to waitstaff and food quality pays a part in that.  The Chateau in Burlington needs to do some serious work in the customer service department to ensure their diners have a topnotch experience...until then I would stay clear.

Kim & Kanye Engaged!

By Stephanie Burke

It is being reported that Kanye West put a ring on it! Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are reportedly engaged.  This past Monday Kim celebrated her 33^rd birthday and that is when Kanye is rumored to have popped the question! Kanye apparently rented out AT&T Park in San Francisco and proposed in front of friends and family with a 50 piece orchestra providing the background music! In case you were wondering the ring is a 15-carat Lorraine Schwartz diamond ring.  The couples have “officially” been dating since April 2012 and are parents to 4 month old daughter North.

Cardinals and Red Sox headed to The World Series

By Stephanie Burke

Friday the St. Luis Cardinals beat the LA Dodgers with a whopping 9-0 game to clinch the NLCS and pave their way to the 2013 World Series. The Los Angeles Dodgers had their best pitcher on the mound, Clayton Kershaw, but it didn’t seem to matter as the Cardinals ran away with the game. Kershaw was taken out in the 5th inning but it wasn’t enough to save the Dodgers. The Cardinals are headed to the World Series for the fourth time in this last decade.

Saturday night the Boston Red Sox sealed the deal and beat the Detroit Tigers in game 6 of the ALCS securing their place in the World Series. It was a dramatic ending with a nail biting game that had Sox fans everywhere wondering if they could pull it off. They had several chances to score and kept leaving men on base. Then in the 7th inning Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino came to the plate and launched a three run home run into the Green Monster seats. The final score Red Sox 5, Detroit Tigers 2.

 The Series will start in Boston at Fenway Park on Wednesday October 23 at 8:07pm

Adrian Peterson's 2-year-old son Hospitalized

 By Stephanie Burke

South Dakota – The son of Minnesota Vikings running back, Adrian Peterson, is currently in critical condition in a South Dakota hospital.  The boy is only 2-years-old and was allegedly severely beaten by the man who is dating the child's mother.

The suspect is 27-year-old Joseph Patterson ... who has been arrested and charged with aggravated felony assault and battery of an infant.

According to reports, the child was found unresponsive when emergency responders arrived to the home at 5:46 PM on Wednesday.   The toddler was rushed to a nearby hospital.  The doctors then determined that the injuries were consistent with abuse.  It has been reported that the child suffered severe head injuries.