Solea Restaurant & Tapas Bar

Since we had such a great time in our trip to Spain last year, we wanted to relive the experience by trying out a local Tapas restaurant. We went to Solea in Waltham for lunch. There were a few seats outside of the restaurant, but we decided to go inside of the restaurant. There is a bar area, which is decorated with a lot of ornaments. The home-style ambience is very welcoming and warm. It felt like we were in a small restaurant in Sevilla.




We ordered two tapas as appetizers. Our first dish was the Albondigas a la Trufa, which was Lamb Meatballs served in a Sherry Foie Gras Cream Sauce and garnished with Black Truffle. There is only one word to describe it, delicious! The choice of lamb instead of beef to make the meatballs made this a bold dish with a strong taste. The foie gras cream was extremely rich and creamy. The black truffle added just the right amount of saltiness it. This dish was so good that we used the rest of the foie gras cream as bread dipping sauce. Our second dish was the Chuletillas, Baby Lamb Chops with an Apricot Glaze. Yes, you can tell that we love lamb. The lamb chops were nicely grilled and the sweetness of the apricot glaze matches well with the strong taste of lamb. The lamb chops were good, but it was overshadowed by the lamb meatballs.

As main course, we decided to try the seafood paella, which is the most famous dish in Spain. The seafood paella was excellent, with the freshness of the seafood all dripped and simmered into the rice. It was a good portion which is enough for two people. The only downside to this dish is that the seafood is too overcooked and chewy. We would definitely rate this paella higher than the one from Toro Restaurant in Boston.

After the two tapas and the seafood paella, we were so full that we couldn’t try the dessert. There are over 40 different tapas served at this restaurant. I would recommend big parties to go to Solea so that everyone can try a bit of everything.

HOKAT Rating: 85/100

Address:
388 Moody St, Waltham MA 02453

(781) 894-1805
http://www.solearestaurant.com/

California Pizza Kitchen

After spending some time to shop for a new car, we went to California Pizza Kitchen at the Natick Collection for dinner. This CPK was recently opened in a new location. The décor is much more high scale and has less of a “mall” atmosphere.

Whenever we go to California Pizza Kitchen, we would order the California Club Pizza and the Spaghetti with Garlic Cream Sauce. The California Club Pizza has lettuce, mayonnaise, chicken, bacon, and slices of avocado on top. The creaminess of the avocado matches well with the tender dices of chicken and thin slices of lettuce. The bacon adds a slight salty taste to the pizza. The Spaghetti with Garlic Cream Sauce is my favorite dish at CPK. It is more delicious than the usual Alfredo Sauce. It has a rich garlic taste to it. The spaghetti was slightly too “al dente”.

On our next visit, we tried the pan sauteed salmon and spaghetti with lemon sauce. The lemon sauce has a slight sweet taste and is not too sour. We also ordered the spaghetti with creamy pesto sauce and sun-dried tomatoes. Both are very delicious dishes.

Whenever we want to find something to eat at the Natick mall, CPK is at the top of our list.

HOKAT Rating:
82/100

Address:
1245 Worcester Rd, Natick MA
(508) 651-1506
www.cpk.com

Westborough Korean Restaurant

After our car broke down and got towed to our dealership, we needed some food for comfort. We went to a family style Korean restaurant for dinner. This restaurant is very small with a home-style feel to it. The waitress was very friendly. When we asked her for recommendations, she told us she thinks everything is good. As free appetizers, she brought us 12 small side dishes. My favorite side dish was the potato with honey glaze. The honey glaze made the potato tasted like sweet potato.



For main dish, we ordered the Dolsot Bi Bim Bap and Barbequed Kalbi. The Dolsot Bi Bim Bap was very tasty and served on a hot stone bowl. Its ingredients include cabbage, carrot slices, bean sprouts, dices of beef, and an egg on top. It was served very hot, and the rice in the bottom of the bowl was slightly burnt and crispy.



The Barbequed Kalbi was pretty disappointing. The seasoning and taste was pretty strong, but the problem is that the beef short ribs were rough and oily.



If we are in the neighborhood, we may try the Bi Bim Bap. However, we will skip the Barbequed Kalbi for sure.

HOKAT Rating:
80/100

Address:
7 E Main St # AWestborough, MA 01581
(508) 366-8898