Framingham Beer Works - Framingham, MA

★★★★★

My kids love this place!

You might not expect it from a microbrewery, but this restaurant is super kid-friendly. We have eaten here twice so far, the first time arriving on the late side for lunch, and the second time arriving on the early side. Both times we were seated in a booth, which was great for the kids. The kids menu has all the staples for my kids - hot dog, hamburger, mac 'n cheese, pizza - and both kids really like the different root beers as well.

This restaurant is close enough - and well-liked enough by the kids - that we might be eating here relatively often. I think I'll try to order something different every time. So far I've had the Charlestown Burger and the Fish 'n Chips, both of which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The real reason I'm giving this restaurant 5 stars, though, is because of how allergy-aware they are. When Sebastien mentioned his allergies, the waiter was careful to make note of each allergen. One time, both Isabelle and Sebastien ordered the mac 'n cheese, and when the food came out, the server specifically asked who had the allergies so she could give that person a particular plate. Even though both plates looked exactly the same, presumably one had been served up to minimize cross-contamination. And, when the bill came, it included an all-caps warning about allergies, presumably because the same ticket was used in the kitchen.

Jordan's Restaurant - Bar Harbor, ME

★★★

We arrived on a Saturday morning around 9 or 9:30 AM, and only had a brief wait before being seated, though we did have to break into two groups to be seated in two booths. The booths were close to each other, in the same area of the restaurant, but not adjacent.

Fast, friendly, very casual service.

Isabelle's French toast was delicious, and Sebastien's yogurt with fresh fruit was large and generously portioned. But the wild blueberry muffins were not as great as I had expected them to be, and my omelette - though well made - was kind of bland. I think maybe they used mild cheddar cheese, which hardly tasted like anything at all to me, since I am used to eating extra sharp cheddar at home.

Beal's Lobster Pier - Southwest Harbor, ME

★★★½

A lobster pound - where you pick a lobster from a tank and pay by the pound. This was the only lobster pound I ate at, so I can't compare it to others...

The menu is both limited and extensive: limited because the only non-fried foods available were lobsters, clams, and corn, but extensive because they offered a wide variety of fried foods (including chicken tenders and fries), plus hot dogs and hamburgers.

Super kid-friendly because of the menu, plus you eat outdoors at picnic tables, which means the kids don't have to be well-contained in their seats and can run around.

No lobster crackers or wet naps, but they do have a hand washing station. Great view of southwest harbor.

The Jordan Pond House Restaurant - Acadia National Park, ME

★★★★

After battling the overflowing parking lot on a super hot day, we were dismayed to find out that our 3 PM reservation for 10 people was lost! Completely non-existent! Thankfully, the hostess - who remained calm and composed while juggling the high demands of the crowd that day - handled the situation wonderfully. She put us into the pager line just as if we did have reservations, and we ended up getting a perfect outdoor table with a gorgeous view of the pond at pretty much our original reservation time.

We all had desserts, most of us opting for the popovers a la mode. Yum! Even Sebastien had ice cream because it's made by the restaurant, and while they do have one flavor with Heath Bar (which contains almonds), the super friendly waitress said that because they serve 2,000 people a day, they are well-versed in allergies, and she assured us they could serve Sebastien safe, un-cross-contaminated vanilla ice cream.

The unsweetened lemonade came with sugar water. I put just enough in for my drink to be satisfyingly refreshing, but there just wasn't enough sugar water to satisfy the kids. I'm sure the waitress would have brought more if we asked, but we didn't bother asking.

Portside Grill - Bar Harbor, ME

★★★★

Our party of 10 arrived around 6 PM on a Thursday evening, and they were able to seat us immediately.

Friendly service. When I mentioned Sebastien's allergies and asked about the bread, the waitress seemed knowledgeable and advised against Sebastien eating it.

My steamers appetizer was big and plentiful, and I loved my fish and chips entree - lightly battered, well-cooked. The watermelon cocktail, however, was not as interesting as it sounded on paper. The kids meals must have been good because both my kids polished off their plates - Sebastien ate all his mac 'n cheese, and Isabelle ate a whole hamburger.

Geddy's - Bar Harbor, ME

★★★


Fun atmosphere with lots of interesting things on the walls, like old license plates from around the country. Wide menu selection, including a kid's menu. We arrived around 6 PM on a Wednesday night, and our party of 10 got seated immediately at a large corner booth where we didn't have to worry about the kids bothering other diners.

I mentioned Sebastien's food allergies, and the waitress did not seem very interested or concerned.

As for the food... My lobster bisque was too buttery, and it didn't have as much lobster as I had hoped it would. My fried clams had too much batter. On the plus side, the kids' drinks came with small plastic fish toys, and their entrees came on souvenir frisbees - a great idea, not withstanding the disappointment my daughter experienced because she didn't like the color of her frisbee.

Saving Sight: An Eye Surgeon's Look at Life Behind the Mask and the Heroes Who Changed the Way We See by Andrew Lam

★★★★

When my daughter was 5, she had a frightening incident involving a foreign object in her eye. We had no idea what it was, but every effort to flush it out with water failed. Clearly in pain, she cried and repeated, "I can't see! It hurts!" I was scared out of my mind, afraid she'd have permanent eye damage. I called the doctor's office in tears, and in the end, a pediatric ophthalmologist used specialized equipment to identify and remove a TINY, thin, clear piece of plastic.

In Saving Sight, Andrew Lam writes about eye injuries that are 1,000 times worse than what my daughter experienced.

This book has two main focuses, both of which made for really fascinating and compelling reading: the author's personal experiences with various types of eye issues he has encountered with his patients, and the individuals who made the amazing advances in technology and medicine that help cure those eye conditions.

I appreciated the author's frank honesty as he recounted the care he gave his patients. He was at times doubtful and uncertain, but he utilized his training and found solutions to whatever problems were put in front of him. In this line of work, in which the doctor is literally giving people the gift of sight - which, in turn, is sometimes equivalent to the gift of life itself - one might imagine that such a doctor would develop a kind of God complex. But, Dr. Lam comes across as humble and dedicated, with a bedside manner that I wish my doctors had.

The stories behind the major innovations in eye care were equally interesting. Most of us probably don't give a second thought to the specialized equipment, techniques, and drugs used to examine, improve, and maintain our eye sight (like LASIK) or to cope with loss of sight (like braille). But, wow! These inventions and advancements - and the people behind them - have had and continue to have such an incredibly significant impact on so many people's lives that I really think Dr. Lam is doing the world a service by telling their stories. As a sort of added bonus, many of the stories have a World War II connection that any history buff would be likely to appreciate. (It's not surprising that the author received his undergraduate degree in History, as noted in the "About the Author" section.)

If you're very squeamish, it may be worth noting that some of the information outlining medical procedures performed on the eyes is explicit and detailed. Also, the book describes medical research performed on animals, which may not be agreeable to everyone (though hopefully everyone would be able to see the important scientific value of such research). Even Monsanto, the giant of recent GMO (genetically modified organisms) backlash, makes a cameo in a positive light.

While thoroughly appreciating all that I read in this book, I sometimes wondered if the one book tried to be too many things all at once. As a whole, the book is readable and approachable, though the writing style jumps around between informal first-person narrative (like a memoir), third-person historical fiction, and straight-up non-fiction. Tangential commentary popped up here and there about different aspects of the American medical system, like the medicolegal climate and flaws in the healthcare system. Though still interesting to read, these observations were like side discussions relative to the main ideas of the book.

Finally, as a person with a close family member with Parkinson's Disease, I sometimes feel it is my responsibility to help accurately spread Parkinson's awareness. On page 51 of the paperback version, Dr. Irving S. Cooper is said to have "developed a freezing probe...to cure Parkinson's disease." Many people might just gloss over the sentence, but in this case, I am a stickler for word choice. While Parkinson's Disease can be "managed" with medicine and surgery, there is no actual cure yet - though many dedicated people are working towards finding one. The U.S. National Library of Medicine of the National Institutes of Health describes Dr. Cooper this way: "He developed several novel techniques for the surgical management of Parkinson's disease," and his work helped to "alleviate the movement disorders associated with Parkinson's disease." (Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/98...)

Overall, a really interesting read that I think any person who has ever seen an eye doctor would appreciate. An inspirational book that I will keep on my bookshelf and encourage my children to read when they are older.