Jack Sullivan

First time patron and will definitely be back. I’m a movie junkie from one of my first jobs as an usher ( yes I’m that old), in a movie theater. There’s just nothing not to like. It’s an old theater (I like old like me) than was saved and done over by generous patrons of the arts. It has 2 theaters, 1 quite a bit smaller than the main theater. Everything is perfect, large screens, good sound system, very comfortable seats that recline and everything is spotless. The lobby, restrooms and the theater itself were very clean. Like the Mrs. says; “There’s clean and then there’s; they even clean in the corners clean.” Their corners were clean too. Some other things that make this theater special are the old classic movie posters, the extremely large mural on the large wall in the lobby of dozens of movie stars. I looked it over for several minutes and came up with the names of many of them and would love to see how many I could come up with. The corridor that leads from the lobby to the theaters is covered with heart warming stories of people with Autism. It’s a heartwarming use of a public space. Now that you’ve heard all the great things about this place wait there’s more. Just when you’ve gotten everything you’d want in a movie house, they throw in a small pizza restaurant with a full liquor license. The pizza shop is one of several “Pizza Shark” shops on the Cape. Never having had one we decided to stop and have a slice after the show. We both liked it, in fact possibly my favorite new Cape pizza. It’s pretty much a thin crust style with a great crust, perfect blend of sauce and cheese with a great flavor. What more could you ask for. We will absolutely be returning as this will be our first choice for movie viewing in the area.

We had read about herring runs but never made it to one until this year. Went over April vacation with grandkids and we all enjoyed it very much. It’s quite a fascinating combination of nature and people working together. I’d recommend checking the website in advance to see if the herring are running. They usually run in April if it’s above 50 degrees. I believe they run back in June, we’re going to keep an eye on that. If you go make sure you go to both sides of the property across the street from each other. On side has a bridge, a picnic area on the hill, several “ladders” for the herring to jump on their way to the pond, which is across the street. Be very careful crossing as this is a tricky road situation. The mill, brook & pond are located at the bottom of a little valley in the road and it curves at the same time. Once you safely cross the street, follow the brook up hill, to the last “ladder” and watch the herring as they try to make the last leap into the pond to later spawn this spring. It’s fascinating to watch some make it and some don’t. Some that make it appear to get carried back down if they don’t swim away from the rushing brook fast enough. Kids can walk through a couple of paths up on a hill next to the pond and hang out on some large boulders adjacent to the pond.

The only thing we couldn’t do was go inside the mill to see how the water wheel worked. It wasn’t open but we gave the kids our own little lesson on how it works and hope to get back someday when it’s open. This is truly just one more reason when the Cape is so special. There is so much more to the cape than just the beach and this is just
one example.

Live close by so we’ve been wanting to try LaScala for a while. Nice location and venue. What appears to be an old Cape Cod house in very good condition. We entered from the back parking lot into a good sized bar area. There is some seating in the bar area. At 5:30 on a Wednesday night it was almost entirely filled. I looked around for some direction or assistance. I quickly saw a young lady at a hostess station on the far side of the bar near the front. She greeted us and told us we could sit anywhere we wanted to. It was at this time I noticed a large from dining room and what appeared to be another dining broom next to that. I asked if this area was open as I didn’t see anyone in there. She said yes it was open and to sit where we liked. We picked a table in the middle front part of the room near the street. While the street is pretty busy you couldn’t hear one whisper of a car going by. There are new windows in the front and they work bet well. The room is nicely decorated in a newer style of what an old Cape house would probably look like. There is a stove in front of a non functioning fireplace in the room. The stove looks like it’s used in the colder months. I hope it does as we plan on returning later in the Fall and perhaps over the winter if they are open.

We were promptly met by our server Kate. She was very pleasant, efficient, attentive and personable. I started with a drink off the seasonal specials menu. Vanilla vodka, pumpkin flavor, etc. It did not disappoint. I’m still in my summer menu mode so I ordered the lightly friend scallops. Entrees come with a salad, carrot cole slaw and a baked potato or pasta. While neither one of those go with friend scallops in my opinion I asked Kate if I could substitute the starch choices with French fries. She said absolutely. The Mrs orders Egg Plant Parmigiana with pasta. During this time the restaurant filled up quit a bit but our drinks, salads & meals came out in a timely manner. Kate also started us off with a small loaf of bread. I missed taking a picture but it looked unlike any small
loaf of bread I’ve ever seen in a restaurant. It had almost a white color to it and it looked like it wasn’t baked yet. The Mrs gave it a squeeze and assured me it was warm. We proceeded to try it but unfortunately it tasted weird. Hard to describe it but it didn’t taste like anything we had ever had before. The salads are typical side salad size. They all come with the house Italian dressing. My salad was drenched in it and my wife’s was a little shy of how much it should have had. I use the word “salad” loosely as it was all lettuce. some black olive slices and one of those little grape tomatoes.

On to the entrees. My scallops were lightly breaded as they were described on the menu. They were good but not great. I’ve had juicer, sweeter ones. There could have been a few more but I did enjoy them. Fries were string fries cooked well the way I like them. I don’t eat Coleslaw so I can’t say how it is.

The Mrs wasn’t impressed with her meal. It was ok she said but just that. She said the sauce tasted like it came right from a jar. She ( not I) knew that the same type of comment is found in a lot of other reviews. She said the eggplant itself again like the pasta was ok. She did say she’d come back but wouldn’t have the pasta again. While I enjoyed my meal more than she did I also concurred that I would come back, as I saw several things on the menu that sound interesting. Overall we liked the staff, the venue, the ambience so we will be giving LaScala a second try some day.

PS. I like to finish off a dining experience with a cappuccino, coffee and dessert in honor of my friend Tony. I did so but asked
if I could get one to go. Cate said of course so I ordered the Caramel Peanut Butter Pie. It came in a bag and I didn’t look at it until I got home. While it was delicious it was pretty small, especially for $10. Many of the restaurants we frequent offer desserts large enough for two or more to share. Lastly if you have Celiac Disease this is not a GF friendly place. No GF pasta.

Pretty nice little multiplex. Clean, comfortable and convenient location. 8 theaters in 1 location, so you should be able to find something to see you like. Lots of efficient and friendly staff. Bargain matinees are a pretty good deal; $9 all ages. Took the grandkids and they each got a kids snack pack. Popcorn, drink and 2 small (think Halloween sized) candies for $8, not too bad a deal. Both kids actually had a little popcorn leftover. I would certainly recommend taking in a flick here if you’re vacationing in the area or live on Cape.

First time visiting. First impressions; Easy parking and off street access. Trails are wide and in pretty good shape. Both start out at an incline but not steep so that most people could handle them. Fairly easy to tackle, having recent back surgery, still getting back in shape and 70 years old, I didn’t find it too strenuous. Lots of flora and fauna to see especially if you wander off the main trails a bit. We found a pond with lots of Lilly pads, lots of rhododendrons growing wild, some lady slippers and numerous other plants. We found several streams and observed lots of granite walls and small cliffs along with other rock formations. My only complaint is that the trails should be marked better. At the beginning there are signs for two trails; one going left the other going right. We took the one to the left and I never saw another trail marker. There were some trails that shot off the main trail but these are not marked either. So it’s unknown which way to go on these smaller trails as they spilt too. It wasn’t clear if these smaller trails were looks that would bring you back to the main trail. The one we took was not a loop and we ended up behind ame maintenance area for the Northeastern athletic facilities.It wasn’t hard to figure out how to get back to the parking lot but not sure if Northeastern minds us cutting through their property. As long as you stay on a trail I don’t think you will get lost, but better markings and perhaps having some maps available at the beginning would help. Norris Reservation in Norwell is very similar ( except flat) and it provides free maps and all of the trails are clearly marked.