Friday, May 11, 2007

Dairy Dome







(Originally posted on 5/7, 5/8 & 5/11/07. Photos added 5/24/07)

At lunchtime, I decided to stop at the Dairy Dome. The Dairy Dome has been a popular ice cream spot in Stoneham for over twenty-five years. I have long been going to the Dairy Dome, since when it originally opened. For most of that time it has specialized in ice cream. They eventually added some baked goods and sandwiches, but that always seemed secondary to the ice cream. Recently, I had read in the local newspaper that they were expanding, adding sandwiches and other food to their menu. So, I decided to give it a try. I had not been there recently so I was not expecting the significant changes that I found.

The Dairy Dome now serves a wide variety of foods, especially Italian dishes. They have quite an extensive menu, including sandwiches, pizza, calzones, soups, and dinners. They also have family-sized meals. All of the items are made fresh. And they still have ice cream as well, including a number of speciality sundaes. They even do catering! In addition, they sell some gourmet foods, such as items from Stonewall Kitchen. They even sell monkey bread.

I decided to have a chicken parm spuckie as I figured that would give me a good snapshot of the food. The spuckie is basically a sub that has been toasted in the oven. It comes on 10" crusty bread. The spuckie was stuffed to overflowing with chicken. The cutlets were meaty, nicely breaded and not some type of processed chicken. The red sauce was very good and there was plenty of melted cheese as well. A very good sandwich. I saw a couple other spuckies that others ordered and they certainly looked good too. I will definitely return to sample some of their other dishes, including the pizza. And I will report back.

I think the major changes that have been made to the Dairy Dome have certainly been positive. If you have not been to the Dairy Dome, definitely check it out!

I stopped off at Dairy Dome for lunch again, to try something different this time. I first had a slice of their Sicilian Pan Pizza, which is similar to what is often called bakery pizza. It is a thick crusted pizza and it was quite tasty. The pizza sauce was good and there was plenty of cheese atop it. This is the only type of pizza they serve by the slice. The traditional pizzas are only served whole. But, you won't go wrong to get a couple slices of their Sicilian.

I then chose the Lobster Ravioli dinner. This is accompanied by a salad and some slices of fresh Scali bread. You also could have substituted a Caesar salad or garlic bread for a little extra. I chose this dinner as I enjoy lobster ravioli, plus it came in a pink sauce. I like pink sauces but they seem to be hard to find at many Italian eateries. So, I was a bit surprised, though pleasantly so, to see it here on the menu. There seemed like 7 or 8 lobster ravioli in the dinner, and each ravioli was very large and thick. They contained a good portion of lobster and you definitely could tell by taste alone. The pink sauce was excellent! It was creamy and complemented well the ravioli. The sauce was also good for dipping my bread. The whole dish was sprinkled with scallions though I don't think they were necessary or really added much to the dish. The lobster and sauce stood alone quite well and needed no further enhancements. At $13.95, I think this dish was an excellent value. I would definitely recommend it. And I will definitely return to Dairy Dome to try more of their fare.

Once again, I stopped by Dairy Dome to try another one of their choices. I had the Chicken Marsala with salad and garlic bread. The garlic bread was freshly made and quite delicious, with plenty of garlic. And I received two good sized pieces. The Chicken Marsala was good, with plenty of chicken and large pieces of ham over ziti. Often, you only get small pieces of ham in Marsala dishes but these were quite large. The Marsala sauce was mild and tasty. Another good dish from a restaurant I recommend!

Dairy Dome
474 Main St.
Stoneham, MA
Phone: (781) 438-9425

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