Massachusetts Garlic Festival Stinks, Of Fun and Yum

Phew! This Massachusetts Garlic Festival stinks. Only in New England can you find an actual event centered around an herb. Oh wait...is it a spice? Or is it a medicine? Or is it a weapon used to kill vampires?

Greyduckgarlic.com says:

Garlic is believed to be a native of central Asia, South Asia or southwestern Siberia.  There is some debate over the origin of this herb. It is one of the world’s oldest cultivated crops.  Garlic lovers carried the pungent herb into Egypt, Pakistan, India and China.

But garlics delicious flavor in our pasta sauce, chili sauce, and in our burger mix is not the only use as history tells us.

According to the National Library of Medicine:

 In the past, garlic has been utilized as a remedy during the various epidemics such as typhus, dysentery, cholera, influenza, and whenever an epidemic has emerged, garlic has been the first preventive and curative remedy.In the ancient and middle centuries and a long time during the modern period, garlic has been appreciated as a remedy by physicians from different nations. 

Maybe that's why feel GREAT while eating it.

A quick Google search says we're good with garlic against the blood suckers:

Some medieval Europeans believed that vampires, the fictional blood-drinkers that have come to dominate the horror genre, were created by a blood disease, so people carried garlic thinking it was a strong antibiotic that could kill the monsters.

If your nose is pointing you to North Central Massachusetts, it could be for the Massachusetts Garlic Festival. According to Northcentral.com: 

Yes, folks, it’s time to follow your nose to Forster’s Farm on Chestnut Hill Road in Orange, where garlic reigns over a weekend of food, fun, art and environmental awareness. The North Quabbin Garlic & Arts Festival, celebrating a quarter century of aromatic enjoyment this year, is a staple of autumn in North Central Massachusetts. 

Visit the website for the smelly, yummy details.

This Massachusetts Garlic Festival stinks. But it's delicious, this weekend.

I don't know about you but I have definitely not made sense (or cents) of this whole inflation thing. The sticker shock I feel leaving the grocery store after doing my weekly shopping is a very real thing. So while many of us have less to spend, finding affordable places to enjoy a meal out become harder and harder.

USA Today is on the case! They just released their Top Budget Restaurant in every state - a pretty handy guide to eating well state-by-state on a tight budget.

USA Today analyzed Google ratings of 28,000 budget-friendly restaurants across 50 U.S. cities. The only qualifiers were that a restaurant has to be designated as one dollar sign on Google’s cost scale and have 200+ reviews.

Other findings: Charley’s Cheesesteaks and Wings in Houston is the single highest ranked fast food location in America while KFC, Krystal and Papa John’s are the lowest rated fast food chains.

Let's dive into that now. I'll give you the Top Budget Friendly restaurant in every New England state below. I don't know about you but I'll be bookmarking this page so the next time I'm traveling to Vermont or Maine or I'm in New Hampshire or Rhode Island I can seek out these delicious cheap eats and see if they live up to the USA Today hype.

Oh, before we get into the budget eats I thought I'd share this with you too. A little New England pride in a sandwich RIGHT HERE. I'll put that sandwich up against any when you have that craving - and - it's the ULTIMATE budget-friendly sandwich too!

Ok. Here comes the best budget friendly restaurant in every New England state. And if you want to see the most budget-friendly restaurant in all 50 cities USA Today looked at, check out their full report RIGHT HERE!

The #1 budget-friendly restaurant in Maine is Becky's Diner in Portland. You can still get breakfast for under $7!

The #1 budget-friendly restaurant in Vermont is Pho Hong in Burlington. Delicious homemade pho to warm you up on a brisk Vermont day.

The #1 budget-friendly restaurant in Connecticut is The Traveler Restaurant in Union. This is one of the coolest places I've eaten. It's a library and a delish restaurant. Take leftovers and a book home!

The #1 budget-friendly restaurant in Rhode Island is Louis Family Restaurant in Providence. As the name suggests, it's a great spot to bring the whole family and not worry about being all stuffy.

The #1 budget-friendly restaurant in New Hampshire is Red Arrow Diner in Manchester. If you're looking for a good ol' diner serving all that good ol' diner food you remember (and love) go here.

The #1 budget-friendly restaurant in Massachusetts is Bab Al-Yemen Restaurant. Affordable and delicious Yemeni cuisine. Lots of rich flavors here at Boston's very first Yemeni cuisine restaurant.
Get familiar with their cuisine and menu at their website RIGHT HERE!