Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour (Waterbury, Vermont)

On my road trip from Boston to Montreal, we passed by the Ben & Jerry's ice cream factory in Waterbury, Vermont (close to Burlington) so we made a quick pit stop for a factory tour!

The factory is a fun place with colorful and playful decorations and touches all over the place.

The tour typically costs $4 but here's a tip: if you check in on Foursquare, you'll get a free tour! The factories aren't always in production, however, but you can still see where the ice cream is made. We caught them during the cleaning period so we didn't see the machines in action. Oh, well. They do a deep cleaning every time they change the flavor they're making.

First part of the tour was a video of the history of the company, which they've made to be quite entertaining.

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Eating in Fiji: Blue Lagoon Resort

At most of the island resorts in Fiji, you won't be able to purchase food outside of the resorts, because there won't be much else on those small islands! This was also the case at Blue Lagoon Resort, which is located on Nacula Island, part of the Yasawa Islands. Instead, you have to pay for a meal plan, which was about $35 per person per day, on top of the room rates. Still, not too bad for 3 meals a day.

Lunch

The first meal you'll have at Blue Lagoon Resort most likely will be lunch. For lunch, you can choose one dish from their menu, and because it's my first Fijian meal, I had to try the fish in lolo, which is perhaps the most typical Fijian meal. I had talked about this dish in my 5 Things to Eat in Fiji post. It's a dish of fish in coconut milk broth, typically served with taro leaves and root vegetables. The version here ended up being my favorite of the whole trip.

The next day we went diving, so I was in need of a hearty lunch afterwards and went with the curry. The meat was slightly tough, but it still made for a flavorful and hearty meal.

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Gloucester-based Matlaw's Stuffed Clams for Grilling Season

In New England, summer and grilling season shouldn't just mean burgers and hot dogs ... but New England seafood! I recently got sent some stuffed clams from Matlaw's, a seafood company based in Gloucester, MA that was started in 1950s and got popular because of their stuffed clams (they call them "stuffies").

The stuffies are pre-packed and sold at grocery stores in the area. There are multiple flavors available including chorizo stuffed clams, bacon and cheese stuffed clams, chili lime and more. I tried the classic New England style which was a blend of golden breadcrumbs, chopped clams, minced celery, red and green peppers, and sprinkled with paprika and parsley.

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