FOOD!!!!!!! - Connecticut - October 2011 through June 2013

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Well - it has been a while since I have done a Connecticut entry so I guess it is time. So here we go. Be warned - this is ALL about food (mostly - there is some towns and other things in here as well) and where to eat and not to eat when visiting. There's a couple other things thrown in the mix, but this particular blog mostly is a food blog since we love food and we have found some really nice places here in CT. So let's go and get you going on your food journey.

We will start with our home town - Stamford.

I'll start off with - we don't do chains so if you are expecting to read about Chili's and Outback here then this is the wrong spot for you. One of our favorite spots is Barcelona. This is mostly a tapas spot (lots of small plates ranging from $4 - $10 each) and this is all we have really had here - we have not ventured into the entrees yet. We usually go and get about 5 - 6 dishes with a glass (or sometimes bottle) of wine. The food is always good. We always get a side of olives and brusselsprouts (Nikkie loves brusselsprouts). The chorizo and figs is also a big favorite of ours. In addition we have also done the duck wing, whelks (snails), bacon crostinis, goat cheese crostinis, cauliflower, carpaccio, crepas, and churros. The food has always been really good and this definitely is an awesome summer spot in Stamford.

Next up is a newer hidden gem of Stamford - Harlan Social. Not many people know about this place but the food was really good, "fresh", and the whole restaurant has a rustic yet new feeling. I had a goose island IPA beer and Nikkie had the 3b's (honey with bourbon and beer - yes you read that right and it was really good). For food we had the roasted baby beet salad (colored beets, goat cheese, apples, almonds and raisin), Tamarind BBQ Pork Chop w/ coconut Carrot Mousse & Braised Mustard Greens (best chop I've had in a long time), and gulf shrimp & Grits w/ mascarpone, prosciutto and salsa verde. Yes that is a mouthful, but worth it. Dolce Cubano is also a very new restaurant in town and extremely popular. We went for brunch and had the French toast (very good), the pork & eggs (very very good) and mimosas and bloody marys (these are $15 for as many as you want during Sunday brunch). The food was really good, the restaurant is on the water and the atmosphere is awesome. I think it is a little bit overpriced, but food is what we do so I will never complain about paying for good food.

Yes we have just started so hope your mouth is not completely watering just yet. Remo's is our favorite Italian place in town. We always get the margarita pizza and the Remo's salad. Just an awesome place for Italian with friendly, fast service. The pizza is always good - especially when you get it with the fresh mozzarella. This is our comfort place when we just want an easy, good meal. Another place that just always delivers really good food. Napa & Company is one of the more upscale restaurants in town with an extensive wine list and a limited, but really good menu. We've had the pappardelle (very good), filet mignon (very good), gnocchi (very good), scallops (good), beet salad, creme brulee, fig tart, and a bottle of zinfandel (this was over the course of a couple meals). The wine list almost makes this a must visit - the food is not bad either. During the summer we love Capriccio since it has a really nice outdoor seating area in downtown Stamford with a very fresh summer menu. We love the vodka rigatoni and spaghetti mediterrraneo with a refreshing glass of white wine. Across the street the same owners opened Bar Rosso which is fairly similar to Harlan Social. The burger and pork chop was phenomenal and comes highly recommended. That sums it up for the places that would always be top on our list for recommendations.

Next up the good, but not part of our top restaurants. Plan B Burger is a newer burger joint in town with really, really good burgers. You can't really go wrong with a burger here. We have been several times and had the hooker blonde beer, the veggie burger and the Blue cheese burger. The Boatyard BBQ is right by our house and every now and then we will go there for a pulled pork sandwich, sweet/sour ribs, dry rub ribs, or bbq ribs. Just a good local neighborhood dive for some good barbecue food. Zaza is a type of Italian tapas place owned by the same owners as Remo's. Also really good food where we have tried the roast clams, pork ribs, coat cheese cakes, crispy sprouts, lamb sliders, grilled asparagus (very good), Kobe beef sliders (really good), gnocchi, crispy cauliflower, osso bucco veal, and brusselsprouts. A really nice atmosphere giving you that Italian feeling - there is always a black and white Italian movie playing in the background on the big screen tv.

City Limits Diner is a lot more up-scale than your average diner with a little different spin on your average diner food. We have mainly done this for breakfast and the Huevos Rancheros and orange waffles are definitely recommended. Next up is Bar Taco with some above average tacos (actually really good tacos) with a wide variety and a little more authentic food I would say. We usually go for the small plate which includes 6 tacos (they are tiny), guacamole, plantains, peppers, and a cucumber side - dish. Definitely worth it.

Very recently they opened the Beer Garden in the harbor. Awesome concept where they pretty much sell beer and have hundreds of outside seats looking out over the yachts. Every day 3 - 4 food trucks pull up so you order your beer and walk over to the food trucks for your food. A pretty good concept that has really taken off and is very popular here.

Station Eats is also an excellent burger joint in town built on the "Five guys and a burger" concept where you pretty much just built your own burger. Luckys is a non-chain type Johnny Rocket's - right next to Capriccio where we pretty much always get the cobb salad and a burger (both always very good - don't forget the milkshake). As mentioned in a previous blog there is an old theater in downtown Stamford - the Majestic Theater - where we love to go for our movies. Movie night usually includes a visit to Fuji (our favorite sushi in town - not that we have tried that many sushi places in town) where we have done the Bedford roll, volcano roll, red clam sashimi and various other rolls. The service is always quick and we've never had a bad roll here.

Spice Affair is an Indian restaurant located in a hotel. We were very skeptical at first, but it turned out to be really good food. This part of the world is known for their diners - Springdale Diner is one such place. Just no-nonsense, simple food where you can still have a meal for under $20 for 2 people. We did breakfast and left stuffed and happy. Kit's Thai Kitchen is a little out of the way. We stopped there by chance and had the Gang Mamuang and drunken noodle (I loved this dish). Bobby Valentine's Bar is the local Stamford celeb (Bobby V has managed several baseball teams all around the world - including my beloved Red Sox which turned out to be a not so good a decision). Don't be surprised to see Mr. V behind the bar from time to time to serve up some drinks. The Padre burger and BBQ Ribs are pretty decent. This is a perfect spot for a late night burger. Restaurante Casa Villa is a pretty good Mexican option for enchiladas de pollo, taco el pastor, taco chorizo, taco adobad, and taco de bistec. Picante Fresh Mexican Grill is a little local Mexican joint - the taco loco, baja fish taco, chorizo taco were all pretty good. Sierra Grill is a similar Mexican concept (they love their Mexican food up here). A no-frills place where the veggie burrito and steak and chicken taco's are ok. Think little more upscale than Taco Bell (you get what you pay and you can probably walk out of there with a meal for under $10). The frozen yogurt craze has also hit Stamford so the sugar fix is mostly satisfied at 16 Handles frozen yogurt. Last but not least we have Volta - same owners as Capriccio's and Bar Rosso - where you can get some pretty decent gelato and deserts after a good meal.

Seaside Tavern is even more of a local dive just around the corner from us with some fairly decent food and beer. Right across from this you have Cove Restaurant - margarita pizza and penne ala vodka - both decent (I won't go out of my way for either). SBC Downtown is a type of local brewery place where we have had the burger, California chicken salad, various other dishes and beer. The beer has always been ok, but the food never has been very good so probably avoid for food. Hudson Grille is also a fairly new place. Once again more of an atmosphere and beer place than food. We had the steak frites and portobello sandwich and it was terrible (probably one of our worst dining experiences in Stamford).

Well that is Stamford. Many more to go. We've pretty much done most of the places in town and the above is a pretty good reflection. Not that anyone would ever go out of their way to visit Stamford for any reason other than to come and watch a Jerry Springer show!!!!

The town over from us - Darien - has some really nice restaurants. Ten Twenty Post is a personal favorite of ours where we have done brunch and dinner eating all of the following - pork sliders, curry mussels, saffron mussels, 1020 mussels, blue point oysters, moonstone oysters, Pacific Orchard oysters, kusshi oysters, fisher's Island oysters, shookum oysters, thatch island oysters, beau soleil oysters, spinach salad with salmon, steak sandwich, pecan tart, creme brulee, egg blt sandwich, and French toast. We usually do 6 oysters, a good bowl of mussels (we love the mussels and oysters) and a good glass of wine. We love coffee and Espresso Neat is definitely a big favorite of ours on Sunday mornings - just sitting outside with a good cup of coffee and the newspaper. Bodega Taco Bar (yeah here is that Mexican thing again) is Nikkie's new favorite spot in town. It is newer with a pretty cool set-up inside. We have come here several times now for Sunday brunch and got the baja taco, Korean chicken taco, special taco (chorizo), chillaquiles, burrito tinga (spicy pulled chicken, rice and beans, pico de gallo, queso fresco, avocado, tomato, crema), drowned sandwich (house smoked brisket, New Mexico chili sauce, fried egg), and bloody marys. The food is definitely way above average and we really have not had a bad meal here yet. The drinks also are really good.

The Little Thai Kitchen is where we usually go for our pork dumplings and Thai red curry. Coromandel Indian Cuisine is our spot on Sundays for Indian food. Estias American is a newer place. We had the tamale, fish tacos, and salmon with a couple glasses of local pinot blanc and Bedell crush red wines (Long Island wines). It was okay. I loved my octopus linguino at Scena and the nutella crepes for desert were not bad. Again the frozen yogurt craze. Swizzles frozen yogurt kind of started the trend in this area so pay them a visit for your sugar fix. The burger joint in Darien is Burgers, Shakes & Fries. Not bad when you need a grease fix, but there is better close by.

The town over (this is New England so I mean a couple miles over) is Norwalk. Sono Caffeine is an extremely cute little coffee spot with live music on the weekends (we don't go here enough). It has a pretty cool inside with comfy decorations and exposed brick. Los Portales is a little hole in the wall (that is giving it a little too much credit almost) place in a house on a side street that took us forever to find. Yes it is that nondescript. You walk in and you go 1) am I in a store in Mexico and 2) am I sure I want to eat here? Yeah that kind of place. You take a look at the menu and for a 3rd straight time you probably will go - again what am I doing here? Why don't I just go to Chipotle? Why would you go to Chipotle when you can have some authenetic Mexican food right in your own backyard. We ordered (even the servers thought we were a little out of place) and sat at the little tables (they also sell all kinds of Mexican groceries - yeah that kind of place - grocery store turned restaurant). I got the tacos (I got beef, chicken and tripe - tripe is the inner parts of the animal (most people squirm at the sound of this)). Nikkie got the burrito. It was awesome. If you can find it - GO. Burger Bar & Bistro has some pretty good burgers where we had the ultimate burger, mini Kobes, and bloody marys for a good brunch. Rouge Wine Bar was another tapas concept where we had the beet salad, lamb lollipops, seared scallops, short rib sliders, and oysters with a good bottle of malbec. Unfortunately this has closed down since. Paradise Biryani is definitely also one of our favorite Indian spots, but we don't make it there enough either. To round out Norwalk we have to end with the Silver Star Diner option - avocado burrito and the Monte Cristo. Don't go out of your way to go here, but it's always good when you feel like diner food.

We'll take a quick little break from the food. We have definitely developed an affinity for the northwest corner part of Connecticut. Filled with trees and green with some lovely bridges. Throw in a couple vineyards and a couple streams/rivers and you have the perfect spot for a Sunday afternoon drive. And this is exactly what we do during the summer. But quickly back to the food thing. On your way to this little piece of Connecticut heaven we have to pass through Ridgefield where you will find CHEZ LENARD and his LE HOT DOG GARNITURE SUISSE. Oh yeah - he definitely puts a twist on the hot dog. Who has ever had a white Swiss sauce on their dog? It's a little stand in town where he serves happy customer after happy customer. Just go and try it - it is worth it. After Ridgefield the driving starts. We usually just pick a road and see how far it goes and to what vineyard it leads (yes there is surprisingly a lot of vineyards out here). The wine is probably not my favorite, but who can complain about a glass of cold white under a shady tree on a hot Connecticut summer day. HOPKINS VINEYARD WINERY is probably our current favorite of the lot. They have a pretty good chardonnay and the peach wine was a pretty good surprise. Right next door is the Hopkins Inn restaurant. We thought it would be a good idea to sit down and enjoy a glass of local wine with some appetizers and a really nice view over the lake. The food - smoked salmon, melon/prosciutto, garlic bread, and a couple glasses of Hopkins chardonnay and pinot grigio was terrible. The wine was fine, but the food was terrible. Just avoid. Buy a glass or bottle from the vineyard, find a shady spot and bring your own picnic. It will be way better and probably cheaper. A little ways more up north is KENT FALLS STATE PARK FOR WATERFALL. The waterfall itself is not that spectacular. There is no "big" fall, but it definitely cascades over several levels so it's a pretty nice hike to the top and it is a really nice weekend spot to come and hang out with the family. A little bit before the waterfall is the COVERED BULLS BRIDGE at KENT. It's just always cool to see these old covered bridges - there is also a small waterfall right around the corner. Right in Kent use to be the Belgique chocolate store. The iced hot chocolate was to die for and the chocolates were not half-bad either. Unfortunately this has closed down since. KENT TOWN FOR ANTIQUES is also a good time-waster. It's a cute little main-street lined with antique stores on either side. WASHINGTON is another small little town in the area where there is a couple small BOOKSTORES which are always fun to walk around in.

White Silo Farm is a very peculiar little vineyard in the area. Some strange, yet fascinating decorations - think rhinestone covered garden tools. It gets even weirder when you try the rhubarb wine - interesting, but once again pleasantly surprising (you have to be open to trying new things is our motto). A little ways away in WOODBURY is the GOOD NEWS CAFE where they have some really good PECAN-CRUSTED OYSTERS and LOBSTER MAC AND CHEESE - both somewhat unusual, but worth the effort (I loved the lobster mac and cheese). We also had the short ribs with a couple glasses of good Merlot and zinfandel. Definitely highly recommended.

Another quaint little town on the completely opposite side of the state is ESSEX. Located on the river it definitely looks like your typical New England town. The TAP ROOM AT THE GRISWOLD INN has a lot of history associated with it and even looks the part when you walk in - lots of old historical displays. We got the revolution ale, fish and chips, and a really good reuben sandwich. ESSEX is also full of some really interesting ARCHITECTURE. We were there on a Sunday night in the winter so we walked right down the middle of the main street with some beautiful buildings on both sides. Just up the road is CHESTER. Since we do our fair share of fairs/carnivals the CHESTER WINTER CARNIVALE was a must for us. The town comes alive and everyone sells coffee/hot chocolate and throw open their shops for visitors to see. Lots of little art galleries and funky little stores (right up Nikkie's alley).

A couple miles up I95 you get to Stonington/Mystic right before crossing the border into Rhode Island. I'm not sure where the one town ends and the other one starts (they kind of just blend into each other if you ask me), but we always make a point of driving through here when we are in the area. We decided to stay the night and picked the THE INN AT MYSTIC. Well, in its heyday this was probably the spot on the HILL with sweeping VIEWS OF TOWN. This does not seem to be the case anymore. The room seemed very outdated and it was not necessarily the cleanest. There are definitely better places in town. Since we passed though during winter (and this is a smaller town) the town tends to die down pretty early so we were worried that we may not find any food. We drove across the bridge into what I believe is Stonington. The DOG WATCH CAFE FOR A DRINK is what we decided on. From the outside we were not impressed at all and our expectations was just a dead little bar on a Friday night. We were pleasantly surprised when we walked in and the place was overflowing with locals (we could barely get a table). So we sat down and decided to try the food. Nikkie had the mystic IPA and I had the dark n stormy (I fell in love with this drink in Bermuda - dark rum and ginger beer). In addition we got oysters, scallops and bacon (very good), chowder (good), and mussel pasta (good). We would definitely recommend this since the locals were friendly and the food was good. The next day we drove by the STONINGTON HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE. A cute little lighthouse that is not in use anymore.

Well, we will finish with a couple more food places around the state. We loved IBIZA RESTAURANT in New Haven. A couple years back this was rated as one of the best Spanish restaurants in the country. Reservations are pretty tough to make here so we just drove up to New Haven and hoped for the best. We had to wait about 10 minutes before we got a couple seats at the bar. We again did a tapas style and ordered the paquetitos, endivia, gambas plancha, cqtas iberico, and revuelto. The food was incredible and so were the people watching. Highly recommended. Also over in New Haven is SALLY'S PIZZA. I lifelong feud between Sally's and Frank Pepe's for best pizza in town/state/country. Yes these guys go that high up. A table at Sally's is impossible to get in the summer unless you know the secret number (I still have not found the secret number). People wait in line for hours to get in. Old place with old chairs and a lot of character. The straight-up margarita pizza is what we got (it is huge). 3 of us ordered the large and we had plenty of pizza left for the doggie bag (very close call, but I think Pepe's is still my favorite). LOUIS LUNCH is another little gem in town that I just loved. Supposedly their claim to fame is that the hamburger was first cooked here - thus they invented the hamburger. How true that is or not I don't know, but we had to give it a try. Well - your choices are a hamburger or a hamburger with cheese and either potato salad or a bag of chips. That's it. The inside is crazy small - the tables/chairs are crazy unusual. It's also crazy old and all the furniture dates from way back. It's all wood and everywhere you will see where people have carved/written their names or messages. Awesome place. The burger is cooked sideways - yes you read that right. It is cooked in this little machine - sideways. It is then put between 2 pieces of bread with tomato and onion. I loved it. Awesome. If not for the food - just go check it out. Oh yeah - this whole experience will cost you less than $8.

A couple towns over from Stamford is Greenwich. The Boxcar Cantina has become one of our favorite places for Mexican (mostly because they have green and red chili and the owners are from Northern New Mexico). It is definitely a little more expensive, but the food is awesome (think $18 burrito). We regularly get the pork burrito, quatros tacos, and sopapillas (a desert you fill with honey - awesome). Also in town is Tomatillo which is a pretty low key place where we mostly get take-out - guacamole, fish tacos, bean burrito, steak tacos, and burrito bowl. The Gingerman is a Greenwich joint with a good beer list and ok food.

Last but not least we have Westport. The Dressing Room is a restaurant right next to the Westport Playhouse. We went in with pretty high expectations and found that the food was pretty good. We had the oysters (good), heirloom black barley grains risotto style - squash w/ mushrooms, kale, goat cheese (ok), the filet mignon w/ vegetables, mashed potatoes and a bacon and chives butter (very good - how can anything bacon not be good), and the sweet potato cheesecake (very unusual and good). Definitely would be a good stop before or after a play.

Well we got to cross off only 2 things in our books - Essex, but then again this blog was a little more about food than anything else. So 196 down and 5,585 to go.

Til next time from Connecticut foodies

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Photos

Louis Lunch
Unconventional but awesome - the place where "the burger was invented" - or so they say

Stamford
Sunrise in cove island

Ibiza - New Haven
Awesome Spanish tapas

Chester
A little bicycle art

Chester
Some more local art in Chester

Sono Caffeine
Little coffee spot in South Norwalk

Kent, CT
Flowers outside Kent

Kent, CT
More lowers outside Kent

White Silo Vineyard
Tree and wood just outside the White Silo vineyard

White Silo Vineyard
Some unusual garden art

Kent, CT
Running around chasing waterfalls

Chez Lenard
Definitely one of the better hot dogs you will eat in your life time

Chez Lenard
More of the same

White Silo Vineyard
Sign us up

CT
Lover's Leap bridge (we did not leap)

Hopkins Vineyard
Having some fun

CT
Train tracks somewhere in CT

Stamford
Surviving the hurricane

Stamford
First snows

Stonington
Lighthouse

Harlan Social
The three B's - Honey, bourbon and beer

The Dressing Room
Filet Mignonette with bacon flavored mashed potatoes

3 Dulce Cubano
French Toast

Bodega
Upside down sandwich

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

Great photo
This would make a great profile photograph.