Drinks in front of the fireplace - Connecticut - July 2013 through September 2014

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August 10th 2013

Published: November 1st 2014

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Looking for the Dirt Roads

Lorca

Our little coffee shop in Stamford

Well - here we go with the home state again. And once again this will be a complete and total 100% food blog. So if you want to come to the state of Connecticut (especially down to the southern part) and like food then this is the blog for you.

We do travel around the state when we are not flying all over the place because we really do love this state with its coastline, interior - it has a lot to offer. One such quick trip for us was a trip up to OLD LYME. As always it was just a quick overnight trip. We left Stamford on a Friday afternoon, battled the traffic and made it up there 2 hours later. We made a last minute booking at the BEE AND THISTLE INN and got the nicest room left at a discount - sometimes we get lucky. Everyone at the inn was super nice. The room was old, decorated for the times (travel chest, old chipped/painted/ peeling furniture, comfy high bed). We got all dressed up and made our way all the way down to the bar area - always super nice when you only have to walk

Stamford Beer Garden

a short way and have only the same distance afterwards back to the room (I am saying this because we drive into NYC a lot for meals so generally after a good meal we have to walk to the car, battle traffic and drive an hour back home). We sat in front of the fireplace and had a couple drinks (always a great and reflective time during the dead of winter). Again everyone was super nice and really helpful. We were a little late for dinner so we were told to take our time, enjoy the fire and sip our drinks until we were ready for food. So that is exactly what we did. The kitchen at the inn "has a name" and is probably the best dining establishment in town from what I can tell. We've read a lot about the chef and the food so we were really excited to eat.

The RESTAURANT AT BEE AND THISTLE INN is known for their MEAT dishes. We finished our drinks and walked over to the dining room. We had a good bottle of wine for less than $40. We started with fried goat cheese and beets (always a winner)

Turkish at home

Trying to recreate some some sort of Turkish dish

and a good chowder. Chowder is always a good bet in this part of the country. For our main courses we had the salmon w/ brusselsprouts (good) and coffee covered pork loin (definitely a winner). We concluded it with spiced apple pie w/ vanilla ice cream (good). Overall a very good dinner. The pork was exceptional and the rest was really good. The salmon was probably a little bit of a disappointment, but still very good (sorry but unfortunately the food standard bar just keeps rising and rising for us so sometimes I will say something was "just good" when in reality it probably will be exceptional for most people - just for us comparatively to some other dishes we have had this was "just good"). It was awesome to just be able to walk back upstairs to our room. The next morning breakfast was a feast by itself with everything either freshly baked or made on the spot. We really enjoyed our time at the inn and would definitely recommend it. The people were awesome and everyone was super nice.

Right next door - literally walking distance - is the FLORENCE GRISWOLD MUSEUM AT OLD LYME. What an

Cove Beach

The sunsets are pretty here

interesting story. Right on the road is Mrs. Griswold's old house. What a fascinating place. The artists would flock to Old Lyme in the summer months. She lived in a tough time and had to pay the mortgage somehow so she rented out rooms in her house to the artists. And so started the impressionist movement in the US. Some of them paid her, others paid her with paintings and others paid her with painting the wood panels in her house. And the stories described of the evenings... wild parties at night, everyone playing the piano or some other musical instrument, acting up some scenes - it just sounded like a real hoot. It really is just a great story. I totally forgot to mention that the house is littered with AMERICAN IMPRESSIONIST PAINTINGS. As already mentioned there is PAINTINGS ON THE WALLS AT FLORENCE GRISWOLD HOUSE. Truly an amazing art house. The amazing thing and something that I really have not seen before is the painting of the wooden panels. If you don't watch or pay attention you will miss these incredible pieces of art. I walked right past doors and completely missed the beautiful paintings painted right on

Stamford Cove Beach

The swans love to hang out in the winter

the door panels; right until one of the extremely helpful attendants pointed out the great paintings on the panels. Right across the house on the river is the new museum with some paintings and art, but the center of attraction is the house.

This was the middle of winter and definitely is a very interesting time to be in the area. You could potentially have snow everywhere. The lakes are all frozen over. The trees are barren. The fog and mist can roll in at any time. Driving on the coast you see lighthouses and parks with grass covered in snow. Typical east coast towns with little seafood shops or shacks. So - needless to say we stopped at the Old Lyme Seafood shop. We really wanted some oysters, but unfortunately there was no one to shuck them for us (you'd think we would know how to shuck oysters by now based on how much we love oysters). So instead of just trying to shuck the oysters we settled on smoked salmon and lobster chili. We drove down to the beach, parked the car and had a feast in the car while staring out over the ocean looking at

Stamford Cove Beach

After the first snows

ice floating by us into the ocean.

And so really comes an end to anything not food and here we go. Stamford is our home town and we have pretty much eaten at every restaurant in town (ok there are a couple places we have not eaten at). Harlan Social is a little buried from main stream Stamford, but definitely one of our favorites. We have had a good couple glasses of Bacchus chardonnay and malbec. Nikkie almost always gets the shrimp and grits w/ mascarpone, prosciutto and peas. She simply loves the dish and she's never disappointed. I had the Parisienne gnocchi with spring vegetables, spinach and salsa verde. And we ended it all off with a lemon curd and berry tart w/ Chantilly creme. Both dishes were decent. We'll always come back because of the uniqueness of the dining room and good food. The drinks are funky, fun and different. Remo's shows up in every single Connecticut blog we write. This is our spot. This is our comfort sport. When we want a good pizza and salad this is where we go. The service is great, the people friendly and the food always good. We almost always

Stamford, CT

CT in the winter

get the same thing - a Remo's salad and large napolitan margarita pie (pizza). Can't go wrong with these two items.

I'll run though a couple places that's already been extensively covered in other blogs, but are places that we frequent a lot. Tigin Irish Pub is always good for a good Guinness, fish and chips and a good cheeseburger or lamb French dip. Our preferred sushi place in town is Fuji. May not be the best, but we love it. We have tried the "rock n roll" roll, "hot lover" roll, "dynamite" roll, sashimi, "New York" roll, "mango tango" roll, "Phoenix" roll, "sweet potato" roll, miso soup and they are all good. It just depends on our mood. Lucky's is always a good bet for a salad. We love Plan B Burger for a good burger. Seaside Tavern is walking distance from our house so we occasionally will wander over for West coaster sliders and wild Philly sliders (they have a pretty extensive slider list). Just your typical neighborhood bar with pretty good food. Dinosaur BBQ is your best bet for some good fried green tomatoes, a Cuban sandwich and the tres ninos meats plate (their sampler plate).

Stamford, CT

Just have to make snow-angels when we get the chance

Bar Taco is the local taco joint and we always get the small plate w/ various tacos and sides. The tacos are small, pretty cheap and really good. Sierra Grille is the local version of taco bell (great for some greasy Mexican food) and the Springdale Diner is one of just many diners in the area. This has gone backwards pretty quickly though and it has not been the cleanest the last couple times we have been there so just be warned. It's always good for a good 'ol stack of diner pancakes. City Limits Diner is our local choice when it comes to diners. Definitely a little more upscale than your average diner experience. We always get a nice stack of pancakes, a good waffle and the country breakfast. We sometimes get mimosas, but they don't tend to not be the greatest. Tomatillo Taco Joint is becoming somewhat of a quick favorite of ours to just run in and out for a good Mexican dish.

Olio was one of our new favorites. We shared the seared sea scallops which were really good. In addition we had the house made fettuccine w/ basil and squash (this was an extremely

Beach & Barn

Bean and corn mussels - it was really good

rich dish but still very good) and then also the sea bass w/ tomatoes and zucchini (very good). We finished it off with the tres leches (also good). One of our favorite new Italian places - good food and very reasonable. Another newcomer to the restaurant scene in Stamford is Cask Republic. It was started by a local group who also owns a couple other more upscalish bar/food places. This one just verifies the fact that beer is the craze right now - especially micro-brews. It's set-up in a very open concept with lots of space and a plethora of choices for beer. The food was ok - we did more of a "tasting-menu" by creating one from mostly appetizers consisting of squash soup (ok), beets (ok), cauliflower (ok), and the cask burger with an english muffin (easily the highlight of the meal). The beers are definitely a highlight and are the real reason for a visit. Definitely go for the beers and get a burger. Other than this we finally tried out a little local dive right around the corner from us - the Royal Guard Fish and Chips. It's an old place that has been there forever. We

Beach & Barn

Ginger crusted salmon - so good

had the fried fish, scallops, and shrimp. It's fried food and definitely hits the spot when you are in need of grease, but nothing to write home about.

And we keep going - we recently also tried Siena Ristorante which has been in town for forever. We started with a split Caesar salad which was good for a Caesar salad. Nikkie had the tagliatelle ai funghi - fresh thin pasta, sauteed wild mushroom and truffle essence. It was very good, but once again extremely rich (yeah we know truffle is supposed to be rich, but this was heavy stuff). I was lucky enough to convince the waiter to bring me half portions of two of the dishes (we are all about trying everything). So I went with the tortelli w/ roasted veal and cheese ravioli, light veal reduction and sage sauce (good) and scialatielli w/ caramelized onion, shrimp and crispy zucchini (very good). There was absolutely no room for desert after this (we definitely recommend a visit). For desert you can make the short walk up the street to Lorca (local coffee shop with some good coffee and yummy deserts). For a decent burger and bar experience hit up

Elm Street Oyster House

Can you tell that we love oysters

Murphys Townhouse Cafe. A little in the middle of nowhere and out of the way and hidden, but a place the locals visit as it definitely is off the beaten path.

The Norwalk/ Darien suburb is probably the next town(s) on the list. Bodega Taco Bar in Darien is a favorite. We've gotten the al pastor enchiladas (ok) and baby back ribs (good), pomarita margharita (ok), and michelada rojo (good). A "Mexican" establishment with food outside of what you will get at your typical Mexican joint. Also definitely much more upscale and very, very hip during night as it is the place to be for drinks. Little Thai Kitchen is very close by and we mostly just order take-out from here, but the food rarely disappoints. We get the Tom Kar - sweet coconut soup (really good) and clear broth duck noodle bowl (not great). Coromandel Cuisine is our local Indian fix. It's more of a chain in the area, but we love to go there on a Sunday for lunch and just get the buffet. Always a good choice with lots of options. Right across the "town border" is Saritas Mexican Bakery. This is owned by someone we

Stamford, CT

Homemade South Afircan "beskuit". Love this stuff.

know. A real Mexican bakery dive that also serve very authentic food with tacos w/ all kinds of things. Also in Norwalk is The Ginger Man. This one was kind of a big disappointment to us. There is one in Greenwich as well, but this one is much more scaled down with a smaller menu. We got the Royale and cheese burger and the duck queso quesadilla. Both were ok, but the place was pretty dead and the service not the greatest.

Next up is Greenwich which I mentioned above. This is where the original Ginger Man is located at and we have had much more good luck here. We get the BBQ pork sliders and the burger between english muffin here which are always winners. Boxcar Cantina is always a favorite of ours since the owners are from Northern New Mexico and we can always go there to get our red chili and green chili fix on top of a good burrito. We also get the guacamole (good) and chicken enchiladas (really good). For desert we usually go with the chocolate brownie or flan gargantua. Right up the street is Elm Street Oyster House which we always wanted

Stamford, CT

Full moon over the cove

to go to in our time on the east coast and so we finally made it one Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining, we got seats outside and started with some kusshi, Sun hollow, Cherrystone Creek and eagle creek oysters. Yes - we do absolutely love oysters. We also got the steamed mussels which were really good.

Take I-95 up north and you start running into typical east coast towns. On your way up from Stamford you will pass through Fairfield. We were craving noodles so we looked online for a good noodle bar - the city has plenty, but we just did not have the energy to make a drive to the city. And surprise-surprise Connecticut did not have much to offer for a noodle bar except Mecha Noodle Bar in Fairfield. They were really busy so they brought us edamame on the house which was good. We ordered the kale salad w/ miso vinaigrette (one of the best kale salads we've had). For main courses we got the Pho Tai - rare beef, rice noodles, chicken broth, cilantro, scallions, onions (good) and miso ramen - chashu, red miso, scallion, mushroom, chili oil (good as well). A really

Boxcar Cantina

When we need our New Mexican fix we go here for good ol' green and/ or red chili

nice meal for very, very cheap.

Further up I-95 you run into BRANFORD. Its a couple miles past New Haven. We love New Haven and the restaurants there. One such restaurant we never got the chance to eat at was ROOMBA. After they closed the chefs bounced around a couple towns in the area and now currently run BEACH & BARN in Branford. This restaurant is good because the chefs just took the favorite dishes from all their other restaurants and put it on this menu. For drinks we got the mojito w/ cane sugar (very sweet). Our dishes were:
1) mussels w/ corn, sausage and beans (really good - lots of flavors and first time we have seen corn and beans in a mussel sauce)
2) chowder (very smokey which generally adds really good tastes to a chowder)
3) ginger crusted salmon w/ grits (delicious - one of the better salmon dishes we've ever had and one of their most popular dishes)
4) meatloaf sandwich - definitely different but good
5) deconstructed tres leches (good)

We really enjoyed the meal and would highly recommend it for the ambiance, service and good food.

Boxcar Cantina

Flan

I little bit out of the way from the highway, but worth the detour. And last but not least right before the Rhode Island border you will run into the little town of Stonington. Very, very pretty little town and right smack in the middle you will find Milagros Cafe. Very small and also good food. We got margharitas with some friends and had the mole poblano which was really good.

That was the customary CT food blog. Likes - well we really like the state. It has a lot of different things to offer and a lot to do. Unfortunately we try and explore out of state when we have time off so not much more to offer on this blog besides all the food. Dislikes - well honestly the only bad thing we can say is the traffic. Traffic gets really brutal at times. But this is also the perfect time to just go all the way up route 1 or explore back-country Connecticut.

Once again this is an "empty" blog when it comes to the books. Unfortunately once again we could not cross-off anything. So still 224 down and 5,557 to go. Hey