come dine with me...

Tonight we traveled to Tapas in West Hartford for their advertised Monday/Tuesday Night Special: Greek Sampler Platter for $12.95.

Started with wine: Campo Rioja and Tiziano Pinot Grigio [$7 and $6.50] and two orders of a special appetizer, Baked Clams [$4.95]. The clam shells were big and stuffed with chopped clams and a good stuffing and served piping hot. Then the Greek house salad with 'almost famous' dressing which is delicious. This Greek salad is about the best you can get [outside of Greece].

Entrées were the Greek Sampler Platter containing a grilled chicken skewer, spanakopita, sliced beef gyro served over rice with tzatziki sauce and toasted pita. What a plate of delicious food for the money.

Dessert: Three coffees and one Bakalava [$3.95] to share.

bloginfo: website
1150 New Britain Avenue, West Hartford, CT phone: 860.521.4609
blognote: good website with menu and 'win dinner for two!'

Labels: Connecticut, Greek, Hartford

Went to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston today to see the 'El Greco to Velázquez' Exhibit. We ate at Bravo, the second floor restaurant and had a wonderful meal.

A Taste of España was the special prix fixe lunch of the day for $24.

Started with good, crusty bread and butter. A glass of Segura Viudas Aria Estate Brut Sparkling - Cava for me. A glass of Martinsancho Verdejo Perellada 2006 - Penedes for my tablemate.

Entrada: Chilled Tangerine and Red Wine Soup [great]
Plato: Roasted Pork Belly, Manzanilla Olives over Frisée [super]
Postre: Almond Blanc Mange over Caramel Sauce with Honey Wafer [just a taste]

Then cups of good coffee.

bloginfo: Very nicely decorated room [pumpkin cream walls] with comfortable seating. Excellent service as Xavier was especially knowledgeable of the menu and the paired wine choices.
blognote: The exhibit was excellent but the large paintings were poorly lit with ceiling light reflections obscuring some details.

Labels: Boston, Gourmet, Museum

Lunch today at the Nordstrom Café at Westfarms Mall in Farmington, CT

Started with the soup of the day: Tomato Basil Bisque; delicious, thick and tasty [$3.50]. Served with a gigantic parmesan crouton.

Entrées were: Lime Cilantro Chicken Salad of field greens, corn, pumpkins seeds and, of course, chicken with a super dressing. Very nice [$8.95].
Salmon Niçoise Salad over field greens with a perfectly grilled piece of salmon, haricot verts, roasted potato chunks, calamata olives and roasted peppers. Great dressing and a sweet meal with the two rolls and butter [$10.25].
Drinks were Saratoga sparkling water in their svelte blue bottles. No dessert!

blognote: Esther waited on our table; she has been there since the Café opened and she is a doll.

Labels: Cafeteria, Connecticut

Rainy day today so was a great time to visit an old favorite for lunch.
Started with Crisp Baby Calamari [$11.00] was great as usual. What is that dipping sauce?

One entrée was Triple Delight [$11.00] full of chicken, pork, shrimp and vegetables. This looks good everytime I see it so I may have to order it sometime. The other two entrées were Amoy Grilled Salmon [$12.00] with Scallion Fried Rice. The salmon was cooked medium as requested and rubbed with some spicy spices [poetic?] and had a chili paste dipping sauce. Good but could have been hotter [temperature]. Luncheon specials include soup so I had the Hot Sour Soup. The other two orders were WonTon and they were declared a bit spicy this time.

bloginfo: Forbidden City Bistro & Art Gallery is located at 335 Main Street in Middletown, CT
Telephone: 343.8288
blognote: service was a bit slow today

Labels: Chinese, Connecticut, Middletown

After Theater Works' production of 'Blackbird' we went to Sauce in Glastonbury. I had been wanting to go there for quite a while. This afternoon, a fund raiser was just finishing up so it was quite noisy even though they sat us in the farthest corner possible.

Started outside on the terrace with a Campari and Soda [too much soda]. The others had some good wines: Chardonnay Cantele and Chianti Borga.

We split salads for appetizers: Baby Spinach with sun dried tomato vinaigrette, polenta crouton, goat cheese {$8.50] and a Sicilian Wedge of crisp iceberg lettuce, grape tomatoes, creamy garlic gorzonola and bacon chips [$7.95]. Good focaccio and bread to start with roasted tomato sauce [we asked for olive oil]

Entrées: Wild Mushroom Gnocchi: roasted wild mushrooms and braised butter leeks, tossed with potato gnocchi, chives and truffle oil [$18.95]; Sauce Bolognese: beef, pork and veal bolognese served with over-sized rigatoni, topped with fresh ricotta and parmesan [$19.95]; Broccoli Rabe & Sausage: sweet sausage, sautéed broccoli rabe, tossed with garlic. olive oil and orecchiette [$16.95]. My entrée was Gorgonzola Bucatini: sautéed chicken, prosciutto, sweet onions, broccoli tossed with bucatini [$19.95].

Dessert menu looked interesting but skipped that course.

bloginfo: Sauce is located on Hebron Avenue, Glastonbury, CT. Telephone 430.5940
Website: not functioning at present
blofnote: while everyhing was prepared fresh and tasted delicious, nothing was truly special
I might try their Ciccchetti [small plates] with wine another time

Labels: Connecticut, Italian

Another spring break adventure today but the President [and his motorcade] made us to go plan B at Plan B. Anyway, Plan B is a great hamburger café in West Hartford. So, since we couldn't go up Route 91 to Northampton as previously planned we detoured to West Hartford and ate here. Good choice!

We each opted for a Garden Salad [$2.99] with house Champagne Vinaigrette dressing; they were very good.
Two entreés [mine included] were the Burger Flights [$11.99]: one good beef hamburger, one unadorned salmon burger and one chicken pesto cheese burger. They were all excellent but the chickenburger was the winner. The other entree was the Ultimate Cheese burger [$10.59] which had two cheeses in the hamburger mixture and two different cheeses surrounding the burger. It was declared delicious. They all came with good thin fries.

Labels: Connecticut, Hamburgers and such

We didn't have much luck finding dessert in either Northampton or East Hadley but ended up in Glastonbury on the way home at Coldstone Creamery. Here we each had a signature conglomeration with cute names. Mine was the Mud Pie Mojo which had coffee ice cream, peanuts, oreo cookie and peanut butter; expensive but deadly [$4.95 each with another charge for a waffle bowl].

bloginfo: Plan B is at 138 Park Road, West Hartford, CT telephone 231.1199
for ice cream info: Coldstone

Labels: Connecticut, Ice Cream

Today's spring break adventure took us to Lenny & Joe's Fishtale in Madison [the rustic one].

We each had a different dinner: Scallops [$12.99]. Softshell Crab [$12.99] and for me Whole Belly Clams [$14.99]. Each dinner comes with decent french fries, good coleslaw and tartar sauce. I also ordered a small order of Fried Onion Rings [$3.19].
Everything was great, as usual, and we enjoyed the meal intensely. The scallops are perhaps the signature meal at Lenny & Joe's, succulent and nutty.

bloginfo:There are two Lenny & Joe's Fishtale locations. I prefer the one at which we ate with counter service and picnic tables inside and out. Look on the website [see above] for info on both, menus, directions, etc.
blognote; I had never eated softshell crab before and found it very tasty. But I still prefer my whole belly clams.

Labels: Connecticut, Seafood