Simsbury the 'Inn' place to be....

Went to TheaterWorks yesterday to see 'The Exonerated'. Good play, well staged and riveting.

Ate at the Evergreens Restaurant at The Simsbury Inn. Went with TheaterWorks group: MER, NO, TD and yours truly. NO had two different discount cards so two entrées got subtracted from the bill!

NO and I had appetizers: he had the Fried Calamari and I had Split Pea and Ham Soup. I tasted the calarami but was not impressed. The soup, however, was quite tasty. A nice basket of bread accompanied by an Herbed Chipotle Butter helped stave off hunger pangs as we perused the menu.

For entrée MER and I had the Roast Duckling special with Roasted Root Vegetables and Cranberries over a Cornmeal Stuffing, TD had Swordfish topped with Ginger Grapefruit Butter [with Mashed Red Bliss Potatoes] instead of rice] and NO had the Osso Bucco.

We all skipped dessert but sat and enjoyed the grand piano player who had started playing as we were finishing our meals.

The winner was the Split Pea and Ham Soup. The Duckling was not crispy as described and a bit fatty. The Osso Bucco looked a little dry.

bloginfo: Evergreens is located on the second floor of The Simsbury Inn at 397 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury. Phone is 860.651.5700.

blognotes: The dining room is very well appointed. The tables are set far enough apart for good conversation. The service was very nice. The piano player lent a festive atmosphere to the dining [many people were evidently there for Valentine's Day]. The dessert menus [in silver frames] reflected the holiday.

LUCE for MSG

The MSG from NEAC met at LUCE today. The whole gang was there: B&M, J&J, B and Mofongoman. We had a late start [and early finish for BW] to our 'meeting' luncheon.

BW had the Soup de Poisson [Salmon, Scallops, Mussels and Shrimp] and his own basket of bread. JCf had a Cheesburger with Fries, JCm and BM had the Philly Cheese Steak Panini with Caramelized Anise, Arugula, Swiss Cheese and Whole Grain Mustard Spread. LM and I had the Salami Panini with Soprasatta, Prosciutto and Provolone and Tomato Aioli. This was 'salami' in the true Italian sense of the word: coldcuts not just salami as we know it.

All the Panini came with chips and a scattering of Field Greens. We all fell in love with the Oil and [Balsamic] Vinegar cruet which held both. A very intense discussion followed as to the preferred order that the ingredients be added to the salad greens [oil first and vinegar second seemed to be the winner].

We all had a dessert. BW had the Creme Brulée with a liqueur topping. LM had the Panna Cotta with Dried Fruit which he declared the best ever. The rest of the gang had the dessert special of a Chocolate and Ricotta filled and a Strawberry and Ricotta filled Cannolis.

The loser was the Cheeseburger [not cooked medium but a charred exterior/rare interior].
The winners were just about everything else.

Bloginfo: LUCE is located at 98 Washington Street [corner of Main] in the old Caulkin's Cadillac Showroom. Many restaurants have been located here [Cornerstone's, Fiasco, etc.........]. The telephone is 344-0222 and the Fax is 860.343.8577.