come dine with me...

Bon Voyage Party tonight so we went out for wings. I had read a review of the new wings restaurant started by the owners of the Elbow Room in West Hartford. Sounded great; nice room and a big beer menu with lots of different types of wings. So I googled it and found the menu. All set for a great night and off we go..........

Well, why did two places specializing in wings come up with practically identical names: Wings over West Hartford and West Wings Bar and Grill? AND they are both really on Prospect Avenue except that Wings Over... says it is on the Boulevard. It is on the Boulevard if you enter that part of the parking lot BUT it does face Prospect Avenue.

So anyway, we go waltizing into Wings Over... thinking that we are at West Wings and it's this teeny little takeout place with four minitables and six chairs. Starving [as usual] we decide to stay and it was a good choice. Will have to try out the 'other place' for its ambience but I bet no one can beat the wings here!

Ordering a Hangar 2 [food for two] with the 727 which is one and a half pounds of wings [25 of them] with the possibility of 5 sauces [we chose West Texas Mesquite, Sweet Onion, Lemon Pepper, Jamaican Jerk and something else...]. This comes with 2 soft drinks, fries and celery sticks with bleu cheese dressing. AND we ordered a large onion rings. Everything was delicious and we finished all but the fries.

bloginfo: our order came to just under $30 but takeout is the name of the game
blognote: google the menu and try to decide on what you want as it is mind boggling once you get there

Labels: BBQ, Comfort Food, Hartford, wings

Birthday burger tiime! Visited Red Robin Burgers in Manchester, CT because they sent me a birthday burger certificate. Honest, that is the only reason I went!
Spinach Artichoke Dip [$8.49], Ensalada Chicken Platter [$10.79] and my Guacamole Bacon Burger [$8.99] with unlimited Steak Fries [not all remarkable].
But they deducted the Chicken Platter from the check and didn't even sing to me!!!!! Now, that's a birthday party.

For lunch I was taken to the Aero Diner on the Boston Post Road, Route 6 in North Windham, CT. This is a real 1958 Bramson Diner. I had the Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad. What a day, what a day!

Labels: Connecticut, Hamburgers and such

On our quest for tostones we went to Las Palmas for lunch. There were no tostones displayed at the counter which could be a good thing or not.

They offered to make up a bunch for us but said it would take a little time. So we ordered a small batch. While waiting for the tostones to be prepared we sampled an empanada, an empanadilla and an alcapurria [all filled with meat]. The crescent shaped pastry empanadilla was the better than the empanada meat pie. The alcapurria, meat filling encased in ground yautía. All were, of course, deep fried.

The tostones arrived with two cruets, one of oil and one of garlic infused oil. These were not the best tostones ever but they were fresh, hot and truly Puerto Rican. And all this with a diet Coke came to $7.50!

bloginfo: 375 Wethersfield Avenue, Hartford, CT and good parking
blognote: next time I will try some of the great looking rice and get a bacalaito

Labels: Hartford, Puerto Rican

Prix-fixe lunch at the Masala Restaurant [$12.95] was wonderful.

The appetizer choices were Beef Skewers and Crispy Vegetables. We both opted for the crispy vegetables. This was a mélange of minced veggies [some fried others raw] in a yougart sauce. Very tasty.

The first entrée choice was Subz aur Tofu ki Tarkari which was a vegetable and fried tofu dish in a masala sauce. My choice was the Gustava: fennel/ginger flavored meatballs in a brown gravy and it was super. The meal also included a basket of Chapati bread and a dish of Black Bean Daal. There was also a bowl of rice flavored with fennelgreek.

Dessert was one ball of Gulab-Jamun; the best I have ever had.


Masala calls itself "innovative cuisine" from India. If by innovative owners Vilpesh Patel and Navin Suvarna mean their kitchen somehow manages to extract the most gorgeous flavors from the vast Indian pantry (and, indeed, from the cooking styles of various regions of India) then, yes, Masala would have to qualify as innovative. Chef Melvin Tigga has created a menu that presents an unrelenting volley of flavors, textures and intensities that delight the palate and excite the senses - the culinary equivalent of falling in love. [from Greg Morago's July 12th review in the Hartford Courant]

bloginfo: Masala is at 391 Main Street [corner of Capitol Avenue] where Low Country and long ago Capitol Fish were located.
860.882.0900
blognote: the room is gorgeous

Labels: Hartford, Indian

What a difference a day makes....
Today's lunch was super and much better than the earlier review.
Stick with the daily specials is my new advice and so I did and I was rewarded:

Started with a cup of soup: Ham/Lentil and it was silky smooth, salty and tasty [$3.95]. All three of us had the Grilled Chicken Italian Sandwich: charcoal grilled juicy chicken breast with capicolla ham, roasted peppers and provolone cheese on a soft roll [$8.95]. Excellent!

After our 'driving tour' of Hartford we stopped at the Mozzicato Bakery on Franklin Avenue for Italian: Almond, Strawberry and Lemon. Great place, great atmosphere.

[earlier review from June 20th]

Four of us went to Arch Street Tavern for lunch todayl Had driven by there so many times but went for the first time today.

The four entrées were: Tuna Melt, Corned Beef on Rye, the Quiche and Salad of the day [Spinach] and a daily special. I, of course, ordered the special which was a Field Greens Salad with Fresh Mozarella and Blackened Shrimp [4 jumbo] and a Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing [$12.95]. This was excellent and the quiche looked good and was a good sized slice also.

For dessert there were two orders of 'a scoop of vanilla ice cream' [wimps] and the Snickers Pie. Well, the last piece of pie went out to someone else. I reordered the Chocolate Royale Cake. This was also excellent [$4.95]

bloginfo: Arch Street Tavern is at 85 Arch Street, Hartford, CT right downtown in the area behind City Hall.
Telephone: 860.246.7610

bloginfo: parking situation looked good; we walked over however
Allison waited our table and did a really nice job
Monday nights they have a Jazz Group
www.archstreettavern.com for menus and info

Labels: Comfort Food, Connecticut, Hartford

Ate at O'Porto this evening as part of the Taste of Hartford 2007 [dinners were $20.07 get it?]. I had eaten here for lunch once or twice and really enjoyed it. Tonight was even better. Excellent food, great service and an interesting room.


We started with a pitcher of White Sangría and they served us great Portuguese rolls with Olive Oil for dipping

For Appetizers we all had
Fillet de Sardinha Grelhada a Portuguésa
Fresh Boneless Grilled Fillets of Portuguese Imported Sardines, Sliced ripe Tomatoes, and Roasted Pepper.

For Entrées two of us had Bife à Portuguesa
Certified Angus Sirloin Steak with Traditional Portuguese Steak Sauce, Garnished with Prosciutto and Fried Egg, Served with Portuguese Fried Potatoes
and one had Linguado Grelhado
Grilled Fillet of Sole, Roasted Potato, sautéed Vegetables in a Lemon-Butter Sauce Wine Sauce

For Dessert two had Flan a O’Porto, Traditional Portuguese Flan Flavored with a 10-Year Fonseca Tawny Port Wine
and one had Arroz Doce, Rice pudding

bloginfo: O'Porto is at 2074 Park Street in Hartford - 860.233.3184
www.oportohartford.com
blognotes: the Steak entrée is $20 on the regular menu so the Taste of Hartford is well worth the $$$
Parking is free and plentiful to the left of the entrance

Labels: Hartford, Portuguese

When I was in Miami last week, my neice, Johnson and Wales chef-to-be, brought some of this cheese to dinner. Well I did find it at Whole Foods today and we ate it last night. It is so creamy you can just about drink it with a straw. At $14.99, this is the start of an expensive addiction.


Fromager des Clarines is made from Mountain milk, yielding a smooth, very creamy cheese that is a must to serve as close to room temperature as possible, to release it's fresh white truffle butter flavors.

Fromager des Clarines is packed in a woodchip box like L'Edel de Cleron but is less pungent and more appealing to the less trained palette.

Serve it right inside the box, lifting off the edible top rind with a spoon. Scoop out the gourmet cheese with a crisp bread stick or onto your favorite water cracker or baguette.

Labels: Cheese, Gourmet

Genji Express at Whole Foods in West Hartford has an eat-in sushi bar.

And I visted there again alone today. I had the Grilled Salmon and Avocado Outside Roll. It was, of course, very fresh and it made a great 'dietetic' quick lunch. [$7.95]


Previous visit:

Nice meal there today with Green Tea, Miso Soup and an Avacado Roll. They make the sushi to order. Also have sashimi and nigiri. Very extensive menu. The take-out items looked great.

Whole meal came to $6.26; they include tax and tip. Also got a free sample of a piece of crunchy spicy tuna sushi.

bloginfo: Genji Express in located inside the West Hartford Whole Foods store on Raymond Road. The hours for eat-in are 11 to 2 and 4 to 7.
www.genjiweb.com

blognotes: the store is located at the very site of 44 Raymond Road where my grandmother, Cornelia Mary Shea Mills, lived and taught piano. She was a vaudevillian and played ragtime and boogie-woogie

Labels: Asian, Japanese, Sushi

Went to see 'The Namesake' at the Wadsworth Atheneum so decided to stay with the theme and eat Indian food. This is a charming gem of a restaurant. It is nicely decorated, the service is great and the food is inexpensive and delicious.



Had a Kingfisher beer and an order of puffy Poori Bread and a side of Mango Chutney.
Entrées were Lamb Masala [pepper and onion sauce] and Lamb Saag [spinach yoghurt sauce]. This came with Daal, Sautéed Cabbage and Basmati Rice. We ordered everything mildly spiced and it was [all except for the Onion condiment but he warned us of this].

bloginfo: 481 Wethersfield Ave, Hartford, CT 06114
(860) 296-9685
blognote: parking could be a bit difficult; there are spaces for 6 cars in front of the restaurant [over the sidewalk]
For veteran readers of this blog: this is a lot like the Chalé Ipanema fiasco where the fire hydrant became embedded in my rear door [no fire hydrant here though]!

See the accompanying movie review at www.turning70.blogspot.com

Labels: Indian

Found the perfect pizza crust!


Lunch at Tommy's Restaurant in Middletown up on the hill overlooking the city. Had a Sam's Summer Ale and a Buffalo Chicken Pizza with a side of Marinara Sauce. What a delicious way to spend a hot and muggy afternoon; we sat in the well air-conditioned bar. There is a patio and a dining room but we were all alone tucked into a cool island of pizza bliss.

blognotes: Tommy's Restaurant is located at 825 Saybrook Road in Middletown, CT
860.346.8686

Labels: al fresco, Italian, Middletown, Pizza

Ate here in today's good weather; beautiful sunny day and great view of the lake.



Very good bread and an Garlic Olive Oil dip to start

Two entrées; Shrimp and Scallop Scampi [the sauce a little drab but the seafood excellent]
and my Portabella and Spinach Ravioli with Grilled Shrimp in a Pesto Cream Sauce which was very tasty!

Last year's review: 3/26/07

Can just imagine this place when the weather gets better; windows looking onto the lake and an outside bar terrace!

Shared a Fried Calamari appetizer [$8.95]. Good but with too many fried hot cherry peppers.

Two entrées: Cajun Rib Eye under a coating of Bleu Cheese with Garlic Mashed Potatoes [$23.95]. 'Early Bird': Beef Minestrone Soup, Focacia with oil/garlic dip and Roasted Vegetable Penne [eggplant, squash and portabello mushrooms].

bloginfo: Angelico's Lake House, 81 North Main Street, East Hampton, CT 06424
phone: 860.267.1276
blognotes: Laura was our server [good job]

Labels: Connecticut, Gourmet