Jake's Hamburgers [CT]

Happy Birthday to Me! Everyone wants to give me a free burger for my birthday: Jakes, Red Robin and Ruby Tuesday. So I took my coupon to Cromwell which had electricity after Hurricane Irene and cashed in with the burger of the month: BBQ Crunch Burger [$5.69]. This was a double cheeseburger topped with potato chips and BBQ sauce and it was actually very good but the burgers here are always good. Where to next?

June 21, 2011

Free Strawberry Lemonade Milkshake today!!! It was good and just small enough to make believe there weren't many calories in it. Also had to have June's Burger of the Month: Grilled Chicken Club on Pretzel Bread. 'Bite in to a delicious, grilled chicken sandwich, topped with cheddar cheese, bacon and ranch dressing'. It was very good and the chicken was tender. This was another way to make believe I was having a dietetic lunch.

February 25, 2011

Field trip in the rain to Jake's Wayback Hamburgers in Rocky Hill. Have seen this place in several 'lives' and felt drawn to the hamburger hype.

Two of us: he ordered the Jake's Junior [1 patty] Bacon Cheeseburger [$3.89]. The list of extras [all free] is rather long; his was lettuce and tomato. Also ordered the famous 'real milkshake' in vanilla [$3.99] which was real good.

I had a Turkey Burger [$4.49] with lettuce, tomato, fried onions and mayo. This was the best seasoned turkey burger I have ever tried. Onion rings [$3.99] and french fries [$2.19] were good but not amazing.

bloginfo: The website locally is Jakes' Hamburgers but you get the same site.

blognote: Friendly and efficient service

j gilbert's

Chef's Tasting Menu was awesome! There were four courses for $35 [w/wine pairings $50]. The whole experience was beyond pictures; they do not do it credit. The highlights of each course are underlined.

TUNA  CRUDO
cucumber “soba” noodles, tomato ceviche, watermelon pickles, aji amarillo coulis, chipotle aioli
wine pairing:
Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc (New Zealand) 2010

BUTTER POACHED LOBSTER TAIL
native tomato marmalade, gold potato blini, micro celery, pickled red onion, lobster-tarragon emulsion
wine pairing:
Raymond “R” Collection Chardonnay (Monterey) 2009

BRAISED BONELESS SHORTRIBS

sweet corn polenta cake, goat cheese stuffed squash blossom, roasted mushroom pan jus, horseradish foam

wine pairing:
Guenoc Petit Syrah (Lake County) 2009

VANILLA-MANGO

salted vanilla-caramel ice cream, mango “tartare”, strawberry fluid gel, vanilla olive oil cake, mango sorbet

wine pairing:
Inniskillin Vidal Ice wine (Ontario)

blognote: Find website here at j gilberts

amuse bouche of Clam Casino which was the greatest start to a fantastic meal [did I say that already?]

and to top it all off some bags of Guava filled Chocolate Macaroons [and Doggie Treats which would be the ultimate doggy bag! 

blognote: The service by Bill was excellent. He explained each course and set the progression to our liking.

Butterfly Restaurant

After theater dinner for five and a very successful meal here at Butterfly.

Started with the Peking Duck [$30.95] with 8 pancakes. Delicious and prepared tableside. Then three entreés: Shrimp with Broccoli [$12.25], Chicken with Cashews [$9.25] and Sliced Beef Hunan Style [$10.25]. Of the three, I liked the beef the best but the shrimp was very good and the broccoli delicious.

blognote: Coupon, from the coupon maven, for 20% off the meals.

June 27, 2009

Celebration dinner here tonight with a party of eight relatives and friends.

Started with a bottle or two of Pinot Grigio and a double order of Peking Duck [for two]. The duck was wrapped tableside and the eight legs were devoured quickly. Everyone had one of the three offered soups: Egg Drop, Wonton and Hot Sour.

We then went on with a table full of Mango Shrimp [special that night], Sweet Sour Shrimp, Pork Egg Foo Young, House Fried Rice and House Lo Mein. Also, one of my favorites, the Dried Sautéed String Beans.

It was a wonderful meal with good friends and lots of fond memories.

bloginfo: Check out the menu here.

blognote: This graphic is very special; see the poem ['J'] it inspired under the May 10th date in my poetry blog.

Sakura Garden [CT]

Lunch here today was a real bargain [$14.95] and we left very full! Started with sushi and ordered more midmeal: Eel, Shrimp Tempura, Peanut/Avocado and a Tiger Roll which was crab, spicy sauce and a marbled seaweed wrap.

Tiger Roll and Peanut/Avocado Roll

The highlights of the meal were the Kani salad, spicy calamari salad, shrimp scampi and fried dumplings. Service was great and the place was getting real busy as we left.

July 22, 2011
Had a fantastic dinner tonight [with the aid of a $35 coupon] at Sakura Garden in West Hartford. The concept seemed a little daunting at first but with the help of our server Melissa we soon figured it out. You pay a flat fee depending on lunch or dinner and day of the week. Our price was $28.95 a person [the highest category: dinner/weekend]. With this fee you get access to a wonderful buffet and any [as much as you can eat] sushi/sashimi from a menu with no prices. The row of sushi chefs was awesome. 

We started with an order of Fried Lobster Sushi, an order of Sweet Potato Tempura and a piece of Niguri White Tuna [for me]. You can see that the other two diners were not into 'raw' fish. The choices of sushi were non-ending and included favorites such as traditional rolls [we later ordered a Philadelphia Roll] and Sakura Maki Creations [Shrimp Mango Roll, Dragon Roll, Spicy Tuna Sandwich, etc.].

The buffet was loaded with every great Japanese delicacy you could imagine. There were Kumamoto Oysters, Edamame, Kani Salad, all sorts of Tempura, Shrimp prepared several ways, Chicken Yakitori, Gyoza, etc. The only 'fillers' were a Chicken Fried Rice and Noodles with all the rest of the entrée level.

There was fresh fruit in abundance and cakes, pies and cheesecake. We even had Green Tea Ice Cream from the kitchen.

bloginfo: Scout out the best time for your culinary needs in the website.

blognote: Some of the items could have been a little hotter.

No Anchovies [CT]

Had a slice [and a half] from No Anchovies New York Style Pizzaria in Cromwell in the KMart Plaza tonight. The slice [$3.25] of Ciappino [also known as Margarita but should stick to that name or correct the spelling of 'cioppino'] was huge. Good crust and good sauce, very fresh tasting.

bloginfo: Free delivery 860.635.7374

blognote: Thirsty Thursday beer is $2.00 with pizza

J's Restaurant and Bar

Taste of Hartford round two at J's Restaurant tonight.

There were two tasting menus so we each ordered a different one. They were all winners but some were just plain exquisite:

Sweet Corn Cannoli vs Melon and Prosciutto Soup

Waldorf Salad vs Asparagus and Shaved Pecorino Salad

Grilled Watermelon and Haloumi vs Grilled Lobster Roll

Grilled Eggplant and Feta Meatballs vs Fire Sliders

Grilled Lobster Roll

Grilled Watermelon & Haloumi

bloginfo: Taste of Hartford $23.11 and what a deal!
blognote: cannoli too thick, soup fantastic, apple slices in waldorf salad huge, asparagus salad wonderful, grilled watermelon had the texture of sirloin and was super, haloumi [cypriot salty goat cheese, yes!], potatoes on lobster roll super fine and good hunks of lobster, meatballs were pure lamb and chargrilled to divinity, fire sliders with brie, wasabi fried onions, cucumbers and spicy tomato mayonnaise were the perfect end to a culinary experiment

Fat and Happy

Not only was the food fantastic at Fat and Happy this evening so was the service. Damian M was our server and he kept things rolling along.

One of the specials of the evening was Surf, Surf and Turf [$27.95] and it was a plate full of goodness. I was the lucky one: hanger steak with a mustard sauce, fresh sautéed green beans, corn hash and a kabob of two delicious scallops with a jumbo shrimp in the middle. This I accompanied with a glass of Sam Adams  Latitude 48 ipa which was great with the steak.  The other entrée was the Shepherd's Pie [$13] full of lamby goodness, filled with carrots, peas and onions and topped with mashed potatoes covered with melted Vermont cheddar cheese. A glass of Pinot Grigio Torre [$7] helped that do down.

Never the one to wimp out over dessert but rather full, we let Damian choose between the NY Cheesecake with blueberry/mint sauce and the Chocolate Truffle Cake [$7]. See what he chose; good choice!

Trumbull Kitchen

Taste of Hartford tonight round one! We ate at Trumbull Kitchen and was it a winner! Started off with good bread and flatbread accompanied by a garlic butter spread. Then a glass of Pinot Block9 which was great with the entrée. Breaking all culinary laws we both ordered the same exact food!

Appetizer: Shrimp 
and 
Crab 
Fresh
 Summer
 Roll with a
 Horseradish‐edamame
 purée,
 lime and basil
. This was extremely fresh, light and filled with crab.

Entrée: Roasted 
Angus
 Sirloin 
and
 Stonington 
Scallops 
St.
Jacques
 with a fresh
 herbed
 aioli and Rosedale
Farms
 beans. What a terrific combination!!! The scallops were as tender as could be and the sirloin was cooked to perfection [medium rare]. Great taste.

Dessert: Local
 Peach 
and
 Blueberry 
Crisp
 with The 
Creamery
 vanilla 
bean 
ice
cream

. Refreshing and so so fresh. That was the word for the entire meal: FRESH.

bloginfo: Taste of Hartford is from August 1st to 14th this year. Don't miss it.

blognote: Probably the best Taste of Hartford meal to date. Everything was fine and Krystal was the perfect server.