Banana Brasil

Usually get just the buffet when at Banana Brasil but today with several guests I opted for the +Carne version. There is always an adequate amount of meat choices on the buffet but this is so much better. I love the Feijoada as dark as it gets and the potato salad and especially the Farofa to sprinkle on everything. But the Chicken, Steak and Sausages cooked in the open oven were delicious. There is a bit of salt to boost the flavor but the meat is so tender and juicy. You can choose the doneness of the meat and I chose medium rare for the steak. The first sausage I had was ordered mild and the second I got spicy. Go for the spicy! The fresh Maracuya juice was the perfect complement to the meal. Everyone, especially those from Panama, enjoyed the meal.

Blognote: Parking on street and in lot to the side of the restaurant.

Rosita's Latin Cuisine

Last night I ate SOPES in New Britain and this afternoon I ate sopes in Mexico. Actually I ate in Rosita's in Manchester which is just about the same as eating in Mexico. This is a small restaurant in a strip mall that looks nowhere as good as the food it serves.

I was greeted in Spanish and looking into the case of available food I didn't see anything with protein just all the good things you add to your plate. My question of whether or not they had sopes was answered with a shrug meaning of course. So I tried to replicate my unsuccessful meal of the previous night and ordered some. I was asked what meat I wanted on them so went with the 'al pastor' version which is really spit-grilled pork. To this I added two of three choices of add-ons: avocado and white cheese [but no sour cream]. Then I picked up some goodies from the case: platanos maduros and arroz con frijoles. I managed to finish these with a mug of ice cold tamarind juice before my sopes arrived. And they did arrive in their glory. Plump and crispy sope shells filled with the meat and cheese and lettuce and salsa topped with slices of just ripe avacado. What a meal! Rosita's is a bit far from my cottage but it doesn't necessitate a flight to Mexico.

bloginfo: no website yet [see YELP]

Bombay Olive

My old standard for Indian food...Bombay Olive always come through with menu variety, taste and service. After splitting a large Taj Mahal beer we ordered Lamb Saag [me], Lang Korma [her] and to share a serving of Naan and Raita. 

Banana Brasil

Great meal today at Banana Brasil with a group of 12 from my retirement community. We all went for the $11.99 All You Can Eat Buffet. This was a true bargain. The other alternative includes the bbq meat for an extra $4. There was enough meat on the regular buffet to make that the bargain: pork, beef, chicken and fish. The fish was fried and crispy while the beef was falling off  the bone. There were plenty of vegetable dishes but they received short shrift in favor of the other heartier entrées. The white rice even had a good amount of meat in it. My favorite is the farofa [cassava] with bacon. Each dish had its own distinctive flavor so the whole meal is an aventure.

pão de queijo

Bombay Olive

This seems to be the place I end up after theater matinée. Bombay Olive was our stop again for dinner again.

Order a Kingfisher which was very cold and very good accompaniment to my dinner. Also got an order each of naan and roti but the pappadums came only after we asked for them. We all had some version of lamb: Koubideh Kebab Combo [$18.95] with one ground chicken/one ground lamb kebab then another ordered the Lamb Korma [$14.95] this is my favorite. But I wanted something new so ordered from the Persian menu and had the Lamb Addas Polow [$18.95] with fluffy rice mixed with raisins, dates, lentils and slivered almonds. This was mildly spiced but the meat was medium and not medium rare. Good flavor everywhere. Large plate of naan came with our dinners. The Kebab Combo and my entrée came with a side salad which was dressed interestingly.

Lamb Addas Polow

blognote: since we were a bit early service was a bit slow...the kitchen was not quite ready for us

April 2, 2016

After 'Sex with Strangers' at Theater Works we headed out for some spicy food and ended up at a favorite. Dinner at Bombay Olive is always a treat as the food is great and the service is super. We all had some version of lamb! I ordered the Lamb Biriyani [$14.95] which was delicious and had just the right amount of heat for me [medium]. It came with a side of raita and we had two orders of Naan [$2.95 each] which added to fun of eating Indian food. A bottle of Kingfisher [$2.95] rounded out the meal.

Brazil Grill

Brazil Grill on Park Street in Hartford is the place to go for a filling of good food. The buffet is always full of great choices: feijoada, red beans, white rice, chicken Stroganoff, fried plaintains, tilapia with orange sauce and a salad bar. This is a 'por kilo' type service [self service and weigh the food].

I opted for one of the three cuts of beef, lamb, white rice smothered in feijoada and a wicked good hunk of sausage. AND they have my favorite soft drink, Guaraná, to which I became addicted while on my three summer jaunts to teach at JAMI in Belo Horizonte.

Dessert was a wedge of Brazilian flan and a [gluten free] Strawberry Shortcake cake. The flan definitely won that battle. The espresso was super also.

bloginfo: website is down

Himalaya Restaurant

Had an 'exploratory' lunch today at  Himalaya Restaurant close by. They have just opened but the menu looked interesting. Had the luncheon buffet [$7.95] and it was plentiful, tasty and fresh. I do like Indian food but certainly am not an expert in the subtle varieties of this cuisine. My favorite is Lamb Biryani and sometimes find myself ordering and reordering this.

So for today I sampled just about everything on the buffet. There were two types of bread, one naan and the other maybe roti. None of the dishes was at the super hot level and all the main courses were quite enjoyable. The relishes and the chutney were all excellent.

blognote: When I return for dinner with others, I plan to order the Chef Special Thali (complete Indian and Nepalese style dinners) [$16.95 Vegetarian or $17.95 Non-Vegetarian]. This way you can really enjoy the variety of tastes [and maybe stop ordering only Lamb Biryani!].

Bombay Olive

After theater and with a coupon in hand all five of us descended on Bombay Olive in West Hartford. I had a Kingfisher ale which was great and Lamb Biriyani while my 'across the table' partner had the Lamb Korma. We were trying to figure out which was best. I like them both, ordered medium, and got to take home a still grand portion of the Biriyani and a small portion of her Korma. The Raita served with the lamb dishes was a bit uninspired as was the service. Maybe it seemed slow due to my hunger pangs. The other dishes at the table were a Shrimp Mango Curry and a Kashmiri Lamb Rogan Josh. An order of Naan and Roti seem indistinguishable and neither were that good. All in all, the meal was flavorful and inexpensive.

Lamb Korma

Lamb Biriyani

Masala Indian Restaurant

The Royal Masala restaurant now has a website and the same terrific buffet [$9.95]. Ate here again on a walk from church. The five vegetarian options along with rice is found against one wall and lots of other goodies on the window wall. Forgot to get dessert so have to go back and try the semolina pudding. The room is so beautiful I almost jumped up and did my Bollywood routine!

8/27/12

Walked here to Masala from a meeting downtown in Hartford today. Great luncheon buffet [$11.98]. Lots to choose from and the Tikki Masala was excellent, the Pakora were good but the silky Eggplant Burtha was superb. Actually everything was good and I did try everything. Beautiful room and will try to get here at night for a menu meal.

blognote: Could not find a website; so no link.

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.

Bem Brasil [CT]

Bem Vindo = Welcome and I did feel welcome as I walked into this little Brazilian restaurant on South Whitney Street near the corner of Park.

A small buffet is at the far side and food is weighed at the counter on the left. There are dishes [large] and two types of to-go containers for your luncheon/dinner of choice [$4.99 a pound].

My lunch of pork, chicken, beef, cold vegetable salad, manioc vegetable salad, rice and beans came to $5.89. The Guaraná [my favorite Brazilian soda] was $2 for the can. The place is nice and clean and the people were very friendly. The young woman at the counter spoke both Brazilian Portuguese and Spanish.

bloginfo: The don't have a churrascuria where the meat is cut with varying rates for food/meat/etc. This is a much more simple buffet than the other place of Park Street.

blognote: Just as I was finishing, they brought out a selection of Chicken Stroganoff, my favorite. Oh well, next time!

Royal Buffet [CT]

After a soccer game on this beautiful day, we ate dinner at the Royal Buffet in Willimantic. Advertised as an American and Chinese Buffet, Sushi, Salad & Fruit Bar, it lived up to and exceeded all expectations!

There is literally something for everyone and everyone was there. Families of all sizes, shapes and cultures; languages swirling and everyone having the best of time.

My favorites were the sushi [shrimp and vegetarian], pancit noodles, General Tso's chicken, shrimp, shrimp and more shrimp. The green beans were the two helping variety, the sweet and sour soup was more sweet than sour; the crab rangoon was smooth and the 10 flavors of ice cream made the day.

Crab legs were deemed special [too complicated for me] and the chicken satay was powerful. Can I say more? Yes, but I won't.

bloginfo: Located at 1228 Main Street in Willimantic in a non-descript strip mall with plenty of parking.
blognote: Prices vary by day/hour: we paid $9.99 for Sunday Dinner Buffet. Drinks are extra.

Tuscan Table

Behind the waterfall at Mohegan Sun Casino you find the Tuscan Table [at lunchtime] for a wonderful and 'civilized' buffet. The cost is $19.95 plus tax, tip and beverage. The selections are wonderful. First the great appetizer/salad table. The highpoint here was the cranberry orzo salad. Next the entrées which today included turkey in gravy, salmon in a mornay sauce, two pastas, four flatbreads and much more. The highlight here were the Mussels Fra Diavolo. And then the dessert table filled with many caloric goodies. The Panna Cotta in individual brandy snifters and the Capuccino Crème Brûlée.

We celebrated someone's birthday [not mine for once] and had a wonderful time!

bloginfo: This is a Todd English venture and very well run.

Royal Buffet and Grill

To finish off my weekend of gluttony, I ate at Royal Buffet in Manchester. I was invited to a private birthday party for a one year old Vietnamese baby from our church. Now who would pass up that opportunity?

Lots of Asian food, seafood, noodles [pancit canton], rice and sushi. The oysters were a big hit as were the crab legs. My favorites were the General Tso's chicken and the boneless spareribs.
Also saw a turkey being carved, grill to order, pizza, mac and cheese.
Desserts were abundant but I gorged on fresh mango and elephant ear cookies.

bloginfo: Royal Buffet website and menu here.

Miami Shores Country Club

It helps to know influential people. I was a guest last night at the Miami Shores Country Club's Seafood Buffet.

We each started with a cup of Corn Chowder and then a half cold Lobster. This was followed by plates of cold cracked Crab Claws [this is crab season]. They were accompanied by a sweet Mustard Dip. The claws were very easy to eat, contained lots of meat [unlike my frustrating experiences with Alaskan Crab Legs] and were delicious. Love that mustard dip.

Should have stopped there but the buffet was too inviting. I completely skipped the Salads portion of the buffet and headed across the room to the Chefs preparing food.
Started with several slices of Corned Beef [skipped the Roast Turkey] and had one of the chefs prepare me a 'small' portion of Linguine with Garlic and Oil and some fresh Basil and Parmesan Cheese for good measure - fantastic.

Next trip up to the buffet I tried some teeny Brussel Sprouts, a stuffed Roast Pork Loin with Pine Nuts, Tenderloin Tips in a great gravy and Red Bliss Mashed Potatoes.

Now if that sounds like a lot - I skipped the two other meat entrées and the entire Fish selection [4 different kinds] cooked to order.

A dessert selection was brought to the table by my host; I will only say that the plate contained 4 different yummy desserts [chocolate raspberry cake, I do remember].
And I skipped the Ice Cream Sundae Bar!

bloginfo: Miami Shores Country Club is located at 10000 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami Shores, FL [of course]. AND you can't go there unless you are a guest of a member. [I was going to say 'nananananana' but I decided to be nice [yeah].

blognotes: The band and vocalist were a throw-back to the 'good ole days' of dancing music. The crowd was older and dressed to the nines [jackets for men required].