Lunch Special #4

Today I had my 'big meal of the day' at noon [or 11:30 to be exact]. It was the Carb Lovers
Delight [Lunch Special #4] at Mama Roux' in Cromwell.

A grilled Wrap of Angus Beefburger, Bacon and Havarti Cheese with a huge pile of skinny Sweet Potato Fries.

Came to $8.45 [$7.99 plus tax with the water (lemon please) free]!

The winner was the No Guilt Juicy Burger!!!

BBB Second Time Around...

Went to the casino today to win some money for the new year but to no avail.

Did have a great meal though at Big Bubba's BBQ. The 'hungry trio' shared an order of Onion Rings with Blue Cheese Dip [$4.95]. BD had the Bodacious BBQ Sandwich [$11.45] and it was 'bodacious'. He said there was about two pounds of Pulled Pork, Chili, Cheese and other good stuff on a big ole Sesame Seed Bun. YeeHaw! JD and I [being much more modest eaters!] each had an order of the Trash Ribs. This supposed appetizer serving is the best secret out there [$6.95]. A huge plate of rib ends and some of the best coleslaw [vinegar?] around. Shady Glen, watch out!

We skipped dessert [there]. Adjacent to the new Uncas Grill in the Earth Casino, we found a great coffee shop with the hugest chocolatest desserts imaginable. They shared a Chocolate Frosted Chocolate Muffin big enough to feed a hungry tribe [of chocoholics]. I, the dainty eater, had a small Bear Claw [from a bear cub?] and paid for it with my Players' Club Credits. We each had a coffee and waddled home [actually we drove home (but someone slept most of the way!)].

Everything was a winner [except us on the slots].

bloginfo: www.mohegansun.com

O'Porto on Park Street

Was taken to lunch by the McN's [B and L] today to celebrate the Holiday Season [politically correct for Christmas Time].

Have heard a lot of good press about O'Porto but hadn't been there yet. And it was a good visit.

Good Portuguese Bread and Olive Oil for dipping. We all started with bowls of Caldo Verde, the typical Portuguese soup of Potato Purée with Collard Greens and Chorizo.

BMcN had the Parelhada de Mariscos, a great mix of shrimp, scallops and octopus in a sauce with fresh steamed vegetables. This came with an order of Fried Potato Rounds [delicious]. LMcN had the Camarao com Scallops Provencal in a Wine Sauce with an order of Saffron Rice. I had the Bacalhau a Braz, Stir-fry of Salt Cod, Onions, Scrambled Egg and Shoestring Potatoes.

For dessert I ordered the Anansaz a Sousa [egg custard with caramel sauce on a slice of fresh pineapple]. LMcN had the Ananaz com Porto and BMcN the Pear Tart.

The winners were the seafood and the desserts.

bloginfo: www.oportohartford.com

Bin 228 [second visit]

After seeing 'The Santaland Diaries' at TheaterWorks [see a pattern here?] we went to Bin 228 for dinner.

Started with a bottle of Cantelle Chardonnay, an Olive Bowl, an Eggplant Bruschetta and a Goat Cheese Salad.

JD and I had the Risotto of the day: Flank Steak with Broccoli Rabe [delicioso] and BD had the Plate Special of the evening: Pork Tenderloin on a Potato Pancake [yummy].

We ended the evening with Capuccinos, a Fresh Berry Budino, a Nutella Panino and an Assorted Biscotti Plate with a glass of Vin Santo.

As they say in the commercial: 'Priceless.' Everything was a winner.

BeauZeau = BOZO

Carrabba's Italian Grill at 3921 Collins Avenue in Miami Beach was our final culinary destination for this Miami Shores trip.

Great Bread!!! Randy Randall was our server and he did a memorable job of getting lots of food to the table.

We started with the Bruschette of the Day which was melting Goat Cheese in a huge puddle of Red Sauce. Mix it up and dip the Garlic Bread and 'mangia.'

We ordered a bottle of Beauzeau; a gorgeous mix of reds highlighted by a few Syrrah.

PS had the house special of Pollo Rosa Maria, rolled stuffed chicken AND a side order of Sausage And a side of Red Sauce. SS, dear sister of mine, had the Spiedini Di Mare; skewered shrimp and scallops. Mofongoman had the Mezzluna Carrabba which consisted of Ravioli stuffed with Chicken, Cheese and Spinach in an Alfredo Sauce adorned with Grilled Chicken and anointed with peas.

For Dessert we shared a Dessert Rosa, cake, cream, bananas, etc....

bloginfo: Carrabbas is a chain owned by Outback and includes BoneFish [next time!].

Table for 3 at DUO

Chef Fest starring the Olive Oils of Spain was held in Miami from December 8 to 18, 2005. Fifteen restaurants participated. Unfortunately, we only ate at one.

I chose DUO at 1421 South Miami Avenue. This is a small restaurant in the main floor of a commercial building. The floor to ceiling windows looked out onto the street and the Metrorail.

This was prix fixe menu. We were presented with an amuse bouche of Tuna Tartare on a potato crisp. The appetizers were either an Assortment of fish 'crudos' and Andalusian gaspacho or a Manchego 'Cougere', carmelized Onion Tart, Jamon Iberico 'Crisp', and Olive Oil essence. PS and I had the fish, SS had the cougere. We went with the wine pairings for each course and this one was the Albarino. The fish [one of which was Hamachi Tuna] was the best I have ever tasted!

A red wine [didn't get the name] accompanied the entrées. PS and SS had the Elysian Fields Farm Lamb Confit, piquillo pepper, Globe eggplant, manzanilla olive, olive oil 'relish.' I had the Olive Oil poached filet of Arctic Char, Jerusalem artichokes, saffron beurre blanc. Both entrées were exquisite.

The dessert was a DUO of olive oil 'cake' and 'ice cream', Sauvignon Blanc poached Asian Pear and candied navel oranges. This was served with a Sandemans Port.

One of the best meals I have ever had. We each recieved a gift bag of Olive Oil, dipping plate and recipe booklet. There was also a contest with a 9 day trip to Spain as the Grand Prize.

bloginfo: www.oliveoilandalusia.com

Guac@tableside

to be continued...

yucca at Yuca

The yuca is fried or the basis of the flan but YUCA stands for Young Urban Cuban-American. The restaurant is located at 501 Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.

A special night with special people [and relatives even]. Went with sister, SS, and brother-in-law, PS. They now live in Miami Shores.

We started with two appetizers: Guava Shrimp skewered and dripping with guava preserve and Balseritos Rellenos, little rafts of fried plaintain filled with seafood goodies.

A bottle of Louis Latour Pouilly Fuissé graced the table and was readily emptied. Mofongoman had the Churrasco with Yuca Fries and Garlic Mashed Potatoes. PS and SS ordered the Rum Marinated Baby Back Ribs and the Rack of Lamb. Both were presented very tropically and looked delicious.

Two desserts were ordered [I held back!!!!]. They were the Rice Pudding and a Yuca Flan.

O Rodízio, My Rodízio...

Went to Rodízio at Inman Square in Cambridge, MA today with elder son, CF, and his SO, CB. We scouted out about 'a trillion' restaurants before settling on this one.

It looked very authentic from the outside and had a good crowd in there eating [the day after Thanksgiving, no less!].
And it was so cold the open ovens were very inviting.

Cf and I both opted for the Rodízio [A Brazilian Barbeque Banquet]; mine with a Brahma Brazilian beer.

There was Salad Bar and Hot Food Bar to start. The salad bar was ignored except for the Chicken Salad which was very good. The Hot Food Bar had Rice, Beans [habichuelas], Sweet Plaintains, Chicken Wings, Roast Chicken and a Ground Beef Dish with Corn that looked good. Garbanzo Bean Salad, too.

The servers then came around with braziers of various meats and carved them at the table. I remember Pork, Chicken wrapped in Bacon, Roast Beef, Brazilian Sausage, Kielbasi but NO Lamb [they had run out of it tonight!!!].

CB is a vegetarian so she ordered the Fish equivalent to our rodízios. This was a huge portion of Fish Stew in a Oniony Tomato Sauce. This was accompanied by Black Beans [frijoles negros] and a serving of Tomato Sauce thickened with Yucca Flour.

There was a Dessert Bar also. From it I had two servings of Rice Pudding and CF ate up lots of the Strawberry and Chocolate ice creams.

The winners were [of course] the Meats, the Tomato Sauce with Yucca Flour and the Garbanzo Bean Salad.

bloginfo: The Rodízio were $22.95 per person.

The 'in' place is the Inn

MER and I went to lunch at the Tavern at the Armory in the Inn at Middletown on Main Street.

We shared a Sauté Brie Salad with sunflower seeds and a black raspberry vinaigrette.

MER [on my recommendtion] had the Tavern Surf and Turf Burger which was a Black Angus beef burger with Lobster, Havarti Cheese, Tarragon Aioli and Tavern Fries. It was cooked medium as requested and had a great charcoal tasting crust [$10.95].

I had the Tavern Lunch Special [$9.95] of Dry Rub Pork Spare Ribs with Coleslaw and Tavern Baked Beans. This was a good sized portion and very tasty. The dry rub on the ribs had a good bite to it.

We skipped dessert and didn't even look at the Dessert Menu. What willpower!

The winner was the Surf and Turf Burger.

...some funky dishes at DISHES...

Went alone today after church to DISHES on Farmington Avenue in Hartford. This is the site of the original Aetna Diner which I saw being setup in 1948. I lived across the street at 288 Laurel with Aunt Kiki. This building has housed many a different establishment since being the Aetna Diner. Hope this one stays; it's a winner.

I had the Buttermilk Pancakes [3 big ones], a generous helping of crisp thick Bacon and a delicious cupful of Grits. This along with four cups of Coffee came to $6.89! The cups and saucers are wild.

The winner was the whole experience of being back in the neighborhood where I grew up. And the Bacon ruled!

bloginfo: DISHES is located at 267 Farmington Avenue. Telephone 525-3474. Breakfast served all day on Saturday and Sunday. And they are open until 4am on the weekends.

MSG at Baci Grill

The MSG [Middlesex Society of Genealogists] met today at Baci Grill in Cromwell. Actually this group from NEAC [gym] is just an excuse to go out to lunch. Sometimes we talk about our genealogy work but not much got discussed today except for the menu!

There were five of us: LMcN, BMcN, JCf, JCm, and Mofongoman. BMcN and I each had the Guinness Skirt Steak Sandwich [on a Ciabatta Roll and not as a Wrap] with Caramelized Onions, Sautéed Mushrooms and Swiss Cheese with a Country Salad with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing. LMcN and JCm each had the Pasta Special of Chicken Parmiagiana over Penne. JCf had the Pan Seared Scallops with Shiitake Mushrooms, Spinach Radicchio, Soy Sauce, Lemon, Ginger and Hot Peppers over Cappellini.

Three desserts [out of five offered] got sampled: Key Lime Tart, Tiramisu and a tart of Chocolate/Peanut Butter Mousse with a Chocolate Ganache.

The winners were the Steak Sandwich and ALL of the desserts.

Bloginfo: Eric was our waitperson and did an excellent job. Must be that BrewBaker's connection!
www.bacigrill.com

Summer Shack in Autumn

Had a great lunch today the Jasper White's Summer Shack at the Mohegan Sun Casino.

The lunch special was a Fish Taco. This was a beautifully plated dish of three flat tacos spread with sour cream, piled with a dry slaw, dotted with tender fried Fish nuggets, heaped with fresh salsa and adorned with stripes of Chipotle Aioli and festooned with lime quarters. Never thought Mofongoman could get poetic about fried fish? Well he could and did!

The winner was the quality of fish, the artistic plating and the price of $12.

blog info: http://www.mohegansun.com/index.jsp

Where were the apricots at Apricots?

Lunch [or rather luncheon] at Ann Howard Apricots today with EDuB. She was up from Pensacola and in her Farmington Woods condo. Had to do lunch before she went back 'down South'.

We both had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. She ordered one of the day's specials of Grilled Striped Bass with Crispy Corn and Crab Potato Cake with a Lemon Beurre Blanc. It came with assorted baby vegetables.

I ordered the soup of the day: Butternut Squash/Apple Cider Bisque and it was delicious and creamy and piping hot. Followed with the Warm Lamb over Wilted Spinach Salad with Lardons, Feta and Portabella Mushrooms. Rich and good and filling. EDuB skipped dessert and I should have but had to have the special dessert of the day: Pumpkin Bread Pudding served with Vanilla Ice Cream and a Caramel Sauce. Wow; rich and rich and rich and gooey!

What a beautiful setting on the Farmington River and the weather was a perfect Indian Summer afternoon.

I had all the winners: the Soup, the Lamb Salad and the Pumpkin dessert.

bloginfo: Apricots is located at 1593 Farmington Avenue, in Farmington.
Telephone: 860.673.5405. There are three dining options: downstairs informal, upstairs more formal [both with river views] and the bar. All have the same menu for lunch.

After the play, 'Retreat' to Bin228

And happily we did! Located at 228 Pearl Street in Hartford is the Bin228 Panini and Wine Bar. We went there after seeing "The Retreat from Moscow" at TheaterWorks. Great play!

We [MER, NO, TD and Mofongoman] started with a bottle of a San Giovese Red [$29] and an Olive Bowl [$4], Fig Prosciutto Bruschetta [$4 and a bargain] and the Paté Special Plate [with a Pheasant paté] of the evening. MER and I split a Goat Cheese Salad [$7] and each had the Chicken Pesto Panini [all panini are $8 and served over a mini-pasta salad]. NO and TD each had the soup of the evening: Seafood Chowder [$4.50 a bowl] of Swordfish, Salmon, MahiMahi and Tilapia. NO had the Coppa Sopresata Panini [minus the cherry peppers, tomatoes instead please] and TD had the Chicken and Tomato Panini [and a glass of white wine $6.50].

Watch out, the servings are very good size and we did overorder. But the leftover Panini will do well as tomorrow's lunches. Kate was our server and was excellent. We didn't even feel put upon having to leave at 6:30 as the restaurant is very well booked. They were able to reserve us a table after the play if we would finish by 6:30.

The winners were EVERYTHING! No losers here.

bloginfo: http://www.bin228winebar.com/
telephone: 860-244-WINE

Soup's On!!!

And that's the name of the restaurant, too. Soup's On!!! is at 295B Ives Road in Wallingford near the Shaw's Plaza on Route 5. Telephone is (203) 269-3303.

BN, JC and I went there after the Y's Men meeting in Meriden. BN had one of the lunch specials [$7.99] of Roast Beef Sandwich Au Jus on a Grinder Roll. It came with a 20 oz soft drink and Sweet Potato Fries. Looked a little too well done for me but he said the meat was tender. The fries were good [I 'borrowed' one].

JC and I each had the Pulled Pork Sandwich on a Roll. This was a great choice. The pork was tender, sweet and had a good 'bite' to it. The roll was excellent. It had melted American Cheese on it and was garnished with a lettuce leaf and red cabbage which found their way into my sandwich.

I also ordered a cup of soup [Soup's On!!! - get the message]. There were several varieties and mine was Garbanzo and Three Sausage Soup [hot Italian, sweet Italian and chorizo]. The broth was tomato based with a green [kale?] and was very tasty. The soup came home with me for dinner as the sandwich was very filling. My order came to $8.96 with tax.

The winner was the Pulled Pork!

2 decaf, please

Went here again today for coffee [senior discount day] and sat outside for a while. Believe it or not, it was warm enough on November 1st to do that!

Here is the review from last November [when there were two of us] which I cannot find. Probably streaming around cyberspace somewhere:

Best place for coffee in Middletown is BrewBakers on Main Street. Went there again today. Too cold to sit outside at an umbrella table [great for iced coffee in the summer though] but it was nice and warm inside. Got one free coffee with my completed 10 punched Coffee Club card. It wasn' t Tuesday or Wednesday so no senior discount. Everyone is so nice here; a great place to relax. They have bagels, sandwiches, salads, soups and desserts. The desserts come from Tuscany Grill just across the alley. This is their sister establishment along with Baci Grill in Cromwell.

Info @ www.bacigrill.com/brewbakers.html and also try www.tuscany-grill.com

And the winner is a grilled Asiago Bagel with butter.

Nothing Fishy @Saybrook Fish House

The WBs took me to dinner at the Saybrook Fish House in Wethersfield tonight. It's located on the Silas Deane Highway; been there for years and has really come into its prime.

Started with two orders of Lobster Bisque which were superb. Bread basket held three types of Bread: White, Dark rye and Nut/raisin. Salad served family style with the two original dressings: Champagne Vinaigrette and Creamy Garlic.

There were three specials for entrées and we each ordered one of them. JB had the Swordfish stuffed wth Artichokes and Sun DriedTomatoes served with Sweet Potato Mash. WB had the MahiMahi with a Rum Glaze, Corn Relish and Mashed Potatoes. I had the Shrimp Mykonos which consisted of six extra large Shrimp, Feta Cheese, Calamata Olives and Sun Dried Tomatoes over Fettucine. The steamed Vegetables were served family style.

We didn't order dessert but the meals come with a Fruit/Nut/Cheese Basket with lots of fresh goodies: Pineapple, Melon, Watermelon, etc.........

The winners were the three Special Entrées and the Lobster Bisque.

Frankly Speaking @Franco's

Celebrating my birthday again; boy am I milking this one....
Ate here today with BF and GC after Hartford Stage's 'Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky', good show!

Started with a basket of Bread and a Salad each; Peppercorn, French and Creamy Italian dressings.

Then BF had the Chicken Marsala, GC had the Chicken Cordon Bleu in an awesome Creamy Cheese Sauce and I had the Eggplant Parmigiana with a side of Ziti and Sauce. The servings are huge and we have enough to feed us all for the coming week.

The owner, S, said that they were offering a free pastry with an order of coffee. We were quite excited about a nice Italian pastry for dessert. The desserts turned out to be a slice of Raspberry Swirl Entenmann boxed coffee cake. NOT what we expected and a bit of a letdown after such a nice meal. But it WAS free!

The winner was the Eggplant and the Cheese Sauce.

September 29th, 2005
Keep eating here at Franco's Restaurant in Cromwell with younger son, KF, and always forget to blog it. Well here goes.....

I ordered the dinner special of Eggplant Florentine which was served as an oven casserole with layers of Breaded Eggplant, Spinach, Red Sauce and lots of Cheese. This came with Ziti and Sauce, Salad and Bread. KF ordered the Seafood Medley of large and baby Shrimp, Scallops and Crabmeat in a Sherry Wine/Newburg sauce over Spaghetti. He had Onion Soup instead of a Salad.

We both had plenty to take home as the portions are very large.

The winners were both of the Entrées.

Happy Birthday at Max Amoré

Celebrated two birthdays tonight at MaxAmoré in Glastonbury. BLD and Mofongoman were the celebrants and JD was the 'innocent' onlooker.

Started with the requisite Roasted Garlic, basket of Bread and Foccacio, Olives [and Gherkins, NEW] and great Olive Oil.

Appetizers were Fried Calamari with Hot Peppers and Pecan Crusted Goat Cheese [a special for the night]. Two glasses of Pinot Grigio and a glass of Pinot Noir for me.

They split an Insalate Cesare and I had the Insalate della Casa with Gorgonzola.

The entrées were Peppered Pappardelle with Prosciutto [JD], Baked Penne with Boboletti [BD] and Fettucine Gamberi with a Pesto Cream Sauce [6 large shrimp].

Three Cappucinos and a split of Budino Cioccolatte for them and White Chocolate Gelato with a Chocolate Chip Cookie for me was the dessert course.

What a meal! Very nice restaurant and we sat in a booth which we prefer. The waitperson, Michael, was very attentive.

The winners were the three Pastas and the Chocolate dessert.

INFO@ www.maxrestaurantgroup.com