Café 56

Dinner for the Month of June: This month's theme was Southern Spain with a superb menu, the best yet. Another great prix-fixe meal [$25].

Started with Tapas of Manchego Cheese, Salchichon, Aioli, Morrocan Oil preserved Olives and Tortilla Española. Then on to a first course of Gazpacho Andaluz so smooth and creamy with a little kick. Third course was a beautiful Paella mar y tierra made with Arroz Bomba and topped with Chorizo, Chicken, Mussels, Clams, Shrimp and Scallops. Fantastic and made for four with plenty to take home. The rice was the very best.

Dessert was Flan with a Churro for embellishment. What a great meal in such an intimate atmosphere.

May 10, 2013

Dinner of the Month for May. This month’s theme was Peru. The menu was again a wonderful prix-fixe [$25] Here is the menu:

Papa a la Huancaína [potatoes in a Huancina sauce which is a rich creamy tangy delight to spread on baby boiled potatoes. Delicious. We had to have an additional serving of potatoes to use up the sauce.

Peruvian Ceviche: Halibut ceviche with corn and concha. Tangy with a bite and so fresh tasting.

Duck and Chicken for the next course served with white beans and cilantro rice. This dish rocked and worked so well together. The sweet beans and the rice served as a beautiful background for the chicken and the gorgeous piece of duck.

Dessert was Arroz con Leche [rice pudding] with Alfajorres [the shortbread stuffed with dulce de leche]. A sweet ending to a spicy, tasty and well prepared dinner. Loved it all!

Next month’s theme is Southern Spain with Tapas and Paella.

4/12/13

Dinner of the Month for April. This month's theme was Guatemala. The menu was a wonderful prix-fixe [$25]. Here is the menu:

Antojitos: Chojin de Rabano [radish relish] and Guacamole Chapin [Guatemalan guacamole] both very delicious with a side basket of chips.

First Course: Jocon Maya de Vegetales [green vegetable stew Mayan style] hearty and smooth.

Main Course: Tamales de Marrano Guatemaltecos servidos con Ensalada de Berro [Guatemalan Tamales with pork and olives served with a Watercress Salad]. The best tamal I have ever eaten. Was it Guatemala or Chef Sabrina [or a combination of both]?

Tamal on a Banana Leaf

Dessert: Torrejas y Manjar servidas con Almibar de Anbis y Dulce de Leche [Spanish 'French' Toast filled with Pastry Cream and Anise Syrup with Dulce de Leche]. Not too rich, not too sweet, just the right ending to a great meal.

I'll be back next month for the Peruvian theme!

February 18, 2013

Wonderful breakfast this morning at Café 56 with friends. We all took advantage of the warm booth in front of the window and the specials:

My Crab Hash with Poached eggs and chipotle hollandaise sauce was delicious but did not photograph well. A Farmers Pancake: Dutch pancake topped with ham two eggs and melted Vermont cheddar finished with a Tomatillo sauce. Two Omelets: scarmosa cheese and sautéed sopresatta rolled and topped with a spinach cream sauce. Everything was great and Chef Sabrina and Baker Ed are such good hosts.

Farmers' Pancake

Carbone's Kitchen

Early dinner tonight here at Carbone's Kitchen after a matinée at Hartford Stage. Four of us descended hungrily on this Bloomfield version of the Harford original. I had eaten at Hartford's Carbone's Restaurant many times in the past and was looking forward to eating here. No disappointments!

Split a Golden Beet Salad: roasted beets, baby green beans, field greens, pistachio crusted goat cheese, 

balsamic glazed pickled red onions, sherry vinaigrette [$10] which was very nice and worked well with the home-baked bread and dip. Followed that with Eggplant Parmesan:layered eggplant, ricotta cheese, mozzarella, marinara sauce, pasta [$17]. This was proclaimed 'one of the best'. Had a Carbone's Ale from Back East and it fit right into the meal.

Two other parties had the eggplant parmesan but shared a Caprese Salad [$11] [with burrata Carbone's Style]. The fourth diner had the Diver Scallops Agrodolce: pan seared diver scallops, spaghetti squash, warmed frisee, lardoons [$24]. This really hit the spot for that lucky person.

blognote: They have an ineresting Sunday Supper prix fixe $24 which looked very enticing. Maybe next time!

TAÍNO Smokehouse

Visited Taíno again for lunch today. A rainy, dreary and chilly day meant I needed some comfort food. The place was full but someone left and I got his table.

 Ordered the Azul Burger with Bleu Cheese and Taíno bacon. The roll was toasted just right and the burger came out medium rare just as ordered. It came with that teeny tempt of coleslaw and decent french fries [I didn't go for the upcharge sweet potato fries this time]. I was beginning to think they forgot my order because it took so long but was assured that it was on it's way and burgers cooked 'the real way' took a bit longer. It was worth the wait.

April 4, 2013

Waited through the soft opening, the Grand Opening and finally got to eat at Taíno and it was well worth the wait!

I had the Brisket Sandwich [$10] with an upcharge [$1.50] for the Sweet Potato Fries. The sandwich was packed with succulent smoked brisket on a nicely toasted roll. The fries were just right with it as was the dollop of slaw. The house made BBQ sauce is perfect with a bottle on the table to use and it is available to purchase also.

Lots of other things on the menu sounded great; glimpsed at the Smokehouse Burger and it looked just spectacular. Next time! Also the array of dinners and wings were tempting. This is a place where you can find something new many times over.

Staff is friendly and very knowledgeable. They really make this little culinary corner a pleasant place to eat.

noodles&company

Lunch at noodles&company in West Hartford today. A good meal with friends in a new place on a gorgeous day; what could be better?

All three meals were regular size [$5.65], one had shrimp added the other chicken [$2.65]. Get the formula? It's easy to order and the food is cooked to order. The two entrées not mine were: Whole Grain Tuscan Linguine [with chicken] and Bangkok Curry [with shrimp]. Both looked good and the taste I got of the curry was good. But my Japanese Pan Noodles [shown above] were carmelized udon noodles in a sweet soy sauce with broccoli, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, Asian sprouts, black sesame seeds and cilantro were SUPER delicious.

looking for lobster...

This is my summer venture, my seasonal search, looking for lobster. Where is the perfect Lobster Roll? I will try my best to find it for you [and me]!

THE WINNER IS REVEALED AT THE END OF THIS BLOG ENTRY!

Stop #1: Lenny and Joe's at their new New Haven location at Long Wharf on April 13th. This was an underwhelming start to my lobster roll quest.

'Our famous hot buttered lobster roll' [$15.50] was just that as seen above. Aside from the lemon wedge, this is what you get for your money. It was hot and it was buttered. The roll was nicely toasted. The amount of lobster was small and a tad chewy. You could make it a platter by adding french fries or salted potatoes for $1.99. Not anywhere near the best I have had and really not  recommended at all.

Stop #2: Ate today April 16th  at  Zerio's in Cromwell in my lobster roll quest and in one word it was so very AWESOME! As I said to those within shouting distance: "It was freaking awesome!".

Now the details. Was it awesome because of the beautiful Spring day? Or was it awesome because I had just had a wonderful massage or that Zerio's is just a couple of doors down from Body Wellness? No, it was awesome because it was so delicious and fresh and tender. The roll was perfect and the extra serving of melted butter made my heart sing. It included a nice portion of tasty potato salad [and could have had my choice of several other salads]. It even had a little hand wash packet which I truly needed. And it only cost $12.95.

Stop #3 was at Blue Lobster on the Berlin Turnpike today, Saturday the 20th. This was a very good lobster roll [$12.99] and they had the honor of Connecticut Magazine's Best Lobster Roll 2011.

The lobster was fresh and tender with a coating of hot butter. The roll was toasted perfectly and the coleslaw [choice of coleslaw or potato chips] was tangy and not overly sweet. It was beaten by stop #2 because the lobster pieces were a bit small but overall it was fine!

Stop #4: Didn't go to the luncheon I had planned on but went to Spoonshoppe Brooke in Meriden instead.

This 1/4 pound hot lobster roll was filled with buttered-drenched good sized pieces of tender lobster and came in a long buttered hot dog roll. It was delicious and definitely a bargain at $10.99. Bare bones but could be dolled up by making it a platter with coleslaw [+$1] or fries [+$2].

This Deli and Farm Market will be the place to go to when the weather gets warmer.  Outdoor seating and luscious looking desserts will make for a lunch destination; then pick up something fresh for dinner.


Stop #5 was by popular demand at Ninety-Nine in Cromwell and I am glad I followed through. The lobster presentation was beautiful.

Lots of claw pieces, nicely toasted bun, loads of french fries [if a trifle salty], some good coleslaw and a little pot of drawn butter. It ranks up there but didn’t beat the best because the lobster was a tad chewy and could have been a lot hotter. For $16.95, it is a full meal, close to home and pretty darn good.

Stop #6 dawned on me the other night when I was thinking of another place to go in the area. Well Saybrook Fish House is very close and I have had many good meals there. Found out that lobster rolls were available but only in the bar. Stopping there today in the mid afternoon, I found the lobster roll to be delicious. This place does specialize in seafood and they don’t miss the mark here.

The hot buttered lobster roll [$16] is chock full of very large, fresh and tender pieces of lobster and is served on a lightly toasted hot dog roll. The plate included very good french fries, a tangy coleslaw, lemon wedges, drawn butter and three melon slices and a wedge of dill pickle. Good value for the money.

Stop #7 was at Jessica’s Garden on a rainy Saturday. I wanted to try the hot buttered lobster roll [$12.95] here as so many local people raved about them.

It had its good points and not so good. For the good, it was fresh with lots of large pieces, tasty and a choice of chips or cucumber slices for the ‘diet’ crowd. For the not so good, it was small, not buttery enough and had two pieces of cartilage to mess up the package deal. Ate in the rain under a tent but don’t think that influenced my rating any.

Stop #8 was at Max's Oyster Bar in West Hartford Center today. A nice lobster roll in such a civilized atmosphere.

Started with crackers and a roll with real butter. Then a demi-pitcher of iced tea followed by two Oy-Komo Gway oysters $2.50 each] perfectly presented over ice with two dipping sauces. The lobster roll [$18.95] was chock full of large but slightly chewy lobster on a perfectly toasted roll. The plate was finished with a good coleslaw and frites. Service was impeccable.

AND THE WINNER IS: ZERIO'S IN CROMWELL! 

FOLLOWED BY SAYBROOK FISH HOUSE IN ROCKY HILL!

CW’s chops ’n’ catch

Ate lunch here at chops ’n’ catch today. I had eaten at one of their other restaurants, Pastrami on Wry on 8/3/12. The one thing in common with the two sites is the delicious food and the great service. You can’t beat that and will visit the third restaurant Catsup and Mustard soon.

I ordered the Grilled Salmon BLT [$11.50] with lemon aioli on a brioche roll. This was accompanied by sweet potato fries [$1 upcharge] with a cranberry dip along with a super sweet potato/apple slaw and a whole dill pickle. Their sides are awesome. The other entrée was the Cider Cured Sliced Turkey Breast sandwich [$8.75] on toasted Great Harvest Wheat Bread with cheddar, bacon, lettuce and avocado and regular fries.

Treva

Lunch this afternoon with friends at Treva in West Hartford Center. I remember this place as Edelweiss so that tells how long ago I entered this building. Would have been a nicer lunch if the waitress hadn’t had an attitude about serving us outside of her area. We needed to be in a more handicap accessible place so sat alone in the back dining room. 

I had the Pesce Panini: crispy cod, spicy aioli, watercress, tomatoes [$12]. The cod was perfectly done and served on a poppy seed brioche with home-made kettle chips and a side salad. The salad needed a bit more oomph to make it an equal part to this nice sandwich. The other two panini were also quite successful. One a Tacchino: turkey, pork belly, fig aioli, lettuce, tomatoes [$11] and a Bistecca: roast beef, horseradish aioli, spinach, mozzarella [$12]. Two of us shared the Torta Dates which was a moist round of date cake with chantilly cream.

'rememberable tastes'

Tried this new Spicy Chocolate Pineapple Pop from What's the Occasion by Chad Wallace. What a great new fresh taste. More please...