The Big E 2014 - Matunuck Oyster Bar

In Rhode Island, the Matunuck Oyster Bar is justifiably renowned as one of the state's - indeed, even the country's - best oyster bars. And so it was great excitement that it was announced that they'd be opening up a raw bar at the Big E. While anything new is welcomed at the Exposition (existing businesses tend to become entrenched and the waiting list for new vendors to come in can often be years long) having Matunuck arrive at the fair was treated as an especially big deal, particularly by the local news media who went bonkers over the idea of a raw bar at the Eastern States Exposition! 

[To tell the truth, I was pretty excited by this news too - this is a New England state fair, after all, and we need more New England-oriented attractions and fewer stupid copycat crap attractions like the faux "Mardi Gras" parade.  Mardis Gras? Really? In fucking September??]

So anyway, I wandered by the oyster bar to see what all the fuss was about. The shellfish was nicely iced and looked pretty decent, and they were taking the time to shuck oysters as they were ordered to make sure everyone got the best experience possible. So I ordered half a dozen oysters for a light early lunch.

They were...okay.  Just okay. Nothing stellar, and I'm really glad I decided to order when I did, because when the fair gets crowded, there is a long queue at the ordering counter here and these oysters were, quite frankly, not worth an extended wait time. They were good enough for oysters trucked inland far from the sea, but also they were small, not very plump, and not very sweet or briny. Go to one of Matunuck's Rhode Island restaurants and you will have an awesome experience. Go to their Big E building and you will have supermarket oysters.

The condiments available for the oysters are low-grade standard as well - a slice of lemon and a cup of very bland and ketchupy cocktail sauce on the plate, and a bottle of unexceptional hot sauce at the pickup window for optional sprinkles. Horseradish was missing and very sadly missed - I would have take a big scoop of it just to mix with the cocktail sauce to try and kick up its Heinz 57ness.

Matunuck's auxiliary seating bench (a concrete flower bed.)

I'm also going to take this opportunity to bitch about the seating. Many of the food vendors (and restaurant operators) at the Big E take a crowd-oriented view of seating: they set out picnic tables in their areas and benches at the perimeters, and as folks order they find seats with strangers along with friends, kind of "boarding house" style. Sharing a space like this is common and traditional and it gets people, if not talking to each other, at least introducing themselves and exchanging a little small talk. Not at Manutuck Oyster Bar, though. They set out tiny little tables which can just about fit four people. Except a great number of couples claim tables in such a way that it makes it difficult or impossible for anyone else to sit and share a space, effectively cutting their seating capacity in half. The result of this misguided attempt at "intimate bistro seating" is that those unlucky enough not to find a seat are forced to wander out to the back alley and sit on the concrete edge of the flower bed ringing the New England Center building. There's a great view of the electrical transformer and the service area/trash barrels for the various food vendors. At least it was convenient to be able to just walk a step or two to throw away the shells.

Hometown Buffet, Manchester CT

My wife and I were driving through Manchester, Connecticut last Friday, kinda-sorta looking for a place to have supper, when we happened to notice a Hometown Buffet. When Lynnafred was a tyke, there was a Hometown Buffet in Enfield and Friday nights were Hometown Buffet nights. The food was not horrendous, little Lynnafred could always find something she liked on the steam tables, and - best of all - it was cheap to feed a kid there (they used to charge $1 per year of an under-8-year-old kid's age. Hell of good deal.)

Even though Manchester has a myriad of dining options, we decided to eat at Hometown Buffet for the worst of all possible reasons: nostalgia. We had no idea that we would soon be having a supper that was just one small step better than eating vienna sausages right from the can, with our fingers, while standing over the kitchen sink in the dark, crying.

There's no way for me to gently segue into a description of the food here so I'll just get right to it. The front and center table has always featured the Hometown Buffet staples: Meat loaf, oven-roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, mac and cheese, baked potatoes, yeast rolls, and cornbread. Mass-market mac and cheese is far too salty for my present tastes, which is just as well because the edges were drying out and slightly darkened as though it had been made a while ago and finally made it to the table. I took a chicken wing and a small scoop of potatoes which was an immediate cause for regret. The spuds had developed a skin and a long sheet of it lifted along with scoop. No gravy for me, either, since I couldn't decide whether to take some of the thick grey part or watery brown part. The meat loaf must have been pretty good though, because there were nothing but crumbs in the pan, and as soon as more would come out it was immediately scarfed up by hungry (and probably undiscriminating) hoards. In all fairness, the rolls and cornbread were decent.

A side table had other mains - baked salmon which had a strong chemical aftertaste, some kind of whitefish (might have been haddock but it was so thoroughly cooked that I couldn't even tell if it was organic matter, let alone what species,) fried fish of similarly indeterminate origin thickly coated with a greasy batter crust.

I was just sitting down to start eating when Maryanne said, "Don't eat with that fork." It took me a couple tries, but I finally found a fork and knife that I could wipe clean enough to eat with. This hygienic lack was not confined to utensils. At the beverage station, there were various spills here and there on the counters, and straw wrappers and napkins littered the floor.

Finding something to drink was even harder than finding a clean fork. I poured a sip's worth of iced tea so I could see if it was sweetened or not. I never found out, since the tea smelled as if it were brewed from used toilet paper. "Filtered water" must have been filtered though a jug of bleach. Perhaps, though, this is a characteristic of the water in Manchester because all the water-based beverages available had that bleachy chlorine flavor hanging over every sip. Luckily, there was chocolate milk. (In the background is a view of Maryanne's plate as she attempts more or less successfully to rip her cut-resistant chicken into bite-sized pieces with a dull knife.)

I was lucky enough to score a piece of Darkly Cooked Bread Triangle. I say "lucky" because many of the children there, mistaking it for pizza, were eating it as fast as it could be brought from the kitchen.

Desserts were no better. Bizarrely, the soft-serve machine left a dangling turd of ice cream from the nozzle no matter how hard customers tried to claim every bit of the treat as it extruded from the machine. Slices of cake were dry and crusty. A pan of apple cobbler looked like it had been served by beating it with a golf club. Maryanne and I tried some kind of

cheesecake that might have been an Elmer's Glue Chiffon.

Many of the staff were completely unprofessional, loudly chatting with each other about the drinking they planned to to after work as they were setting out food at the steam tables, customers milling around them. They made no attempt to censor any of their profanity-laced language, even around the kids. (A notable exception to this was the young woman clearing plates from our table, who was pleasant, friendly, and patient even to the most difficult patron despite being responsible for busing tables across half of the dining floor. We gave her a great tip. She deserved every penny.)

Maryanne and I were actually laughing as we left the restaurant. Not because of the awesomeness of the experience, of course, but because we were astounded that an eatery widely known for it's mediocrity could stay open at such a low quality level. I guess my grandfather was right: there really is an ass for every seat.

Villa Milano Famous NY Pizza, East Hartford CT

Not too long ago, Maryanne read about a new pizzeria opening in East Hartford, called Villa Milano Famous NY Pizza. According to the article in the Hartford Courant, owners Eddie and John Kilenovic owned pizzerias in NYC and recently decided to move their businesses to Connecticut.  Over the past couple of days, we stopped in a few times to try out the various pizzas and other items.

Villa Milano is located at 456 Main Street in East Hartford. It's on the north-bound side of the street right across from the Coca-Cola Bottling Company's deco brick building.  Keep a sharp eye out as you approach, because the unassuming brick building can be kind of easy to miss.

The pizzeria offers both take-out and dine-in service. As you walk in the front door, there are a series of booths on the right, and a glass display case and service counter in front of the kitchen on the left. The display case usually shows off several of the delicious foods on offer - there are garlic knots and pizzas ready to sell by the slice.

Lynnafred loves Sicilian pizza, so on our first visit there we ordered a Sicilian Grandpa pie: thick, square crust topped with sauce, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil. It took about 20 minutes to come out of the kitchen (not a bad wait - pretty typical for a place that makes their pies fresh, actually.) We had ordered it to go, but the owner insisted on calling us over and presenting to us before boxing it up.  One look at it, and I could see why:

Look at that. That's not just a pizza, it's a work of art.  And it was also one of the best Sicilian pies we have ever had. The dough was just slightly crispy at the edges and on the bottom, but light and pillowy beneath the excellent sauce. Shredded mozzarella was sprinkled atop the sauce, and then the pieces of fresh mozzarella were added in decorative designs of stars, flowers, and stripes. Fresh basil leaves were sprinkled over the pie after it came from the oven, allowing the residual heat to wilt them into sauce and cheese. It was an awesome Sicilian pie, one like I haven't had in over twenty years, and this pizza resolved us to return to try out some of the other offerings.

On a later visit, Maryanne and I decided to sample slices of their standard thin-crust New York-style pizza, and the Roman Pie.

The Roman Pie, top right in the picture here, is a stuffed-crust pizza filled with potatoes, sausage, pepperoni, and cheese. I'd never had anything like it - it was very good, and quickly became one of Lynnafred's favorites.

The New York pizza was absolutely perfect - a hand-stretched water crust, perfectly crisped on the bottom with just the right amount of char, and yet maintaining the ideal amount of chewiness and tenderness combined.  Take a peek at the picture on the right. That's the color of a pizza crust the way it is meant to be. Just awesome.

We also ordered a meatball grinder and kept it simple with sauce, meatballs, and cheese on a 12-inch roll. It came out of the oven nicely toasted, crammed with eight huge handmade meatballs and dressed with tomato sauce and melted cheese. Maryanne and I cut it in half to share because it was more than enough for the both of us. The meatballs  were very much like the ones my Italian grandmother used to make, though she used to put Romano cheese in hers and Villa Milano doesn't. The texture was very good, and I wouldn't be surprised if they made their meatballs with a pork and beef blend.

One other thing: No trip to Villa Milano would be complete without an order of their garlic knots. They are absolutely stunning - little knots of the tenderest yeasty dough, baked up golden brown and delicious with melted butter and garlic. There are six knots in an order for two bucks. After our first time there, we've always made sure to get a double order to go. Most of them make it all the way home. The ones that don't get eaten right away reheat nicely in the toaster oven for a garlicy morning breakfast treat.

So: Villa Milano. Great place for authentic New York pizza without driving to New York.
456 Main Street
East Hartford, CT 06118
860-568-4898
860-568-4899

You can check out their menus here.

I Want One of These.

Damn, look at that magnificent bastard.  That Mucke's hot dog guy is over four feet tall, and it's a vinyl applique, not a flimsy decal.  I would love to have one of them to put on a wall in my kitchen.

Also, the Country Diner is a storefront restaurant in town that was opened by a couple of local ex-cops.  The food is dependably good, not too expensive, and they do some pretty decent barbecue as well.

J's Oyster, Portland Maine

This isn't so much a review as it is a recommendation:  If you like oysters and you're in Southern Maine (even just passing through!) you really should get yourself into Portland and stop in for oysters at J's.

They're an unassuming little joint on Portland Pier (right off of Commercial Street) and they serve perhaps the best and freshest oysters around.  On our most recent visit, the weather was truly amazing - low humidity, lots of sun, temp in the 70s - so the outdoor seating along the edge of the pier had a wait time of about 45 minutes. There were plenty of seats inside, though, at the central bar or in one of the booths arranged around the perimeter of the building. Since we were there for oysters and not to gawk at a bunch of boats, we chose the immediate inside seating and were given a booth on the pier side with huge windows that looked out over the water anyway.

NOT what you'll find at J's.

J's has not changed much inside since my first visit 35-some-odd years ago.  The inside is dark wood and low ceilings.  The waitresses and bartenders are friendly and attentive and there's always laughter and conversations going on at the bar and in the booths. It's always reminded me of the kind of comfortable neighborhood bars I've hung out it in, only with oysters and clams instead of peanuts and bowls of Filthy Little Things. The hostess shows you to your seat, you order a baker's dozen oysters and a locally-made Shipyard IPA or two, and for a little while everything is all right with the world.

The oysters are delicious: absolutely fresh, sweet and briny, served up with a bit of lemon for squeezing and a little cup of cocktail sauce and extra horseradish. No matter how you like to eat your oysters, though, try at least one with nothing on it but your lips just so you can experience the awesomeness of really good bivalves.

J's has other stuff too, of course (their bacon cheeseburgers are quite decent if you're with a friend who inexplicably doesn't like oysters) and their bucket of steamers - local Maine softshell clams steamed and served hilariously in a galvanized metal pail) are excellent. I really can't recommend them highly enough.

Check out their website here - it's very simple and loads quickly, and you'll find a menu there as well (menu items seem to be current, but I think the prices are out of date - they were very slightly higher than show online when we were there on Monday.)

The Most Awesome Diner in Western Massachusetts

Charles Diner on Union Street in West Springfield, MA. The signboard out in front says, "NOW SHOWING 3 STOOGES ALL DAY."  Click on the photo for a full-sized view.

On Golden Corral

You've probably heard of, or been to, Golden Corral.  It's a chain of inexpensive all-you-can-eat buffet restaurants that are short on frills but offer fairly decent food.  We visit only occasionally because like many restaurants of their kind, they are loud, crowded, and teeming with kids, and to be honest, with Lynnafred now in her early 20s we've more or less outgrown the genre.

And yet...

While they do have their shortcomings, Golden Corral does do a bunch of things very well - better even than some more expensive places.

• Their spare ribs are very good - big, meaty St. Louis-style ribs, tender and crispy from the grill, with just the right amount of tasty barbecue sauce.
• Top sirloin steak is always on the menu, and while that isn't  at the level of porterhouse or NY strip, it's decent quality and they cut it an inch or so thick. The guys at the grill station are friendly and pleasant, and will cook your steak exactly to order.  You want the living hell cooked out of it?  No problem. You want it barely seared, red and bloody inside? No problem there, either.
• Golden Corral's yeast bread rolls are heavenly - soft and pillowy and always warm from the oven. You have no idea how hard it is for me - keeping an eye on the carbs - to resist eating a plate of those delicious bastards.
• When their fried chicken is good, it's awesome. Sometimes they cook it a little too long, though, and it gets a little dried out, especially the wings.
• Their panko fried shrimp are fantastic.
• The black pepper flounder (fish fillets breaded in a heavily-black pepper-seasoned crumb coating) is totally aces.
• The servers - who lift empty plates from the tables and offer free drink refills as they flit from table to table - are always friendly and kind despite being subjected to some really rude, demanding, and douchey customers. 
• Their baked desserts are excellent, and as far as I know, they're all made in-house. Try their brownies, they're like fudgy squares of heaven.

What are the not-so-good things?  Well, there's the crowds of rude, demanding and douchey customers for one thing.  The food stations sometimes get longish lines.  And there always seem to be kids running around underfoot.

The Seafood Newburg.

Oh, yeah...and don't get the seafood newburg. It wasn't spoiled or anything...it was just nasty.

The Fire Goes Out at Backyard BBQ in Enfield

Back in April 2010, I wrote about a brand new barbecue place that had opened up in my hometown.  It was called Backyard BBQ.  Their pulled pork was outstanding, and they also made the best barbecue baked beans anywhere, hands down.

Unfortunately, I headed that way last week - just before Christmas - to find the store dark with a sign in the window reading:

"To all our loyal customers! We are closing due to economic hardship. Thank you so much for supporting our business, and hopefully we can open up again when the market gets better."

Bummer.

Backyard BBQ had attracted some decent attention in the press.  Reviews in both the Hartford Courant and the Hartford Advocate were generally positive, and by the end of summer they seemed to be fairly busy.  I guess looks aren't everything, though.  I'm sorry to see them go.

The Hartford Baking Co. Does It Right

New Park Avenue in West Hartford has seen some tough times in recent years.  A lot of the old businesses have folded or moved to new digs, and it's hard not to notice the many vacant and/or run-down buildings that line the road as you travel from Flatbush Ave to New Britain Ave.  Happily, however, there is some redevelopment going on in the area and new shops and storefronts are appearing.  

One such new store is the Hartford Baking Company at 625 New Britain Ave., an awesome new bakery and coffee bar recently opened by Scott Kluger and his mother Virginia.  I had gotten a "press release"-style email announcing the opening of the bakery from Scott early last week, and Maryanne, Lynnafred, and I had been looking forward to trying them out all week.

When we walked in on Sunday morning, we were immediately charmed by the bright and airy interior of the bakery; sunshine was pouring in through the front windows and the shop smelled mouthwateringly of baking bread and proofing yeast.  A wire rack behind the counter held crusty baguettes and rustic round loaves, and the display case beckoned with miniature baguettes, pumpkin muffins, ginger scones, sticky buns, and banana nut muffins.  We each wanted one of everything, but we settled for each getting a different item so we could "taste around" without making pigs of ourselves.  (Believe me - making pigs of ourselves would have been pretty easy here.)

Maryanne and I ordered coffees to go with our treats, and Lynnafred asked for a chai latte.  While we waited for the barista to prepare the drinks, I chatted with Scott.

"We've actually been open about three weeks," he said, "but we opened really soft, without any announcements or advertising.  We wanted to get everything just right before officially opening."

When our coffee and chai were ready, we carried everything over to a table in a corner of the seating area.  In dire need of immediate caffeine, Maryanne and I tried out our coffee before hitting the baked goods.  It was fair-trade Ethiopia Mordecofe, hearty and full-bodied without being burnt or bitter tasting.  It was so smooth, in fact, that we used somewhat less half-and-half than usual in the cup.  Meanwhile, Lynnafred sipped her chai latte and said, "That is the best chai I've ever had.  And you can make that a direct quote in the blog."

Awesome baked goods we sampled this time:

Banana Nut Muffin - delicately tender, bursting with banana flavor; as perfect a banana nut muffin as there ever could be.

Pumpkin Raisin Muffin - Rich pumpkin flavor, sweet and spicy, loaded with plump raisins.  It was perfect for a fall morning - like taking a bite of a harvest festival.

Ginger Scone - Delicious, tender and buttery and studded with chunks of candied ginger.  It was a great way to start off a Sunday morning.

As wonderful as all the breads looked, we had to pass on them, since we'd just picked up a couple of loaves at a bakery closer to home.  But you can be assured that we'll be stopping by again soon to sample them.  As we were leaving, Lynnafred said to me, "I can't wait until the next time I get together with my friends.  This place is on my Destination List."

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Dogs of Summer 6: G&A Restaurant, Baltimore MD

We were in Baltimore at the beginning of the month.  Lynnafred was attending Otakon, and Maryanne and I were exploring the city and visiting with our friends Dale and Gail, who suggested a visit to G & A Restaurant.  G & A is a little hole-in-the-wall diner on Eastern Avenue in Baltimore.  Its nondescript storefront is easy to miss, sandwiched in among the other nondescript storefronts, and we had to pay close attention as we approached to avoid missing it.

This end of Eastern Avenue is not really a "touristy" area of Baltimore.  It's not close by the Inner Harbor, and it's beyond Little Italy.  I'd describe the neighborhood as "comfortably run-down" i.e. an older slice of a big city that has a small-city feel to it; gentrification is passing it by but it's like your favorite pair of jeans - there are holes and frays and sometimes the zipper on the fly gets stuck, but you're happy and at ease wearing them.

G & A Restaurant is like that, too.  When our party of five (Dale and Gail, our friend Michael, Maryanne and I) walked in the door, we were met by a friendly waitress who showed us to a booth, and by the owner who was busily cooking hot dogs but who smiled and nodded a greeting to us as we walked by.  We took a booth towards the back of the restaurant and ordered delicious ice-cold beers to enjoy as we checked out the menu.

The menu, in typical diner style, is pretty extensive, but because we were there specifically for the dogs, we pretty much stuck to the basics:  hot dogs, polish dogs, burgers, and wet fries.  And Yuengling Lager. 

The burgers were very good - Dale ordered mini-burgers, which G & A had on the menu as "sliders."  They were nicely seared and made of high-quality ground beef, served on grilled buns, with caramelized onions right off the griddle.  they were sided with decent hand-cut fries which seemed to go over pretty well with the group, though I prefer my fries somewhat crunchier.

But the fires just as they are go great with the brown gravy, which was rich and flavorful.  Everyone at the table enjoyed it, and at the end of the meal, although some of the plain fries were left over, none of the wet fries were left at all.

We were really there for the hot dogs, though, so I ordered one dog and one Polish dog, each with G & A's Coney Island sauce, mustard, and minced raw onions.  The hot dogs are good quality beef and pork franks, decently seasoned and with a good flavor.  The Coney Island sauce is very good.  Slightly spicy without being overpowering, it went well with the dog and was complimented by the onion and mustard.  I thought it was a good, solid dog, certainly a worthy addition the the Dogs of Summer series, but not really exceptional.

The Polish dog was a different story.  The Polish seasonings used gave a wiener a robust kielbasa flavor that shined through and was completely bitchin' with the Coney Island sauce and onion.  This dog was worth a drive for its own sake, and was really the star of the meal.

We had a few more beers as we ate and chatted; the waitress was attentive and friendly from beginning to end, and never got short with us or tried to rush us out of the booth (much appreciated.)  Towards the end of our lunch, owner Andy Farantos stopped by to say hello and make sure everything was okay.  It was a nice touch.  We left satisfied and happy, and Maryanne and I are looking forward to our next trip to the Baltimore area, because we plan to go back to G & A again (this time to try out some of the other items on the menu.)

G&A Restaurant

3802 Eastern Avenue

Baltimore, MD 21224

(410) 276-9422

Link:

G&A Restaurant's Website

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Backyard BBQ in Enfield CT

Back in April, I wrote about getting an awesome pulled-pork sandwich as Backyard BBQ in Enfield CT.  I've been there a few times since then - most recently last night - and I think it's about time I offered a more extensive review of their offerings.

Grilled Chicken:  Because Backyard BBQ uses real, hardwood charcoal to cook their chicken (and all their other entrees, for that matter) it shouldn't come as any surprise that their grilled chicken is second to none.  Slow cooked over an actual fire, this was the first restaurant grilled chicken that I can say tasted as good as my own.

Beef Brisket - Meltingly tender, Backyard BBQ's brisket is excellent.  I especially like the mild-yet-sharp tang of the homemade house sauce it's served with.

Pictured with the brisket is a side of BBQ Beans.  For most of my life, I have pretty much hated barbecue beans.  This is probably because the only ones I've ever had have been cheapo baked beans swimming in low-grade barbecue sauce.  These are the beans which changed my mind.  Loaded with chunks of pulled pork, dressed with sauce, and kicked up with a medium boost of spicy heat, these beans are almost a meal in themselves.  I like them so much that I order at least one side of them every time I go in.  Seriously, even if you hate baked beans, you should give them a try to see if their extreme awesomeness can win you over, too.

I'm happy to say that the Pulled Pork is every bit as excellent now as it was in April.  This time, I got it as a dinner entree rather than a sandwich. It's still the best pulled pork you'll find outside the Carolinas.

Backyard BBQ's Garlic Mashed Potatoes deserve special mention as well.  Thin-skinned new potatoes, roughly mashed with the skins on and spiked with roasted garlic and a touch of sour cream, they complimented the brisket and the pulled pork extremely well.  Like the beans, the potatoes are good enough to buy all by themselves for the sake of eating potatoey goodness.

Corn Bread - Quite a unique recipe (and I mean that in a good way) - a nearly perfect balance between the sweet, moist Northern style and the dryer, not-very-sweet Southern style.  Plus there are chewy little kernels of roasted corn distributed throughout.

Last, but certainly not least, are the St. Louis Style Spare Ribs.  We bought a full rack and were glad we did.  Backyard BBQ does 'em right:  nice and slow over hardwood coals, using whole untrimmed sides that yield big and meaty ribs.  They're tender and perfectly done - right to the point where the meat pulls off the bone but not quite to the overdone "fall off the bone" stage.  The meat is dressed with homemade rib sauce for the last few turns over the fire, and then are cut into serving sizes ready to go.  I can't recommend them highly enough.

I'm really glad that Backyard BBQ opened up in town.  They're following through with their initial promise to bring an authentic and reasonably priced barbecue takeout to Enfield, and I'm looking forward to many more meals there.

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Oxford Cafe, New York City

In New York City's Fifth Avenue, between East 35th and 36th Streets, there's an expensive-looking eatery called the Oxford Cafe. Last time I was in New York, my mother and I were looking for something to eat that wasn't fast food and wasn't too expensive. And at this little bistro, we hit the jackpot. The restaurant is exceptionally clean and nice, and looks like it should have been much more expensive than it actually was. The staff was very friendly, there was plenty of seating, and the atmosphere was nice as well.

The restaurant has a large deli case with wraps, sandwiches, pastries, pasta dishes, and salads that were made that morning. The variety in the case alone is seemingly limitless - sandwiches and wraps range from basics like turkey clubs to more adventurous offerings like the Santa Fe chicken wrap that we bought - and they have a pasta bar and salad bar to boot. The dessert case had an extensive array of cookies, tarts, brownies, cannoli and cheesecakes. After careful deliberation, we decided not to get dessert, but it was a very tough decision. The staff was very friendly and took our order, heating up the wrap in a small oven on a counter behind them. My mother ordered an iced coffee, while I ordered a mocha smoothie. We split a Santa Fe chicken wrap, which was easily big enough to feed two.

The wrap was not only really big, but it was inexpensive for what we were getting. For $6.95, we got a wrap weighing in at about a pound and a quarter. The ingredients in the wrap were simple and easy - chicken, fresh salsa, cheddar jack, ans sauteed peppers and onions were the only ingredients - but it tasted fantastic. The chicken was tender and juicy, the salsa full of flavor with a slightly spicy kick, and onions and peppers cooked so that they're still a little crunchy but not raw. It fed both my mother and I with no problem and didn't leave us feeling hungry.

My mocha smoothie was just as good as our wrap. Made with bananas, chocolate, milk, ice, and coffee, the smoothie tasted more like a chocolate dipped banana than mocha, but it was still really refreshing and tasted delicious. It was fairly big and cost me $3.95. My mom, on the other hand, got a large iced coffee that was one of the best I've ever had. My mother doesn't use sugar in her coffee, and this didn't need it. It was smooth, rich, and full-bodied without being at all bitter or acidic. It was incredibly mild but also incredibly flavorful. If I lived closer, I'd go there all the time just for the coffee. A decently-sized large iced coffee cost her $2.25.

If you're ever hungry in NYC, I'd reccommend that you go here without a second thought. I know that it's going to cross my mind next time I go to New York.

Pulled Pork at Backyard BBQ, Enfield CT

My hometown has a brand-new barbecue take-out place.  It's called Backyard BBQ, and it's at the intersection of Brainard and Washington Roads in the north end of town, close to the state line.

I drive by that storefront every day on my way to work, and because there's been some activity there in recent weeks, I was keeping an eye on the site.  Glad I did, too, because they opened their doors Sunday.

Backyard BBQ is take-out only - the store is on the small side and most of it is kitchen, with a service area up front.  They have an amazingly delicious-looking selection of pastries on one side of the store, and a mouth-watering hot food service on the other side.  The mains include Half BBQ Chicken, BBQ spare ribs, pulled pork, and Angus beef sliders. (a limited menu, perhaps, but I'm sure they're keeping it simple for the nature of the place and to see how well it takes off.)  For this first visit, I chose to keep it simple and order something that I knew would give me a good indication of their quality - a pulled pork sandwich.

The photo doesn't do it justice.  As served, the pulled pork is absolutely marvelous - tender shredded pork with the occasional gorgeous chunk, slow-cooked over a hardwood charcoal fire, perfectly proportioned to the sauce it was served with.  This isn't the kind of place that serves you a pot of sauce with some pork swimming around in it, you get the real deal here.  The pork is piled high on a soft bulky roll, and I ordered extra sauce which was liberally doled out on the meat before the sandwich is crowned with the top half of the bun.  Let me tell you, it was pigmeat heaven.  These guys know their pork.  The only thing  that was a bit disappointing was the lack of bread-and-butter pickles for a sandwich topper, but I bet they add that to the menu as more people ask for them (and besides, I had some at home so we added our own.)

In short, I was favorably impressed with Backyard BBQ, and I'll be going back to try some more of their offerings - this Friday, for example, I plan to pick up some chicken and ribs for supper.  I also saw some really good-looking Greek spinach pie in the display case.  Might have to get some of that as well.

Backyard BBQ

240 Brainard Road

Enfield CT 06082

Take-out only

860.265.3910

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Vintage Sunday: The Mountain Laurel Restaurant, Thompsonville CT

In the days before huge chain restaurants spread their homogeneous mediocrity across the country, dining out was more of a special occasion. There were casual places and dives, of course - diners, roadhouses and taverns were fairly common on state roads and US routes - but a real restaurant was different. Families wore their "Sunday Best" and visited a restaurant to celebrate a special event or anniversary. And every town, no matter how small, seemed to have a local restaurant that enjoyed some renoun.

In Thompsonville Connecticut, a small mill town on the Connecticut River at the Massachusetts border, that restaurant was the Mountain Laurel, and up through the 1960's, it enjoyed a reputation throughout southern New England for fine dining.

Originally opened in the early 1930's as Chef's Grille, by 1939 the restaurant was operating as The Mountain Laurel on US 5 just north of downtown. It soon became the venue of choice for local civic organizations and industries for banquets, award dinners, and charitable events, and it was equally popular with the public at large for anniversary dinners, wedding receptions, and celebratory nights out. The post card above, published about 1941, shows the original building in Thompsonville, backed up against open fields and woods which have been long since developed.

Throught the 1950's and 1960's, hardly a week went by without the restaurant's name in the newspaper, thanks to the number of local businesses and organizations booking it for their social calendars. And no place in the area was more popular for sophisticated New Years Eve celebrations than The Mountain Laurel. Over time, two large new dining rooms were added on the north and south sides of the building. The postcard image above shows how the building looked from the late 1960's on - the trademark awnings on the front of the building and the large mountain laurel bushes in front of the large windows in the original section.

After nearly forty years, original owner Hugo Trappe sold the restaurant. It was announced in the Hartford Courant in early October 1969; the sale was considered newsworthy not only because the Mountain Laurel was firmly established as a landmark and "destination" restaurant, but because the price - $800,000 - was staggeringly high at the time. For another ten years, the Mountain Laurel prospered, but by the early 1980's the handwriting was on the wall.

Restaurant dining had become more common and less special. Several good independent restaurants opened in the surrounding area and the Mountain Laurel was facing heavy competition from chain places like Olive Garden and Red Lobster as well as an explosion in fast-food, pizza, and Asian take-outs in town. The decor and menu at the aging restaurant were dated and felt "stodgy" to youger diners. When the restaurant closed in the mid-80's, it went quietly. Some people didn't even realize it was gone until the large lighted sign with it's distinctive script lettering and painted mountain laurel blossoms was removed and scrapped. The restaurant is long gone, but the building survives. Today (as shown below) it houses medical offices and has been renovated into a typically bland, characterless "professional center," stripped of its awnings, mountain laurel plantings, and the fireplace and chimney on the south side of the structure.

Like most local landmarks from the pre-internet age, there is a staggering lack of information about the old Mountain Laurel online, aside from a few postcards and old menus offered for sale by ephemera dealers. My daughter knows the Mountain Laurel only as "that medical center across the street from the bank." But when the Mountain Laurel died, a piece of the Connecticut River Valley died with it, and it deserves a better memorial than an "ephemera for sale" page in a dark corner of the web.

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How To Kill Your Restaurant

There's only one place in town that makes a good Pizza Margherita. Problem is, their service is kind of inconsistent. If I walk in and order the pizza, I might have it within 20 minutes - or I might have to wait nearly an hour (even if I'm the only person in there.) The best way to deal with this is to order by phone: Call them up and place an order, show up at the restaurant half an hour later, and presto! the pizza's there waiting for me.

But even this method isn't infallable.

The other night was perfect for ordering out. Hot, muggy...just didn't feel like heating up the kitchen even more by cooking, so we figured the easy solution was pizza. I looked up the pizzaria's phone number and dialed.

The number rang once, then: "Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice messaging system." "Hi, it's K. I can't answer the phone right now, but leave a message and I'll get right back to you."

That's odd. That sounds like someone's personal voicemail, not a business. I double-checked the number against a menu we had magneted to the fridge, and it was correct. Okay, so maybe I misdialed.

I tried again. "Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice messaging system." "Hi, it's K. I can't answer the phone right now, but leave a message and -" CLICK. I hung up.

I gave it ten minutes, and then tried once more. "The subscriber you are trying to reach is unavailable or has traveled outside of the service area. Please try again la --" CLICK. Damn it. By then I'd had enough. I found a different pizzaria and placed my order with them instead.

This phone number I dialed is on every one of their internet listings. It's on their business cards. It's on their signs and their menus. Obviously, this is the phone number that they want me to call, and upon which they have hung their ability to conduct transactions. And it's their personal cellphone. This is no way to run a business that relies, at least partially, on phone orders for takeouts. Regardless of how you feel about "going wireless" for your personal phone, the fact of the matter is a traditional landline is still the right choice for a small business. It's not that expensive and landlines are pretty much 100% reliable - no dead zones, no fading, no dropped calls - and when your business hits it big you can put in a multi-line phone, add another number, and never worry about missing an order.

Or you can cheap out, use your personal cell phone and screw the pooch.

The North Shore Clam Crawl 2009

In search of the best fried clams on Massachusetts' North Shore, a group of friends and I set off to visit four North Shore restaurants. Three of them - The Clam Box in Ipswich and Farnham's and Woodman's in Essex - are famous "destination" restaurants for fried clam lovers; the fourth - Charlie's Seafood in Lynn - is not so well known by tourists but fast becoming a favorite of locals.

The plan was to visit all four places in a single day, ordering small amounts at each restaurant and pacing ourselves to avoid "fried food overload." We stuck to the plan remarkably well but even so, the next time I do a clam crawl I'm going to try to spread it out over two or three days instead.

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First stop: Charlie's Seafood, Lynn

Located in a dubious neighborhood on Essex Street in Lynn, Charlie's Seafood is a diamond in the rough. I was last there back in June while scouting clam shacks for the Clam Crawl and for the most part, they were just as good now as they were then.

We ordered a combo platter (flounder, scallops, shrimp, clams, fries, and onion rings) as well as an extra box of clams. Stuffed clams were on the chalkboard as a special, so I ordered one out of curiosity to see how it would stack up agains my own, and I got a small clam chowder too.

The clams were as delicious as last time. Plump and tender little mouthfuls of clammy joy. The scallops were also excellent, as was the flounder. The shrimp, though, were disappointing - they were small and butterflied and cooked too long, past the point of dryness.




Also disappointing was the stuffie (stuffed clam.) It was sticky, wet, and bready with lots of celery and sweet red pepper bits. But there wasn't much in the way of clam inside. The fact that we passed this along to eleven people to taste and there was still half of it left over says pretty much all we need to say about it.

The chowder was somewhat better. Flavorful, and with plenty of clams and potaotes, it was typical of many restaurant chowders: thickened with gluey wheat starch. Adequate, but not exceptional.

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Second Stop: J T Farnham's, Essex

Farnham's, set up against a beautifully scenic salt marsh, was an excellent choice for our second stop. Of all the clam joints on the North Shore, Farnham's is my personal favorite. Charlie's has slightly better clams, but Farnham's has outdoor tables overlooking the marsh, a beer license, and fantastic homemade-tasting chowder.

We ordered a cod cheek platter with onion rings, a box of fried shrimp, and a box of clams. The clams were exceptional, very fat and succulent but just a bit chewier and with a bit heavier coating than Charlie's. The shrimp, though, were excellent, and the cod cheeks proved to be quite popular. Small round codfish pieces from close to the jaws of the fish, cod cheeks are delicate, flavorful little nuggets of fish, and they're delicious. Along with the fried stuff, I ordered a cup of clam chowder, and was delighted to find that it was virtually identical to homemade. Briney and milky, with a pat of butter melted on top as it's served, it was capital-E excellent. Because Farnham's doesn't stretch it out with any kind of added starch, some poorly-informed diners have complained that the chowder is "watery." Ignore comments like that - there is a difference between "unthickened" and "watery."

While we enjoyed the food, the sunshine, and the sea breeze, we were visited by a mother duck and her brood. They came in from their swim and sunned themselves in the grass a few feet from our table.

We resisted the temptation to toss them snacks, however. Feeding shore birds is never a good idea - friendly ducks are vastly outnumbered by bold and aggressive seagulls who quickly become dangerous pests when they start getting handouts. Most of the North Shore communities have ordinances against feeding the birds.

One other note about Farnham's: You can buy a beer there to enjoy with your meal, but you have to drink it indoors. That's not a restaurant policy - I'm sure they wouldn't mind a bit if patrons were allowed to have a beer out on the picnic tables - it's yet another ridiculous Massachusetts blue law.

When we were done at Farnham's, the group decided to do some sightseeing in nearby Rockport. We agreed to regroup at The Clam Box at about 3:30 that afternoon and temporarily went our separate ways.

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Third Stop: The Clam Box, Ipswich

We arrived at The Clam Box in Ipswich at about 3:30 pm, after a pleasantly meandering drive along the coast from Rockport. The line was huge, snaking out the door and across the parking lot, slowed down by the Clam Box's policy of changing the frying oil daily at 2:30 pm. It's a testament to The Clam Box's reputation that there was such a line outside. We waited a little more than three quarters of an hour to place our order, but once it was in it only took another ten minutes to have it in hand.

We ordered two batches of "big belly" clams and an order of scallops at The Clam Box, as well as a bacon cheeseburger for Lynnafred, who was good-naturedly gagging at the sight of another clam.

The clams were delicious - almost better than Farnham's if it weren't for the utter blandness of the crumb coating. The scallops were excellent (described by one participant as "big, juicy, and extra fine.")

Although the location isn't as pretty as Farnham's, The Clam Box has a comfortable indoor dining room (no table service - you pick up your tray at a service window and carry it in yourself) and a big shady deck on the other side of the parking lot where you can dine alfresco. Just be sure to get there early...or just bring a friend who can help you pass the time in line.

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Fourth Stop: Woodman's, Essex

We got out of the car at Woodman's and the scent of stale cooking oil was in the air. Ten years ago after eating here, I wrote: "The cooking oil had seen some mileage and was overdue for a change that night." How comforting that tradition seemed to run so deeply here.

Woodman's has, for generations, sold cooked lobsters out in front under an awning by the front door. With lobster prices at an all-time low in New England, I thought that perhaps we'd pick up a bug or two while we were there. I was stunned at the price posted, though: $12.99 a pound. Dang. A restaurant on Newberry Street in Danvers was offering a twin lobster dinner for $9.99, and the Market Basket in Salem was selling them, cooked and ready to go, for $3.99 a pound.

We ordered a box of fried clams which turned out to be the most expensive item we purchased that day at a little over $46. At Farnham's and The Clam Box, our clam orders were piled high and overflowed the box. Not so at Woodman's where our skimpily-filled box worked out to two dollars per clam.

Two dollars per inedible clam, as it turned out. It was obvious at a single bite that the cooking oil was rancid. Michael and I brought them to the attention of a manager, who chomped through two of them before admitting that there was, indeed, a problem with the oil and refunded the selling price and tossed in a $25 gift card to boot.

A big order of steamers (3 pounds for $27 and change) was better. The clams were delicious and fresh and a few of them were a bit gritty (this bugged a few of our party, but didn't bother me all that much - I expect to find sand in steamed clams, and that's why they serve them with a cup of clam broth.)

One of my fond memories of Woodman's was of the upstairs raw bar where we went in search of bivalves on the half shell and beers, intending to spend that $25 gift card. Time was not entirely unkind to my recollections: the cherrystones and oysters were still wet, luscious, and refreshing. But I admit to being a little annoyed that I paid $1.50 for each inch-and-a-half diameter littleneck and $1.75 for each tiny oyster. At least the beers were somewhat cold (and flat.)

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So, how would I rate the restaurants?

My favorite of the four is still Farnham's for the intangibles like a beautiful setting, great atmosphere, and very short wait times in line. The clams are a bit better at Charlie's but the chowder at Farnham's is as good as my own homemade.

Charlie's is a close second. Great clams and friendly service.

The Clam Box is a solid third. The food is great but that line is a killer.

Woodman's...I don't know about them. I'm surprised we were the only ones who complained about the nasty cooking oil that night. And the prices are obscenely out of line. They're going to really have to change in substantial ways before I ever go back there.

Links and info:

J. T. Farnham's (no website at time of publishing)
88 Eastern Ave
Essex, MA 01929
978-768-6643

Charlie's Seafood (no website at time of publishing)
188 Essex St
Lynn, MA 01902-1745
781-595-8953

The Clam Box of Ipswich
246 High St
Ipswich, MA 01938
978-356-9707

Woodman's of Essex
121 Main Street
Essex, MA 01929
978-768-6057

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