Long Island Wineries - where to go?

I've never been to Baiting Hollow (as noted below) but I've also never heard good things about it, so it's never made my list.

In addition to the places I already noted above, a couple new ones worth hitting: Sparkling Point (sparkling wine only, great facility), McCall wines (very small place, nice pinot noir), and Clovis Point.

For food, the North Fork Table is an excellent, high end restaurant. But they also have a nice "lunch truck" that they run out of their parking lot for lunch.

Make sure to post back on places you hit!

foleyd7 in New York State (exc. New York City)

Norwalk Name your favorite joints including ethnic, hamburger and seafood please why how much and what is your favoite dish PLEASE!

For pasta (and a fantastic wine list) it has to be Pasta Nostra. My favorite dish is seasonal, and might not be there right now.... it is a butternut squash pasta stuffed with ricotta.  It is kind of like a big tortellini twisted into a bow.  The butternut squash is part of the pasta, not the stuffing.  This dish was served over a layer of thin prociutto on the bottom of the plate and topped with a brown butter sauce with a sprinkling of warm walnuts.  The chef has told me that this dish will always be a fall/winter menu item because the quality of butternut squash isn’t good enough in spring and summer.  You can bet I’ll be on the lookout for this dish again once Fall comes back around....

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Mesa in Fairfield gone already?

I heard the Panera rumor too, but haven't found anything mentioned in a newspaper or on local news sites. Have you heard a timeframe at all? I would assume they need to do major renovations to the interior.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Hangar B Eatery on Chatham, MA

Another couple suggestions for you:

Potato donuts (best eaten hot out of the fryer). These are dense and not-suggary-sweet.

Lemon ricotta pancakes. Very lemony, but I like them that way. Goes great with the berries they serve it with and a touch of real maple syrup.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Hangar B Eatery on Chatham, MA

Was there on Sat morning and have never not ordered the hash. One of the best breakfast iems I have ever had. That horseraddish sauce is unbelievable; I wish he bottled it.
They offer it in full portion (with eggs) or as side. I always order something off the board PLUS the hash as a side. I cant immagine a meal there without the hash.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Beech Tree Cantina Hyannis...The Good and the Bad

Made it to Cantina on Sat night (4/21). Got to the restaurant with my wife and 2 kids around 5:30 and the bar was full (Bruins game on) and a few tables in the dining room were already seated. By 6:30 every seat was taken.

Like CC Guy's post, there was some very good and very bad. A few notes:
We were offered chips & salsa immediately. It was a $2 charge to our bill.
We ordered a ton of small plates for both our appetizers and our meals. We had chicken flautas, shredded pork over polenta square, beef empanadas as appetizers followed by chicken tostados, and 4 tacos (steak, shrimp, cod, and salmon). Kids had chicken fingers and mac & cheese.

The good: good flaky crust to the beef empanadas. shredded pork over polenta (while not seeming very mexican in flavor - - more of spicy BBQ) was a great dish, chicken tostados had great flavor, and steak taco had great flavor. The portions of the empanadas, pork/polenta, flautas, and tostados were generous. The kids dishes were very nicely done and were significant portions; the mac & cheese wasn’t some boxed rendition or a boring elbow with velveeta melted over the top, rather it was a spiral noodle (pretty sure Barilla) in a multi-white-cheese sauce. Probably the best mac and cheese I’ve ever had off a kids menu. And we loved the atmosphere of both the bar and restaurant: nicely remodeled with a casual, lively vibe.

The bad: chicken tostados was served cold and was missing the caramelized onions that were supposed to be in it. my steak taco was also cold. (My kids dishes were piping hot. Almost seemed that our dinners were ready first and they held them up while our kids were finished.) The portions in the taco's were minimal; each one needed a little more filling to be in proportion to the tortilla. My house margarita wasn’t exciting - - - I don’t like syrupy mixes in mine - - - I prefer fresh lime juice without added sugar - - - but this one seemed to be more syrup/mix than anything.

I didn’t think the prices were bad, especially with some of the portions we received. Each taco, while minimal, was $4 to $5. The only thing we ordered that was more than $8.50 was the chicken tostados for $12. In total our bill was $120 and included a glass of wine ($6), a margarita ($7), and a bottle of wine ($27).

I think there is some promise here and we will be back. Hopefully the kitchen gets in more rhythm moving forward, both in terms of serving temperature and complete ingredients.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Food at Disney

Just came back from my first trip to Disney in 20+ years. It was the first trip for my wife and 2 kids (age 6 and 8). And as much as this trip was about the kids having fun, it was also about some good food for me and my wife. Below is my recap of the highs and lows of our Disney dining - - - I’m only reporting on the places we made reservations - - - not the places we just grabbed something in the park.
This post is a bit lengthy, but if you are planning a trip in the near future, it is worth a read.

Sat 3/24
We arrived early afternoon so our only reservation on Day 1 was a 7:30 dinner at California Grill in our hotel (the Contemporary). This was our first meal, and our best meal. Fish was very good, including their marinated sashimi appetizer. We were on the Deluxe dining plan and we took full advantage of it - - - appetizers, dinner, and desserts for everyone. If we went back again, we would probably make 2 reservations here.
Dining Plan Cost: 2 meals per person
Meal Grade: A
(Note: all notes/grades above and below relate to the adult meals. The kids meals were pretty lame and boring. Not much selection and not much thought or creativity put into the preparation. Kids Menus were pretty much a C- across the board. As part of the deluxe dining plan, our kids could not order from the regular menu - - - they could only order off the kids menu. The kids menu at Centro in Fairfield seems top notch compared to the dining plan options in Disney.)

Sun
In Hollywood Studios, so we booked both Lunch (Brown Derby) and Dinner (Sci-Fi Theater).
Brown Derby was probably my 2nd favorite of the trip. A well-thought flight of champagne to go along with our appetizers helped as well.
Dining Plan Cost: 2 meals per person
Meal Grade: A

Sci-Fi was a cool concept for the kids - - - sitting in convertible “cars” while watching a drive in movie. Menu was drive-in theme: burgers, shakes, hot dogs etc.
Dining Plan Cost: 1 meal per person
Meal Grade: C (but the theme/setting was cool for kids so I would still recommend)

Mon
Kouzzina, by Cat Cora
(on Boardwalk)
This was my wife’s favorite restaurant of our visit, and prob my 3rd. The menu is heavily Greek inspired with lots of interesting options. She had a riff on lasagna and it got better and better with each bit. Also had a very nice Greek wine list (flights, glasses, and bottles).
Dining Plan Cost: 1 meal per person
Meal Grade: A

Tue
In Epcot so had booked both lunch (Coral Reef) and dinner (Via Napoli).
Coral Reef lunch was set in a restaurant with a huge aquarium window. We had a table only 10 feet from the aquarium so we had great looks at the sharks, turtles, etc. Menu was heavily seafood inspired, but wasn’t that great. As good as the fish was at Calif Grille and Brown Derby, this was a clear cut below.
Dining Plan Cost: 1 meal per person
Meal Grade: B- (similar to Sci-Fi Theater, the concept here was cool for kids).

Via Napoli: In “Italy”, their high end restaurant was closed for renovations. Via Napoli was open and plays the role of casual, pizza place. Menu basically consisted of pizza, chicken parm, and spag & meatballs. Not much else. Pizza was actually pretty good and best of all, kids could order from the whole menu so they were able to get real appetizers and a good pizza.
Dining Plan Cost: 1 meal per person
Meal Grade: B+ (not fine dining; grade is pizza only)

Wed
Chef Mickey’s (Breakfast in Contemporary)
This is the breakfast buffet where Disney characters come around to your table for pictures. Typical buffet food – scrambled eggs, waffles, sausage, etc. Bonus: they have Krispy Kreme glazed donut holes. The attraction here is obviously the characters, not the food. This is worth doing if your kids want to see the characters - - - much easier than waiting in lines in the parks to meet them. And they only do a breakfast and dinner seating for this - - - both buffet style. I can live with a buffet breakfast; but not a buffet dinner.
Dining Plan Cost: 2 meals per person
Meal Grade: B (grade for breakfast buffet)

Citricos (Dinner)
Citricos had a setting (in the Grand Floridian) and menu that was very similar to Calif Grille - - - but the preparation was just a shade lower, though still very good. I’d put this 4th on the list of meals we had. And they actually made a pork tenderloin on the kids menu that was very tender and one of the best items my son got.
Dining Plan Cost: 2 meals per person
Meal Grade: A-

Thr
Kona Café (Breakfast) in Polynesian Resort
Prob my best breakfast of the trip. This was a full menu - - - no buffet - - - so everything was prepared to order. My blueberry pancakes were very solid as was everything. Being on the monorail, this was an easy ride for us to get breakfast.
Dining Plan Cost: 1 meal per person
Meal Grade: B+ (for breakfast)

House of Blues (Dinner) in Downtown Disney
Food here was a combination of ups and downs. A few appetizers were just so so. My strip steak was thin, a little overcooked, and a bit under-seasoned. But we also had the single most flavorful dish of the entire trip here - - - a meatball slider appetizer that was more Mexican spiced than Italian. Really tender and flavorful. Also had a good kids menu and kids were allowed to order appetizers off the full menu.
Dining Plan Cost: 1 meal per person
Meal Grade: B-

Other Notes:
We also had 2 breakfasts and 1 lunch at the Wave in our hotel (Contemporary). Nothing fancy but no complaints either. Lunch is menu dining; breakfast is a combo of buffet + menu options. I wouldn’t go out of my way eat here, but it was convenient and quick.
Dining Plan Cost: 1 meal per person
Meal Grade: B-

On our last night (Thur) we also had a Dessert Party at the Tommorrowland Restaurant in the Magic Kingdom. This is a 9pm seating with a buffet of desserts. Desserts looked awesome, but weren’t the most flavorful. But the allure of this is the terrace seating that gives you a prime view of the electric parade (9 pm), the castle light show (around 9:45), and the fireworks (10 pm). Seating is very limited for this event (maybe 20 – 25 tables total) and there is only 1 seating per night for the fireworks show.
Dining Plan Cost: not on dining plan; $25 per person
Dessert Grade: B- (but completely worth it for the uncrowded terrace views of the night shows)

I made most of my reservations online about 6 – 8 weeks prior to visiting. There were very limited timeslots for some places above as they do accept reservations 3+ months in advance. The only reservation I wanted but could not get was the princess breakfast in the Disney castle. I checked online every day for an opening for 2 months but couldn’t get anything. It’s buffet style and I’ve heard the food isn’t that great (especially if you go the dinner seating) but this would have brought most of the princesses right to our table for pictures, etc. I’ve heard that reservations for this book up 4 – 6 months in advance.

Dining Plan Note: The week we went, the basic dining plan was included in our Contemporary hotel package. This would have entailed 1 sit down meal per person per day plus 2 other “counter service / buffet” options. And for the 1 sit down, you could not get an appetizer as part of the plan; it came with dinner and dessert; you could pay extra for an app if you wanted. We ended up upgrading to the Deluxe dining for a few reasons:
 We didn’t want counter/buffet meals for the bulk of our dining options.
 Deluxe dining came with an app, entre, and dessert for all meals, and included 3 sit down meals per day as opposed to 1 (and you could opt to have a buffet or take-out option instead of sit down too).
 Many of the restaurants we picked “cost” 2 meals per person instead of 1. If we stuck with the basic plan we would have exhausted our dining limits in the first 3 days.
On the downside, both plans excluded tip and alcohol. And the tip adds up quickly. They calculate the bill in total so you can see what to tip on; at places like Calif Grille and Citricos the dinners (with a bottle of wine) were $200+. The food was “free” under the Deluxe plan of course, but you still end paying tip on the full $200 plus any alcohol that was ordered. So even on the Deluxe dining plan, we were still dropping $50 - $100 per sit down. It cost us $500 to upgrade from the basic to deluxe dining plan, so it still saved us money on the food, but you still walk out of each meal paying part of a bill.

All in all, a great trip for the kids and food that exceeded expectations (for the most part) for me and my wife.

foleyd7 in Florida

Breakfast in Fairfield County

It's a shame there aren't more suggestions here. The "food traffic" for Fairfield County has taken a nosedive ever since chow eliminated the TriState board.
Anyway, for pancakes I'm a big fan of the Blue Bird Inn in Easton (on Rte 58). Great fruit & nut pancakes.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Fairfield - Expanding & Closing - Moltos, Quattro Pazzi, Kobis

Was driving in downtown Fairfield (post road) the other day and noticed that the Gopher ice cream shop had closed. Not surprising. What was surprising was to see that Molto bough the space. A sign in the window indicated it was going to be for pizza's, sandwiches, slices, coffee, dessert, and delivery. Personally I think their quality has slipped a little since the first few months of opening, but it is still a good stop. It will be interesting to see how they succeed up from a slice & delivery perspective. There are tons of delivery choices in Fairfield (though my only delivery go-to's are Pizza Med and Nauti Dolphin). I'm not aware of any good slice places in town. I haven't had a good slice since Leno's shut down on Black Rock many years ago.

Another expansion note: It looks like Quatro Pazi is getting close to completing their expansion. They have now temporarily closed the original side of their restaurant and are joining it with the additional space they acquired next door. Hopefully this expansion yields additional sidewalk seating too.

And just this morning I was driving by Kobis (Hibachi / Japanese place) and noticed it was closed and had a big “for rent” sign posted. I’ve never been as I’m not an Hibachi fan, but the place seems very big and is brand new, though not in an ideal foot-traffic location. It will be interesting to see what tries to go in there next.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Eggplant rollatini in CT

Lianna's Trattoria in Fairfield.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

casual wear,good food, near Webster arena in Bridgeport,Ct.

I haven't been myself, but I've heard this is a good place for families and has a lot of what you are looking for.
http://www.twobootsbridgeport.com/

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Cape Cod in Winter discussion....Anything?

Have you tried Norabella on 28 in West Dennis yet?
I've been 3 times over the past 2 seasons and it has yet to disappoint for quality.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Fresh Ricotta along CT shoreline - east of New Haven or Middletown corridor

I'll 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Liuzzi's. Best ricotta I've ever purchased.

It's so good that we often serve it plain as an appetizer with just some olive-oil-toasted ciabatta. (Note: if you want to serve it this way, let it sit out at room temperature for 45 min or so before serving.... it makes a huge difference.)

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Modern Apizza...Seriously? That's the best you can do?

Ahh... the Westville pizza shop. A favorite of my dads. Almost as good as Pepe's and about 10 min closer when you are doing "pick up" from Derby.

Thanks for the bacon insight! I'll let my dad know his boder-line cholesterol problem probably started 30 years ago with the "tomato pie"!!

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Modern Apizza...Seriously? That's the best you can do?

Never had pizza in Boston, but go to the Cape several times a year and I'm always looking for a pizza fix. Needless to say, Cape Cod pizza leaves a lot to be desired (cheddar as a common component with mozzerella? really?). Not sure if the Cape Cod style carries throughout Mass, but when we go we can't wait to get home for our CT pizz fix..

I'm a long time New Haven pizza eater. For me it was always Pepe's hands down (sentiment goes hand in hand with the Spot). Sallys was good for my 1 and only visit, but service was so rude and offputting I never went back. Why bother with awful service from Sally's when Pepe's is 200 feet away?

Modern? Went once and it was good... but wasn't Pepe's.

I'm in Fairfield now so I get the "franchised" Pepe's pizza now. Still a decent pizza, but nowhere near the style coming from the original Pepe's / Spot.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

The Fairfield Spot

Noticed the other day that a new restaurant called The Fairfield Spot has replaced the Greenhouse Grill and then I found these online:

http://www.fairfieldcitizenonline.com/news/article/The-Fairfield-Spot-to-sprout-where-Greenhouse-2155257.php

http://www.fairfieldcitizenonline.com/news/article/New-Spot-opens-downtown-this-weekend-2181048.php

The article above mentions a website of www.thefairfieldspot.com but that doesn't seem to be working.

Anyone been yet? Thoughts?

I saw 3 reviews on yelp - - - 2 good and 1 awful.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

North Fork - Touch of Venice or Porto Bello

Thanks for the recs.

We have done NFT a few times and loved it. We have also done Luce & Hawkins since Chef Luce took over and it was great. That's why we are making return visits during this trip!

Comtesse Therese is on our list of places to go soon.

We have done Frisky Oyster but not since the chef took over operations; we always thought it was good but overly pricey (and trying a little to hard to unnecessarily be NY-city-ish.

We liked Jamesport Manor and we have tried Love Lane a couple times for breakfast, though not dinner.

I've heard about the Riverhead Project, but we are staying in Greenport and don't want to drive that far on this visit.

Never tried Bayview Inn - - - I'll have to look into that.

-----
Frisky Oyster
27 Front St, Greenport, NY 11944

Riverhead Project
300 E Main St, Riverhead, NY 11901

foleyd7 in New York State (exc. New York City)

North Fork - Touch of Venice or Porto Bello

Heading to the North Fork in a couple weeks and we already have reservations at North Fork Table and Luce & Hawkins.
We were thinking Italian for our 3rd night and have never been to Touch of Venice or Porto Bello.
Which would you recommend over the other? And why?

-----
Porto Bello
1410 Manhasset Ave, Greenport, NY 11944

Touch of Venice
PO Box 1623, Mattituck, NY 11952

foleyd7 in New York State (exc. New York City)

Great lunch near LI wineries.

If you are looking for a nice sit down you could try Luce & Hawkins (in the Jedediah Hawkins inn). Their hours are:

Open Daily
Dinner Thursday-Monday
5:30 pm-10:00 pm
Friday through Monday Lunch
11:00 am-2:30 pm
Tuesday & Wednesday
All day Menu
noon to 8 pm
Website is here: http://jedediahhawkinsinn.com/#/luces_landing

If you want something on the go, I've heard great things about a "lunch truck" outside the North Fork Table & Inn. Haven't tried it myself but I am planning to in a few weeks.
Normally I don't sit down for lunch - - - I usually grab some cheeses from the Cheese Shop on Love Lane and find a picnic table at one of the wineries.

foleyd7 in New York State (exc. New York City)

Brunch on Nantucket?

Toppers does:
http://www.wauwinet.com/restaurant/brunchmenu.php

They also offer a free “water taxi” from the docks which is nice:
http://www.wauwinet.com/restaurant/occasions.php

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Mid-Cape Summer 2011: One guy's opinions

Have you considered/tried Pisces in Chatham?
I've only been there once (last season) and it may go down as my best meal on CapeCod to date.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Anniversary dinner in North Fork

North Fork Table is probably tops. I would add Luce & Hawkins (in the Jeddediah Hawkins Inn). Also read good things about Comtese Therese Bistro (French); I haven't been but am planning to get there in Sept for fist time.

foleyd7 in New York State (exc. New York City)

Prime Dry Aged Beef In Fairfield County?

Whole Foods in Fairfield, too.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Top 5 of the Cape

PS: in a prior post you had asked about the tent/cart that was in Buca's parking lot for lunch. We drove by it (didn't stop) this past week and it is a hot dog cart. I don't imagine it is affiliated with Buca's. but I could be wrong.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Top 5 of the Cape

Agree that Alberto's is well above Girardi's.

I think Girardi's biggest problem is their red sauce is a little heavy (too much (unnecessary) paste added?) and always over-sauced on their dishes. We did eat there this past trip because we can walk to it with our kids. My wife and I both ordered dishes that don't have red sauce - - - a pork medallion special and I ordered their creamy chicken & prosciutto appetizer as my dinner by asking them to serve it over linguine; turned out to be the best dinner dish we had. My daughter is a pasta fiend and even she didn't love their red sauce.

But I would put it above Gina's - - - though I will grant you an exception :) in your ranking for factoring in nostalgia as I do realize that atmosphere, service, and history do play a part in one's overall dining experience.

I haven't been to Nauset Beach Club in 7+ years but always intend to get back. I recall it being a little pricy, but having a god menu with quality ingredients that were cooked well (and a huge wine list). Is this still the case?

And we did Buca's about 4 years ago and thought it was OK but not great - - - I do want to go back and give them a try again. Is it worth the trip back?

-----
Nauset Beach Club Restaurant
222 Main St, Orleans, MA 02653

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Top 5 of the Cape

The 2 pizza's we liked at Carluccios were their white pie (ricotta and mozz only, no red sauce or toppings) and their margherita with fresh mozz and basil. We liked the simple quality ingredients that weren’t overloaded. We also tried their regular cheese with meatball, which we didn't love as much compared to the other 2; we though there was too much cheese and meatball on the pizza that made it too heavy. We liked the crust for being very thin in the center but bubbly on the edges and light all around - - - we thought it could be a touch crisper, but we attributed that to our takeout traveling in a box.

As for Norabella I loved their veal Milanese - - - small portions but very quality ingredients cooked well (very tender). Last week I had a special on their menu which was a simple white fish sautéed next to risotto and asparagus. Again, all very simple but very fresh and all cooked properly. Simple, fresh, and properly prepared has been the theme for everything we have tried there so far.
And if you go you must try a dessert they have which is a fried chocolate and orange ricotta ball - - - it sounded weird at first but the waitress recommended it and we loved it. It isn't shown on the online menu, but it has been on their restaurant menu each time we have gone.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Top 5 of the Cape

CCC: I've got a new top pizza place for you. Just came back from an 8 day stay on the Cape and discovered Carluccio's which just opened this year. It is right next to that Mercantile store on Bass River (rte 28). Here is the link:
http://www.carlucciosdeli.com/pizza.htm
And the pizza’s they make look as good as the pictures on the site - - - this isn’t bait and swith. And best of all - - - they deliver. I got delivery and the crust held up pretty well, but I would think it is even better out of the oven right there. They have about 6 small tables inside if you wanted to swing by and try it.
This place just might skyrocket to the top of the Cape pizza list….

I alro really liked the lobster roll I had a PJ's in wellfleet (not JPs).

A couple additions to your list, and my 2 favorite places to eat on the Cape if we can manage to get out without the kids: Italian - Norabella. Seafood: Pisces.

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Buying lamb products near Trumbull, CT

I've always avoided frozen meat of any kind - - - whether I buy it frozen or freeze it myself - - - becuase I never like how it turns out compared to fresh meat - - - hence I'm at a store about 4 - 5 times per week to buy meat (chicken, turkey, sausages, beef, lamb, etc).

What tips do you have for proper thawing?

foleyd7 in Southern New England

Buying lamb products near Trumbull, CT

A&S Fairfield has leg of lamb (both unmarinated and already-marinated) and also has lamb loin chops. The lamb loin chops have been a favorite of mine this summer on the grill with a 4 hour pre-soak in olive oil, garlic (lots) and oregano. I have also bought rack of lamb there around the holidays, but I don't think they carry it year round. You can probably call and find out if that is the cut you are looking for.

foleyd7 in Southern New England