Clams047's Profile
Why oh why would Steven Tyler shill for Burger King
Because they finally found someone even creepier than the King?
Why should I buy tilapia?
So it fits into the category of white rice & grits?
Then again, so many kill flavor with ketchup that I question if the average person even cares about flavor (beyond sugar and salt).
Donuts: Cake or Yeast-type?
Like everything, there are donuts and there are donuts. Years ago, I preferred Dunkin Donuts (way back when they were made daily / fresh & with a selection). I find a quality cake donut to be far superior to any yeast donut, but unless one lives in an area where they are made fresh, I can see where one may not like donuts. A good one can be a real treat.
If fresh donuts are not available, to please a typical crowd, I suggest to go half and half with Dunkin / Krispy Kreme - whichever is available. Unfortunately neither will provide a quality product nor an ideal selection, but in a pinch, either will be far superior to packaged or grocer donuts.
Best fried Clams in Rhode Island?
Sounds like the typical whole bellies commonly found in RI (exception being at Buttonwoods Fish & Chips in Warwick, RI where I've found them to be consistently exceptional).
Best fried Clams in Rhode Island?
My new gold standard for fried whole bellies in southern New England is now at the Glenwood Drive In in Hamden, CT. Far suprior to any I've ever had at any traditional restaurant. Hard to say if they are better than what's available in the the Boston north shore area since a side-by-side comparisons is not practical. Best guess is comparable.
IMO, best in northern New England is probably at Five Island Lobster in Georgetown, ME - my other gold standard.
Why is the Olive Garden so reviled?
It's easy to understand why OG is so reviled. I'm stumped as to why anyone would ever return (very difficult for me to understand).
Blenheim Ginger Ale
Any places to pick up Blenheim ginger ale between Chattanooga & Bristol Tn?
Breakfast in Brunswick ME?
I second the Brunswick diner, assuming a small, classic hole-in-the wall diner is acceptable. We've been there dozens of times - always very good service and excellent blueberry pancakes. It's basically traditional diner fare, but they do have some specials.
New BBQ place in Bridgeport - Dickeys
Tried one in CO several years ago and was very pleased (for a chain / not being in the south). When they opened one in Seekonk, MA, perhaps two years ago, I was thinking finally some decent BBQ in New England. It was fair with terrible sides. Not what I recalled from my CO experience.
When they say "home style" sides. They mean it....... right from the can.
Just called up their site for locations. Evidently the Seekonk location is no longer around.
Best Chain Breakfast?
Outside of perhaps yogurt & fruit cups, I'm not sure what can really be considered as "healthy" for breakfast - certainly not muffins, fried eggs, any form of potatoes or breakfast meats, etc (unless perhaps you prefer chicken sausage). If it's oatmeal or cereal that you want, why eat out?
Best Chain Breakfast?
The OP was asking for suggestions "quick and not too bad" under the topic of "best chain breakfast". In New England, diners & mom/pop places typically have superior quality & service vs. chains. When traveling south, I tend to stop at WH for a quick, predictable, albeit limited menu breakfast, although I also follow http://www.mrbreakfast.com/restaurant1.asp for local alternatives.
I've found most local suggestions typically far surpass the chains. In NE, the larger diners seem to be run by Greeks and do tend to provide excellent breakfast selections with relatively quick service (far better quality / selection than places such as Ihop, Cracker Barrel, Dennys, Friendlys, etc and far better selection than places as McDonalds, Hardies, etc) .
I still stand that "best chain breakfast" is an oxymoron.
How far are you willing to drive for a good restaurant?
I'd drive anywhere within the state (RI). Of course, 35 minutes in any direction gets me either into another state or the ocean. Then again, it would have to be quite special to get me to drive more than 20 minutes just to have dinner.
Good Southern Cuisine / BBQ in Providence/Patwucket, RI
OOPS - make that the SPEEDY PIG in Fayetteville, GA as my gold standard for perfection in pork BBQ& Brunswick stew.
Good Southern Cuisine / BBQ in Providence/Patwucket, RI
Problem is, do any actually smoke the meat? I've tried BBQ in at least a dozen places in New England. Not once would I ever want to return.
Ok - I'll bite - name a place that would actually stay in business if located in the Carolinas (or TX for beef brisket).
Wilsons in Fairfield, CT is about the best I've found, but also found their sides to be seriously lacking. KC rib shack in Manchester, NH was perhaps respectable, but $45 for two at lunch? (Their sides were also seriously lacking, especially the sweet, overly sugared, fried corn muffins they try to pass off as hush puppies.)
Gold standard for me is the Georgia Pig in Brunswick, GA - perfection for pork BBQ as well as Brunswick Stew. (Their other sides are also quite excellent.). Whenever we find ourselves traveling down I-75, (perhaps once / year, if lucky) we make the detour to see if it's as good as we remember. It always is.
Bodacious in Longview, TX is my gold standard for beef.
Good Southern Cuisine / BBQ in Providence/Patwucket, RI
Having BBQ in New England is much like expecting fried clams in the Carolinas.
Crow's Nest, Warwick, RI - sad disappointment
Next time, try Buttonwoods Fish & Chips in Warwick. Possibly the best fried seafood in RI. Fries & onion rings are fresh cut to order. I prefer flounder for F&C, but their cod is quit excellent as well as their whole bellies & sea scallops (both being best I've found in RI). Best sure to split the order - should be plenty for two, but skip the slaw. With everything else made to order, I'm not sure why they don't make their own slaw.
Best Chain Breakfast?
The eggs may be similar, but the bread & meat choices as well as style of potatoes, quality of juices & coffee and freshness of a fruit sides easily separate the best from the worst.
Best Chain Breakfast?
Ah - forgot about Mimi's - quite excellent. Unfortunately, we don't have any in the northeast, but we do seek them out when traveling west. Just pulled up their web site and was pleased to see they are also located in the southeast. Will have to include them in our southern travels.
Best Chain Breakfast?
Kind of an oxymoron - chain / best breakfast, but I'd have to go with Waffle House with NO second place.
I'll never understand the draw for IHOP, Cracker Barrel, Denny's, McDonalds, etc as well as any motel restaurant. Rather pass it up if they are my only choice. Give me a good diner or mom & pop place any day.
Fried belly clams.
By all means not an authority, but I have enjoyed whole bellies at several dozen places throughout New England. Oddly, Glenwood in Hamden & Harry's in Colchester rank about the best I've found for fried whole bellies, along with Buttonwood Fish & Chips in Warwick, RI. (Odd because the first two are drive-ins, not traditional clam shacks or seafood restaurants.)
I've not been to the Fish Market nor Clam Castle. I''ve been to Lenny & Joes - quite good, but they do tend to be pricey.
It's been a while since I've been up to Ipswich / Essex, MA so I'll reserve comment there, although I do recall enjoying them at Woodman's & the Clam box (as a reference). When in Maine, I tend to stay more with crab & lobster salad rolls, but I've had some very excellent whole bellies at Five Island Lobster in Georgetown, ME and at the Lobster Shack in Cape Elizabeth, ME.
In summery, IMO both Harry's and Glenwood serve as good of a whole belly as one can get. There's no need to drive north. (For the most part, don't bother with RI.)
Fried belly clams.
Had some really excellent whole bellies at Glenwood Drive Inn in Hamden last week. Really excellent - FAR better than I've had at several RI places including Iggies, Flos, Champlins, Georges or Aunt Carries.
Guess what my DH put on his McDonald's hash browns this morning
I'm amazed anyone can eat those trash browns - even covered in ketchup.
Guess what my DH put on his McDonald's hash browns this morning
"Then proceeded to dip them in ketchup and declared them delicious."
Isn't ketchup the universal cure to kill the greasy taste of fried food (and other unpleasant flavors)?
With enough sugar & salt (ketchup), most anything can become tolerable.
Praising Service (at a fast food chain)
After about a 10-15 year hiatus, I've stopped by KFC perhaps monthly for the past year. The (original recipe) chicken is much better than I recall plus I find their slaw to be quite excellent.
The amusing part is that the order is typically in my hands almost immediately after and many times before I get / count my change. They do an excellent job using the computerized registers to trigger someone other the cashier to fill the order while payment is being made (far superior to the way other fast food place typically complete orders, although KFC does have the advantage of not having to cook / prepare food to order).
Clam Digger in Bristol
Boston - NYC via 84/684 is about 10 miles / 10 minutes longer vs. 84/91/95, but I've found it to be a preferable drive. If you want to add some challenge to the drive, consider using the Saw Mill Pkwy.
The OP did mention Bristol, so I suspect they were intending to use I-84 across most of CT.
Subway Vs. Blimpie?
and ironically, the reason I never went back was because they lightly toasted the bread.
I felt they needed to either slow down the speed, turn up the temp or run the sandwich through twice. Tried them twice in two locations and neither could compare with a traditional hot-oven grinder.
Clam Digger in Bristol
It's nearly a year late, but if the weather is favorable, Denmo's at 346 Main St. S., Southbury, CT could be an ideal place to stop with kids. It has outdoor picnic table seating where hot dogs plus some very good fried seafood is available plus it's located quite close to I-84 (exit 15) about halfway between Boston & NYC.
Subway Vs. Blimpie?
Cracker Barrel, Pizza Hut & Olive Garden come to mind, but I have to agree, Subway wins out yet again .... as the worst..
Define "Grinder"
Can't speak about grinder roll quality in the Bronx, but having lived in NJ, I was never pleased with any grinder roll bread in PA nor NJ. NJ / NYC has some excellent rye, etc, but I've always found the grinder / sub rolls outside of CT to be lacking. It may be that I was brought up on CT type bread & have a preference for that style.
I'm currently in RI where the bread (with a few exceptions) is typically bad - especially in the sandwich / sub / shops. One would think with its Italian population, they'd have learned something about CT/NY/NJ breads.
Define "Grinder"
Growing up the Hartford area in the 50's / 60's, hot oven grinders were very common. Never heard of a sub, hoagie, torpedo, etc until I moved out of CT.
Fully agree that none seem to compare with a typical CT grinder as the bread / roll used outside of CT never seems to have the quality of a typical CT grinder roll. Others may use similar cold cuts, meatballs, Italian sausage, etc, but the end result never seems to match up due to the bread / roll. The bread is especially critical for making an edible hot oven grinder.
Oddly, Subway was started / is based in CT, yet it has about the worst bread / rolls of any sub, etc shop (never mind their typically low / poor quality cold cuts, etc). They may have started out with a good roll, but they obviously dropped all the quality when they expanded.
