If you wish to skip the pretension, perhaps consider Joey's Seafood, Mimmo's Scampi Grill, and Siam Orchid.

My experience runs to the clams, not the onion rings.

All are (or can be great) and I agree that a prime grade (or close to it) filet is an amazing treat.

Upstate, Mickey's Oceanic Grill in East Hartford is great -- and best fish sandwiches around. Nice folks, too. Yeah, East Hartford, go figure. Not hard to get to for a quick stop off of Routes 2, 91 or 84.

We, also, have never had canned clams on a Pepe's pizza.

If you get out to the Vineyard, then Joey's Pizza might fit the bill (Oak Bluffs, if they open this season). Apparently related to Santarpio's of Boston. We love New Haven (best) and NYC (second) pizza, and this puts a smile our our faces.

Was great again yesterday -- three different pizzas, white clam included.

That did seem like quite the reaction. Goodness gracious.

Not here; have not noticed it slipping.

bingo!

Mama's?

Well, they were out today, on Thursday!

Love Pepe's sausage -- have you tried that? Clam issue was just bad luck and does not happen very often unless the weather or some other event intervenes.

Bingo (on Victoria)!

It does make that claim.

maybe Zaroka?

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Zaroka Bar and Restaurant
148 York St, New Haven, CT 06511

similar tastes -- Ritter Sport (though both the dark and milk varieties) and the Mounds/Almond Joy duo.

Great meal for four at the upstairs Italian restaurant this past Saturday evening. Sea scallops (two orders), chicken and sausage, and brown butter ravioli all were outstanding. Wonderful bread and still the best Caesar salad just about anywhere.

Well said!

Love Pepe's white clam, sausage with mozz, and plain tomato pie with garlic. Ignore ratbuddy.

We like the Divella fettuccine (egg noodles) best among the generally available brands. Not cheap, though!

Points well taken, but The Moorings has a good kids' menu, if I recall correctly, and the baked macaroni and cheese appetizer off the regular menu served as a great kids' meal (some time ago, anyway). If the kids truly are well behaved, and in respect of a 15th anniversary, The Moorings might work splendidly, and would not feel at all like a hotel. Plus, if they offer a traditional type Thanksgiving menu (no idea on that point, or if the original poster would so care), then the whole kids' menu issue might be moot.

We have become huge fans of Indigo Indian Bistro in Manchester. Terrific variety, wonderful preparations and extremely gracious service. A true winner!

On the other side of the river, Bombay Grill in Avon has been the most impressive by a fair margin.

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Avon Indian Grill
320 W Main St Ste 4, Avon, CT 06001

I love the place and just wish it were open more often. Unlike some other posters, every time I plan to visit Louis' Lunch I recall it being (merely) good (due to the passage of time, apparently) and question why I would wait in the line. So I wait, order, wait, receive and enjoy it immensely and cannot wait to go back. My favorite burgers by far.

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Louis' Lunch
263 Crown St, New Haven, CT 06511

Thank you!, but sorry -- I have not yet eaten at the pizza place.

We had a wonderful meal at Indigo Indian Bistro earlier this evening. Many of the staff -- a most welcoming, polite and professional group -- hail from Utsav, in Vernon, and the Bistro opened just last Saturday. The restaurant is located in the ShopRite Plaza on Spencer Street in Manchester, Connecticut, next to a pizza shop, and while IndiGo awaits its exterior sign, it is well worth seeking out.

After a warm welcome, we started out with the Gobi Manchurian and Tandoori Chicken (though the former is listed as an entree). The Gobi Manchurian complemented the chicken beautifully, featuring a nice blend of sweetness and a hint of follow-along spice, and will make a cauliflower lover out of anyone! The Tandoori Chicken, in turn, was probably the best we have had (among many, many examples through the years) -- flavorful, juicy and meaty.

The entrees were similarly terrific, with a rich Chicken Tikka Masala and piquant Aloo Gobi pleasing all. The Chicken Vindaloo, meanwhile, was particularly stellar -- impressively hot and spicy with a hearty, flavorful base -- setting off the Aloo Paratha and basmati rice wonderfully.

Finishing up, the desert highlight was an artful confection called a Chocolate Somosa, which disappeared quickly under an assault of spoons and forks.

We will be back soon and hope to see our fellow chowhounds embrace another worthy addition to Northern Connecticut's collection of eating venues.

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IndiGo Indian Bistro
232 Spencer Street, Manchester, CT 06040

Masala Restaurants
391 Main St, Hartford, CT 06106

A jar of Victoria's marinara (or marinara with meatballs) straight up.

El Serape in Enfield, CT, perhaps?

Lamb vindaloo, really good tuna melts, Pepe's Apizza (CT), Louie's Lunch cheeseburgers (CT), well-prepared massaman curry, scrapple, and toasted pumpernickel bread with butter.

The Cheesecake Factory/P.F. Changs phenomenon apparently plays out in wealthy suburbs throughout the U.S. I have witnessed bizarrely long lines for these and similar places in Georgia, California, Virginia and Illinois, among many other states (Stamford, too!).

It also seems not to matter if the area has strong regional cuisines or notable family run restaurants (Asian, Italian, Mexican or otherwise) -- the affection for the safe, superficially innovative chains endures and grows. Not all the partakers are families, either.

Perhaps some of the attraction owes to their placement in the increasingly pervasive, fancified lifestyles (if that is the correct term) shopping areas filled with relatively high-ticket retailers.