ratbuddy's Profile
Tastease Donuts in Hartford, CT---closing
Ahh, first Donut and Bagel Stop, now Tastease, what is my west end coming to? Yeah, I know they're probably both technically in Parkville, but to me, west end is definied by proximity to West Hartford, not the official neighborhood ;-)
At least Panaderia Pan Del Cielo (Bread of Heaven Bakery if I remember 8th grade Spanish right) is picking up the slack nicely up on Prospect, even if they do put lettuce on the Cubans (wtf??).
Joey's Pizza Pie - Park Road, West Hartford
Love this place.
Great pizza, in that sort of half-New York half-New Haven style that's popular lately among places like Naples, Hot Heaven, and zillions of others.
Grinders are good too, although they don't make cold cut grinders anymore. Only hot stuff like meatballs and sausage. The steak and cheese is chow-worthy too.
One thing I can't resist is the eggplant fries. For about $10 you get a HUGE box, pictured below. That's a 12" pizza box and probably weighed about 4 pounds. Even the 'small' order is enough for two or three people to share, but you definitely won't want to.
They also have the same fresh ground burgers as the Joey Garlic's locations, although I haven't tried one here yet. Plan B is too close not to default there for burgers.
Mondo (Middletown, CT) - you've gotta try a pizza here!
My last three contracts were in Portland, and with any luck I'll get a referral down there, so it's likely I'll get to check out Mondo in the near future.
My DW saw this thread and surprised me with a large order of eggplant fries from Joey's Pizza Pie just a few minutes ago, I'll go find or start a thread on that place to post a few pics.
Mondo (Middletown, CT) - you've gotta try a pizza here!
Joey's eggplant fries are awesome. Easily the best I've ever had.
Yeah, I think Naples was having a bad day, but so much was wrong with the food that we haven't been back. Again, the pizza was great, but in addition to the rancid eggplant, the 'Mondo Combo' grinder used lazily cut meats - ever try to bite through 1/8" cut sopressata or prosciutto? Ain't pretty.
Years past, we never had basic issues like that with Naples. Maybe they sent the good chef down to Mondo and left the original place on cruise control.
Glastonbury,CT- the "Burger Capitol of America?"
West Hartford has probably got the most/best burger spots, and a few more in Glastonbury ain't gonna change that.
Mondo (Middletown, CT) - you've gotta try a pizza here!
The eggplant fries must be way better than the Farmington location, because those ones were absolutely terrible. Easily the most bitter eggplant I've ever had.
Ever tried Joey Garlics/Joey's Pizza Pie's eggplant fries?
Mondo (Middletown, CT) - you've gotta try a pizza here!
Same owners as Naples in Farmington, so it's no surprise the pizza is great. I'd be cautious of the apps and sandwiches though, Naples has never been able to get those quite right.
Does anyone know what these are called? And do you have a recipe for it?
Looks to me like one of those awful gluten free vegan black bean brownies.
Why not just ask 'em?
Define "Grinder"
Among pedants and purists, sure, slider means a very specific type of sandwich. Out in the real world, if you put peekytoe sliders on a menu, you can be assured people will know exactly what you mean - although you might be better off phrasing it 'crab sliders.'
Language changes over time, and the only folks who fight to stick with an outdated meaning are the ones who enjoy correcting folks who use the word 'wrong.'
Define "Grinder"
Consensus is different from a single oddball. Your examples are disingenuous.
Need an Italian Reco in CT
I'd definitely call Bricco top end, for the area anyway. Prices are right around Cavey's.
Another thought came to me, Amici's in Avon. The more I think about it, the more I think it's exactly what you're looking for. It's right near 167 on 44, and has good food coupled with decent portions.
Need an Italian Reco in CT
Agreed, and I would also place Bricco firmly in the 'too fancy' category. Guess it's a matter of perspective.
Define "Grinder"
No.
There are idiots out there who insist a slider is only a specific type of mini burger cooked with onions and cry loudly when someone 'misuses' the term. Then there's the rest of us who have moved on to using the term 'slider' to mean anything on a little bun.
Grinder is a similar situation - it's come to mean the same thing as a submarine/whatever. You might find a pedant or two clinging to the 'traditional' defition, but we can safely ignore them.
Right?
TRUFFLE OIL WHY USE IT???
"It's a chef's delight" - Gordon Ramsay.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ezfs_vQkfwk
Need an Italian Reco in CT
Spartan II is pretty good. Head north up 10, turn right on 322, it'll be on the right before McDonald's.
Best bakery Hartford to New Haven?
Brooker, don't take this the wrong way, I think it's great that you try to help folks, but the endless lists of links that could well have been pulled from google aren't really helpful. How about limiting it to places you've visited and enjoy, and if you've really been to every place you link, tell us how you liked them?
OP, stop at Elmwood Bakery, they are the best in the area. They even make a mean hamburger roll.
Shake Shack to open in New Haven
I just hope there's not still a bunch of vagrants camped out on the green by the time Shake Shack opens.
well known brands that just arent as good as in the past
That's the dang PGPR. They even shouldn't be allowed to call it chocolate when it contains that waxy crap.
well known brands that just arent as good as in the past
There's a new (to me, anyway) product called 'Idaho Spuds' which is pretty similar to the old Potato Buds. Worth trying if you were a fan before the change.
Pizza Dough - Farmington/Avon/Simsbury
Head over the mountain to Harry's Bishop's Corner. Great dough.
well known brands that just arent as good as in the past
Anyone have Cheez-its lately? Our most recent box was terrible, dry and crumbly instead of flaky and crispy.
I will be laughed off this board!
If I was gonna laugh you off this board, it would be for subbing out the roast beef for turkey and thinking that was 'Jenny Craig' worthy. You save about 10 calories that way, compared to roughly 60 calories saved if you took off the salami and replaced it with turkey.
Burger Baby in downtown Hartford (the old Mayor Mike's)
Agree on Plan B's fries. I would think they could at least match Five Guys' fries. They're (Plan B fries) much better in disco fry form, but then the portion is tiny for the price.
Probably the best fries I know of in CT are at Bobby's Burger Palace in Mohegan Sun. The burgers ain't too shabby either.
Surf and turf west of Hartford?
Any good spots for a special occasion surf and turf? West end, West Hartford, Newington, Farmington, Avon, Simsbury, etc etc.
Thanks!
Quick dinner this Friday near West Hartford town hall?
Stay far away from Counter, it's a nasty burger hiding behind a cutesy menu concept. You'd be much better off at Max Burger.
Dumb Diners -- Maybe even YOU?
If ya put in Carvajal, Arturo here: http://www2.miami-dadeclerk.com/civil/Search.aspx it should come up. Click the docket link over on the right and you can see all the legal mumbo jumbo.
Dumb Diners -- Maybe even YOU?
Still going through the process, you can look up the case online if you really care. It's available, I just checked.
Sunday brunch in Norwalk, Wilton, or Westport - recommendations please
Silvermine Tavern had a good Sunday brunch, but a little voice in my head seems to be saying they are out of business. You'll want to double check, I could be misremembering, and their website is still up..
edit: Just noticed I got tricked into replying to an almost year-old thread, shame on me..
Bagelz, Glastonbury CT Closed
They used to have more locations, or at least one in West Hartford. It was Bob's Bagels, then I guess he bought a Fancy Bagels franchise. The bagels and sandwiches seemed to stay the same though. Awesome stuff. Now it's Goldberg's last I checked, and was still pretty good. Worth trying at least once. They're on New Britain Ave next to the old Friendly's building.
