anthonybri's Profile
121 Restaurant @OXC
'Scargod'~ Appreciate your detailed post on the other thread(we missed this one at the time). We're also glad that there has been some more positive experiences since then but would be inclined to wait and see before venturing there with so many other options(which you have shared your experiences at as well). Thanks.
ANY good Chinese in CT?
Wow, I've got to get to this place for something different. Rabbit, jellyfish, beef tendon, & grass carp listed on their menu. Hope they have all those wonderfully strange dishes at the Milford location.
Top Five Chow spots in Waterbury?
I would have looked forward to jumping right on this thread and recommending Lisboa as well having gone there for 12+ years(several years of which I went VERY frequently living a couple of towns over). Earlier this year I heard rumblings that things were not as they once were but since ownership was the same I still looked forward to going despite any "transition" that might be taking place in the kitchen. All I could say was that we were downright embarrassed and disappointed at how the food just plain missed(especially the failure to execute their "signature" dishes). I hate to use the word "shocking" but.......let's just say with having to dine out less frequently these days I will not take one for the team and simply "hope" it is back on track. Thanks but no thanks.
Nardelli's success always dumbfounded me. Aside from unique items like the sofritto their grinders are absent of any quality and they seem to barely try(or even care). They don't make an effort to have Milite's available while the bread they regularly use for grinders is dreadful, LOTS of pre-made items brought in, and they just love using that old microwave......sounds like the "big-box " chain named after a form of transit to me.
Just an opinion through experience but both places mentioned are doing just fine nonetheless. I respectfully say "To each their own".
Dressing Room Very Good but $$$$
Your post was too funny. My tickets to the Playhouse will now be used to barter with my SO for treating me to "just some soup and a burger before the show honey"!
Little Rendezvous, Meriden CT
Hey java~ Not so sure why we endured "the wrath of indifference" on quite a few occasions from different servers there. I swear to you...we are both polite, soft-spoken, and "low-maintenance" restaurant customers. We're aware of where we are wherever we eat and thus don't have unrealistic expectations other than getting the food and not being treated like we're a bother of some sort. We have been there many times as well but it just got to be a joke (especially the last few times).... as if we the customers were inconveniencing them(REALLY overt BS to be quite honest). Not a lot to ask for another refill on drinks if the server was MIA for twenty-five minutes after taking the order right? There was a couple of frisbee launches of the finished pies across the table and disgruntled looks after asking for silverware(how dare we!). It just went on & on(our fellow Chowhounders will thank me for not describing each and every shocker). Mind you, we used to go before they ever got ridiculously busy. One time, an older couple across from us noticed one of the "meltdowns" and said: "Sometimes she's like that but the food is great isn't it?!?". I later noticed posts right here where even some regulars stated "there is one we try to avoid" but other than that they are "always pleased". Not a great reflection on an otherwise good find.
Not that I ever mentioned this to them....but I can somewhat tolerate the occasional inconsistency, the $7.00 a glass wine that came from the jug or "off the gun"(they could serve anything else that's simple and cheap but sorry.....that plonk is just an insult), or even the most abrupt "straight to the point" service but the theatrics with attitude will not have me going out of my way anytime soon. It's too bad, those Lobster Raviolis and Clam pizzas can be quite good.
With that said, I'm glad you've enjoyed your visits there and I hope you continue to have the luck that ran out on us!
Little Rendezvous, Meriden CT
In an area where I'm constantly reminded by others that there is not much that is "Chowhound-worthy"(you just have to look REALLY hard for the few exceptions), I have to give credit where credit is due.....Little Rendezvous is a notable find(my opinion is humble in THIS post). Yes, there is the "big three" and the opportunity to get treated like a second-class citizen at Roseland(they don't need my business so why should they care? Trust me they don't!) but to be near a PIZZA ONLY establishment with an eye on quality was admittedly cool for this guy.
A place where the owner makes EVERY pie personally in a 100+ year old coal-fired oven? It's true. Sounded great to me and I've since enjoyed many times(you can sign me up every time). I truly feel that there is not enough mention made of this place. We've all been to those places that are either indifferent to quality or just plain inconsistent but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better pizza around.
Ordering it "extra-crispy" is key(for the true..dare I say...."other places" experience). Single toppings seem to work best and they're one of the few places whose customers don't necessarily believe that mozzarella always belongs on every pizza(of course most do order them that way & they happily oblige). Besides, the sauce is just plain good.
Thumbs up: Just mozz or plain w/grated cheese(to see what they're capable of). Pepperoni & mozz....just plain nice. Sausage(their own?) is good with added garlic & mozz.
Less so: Bacon...I prefer chopped instead of small sliced pieces(just a preference...so shoot me), Onion..I prefer slices instead of chopped(shoot me again), & clams(if they ever shucked them fresh like the "other guys" I'd rarely go elsewhere).
In all, they're worth a try and at the very least they should be mentioned more in the great pizza debate that everyone gets so "fired" up over(coal or otherwise).
Carmen Anthony's Fish House in Woodbury CT
If you feel that the Steakhouse is pricey but more importantly not particularly good for that money I suppose you'll find that the Fishhouse is much the same(with both places I'm of the "just not particularly good period" opinion). Wouldn't say that the service here is pretentious but I have found that it just simply doesn't make the experience worth becoming anything more than an occasional visitor at best(if you've learned what has a better chance of being "good"). Their "Wine Spectator Award winning" wine list is curious given that most selections are predictable and very "distributor driven" and the kitchen is quite inconsistent at best(How can you screw up a previously good fried lobster tail appetizer? Let me count the ways!). I'm just left wondering, what is the fuss really about? A lack of other true "fish houses" and a healthy Connecticut Magazine advertising budget can't hurt though. Just an un-humble opinion from someone who WANTED to like this restaurant more than I ever really did after finishing a meal in the several times I've tried it.
With that said, the crabcake is quite good and I have truly enjoyed the Sea Bass Calabrese dish....it's definitely worth a try by someone in your party. Otherwise yes, a simply prepared piece of fish is less likely to disappoint. The after dinner drink selection is especially noteworthy as well. Do enjoy & be sure to report back.
Fresh okra in New Haven?
ChefStu is the man isn't he!?! Has steered me towards more "Good Eats" than Alton Brown! Keep posting. Thanks yet again.
Food in Middlebury Ct
The newly "re-opened" Junipers across from Perrotti's on the former Country Gate property is definitely worth a visit. Described as "Continental with an Italian flair", few restaurants could manage to deliver such a significantly large menu as theirs with such consistency. I most enjoy being able to mix things up with creative specials(interesting sourced ingredients, game offerings,etc.) while my SO can enjoy her old reliables/past favorites while we BOTH can delve into the thoughtfully conceived wine list. Selections in every price range, the wine list dwarfs what can be found in other supposed Wine Spectator Award winning restaurants whose lists are all too often painfully predictable & "distributor driven". I'm actually surprised there has been no mention on Chowhound since their opening(interesting article in Waterbury Republican American archives). It was worth the wait!
Lago Trattoria in Newport VT?
"Gamefish" has hit the nail on the head as I too find Lago to be "excellent" & "extremely well-executed"(in addition to being remarkably consistent). I've been meaning to post regarding this personal favorite as I was surprised to find little mention of this fine restaurant. I distinctly recall each dish I have had there & can still taste the rack of lamb as well as the veal medallions from our last visit(getting hungry as I type here Chowhounds!). Well worth the drive so be sure to enjoy this Newport gem. Cheers.
2 restaurants close in Branford, CT
I have to weigh in on the Cookhouse and it's Branford location. To start, I have to admit I was the first to welcome this opening as I had previously enjoyed and went far out of my way to go to their New Milford restaurant as I felt they truly could be considered "CT's Best BBQ". Even after allowing them time to "work out the kinks" I had been nothing short of extremely disappointed each & every time I went there. From "soup to nuts" everything seemed a far cry from what I remembered before their re-opening in New Milford(after an unfortunate fire a couple of years back). Short cuts being taken? Expanding a bit too fast? Who knows. Their "rubs" seemed inferior and the overall quality of food once served there was but a memory, the side dishes were a shell of what they once were, & it seemed this was an "entity" in an all-fired hurry to expand( & possibly franchise?) without regard for the very-good food they once served. In all, it's too bad as I would have liked nothing more than to enjoy what was once one of CT's better BBQ spots. Of course, this is just one Chowhound's humble opinion.
