No, I'm not cat-calling you, but these fried pillows of sweet potato certainly called to me on a recent trip to Burgers, Shakes & Fries. A nice respite from the french fry with an unfortunate name that when used, makes one feel as if they are bleeding brain cells, the sweet potato tot boasts a shape that maximizes its fried surface area with an interior brimming with sweet potato goodness.
How many CTbites contributors does it take to order chicken salad, a breakfast burrito, a Grecian omelet, a reuben sandwich, grilled blueberry muffins, pancakes, apple pie, coffee milkshakes and the worlds' BEST homemade donuts to top it all off? Apparently only 3. But the full bellies and groans were all worth it due to the great food and fantastic retro atmosphere at the LAKESIDE DINER in Stamford. Located at the bottom of the ramp of exit 34 off the Merritt, this joint offers the quintessential diner experience. So much so, it has been used as a location in several films including "College Road Trip." It isn't large and it isn't fancy. This is authentic diner fare done right. Mel, I would kiss these grits anytime.
Last spring we told you about Bereket, an tiny authentic Turkish eatery tucked behind a gas station in Bridgeport. This fortuitous find primarily offered takeout, but if you were lucky enough to get one of the 3 small tables, you were served food worthy of an Ottoman emperor. While we loved hiding out behind the Citgo station, we were pleased to hear that owner Selahattin Cinar had moved his very reasonably priced menu and talented cooks to a much larger space in Blackrock (the old Helados Vazquez). With an upgraded interior worthy of the excellent fare, Selahattin can now focus on the customer experience...and a more gracious host you've never seen. Warm up your car for a quick departure to Bridgeport.
People’s Choice on Wall Street in Norwalk is as nondescript as a restaurant gets, but if you happen to walk by, the aroma of jerk chicken and stewed meat makes your head turn even before you open the door. Step inside and you could be in the heart of Kingston, Jamaica – the savory spicy smells, the clanging of the pots and pans, people lining up to order directly from the kitchen, beverage coolers stacked with Jamaican drinks and sodas with names like Kola Champagne, Peanut Punch, and Irish Moss ….
I must have driven past this restaurant countless times before I was introduced to this ‘find’ by my Jamaican Nanny – Corrine. During the snow laden Connecticut winters, homesick for ‘ackee and salt fish’ and ‘callalloo’ she wanted nothing more than her weekly visit to People’s Choice.
Jeff’s Cuisine is the warmest spot in Sono if you ask me. Its namesake, Jeff Esaw, is not only an accomplished, award-winning chef of southern cuisine and barbecue; he’s also a great host. Often welcoming patrons in personally and guiding them through his extensive menu, he does everything possible to create a memorable experience, transmitting his enthusiasm to the gracious staff.
It was as if we could hear the seductive sound of classic Blues before we even walked through the door recently…actually it was emanating from an outdoor speaker above the back entrance.
My latest stop in the Fairfield County Burger Quest brought me to the Black Duck Café in Westport. Located in the shadows of I-95 and overlooking the Saugatuck River I was startled to see a building that looked more like a candidate for a reconstruction project than a restaurant. The structure is not a building at all but a retired ice and refrigeration barge that was originally built in the 1840’s. It was refurbished in the early 1900’s and eventually relocated to its current location in 1961 and sits atop another barge that sank at a time when the Saugatuck River was much deeper.
I’m told “Masas” means dough in Spanish. For very little “dough” you can consume A LOT of dough at Masas Arepera, a new, family-run spot in a tiny strip mall on Westport Ave in Norwalk.
(Bring some dough, though, because it’s cash only.)
Place your order at the counter. Menu items are listed on the wall and for those of us who don’t speak Spanish there is a yellow take-out menu with helpful English descriptions. (The Venezuelan family and staff are friendly but not much English is spoken.) Note also that all items may not be available at all times. (One member of our group had been told on an earlier visit that chicken wasn’t available that day.) So be prepared to go with the flow. We’re very glad we did.
Photos: c/o Michael Stern, Roadfood.comThe Lake Zoar Drive-In is located on Route 34 in Monroe (many Navigation systems do not recognize the website town of Stevenson) slightly less than 7 miles east of I-84. This stand-alone burger and dog shack has occupied this same stretch of beach overlooking Lake Zoar for over 20 years and the current owners have been grilling burgers and dogs for over 17 years; they must be doing something right. That something is a burger with plenty of toppings, some of the best French Fries in Connecticut plus a soda...all for under $10.
Many things have changed over the last fifty years, but don't bother mentioning that to the Sycamore. The diner and carhop in Bethel, CT has been serving the same burgers, root beer floats and fries since 1948. While our dining habits have ebbed and flowed from those early carhop days, from TV dinners, chinese take-out and sushi rolls to today's preoccupation with farm-to-table dining, the Sycamore has been steadfast in their devotion to the diner.
For starters, let’s call it Valencia Breakfast-eria. With food this good, breakfast deserves star billing. And it’s served at Valencia Luncheria seven days a week.
Personally, breakfast is my favorite restaurant meal. For me, the pleasure of a breakfast out -- aside from not having to cook it -- is the feeling of being on vacation. Stepping out into a new, exotic locale, sampling local favorites, getting the feel of a place and its people. So it was this morning at Valencia, stepping out of the blazing Venezuelan-like sun, through the blue and while striped tent flaps, into the tiny mango-hued storefront.
We know from CTBites’ earlier review of Valencia Luncheria much about this tiny 16-seat restaurant and it’s excellent arepas, plantains, and lunch and dinner specialties. Breakfast is similar in quality, quantity, value (and frequent long waits for a table), but with its long and interesting menu of breakfast/brunch specials, the AM meal deserves its own review.
Connecticut pizza fans are not much different than baseball fans. Each are rabidly and often irrationally supportive of their team or in this case, their pizzerias. And just as that imaginary line splitting Connecticut into Yankees and Red Sox territory exists, so does the invisible border separating followers of Stamford's seventy-five year-old institution, Colony Grill, from those forming lines at Pepe's and Sally's on New Haven's Wooster Street.
Depending on your team, one thing is certain. We in Connecticut take our pizza very seriously. The pizza rivalry is heating up in Connecticut with Colony Grill's expansion onto Fairfield's Post Road. Opening this past Memorial Day weekend, Colony Grill in Fairfield has already cultivated a near-instant following drawn to its thin crust hot oil pies and booming bar scene.
Die-hard fans of Stamford's Colony Grill will not be dissapointed in its Fairfield incarnation. The nearly-identical menu is matched by an identically delicious pizza, minus the decades of pizzeria patina, a combination of occasionally surly service and constant throng of people and take-out orders we've come to appreciate (read: tolerate) in Stamford.
Is there anything better than fried seafood by the beach on a warm Summer day? I think not. Neither do jfood of Chowhound.com and Michael Stern of Roadfood.com. These are two serious foodies who are more than happy to drive that extra mile to satisfy their fried seafood craving at Westfair Fish & Chips. I'll let them tell you why....
Cinco de Mayo found my girls and I hankering for some Mexicano authenico. While we couldn’t afford a flight south for the day, Taqueria La Michoacana was absolutamente the next best thing to being there.
Tucked away between a package store and a used car lot on Main Street in Bridgeport, Taqueria La Michoacana touts itself as “The Only 100% Mexican Taqueria.” We walk into the spotless, 30-seat storefront and are immediately greeted by the sweet smell of garlic and the owner, Sergio. While he refers to his wife, Rosa, in the kitchen, we don’t get to meet her until we insist on complimenting the chef on our way out. Roles are clearly defined here, Sergio is front of the house, Rosa is the chef.
It's been 24 hours since I left Bereket, a tiny hole in the wall Turkish restaurant located behind a Citgo station on Bridgeport's Main Street. As I write this I wonder, is it too soon to go back?
Bereket has been dubbed by people in the know as Fairfield County's best kept secret, and I finally understand what all the fuss is about. Mind you, this place is not fussy. Hidden beside of the gas station's mini mart, Bereket's small dining space has only 3 tables and boxes of Turkish beverages and pantry staples lining the walls. But what this single room Turkish delight lacks in ambiance, it makes up for in the quality, freshness, and flavor of the food.
Owner Selahattin Cinar has been in business for 6 years, and chats with customers while holding court in the kitchen preparing a steady stream of take-out orders. He greeted us warmly as we walked in, and we were relieved to find that he spoke enough English to answer questions and help us navigate their extensive menu. When we asked what was good, we were led to a display case filled with cold mezes (appetizers) and kebabs awaiting the heat, and simply told,it's all good. And it was.
In every town, often where you least expect it, lives the pulsating heart that gives that town its spirit. Amid the hustle and bustle of rural mayhem, tucked quietly on the corner of Post Road and Center Street (3449 Post Rd), lives the S & S Dugout, the little greasy spoon that "can." While other big and bossy diners of Fairfield County toot their whistles and snub their noses at those of us longing for charm and wicked Roast Beef sandwiches, (and not necessarily in that order!) S & S gives us that tiny extra push over the proverbial suburban mountain. S & S Dugout of Southport delivers with tasty breakfast, lunch, and dinner fare that oozes with taste, not pretension.
OMG. It happened. I think, for about 40 minutes, I had an out-of-body experience where I traveled to Michoacan, Mexico and had lunch in the back of a bodega. It was a strange hallucination, considering four of my other foodie friends seemed to travel with me. Yet there we were, frantically gorging on the most authentic and outrageously delicious Mexican food any of us had ever eaten. Had I bumped my head during that twister? (note to self - always listen to Auntie Em.) It all began as we innocently followed a lead I had received from my sister-in-law about the best kept secret in Fairfield County. In an area packed with what seems to be an abundance of ethnic restaurants, and one that i think we should dub "Little Mexico," we found ourselves stepping through the doors of LOS PORTALESTaqueria & Mexican Grocery (literally, the portals) and we were trans-"portled"! There is NOTHING like this place, this side of the border, and I don't mean the Norwalk/Westport border! LOS PORTALES is the real deal. You simply MUST try it. Don't get me wrong, though. It is NOT your typical restaurant.
My husband spent a good deal of his youth in Mexico City and has always claimed that his favorite meal is a Mexican meal. Not me. Until last week, I must admit that Mexican food had always been my least favorite option when choosing to eat ethnic. It always seemed too heavy, too cheesy, too beany, (and yes, too gassy!) So I was skeptical when my foodie friend (who got a tip from a ctbites reader) and I entered Los Molcajetes (211 Liberty Square) in South Norwalk for a lunch-time feast. The restaurant is located in a non-descript strip mall, just before the bridge that takes you to the Norwalk Aquarium. Nothing spectacular about that. The tables are Formica and the décor consists of enormous posters of Aztec warriors, gods, calendars, etc. Again, nothing spectacular. The menu is “muy grande,” which I also took as a warning sign. O me of little faith! We have been back three times this week.
In Fairfield County, Vietnamese cuisine is not as plentiful as other asian cuisines, so you really have to dig deep, and go where the Pho is...wherever it is. I recently received a tip from a CT Bites reader that good Pho was to be had in Bridgeport at a small mom & pop restaurant called Pho Saigon. We rallied our enthusiastic tasters and headed out to Iranistan Street in Bridgeport, an area that is definitely "off the beaten path", but you do what you've gotta do for good food. You won't find this place in Zagats.
We entered what seemed to be the living room of a small corner house, furnished with gum-ball machines, plastic floral table cloths, and big pots of luke warm tea on the tables. Clearly, dining here was about the food, not the decor. We were greeted warmly, although not in English (which is generally a good sign that the food will be authentic), and escorted to a clean table piled high with squeeze bottles of fiery sauces and jars of fish paste. Lucky for us, the menu had translations, so we ordered half of the 21 item menu (as most dishes were under $7) and waited for the food to arrive.
