Just some tidbits of food and restaurant knowledge I picked up this week:
- A fundraiser was held for Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd at the Connecticut Science Center today. Vice President Joe Biden attended (but Dodd did not.) The menu? Veggie wraps, ham and brie sandwiches. The cost per plate? FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS.
- Got a sushi recommendation from Courant rock critic Eric Danton, who visited Sushi Palace in Hamden last night for their all-you-can-eat special. Yes, apparently for $17.95 on weeknights ($19.95 weekends) you can stuff yourself silly with sashimi, nigiri, special rolls, tempura and more. I have to point out that I asked twice for the restaurant’s ‘given name’ after he would only refer to it as “<Expletive> Yeah!”
- Restaurants I found on Twitter this week: Grilled Cheese to Go in Milford, Griff’s Chicken Shack in Hamden. Social media is DELICIOUS.
Area restaurant reviews:
- Hazard Grille, Enfield (yummy local place, fresh-baked bread, splits of champagne) [Masslive.com]
- Judie’s, Amherst (OMGPOPOVERS) [Masslive.com]
- Flaggstead Smokehouse, Farmington [Hartford Courant]
- The Cardinals Nest, Middletown (where my friend Amy tried a pulled-pork-and-mac-and-cheese quesadilla) [Hartford Advocate]
Happy weekend, everyone. We’re sampling some new restaurants this weekend, so look for new posts early next week.
Leeanne Griffin is a freelance writer and food enthusiast.
Love Judie’s! One of my co-workers is from Philly, but went to school at Amherst College…Judie’s was one of the first things she asked me about when she found out I was from MA!
I love your small-world FL stories!
Hi Leeanne, this is Kate’s sister, Tricia. The site looks great! I had a question for you- I want to get a bottle of wine for my boss for xmas, something nice, but not too expensive, $10-15 preferably. He likes red, maybe a merlot or shiraz? Do you have any suggestions? I’m at a loss when it comes to good wine. Thanks!!!
HI Tricia! Nice to hear from you! let’s see: for a gift wine, I like Malbec, it’s more rare and upscale than a Merlot or Shiraz and you can get good ones in the $10-15 range.
My favorite is this Punto Final: http://funwithcarbs.com/2009/11/its-malbec-time/
but I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad Malbec…they’re rich and special.
I also really like Rioja, a type of Spanish red wine. My favorite label of Rioja is Cortijo: with an orange label: http://www.winesent.com/m8_view_item.html?m8:item=9955. You’ll find that for less than $10 most places. It’s lighter and fruitier, maybe more summery, but a wine sales manager I interviewed in Nov. said it goes really well with turkey. Could be a good holiday wine.
Hope this helps! Good luck shopping!
What an excellent question…and fantastic answer!
Oh a Malbec, what a great suggestion! I just had some recently at a friend’s and it was delicious. Sounds like a winner, thanks so much!! Merry Christmas