Fun With Carbs

Welcome! I’m Leeanne Griffin, a former interactive journalist for the Hartford Courant turned freelance writer. I author the A La Carte dining blog for CTnow.com and contribute to the Courant’s weekly restaurant column in the Flavor section.

As you may have gathered, nothing makes me happier than food experiences. I could easily spend hours in specialty food shops, and just try dragging me away from cheese displays. I find it endlessly thrilling when I can track down hard-to-find wines. Farmer’s markets are little slices of heaven, encouraging me to get creative with fresh fruit and vegetables. I could – and do – talk for hours about cooking and dining with like-minded friends, other bloggers and foodies.

A phenomenal restaurant visit can leave a smile on my face for days, as does a wildly successful home-cooked meal. I make my own bread, despite a general lack of patience, because it’s so good warm from the oven. Trying a new-to-me ethnic cuisine is almost as exciting as traveling to the place of its origin, but there’s nothing like sampling saganaki in Santorini, cracked conch fresh from the ocean in Turks and Caicos and spectacular Napa wines steps from the vineyards where the grapes were grown. I hope to experience a lot more exotic travel in the next few years.

But I’m certainly not all about high-end cuisine (who can afford to be?) Some of the best food out there can be purchased with a $10 bill. I love clam shacks, burger joints, delis, the little Vietnamese places where you can get a bathtub-sized bowl of pho for $7. I also have a knack for picking up on bizarre foods, particularly menu items like the KFC Double Down.

Here in Connecticut, we’re a stone’s throw from incredible thin-crust pizza, creamy Blue Point oysters, a whole bunch of microbreweries and about 30 wineries, not to mention gorgeous produce from the state’s working farmland. Though I was born, raised and educated in central Massachusetts, I’ve grown to absolutely love the Nutmeg State. I’m honored to be able to write about its excellent restaurants, chefs and food-related entrepreneurs on a daily basis.

I hold a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University, where I also teach adjunct in the graduate communications program. My background as a professional journalist colors my work – though I’m proud to be part of a burgeoning food blogger community, my roots take precedence. So because of this, I do not accept free meals, products or gift certificates from restaurants or PR companies. I follow these practices across the board with both blogs in order to eliminate danger of bias. I do not accept samples for review at this time, either.

On Fun With Carbs, I talk more about my cooking and travel experiences, or restaurant visits outside of Connecticut, with a rant or two thrown in for good measure. Posts are of my own opinion. All content and photos are created by and belong to me, unless otherwise specified.

Thanks for reading. Happy to have you here.

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