Fun With Carbs

The famous white clam pizza at Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana

August marked the sixth anniversary of my move to Connecticut, when I enrolled in Quinnipiac University’s graduate journalism program. And I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t originally the biggest fan of the Nutmeg State.

In short, my 2005 thoughts pretty much dovetailed with the recent “Worst 50 States in America” series on Gawker, where Connecticut was ranked midway at #31.

“Connecticut is mostly just America’s suburb, a string of medium-sized towns rolling into medium-sized towns, only to be briefly interrupted by decaying heaps like Bridgeport, New Haven, and Hartford. Connecticut has some of the least character or local flavor in the country…”

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As I write this, Hurricane Irene is hauling ass up the East Coast, ready to pummel the Northeast with wind and water. Depending on whose opinion you value, it’s either going to be a really big rainstorm, or absolute Armageddon. So here’s hoping this post is not an “In Memoriam” to the shoreline eateries and attractions I so love.

Anyway. After experiencing White Gate’s amazing farm dinner Thursday night, we made a weekend out of it, staying in Groton and visiting some of Connecticut’s most beautiful seaside towns. We stopped at five farm wineries, ate meals by the water and enjoyed the sun – a surprising bonus, given the original rainy weekend forecast.

Here’s a sampling of the weekend’s good eats:

Watch Hill oysters at Dog Watch Cafe in Stonington. So nice, we ate them twice - Rob ordered a second dozen after we finished the first plate.

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Before heading to last night’s Britney Spears show at Hartford’s XL Center (read an entertaining review by my friend Eric Danton here) we fueled up at Vito’s By The Water, taking advantage of the half-price eats at their excellent happy hour.

And in tribute to the former Mouseketeer (or perhaps her pink-wigged opener, Nicki Minaj) I ordered the girliest martini on the planet. Rather, I asked the bartender to make me something with the bar’s massive selection of flavored Pinnacle vodka, and he delivered me the pictured Cotton Candy Cosmo. And it. was. tasty.

I am fully aware of the juxtaposition between my last post and this one, just so you know. Also, my next drink was a beer. (City Steam’s Naughty Nurse.)

Besides my sorority-friendly cocktail, I was even more excited for the Tuesday raw-bar deal: half-price oysters and clams between the hours of 5 and 7 p.m. That means we got this plate of big, briny Blue Points for not quite $13. (And a couple of cherrystones for good measure.)

I also ordered a small eggplant pizza, which rang up at a whopping $5.

I don’t hit happy hour enough, but when I do, I take full advantage. Other must-try happy hour deals are at Max Restaurant Group’s Connecticut locations, where you can find $1 oysters and clams; $2 burgers and $5 small plates with a minimum $5 beverage purchase. It’s one of the advantages of living in the Nutmeg State, since our friends over the border are restricted by Massachusetts’ ban on all things happy.