A-1 Diner - West Haven, CT

So tonight my dad took us to try the A-1 Diner for dinner.  It was a nice treat to go out with my family.  A-1 Diner is where Friendly's used to be on Sawmill Road.  It took quite a bit of time to finally open but now that it is, I'm quite happy.  I can't quite understand how Friendly's ever went out of business in the first place.  Either way, I'm happy something is open in that spot.  Between the highway and the train station, Sawmill Road should be booming with restaurants and businesses.  Let's just keep our fingers crossed that it doesn't crap up quickly.

First of all, the inside is beautiful.  You would never guess that it is in a former Friendly's.  The doors were opened tonight by one of the waitstaff.  When you walk in, there's a breakfast bar and a few booths to the left, a dessert case to the front, and a number of booths and tables to the right.  There's also the typical diner-style cash out counter.  We were seated by the window and waited on by a lovely woman who knows my mom from when she worked at Savin Rock and also used to work at Sandy's.  It was quite nice to see her again.  Breakfast is served all day.  There are also you're typical diner items - sandwiches, clubs, wraps, Greek specialties, and entrees.  I wanted to try a roast beef sandwich called "The Balboa."  It was roast beef, sauteed onions, swiss cheese, I think mushrooms on a garlic roll.  I decided not to get it because I also wanted a cup of soup.  Now I have to mention this.  I loved the waitress; however, she made a big mistake in my book.  She said the soups of the night were: Chicken noodle and Lentil.  I said to myself, oh good.  I'll get the lentil and a cheeseburger.  Well, my friends, it was not lentil soup.  I don't know what the hell happened, but all I know was that I was served beef flippin barley.  Beef barley is quite different from lentil soup!  I didn't question it or ask the waitress about it because I didn't want to upset her or cause a scene or get her in trouble.  As a side note, I don't particularly care for beef barley soup.  This soup was good.  It tasted homemade but was not lentil.

My mom had a turkey melt - turkey, cheese, and tomato.  It looked good.  Like a Friendly's classic.  I swear I will not mention Friendly's again.  My brother had the "New Orleans Panini."  A panini with cajun grilled chicken, mozzarella cheese, tomato, bacon, and some type of sauce or mayo.  He liked it.  It looked good and smelled good.  My dad had the open-faced rib eye sandwich with fries and onion rings.  It looked good and he ate it all.  Other than the soup issue, everyone enjoyed their meal.  It was good.  It wasn't out of this world, but it wasn't bad either.  A typical diner.  The owners(?) came over a few times to chat with us and ask how our meal was.  I think that's a nice touch.  You can tell they want to succeed.  I had a cheeseburger.  It was tasty.  They use the orange cheese.  There was a slice on the bottom and a slice on the top.  A great touch.

All in all, I enjoyed it.  I plan on going there again next week for girl's night.  I also would like to go back for breakfast.  I think there's definitely a lack of breakfast places in this world.  I also REFUSE to go to Georgie's.  It's so expensive there and for what?  Crap.  That's what.  I'll let you know if I try the breakfast and how next week goes.  I always like to try a new restaurant two times before I make my final judgement.  When a new place opens, they need to work out all the kinks and problems and then try it again.  I'm afraid, though, that I'm watching Kitchen Nightmares too much.  I think I can tell when the food has the taste of a kitchen you would see on that show.  I think A-1 is good.  For example, Lisiano's and Jimmies ... they are kitchen nightmares.  That's another day though... Until my next bite!

6-8 Antonio's Restaurant - Woodbridge, CT

Well it's been quite a bit longer than 6-8 weeks but we definitely made up for it with a great night!  This night I wanted to move the location away from the Q Bridge.  I had originally wanted to go to the Twisted Vine in Derby but they are closed on Monday so then we had to go to plan b.  Not literally Plan B, but to a second option.  I chose Antonio's in Woodbridge.  When I interned at Beecher we had ordered food from there and I remembered it being good and I thought it was still close to my friends that live in Orange and the Valley.  Excellent choice.  Their website is not a good reference.  First of all, it says that they are closed on Mondays but they are obviously not, and the menu online did not match the menu in the restaurant.  The website does not do the food justice.  It was fabulous! I highly recommend it!!  It's right on Amity Road.  Other than I drove by it the first time, it's very convenient to get to.

When we first walked in, bread, olives, hot peppers, and humus were on the table.  They also had butter and olive oil on the table- always a plus!  A delicious little pre-meal treat.  Some ordered appetizers.  The waitress was very nice and so was the bus boy.  He reminded me of the long-haired brother in "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" who was also in "Adventures in Babysitting" he played the brother.  Bay tried the mozzarella en carozza, Amy had bruschetta, and I'm not sure if the opposite end of the table ordered anything.  I tried the mozzarella - which is basically a grilled cheese with mooz and sauce on top.  Phenomenal!  Even the sauce was delicious!  Amy enjoyed the bruschetta but I did not try it.  I'm not too much a fan of raw tomatoes.

For our meal choices- Many chose the ravioli in a penne alla vodka sauce, others chose this chicken dish with prosciutto and mooz.  I forget what it was called but it was not on the website menu.  I was torn and asked the waitress for assistance.  I ended up getting the Salmon.  Oh my word was it good.  It was breaded and pan seared.  A sauce of some type was on the top and it was served on top of a sweet pea risotto.  That was my first experience with risotto.  It was like butta.  Melted in my mouth.  I even took home the leftover because it was so good, I couldn't see it go in the garbage.  They also served mashed potatoes and vegetables family style for the table.  No one ordered dessert but most of us ordered  a hot beverage of some type.  I had a cappuccino.  Also fabulous.  We left around 9 o'clock and had a great time!  A lot of laughs and a lot of good food.  I would love to go there again some time soon.  I highly recommend it to anyone!  They also serve pizza - just fyi.  Our next stop will bring another blog- The Dew Drop Inn.  Stay tuned!  Until my next bite...

P.S.- Crown Fried Chicken on Main Street across from Valero is quite good.