Milford Double Dose - The Plate and Scribner's

It's been a long time since I've written a post but quite honestly, it's been a while since I tried some place new.  Yesterday I somewhat made up for it.  I went to try the new breakfast and lunch restaurant The Plate on New Haven Ave. in Milford.  I went for breakfast with my mom and dad.  Even though I'm a married lady now, I still need my weekend breakfasts with mom and dad.  

It was very nice and clean inside.  We parked in the side lot and went in the side door - which is apparently the "emergency exit" that's always open.  The Plate is in the same location that was the former location of Pop's.  That side door used to be the main door when Pop's was there.  Now you have to literally walk in the door at the front of the restaurant.  It looks completely different inside.  New, modern, open.  I've watched seasons worth of "Kitchen Nightmares" and consider myself to be a fairly tough critic now.  The atmosphere - check.  The service - check.  The hostess was friendly and let us choose our seat.  The waitress was also pleasant and attentive.  Coffee - check plus!  I forget what brand of coffee it was; I feel like it was a Connecticut brand but either way, it was delicious!  The waitresses were constantly refilling your coffee cups.  A huge plus!  Every time a waitress (even if it wasn't your own) passed your table, your coffee was refilled.  There's nothing worse than going out for breakfast than having an empty coffee cup throughout your meal.  The menu - semi-check.  It wasn't a particularly large menu but in the world of Gordon Ramsay, that's a good thing.  He always says that a restaurant should have a decent number of excellent dishes instead of having pages of mediocre or shitty dishes.  So, when I first saw the small menu I thought we were in for a good breakfast.  Not quite.  My mom and I both had the cakes and eggs- two pancakes, two eggs, two strips of bacon or 2 sausage links.  I chose the bacon, she chose the sausage.  The eggs I ordered scrambled.  They were very good.  I normally hate scrambled eggs in a restaurant because I like my scrambled eggs to be somewhat loose.  (Insert dirty joke) When you make scrambled eggs at home they look like popcorn and they're buttery and delicious.  When you order scrambled eggs at restaurant they cook them on a griddle which causes them to spread out flat, dry out, and over cook.  I hate the brown burnt string of eggs on the outside.  Bleh!  These eggs were not like that.  They still weren't homemade quality but they were better than a random diner.  The bacon was good.  The pancakes were horrible.  

I'm very particular about my pancakes.  I don't use syrup and therefore, I like a very soft, cakey pancake that will soak up all that delicious butter.  These pancakes were not at all like that.  One side had like that hard top and the underside was soft.  My butter was scraping across the top and not melting.  The taste wasn't that great.  I didn't like them at all.  My mom didn't like hers either. 

My dad ordered French toast stuffed with apples, which was totally out of character.  He didn't like it.  He didn't really mention the taste but they only gave him two slices of toast.  Pop's gives you three, Sunrise gives you three, so to my dad every place should give you three.

The menu was a little weirdish in the sense that it had fancier type things like avocado benedict eggs.  Everything had a little twist.  So if you're looking for classic breakfast food, it's probably not your place.  They do have a breakfast with sausage gravy and biscuits.  I'd like to go back to try that but I will definitely never order the pancakes again.  My mom wants to try a breakfast they have with Greek yogurt and bananas.  I give The Plate a B-.  It was okay.  It has potential and maybe I just didn't order the right thing.  I would've given it a C but that constant coffee flow gave extra points.  

That was breakfast.  Now on to dinner.  DJ and I never got a chance to go out for Valentine's Day because of the snow.  We just ended up getting a little Sing's Kitchen that night.  (No Bao's but close to the new house)  We were planning on going to Consiglio's but sometimes I just don't feel like going in to New Haven.  I wanted to go somewhere comfortable and somewhere that wouldn't make my anxiety act up.  We decided to go to Scribner's.  Now Scribner's I didn't know existed until like three years ago.  My dad was driving me on one of our "cruises" and he just happened to drive by.  I never would have imagined a restaurant to be placed where it is.  It's like a hidden gem in Woodmont.

DJ made reservations.  We weren't sure how busy it would be inside.  Turns out we really didn't need reservations but it's my hope that my review will cause that to change.  I feel like there are no nice restaurants anymore.  People don't celebrate anything anymore.  People don't get dressed up for anything.  I don't know what has happened to the world.  I won't go off on a tangent but I just don't get why people feel the need to be casual all the time.  Believe me, I'm happy I can wear my jeans and women don't have to wear dresses everyday but we also don't need to spend our lives in pajama pants and sweats.  On a Saturday night you can dress yourself up and go out to eat somewhere nice.  Even restaurants are just casual.  I know people don't have a lot of money but if the food is worth it, people will come.  Think for just a second - where is a fancy restaurant?  Don't say anywhere in New Haven.  There's no parking, it's a pain to drive to, and every other good restaurant is near a recent shooting.  Let's think- Food and Beverage- GONE, Chuck's- GONE, The Gathering- GONE, Captain's Galley- GONE.  I can't think of a steakhouse that doesn't have some cattle ranch theme going on.  Jimmie's used to be nice but now it's gone way down the drain.  It's a candidate for Kitchen Nightmares.  I think Scribner's may be the last nice non-chain restaurant in the area.  So let me tell you about our night-

We parked in the back, walked around, gave our name, and were lead in to the back dining room.  There were several tables open and the waitress gave us our choice.  The restaurant was not "fancy" but it had that upscale feeling.  The lighting was dim, the walls were wood and red.  There were candles and random beach shots and assorted fish hanging on the wall.  Our waitress was Wendy.  She was very very nice.  I had a glass of wine, Deej had a Yuengling.  I ordered the chowder, which to my pleasant surprise was Rhode Island.  Very hot (temperature) and tasty.  To eat I ordered the Scribner's scampi over linguini (Shrimp, fresh tomato, garlic, capers, olive oil, wine).  Delicious.  DJ ordered the Salmon Woodmont (salmon with a red wine reduction with mushrooms) which came with potatoes and veggies.  He said his was delicious as well.  Salad comes with your dinner.  We had the house- which is a bacon gorgonzola vinaigrette. Very good.  We both had coffee and dessert.  Wendy refilled our coffee. (Saturday was a good coffee day)  I had the rice pudding (a little too al dente for my taste) and DJ had the turtle sundae- brownies, vanilla ice cream, pecans, caramel sauce, and chocolate sauce.  

I loved it!  I was so overstuffed that I thought I was going to explode all night!  I just couldn't stop eating.  I want to try many more things- the escargot, the oysters, steaks, sea scallops risotto, etc.!!  I plan to be heading back soon.  There were several tables open.  Let's try to fill those tables.  The bar was pretty busy and there was another dining area but let's keep Scribner's around!  I have a tendency to "discover" places three weeks before they go out of business.  So I'm letting you know - Scribner's is a great spot to go for a date.  It's a calm, quiet, and relaxing atmosphere.  The food is delicious and the service is great.  It's tucked away in the middle of houses at 31 Village Road in Milford.  

It may be a while before my next post but I promise to update you as soon as I try some place new!  Oh and ps- Carrabba's at the mall - no go.

A Pit Stop at the Dew Drop!

Today a few brave souls ventured to the Dew Drop Inn for lunch.  The Dew Drop Inn is located in Derby and is a "biker bar."  I've seen and read many things on Facebook about how wonderful the food and especially, the wings, are.  I tried to go a few months ago with D.J. but we were intimidated by the ambiance and the row of motorcycles parked in front of the building, which looked like a literal hole in the wall.  I told some of my fellow dinner companions about this experience.  Two of these companions had sisters who had been there and loved it, and others had heard about the delicious wings.  We had decided that we should go together; strength in numbers.  I felt as though a quick lunch would be better than going at night for dinner.  A Monday at 12:30 seemed like a safe time to go.

We met outside the bar near the street.  The parking situation isn't that great unless you have a motorcycle.  There are some spaces but they were all full.  We parked on the street and in the vacant lot across the street.  From the outside, it does not appear very attractive.  The bottom of the building is brick while the top has bluish siding.  There are two doors that you can walk in and once you do, the bar is right in front of you.  It is a large L or U shaped bar.  I can't remember if it had two sides or not.  To the right there are some high-top tables.  Luckily they had a few tables that could accommodate a larger group.  There were 6 of us who made it to this pit stop.  Of course we generated some question marks in the minds of the "regular" Dew Droppers but hey, there we were.  It was dark inside- the walls looked like dark wood, the lighting was dim, and there were a few pictures on the wall.  It was a clean place and the staff were very nice.

Monday is half price wing day- who knew!?  So we took advantage of this and ordered 6 wings.  We ordered two of the hot buffalo wings, teriyaki, cajun butter, honey bbq, and taco.  I'm a classic buffalo wing kind of girl so naturally, the hot wings were my favorite.  Although they weren't very hot.  You're talking to a group of women who ate the ghost pepper salsa.  We can do hot.  So maybe we'll try the kick-ass wings.  I liked the buffalo the best, the cajun, the teriyaki, the taco and then the bbq.  I'm not much of a fan of bbq sauce in general.  We ate the 6 wings, Bay had buffalo tenders, we frips (cross between a fry and chip), fried green beans, and curly fries.  Delicious!!!!  Everything was great!!

There we were- 6 "preppy" ladies COVERED in sauce.  We were licking our fingers, passing wings, dipping in blue cheese- Just fabulous.  5 alcoholic beverages and the total was $20 a person.  Not bad at all!  Of course we ordered 6 wings because it was half price, but I think it was a steal either way.  We stayed and chatted for a while and just had an all around good experience!  Our waitress was very nice and even took a picture for us.  When we left some more of the "rough" customers started to come in.  I would still be a bit weary about going in the evening but at least I can say I was there and I loved it!  And if I ever go there some day and don't want to stay there, I'll place my order.  They have about two dozen different types of wings, apps, burgers, sandwiches, and salads.  Full bar - many different beers on tap - and very cute mason jar glasses and bottled water.

It was my first time to a "biker bar" and I loved it!  I would recommend to go during lunch hours and if you decide to go during the evening, maybe wear black and a bandana.  Don't wear anything from the Loft, the Gap, or J Crew.  It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to go back!  Until my next bite....

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.

The NEW Julia's Bakery

Today was the second time I've been to the new Julia's Bakery.  It recently relocated to the plaza near Trader Joe's and Weight Watchers.  At first I thought that this was a bad move because although the parking in their old location was terrible, it was closer.  It is a little further down the road but well worth it, I think.  You walk into the bakery door and just see a bright, bustling, clean bakery.  The smell of delicious sweets hits you in the face.  In front of you stand about 5 or 6 young girls with their red Julia's tshirts on ready to serve you.  To the right is the cashier's post, and more baked goods.  To the left, are a few tables and the sandwich station.  I went in today to get some Italian bread for dinner tonight, Irish Soda bread for dinner on Monday, and perhaps a sandwich.

Let me just start off by saying - I love it there!!!!  I love bakeries.  I really wish there were more decent ones. *If any employee at Duffy's is reading this post- consider using Julia's for Irish soda bread and the crescia bread- we all miss it!!*  Emerald Bakery is not that great.  I love their bread, hard rolls, and scones, but anything out of that realm is really pretty crappy.  Anyway- back to Julia's.  I am so so so happy they put tables in there.  If Libby's weren't located in the un-parkable hood, I would go there every week for coffee and pastries, but it is, so Julia's could quite possibly fit that bill.  There were plenty of people in the bakery but there was a large number of workers there as well.  I was helped right away.  I ordered my two breads and had them sliced.  Such a nice service to slice the bread.  While she was slicing, I noticed the Crescia bread and all of the other breads they offer.  I love fresh bread.  I wish that I could live that life where you go here and there to pick up your fresh foods instead of having to go to one grocery store.  I could get my bread at Julia's, fresh produce from Treat's or Bishop's, and my meat from... well there are no butchers but that's what I would love to be able to do. I realize it's too chaotic and expensive to do so but the thought is always there.  Maybe in the summer.  I wish I could live my summer life everyday.  I would love to just sit there one day and look at all of the different types of baked goods they have there.  I always feel on the spot when I have to order.  I really want to look long and hard at all the cases.

While I was getting the breads, DJ went and ordered me a sandwich.  They used to sell sandwiches there a while ago but they stopped for a bit.  But hey- now they're back!  I ordered the Indian River sandwich on a hard roll which is turkey breast, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and cranberry sauce.  Oh my word!  It's fabulous.  The turkey is just cold cut turkey but so thin and so fresh!  The rolls are out of this world and together it makes a perfect sandwich.  The sandwich also came with a pickle and a finger-sized brownie.  I was thrilled!  It was the best lunch I've had in a long time.  If that could be packed in my lunch bag everyday I think I would be a much nicer person. (wink, wink, Deej).  While I ate a sandwich, Mr. Sweets ate a huge slice of bungalow cake.  It was a huge slice and you could see the slice of banana on it.  It wasn't sliced into little discs, it was sliced down the middle long-ways. (Like a hot dog)  The cake looked delicious and it was covered with whipped cream.  I also noticed a sign with breakfast sandwiches and specials.  They have a few selected breakfast items that you can get with a medium coffee for $3.  Items like a bagel, a roll with butter, a scone, cinnamon buns, coffee rolls, muffin, etc.  They also make some flavored coffees.  I've also had their sweet poppy horns.  Very good.  Not as good as Rocco's but again, since that's in the hood, Julia's will do.  The Italian bread (they offer both the round loaf and long loaf) was fantastic.  The Irish soda bread is also very good.  I did not eat the loaf I purchased today yet, but I've had it in the past and it's good.  It has caraway seeds and is loaded with raisins.  I love Julia's whipped cream rolls, especially the lemon.  They have wonderful coffee cake, cupcakes, tarts, cookies, everything!  I'm not even a sweet lover!

To sum up, I absolutely love, love, love Julia's Bakery!  The new location is bigger, brighter, more accessible.  It's just absolutely wonderful.  I recommend it for any of your baked goods needs.  Please go and support Julia's.  I don't want to see another wonderful Mom and Pop place go out of business.  Grab a sandwich, a coffee, and dessert for later.  You can't go wrong!  I'm feeling very full now... until my next bite!

Cabin Fever Festival - Mystic, CT

Today DJ and I went to the Cabin Fever Festival in Mystic Village.  It was a whim decision to go after I read about it in the New Haven Register.  It is a "festival" that consists of various events geared toward children on the Green and at the Meeting House and a chowder cook-off.  Restaurants in the area brought their chowder to be sampled at the shops all throughout the village.  Tickets were $1 per tasting or 12 tickets for $10.  I went with the $10.  I thought and still think, it's worth it.  The festival is from 12:00-5:00, so if you read it close to the time I post it, you may still be able to check it out.  We arrived at the village at 11, which was a smart decision.  We headed right to one of our favorite spots- Mystic Beanery.  Since it was before the soup came out and I still hadn't had a coffee yet, we went right there.  I love it inside there.  It's a  cute little shop.  They have some baked goods such as, cinnamon buns, bagels, muffins, pastries, etc.  They also have coffee, fancier coffees, and specialty coffees.  They may even do some breakfast sandwiches.  I just had a medium latte today- I needed to save room for the chowder.  DJ had an Asiago bagel toasted with butter and a Shamrock Latte.  He happily ate and drank all of it.  I had a plain latte but let me tell you, it was delish.  It hit the spot and was made fairly fast.  They also sell little Coca-Cola trinkets in there.  It started to get crowded in there and the chowder people came to set up their stand so we sat outside.  I'm so happy that we were able to sit outside in February without freezing.  We went into a few stores while we waited for the cook-off to begin!

I was so happy to go to this chowder cook-off.  It's exactly what I wish I could get paid to do with my life.  I felt like one of the judges on "The Taste."  When you went up you gave you ticket and then were given a 3oz. Styrofoam cup with chowder.  Now I know that that doesn't sound like a lot of chowder, but it was perfect.  You could get about 3 or 4 spoonfuls of soup.  I'm not positive of the places I tried.  I will refer to my ballot to try to fill in the gaps.  I just want to say - I wasn't crazy for any of them.  There was no chowder that I felt like using a second ticket and going back for more.  None of these chowders were as good as Chandler's Tavern at Yankee Candle.    The chowders I tried were from, I believe, Soundings Lounge at Mystic Hilton, Casa Della Luce, Ocean Blue Catering at Mystic Aquarium, Stonington Stop and Shop, StoneRidge Retirement Center, and Flanagan's at Best Western.

My favorite chowder, though it was hard to pick one, would have to be Flanagan's or Casa Della Luce - if that was the one from Westerly, Rhode Island.  It was so odd that they were all so different.  One was a lobster chowder, which was pretty tasty but I felt like it wasn't really fair.  I mean lobster vs. clam?  We know the winner.  Sounding Lounge brought two types of chowder.  One was a seafood chowder (which was lacking in the seafood) and the other was a buffalo chicken and corn chowder.  DJ tried the chicken and I tried the seafood.  Well, we both tried both but he took the chicken and I took the seafood.  The seafood broth was okay but there wasn't anything really in my scoop.  The chicken was exactly what you would expect- chicken, buffalo sauce, corn in a soup form.  Interesting.  Points for creativity but not much.  I think one of the places, though I might not have mentioned where it was from because it was so awful, was like a pulled pork.  What the hell is that?  I saw a red broth and was getting my palate set for Manhattan chowder and it was a BBQ pulled pork!  Terrible. I just didn't see how it fit and pulled pork is not my favorite thing anyway.  Why put it in a soup?  Flanagan's was the only clear-broth, Rhode Island chowder.  I give that my favorite because I prefer clear over creamy.  My favorite creamy was from Casa Della Luce.  It was milky more than creamy.  It had a nice flavor and was oddly white but hey- I liked it.  Oh no wait- the Westerly Rhode Island place I think had clam fritters in it, which was interesting.  There was one right on the top to garnish but then there were more little fritter pieces in it.  Odd and not my favorite.

Flanagan's was the last chowder I had.  I think I ended it on a positive note.  I also grabbed some delicious cinnamon sugar roasted pecan nuts from the General Store. I also went into Bestemors - the Scandinavian store.  I tried some Swedish "Christmas Soda".  It wasn't what I expected at all.  It tasted like some sort of berry but I can't name which one.  Then it just started to get ridiculously crowded.  People had their dogs everywhere, their children on leashes, and every Sasquatch in the tri state area was there.  I overheard a woman tell her son, "Remember we talked about our 'listening ears' this morning."  Oh go you know what.  "Listening ears?"  I feel like she said it louder so people would look at her and think she was a wonderful parent.  What happened to "If you don't listen you won't have ears at all"?  At that point I just needed to go to the bathroom and go home, so that's what we did.

To sum up, it was a good day.  I had cabin fever and it was nice to go outside and try some chowders.  I wish it wasn't as crowded as it was but my recommendation is to go early and leave a soon as possible.  I would have liked to see the owl demonstration but there were just too many people.  I saw the ducks.  That was nice.  I won't go again but at least I could say I tried it out.  Until my next bite...

Red Fish Grill -Orange, CT

Today, on a whim, Carrie and I decided to cure our boredom with an afternoon stop at Red Fish Grill.  Neither of us were really hungry, but we were both bored and in need to get out of our homes.  We went at an odd time - I think it was around 2:45.  Red Fish Grill is located on the Post Road in the building that was home to Lushe's Diner, the Orange Family Diner, and Red River Grill before that.  It was setup inside pretty much the same way when it was Lushe's.  The counter was right near the door, the bar was in the smaller room to the right and the dining area was in the middle and to the left side of the restaurant.  The decor was different.  More modern, more earthy.  We were seated in the room the farthest to the left.  It looked nice, it was very clean, and nice and cozy.  My number one complaint when I went to Lushe's was how cold it was, so obviously it wasn't the building.

Our waitress was very nice and attentive.  The menu isn't too big.  If you don't like fish- don't go there.  There are 4 dishes that are not fish.  2 chicken and 2 beef.  There may be a burger or something but I really didn't check out the sandwiches.  There were only about 5 sandwich options total.  We decided to order a few things and just try them all.  The waitress was very nice about it.  Some restaurants give you "sharing" charges, or just give you shit about sharing, but this waitress did not.  We ordered the corn and crab chowder, the beet and goat cheese salad, and the fried oyster dinner.  At first, the waitress brought us NE clam chowder.  She then saw the ticket, realized her mistake, and brought us the correct soup.  We were going to try the clam but luckily she brought the crab at the right time.  The NE chowder looked good.  Very thick, very white.  To people have issues with overly creamy things like I do, excuse my French, it looked like a total shit fest.  It looked thick like a bucket of paint.  The crab was okay.  It had a decent flavor.  A little buttery but tasty.  There were very few pieces of crab and only a few kernels.  The corn crab at Jimmie's is a million times better.

The beet and goat cheese salad was refreshing, but not really what I expected.  When I hear "beet salad" I assume that it's going to consist primarily of beets.  This was not the case.  It was a regular tossed salad with 6 beet slices lining the circumference of the plate with globs of goat cheese.  It wasn't gross or untasty, it just wan't a "beet salad."  The goat cheese was quite good.  There was a light dressing on it as well that complimented it nicely.  Carrie also did not care for the soup and thought that salad was okay.  The fried oysters were my favorite part.  The oyster were huge and tasty.  They weren't overly cooked- just perfect. The batter tasted on point and the oyster burst when you took a bite.  It was served with crinkle-cut fries (a plus in Carrie's eyes) and coleslaw.  I didn't try a fry.  I'm not a fan of the crinkle cut but I didn't want to fill myself up considering my mom was planning on serving dinner between 5:30 and 6.  I think I'm going to give up fries for lent.  Okay- sidetrack.

We ate what we could and wrapped what we couldn't finish.  We drank several glasses of ginger ale.  Foxon Park beverages are served there.  In bottle and tap form.  They don't have any good Foxon Parks on tap.  Only cola, lemon-lime, and ginger ale.  Red Fish Grill gets a mezza-mezz rating from me.  I would like to go back and try one of their fish dinners.  The red fish, for instance, is something I've never had.  I've also never had Chilean sea bass or trout.  I think I'll skip the trout.  Whenever I think of trout, I always think of the scene from the Hailey Mills version of "The Parent Trap" when they go camping with the father and his fiance. Carrie seemed to have a "middle of the road" opinion about Red Fish as well, though she would also like to go back for a dinner.  If we embark on that trip I will be sure to let you know about it.  We also want to try The Twisted Vine in Derby, the bottom-less bloody bar in Bridgeport, and Joey C's in Milford. I also need to check out a few restaurants in Fairfield.  Let me know if I should add any other places to the list.  Until my next bite...