The Family Restaurant

So here we are on a snowy Saturday night.  I'd like to pretend that I did something amazing tonight but if I did, I wouldn't be here typing this blog.  The day started off great because Eco was cancelled.  I like Eco but this was a stressful week.  I needed to sleep in today.  I woke up and saw no snow- even better!  I had a great morning- went to Pop's for breakfast, completed all my errands, made some chocolate chip cookies, and was just heading out to church when it began snowing.  I was hoping to go out to dinner tonight but DJ wimped out, so I went out with my family instead.  The roads were a bit slick while it was snowing.  We didn't want to drive far for a crummy little dinner so we decided to go to The Family restaurant, formerly Eats and Sweets, in that Savin Rock plaza.  We've gone there for breakfast a couple of times.  It's pretty good.  Your basic diner-type place.

When we walked in, an older couple was just paying.  After they left, the place was empty.  I didn't really expect it to be crowded because it was snowing and it's never really busy, but I thought maybe some other church-goers would be there.  I was curious about the dinner foods.  They leave a menu on the table at all times of the day.  I've been curious because they apparently deliver.  They sell pizza and calzones.  Who would've thought?  It's so close to where I live and work, I should think of it more often.  If anyone reading this works at City Hall- give them a call and see if they'll deliver a lunch order.  I would suggest it to my Washington co-workers but unfortunately, we never order out.  (Thinking of Haley.. sniff sniff)  Their menu is pretty basic; they have sandwiches, club sandwiches, wraps, salads subs, some diner-type entrees, pasta dishes, pizza, and calzones.  A nice array of food if you ask me.  They had a few specials tonight.  My mom and I ordered the tuna melt which came with either a cup of soup or fries.  We both ordered a cup of chicken and rice soup.  The soup was piping hot- just the way I like it!  It was good.  It wasn't overly flavorful but nothing that a little s and p couldn't cure.  There were a few chunks of white meat chicken, white rice, carrots, and celery.  I enjoyed it.  The tuna melt was also good.  The tuna salad tasted good.  It was served on rye bread, which I don't really care for, but that was a minor detail.  My mother, who loves rye bread, loved her melt and soup.  My dad got the cheeseburger club with fries and a cup of the chicken and rice soup.  He ate all of his dinner and said that he liked the club.  My brother had a cheeseburger and fries.  He said the fries were excellent and his burger was juicy.  We ordered a couple of sodas and we were done.

It was a simple meal and it fit the bill.  It cost us $35, which I thought was pretty good.  When I went to Chip's with my mom and brother on the snow day I believe it cost the same amount.  The booths look old and it's somewhat dark in there, but I think it's very clean.  I could see the cook sweeping the kitchen floor while we were there.  That made me feel good.  I mean no one was there.  He could have just sat there and no one would know,but he didn't.  I really want to try the pizza.  I think I've complained about the lack of pizza places in a previous post.  It's not just pizza places.  It's the lack of restaurants.  I mean what has happened to all of the nice restaurants that used to be around?  We are being overrun by chains!  I can't take it!  There are no more independent steakhouses.  Let's just think... Food and Beverage- long gone.  Captain's Galley- gone.  Chuck's- burnt.  The Gathering- gone.  Lorenzo's and Biagetti's are good if you're in the mood for Italian, but other than those two, what is a nice restaurant in West Haven?  Jimmies is good, but rundown, I feel.  I love their salad and let's face it, it's the only fish restaurant in West Haven.  And don't even say Turk's.  I love Turk's just as much as the next Westie, but they don't have a tank of lobsters.  They don't have crab.  The only fish dishes they have are either deep fried or it's broiled stuffed sole.  I wish I had more money and more business knowledge because I would love to open my own restaurant.  I don't know if it would be a fish place but it would be nice.  Sorry, just went on a tangent.  

To sum up, The Family Restaurant in the Savin Rock plaza may just be a hidden little treasure.  If you're looking for a breakfast place, a local diner, a place to get affordable food, give it a try.  I didn't try the pizza yet but if I do, I will be sure to write about it.  A small pizza with cheese was $5.95.  Can't go wrong.  And now here I am, sitting here at 8:30, bored, and thinking about food.  That might be the end of me fitting in my dress.  Until my next bite.....  well, probably not my very next bite because that might be sooner than we both think, but until my next restaurant bite...

Sausage and Peppers

Sausage and peppers is the perfect dish for any event.  I like it like a sandwich, in sauce on a sub, and over pasta.  Just delicious.  Even though it's a simple thing to make, it can easily be ruined.  First, you must start off with a good quality sausage.  I'm never really fussy over brands except when it comes to a few things: sausage, hot dogs, and canned Italian tomatoes.  If you want to have delicious hot dog, Hummel's is the only way to go.  Canned Italian tomatoes can make or break your sauce.  I always like to pick a brand that has tomatoes imported from Italy.  There will be a sticker on the can.  We usually use Cento, Sclafani, or if in a pinch, Luigi Vitelli.  Sausage MUST be Longhini.  There is no other sausage that can compare.  Lamberti's is okay if that's all that's available, but always try for Longhini.  Certain things in life you can skimp on.  You can get a store-brand box of cereal or a store-brand can of vegetables, but certain things you must pay attention to the brand.  It makes all of the difference in the world.

So here's the way to make fantastic sausage and peppers.  Get a big, rectangle pan that is somewhat deep.  Cut up an onion in slivers.  I would've said slices but I don't mean the circular slices that you put on a burger.  Strips, I guess.  Throw the onion in the pan.  Cut up the peppers into strips.  I know the red peppers are more expensive but they are the ones that add the flavor.  Even if you have less red peppers in ratio to your green peppers, that's okay.  You just want to have some mixed in.  Sometimes red peppers go on sale for like $1.99 a pound.  Whenever you see that in the grocery add, plan on making sausage and peppers.  I like to use red peppers and cubanelle peppers (those are the smaller, light green peppers).  I'm not a fan of a green bell pepper.  They have no flavor and contribute nothing to any dish.  It's nice to use orange and yellow peppers when you want to get fancy for a party, but those peppers are usually quite expensive, so save those for special occasions only.  Mix in your pepper strips.  Then I like to cut my sausage links in half so they cook thoroughly.  This is very important in my book.  First of all, sausage is made from pork.  I know that now the cooking shows tell you you can have pink pork now, but certain things I still like cooked all the way through.  A pork chop with a little pink doesn't bother me, but a pink sausage certainly does.  Not only does the pinkness weird me out, but so does the texture of the sausage.  If it's not cooked enough, then you can really taste and feel the casing chomping around in your mouth.  I don't want to spend 20 minutes chewing my sausage. Sometimes I use chicken sausage.  Longhini makes the MOST DELICIOUS Italian chicken sausage in the world.  I think I may like it better than regular pork sausage sometimes.  Most recently, I used 2 packages of chicken sausage with 1 package of pork sausage.  So in that case, you really need to make sure that it's cooked through.  Nothing worse in life than pink poultry.  Put the sausage in the pan.  Drizzle some olive oil on the top, sprinkle salt and pepper, and sprinkle just a bit of oregano.  Mix everything together with your hands and spread to flatten out the top.  Put in the oven at 350 or 375 degrees uncovered for a good hour or hour and a half.  Make sure that you stir it every so often so that it cooks evenly.  When you're done you should see beautifully browned sausage, tender peppers, and plenty of flavorful juice on the bottom of your pan.  My favorite thing to do is to buy some bakery hard rolls, put a spoonful of juice on the bottom of the roll, cut the sausage so that it's butterflied, and top with peppers.  Take  a bite and let the juice dribble down your chin!  That, my friends, is how you make sausage and peppers.  I've had sausage and peppers in the past that just taste like they're sitting in water.  It baffles me that something so simple could be so easily ruined.  Try it that way and tell me you can't notice the difference.

When I make sausage and peppers over spaghetti it has to be slightly changed.  I suppose you could use the oven but I think it's just easier to cook the sausage and peppers in a frying pan.  I don't like to cook the sausage with the peppers.  It takes longer for the sausage to cook through than it does to soften the peppers.  The peppers over the spaghetti will have more crunch than the baked ones.  I would cook all of my sausage with onions and then remove them from the pan.  Then add the pepper strips (you may need more oil, you may want to add more onions or onion salt, depending on your preference).  Let the peppers get soft, add back in the sausage.  Blend up your tomatoes, pour them over the sausage and peppers, add salt, pepper, basil, a twirl of wine, and a splash or two of red pepper flakes.  That's it.  I don't like overly herby sauces.  Sometimes people feel like they need to overdo it and add all crappy spices and sugar!  Good sauce does not need much.  Just give her some time to simmer on the stove and you're all set.  In my regular sauce I don't use onion, just garlic.  Onion in meat sauce, garlic in all others.  If you want to you can add a dash of garlic powder to the sausage and peppers sauce but that's all about preference.  Just remember Oil, garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper, basil, and wine.  Perfetto! Spaghetti is my favorite stringy macaroni.  Let all of the sausage, peppers, and sauce cook and bubble together for a while.  Boil up your ronies and then add them right to the pan with the sauce.  Mix it all up yummy and good and just dig in!

This week I plan on making "Ina's Perfect Roast Chicken," carnitas, and salmon.  As for the other nights, I'm not sure.  If I happen to eat something/somewhere I haven't blogged about yet, I will be sure to let you know.  Until my next bite!

Subzero Soups

The cold weather has inspired me to write a little about my favorite food - soup.  There's a little trivia for you- my favorite food is soup.  I am yet to meet a soup I didn't like.  I say soup is my favorite food because I have a hard time saying no to soup.  When I go out to eat at a restaurant, I'm always choosing the soup over the salad.  I made soup for dinner tonight, which I will share with you, but I think I'll also use this blog to discuss good restaurants to find soup and good recipes for various kinds of soup.

Tonight I made a recipe from one of my favorites- Ina Garten.  I made her version of lentil vegetable soup.  Absolutely delicious!!  I love lentil soup.  Pop's Restaurant in Milford makes a mean lentil soup.  I believe their soup had beef in it as well.  I've tried the Progresso sausage and lentil soup and that was just terrible.  I want to like soup from a can but so far the only kinds I actually like are Progresso's Chickerina and Campbell's Tomato soup.  The traditional chicken noodle soups in cans are gross.  Where do they get that disgusting little pink cube aka the chicken?  Back to my lentil.  It was a very simple recipe and I have a tip that made it that much easier to make.  My dad will never ever eat anything with lentils involved, so I knew if I wanted to try this soup, I'd have to make it on a weeknight.  Then I started to worry that I wouldn't have enough time to chop, put together, and let cook all on a Monday night.  So Sunday I cut up all the vegetables, put them in a large Ziplock bag, and cut my time in the kitchen!  The recipe calls for 3 large onions, 2 leeks, 3 garlic cloves, 8 stalks of celery, and 6 carrots.  Unfortunately, I couldn't find any leeks at Stop and Shop or Adam's, so I improvised.  A leek looks like a large scallion and gives off an oniony-type flavor and because of this, I chopped 3 scallions (the white and light green part).  I also decided to chop up 2 parsnips as well.  I suppose you could add or subtract any vegetables you'd like.  Be careful, though, the pot does get quite full.

First you brown the onions, scallions/leeks, and garlic- about 20 min. with salt, pepper, fresh thyme, and cumin.  Then add the carrots, celery, and parsnips.  Let that cook for a bit.  Then add a heaping tablespoon of tomato paste- mix together.  Add 3 quarts of chicken stock and the lentils.  Before adding the lentils, put in a bowl with a strainer and cover with boiling water.  Let sit in the water for 20 minutes.  Once everything is combined, cover and let the stock come to a boil, uncover and reduce to a simmer.  Let an hour go by and HEY! Now it's time for some lentil soup.  Delicious!  There is nothing quite like hot soup on a cold, damp night.  This soup was flavorful, filling, healthy, and piping hot!  Just the way should be!  As the winter continues, I'll be sure to put up some other soup recipes that I have or try out.

Homemade soup, of course, is the best, but here are some wonderful soups to check out when you're eating out.  As I have mentioned, the lentil soup from Pop's is dynamite.  As a matter of fact, all of the soups I have tried from Pop's are divine.  Chicken orzo, beef barley, Manhattan clam chowder to name a few.  I love a good wonton soup.  There's nothing worse than biting into a wonton and getting this al dente, ball of death in your mouth.  The best wonton soups are from Bao's (you can tell when a different cook makes it so it's not always good) and China Pavilion.  I've had the hot and sour soup from China Pavilion as well.  That soup wasn't really my cup of tea but if it was the only soup left on Earth, I wouldn't complain.  Let's talk chowda now.  There are three types- New England (creamy), Rhode Island (clear), and Manhattan (red).  The best New England clam chowder used to be from the old Chuck's Steakhouse in West Haven.  I can taste it right now just thinking of it. I guess that's another soup I'll never have again. *Side track alert* The Chuck's chowder and Gianotti's pancakes are the only two restaurant foods that I can recall the taste of and will never be matched.  Whatever happened to Gianotti's?  Remember it?  Tiny little breakfast place that used to be where Dive Bar is now.  Suddenly, I hear Barbara Streisand in my head.  Back on track... the New England clam chowder from Chandler's Tavern (at Yankee Candle in Mass.) is, hands downs, the BEST currently bubbling NE chowder.  Perfect balance of flavor and not so creamy that you're gagging while you're trying to swallow it.  Stowe's had good NE chowder too.  NE is not my favorite of the three.  My favorite is Rhode Island.  That's real soup.  All of the flavorful clam broth!  I just love it.  West Haven is home to many great RI chowders.  Turk's is my favorite, though that can depend on the cook as well.  Sometimes it is chock full of clams and potatoes and vegetables.  Other times, you get 4 hard pieces of potato and 1 little inappropriate piece of clam.  When the good cook is on- Turk's is the best.  Jimmie's has great RI clam chowder as well, though I'm upset that you can't order RI chowder as your soup choice with your meal. You get the choice of chicken or corn crab chowder.  If you order the clam, you have to pay extra.  Let's not be ridiculous here people!  The joke is on them though because the crab is fantastic!  Duffy's also has fabulous RI clam chowder.  I have a hard time choosing any other type of soup when I eat at Duffy's.  Savin Rock Roasting has pretty good chowder as well.  There's only one type of RI chowder that I don't like- and that would be one that has very tiny cubes of potatoes and a lot of bacon flavor.  It's not supposed to taste like bacon.  It's just used for a little smokiness and bite, it's not supposed to be a bacon challenge for that "fat-ass versus food."

This is turning into a long post so I'll just list some good soup/restaurant combos.  Pasa -te (can't spell) from Biagetti's, Tortellini soup from Lisiano's (I know- I will never go there again- but good soup), Meat tortellini soup from Gabriele's, Chicken and Rice soup and French Onion soup from Turk's, Asparagus Soup from Roly Poly, Various soups from liquid lunch, Chicken and Beef barley soup from Water's Edge, and believe it or not, every soup from Duchess fast food restaurant is delicious.  It's the only fast food place I know of that makes soup.  So nice to go through a drive-through and get soup.  Duchess Diner in WH and the Athenian Diner in Milford has great soup.  I can't seem to think of any others right now, but this will be soup season, so I plan on keeping you informed of where you can find the best soups around.  

Until my next slurp .... (Insert Mrs. White and Professor Plum from "Clue")

Back to Blogging

It feels nice to be back writing my blog.  I have a few reasons for not writing lately.  My wedding is approximately a year away and this has me watching my weight (Don't want to sound like Regina George but I want to lose five pounds), watching my spending, and has kept me close to home.  When I have gone out it's been to the same old places.  Now I did go somewhere recently that was terrible, but I can't seem to remember where it was.  I remember commenting on it when I was in the car getting ready to leave but cannot remember.  If I was with you, please leave a comment and share where we were.  In this blog, I will discuss a few things including- carnitas, Reno's, Pop's, and Thanksgiving.  Let's start with Reno's.

I don't believe I've blogged about Reno's before but if I did, oh well.  I had a delicious sandwich from Reno's last night.  I loved Reno's when it was located at the former site of Clark's Dairy and I still love it now in the plaza with Hawley Lane in Orange.  DJ and I were just driving up the Post Road looking for a place to eat.  We approached Reno's and I noticed no one was sitting inside the restaurant.  Their seating is limited, especially in comparison to their former location.  I was surprised that no one was dining inside.  It did worry me a bit but I was hungry and wanted to go somewhere I didn't have to wait for a table, so Reno's fit the bill.  Plenty of people were coming in and out to pick up to-go orders and the delivery man looked a bit ragged, so I figured we were safe.  We were free to pick whichever table and chose a nice booth/table.  I wasn't sure what I was in the mood for when I first sat down.  Reno's has a little bit of everything.  They have great pizza, a few dinners, sandwiches, salads, soups, and apps.  I'm not sure if they still do this, but I know they used to have all-you-can-eat pizza on Tuesday.  I think it was like 9 dollars and the waitress just brings out random topping pizzas and offers you a slice.  I love pizza so this is a perfect thing in my eyes.  It's great when you can sample other types of pizza.  For example, I never would have ordered a spaghetti and meatball pizza on my own.  Now I know I like it, so I may in the future.  Back to our order.  We decided to order fried dough bites for an appetizer.  Fabulous.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it.  Perfectly cooked fried dough balls, a cup of marinara, and some grated cheese.  My recommended way of eating is to pour some grated cheese on your plate.  Dip the ball in the sauce and then dip into the grated cheese.  Perfetto! (Kissing my fingers)  It reminded me of Dom in "Fatso" when he's upset at Sal's wake.  Then we decided we would get subs this time.  I went with Mark's special- a chicken cutlet, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayo on a toasted sub.  FANTASTIC!  I know that sounds simple, but that was the most fresh chicken cutlet I've ever ordered from a restaurant.  It tasted like I just took it out of the pan.  I've been losing my taste for chicken lately.  It always seems that I get that chewy, fatty, gross piece that just turns you off from your whole meal.  Now I know the chicken from Reno's is safe and delicious.

DJ ordered the Philly Steak sub.  Steak, onions, cheese wiz.  We shared the subs half and half.  I love doing that because I'm so indecisive.  I'm happy I went with Mark's Special.  The steak sub was okay.  The wiz was good.  I would've liked mushrooms on it too, but we won't go there.  It might have been that the steak sub was good but the Mark was so much better that the steak only tasted mezza-mezz.  The owner and waitress were very nice and friendly.  I felt bad because the delivery guy apparently spilled an entire catering tray of chicken marsala all over the car so needless to say, the owner was pissed.  He came over and joked with us about it and went really easy on the delivery kid.  Reno's is great.  I wish it was closer to West Haven because that's where I'd go every night.  Is it just me or did WH pizza die out?  I usually go to Tom's and Pat's for convenience, Mike's is delicious but I hate parking on Campbell Ave., and Zuppardi's you need to be in the mood for and let's face it, near a bathroom.  But then I feel like that's it.  Lorenzo's has a terrible parking lot and is located in the hood.  Domenic's I don't like.  Where else is there?  That's it, right?  Maybe I should go into the pizza business...  So to sum up, Reno's is great.  Go there if you haven't.  And if anyone knows if they still do the all you can eat Tuesday, let me know!!!

Moving on.... tonight I made pork fajitas, which some may refer to as carnitas.  Absolutely delicious. I love pork.  Especially when it is seasoned well and slow cooked.  Although I don't like "pulled pork."  It's not the pork.  It's the bbq sauce.  It is probably my least favorite sauce in the world.  But I do love the bbq sauce from Bao's.  I could fill up a stein of that stuff and go to town.  Back to the carnitas.  I used a pork butt, rinsed it off, liberally added salt and pepper, oregano, rubbed a little bit of olive oil, freshly squeezed orange juice and the orange halves, a dash of cumin, onion slices, 4 garlic cloves, and a little bit of the fajita seasoning pack.  I added a small amount of water because I was afraid there wouldn't be enough liquid for the crock pot, but there was plenty.  I let that cook in the crock pot on low for about 8 hours.  After the 8 hours, I put the pork in a dish and shredded it with two forks.  Then I put a little bit of vegetable oil in a pan, let it get hot, and then added the pork, pressed it down and let it get crispy on one side.  Then it was time to eat.  We had tortillas, guacamole, sour cream, peppers, onions, black beans, and Spanish rice.  It was delicious!!  I love pork!  Next time I might add some beer because I think Cubans add beer but then what do I know?  I liked it.  We wanted to have something that did not resemble Thanksgiving dinner, and I think we succeeded.  I was going to comment on Thanksgiving and Pop's but I think I'll save that for another blog.  It has been a while since my last bite but I promise it won't be that long since my next bite...

Hard Rock Cafe - Foxwoods

On Friday I went with my cousin, Nicole, to Foxwoods.  We went to play the morning bingo.  It was such a great day even though it poured outside all day.  Bingo was fun, we didn't win, but we brought our snacks, drank the free drinks, and laughed all day.  What's better than that?  Although you can order food from inside the bingo hall, we opted to bring our own snacks and then eat at one of the restaurants after bingo.  We went to some of the shops, played the money wheel, played a few slots, and then it was time to eat.  By the way, Foxwoods will be opening up high-end outlet stores soon.  I prefer Foxwoods, but their dining situation needs to be fixed.  They really don't have any restaurants.  They're all never heard of places.  I feel like Foxwoods is more in touch with it's Indian roots, but then make a cool Indian restaurant that serves updated spins on native recipes.  The only independent restaurants that I've heard of that have a spot at Foxwoods are Juniors (never again) and Hard Rock Cafe.  We chose the Hard Rock.

Upon entering the restaurant, the hostess asked us if we were both over 21.  Now what was the purpose of that?  We didn't sit at the bar, people with kids ate there, I just don't understand the reasoning.  The only thing I could think of is we were seated on the left side of the restaurant and all of the people who had children with them sat on the right side.  Maybe it's a system they have worked out so the waitresses don't have to card people?  I don't know.  We both ordered beverages in souvenir glass.  I had the Singapore Sling and Nic had some tropical drink with a lot of banana in it.  Both were quite refreshing.  Especially after we were assaulted by some crazy man from China.  It was hysterical, though.  To eat, I had the California burger and Nicole had a salad.  My burger was served with lettuce, tomato, cucumber, avocado, monterey Jack cheese, and ranch dressing.  Delicious.  I ordered the burger medium.  It was a little under medium, which is fine with me.  Nicole had a salad with crispy chicken and tortilla strips on top.  She enjoyed her salad and I loved my burger.  It came with seasoned fries.  I love seasoned fries.  They are so much better than plain fries that you have to salt yourself.  It looked like they only gave me about 9 fries, but it was actually better that way.  It helped to control my appetite.  Delish.

Overall, a clean restaurant, a nice waitress, good drinks, good food.  Highly recommend!  Next time you decide to pop the cork and snap your fingers at Foxwoods, stop by the Hard Rock Cafe for a reasonably priced meal.  I'm trying to control myself this week but the next time I take a bite out, I'll keep you informed.

Burgerless at the Burger Joints

So this past week I went to two burger places for dinner.  The first place I checked out was Prime 16 in Orange.  It's in the former location of Jacob Marley's.  I went with my mom and Judy on a Wednesday night.  We had to wait for about 10 minutes but it wasn't too bad.  The waiting area is a little odd.  It's near the bar but not.  They have leather benches that you can sit while you wait.  It's weird.  It's like you're at a zoo- Just sitting on the outskirts watching the other people.  There were all kinds there.  Mostly an older crowd though.  Some loners at the bar, some double daters.  We were brought to a booth that was comfortable.  The restaurant is very dark.  Dark wood, black leather, dim lighting.  The menu was a decent size.  They mostly have burgers but they also have a few hot dogs, some salads, some wrap/sandwiches.  They also have a large list of beers on tap and other alcoholic choices.  It seemed to be good.

On that night, Judy ordered a simple cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato.  She said that hers was very good.  My mom ordered a mushroom burger with no bun.  She also said her burger was delicious.  I was a little full so I chose to not order a burger or hot dog.  I had the Vermont wrap.  It was also very good.  The wrap consisted of marinated chicken, applewood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, apple slices, and sauteed onion with honey mustard.  I ordered a side of mixed greens instead of fries.  Our waitress was very nice.  I was pleased with my experience.  I say it's a keeper and I can't wait to go back to try a burger!

The next night we went out for a little celebration with DJ, Jessi, Paul, Dana, and Dan to Plan B.  I'm not particularly a fan of Plan B but I think I may have found something on the menu that I like.  I'm not sure what it is exactly about Plan B that makes me dislike it.  The meat tastes a little funny to me.  It's like when I bite into it, I feel like I smell raw meat.  Anyone who has made a meatloaf, meatballs, or homemade burgers knows that it takes quite a few washes to get that meat smell off of your hands.  It makes my stomach turn.  It also could be that I went one time and ordered the disco fries.  I'm a fan of going to the dinner and getting some fries with cheese and gravy on them, but the ones at Plan B felt like they we sitting like a rock pressing on my stomach.  When I say, "Plan B" I get nauseous.  But nowadays it seems like there's a burger craze.  There are burger restaurants popping up all over the place.  So anyway, we went to Plan B. 

I thought about what I was going to get before we went there.  I decided that it's the ground meat that bothers me.  Other than ordering a burger, your options are slim.  They have salads and a few meals and appetizers.  I would've loved to order a couple apps but they are so damn expensive that if you're going to do that, you might as well order a dinner.  In the end, I ordered a steak salad.  I have to say, that it was very good.  I ordered the steak medium rare and it was served over greens with tomatoes, cucumber, blue cheese crumbles, frizzled onions, and I'm not sure but there may have been other little things mixed in.  It's served with horseradish blue cheese dressing but I asked for it with the tomato vinaigrette instead.  Excellent choice.  If had the original dressing then what's the point of ordering a salad?  It also came with a triangle of garlic bread.  Very good.

Everyone else ordered a variation of a burger.  I know DJ and Paul had the bacon cheeseburger but I forget which ones everyone else had.  Possibly a California?  Everyone was pleased with their burger.  They sounded good, they looked good, but I just don't think I can do their burgers.  I can't do the burgers at Plan B Burger Bar or the chicken at Archie Moore's.  Go figure.  The salad was good, but it left me feeling full but not stuffed.  DJ and I decided order dessert.  I had the key lime cheesecake.  It was strange.  They served it parfait style in a glass.  I wasn't that crazy for it.  I wish I had skipped dessert and made DJ go through the Popeye's drive thru for the blackberry cream cheese cake they have.  Divine.  DJ had the funnybone.  Great in thought. Chocolate cake, peanut butter mousse, chocolate ganache.  I'm telling you, after the peanut butter thing at The Place, nothing can compare.

Overall, I'm not a huge burger person.  If I wanted to eat a burger, I would just go to Outback.  Their burgers are so underrated.  But seriously, in this Burger Battle, Prime 16 wins.  Both places are popular and are good, but in the world of Betsy's Bites, Plan B is not al dente.  Until my next bite....

Abate's/Libby's on Wooster Street

Tonight I went for a lovely dinner on Wooster Street.  I think I've said it before, but I just love Wooster Street.  Not so much the actual, physical street, but the idea of what pops in my head when I think of the street.  I think of (all in black and white of course) this close-knit neighborhood where everyone knew each other and owned their own business that featured their specialty.  I could always imagine a bunch of old people going to Libby's at night after a hard day's work for coffee and pastries.  Okay, out of the clouds and back to reality.

Tonight I went to Abate's with DJ, Nicole and Jim, and Josh and Mirissa.  2 out of the 3 couples were able to find parking right in the lot at Abate's.  That's really the main reason why I like to go there.  The parking lot is for customers of Abate's and Libby's.  Can't go wrong.  That's my idea of a perfect night.  We were seated at a nice large table in the center of the room.  The waitress was very nice.  We started with a nice adult beverage before we ordered.  There were a few menu items I was not too sure about.  I didn't know what tortellini alla panna was or fettucine cardinale.  Basically they are both dishes in which the mentioned pasta is in an alfredo sauce.  I can absolutely not do an alfredo sauce so both of those options were crossed out.  I ordered ravioli with a side of meatballs, DJ had chicken parm, Nicole had penne alla vodka, Josh had steak, Mirissa also had ravioli, and Jim had chicken marsala.  While we waited for our meals, we were given a tossed salad (family style) and some bread.  The bread was pretty good; it was served with butter.  Olive oil happened to be on the table but only because Josh has a food allergy and requested oil and vinegar for his salad.  The bread was very crunchy but not too bad.  The salad dressing was good.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.

Then our meals came out- all at the same time.  I think that is important when you go out to eat.  You can always tell the quality of the restaurant by how the food is delivered to you.  (*side track alert*) I remember when I went to Emeril's restaurant in Florida, 5 waiters came out at once and put our plates in front of us all at the same time.  Now that's what I call class.  Mirissa and I both thought the ravioli were okay but a bit bland.  The sauce didn't really have much flavor and neither did the ricotta filling.  I feel like the ravioli were previously frozen and not freshly made.  You could tell because there was an excess liquid in the plate.  I added some grated cheese and red pepper flakes but it was still bland.  The meatballs; however, were delicious.  I might even be so bold as to say they are the best meatballs I have ever tasted in a restaurant.  De-lish!  These had quite a bit of flavor.  It almost tasted like sausage meat was mixed with the ground beef.  Out of this world.  I wish I had just ordered the meatballs.  Nicole also said her penne were bland as well.  Maybe their salt jar was empty today and they didn't realize it.  Josh's steak was a tad overcooked but he said the seasoning was perfect.  DJ didn't really say much about his.  He did not wrap any leftovers.  Jim ate all of his minus the mushrooms so I take it that his was good.  The bathroom is a one-person in case you were wondering.  It was in good shape.

We received our bill and all were satisfied.  Josh ordered a cocktail and I believe it only cost $5 and some change.  In the words of Josh, "Next time we'll come back and just get drinks and meatballs."  I usually order the mussels over linguine but tonight I was trying to save some money so I just got the ravioli.  I like Abate on Wooster Street.  The food is decent, the prices are decent, there's a parking lot, and it's fairly comfortable inside.  I think it's the best place to go for a reasonably priced dinner on Wooster Street.  I will go back again.

After dinner we walked over to Libby's.  That's right people, back it up.  We are not leaving our parking spots yet.  I've never eaten inside Libby's.  Apparently it's a waiter service when you sit at the seats but that just completely intimidates me.  I just can't control myself when ordering things in a bakery.  You know that I don't have much of a sweet tooth but my eyes wish I did.  I ended up ordering a pound of cookies.  A mix of pink stars, tri color, and acorns.  Simple, delicious, perfect.  DJ had a root beer Italian ice, I had a lemon ice (DJ finished), I believe Josh and Mirissa had watermelon ice, and I'm not sure about Nicole and Jimmy.  I want to say blue raspberry.  Fabulous.  Libby's is one of my absolute favorite places to go.  I remember loving it ever since I was a little kid.  I don't remember who took me there the first time, probably Neil, but I just have this image in my head from when I was quite young and I loved it.  Something about it.  It's not a beautiful bakery or anything like that.  It looks exactly like it did since the first time I tried Italian ice. I thoroughly enjoyed myself tonight.  Good food, good company, good parking, good price.  Can't go wrong.  I absolutely recommend a night down on Wooster Street at Abate's and Libby's.  Until my next bite....