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TrishCT

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  1. Shame on them then for giving us the bum's rush.
  2. Dined here Saturday night (advance reservation on opentable). It was unseasonably warm so I requested a table in the Garden Room, walls on four sides and open roof. Nice and much quieter than main dining room which had loud rock music blaring. Food: Shared the Risotto Balls for an app, very good with a nice pronounced risotto flavor. Ordered Pomegranate Sangria to go with it. Nice, light, more like juice than wine though. Buccatini was like it should be and the sauce with guanciale had good flavor. Another pasta dish...with spiral pasta, prosciutto, peas and a cream sauce was also good. Spaghetti and Meatballs was a winner with a terrific tasting homemade meatball. My only complaint is the pasta was a little softer than al dente. But otherwise it was good. The only subpar dish was the Veal Saltimbocca, made with overcooked and mushy veal. Someone at another table ordered a pork chop which looked massive. Service: We were definitely rushed and hurried. We tried ordering an app and drinks to start but our server said we had to order the whole meal at the same time. So we did and the meal came a second after we were done with the app. With no coffee and dessert we were in and out in about an hour. Everything was served so fast after we ordered, I wonder how much was last night's leftovers (We sat down at 6:30). Would I go back...? If I'm in the neighborhood, yes I probably would for the spaghetti and meatballs. Otherwise, there are too many Italian joints on my list I haven't tried yet. Crispo didn't snag me as much as I had hoped.
  3. After you get used to a store you learn the shortcuts you can take to get out of the "snaking maze" as I call it. I've got the Danbury one down pretty well. The Danbury store has "Stew's Hoedown" an outdoor grill and dining area that sells burgers, dogs, grilled chicken and cheap lobster meals. Very much a crowd favorite in summer. The Norwalk store didn't originally plan for outdoor dining and put up a makeshift tent in the parking lot which makes for horrendous parking nightmares. The Danbury store also has a seasonal garden/Christmas tree and ornament shop. They get their cut trees very very early...I avoid. Stew and his sons have had skirmishes with the law. Stew was arrested and served time when it was discovered that one cash register at the Norwalk store was bypassing normal accounting procedures and the money was going directly into the basement. They were also found guilty of shortweighting — charging more for a container of something than the actual weight. Also, I can't remember if it was Stew Jr. or Tom but one of them pulled a bizarre stunt by landing a helicopter on the roof of the Danbury store so he could fly it to Southbury for lunch. The landing actually caused damage to the roof and ceiling below. I think it was the same Leonard that was arrested when he refused to cooperate with police and threatened the cop saying he was a police officer or commissioner (or something like that), but it wasn't quite true, and so he got in trouble for that... You might think that some of their antics would hurt business....but every time they had a "problem" with the law, the company would put a coupon in the local paper good for a free half gallon of milk.... that seemed to solve their PR dilemma. My husband doesn't like the store or its accounting practices...and he won't go there, but he never complains when he gets his rack of lamb roasted medium rare with garlic and fresh rosemary...
  4. At the Stew Leonard's in Danbury, CT we like the mozzarella, which they make fresh in front of you, the parmigiana reggiano, milk, butter and dairy products, aforementioned sour dough bread, and yes the fresh made potato chips. We find the fried chicken too dry, but like some of the other hot foods. The porterhouse is very good when it is on sale, and the pork is quite good. When I want some nice fresh rack of lambs frenched, the butcher goes into the back and accommodates me. Of course you pay dearly for that, but the quality is very good. The fresh orange juice and herbs are good also. You have to be careful with the pricing. If an item is marked 2 for $5 do not assume that one of those items will be $2.50. Often if you only buy one of a sale item you pay the full amount it would normally be. I think this practice is lousy. It encourages me to over purchase. At Thanksgiving time, the turkeys are put out so early and they are often rough housed and pawed over quite a bit. But they have a terrific selection of almost every kind of turkey - frozen, fresh, all natural, kosher, brined... The in-house pastries in the refrigerated case (cannoli, creme horns, napoleons) are usually old and stale looking. At the ice cream counter, the soft serve strawberry is ultra pink and chemical tasting. But the vanilla is fine. At Christmastime they often have sale prices on their gift boxes that aren't selling that well. Some good deals to be had. Also, as far as their online catalog is concerned, the quality of stuff is very good. I send my daughter an occasional college care package from it.
  5. The ribs were very good...smoked and unsauced. It came with a very refreshing apple slaw with no mayo but an apple cider vinaigrette which I thought was perfect. We shared an appetizer of them. I had the chicken and dumplings — delicious. Not a traditional preparation. The jus was really flavorful. The chicken was top notch. Husband had the hot turkey sandwich. Would have been excellent with twice as much gravy. Very tender and good turkey. The ultra small side of cranberry sauce was quite good, not too sweet. Mixed drinks were on the small side, but nicely prepared. Great spot for upscale comfort food. I hear Paul can mostly be seen early evenings.
  6. I dined there for lunch a few weeks ago, and thought the meal was mostly excellent (albeit pricey). One problem was that chocolate souffle cake. It was really bad and we sent it back. Very dry and flavorless. I am surprised they are still serving it, am I the only one who mentioned it to them... Another problem, the bathrooms smelled horrible to the point of making me nauseous. My husband said the men's room smelled just as bad. Do you know if that has been fixed? I hpe so because I would like to go back again sometime.
  7. E Gullet is listed on eater.com's deathwatch list. What do you think? Is this the right place for this posting, and can this topic be addressed on egullet?
  8. I think some of the fun with the tailgate episode was the "15 minute of fame factor." You just know those tailgater guys helped out because they got to be on tv and go to the luxury boxes... The chef had to work with whatever resources he had and the fame factor was one on his side. But notice another guy wouldn't part with his lousy grill come h*ll or high water, or tv stardom... And Bryan..about those arms...kinda sexy to some of us womenfolk....
  9. That blog is great, as usual Tony is dead on. (Except it's Carlos not Alex).
  10. Saw a couple episodes recently (wedding reception and tailgate party), found it both entertaining and practical. Learned some little helpful tricks. I liked it, so it is probably doomed.
  11. For anyone who likes spoilers, eater drops a bombshell. But, it doesn't make much of an explosion. I'm not surprise there is no reunion show. Most of them have a lot to be embarrassed about.
  12. I wasn't sure I would watch the finale next week...but then I saw the little preview and lo and behold there is Wylie Dufresne, Mr. Molecular Gastonomy himself as a judge...so now I actually want to see what he thinks of Marcel's stuff... I would like to try the pineapple poi. Probably about the only Marcel dish that appealed to me in the series. As for Sam not mucking anything up other than the watermelon cabrales salad... don't forget that toad in the hole thing... Sam showed he can mess up just as badly as the next chef. He's no Harold. I have no doubt he will be successful though. Elia...just a mess... Ilan...a lot of growing up to do. Please let there NOT be a season 3.
  13. Certainly not assault and battery, there needs to be physical harm for that. It could questionably be assault, but only in some states and even then it's not really likely. ← This is the definition of Assault from Black's Law Dictionary: "Any willful attempt or threat to inflict injury upon the person of another, when coupled with an apparent present ability so to do, and any intentional display of force such as would give the victim reason to fear or expect immediate bodily harm, constitutes an assault. An assault may be committed without actually touching, or striking, or doing bodily harm, to the person of another. Frequently used to describe illegal force which is technically a battery. For crime of assault victim need not be apprehensive of fear if the outward gesture is menacing and defendent intends to harm, though for tort of assault, element of victim's apprehension is required. It is an unlawful attempt to commit a battery. In some jurisdictions degress of the offense are established as first, second and even third degree assault." Assault and Battery is defined as: "Any unlawful touching of another which is without justification or excuse. It is both a tort and a crime. Battery requires physical contact of some sort (bodily injury or offensive touching), whereas assault is committed without physical contact."
  14. Does anyone really care now how good the food is in the finale? Stick a fork in this show, it's done. There is no winner on Top Chef season 2, but there is a clear loser. Tom Colicchio has been completely emasculated by the Bravo producers. He wanted to boot the three off for their dreadful behavior but of course that would put a crimp in the fake "feel good" finale wouldn't it? The producers couldn't have that so they told Tom to pound sand. Tom has no real power or standing in the decision-making process. Guess he was just meant to be a shill for Kenmore, Kraft and Bailey's. A "Shame on You" award to the producers for editing this episode to make it seem like the hair shaving came before the assualt, when it came afterward. Message to the producers: The audience isn't that stupid, we can actually handle reality. And Padma...what the heck...in the finale preview, her delivery of "You are the top chef" is more leaden than the paint in a crack house. If there is a Top Chef Season Three, count me out. I'd rather go to my church's weekly drum circle. Click.
  15. I'm just adding one to the like list: Tom Colicchio
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