Arbitrary, Incidental, and Accidental Musings...

It's been well documented how disappointed I am in Connecticut pizza. What hasn't been quite as well documented is that there is a side to pizza parlors that I miss just as much up here in the Nutmeg State. That side is the inexpensive, tomato-based, Italian food that you can only seem to get at a pizza parlor. Whether it be a veal/chicken parmigana wedge, some manicotti, or a good lasagna, I can't seem to find that distinct "al forno" flavor here.

Pomodoro, in between Greenwich and Stamford, comes closest. They sport brick oven pizza that isn't half bad, but their toppings are overpriced and terrible. (actually, everything is overpriced here. My guess is that has something to do with them technically being in Greenwich.) But, let's forget about the pizza for a second because this is really more of an Italian place than a pizza parlor. Pomodoro is really a mixed bag. You have...

The Good: Garlic knots that have plenty of garlic and way too much oil. (They even reheat nicely, but they become a bit chewy) Mozzarella fries that could (almost) have come from a New Jersey diner. And finally, what I'm looking for, the pasta al forno. They make a good lasagna, baked ziti, and manicotti.

And then there's...

The Bad: Their wings are terrible (excusable because this is not something you would normally associate with an Italian place, but they advertise them on all of their specials). The pasta dishes are heavy (yet huge) and really nothing to write about. So I won't. The salads are hit or miss. And finally, they are exceptionally overpriced for what you get. You really need to use a coupon with each order or you get hosed and they refuse to bring new menus with new coupons with their order.

Bottom Line: I order delivery from this place and it is my lazy option when I don't want to go out. Even the delivery is slow. Considering there is more bad listed above than good, I'm not going to go out of my way to recommend this place, but in this sad state of pizza affairs in CT, I guess it could be worse.

Off the Grill is a rarity in today's fast food scene. A restaurant with quality, fresh food and employees who serve you at the table. In fact, the only other places I can think of off the top of my head that do that are Duchess and Fuddruckers. Sad really, but understandable considering the business model of fast food restaurants.

What to Order: The great thing about Off the Grill is that it is really a grillhouse. You can get steak, burgers, chicken, and fish all grilled up fresh with either the Off the Grill sauce or a terriyaki based sauce. The specialty of the house is the sirloin tips, but my favorite by far is the grilled salmon caesar salad. The caesar dressing is just enough, the croutons are perfect, and the fish adds a different touch to your traditional caesar. Oh, and did I mention that the salad is enormous?

Also of note are the creative daily specials and the loaded potato sides. And you certainly don't want to forget about the 10 oz. cooked to order burgers that you can order with mushrooms and sauteed onions and the rib eye cheesesteak. Quality stuff.

The bad: Don't order any soups. You'll be very disappointed. Also, because the food you are getting here is pretty rich, it's not something you can have very often without feeling the need to visit the doctor.

Bottom Line: It's more pricey than most any fast food available, but remember, you're paying for quality here. Expect to pay up to $20 for a steak if you choose to go that route. Still, a great alternative when you feel you've been eating too much processed fast food.

If you're a man like me, you love ribs. There's something about pullling up a chair at a brown paper covered table decorated with crayons and going to town on a whole plate of varied types of ribs. That's exactly what Bobby Q's is like and that's exactly what we did on this particular night.

I've been to Bobby Q's before and I must say that it is quite a tasty rib joint. It is a perfect balance of classy, yet manly and offers up a bunch of different types of homemade BBQ sauce (I prefer anything golden or spicy). We were very fortunate on this particular night to be at a wedding rehearsal dinner. What does that mean? Unlimited plates of all sorts of ribs, brisket, and other assorted pig products served up with a bottomless pitcher of beer. Yeah, let's just say that it was a tremendous idea by the groom.

What to order: Ribs, of course. I'm sure there are other things on the menu like burgers, pulled pork and stuff, by why would you come to a rib place without ordering ribs? That's like going to a steakhouse and ordering chicken (Dave, I'm looking in your direction). And they're really good. Not the best ever, but they're up there. From baby back to St. Louis style, you can't really go wrong. Oh, there is one exception to the rib rule here. The brisket. It's tremendous. I don't even like brisket, but I couldn't stop eating it. Slather it with some BBQ sauce and it's even better.

We ate a lot. And I mean, a LOT. I didn't help things that I had some BBQ masters at my table who feel that you just can't leave any BBQ on the table or you're just not manly enough. Well, I can confidently say after the amount of food we ate that day, we are all manly enough.

Bottom Line: One of the best places to get BBQ in Fairfield County. The cornbread is so-so, but they do serve Lone Star Beer (the national beer of Texas), so that's a plus. If you're looking for ribs or brisket, this is a good place to go.

I grew up in New Jersey, land of diners. I know a good diner from a bad one. City Limits Diner is good, it's just not a diner. Masquerading an upscale American comfort food eatery as a downhome diner is a little tricky for City Limits, but they manage to pull it off... sort of.

City Limits is a retro-feeling diner that almost looks like it could have been from the 50's. With three locations in New York and Connecticut (including one very close to my apartment), City Limits offers fresh baked breads, incredible, fresh soups, and a limited, yet tasty, breakfast menu.

What to order: Any of the soups or large, creative martinis are worth an order. Breakfast offers a great corned beef hash and eggs and the second best hash browns I have ever had (only second to Morton's). Lunch and dinner options include fried chicken, decent burgers, and well... diner food. You really can't go wrong with almost anything on the menu.

Bottom Line: This place has good food in an interesting atmosphere. The menu options are somewhat limited and don't expect a ton of leeway in your ordering. The worst drawback? Price. Expect to pay a lot for your meal, breakfast or otherwise. City Limits is really more of a special occassion diner rather than an everyday diner.

Ahhh... Morton's. The king of all chain steak houses (so far) in my humble opinion. If you're wondering why I haven't blogged about Morton's yet, well, let's just say I don't get out there as much as I used to. With some special events coming up, including scotch tasting, I should get out there a little more often.

I was introduced to Morton's by an executive at my company back in 2001. At the time, this was very likely the nicest steak house I had ever been to. There was good reason for that. If Morton's didn't create the quality chain steak house concept (all apologies to Ruth's Chris which I have not yet been to), they certainly took it to the next level. With an atmosphere that screams corporate, cigar smoking, scotch drinking, cholesterol fueled mayhem, Morton's is the perfect place to take someone to a corporate dinner or just to impress. (ahhh, if they were only open for lunch in Stamford...)

Since my first Morton's experience, I only went infrequently and on special occasions mostly because of the expense. This changed when corporate recruiting went into full swing and I met the regional manager for Morton's Northeast. (Seeing as though corporate recruiting no longer allows us to eat there, I'll focus on the latter here) Long story short, I am now hooked up at Morton's and am practically a paid corporate shill. Take everything I say with a grain of salt please.

On with the paid advertisement. Let's break this down "steakhouse style", shall we?

Martini: Ketel One, straight up. Exceptional and my favorite place to have one. 11 out of 10.

Appetizers: Oh man, are there a lot of fun things to choose from these days. In addition to the best jumbo lump crabmeat you will ever have in a restaurant (mustard-mayo sauce), you can get the jumbo lump crabcake which is probably the best crabcake you'll find outside of Baltimore. The Shrimp Alexander is crusted with panko bread crumbs, sauteed in a lemon, butter, and white wine sauce, and is simply tremendous. Not to mention they are the biggest shrimps you will find in a restaurant anywhere. The scallops in bacon are great... you know, everything is great. I could eat Morton's appetizers all day long, every day. They even have filet mignon sandwiches for free if you're just hanging out in the bar area having a drink. And don't forget to try their new appetizers tuna tartare and lobster cocktail. 11 out of 10.

Salad: They make a decent Caesar salad and a very good Morton's salad (Lettuce, chopped egg, anchovies, creamy blue cheese). They'll also do a beefsteak tomato and onion salad. Solid 7 out of 10.

Steak: The specialty of the house is the Porterhouse. It's excellent, but not their best item. That honor goes to the prime rib (only available on Fridays and Saturdays) which is about the thickest cut you can get east of the Mississippi. It comes with a whipped horseradish sauce that should be more powerful than it is. A close second goes to the New York Strip steak which is also very thick and juicy and served with an option au poivre sauce (five peppercorn cognac cream pan sauce). Third place goes to the old standby Porterhouse, but I've had some hit or miss moments there (mostly hits, very few misses). They also offer a cajun rib eye which is a good try, but not something I would get often because it is overly crusted with spice rub. Word of advice: don't order the filet mignon unless you get one of their specialty filets (filet oscar, diane, etc...). It's not the world's best filet and you will be disappointed unless it's accompanied by something else... like say, a lobster tail. 9 out of 10.

Sides: Lots of things to choose from, but I strongly suggest the hash browns. That's right, hash browns with dinner. Imagine a personal pizza sized plate of golden brown and delicious shredded hash browns topped with butter, sour cream, bacon... you know what? I'll stop now before my arteries harden just writing about it. Other thoughts: the baked potatoes are huge, good creamed spinach, decent potatoes lyonnaise. All very good stuff, but other than the hash browns, I don't really RAVE about their sides. 8 out of 10.

Dessert: Morton's has all of your classic steakhouse desserts (cheesecake, key lime pie, etc...), but it's their freshly baked desserts which you have to order at the time you order your meal that really shine. The souffles are great, but the star of the show is the Godiva Chocolate Cake served with Haagen Dazs vanilla ice cream. If you've ever had a lava cake in any other restaurant, imagine that, but 100 times better. It prompted someone I know to remark that it was better than sex. Who knows? Maybe it is... naaah! 9 out of 10.

Service: Professional, courteous, friendly... just superb really. You have an army of people waiting on your every need. The general manager and assistant managers always get personally involved to make sure you are enjoying your meal.

The bad: If you order the wrong steak, be prepared for a hit or miss proposition. However, if you listen to me, you won't go wrong. Also, the wine list is a tad on the expensive side (as is the whole experience these days as prices have gone up), so try to stick to cocktails if you're looking to save money.

Bottom Line: My favorite steakhouse and not just because they bribe me with free cognac at the end of the meal (which is tremendous, by the way). Other places have better filets, porterhouses, etc... If you are looking for the best in a particular cut of meat, go to those places. If you're looking for the best overall experience, go to Morton's.

Good news... Cold Stone has brought back the yellow cake batter ice cream. I guess they figured out that they could use pasteurized eggs. Good stuff. However, you may want to skip over that flavor this month and go straight to their new "Caramel Latte" ice cream. It's caramel coffee flavored in case you couldn't guess and it's delicious. If you are as addicted to Starbucks' Caramel Macchiato as much as I am, you will love this.

So, I made it all the way into October already. Yes, I realize I'm very much behind in my blogging, but expect to see a lot more in the coming days as I would like to get all caught up before I go to Italy. On with the review...

Pappas Pizzeria is a neighborhood Pizzeria down the street from my office. With the lack of decent pizza anywhere in CT (seriously, I'm about to give up or move to New Haven) this pizza passes for... well, pizza.

The service at Pappas is rather hit or miss. One day, you get an overly attentive waitress, the next, Shirley from What's Happening!!The pizza is mostly Greek-style and comes out with a crunchy crust and very hot. On this particular day, I ordered the lasagna pizza which comes with pieces of hamburger, ricotta cheese, and a substandard sauce (and we remember how important sauce is to the pizza). I burned the roof of my mouth, but other than that it wasn't great. The personal pizza was a bit too large to finish by myself, but we probably could have done without the appetizers. The appetizers are your typical fried fare served with marinara sauce and honey mustard. The sampler pack includes mozzarella sticks, fried zucchini, onion rings, and chicken fingers. Nothing notable, but it is served piping hot. In fact, nothing really stands out here at all as even the garlic bread is very disappointing. Free refills though. So it's got that going for it... which is nice.

The Bottom Line: Not very enticing a review and I think I know why. Pappas Pizzeria is one of those places where you are trying to decide on what to have for lunch, but nobody has any ideas. Finally, someone says, why don't we go to Pappas and you say, "yeah, why not?"

I have a theory about restaurants in New York City. I apologize if I've mentioned it before, but it's worth repeating. No matter how small or "hole in the wall" a restaurant is in Manhattan, the food has to be good or it won't be around long. Basically, there is just far too much competition for a restaurant to be mediocre in a big city like New York. This theory can apply to other big cities as well (Chicago would be a good example), but it just doesn't apply in smaller places like Stamford, CT. The one caveat to this theory would be chain restaurants. Your average TGI Friday's or McDonald's in Times Square is going to suck, but it's going to do great business because of tourists who don't know any better and want something familiar to them.

How does this relate to the Grand Central Deli? It's just plain ol' good deli food. The Grand Central Deli, like most New York Delis, is a clean, fast, cooked to order place where you can get almost any type of food that you would like. From sandwiches, to sushi, to Chinese buffet, to salads, to Greek... you name it, they have it. This concept is not unique to New York Delis, however, the execution here is better than most. Instead of having everyone on the same line, they try to parcel the food out by category and even have separate check out registers for corporate accounts. Of particular note is the seating on the second floor that runs the entire length of the building. Must cost a ton in rent, but it is a nice touch that you don't get elsewhere.

For lunch, I had a bacon cheeseburger deluxe and it wasn't half bad. The bacon was a little overcooked, but the fries had that dash of lemon juice that you seem to only get at delis and diners. I would have liked to try more of the international options, but maybe some other time.

The Bottom Line: I didn't get anything fancy and it was only lunch, but this was a good option like most New York Delis. They lose points as the place was so enormous that even after making sense of the line chaos, it was still confusing. Worth a stop by if you happen to be in the area, but otherwise, don't bother.