Update

Obviously, I haven't written for awhile. Some notes:

• Ate at Kitchen Zinc in New Haven. Pizza was really good. A great room, but got crowded. The bar is really the room and people stand and crowd the tables. Staff was nice and moved us to a booth. Pretty loud. They went next door to Zinc for a chocolate dessert we wanted. Appreciated that.
• Still waiting for a really comfortable restaurant in Southbury where you can just eat and hang out. Could a funky spot survive here?

Zinc

Last night we had a fabulous meal at Zinc in New Haven. A beautiful place (though a bit dark) with great service. We were surprised it wasn't full on a Saturday night, but that might be an issue with the restaurant economy.

We had the pork dumplings to start which was a big hit. They sit in a peanut sauce and are very light and just the right size. Chicken and steak were for the main meals. The steak came with a great sweet potato mash that had a good amount of spicy in it.

The desserts were good as well. The cheesecake had a lemon cream with it that was just about perfect.

Great Deal

You really can't beat buying pizza dough from your local pizzeria.  We spent $1.50 for a large pizza dough at Julio's.  It tasted great, you know the ingredients, and it supports local business.  

We hope to go to the farmers market in New Haven tomorrow.

Maggie McFly's

Sunday night we headed over to Maggie McFly's in Middlebury. Readers of this blog will notice that we have had repeated visits to Maggies in Southbury, all uninspired.

Maggies in Middlebury is a nice place. The service is much smoother and friendlier than Southbury. But...the food really is pretty average to poor. I had the Blackened Chicken Sandwich. it was almost inedible as it was soooo salty. The "pizza" was bland and mushy. The quesadilla had a fairly odd taste and worse texture. All in all---why did we go there again?

One highlight was the ice cream dessert. Tasty, perfect size. This place caters to families and the bar crowd. If they upped their food game just a bit it would be a regular stop for us.

Quick Hits

1. We had a good pizza at Southford Pizza.  Semi-deep dish pizza.  This is mainly a take-out place.

2. The kids can't get enough of Senor Panchos when the musicians play.  I wish more restaurants would have live music.

3. Pizza at DiPalmas seems to continue to be the family favorite.

Inn at Newtown

Last night we had an excellent meal at the Inn at Newtown.  The ambience of this place is great.  I'm not sure if people actually stay here, but it feels like an Inn or a home.  They have comfortable chairs in the lobby where families were sitting and chatting, the floors squeek and bow like an old house and the lighting is set up like a home.

We had excellent service!  Responsive, great with our kids, and went the extra mile.  That makes all the difference.

We started with the Kobe Burger Sliders.  They come in a set of two which we shared.  Excellent start.  I'd love to see perhaps a special ketchup the chef makes as an option.  

I had the Cubano sandwich.  This sandwich had a unique twist with the sauce they used.  The sandwich was exceptional.  I also tasted the macaroni and cheese my daughter got which was very creamy and rich.  It wasn't baked, just pasta with the cheese sauce.

The highlight of the meal was the chocolate cake which we shared.  No way we could have eaten a whole slice our selves it was so rich.  I was told the cakes are not made in-house.  They certainly picked the right vendor.

Great spot.

The Lodge

We returned to The Lodge in Southbury last night.  This is always a decent meal.  I had the special which was Chicken Pot Pie soup.  The puff pastry topping and creamy soup was excellent.  The chicken sandwich that followed was adequate at best.  The sandwiches are typical bar food.  Decent fries, good onion curly things.  We also had a roast beef sandwich (a bit rare) and a quesadilla.

The service is friendly and it is pretty kid friendly.  And they have a fancy website!