8/9/08-Joey Garlic's, Farmington, CT

Been hearing a lot of great things about this place, so decided to head out to Farmington after kayaking today for dinner. In all honesty, not impressed. The place was pretty busy, a good steady flow of people--so much so that there was a kid in the parking lot directing traffic! Although mostly a pizzeria, Tom and I were intrigued by the specials for the evening so we decided to forgo pizza and instead, we started with the garlicky brick bread (the highlight of our dinner--cheesy good garlic bread), followed by the shrimp scampi for Tom and the Veal Parmigiana for me. Sadly, neither of us were that thrilled by our entree choices, the marinara sauce is incredibly bland. The pizzas that this place turns out is most likely a better vehicle for the marinara sauce, def not for pasta dishes. The Oreo milkshake I had with dinner was good, though--a bunch of different flavors, plus old-fashioned sodas. I think if we decide to come back, we'll definitely try the pizza since thats what we've heard they do best. Just an off night for us? Maybe.

No website, but it's located on Rt. 6 near the Farmington/Bristol line.

8/8/08-La Casona, Hartford, CT

It's Taste of Hartford week, so Kirstin and I decided to take advantage of the special pricing--$20.08 per person got us an appetizer, entree and dessert. We put the names of the restaurants in the proverbial hat and pulled La Casona. Located in the south end of Hartford, the neighborhood can feel a bit sketchy--can't say that I would have picked this restaurant myself--but when we walked in, there was a spanish band playing and a good vibe to the place. We were seated and the special menu was placed before us--Kirstin had the Ensalada de Espinacias for the appetizer, Pollo Tropical for the entree and Peach flavored caramel flan for dessert--I had Empenadas Colombianas for the appetizer, Churrasco Argentino for the entree and Chocolate torte for dessert. All of that for only $20.08? What a deal.

www.casonarestaurant.com

8/2/08-Mo's Irish Pub, Noblesville, IN

For those who are wondering, Noblesville, Indiana is just outside of downtown Indianapolis--a lovely suburb with lots of cornfields (Dorothy, we are definitely NOT in Connecticut anymore!) Just a few minutes from the house is a shopping development similar to Evergreen Walk in South Windsor, and here is where Melissa and AJ's current favorite restaurant is. Cute Irish pub with a campy TGI Friday's decor appeal, the menu is not authentic Irish, but the choices are still good. We started with a basket of the garlic cheese fries--not a big fan of the cheese sauce, but decent flavor. AJ had the Crispy Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, Melissa had the Triple Grilled Cheese sandwich with a side salad and I had the Killarney Club Sandwich. Plates were polished, so it must have all been good! Downside? Indiana still allows smoking in bars, so that could become a big turn-off if seated in that area (which we were not, thankfully.) Still, I think I liked the irish pub we went to last time in downtown Indianapolis (whatsthenameagain?)

www.mosirishpub.com

8/1/08-Qdoba Mexican Grill, Noblesville, IN

OK, for those of you that I work with.....YES.....I called out sick for 2 days and flew to Indiana. Don't squeal on me :) At any rate, late Friday night when my plane touched down, I was pretty hungry, so Melissa, AJ and my new nephew Jackson took me to this chain favorite (we don't have these in CT). I had salsa and chips (the salsa is made from tomatillos, which I was so not thrilled with--I'll stick with tomato salsa, thank you!) and 3 hard tacos--one grilled chicken, one ground sirloin and one shredded pork--all were good, my fav being the chicken. Melissa had a taco salad, which looked great and AJ had the chips and salsa with me along with 3 ground sirloin tacos. For what you get, good prices. Although I am not the biggest fan of chain restaurants, in a pinch, this was an appropriate choice. Plus, we all know how I love my mexican!

www.qdoba.com