1/3/09-The Corner Pug, West Hartford, CT

On our way to the Thomas Hooker Brewery in Bloomfield (which I highly recommend--tons of fun, informational and where else can you go on a Saturday afternoon, spend $5, get all the beer tasting you can handle and get to keep the glass?!) we stopped for lunch at the Corner Pug--very ladi back and chill restaurant with a bar you could definitely meet your friends at and feel totally at home. We decided to give this place a try after seeing a show on the Travel Channel having to do with nachos and there is a place that had Irish Nachos that looked fantastic and then Dan tells us that this place has them too! We definitely wanted to try them, so we did--" Crispy Cottage Fries with Beef Beer and Sausage chili, Cheddar Cheese, Tomatoes, Scallions and Cherry Peppers"--bring some friends to share these with! The chili is very good, with an almost sweet taste and the chips were just loaded with it! Tom then had the Philly Cheeseburger with caramelized onions and cheddar cheese sauce and I had the Pug House Salad-garden greens with tomatoes, red onion, granny smith apples, cucumber, croutons and english blue cheese crumbles tossed in their house dressing. We both needed take home boxes after that lunch! Overall, a nice stop for lunch and a great value.

www.cornerpug.com

12/27/08-Ted's Restaurant, Meriden, CT

After hearing things about this place for so long and seeing the burgers featured on the Travel Channel, I knew this was somewhere I needed to go and experience. FINALLY, we went there today. This place needs to be featured on Diners, Drive-In's and Dives because it is just that--a tiny little place with a great neighborhood crowd. While standing in the doorway waiting for a table, we were making small talk with the people around us also waiting and a man was saying how he lives out of town now, but when he drives through, he always stops to get his fix and bring some home. I knew then I was in for something good! Sat down after about 15 min and Tom ordered us lunch--a steamed cheeseburger for each of us and home fries to share. A few minutes later, this little piece of heaven arrived--it has got to be the messiest burger I have ever eaten, but oh man was it good--a huge hunk of cheese covered the burger with lettuce and mayo for me and it was soon devoured. My advice? Skip the home fries and order a second burger--you'll have wished you did. For the price ($4.25) you have nothing to lose trying this burger.

www.steamedcheeseburger.com

12/14/08-P.F. Chang's, West Hartford, CT

Needed to go to Westfarms for a few things this afternoon so Tom and I decided we would also grab lunch at the new P.F. Chang's to see what all the commotion is about this place. We put our name in while we shopped (45-1hr wait) and we did end up waiting all of that. After we were seated our waiter came over with some dipping sauces (but nothing to dip with? I'm a bit confused on that). He put together their signature sauce--hot mustard, soy sauce and red pepper sauce all into the soy sauce cup and mixed it together--definitely had a bit of a kick to it, but interesting taste. For our lunches, we both decided to try something different--we both ordered white rice with our entrees, Tom had the Mongolian Beef-"quickly cooked beef with scallions and garlic"--I had the Moo Shu Pork-"A chinese classic served with hoisin sauce and thin pancakes." Everything was great. Tom's entree had a sweet taste to it and was cooked perfectly and mine had a ton of mixed asian vegetables that gave it a bit of a crunch, but I would have liked a bit more pork in the dish. Overall, good experience--service was prompt, food was great and a nice, modern but casual atmosphere. Would defintely come here again, but would make reservations next time.

www.pfchangs.com

12/5/08-Angelico's Lake House, East Hampton, CT

With a gift certificate in hand, off we went to Angelico's Lake House. Right on Lake Pocotopaug in East Hampton, I can understand the draw of this restaurant--I bet it is beautiful in the summertime. We started with the asian chicken tenders tossed in an orange sesame glaze--very good. Warm crusty bread was brought out with a red pepper/garlic infused olive oil for dipping-nice and spicy. For our dinners, we both started with caesar salads with just the right amount of dressing. My entree was the Mesquite Rubbed Pork Chop--"Double bone pork chop, fire grilled with garlic mashed potatoes, char-grilled pineapple & topped with a smokey BBQ glaze"--Although I liked the flavor of the pork itself, I didn't quite get the BBQ sauce on top and I really think that more of a teryaki based sauce would have worked better, especially since it is served with pineapple. Tom had the NY Strip Steak--"A well-marbled steak grilled to perfection, served with garlic mashed potatoes & fresh vegetable medley"--definitely not up to par with the strip steaks we've had, it was very tough to cut and the flavor was just not there.

For the prices, I was pretty disappointed with how dinner turned out. I'd be willing to give the restaurant another try--maybe in the summertime for lunch, so I could enjoy the view and still hang on to my wallet.

www.angelicoslakehouse.com