2/1/09-Neil's Donuts & Bakeshop, Wallingford, CT

We don't do this very often, but we gave into our sweet spot this morning--donuts from Neil's. This place is a little piece of heaven wrapped up in chocolate sprinkles. On any given day, he has about 30 different kinds, from old-fashioned cake donuts to cream and fruit filled (they actually make an incision and spread the filling inside) to my favorite--chocolate sprinkled. Now that I live near a place like this, I'll never get Dunkin Donuts again. They also have great breakfast sandwiches and bakery items (everything we've had is soooo good!).

No website--on Rt. 150 in the Yalesville section of Wallingford.

1/31/09-The Russell, Hartford, CT

Met here with a group of friends for my old roomate Lisette sisters birthday party. Our lovely hostess Lisette planned a menu for everyone to enjoy! We all started with The Russell salad--mixed baby greens, grilled pineapple, plum tomatoes, pink grapefruit and croutons tossed in a tropical fruit vinaigrette--the dressing was amazing! We then all dove into Coconut Shrimp served with an orange marmalade sauce and Jerk Chicken Wings served with a pineapple mango dip. For dessert, we were brough slices of chocolate cake and strawberry cheesecake. For drinks, I had the Caribbean Romance (jamaican rum, amaretto, pineapple/cranberry/orange juices) and I also had their Mango Mojito--both very good. What a wonderful party! Very cozy space with a dj spinning the best throwback R&B songs around. I would love to come back here another time! Thank you Lisette for a wonderful evening!

www.therussellct.com

The Links are Fixed!

I didn't realize I coded all the links to the restaurants incorrectly, but they are working now! Enjoy!

1/24/09-Kumo Japanese Restaurant, Hamden, CT

My parents mentioned that they haven't been out to dinner with us in a while, so they told us to pick a place and off we would go. While doing a little investigating, I found that they have never been to a hibachi so we thought it would be fun to take them to Kumo. We had been there previously, so we knew what to expect. This is one place that is pretty busy! Upon arrival, the waiter took our orders (Mom had salmon and chicken, Dad had steak, Tom had steak and shrimp and I had steak and chicken) and we were brought clear soup and a small salad with ginger dressing to start. After, our chef arrived and the "show" began. He was very entertaining, from doing the japanese egg roll to the volcano of onions and attempting to throw veggies in our mouths ( I did not catch one!) and then shots of saki for all of us (go mom and dad! I didn't expect them to do the saki!) Dinner was done shortly thereafter and it was good. I think my parents had a good time and we did, as always.

www.kumojapaneserestaurant.com