7/31/09-O'Porto's, Hartford, CT

Hartford Restaurant Week 2009! I was excited to try something new and O'Porto's was recommended highly--we've never been to a Portugese restaurant, so that was another incentive to trying this place. Although the restaurant may not be in the greatest of neighborhoods, it was definitely worth visiting, especially with the $20.09pp price.

For starters, I had the house salad and Tom had the Camarão Alhinho-sautéed Brazilian shrimp in a garlic butter cream sauce--the shrimp were perfectly cooked and the sauce was thick and rich and great to dip the table bread in! For our entree, we shared the Paelha de Galina e Chouriço - (For Two) - Chicken, Chouriço, and Pork Combined with Saffron Rice--first time paelha for the both of us--the rice was perfectly cooked with a sweet, smoky flavor and juicy chunks of chicken, pork and nice slices of chorizo. The portion was huge, we ended up taking leftovers home. For dessert, Tom had the chocolate mousse and I had the Pudim flan-Chef De Sousa’s Family Recipe for Traditional Portuguese Egg custard with caramel sauce--the mousse was perfect and creamy and the flan was ok but not my favorite. Presentation on all the dishes was excellent and service was friendly and very quick! We would most likely return but I wouldn't pay the regular price for the paelha, as we felt it seemed to be a bit high priced.

www.oportohartford.com

7/26/09-Durham Dari-Serv, Durham, CT

Summer is made for ice cream and this place just screams summertime to me! Long lines that move pretty quickly, good quality homemade ice cream and a cow statue out front! Tom had a chocolate milkshake and he said the consistency was just perfect, while I enjoyed their Moose Tracks ice cream on a cone--rich, creamy with just the right amount of fudge tracks and mini peanut butter cups swirled throughout. No doubt that we'll be making a few return visits before the season is over!

No website, located on Main St. in Durham.

7/26/09-Modern Apizza, New Haven, CT

I have a love affair with New Haven pizza--I think it's fantastic. There really is no other pizza that comes close. My only problem is, I cannot decide which pizza place I like better--Modern or Pepe's. We went Sunday night nice and early to beat the dinner rush to get a pie and ohhhh was it good. A nice, simple pepperoni pizza is how we roll--charred perfectly on the bottom, cheesy, grease-dripping-down-your-forearm goodness. Service was quick and friendly and we couldn't have been more satisfied after our dinner.

Tom prefers Pepe's. I prefer Modern. So we rotate each time we get pizza between our two faves!

www.modernapizza.com

7/16/09-Gaetano's Tavern on Main, Wallingford, CT

Stopped here for dinner before heading to Guilford--we've been here once before, but decided to give it another try--I don't think we'll be returning.

We arrived just before 6pm and the place was dead except for a private party in the back room. The restaurant has a strange garden-like decor theme but it gives an overall awkward kind of feel. They do have an outdoor sidewalk patio, which would be a good option on a nice day. For our meals, I ordered a buffalo chicken sandwich (a thin grilled chicken breast dipped in buffalo sauce, with cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato) with sweet potato fries--the roll was unfortunately soggy by the time i got my sandwich but the fries were pretty good. Tom ordered Lillian's chicken--chicken with 2 shrimp, garlic, tomatoes in a sauce over bowtie pasta--he felt like dish was promising but didn't deliver the flavors he expected. Overall, we were pretty disappointed with our dinners. This place might be more appealing if the prices were lower--I felt that the dishes were way overpriced and didn't really seem to reflect the feel of the restaurant. Michael's Trattoria, which is across the street, has comparable prices and a far better atmosphere and food--you are much better off going there for a nice dinner in the center of Wallingford.