Bites from the Road

Pillsbury Bake-Off Now Accepting Entries

The Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest is now open, calling home cooks to compete for the $1 million Grand Prize. The finals will be November 3, 2014, at the Omni Nashville Hotel in Nashville, Tenn. What’s new? For the first time, America’s vote will be combined with the judges’ decisions to determine the Grand Prize Winner. Additionally, Pillsbury expanded the ingredient list to include  a Gluten Free Award. The Bake-Off now features four recipe categories with separate two entry periods. The first entry period includes the Simply Sweet Treats and Savory Snacks & Sides categories and is open for entries from now until March 27 (11:59 a.m. CDT), 2014. The second contest [...]

By |2017-09-01T14:54:31-04:00March 9th, 2014|USA, xyz misc|0 Comments

Las Vegas Restaurant Week March 2014

Las Vegas Restaurant Week runs Friday, March 7 through Friday, March 14, 2014, featuring a variety of restaurants and providing menus for breakfast, lunch or dinner at a selected price for each restaurant. For additional information or list of participating restaurants, click here.

By |2017-08-31T16:19:14-04:00March 5th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

The Wharf-Madison Beach Hotel, Revisit, Madison, CT

During my previous visit to the Wharf-Madison Beach Hotel, I sat on the deck enjoying the summer breeze off the sound. This time  it was in winter and  we cozily dined in front of a roaring fire, sipping a French Sauvignon Blanc — Henri Bourgeois Sancerre "Cuvée Les Bonnes Bouches" 2012 Loire ($45). What a way to spend an afternoon! To me a cup of soup was the perfect start on the cold winter's day. Their  hearty black bean and chorizo soup in a light broth certainly hit the spot.  My dining companion chose oysters ($3 each) and shrimp  ($4 each) from the raw bar, served on ice with both [...]

By |2017-08-31T15:40:19-04:00March 5th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

Saray Turkish Restaurant, West Haven, CT

After a couple years of asking me to join my friend Ruby at her favorite Turkish restaurant in West Haven, I finally made a date to go to Saray Turkish Restaurant, and was glad I did.  Everything, made on premise, is delicious. We started with a platter of mixed appetizers (small $8.95; large $16.00)that included hummus (chickpeas mashed into a paste with lemon and flavored with Turkish tahini), haydari (thick yogurt with garlic and dill), antep ezme (onion, red & green peppers, tomatoes and garlic), eggplant salad and eggplant soslu  (eggplant, sautéed fresh tomatoes, peppers and garlic) and warm bread. Plus their coban salad  — Çoban salatası — ($7.95) the [...]

By |2017-08-31T15:40:19-04:00March 4th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

Amanda’s, Hoboken, NJ

"Why Hoboken?" I was asked, when I told friends I was heading to brunch there. I had purchased an ornament from the "giving" tree at the Les Dames d'Escoffier New York (LDNY) holiday party to raise money for our scholarships, and I received a gift certificate to Amanda's in Hoboken.  Les Dames d'Escoffier is an international organization of leading women in the food, fine beverage and hospitality industries, whose mission is education, advocacy and philanthropy. Each year LDNY awards scholarships to women enrolled in culinary schools in the New York area. A friend who lives in NJ said she'd meet me for brunch at the elegantly restored brownstone on Washington [...]

By |2017-08-31T16:19:14-04:00March 3rd, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

Sonoma County (CA) Restaurant Week March 2014

Sonoma County Restaurant Week Monday, March 10 through Sunday, March 16, 2014 featuring a variety of participating restaurants offering three-course dinner menus at $19, $29 or $39.  For additional information or a listing of participating restaurants, click here.

By |2017-09-01T14:54:53-04:00March 1st, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

Orange County (CA) Restaurant Week February-March 2014

Orange County Restaurant Week runs Sunday, February 23 through Saturday, March 1, 2014, featuring over 100 restaurants and offering lunch menus for $10, $15 or $20 and dinner menus for $20, $30 or $40.  For additional information, click here.

By |2017-08-31T16:19:15-04:00February 20th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

August Restaurant, Opening on Edwards Street, New Haven

August Restaurant, named after owner Andrew Hotis's son — will open in March on Edwards Street, New Haven. Andrew (Heirloom restaurant at The Study at Yale) and his wife Michelle (Per Se, NYC), both most recently worked at the New Haven Lawn Club. According to Andrew, August will be an intimate and social neighborhood place with only bar height communal seating, with simple food prepared behind the bar. The menu menu will feature east coast oysters, house made pickles, deviled eggs, panini, salads, seasonal specialties and a few desserts. Libations include beer and wine, house made sodas, house-roasted coffee and loose leaf teas.  They plan a weekly  "Afternoon Tea" with [...]

By |2017-09-01T14:55:05-04:00February 15th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

briq, New Haven, Revisited

I stopped back in at briq on Chapel, on the way to Bow Tie cinemas to see Dallas Buyers Club — which reminded me of Philadelphia where the stars (Mathew McConaughey and Tom Hanks) losing almost 40 pounds to play their characters with AIDS (Ron Woodroof and Andrew Beckett, respectively). Great performances by Mathew McConaughey and Jared Leto! My friend Diane had a Living Social coupon she had purchased for briq and wanted to use it. I was hesitant, since my last visit was less than impressive. I'm glad I did, as most everything I had was good, especially the chicken.  We started with the small, but flavorful shrimp in [...]

By |2017-08-31T15:40:19-04:00February 11th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

Mambo Cocina Latina, New Haven

I stopped in for lunch at the newly opened Mambo Cocina Latina, on State Street in New Haven — a collaboration of Chef Alex Morales with the owners of Goodfellas and Bin 100. I inadvertently was handed the dinner menu and had decided on the grilled octopus. Ted, our waiter, graciously agreed to see if the kitchen would prepare that for me. I was go glad they did and recommend it. Their tender octopus ($15) comes served a top a chilled fingerling potato and roasted pepper salad all drizzled with aioli (garlic mayo). We also sampled their fish tacos ($13), with tempura fish over avocado, lettuce pico de gallo and [...]

By |2017-08-31T15:40:19-04:00January 19th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|1 Comment

San Diego (CA) Restaurant Week January 2014

San Diego Restaurant Week runs Sunday, January 19 through Friday, January 24, 2014, featuring over 180 participating restaurants and offering two-course lunches for $10, $15 or $20 and three-course dinners for $25, $35 or $45. For additional information, click here.

By |2017-08-31T16:19:16-04:00January 18th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments

Dine Out Vancouver (Canada) Festival January to February 2014

Dine Out Vancouver Festival runs through Friday, January 17 to Sunday, February 2, 2014, featuring hundreds of restaurants and offering three or more course dinners at $18, $28 or $38.  For additional information or a listing of participating restaurants, click here.

By |2017-10-24T07:55:56-04:00January 16th, 2014|World Restaurants, World Travel|0 Comments

Alexandria (VA) Restaurant Week January 2014

Alexandria Restaurant Week runs Friday, January 17 through Sunday, January 26, 2014, featuring 50 participating restaurants and offering dinner for two or three-course prix fixe menus for $35.  For additional information, click here.

By |2017-08-31T16:19:16-04:00January 15th, 2014|USA Restaurants, xyz misc|0 Comments
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