A Change of Eatery

Inspired by a Groupon offer that I didn’t snatch in time, I still made plans for the BYOB dinner at The Spicy Green Bean Deli & Catering in Glastonbury after shrugging off the missed deal. On Friday evening, my friend Nick and I picked up a few beers at Whole Foods, convinced Judy to join us (!!), and sat down to dinner after killing time waiting for a table to open. Just a hint- I’d make reservations if possible, it’s a small place.

The Spicy Green Bean had been around since 1998 (originally in Wethersfield) and serves a creative menu of seasonally changing selections (dubbed their “Kooky Konkoctions”), sandwiches, salads, and a weekend breakfast list. In terms of sandwiches, Nick would probably disown me if I didn’t mention “The Gobbler”, his usual order: a sandwich stuffed with roasted turkey, herb stuffing, cranberry sauce and mayo ($8.95). Minus the mayo, it sounds just dreamy.

Here’s what we ended up with (some nice iphone shots for you):

Turkey Lurky

Nick opted for the corn chowder and the Turkey Lurky, filled with oven roasted turkey on grilled sourdough with melted provolone, cheddar, crispy bacon, baby spinach, and Thousand Island dressing. The dressing freaks me out but I tried the sandwich like a good sport and loved it.

Shepherd's Pie Chowder

I started with a bowl of the savory Shepherd’s Pie chowder– comfort food at its finest and exactly what I needed (with beef, potato, peas, cheese, corn, and all the usual suspects). Off the dinner menu, I was already too full for one of the entrees, so I chose the roasted butternut squash, cranberry, and goat cheese wontons, which were served with a lovely soy dipping sauce.

The BYOB dinner menu changes every week, but I’ll summarize what you missed on Friday: homemade ricotta gnocchi, lobster mac & cheese, carne du jur (perfectly seared beef finished with a mushroom mustard wine sauce), fish tacos, the aforementioned wontons and more…Stay tuned for next week’s list.

The dinner takes place every Thursday, Friday, and Saturday from 5-9. No corkage fee ever. Lunch is available every day, and breakfast is only served on the weekends.

225 Hebron Avenue

Glastonbury, CT  06033

Hours and menu are available on the website at http://www.spicygreenbean.com/

I’m an unreliable, inconsistent (and apologetic if you can’t tell) blogger these days, which is a shame because I have many lovely food adventures to catch you up on. In my defense, I’ve just been the busiest of bees, but I’ve been swamped with all sorts of awesome things.

Anyway…recently, after telling a friend that I was planning to make bacon ice cream, she calmly told me that the weird flavor thing is fine– I’m allowed to have a quarter life crisis.

Is that what this is?? Probably not. It’s nothing new. I’ve been combining unlikely flavors for as long as I can remember. Perogies & blue cheese dressing. Cheeze-its & honey. Don’t knock till you try.

I think I’ll take advantage of turning 25 this week by using it as an excuse for flavor combo projects that 90% of people would gag over. I don’t think that counts as a quarter life crisis, but I’ll take it. Rather than have an emotional breakdown or throw a fit about professional worries and “The Future”, I think I’ll just do more quirky things and get away with them by pretending they’re a byproduct of some elusive crisis mode.

This season, I’m really excited about ice cream. Perhaps it’s a denial of the impending cold weather, or just a wonderful rediscovery of the ice cream maker in my apartment, but I’m all about funky flavors these days.

A few nights ago, I made a delicious coffee-brownie ice cream, adapted from Group Recipes, for the folks out there with normal, predictable palates…but that was a one time deal.

Here’s the list:

• Bacon-maple ice cream (idea stolen from Burton’s Grill)
• Cilantro-coconut ice cream with crushed cashews and lime
• Raspberry-chipotle ice cream
• Guinness ice cream with fudge
• Honey goat cheese ice cream
• Ginger plum ice cream
• Mexican chile & dark chocolate ice cream

When I was googling bacon ice cream recipes, I came across Ice Cream Fellow, which is a ridiculously amazing blog source for inspiration. Although I just saw a recipe link for coleslaw sorbet, which is a bit much, even for me.

I’ll keep you posted on my progress…

I’ve been craving tzatziki dip since 7 AM and haven’t been able to shake it all day. Figured it’s a sign to catch up on blogging.

Here’s the thing: I don’t know much about Greek food aside from knowing that I’ve loved everything I’ve ever eaten. Back in high school, I discovered tzatziki dip at Greek diners (thanks, Norwalk) and stayed loyal to the order for years. It was hard to branch out beyond a platter of warm pita wedges scattered with kalamata olives and a dish of cool, creamy, yogurty, cucumbery tzatziki. Why would you??

Tzatziki dip with pita

Shrimp Santorini

But I’m glad I’ve expanded my horizons since then. Naturally, I was excited when Leeanne (Fun With Carbs) suggested an outing at Cavos Tavern in Newington– so we met up (Nick Caito too, of course) for a Greek style foodie gathering. This was a while ago but today’s fierce cravings have forced me to relive and recount.

Leeanne knows her wine so I know to take her suggestions. We ended up with a bottle of Domaine Sigalas Assyrtiko (dry and amazing) to accompany our impressive spread of dishes. For appetizers, we shared saganaki (pan fried Greek cheese) tzatziki dip (we’ve talked about this…), a plate of fried calamari, and shrimp santorini with pita (broiled shrimp with roasted tomato and garlic). All were SO tasty.

Mixed grill plate

In terms of entrees, Leeanne and I both opted for the gyro pitas (a classic, yes) and Nick ordered a mixed grill plate with pork & chicken souvlaki, gyro, lamb chops, shrimp, fries, pita, and who knows what else.

The menu offers an extensive selection of Greek plates (which all sound unimaginably delicious) as well as pizza, grinders, calzones, and so many other great options. See for yourself: http://cavostavern.com/our_menu.php

All in all, a great experience followed by a wonderfully content food coma. Just wished I had room for baklava. Next time?

Cavos Tavern & Pizzeria

2414 Berlin Turnpike

Newington CT, 06111

Tomorrow marks the start of Connecticut Restaurant Week!

Beginning on Monday, October 4, through Saturday, October 10,the Connecticut Restaurant Association and Sysco Connecticut will be sponsoring the third Annual CT Restaurant Week.  This year the Association is teaming up with the Governor’s 375^th Commission to celebrate Connecticut’s 375th Anniversary.

There are more than 75 restaurants participating, offering various meals and deals for $20.10, $3.75 appetizers or dinners for $37.50.

Check out the list of restaurants here:

http://www.connecticutrestaurantweek.com/