A Change of Eatery

This ferocious weather has gotten me thinking a lot about comfort food.

We all have a list of dreamy go-to meals that can soften the blow of a bad day, even calm a spell of snow-induced stir crazy. But for some reason, no amount of mashed potatoes or mac & cheese can comfort me quite like breakfast food. This became freshly apparent after suffering a bout of cabin fever following last week’s snowstorm. After being cooped up in the apartment for way too long, my strange and insatiable breakfast cravings led to brunch at Pondhouse Cafe in West Hartford.

Located in Elizabeth Park, Pondhouse Cafe serves a menu of eclectic, creative dishes inspired by using organic & seasonal ingredients. I’ve been stalking Pondhouse’s online menu for a couple months now, and just recently had a free Sunday morning to indulge in the dishes I’d been eyeing. My roommate and I arrived at the cafe (hint- make reservations; we waited 20 minutes) and she (completely starry eyed) instantly described it as a whimsical winter wonderland. True enough though. Pondhouse has such a warm, cozy ambiance and is beautifully decked out for the season.

Roman Omelet

To start, we ordered omelets. I opted for an omelet filled with sliced granny smith apples, brie cheese, and spinach– also served with a side of grilled cornbread and roasted potatoes. The tart apples perfectly complemented the brie, but I could have used some spices to jazz it up a bit. Kim chose the roman omelet; a three egg omelet stuffed with artichoke hearts, roasted red peppers, goat cheese and spinach. Big fat win.

I was a bit bummed to find that, as with many restaurants, the online menu didn’t quite correspond to the brunch menu we were handed upon being seated. That said, I didn’t get my highly anticipated smoky sweet potato and bacon crepes with herb pesto & creme fraiche. But, since all’s well that ends well, I ended up with an edible treasure that nearly made me forget I ever heard the words bacon crepes.

Cherry cheesecake stuffed french toast

To counter my disappointment about the bacon crepes, our server recommended a brand new menu item she had tried earlier that morning. Cheesecake stuffed french toast topped with amaretto soaked cherries and crumbled amaretto cookies. Its first day on the menu. This was truly one of the most magnificent brunch dishes I can remember ever enjoying. It was almost sensual.

I very rarely comment on the service in the restaurants I visit– but I will say that our server, Amanda, was just phenomenal. Kim and I were overly exuberant about our feast and she totally got it– with patience, humor, and good recommendations. Much appreciated.

Scope out the website for Pondhouse Cafe- full brunch, lunch & dinner menus, plus a list of special events.

1555 Asylum Avenue, West Hartford CT

860.231.8823

Just a quick (and exciting) update- Taste of Hartford restaurant week has been extended to the end of the month, so you’ll be able to enjoy one of the year’s best promotions for another full week.

Prix fixe 3-course specials are available for $20.11 at participating restaurants around the city until January 30th.

Plenty of time to make it to at least one!

Visit TasteHartford.com for a list of restaurants & menus.

As of last week, I’ve been blogging at A Change of Eatery for a year. And what a delicious adventure it’s been! Aside from enjoying meals at some of the most extraordinary restaurants in CT, I have met some wonderful fellow foodies & bloggers: Leeanne (Fun With Carbs), Amy (CT Bites), Cindy (Fix Me A Snack) and, of course, Nick (Nick Caito Photo), to name a few. Our power foodie outings have been nothing short of incredible. Can’t wait to see what this year has in store.

Ok, enough waxing sentimental.

To all of you chain-restaurant-addicts in the Hartford area, it’s high time to branch out!

And here’s the perfect opportunity.  It’s time for the city’s much anticipated restaurant week- The Taste of Hartford! This week, twenty Hartford area eateries will be offering special multi-course menus for $20.11. From today until January 23rd, you’ll be able to dine at some of the city’s most popular spots for an amazing fixed price.

You can find a list of participating restaurants and their multi-course menus here. I’ve only been to a handful of these spots so this may be a particularly dangerous week for me.

Enjoy & let me know where you end up!

peanut-ginger wings

I’ve already had it with this season.

Snowpocalypse mayhem, disastrous cabin fever, and all kinds of frosty doom and gloom– in the past few days alone.

Luckily, as most of you know, my appetite rules everything around me. Shallow and simple as it sounds, a happily fed Emily can be distracted from even the iciest case of winter blues. And, since cold weather calls for comfort food, Mulberry Street Pizza remains at the top of my list in the category for cozy Manchester eateries. So we’re back to the tasting table.

Here’s a quick recap of my first visit to Mulberry Street: Adding to an extensive list of appetizers (think meatball sliders), wings, pasta dishes, and specialty sandwiches, the restaurant provides a creative menu of “Blockbuster” pizzas- clever film-inspired pies with mouth-watering toppings and inventive flavor combinations.

"The Wizard of Oz"- White pizza with buffalo chicken, bleu cheese, roasted peppers and melted jack & cheddar cheeses.

For the past few evenings, I’ve had an entertaining comment thread going with Kelly Vass, who authors What I’m Eating, a Philly-based food blog, and tweets under the handle @foodinphilly.

As Kelly is currently finishing her Masters in English Literature and I’m the proud recipient of an English BA myself, combining our love for food and literature seems to come naturally. We’re unabashed book nerds with irrepressible silly sides and a soft spot for the classics. That being said, I can’t help but share the fruits of our inspiration…er, procrastination. It’s a little alarming how quickly these came to mind.

Image from www.nytimes.com, 2007

Here’s a foodie spin on some of our favorite classics:

“Olive with a Twist” (Sorry Dickens)

As Kelly described, A tale of an orphan olive who gets rescued by a naked martini.

“A Farewell to Parm” (Hemingway)

An Italian man becomes lactose intolerant. Tearjerker indeed.

“As I Lay Frying” (Faulkner)

A piece of bacon reflects on his life and then has a long journey to the kitchen table.

Followed by:

• The Sound and the Curry (Faulkner)
• Don Chipotle (de Cervantes)
• The Merchant of Venison (Shakespeare)
• Much Ado About Frosting (Shakespeare)
• Lord of the Pies (Golding)
• To Grill A Mockingbird (Lee)
• War and Peas (Tolstoy)
• Love in the Time of Cauliflower (Garcia Marquez)
• The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ham (Joyce)
• The Ghee Musketeers (Dumas)
• The Old Man and the Brie (Hemingway)
• The Castle of Cilantro (Walpole)
• Plate Expectations (Dickens)
• Banana Karenina (Tolstoy)
• A Tale of Two Foodies (Dickens)
• Tart of Darkness (Conrad)
• The Taming of the Stew (Shakespeare)
• The Sage of Innocence (Wharton)
• A Wrinkle in Thyme (L’Engle)
• Waiting for Merlot (Beckett)

Perhaps the next step is illustration…I’d like to see some of these covers in print.

Chime in with your favorite!

In the heart of downtown Westport, Bobby Q’s Bodacious Barbecue & Grill is one of my favorite eateries in Fairfield County. And, until proven otherwise, it’s my top barbecue spot in Connecticut. As a Norwalk native, I try to stop into the restaurant whenever I’m visiting my hometown, which doesn’t happen nearly as often as I’d like.

Back in November, Nick Caito and I sampled some of Bobby’s pulled pork at the Foxwood Food & Wine Festival, so we’ve had barbecue on the brain ever since. A few weeks ago, Sarah (my sister), Nick, and I embarked on a mission for pulled pork- naturally, this foodventure led us to Bobby Qs for lunch.

Located on Main Street in Westport, the restaurant specializes in pit-smoked barbecue and boasts the largest bourbon selection in the state. It also provides an impressive beer/specialty drink list and has a geat schedule of roof-top music entertainment.

Pulled pork trio, Photo credit- Nick Caito

Nick ordered the Southern sauced pulled pork trio, a medley inspired by the vinegar influenced pulled pork of the south. This succulent platter included three styles of pulled pork slathered in Bobby Q’s signature sauces: classic Carolina pucker sauce, tangy Alabama sauce and South Carolina mustard style sauce. The entire spread was just dreamy.

Qban wrap. Photo credit: Nick Caito

Sarah (the biggest sandwich fanatic I know) opted for the Qban melt– a gorgeous mess of pulled pork, smoked turkey, pickles, swiss cheese, and caramelized onions—smothered in South Carolina mustard sauce and served on sourdough bread.

BBQ ranch wrap. Photo credit: Nick Caito

I find it difficult to stray from my usual order, the barbecue ranch wrap, which has been my favorite dish at Bobby Q’s for years: Tender grilled chicken with lettuce, onion, smoky bacon, tangy barbecue ranch dressing, and crispy sweet potato fries on the side.

Check out the menu and drool over Bobby Q’s sizzlin’ specialties.. (ahem, Baby Back Rack Attack) and list of mouthwatering sides that include homemade potato chips with chipotle bleu cheese dip, housemade apple sauce, sweet & smoky pit beans, and cheesy corn & edamame succotash.

You know the deal- pay them a visit and enjoy some of the tastiest BBQ in Fairfield County.

Bobby Q’s Bodacious BBQ & Grill

42 Main Street, Westport CT

203-454-7800