Royal Fish and Chips- Bethel, CT

In a word, brilliant. In five words, bloody proper fish and chips. Seriously, fish and chips is one of my five favorite foods and I've eaten them all over, including the UK and Ireland, and these may just be the best I've had. 

The two large pieces of noble cod were fresh and were battered immediately prior to their final swim in oil giving them a lovely golden, and crispy, exterior with a soft and perfectly cooked interior. The chips, we'd call them steak fries, were also perfectly cooked and plentiful. The tartar sauce was fine and there was malt vinegar on the table. The only thing that would have improved them would have been a pint of Guinness, but they don't serve alcohol. 

Teresa ordered a spicy chicken shish kabob with rice and salad and she was quite happy with it. For eight bucks it was a rather large portion.

They also have gyros, another of my five favorite foods, but with the fish and chips being as good as they are I may never get to try them.

The restaurant is unassuming and you might miss it if you're not careful, and that would be a shame. The food was amazing, the service was friendly and helpful, the ambiance was simple but nice, the prices were reasonable (seventeen bucks total). We will be headed back and I'd recommend you try them sometime soon and see what I mean.

Oh, and since I listed two of my favorite foods you may be curious about the other three. Burgers, Ruebens, and shrimp and grits complete the list.  

Putnam House- Bethel, Connecticut

Sirloin Burger

The Putnam House in Bethel Connecticut is one of those neat colonial American restaurants, the building dates back to 1852 and was once a hotel near the train station. It reminds me of some other places we've been before in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina. 

I decided to go with the sirloin burger at $9.25 (add .50 each for the bacon and gorgonzola cheese). I ordered it medium and it came out a perfect medium with plenty of cheese and bacon. It was quite good indeed. Teresa had the cheddar sliders at the $9.75 and they were good, but a tad undercooked for her. She didn't specify a doneness, one usually assumes sliders will be overdone, so it wasn't the restaurant's fault the they were a perfect medium. The fries that came with both were hot, fresh, and tasty. 

Cheddar Sliders

Overall, good food at reasonable prices, warm, nostalgic ambiance and good service.

Kibberia Middle Easter Restaurant and Cafe, Danbury, CT

We were headed to Danbury for some shopping and I decided to do a bit of research before going to find someplace different to eat. I wanted Middle Eastern, there is a large community of Middle Eastern people in the area, and I came across Kibberia so we decided to give it a try. I am glad we did.

The restaurant is in a mall, the same one with The Panda House, and what you do is order at the counter, pay, and take a table. They bring the food to you. We were looking at the menu and there were too many things to choose from. Teresa decided on the Lentil and Cabbage Salad, shown above, for $6.99. It reminded me of a Middle easter taco salad, minus the meat. It was quite flavorful and fresh tasting. The portion was so big some of it came home with us. 

I ordered the Kafta Pocket Combo shown above. Kafta is a slightly spicy beef and lamb patty and it was served in a pita with lettuce, tomato and a nice sauce. It came with a side of tabouleh, hummus and a small pita for $8.79. It was very good, very filling and very fresh tasting.

Overall, excellent food at good prices. Friendly people and a nice ambiance. We'll definitely be heading back for more. Oh, it is  very friendly for all of my vegetarian friends. 

Panda House, Danbury CT.

We tried The Panda House in Danbury a few years ago and found it to be good, but not stellar enough to have gone back right away. Today we were debating where to eat and decided to give them another try. We were there at half past four on a Saturday, so they weren't crowded, but they started to fill up as we ate.

     

I'd forgotten that they were a Japanese and Chinese restaurant so I concentrated on the Japanese part of the menu and I ordered the sushi appetizer at $8.95 and there were four nice pieces on the plate; tuna, salmon, shrimp and yellowtail. It took a while to get to the table, and I saw the sushi chef working away, so it must have been fresh. My salad (lettuce with a sort of spicy russian-like dressing) and the miso soup came before the sushi. The miso soup had seaweed, tofu and I think a fish base to it, too much of it actually, and it wasn't that good, and it was a bit smelly. The sushi was tasty though. 

Teresa got the Moo Shu Pork at $9.50 and I ordered the Shrimp Tempura at $17.95, which came with the salad and soup mentioned above. Yes, the prices are a bit high. I tasted the Moo Shu Pork and it was good, as was my tempura. The shrimp tasted fresh and there were sweet potatoes, beans, an onion ring and a carrot in the mix as well. The batter was right and they were fried just right. 

My overall impression is that the food is good, for the most part, the service was okay and the prices are a bit high. Will we go back? Yeah, but we won't be rushing. They have a website for more information.