Country Griddle, Flemington, NJ

This is another place we've driven past countless times and wondered what it was like. The parking lot is always full, and there are some cheap specials listed outside. Well, today we decided to stop and try it. It's an older restaurant, styled after the homestyle family dining concept of the 70's and it's probably been around that long.

We looked over the menu and they had some nice specials. What caught my eye were two things; Country Fried Steak and eggs, and French Toast with eggs, bacon and sausage. The latter won out and we both ordered it. The portion was huge. Two filling meals for $16.00, plus tip.

They are located on Rt 202, just south of the traffic circle (or roundabout as my GPS calls it) in Flemington, NJ. Give them a try.

le Steak frites, Montreal

We wandered around Old Montreal a few times trying to decide what to eat when we saw le Steak frites on Rue Saint Paul. It looked interesting and I knew that frites means fries, and that steak means steak, so we stopped in.

I got the steak frites at $18.00 (Canadian) which was a nice cut of shoulder meat cooked medium rare, just as I asked, with green beans, a small salad, and fries. They give you a couple of good rolls too. Very good rolls. I also ordered escargot for an appetizer, good as well. Teresa just had French Onion Soup and some green beans, but I did get her to try a snail.

It is a BYOB restaurant, but they have soft drinks available. I'm a big fan of tap water myself. Food was good, service good, overall a nice experience. They have a website where they show you what some of the entrees look like.

Creme de la Creme Cafe, Montreal

Montreal is a very European city, and is probably as close to being in France as one can get without leaving the continent, this continent that is. The city is small and easy to get around in, and full of places to eat. Many of them are excellent and full of old world charm. Situated at 21 Rue De La Commune is a neat example of this called Creme de La Creme Cafe.

At first glance one sees a stone building with outdoor table service. We stopped to look at the menu and it was interesting, but we were still shopping for lunch and started moving on. What changed my mind was when I saw the waitress deliver two delightful looking melted sandwiches to a table. I got as close as I could to get a better look, and smell, without being blatantly rude of course, and decided this was our place. We decided to eat inside as the sky was getting dark and threatening.

Inside was stone and wood with a long bar. On entering we heard French music playing, a female vocalist. We chose a table near the door so that we could watch the passersby, and the impending storm. Our waitress came over and said, "Bonjour!" When we replied "Hello," she immediately switched to English with a lovely accent, more French than Canadian, and presented us with menus. We asked for ice water and I got a local micro-brewed stout. I forget the name, but that's probably because the beer was unremarkable.

What was remarkable was the food. I got baked pepperoni, ham and cheese with a spicy mustard. I came with a salad. Teresa had an open faced turkey melt with salad and coffee. The bread tasted fresh, as did the rest of the ingredients. Also remarkable was the service. Very polite, quick, and amenable. Très agréable, as the French say. Our waitress even saw me reading the local newspaper, I was looking at the horoscopes, and she asked if I wanted her to read and translate them for me.

It turned out to be a stroke of genius, or more like a stroke of pure dumb luck that we chose Creme De La Creme as it started to pour the minute we sat down and continued until we finished our meal. This did give a nice cool breeze and even more entertainment as we watched the pedestrians running down the street.

Good food, good service, and tons of atmosphere. Like most European restaurants, there is more than meets the eye. There is an upstairs as well which seats many more. If you are ever in Montreal, stop by.

Alaska Pete's Road House Grill, Stroudsburgh, PA

We've passed by Alaska Pete's a few times when we travelled through the Poconos to avoid interstates on holiday weekends and it looked interesting, but the timing was never right to eat. This time we'd spent two hours in traffic and were hungry so I pulled in. Inside it's a bit like Northern Exposure meets Outback. It is large, and they have a large parking lot so I assume they must get busy here at times, but it was fairly empty when we stopped in.

The menu is typical roadhouse with the usual steaks and sandwiches, plus a couple of burgers. I was a bit burgered out so I decided to try the Alaska Pete's Cheesesteak at $9.49 and Teresa had the Chicken Cheesesteak for the same price. They turned out to be good choices. The rolls seemed fresh-baked and the insides were flavorful. The fries were hot and crispy too.

We'll stop by again. Check out their website for more info.

Lancaster Brewing Company, Lancaster, PA

Pennsylvania is full of brewpubs, one better than the other. One nice find is Lancaster Brewing Company in Lancaster. It sits in an old building on North Plum Street, a few minutes away from the shopping outlets, and they kept the rustic charm. Lots of wood and beams with the brewing kettles exposed.

It took a few minutes to look through the menu, it isn't huge but I like a limited menu sometimes because when a restaurant limits the menu, they do things right. Brian said this and I agree with him. I decided on the Angus Burger, pictured above, with bacon, cheddar cheese and fries. A plate of deliciousness for nine bucks. Teresa had the Brewer's Chicken at eight bucks, Nicole had the Black Bean Burger at eight bucks and Brian had the Turkey Dagwood for eight-fifty, with a delicious bowl of white chile for five bucks. All told, four meals and four beers for under sixty bucks plus tip. Good bargain for good food.

My favorite beer is the Milk Stout, it has a good flavor without being heavy, a good summer stout. Pictured with the burger is the Hop Hog IPA, a nice hoppy IPA. I had one of each. Ashley did a nice job waiting on us, and apologized profusely that the chile came out with the meal, instead of before and said they'd take it off if we didn't want it. That was fine with us though as the chile was worth waiting for.

Overall, a great dining experience and I recommend them. Check out their website for more info and stop by to eat if you happen to be in Lancaster.

Guido's Pizza, Walden, NY

Walden has a surplus of hair dressers, Chinese restaurants and pizzerias. At latest count there are five pizzerias in a village of under seven-thousand people, and at least a dozen more in a five-mile radius. There were a couple of others but they saw fit to close up. That said, the quality ranges from really good to something that the box it came in tastes better than. Trust me, I've tried them all.

My current favorite is Guido's Pizza located at 35 East Main Street, in the mini-mall. This pizza parlor has been a favorite for years under different names too. Lisa's Pizza (owned by Lisa Cerone) gave way to Cosenza's Pizza (run by Brian), then came Guido's. Actually it started as a Grand Union supermarket when I was a kid.

The pizza is good, very good, and it is consistently so. Some places are a crap shoot and you never know what it's going to be like when you get it. Not so with Guido's. It's always good. They make the standard pie, Margarita pie, Sicilian, and a few more. The sandwiches, paninis, calzones, wraps and strombolis are also excellent. Please note the picture of the small stromboli I had for dinner tonight. Stuffed with ham, pepperoni and sausage for only $5.95. They make gyros too, and I hear they are good too.

The people are nice too, and they hire a lot of the kids from the high school where I teach. From what I've heard, they treat them well too.

No website here, but you can call them at (845) 778-5878 to order. Stop in and try them. You won't be sorry.

Romano's Macaroni Grill, Ramsey, NJ

Years ago we discovered Romano's when we were returning from someplace in Jersey and it became a favorite. Every time we went to Jersey we'd stop and eat. Often there was a long wait, sometimes up to three-quarters of an hour, but we didn't mind since we really liked the food. It tasted fresh, the bread was good, and the prices were good. Well, we stopped going a few years ago for some reason, I think it was because we decided to head further up the line before we ate.

At any rate, we stopped by today for a change and the place hasn't changed. It still has that rustic look, the Italian lessons in the bathroom, the house wine bottles all over, the wine glasses on the tables, the paper and crayons on the tables, and the waiters and waitresses dressed in black and white. The menu has changed however. They dropped the lighter fare, like the skinny chicken, and added a few pricier items like veal chops. They have also added a few Mediterranean items which looked interesting, but I wanted something I was familiar with.

After some deliberation, I ordered the Penne Rustica (pictured above) for $12.99. It had chicken, shrimp and prosciutto over penne pasta. Now this is a dish I've had there a few times in the past and I remember it as being a much larger portion. So much larger that I used to take some of it home. This time I finished the dish and was still a bit hungry later. Teresa had the Eggplant Parmigiana for $9.99. It was okay, nothing special, and the portion seemed a bit smaller than we remembered it as having been.

Overall, it was okay. Nothing special. There are some areas where this would be considered good Italian food, like in Alabama maybe, but here where we have some real Italian restaurants. Romano's is nothing more than chain Italian. It is better than an Olive Garden, but I'd recommend a good local Italian place first, unless you are traveling. Then places like Romano's are a nice safe bet.

Johnny Rockets, Pentagon City Mall

I was in Washington, DC over the weekend, along with twelve other adults and 147 ninth graders, on a school field trip. Yeah, I know I'm crazy. We were at the Pentagon Mall for dinner One of the chaperones suggested Johnny Rockets. Since I never tried them, I agreed and six of us went to Johnny Rockets. The other six hit a few other places.

Now Johnny Rockets is one of those fifties' retro places with plenty of chrome and formica and fake jukeboxes on the counter and the staff dress like they belong in the movie Pleasantville. They started out in LA back in '86 when the big fifties' craze in diners was at its peak. Their claim is that the burgers are fresh and hand pressed and that the shakes and malts are hand dipped. The menu looked interesting, and the prices reasonable.

I had what I think was called the Houston, or Dallas. I can't remember exactly and I can't find it listed in the online menu. At any rate, it was a burger with jalapeno peppers and pepper-jack cheese. I ordered it medium well and it came closer to well. I found it rather pedestrian. Oh, sorry. I forgot I don't use words like that on this blog. Let me rephrase it as boring. Not that it was a bad burger, I just wasn't all that impressed. I think my biggest complaint was that the bun was too big for the burger, so there was quite a bit of dead space on the bun. I hate dead space. I'd rather have the burger overhanging the bun. The meat was okay, though a bit dry, and the cheese was melted properly.

I had a vanilla shake and it was very, well vanilla. I don't mean that in the flavor sense, but in the boring sense. No real flavor. The fries were very good though. Fresh tasting, crisp, and hot.

The company website can give you information on locations and menu.

Uno Chicago Grill, Wappingers Falls NY

Today we found ourselves on the East side of the Hudson River debating where to eat, when I said, "Let's go to Unos in Wappingers." We used to go there quite often when our daughter tended bar there, but we haven't been in over a year since she moved south.

Unos started in Chicago on East Ohio Street about sixty-five years ago serving deep dish pizza. They have grown to over 160 locations, some of them franchised and if you like deep dish pizza, and you're not in Chicago, Unos is the place to get it. The one in Wappingers is franchised by Banta Restaurants and sits on the old Steak and Stein location. They try to buy locally as much as they can.

We were there at lunch during the week so they had some nice specials available. Teresa got a quesadilla and she had a choice of unlimited soup or salad for under eight dollars. She looked at the soup and decided that was for her. Good choice as they had several to choose from, and she sampled them all. I took a taste of each too and my favorites were the clam chowder and the vegetable, with the French Onion coming in close. Teresa liked the broccoli and cheese and the clam chowder.

I got the "Bring home the bacon" burger, pictured above. It was cooked medium, just as I asked, and served on a fresh Challah roll, with spicy cheese and crisp bacon. Delicious.

Unos is a nice place to get a bite to eat and they have a nice beer selection as well. They sometimes carry Goose island Honkers Ale on tap, and they have their own Uno Amber, which has a nice clean taste. Happy hour specials include some cheap appetizers too. The inside is brick and is decorated with pictures of Chicago, memorabilia, and TVs in the bar area. It has a nice warm look to it.

For more info, check out the website.

Bacon cheeseburger from Ward's Bridge Inn.

No need to comment, other than to say delicious.

Philly Burger from Applebees

I haven't been to an Applebees in quite a while so we stopped off today in Middletown. I had the Philly Burger and Teresa had one of the salads. Hers was pretty much unremarkable, but my burger was good. It has sauteed onions, peppers, melted cheese and a burger on a toasted hoagie roll.

Rosy Tomorrows, Danbury, CT

Buckshot Burger

If you're in the mood for kitschy, try Rosy Tomorrows in Danbury Connecticut. Part of it is an old railroad caboose attached to an old house. The place is full of remnants of the old Danbury Fair including the fortune teller, the funny mirrors, and other fun stuff. A train even runs above the bar, you just insert some coins and the money goes to charity. Model airplanes and rowing shells hang from the ceiling.

The food is good, my favorite being the Buckshot Burger shown above. It has horseradish dressing, onion straws and cheese on a nice toasted kaiser bun. With it you get a generous portion of sweet potato fries for $10.50. My second favorite is the blue cheese burger where the blue cheese is put in the middle of the burger. That one has bacon on it. I also like their French Onion soup and they make an interesting six-layer flower pot salad.

They have a good beer selection too, including a house ale which is pretty good. We've been there a few times and we took the grandchildren once. They loved all the stuff hanging on the walls and from the ceiling.

Overall, an interesting dining experience with good food at reasonable prices. Check out their website for more information.

Terrazzo Trattoria

With apologies to my Southern friends, about twenty-five years ago I remember getting a pizza in the South and thinking the box it came out of tasted better than the pizza. All that has changed over the years as good food has made its way south of the Mason-Dixon line. In the larger cities you can get some darn good pizza and Italian food, plus the grocery stores are stocked with better selections. Its gotten much more cosmopolitan over the years.

If you are in Wilmington, NC you definitely have to check out Terrazzo Trattoria at 1319 Military Cutoff Rd. It is a nice Italian restaurant with good food at reasonable prices, and good service. We went there with seven adults and four children (one of whom is only four months old, so he didn't eat) and the bill was about $133.00. Not bad.

I had the Penne Positano, a nice penne pasta in a creamy pesto sauce with mussels and shrimp for $17 and added a side salad for .99. The pesto sauce had a nice garlic taste, without being overpowering and the pasta was cooked just right. There was plenty of shrimp and mussels in it too. We shared calamari and chicken tenders, and the some of the other dishes my party had were: Chicken and Penne Naxos, Chicken Satlimboca, and Eggplant Parmigiana. All were good.

Now back to that pizza. We ordered a pizza, half cheese, half pepperoni, for the kids and I tried a piece. It had a nice crispy crust, good flavor, and wasn't greasy. A cold piece later that night was just as good.

Terrazzo Trattoria is family owned and they are nice people. They are closed Sundays, and are only open for dinner on Saturday. They have lunch and dinner during the week. For more information, check out their website. Better yet, check out the restaurant some time. You won't be disappointed.

Checkers, Wilmington, NC

Checkers is a Southern chain featuring some darn good burgers, at darn good prices. We stopped at one in Maryland last year on the way home and I thought it was one of the best fast-food burgers I'd ever had so when we headed south this spring, I had to try it again. Now please note that I ranked Checkers #2 in fast food burgers in this blog.

I got the Fiery Jalapeno Double, only $1.50 since for three dollars you can get this and a shake. Well, this was one fine burger. Hot, juicy and flavorful (Flavourful for my English fans). We got seasoned fries for the kids, not overly seasoned, and shakes that were so thick they were hard to get through the straws.

For those of you who've never been to a Checkers, they are set up primarily as a drive through with a line on either side. I imagine it would be harder to reach across the passenger side to get your order if you are alone, so I recommend the line to the right. There is no inside seating, or counter. There is a walk-up window in the front, and ample parking, so I get out and order. I don't eat in my car, and I like to look at the menu for a few minutes before ordering, especially when I'm trying some place I'm not all that familiar with.

So if you've never been to a Checkers, give them a try. The burgers are surprisingly good, and cheap.

Cafe Mayo, Wappingers Falls, NY

Here's a place we've been driving past for a few years now and always say, "Hey we should stop there sometime." Well, we finally did today and I have to say it is good Mexican food. Now to start off, I'm not a huge Mexican food fan, which is surprising because I love cilantro, lemon juice and pico de gallo. Maybe its the meat I don't like because when we have Mexican lately I've been ordering seafood and I'm fast becoming a fan.

Tonight I had the Tacos de Camaron, shrimp tacos. Three tacos filled with grilled shrimp, black beans, lettuce and tomato covered in a nice sauce with fresh avocado slices. A couple pieces of grilled plantain, and some refried beans and rice on the side completed the meal. All for $16.95. Teresa had chicken enchilada for $13.95. My dinner was delicious and fresh tasting. There were many flavor notes that combined perfectly.

For desert I tried the fried ice cream. They take vanilla ice cream, coat it in frosted flakes and coconut, and fry it. Then they pour on caramel and chocolate, and add whipped cream. At $4.95, I had to try. It was okay, but not as fantastic as I thought it would be.

Give them a try sometime and you'll not be disappointed. They have another location in Fishkill and you can get more info from their website.