Ward's Bridge Inn, Montgomery

Ward’s Bridge Inn in Montgomery has been around for a long time and has a slightly rustic look with a bright sunny sunroom in the back. They also have a nice upstairs dining area that can accommodate a good-sized party. I’ve been there for dinner, lunch, a wedding, and my daughter’s wedding rehearsal party and I’ve never been disappointed.

I went there today for lunch with a group from work to celebrate the end of the school year, and the retirement of a colleague. Our party was seated promptly and the waitress took good care of us. After looking over the menu I decided on a burger, of course. The problem was, which one? I narrowed it down to two, the Cowboy Burger with bacon, cheese, and BBQ sauce, and the Blue Cheese Burger. The Blue Cheese won out. Look at the picture above and you'll see why.

Okay, this burger was amazing. It is a half-pound Angus beef burger with blue cheese and caramelized onions. As a side, and you have a choice of several, I got the sweet-potato fries. I ordered it medium and that’s exactly how it came, perfectly cooked. The fries were delicious too. A couple of my friends ordered the Cowboy Burger and they were just as pleased. I’ll have to go back and try that one next.

For nine bucks you can get a great burger right here. That’s not much more than a fast-food place and you get waited on. Oh, they have a good selection of beers on tap too, including Brooklyn’s Pennant Ale. I took a pass on the beer what with it being a work lunch and had a nice glass of ice tea.

Give Ward’s Bridge Inn a try and it’ll become a favorite of yours too. For more info click on the web page. Ward's Bridge Inn.

Update- 06/24/10- I went here with the same group from work today and the meal was excellent as usual. This time I tried the Cowboy Burger; cheddar cheese, bacon, onion rings, and BBQ sauce on a soft ciabatta roll. Delicious.

Eveready Diner Brewster

Teresa and I were headed back from Danbury the other day, trying to decide where to eat, when we saw a sign announcing the opening of the new Eveready Diner in Brewster. Having seen the Eveready Diner featured on Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives on the Food Network, we decided to give it a try.

The diner is off exit 19 on Route 84, next to Kohl’s. When the Food Network features a restaurant, get ready for a long wait but it was only about twenty-five minutes and they have wireless internet so we passed the time using the i-pod touch so the wait passed quickly.

Inside the diner has a nice look to it but it seems a bit cramped, like they tried to shrink a large diner to fit into a smaller space, this was a small problem for us as we were seated next to the cashier and the people trying to pay got a bit closer than we wanted. The line backed up a bit since the credit card machine was down. This can be chalked up to being a new place and we had cash anyway, so it wasn’t a problem when we went to pay.

The menu had a lot of interesting things on it and was a bit different from the traditional diner fare. I’m sure they had plenty of house specialties to sample, but I have a theory about sampling restaurants to get a good basis of comparison; I order the same thing at similar restaurants. In Italian restaurants I order the veal Sorrentino or the Saltimbocca, at a diner I order a Rueben. A word of advice to any diner that can’t make a good Rueben; close your doors.

Well, this Rueben was the one of the best I’ve ever had. For a busy place, the service was good and the food came out fast and hot. The corned beef was tender and tasty, the marble rye bread was lightly toasted, and the French fries were crispy and hot. Teresa ordered the Trattoria Chicken, which was also good. Overall, a very good meal at a very reasonable price. I think the whole tab came to about twenty-three dollars including tax and tip.

My advice, give the Eveready Diner in Brewster a try. I think you’ll be quite pleased. We are going to try the one up in Hyde Park in the near future and I’ll give you the lowdown when we do.

The Three Stags

If you are in London, and are near Lambeth and Kennington, check out a place called The Three Stags. It is an authentic English pub with a fine selection of beers on tap, and a good wine selection. It’s also a place to get a good meal at a good price. So good the owners call it a gastropub, an interesting term.

Okay. First, it’s a pub and what would a pub be without a nice selection of beer. They have a good selection of cask ales on tap, along with the prerequisite selection of tap beer.

Now then, the food. The three owners are all culinary people and they have a simple philosophy. They buy fresh food from local markets and they support the small producers. That food is turned into some nice dishes and the menu changes depending on what is available. They claim it is incredible food cooked with passion.

I had the pleasure of talking to Richard, one of the owners, when I was in London and found him to be a friendly guy who has a passion for the business. He told me that one of his goals was to serve not just good food, but fresh and environmentally sound food. Richard said they try to be conscious of their carbon footprint and recycle almost ninety percent of their rubbish. He also said half the fun is in creating new and exciting dishes to reflect what is available in the market.

Check out their website for more information, and the menu.

Ming Jie's House

Okay, I know the title is burgers and brews, but I have to tell you about this great Chinese restaurant we have here in Walden. The name is Ming Jie’s House and you can find it at 47 Main Street. We’ve been going there for years and never had a bad meal.

Ming Jie’s is what I consider gourmet Chinese at reasonable prices. Yeah, they have the traditional stuff like moo shoo pork, noodles, egg foo yung and all that, but try something different. I have a few favorites like the shrimp with bacon, dragon and phoenix, and the crispy shrimp with walnuts and chili sauce. That’s the one in the picture. My family likes the kung pao chicken, the broccoli in garlic sauce and my granddaughter thinks they make the best fried dumplings in the world. Being five she hasn’t seen too much of the world, but they are the best dumplings I’ve ever had.

Ming Jie’s is a family run, and oriented restaurant. They make you feel at home and we’ve gotten to know their children over the years as we’ve eaten there. The service is good, the food is great, and the prices are reasonable.

Sweeney's Walden

Okay, let’s start with a nice easy review of one of my favorite places, Sweeny’s in Walden. Sweeney’s burnt to the ground a few years ago, was rebuilt from the ground up, and is nice and warm in décor. One of the best things is that the rebuild was done after the clean air act and the place has no stale smell of smoke. In fact, it is spotlessly clean both inside and out.

The food is simple and the menu isn’t long, but there are some nice choices to be had, especially in the burgers. My favorite burger is the Spicy Buffalo Burger. It has hot sauce, bacon, and a blue cheese dressing. Order it with the onion rings, the best I’ve had, and you have a winning meal for only $8.95. For sandwiches, I like the Reuben as it is a real sandwich you can pick up with your hands. Nice lean meat. The Shepherd’s Pie is good too.

The beer selection is good, Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp, and a few others on tap, as well as a bottled selection. The service is good too, and friendly. I’ve never had a bad meal here and always feel welcome. During the day, Veronica will wait on you with her pleasant smile and Irish accent.

Check out their website at http://www.sweeneysirishpub.com/index.php