Tag Archives: Bridgeport

Dishing Up Awesome Plates and Cups at Dish and Port Coffee House in Blackrock

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Dish 

Port Coffee House

2889 Fairfield Ave Bridgeport, CT 

www.dineatdish.com

www.portcoffeehouse.com

LIKE Port Coffee House on facebook 

Sorry we haven’t posted for so long.  I’ve been very busy with school, baseball and even took a vacation to Savannah, Georgia… which we will be blogging about next week but for today we’ll be telling you about one of our new favorite places… Dish!

As you all know, today is Cinco De Mayo, which put me in the mood for a Mexican-inspired breakfast.  We also wanted to try out Dish  – so we were really happy when we could do both!

Dish was started by Janet Habansky, she learned to be a chef by cooking for her family, on her website she calls this learning how to cook at ““School of Mom and Grandma”.  So we knew this was going to be good.

As soon as you walk in, you enter through the Port Coffee House, which is attached to Dish.  Here you are greeted and given a slip of paper which has all of the breakfast choices on it… you check off what you would like, order your drink, then you go through an archway next door to Dish which looks like a big open kitchen in someone’s house.  Then you give your order to the chefs who then make it fresh for you.  The tables are big, because you get to sit on the tables with other families and diners who you don’t even know  - which is fun.  It’s really popular with kids — there were a lot there today.

Now about the food — since it was Cinco de Mayo, I decided to have Huevos Rancheros!  Black Beans, “Fresh Chunky Salsa”, Fresh Guacamole, Eggs, Cheese and Sour Cream served on a Tortilla.  It was excellent.  I told the staff that there is a difference between gourmet and simply just amazing… and this was amazing!  I also had a side of Bacon — which was flavorful… and to drink… I had a Hot Chocolate which was also really good.  I tried my Dad’s French Toast, which is one of their specialties and some of their Homemade Sausage which was superb.

IMG-20130505-01394I spoke with Chef Dave and asked him, where Dish got their ingredients, and his favorite breakfast

He told me, “From a lot of places, we special order things, some things come from the market… some things even from BJ’s!” “I love Egg Whites and  love what you had, The Huevos Rancheros!”

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I also spoke with Jerry, at Port Coffee House and asked what the most popular baked good is.

He told me, “People love the Apricot Scones and our Gluten-Free breads!”

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Thanks to everyone at Port Coffee House and Dish for being so nice and for the delicious breakfast… we’ll definitely be back!

 Sunday Diner Rating 

FOOD * * * * * (Cinco)

SERVICE  * * * * * (Cinco) (Thanks Kate!)

LOOKS * * * * *   (Cinco)

BATHROOM * * * * *  (Cinco)

Home… Home On The Range… Where The Pancakes Are Tasty And Light!

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Home On The Range, 2992 Fairfield Avenue  Bridgeport, CT

Like Home On The Range On Facebook

Today we went to Bridgeport the second week in a row to check out Home On The Range which is located in the Blackrock section of town. I’ve heard great things about Home On The Range, especially about their pancakes, so we decided to try it.

The first thing that you notice when you get there are two signs… one says “Great Food Fast” and the other says.. “Voted Best Breakfast In Fairfield County” in 2008 and 2011!  So, we knew that we made a great choice even before we tasted anything!

Home On The Range is a very small, neighborhoody place.  It’s located in a very old building which is very close to anther one of my favorite places, Timothy’s Ice Cream Shop.     There is only about ten tables in the restaurant – so – if you don’t get there early you might to wait.  But today, we got there early enough to get a table before it got really crowded.

Home On The Range has great breakfast specials which are displayed on a little sign that has drawings, colorful lettering and sometimes even funny names for the specials that the chef and owner Steve Penna makes up.

Today I had the pancake special… Pancakes With Fresh Strawberries, Nutella, Fresh Hazelnuts Topped With A Strawberry Yogurt Sauce.  At first I ordered two pancakes, but it was so delicious that I asked for one more!  The strawberries were very fresh and sweet, and the pancakes were very light – I really loved them.

My dad has the omelet special – which was Peaches, Ham, Manchego Cheese (from Spain) and onions — I tried it was great – salty and sweet!  I also tried the home fries and they were also good.

I spoke to Joanne McGillicuddy, who owns Home On The Range with her husband Steve Penna (our chef today) and asked, “The food is so fresh, where do you get your produce?”

She told me that,”We get some of our produce from local farms and farm stands, some of it is organic, and some we get from stores.” 

“What is your favorite item on the breakfast menu?”

Joanne told me that, “Usually, I’m pretty boring! Eggs, bacon and toast, but I really love one of our specials, The Nuovo Benedicto.  It’s like Eggs Benedict – but it’s Eggs on a  Toasted English muffin with farm fresh Tomato, Mozzarella with Basil Mayo.”

My mom would love that – because she LOVES basil! 

Home On The Range is also great for kids of all ages!

The Sunday Diner Rating (out of 5)

FOOD  * * * * * (5)

SERVICE  * * * * *   (5)

LOOKS  * * * *   (4)

BATHROOM: * * * *   (4)

Steak’n And Shakin’ Like Guy Fieri … At The Merritt Canteen In Bridgeport

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Merritt Canteen, 4355 Main Street, Bridgeport CT 

www.merrittcanteen.com

Like Merritt Canteen on facebook

Today, Sunday Diners traveled to Bridgeport, CT to check out the legendary Merritt Canteen which just celebrated their 70th Birthday.  The Merritt Canteen is really popular with kids especially, college kids and teenagers who all come to the Merritt for their great hamburgers, hot dogs, chili, seafood, shakes and even breakfasts!

The Merritt was even the star on an episode of Guy Fieri’s Diner’s, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network. Here’s the Merritt Canteen and our new friend Yolanda on Triple D:

The Merritt Canteen, is the second place that Sunday Diners has visited that was also visited by Guy Fieri (the other was Valencia Luncheria), so you know it’s got to be good!

The best part of the Merritt Canteen is that everything on the menu is available ALL DAY! For instance, this morning the two guys ahead of us ordered cheeseburgers and french fries at 8:30 in the morning… maybe they will have their breakfast for dinner!

But for me, I was there for breakfast…

Today I had a Steak and Egg Sandwich – the steak was juicy and tender and the eggs were fluffy… it was served on a toasted hot dog roll – really good.  My dad told me one fact about Steak and Eggs for breakfast is that it was a very popular choice for the NASA astronauts before they headed into space.  Here’s a picture of the crew of Apollo 11 before the first mission to the moon having Steak and Eggs for breakfast.

I thought it would be fun to try a milkshake – as they are very popular there.  So, I also had a Chocolate Shake – It was excellent!  Except now… I’m stuffed!

I spoke with Yolanda DeJesus, the Manager of the Merritt Canteen and asked , “What did Guy Fieri eat when he came to the Canteen”?

She told me, “He tried pretty much everything on the menu, but he really loved our Clam Chowder and the Soft Shell Crabs, it was really fun to meet him and really fun to be on TV”. 

She also told me that “Everything on the menu at Merritt Canteen is fresh and made to order – that’s why it’s so good”

I asked her what her favorites were, and she said, “Definitely the Soft Shell Crabs and the Bison Burgers”

I’ve never tried a Bison Burger – maybe I’ll have that next time for Breakfast Lunch OR Dinner! 

The Sunday Diner Rating (out of 5)

FOOD  * * * * * (5)

SERVICE  * * * * *   (5)

LOOKS  * * * *   (4)

BATHROOM: * * * *   (4)

Thanks Yolanda!