Tag Archives: Family Friendly Dining

THE NEW STATION HOUSE – YOUR STOP FOR INNOVATIVE PANCAKES IN WEST REDDING CT

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The New Station House, 3 Side Cut Road, West Redding, CT  

www.thenewstationhouse.com 

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The New Station House is owned by Abe Ali and is located right by the West Redding Metro North Train Station. It is in the old train station house.  You might be wondering, if it’s in the old station house…. why it’s called The New Station House… but we’ll get to that later.  The ride to the restaurant was very beautiful, you get to drive through some very pretty scenery… get to see some very old houses, woods and you get a really good view of the Saugatuk Reservoir.  The New Station House is decorated pictures of the train station many years ago and there is also some very cool art that are called Vortex Paintings  which are 3-D paintings made with ground sandstone and are supposed to have healing powers.

And now let’s talk about the food.  Today I wanted to try something different, and I heard that The New Station House had some interesting varieties of pancakes.  When  l looked at the menu I saw something I’ve never seen before — Corn and Cheddar Pancakes — they even had little kernels of corn in them – it tasted like a corn muffin meets a pancake it was really good with Real Maple Syrup and a Side of Bacon.  I also had a Hot Chocolate.  Dad had a Brie, Artichoke and Spinach Omelet which he liked a lot — I got to try the Home Fries  - they were excellent, crispy, huge chunks of potatoes.

IMG-20130303-00781I spoke to Abe Ali, the chef and owner of The New Station House  and asked, “I had a very different pancake this morning, the Corn  and Cheddar, are there other combinations I should try?”

Mr. Abe said, “We also have sweet potato pancakes today, which are topped with granola.  We always change the pancake specials to IMG-20130303-00780keep it interesting!”

I also asked, “What is your favorite breakfast?”

Mr. Abe said, “I love the Florentine Omelet… which is Spinach and Feta, it’s my kind of flavors”.

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So… why is the restaurant in the “Old” Train Station House  called the “New” Station House?

According to one of our servers, Barbara… “They changed the name when Abe became the NEW owner!”

The Sunday Diner Rating 

FOOD * * * * * (Five)

SERVICE  * * * * * (Five)

LOOKS * * * *   (Five)

BATHROOM * * * *1/2   (Four and a Half)

Thanks Mr. Abe, Ms. Rachel and Ms . Barbara – we’ll be back!

AS DEPENDABLE AS THE U.S. POSTAL SERVICE… BUT YUMMIER! STAMFORD’S CITY LIMITS DINER

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City Limits Diner, 135 Harvard Avenue, Stamford, CT www.citylimitsdiner.com

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The first thing you notice when you drive up to City Limits Diner is it’s size!  City Limits is HUGE!  Then you notice the gigantic coffee cup that is over the door — then you see that there are Neon signs all around the diner telling you what waits for you inside… BREAKFAST! LUNCH!  CHOPS AND STEAKS! BAKERY! COCKTAILS! (… uh, that part is definitely not for kids… but maybe for Dad! :) )

When you enter, the inside is done in a very old style.  Dad explained to me that this is what a typical restaurant or diner would have looked like in the 1930′s, 40′s and 50′s.  It is called Art-Deco style.  Some things that make City Limits Art Deco are… the curvy lines of the bar and counters… lots of chrome… the shape of the letters in the signs… and the colors and the patterns of the floor tiles.

As you might know, a Hurricane named Sandy (not the squirrel from Spongebob) is heading our way and is going to hit Connecticut pretty BAD… but today we learned that sometimes a storm can be GOOD for business.

But first… let’s talk about breakfast.  The food at City Limits is fresh, they make everything –   bread, cakes… even ice cream and salad dressing is made from scratch!

Today I had one of their breakfast specialities… The Orange Lemon Waffle with Fresh Fruit and Berries topped with Real Maple Syrup.  It was great – it was sweet but was really tangy from the Lemon and Orange — the fruit was sweet and fresh — and there was a lot of it — Blueberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, Raspberries and Bananas.  That part was BERRY GOOD! (except for the banana… which is not a berry…. the banana… was FRUITASTIC!).  I also had their awesome Thick-Cut Bacon and a fresh squeezed orange juice.
I spoke with Laura O’Brien the General Manager of City Limits and asked, “Will City Limits be open during Hurricane Sandy?”

She said, “Yes, we will be open.  City Limits is like the Mail… Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night! In fact, whenever there’s a big storm we get really busy!”  

I asked Ms. O’Brien, “What do people like to buy when there’s a big storm to take home. She told me that “Everyone loves to buy soup during a storm!”

I also spoke to our server, Rossana, who has worked at City Limits for nine years, what her favorite breakfast dish was…

She told me, “I love what you just had, The Orange and Lemon Waffle, and I also love the Vegetable Frittata, and the corned beef hash is also very good!”

The Sunday Diner Rating (Out of Five) 

FOOD * * * * * (FIVE)

SERVICE  * * * * * (FIVE)

LOOKS * * * * *  (FIVE)

BATHROOM * * * * * (FIVE)

Thank you Ms. Rosanna and Ms.O’Brien for the delicious pastries — I’ll be trying those after dinner tonight!

Hope everyone stays safe during the storm! See you next week!

BREAKING NEWS! SUNDAY DINERS IS FEATURED ON NEWS 12 CONNECTICUT!

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SUNDAY DINERS IS BACK… FINALLY!

We had a very busy few weeks, and have not been able to post – but now we’re back!

In July, Sunday Diners was interviewed for a feature story on News 12 Connecticut. The story was filmed at Wave Hill Breads in Norwalk, which our readers know is one of our favorites.  I was interviewed by Sarah Hagen, who is a News 12 reporter and was so nice to us – she and her cameraman really made dad and I feel calm about being on TV.

The story was on News 12 in August, but many of our readers could not see it, because they don’t live in CT — so we hope you enjoy it!

Here are some photos Dad took while we were filming.

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CONNECTICUT READERS CAN ALSO CLICK HERE TO VISIT NEWS 12

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

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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

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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!

 

Lunch At Litchfield’s West Street Grill And A Visit To The Arethusa Farm Dairy – Save Room For Dessert!

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This weekend, my Grandma and Poppey were visiting from Lancaster PA. On Saturday, we drove to Litchfield which is a small town about an hour and a half from where we live.  It’s a very old town with lots of cool old houses and antique stores and a really great restaurant that we stopped for lunch at…

West Street Grill, 43 West Street, Litchfield, CT  www.weststreetgrill.com

The West Street Grill is a famous place to have a bite in Litchfield.  Everything on the menu looks delicious, they use a lot of local produce and organic foods.  One of the cool things about The West Street Grill is they also feature some very good vegan food, for those people who don’t eat animal products.

The restaurant is owned by James O’Shea and his partner Charles Kafferman.  Mr. O’Shea is from Ireland… so he really had a lot to talk about with Poppey who also is Irish.  Mr. O’Shea was really nice and friendly and even treated us to some really delicious desserts!

Today I had a taste of one of The West Street Grill’s vegan creations the Cold Beet and Ginger Soup.  It was really good and it shows that you can cook great food without animal products.  For my lunch I had The Sushi Grade Rare Tuna Burger with Shredded Jicama and a Wasabi Spread.  This was really good, but a little spicy.  If you like spicy food this is a great choice. It came with French Fries which were really crispy.

But, the fun started when Mr. O’Shea started bringing out desserts for us!  First he brought us a Warm Apple Crisp served with Vanilla Ice Cream  – great!  But he wasn’t done yet.  He also brought us a Creme Brûlée – (which is a custard with a hard caramel on top).  Then out came Freshly Baked Biscotti!

Everyone at the West Side Grill was so nice, especially our server Kara Hoffman who told me that she reads Sunday Diners!  I asked Kara, what is her favorite dessert at the West Side Grill.

She said, “Definitely the Apple Crisp – it’s SO good”!

Thanks Mr. O’Shea and Kara!!!

After all of that dessert we barely had any room left!  But we still had planned to visit a special dairy, that makes AWESOME Ice Cream and Cheese. So, we took a little walk around Litchfield then drove to Bantam where we visited:

Arethusa Farm Dairy, 822 Bantam Rd, Bantam, CT www.arethusafarm.com

We have wanted to visit the Arethusa Farm Dairy since we had first heard about it.  The farm raises their own cows and their milk is award-winning.  The dairy, is where they process the milk into ice-cream and cheese.  As we were so full from lunch we got some pints of ice-cream and some cheese to bring home.

The Farmer’s Cheese was excellent, but the ice-cream was spectacular! we had both Old Fashioned Chocolate and Coconut.  Their ice-cream is creamy, but also very light and not too sweet.

If you have time, you can also visit their farm and meet the cows who are responsible for milk, butter and cream that goes into every pint!

Which reminds me… today is National Ice-Cream Day —  I know what I’ll be having later!

VOTE! For The First Annual Sunday Diners “Sunny” Awards

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To celebrate the 1st Anniversary of Sunday Diners, I thought it would be fun to give out some awards to our favorite places that we visited.

Sunday Diners needs your help picking the winners! Please VOTE for your favorites below, and make sure you tell all of your friends about the Sunnys!  You can VOTE once a day (if you like) until June 12, 2012.

We will announce the winners on  June 17, 2012,   Father’s Day! :)

Remember to Follow Us On Twitter and Like Us on Facebook!

Now May The Best Place Win!

THANKS FOR VOTING! 

Hamburgers… Hot Dogs… Baseball… And Parades! Happy Memorial Day!

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HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY from Sunday Diners!!

Memorial Day is the day when we give our thanks and support to all of the men and women who protect America.  The Memorial Day Weekend is also the unofficial start of summer and a great time to celebrate with some very American things… like Hamburgers! Hot Dogs! Baseball! And Parades!

On Friday night, we started off the weekend with a trip to my favorite burger place in Norwalk and Fairfield County –

Beach Burger, 10 First Street, Norwalk CT www.thebeachburger.com

If you are a regular visitor of Sunday Diners, you know that I love The Beach Burger.  Beach Burger burger’s and shakes are fresh and always give me something to smile about. :) I usually have “The Beach Burger” which is an all-natural beef patty served with cheese, red onion, lettuce and tomato on a potato roll!  They are juicy and delicious.  There are two sizes – small and large — I had the LARGE one.  The fries are also excellent.  Beach Burger is also famous for their Shakes – which are great on a hot day and they make all kinds of great combos!  I had the Strawberry Cheesecake Shake which is made with Vanilla Ice Cream, Strawberry Jam and REAL Cheesecake!  It was thick… and so rich…  I couldn’t finish it.

If you’re ever in Norwalk, definitely check out Beach Burger, you won’t be sorry!

CITI Field, Home of the New York Mets  and Nathans Famous Hot Dogs!

Suzanne from CitiField

On Saturday, I went to Citi Field to see my favorite team, The New York Mets play the San Diego Padres. While watching the ball game, I had what everyone says, including me, are the BEST hotdogs at Citi Field– The Nathan’s Famous Hotdog.  

I spoke with our server Suzanne (or was it Suzann?)  and asked her what her favorite thing to eat at the ballpark was and she said… “The Nathan’s Hot Dog!”  Citi Field has some really great other places to eat, like Shake Shack, Blue Smoke (for BBQ and ribs!) and the Brooklyn Burger”. I’ll be sure to try those next time when I see The Mets beat the New York Yankees in June!

PS: The Mets beat the Padres 9-0! Let’s Go Mets!!

Finally… here’s a picture of me marching in the Norwalk Memorial Day Parade with my Music School – we played the Star Spangled Banner!

Estia’s American In Darien… A Little Taste of Long Island In CT!

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Estia’s American, 1020 Post Road Darien www.estiasamerican.com

Today we visited Estia’s American, in Darien.  We wanted to try something special, because our friend Anne Marie was visiting from New York. So, we decided on Estia’s, which was originally in Long Island by the beaches in the Hamptons.  Anne Marie went to the original Estia’s and liked it.

Estia’s is very hip, they have a bar, cool art on the walls and lots of books, it has a very homey feeling.

And now about the food.  All four of us had different things. My dad, Anne Marie and I were happy with our choices… Mom liked hers… but just thought it was just “OK”, she had a California Omelet with just jack cheese and avocado…  which is very healthy but not very flavorful.  Now, Dad had the Red Flannel Hash which is chorizo, potato, peppers, onions topped with two scrambled eggs – I tried that and I LOVED it — it was spicy and really good.  Anne Marie and I both had the Short Stack — she had blueberry (she wanted banana, but they were out of them) and I had chocolate chip pancakes.  They were very tasty and fluffy. We both had a side of Bacon, which was crispy and HUGE – we really only needed to order one.

I spoke with Ell who is the bartender at Estias and asked her, “Where did the name Estia come from?”

She said, “The restaurant was started in the Hamptons in a town called Amagansett.  When this owner bought it he kept the name because people knew it.  I’m not sure where the original name came from but our owner says Estia stands for EST-ablished I-n A-magansett”.

I also asked her what her favorite item on the menu was for breakfast.  Ell likes the A’s Pop —  a breakfast bowl with chicken, Organic Red Quinoa, Egg Whites, Veggies and Avocado.

That sounds Healthy & Flavorful – maybe that’s what Mom should have next time!

The Sunday Diner Rating (out of 5)

FOOD  * * * * * (5) (For Dad, Anne Marie and Me)

* * * (3) (For Mom)

SERVICE  * * * * * *  (5)

LOOKS  * * * *  (5)

BATHROOM: * * * * *  (5)

This Breakfast Blue Me Away! The Olde Bluebird Inn In Easton

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The Olde Bluebird Inn, 363 Black Rock Turnpike, Easton, CT

We’ve been wanting to try out the Olde Bluebird Inn for a while, but have never had the chance.  Dad and I thought it was a little too far to drive, but in fact it’s really only about 20 minutes away —  it just looked far away on the map.  The Olde Bluebird Inn, has been around since 1919 — and it has that old-timey country look.  We sat in the front part of the cafe which had lots of geranium plants, so many that I felt like I was in a greenhouse. The Olde Bluebird is very popular with kids, and today there were lots of them there.

One thing about the Olde Bluebird, is even though the breakfasts are big, you don’t leave with your tummy feeling full – probably because everything is made with fresh ingredients.  Today I had Texas French Toast with Fresh Strawberries and Fresh Whipped Cream.  The French toast was really fluffy and the fresh strawberries juicy and sweet.  My dad has an omelet with Tomatoes, Cheese and Sausage — the cool thing about this was that it came with a huge piece of coffee cake — it was warm and tasted like it was just baked.  I also had some of his home fries – which were also very good.  The Chocolate Milk was freshly made and really cold!

Ewa Pogorzelski owner of the Olde Bluebird Inn

I spoke with Ewa Pogorzelski, the owner of The Olde Bluebird and asked her, “Is the inn part of The Olde Bluebird still open”?

She said, “No, just the restaurant part, the Inn has not been open in over 40 years”.

I also asked, “Does the menu change every weekend”?      

She said, “Yes, we have different breakfast specials every Saturday and Sunday”.

Finally, I asked Ms. Pogorzelski what her favorite thing on the menu was.  She loves the Sweet Potato Pancakes that they serve.  She also told me that she sometimes makes Polish food for lunch.

Maybe someday, I can bring my Grandma (who is also Polish and owns an Inn) to try that!

The Sunday Diner Rating (out of 5)

FOOD  * * * * *  (5)

SERVICE  * * * * *   (5)

LOOKS  * * * * *  (5)

BATHROOM: * * * * *  (5)