662430 Mon Oct 26 10:57:21 -0700 2009 61 20 Tristate Region 0 5131953 got blistered in the times yesterday. Mon Oct 26 10:57:21 -0700 2009 1095577 poppy 1 5131972 Yeah, saw that...thought it pretty much echoed what most posters here have been saying. Good pizzas, bring the kids, not much else going for it. Mon Oct 26 11:01:32 -0700 2009 5131953 142362 sibeats 2 5132010 I haven't read allof the posts, but I just wanted to throw my 2 cents in about the place. We went their last night because we wanted to go out with the kids and we knew it was too late to get into The Little Pub without a wait. (has everyone been there, it is good) The food is not bad, the service was friendly and it is child friendly. It serves a purpose in New Canaan. I kind of feel like people think every meal out should be the best meal, service and atmosphere they have ever experienced in their whole life. How about we all take it down a notch. Rocco's is not as horrible as many of the bloggers think it is. It is not my first choice, but I knew what to expect prior to having my first meal there. I was actually surprised considering I wouldn't eat Planet Pizza even if it were the last meal on earth. Mon Oct 26 11:12:42 -0700 2009 5131972 1119359 foodiefoodster 3 5132110 <How about we all take it down a notch.> Umm...are you saying this to me? You said the same thing that I said in your post below...decent pizzas, bring the kids. I don't expect every meal to be amazing, but I don't look to go out to a place described as "not as horrible as bloggers say it is". I'll skip it, thanks. Mon Oct 26 11:44:03 -0700 2009 5132010 142362 sibeats 1 5132021 As someone who blasts PB most of the time she absolutely hit it on the nose this time. And it appears she was fair this time with her rating that matched her experience. It is hard to say this but her chicken was better than jfood's. Nice job on this one PB and too bad for New Canaan. Another good restaurant would have been a nice thing. Mon Oct 26 11:15:16 -0700 2009 5131953 11290 jfood 2 5132042 it probably would be unfair for me to comment further as i have never visited the place but it really does nothing to even remotely entice me. Mon Oct 26 11:19:46 -0700 2009 5132021 1095577 poppy 2 5132045 I agree that it is not one of New Canaan's best-not that I think New Canaan is hot restaurant spot. Besides Harvest Supper and Ching's Table what else is there? I do agree it would have been nice for New Canaan to have a hit with Rocco's, but why not accept it for what it is and take the kids for a pizza evey once in a while? Mon Oct 26 11:20:45 -0700 2009 5132021 1119359 foodiefoodster 3 5132056 Aloi, Thali, Cherrystreet, Gates...should I go on? Are you new to New Canaan? I do like Rocco's for what it is, good pizzette, yummy crostini, nice setting, good service, nice place to take the fam, & won't break the bank. Probably not a good idea to ask folks to accept it for what it is though, esp. on this site. Mon Oct 26 11:25:13 -0700 2009 5132045 230608 CTburgerlover 3 5132165 "Besides Harvest Supper and Ching's Table what else is there?" Dems are fightin' words...jfood begs to differ, no actually jfood will totally disagree with your statement on NC restaurants. It probably has more good eating places than any other town around... Others you should try and compare: Harvest Supper - you know of and it's cousins in Stamford and Westport Bistro Bonne Nuit - go and try their lamb shank and then come back and let us know how it compares to LeFarm. Jfood only knows of one shank better in FFD Thali - Best Indian in FFD county Cherry Street East - Second best hamburger in FFD county Joes Pizza - Colony is a class by itself in FFD county but Joes is top three behind Colony Sushi 25 - Sister to Ching's and less fancy but just as good on the palate Roger Sherman Inn - Will be considered top 10 in State next year when the rankings come out Aloi - Could have the best Bolognese in FFD county and when she has the Osso Bucco on the menu, this could be top 10 dish in FFD county And for the teens and very casual - Rosies sandwiches and cakes are A-List; Tony's is a great middle of the road sandwich shop and one of the best desserts around can be found at Gelatissimo. Jfood dares you to come up with a list like this for any other town in FFD Ciao baby Mon Oct 26 12:03:04 -0700 2009 5132045 11290 jfood 4 5132384 All good suggestions, also should mention Gates...something of a New Canaan icon (just like Jfood). The food is OK (try the Belaggio sandwich or the Chop Chop Chicken salad), decent scene at the bar, solid brunch. Service there can be hit or miss, prices reasonable (on par with Rocco's). And best of all, it's right down the street from Gelatissimo. Mon Oct 26 13:09:07 -0700 2009 5132165 230608 CTburgerlover 5 5132455 jfood had lunch at gates yesterday and the belaggio is his sandwich of choice. little jfood orders the cobb salad wrap on a regular basis. Mon Oct 26 13:32:04 -0700 2009 5132384 11290 jfood 6 5132469 i'll give gates some props. i'm usually not a fan, but we had brunch there last week and it was very good. nothing fancy, just properly cooked eggs benedict and a spicy bloody mary. no complaints. Mon Oct 26 13:36:19 -0700 2009 5132455 219703 LW1 7 5136396 Largely agree with jfood, all of his mentions are correct except for Gates and Joes Pizza, Gates warms up frozen food or fries veggies, neither in a yummy way and I am all about a good fried food. Secondly Rocco's is uninspired, the chicken parm looks good on paper, but in reality it is a "hot mess", apps are good, pizza average. Tue Oct 27 21:30:14 -0700 2009 5132469 1118299 juicypig 8 5136824 Hey JP... If you read jfood's choices at Gates, Bellaggio and Cobb salad wrap, you will find not hot or fried, bellagio is sliced chicken, bacon, avocado, lettuce, tomato, basil mayo on toast and the cobb salad wrap adds onion, egg and has a ranch dressing on a flour tortilla. These are great sandwiches. NC is fortunate to have three great sandwich shops...Gates, Rosies and Tony's. It will be interesting to see how the almost opened New canaan Diner plays out. And Jfood will definitely stand behind Joe's pizza, their bacon and tomato is outstanding and they roast the peppers on premises. Wed Oct 28 06:21:21 -0700 2009 5136396 11290 jfood 9 5136951 Agree wholeheartedly. Gates has very good sandwiches and Joe's Pizza is upper-tier in the entire area. So glad you mentioned Lorenzo's roasted peppers, and in addition to the great pizza, the wings are phenomenal...about 5 different styles from which to choose (house hot, BBQ, Traditional Buffalo, Sweet & Sour, Sesame Garlic). They also have gluten-free entrees, and to top it off, they now deliver!!!! Wed Oct 28 07:18:51 -0700 2009 5136824 230608 CTburgerlover 4 5137034 Okay, jfood, how about Ridgefield? The Elms - both the dining room and the pub Bernards Stonehenge Thali (same as NC!) Little Pub Village Pizza versus Piccolo (depends on your preference for thin vs thick crust) Luc's Bailey's Backyard Mr. Shane's for ice cream Deborah Ann's for chocolates et al and, as a bonus, Ross Breads (a bonus) Wed Oct 28 07:51:58 -0700 2009 5132165 276107 hungrykids 5 5137062 The Elms - Jfood thinks Brendon is one of the great chefs and people he has ever met. love that guy. Love the elms, have only eaten in the dining room Bernards - Been a few years but thisplace was pretty special when jfood ate there. Thali - Why would jfood want to eat in a Motel 6. No matter how good the food jfood is not taking mrs jfood or friends to this location. fortunately the one in NC is tops Mr Shanes - Jfood thought this place closed so he has not tried in two summers, but he did like it other than their dark chocolate which was inedible (hard to say that about chjocolate ice cream) Ross - Jfood wrote a review a few weeks ago. He did not buy the bread but a couple of pastries. Very good but not worth the drive from NC. If he does will try the bread next time He has not tried the others. What about Chez Lenny? Jfood hitting Super Duper Wienie for lunch today. Wed Oct 28 07:59:54 -0700 2009 5137034 11290 jfood 6 5137107 ok this is going to be considered sacrilege to anyone in ridgefield, but... chez lenards is at least two owners post lenny at this point...it's still the quickest and best hot dog in town, but....worth a trip to ridgefield? probably not. Wed Oct 28 08:08:27 -0700 2009 5137062 276107 hungrykids 7 5137138 Have any of you been to The Little Pub? Been going there with the fam for a few weeks now, and we love it. Wed Oct 28 08:16:22 -0700 2009 5137107 230608 CTburgerlover 8 5138668 Where is The Little Pub? What's the menu like? Details! Details! Wed Oct 28 16:26:00 -0700 2009 5137138 175200 wookiedoodle 9 5138775 Corner of Branchville Road (Route 102) and Route 7 in Ridgefield, just past Georgetown. Here's the early thread from when they opened this summer....and they continue to be terrific! http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/623986 Wed Oct 28 17:00:06 -0700 2009 5138668 276107 hungrykids 7 5137163 jfood thought his son took over Wed Oct 28 08:24:53 -0700 2009 5137107 11290 jfood 8 5137209 No. The original "lenny' sold the business after 2+ years to a guy named Michael who ran it for 15+ years (and was probably the guy you thought was Lenny). He sold it to a local guy named Chad in 1997 who ran it for many years. A year or two (or more?) ago he put it on the market and moved south...but the website says he still owns it, so I'm not sure if he came back and started running the business again or if the website was never updated. In either case, it's not Lenny's son. Wed Oct 28 08:41:29 -0700 2009 5137163 276107 hungrykids 9 5137227 well jfood started eating them in 1998 so he never even met owners 1 or 2. And he now enjoys super duper for his dog fix, 20 minutes to go. thanks for the input. now if you could tell jfood if mr shanes is open or closed, that would be appreciated. Wed Oct 28 08:50:25 -0700 2009 5137209 11290 jfood 10 5137268 oops - apparently closed... guess i haven't been there in awhile! but i still think the ridgefield list gives nc a good run for its money. Wed Oct 28 09:18:19 -0700 2009 5137227 276107 hungrykids 10 5138851 Mr. Shane's is closed, but the ice cream is sold at Deborah Anne's Chocolate Shop on Main Street. (but I agree, the gelato shop in NC blows away any ice cream we can get here in Ridgefield.) Wed Oct 28 17:30:52 -0700 2009 5137227 158926 avasmom 11 5138903 ANd to be fair in his NC Vs Rfield below the top 3 at both are all A-Listers. Wed Oct 28 17:47:59 -0700 2009 5138851 11290 jfood 5 5137510 H When jfood read this post the first time he was waiting for his car repair so did not understand the "town challenge". So let's see how this plays out. - Stonehenge vs Harvest Supper - Win for HS - Bernards vs Roger Sherman - NC again - Elms vs Bonne Nuit - as much as jfood loves Elms nod to BN - Thali vs Thali - maybe the same food but NC hands down on atmosphere - Little Pub vs Cherry St East - Never been to Little Pub but the burger at CSE is outstanding, as a gentleman, jfood will concede this point - Village Pizza vs Joes - Jfood had a slice at VP if that is the place on main st years ago, so jfood gotta give Joes a win there - Bailey's Backyard vs Gates or Tequila Mockingbird - never been to BB but will give you that one even with the other two as a sum - Luc's vs Aloi or Chez Luis - Sorry Aloi and Luis both get the nod here - Your 1 Lee family resto vs NC 2 Lee family restos - Yours was cited by you know who, Ching's is his empire's flagship, sorry but another point to NC - Mr Shanes (closed) vs Gelatissimo - major win for NC - Still in the dugout for NC is Aloi and Sole - Ross versus Lemongrass - jfood will give you this one as well Nice try but a little short for the team from R'field. Wed Oct 28 10:35:16 -0700 2009 5137034 11290 jfood 6 5137535 just fyi - village pizza is NOT the one on Main Street (which was Roma's but has been Planet Pizza - yuck - for some time now). Village is further north on rte 35, next to Carvel. Very good thick crust (traditional? NY style?) pizza... and Piccolo (on Prospect) is part of the Criscuolo group (includes Wilton Pizza & Pasta and Tootzy Patza) and does an outstanding thin crust. Wed Oct 28 10:40:48 -0700 2009 5137510 276107 hungrykids 7 5137604 Yup, it was the place pre-Planet (which is just the absolute worst, or maybe Pinochio is worse). Jfood used to eat Wilton Pizza when his poker game was in Wilton and never struck his fancy, but since you have great things to say let's take the Joe's "win" off the board. And let's pit Piccolo vs Viccola's which jfood likes but would not put up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, so piccolo gets the point. NC Points - Harvest Supper, Bonne Nuit, Roger Sherman, Thali, Ching's, Gelatissimo, R'field - Little Pub, Piccolo, Ross, Baily's Backyard, Still in the dugout for NC is Aloi and Sole. So Riidgefield has better bread, pubs and pizza, New Canaan has better High End, Indian, Asian, and Ice Cream. Yup seems like Ridgefield might have come up a tad short on this one. Wed Oct 28 10:57:04 -0700 2009 5137535 11290 jfood 8 5138156 i still think luc's deserves more love than is being shown here. the price/quality is great, they get the "bistro bit" and they seem pretty hip in their way of going about things. plus, every frenchman (person) i know eats there regularly. Wed Oct 28 13:35:35 -0700 2009 5137604 1095577 poppy 9 5138566 Best thing I had at Gates was the fish taco. I liked it better than the bellagio which was the old go to. Wed Oct 28 15:55:04 -0700 2009 5138156 1108504 nc_eater 10 5138612 jfood has a hard time believing he could get those two words out of his mouth. Saying fish taco in gates....wow that's good Wed Oct 28 16:08:46 -0700 2009 5138566 11290 jfood 11 5138957 Yeah, you won't feel like you're on the pacific coast highway or anything, but I think it's better than the chicken sando (where the main draw is the bread). They put some kind of cilantro aioli on the taco which is nice, and it is somewhat spicy. Wed Oct 28 18:18:26 -0700 2009 5138612 1108504 nc_eater 12 5138982 drive to the big yellow truck and get a good one. Wed Oct 28 18:27:26 -0700 2009 5138957 11290 jfood 9 5138684 You're right. Luc's doesn't attract this correspondent's love. Not in the least. The moules frites, my personal metric for a bistro. is ordinary at best. The frites, especially ,are ho-hum. C'mon man. But aside from all that, there's a real condescending attitude. especially at the front of the house. It may be delightfully Gallic to some masochists ... but they're in Ridgefiled, CT, fcs, not the 5th arrondissement. I don't like the feeling they're doing a me a favor for dining there. Wed Oct 28 16:32:12 -0700 2009 5138156 167806 louuuuu 10 5139700 honestly i don't know what you're talking about. all this anti - french stuff is in the eye of the beholder. whether you're in luc's or in france try exchanging a pleasantry or two before getting down to whatever your business is and see how the interaction improves. that is a large part of french culture, acting cultured. Thu Oct 29 06:20:58 -0700 2009 5138684 1095577 poppy 11 5139870 I hate the food fights on this board, so will resist the temptation to make this personal, Poppy, and will not return the favor and proffer some advice to you. Suffice it say, that it's not just me who's experienced this attitude at Luc's. Friends have also commented on it. Since I don't find it in other French places around here such as Jean Louis , perhaps it's not my alledged cultural deficiencies that invite those vibes at Lucs. And it's certainly not francophobia, but my palate that tells me the bistro fare there is less than exceptional. But chacun a son gout, ma Poppy. Thu Oct 29 07:26:33 -0700 2009 5139700 167806 louuuuu 12 5141172 detente? si vous plais? Thu Oct 29 14:22:18 -0700 2009 5139870 1095577 poppy 13 5142205 wee Fri Oct 30 01:48:57 -0700 2009 5141172 167806 louuuuu 4 5141749 Jfood..... I will take your challenge representing Farifield, CT (the town, not the county). Best cheesesteak: Super Duper Weenie. (Oh yeah... their homemade hotdog toppings are pretty awesome on the dogs, too). Best delivery pizza: Nauti Dolphin. (get their Hot-n-Spicy-SOW and then call me). Delivery pizza is not easy... but this place pulls it off exceptionally. Best gnocchi: Liana's Best calamari linguini: Liana's Best Sushi: Fin (simple, clean, and suprisingly affordable) Best wine list: Paci. (their menu is equally awesome, too) Best quesadilla: Ole' Mole (smoked Mozzerella quesadilla). Might not be authentic, but it is authentically awesome. You say NC has the 2nd best burger? Not sure how you can claim that if you haven't eaten at Foley's Backyard Burger Pit. (OK... that's not really a restaurant, but I dare you to compare my own burger to anyones..... and I've had Cherry Street.) But seriously... if Cherry Street is 2nd... who is first???? By the way... same goes for my Bolognese. None better served anywhere in CT. Best take home desserts: The Pantry. Best French Baugette: isellbe & Vincent Best "off the bone" Osso Bucco": Osianna Best Wings: Archie Moores. Best Pulled Pork / Pulled Chicken/ Black Eyed Pea Salad: Wilsons. Best Bacon, Egg, & Cheese: Country Cow (get it on a portugesse roll). Best "Staff Selection" wine selectin: Mo's Wine Thu Oct 29 18:30:43 -0700 2009 5132165 105353 foleyd7 5 5141768 :-)) Great list Foleyd, but let's break it down. Jfood will not even get into SDW since he ate at the bar yesterday and as he ate his New Englander no onions he watched Gary make several Cheesesteaks and had a hard time not ordering one. But you have Pizza - Nauti Dolphin (BTW what is SOW?) - As a gentleman jfood will give you a point but Joes is great Italian - Lianas - If it is red sauce you probably win, but Tuscan you lose versus Aloi Japanese - Sin - Tough putt for you versus Plum Tree and Sushi 25 Mexican - Ole Mole outcast - You win over Tequilla Mockingbird Bakery - iselbe & Vincent - NC has none except Lemongrass whichis never open Dessert - Pantry - Tie since NC has Gelattisimo Osso Bucco - Osiana, no chance better than either Aloi or Bonne Nuit Wings - Archie Moore's - NC is glad it does not have wings Q - Wilson's - NC has none but there are lots of threads on this place. Now Jfood has in his back pocket...Harvest Supper, Sole, Chez Luis, Roger Sherman, Cava. It is as close as the Phillies beating the Yanks in game 1 my dear. Nice effort though....NEXT? Thu Oct 29 18:43:22 -0700 2009 5141749 11290 jfood 6 5142239 For a town of just 19,000, without a large business lunch crowd, the quality and quantity of dining in NC is pretty amazing. And you are a stones throw from Stamford's diversive ethnic eats, as well. Damn impressive. But quibble NC=Phillies. FFD=Yanks? Your NC resident Lupica did have this consolation for Mets fans having to endure the hated Yanks vs. the arch-rival Phils -- "at least one of them will lose." Fri Oct 30 03:58:44 -0700 2009 5141768 167806 louuuuu 7 5142254 Do not think NC is a Phillies town, way too many of your avatars on the back of cars. Jfood is a Mets/Dolphins fan, if truth be told. Yes, other than Indian, the "down and dirt" ethnic choices are limited, thankfully the surrounding towns fill that gap. And don't forget there are no good hot dogs in this town other than those off your own grill. Louuuuu, congrats on last night. Jfood thinks you might like Tony's for a bacon egg and cheese on a roll. Jfood understands they throw french fries or something like that in it as well. Yankee fans jfood understands are glutons (sic). Fri Oct 30 04:31:11 -0700 2009 5142239 11290 jfood 8 5142535 The"Mississippi" has fries in it. And it's good too. Fri Oct 30 07:07:43 -0700 2009 5142254 1108504 nc_eater 8 5144122 Yes will definitely give Tony's at try. And I still have not had my Cherry Street hamburger. Maybe both next weekend. We Yankee fans may be "glutons", but not for punishment. That's the domain of another team in this area's fans. Sorry, you teed it up... Good luck on Sunday. Williams is amazing. And Ryan a blowhard like his dad. Fri Oct 30 17:01:26 -0700 2009 5142254 167806 louuuuu 6 5142574 While it may not push us past NC, don't forget that Ffld also has: Quattro Pazzi 55 Wine Bar Barcelona Cafe Lola The loss of La Colline Verte really dropped Ffld down a notch in fine dining, IMO. Fri Oct 30 07:24:31 -0700 2009 5141768 1116334 plien69 7 5142594 jfood is a big fan of Barcelona, but has a hard time getting by the locationin the Hi-Ho given the times he spent there while it was a bar. Fri Oct 30 07:31:22 -0700 2009 5142574 11290 jfood 8 5147463 Westport. Sun Nov 01 14:44:07 -0800 2009 5142594 230608 CTburgerlover 4 5146388 Where does SoNo fit in all of this? Sun Nov 01 05:19:54 -0800 2009 5132165 15876 tito 5 5146411 NO = Norwalk Sun Nov 01 05:33:35 -0800 2009 5146388 11290 jfood 1 5148441 Back to Rocco's, we ordered from there yesterday for the first time. We thought that the pizza was actually much better than Joe's Pizza. Obviously Joe's is a regular slice place and Rocco's is brick-oven, but I'm wondering why Joe's gets the props on our board when Rocco's is clearly the better quality pie? Mon Nov 02 05:20:49 -0800 2009 5131953 1108504 nc_eater 2 5148574 I've given up trying to fathom the pizza reviews on CH. I'm just chalking it up to people having a local bias to their pizza places and leaving it at that. Mon Nov 02 06:39:08 -0800 2009 5148441 1116334 plien69 2 5148704 I've always maintained that Rocco's pizzettes are very good. I think there is a stigma (albeit unfair) because the owners also own Planet Pizza (pretty bad). Which one did you try? Mon Nov 02 07:31:37 -0800 2009 5148441 230608 CTburgerlover 3 5151546 CT, we first tried the margherita, which has diced marinated tomatoes (not sauce) and fresh mozzarella. We also got the mushroom topping. The mushrooms are awesome sauteed veggies, not the stuff out of a can that you would get a regular slice place. It was so good that the next night we tried the Nonna, which has buffalo mozz and sauce. That was good too, but I thought the margherita w mushrooms was slightly better. Tue Nov 03 06:25:07 -0800 2009 5148704 1108504 nc_eater 2 5149170 pizza is a very personal thing and some pizzas within a given place differ. Last nght jfood had the margherita from Joes, and it was not to his liking at all. The bacon and tomato is his pizza of choice there. And if you really want to see some opinions on pizza in CT check out the pepes threads. Jfood not a fan. Mon Nov 02 09:40:18 -0800 2009 5148441 11290 jfood 3 5149276 Jfood, you MUST TRY Julian's in Westport. It is fantastic. Their regular pie is great, and you would love their take on Clams Casino. Also curious to hear your opinion on Coalhouse in Stamford. Mon Nov 02 10:11:35 -0800 2009 5149170 230608 CTburgerlover 4 5149313 10-4 CT. Mon Nov 02 10:26:10 -0800 2009 5149276 11290 jfood 5 5149427 I disagree about Julian's...Julians makes pizza that SEEMS like good pizza at first. The whole pies are, in fairness, a lot better than the slices which are truly insipid after they've sat around awhile. But compared to even Pepe's Julians is very EHHHH... Also want to second Fairfield as the destination for good food and at fairly affordable prices, on average. I want to add Mama Mina's to the list, best Italian restaurant in which to order food reminiscent of The Godfather, and at good prices. Paci is a little underwhelming, and the waiters are a bit smarmy and free with their hands. I got a massage at my table from from a guy with a gleam in his eye. And the food was just OK. Lianna's is better and more fun. Oredered the SDW cheese steak with NO MAYO and LIGHT ONIONS , dumped liberal amounts of salt and pepper on and it was, while being quite unlike a Philly steak (and I do like Jim's Steaks the best BTW, when in Philly), but the SDW product did hit the spot. Also you guys have to try Pho Mekong in Westport. Really good Thai. Mon Nov 02 11:03:33 -0800 2009 5149313 715658 shark_attack 6 5149851 That's funny, I can't stand Pepe's but I love love love Julian's...different strokes I guess!!! Thanks for the Mama Mina's rec, will definitely try!!! Mon Nov 02 13:00:13 -0800 2009 5149427 230608 CTburgerlover 7 5149886 If this is the same Julian's that has an outpost on Rt25 in Newtown (maybe Tashua, next to the Starbucks) then just keep on driving. Shark Attack hit the nail right on the head. Mon Nov 02 13:09:39 -0800 2009 5149851 27861 rifkind81 8 5149930 Not sure, I think I read someplace that they are imports from Stratford. Mon Nov 02 13:18:47 -0800 2009 5149886 230608 CTburgerlover