Offbeat Eats

(Closed) It’s not often that a restaurant draws me in right off of the street, but Mr Chicken in Watkins Glen, NY did exactly that. While heading to our camping spot at Watkins Glen State Park, right at the entrance to the park we noticed (and, just as importantly, smelled) Mr Chicken. The overall effect just screamed “chicken”, so we had to check it out.

It’s not often that people recommend a place to me; I’m usually the one dispensing the recommendations, especially when it’s someplace that I’m more familiar with than the person giving me the recommendation (I used to live in Minneapolis). But after a trip last summer, my friends Jon and Nicki strongly recommended Hell’s Kitchen. And the recommendation was basically “Try the peanut butter. No, really. Try the peanut butter.”

During my recent visit to Minneapolis, I needed to take my hosts Bob and Kath out for breakfast. Our long-time standard for a weekend breakfast (Big Olaf’s) closed a few years back, so I asked them where we should go. They suggested Maria’s Cafe on East Franklin, which features Colombian and Venezualan food, as well as some more typical American favorites. While it was strongly recommended that I try the corn pancakes, I left those for Carol while I tried the daily special breakfast platter (shown), which included beans, sausage, fried yucca, scrambled eggs, and an arepa (basically a small masa pancake). This was an excellent breakfast on all levels: the beans were nicely seasoned with cumin, the yucca was crisp on the outside and tender inside, and the eggs nicely scrambled. The arepa was nicely done as well, but it paled compared to Carol’s corn pancake (which isn’t cornmeal, it’s a regular pancake with corn in it, topped with a dry cheese), which was also very delicious…

Back when I lived in Minneapolis, every day on the walk to work I’d walk past this little tiny storefront between Simms Hardware and Espresso Royale in the Dinkytown neighborhood. So tiny, that it looks like a roofed-over alley, which is exactly what it is. I also quickly noticed that quite a large number of people passed in and out of that door, enough that it was like a circus act. So it wasn’t long after moving there that I tried out Al’s. And not long after that I became a regular, going at least every Thursday (and, now that I no longer live there, I make it a point to go at least once every time I’m in town).

(Closed) This weekend, Carol and I were craving another round of pancakes, so we decided to try out Blanche and Bill’s Pancake House in Bridgewater Corners, VT, stopping off to pick up Graham for a third opinion. After a fairly long drive out to Bridgewater Corners that reminded me that Bridgewater is actually a bit of a haul from the Upper Valley proper, we arrived at Blance and Bill’s, which at 9am was still fairly quiet (but by the time we left, the place had a pretty long line starting to form).

(Closed) Coming back from a hike in the White Mountains, Carol and I were both craving a hearty dinner, so we decided to swing back home via the Lakes Region (note that travel between the White Mountains and Grantham is a classic case of “can’t get there from here”, since the roads all go perpendicular to that route). From my few previous trips out there, I recalled that the New Hampton and Meredith area had a few decent-looking restaurants, so we decided to swing down that way. Sure enough, we happened upon Bobby’s Girl Diner, a classic Worcester Diner Car (with a large dining room added on to the back), and decided to stop there (later we came across Hart’s Turkey Farm, which is what I had been thinking of, so we’ll try that place next time). We both had the open face turkey sandwich with cole slaw, which was quite generous, with nice, chunky skin-on mashed potatoes, the turkey of reasonable quality, sliced from a whole breast, and the bread was nicely toasted. Overall, a nice way to round out a day of hiking in the mountains.

Anyone that has had breakfast with me knows that I’m a pancake aficionado. I’m very particular about my pancakes (they must have the right flavor, texture, crust, and toppings), and if I find a proper pancake I’ll go way out of my way for them. Which brings us to Polly’s Pancake Parlor, where we went on Saturday. We make it a point to go at least once a year, usually combining it with hiking in the White Mountains. Located in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire (about 20 minutes from Franconia Notch), Polly’s is a modestly-sized pancake dining room attached to an old sugarhouse (in which they make their own maple products). Sure, New Hampshire and Vermont, especially during mapling season, are chock full of sugarhouses and pancake joints. But, in my not-so-humble opinion, Polly’s is the queen of New England pancake joints, and forever tied for first place on my list with Al’s Breakfast of Minneapolis for Best Pancake Ever and Best Breakfast Ever.

First of all, I’ll admit, I’m a pizza snob. There are only a handful of pizza places in existence that I consider great (and most of these are in or around New Haven, CT), a few more that I consider good (American Flatbread, for one example in these parts), and the other 99.9% are just plain mediocre. Northern New England, in particular, is mostly filled with mediocre “Village Pizzas” and “Houses of Pizza” serving bland pizza with questionable cheese on soggy crusts, or places with elaborate brick ovens that, despite having good equipment, manage to turn perfectly good raw ingredients into leathery pucks. Pie-casso in Stowe, VT, however, is one of the notable exceptions to this rule….

(Closed) Since Brooksie’s in Sharon, VT burnt down a few years back, I haven’t really been back to eat in town. However, several times driving between Sharon and Royalton I noticed Dixie’s and an ice cream stand, and figured that at some point I’d try them out. Well, this weekend, Carol and I had to go up to Burlington, so this was a handy opportunity for us to check out Dixie’s. Myself, I had to do my regular order of Biscuits and Gravy, while Carol had a stack of pancakes.

(Closed) Since I live in Grantham, if I feel the need to duck out for a quick bite, it’s often easier to drive down to Newport, NH than the Upper Valley proper, since (a) it’s closer (9 miles vs 16 miles), and (b) there are actually some interesting places to eat in Newport. Indeed, among other places, it sports a good (and reasonably authentic) Mexican place (the oddly-named Lil’ Red Baron, which for some items I prefer it to Gusanoz), a pretty good tavern (Eagle Tavern), and a drive-in complete with carhops. I’ll focus on the last one for this review (since I ate there today).