Culinary Explorations: On the Road Again to Connecticut and New York City

On the way to New York City, we stopped off at this diner for lunch. A relative had mentioned this place and said it was good. The place was busy and bustling with many ready and waiting to dig in with the vegetarian and multifaceted entrees. The menu had breakfast items, waffles, pancakes, bagels, omelets, clubs, vegan delights, burgers, eclectic entrees from all over the world as well as wraps and salad, starters, pasta, roasts , seafood and sauteed entrees all at reasonable prices. Desserts, ice creams, rounded out the menu.

I did not want to eat a lot so my mother and I shared the interesting huge offering of Twin Towers, vegetable strudel with seasoned vegetables rolled in a phyllo dough. Crispy, delicious and tasty, it was perfectly baked.

My sister had the protein cake like seductive tempeh reuben. I had heard of tempeh before but never had it.http://www.tempeh.info/
I took a bite of her sandwich. It was sliced and fried crisp and golden brown



It tasted very much like fried eggplant. This entree came with a wild rice cake, sauerkraut and maple mustard to give it a different intermingling flavor on grilled rye. It also came with a nice dark bean chili which has a nice smoky taste.

Then on to New York City where we stayed in a Bed & Breakfast near Natural History Museum and Central Park.
We hit fantastic Zabar's twice for savory knishes, crunchy olive bread, and more to snack in the Bed and breakfast near Central Park. Offerings include foi groi the gooseliver pate ($100) to other itemshttp://www.zabars.com/
http://www.yelp.com/biz/zabars-new-york










Then in the morning we hit this well known establishment. Supposedly mobbed at breakfast, we were able to find a nice table for brunch. Once again my son and daughter have good taste!
Supposedly this remarkable nice looking eatery, started out as a catering business and selling their remarkable apricot jam marmalades.

Sarabeth branched out and the result is a very nice restaurant with a remarkable list of delicious offerings for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

We settled down to decide what to eat. While the rest of my family zoned in on breakfast items, I had my on an innovative looking, sounding and hopefully delicious warm berry bread pudding (which I love and heard was good).


Now I am not much about plating, but wasn't this gorgeous looking! I let everyone sample some and then I dug in.

The bread pudding was sublime. The berry bread pudding was very creamy, The little "sprits" of strawberry puree amidst the vanilla bean sauce was divine. At $8.50, it was not cheap but this heavenly desert hit the spot for me and carried me through the rest of of the day. I was looking for something extra special and this was it. I don't usually go for dessert, let alone brunch but this was a winner as well as the other dishes.
The rest of my family had Spinach and Goat Cheese omelette and the Gruyere Cheese White Cheese Omelettes. They were savory and cooked perfectly. We could also then try some of the excellent marmalade signature jam.
After that we bought more from Zabar's to snack on the way and stopped off at a Dairy Queen on the way back before returning to Providence. I will be back in New York City May 21. More then. (if you have reactions, ideas etc to any of these or other posts or you have ideas about where to head to when we come back to NYC, post a comment! I want to try an ethnic restaurant if we can.

Wheatfields Bakery - the bread is thee thing here

We met my children for brunch as they said it was good. The place was pretty small but finding a seat did not take a lot of time. The menu did not include as many possibilities as I thought there might be but within those choices there were some excellent possibilities to select from. There were the breakfast menu, the sandwiches, soups and salads. Vegetarian as well as beef, egg dishes and more too. The Pastrami and Rye was excellent and came with garden greens, on whole grain bread. My wife loved the grilled portabella sandwich with marinated mushroom cap with Provolone, tapeneda, caremelized onions, wilted kale oil and viegar on crusty Ciabatta bread.
The sandwiches were all very good but I was not "wowed" by the size of these sandwiches however. I had tasted some olive bread and the smell and the taste still lingered in my mouth. It was so intoxicating I bought a loaf of the kalamata olive bread to take home to munch on for later and make some sandwiches. It was great on sandwiches, nibble and more . Maybe we will back someday for that bread!

Teller's :tried it once - I won't "bank" here again

 My former business partner was in Lawrence and we wanted to meet them for brunch. He suggested Tellers. Hey this place really is gorgeous inside. It was once a bank and the inside well looks like it. The buffet/brunch is nice but it is on the expensive side and it food did not really get me excited at all. It was good it just wasn't what I thought it would be for brunch. I thought the food would be better. Lots of salads, egg dishes, some pasta dishes and lots of others. But I was not really impressed to tell you the truth.. I had seen the menu once and it is very expensive for what I call regular Italian fare. I wondered why there weren't more pasta type dishes or Italian fare because this place is listed as Italian. I know a lot of people like it for the ambiance. But for me if I want Italian, I won't "bank" here again. My money is on other places for the most part.

Milton's : great place

My son who now goes to Juliard Music school in New York City, recently came into Lawrence. We wanted to go for Sunday brunch. He mentioned Milton's because he really liked the place. That's good enough for me. It was a good decision. The place is always packed and now I know why. We had to with just a few moments before being seated.
Milton's supposedly has some of, if not the best coffee in town (Lawrence). It is quite good with a variety of different coffees. You get a mug and then pony up to the bench to pour out whichever coffee you might like. I tried Milton's special blend and it is excellent. The only thing I did not like are some of the people that are sitting in front of the coffee and you either have to get around them or ask them if you squeeze in. Now on to the food.
Their menu is varied and has everything from sandwiches, breakfast items,Italiann fare, many egg dishes and much, much more.I chose the calzone which was enormous, the size of my arm and looked like it too. It came with a little cup of soup which was quite good. Nicely crusted dough surrounded the beef and cheeses inside, the calzone was delicious. I spread some of the tomato sauce on it and that really made it even better. My son had huevo ranchero and he liked it. My wife had one of their small pizza which was very good while my daughter had a salad.
Most people have tried Milton's and it is a favorite for them. Now it is one of my favorite when we come to Lawrence.

I had started a new group for gourmet cuisine lovers who wanted to get together each month. The purpose was to either have a themed party at a home or come together to eat at a new restaurant. For our first meeting, I chose Yahooz. The choice of the selection focused on the fact that I have seen this place from the road for many years but have we had never eaten here. My decison was a good choice for the most part.
It is nicely paneled with wooden beams and is a very handsome looking place inside. Quiet enough during these brunch hours to talk, converse and eat. And there was lots to choose from.
There were egg dishes and salads to start off. The beef ribs were meaty and moist. There were many other entree including spiced BBQ chicken and much more. This brunch cost $18 apiece which was a good deal considering this was the price (and above) of many of the entrees you will find most night for dinner. Most of the dishes are southwestern fare with steaks, fish, BBQ and more. All the entrees, sides and more were executed extremely well.
We all were glad we came and it was a nice cuisine adventure. Of course the company was just as good as the meal. We wanted a cozy place place and it is. The food is varied and everything tasted quite good. If you like regular American type fare with a Southwestern flare this is great. I can't complain. If we would come here again it would be for the brunch where you can pick and choose what you want for one price. But normally I would go for something a little more exotic with different taste, at reasonable prices. For us, that is the best way to go if we come back.

Rancho Huevo at Milton's in Lawrence, KS

I ordered the Rancho Huevo at Milton's in Lawrence, KS (home of KU and the Jayhawks) mainly because I heard about this dish but never had it. The restaurant (ranked #1 breakfast and #2 coffee in Best of Lawrence open (B, L, D)) really has some great coffee and best brunche offerings.

http://www.lawrence.com/best/2006/

Variety of good food at reasonable prices and always packed. Huge french toasts, different piza, hunge calzones,
I had made recipes like this. What really was good about this recipe in the wrapped tortilla was it added guacamole and sour cream to the eggs with hot sauce which gave it a different consistency. The fried potatoes with it were meager but okay. I got Black Mountain coffee blend which is smooth (the name coincidentally is the name for the little town I landed in North Carolina in 1973 to continue my tennis career). My son got the lox and egss which he likes. We shared the hummus which was chunkies then usual and also nicely came with thinly sliced yellow and red bell peppers, marinted artichokes and black olives.

I will have to try the Ranchero sauce on my own. I found from my book Coyote Cafe by Mark Miller. We did not go to his place
Coyote Cafe when we were in New Mexico (another story in my blog about the meals I ate there in the future) but I like his book and am using it more and more. I really like the extra little stories and insights he tells about each recipe.

Ranchero Sauce From Coyote Cafe Ingredients
5 lb Roma tomatoes 2 tb Peanut oil, (or lard)
6 Serrano chiles 6 Poblano chiles, roasted,
2 c White onion, finely chopped 1 bn Cilantro, tied
2 tb Garlic, finely chopped 2 ts Salt
Instructions for Ranchero Sauce From Coyote Cafe
Lightly blacken tomatoes and serranos in a skillet or under a broiler (about 4 to 5 minutes). Chop together and set aside. Saute onion and garlic in the oil over low heat until soft but not brown (about 10 to 15 minutes). Combine all ingredients in a saucepan (reserving a few strips of poblano chiles for garnish). Cook partially covered over low heat for 20 to 30 minutes, adding water if necessary. Remove cilantro. Garnish with the reserved julienned poblanos. One of Millers favorite sauces, similar to one served at Capri in San Cristobal de las Casas, in southern Mexico It is a rustic-style sauce that traditionally is cooked in the morning and is used throughout the day. Ranchero Sauce goes with eggs, chicken, pork, tamales, and seafood. Mark Miller, Coyote Caf? Typos by Brenda Adams NOTES : Yield: 8 cups Recipe by: Mark Miller; Coyote Cafe Posted to EAT-L Digest 19 Mar 97 by lunchuck on Mar 19, 1997
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Brunch ideas and recipes

Brunch is fun . New french toast recipes are great along with many others recipes.

Brunch ideas and recipes
http://gourmetfood.about.com/od/gourmetentertaining/a/momdaymenu.htm