Left at the Fork

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Category: By Food Rating (Page 14 of 15)

Maple French Toast, garnished with caramelized bananas, bacon marmalade, and walnuts. Stunningly good!

Original General Store, Pittsfield VT

October 30, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

What’s happening to the Vermont general store? It’s actually quite simple. They are becoming unnecessary, made obsolete by highways and easy access to the big boxes. It’s amazing that they’ve lasted as long as they have. And yet… there are large constituencies that mourn their continued disappearance. There are the old-time Vermonters who have grown up with general stores, the Vermont newcomers who came here, to some degree, precisely because this was a region that had clung to the old ways, and the tourists (fueling a large part of the local economy), who want to experience the Vermont of legend and lore. Continue reading

Would you like some jelly with your toast? Then you'll have some fun selecting your flavors from the kaleidoscopic presentation. All homemade.

Hash House, Las Vegas NV

October 29, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

For some reason we feel compelled to make this confession whenever we are about to recommend a restaurant for its hash: we like canned hash. OK, not “we”; one of us does (we won’t say which one, but we will say that his wife finds the tightly packed, greasy, cylindrical-shaped substance with an aroma uncomfortably close to dog food to be, how to put this delicately… vile). Hopefully, you’ll take that as an indication of a real love of hash, not a real lack of taste. Because if you trust us, we can direct you to a Las Vegas breakfast jackpot called Hash House, which really is a HASH house. Continue reading

Pardon the poor photo but at least the thick-sliced bacon and quality bun is evident. Every element of a Worthy Burger is worth eating on its own.

Worthy Burger, South Royalton VT

October 28, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

If you are predisposed to steer clear of hipster restaurants try to get past that bias in the instance of Worthy Burger. Yes, it can be insanely crowded, but the provenance-tagged, locally sourced ingredients are impeccable,  the local brews are eminently quaffable, and the prices are downright low by big-city standards, which South Royalton, Vermont most assuredly is not. It may not seem like a town as small as South Royalton can have a wrong side of the tracks, but here it is. The location may be improbable but the 20- and 30-somethings have found Worthy Burger and made it theirs. Continue reading

Cheese frenchees are a favorite Eastern Nebraska snack.

Don & Millie’s, Omaha NE

October 27, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

The cheese frenchee (on some local menus you’ll see it spelled frenchie) might be the quintessential bar food: a salty, fatty, gooey, thirst-inducing snack. Invented at a now-defunct regional chain named King’s Food Host, it shows up on the fast-food menus of a few eastern Nebraska restaurants, including Don & Millie’s, a mini-chain with about half a dozen locations between Omaha and Lincoln. Continue reading

We admire any seafood chef who gets a good crust on sea scallops without overcooking them.

Tozier’s, Bethel VT

October 26, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Do you love side-of-the-road eateries from the early days of motor touring? They are really quite scarce now, most having been razed for chain restaurants, shopping malls, and housing developments. That’s why we were especially delighted to find Tozier’s, very much as we imagine it must have looked in 1946 when Rip and Gwen Tozier purchased Rood’s Ice Cream Stand and cabin court. It was the Toziers who initiated the tradition of seafood at this restaurant in a New England state without a coastline. Today’s Tozier’s (motto: Tastes of the Ocean) still serves the fresh Ipswich clams and scallops, clam chowder, and lobster rolls that the 1940s Tozier’s was famous for. Continue reading

Bissinger's chocolate covered fresh blackberries are one of the world's great candies.

Bissinger’s, Saint Louis MO

October 25, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

The original Bissinger’s store in St. Louis, a dark wood-lined jewelry store of a chocolate shop, is no more. There are other, more modern branches in the St. Louis area, but it’s not for the St. Louis bricks-and-mortar chocolate shops that we sing our highest praises. Continue reading

Does maple syrup vary depending on where the trees grow, how they're tapped, how the sap is handled, ... ? We think so.

Mom and Pop’s World’s Best Vermont Maple Syrup, Rochester VT

October 24, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

It’s interesting how maple syrup is treated, for the most part, like a commodity. There isn’t a lot of talk in maple-producing regions about the differences in flavor between one producer’s, or region’s, product, and another, the way wines or cheeses are discussed. Oh, the New York industry, for instance, surely will claim that their syrup, as a whole, is superior to any other maple syrup produced in the world, but they never go beyond such boilerplate to explain the subtle differences that make their syrup so good. And, it’s very rare to see, say, one Vermont sugar producer detail exactly what makes their syrup better than others or, if not better, even distinctive. The message we, as consumers, get is that it’s all good, and all pretty much the same. Continue reading

Enter here for a top notch enchilada plate.

Elite Restaurant, Jackson MS

October 23, 2014 / / 4 Comments

REVIEW

The Elite is a Greek-American-owned Southern diner, opened in 1947 by Pete and Jimmy Zouboukos, serving a terrific enchilada plate. It’s not a diner in the New Jersey sense of the word, yet they specialize in the kinds of food you would expect to find in diners, if diners had originated in the American South; simple, comforting food. Continue reading

Get your pie with vegetables and you'll find firm cubes of potatoes and colorful carrot pieces added to the mix. This is our preference. Note the generous quantity of chicken, big pieces slow-cooked the night before.

Harrow’s Chicken Pies, Reading MA

October 20, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

What foods do you turn to when you want, no, need to have jangly nerves soothed; to enjoy the culinary equivalent of a leisurely back rub; to shut out the modern world for a quiet evening at home? A mug of hot cocoa? A big plate of macaroni and cheese? Yes, those might work, but how does a warm chicken pie sound? Better yet, one you don’t have to cook yourself. Like the kind you can bring home from Harrows. Continue reading

Eaton's is all about maple syrup. We like Eaton's syrup on their very good blueberry pancakes.

Eaton’s Sugarhouse, South Royalton VT

October 19, 2014 / / 8 Comments

REVIEW

Eaton’s is a tourist restaurant. Let’s state that right up front. Yes, almost anywhere in Vermont that specializes in things maple receives plenty of tourists but (and maybe we’re wrong here) we can’t imagine the local who would walk through Eaton’s doors.  That doesn’t have to imply that there’s nothing good to eat under Eaton’s roof. In fact, there is, but you’ll have to choose carefully. Continue reading

Yes, that's sizzled bologna (!) garnishing those excellent kosher dogs.

Attman’s Authentic New York Delicatessen, Baltimore MD

October 18, 2014 / / 2 Comments

REVIEW

Corned Beef Row. The name designates an area that was once the center of Jewish life in Baltimore. Today, Corned Beef Row consists of Attman’s Deli and little else. Seymour Attman, longtime owner of the deli, has passed on but the deli continues. This once thriving Jewish neighborhood can today seem a little intimidating to some, but a daytime trip to Attman’s (the only time it’s open) will make it worthwhile. Continue reading

Guess what's a specialty of Onion Flats? Homemade, of course.

Onion Flats, Bethel VT

October 17, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Summer along the New England shore means seafood, but what about inland New England? What’s the great roadside food to be found at summer only stands in the Green Mountains of Vermont? How about seafood? Yes, improbable as it may seem, locals flock to Onion Flats in the Bethel countryside for belly clams, haddock, scallops, and lobster rolls. Continue reading

Barnacles on a weather-beaten lobster are a good sign, indicating that the creature hasn't shed its shell in a while.

Beal’s Lobster Pier, Southwest Harbor ME

October 16, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

A longtime favorite of ours, Beal’s is a no-frills lobster pound on a working Southwest Harbor pier. Beal’s seems a bit more “permanent” than we remember it from our initial visit decades ago, when it was more working lobster pier than restaurant. Continue reading

Pesto Infused Omelette, from one morning's breakfast specials menu: egg whites infused with homemade pesto and filled with tomatoes, avocado, and diced onions. Sue asked them to hold the grilled portobellos.

Daphne’s Diner, Robbinsville NJ

October 15, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Our new favorite local diner! Especially after the sale of Mastoris in Bordentown a couple of years ago Daphne’s, open since October of 2011, has become our go-to breakfast out spot. Actually, we should say Daphne’s reopened in 2011, because this spot was once occupied by Daphne Wilczynski, up until 2005. Then Daphne closed the diner to focus on catering, and the old diner alternated between vacancy, a brief run as the Italian restaurant Diamond’s, and another brief episode as Fernando’s.
Continue reading

Smothered fresh sausages were on Thursday's menu, along with smothered cabbage and white beans. Glenda's famous stuffed turkey wings are available Monday through Thursday, and we nabbed the last one of the day.

Glenda’s Creole Kitchen, Breaux Bridge LA

October 14, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Whenever we go in search of Left at the Fork eats, our fantasy revolves around finding that perfect, out-of-the-way, unassuming lunch spot with a local clientele, good food, and low prices, run by an out-front, hands-on proprietor who knows her customers. Such places are simply not that common. Well, that fantasy was fulfilled by Glenda’s outside of Breaux Bridge, LA. Continue reading

Don't be fooled by the "culinary confetti" garnish, this is grandma's turkey dinner.

Aunt Lucy’s Dinner House, Kingston ON

October 12, 2014 / / 0 Comments

CLOSED

REVIEW

“Time-tested recipes for that familiar taste of home,” says Aunt Lucy’s website, and that statement pretty much sums it up. Aunt Lucy means to coddle you, not challenge you. There’s nothing to eat here that you haven’t eaten before, at home. And hallelujah for that! Continue reading

The Green Mountain Smokehouse does about as little as possible to call attention to itself.

Green Mountain Smokehouse, Windsor VT

October 11, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

We were a little surprised by the Green Mountain Smokehouse. We’d read about it elsewhere and were expecting something more than what we found. The smokehouse has a small retail room, but they’re really geared towards their wholesale business. Oddly, we found very little selection among the smoked sausages. Most of what they offered were fresh, and frozen at that. The aroma was truly intoxicating, however. The kid manning the retail area told us he couldn’t even smell it anymore! Continue reading

Clay's line of Signature fruit pies features a layer of cream cheese filling and another of pecans between the crust and the fruit. It sounds like it could be a bit much but they execute this with restraint. The modest-sized wedge is wonderful.

Clay’s Family Restaurant, Fremont IN

October 10, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Two words: bluegill and pie. That’s what you need to know if you’ll be visiting Clay’s Family Restaurant, just outside of Fremont, Indiana. Continue reading

Willis and Tina Wood run one of the last remaining boiled cider production facilities in the country.

Wood’s Cider Mill, Springfield VT

October 9, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

Boiled cider. Not cider syrup, or essence of apple, or apple nectar. Boiled cider. Why boiled cider? Because, with true New England logic, it starts with cider. And then it’s boiled. What remains after the volume is reduced about 85% is dark and opaque. It’s sold not in the kind of sleek and sexy bottle indicative of a rare and prized delicacy found in expensive urban food emporiums, but in a utilitarian jar that might hold generic white distilled vinegar, basic square black and white label, with red inverted triangle in the middle, glued front and center.  Continue reading

Fried matzo, known elsewhere as matzo brei, is perhaps the ultimate Jewish soul food. Here it's supplemented with onions and salami, creating something of a hoppel-poppel effect.

Frances’ Deli, Chicago IL

October 8, 2014 / / 0 Comments

REVIEW

They say Frances’ Deli ain’t what it used to be, but what is? Well, perhaps Manny’s is, but Frances’ is actually even older than Manny’s, going back to 1938 Chicago. It’s now a few blocks north of its original location, and Frances, the man, is long gone. And replacing the Eastern European staff and old Jewish customers are crowds of 20- and 30-somethings from the surrounding Lincoln Park neighborhood. Continue reading

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