Duo Reincarnated as Kokoro on Greenwich Ave!

I was SO excited to see, on a Kokoro postcard that my coworker brought back from her sushi run, the phrase "WE HAVE MOVED TO GREENWICH- FORMERLY DUO & PLATEAU (STAMFORD)".

My coworker said it was the best sushi she's ever had in Greenwich. Kokoro is somewhere on the bottom half of the Ave.

I assume they moved because more people are spending money on sushi on the Avenue?

A quick glance at the website shows a resto that looks a lot like Duo and a menu that's a mix of both Plateau and Duo. Happily, the amazing Spicy Tuna Pizza appetizer is still served!

Duo was one of my favorite restaurants and I'm happy to see its owners- and amazing food- are still around.

Burgers Shakes and Fries, Darien: Good

We hit the new BSF in Darien and were pleased.

The good:

• Burgers nicely cooked, bread delightfully buttery. The baby liked both, so I had to order him his own burger.
• The onion rings were crunchy and yum.
• The staff was prompt and helpful.
• The manager responded kindly and positively to my comment about them needing to order child seats ASAP. (They're ordered but haven't arrived.)
• Parking is easy.
• Huge bottle of ketchup on every table.

The not as good:

• Fries were the teensiest bit too soft.
• I found the sweet tots (sweet potato tater tots) way too sweet.
  
• Your husband can't read your mind, so he didn't get you cheddar and pickles on your burger.
• Your kid will eat too much of the burger and shake you were supposed to share.

Definitely worth a revisit. Bring friends so you can share the side dishes and sample everything!

BSF is right across from the Starbucks on the other side of the Post Road, but you go to the next light so you can park behind BSF.

Thanks to Chris Preovolos of Lunch Break Chronicles for alerting me to the opening of BSF! See his post for nicer pics.

Last Meal at Bennett's

Wow, just read on Lunch Break Chronicles that Bennett's is closing. The husband and ate there a month ago during Bedford Arts and Crafts. My cosmo was AWESOME. One of our steaks was overdone and one was underdone, but after the cosmo, and because my parents and sister were babysittng the kid, I totally didn't care. My husband and I traded and I ate the overdone one (with delicious sauce). The appetizer and dessert were good.

Anyway, bye, Bennett's, place where the Dalai Lama once ate!

Coalhouse Rocking the Pumpkin Beer

We had a fabulous dinner at Coalhouse Pizza tonight. You may know that I am pretty obsessed with pumpkin-related food, so the fact that Coalhouse had a Pumpkin Ale by Southern Tier Brewing Co only augmented what would have been a very good meal any way. I got the mac and cheese with broccoli rabe and sausage (delish!). The husband got the BBQ Sandwich. He loved it. And when I say he's picky, I'm not exaggerating. I'll be getting that BBQ Sandwich next time.

The kid ate almost all of his meatballs. At 9.75, NOT a great kid's price, but it's Kobe beef and I suppose relatively healthy, so I'll pay ten bucks as opposed to 6 or 7 for something not fried. I asked for a half portion, and the waitress acted like I was speaking Martian, but, well, the kid did eat almost all of it so... touche, waitress, touche!

Coalhouse was full of people who were obviously enjoying their food (and beer and wine). The chopped salad (love it!) towered on the plates of the people at the next table. My toddler passed the time waiting for entrees by drawing with the crayons that Coalhouse provided (thank God). It was a nice easy evening.

Coalhouse doesn't deliver, but that's OK for us since we live pretty close. We do takeout a lot.

Incidentally, I drove almost the ENTIRE LENGTH of the Southern Tier (of New York) last weekend for a friend's wedding. That's route 17/86. It was a gorgeous, gorgeous drive, the most beautiful I've taken in a while, and that made the over 7 hour drive bearable! It's almost to Lake Erie. I'm still somewhat in shock that I drove there Saturday morning and returned Sunday afternoon. Just one of the many reasons I'm finding it hard to keep up with blogging!

PS I had my first pumpkin spice latte of the season at the Stamford Mall yesterday!

Is Koo Koo Roo Dying?

One of my favorite chains of "fast food" in Los Angeles is Koo Koo Roo chicken. I was surprised recently to find out that there are basically only three franchises of the store remaining in Los Angeles: West Hollywood, Larchmont Village and Santa Monica. Pasadena and downtown Los Angeles have closed recently. I remember there used to be one in the Miracle Mile area of Wilshire Boulevard also.

Apparently the parent company of the grilled chicken joint was bought by Luby's this summer after the parent company Magic Brands (which also owns Fuddruckers burgers) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April.

Koo Koo Roo has a prominent location in the "gay ghetto" in West Hollywood, but it seems like the gay boys have changed their allegiances to Tender Greens (which also only has 3 locations in Southern California).

Have you eaten at any of these chains? What do you think of them?

FOOD REVIEW: Juicy's Restaurant (Los Angeles, CA)

Juicy's brown stew chicken and beef short ribs.

Readers of this blog will be aware of my longtime quest for the best Caribbean food in Los Angeles (for background, see here and here). During my quest a friend of mine took me to Juicy's Natural Restaurant near Washington and Arlington just North of the 10 freeway. I hadn't even heard of the place, so I was happy to try it out. Next door they have a West Indian grocery store for products that you may be missing from the islands.

Unfortunately, I was not very impressed with the food at Juicy's. One of my favorite aspects of West Indian food is the peas and rice, and Juicy's was simply overcooked to the point of being bland. The brown stew chicken should be intriguingly spicy (piquant, not picante) but theirs was not really distinctive in any way. See my review of Joan & Sisters for some good brown-stew chicken and rice and peas. Although that place does not qualify as a West Indian restaurant; they are a Belizean restaurant and an excellent one at that.

I'm actually not sure if Juicy's roti or not (one criteria for my quest for an excellent Caribbean/West Indian restaurant is that it should sell roti; another criteria would be having the drink sorrel on the menu).

If you are really craving some good Caribbean food I would recommend heading out to Leimert Park to check out Ackee Bamboo or stopping by the Beverly Center and experiencing Kassava.

Name: Juicy's Restaurant
Location: 3426 W Washington Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90018.
Contact: (none).

AMBIANCE: B.
SERVICE: B+.
VALUE: A-.
FOOD: B-.

OVERALL: B.

SBC Rocks the Kids' Menu!

Kudos to SBC for their great kids' menu. They offer the usual burger and chicken fingers, as well as salmon and numerous other options, WITH a veggie, mashed potatoes or fries, fruit cup, drink AND dessert- all for 6-7 bucks. Spectacular!

With prices and healthy options like that, I can order what I want without worrying if the kid can eat it too.

It was also very quiet on a Friday night at 6.

Thanks to Ryan for the great service.

Next on my list to try is Riviera Maya, whose outside patio was almost full at 7. I saw what I am pretty sure was sangria that I'm dying to try!

Butterfield 8 Stamford: Date Night, Bacon

Whoa. On News 12, I just saw the chef at Butterfield 8 and he said they have macaroni and cheese... with jalapeno and bacon. I am so there!!!!
(Is this a good time to mention that my friend's friends make Bakon Vodka? Random, but they do, out of Seattle, where I visited last summer before the ill-fated California leg of the trip where the baby puked for a week straight and I had to syringe-feed him around the clock for several days, find a pediatrician, and go to the ER twice.)

The chef, Masekela Jones, also said they have date night Thurs- 50 bucks for appetizer, entrees and dessert, PLUS a bottle of wine. I am also- SO THERE.

He said they get their seafood from New Wave Seafood in Stamford so it's always fresh.

This is why I love News 12 for local news. It's such a great idea to have local chefs come in and show off a few dishes.

Ooh- Butterfield 8 also got Best Singles Scene in the Fairfield County Weekly, as well as Best New Bar. See text below, from Butterfield8's press page.

Best of Fairfield Weekly 2010
BEST SINGLES SCENE
Whether it's happy hour or late night, there's always big groups of young women and big groups of young men at Butterfield 8. There's lots of room, so you can roam and mingle, says Doug Newhook, regional manager. On Thursday nights, guys have been known to invite girls they've just met to join them right away for the Date Night special, a shared appetizer, individual appetizer, shared dessert and a bottle of wine for $50.

Best of Fairfield Weekly 2010
Date: 05.14.10
The bartenders are friendly and energetic at Butterfield 8. The bar area is spacious and attractive, with planks of Brazilian chestnut rising seven feet up the wall. Adding to the comfortable feeling are the specials on food and drinks, $3 beers, $4 wine glasses, $5 mixed drinks, and $8 appetizers during the lively happy hour (5 to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday). The place draws people in their 20s and 30s who work at the corporate headquarters in downtown Stamford.

Toddlers Love Thai!

Well, I barely survived another work week. The pollen is killing me.

On a higher note, I declare Little Buddha to be both baby-friendly AND toddler-friendly.

Last fall when the kid was 6 months or so, we ate lunch there amongst the office crowd, and the staff did not bat an eye. Tonight, I ordered a side dish of veggies for the kid to accompany homemade meatloaf and yobaby yogurt, two of the few food items I can count on him eating. The baby- well, toddler now- nibbled on the carrots, which is more than he's ever done with ANY other veggie in his 13 months of life... and then... HE ATE A TON OF BROCCOLI FLORETS OUT OF MY HUSBAND'S BEEF WITH BROCCOLI.

THE KID- ATE- BROCCOLI.

You go, Little Buddha! And as usual, my green curry went so great with a beer. Now baby's in bed with a full tummy, and I'm getting blog time!

I did have to painstakingly rip up the broccoli into teeny florets because they weren't that soft, but a mom will do anything to feed her baby right, so that was nothin'. And now I know if I douse broccoli in something good, he'll eat it.

Feeding a toddler is hard. Suddenly they refuse to eat that easy pureed baby food, and you have to scramble to figure out what they WILL eat. And you HAVE to get food in them, or they won't sleep. My kid will eat ground beef and turkey like it's candy, and he will let us spoon feed him yogurt, although tonight he insisted on trying to feed it to himself, which was very, very messy.

Tomorrow I'm going to try steamed broccoli florets with peanut sauce. I bought 3 toddler/kid food books this weekend. I'm going to try to find some more easy recipes, because I detest cooking. And his meals have to also work for my husband and me, because I am NOT making any more food than I absolutely have to. I HATE COOKING. There is so much else I'd rather be doing. So- MUCH- else.

Advocate on Coalhouse!

Innnnteresting!
Melanie Barnard just reviewed Coalhouse Pizza in today's Advocate. It's worth a read for some ideas of what to try on your next visit.

I can't really agree that Coalhouse is "often with a line outside," but then again, I don't ever get to go out to lunch during the work week, so maybe there are hordes of diners out in Bull's Head at noon.

Melanie emphasizes the wide variety of types of food that Coalhouse has, which for me is a good point since my husband and I have different food tastes. We haven't gone there often enough for me to have tried much, though, except the pizza and salad, so it might be some months before I can give an opinion on any weirder food options.

Also, I really cannot afford to eat out like I used to. Daycare breaks the BANK, man! I am so not joking!!!!

Bull's Head's Got Ya Covered

First of all, why is it called Bull's Head? No time to research now if I hope to actually post something... I was home with sick baby today so feel justified in ignoring him for a few minutes to blog!

Recently we are loving Bull's Head for the food options. Last week I got Tabouli Grill for lunch two days in a row. Their Greek salad is so fantastic, huge and healthy, and I love the addition of the sweet (but spicy?) peppers. (I'm from rural Virginia, I don't know what those peppers are called.)

We also like Coalhouse Pizza, because although I am not SUPER in love with the pizza, there is a great selection of unusual pizzas and I like their salads a lot. And hey, any pizza is pizza, afterall, so I'm not even sure why I'm complaining. I think because the crispy crust is a little hard to share with the baby, maybe. Although he's crazy for the meatballs on the meatball pizza!

I now love Hawley-Lane shoes not just for my comfortable old lady shoes, but for a good selection of kids' shoes.

I'm about to visit Zen Spa and Nails, because my other nail place doesn't have the made-famous-by-Rihanna yellow that I need. It's not florescent, it's straight up yellow.

And I am a huge fan of the newsstand/convenience store, because the people who run it are always nice to me, unlike the one of Bedford St.

And Kaleidoscope Kids has those adorable Angel Dear blankie friends that are so soft and lovable- great baby shower gift.

And Sal's Pastries if you need something sweet!

OK, off to enjoy our Coalhouse Pizza takeout, since I'm still not sure baby is feeling awesome enough to hold it together in a restaurant, although in general he's a fantastic dining companion.

NY Times Reviews Aria

Rather, Patricia Brooks reviews Aria, the year or two old Italian resto in the shadow of Trump Tower. She gave it an OK, which I'd agree with based on our one visit there. My risotto was OK.

I will say, the ample space between tables might make Aria baby-friendly, but it's a pretty upscale setting. However, with the state of the economy, I'd say babies should be pretty welcome in any restaurant these days if it means their parents are spending money.

And let me tell you, the moms will probably order a glass of wine, and then a second.

FOOD REVIEW: Taste of Brazil (El Sereno)

interior

interior, another angle

rice and beans with fried yucca

chicken stroganoff

One of the joys of moving into a new neighborhood is slowly discovering the local eateries and other commercial establishments. The Brazilian eatery and grocery store Taste of Brazil immediately stood out from the other places in El Sereno with its huge green and yellow sign (and Brazilian flag).

Taste of Brazil serves as something of a cultural center for the Brazilian diaspora in Los Angeles while simultaneously serving up delicious, genuine Brazilian cuisine.

Name: Taste of Brazil.
Location: 4840 S Huntington Dr., Los Angeles, CA, 90032.
Contact: 323-342-9422.

AMBIANCE: B+.
SERVICE: B+.
VALUE: A-.
FOOD: A.

OVERALL: A-.

Vinny's Backyard BBQ Cooks Beef Perfectly

You should read that as a headline: "News Flash! Vinny's Backyard BBQ Perfectly Cooks Beef to Different Degrees of Doneness for Three People!"

I am serious. My father-in-law, the beef connoisseur, said the beef in his steak sandwich was done perfectly: medium-rare. I asked for my burger medium well, and it was so. The mother-in-law wanted her burger medium- it was so! And the husband, as always, liked his ribs.

There is something wonderfully reassuring about a place where you can go and get a decent burger with good fries. The place is baby-friendly but not overrun with kids, the bar is huge, lots of TV with sports on... I love the place. Granted, the food is not diet food, but... it's enjoyable.

Vinny's is pretty much the extent of our eating out these days, although we do plenty of delivery food when my "meal planning" falls through: Thai Chi, Republic Grill, Michelina's, Kit's Thai Kitchen, Little Buddha, and occasionally Pearl East.

My baby, right now, is licking his reflection in the mahogany end table. That's funny.

FOOD REVIEW: Brownstone Pizza (Eagle Rock)

MadProfessah discovered Brownstone Pizza (2108 Colorado Blvd. Eagle Rock, CA 90041. (323) 257-4992) a few months ago and have visited a few times but thought I would finally get serious about writing up a review. Brownstone Pizza is a fantastic neighborhood pizza joint. It is probably not the best pizza in Los Angeles, but it is definitely better than the horrendously over-hyped Casa Bianca Pizza which inexplicably gets declared repeatedly as "the best pizza in Los Angeles"! and is not even the best pizza in EAGLE ROCK!

Actually, Brownstone Pizza may not be the best pizza in Los Angeles either but it is pretty damned good. I have eaten at Brownstone on several occasions in the last several months, and ordered food to take-out. The pizza is excellent, especially if you like thin crusts with tangy sauce and fresh toppings. Their non-pizza items are worth mentioning as well, with meatballs the size of your fist in your choice of sauce [HINT: don't choose "butter"] added to your pasta of choice. The interior is small, but clean and more inviting than most New York City pizza joints, although it is curious there are not one but two flat screen TV's in a space smaller than a typical living room.

However, you don't need to make the schlep to Brownstone's for the ambiance, you're there for the pizza, and of some faux foodie friend of yours told you that Eagle Rock had the best pizza in town and you are daunted by the (inexplicable!) 45 minute wait to get into That Other Pizza Place saunter on down Colorado Boulevard to Brownstone's--you won't regret it.

Name: Brownstone Pizza. Location: 2108 Colorado Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90041. Contact: 323-257-4992.

AMBIANCE: B+.
SERVICE: B+.
VALUE: A-.
FOOD: A.

OVERALL: A-.

Little Buddha: Curry of Champions

A friend came over with her baby to visit today, and we ordered curry from Little Buddha: she the red with chicken, I the green with beef. I scarfed mine down while my tired baby fussed in a bouncy seat, and she managed to eat hers while her son military crawled around my living room, eating my shoes, shredding my Shape magazine, and pulling over our fireplace wood on himself.

I don't think I'll ever order that red curry, because the green transports me to another world... a world of very spicy food unlike anything else in Stamford. All I needed today was a glass of white wine, or maybe a pale ale, to go with that... but maybe that would have transported me too far!

You can't go wrong with Little Buddha for delivery; our total was 19 bucks for lunch portions. We both would have liked more rice, but you know, us new moms are trying to fit back into our pants... so that's OK.

Thai Chi's Green Curry Rivals Little Buddha

Actually, I'd say it beats it in the spicy category. WOW!
TC is less sweet/creamy, so probably made with less coconut milk (or whatever, I'm no chef) than LB and its Darien sibling Little Thai Kitchen.
TC's meal contained a lot of perfectly cooked eggplant, allowing me to believe that I was eating healthy. It was a good night of delivery food.
I have a sweet tooth, so I you forced me to choose one, I'd have to go with Little Buddha's sweeter version. (And I'd ask them to make it as spicy as Thai Chi's!)
Oh- and I have to also point out- the non-creaminess of TC's green curry makes it go better with a beer, in my opinion.
PS this post is short because I'm on the iPhone.

Green Curry at Stamford's Little Buddha: Flawless!

A few days ago, I lamented that I chose cashew chicken (boring!!!) as my first dish from the new Little Buddha. Yesterday my youngest sister was in town (she just took the NY bar exam- good job, K!). We wanted to go to Carter's to look at baby clothes, and Little Buddha was right across the street. I figured we could roll the stroller up for some outdoor seating, so we called my husband to come join us. Well, turns out there is no outdoor seating, so we left the stroller in the car, but there was just enough room inside for us to eat quite comfortably. There are 16 seats or so, and we sat right in the middle, taking turns holding the baby.
I was SO pleased with my green curry. I found myself wishing for a glass of white to go with it, but I didn't see a wine list anywhere. (Does anyone know if they have wine and beer?) That curry made me break a sweat, so you know it was good.
You must check out Little Buddha if you haven't done so already. Not every dish is spicy, so there will be something for everyone. AND THEY DELIVER!!! See menu here.

Little Buddha is very baby friendly. I'll repeat my pretty basic criteria for that:
1. Table are not so close that your baby is going to be in someone else's face
2. Staff does not act like you are an a-hole for wanting to eat with a kid.
In face, out waiter even made goo-goo faces at my baby. Now that's baby-friendly!

Two complaints about Little Buddha:
1. It was a little warm inside. Possibly because of the enormous window and the hot day, combined with the kitchen right near the eating area. It wasn't hot, it just wasn't cold, and on a hot day, a cold resto is nice.
2. The food took surprisingly long considering the resto only had 5-7 other people there. I assume it's because they were busy doing takeout orders? It wasn't a problem for me, but my husband was antsy to get back to work.

No bigs.

Little Buddha Open for Bisnass!

Little Buddha, the new Thai resto on Summer St., is a sibling of the very good Little Thai Kitchen of Darien. I was totally into LTK's excellent spicy green curry when I was trying to induce my own labor as my due date approached and passed in March. (Total fail, but it was delicious.)

We got delivery from Little Buddha last week, and I have to say, we completely screwed up the chance to try interesting food. I thought the cashew chicken might have a fun kick, but it was just ordinary Chinese food with slightly more spice. I should have gone for the curry or some other dramatic dish. The husband got a boring steak dish as usual. At 15 bucks each, the price was not worth the dull food. Next time I'm going to get more bang for my buck and just get the curry, which I know is amazing.

I haven't been inside Little Buddha, but a friend said it's pretty small and not stroller-friendly, so if you take your baby there, you should probably wear him or her! (I know, baby-wearing sounds weird, but it is super-convenient. I ate dinner out last night and the night before while wearing my baby in the fabulous ERGObaby carrier, available at our fab local Bed Bath and Beyond baby section.)

Jazz Outdoors at Stamford Mall: I'll Take It!

I'm glad to see Stamford Town Center making the most of their outdoor space. Here's info on the jazz, which runs from June 17 to Aug. 12. Too bad the outdoor dining looks out on a traffic circle (for valet) and Tresser Blvd., but it will still be good people watching and good music. The food... well, I can't say any of the mall places (PF Cheng's, Mitchell's Fish Market, Capital Grille) are my favorites, but I've been known to eat at them! Looks like the mall will be a good place for Wednesday happy hour, and the press release actually mentions that the Fairfield County Happy Hour Club will attend the inaugural jazz event next Wednesday. I like those people, so maybe I'll try to go.
About those much maligned mall restos:

Mitchell's Fish Market was our first outing with baby because booths are perfect for breastfeeding AND stashing the baby's carseat if he happens to fall asleep. We wanted a slightly fancier booth place because it was our two year wedding anniversary.

Capital Grille- ate there once and will not go back if I have the option to do Morton's instead. The meat was OK, but house salad SUCKED (sorry to use that word, but I feel very strongly about salads) compared to Morton's chopped salad. Morton's is just cool, and Capital Grille is just OK.

PF Chang's- We sometimes go here if we go to Barnes and Noble. I really like their crab wontons with a glass of white wine! However, for your Asian food of choice, you should do Thai Chi, formerly Plateau- better quality food, and they deliver!