Connecticut Roadfood Bus Tour 2012

billyboy


Lookin' good Mr. Rogo!  From where is that roll?  I grew up eating cold lobster salad rolls (still have yet to try a hot one!) at my aunt's place in Maine, just a short drive from Red's Eats in Wiscasset.  And she would bring them back to Central NY when visiting family and she would do a lobster bake for us with cold lobster salad roll for breakfast the next day!!

 
Westfair, which is not that far from you Billy.  That was the best I ever had, fresh out of the shell

I am of the mind, mind you( love the double entendre)that a lobster roll would be with butter. I, however, when being on the east coast, would try the mayo based kind.I still think I would love the butter based one.Just my opinion.

Our final stop of the day and the tour was Zuppardi's Apizza

in West Haven.  This was another place that they really rolled out the red carpet for us.  They set us up in the back dining room and Michael Stern

read a proclamation from the mayor of West Haven welcoming us to town and extolling Zuppardi's.  That was a nice touch!  While they were setting up the food for us, some of the family members

told us about the history of the business (the third generation is running it now) and introduced us to all of the family members on hand.  It is very obvious that these people care about each other and care about continuing the legacy handed down to them from their grandparents and parents.
 
They brought out a bunch of pizzas and set up a buffet.  It was incredible being able to try so many different pizzas. 





Mariton and I got a slice of just about everything and split it.  Her favorite was the white clam pizza, with freshly shucked clams.  Earlier, they were taking requests and Amy Briesch asked for a sausage and cherry peppers, which proved to be an unbeatable combination for me.  I was a little surprised that I liked the pizza here even better than what we had a day earlier at Pepe's.  BTW, this was another place in which we didn't have to pay.  I'm not 100% sure, but I think Roadfood paid here.  But, the nice people at Zuppardi's did give us free t-shirts and magnets.
 
As if that wasn't enough, Stephen Rushmore brought in ice cream from Ashley's in New Haven.  While the ice cream itself was very good, it was the amazing bittersweet hot fudge sauce that had everyone oohing and awing!  Some more photos from Zuppardi's:






 
The tour was now officially concluded.  From there, we said our goodbyes and the bus took us back to the hotel.     

Here are the places that we stopped at before, during the night in between and after the official tour.....
 
Polish National Home in Hartford

 
Chef's Dog House in Newington

 
Luna Pizza in West Hartford

 
Shady Glen in Manchester

 
Rein's in Vernon

 
White Hut in West Springfield, MA

 
Donut Dip in East Longmeadow, MA

 
LaSalle Market & Deli in Collinsville

 
Bantam Bread Co. in Bantam

 
Belgique Patisserie & Chocolatier in Kent

 
Mamie's in Roxbury

 
Bridgewater Chocolate in Brookfield

 
JK's in Danbury

 
Karl Ehmer's in Danbury

 
Denmo's Snack & Dairy Bar in Southbury

 
Rich Farm in Oxford

 
Dr. Mike's in Bethel

 
Sycamore Drive-In in Bethel

 
Goulash Place in Danbury

 
Modern Apizza in New Haven

 
Ashley's Ice Cream in New Haven

 
Louis Lunch in New Haven

 
Collins Creamery in Enfield

Nice work, BB!  The Zuppardi's pizzas were a great way to end things!
 
If I may ask and it wouldn't be too much of a hassle, do you think you could please go back and put some names to faces?  I know a lot of the attendees aren't active here on the forums but it would be interesting to "meet" some of the people we only know by name.  Thanks!

Thanks SC!  Here is my dilemma:  I know quite a few of these people by their real names, but not their screen names.  In fact, I have no idea if many of them even have Roadfood screen names.  And I am also not a fan of using people's real names without their permission.  But, there are undoubtedly some that I can go back and add.

Clearly scorecards should be de rigeur for future tours!

Great stuff! You do nice work -- all the time. And I'm glad to see you got to visit Louis Lunch.

Thanks Michael!  Believe it or not, I was way too stuffed to order anything at Louis Lunch.  Of course, when one of the ladies couldn't finish theirs, I stepped in.

As a first timer at Louis Lunch, I loved it!  First - their defacto prep is Medium-Rare!  Obviously the quality is high if you're starting at medium-rare!  From there, it's showtime!
As we arrived late, maybe 11pm'ish, the crowd was fun to watch.
I had mine with sliced raw onion and tomato...it was GREAT!
 

BB
 
I'd like to officially nominate you as the official Roadfood Archivist.  Between your photos and your prose, it doesn't get much better.  Thank you!!!  I love one of your last photos of Voyageur.   He looks like he is either landing from a jump for joy or celebrating a touch down!  Either would have been appropriate!

Thanks Karilyn!  Hey, I didn't know that was Voyageur.  Great, at least I can add his name to the photo.  And since that was on the way out, he was most certainly celebrating the pizza at Zuppardi's! 

What a wonderful trip report-you all look great!( especially you, ctd-however, having crushes between you, wj and bb).Fantastic food, fantastic people!

Thanks Ann - - I have crushes on those characters also! 
 
Pates de Fruits - those were really intensely flavored, and not found all to often.  I could have eaten a million!

Wonderful, wonderful report. Looks like an exceptional tour in terms of food and reception from the various restaurants. Really enjoy reading about the adventures. Hope someday that it is feasible for a west coast roadfood   tour stop.

Great pictures and report as usual bb. The pizza at Zuppardi's is the best looking thing I've ever seen!

The rainbow marked our last stop at Collins Creamery...fitting end as we did find the pot 'o gold!

buffetbuster, That was like the grand finale at a fireworks display!  Great job, thank you!

buffetbuster


I need to apologize for how awful my photos are.  I am in the middle of breaking in a new camera, because I broke a camera the weekend before.  In trying to find something satisfactory, I ended up buying and returning two cameras on the days before the tour.  In other words, there was no time to learn how to use it and practice ahead of time.  And it shows!  No excuses though, the photos should have been much better.

Of Course you are kidding!  Those photos are Great!.....more importantly, you caught the smiles and laughs of the folks!  Good food is one thing, but after looking at it for 30 secs, we know where it ends up and what counts.  The smiles and the Camaraderie of "the Group" add as much, if not more, to the pleasant experience!

Great pictures and writeups as always, Buffetbuster! Thanks so much!
 
I admit, I wish we were still using name tags on these tours. There are always new people who would benefit, and I blush to admit that sometimes it would be helpful to me, too!  

Okay, here is a complaint about the Roadfood bus tour.....
 
I just got back from an 80th birthday party luncheon for my uncle.  We had it at a local Italian restaurant that is well known for their pizza.  They set out a pizza buffet for us (sound familiar?) and my co-workers were raving about how great it was.  For me, it was so bad, I ate less than 1/2 a slice.  It seems that places like Pepe's, Modern and Zuppardi's have ruined pizza for me at home.  Thanks Roadfood!

buffetbuster

places like Pepe's, Modern and Zuppardi's have ruined pizza for me at home.  Thanks Roadfood!

well, there's this place in Atlanta...........

That's just my hometown doing its job of ruining apizza for everyone everywhere else.

buffetbuster


Okay, here is a complaint about the Roadfood bus tour.....

I just got back from an 80th birthday party luncheon for my uncle.  We had it at a local Italian restaurant that is well known for their pizza.  They set out a pizza buffet for us (sound familiar?) and my co-workers were raving about how great it was.  For me, it was so bad, I ate less than 1/2 a slice.  It seems that places like Pepe's, Modern and Zuppardi's have ruined pizza for me at home.  Thanks Roadfood!

 
Cliff, when interviewers ask me why I live in Connecticut and I answer, "for the pizza," I usually have to convince them that I am not being silly.... although, truthfully, I am such an indiscriminate pizza whore that I ate a slice at Costco for lunch today (and liked it); and when I have been away from Ithaca, New York, too long, I even occasionally get a craving for one of these:
 

I'm gonna need one of your business cards, Mr Stern
 
no, no, no.....not that one........the one where your job is listed as "indiscriminate pizza whore"
 
I'll pay postage :-)

IPW...for the next edition of lexicon!
 
Looks like we missed out on The Pantry....and we may have been close when at Mamies!

Michael-
What the interviewers don't know is that when you say "for the pizza", that you undoubtedly also mean "and the hot dogs, the ice cream, the fried clams, the lobster rolls, etc."  But, mostly for the pizza!
 
I am not now, nor ever will be, a pizza guy.  But, after this last Roadfood tour, I do get why people make such a big fuss over the pizza around New Haven.  It really is better there than anywhere else.

buffetbuster


Okay, here is a complaint about the Roadfood bus tour.....

I just got back from an 80th birthday party luncheon for my uncle.  We had it at a local Italian restaurant that is well known for their pizza.  They set out a pizza buffet for us (sound familiar?) and my co-workers were raving about how great it was.  For me, it was so bad, I ate less than 1/2 a slice.  It seems that places like Pepe's, Modern and Zuppardi's have ruined pizza for me at home.  Thanks Roadfood!

 
Good point BB! Roadfood has ruined many local foods for me. Having been led to some of the best of the best, the ordinary stuff close to home just isn't worth the calories. 

Being a born and bred Hoosier my bucket list for has been to watch the IU men's basketball team (this years presesaon #1!!!)play at every Big 10 arena.  While that is still my ultimate goal I now have a new item on the bucket list.  After reading another one of Buffetbuster's incredible trip reports it is to join in on a Roadfood Tour.
 
Your descriptions and pictures capture the essence of what those tours are all about....FOOD, FUN & FELLOWSHIP!   Someday hopefully I will be able experience it in person and you will see my smiling mug indulging in some regional specialty.
 
Until then I will continue live vicariously through the exploits of the Sterns, Bruce & Susan, Ayersians, BB, CTD, WJ and all the other wonderful contributors that make this the awesome forum that it is.