http://www.roadfood.comRestaurant reviews from the most memorable local eateries along the highways and backroads of America.en-us(c) 2006, Roadfood.com. All rights reserved.30Bantam is a charming little village in upstate Connecticut with a world class bakery. Since Niles Golovin opened it in the summer of 1997 the Bantam Bread Company has set a spectacular standard of artisan breads that are the equal of – if not better than – anything we have eaten in the great-bread cities of San Francisco and New York: tawny-crusted peasant bread, rugged multi-grain, chewy rye with caraway seeds, and rosemary-perfumed Kalamata olive sourdough. A “holiday loaf,” created for the bakery’s first Christmas season and studded with toasted walnuts, golden raisins, and sour cherries, has proven so popular that it is now available year around. Of special interest are the sourdoughs baked every day but Sunday (and Monday, when the bakery is closed). “There is a tremendous amount of mystique attached to sourdough,” Niles told us a while ago. “But it isn’t so mysterious, really. What we are doing here is capturing wild yeast. We propagate it by feeding it three times daily. When I come in a little before two in the morning, I've got a full bucket of sourdough, and as I progress through the bake, I use sourdough in each batch and by the end of the bake I'm left with just a small amount in the bucket. Then we feed it whole wheat flour and well water. Three times, on schedule, we feed it until the bucket is refilled again. And it grows, it really grows! What’s happening when you put the flour and water in that bucket is that the yeast is screaming out, ‘There's a party going on!’ and all the airborne yeast in my bakery sort of migrates to the bucket to join in. So in effect what we are doing is taking a sourdough culture, which is a natural yeast culture, and inviting all the yeast in the neighborhood to join in.” Joyous bread is more than enough to lure us to this charming little shop, but over the last few years, Niles has added other attractions: gorgeous one-man pizzas (aka foccacias) topped with cheese and olives or fresh tomatoes and herbs, biscotti and mandlebrod for crunchy munching, spectacularly beautiful fruit tarts for dessert, and a recent bakery wonder that somehow got labeled a “dirtball.” It’s a cupcake-sized sweet pastry coated with sugar that has the luscious texture of a butter croissant and the avoirdupois of a cake donut. One of these with a cup of strong coffee is what we expect to be served at the gates of Roadfood Heaven. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=100Tue, 13 May 2008 19:29:00 GMTIn the humble little town of Sandy, OR, a sign at the city limits states: "The Gateway to Mt. Hood." When skiing, snowboarding, or hiking one must pass through this corridor to reach Mt. Hood. Tired of ordinary fast-food tacos, my adventurous spirit led me to LaBamba Mexican Restaurant & Cantina on the main thoroughfare. LaBamba has a gracious, good-natured, and pleasantly cheery owner, Carlo Vicenttin. LaBamba’s delectable fare caught the attention of the Mexican Consulate in Portland. The Mexican government was selecting three of the best restaurants to train at the prestigious Gastronomic Seminar to further learn traditional and highly cultured Mexican cuisine. LaBamba fit the profile, expenses paid by the Mexican government, and they were on their way. Bestowed with this high honor, they were recognized with another coveted top distinction and singly received an invitation to a renowned seminar at Oaxaca, Mexico. The combination of expert aptitude and new experience and knowledge has kept customers returning and new ones raving. The attentive wait staff acknowledges customers immediately, flashing a genuine smile, making one feel as if they have walked through the front door of a home. I have found the quality of food to be superior to that of other Mexican restaurants: fresh, full of succulent flavor, and served in generous portions. I have yet to finish a plate. When seated, a large bowl of freshly made tortilla chips arrives; these warm enticing triangles are especially suited to scooping up freshly made salsa. In my opinion the salsa is textbook, a balance of inspiration: thick enough to stay on a chip, thin enough to pour over a burrito. My husband’s taste finds the salsa heavy on the onion. I personally like the small crunchy additions. LaBamba's staff is keen to notice a salsa or chip bowl diminishing, quickly remedying the situation. Tender morsels of white chicken breast is mildly seasoned, brimming in their own exceptional juices. Imagine this fine fowl coddled in a handmade tortilla. Grilled green jalapeño, left whole, with seeds and stem removed, add a mild bite. Next in this enclosure are two layers of gooey, comforting mild cheddar cheese. This chicken enchilada is covered in a trademark sauce. It's my favorite dish, and I order one with whatever else I am eating. I prefer no added cheese, no rice; it is no problem to ask, for you shall receive. Even when fully stuffed, their desserts should not be missed. I am impressed with this establishment enough to give it my stamp of approval. I trust you will too. Note from mr chips: There is also a Portland branch of La Bamba: 4908 S.E. Powell Portland OR 97206 503-445-6341 http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=5503Tue, 13 May 2008 18:15:00 GMTIf you're ever in Atlantic City, I suggest you eat at White House Sub Shop on Arctic Avenue. My family is originally from Jersey and I had never been there. It is such a fantastic place to go, and not only for the food; the atmosphere is key. There's nothing like watching the guys behind the counter cooking the cheesesteaks and making the hoagies. The walls are covered with pictures of famous actors and singers who have all had the White House Special. While waiting at the counter for over an hour just to place an order, we sampled top-notch salami and cheeses. I loved watching the guys make the food; they have such a way about presenting the meat and cheese. It is all laid out in fresh bread in a special order. You can tell there is some kind of detailed training involved. The White House is worth the wait and I would stand in line five hours to eat there and enjoy the photos. It's a small place with maybe five booths; eat in the street if you have to. Just eat there. It will be worth it.http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=125Mon, 12 May 2008 18:00:00 GMTIf you like breakfast, you need to know about The Sandy Hook Diner. It's an inconspicuous eatery just a minute's drive off I-84 (exit 10), where breakfast and lunch are served seven days a week. While the lunch menu is fine -- a full repertoire of burgers, dogs, club sandwiches, and fried seafood, with good milk shakes on the side -- it is that morning meal that keeps me coming back. Every day a chalkboard lists a slew of kitchen specials, such items as maple French toast served with Vermont syrup, country ham steak, sausage gravy with biscuits, pumpkin pancakes with spice syrup, eggs ranchero (with salsa), cranberry French toast and omelets of all kinds. My personal favorite is whole wheat banana nut pancakes, which are tender and delicious, dotted with nuts and lovely lodes of warm banana. The regular menu is a breakfast-lover's delight, including French toast available thin or thick and with or without raisins in the bread, short stacks and full stacks of pancakes with or without fruit toppings, and fillings for omelets that range from raw or fried onions to artichokes and three kinds of cheese. With eggs, you get your choice of either home fries (chunky) or 50-cent-extra hash browns (lacy), and you can also pay a little extra to have ordinary toast replaced by cinnamon toast, raisin toast, or a muffin. Every day features one flavored coffee in addition to the regular brew; iced coffee and hot chocolate are also available. A cozy, friendly eatery, Sandy Hook has a small dining room as well as a counter that is a great place to sit and kibbitz. The regular waitress has a full thesaurus of synonyms for 'hon' that she freely uses to address friends and newcomers. Last visit, I was honeybunch, dear, and darling all before my second cup of coffee was poured. On weekends, there is often a small cluster of people waiting on the front stoop for a table to open up.http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=591Sun, 11 May 2008 17:40:00 GMTWhen it comes to food for the visitor, Las Vegas is a funny place. All the attention goes to the casinos, for three things: the upscale restaurants run by nationally known chefs, the buffets, and the old-time bargains like 99-cent shrimp cocktails. People seem to forget that Las Vegas is a big city and, like all big cities, there are plenty of superb places to eat around town. You just have to know where to go. M & M Soul Food is one such place. The menu and hominess are right out of mid-Tennessee (or Mississippi, original home of the founder). And so is the fried chicken, with a brittle, highly-seasoned skin enveloping juicy deep-down-good meat. The Loveless cooks would be proud of this chicken. Fried pork chops are similarly appealing; the rugged crunch of the crust melds with the porky savor, and we find ourselves searching the bone for any last hidden crevices so as not to leave any nuggets of meat. Cornbread is served pancake-style, and these are not to be missed; devour them when they're hot and fresh from the griddle. No soul food cafe is complete without a roster of well-cooked and well-seasoned vegetables. M & M does not disappoint. All the classics are represented: bracing collard greens, thick macaroni & cheese, sweet yams, porky black eyed peas, red beans and rice garnished with hot sausage, rice and gravy, cornbread dressing, fried okra, and more. As in all the best soul food restaurants, service is as down-home as the food. Expect to be treated as a fellow human being (high praise indeed).http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=5290Sun, 11 May 2008 17:40:00 GMTMickey's is an East Hartford icon. Grab an order of fried clam bellies and some (HOT) New England clam chowder and drive down the road to Riverside Park for some views of Hartford and the lovely Connecticut River. Mickey's has its frying down to a science. The batter is flavorful but it doesn't take away from the fish. The atmosphere leaves a bit to be desired, but if you are one of the locals you know to head down to the park for that! Their chowder is always hot, and tends to be thin. However there is always plenty of flavor and, of course, clams. As is the tradition, the food is served in cardboard boats and wrapped in waxed paper. My only issue is that their tartar sauce is made with a sweet relish instead of a dill relish. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1391Sun, 11 May 2008 14:24:00 GMTWe continue to drive a hundred miles about two or three times a year to go to Greenville, shop, hang around the lovely redone downtown area, and finish up with dinner at Charlie's Steakhouse. What is wonderful about Charlie's is best expressed as a flipside of what happens when we visit, typically, an Outback Steakhouse. We leave feeling like we spent too much on dinner, it wasn't that good, and about half the time we got annoyed by either a too-perky and attentive waitperson or just the slog of waiting around for a table. When we visit Charlie's, we never feel like it cost more than the value of the food, the food is consistent and excellent, and it feels like going over to a favorite aunt's or friend's for dinner. The staff is incredible; on about half our visits a wonderful lady who's worked there for 20 years (20 years!) waits on us and she's a textbook waitress. Always right ahead of you with what you might need next, chatty and warm, and not a pest. On this visit we also chatted up the owner who was seating folks about her new Smart car, and a younger waitress who was also well on her way to being as good as the vets. I get amused because the menu includes quite a few seafood and chicken choices... but what's the point? The steaks are the equivalent of the very best you could do at home on a really good grill: well-selected, seasoned almost not at all, and perfectly cooked. They do all the little stuff well here, and that's what I love about Charlie's. Outback should send senior staff here on a regular basis to bone up. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=140Sun, 11 May 2008 13:20:00 GMTWay, way off the beaten path, a long, twisting ride off Highway 17 at the east branch of the Delaware River, you will find Ray Turner’s smoke house. Here, deep in the woods he sells eels. They are trapped each autumn in a river weir that Ray spends most of the summer building. Once they’re caught, they are brined with salt and profoundly sweet dark-fall honey, then smoked over apple wood. The result is fish that Ray modestly calls “good groceries,” but that any connoisseur of smoked foods will swoon over. Eel meat is lush and oily, richer than any fish we know; its infusion with the dark honey brine and smoke give it a savory/sweet punch that is irresistible. Eel has long been a favorite food here on the Delaware, and although it may have an icky reputation among squeamish eaters (who erroneously think of it as a snake rather than a fish), it is a truly wonderful regional delicacy. “All you have to do,” Ray explains, “is get over the ewwww factor and you fill find that eel is something very good to eat. The only problem is that eels are seasonal, so although Ray tries to catch and process as many as he can when they are running, by the next summer, he’ll be long out. But that’s OK, because he also smokes trout and salmon, duckling and Cornish hens. In other words, no matter when you find your way to this backwoods fish camp – which has been a working smoke house for generations – you will find food well worth taking home. When we visited, we came away with twelve gigantic smoked shrimp and an eight-pound slab of bacon. Ray will ship his smoked fish via UPS in insulated packaging year around. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1239Sun, 11 May 2008 13:10:00 GMTWe started our meal at Westbrook with the clam chowders, both the Rhode Island and the New England. Both were terrific, seasoned very well, with large chunks of clams. Then the hot lobster roll arrives on a grilled hot dog roll with a side of clarified butter and coleslaw. Excellent fresh coleslaw: you can taste the chopped onion and hear the crunch of the cabbage and carrots. The dressing is a nice mixture of subtle sweet and vinegar. Now for the reason we are here: the lobster roll! There had to be over two cups of lobster on my roll; hot and delicate claw and tail pieces. I enjoyed mouthful after mouthful of buttery goodness. After our meal we strolled through their market and picked up some chowder and fresh fish to cook at home. The food at Westbrook is so great, I booked them to cater my wedding! http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=2473Sat, 10 May 2008 22:23:00 GMTAfter hearing about Harold's from friends, family, and Roadfood.com users, I finally stopped in for lunch. I had the cold borscht, a "small" corned beef sandwich, and hit the famous pickle bar. The cold borscht alone was worth the trip: very cool, refreshing and sweet. I could have easily had two more bowls and left content. The pickle bar is nothing short of amazing. The pickles are as fresh as it gets and packed with flavor, the pickled tomatoes are amazingly good, and the health salad is crunchy, sweet, and just tart enough from the vinegar to be addictive. The pictures here of the sandwiches do not convey the sheer beauty of the food. The good corned beef is hot, lean, and tender. I managed to finish half of my small sandwich before calling it a day. I am definitely going back to try the kasha knish, a hot tongue sandwich, and more of that pickle bar. Easily one of the best places I've been to in years.http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1344Sat, 10 May 2008 07:08:00 GMT