Major Knitter

Baked By Melissa

Bethany came to visit us this weekend and brought a wonderful little treat from NYC (little being the key word)

These itty bitty stuffed cupcakes are Baked By Melissa and they're absolutely perfect.  They're just a tiny morsel of deliciousness that allow you to sample myriad flavors without all the guilt.  You can eat five or six of these miniature cakes for the price, er, calories of one cupcake.  Heck, most cupcakes today are so big - you could probably eat ten of these and not even match the calorie count in a competitor's giant cupcakes.

It was a great visit - and the boys loved the sweets.  If you're in the city - check these out.  There's one shop not too far from Purl.  Maybe you could make it into a yarn crawl and sweet treat adventure!  

Cheers!

My Favorite Fig Tree

Did you guess that BF and I were in Sao Paulo, Brazil?  If so, you were correct.  That was the Brazilian flag with the Sao Paulo state flag to its left.  We dined at a wonderful restaurant in Sao Paulo, and one that is particularly memorable for us, called Fig Tree, or A Figueira.  It was wonderful.  I just love getting together with old friends and laughing, and laughing, and laughing.  The best part of this vacation is the resting and relaxing that was done.  Hardly any knitting got done.  I brought yarn to knit three pairs of baby booties and I only finished one booty (that's a single booty, not a pair).

This is the tree trunk of the overgrown Fig Tree namesake that grows in the center of the restaurant.  It's utterly amazing.

Here's a very dark, hard-to-see picture of the Fig Tree with its branches reaching out to every guest at the restaurant.  Good laughs were had by everyone.  Great friendships.  Great memories.  Great times. 

Did I mention that I love vacation -- especially when it involves friends in Brazil.

Coffee An' Donut Shop

My hometown has some delectable eateries.  None are perhaps as friendly or as tempting as our very own homemade donut den called Coffee An' Donut Shop.  Locals refer to it lovingly simply as Coffee An'

I went there last week for breakfast with Elizabeth and today again with another friend, Anne Marie.  Try as I might, I simply cannot resist the homemade goodness of the chocolate frosted donut, which flies off the shelf.  If you come to Westport, there are a few things you can't miss.  Knitting Central is one of them.  Coffee An' is another. 

Coffee An' Donut Shop
343 Main Street
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 227-3808

Going to Bombay

It must be international food day at my house.  I'm certainly on a kick.  The day after Falafel Inn, I went to Bombay Bar and Grill - Westport's Indian restaurant.  To be honest, I've only been to an Indian restaurant once in my life and it wasn't a good experience, so I wasn't too excited to try it again.  But I'm an adventurer, and everyone raves about my town's amazing Indian jewel, so I decided to give it a try.  I'm so glad I did!  Bombay features a taste medley at lunchtime with a tantalizing buffet (or you can order off the menu if you prefer).  I opted for the sampler buffet.   Everything was scrumptious. And the decor and atmosphere of this restaurant was very hip and chic.  Go check it out if you want a little exotic excursion.

• Bombay Bar and Grill
• 616 Post Road East
  Westport, Connecticut 06880
• (203) 226-0211

Oh, did I mention that Bombay is conveniently located in the same strip mall as Knitting Central?  Extra bonus points for location, location, location!

P.S.  I forgot to rave about the wonderful staff.  I mentioned to the maitre d' that I wasn't really familiar with Indian food, and he personally walked me through the buffet line explaining what each item was.  I was quite touched with his hospitality.  And I fell in love with the Naan bread -- former Westport resident Martha Stewart's personal favorite - as it says on the menu.

Falafel Inn

After the gym on Monday, I decided to swing by the local Falafel Inn for lunch.  I ordered the vegetarian combo platter and sat and knit while I waited for lunch. 

I learned to like Middle Eastern food when I lived in Brazil.  It's very prevalent there.  My favorite food is the Esfiha, which is what the Brazilians call the Middle Eastern meat pie.  After a quick Google search, I discovered it's really called Safiha - which makes sense since words don't start with the letter S in Portuguese (thus Safiha becomes Esfiha). 

However you spell it, I got my fix.  My sock didn't progress very far, but I had a smile on my face.

Napoli Sul Fiume

BF and I are on a roll.  We seem to be hitting the few restaurants in Westport that are on the water.  We recently went to Napoli Sul Fiume located on Riverside Avenue.  The restaurant has outdoor dining available if you'd like to overlook the Saugatuck River.  It was a nice late afternoon dinner... but perhaps too early for dinner.  Our food was fine, but the service left us wondering if we were seated before the kitchen was even open.

The view was very nice, though.  Go give it a try and tell me what you think.  Just go at a respectable hour for dinner - and not something to be confused with a late lunch.

Positively Positano

I haven't visited any new restaurants in Westport lately, but BF and I managed to catch up on a new one this weekend.  We went to Positano right on the Long Island Sound with some dear friends.

BF and I arrived early for our dinner reservation.  Our friends were stuck in the rainy Friday evening rush hour traffic which offered the perfect opportunity for BF and I to catch up with each other since we've each been on the go so much these past few weeks.  While we waited, we enjoyed the bread basket.  Beware.  If you're on a no carb diet - Positano has great bread.  If you're weak of spirit, you might have to ask them to take away the temptation as it's a hard one to resist.   

Our meal continued with more delicious food from there.  We had scrumptious salads and appetizing entrees.  I had a monstrous veal chop (first time I've ordered veal since I was ten years old) but it was well worth it.  Everyone at the table had a meal that was sumptuous and savory.  The piece de resistance was the tiramisu.  Remember - I'm not eating dessert - so I had the fresh berries.  The berries were berry-licious - but the tiramisu got high praises from our friend who grades an Italian restaurant based on its tiramisu.

So go to Positano for the food.  Most people go because it's one of the rare Westport restaurants happily situated right on the water.  Friday night was a downpour if you remember - so we didn't get much of a view - but the fare was memorable.  Call now and make your reservation for a night on the town.

233 Hillspoint Road
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 454-4922

But wait, there's a funny ending to our night.  We were having such a wonderful time with our friends that we chatted and chatted until finally we were the last ones in the restaurant.  You know you're in the suburbs when you close a restaurant at 11:00 p.m.  The lights flickered, the clean-up began in earnest and we took the hint.  While we could have stayed with our friends for much longer, we decided to call it a night.  When we got outside, our cars had already been pulled up front by the valet.  At least we were ushered out in style with a smile.  So make your reservation... but don't plan to stay all night. 

Yet Another Italian Restaurant in Westport

BF and I went to another Italian restaurant in Westport.  It's been awhile since we've tried a new hometown eatery.  This was Seminara's Restaurant and we had a nice meal.   BF had the margarita pizza and I had the seafood pasta. 

Westport has an inordinate amount of Italian restaurants for its population. It's very hard to pick a favorite.  BF and I are already devout fans of our favorite a) family style, b) high end, c) low-end, and d) quick & easy local Italian restaurant.  It's really hard to put another one on our list.    I'm sure glad we went to try this one out, but we'll probably stick to our personal favorites.

John's Best Pizza & Grille

Recently BF and I went to the newly rebuilt John's Best Pizza & Grille in Westport.  It had my favorite thing for a family style Italian restauarant -- a pizzaiolo

We didn't order pizza for lunch, instead, I ordered the Fresh Mozzarella salad minus the roasted peppers:

BF ordered the meatball grinder.

The ambience is clean, fun and inviting.  We'll definitely be taking the boys back to this place, but next time we'll order a pizza.  If you're sensitive to garlic and onions, be sure to say so, our food was infused with it which is fine if you've got a stomach of steel.  Unfortunately, my 40-something stomach can't handle any garlic I can see or smell (I could do both).  I am excited to try it again.  Check out John's Best Pizza & Grille and tell me what you think.

361 Post Road West
Westport, Connecticut 06880
(203) 227-7247

   

Some Things Are Better Left Undone

BF and I went to our local gourmet grocery store  - Balducci's - for breakfast this morning.  We gave it mixed reviews.

On the plus side, they serve Illy Cafe - so what could be better, I ask you?!.  On the downside, everything at Balducci's is gourmet.  Unfortunately, there are some things in life that just shouldn't be made in a gourmet fashion.  An Egg McMuffin is one of them.  Sure we had delicious English muffins, finest quality eggs, cheese that was to-die-for and scrumptous smoked bacon... but somehow it was too much.  I must admit we probably would have been better off with an Egg McMuffin at McD's.  I'll stick to Balducci's for the coffee, though.  I also enjoy their soup and salad bar at lunch.  Of course, their gourmet prepared food for take-out or catering it out of this world.  So go there for gourmet... not fast food.