Major Knitter's Boot Camp

Cocoa Michelle

This is my new favorite spot in Westport.  I love chocolate, so what's not to like.  Cocoa Michelle sells high-end handmade gourmet chocolates.  There is also an espresso bar with breakfast treats (scones and the like) and a lovely quiet seating area.  I met some friends there today.  BF and I went for the first time about a week ago.  It's also become my must-have hostess gift source.  When BF and I went, we had the dark chocolate covered homemade marshamallows with our espresso and latte.  H.E.A.V.E.N.  I swear.

The homemade marshmallows come in two varieties - the first is the dark chocolate covered white marshmallow.  The second is the white chocolate covered chocolate marshmallow.  I'm hooked on the first one.  Yummy.

I took the bag of scrumptious chocolates to my friend's house as a hostess gift.  I even added one of my handknit ornaments which complemented the Cocoa Michelle colors nicely. 

This is what is inside the gift bag. 

Convinced?  I thought so.  You can get your own delectable chocolates here.

Cocoa Michelle
190 Main Street
Westport, Connecticut 06880
T: 203.221.0002
F: 203.221.0003
info@cocoamichelle.com

Matsu Sushi is a Hit

Generally when the boys are at their father's house, BF and I have Date Night.  It's a great thing to have a built in date night.  We usually go out to one of our favorite restaurants in town - either Tarantino's or Zest.  But with our new culinary capers resolution, we decided to try another eatery in town last night.  This time it was our first visit ever to our local sushi bar. 

Matsu Sushi

33 Jesup Road
Westport, Connecticut 06880
(203) 341-9662

For those of you who know us, you're probably wondering what the heck BF and I could possibly eat at a sushi bar.  That's a very good question.

I ordered the yummy chicken teriyaki bento box.  BF ordered the sizzling beef teriyaki plain with rice.  I like California rolls, but that's about as exotic as I get.  I've tried sushi at many restaurants before - but the Iowa girl in me just can't get accustomed to the taste and texture.  So while I can't vouch for the sushi and sashimi at Matsu Sushi, I can definitely tell you that the teriyaki is excellent.  We also liked the ambience of this restaurant tucked just off the Saugatuck River near the Westport Public Library.  This is definitely going to become a regular stop on our routine restaurant rotation (once we finish our Year of the Culinary Caper Resolution).

My challenge to you - make a point to get out and discover new eateries in your very own neighborhood. 

We're so glad we did.  We've learned more about our town in the first week of this resolution that we ever could have imagined.  Plus we've already squeezed in a Date Night every single night this week.  I promise our culinary capers will slow down once the boys are home and we're back to our normal school routine.   

Making a List, Checking it Off

I made a list of all the eateries in Westport, Connecticut yesterday.  If I didn't miss any public eateries, I came up with 110 places to eat.  Granted that counts the 3 Starbucks, the 2 Dunkin' Donuts, etc.  BF and I have been to nearly 2/3 of them.  This list is interesting because it made us aware of eateries we didn't even know existed in our town.  In fact, we went to check one out last night.

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I ordered the shrimp satay appetizer.  It was yummy, spicy and had a lovely peanut dipping sauce.  BF ordered the Tiger Beef.  It was fine.  This restaurant was a tough one for us because we're not big on spices, bell peppers and many other ingredients in Thai and Vietnamese food.  In fact, we picked out the simplest food on the menu.  Not too spicy.  Not too many ingredients.  Not too many vegetables.  I'd like to know how others like it.

Pho Mekong

1849 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 255-2748

After dinner, we wandered around town checking our list and seeing if we had included every restaurant.  We found a few new eateries - a health food store, a seafood fast food restaurant, lots of pizzerias and more.  This one is a bit of a stretch, but we wandered into one of the local  chocolateries in town

Munson Chocolates

1460 Post Road East
Westport, CT 06880
(203) 259-6991

What can I say?  I'm a self-confessed chocoholic.  I don't like milk chocolate.  I like DARK yummy chocolate.  Dark chocolate covered caramels are one of my favorites.  Chocolate toffee, chocolate fudge and chocolate covered coconut are right behind.  This is definitely worth a visit for the chocolate lover on your list. 

New Year's Resolution

BF and I began wondering if we had been to every eating establishment in Westport.  We concluded that we had not and decided to make it our goal to go to every one of them.  Our soft goal is to complete this by the end of 2008 - but we're not going to eat out 4 times a week to meet that.  We consider an eating establishment any place that serves prepared food.  Gas stations don't count, but concession stands count --at the beach, the swimming pool, the ice skating rink, etc.  Tonight was our first foray in this fabulous food frenzy.

Splash Restaurant
The Inn At Longshore
260 Compo Road South
Westport, Connecticut 06880
203-454-7798

I had the fish with crispy spinach and noodles.  It was a delicious meal in a lovely setting.  BF and I had a wonderful evening and look forward to our year of culinary capers.