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.30As the name suggests, Bakesale Betty's is all about cookies, cakes, bars, and scones, none of which I tried when I visited. I had only two sweet things -- strawberry shortcake and blueberry pie. They both were good, the shortcake made upon a big, creamy biscuit and loaded with real whipped cream and full-flavored strawberries; the intensely fruity pie build upon on a crust as beguiling as a sugar cookie. The brownies, sticky date pudding with caramel sauce, and cinnamon-crumb-topped banana bread all look marvelous, and will be tasted next time I come here. And I will come back, for sure, because the fried chicken sandwich I enjoyed, dining on one of the ironing-board tables set out on the sidewalk, is an East Bay notable. While ordering at the counter, you can watch the sandwiches made in the open kitchen. Chewy-crusted buns are loaded with coarse-cut cole slaw then piled with pieces of chicken still hot from the fry kettle. There is a spicy crunch to the chicken's golden crust, which is thin enough that the sandwich's potential redundancy of bread and breading is immaterial. Chicken comes first, but egg, in the form of egg salad, shouldn't be ignored. That is the alternative sandwich on the two-item menu, and while it lacks the crunchy, spicy punch of the chicken, it is a superb sandwich with its own kind of drama in the form of peppery arugula in lieu of lettuce. To drink, there is tart lemon slush; and as for dessert – the sky is the limit at Bakesale Betty's. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=5844Wed, 23 Jul 2008 07:57:00 GMTWhile most Roadfood restaurants have a particular dish or two to draw our attention, the Friendly Toast masters the entire meal of breakfast. Don’t be alarmed if you think you have walked into the wrong establishment - on initial glance, it can seem you have entered a funky vintage store in downtown Portsmouth. Supersized, retro artifacts such as oversize bottle caps and posters cover the walls floor to ceiling, reminding us of the quintessential brands of last century. To top it off, tables, chairs and place settings are mix and match, adding to the homey ambiance. There is much to see, and the casual service of the retro-chic wait staff gives you plenty of time to soak in the ambiance. Breakfast all-day is the most popular meal, and locals fill the place from the morning through the late evening (open 24 hours during weekends.) The Friendly Toast is one of the rare restaurants where every dish I have tried is one I'd order again. The ingredients are fresh, full of flavor, and remind me of a home-cooked meal my grandmother would spend a day preparing. Bread is made on the premises and is used for sandwiches and delightfully thick French toast. Be sure to order home fries to accompany any plate. The al-dente potatoes are sliced thin, mixed in with caramelized onions and a little bit of spicy red pepper to awaken any sleepy morning tastebuds. The bacon, egg and cheese sandwich was served with a cooked-to-order runny egg and lean bacon on a piping hot toasted English muffin. Omelets are light and fluffy and filled with a fresh selection of ingredients. Thank you to Chris & Amy for the recommendation. Located only 5 minutes from I-95 in New Hampshire (and only a 60 minute drive from Boston), the Friendly Toast is now a stop en route of my annual pilgrimage to Maine.http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=5834Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:56:00 GMTFrog Hollow Farm mainly is in the business of selling fruit. Beautiful pears, peaches, apples, nectarines, plums, and grapes come from their 120-acre organic farm on the San Diego River Delta. You can buy the fruit at the Frog Hollow Market in the Ferry Building, and its freshness puts waxy supermarket fare to shame. The market also sells pastries made from the fruit: turnovers, galettes, tarts and tartlets; and while we never have had one that didn't cause us to moan with ecstasy, the cherry tartlet is nothing short of orgasmic. A delicate sheath of buttery pastry hugs fruit that is extremely sweet and extremely tart, the antipodes generating unspeakable excitement among taste buds coaxed to do their damnedest. The coffee is swell (fair trade organic, natch) and if, somehow, you are not a cherry fan, how about a turnover filled with rhubarb or gingered apples, a creamed scone (with Frog Hollow marmalade), or a fruit pocket that is a million dollar Pop Tarts? The highlight of summer, other than the sensational fresh fruits themselves, is Frog Hollow's real peach popsicle. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=5842Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:56:00 GMTI am a transplanted New Yorker who has lived in Connecticut for twenty years. I am perplexed as to how Connecticut can claim to have the world's best pizza (Pepe's included), when parts of Brooklyn and Queens in NY have a local slice joint comparable to if not better than most of the venerable pizza parlors in CT. That being said... Carminuccio's is one of the best when it comes to pizza! The mere fact that a slice with the topping of your choice will arrive with more topping than you see on most whole pizzas is testament to the quality and taste of a Carminuccio's pie. The four cheese, the white pizza, and the garlic pie all are highly recommended. The grinders are fairly good (I have never been disappointed), but the pizza is what rules here. You will be satisfied if you enjoy thin, slightly charred crusts and better than average toppings. A plain pie should be your starting point; build from there. I am not a fan of places that overextend their menus, but Carminuccio's also has desserts. They fill their own cannoli, so the shell is always crunchy and flakey as it should be. Not a fancy place, just a few booths and tables, but the pies will make you glad you found this unheralded gem in Newtown.http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=568Tue, 22 Jul 2008 18:55:00 GMTWhen fellow hot dog connoisseur Elizabeth Nell announced she had found a great one, I listened. Elizabeth, for whom Blackie's has always been the ne plus ultra, said that the franks at Big Ed's, a truck that parks in the commuter lot next to Chuck's Steak House near exit 3 off I-84, were even better than Blackie's. Understand that while Elizabeth is a true hot dog aficionado, her sub-specialty is tube steak texture, perhaps even more than taste, and when she raved about the firmness of Big Ed's dogs, they went to the head of the must-try list. Sure enough, the crossbow-tight skin snaps audibly when your teeth sink into one of these muscular beauties, which are so buff that I want to say their chewiness verges on crunch. They're swell under mustard and pickle relish, even better when dressed with some of Big Ed's signature onion relish, a dark red potion that is just faintly sweet and with an earthy onion zest. A few dining notes: Big Ed's is parked in the lot Monday through Saturday at lunchtime only. Currently, there are no seats whatsoever. Customers dine standing up or in their cars. Nor is there a telephone, but the proprietors said they are considering installation of a hot dog hot line in the near future.http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=4992Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:00:00 GMTThe aroma of cured deli meats and sour pickles is a dizzying rush when you walk into the Carnegie Deli. A host will point you to the back; and as you walk towards the tables, you pass a counter full of meats and smoked-fish salads behind which sandwiches are made. Salamis hang like a curtain over the counter, adding their garlicky perfume to the air. At the back of the restaurant, or in the adjoining dining room, you will be directed to a place at a table where you sit elbow-to-elbow with strangers. Forget privacy, peace and quiet when you come here; a Carnegie meal is a down-to-earth communal experience shared by blasé regulars, wide-eyed tourists, and lots of show-biz celebrities (whose pictures line the walls). This is a genuine New York landmark – the quintessential mid-town deli. Featured in the Woody Allen movie "Broadway Danny Rose," the Carnegie is best known for immense sandwiches made of corned beef, pastrami, brisket, turkey, chopped liver, and triple-decker combinations of ingredients. Beyond sandwiches, the large menu includes blintzes and potato pancakes, gefilte fish and pickled herring, borscht and kreplach soup. Our favorite thing to eat is the pastrami sandwich. Although purists gripe that the meat is no longer available hand-sliced, we have no complaints about the Carnegie's machine-sliced pastrami. It is mellow and not too zesty, utterly tender and infused with fatty savor. It is ridiculously large – so tall that the top piece of rye bread appears to be merely an afterthought applied to the tower of meat. In fact, it is difficult to eat the ordinary way, by picking it up in your hands and taking a bite. Many customers go at it by piece-by-shred, directly from the plate. To accompany the monumental sandwiches, the Carnegie supplies perfect puckery accouterments – half-sour and sour dill pickles arrayed in silver bowls along the tables. Aside from the food, one of the pleasures of dining at the Carnegie is eavesdropping, which you do whether or not you want to because you are seated so close to other people. We remember a visit several years ago when one little old lady sitting near us shouted to her friend across the table, "Today I saw the doctor." The sparrow-sized woman actually had to crane her head high to see over her sandwich – a mountain of pastrami combined with an inch-and-a-half of chopped liver sandwiched in rye. "His office is nearby. I make my appointment in the morning, so I can come here when I am through." She expertly hefted half of the mighty sandwich in her two tiny hands, inhaling steam wafting up from the warm pink meat. Before taking that first delicious bite, she proclaimed loud and clear for all the table to hear: "First I have my treatment … then I have my treat!" http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=2050Tue, 22 Jul 2008 16:00:00 GMTTucked into Downtown Charleston is a fairly new specialty bakery called Cupcake. There you will find a dazzling array of flavor choices of everyone's favorite childhood treat, with a grown-up appeal. Cupcake offers nine flavors daily with a rotating menu, from classic Southern red velvet to more adventurous pina colada. Their Rocky Road, served on Mondays during the summer, is an absolute dream. It combines dark chocolate cake, chocolate marshmallow icing, and toasted almonds, and is garnished with miniature marshmallows. It is the most delicious cupcake I've ever eaten, and prompted our daily visits to Cupcake each day we were in Charleston. Children can't help but get excited about the flavor choices, and adults can definitely appreciate the updated nostalgic feel of this bakery as well as the creative flavor combinations. When in Charleston, singles, couples, and families can all enjoy Cupcake!http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=5831Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:40:00 GMTOne cannot help but be skeptical when confronting a "real" Amish anything in Pennsylvania Dutch country. This area has more than its share of cheap attempts to cash in on the Amish people who do in fact still live here, and the stream of visitors hungry for some contact with Amish culture. Most of these places seem about as authentic as an Arkansas merman. So we are delighted to report that the Green Dragon is a true farmers market (Fridays only) served by and for many Amish (and other) people. Our urban suspicians were erased when, after asking the photogenic checkers-playing proprietor of one particularly photogenic stand if it would be alright if we snapped a picture or two, it was made clear in no uncertain terms that it WOULD NOT be alright. Our December visit didn't turn up a summer's bounty of produce, but what was there was gorgeous and very nicely priced, mostly cabbages, cauliflowers, and the like. The sprawling market has outdoor stands and a number of buildings with additional vendors, not just of fruits and vegetables, but of meats, smoked and fresh, baked goods, and lots of the sort of non-food items found in a flea market. There were jars of achingly beautiful relishes and preserves. We purchased a bag of dried homemade pot pies, the thick noodle squares used for making the rib-sticking chicken dish. We also enjoyed some gloriously sticky pecan buns, and a first-rate country sausage sandwich from Newswanger's stand. There is so much more to sample, and we can only imagine what it must be like in the heart of summer. We hope to be back soon.http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1650Mon, 21 Jul 2008 14:33:00 GMTMy husband and I had a goal to not eat at any chain restaurant during our vacation in Charleston, as this is truly the only way to experience the true charm! Our last night took us to Hominy Grill, and it ended up being our favorite meal of the week. Once we sat down, our super-friendly waitress brought a complimentary small carton of boiled peanuts to begin our meal. Their fried green tomatoes come on top of homemade ranch dressing, and were a fabulous appetizer. After perusing the side and vegetable menu, my husband ordered a vegetable plate. Lima beans are prepared with chopped baby portabellos and carrots. Carrot coins are served chilled in a delicious sweet dill glaze. You have to eat the grits (regular or fried cheese grits) when you come here, and the potato salad is unlike any you've ever had. It is prepared with red new potatoes, chopped celery, and a bit of jalapeno (I think) for just the right amount of kick. I had the grilled eggplant, red pepper, red onion, and goat cheese sandwich and it was incredible. Their sweet tea is some of the best in the South, as is their cornbread. The atmosphere is friendly, relaxed, and comfortable and we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Reservations are recommended for dinner; the place fills up quickly inside and outside on their patio. This is the place we cannot WAIT to visit again!http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1799Sun, 20 Jul 2008 12:39:00 GMTMy family had lunch here and absolutely loved it. The blackboard offered no less that eight vegetables of the day. Torn between fried chicken and shrimp creole, I followed our waitress' recommendation for the creole and was not disappointed: large plump shrimp in a not-too-spicy tomato sauce studded with Tasso ham and bits of bacon. I also ordered a side of lima beans, which were the best I've ever had. Flavorful but still light (not a hint of bacon drippings), they would convert a carnivore into a vegetarian. My wife had the fried green tomato BLT. The FGT was not greasy, though it was thicker and firmer than most. We also asked for biscuits, which they do not normally serve at lunch. Having read the reviews, I was expecting extraordinary biscuits. These had obviously been left over from breakfast and suffered as a result, though I'm sure they were wonderful when fresh. Desserts are outstanding. The buttermilk pie is light, faintly lemony, and similar to (but lighter than) a chess pie. The chocolate pudding is outstanding, made with bittersweet chocolate; this is almost a chocolate brulee without the crust. The recipe is on their website, and we will definitely make this at home. The chocolate chip pound cake with custard sauce is a favorite of our five year old. All in all, this is informal Southern cooking at a highly elevated level. Highly recommended. http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=1799Sat, 19 Jul 2008 13:32:00 GMT