Category: Connecticut

I had to ask the Indian developers at work for approval before I tried Darien’s Coromandel. Once I had their okay, I dragged five other co-workers to eat lunch with me (and also to make sure I didn’t have to walk along the highway). For lunch, Coromandel only serves an all-you-can-eat buffet for $12. The choices are plenty and unlike the buffet selection I’m used to at Balucci’s in New York City.

Sure, there’s the usual vindaloos and paneers, but when was the last time you remember having jardaloo sali boti, or lamb cooked in apricot? The three times I’ve been to Coromandel, I’ve skipped the complementary tandoori chicken just to make room for that lamb dish. It’s so soft and easy to eat and that hint of sweetness makes it a stew like no other. Not that the staples don’t make the cut: the chicken vindaloo, though not as spicy as I would like, is flavorful in that perfectly burnt sienna sauce color. I fell in love with Indian food the very first time I had saag paneer and they do saags very well here without being too mushy. The combination of shredded cabbage, broccoli and carrots peppered with black sesame seeds is their best vegetarian option, as well as the lentil dahl with chickpeas. A smaller table houses the chutneys and the sides. If you’re so inclined to start with a mixed green salad, you can try different chutneys from coconut to mango to tamarind.

It’s just too bad I can’t live without the warm nan nor the basmati rice to make room for everything else on the table, but of course, there’s always room for the kheer, or rice pudding. Hmm, maybe I should think about walking from there back to work.

Coromandel has several locations in Connecticut, but I go to the one in the Good Wives Shopping Center at 25-11 Old Kings Highway in Darien, CT. Call 203-662-1213 for their daily buffet menu or to ask about a la carte dishes.

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Or you can just go for Colony Pizza

Arepa is a South American patty made of cornmeal which can be grilled, baked or fried and usually topped or stuffed with cheese or meat. Other areas in Latin America have something similar; the El Salvadorian pupusa being the most familiar to me. So how good can arepas get? If you ask me, it’s all about the filling because I can’t tell if the dough was laboriously made or if a store-bought cornmeal was used. I like my arepas light but filling; go easy on the meat inside and you’ll make me frown.

Valencia Luncheria is very generous with their arepas. Between my friend and I, we ordered several arepas stuffed with pulled pork, shredded beef, chorizo, roast pork, chicken and cheese. Out of all of them, the pulled pork was probably the best, followed by the shredded beef which had some sweetness to the sauce. The spinach and cheese arepa was a godsend after all the meat and I wished I ordered more of it. The chorizo wasn’t moist enough–I ended up picking and eating them on their own. After my third, I was skipping the cornmeal and just eating the filling. We also ordered ceviche at a whopping $10 for a small cup and it lacked oomph in the seasoning department. I like my ceviche less on the tomato slush and more on the lime and cilantro flavor.

We went just in time before dinner rush began. A few groups were waiting for tables right by the counter when we left. With the downpour outside, everyone congregated in Valencia’s tight quarters. Apparently, it gets even more crowded on the weekends during brunch. There’s no beer or liquor for sale in the restaurant, but there is a deli a few stores down where you can buy to bring your own. Still, our bill for three people went up almost $70 and I think I was just stuffed more than I was satisfied.

Valencia Luncheria is at 172 Main Street in Norwalk, Connecticut. You can call 203/846.8009 to ask how long the wait is for brunch.

Related post/s:
El Salvador and pupusa photos on Flickr
Colony Pizza in Stamford, Connecticut

You know it was bound to happen, right? A month into my new job in Connecticut (yes, that Connecticut), I’ve had several chances to hitch rides with co-workers and try a few places for lunch. Since I don’t know how to drive, I’m at the mercy of those with cars and I go wherever they want to go. It’s been really nice to treat lunch time like a new food adventure because I never know what I’m going to get. Some of the places we’ve been to were meh, but a couple have been really decent.

Now I’ve never really been a big fan of pizza. I think it’s because pizza reminds me of college and college reminds me of how poor I was. On a student budget, I ate poorly. As soon as I started to make money, I swore to myself that I was never going to go back to eating bad food again. “Bad” here, of course, is both in taste and in nutritional content, and pizza usually qualifies for both. I like my Otto and I like my John’s on Carmine just like anyone else, but never again will I “get a slice” because it’s 1am and I’m stumbling home from a bar–Han Bat in Koreatown is open 24 hours and I can get a better hungover meal there–and never again will I think pizza is “good because it’s cheap”–I can still get a plate of pork chops with rice under $5 from Chinatown.

But go ahead and convince me otherwise. Let me know where you get your pizza and I’ll give it a shot–my boss did. He drove a couple of us from work during lunch to the notorious Colony Grill in Stamford, Connecticut. He wanted to prove to me that Colony’s pizza isn’t just regular pizza; it’s its own beast. He talked up the hot oil so much, I also got excited about it. I ended up liking the dive bar feel of the place and it seemed like the waitress knew every customer by name.

We must have waited 45 minutes for three single pies and we were starving by the time they were served. I inhaled my sausage pie with stingers, or hot peppers, on the side without blinking an eye. The hot oil was not exactly spicy, but it made even the pepperoni better; the vegetable pizza was definitely better with it. I was speechless on the drive back to work and I was comatose the rest of the afternoon in my cubicle. College days be damned; Colony has some good pizza. I better watch out before I need to seek for a binge eating disorders treatment.

Colony Grill is at 173 Myrtle Avenue in Stamford, Connecticut. You can call 203/359.2184 ahead to order but you’d still have to pick your pie up.

Related post/s:
Otto pizza is thin and crusty