Good eats
Frontera Grill
By Maha Naqvi
Before it closed it was rumored that Frontera Grill is the best Mexican restaurant in town. As a result, I had to see what the buzz was all about. As soon as I walked in I could tell that it was an authentic restaurant by how it was decorated. The restaurant’s color scheme was red, purple, orange, green and yellow. Even though there were a lot of patterns, the decor wasn’t too busy and seemed to tie the room together.
We were seated and given menus, water, and homemade chips and salsa. The menu had a variety of entrees to choose from and selections including vegetarian and specialty meals. The prices seemed reasonable and the portions were generous (the menu included pictures). After a while of contemplating what I should get, I ordered the Garden Fresco Burrito and the Super Nachos. The order took about 10 minutes to come and when it arrived I was in disbelief. It was gigantic! My meal came with sauces on the side like poblano, chipotle, and salsa picante. The burrito it was really delicious and flavorful. There were a lot of veggies and the rice was mixed with black beans; it was very filling and took me nearly an hour to finish.
Though many people say that Frontera Grill is a once in a while treat, I disagree. It is a healthy Mexican food alternative to Taco Bell. They use the freshest ingredients available. Overall I give Frontera Grill a 4/5 stars. I highly recommend this restaurant, hopefully it will reopen somewhere soon!
Before it closed it was rumored that Frontera Grill is the best Mexican restaurant in town. As a result, I had to see what the buzz was all about. As soon as I walked in I could tell that it was an authentic restaurant by how it was decorated. The restaurant’s color scheme was red, purple, orange, green and yellow. Even though there were a lot of patterns, the decor wasn’t too busy and seemed to tie the room together.
We were seated and given menus, water, and homemade chips and salsa. The menu had a variety of entrees to choose from and selections including vegetarian and specialty meals. The prices seemed reasonable and the portions were generous (the menu included pictures). After a while of contemplating what I should get, I ordered the Garden Fresco Burrito and the Super Nachos. The order took about 10 minutes to come and when it arrived I was in disbelief. It was gigantic! My meal came with sauces on the side like poblano, chipotle, and salsa picante. The burrito it was really delicious and flavorful. There were a lot of veggies and the rice was mixed with black beans; it was very filling and took me nearly an hour to finish.
Though many people say that Frontera Grill is a once in a while treat, I disagree. It is a healthy Mexican food alternative to Taco Bell. They use the freshest ingredients available. Overall I give Frontera Grill a 4/5 stars. I highly recommend this restaurant, hopefully it will reopen somewhere soon!
Food trucks: Food that moves
By Phoebe Charpentier
Do you like “fast” food? Connecticut has some great food trucks to check out. Now obviously, food trucks move around, so you never know where they might be. However, here is a website that will help you locate and search for food trucks www.foodtrucksin.com. Using this website and its ‘Recommend A Location’ feature to ask the food truck to drive by you. Some trucks even have their own websites so you can search for them by name. Here are some examples of local trucks and their eats.
Chompers
Chompers food truck is an American style food truck with a twist. Instead of having normal food, it is fried into a ball. One flavor is the Bacon Cheeseburger Chomper, which has bacon, hamburger meat, and cheese all fried up into a ball with a side of zesty ketchup. The other flavor is chicken parmesan which has chicken, fresh basil, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese served with a side of marinara sauce. Each order has four chompers which are about two inches in diameter. I had the Bacon Cheeseburger Chompers, which were really good. It was as though as they melted in my mouth.
Get Your “Irish” On
Get Your “Irish” On is a truck that serves corned beef. Anything you could imagine from a classic corned beef sandwich to a corned beef taco is on the menu. Even though I don’t like sauerkraut, I loved this sandwich. All the flavors balanced themselves perfectly.
Whey Station
The Whey Station serves gourmet grilled cheese. I know it sounds weird, but this is probably the best grilled cheese I have ever had. The Whey Station uses only local ingredients in their grilled cheeses, and makes as much as they can from scratch. They also serve different sides to go with your meal like Avery’s Soda from New Britain, CT and Zapp’s chips from Louisiana.
Orangeside Doughnut
The Orangeside Doughnut was originally neither a food truck nor a doughnut maker. Orangeside started out as a restaurant in New Haven, but as it got more popular, the owner wanted to serve desserts as well as food. The restaurant decided on doughnuts. They would look like any other doughnut except for one thing, the chef forgot to buy a round doughnut cutter. He resorted to a square cutter and it ended up going really well because the square cutter makes the doughnut larger than your average doughnut. Eventually their square pastries became so popular that they bought a whole truck just for the gourmet doughnuts. The truck is able to make different doughnuts everyday, since it is easy to change the recipe when your whole “restaurant’ is devoted to one type of food.
Do you like “fast” food? Connecticut has some great food trucks to check out. Now obviously, food trucks move around, so you never know where they might be. However, here is a website that will help you locate and search for food trucks www.foodtrucksin.com. Using this website and its ‘Recommend A Location’ feature to ask the food truck to drive by you. Some trucks even have their own websites so you can search for them by name. Here are some examples of local trucks and their eats.
Chompers
Chompers food truck is an American style food truck with a twist. Instead of having normal food, it is fried into a ball. One flavor is the Bacon Cheeseburger Chomper, which has bacon, hamburger meat, and cheese all fried up into a ball with a side of zesty ketchup. The other flavor is chicken parmesan which has chicken, fresh basil, mozzarella, and parmesan cheese served with a side of marinara sauce. Each order has four chompers which are about two inches in diameter. I had the Bacon Cheeseburger Chompers, which were really good. It was as though as they melted in my mouth.
Get Your “Irish” On
Get Your “Irish” On is a truck that serves corned beef. Anything you could imagine from a classic corned beef sandwich to a corned beef taco is on the menu. Even though I don’t like sauerkraut, I loved this sandwich. All the flavors balanced themselves perfectly.
Whey Station
The Whey Station serves gourmet grilled cheese. I know it sounds weird, but this is probably the best grilled cheese I have ever had. The Whey Station uses only local ingredients in their grilled cheeses, and makes as much as they can from scratch. They also serve different sides to go with your meal like Avery’s Soda from New Britain, CT and Zapp’s chips from Louisiana.
Orangeside Doughnut
The Orangeside Doughnut was originally neither a food truck nor a doughnut maker. Orangeside started out as a restaurant in New Haven, but as it got more popular, the owner wanted to serve desserts as well as food. The restaurant decided on doughnuts. They would look like any other doughnut except for one thing, the chef forgot to buy a round doughnut cutter. He resorted to a square cutter and it ended up going really well because the square cutter makes the doughnut larger than your average doughnut. Eventually their square pastries became so popular that they bought a whole truck just for the gourmet doughnuts. The truck is able to make different doughnuts everyday, since it is easy to change the recipe when your whole “restaurant’ is devoted to one type of food.
HFT Grill
By Blake Kunst
Did you know there is a great new restaurant in Wallingford CT, called the Healthy Fresh Tasty Teriyaki and Beyond? This restaurant offers international and American cuisine. The meal I had there was delicious and in my opinion it was the best food you could have, a whole lot better than fast food, which I believe to be unhealthy.
HFT Grill doesn’t use fatty oils found in most fast food places. The HFT grill guarantees that your meal is served fresh. HFT serves grilled chicken, steak, vegetables, and so much more.
One of my favorite things to get at the HFT grill is the chicken, steak, and veggie bowl. This bowl is amazing! It comes with steak, chicken, lightly steamed veggies, and a rice of your choice. Another meal choices they have is burritos. They will also begin to serve frozen yogurt soon. The price a meal ranges from $5.95 to $9.95. I think people should avoid fast food and start eating healthier options. I highly recommend HFT Grill for a great, healthy meal. I rate this restaurant at 5 stars. The restaurant is located at: 779 North Colony Road Wallingford.
Did you know there is a great new restaurant in Wallingford CT, called the Healthy Fresh Tasty Teriyaki and Beyond? This restaurant offers international and American cuisine. The meal I had there was delicious and in my opinion it was the best food you could have, a whole lot better than fast food, which I believe to be unhealthy.
HFT Grill doesn’t use fatty oils found in most fast food places. The HFT grill guarantees that your meal is served fresh. HFT serves grilled chicken, steak, vegetables, and so much more.
One of my favorite things to get at the HFT grill is the chicken, steak, and veggie bowl. This bowl is amazing! It comes with steak, chicken, lightly steamed veggies, and a rice of your choice. Another meal choices they have is burritos. They will also begin to serve frozen yogurt soon. The price a meal ranges from $5.95 to $9.95. I think people should avoid fast food and start eating healthier options. I highly recommend HFT Grill for a great, healthy meal. I rate this restaurant at 5 stars. The restaurant is located at: 779 North Colony Road Wallingford.
Feud of the pies
By Phoebe Charpentier
I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of the pizza war in New Haven, but for decades there has been a long standing feud over the best pizza places in New Haven. Modern Apizza, Frank Pepe’s Pizza, and Sally’s Apizza are head to head, fighting for the title of best pizza. Recently, I went to New Haven to taste the pizza from all three restaurants. Though I wouldn’t recommend eating at three pizza restaurants on the same day, it certainly was a lot of fun!
To be consistent, I tried the same style pizza at each restaurant. Everywhere I went I had one plain slice and one slice with pepperoni and sausage. I graded the pizza places in 4 categories and based my winning restaurant choice on venue, pizza quality, price, and service.
Taking third place is Sally’s Apizza, with a 5 out of 10. Their venue was small and home-like, but it seemed dirty. I would recommend ordering your pizza to go instead of dining in. Their pizza is good, but it wasn’t anything special. I am surprised their pizza wasn’t better because Sally’s was created by Frank Pepe’s nephew. If I was looking for pizza that tasted like Sally’s, I would just order from either Lido’s or Bella Luna of Meriden. Sally’s Apizza was the highest priced at $9.25 for a small. We ordered a medium pizza and they made a mistake and charged us $18, the price of a large pizza. Overall service was pretty good. The staff was very friendly and talkative.
Second place goes to Modern Apizza, with a 6.75 out of 10. Their venue was the best because it had the perfect balance of home-like feel and a busy restaurant. Their pizza was really good. It had a thin, slightly burnt crust which is the only kind I like to eat. When the pizza first came out, it was too hot to eat and I had to wait quite a while even though I was hungry. The main thing that sets Modern apart from the other restaurants is that they offer more than just pizza. On the menu there are Italian dishes and salads, unlike Pepe’s and Sally’s. The only thing small thing wrong with Modern was that they were openly fans of the Boston Red Sox, which could result in them them losing Yankee customers.
Pepe’s Pizza is the clear winner of the New Haven pizza feud. The venue is a mix of Italian style and a homestyle-like restaurant. Their pizza tasted best. It had a thin, burnt crust which lots of people enjoy. Since Frank Pepe’s opened during The Great Depression, he had to make the pizza using cheap ingredients. He decided to top his pizza with just sauce and anchovies. However, now, Pepe’s pizza has the perfect balance of cheese and sauce. They cooked their toppings into the pizza and didn’t just sprinkle them on top. If you are planning on eating at Pepe’s pizza, I would recommend their New Haven location and not the newer, Manchester location. At the New Haven restaurant they have older wood fire ovens and many believe this makes the pizza taste better.
Service in New Haven seemed better because you are served by some waitresses who have worked there for a long time. Service at Pepe’s was definitely the best. Also, I loved the way they did their seating. Instead of seating people by how many are in their party, they seat them by whoever got their first. This is good so your party isn’t waiting for over an hour while someone else is seated right away. Another reason their service was the best is because our waitress got me an exclusive interview with Frank Pepe’s grandson, Gary Bimonte.
Mr. Bimonte said that he has been making pizza for nearly 40 years and that he has never changed the recipe. One of the more popularly pizzas served at Pepe’s is the clam pizza, but on the day I went it was not being served. Mr. Bimonte said he wasn’t serving the pizza because he the clams weren’t fresh enough for the customers and that Pepe’s only wants to serve the best! Lastly, when I compared the prices of all three restaurants, Pepe’s has the lowest priced pizza at $9.25.
I know some people that are loyal to a certain pizza restaurant. I think you should stay objective, try something new. You never know which restaurant you will like best until you try it.
I’m not sure if you’ve ever heard of the pizza war in New Haven, but for decades there has been a long standing feud over the best pizza places in New Haven. Modern Apizza, Frank Pepe’s Pizza, and Sally’s Apizza are head to head, fighting for the title of best pizza. Recently, I went to New Haven to taste the pizza from all three restaurants. Though I wouldn’t recommend eating at three pizza restaurants on the same day, it certainly was a lot of fun!
To be consistent, I tried the same style pizza at each restaurant. Everywhere I went I had one plain slice and one slice with pepperoni and sausage. I graded the pizza places in 4 categories and based my winning restaurant choice on venue, pizza quality, price, and service.
Taking third place is Sally’s Apizza, with a 5 out of 10. Their venue was small and home-like, but it seemed dirty. I would recommend ordering your pizza to go instead of dining in. Their pizza is good, but it wasn’t anything special. I am surprised their pizza wasn’t better because Sally’s was created by Frank Pepe’s nephew. If I was looking for pizza that tasted like Sally’s, I would just order from either Lido’s or Bella Luna of Meriden. Sally’s Apizza was the highest priced at $9.25 for a small. We ordered a medium pizza and they made a mistake and charged us $18, the price of a large pizza. Overall service was pretty good. The staff was very friendly and talkative.
Second place goes to Modern Apizza, with a 6.75 out of 10. Their venue was the best because it had the perfect balance of home-like feel and a busy restaurant. Their pizza was really good. It had a thin, slightly burnt crust which is the only kind I like to eat. When the pizza first came out, it was too hot to eat and I had to wait quite a while even though I was hungry. The main thing that sets Modern apart from the other restaurants is that they offer more than just pizza. On the menu there are Italian dishes and salads, unlike Pepe’s and Sally’s. The only thing small thing wrong with Modern was that they were openly fans of the Boston Red Sox, which could result in them them losing Yankee customers.
Pepe’s Pizza is the clear winner of the New Haven pizza feud. The venue is a mix of Italian style and a homestyle-like restaurant. Their pizza tasted best. It had a thin, burnt crust which lots of people enjoy. Since Frank Pepe’s opened during The Great Depression, he had to make the pizza using cheap ingredients. He decided to top his pizza with just sauce and anchovies. However, now, Pepe’s pizza has the perfect balance of cheese and sauce. They cooked their toppings into the pizza and didn’t just sprinkle them on top. If you are planning on eating at Pepe’s pizza, I would recommend their New Haven location and not the newer, Manchester location. At the New Haven restaurant they have older wood fire ovens and many believe this makes the pizza taste better.
Service in New Haven seemed better because you are served by some waitresses who have worked there for a long time. Service at Pepe’s was definitely the best. Also, I loved the way they did their seating. Instead of seating people by how many are in their party, they seat them by whoever got their first. This is good so your party isn’t waiting for over an hour while someone else is seated right away. Another reason their service was the best is because our waitress got me an exclusive interview with Frank Pepe’s grandson, Gary Bimonte.
Mr. Bimonte said that he has been making pizza for nearly 40 years and that he has never changed the recipe. One of the more popularly pizzas served at Pepe’s is the clam pizza, but on the day I went it was not being served. Mr. Bimonte said he wasn’t serving the pizza because he the clams weren’t fresh enough for the customers and that Pepe’s only wants to serve the best! Lastly, when I compared the prices of all three restaurants, Pepe’s has the lowest priced pizza at $9.25.
I know some people that are loyal to a certain pizza restaurant. I think you should stay objective, try something new. You never know which restaurant you will like best until you try it.