Tabouli Grill in Stamford for Lunch

Editor's Note. I originally intended to post this review prior to the review for Liz Sue Bagels. Unfortunately, life doesn't always work out as planned. So, here is the long delayed review of Tabouli Grill.

My wife and I have driven past Tabouli Grill a few times did not know much about it until we read the review in the Stamford Advocate. Since we both like Middle Eastern food, we figured we'd give it a try.

The chef/owner of Tabouli Grill, Judith Roll, traveled throughout the Middle East prior to going to culinary school. So, she has a good idea of how the food should taste and it shows. My wife and I both had the falafel in a pita. It was excellent. The falafel was cooked perfectly -- crispy on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. In addition, the pita was stuffed with an excellent assortment of vegetables.

In addition, we shared a side of megadarra. Megadarra is rice cooked with lentils and caramelized onions. While it sounds simple, it is extremely flavorful and tasty. Because our falafel sandwiches were so big, we weren't able to finish the megadarra. We brought it home and heated it up a few days later. It was still very tasty and excellent.

My only complaint about Tabouli Grill was the service (sensing a theme here?). It took quite a long time for the waitress to come over and offer us menus. Also, it took a bit of time for us to get our drinks after we ordered them. The service improved as the meal went on, but initially, it was not very good.

I leave you with the tabouli song. Laugh and enjoy.



Tabouli Grill
59 High Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06905
(203) 504-8888
www.tabouligrill.com


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Eos in Stamford for Dinner

“OPA !”

This is what my wife calls Eos Restaurant because of two reasons: 1) we hear it exclaimed at least three times per night whenever we dine there (there is something about the flaming cheese, aka Saganaki, that makes people want to shout it out -- order it and see!) and 2) she has a lousy memory and can never seem to remember that it’s called Eos. So the discussion goes something like this:

“Hey honey, where do you want to eat tonight?”

“Um, I dunno, where do YOU want to eat tonight?”

“How about.....[face screwed up, trying to remember the name]……OPA!”

And scene.

We like Eos a lot. One whole side of their menu is devoted to Mezedes, which I believe are the Greek equivalent to Tapas, or small plates. The other side has soups, salads and entrees. We always stick to the Mezedes side of the menu, order a few different plates each and get a variety of tasty treats brought to the table. We change it up every time we go, and we haven’t had a bad meal yet.

Some of our favorite dishes include, but are not limited to:

Hummus (chick pea spread), Tzatziki (yogurt, cucumber & garlic dip), Dolmades (my personal favorite, rice-stuffed grape leaves), Loukaniko (citrus infused pork sausage), Kalamarakia (grilled calamari), Octapodi (grilled octopus) and Spanakopita (crispy phyllo dough triangles filled with spinach and feta cheese). I could go on and on. You get the picture.

One of the other great things about Eos is that their wine list includes a nice assortment of Greek wines, which are close to impossible to find in Connecticut. They serve several by the glass, so if you’re unsure about committing to a full bottle of some crazy-grape-named Greek wine you’ve never heard of before (Agiorgitiko? Moschofilero??), I’m sure the staff would be more than happy to give you a little taste first.

As always, I leave you here with a clip. I’ll bet you thought I was going to pick a scene from “My Big, Fat Greek Wedding” – didn’t you? Yeah, well, you’re right, I was. But then I found this one and thought it might get a bigger laugh. Enjoy !



Eos Greek Cuisine
490 Summer Street
Stamford, CT 06901
(203) 569-6250
www.eosgreekcuisine.com


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Burger Bar and Bistro in Norwalk for Lunch

Word of caution: Cranky Review Ahead. Buckle up readers, you’re in for a bumpy ride.

We’re driving around Fairfield County one recent weekend afternoon, seeing the sights and getting a lay of the land. Stopped into not one, not two, but FIVE restaurants in the hopes of grabbing some lunch, and denied every time. Finally (FINALLY!) in South Norwalk we found a place that was open and still serving food, the Burger Bar and Bistro on North Main Street. Oh, how I wished we had just gone to the Subway we saw open next door…

Now let me just say, in defense of the BBB (for we shall not speak of its name again), we were tired, hungry and annoyed that no restaurants in Fairfield County seem to think anyone should be allowed to eat food between 3pm and 5pm on a Saturday afternoon. So we were unhappy before we even sat down. HOWEVER, the SUPORRIBLE (I just made that word up ! SUPER + HORRIBLE) service at BBB pushed us over the edge! To a point that, even now, days later, I’m thinking of emailing the manager over there and giving him a piece of my mind. Okay, taking a breath….

We sat at the bar. Usually one of our favorite places to sit, mostly because you’re in the thick of the action of the inner-workings of a restaurant, which we find fun, and – added bonus – you usually get served quicker. Operative word in that sentence: usually. Did I mention we’re not friends with the bartender? The reason I tell you this is because apparently that is the only way to get served at BBB. We watched her talk to her friends for at least ten minutes before she even walked over to hand us a menu. I almost poured myself my own beer, right from the tap, into my cupped hands. After ordering, we waited FOREVER to get our drinks, and an even longer time to actually receive our food. We had time to play ten rounds of Connect Four before our food appeared (BBB has board games all over the bar/restaurant, and I have to be honest and tell you that it got to a point where the checker chips were looking pretty darn appetizing to my growling stomach).

This is usually the part where I talk about the food. However, I will be pleading the 5th this time around, ladies and gentlemen. I am so upset about the service that I do not wish to review the food at this restaurant. Which is unfortunate, because BBB has a great take on the burger joint: grass-fed beef, gourmet toppings, great beer list, live music nightly. I just wish they could do something about the rotten service.

To cheer myself up, I am including this clip about waiters. See if you recognize anyone…



Burger Bar and Bistro
58 North Main Street
Norwalk, CT 06854-2716
(203) 853-2037
www.burgerbarsono.com


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Liz Sue Bagels in Stamford for Breakfast

A couple of months ago while I was walking around downtown Stamford on a Saturday morning I was stopped by a woman in an SUV looking for a bagel shop in Stamford. I told her that there were no bagel shops in Stamford and that her best bet would be a Dunkin' Donuts. Sorry Liz Sue Bagels. I wish I knew about Liz Sue earlier.

On the Saturday that we had lunch a Tabouli Grill, we discovered Liz Sue Bagels -- it is literally next door to Tabouli Grill. Liz Sue makes their own bagels on site and it shows in the quality of the bagels. Increasingly my wife and I have found that it is apparently difficult to make a good cup of coffee -- I am looking at you McDonalds by Exit 9 of I-95. Thankfully, Liz Sue is not one of the places that has a hard time making coffee. The coffee at Liz Sue is very good. In addition to traditional bagel and cream cheese, Liz Sue offers a variety of breakfast sandwiches. My wife had one and really liked it. We will definitely be back to Liz Sue for bagels. We were lucky to find it and won't forget about it.

For those that have no idea what a bagel is, hopefully this instructional video from Fairway Market will help.



Liz Sue Bagels‎
63 High Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06905
(203) 323-4611‎


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Martel Restaurant in Fairfield for Dinner

If this post has a subtitle it is I will gladly pay you Tuesday for dinner today. When my wife and I went to Martel, I left my wallet home. I only realized this after we ordered. As I began to run out the door to go home and get it, the waiter asked me what was wrong. I told him about the wallet and he kindly allowed us to eat dinner and call him when we got home with my credit card number. Unlike Wimpy, I didn't wait till Tuesday to settle the bill -- I phoned the restaurant the minute we walked in the door.

Martel Restaurant is a French bistro located on the border of Fairfield and Southport. The building that houses the restaurant is a quiant New England style building. When you enter the restaurant, the front half is occupied by the bar and a few bistro tables; the main dining room is in the back. The main dining room has wood paneling up half of the wall. The rest is painted antique yellow. It gives the impression that the restaurant has been there for a while. I am not sure that it has but it looks like it has.

For dinner, I started with the escargot, which was a special that night. Thankfully, Martel did not serve them in the fake snail shells. Instead, they were served with a little oil and garlic over a bed of greens. For dinner, I had the chicken riesling. The name is deceptive. I thought that it was more like a coq au vin made with chicken rather than rooster. It was excellent. It was served with potatoes, leeks, mushrooms and pearl onions. The vegetables complimented the taste of the chicken perfectly. My wife had the seared scallops, which were served with farro, mozzarella, roasted bell pepper and a beurre blanc sauce. It was excellent as well. We finished our meal with coffee and biscotti. Okay, I'll admit that biscotti is not very French and to be honest, we wanted the beignets, but we just didn't have room. (Many a dinner conversation has involved the beignet -- my wife is convinced that every culture has a fried dough-type substance. We are committed to finding and trying each and every one).

I could not embed a clip of Wimpy saying his classic line, however one can be seen here. Instead I leave you with a clip of Wimpy singing the Hamburger song. Enjoy.



Martel Restaurant
2316 Post Road
Fairfield, CT 06824
(203) 292-6916
www.martelrestaurant.com


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Harvest Supper in New Caanan for Dinner

Walking into Harvest Supper in New Canaan makes you feel as if you’re walking back in time to Colonial New England: dark stained wood paneling, ancestral Early American portraits, copper pots as decoration…everything seems, well, Old American. Or should I say --- Olde American.

The food, however, is very New American. And very good.

Harvest Supper has an intimate setting with about 40 seats. It felt as if we were invited to someone’s home for a dinner party. So intimate, in fact, we learned much more than we ever would have wanted to know about our neighboring diners (my wife and I were convinced it had to be a first date, and that there might not be a second date in their future).

We started off with a fantastic Cremant d’Alsace Rose from Lucien Albrecht – Pinot Noir made in the same method as Champagne, great as an aperitif but also ridiculously food-friendly. It went remarkably well with all of the small plates we ordered. The beets with whipped bleu cheese and pistachios was an earthy and savory starter. Then we had crispy quail with olives, creamy polenta, and thinly-sliced pork with bok choy and cipollini onions. Very delicious. We finished the evening as we do quite often; instead of choosing a sweet dessert, we like to finish our wine with a cheese plate. On this evening, we had Raclette, a triple-crème Explorateur and a Bayley Hazen Vermont Blue with nuts and fruit. Perfect.



Harvest Supper
15 Elm Street
New Canaan, CT 06840-5502
(203) 966-5595
(The restaurant does not have a Web site)


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Dressing Room in Wesport for Dinner

Today is Wednesday and that brings us to the Dressing Room in Westport. Every Wednesday, the Dressing Room has an oyster special -- for $15.00 you get 12 oysters and a beer. Last Wednesday was our first dinner at the Dressing Room. I am sure that it won't be our last.

Much like Le Farm, The Dressing Room believes in using locally grown foods in their menu items. This philosophy was the brainchild of its founder, Paul Newman. Yes, that Paul Newman.



Mr. Newman's philosophy continues at The Dressing Room and his presence is still felt, even though he is no longer with us.

The Dressing Room's oysters are from Connecticut. They were unlike any oysters that I had tasted before. They did not taste fishy or briney at all. The oysters were creamy and smooth. I could swear that they had been harvested from the ocean that day -- THAT'S HOW FRESH THEY WERE.

My wife and I started with the radicchio salad. The radicchio was grilled and served with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. For dinner, my wife had the chicken pot pie. It was incredible. Usually, chicken pot pie is very soupy and heavy. The gravy used in The Dressing Room's is not made with cream but roasted sunchokes. As a result, the pot pie does not leave with you feeling full.

The restaurant is decorated with posters of shows that had played at the Westport Playhouse, which is housed in the same building as The Dressing Room. It makes for some fun dinner conversation to see posters showing Bob Denver and Jeff Conaway in their Westport playhouse debuts. For people interested in more current events, The Dressing Room has information about the upcoming season of shows at the Westport Playhouse. My wife and I are thinking about getting tickets to a few of the shows.



Dressing Room
25 Powers Court
Westport, CT 06880-3621
(203) 226-1114
www.dressingroomhomegrown.com


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Tawa in Stamford for Dinner

In addition to a number of Italian restaurants, Stamford has a number of Indian restaurants. One of the nicest ones in Stamford is Tawa.

My wife and I both like Indian food, however, we haven't had any Indian food since we moved to Stamford last Spring. Last Friday, after trying to have dinner at a few different places we decided to give Tawa a try. We are glad we did.

It probably goes without saying that Indian cuisine is known for its breads. Poori is a whole wheat bread that is deep fried. It comes out puffed up like a ball. To eat it, you simply tear it apart. Within five minutes of it be placed at our table, we tore through the two pieces that came with our order.

After the poori, we had the Malai Kofta and the Mehti Murg. The Malai Kofta is a dumpling stuffed with mixed vegetables. It was lightly fried and served in an almond sauce. This description does not do it justice -- IT WAS FREAKING UNBELIEVABLE. The Mehti Murg is a chicken dish with tomatoes and onion and a hint of yogurt. Indian food is also known for its innovative use of spices. The spices in both our dishes were incredible. My wife and I spent several minutes trying figure out which spices were in each dish.



Our dinner was rounded out with a bottle of Moet & Chandon Imperial Champagne. Champagne goes very well with Indian food. My wife, the wine expert, could do a better job of explaining why, so I won't even try here.

In Stamford, you can be faced with several choices for an Indian restaurant. For the best value and taste, I suggest that you eat at Tawa.

Tawa Indian Cuisine
211 Summer Street
Stamford, CT 06901
(203) 359-8977
www.tawaonline.com


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116 Crown in New Haven for Dinner

Let me apologize for not posting for a while. Keeping up a blog takes a lot of commitment. Sorry I have let my two faithful readers down. Now, onto the reviews.

The nearest Ikea to Stamford is in New Haven. Anyone that knows my wife and I knows that we like Ikea. Heck, we've even been to an Ikea in Finland -- and yes, Ikea's Swedish meatballs are exactly the same in Finland as they are here. Also, all the items have the same crazy names, except in Finland the names don't sound so crazy.

After our shopping trip to Ikea we drove into downtown New Haven to find a place to grab some dinner. This led to our discovery of 116 Crown.

116 Crown is a beautiful space. The decor of the restaurant is very modern. There are white birch branches everywhere. Also, the bar is made of white onyx and is lit from below. It runs two-thirds the length of the restaurant and has seating on both sides. It looks like this:

.

116 Crown's bar is put to good use with the excellent cocktails. My wife had the Glitterati, which is made with Plymouth Gin, creme de cassis, lemon juice, simple syrup and brut champagne. I think that Fairfield County lacks a good cocktail bar. I find this kind of depressing because there was an awesome cocktail bar, called The Flatiron Lounge, very close to our old apartment in Manhattan. The cocktail menu at The Flatiron Lounge mostly consists of cocktails from the 20's, 30's and 40's. 116 Crown had similar cocktails on its list, as well as cocktails which were inspired by their classic forefathers. Since moving to Connecticut, 116 Crown is the closest thing that we have found to a real cocktail bar. So close, in fact, that I seriously thought about renting a hotel room in New Haven and having a few instead of being the "designated driver."

116 Crown's cocktail list can be a little overwhelming. DO NOT HESITATE TO ASK FOR HELP! The bartending staff is very nice and will ask you a few questions and bring you exactly what you could have wished for -- at least that is what they did for my wife.

The drinks were not the only thing at 116 Crown worth mentioning; the food was also excellent. We started our dinner with the brussel sprouts. They were very simply prepared with a little olive oil and salt and the chef cooked them by placing them under the broiler for a few minutes. They were very simple, yet tasted incredible. In addition, we split the duck special. The duck was grilled medium rare and served on a bed of greens. It was perfectly cooked and likely the best duck we have ever tasted. Finally, we had roast beef bone marrow. I know, you probably think bone marrow is gross. Well, you'd be wrong. When it is cooked, bone marrow becomes gooey and spreadable. The marrow was served in the bones. You eat the marrow by scooping it out of the bones and spreading it on bread. The best thing to do was to spread it on the bread and wait about 30 seconds or so before eating it -- this allowed the marrow to soak into the bread. Yum.

'500 Days of Summer' Race You To the Bedroom @ Yahoo! Video

So, the next time you find yourself at the Ikea in New Haven or, just want a cocktail from days gone by, I highly suggest you eat at 116 Crown.

116 Crown
116 Crown Street
New Haven, CT 06510
(203) 777-3116
www.116crown.com‎



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Le Farm in Westport for Dinner

Let me start out by saying that my wife and I are "those people." By that, I mean that we like to eat at the bar. We feel that it puts us close to the action. It is kind of like box seats at a Yankee game or ringside sides at a fight. So, last night we had "box seats" at LeFarm in Westport and I am glad we did.

Let me start with a little background about LeFarm. It is in an extremely intimate space; the restaurant was maybe 20 feet wide, but it was extremely long. Also, it was decorated to resemble a New England farmhouse. This type of decoration can border on kitschy. I believe that LeFarm successfully avoided this. Rather, it has a charming rustic feel, complete with an old butcher's scale on the counter and Mason jars galore. Also, LeFarm makes judicious use of chalk boards -- the specials and the cheeses are listed on boards. Instead of placemats, LeFarm uses pieces of cheese cloth to cover the tables. It was a simple touch that made a difference and a lasting impression -- I never saw that in another restaurant.

Okay, to the most important part -- THE FOOD. LeFarm, as its name suggests, aims to use locally grown foods. LeFarm's Web site has a list of some of the farmers where it sources its ingredients. Also, LeFarm shows it support for local farms and farmers in general by displaying stickers such as:

We started with the beet and lentil appetizer. It was excellent. It was served on a bed of frisee with prosciutto and slightly candied walnuts. Wow. I am not sure what it is about Connecticut or if it is just food trends in general, but we have eaten beets at a number of restaurants since moving to Connecticut. LeFarm's beet dish is by far the best that we have had.

For our entrees, my wife had the roasted squab and I had the rabbit leg. The squab was a mix of sweet and savory flavors served over a bed of farro. The farro was grown by Anson Mills in South Carolina -- okay not exactly local, but when you consider that farro is primarily grown in Italy then South Carolina is local. My rabbit was served over risotto with freshly grown mushrooms and fontina cheese and tarragon. I have had rabbit at several restaurants and have even made it at home. The rabbit at LeFarm is not only in my top 10, it is probably the first or the second best rabbit dish I have ever had -- if it is in second place it is beaten out by the rabbit that I had on Ischia during my honeymoon. (The Ischia rabbit was probably killed a few hours before I ate it. Sorry Thumper.) We finished our dinner with Cloud 9 and Brother Laurent cheeses from Vermont and some coffee. The coffee was from a local roaster and was served in a little coffee press. This began a small debate as to merits of making coffee in a press versus making coffee in a regular coffee maker. The debate was short since we both agreed that LeFarm's coffee was excellent.

The wait staff at LeFarm was very attentive and extremely funny. (One of the benefits of the box seats). In addition, while we were eating our entrees, the chef came out of the kitchen to talk to us. He also checked in the other tables in the restaurant to make sure that they too were enjoying their food. It was a nice touch and an opportunity for him to hear some immediate feedback on his food. If everyone there has a good a meal as we did, I am sure that the feedback that he received was all positive.

One last thing is LeFarm's wine list. It is short and simple yet still has good variety. My only complaint about it is the wine list does not state which wines are organic or biodynamic. I think that it would fit with LeFarm's style to do so.

I leave you with a clip from Disney's Ratatouille. I am not implying that the kitchen staff is comprised of rodents, rather I like the clip's message regarding the transformative power of food. We experienced something like that last night at LeFarm. Enjoy.



LeFarm
256 Post Rd. East
Westport, CT 06880
www.lefarmwestport.com‎


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Sycamore Restaurant in Bethel for Lunch

Like a good hamburger and the 1950's? If you said yes to both questions then you are going to like Sycamore.

The menu at Sycamore has a variety of items, however, if you don't get a burger you are wasting everyone's time. The burger is king at Sycamore and that king earned his crown. Sycamore has over 10 different burgers on the menu. My favorite is the Dagwood Burger. Sycamore calls it "The Final Answer to the Burger." Hands down it is one of the best burgers I have ever had.

In addition to the burgers, the French fries and onion rings are excellent. Also, the milkshakes and soda floats are excellent. Sycamore has been around since the 1950's and it is nice to see that they haven't lost the receipe for good old fashioned milkshakes and float. Finally, Sycamore also makes its own root beer, which they serve in frosted mugs. Sycamore does the 1950's proud.

Don't expect any frills at Sycamore. The burgers and fries are sold on paper plates. For me, the paper plates just add to Sycamore's charms.



Finally, the only thing that is out of step with the 1950's at Sycamore is its Ms. Pac Man game. Being a Ms. Pac Man fan, the only problem I have with this is that I sometimes forget to bring quarters with me. Thankfully, my wife usually has some loose change in her purse...

Sycamore Restaurant
282 Greenwood Avenue
Bethel, CT 06801-2424
www.sycamoredrivein.com‎


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Villa Italia Ristorante and Siena Ristorante in Stamford for Dinner

Lower Fairfield County has a number of Italian restaurants. Villa Italia and Siena are two of our favorites.

Villa Italia is a traditional Italian restaurant in the best sense of the phrase. The pastas at Villa Italia are excellent. I am a big fan of the gnocchi, stuffed shells and lasagna. Of course, none of these are complete without a side order of sausage. It is hands down the best Italian sausage I have ever tasted. (Sorry mom). The chicken and veal dishes are also excellent. My wife is a fan of the chicken francese served over penne. I agree; it is one of the best chicken francese dishes I have ever had in a restaurant.

It would be a mistake not to mention the bread at Villa Italia. The bread? YES, THE BREAD. The beard is shaped like little torpedos or bombs. My wife has taken to referring to them as "bread bombs." The staff heats the bread prior to bring it to your table. WOW, they are great.

Siena Ristorante is probably best described as new Italian. Siena is run by a man from an island off the coast of Naples called Ischia. My wife and I spent several days of our honeymoon on Ischia. Siena reminds us of many of the restaurants we ate at while on Ischia. As for the food, I try and order something different each time we go. On the rare occssion that I have a hard time deciding I opt for the chicken and sausages. The dish consists of pieces of chicken on the bone with the skin on sauteed with the cut up pieces of sausage. When she has a hard time deciding, my wife will opt for the risotto, which changes daily.

Everytime that we go to Siena we have the same waiter. His name is Walter and he is a great guy. In addition to working at Siena, he works for a wine distributor that focuses on Italian wines. As a result, Siena's wine list has some excellent wines. While my wife is a wine geek we always rely on Walter to select a wine for us.

While Villa Italia has its bread, Siena has cannellini beans and olives. The cannellini beans are served with a little bit of olive oil and garlic. The olives Siena serves are not your typical black olives out of a can; they are an assortment of various Italian olives.

The differences between Villa Italia and Siena remind me of the opening scene from Big Night. Enjoy:



Villa Italia Ristorante‎
812 East Main Street
Stamford, CT 06902
(203) 348-7742
www.villaitaliastamford.com‎


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Siena Ristorante
519 Summer Street
Stamford, CT 06901-1314
(203) 351-0898
www.sienaristorante.net‎


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Fairfield County, Connecticut

So, my wife and I moved out of the food capital of the world, aka Manhattan, in April 2009, to Fairfield County, Connecticut. Being New Yorkers, the question "What's for dinner?" meant "Do we order in or go out?" Our new home has a kitchen that is the size of our old apartment and we both enjoying cooking, however we are still having a hard time breaking the old habit of ordering in or eating out.

When we moved to Connecticut we found a disturbing lack of information about the restaurants. So, the point of this blog is to provide my impressions of some local restaurants. I will try and talk about all of Fairfield County, however, I fear that most of the restaurants I comment on will be located in Greenwich, Stamford and Norwalk.

So, sit back, relax and enjoy the posts. While you are waiting for the next one, enjoy this clip of Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.