This past weekend I went to a street festival in Seymour Connecticut, it was wonderful. There were lots of different things to see, and for lunch I tried Old Fashioned Root Beer, and Porchetta on a hard roll, it was amazing. It was bursting with different flavors. Porchetta is pork loin seasoned with fennel, chile, and orange. It was kind of spicy but very good, id recommend it to anybody. Also, the old fashioned soda wasn’t as good as I expected, but still pretty good. You had to pull down a lever and it would pour into your cup, but if you didn’t pull down far enough, just seltzer would come out, and I think that was the problem since I got a lot of seltzer and not enough root beer in the cup. But overall the food was amazing, and I think it is defiantly everyone has to try.

                                                                                        -Jason S.

     

Whenever you ask someone what their favorite food is, they say something typical like pizza or pasta or burgers. Although I love all of those foods myself, rice balls happen to be my favorite food. Although people don’t always think about it, rice balls are very good. I am just a rice fan in general, but when you put the rice in with a few other goof things and fry them up in a crunchy coating, they are even better. Because rice balls are not too much of a common food I have come to realize, I don’t eat them to much but made them in culinary class one day as one of the recipes we got to pick as a class, and they were very good. The rice balls had a couple different cheeses, ham steak, a couple other smaller things to add good flavor, and of course rice. Then, again a week ago my mom happened to randomly make rice balls that were about the same as the ones made in class and they were quite good as well.  

Andy Ryan

Class 8

Over the weekend I went to the elephants trunk in New Milford on Sunday. All throughout the market there are tons of food trucks and carts. The only thinks I look forward to when I go, other than bargaining great deals on unique things, is the food. My favorite food when I was younger was this little Italian ice cart. It's homemade creamy Italian ice. My favorite flavor was lemon. They also have a couple of pretzel carts, hotdog and burger carts, a few breakfast carts with egg sandwiches and bacon and sausage. On Sunday I got amazing fried dough from a sweet Italian man, with red sauce and parm cheese. I don't go for the powdered sugar on it. I like it more like pizza frita. I also got this homemade kettle corn. It's this old lady stirring what looks like to be a witches cauldron or something. The popcorn is the most amazing kettle corn I've ever had.

- Natalie G. 

We have many pasta parties during the tennis season and there is always really good food there. So many assortments of pasta dishes. One pasta party thought was very different from the rest. One of the girls had a very different food, not saying that it was bad food, just different. Instead of having just the traditional spaghetti and meat balls, she had one of the other moms come and help to prepare a Chinese pasta dish for everyone. In this dish, there was ground turkey in some kind of sauce on top of Chinese noodles. It was actually pretty good. At first I was really hesitant to try it because I don’t usually try things that are out of my comfort zone so I just kind of kept to the baked ziti. To me it smelt a little like dog food so I didn’t really want to try it. Once I heard everyone else trying it and saying that it was really good, I decided to do the same. Even though it wasn’t the best and wasn’t the traditional Chinese food that I was used to, it was pretty good and ate a good amount of it. I don't know if i will ever try something like that again because it wasnt exactly what i like, i probably will try other foods that are different to what i would normally eat.

The Sycamore is a drive-in restaurant that’s located in Bethel, Connecticut. During the summer all the way through September, they have car service where you can order your meal without even leaving your vehicle. The decoration represents a 50’s style. They’re many pieces within their restaurant that are very old, like there is an old outdated register. The owners left it there as a way to remind everyone of how things used to be back in the day. But enough with decoration, let’s get to the food. They were voted with the best burgers in CT, what an honor! They have fairly cheap prices for their foods. It makes it easier and more affordable for their customers to be able to enjoy their delicious meals. Here, I’ll tell you what I normally get at the Sycamore. I usually get a Dagwood burger, along with my dad with a side of regular or sweet potato fries. The Dagwood burger is a 5 ounces of ground steak meat, topped with a slice of melted American cheese, served with mustard, ketchup, pickle, onion, tomato slices, crispy lettuce and just a touch of mayonnaise to enhance the flavor and make the burger a special treat. Trust me; it’s one of the best burgers there. You’ll love it, just as much as I do. If you’re not in the mood for a burger, don’t worry. There are still plenty of other options that you can choose from. If your meals not enough, don’t forget about dessert! Their desserts contain mostly of sundaes, there is a root beer float and other drinks made out of ice cream for their customers enjoyment. The sundaes go for $3.75 each. That’s a pretty great price, especially when you’re out to eat. Believe me when I tell you that you won’t be disappointed with Sycamore’s food. It’s delicious and filling, plus the prices are unbeatable. If you don’t believe me, have a look for yourself. You won’t regret it. Erica S.

Everyone who’s everyone knows about The Cheesecake Factory. A restaurant with a misleading name, The Cheesecake factory is well known for it’s quality decoration and food, and of course, their endless supply of cheesecakes. The cheesecakes are why the restaurant has it’s name, and why people are drawn there like magnets. But sometimes, however, the cheesecake can get a bit too close for comfort. About 3 years ago, my father and I had decided to eat at The Cheesecake Factory in White Plains, NY. We had been there several times before, so we sat down in our booths not expecting anything out of the ordinary. For about a half hour, nothing out of the ordinary occurred, until a man and woman sat down in the booth across from us, the woman slinking her purse onto the floor, not realizing the strap of her purse was extending out from under the table, into the walkway. I had not realized this either, until my father ordered two sliced of key lime cheesecake for desert. The waitress serving us not only had our two slices on her tray, but cheesecake for 2 other tables. As she rounded the corner to our booth, she didn’t notice the handbag. She tripped, and sent the 5 plates of cheesecake flying in the air, landing right in the center of our table. Was the waitress hurt? No. Were we? No, but the experience got us 5 free cheesecakes, and a story to tell. The Cheesecake factory is a great place to eat for good cheesecake, but not so much when it almost hits you in the face.

James MacDonald

Im really looking forward for our little food truck festival, i think itll be really fun, and a chance to try a lot of different unique food.I feel like so many people, including our group makes very simple ordinary dishes. I know that it was alright to do it in the beginning but id really wish i had a group whod be interested into doing more unique dishes, that would call for more work, and a closer eye to technique. However it is what it is, and im fine with everything wearing doing.  Im hoping miles did find the dish that his friends mother made, it sounds very good, and would be something that miles would really like to do. I personally maybe couldn't of picked the philippines from first glancing at the food truck menus, alot involving alot of intestines, and organs, somthing that ill be honest wasn't so sure it would fly with our group. I maybe would of went with a middle eastern country like greece, since i really love greek food, from there pasta dishes, to tzatziki, to chicken gyros, and probably alot more if i had a chance to try it. We did manage to find a 2 recipes, one of them i picked which sounded very good, it was kushikatsu, which was basically just small pieces of fried pork. With it alone i think itd be very good, but if i have time id like to think of some creative way to make it into a taco/ or sandwich, i tihnk that would be the ultimate street food. Im realy looking forward to see what miles picked for our group. I wish andrew had more input when we cook, me and miles try to give him opertunities but he never wants to, or will start it then have one of us just finish. I dont have a problem with Andrew helping but i feel like he thinks hes a problem. But andrew to enjoy making the sushi which was nice to see.

Last week I went into the city. We were shopping, looking at colleges, and we thought a perfect end to a perfect day would be to go to a great restaurant. So, we got in a cab and rode all the way to Bobby Flay’s restaurant, Mesa Grill. 

My family and I had extremely high hopes for this meal. After all, it was Bobby Flay. As we walked in I was extremely excited. The restaurant was nicely decorated and filled to the brim with people. That means it has to be mazing right? Wrong. 

I ordered the grilled chicken. The menu said spicy, however I was not expecting it to that extreme. By the end of the night I could not even feel my tongue, which I expected had shriveled up and decayed from the spiciness. Before ordering, when I asked the waiter how spicy the chicken really was he proceeded to say, “Not too bad, you can handle it.” Not only was the chicken spicy, but it was not fully cooked and too cooked at the same time. Now, I didn’t know that was even possible but Bobby Flay succeeded. At one side, the chicken was slightly burnt and charcoaled, while on the other, there was still pink, and it was extremely chewy. 

My mom, who ordered the chopped salad was also disappointed. It had an extremely high amount of egg, and not enough of anything else. I tried some, and although it tasted perfectly fine, I was expecting something spectacular. I mean, after all, it is Bobby Flay’s restaurant. 

But no, it fell short of my expectations and even though it wasn’t terrible, I wont be going back any time soon. 

Rachel K.

This last weekend I hosted my first pasta party. I think of pasta parties as a fun, team bonding vent, held by seniors and sometimes juniors. I love eating and spending time with the team. Being on two sports since freshman year I have been to my fair share. When I hosted mine I wanted it to be different. I had a classic Italian cuisine with a mix of Chinese food. It sounds weird but isn't everyone's favorite food usually one of the two? The first course was appetizers like cheese and crackers, vegetables, chips, salsas, etc. Then we, with the help of our neighbors made the Chinese noodles with a meat sauce which was served in a take out box. The girls loved it! It was fun and different. Even though the sauce didn't look the best it tasted delicious. We also served baked ziti and garlic bread as well as a salad with balsamic vinaigrette and feta cheese. Then dessert was an array of Stew Leonard's cookies and a "dirt pie". One of the girls brought that. It was served in a glass container that was layered with brownies, whipped cream, Oreo crumbs, and some other ingredients that I couldn't identify. Overall it was a great day with of course great food. The commentary on the party was all positive. I worried about this party for weeks and it turned out great. I can't wait to host my text pasta party.

Grace W.