Food coma conclusion - finally

I know, it's been weeks since I posted about the first day of our trip, but here's the rest of it. I was waiting for pictures, but got lazy and never downloaded them. So you'll have to just check back again once I've updated. They're worth it. Anyway, on with the road trip...

After our gut-busting food binge Friday, Trish and I decided to sleep in Saturday morning. We noshed European style in our pajamas on our Bleu Squid artisanal bread and cheese supplemented with some fresh fruit and salami from the exotic New London Shop Rite. When we were finally able to roll out of bed, Trish and I decided to head to the hills, literally, and check out some of the area wineries. Our first stop was a wash out. I won’t even deign to name it, since they pissed us off big time. All I’ll say is two words - customer service. Hello, heard of it? On second thought, yes, I’ll name the winery so you won’t waste your time there either - Jonathan Edwards Winery. Not a single employee acknowledged our existence (unless you count the slightly suspicious stares from the guys working the tasting bar). I must say, the grounds were beautiful, but that’s about it. I kept wondering why the winery’s brand was so familiar, and then I realized they share their moniker with a crazy psychic and an adulterous ex-presidential hopeful. That fact alone should have warned us to steer clear of the place. And to top it all off, when a guest asked if all the wines were locally grown, the sommelier answered that although all the wines are produced on premises, the grapes for all but one of their wines is imported from California! What the f$%^? Maybe I’m ignorant when it comes to wine production, but that just don’t sound right to me.

Anyway, we gave the stink eye to our rearview mirror as we drove away and decided to check out the nearby competition, Stonington Vineyards (side note: someone needs to fix the highway signage in CT! We blew by at least a dozen exits or turn-offs, forcing us to “U”-ie all over rural CT.). Unfortunately, by the time we got to Stonington we had missed the only vineyard tour of the day. On the up side, the Stonington staff did not treat us like third class steerage, so we decided to stay for a wine tasting. It’s amazing how a smile and “hello” changes your entire perception of a place. Sadly, the wine wasn’t all that spectacular. Most were mildly reminiscent of apple cider vinegar. Two wines did make the cut and I ended up purchasing a bottle for us and one for our resident Queens tippler, Chris Johnson.

As a casual imbiber, I was flushed and slightly buzzed from the tasting (as is evident from my cross-eyed stupor in the pic to the left). So Trish took the driver’s seat and we headed toward the coast. Instead of heading to the touristy Mystic area for dinner, we decided to take another roadfood.com recommendation, Noah’s Restaurant in Stonington. What a difference a couple of miles make. Stonington is Mystic’s hip, sophisticated, but quaint doppelganger. Only fifteen minutes east of Mystic, it has a small town vibe but the unmistakable understatement of old money. We drove straight down the über-cute main street to the very tip of the peninsula upon which the city sits. Trish and I were rewarded with a perfect unobstructed view of the bay and a small beach area populated by locals.

After hanging with the townies and soaking in the last rays of the day, we headed back downtown just in time to grab the last table at Noah’s cozy front bar. I had forgotten it was a holiday weekend and the place was packed. The food, though a bit pricy (OK, maybe we were spoiled by the all-you-can-eat gluttony of last night’s buffet), was excellent. And like everything else up here, seafood was the protein of choice - scallops and cod. Yum!

After dinner it was back to New London to check out another roadfood.com recommendation, Michael’s Diary. The empty parking lot didn’t bode well, but by the time I had settled on the benches outside with my mint chocolate chip ice cream, the place was packed with old ladies and little kids. I’m not saying that Connecticutians are racist, but it was obvious from their confused looks that they aren’t used to seeing brown people in these parts. There’s plenty of white trash up hear, but not many southeast Asians.

For the last day of our seafood splurge, we headed to Mystic Seaport’s Labor Day Fish & Ships Festival for Sunday brunch. Oddly, many of the tourists heading to the festival had no idea that there was an admission fee to enter the historic area. I don’t claim to be a genius, but even I looked up that basic info online before planning our trip. It was sad and funny - sick, I know - watching the faces of unaware guests as they trudged angrily up to the park fence and then abruptly turn around, loudly complaining about false advertising and deceptive marketing. Hello - Google, anyone? Learn to use it, people!

The Festival itself was sort of a let down. They started nearly an hour late and we were forced to wander around the replicated seaport village until they got the outdoor kitchen set up and running. I can appreciate history, but after walking though about a half dozen “quaint” old buildings, I was bored out of my mind and hungry. As for the food, there wasn’t much bang for the buck. Though tasty, $8 for four scallops and a couple of wilted greens is not exactly value pricing.

After a couple hours of Seaport exploration and some cheesy, posed tourist shots (below), we decide to head to another highly recommended seafood shack, Captain Scott’s Lobster Dock, for some real food. After many wrong turns and lots of backtracking, we finally found this hidden treasure behind some abandoned warehouses on the bay. Well, maybe “hidden” isn’t exactly accurate, considering the long line and full parking lot. But the menu of deep-fried seafood and homemade moon pies (!) convinced us to wait it out. We definitely saved the best for last. Cheap, big servings, fried - three of my favorite descriptives.

With our fill of seafood and quaint New England charm, we finally headed back to NYC. What better way to end a weekend of binging than by stopping at the world’s largest dairy! I sh*t you not. There’s even a huge neon side outside advertising its inclusion in "Ripley’s Believe It or Not." This place was awesome. Is there any other grocery store in America where you can shop for cereal and tampons, get a fresh lobster dinner and visit a petting zoo?! I think not. Definitely worth a stop if you’re driving through on I-95.
















link to part 1