So it was the 10th wedding anniversary for my special lady and I this weekend. We shipped the kids down to my folks and both proceeded to get ill in various ways. I have not been right since I had kids. Seriously... my body and mind are breaking down at an alarming rate. In any event... we were able to get out to 5 restaurants, 3 were new to me and all 5 to my wife. Well, it was a mixed bag.
So our first stop was dinner Friday night at the Bluestone in Waterbury. We were on our way home from down south and Waterbury was jamming so we decided to check this place out. I had heard decent things and it seemed like a nice enough place? Well, it was a pretty big miss. We started with a simple salad which had enough garlic to take down a vampire village. It was balanced w/soggy barely edible brussel sprouts. The pizza we ordered seemed straight forward enough but the pomodoro (tomato) sauce had no flavor and the thing was covered w/ 38 huge roasted garlic pieces that looked like slugs. The crust was pretty decent. Service was slow. The vibe was mellow and they poured a nice beer. 1 Thumb sideways would be pretty kind
Next stop was lunch the following day at the Parkside Kitchen, a spin off of the Kitchen Table and in the old On the Rise Bakery spot. Space is still clean and nice. We ordered a green salad and "fancy macaroni and cheese". Delicious. The salad had a restrained dressing that gave a nice pop but let the greens shine on their own. The mac an cheese was properly cooked (not soggy) and decadent. The shrooms and squash were a nice accompaniment as were the crushed bread crumbs on top. It was really a good lunch. We snuck out some donuts to go that I bet were off the chain right out of the fryer but were a little dry later in the day. Still, 1 2/3 thumbs up.
Our big dinner was at the newly opened Waterworks over in the Noosk. The town was on fire with everyplace packed. The WW is a beautiful spot, exposed steel and wood beams... it is pretty awesome. They were pumping 80s/90s pop rock like Bon Jovi... super loud. We had to wait on our table for a few minutes so we grabbed a drink. We both agreed, the drinks are a little sweet with probably too much simple syrup but they are pretty meticulously prepared and I think that is the general new wave taste. I like my drink to taste like booze, otherwise I will order a soda. The menu was a bit of a mess. They just don't seem to know what they want to be and it comes across confused. We got a squash soup (no flavor but nice heat), salad (ugh), wings (undercooked but good sauce), lamb meatballs (don't bother), and some Mahi sliders that tasted pretty fishy. It was just not very good. Love the space and I might go back to grab a drink at the bar but there are better options in Winooski. That said the place was packed and most likely appeals to a certain demographic that I am not in. Another sideways thumb unless you love Sweetwaters... then this place will appeal to you.
Finally, we had lunch at the Turkish joint in Burlington. I reviewed this last week so I won't detail it but the food was excellent again, excellent.
2 hits, 2 misses... and some pretty good chips and salsa at the Pro Pig pubhouse.
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