I'm pretty simple when it comes to dates. I don't need $30 entrees or flowers or chocolates. Want to win over my heart? Go through my stomach and start with a big, juicy cheeseburger. Plan B is a Connecticut burger bar with multiple locations in West Hartford, Simsbury and Glastonbury, specializing in burgers, beer, beef & bourbon. I kid you not when I say that I fell in love with their food and their philosophy on my first visit.  All of their beef is certified humane (meaning the cows are handled and raised humanely, given access to shelter and resting areas and not treated like the cows in the horrific factory farming films). The beef is also 100% natural, meaning no preservatives, colors, fillers or hormones.  Plan B also grinds their beef daily on premises.  It's a difference you can taste! 

Plan B only serves "B" or better beer, meaning an extensive selection of hand-picked top-rated American craft beers, many of which are local, sustainable and/or organic. Their bartenders are super knowledgeable and incredibly helpful at pairing the perfect beer with their burgers.  Beer not your bag? Plan B also happens to be home to Connecticut's largest selection of bourbon.

My meal. No frills, just delicious, well-cooked thoughtful food.

Meet the Blue Cheese Burger: 100% natural, certified humane, hormone-free freshly ground beef, charbroiled and slightly pink inside, topped with smokey sweet barbeque sauce and tangy blue cheese. [sure beats tiny portions of French food, even if it is artistically arranged on a plate!]

Crispy and delicious sweet potato fries, hot out of the frier.

Disco fries: the perfect comfort food. Shoestring fries topped with gravy and cheddar cheese. The perfect food to eat your feelings, whether you just broke up with your boyfriend or you hate your job, disco fries are the panacea of all the world's evils [except maybe cholesterol...]

Accomplishment.
[for the record, I finished that pickle moments after this was taken. I'm no quitter.]

So, while other girls are out eating salads and counting calories on their dates, you can catch me licking BBQ sauce off my fingers, savoring every last bite of burger bliss and falling just as much in love with my burger as I am my date. Thanks, Plan B!

Plan B West Hartford

138 Park Road

West Hartford, CT 06119

860-231-1199

p.s. They're looking to have future locations in Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and Georgetown. Fingers crossed that they come to Philly!

Labels: cheeseburgers, CT food

4 Comments:

Looks so delicious. Now I'm craving burgers and some disco fries. Is this normal?

By  Marjie, at December 29, 2010 at 12:59 AM  

Completely normal :)

By  kelly, at December 29, 2010 at 10:08 PM  

I made my family take me there for lunch today, it was delicious! I know it's a good burger when I don't feel the need to put ketchup on it :) I had the Baja Burger and Disco fries

By  Megan, at December 31, 2010 at 12:41 PM  

Ooh! My sister got the Hangover Burger last time. It had an egg on it, which I didn't think I'd like, but she said it made the burger! I tried and I totally agree! Have you been to Louis' Lunch in New Haven? They don't let you use condiments at all.

By  kelly, at December 31, 2010 at 1:35 PM  

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...where it's okay to lick your fingers and relish every bite.

...layers of creamy chocolate pudding and graham crackers, topped with whipped cream.

...my mom's ice box cake, made just for me.


...celebrating birthdays with Italian whipped cream cake from Lucibello's.

...eating layers of sponge cake with vanilla and chocolate pudding surrounded by family.

Labels: birthdays, cake, cheeseburgers, CT food

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the never-ending line, which wound around the block


I'm not sure who orders 5 Dozen, but I would like to be that person's friend.


My mom and I "split" a dozen. I use the word "split" loosely, because I'm pretty sure she had about 3 and then gave me the rest. Bless her heart, she's good to me!

Piping hot and soft with warm bits of apple throughout and dusted with cinnamon and sugar:
A perfect bite of fall.

We were particularly hungry this year and had the brilliant idea of eating before we got fritters so that by the time we moved through the line, we would have digested our food. Tempted by everything from New England clam chowder in a bread bowl to chili to fried dough (a personal favorite), we decided on Polish food. My mom went for sauerkraut pierogies and my sister and I split potato & cheese pierogies and a kielbasa and kraut sandwich. The pierogies could have used a dash of pepper in the filling and a touch of butter on top, but they were still pretty delicious (and far superior to commercial frozen ones). I had no complains about my sandwich. The bread was soft, the meat had just enough spice and the touch of dijon mustard added a welcome kick to balance out the flavors. Eating fair food on a perfect October day with my family? I couldn't ask for a better day!

Let's move on to Sunday...

By the time I went to sleep on Saturday night, I was pretty convinced that I would never eat again. Having gorged on apple fritters and pierogies, I wasn't sure I could fit anything else in my stomach, but I had a breakfast date first thing Sunday morning, so I had to make room somehow. Thankfully, it only took a quick glance at the menu to find room for my next fall foodventure... pumpkin pecan pancakes at Colony Diner in Meriden.

fluffy buttermilk pumpkin pancakes infused with cinnamon and the crunch of pecans

sprinkled with sugar

Then slathered in maple syrup... oh yes. (and just look at those pecans!)
Easily my favorite breakfast. I wait all year for it.

I'm getting full just typing this and smiling at my delicious food memories, but friends, I have one last stop on this taste train. I'd like to tell you about Ted's. It's a tiny place--if you're not careful, you can drive by and almost miss it.

They've been making magic for over fifty years and their delicious steamed cheeseburgers were recently featured on Man vs. Food for good reason! Hamburger meat gets packed into metal trays and placed in a steaming oven. Cheese meets the same fate, though it has its own oven. Each sandwich is made to order and the meat is placed atop a soft, freshly baked kaiser roll. Next, the steamed cheese nearly doubles over itself as it oozes out of the steam tray and slides down over the meat, leaving no bit of hamburger uncovered. Topped with anything you'd like (I went the lettuce, tomato, raw onion, ketchup route), they're quite the mouthful.  I was bringing my sister lunch (though a few minutes late... sorry!), so I took mine to go and didn't get to take a picture of my burger while the cheese was still warm, melty and making its slow descent down the bun. Forgive me. I'll get better pictures next time.

Amazing weekend at home--fall flavors, delicious food, quality time with my family and foliage, I'm one lucky gal.

 

Labels: apples, cheeseburgers, CT food, fall flavors, kielbasa, pancakes, pierogies, polish food, pumpkin

2 Comments:

great post, Kelly! i love reading about your food adventures every chance i get. : )

By  Emily Kupstis, at October 11, 2010 at 8:08 PM  

Fall in Philly is the best-- I grew up there so believe me, I know. It's warm for a while and then it starts to cool down. Enjoy the warmth while it's still here because it'll be cold soon enough!

Those apple fritter look delicious. I love going apple picking and eating fresh hot apple donuts.

By  the Tsaritsa, at October 12, 2010 at 8:34 PM  

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Tuesday, September 21, 2010 @ 8:21 PM

beef. it's what's for dinner [ala Minella's]

When it comes to food, I'm an incredibly indulgent person. I'm not a fan of mindless eating. I don't like eating just for the sake of eating. Mind you, I used to be, but that was 30 lbs. ago. Now, I eat with intention. I eat what I want when I want (mostly). I have food cravings like a pregnant woman (though maybe not as strange. I've never craved pickles and ice cream, but I may have more bizarre hankerings some day in the distant future when I find myself about to procreate [God help us]). When I have a certain food on the brain, I have to have it or it'll stay at the forefront of my thoughts until it meets my tastebuds.

Lately, I've been craving a cheeseburger. Actually, scratch that. I've been craving a cheeseburger since halfway through my Ireland trip. When your sustenance is solely composed of sandwiches, it's not uncommon to crave something heartier than a few slabs of deli meat and cheese. I wanted a burger crisp on the outside, slightly pink in the middle, covered by a slice of cheddar and sitting on a soft kaiser roll that would catch any calorie-laden juices that made their way out of my burger.

 

So, after a rousing Philly Union Game--my first pro sports game ever, can you believe it?--I headed over to Minella's Diner to put an end to my burger-craving madness.

And wouldn't you believe it? Minella's delivered.

Salty bacon, crisp iceburg lettuce,  sweet tomato, red onion, yellow cheddar cheese, smokey BBQ sauce, soft kaiser roll.

Even my friend's gyro looked good (and I'm usually not into eyeing up other peoples' food when I'm stuck on something).

(Just look at that feta cucumber tomato salad... oh boy)

You may have noticed that my cheeseburger looked a bit lonely on that plate with nothing but cole slaw to keep him company. French fries and burgers were meant to be together. I'd consider it a sin to keep them apart... unless of course I had good reason.

Meet dessert.

I've walked by the amazing dessert counter at Minella's on more occasions than I can remember, always stopping to wistfully sigh at their ganached mini cakes and flaky ethnic pastries. Yet somehow, in my countless visits, I've never ordered anything from the case. I think maybe I was too tempted by giant omelettes and fluffy pancakes slathered in syrup (I'm a big fan of late-night breakfast). My inaugural dessert? Raspberry cheesecake.

I have to say, it was not what I expected. I wasn't a fan of the bottom chocolate cake in the least. I'm a visual person and if something doesn't look appealing, chances are, it will have to assault my tastebuds with delicious to win me over. This cheesecake was not up for a fight, I guess. The cheesecake was (as you can probably tell) plain and so I felt a little mislead. The raspberry element was heavy on sweetness and lacking a little in the raspberry flavor department. I wasn't wowed, but I'd probably eat it mindlessly if my boyfriend just broke up with me and I was eating my feelings.

As for the chocolate peanut butter number... well, that's another story. The dark chocolate ganache had that sexy sheen that clings to every crevice of cake, leaving no crumb exposed. The peanut butter was super rich and, combined with the dark, dense cake, it was quite the mouthful. Had I not eaten half my cheeseburger a few minutes before, I would have gone to town on the cake and celebrated my efforts with a cold glass of skim milk and a stomachache.

Labels: bacon, cake, cheeseburgers, chocolate, dessert, diner food, gyro, peanut butter

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