Casa Villa

I know it's crazy but I was addicted to this taco truck in CT awhile back. I've calm down since then but the last time I went to CT, I tried out another Mexican place. This time it was an actual restaurant.

Complimentary Chips and Salsa

The salsa was great. It had a nice kick and was flavorful. It also wasn't water down like some salsas I've had in the past.

Sangria - I think it was $8?

Decent but I still like Pio Pio's white win sangria better (the one on Northern Blvd in Queens)

Hot sauces - I forget which one was the spicy and which one was mild but both were decent hot sauces.

Cocktail De Camarones - $10 - Shrimp with onions, tomatoes, cilantro in a citrus cocktail sauce

It had a good amount of small shrimp in this cup. I didn't eat this so I'm not sure how it tastes.

Sopa De Mariscos - $8 or $15 -- Seafood medley and vegetables in a red seafood broth.

The person that ordered this enjoyed this. It had all sorts of seafood and the broth was good.

Flautas De Pollo - $6 -- Two crispy corn taguitos filled with chicken and spices. Served on a bed of shredded lettuce, black beans, onions, with tomatillo sauce and crema mexicana.

This was disappointing. The chicken was bland and the garnish on top of it didn't do much. Overall, if it was for the hot sauce, I don't think I would have enjoyed it one bit.

Chicken Burrito with Rice and Beans - $10

I think the picture speaks for itself. The burrito was quite disappointing. The chicken just didn't have any flavor and there was nothing inside of it to make up for the tasteless chicken. It looks like the chicken wasn't even grilled properly.

Overall, I'm not sure I would ever go back here. It just isn't worth the trip to CT.

Casa Villa
866 E Main St
Stamford, CT 06902

Phone number (203) 348-0622
casavillarestaurant.com

El Charrito - Taco Truck

My favorite burrito truck...I went back again last Saturday. 

I got my usual chicken burrito and it was yummy as ever. The person that took me there got the below. I believe it was their two meat platter. We got shrimp and spicy pork.

Shrimp was good. Had a nice flavor and didn't taste old. The rice and beans were good as well.

The spicy pork this time was a bit disappointing. I remember it being better the last time.

I am ready to go back!

El Charrito
On Richmond Hill Ave in Stamford, CT
203 - 940 - 0922
www.elcharritollc.com

Valencia Luncheria

So I've had this place on my list for years. I always tell myself to drop by the next time I'm in Connecticut for whatever reason. That never happened so I decided to go to CT one day just to eat here...

Too bad I was very disappointed.

Dulce de leche coffee - $3

I was falling asleep on the ride over so the person I dragged with me ordered this for me while I was washing my hands. It was good.

Mango Iced Tea - $2.50

I heard this was suppose to be really good. Don't ask me why but when I read mango iced tea, I was expecting mango flavored tea with some real pieces of mango in it.So yea, I was slightly disappointed when I saw this. But hey, I can live without the mango so I was still excited.

Blah, I was right from the start. The drink wasn't that great. It didn't have much of a taste. It came with a bottle filled with some kind of syrup or sweetened water so I was like, 'Ok, maybe it just needs a little of this...". I squeezed some in, stirred and sipped. Failed. I figure, "Ok, it needs some more syrup...::squeezes a lot more::". Nope, it still didn't help.

Even though I thought it sucked, I will still give it one more chance if I ever go back here.

Friend's soup. Can't remember what it was. I just know that I didn't really like it.

I wanna say this was the Ceviche Arepa Combo

Friend's meal. I didn't bother tasting the filling. I knew I wouldn't like it. He said it didn't taste good though. It didn't taste fresh. The rice and beans was good. The tostones was no good.

I can't remember this was Pernil or shredded beef. Whatever it was, it was dry and tasteless.

Zach (crispy chicken, honey) - $4.00

This was also dry and bland.

So overall, I doubt I will go out of my way to go to this place again. It has a pretty high rating on Yelp so I don't get it. Maybe I just went on a bad day?


Valencia Luncheria
164 Main St
Norwalk, CT 06851

(203) 846-8009
www.valencialuncheria.com

El Charrito - Taco Truck

I was watching a food show on Netflix one day and saw an episode of Best Food Ever. The episode was called "Fab Food Carts".

A few of the carts piqued my interest but one especially caught my eye...El Charrito. It's a mexican truck located in Stamford, CT.

Well, I decided to go one day to check it out! (It's really not that far so I'm not that crazy)

Shabby truck but who cares as long as the food taste good (and I don't get sick) right?

I really wanted to try the spicy pork that was on the show but when I looked at the menu, I couldn't figure out what it was. In the show, it looked like it was shredded pork but when I asked them if they had shredded pork, they said no. I ended up getting a chicken burrito and my accomplice got a pork skin taco and their soup of the day.

Cueritos Taco

I'm not a big fan of corn tortilla so I didn't eat this but I did taste the pork skin. It was yummy!

Chicken Burrito

This picture doesn't do the burrito any justice. This place makes a burrito the way I like it. The filling just consist of the meat, beans and cheese. No veggies or any other crap. I don't care for rice and lettuce and tomatoes just makes a burrito too watery for me.

This thing was pretty darn good. After they wrapped up the burrito, they placed it on the grill so that the wrap is slightly crisp and the cheese is nice and melted. Once of the best burritos that I have had.

(They also have a hot and mild sauce that you get on the side. The hot sauce has a weird taste but the mild sauce is pretty good.)

Oh! That soup of the day didn't look good and didn't taste it. It was a watery base soup with some veggies and a couple of pieces of beef? Or pork? Either way, the meat didn't look all that cooked.

Take 2:

Yes, just a few weeks later, I went back again! I got the chicken burrito again but my accomplice let me get something new for him so I can try ;)

(The below 2 pics were taken from my phone in a somewhat dim room..forgive the quality)

Huaraches - Spicy Pork

I don't think I am a fan of huaraches, which I believe is made of some kind of Mexican dough. The fried "dough" was pretty bland. The spicy pork though was good! Good flavor and moist. The next time I go to this place, I think I will have a hard time deciding between a spicy pork burrito or a chicken burrito.

Anyway, if you are in the area or want to take a little road trip, go out and visit this truck! The one thing that is bad is the parking. You kinda have to park in some store's parking while you order the food. At least that is what we did. It wasn't a problem though. The area is not highly congested.

P.S. One thing I forgot to say about this truck is that the ingredients are pretty fresh. The food that comes out of it really doesn't look like something that would come from a truck.


El Charrito
On Richmond Hill Ave in Stamford, CT
203 - 940 - 0922
www.elcharritollc.com

Chowder Days

I was on Yahoo! last week and came across a "Fall Festivals That Are Worth It" list. The only event that was interesting and fairly close to me was the "Chowder Days" in Connecticut. Seeing the word Chowder got me craving it so guess what? I went!

Took a pic of the tents from a distance. There's a tent where you buy tickets upfront and then you use the tickets when you order the food at the other tents.

We got ourselves a New England Clam Chowder, Lobster Bisque, Cinnamon Sugar Fried Dough and a root beer.

I was disappointed with the root beer. I figured it would be something special but it was just A&W.

I wasn't impressed with the lobster bisque...actually, I didn't like it. It wasn't thick and creamy enough for me. I'm not a lobster bisque person so maybe that's how it's suppose to taste. Either way, it was eh.

Now, I'm definitely not an expert Chowder eater but I have had my share. This one wasn't bad but definitely below average in my opinion. I was disappointed from the first bite. The flavor just wasn't there. You would think that a Chowder festival would have decent chowder...the one that I got at the Maine Lobster Festival was definitely 100 times better.

I think these would have been great if they weren't so big. The outside of this treat was yummy but the inside was just too bland.

Overall, would I recommend this festival? If you have nothing better to do, I say go for it. The festival is  inside a Seaport Museum so if you are into boats and seeing some nice scenery, I say try it out. Don't expect too much from the food though. Oh, and you have to pay $24 ($21 with a AAA membership) per person just to get inside. The food is separate.

Chowder Days (October 6-8, 2012)
Mystic Seaport
75 Greenmanville Avenue
Mystic, CT 06355

http://www.mysticseaport.org