O'Rourkes Diner - Middletown, CT

O'Rourkes Diner in Middletown, Connecticut might just be my new favorite Triple-D restaurant.  I don't give out many 10's but, I have no problem giving this one an honest 10.

The first thing that you notice is that it is an honest to goodness diner starting with the stainless steel exterior and interior.  It is tiny and friendly.  It is also spic and span: clean as a whistle.  That is something that probably most Triple-D restaurants are not.

I started with the "Leprechaun bites" of poppyseed bread or muffin and some kind of blueberry muffin. It was a nice morning appetizer.

They served what seemed to me to be real fresh squeezed orange juice and a fresh fruit plate.  So, they try to be a bit healthy.  I had the Eggs Brian which might not be super healthy but it was very enjoyable.  It came with multigrain toast thick-cut and really flavorful. It must definitely have been bakery bread. Their coffee to wash it all down was also equally enjoyable.

Evidently, the first O'Rourkes Diner bunt down some years ago and the town decided to rebuild it.   I'm glad that they did.

Pee before you come here. The door doesn't lock.  That doesn't seem to be a problem here for some reason.  I guess we're all friends here.

Service was excellent.  No complaints there.

It only got 3.7 spoons on Urban Spoon.  Don't listen to these people.  Definitely go out of your way to visit O'Rourkes.

O'Rourkes Diner
728 Main St
Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 346-6101
http://www.orourkesmiddletown.com/

Parthenon Diner - Brandord, CT

The Parthenon Diner wasn't a Triple-D restaruant but it was very much a typical diner.  Enough so to make me want to review it.

Like any good diner, they had a glass cool case with lots of nice pastries front and center when you first walk in to get you thinking about desert while you are still hungry.

There was also a little model of the actual Parthenon on a shelf which was kind of comical.

I had the chicken soup to start out with because it was very cold outside on a chilly spring day.  I found it to be not too salty.  I half expected them to warm up some Campbell's soup.  So, I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't.

I ordered the pastrami and cheese sandwich as part of the soup and sandwich special.  The quality of pastrami wad really good. It came with onion and tomato on rye bread.  The quality of the bread was also very good.

Service was okay.  Because it wasn't a triple-D restaurant, my expectation level was pretty low.  So, they get a bit of a pass.

Overall, I would rate Parthenon an 8.0.  It was a good diner.


Parthenon Diner
374 East Main Street
Branford, CT 06405
(203) 481-0333
www.parthenondiner.com

Corey's Catsup & Mustard - Manchester, CT

If you think that you might have an unhealthy addiction to salt and vinegar anything then stay FAR away from Corey's.  I tried the salt and vinegar french fries ("freedom fries," if you prefer) and I almost had to be taken out in a straight jacket because they were so good that I could hardly stop eating them.

One order of fries results in the waitress bringing a huge pile of the heavenly spuds in a mini wire-wastepaper basket.  Everything was perfect about them.  The fries were just the right amount of crunchy and you could tell that they used fresh oil and good quality potato.  The oily, salty, vinegary blend was perfect.  What the Boston Pops is to fireworks on the 4th of July,  Corey's is to string potatoes on your plate.

The pretzel roll ("bretzel broetchen") used to be one of my favorite things to eat when I lived in Germany.  But, they are almost impossible to find in the US.  Central Market has them but, they are not anywhere as good as the real deal from a German bakery.  So, I was really excited to see it on the menu.  I thought that the chicken on a pretzel bun was going to be the star of the show for my meal tonight but, I was pleasantly dead wrong.  It was good but, it got upstaged by the spud.

I'm giving Corey's a 8 out of 10 on the triple-d scale.  In typical triple-d style, it was kind of divey.  It was a neighborhood bar restaurant.  The two waitresses that I dealt with were extremely nice and attentive.  High marks for service.  I was obviously wow'ed by the fries but, the chicken sandwich was just good.  On the triple-d scale, we're looking for culinary experiences that blow us completely away.  I would recommend that people check this place out.  I think that anyone would enjoy it but, it was not a bucket-list worthy restaurant.  


Corey's Catsup & Mustard
623 Main Street
Manchester, CT 06040
860.432.7755
http://www.catsupandmustard.com/