Plan B Burger

As a loyal patron of Plan B and a lover of their gourmet burgers, I was very leery when I heard the Max Restaurant group’s plans to expand into the world of burgers.  Although the new addition has been open for over 6 months, my husband and I hesitated.  We  just couldn’t pull ourselves away from Plan B (we felt like we would be cheating if we gave the competition a try).  But we finally caved and went to Max Burger for lunch the other day.

The atmospheres of the two restaurants are drastically different.  Plan B is very edgy – think urban loft, with leather booths, mirrors, industrial lighting, and tight quarters (you get to know your fellow diners well).  You are always guaranteed a wait on a weekend night, but the bar is lively and the beer flows freely.  Max is certainly more refined, and you know you are eating in the center of West Hartford, as opposed to Park Rd (where Plan B is located).  Max’s is much more spacious, again lots of black leather, but here it is paired with birch-like wood, and metal accents – very upscale Montana hunting lodge.

So now on to the beer, which is almost as important as the burgers (my husband may argue it’s more so…).   Plan B is all about micro breweries and craft beer.  With about 15 draft beers that are changing constantly, many of which are small craft beers, along with over 50 bottled beers, Plan B has plenty of variety.  Plan B does have a full bar, however don’t expect very experienced bar tenders – they don’t love to mix drinks and can get confused easily with names of drinks.  For instance, I found its better to tell them grapefruit juice and vodka, rather than to ask for a greyhound.  This stays with their M.O. – no frills – just really good burgers and really good beer.   Max plays it safer on the beer front.  With only a couple of drafts, showcasing a more generic variety and only 15 or so bottle options, beer is certainly not as strong a focus in the restaurant.  They do, however, offer cocktails, mixed drinks, milkshakes and a wonderful selections of “adult milkshakes” (milkshakes made with a varieties of liquors).   Again, this is not surprising and stays with Max’s theme.  They are clearly catering to a different crowd and therefore catering to a different drinkers’ pallets. (more…)

An evening in wine.

It all started about a year ago at our wedding…

As a token for their involvement in our wedding, Scott and I presented two of our groomsmen, Reed & John, with bottles of Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon. I believe John was the first to suggest that he and Reed hold on to their bottles and we all drink them together at a nice dinner.  Flash forward 10 months and four failed scheduling attempts and finally we all managed to congregate at our apartment for our “Stag’s Leap Wine Dinner.” However, in the time that it took us to plan this event, we found that we had another reason to come together and celebrate; our dearest friend Reed proposed to his girlfriend Kristina. Now we really had a reason to open those bottles of wine. (more…)

I came across this recipe a couple of years ago thanks to a grilling edition of Bon Appetit.  The first time I made the dish, it immediately became one of my “signature” meals.  And what credentials must a dish have to be “signature,” you ask?  …. I think the honest answer is that the men in my life praise it highly and request the meal again.  (sad, I know.)  With a small ingredient list, this relatively simple dish took me by surprise.  I find that I am more and more impressed with recipes that call for 10 or less ingredients, as long as those ingredients are quality.  A simple dry rub of paprika, bay leaves, cumin, and cayenne and this steak is ready for the grill.  Don’t be scared by the addition of cayenne.  With the inclusion of other spices and creamy Gorgonzola to compliment, the steaks are surprisingly tame.  The cayenne adds extra dimension without adding incredible heat.

The original recipe calls for T-Bone steaks – certainly a quality cut of beef.  T-Bones are pretty much what they sound like: a steak with a T-shaped bone with meat on either side.  The larger side of the T-bone is a strip steak, while the smaller portion is a tenderloin.  (Porterhouse steaks are very similar to T-bones, and often the names are used interchangeably, but porterhouse steaks contain a larger portion of the tenderloin.)  With the combination of two great cuts of meat, this steak gives you the best of both worlds.  (If T-Bones are too much of a splurge, you can easily create this recipe using a strip steak.)  I must warn, however, that T-Bones are very large cuts of beef.  And again, don’t let that scare you off.  I like to buy one T-Bone for my husband and I.  I will admit that I give him the larger strip steak and save the valued tenderloin for my plate, but shhh, don’t tell him, he doesn’t seem to notice.  (more…)