AB on the Road: Bridgeport, CT

Allie: AB went to Bridgeport, CT the other day because we heard that the Beardsley Zoo had newborn Nigerian Dwarf goats and boy, did they ever!  Those goats were bananas!  How did I not know this zoo was 20 minutes from my house?  They had two tigers!  In Bridgeport, CT!  Tigers!  It was a surprisingly nice zoo, with peacocks milling about everywhere, gorgeous weather, a sweet greenhouse with weird plants, and a lot of different types of animals.  The highlights included some prairie dogs, otters, cute farm animals, monkeys, etc.  I got to feed the goats and they loved me.  And two freaking tigers!  I felt like we were able to get a lot closer to the animals than at other zoos, but that this was because the animals seemed a little more closely confined so that was kind of sad/cool.  And holy cow what is the deal with children???  Why do they have to be ALWAYS SCREAMING AT MAX VOLUME?!  This zoo would have been way better with no children.  Some exhibits were closed for now, which was a bummer because one was a LEOPARD and another one was a MEXICAN WOLF and I would have liked to see those, but maybe we will go back.  I had a really good time and I give the zoo 5 slices.

So as you can imagine, we were pretty hungry after seeing all that and we needed some real stick-to-your-ribs fare, so we headed to Shandals Vegetaratian Cafe.  The restaurant is small and has a couple of tables, it was pretty bare bones and also somehow dark, even though it was noon on a sunny day.  The owner was really friendly, I think we arrived right as he opened so he was still arranging the selections, which are arranged buffet-style.  I ordered a small, which includes 4 choices, I chose rasta pasta, lo mein, BBQ tofu, and lima beans with wheat gluten.  That was a lot of food, especially for $7!  Everything was yummy, especially the lima beans which I would never have guessed would be my favorite.  I was looking forward to the rasta pasta and it did not disappoint.  I very nearly finished everything and I had to make Brian drive home because I went into a food coma.  5 out of 5 slices!

HEY IT'S A TIGER! A TIGER!

HEY IT'S A GOAT! A GOAT!

HEY IT'S SOME FOOD! SOME FOOD!

Brian: "Excuse me little child, what animal did you say that was? A ti...? A what? I'm sorry I couldn't hear you, could you speak up?" - Something no one has said ever at a zoo. But you know what? It's ok because tigers, bison, alligators, eagles and weird plants are all cool enough to make me not care that an entire elementary school is screaming directly in my ear. Obviously zoos are problematic for many many reasons, but I feel slightly better when most animals are there for rehabilitation reasons or to keep a species from becoming extinct. It was a beautiful day out and we needed a place to go and enjoy being outside, and like Allie said despite this place being about 15 minutes away from us we had never gone. I'd say it was completely worth the trip! When we were leaving we saw advertisements for a wine and beer event there, which sounds like something we would be in to. I'd have to say feeding the goats was the highlight of this trip, though they didn't jump up on the fence for me like they did for Allie. I will try to not hold it against them.

We went to Shandals for lunch, which was only the second time I had ever been there. I opted for the "small" plate this time, since last time I got the large which is actually massive (I'd estimate around twice as much as pictured above.) As before, this really hit the spot. You can really tell how chilled out the guy who runs this place is by eating his food. It's delicious, hearty food that makes you want to lay down and sleep for a while. I got the mashed potatoes, lima beans, soy chicken and peppers, and brown stew tofu which were all great. The guy who runs the place (I really wish I had learned his name) was as impressed as I was at my selections and, holding the plate at an arms length like he was inspecting a work of art, commented that he had prepared a great looking plate of food. I could not agree more, and it tasted just as good as it looked. 5 out of 5.

GATOR! GATOR! GATOR! HEY MOM IT'S A GATOR!

Restaurant Review: Bentara

Bentara there, done that

Allie: AB took this show out on the town this weekend to celebrate my graduation from law school (woo!).  We decided to go to Bentara, a Malaysian restaurant in downtown New Haven.  We've been there a few times and it never disappoints.  It's a little pricey, so it is better for special occasions.  But it's worth it (especially if you have Brian to pay for you--thanks boo!).  I got a fancy cocktail that had pineapple juice in it so that was good.  We got the spring rolls for an appetizer but we didn't take a photo because we wolfed them down in a millisecond.  They were awesome!  I got kuew teow goreng, which was broad rice noodles with veggies and tofu in an extra-spicy sauce.  It was amazing and the flavors were outrageous.  I also appreciated that they were very accommodating when I asked for my dish without egg.  The service was pretty good, at first the staff were very attentive and friendly, but after we got our entrees all of our servers seemed to fade into the woodwork and I practically had to hunt them down to get Brian a second beer, to get the check, and then again to get them to run the credit card.  No big deal though.  5 out of 5 slices!

Fancy drinks, no cherry jokes

Could we make a pizza with this?

Brian: As Allie said, we went to Bentara to celebrate her graduating from law school (congrats!!) This place is pretty much the perfect place for us when we want to go some place fancy (graduations, birthdays, cashing in change at the coinstar, etc.) The great thing about asian cuisines is that there is always plenty of stuff that either is vegan, or can easily be made vegan and there is stuff that caters to my liking seafood. After totally annihilating the spring rolls we got, I got the BBQ salmon with roasted tomatoes and baby bok choy I had ordered, and man was it good. I've never had anything less than stellar from Bentara, but this was especially delicious. The salmon was cooked perfectly despite not really knowing what to tell the waiter when he asked how I wanted it cooked. I guess the correct answer is "medium" since that is what the waiter eventually assumed I wanted. We overheard the waiter telling another table that Bentara is the only authentic malaysian restaurant in THE WHOLE COUNTRY since they use whole spices that are fresh ground/cracked/whatever for each dish, rather than using pre-ground spices that every other place uses. I cannot independently verify this claim, but it certainly went a long way in making me feel like a fancy person. I totally crushed the salmon and then proceeded to help myself to a bunch of Allie's dish (and then finished it when we got home) which was also really good and spicy. Clearly this is a 5/5 experience, and I would recommend it to anyone in town who wanted a slightly fancy delicious meal out.