Smokey Joe’s has been spiffed up since the last time I was there, which was ages ago.  There’s now an outdoor eating area, and in the dining room, the picnic benches have been replaced with regular tables and booths.

What hasn’t changed is the cafeteria-style food service and laid back casual atmosphere of a neighborhood BBQ joint. Jose and I settled into one of the booths and dug in.

Smokey Joe’s does a really good gumbo—smoky (fittingly) and spicy.  I chose chicken, but you can also get shrimp or sausage.

A tender pulled pork sandwich with a side of spicy hickory BBQ sauce.

Lunch items come with two sides, so I went with beans and collards.  Does anything go better with BBQ’d meat than collard greens?

For dessert, a visit to Sunny Daes on Shippan Ave.

And a cup of stracciatella gelato, a vanilla-based gelato with flecks of chocolate chip.

BBQ and gelato, a fitting post for the unofficial end of summer.

Sigh.

Smokey Joe’s
1308 East Main St.
Stamford, CT
203-406-0605

Sunny Daes
633 Shippan Ave.
Stamford, CT
203-977-0661

Buffalo Wild Wings is a sports bar and restaurant chain that recently opened a new location in Stamford (they’re also in Port Chester and New Rochelle).  My friends Matt, Jose and I paid a visit tonight after going to a showing of Bruno.  Bruno + wings… that’s quality male bonding.

It’s interesting that Buffalo Wild Wings lists nutritional information on its menu. I’ll go out on a limb and say that diners indulging on fried wings, blue cheese dressing, plus a beer or two, aren’t putting fat and calories high on the evening’s priority list.  I avoided looking at the info altogether; didn’t want to know.

There are 14 sauce choices for the wings, ranging from mild on the heat scale (“Smilin’”) to four-alarm fire (“Screamin’”). Inspired by Man v. Food, I briefly considered ordering a plate of wings with the Blazin’ sauce, the hottest of the hot — you know, just to see if I could do it.  Buuut, in the end, I decided against it.

Jose, not much for the heat, chose Sweet BBQ sauce.  Matt went with Hot BBQ, getting up there on the scale.  I went one degree hotter, opting for a dozen wings with Hot, still three degrees down from the Blazin’ sauce.

Ah, I liked this — a steadily building pleasant burn, never overwhelming and painful (Jose may beg to differ after sampling one). The wings themselves were very respectable: smallish but crispy and juicy.

It was the right choice.  The Blazin’ sauce can wait.  Monday night is not the time for a bleeding ulcer.

Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar
208 Summer St.
Stamford, CT
203-324-9453

I waited a week and a half to write this post because I didn’t want to make any rash statements, like, This is the best Cuban sandwich I’ve ever had! I told myself, simmer down, wait a few days before spouting off with the hyperbole.

It’s like when you watch a movie that initially seems really good, then a few days pass and you’re not thinking about the movie at all and barely remember anything about the story or the characters.  That’s a bad sign.  A great movie is one that’s kicking around in your head several days later — you’re still ruminating on it.

And so it is for a great sandwich.  Guess what: I’m still thinking about this Cuban.

My friend Jaimie and I have eaten lunch many times at Katie’s, a neighborhood spot in Stamford serving up soups, sandwiches and salads.

Their soups really are good, like this chunky, hearty lentil soup.

Now I’ve completely forgotten what kind of sandwich Jaimie ordered.  I remember she mentioned Lent and feeling guilty about eating meat, so this must be ham or something.

But let’s break down that Cuban, served with extra pickle slices and a vinegary scoop of potato salad. First, there was the quality of the tender pork: roasted and shredded, almost like pulled pork.   Then a layer of salty, smoky Black Forest ham. Followed by crunchy sliced pickles, Swiss cheese and a generous spread of mustard on top, all in a chewy wedge.   Some delis get the proportions all wrong — too much cheese, not enough pickles, too much meat — but this one was perfectly balanced with bold flavors and textures.

Who knew unassuming little Katie’s could crank out such a first-rate Cuban?? There’s only one problem — it was a special for the day, not one of their regular sandwiches!  Aagh!   I don’t know how often they make it, but let’s hope it moves into the regular rotation.

Best I’ve ever had?  I’ll need to eat a few more Cubans before making that audacious claim, but Katie’s Cuban is up there.  It’s a contender.

Katie’s Gourmet
29 Bank St.
Stamford, CT
203-324-2583

The Wedge Inn reminds me of a place where you’d see Tony Soprano.  Not that you’d get whacked or anything — I just could imagine him eating a sandwich there.

I heard about Wedge Inn from my friend Jose, who happened upon it on his way home from physical therapy.   He told me about their unique cheesesteak… with chili.  (If you ordered this in Philly would the chili count as an extra “wit”?)

A better name would be “The Maalox.”  It’s like they took every food that causes indigestion — sliced steak, Cheez Whiz, peppers, onions, chili — and put it on a roll.  Mighty tasty, if a little skimpy on the steak.  A lot more meat could have been packed in there.

(It’s occurred to me that whenever Jose and I grab a bite we eat the most astoundingly unhealthy foods. We’ve done hot oil and sausage pizza, chili, hot dogs, cheesesteaks…  One more meal together and we receive a complimentary nitroglycerin tablet.)

And Jose does make an astute observation: Wedge Inn serves all sorts of fried, greasy food, yet they don’t have a bathroom on the premises.  I feel like you should know these things.

Wedge Inn
885 Summer St.
Stamford, CT
203-323-2722

Anyhow, let’s talk about hot dogs.  A few months ago my friend Jose shared his thoughts on Pat’s Hubba Hubba.  He talks about Pat’s all the time now, so I needed to find out if the dogs were as good as he claimed.

After a recent happy hour, a few of us headed to Pat’s to grab a dog for the road.  John’s excitement was palpable.

There’s nothing fancy about Pat’s — it’s a casual greasy spoon — which is pretty much ideal after a happy hour.  A burger sounded good.  So did a milkshake.  But I stuck to the plan of sampling Pat’s famous chili dog.

Like Jose mentioned, there’s an enjoyable simplicity to the Pat’s hot dog: split grilled dog, grilled bun, a smattering of chili and fresh chopped onions (bring your Altoids and Listerine strips). The dog itself isn’t anything special — I’d prefer more bite — but it all works really well together.

The chili has an interesting consistency, almost pasty.  I’m not sure it’d make a good bowl on its own, but it goes great on top of the hot dog.  I find it preferable to a wet, drippy chili dog. And hey, look at that, chili with a kick to it!  (Ahem, I’m talking to you, Smokehouse Chili-Grill…)

When it comes to hot dogs I’ll always be a sauerkraut man, but sometimes you’ve got to mix it up. Pat’s chili dog: Recommended.

Pat’s Hubba Hubba
820 Cove Rd.
Stamford, CT 06902
203-325-9928

I have a guest blogger today.  Jose and a few of my former Stamford colleagues (sniff) had the nerve to go to Pat’s Hubba Hubba without me, and then they emailed the pics just to rub salt in the wound.

In the spirit of relaying important hot dog information, I will post what Jose wrote about the place.  Here’s what I know: There seems to be a Pat’s Hubba Hubba on Main St. in Port Chester (can anyone verify this?); the Stamford location had been closed since May due to a fire.  But to the delight of hot dog lovers everywhere, they’ve just re-opened!

Here are Jose’s Hubba Hubba thoughts:

By far the best hot dog experience I’ve had since I got involved in this little hot dog quest of yours. I ordered 2 with ketchup and onions (I know boring) and loved them. First they split the dogs and grill them which gives them a nice snap when you bite into them, and secondly they grill the onions which gives you an interesting snap, crunch thing.  At first I thought they looked kind of small but I couldn’t finish them off (I noticed Matt had the same problem — you can probably eat four). The only problem was they don’t have dogs pre-grilling so It took a little longer than I would have liked but all in all two thumbs up. One thing that Bryan commented on was they don’t have as big a selection as the other places we’ve eaten at, but I would rather have five things cooked to perfection than twenty things cooked adequately. I’m all about the Hubba Hubba.

Pat’s Hubba Hubba
820 Cove Rd.
Stamford, CT 06902
203-325-9928

24 N. Main St.
Port Chester, NY 10573
914-939-7271

The menu’s not breaking any new ground (noodles, stir fries, curries, lots of things with basil), but I appreciate the consistency of the dishes (especially compared with some of the horrid Thai restaurants in Westchester — I won’t name names).  And they make a mean drunken noodle with chicken.

It’s a huge serving of wide rice noodles, carrots, onions, chicken and basil, in a fiery chili sauce. Finally, a dish advertised as spicy that’s actually spicy!   At other Thai places, the “spicy” dishes have so little heat that you need to drown them in hot sauce just to perk them up.  Not a problem at Kit’s — the drunken noodle makes my nose run and my lips tingle every time.

Give Kit’s a shot the next time you have a hankering for Thai.   Don’t forget the tissues.

Kit’s Thai Kitchen
927 High Ridge Road
Stamford, CT 06905
203-329-7800