Molly's Restaurant & Bar

Molly's Restaurant & Bar
43 South Main Street
Hanover, NH
(Check out their website)

Molly's appears to be a place where a lot of Dartmouth people hang out. It does seem like a spot that would be attractive to the sports crowd at a university. There are TVs and what looks like a nice bar. I was there for lunch and at the table behind me, a professor was taking one of her students out to talk about the coming academic year.

I shouldn't have ordered the fried calamari but I was thrilled by the idea that they would be like a dish that I had recently enjoyed at another restaurant. Unfortunately, these were the bar food type calamari rings that were heavily breaded and fried. Although they claimed that they would be "lightly breaded," there was nothing light about this meal. Sauce wasn't that great either. Not something to write home about but probably OK if you're at a bar and you don't care what you eat.

But, Molly's came through at the end with the entree that I ordered: the lobster pizza. With real lobster too! This dish is a bit pricey but they have a nice lunch deal so it wasn't that bad. The pizza is topped with tomatoes, scallions and a bunch of cheeses (cheddar, fontina, gorgonzola, parmesan, and mozzarella). I thought the cheese blend was very good as was the lobster and scallion pairing.

I really shouldn't have ordered the calamari because I was already feeling full by the time the pizza arrived.

Scarlet Begonias

Pasta special at Scarlet Begonias

Scarlet Begonias
212 Maine St # B
Brunswick, ME

This is probably one of my favorite spots in Brunswick. Now, I sometimes have problems getting to their actual menu because their specials are always so tempting and fantastic. How can you turn down the delicious scallop pizza or the special club sandwich with sprouts and turkey? If you're there when they have their fish chowder or seafood chowder, try it! Everything is made when you order so sometimes this will take a while and they do have limited seating so if you show up during the lunch rush, you might just have to wait a bit. I love the fact that you can just pick up a pitcher of water from the counter and take it over to your seat.

Now, there are some regular items that I really love. If I can resist their specials that day, I go for Sallie's Choice, which is a pizza loaded with sausage, broccoli, roasted red peppers, cheeses, and herbs. There's something about that combination that just hits the spot. Wash it down with an ice-cold Pepsi with ice. That is a fantastic meal right there although you will need a nap. There is no getting around that.

Other people are really drawn to the pasta selection at SB's. The Rose Begonia seems to be the absolute favorite and it's a blend of bacon, chicken, mushrooms, and herbs over penne pasta. The sauce is a tomato cream one and it is wonderfully rich. I think the dish is great but a bit creamy. The portions, by the way, are pretty big and you may end up taking some items home with you.

Pricey? Just a bit but the food is well worth it and hey, this is a local restaurant with a nice decor and great food. Just enjoy the great food and atmosphere.

Return to Frank Pepe's

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
157 Wooster Street
New Haven, CT
(See my previous post here)

So, I wasn't entirely impressed with Frank Pepe's pizza the first time I went there. I just thought it was regular, greasy pizza that I could get anywhere but I was persuaded to return for their seasonal special. Actually, there are two seasonal specials: the fresh tomato pie (fresh tomato with mozzarella, garlic and basil) and the clam pizzas. I only had the stomach for one so I chose the clams and I was not disappointed. These are real, fresh clams mind you. None of these are from a can. Hence, when there are no fresh clams, there is no clam pizza at Frank Pepe's. I just had the small clam pizza with red sauce. They added a good deal of garlic along with this treat and it was spectacular. The one problem was that the clams were all bunched up on one side of the pizza so there were some slices that were left out of the tasty frenzy. Nothing that a few rearranged clams couldn't fix though.

If you're in New Haven, check these guys out and try the clam pizza.

Again, what's up with the small soda glasses?

Frank Pepe

Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana
157 Wooster Street
New Haven, CT
(Visit their website!)

My dining companion really wanted to try this place so we took a trip into New Haven to see if it was any good. Frank Pepe's claims to be the first place that served pizza in the U.S. OZ said that the plain cheese and plain tomato pizzas were good. Apparently, this is how one is supposed to judge a pizza. I had the sausage and mushroom one (half) and shrimp with garlic (other half). Pretty decent but not particularly spectacular in my book. The pizzas were a bit greasy but that is to be expected. They gave us really small soda glasses and didn't offer to refill them so I'm led to believe that the sodas are overpriced. That's not fair given that everyone needs soda with pizza. Pizzas came in large metal trays, hot out of the oven. I'll just say that there were plenty of leftovers and those leftovers were terrific. What is it about cold pizza that makes it so good?Here's the medium mushroom and sausage and shrimp with garlic.

(Images by AG)