Harry's Pizza (but for breakfast!)

Establishment: Harry's Pizza

Genre/Type: Italian Pizza Eatery, but open Saturday/Sunday mornings for breakfast

Location/Contact Information: 1003 Farmington Ave., West Hartford Center

Website: www.harryspizza.net

Cost: usually around $10/person

Alcohol: not for breakfast (though, occasional mimosas, etc)

Beverages: juice, milk, tea/coffee

Take out or Eat in: Eat in only for breakfast

Our first impression(s): Not fair to assess, because I've been there SO many times

Our Scores (on a scale of 0 (horrifying) to 20 (deliciously awesome and worth every shekel)
D: 18
Others (average): 17

Harry's is a local pizza joint, and a West Hartford standard; pizzas are hotly contested as the 'best' or 'second best' in the area.

We were not here for pizza.

The menu is a combination of dishes--pancakes, crepes, breakfast sandwiches, omelets, waffles, and more.


The staples are easy--scrambled or eggs-over, and all are good.

The pancakes, for the pancake aficionado, are amazing.  Cake-like, fluffy, and filled with a variety of savories--chocolate chips, bananas, blueberries, and other fruits--all delicious. We share one among four or five people (they're big and delicious).

The fresh fruit bowl is a treat when it's available--blueberries, strawberries, melon, blackberries, bananas, and others. Oatmeal is also perfectly cooked and yummy--brown sugar and berries included.

The omelets are also very well prepared...I highly suggest asking for the special recipe

Harry’s has been an integral part of the West Hartford community since 1991.  We’ve won several awards including the Best of Hartford Advocate, Best of Hartford Magazine, and the Zagat’s Award of Distinction.  We are most proud of the baseball, softball, basketball and soccer teams we have sponsored for fifteen years. 

Please drop in at Harry’s when you’re visiting vibrant West Hartford center.  Hope to see you soon at Harry’s where it’s always quick and friendly service.

Flaggstead Smokehouse--Barbecue, Texas Style--in FARMINGTON (who knew?)

Establishment: Flaggstead Smokehouse

Genre/Type: Barbecue, stick-to-your-ribs kinda food.

From their website: "The idea for the Smokehouse started here in Farmington, Connecticut, in 2007, when the Flagg family escaped from New York in search of a slower and more serene lifestyle. After a few months, and numerous failed attempts searching for true Texas style bbq, I decided to call my dad, Herschel (Pop) Flagg, out of retirement. He left the sweltering heat of San Antonio, Texas and brought with him the secret Flagg family recipes to Farmington. The Flagg family recipes have been handed down for three generations. Papaw Flagg passed on to my father, Herschel, his recipes that have since been passed on to me. After years of urging from family and friends, my dad started his smokehouse in Boerne, Texas in 1988. "Podnas" opened its doors and the Flagg style of Texas BBQ was introduced to the world.Now some twenty years later with the help of Pop, I opened Flaggstead Smokehouse in Farmington hoping to pass on the Flagg legacy to my two little ones."

Location/Contact Information: 1085 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06032; (860) 674-6028;

Website: www.flaggsteadsmokehouse.com

Cost:(total/person average) ballpark around $8-15/entree, some a little more

Alcohol: beers in bottles, some other malt/hard lemonade beverages

Beverages: Sodas, Iced Tea, other bottled beverages

Take out or Eat in?: Both--they even do on-site barbecue pit catering, and takeout at the counter.

Our first impression(s): Despite my need for some Tums a little later, it will be a repeat offender.  A friend and I had dinner--casual, relaxed, and in a t-shirt wearing environment. Walk in, stand at the counter and stare at the immodestly sized menu (ribs, brisket of beef, pulled pork, pulled chicken, half chickens, and a few sandwiches, with a whole lotta sides. 

He chose a side of brisket and a small rack of ribs. Side of potato salad and baked beans. I had the same ribs, pulled beef brisket (I wanted pulled BBQ chicken, but they were out), macaroni and cheese, cornbread and beans. 

The brisket was hailed as 'great', being tender, well cooked, and barbecue sauced appropriately. The bottles of apparently 'house made' barbecue additive were tasty, spicy, and sweet, with all the right parts of tongues being affected. The Tabasco lovers needn't worry--it was there. The ribs fell off the bone with a plastic fork and knife--this makes me experience the joys of barbecue as it is supposed to be--tender meat, well seasoned, deliciously prepared, and, if i may say, (being one who hasn't before feared portion size to be a problem), properly portioned. Five ribs with succulent meat that can be eaten off bones or pulled with a fork.

My pulled/chipped beef with barbecu-y goodness was tasty--sticky sweet with some zing, but not crazy spicy. This portion size was big--a paper-trayful with plenty of moisture, and nothing dry. The ribs were equally succulent, and also fork-worthy. The cornbread, on first impression, is from a mix, as it was far too uniform, and without those little chunks of corn I love to find, but was good for dipping into sauce remnants.

Mac and Cheese was (as the world has reintroduced the adult version of this guilty pleasure in more restaurants than truly need it) yummy and cheesy, and clearly house-made, but the pasta was a tiny bit overcooked--I dig firmer pasta, but the kids in your group will no doubt enjoy it. 

The beans were a typical house-made variety, but I'm unsure if the beans are soaked and truly prepared from dry beans, or if they're doctored up collections of the canned variety, but they were yummy. 

Overall, the meal was yummy--the caveats of well-prepared pulled beef (bones, icky chunks of gristle, etc) were absent, and the meats were all nearly perfectly cooked.

We did not indulge in the 'challenge' dish so commonly prepared and advertised in many barbecue places (remember the 'old 96-er?). If i recall, 16 ounces in a pound x 5 pounds = about 80 ounces of pulled beef WITH sides, that, if indulged in less than 60 minutes. The details are in the restaurant, but as of today (July 9, 2011), only one name is on the list with a picture of a full-looking gentleman who completed the task.  I don't think there are enough antacids for me to attempt that these days...

Our Scores (on a scale of 0 (horrifying) to 20 (deliciously awesome and worth every shekel: 15/20 and 16/20 (for barbecue-specific scoring, that is)...

Overall, I'd say this is a great place for family or group dining, and great in the good weather as you can eat outside on the patio as well as indoors. The paper plates and kids' play area outside make it feel homey and comfortable, and the amazing barbecue aromas emanating from the building and its parking lot make you hungrier on approach.  Enjoy it!