Florence Griswold ran a boarding house in Old Lyme in the early 1900’s.  Many Impressionist artists of the time were drawn to the beauty of Old Lyme and chose to stay exclusively in her home, which eventually became a sort of bohemian artists colony.

The grounds of the museum are really quite beautiful – with several gardens and views of the Lieutenant River.  I spent quite a bit of time taking pictures of the house and the gardens before actually entering the museum.  I apologize for the quality of the photos – I didn’t take the good camera to begin with and then later realized my white balance was set weird.  D’oh!

Once inside, we watched a couple of informative videos about Florence and the house and one of one of the exhibits, and then we spent some time looking at all the art.  We then went on a tour of the house, which has been completely restored to circa 1910, when so many of the artists stayed there.  It was particularly fascinating to see all the painted panels in the home.  The dining room and many other rooms in the house have paintings on the panels of the walls that were done by some of the artists staying there.  One would actually have to be invited to paint a panel and it was considered quite the honor to get that invitation.

The exhibit that I probably enjoyed the most, though, was The Rambles  – a huge outdoor sculpture of woven sticks and branches overlooking the The Lieutenant River.  It was pretty incredible – you could even walk through it!

After more wandering around the grounds and a quick stop at the gift shop, we decided it was about time to find some lunch.  After reading a few reviews on Yelp, we decided on the The Morning Glory Cafe, which was just a couple minutes (if that) down the road from the museum.   This ended up being the perfect choice for our afternoon out.  It had outdoor seating, with views of the river, and a simple menu consisting mostly of sandwiches and salads – which is just what we were looking for.

I chose the Veggie Glory Wrap, which had onions, mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and spinach and provolone cheese, served along side a nice crispy order of their Sweet Potato Fries.

Mom had the MGC Panini, which looked amazing – Prosciutto with roasted red peppers, basil and Feta, served with fries.

After lunch, we ran a couple of errands and finished our day with a stop at the Old Lyme Ice Cream Shoppe, where I had the best thing ever!  No really, the best thing ever.  I had Sam Adams Double Chocolate Bock ice cream.  I have been saying for the longest time now that someone needs to combine two of my favorite things – ice cream and beer – and they did it!  And it was amazing…  It was like a really good chocolate ice cream with just a little kick at the end.  Perfect.

Here’s mom enjoying her cone outside the shop.  I thought the shop was absolutely adorable.  I honestly think I would make a trip down to Old Lyme just for the ice cream!

It really was a perfect afternoon – took a beautiful drive, saw some great art, ate an excellent lunch, and finished it all with ice cream (which, of course, is the ideal way to end all things)!

Yeah, about the weather… The weather up until yesterday really hadn’t been the best.  It was mostly rainy and kind of cold for a few days there, which really was perfect for staying home and getting stuff done!  By Tuesday afternoon, however, I was getting a little stir crazy!  I needed to get out of the house.

Neither of us had had lunch yet, so I decided we should take a little drive up to J Foster Ice Cream in Simsbury and get ice cream for lunch.  I’ve been meaning to get there for awhile (ever since I tried their Pumpkin Ice Cream at a restaurant this past Fall) and, really, nothing makes me happier than having ice cream for a meal.  This was the perfect way to cheer me up

Have I mentioned that I’m also a big fan of long car rides? Call me crazy, but ever since I was a kid, I’ve loved a long ride in the car.  It’s a little odd, I know, but that’s how I roll.   Anyway, it’s a good 45 minute drive up to Simsbury from our house, which is probably why we hadn’t gotten around to trying out J Foster yet. Usually when we decide we want ice cream (which is fairly often), it’s after dinner and a little late to make the long drive when we have plenty of fine ice cream establishments in just a 5 or 10 minute drive.  It was perfect, though, for a random afternoon.

It’s a beautiful drive to get up there.  The store is located in a really pretty part of the state and the store itself is really cute.  It met all my expectations and more!

The surrounding area:

Outdoor seating!  Unfortunately, because it was a rainy day, we didn’t get to sit out there.  Next time, though!

The ice cream was awesome, too, of course.  It was really creamy and just tasted fresh and home made.  I got a scoop of Coconut Mounds and a scoop of Kahlua Heath Crunch.  The Kahlua Heath Crunch was really out of this world! 

Kevin, as usual, had a giant Sundae.  He said the hot fudge was really more like chocolate syrup, though.  What’s up with that?  He did say that the whipped cream was pretty good and the ice cream, of course, was stellar.

Overall, we were very pleased with our experience.  It was well worth the drive and I’m sure we’ll be back for more in the near future!

You see, Kevin and I really aren’t your typical barbecue fans… we’re generally not even big meat eaters, but we do appreciate good food and good beer – and at Smokin’ With Chris that is what you will get!  And you’ll get a lot of it -  I would consider both Kevin and myself to be  big eaters and I always take half home with me and  Kevin usually leaves very full.

They have great food, a great beer selection (they only have about 6 taps, but they’re generally all really good craft beers that you just don’t find everywhere), and if you go on the right night, great music.   The owner, Chris Conlon, is always there and can always be found speaking with the patrons.  It’s clear that he has a real passion for what he does there and that’s what makes the place so special.  Everything is just done right.

Some pictures (from my iPhone -sorry about the less than stellar quality) from our most recent visit:

Kevin started with the French Onion soup, which he said was quite good – and he’s something of an expert on the subject.

I had the pulled pork sandwich – which is what I usually end up getting – with a side of fries and they’re cucumber salad – gotta get some vegetables in there somewhere, right?

I chose to wash it down with the Flying Dog Raging Bitch, which is really an excellent IPA.

Kevin ended up choosing the Meat Lovers Combo, which is a TON of food… and I don’t know how he does it.  He chose sides of mac  n’ cheese and onion rings. I did  try a little of everything and it was all pretty awesome.

Overall, it was another great trip  to Smokin’ With Chris!  As always, we both left very full.  If you find yourself with a craving for BBQ and are  in or around Southington, CT, this the place to go!

On Friday night, Kevin and I really weren’t sure what we should do with ourselves,  so of course we decided to hit up a bar -  because that is just how we roll.  But where to go?  It seemed like the perfect night to to try out Prime 16!

While the place was busy when we got there around 8pm, we had no trouble getting seated.    The first thing we did, of course, was look for the beer list, which we found on a giant chalkboard hanging on the wall… and oh, what a list it was!  Widmer Hefe,  Flying Dog Golden,  Lagunitas Pilsner,  Blue Point Blueberry,  Shipyard Summer,  Lagunitas Correction Ale,  Great Divide Titan,   Lagunitas IPA,   Dogfish Head 60 minute,  Southern Tier Unearthly, Weyerbacher XII,  Guiness,  Great Divide Yeti,  Rogue Captain Sigs, BBC Draymans Porter, Farmington River Mahogany, Wolaver’s Oatmeal Stout, Chimay, Delerium Tremens, and Alagash Double… and that was just what was on tap!   There was also a multiple page bottle list on the table!

So needless to say, we were thrilled with the beer selection.   And the food was pretty great, too. We ordered an appetizer of Chipotle and Agave chicken tenders, which were perfect in every way – crisp, spicy, smokey, and a little bit sweet.

Prime 16 specializes in burgers, so that is what we had. Kevin had the Maui burger, “topped with grilled pineapple, Maui onion, bacon , pepperjack cheese, and tropical mayo”. I chose the stuffed mushroom burger, “stuffed with crimini mushrooms and shallots, topped with swiss, portabello mushrooms, and IPA mustard. Both burgers were really phenomenal- juicy, flavorful and cooked just right!

Kevin and I will definitely be hitting up Prime 16 again in the near future. It has easily become my new favorite beer bar and I have to admit, it even kind of makes me sad that we no longer live near New Haven.

172 Temple St.
New Haven, CT 06510
phone: (203) 782-1616