Anyone who read the paper last year may recall the feature column “Grub Gab,” where food reviews were written on various local eateries. This is its return!

One fine Saturday afternoon, I headed to The Elm Diner, located at 111 Elm Street in West Haven, to discuss some advertising plans. Little did I know that I was in for some good eats. Upon entering the diner, I was immediately transported back to my hometown in New Jersey with the traditional diner décor and atmosphere. I was immediately greeted by the friendly hostess, and was seated. Although not a large establishment, it definitely does not feel overcrowded in the diner.

With me at the diner was Samantha Shinn, The Charger Bulletin’s advertising manager, and shortly after we were seated, John Theodoridis, the owner of the diner joined us at our table. He offered some breakfast and, me being a huge breakfast fan, could not turn that down. I took up John on his recommendation and ordered a feta cheese and spinach omelet with rye toast, and Sam ordered an Italian Combo Omelet, which contained sausage, peppers, mushrooms, and mozzarella cheese, with wheat toast. The food was delicious! The eggs were cooked perfectly and the omelets were huge. The side of home fries was the perfect addition, and they were seasoned and prepared exactly the way I like them: broken into small, medium and large pieces with some of the potatoes almost mashed.

Both Sam and I agreed that The Elm Diner’s food was great and, in my opinion, better than many of the other area diners. I give The Elm Diner a 4.5/5! To close, I just want to announce that The Elm Diner is offering a 10% discount off the final check to all UNH students with a student ID, so be sure to stop in and enjoy the food!

By Zack Rosen and Heather Brown

Ashley's Ice Cream Cafe received 3 and a half ice cream cones out of five!

This week, your official grub gabbin’, horn tootin’, burger eatin’ fiends toiled to bring you a review of Ashley’s Ice Cream Café in downtown New Haven! You might almost miss it driving by, but keep your eyes peeled next time you find yourself on York Street – you’ll wanna stop on by!

Heather chose to try out the milkshake made from chocolate chocolate chip ice cream. Even though there wasn’t really anything about the shake that made it stand out among the numerous others that she has had thus far, it was amazing that she could choose everything about it, right down to what milk it was made with. It was great to have so many options and to get a shake just the way she wanted it.

The building itself is nice and cozy and it’s decorated like a fun colorful ice cream parlor. They have different flavors of ice cream all the time to keep you guessing and a toppings bar with literally EVERYTHING!

EVERYTHING, confirms Zack. He ordered the brownie sundae…holy brownie, Batman. They stuffed a warm brownie at the bottom of a cup and piled a huge scoop of chocolate ice cream on top, along with your choice of three toppings. Well, Zack certainly had a choice…and that means that Zack had a few toppings! Chocolate sprinkles, whipped cream, and nonpareils.

Although it had some great choices and a nice Yalie atmosphere, the Grub Gab gives it 3.5 out of 5 stars. Certainly give them a try, though…one thing is for certain, there is nothing to complain about!

By Zack Rosen & Heather Brown

Hello Grub Gabber fans! This week Zack and Heather endeavored to bring you a review of a place dubbed the #1 Tastiest Place to Chow Down in America by the Travel Channel, Louis’ Lunch. Louis’ Lunch is located in downtown New Haven at 263 Crown Street. The building, originally built in 1895, is like a diamond in the rough, nestled between parking lots and apartment buildings. Louis’ Lunch is the home of the first hamburger in America, so they’ve had plenty of time to get it just right.

Louis’ Lunch is located in downtown New Haven at 263 Crown Street.

Everything about the building, although seemingly used and abused, fits together completely right down to the spelling mistakes on the menus, the carvings in anything made out of wood and the posted signs denouncing ketchup and picky people. Our personal favorite is the sign that reads, “This is not Burger King. You don’t get it your way. You get it my way, or you don’t get the damn thing.” Now on to the food!

Heather chose the original burger with cheese. The burgers, made in the original ovens that Louis Lassen used when he opened his doors, are cooked medium rare unless otherwise requested. The bread is toasted with a toaster from about 1929. The result, a wonderfully juicy burger on perfectly toasted bread that you truly do not need ketchup for. Heather was a little hesitant about the no ketchup thing because she just likes ketchup so she was pleasantly surprised that the burger was fantastic without it.

To top it all off, she could wash it down with grape soda (which for those of you who know, basically no one carries any more).

Zack chose the “cheese works” – a cheeseburger with tomato and onion. Deliciously succulent, and amazingly tantalizing, this fresh piece of meat (literally) was a brilliantly juicy burger.
So what, you ask, makes Louis’ Lunch so juicy and delicious? Well, it doesn’t hurt that all of the meat is ground fresh in the basement of Louis’ each morning and is seasoned to perfection. The Lassen family members who continue to keep Louis’ Lunch going and the regulars make up a kind of strange family and have a repertoire that will make any bystander laugh.

Be forewarned, if you don’t know the lingo before ordering your food, the Lassens will let you know it and you will feel like a fool because everyone else will be watching you. Try visiting www.louislunch.com to get at least a little familiar with where you’re heading.

Although the burgers are $5 each, they are certainly well worth it. Taking that into consideration, in addition to the awesome atmosphere and delicious food, we give Louis’ Lunch 4 out of 5 grub-gabbing stars! Visit yourself to see what you think!

By Zack Rosen and Heather Brown

This week your grub gabbers Heather and Zack decided to give you one sweet review…literally! Charli’s Cupcake Factory located at 912 Boston Post Road is a little bakery tucked away among the big department stores and other small businesses crowding the area.

The bakery specializes in cupcakes and makes only cupcakes and their bigger cohorts, cakes. When you walk through the front door the first thing that hits you is PINK! Almost everything that can be pink is pink (convenient for Valentine’s Day). Despite the high pink-to-other-color-ratio, the decorations work perfectly and made us feel welcome and, if possible, more excited about getting cupcakes.

Now, on to the part you’ve all been waiting for: THE CUPCAKES!

The first thing we noted was that they are HUGE. They may as well be advertised as small cakes rather than cupcakes. One of Charli’s best is capable of easily feeding two people, but in the spirit of bringing you the best review we possible can, Zack and Heather each tried a different kind of cupcake.

Heather decided to try out the Reese’s peanut butter cup cupcake. Now, without reading the fine print on the label, she quite understandably put this cupcake in the same category as Reese’s pie and Reese’s ice cream: just some plain cupcake with Reese’s on top to try to spice things up. She thought wrong. This amazingly delicious cupcake consisted of a Reese’s cake base with Reese’s frosting and Reese’s crumbles on top. In one word, WOW! Holy Reese’s, Batman!

The cake part was moist and delicious, the frosting wasn’t too thick or sugary, and the Reese’s crumbles on top offered a nice bite of that wonderful peanut butter goodness. She even had enough left from her first tasting to eat the rest while writing this article (it’s still just as good!).

For Zack, there are few things that get him to melt: puppies, chocolate, and yes…red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting!
This delicious treat, in all of its red velvety astonishment, literally is to die for. Go try it for yourself if you don’t believe us! Edible gold, pretty much!

Charli’s also makes cakes and had a few on display in the bakery (only the really cool 3-D ones of course!). They also make gourmet cupcakes, organic cupcakes, fat free cupcakes, and muffins. If you’re thinking of visiting, take a look online at www.CharlisCupcakeFactory.com to check out some yummy-looking photos. Also, be aware that everything made at the bakery may have at some point come in contact with wheat, dairy, and/or nuts so be careful if you’re supposed to stay away from any of these things!

So stop on by…your stomach will be sure to thank you! The Grub Gab has no choice but to give Charli’s 5 out of 5 stars — the first place this semester to get 5 stars! If we could rate the icing alone, it’d get 6 out of 5.

By Zack Rosen & Heather Brown

Hello again and welcome to another fantastic restaurant review by the Grub Gab team, Heather Brown and Zack Rosen! This week, we’ll be a’grubbin’ and a’grabbin’…but not without your permission first, of course! So, pending that, we are reviewing Frankie’s located on the Boston Post Road.

In honor of their famous hotdog, we are rating Frankies with 4 out of 5 hotdogs. Hot dog! (Pun intended...)

Frankie’s is something between a fast food restaurant and a diner. Even though Frankie’s is known for its hotdogs, there is a full menu to please anyone and everyone at low prices (a plus for any college student!).

We both started with an order of the potato skins. They were pleasantly crispy, and the potato itself certainly had a great taste. Unfortunately, they lacked the cheese and bacon that is typically included in this dish. Although served with sour cream, the lack of cheese and bacon made the skins a little bland and made the sour cream a must have condiment.

Heather ordered the buffalo chicken salad with a side of steak fries. The salad dish was so full that it was difficult to stir the dressing into the salad. Perhaps for a more experienced salad-eater this would not have been as daunting, but for Heather it was a mess. It’s a good thing there were plenty of napkins available to clean up after the salad continuously fell out of the dish! Nevertheless, the salad was great and thankfully the fries proved much easier to eat. The steak fries were your typical fries, no hidden surprises. Heather LOVES steak fries and she is pleased to report that the ones at Frankie’s lived up to her specifications.

Zack ordered the Frankies classic: a Frankies hotdog along with steak fries and a bowl of chili. The hotdog is, without a doubt, one of the best hotdogs in the area. They start by boiling the hotdogs, then grilling them on a flat grill. Delicious! He topped his dog with mustard, onion, and relish.

The chili was also amazing – for Zack, it was a plus because Frankies makes their chili the technically correct way: without beans! He topped it with onion, and it made for a delicious bowl of chili. Some of the best chili in the area, without a doubt! The only bad thing about it is wishing there were more.

Oh, and along with Heather, be sure to dip the steak fries in the chili.

So, to sum up, Frankies is a great place to check out – whether you want some hotdogs, burgers, salad, wraps, gyros, steak sandwiches, fried chicken, seafood, or even some delicious ice cream! The food certainly doesn’t make for a 5-star restaurant, but it’s a great place to stop and grab a bite for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. And with it so close to UNH, who’s to complain!?

In honor of their famous hotdog, we are rating Frankies with 4 out of 5 hotdogs.

Hot dog! (Pun intended…)

Welcome to the first edition of the new Charger Bulletin feature Grub Gab! We are committed to reviewing local restaurants so you know where it’s safe to eat! First up on our list is Archie Moore’s in New Haven! Heather had never been before…and cannot wait to go again!

So first up, what is Archie Moore’s? It is a restaurant and bar with six locations in Connecticut. It is famous for its wing sauce, but also offers a selection of soups, nachos, wraps, sandwiches, vegetarian selections, burgers, salads, American appetizers, and desserts. Basically it has something for everyone.

We started with some of the famous wings and an order of potato skins. If you’re looking for wicked hot wings, then Archie’s probably isn’t the place for you. But if you’re looking for amazingly flavorful wings with a little kick, get there ASAP! Wings shouldn’t be just about the heat…but also the sa-weet! (Not literally…) Another perk of the wings is that Archie’s makes their own bleu cheese daily. I know that grosses some people out, but for the rest of the [sane] world who likes bleu cheese, you can appreciate this. The. Dressing. Is. Amazing.

I know many of us are used to potato skins that are small and probably consist of only about a quarter of the potato. Not here! These potato skins were literally half of a good sized potato and filled to the brim with cheese and bacon. They were AMAZING!

For the main meal, Heather ordered a buffalo chicken wrap. This is one of her favorites at any restaurant! She’s become accustomed to the wrap being cold rather than warm to melt the cheese and whatnot, but not this wrap. It was almost too warm and it was wonderful. The French fries were also really good. Everything just came together and was amazing.

Zack ordered a bleu cheese pita burger – DELICIOUS! It was a ½ pound burger in a pita with lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion, and a spicy taziki cucumber sauce. Also accompanied with Archie’s French fries, this burger was fantastic.

In terms of service, the hostess checked in on us often while we were waiting to be seated just so we knew that we weren’t forgotten. She was really good about keeping up with those drink refills, but didn’t come too much to be an annoyance!

Despite being an excellent place to eat, Archie Moore’s is also an excellent place to people watch. There were some pretty amusing people eating or drinking at the bar while we were there. That only added to the good time we had!

The only downside (and it’s an extremely small one) is that it was a little loud. So it’s not really a good place to go and have a quiet, intimate dinner, but it’s a great place for everything else.

For more info abut Archie Moores, visit www.ArchieMoores.com

If you have any suggestions for future reviews, email GrubGab@ChargerBulletin.com

Grub Gab will be using a “5 stars” scale…but instead of stars, we will choose a key element to the restaurant we’re reviewing! In Archie’s case, due to their deliciously tantalizing buffalo wings, we give them 4.5 wing platters!