Over the weekend I got to experience this cute little town Fenton. It’s further up north and the entire group confirmed that it wasn’t just me that thought this was right out of the Gilmore Girls set. The town was decorated all over with pretty flowers (Mums), old fashion homes and Halloween decorations everywhere!
We started off this adventure at “The Laundry” with a waitlist so what do you do when there is a thirty minute wait? You wander over to Crust Bakery where you find sea salt chocolate chip cookies! The bakery was mildly overwhelming to say the least but they actually bake everything in house.
I honestly just stood there mesmerized as I watched them make the crust they were working on. (Like kneading the dough and everything.) Maybe it’s that I’m not a huge baker but it’s absolutely fascinating watching them make the dough and take that dough turning into the raspberry danish I also bought.
After Crust we were just in time for our spot on the waitlist. We were just walking to the door when I got the text saying please check in with the hostess! I couldn’t have loved the timing more. (Side note: I honestly really appreciate that technology has made waiting for a table so much easier. I really value my time and having the restaurant text me and allow me to monitor my place in line from my phone has made my life that much easier. The really old way of doing it where we all just crammed in the entry way of a restaurant stunk. It was cramped and uncomfortable. Then we went to the pager system, which was nicer, but you could still only move so far. Now with the texting you can wait comfortably outside the building, you can walk around or even wait in your car. I appreciate that I can monitor my progress and be back on time without cramming in with fifty other people.) When we first sat down we decided to look over the drinks menu. The names were hysterical.
I decided on the MakeShift Love. It was a vodka based drink with blackberry and ginger-beer. It was really good and had a nice sparkling taste. The funny thing was the whole table ended up getting the same drink!
From there we had these sandwiches which I honestly couldn’t get my mouth around! I had the Ron’s Lifesaver it was a turkey sandwich with Pesto and it was heavenly. I also tried Grant’s sandwich. He got the French dip and I’ve had one or two at max before but he honestly loves that sandwich and I am happy to report that it was fantastic. It was hot and juicy with great flavors. Once we finished lunch we were able to explore the city a little.
The home we parked in front of was all decorated for Halloween with tombstones, they even had some pretty scary dolls!
We explored for a while. We got to see the art work they are installing around the city. The giant butterfly with colorful lights illuminating the wings was fantastic. It looked like a scene from a movie. (It did seem fitting as we were in Stars Hallow.)
There was also the old firehouse which they have turned into a restaurant. It was really cool to see the way that an old firehouse was repurposed to become a hot spot on Saturday night. (45 minute wait for a table and everything.) The restaurant was called Firehouse (the same owners also own Vinsetta Garage; which I promise to blog about at some point but not today.) They even had a clock tower which was really impressive.
Since it’s now night time and my tummy declared it needed food we ventured over to Ciao for dinner (no wait time). It’s an upscale Italian restaurant. We were seated really quickly. While walking to our seats I was amazed at all the hanging chandeliers. There is just something about them that really inspires me. I love the color and ambiance it adds to a room. Now we are given an opportunity to browse the menu. For starters we ordered a round of drinks there was a bit of diversity we had a Diet Coke, a Blood Orange Martini then two Mules one Blueberry and the other Apple. I had the Blueberry Mule and I will say it was sweet but not overly sweet; very refreshing. Then it was time to order dinner Grant got the Chicken Parm ( Did you know you have to confirm that it comes with pasta? If you don’t you could have it with mashed potatoes. Thankfully Grant checked and ordered pasta instead of mashed potatoes!) Then I had the Pasta Con Apollo. It was chicken, bacon, mushrooms and spinach. Hello yummy in my tummy! It was creamy without being overly heavy.
After dinner came dessert. Our table shared a slice of white chocolate raspberry cheesecake and cannolis. The cheesecake was good but I went for the cannolis. They are my weak spot. It’s the combination of sweet and carbs I can’t help myself…. They also usually taste fantastic!
Sadly after dessert we got our bills, paid our checks, said our goodbyes and headed our separate ways. My way included heading home to see a Dexy. (Be on the look out for what I did later Saturday Night I’ll give you a hint there might be singing.)
The Real Elle Woodz 