Heaven IS a Place on Earth

Heaven, indeed, is a place on earth, and lucky for us locals, it's right over the bridge in Glastonbury, CT. I had some special friends dine with me this week at The Spicy Green Bean, and they are true believers now as well! The Bean is one of those places you have driven by a gazillion times and one day you stop in and realize that you literally have been passing by nirvana. Its a small place with cute,  hand drawn designs on the windows and quirky paintings all over the walls. It has 12 tables that consist of mismatched tables and chair sets that you would find in your grandmas house each painted with bright colors. It really has that homey feel inside. Now, enough about heaven's decor, let's talk about the real gem.... THE FOOD!

We decided to order four appetizers off the "tummy teasers" section of the menu.(hey it was for research) We got the lobster scampi grilled cheese, spinach ricotta flat bread, hand rolled gnocchi with toasted walnut  parsley pesto sauce, and of course, the BBQ pork short ribs. The short ribs always come out slathered in this tangy BBQ sauce and literally falling off the bone. The only problem with these short ribs is that I always want more. The lobster scampi grilled cheese brought out the true food beast inside me. How on earth do you go wrong with lobster, butter, cheese, and bread?? You don't, but only the bean can make it, oh so right! The bread is toasted perfectly with just the right amount of butter and the cheese just oozes out the sides. There is no skimping on the lobster either, it was bulging out the side and succulent. My son refers to their regular grilled cheese as "the best grilled cheese ever", and now I see why! Amazing that they can take a grilled cheese and turn it into some of the best food around. Next was the flat bread which came out perfectly toasted. Perched above the bread was little clouds of herbed ricotta, cherry peppers, and spinach, and a drizzle of what I call happiness. This was a last minute add on to the app round and an excellent last minute decision. The flavors married together perfectly and the cherry peppers had just enough zing to bring it all together. Again a simple menu item elevated to a masterpiece.(noticing a theme?) Last, but certainly not least was the gnocchi. Being an Italian girl, I was skeptical, but it's possible my grandma was cooking in heaven's kitchen that night and sent our her gnocchi to our table. PERFECTION! It came bathed in a toasted walnut parsley pesto sauce and speckled with roasted butternut squash. I could not get enough! We divided up all the apps, but somehow I got 57% of this dish on mine..  I promised Dave Sena I would give him a section of my blog tonight and label it Dave's Thoughts, so Dave, here you are!

DAVE SENA'S THOUGHTS

"That was almost as good as *&^%$#%&^%^%(*&^(*&^"(use your imagination, it's a G rated blog folks)

Next, was our dinner course, and equally amazing! We dined on surf and turf, clams casino pasta, fish tacos, and  pork chops drizzled with a rosemary demi-glaze. I ordered the pork because my husband hates pork and I never get to eat it. It delivered on every level, perfectly cooked, just enough seasoning to ensure that the natural pork flavor would come bursting thru in every bite. It was paired with a trio of roasted veggies and a squash puree that would make a toothless man OK with being toothless. Cora, got the fish tacos and they came out piled high on flour tortillas, perfectly cooked light, flavorful and topped with my favorite thing on earth, avocado. Nello got the surf and turf, a "sassy seared skirt steak, paired with jumbo herbed shrimp". Again, an excellent dish! But, I must say my favorite dish of the night was Dave Sena's. He ordered the casino pasta toss. Linguini tossed with clams, caramelized onions, roasted peppers, crispy smoked bacon in a casino butter sauce. Let me tell you the name delivers, because I felt like Dave hit the jackpot with his order! I spun my fork in his pasta at least 3, well 7 times that night! Again the bean took a simple clam dish and made it into something only the bean can.

I can't forget my favorite dinner guest of the night! He ordered the chocolate, chocolate chip cookie, the toffee cookie, and the banana bread. All a masterpiece in his eyes!James declared The Spicy Green Bean his favorite restaurant that night! Something has to be said for a two year old to sit thru a 2 and a half hour dinner on his best behavior! People, even your kids will love the bean!

As usual the bean is BYOB and they have whatever you need to mix with your spirits. Cora brought her fav bottle of white which the bean chilled for us and served in wine glasses. The service is like no other here. We were served by Justin this night who happens to be one of the best waiters around.  He missed nothing that night, and even James was saying "thank you Justin" at the end of the meal! Justin, suggested one of the Bean's homemade ice creams for dessert. This week the flavor was almond joy. Justin told us he would create a tower for us. Knowing that whatever he came out with would be perfect, we agreed. To our surprise, it was a literal tower! A block of brownie was the base to this tower and it was cemented with layers of creamy almond joy ice cream and decorated with clouds of whipped cream and toasted coconut! A perfect end to our perfect meal! Seeing as how we could not possibly eat any more, we asked for our bill. The pricing here is amazing. We dine with the Sena's regularly and usually our half of the bill was the entire bill this evening.

I suggest you all make a trip to this local gem! Many thanks to Kathy and the bean staff for always delivering great service and UNBELIEVABLE food. 

The bean is also open for lunch and breakfast. visit them on the web at www.spicygreenbean.com