Eating Our Way Through The Big E

I have wanted to go to The Big E for a long time and recently I finally got to check it out! The Big E is a very large Fair with so much to do, see and EAT! Two tips, prioritize what you want to see and bring your appetite!

Lauren even got to meet The Big E mascot.

It is a good idea to check out the schedule in advance to know what you want to see at what time. You  can go here to plan your day. We started out by just taking a walk around to see what was at the Fair. There is so much food! We got to try a bunch of different items that I want to share. First off was Moo-Nuts from Moolicious Farms.

This little beauty is a glazed donut filled with soft serve ice cream in either vanilla, chocolate or swirl. Then you can top it with wet ingredients like hot fudge, peanut butter sauce, marshmallow. Then you can add on a dry topping like toffee, sprinkles, Reese's pieces, and more. It was so good!

I love being able to eat some small bites of different things and that is exactly what we did. Next we headed to Chompers which have three options - Bacon Cheeseburger, Chicken Parm and Taco.

We tried the Chicken Parm and Taco and they were so good.

We also had some amazing sliders from the Bud and Burger Pub. Again a small slider leaving more room to try other foods too. They had a ton of different flavors. We got one with pulled pork and BBQ sauce. It was so good.

We also tried these yummy tator tots from Captain Nemo's.

There was even a cheeseburger on a donut! We didn't try it.

Another thing we didn't try but intrigued me was Fried Kool-Aid.

Of course you can't go to fair without getting fried dough! We got this yummy fried dough from Anna's Fried Dough which also had a taco on top of a fried dough.

These chocolate chip cookies were so good. They were so  warm and soft.

These were from Stella's Milk and Cookies.

This Froze drink from Craft Cocktails Inc. was refreshing. It had rose wine, vodka and strawberry puree. Remember this is just a sampling of food and drink, there is so much more I just didn't want to get a tummy ache.

We also enjoyed going to Collector Car Live while we were there which was free with admission. Mike Brewer of Wheeler Dealers and Wayne Carini of Chasing Classic Cars were the emcees.

We got to see so many cool cars and learn all about them.

We also went to the Circus with Bello Nock.

There were so  many great acts and it was about an hour show.

Cute little piggy in the show.

There is also a daily Mardi Gras Parade which we enjoyed.

We even saw the Budweiser Clydsdales.

 

We had to leave The Big E, but we got to bring a little piece of it home with us. Make sure to stop by the bakery and pick up some of these cream puffs, they were amazing!

We had such a fun time! Make sure to check it out as it is here until September 30th!

https://www.thebige.com/

Disclosure: I was provided with admission to The Big E in addition to tastings of food, parking, slide tickets and an allotment for hotel. No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

8/11/17: The Beach Plum, Great Seafood in Portsmouth NH

Yesterday was a beautiful summer day in New England which made it a great day to go to the beach to relax a bit.  A perfect compliment to a day at the beach is a seafood dinner!  We headed to The Beach Plum in Portsmouth, NH and it was so yummy!  I knew we wouldn't be disappointed as the beach house owners we were visiting have grown up in New Hampshire and had been going to The Beach Plum for years and said it was really good.

It is a super cute place.  They also have locations in North Hampton and Epping but we headed to the Portsmouth location.  The Phantom Gourmet even visited them and gave them high marks.  You can see the review here.

I got the two way fried combo with haddock and scallops.  I really liked that it was not really greasy.  Usually you have to put a napkin on the food to get some of the grease off.  The batter was really good and crunchy and the scallops and haddock were moist and flaky.  The french fries were also not over salted.  It also came with a dinner roll and their homemade tarter sauce that was really good.

They have been awarded Best Lobster Roll my many Festivals so this was an item we had to try.  Believe it or not I don't like lobster however my husband does so he got the 8 ounce lobster roll to let me know how it was.

He said it was really good with not too much mayonnaise and tons of lobster meat.  He also got the onion rings and I tried some.  They were really good and again not greasy.

I also tried out the clam chowder and it was really good.  Plus they give two packets of oyster crackers which is a plus for me as I like extra crackers.  There were tons of clams and potatoes in the chowder.

The kids are more landlubbers and opted for more traditional kid's meals.  Evan got the cheeseburger kids meal and gave it a thumbs up.  This kid is hard to please with cheeseburgers and won't even eat the ones I make so this was impressive.

Lauren opted for the Chicken Fingers and loved them.  Only problem, too much food and she wanted to save room for their ice cream!  That is a big kids meal!

We also tried the homemade lemonade that did not disappoint.  They also serve wine and beer so I had one of their beers on tap.

There is indoor and outdoor seating.  It was a beautiful day so we opted to sit outdoors.  It was very clean indoors and outdoors.  You can tell they kept up with cleaning the tables as people left which was impressive as they were really busy when we visited.

They give you this cute little guy to put on your table and they bring the food right out to you.  It was super quick too!

Here is some of the indoor seating.

You go to the counter to order.

They have a very large menu.  You can see it here online.  There are also healthy options with many salads on the menu.

Up next was ice cream!  The kids couldn't wait and made sure they saved room.  They have 78 flavors of ice cream and frozen yogurt!  Guaranteed they will have something you will love.  Here Lauren is holding a Kiddie of Cake Batter.  Look at how huge it is!

You can see the list of flavors online here.  Look at the size of that cone!

I would definitely check them out if you are in the New Hampshire area.  Plus they have a promotion going on now on gift cards, get 25% more free!

Make sure to say hi to Mr. Lobster.  He has a big appetite eating two huge ice creams!

Find them online:  http://www.thebeachplum.net

Facebook:  facebook.com/TheBeachPlum/

Twitter: @TheBeachPlum

Instagram:  @the_beach_plum

Disclosure:  I was provided with a complimentary meal for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and as always all opinions are my own.

8/13/16: The Inn at Mystic and the Harbour House Restaurant

I love visiting Mystic CT and we were treated to a wonderful stay at the Inn at Mystic and dinner at the Harbour House!  Here are my top ten reasons to stay at the Inn at Mystic.

10.  The location is fantastic!  It is a bit over a mile to Mystic Seaport and the Mystic Aquarium.

9.  There is a lovely downtown drawbridge area nearby that you could even walk to.

Lovely views and a nice place to walk around.

8.  Special Package deals with area attractions or with meals.  

You can check them all out here.  We love the Mystic Aquarium so I suggest that package.

7.  A gorgeous Mansion to stay in or walk to just up a small hill.  Haley Mansion is absolutely breathtaking.

We walked up to it one day and we also found out at the top is the highest point in Mystic CT.

Here is the view from that point.

Haley Mansion is a lovely Colonial Revival mansion that was built in 1904 by Katherine Haley, widow of Albert Haley who was one of the late 1800’s owners of the Fulton Fish Market.  Listed on the National Registry of Historical Places in America, the Haley Mansion features original 18th century pin pine paneling imported from the home of an English Duke in 1945 mingled with hand carved fireplaces and Dutch tiling. 

How gorgeous would it be to get married here?

On the second floor are five elegant suites adorned with period style furnishing and antiques, some with water view balconies overlooking the Long Island Sound.  Behind the 1904 Haley Mansion is a romantic Gate House with four intimate guest chambers.  The Gate House’s room number eight has the romantic distinction of being the hideaway where Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall honeymooned in 1945.

Love this waterfall area.

 6.  Clean and comfortable accommodations. 

Here was our room.  The beds were super comfortable!

A small desk.

Lovely chairs, TV and a mini fridge.

Here is the bathroom area.  Very clean.

5.  Free activities including bicycle rentals for free, kayaks, board games and sports equipment with a basketball and tennis court.

We took advantage of the kayaking.  We just needed to go to the front desk and sign a waiver.  Then someone walked us down to the kayaks and got us all setup by bringing the kayak down to the water for us.

The kids had a blast, they had never kayaked before.

So beautiful!

4.  Lovely grounds.

Here you can see an area with some rooms.

3.  A continental breakfast included at the Harbour House.  

There was orange juice, cranberry juice, milk and coffee.

Plus fruit, bagels, bread, english muffins, yogurt, and oatmeal.

2.  Wonderful food at the Harbour House Restaurant on property.

You can sit outdoors or indoors.  We chose outdoors as it was a wonderful night.  This is our table with a gorgeous view.

Lovely view.

I started off with the Sangria!  It was so good.

It was happy hour from 4-6 so there were discounted appetizers.  I got the scallops wrapped in bacon.  They were so good.  The sauce was amazing also.

For my meal I got the NY Strip Steak.  The steak was cooked perfectly and had a Madeira sauce with mushrooms.  It was really good.  My son tried some too and gave it the thumbs up.

They had many beers on tap.  This is the Flower Power IPA.  I had never had it before and really enjoyed it.

The kids ordered pasta.  They had a lot of options on the kids menu.  Despite the fact the food was "fine dining" the ambiance was casual and I didn't feel out of place there with children.

The kids meals came with ice cream sundaes which they both had but also wanted to try the cheesecake which was amazing!

Here is a view of the dining patio area we ate at.

This is a view of some of the indoor seating.

It was a lovely dining experience.

1.  A beautiful pool to swim in.

The kids had a lovely swim.

Look at Lauren jumping for joy in to the pool.

If you haven't been to Mystic Connecticut you must go and check in to the Inn at Mystic!

Find them Online:  http://innatmystic.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/innatmystic14

Twitter: @innatmystic

Disclosure:  I received a complimentary stay at the Inn at Mystic and meal at the Harbour House in exchange for review.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.