Nutmeg Nuggets 2025

One of our favorite places to go for lunch is Yia Yia’s Greek Kitchen in nearby Torrington. It is  a small, unassuming place on a busy street that you wouldn’t even know was there if someone hadn’t recommended it. While it has plenty of choices,  we had our usual - dolmades ( stuffed grape leaves)  as a shared appetizer with Sunny having a beautiful Greek salad with chicken, and I had the lamb gyro platter. Sunny’s salad came with  tasty Kalamata olives, a large slice of delicious feta cheese, and like  a real Greek salad, just onions, peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers- no lettuce!  The gyro was a pita stuffed with  grilled lamb, onion, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and topped with homemade tzatziki sauce. The crunchy fries and Mythos beer added a nice twist. As usual, service was great, everything was delicious and we have found that by going after the noontime rush, it is quieter and a little more relaxed. Yia Yia’s is a rarity in today’s dining scene-...

Ever since we bought our place in Litchfield three years ago, the Bakehouse,  which is right in the center of town, has been my go to bakery. I have told Jeremy, the owner and baker, that his croissants and baguettes are as good as any that I have had in Paris and that he should rename his place The French Bakehouse. When asked the secret for such delicious, flaky croissants, he said - butter, lots of butter. In addition to the croissants and baguettes, he has a wide variety of  other baked goods-  different breads and rolls,  muffins, cookies, cakes, pies as well as sandwiches. I often get a chocolate croissant and latte and sit outside on his patio which overlooks the town green. Jeremy supplies many of the local delis and restaurants which means he does their baking first and we have to wait until 11 AM for the second batch of baguettes to come out of the oven, although on occasion he has snuck me one out the side door!  Looking for a great a bakery, stop by ...

  As America gets ready to celebrate its 250th anniversary next year, Litchfield is starting to erect signage around town describing significant events. One of the more interesting ones is entitled Melted Majesty. In 1770, the New York assembly paid to have a 4 ton statue of King George III sculpted out of lead by British sculptor Joseph Wilton and erected in what is now the financial district of New York. On the evening of July 9, 1776, General George Washington read the declaration of independence to a crowd in New York, and after hearing it, the crowd marched down to lower Manhattan and   toppled the statue after several attempts. Among the crowd was General Oliver Wolcott  who  was leading  the Connecticut militia  and who happened to own a foundry in Litchfield. It was decided to have  large pieces of the statue brought to Litchfield and melted into musket balls for the American militia. As men were off to war, the women and  children of Litc...

  As our cleaning lady came this morning, Sunny and I decided to go to The Milk and Honey Grill in nearby Goshen for breakfast. The Grill is typical of breakfast/ lunch diners you find throughout New England - cozy, one menu, open 6 AM - 1 PM with mostly local customers. The menu offers lots of options with a few daily specials.  Sunny had a beautiful, fluffy omelette with fruit on the side, while I decided to go big with a real New England favorite, eggs and hash that come with home fries and toast. I also ordered a large blueberry pancake which you can get with real local maple syrup. I should have asked how big the big pancake is as it is very big. You are probably thinking that is a lot of food, but hash and blueberry pancakes are two of my favorites breakfast dishes, so in order to support my blog, I ordered both, and finished everything with the exception of the toast. The only weak spot was the coffee -  much harsher than Dunkin,  but all of these di...

  Today was the 48th running of the Litchfield Hills Road Race. This 7 mile run, which begins and ends in “downtown” Litchfield, attracts close to 1000 runners from around New England/New York with some of the previous winners being  Bill Rogers, who won Boston four times, and Joan Benoit, who won the first women’s marathon at the 1984 Olympics. In addition to the main race,  there are short runs for young children, and a 1 mile run and 2.3 mile run for older children. Thousands of people from around the area  come early to line the streets, set up tables and chairs on the village green and enjoy the race with family and friends. There are some quite elaborate buffets and coolers full of wine and beer amongst the crowd.  As was the case for the past three years, I volunteered to be a “crossing guard” in town. Given the race begins and ends in town, you have keep people from crossing the streets when runners are approaching. It is a lot of fun and great way to me...

  Yesterday we took a ride to Weston, CT to visit with Jack, Lauren, Jocelyn, and our  new grandson Luke Jackson, who was born in February. While I met Luke when I visited in March, Sunny hadn’t seen him yet, so it was quite exciting for the two to finally meet. It is amazing how much Luke has grown since I had seen him. He is a very happy baby and is very observant of things going on around him. Jocelyn is also doing an excellent job of looking after her baby brother.  We also  belatedly celebrated Sunny’s birthday. In mid May, we  celebrated Sunny’s actual birthday in Texas with Matt, Sarah, and Emmy, and then  we repeat the process when she gets to CT. Even if Sunny had been in CT on her birthday, we probably would have delayed the celebration as her birthday is one day after Jocelyn’s and two celebrations in two days is  a bit too much.  Lastly, Jocelyn and I spent some time in the garden picking some weeds and planning out this year’s crops w...