LTH New England Unite!!!

I know that it is last minute, but there is a planned meeting for LTH'ers at 1:00PM at the LSC oupost in Milford, CT. Please join if you are in the area. Ask for Flip.

Flip

HI,

I won't be there, but to help those who might:

Lao Sze Chuan
1585 Boston Post Rd
Milford, CT 06460
203/783-0558
website: http://www.laoszechuan.com

I look forward to the reports.

Regards,

Shockingly, I actually expect to be cruising through there today... 2-3 hours too late

But if anybody's up for a little clam pizza dessert in New Haven, let me know!

HI,

What a spectacular alignment of the stars! I hope you all find each other.

Regards,

Dmnkly wrote:Shockingly, I actually expect to be cruising through there today... 2-3 hours too late

But if anybody's up for a little clam pizza dessert in New Haven, let me know!

We have discussed hitting the Taco Trucks in New Haven and Louis Lunch, but a clam pie could be in the stars. Call me on my cell 630-222-9797 if you would like to meet up.

btw, congratulations on your new position in Boston! (yes, I do love to read your blog)

Flip

I am on my way there in moments. What a nice thing to think about seeing Flip for the first time in a couple of years, and Dom for the first time in a couple of weeks. All because of LTH and good food.

LTH,

Best eating day since I moved to CT. Started at LSC with spicy cold sesame noodles, Lamb with Cumin, Chili Chicken and Moo shu pork for Mrs. Flip. Then we were off to New Haven for burgers at Louis' Lunch for dessert. I am sure Josephine will be able to put the day into better words, but I just finished the leftovers and they were as good the second time around. We were sorry Dom couldn't join us, but we definitely are going to plan other outings with an LTH focus.

Some Ideas mentioned:
Clam dig and boil
Travelling the CT wine trail
Multiple Farmers Market visits
etc.

Flip

Yes, indeed, Flip. It was a fine meal at LSC and lots of fun to visit Louis Lunch. Mrs. Flip filled me in on the decline of lobsters in Long Island Sound, the red tide, and other matters of concern to New England coastal residents. She also treated us to a walking tour of New Haven, and pointed out the other New Haven hamburger spot, The Educated Burgher [sic]. We discussed the fine points of Sally's and Modern vs. Pepe's. On my radar for future visits is Soul de Cuba on Crown Street.

Flip gifted me with his homemade andouille! Thanks Flip, I am honored. I look forward to some jambalaya. And I look forward to digging some steamers with you two when the water gets warm enough. In that vein, here is the University of Connecticut Sea Grant website that has lots of information on New England seafood, including topics such as Long Island Sound lobster populations and seed oysters: for $15.00 you can even get a permit to dredge your own oysters!

http://web2.uconn.edu/seagrant/whatwedo/index.php

Here's the link to a the Sea Grant guide to recreational shellfishing along the CT coast.
Steamers don't seem to require dredging equipment, which sounds a little more like the DIY we could actually manage.

http://web2.uconn.edu/seagrant/publications/fisheries/sfguide.pdf

I'd like to hear more about the New England LSC. Was the food basically the same? Did they serve Tony's Three Chile Chicken? How extensive is the menu? Do the numbers match up to the Chicago version?

stevez-

I'll have to defer to Flip on the menu comparison questions. I have always let Gary or Cathy or Helen order for me at LSC in Chicago. However, I picked up a copy of the menu which featured quite a few frog-centric items. Does that sound like the LSC you know? I find it hard to believe that I have been at LSC twice with Cathy2 and no reptiles have been ordered! I feel cheated, somehow. . .

Flip did ask and, though it wasn't on the menu with that designation, we had Tony's 3 Chili Chicken. Flip and I agreed that the chicken was crispier than at LSC in Chicago. To me, the dish was slightly milder overall.* Unfortunately, I don't have the hardware to post the pictures I took of our lunch. I will take care of that soon and post to give a better idea of the dishes.

* But then, I am always in rapture from the Szechuan beef and maw starter at LSC and everything else seems to fade in my memory. This almost happened with the Beef 3 Ways at a recent meal with Dmkly at Grace Garden in Baltimore.

Dom, I'm sorry you couldn't stop on your way home. But LTH New Englanders look forward to having you in our ranks soon.

Steve,

The menu is not as extensive as I remember the Chicago locations, ut as Josephine mentioned there were a nober of frog dishes that I had never seen in Chicago. Mrs Flip mentioned to me on the way home that frog dishes are very common on coastal CT chinese menus.

When I asked about the 3 chili chicken the waitress said it was on their menu as Chef Special chili chicken. The dishes themselves closely resembled the dishes I had been served with one notable exception. I recall both the lamb dish and the 3 chili chicken containing jalepenos. The dishes we were served yesterday used what I believe are known as long peppers instead of jalepenos. This resulted in an slight decrease in heat, but really let the sichuan peppercorns shine through.

Overall, the dishes we ordered kept par with anything I had been served in the past, and I look forward to making the trip again.

Flip

Flip wrote:When I asked about the 3 chili chicken the waitress said it was on their menu as Chef Special chili chicken. The dishes themselves closely resembled the dishes I had been served with one notable exception. I recall both the lamb dish and the 3 chili chicken containing jalepenos. The dishes we were served yesterday used what I believe are known as long peppers instead of jalepenos. This resulted in an slight decrease in heat, but really let the sichuan peppercorns shine through.

Tony's 3 Chili Chicken contains jalapenos cut in a very fine dice along with onions, bell pepper and the whole dried chiles you're probably talking about. Did it look anything like this?

Tony's 3 Chili Chicken (LSC Chicago Chinatown)

Flip, Josephine - sounds like a great outing, nice work ! Sorry I couldn't make this one, but look forward to future explorations with the New England team.

-Nab

PS. Flip, were they longhorn peppers ? Which, to my tastes, fall somewhere in between a jalapeno and a green bell pepper (though a little closer to the jalapeno, perhaps).

Hi,

Frog dishes popped up on the Chicago menu over the last few months. The first time I saw them was at the Jewish Christmas Eve dinner. Our table was the only one to order frog at Tony's recommendation.

It's grand to have reports so geographically scattered yet with people whose taste in food I respect. Thank you!

Regards,

Steve,

The dish that was served contained all of the flavors present in the dish you posted the picture of. The major differences were that they didn't dice the peppers as much as I had remembered and they replaced the jalepenos with, I believe Tatter is correct, green Longhorn peppers.

With that said, the whole experience was still better than my futile attempt at recreating Katy's beef noodle soup last week.

Flip