Doug Clement

About Doug Clement

Posts by Doug Clement:

Gooseboro, West Shore Seafood, Open for Season in Litchfield

Gooseboro Drive-In, or “The Goose” as longtime fans call it, opened for the season April 12, continuing a tradition of great roadside burgers, hot dogs, shakes, and banana splits that families have enjoyed for six decades.

The Goose, located along Route 202 on the western side of Bantam near Mt. Tom State Park, added to the renown of its Hummel Hot Dogs last summer, winning the Litchfield Economic Development Commission’s “Dog Days of Summer” Hot Dog Contest. (Its winning entries are detailed at the bottom).

Those dogs may be a top draw, but so are the burgers, milkshakes, ice cream Sundaes and soft serve, homemade chili, fried seafood, cheese fries and more.

The burgers are shaped by hand with fresh beef from Omaha. “I make them every morning,” owner Bill Downes said as he prepped for a sunny Wednesday at the beginning of Gooseboro’s 61^st year.

Every Wednesday banana splits are the special, followed by Shake It Up Thursdays, when milkshakes are offered at a discount.

Prices across the board are more than fair, but take note that Gooseboro doesn’t accept cards. It’s cash only.

Gooseboro is open seven days a week until it closes for the season, typically in mid-October. Check the Facebook page and Instagram feed for other specials, and updates on hours. The address is 1293 Bantam Rd.

West Shore Seafood: A “Shack” With Delicious Curb Appeal

The ice went out on Bantam Lake a bit early this year, but it was still cold and wintry feeling when West Shore Seafood, a stone’s throw away on Route 209, opened for the season at the end of March.

Spring is a great time to visit, or discover the popular roadside seafood for the first time. It’s jammin’ all summer and fall, but at the moment there’s plenty of elbow room in the dining (heated) tent.

Guests come up from the lake—and from near and far—for the fresh seafood, which can be ordered ahead at 860-567-8000, ordered online, or ordered at the counter when you get there.

The only hard part is deciding from so many great choices: clam chowder, lobster bisque, steamed clams, fried calamari, crab cakes, lobster rolls, fish-and-chips, friend clams, and so much more. There’s also burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and tacos.

Current hours are Thursday – Saturday: 11am – 3pm, and 4pm – 7pm, and Sunday 12pm – 6pm

There’s also a retail store with new shipments daily: Thurs – Sat 11am – 6pm and Sunday 12pm – 5pm.

Call 860-567-8000 to learn more, or check out the website, Facebook page, and Instagram feed

Don’t Forget Popey’s on the Other Side of Bantam Lake in Morris

Popey’s in the center of Morris is another popular roadside stop that’s been around for 50 years, serving burgers, hot dogs, ice cream, and lots more. It’s open Tuesday – Sunday 11 a.m. – 8 p.m.

Gooseboro’s Top Dogs for the
“Dog Days of Summer” Hot Dog Contest

The Famous Hot Dog: A 6-inch Hummel natural casing hot dog topped with our homemade Famous Relish, sauerkraut, and pickle slices.
The Double Cheese Chili Dog: A 10-inch Hummel hot dog topped with our award-winning homemade chili, American cheese, and cheese sauce.
The Red Hot: A Hummel Red Hot hot dog split and grilled to perfection, then topped with sweet red pepper relish and chopped onion.
The New Yorker: A 10-inch, all-beef hot dog topped with New York style “cart sauce.”

: Some of the offerings at Gooseboro; photo courtesy of Gooseboro

: Gooseboro's hot dog contest entries

: Outside Gooseboro on a Spring morning

: West Shore Seafood

Laurel Ridge Daffodils Ready to Put on a Show in Litchfield

The Laurel Ridge daffodils heading toward the peak in 2021.

Early spring snow and cold slowed the explosion of color provided by Litchfield’s famous Laurel Ridge daffodils off Route 254 in the Northfield section of town—but it’s coming soon.

On April 8, a few daffodils had opened and others were ready to pop, indicating the tens of thousands of spring blooms may begin to reach their peak around Easter weekend and then shine into May.

Watch for updates on the progress of the annual display on the Facebook page, and check this Instagram feed to see photos posted by visitors.

The daffodil display that draws visitors from across Connecticut and beyond each spring is spread over 15 acres alongside Wigwam Road, accessed by Route 254 and roughly 10 minutes from the center of Litchfield or Thomaston.

Remy and Virginia Morosani first planted 10,000 daffodil bulbs in the early 1940s, and plantings have continued over the years.

The Laurel Ridge Foundation was established by the Morosani family to oversee and manage the display that welcomes the public, though visitors are advised to be respectful and follow the rules.

The Laurel Ridge daffodils are open through the month of April, which gets extended if the blooms linger into May. Once the blossoms are gone, so is access to the property until the next season.

Parking is a key concern. There are “no parking” signs on the east side of the road in order to make sure there’s a clear lane on the narrow back road for emergency vehicles to get through.

Visitors are encouraged to wander through the fields of daffodils, but dogs aren’t allowed and neither are picnics.

“You’re more than welcome to come and take pictures but don’t set up a photo studio,” John Morosani said, only half-kidding as he recalled getting a call one year from his wife, who reported that a photographer who had apparently booked photo sessions had installed a long red sofa in the main daffodil field north of the landmark pond.

Morosani, the son of Remy and Virginia and owner of Laurel Ridge Farm, specializing in grass-fed beef, said new bulbs haven’t been planted in the last couple of years but a lot of maintenance was performed this past year.

Twenty to 25 trees that were either dying or affected by ash dieback have been removed, as well as invasive multiflora clogging the landscape and the view on the hillside above the pond on the western side.

“The daffodils are on Wigwam Road about 1.3 miles south of Rte. 254,” Laurel Ridge told someone planning a visit in a Facebook comment. “It will be hard to miss them.”

The Laurel Ridge daffodils on April 8, 2022.

The location of the Laurel Ridge daffodils (Google maps screenshot)

Hike at Topsmead State Forest and Possibly Win a Prize

Hike at Topsmead State Forest in Litchfield this year (and lots of other Connecticut parks and forests) and you might win a hand-carved hiking staff from the state Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (DEEP).

DEEP recently announced the Sky’s the Limit Hiking Challenge 2022, and Topsmead is one of the 20 parks and forests on the list.

The theme of this year’s challenge is “Best Kept Secrets,” and the goal is to highlight some of the best kept secrets around the state and build awareness of CT’s history, nature, and landscapes.

“These 20 Best Kept Secrets can be the park or forest itself, or a component within such,” DEEP says. “Discover sunken boats, native plant gardens, scenic viewsheds, battlegrounds, caves, and more. Hike or walk as many of the locations as desired, photo documenting along the way.”

Participants who hike or walk 15 of the 20 trails will receive a “Sky’s the Limit” hiking staff medallion and a certificate. On Jan. 1, 2023, names will be drawn from entrants who visited all 20 locations and 50 winners will receive a hand-carved hiking staff made by the DEEP Sawyer at the CT DEEP Sawmill. All entries are due by 3 p.m. Dec. 2.

As popular as Topsmead is, its many charms qualify the property as a best kept secret. In addition to glorious open meadows, meadow trails, and woodland trails, Topsmead is home to the English Tudor-style summer cottage Edith Morton Chase had built in the early 1900s.

The cottage was designed by noted architect Richard Henry Dana, Jr., and furnished with 17th and 18th century English Country antiques. Under the stewardship of the nonprofit group Friends of Topsmead, the cottage is even open for tours.

Tours will be offered this year on the second and fourth weekends of June, July, August, September, and through Columbus Day weekend in October. Tours of the downstairs rooms begin at noon and run on the hour and half-hour until the last tour at 4:30 p.m.

Chase left her estate to the people of Connecticut upon her death in 1972 to be “kept in a state of natural beauty.”

New Deli Opening in Prime West St. Spot in Litchfield Center

Petraroia Deli coming to Litchfield Center, CT

Work in progress on the Petraroia Deli space on West St. in Litchfield Center

Frankie Jennett, whose parents and brother-in-law Jay Tranberg own Milestone Wood Fired Pizza in Thomaston, is opening Petraroia Deli in the former location of Superior Foods (and R. Derwin men’s shop) across from the Green on West Street.

The target opening date for Jennett’s “dream spot” is May 1.

Jennett plans to offer Italian-American inspired cuisine, while integrating other culinary influences, and a menu extending from salads and sandwiches to hot foods, grab-and-go items, and prepared dinners to take home.

He won’t be making wood-fired pizza like Milestone (we picked up some pies recently and they were great), but Jennett will offer pan and Sicilian pizzas at Petraroia Deli.

The deli’s bread will come from The Bakehouse across the Green in the Old Litchfield Jail, and Krafted Brew Lab in Bantam will be the source for coffee and espresso, including a specially-created house blend coffee for the deli.

Jennett also plans to offer artisan groceries, and in homage to the former Superior Foods, he wants the deli to be a resource where people walking by can stop to get essentials like milk, eggs, bread, and dinner for the night.

There are also plans to eventually serve breakfast on weekends.

Jennett, who grew up in Litchfield and had been living in Los Angeles, is experienced as a cheesemonger and is a Certified Sommelier—so there are even bigger and more exciting plans down the road.

For updates and opening date information, follow @petraroiadeli on Instagram. To contact Jennett for vending and employment opportunities, email [email protected].

Irish Soda Bread: Lots of Great Loaves in Litchfield

Irish soda bread from The Bakehouse

Irish soda bread is said to have originated with Native Americans and it became a staple in Ireland during the famine because it was easy to make with common, inexpensive ingredients. While the Irish don’t celebrate St. Patrick’s Day by drinking green beer, they do treasure soda bread as a staple. Unlike most breads that rise because of yeast, soda bread is leavened through the interaction of baking soda and buttermilk, which, along with flourishes like raisins, dried fruit, and caraway seeds, gives the bread the distinct, rich, and slightly sweet taste we love. Litchfield is blessed with bakeries that make wonderful Irish soda bread.

Love Hearts Bakery and Cafe

This is your spot for bespoke Irish soda bread. Love Hearts is taking orders and will make your loaves any way you prefer—small or large, with or without currants, or caraway seeds, even gluten free … and more.

583 Bantam Rd. · 860-361-6526

Instagram | Facebook | Website

The Bakehouse

The Bakehouse on the lower level of the Old Litchfield Jail got in the game early and has been making terrific Irish soda bread every day, which continues through St. Patrick’s Day, of course.

7 North St · 860-361-6423

Instagram | Website

Troy Brook Bakery

Check the Facebook and Instagram accounts for a pop up St. Patrick’s day menu that includes soda bread and other Irish treats. Whatever you order can be picked up Thursday, Friday, or Saturday.

860-309-5986

Instagram | Facebook

Meraki

Meraki is offering Irish soda bread through St Patrick’s Day, including regular, caraway, currant, and gluten free options.

860-361-9777

Instagram | Facebook

Arethusa a mano

Studded with raisins and caraway, Arethusa a mano’s Irish soda bread is available Wednesday and Thursday.

860-567-5722

Instagram | Facebook

Bantam Bread

Bantam Bread and its fans love Irish soda bread so much it’s a year-round staple offered every Thursday. There’s a special batch coming this weekend (3/12, 3/13) and more next week (daily according to an Instagram post).

853 Bantam Rd. · 860-567-2737

Instagram | Facebook | Website
.

Irish soda bread at Bantam Bread Company

Editor’s Note: The Dutch Epicure Bakery doesn’t make Irish soda bread but offers lots of other types of homemade bread, including a sublime raisin bread. If you know of spots offering soda bread that we missed, email [email protected] to let us know and we’ll add them.

White Memorial viewing platform Bantam Lake

White Memorial Wants Your Photos (Pizza Party Reward)

Bantam Lake and the Point Folly Campground (left) at White Memorial

Nature lovers who enjoy the trails, fields, forests, streams, ponds, and wildlife of the 4,000-acre White Memorial Foundation have at least one thing in common: they take lots of great photos.

In March 2020 as the White Memorial Conservation Center closed in response to the pandemic, the trails swelled visitors seeking the sanctuary nature provided, and the volume of photos being taken made an exponential leap.

Gerri Griswold, Director of Administration and Development at White Memorial, began soliciting the photos and publishing a selection each week in The Habitattler e-newsletter.

“Everybody started sending them in. We get such incredible things, really wonderful things,” said Griswold. “The submissions were so steady, abundant, and delightful that we’ve kept on accepting them.”

To participate and see your photos published, email them to [email protected].

Images received by 5 p.m. each Monday will be considered for publication in the following Monday’s Habitattler, though Griswold warned she has a backlog of images.

She especially loves photos of children being engaged in nature, and said particularly great shots of any subject might even be used as a masthead image in the newsletter.

What Griswold doesn’t publish are photos of phragmites or mute swans, as both are considered invasive.

She has put together a large file of all the photos—hundreds of them—and will share some of her favorites in a special March 19 online event, beginning at 10 a.m.

The “celebration of the beauty of White Memorial through your lenses” will be presented on Zoom and on Facebook Live. It’s free but donations will be accepted to help defray the Conservation Center’s programming expenses.

See the event page for details and the Zoom link

To reward all of the photographers who have contributed images, White Memorial will throw a massive pizza and ice cream party on the Ceder Room Lawn at the Conservation Center.

“Everybody’s going to be invited,” said Griswold, who doesn’t have a date yet but wants to hold it before the bugs come out, maybe in late May/early June.

In addition to sending photos, make sure to subscribe The Habitattler to get the scoop on White Memorial’s public programs, a list of recent wildlife sightings, each week’s suite of visitor photos, and a short “Tail End” YouTube video. The newsletter arrives in email inboxes every Monday morning at 7 a.m.

The Discerning Palate Gourmet Shop Opens in Old Litchfield Jail

The Discerning Palate gourmet shop in the Old Litchfield Jail

The Discerning Palate, a new gourmet provisions shop, has opened next to The Bakehouse on the lower level of Old Litchfield Jail across from the Green.

Owner Susan Guletsky describes the small shop as one-third cheese shop, one-third deli, and one-third European grocery.

Featured fare includes fresh (and locally famous) La Molisana sausage made in Waterbury, the artisanal Durante’s Pasta from West Haven (think of gnocchi and cheese and lobster ravioli in the freezer case), 24-month-aged Prosciutto di Parma, Pata Negra Iberico Jamón (the finest Spanish ham), French mustards, Italian biscuits, artisan olive oils, and much more.

In addition to the imported dry goods and selection of gourmet meats and cheeses, The Discerning Palate offers charcuterie boards, cheese boards, and antipasto platters; “the perfect things to go with that Bakehouse bread,” as the sign out front says.

The shop is open from 10-5 on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday, until 5:30 on Friday, and from 10-2 on Sunday.

The phone number is 860-361-6580, the address is 7 North St., and the website under construction is discerningpalate.shop

The Discerning Palate is the latest addition to a gourmet foods scene that includes The Dutch Epicure, Tilden’s Seafood, Arethusa Farm Dairy, Litchfield Locker, and others. See the Gourmet Shops & Provisions page on the Visit Litchfield CT website to connect with all of them, as well as our wine shops.

For everything you need to create wonderful meals at home, and memorable evenings, also visit our pages connecting you to Litchfield’s scratch bakeries, wineries and Litchfield distillery, and local chocolate.

The Discerning Palate, new Litchfield gourmet shop

Valentine’s Weekend Romance in Litchfield

Where else in Connecticut do options for Valentine’s Day romance extend from traditional (a romantic dinner) to magical (a lantern light tour with love stories), to connoisseur-worthy (our hometown winery and distillery), and even include a sweetheart themed run/walk?

First, Litchfield has you covered in terms of gifts with hometown appeal, including classics like jewelry (Ideal Jewelry Litchfield, Lawrence Jeffrey Estate Jewelers), chocolates (Milk House Chocolates, The Litchfield Candy Company), flowers (Bantam Blooms Florist, Colonial Greenhouse, Flowers of Distinction Litchfield CT), and wine (Litchfield Hills Wine Market, Village Wine Cellar, Bantam Country Liquors). There’s even Valentine’s Blend coffee beans at Krafted Brew Lab.

If you plan to have a quiet celebration at home, make it special and sweet with romantic treats from our fine scratch bakeries, including Arethusa a mano, Toast & Co., Meraki, Espresso59, Love Heart’s Bakery and Cafe, and The Bakehouse. (Dutch Epicure Bakery is on vacation.)

In terms of dining on the town, many Litchfield restaurants are open and serving special menus on VDay (including Arethusa al tavolo, Market Place Tavern at The Old Litchfield Jail, At The Corner, Saltwater Grille, and The Village Restaurant In Litchfield Ct), while others responded to the holiday falling on a Monday by extending romantic festivities and menus to the weekend before (like Materia Ristorante and West Street Grill.)

Some of those dining out Friday will have enjoyed the Litchfield Historical Society‘s special Valentine’s Day “lantern” tour of Litchfield’s Historic District as a prelude to their romantic dinner. The tour features historically inspired cocktails and treats, as well as great love stories from Litchfield’s past. (It appears that the tour might be sold-out at this point.)

Connoisseurs of fine libations can enhance dining experiences with visits to Litchfield Distillery (tour slots on Saturday and Sunday are still available), and Haight-Brown Vineyard, which has a special Valentine’s event Saturday.

Those who want to work off all that dining and imbibing (or train for it), can participate in the 20th Annual Bob & Peg Andrulis Memorial Sweetheart Run/Walk on Saturday at 11 a.m. Details and registration via the Litchfield Community Center.

With so much to do and enjoy, why not make a Valentine’s Day weekend of it? (Check out The Litchfield Inn and Winvian Farm for fine lodging.)

As always, if you have a question or want more tips, email us at [email protected].

Doug Clement

About Doug Clement

Posts by Doug Clement:

West Shore Seafood: A “Shack” With Delicious Curb Appeal

Don’t Forget Popey’s on the Other Side of Bantam Lake in Morris

Gooseboro’s Top Dogs for the “Dog Days of Summer” Hot Dog Contest

Gooseboro’s Top Dogs for the
“Dog Days of Summer” Hot Dog Contest