Handshakes Revisted 02/25/09 337 Route 82 Hopewell Junction, NY 12533

The “I Know Good Food” staff went to Handshakes for dinner on the aforementioned date. We ordered the following: Cream of Broccoli Soup and New England clam chowder. We also ordered The House Salad, which consisted of Crisp greens with tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and croutons. Then we ordered The Classic Cheese Burger, the Turkey Cracker Melt sandwich (sliced turkey with Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, and jalapenos on a grilled club roll), and lastly The Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich (breaded Chicken Breast deep-fried topped with ham, swiss, lettuce and tomatoes on a club roll). These orders came with sides of Steak Fries, Pickle and Coleslaw. Rose ordered The Shrimp in a Marcela sauce served over linguine with a side of vegetables.

All the food was excellent and the service was good. We find that Handshakes always serves consistently good food at reasonable prices.

The House Salad and The Turkey Cracker Melt sandwich and Chicken Cordon Bleu Sandwich

The Shrimp in a Marcela sauce served over linguine with a side of vegetables.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Video Commentary by Steven Quinn, sorry for the poor quality we will do better next time!

Waiting for more info

We at " I Know Good Food" have not forgotten to update our blog - we've been busy with personal family matters. We are looking forward to reviewing local eateries in the upcoming weeks.

The Romeo’s Dine at Frank & Louis’ House.

On Sunday 02/22/09, The Romeo’s came over for a visit and dinner. We at “I Know Good Food” have been known to cook. The meal was as follows; Home Made Chicken Soup with Small Turkey Meatballs and small pasta rings. Chili without beans, Home Made Corn Muffins with Bacon, Cheddar Cheese and Scallions. We also had Pasta with Sausage and a fresh garden salad with cranraisins and a dressing of Olive Oil and White Balsamic Vinegar. Mrs. Romeo brought over some fresh Italian Bread from Mario's Bakery in Hopewell Junction, New York which was excellent!

For Dessert, we had Home Made Chocolate Brownies.

Below we have a comment written by Mrs. Romeo.

The Soup, chili, muffins, pasta, 10++
Brownies to die for - perfect texture - cut to perfection - chewy - yummmm

Mrs. Romeo

The Lopez's Return To Stormville!

We at “ I Know Good Food” had the pleasure as always in having The Lopez’s over to our house. Below Irene wrote her comments on the food and our visit. We are looking forward in seeing them again soon.

Irene and Joe Lopez 

On February 17, my husband (Mickey) and I had the distinct pleasure of dining at the Manupelli Kitchen in Stormville, New York.  The atmosphere was warm and cozy, and the meal was exquisite.  Chef Louis prepared a wonderful feast.  The meal began with a luscious homemade chicken broth based soup with turkey meatballs, carrots, celery and ring-noodle pasta.  It was so good that we all had second helpings!  Then came the main course--lemon chicken, oven roasted potatoes and salad.  The chicken was moist, delicious and cooked to perfection.  The roasted potatoes were perfectly seasoned, tender and yummy.  Much to my surprise, Chef Louis made his own salad dressing with a mystery ingredient.  What was this new and interesting ingredient??  Why, it was WHITE BALSAMIC VINEGAR!!!  What a delightful experience for even the most demanding palate--incredible!  Our beverage was nothing unusual.  We decided on diet Pepsi, which was served ice cold and served in the most elegant stemware.  

After a perfectly timed pause and interesting conversation, we were served the "pee-ace de resistance", which was home-baked brownies.  They were decadently rich, moist, chocolatey, and were made from the best ingredients that Duncan Hines has to offer.    All in all, it was a wonderful evening, and we can't wait to see what will be on the Spring 2009 menu.  

Gian Bruno Restaurant Pizza 2593 Route 52 Hopewell Junction, NY 12533

Mr. Quinn, Our Founder of "I Know Good Food"

On Friday 02/13/09 the “I Know Good Food” Staff went to Gian Bruno’s for a quick dinner. We had the Fried Calamari and Mozzarella Sticks appetizers, which both came with a side of marinara sauce.  We also ordered a larger thin crust regular pizza.

 

The food was very good.  The Fried Calamari was tender and cook to perfection.  The Mozzarella Sticks were golden brown and the marinara sauce was very tasty.  The Pizza was made very thin as we requested and well done.  The sauce was very good and the cheese was generous.  Our wait staff was very pleasant and the service was good.  Our only complaint was that when we ordered a second pitcher of Sprite, we received one only half full.  We never got an explication for this.

 

Gina Bruno’s has always been a place that the staff goes to when there looking for some fast Italian food.

Handshakes 337 Route 82 Hopewell Junction, NY 12533

On Thursday February 12, 2006, the “I Know Good Food” Staff (Mr. Quinn, Frank and Louis) went to Handshakes for dinner.  We all had Cream of Yam Soup. We also ordered the Turkey Cracker Melt-Turkey with Russian dressing, Swiss cheese, and jalapenos on a grilled club roll and the Paddy Melt-Burger on grilled Rye-Pumpernickel bread with American cheese and fried onions.  To round out our meal we had the Stuffed Clams-Delicious. 

All food ordered was delicious.  The Turkey sandwich was moist and tangy.  The Paddy Melt-Burger cooked to perfection and the Stuffed Clams were very tasty! 

We wanted to give a special mention about the Cream of Yam Soup, which we all found to be outstanding!

Paddy meld-burger             Stuffed Clams-Delicious       

Yam Soup (Empty)                Cracker Turkey Meld

Mr. Quinn, wins at QuickDraw!!!!!

http://handshakesbarandgrill.com/

Friendly Restaurant, 2546 South Road Poughkeepsie, NY 12601

The “I Know Good Food” staff (Mr. Quinn, Frank and Louis) went to Friendly’s for dinner on Monday February 9, 2009. We had ordered the Clam Boat Basket, which was outstanding; the clams strips were cooked to perfection! We also had the Turkey Club Super melt that also was very tasty. We  ordered the Mini-Cheese Burger Deluxe.  The rolls were very dry and we believe not fresh.  The hamburgers were ordered medium and they had no taste and were very dry. However, we topped it off with the small size Purely Pistachio Ice Cream Soda’s which were excellent.

 

A video taken at Friendly’s that night.  It contains Mr. Quinn begging Dolores for her famous soup, and other tasty foods she cooks.

http://www.friendlys.com/

This is for you Dolores D.

Cooking at the Quinn's Home

Mr. Quinn informed us that TLB made pizza dough so that she could make homemade pizza for the family on February 6^th 2009 (Friday night).  The reviews of the Pizza were very good! 

Pizza Cooking to perfection.

On Saturday February 7^th 2009, Mr. Quinn made breakfast for his daughters.  He made egg omelets with ham, freshly made salsa, and special spices. Daughter Nicole made the accompanying video to exclaim her positive review of her Fathers breakfast. 

Egg omelet with salsa and spices.

This goes to show you that not only does he know good food, he also can cook good food!

Drinking with a Straw!

It has been brought to the attention of the staff of “I know Good Food” the benefits of using a common Drinking Straw when consuming a cold beverage. Mr. Quinn dropped this knowledge on us on Super Bowl Sunday. He said “When you used a straw while drinking a beverage with ice, you may raise the straw in the glass to where the ice is floating and you get the coldest drink.” Well we tried it and he was correct! So we are pleased to pass this along to all our readers so they may also enjoy the cold refreshing pleasure of drinking with a Straw!

Louis is a Straw convert!

Super Bowl XLII

Raymond James Stadium

We spent Super Bowl at the Quinn residents. Louis M, member of the “I Know Good Food” Staff, made Buffalo Chicken Wings, and Home Made Crab Cakes. We also had Pigs in a Blanket, Salas and Chips, and Karen made Guacamole, which was excellent!

Mr. Quinn rated the meal on the Video posted below. This writer could not capture in words his inflection and conviction to his educated pallet.

Guacamole & Salsa Photos.

Crab Cakes


Chicken Wings, Descent Rating
Pigs in a Blanket, Rated "X"