WIAW: Bears Smokehouse BBQ

Hi guys! I’m sorry about the long break between posts but as usual, life is crazy busy and I’m just going to promise to post when I can and when I have the time. I had been looking back at previous posts and could not believe that I hadn’t devoted an entire post to one of my very favorite local restaurants. I know that I have mentioned them before but today’s post is going to be all about Bear’s Smokehouse BBQ. Now leading up to my first time trying Bear’s, I was honestly never a big fan of barbecue, mainly because of its heaviness and I never found a BBQ sauce that I truly loved. Fast forward to about a year ago when we first discovered Bears and it was game over. I found a BBQ place that I adore and I am excited to tell you about my most recent visit.

We went this past Friday evening for dinner with our friends Cheyne and Miko for Miko’s birthday dinner. They have recently become obsessed with the place and this was her obvious pick for her birthday dinner. We were greeted with the delicious aromas of smoked meat and lucky for us, the line was not long at all! Depending on the night, the place can get so packed and sometimes they also run out of certain menu items.

All day long I had been craving a chopped sandwich with a side of mac and cheese and that is exactly what I ordered. The chopped sandwich is a combination of pulled pork and brisket which just happen to be my two favorite meats aka. the best of everything. I topped the sandwich with my favorite Texas Pepper sauce which has just the right amount of kick to it. The mac and cheese is the best I have ever had and the amount they provide in a side is perfect for satisfying that carb craving. I cleared my plate and I felt great and I didn’t feel like I ate too much.

This was SO good

I could honestly eat a bucket of this stuff

Dan chose his favorite menu item, baby back ribs. He said they were just as amazing as usual. He also had a side of mac and cheese as well as apple crisp. I didn’t try any apple crisp since it isn’t my favorite dessert (however, I LOVE their peach cobbler) and I didn’t want to stuff myself.

Ribs are not my favorite but if I were going to eat them, they would definitely be these ones

We also split an order of moink balls between the four of us. Moink balls are smoked bacon wrapped meatballs. These bad boys were out of this world and I can’t believe it took me this long to try them.

A little bit of pig and a little bit of cow.. beautiful combination

It was a wonderful meal and I am already thinking about when we can go back for more. Not only does Bears have excellent food, but their owner Jamie is constantly giving back to the community and he is also very active on social media. They also have a military, police, and firefighter discount which is always good to see. I highly recommend Bear’s to anyone in this area as it is truly the best BBQ around.

Rooftop 120: Happy Hour

Happy Thursday guys! I don’t have too much time to write today but I wanted to share a phenomenal dinner that we enjoyed this past Friday evening at Rooftop 120. I have reviewed this restaurant in the past and I have never had a bad experience there. With my new job (which is going very well) comes much better hours that allow me to FINALLY be able to enjoy happy hour like most of the rest of the world. Those who know me well, know how excited I am to be able to partake in happy hour at different restaurants. This past Friday was my first chance to enjoy it and I chose Rooftop 120.

WHY would anyone skip happy hour?

Dan and I arrived and it wasn’t too crowded which was great because I like to be able to have a good conversation while sitting at the bar. We were promptly greeted by the wonderful Tyler, who is one of the kindest bartenders I have ever met (besides our good friends at the Diamond of course). He remembered us from our last visit and that made us feel very welcome.  I knew already that I was going to get my new favorite drink, a dirty martini made with pickle juice instead of olive juice. I know that some of you may find this to be a bit strange but I am all about the salt and I’m completely obsessed with this martini. Dan decided to go with something that isn’t always served at every bar, Woodford Reserve, on the rocks.

This picture just screams “Friday night”, doesn’t it?

Once we were settled in with our yummy drinks, we attacked that happy hour menu in search of several different dishes. Tyler immediately recommended the bacon wrapped crab cakes and the general tso’s ribs so we definitely went with those along with the short rib sliders and chicken wings. Clearly, I did not have any kind of healthy eating on my mind. I was so hungry I could have eaten the menu itself.

The bacon wrapped crab cakes were absolute perfection. I’m a firm believer that everything should be wrapped in bacon and kudos to Rooftop 120 for being creative enough to wrap a crab cake in it. There were two of them which was perfect because they were so rich and flavorful that it only took one each to satisfy us.

YUM

The general tso’s ribs were fall-off-the-bone amazing. I am not usually a rib person but the additional of the general tso’s sauce gave them SO much flavor and they were different than a traditional BBQ rib.

The presentation was also done very well

I will fully admit that I chose the short rib sliders solely based on the fact that they were topped with truffle aioli (I mean, are you surprised?). These were so wonderful and again, a perfect size for something filled with so much flavor.

I don’t think I have ever had a bad slider.

Dan chose the buffalo chicken wings and surprisingly I enjoyed them quite a bit. I’m extremely picky about buffalo sauce and this sauce was very unique which immediately made me love it. It had a little kick but it wasn’t so spicy that I couldn’t appreciate the overall flavor of the sauce.

You can never go wrong with the classic buffalo wing.

We pretty much inhaled this food and spent a while after just chatting and finishing our drinks. It was a fantastic start to what ended up being a great Friday night. All I can say is, happy hour is the best concept ever and I can’t wait to take full advantage of it.

Trade It Up Tuesday: More Ups Than Downs

I would trade… the fact that it still doesn’t feel like fall outside. This is an absurd first world problem that most of you will not agree with but I wish it would finally get a little bit cooler outside. I enjoy the warmth a lot but I am SO wanting to put on my comfy sweaters and leggings and boots. I know I will regret saying this come the first snowfall but for now I just want to enjoy a crisp breeze and not be sweating allllllll the time.

I just bought these boots at Kohl’s and they are so comfy and I can’t wait to wear them! Source

I would not trade… a weekend filled with football and the farmers market! This past weekend we attended the UConn game Saturday afternoon (I’m going to refrain from commenting about the game itself) where we celebrated my Grandma’s 82nd birthday. It was a fun day and the 4:00 start time gave Dan and I enough of an excuse to come home and relax (aka. do nothing) for the rest of the evening. Sunday afternoon we headed over to the Coventry Regional Farmers Market again to stock up on some goodies and to sample some cocktails from the Farm-to-Shaker Bartender’s Challenge. The cocktails were all unique and delicious and I’m very glad we got to sample each of them. We finished up Sunday with some more of doing absolutely nothing.

We got her cake from our favorite bakery – Patty Cakes! Very yummy!

They rolled out a huge American flag on the field for military appreciation day

It was so cool to watch the bartenders make their cocktails!

I would not trade… my first taste of Bear’s Smokehouse ribs! My Grandma had mentioned getting ribs for the tailgate on Saturday and I knew just the place to go. I had only eaten food from Bear’s once when my coworkers ordered it for lunch one day so I was pumped to try more menu items! The ribs were an all-around hit with everyone and my family said they can’t wait to go to Bear’s for a meal. They were devoured so quickly that I only got one picture but I also wanted to mention that Dan and I sampled the mac and cheese and the pulled pork and both were absolutely to die for!

As you can see, there were about three ribs left standing from the two FULL racks that we bought

I would not trade… the fact that I was able to find time to work out on both Saturday and Sunday. I think that was the first time that I ever was able to fit in a productive workout on both weekend days. Saturday morning I did have a tad bit of a red wine headache but Jillian Michael’s kickboxing video cured that pretty quickly. On Sunday I did a quick 20 minutes of high incline treadmill walking followed by about 15 minutes of arms and abs.

I also climbed 103 floors last night, which is 50 more than I have ever done before

I would not trade… the beautiful flowers that Dan gave me yesterday in celebration of our one year anniversary of our engagement. They look so pretty in our kitchen and tonight we are going to Barcelona Wine Bar in West Hartford for a happy hour tapas meal to celebrate. I am SO excited to finally get back to Barcelona after the amazing first meal I had there and I know Dan is excited too!

My favorite!

Well that’s all for today guys and I’m happy to see that I could only come up with one thing I would trade and it’s not even really about me which means that life is great right now 🙂 Have a happy Tuesday!