Neither snow nor rain nor gloom of night will stop me in my quest, or so it seems, to find the worst pizza in Ct. Yesterday I found a top 5 contender in the Copaco shopping center. A sign advertising pizza by the slice captured my eye, but I should have retreated when I found none on display. Another red flag should have gone up when I realized I was the only customer this Sunday afternoon. Lastly, I should have folded my sails when I witnessed the sole employee taking a piece of mystery meat out of the freezer and tossing it into a vat of hot oil. My only excuse was, a sorry one indeed, the gauge on my tummy was registering empty so I tossed caution and my taste buds to the wind by ordering the luncheon special of 2 slices of cheese pizza and a can of soda for $6. Not a bad deal you say? Yes, a bad deal on multiple levels. My go to pizzeria has the same deal for $3.50, but more importantly its pizza is 10, no 100, times better than at Gino's. These slices were small though in retrospect that was good. Secondly, the toppings of tomato sauce and what passes for mozzarella were brown. Lastly, the crust was a little too thick, lacked chew and devoid of flavor. A trifecta of mediocrity. Trust me on this because I have more experience in such matters, a better pizza may be found in your local grocer's freezer case. Next time I suffer from hunger pangs in the immediate area of Gino's, I will continue on to Blue Hills Avenue and make the short drive to Scotts' Jamaican Bakery for chicken patties.

We were planning on dining at a tapas restaurant, but found a sign on the door stating it would be closed that night so Smokin' With Chris turned out to be Plan B. Having never been in the restaurant before, I was surprised to find the parking lot almost filled on a Thursday evening, but in retrospect it may have been because it was ½ way to St. Patrick's Day. In any case it was noisy in the dining room with an almost full house plus a singer on stage. After reviewing the menu, my wife and I decided to share a full rack of baby back ribs along with sides of collard green and mac and cheese. The house made mac and cheese is supposed be prepared with a cheese sauce blended with chili powder and assorted peppers topped with panko though we found it dry and tasteless. Perhaps we received the kid's version? We fared only slightly better with the collard greens. The ribs were tender with a nice smoke flavor, but suffered from too much time in the smoker and tended to be very dry at the smaller end. I normally don't use very much sauce on dry rubbed ribs, but I spent much of my time with a bottle of BBQ sauce in hand. Overall, I feel the food was just okay, but a notch below the better BBQ restaurants currently open in CT.

1650 E Main Street

I did not know what to expect on entering this unassuming middle eastern bakery for the first time. I looked around and was surprised that there were not more baked goods on display so I ended up asking the owner if he had any spinach fatayer, a.k.a. pies? He said yes, so sight unseen, I ordered a pair. After he showed them to me, he placed them in a small paper bag. I inquired if he had spinach and feta fatayer? Yes was the response to which I responded, I will take 2. Lastly, I said is that baklava in the dessert display case? Yes, well give me 2 of those as well. On returning home the 2 of us, my wife and I, each had a spinach & feta fatayer that featured a light crust, a bountiful filling and wonderful, tangy flavor. Though the baklava was not as light as I am accustomed to, it was no less delicious. I asked my wife if she had luncheon plans for today, alas we will be sharing the last 2 fatayers. 2 final notes - prices are more than reasonable, actually crazy cheap, and the various types of pita looked mouthwatering. Will I be returning? I will give you 1 guess and no is not an option.

1075 Silas Deane Hwy

I was in the immediate area to purchase seafood from City Fish and decided to stop in this pastry shop. My intention was to bring home a Hartford cream pie that had recently been mentioned in a Hartford magazine article, but it looked a little too large for just the 2 of us so I settled on a pair of sfogliatelle. These were fresh with a crispy exterior, but virtually devoid of any filling. We fared better with our spinach and cheese Sicilian pizza slices that served as our lunch that day. These were much lighter and more flavorful than any I have had from the Big 3 (Modern, Dibacco, Mozzicato) on Franklin Avenue. Prices seemed more than reasonable and the staff was helpful. I am already planning a next visit which will include more Sicilian pizza and a pair of filled-to-order cannoli.