Panjabi Tadka’s chicken masala and garlic naan.
Reminder Publishing photo by Dennis Hackett
SPRINGFIELD — With Dine Springfield Restaurant Week set to return for its ninth year from June 6-15, Reminder Publishing was invited to sample some of the offerings that local restaurants will have available that week at a taste test at the Springfield Marriot on May 21.
Executive Editor Chris Maza and I were on hand to try a variety of dishes.
Coordinated with the Springfield Business Improvement District, Dine Springfield will once again provide a platform for local restaurants, old and new, to entice repeat customers and introduce new patrons to their menus.
While not all of the restaurants featured for Dine Springfield Restaurant Week were in attendance, those that were brought their best and left us impressed with what we tried.
Boricua Bites, 1030 State St.
Immediately as I walked into the tasting area, I was met with Boricua Bites, who offered a mofongo bowl. A mofongo bowl is a traditional Puerto Rican dish made with fried green plantains, chicarrones and garlic. Boricua Bites offered either chicken or steak to top the bowl and I had to go with steak, and then they topped it with another sauce. I thought the steak and the Mofongo were outstanding, but the sauce had a little too much of a tang to it for my taste buds, but it was overall very good.
Like me, this was Chris’s first taste of mofongo.
“This was truly one of the most unique offerings for me at this year’s preview event, the mofongo bowl with steak was a real treat. Until today, I had no idea what mofongo bowl was, but these bowls made with fried plantains are the perfect resting place for some terrifically seasoned beef topped with a flavorful drizzle. A side trip to State Street is definitely in order,” he said.
Bridge 22, 2 Boland Way
Bridge 22, which is located inside the Marriott, will offer two special entrees for Dine Springfield Restaurant Week, the Bridge 22 Burger, which is a prime beef patty, a Bridge 22 secret sauce, caramelized onions, pickles and white cheddar cheese on a brioche bun, and the short rib Bolognese with penne pasta and parmesan cheese.
At the taste test, they offered a slider of the Bridge 22 Burger and a small portion of the Bolognese. While I did not go for the burger, I went for the Bolognese which I really enjoyed; the sauce in particular stood out from the dish.
Bridge 22 also offered a Blue Skies Mocktail, which was a mix of sparkling lemonade, blueberry puree and lime juice. The mocktail was a great way to refresh myself in between tastings and I was tempted to go back for multiple servings.
The mocktail will be free with the purchase of either featured entrée with a 10% discount during the week.
Costa, 1 MGM Way
Costa offered a rigatoni Bolognese alongside meatballs at the tasting event. While I did not get the opportunity to try them, Chris did.
Chris, a noted fan of Bolognese said, “With rigatoni Bolognese and meatballs in pomodoro sauce, Costa might as well have hung a sign saying, ‘Chris Maza, eat here!’ Of course, they didn’t need to — I gravitated there first and starting the tasting with something familiar yet flavorful was a great way to kick off the event.”
Nosh Restaurant & Cafe, 1341 Main St.
While Nosh didn’t offer any entrees, they did offer the perfect way to finish the tasting with a variety of dessert bites to try. Between regular brownies, red velvet brownie bites, raspberry shortbread bars, turtle brownies, peanut butter and jelly bites, there was something for everyone with a sweet tooth.
I, of course, had to go for the peanut butter and jelly bite. If there’s one thing to know about my tastes, it’s if there’s peanut butter, I am going for it. I thoroughly enjoyed the dessert, while peanut butter and jelly works as a sandwich, it also works perfectly as a small dessert bite.
Panjabi Tadka, 1688 Main St.
As a relative newcomer to Indian food, I still am getting my feet wet with what they have for food, so I typically go for chicken masala, which isn’t as spicy as what you could get. I was very happy to see that Panjabi Tadka was offering chicken masala with garlic naan and I was completely blown away by everything.
Between the chicken, the rice, the sauce and the naan, I could not believe my taste buds. I am not sure if I liked this or the potato pancake offered by the Student Prince more, but I see myself heading down to Panjabi Tadka in the very near future to try the rest of their offerings.
Chris was also a fan of what Panjabi Tadka had to offer.
He said, “I’ll readily admit that I’m cheating a bit with this one – the chicken masala at Panjabi Tadka and its sister location Motu is a go-to. For the less adventurous when it comes to heat in a dish, this one is nice and approachable while still packing a lot of flavor. Especially if you are new to the cuisine, this is a great option.”
Student Prince, 8 Fort St.
The Student Prince, a staple in downtown Springfield, offered a simple yet amazing dish: a potato pancake. I believe this is my second time trying their potato pancakes as I think they were available at the Big E media party or taste test for that last fall. And just like the first time, it was love at first sight.
To me, potatoes are a borderline sacred food item that I could have alongside any entrée. As Samwise Gamgee said in “Lord of the Rings,” “you can boil them, mash them and stick them in a stew.”
The potato pancake offered by the Student Prince came topped with some garnishing along with a sauce and what taste like a bit of apple pie. The combination was excellent and something I will be looking to try again.
White Lion Brewing, 1500 Main St.
White Lion brought hot honey Brussels sprouts along with garlic parmesan chicken wings.
Chris said that he was a huge fan of the Brussels sprouts, an often overlooked vegetable.
He said, “For a long time, Brussels sprouts had been often maligned, mostly because of the way they were criminally neglected by food preparers, relegated to boiling and steaming. Since its mainstream emergence, the roasted Brussels sprout has been a crowd pleaser thanks to the cooking method actually accentuating the complexity of the vegetable’s flavor. White Lion’s kitchen kicked that up a notch, adding the perfect blend of sweet and spicy with a hot honey drizzle. In a world of mundane and predictable brewery kitchen offerings, White Lion’s putting out something truly different and flavorful.”
For me, I also love Brussels sprouts and combining that with hot honey was a match made in heaven for me. I was also a big fan of the chicken wing and thought the garlic parm flavor was a smart choice.
Other featured restaurants for Dine Springfield Restaurant Week include Theodore’s Booze, Blues & BBQ, Nathan Bill’s, MVP Pub and many more, so be on the lookout for specials at your favorite places.
