Judy and her team have been helping me host my theme parties every year for 15 years! At this…read morepoint, my guests know the team and look forward to her delicious "crab cakes" and "beef Wellington bites". Judy works with me to create a food menu that matches the theme of the party and helps make the uniqueness of each party come to life. From a Game of Thrones to a Texas Shindig to a Fire & Ice party, there's nothing she won't try. I always have the bartender and a couple of servers to help. They set up, clear, and clean up so I can fully enjoy my party. Don't hesitate for large or small parties, The Savory Palate can customize a full menu to your wishes. Thanks to Judy, she and her team have become an integral part of my entertainment crew!

I had the honor of hosting my Sister in Law's baby shower this past October. There were to be about…read morefifty-five people in attendance and I had to figure out how to feed them. Luckily I had contacted Judy at Savory Palete, and in hindsight it was the best decision I could have possibly made. The stress of hosting was taken off my shoulders. I was able to mingle and have fun with my family and friends while the food was being taken care of. I received endless complements on the menu choices and the taste of food. Judy was easy to work with and went above and beyond for my guests. I would highly recommend her and her staff for any event. -Amanda Dauphinais

Emily's did a fantastic job catering my son's wedding! The hors d'oeuvres were a hit! Excellent…read morepresentation. My favorite were the fried artichokes and truffle fries. I was very impressed with the service. My pet peeve is dirty dishes sitting in front of people and that did not happen! The wedding cake was delicious. White homemade cake with a light strawberry cream. My only suggestion would be to have had someone to serve all the pies. It was kind of awkward having to do it yourself. I definitely recommend Emily's for your next event.

Absolutely fantastic!!!!! Emily's catered my daughter's…read morewedding at Smith Farm Gardens and totally nailed it. First, they were a joy to work with leading up to the big day. They were helpful, responsive, and everything was clear and upfront. There were no surprise charges, or "gotchas". In fact they did several things beyond the scope of the contract without additional charges. More importantly, on the wedding day everything went perfectly. They gave us great advice on the set up of the tables, chairs, bar etc. They listened carefully to everything that was asked of them, made a couple of outstanding suggestions and dealt with the problems caused by strong gusts of wind at an outdoor venue with calm assurance. All of the food was incredible. The hor's d'ourves were fantastic, especially the brie and artichoke tarts, mini lobster rolls and tuna tacos. The mac and cheese in mini ramekins were also a huge hit. The dinners were equally delicious. I had the half chicken, which was served with a delicious polenta. It was absolutely amazing. Perfectly cooked, moist with a crispy skin. Other sides were served family style and were all fantastic. The dessert was also superb. Each guest received a trio of mini desserts, each of which was delightful. We had several guests with food restrictions (vegetarian, gluten free, dairy free). The servers made sure the restrictions were observed, and they made it a point to bring appropriate appetizers to those guests, which was a very nice touch. All of the guests raved about the food. The service was also first class. There were so many servers handling the passed hor's d'ourves that every guest had multiple chances to try each of the offerings. Service of the dinner was equally impressive. The venue is outdoors, and it is a bit of a hike from the kitchen tent to the dining area. Despite that, the guests were served quickly, and the food came to the table still hot. Finally, their prices are quite reasonable, especially given the outstanding quality of the food and service. A very good value.

4.50 stars. As the name states, Avon Prime Meats is a purveyor of USDA prime and a few other…read moreselections, but you cannot go wrong with any of the prime cuts (and frankly, based on what I have seen at this point, the other cuts are just fine as well). So far, I've had prime NY Strips, ribeyes, picanha (top sirloin cap) and Porterhouse steaks here and all were absolutely divine. They even may have a few cuts that don't make it on the shelf but you can ask for them and they might make your day even better. This store has quite a bit more than an impressive array of butcher cuts. You'll find all sorts of meat and seafood swimming in a number of different marinades. They have deli meats, and you'll probably prefer them here to anywhere else in Avon (and really anywhere in Hartford and its surrounding cities). Are you looking for some fancy tri-colored pasta? They got that. Natalie's Juice? It's here. Elk and venison? Maybe some other exotic cuts? They got quite a few in here. They even have a decent beer selection. And I haven't even started talking about all of their prepared food which is far better than what you'll find in most high end grocery stores. In any event, along with the Fresh Market chain's Avon location, you can pretty much source all of your non-basic wants and needs at these two shops.

I know it's Avon, but prices here are outrageous. I was looking at the ground venison & elk,…read moreneither one had prices listed (on the product itself or anywhere around the fridge). So the counter person took them back up to the register to check the prices, they were in the $23 & $24 range for 14 ounces. That's double the price I pay for ground venison and ground elk at the Litchfield Locker, the prices there are $11.99/lb (venison) & 10.99/lb (elk) respectively. So, needless to say, I just wasn't interested in being fleeced, no thanks. I won't be returning.

We contracted months in advance with Picnic Basket for a post-wedding brunch for 65 people. They…read moreshowed up and started setting up when the brunch was scheduled to start. 65 hungry people watched them set up for 30 minutes. They started serving 30 minutes late. I waited two days to see if the owner would contact me to apologize and he did not. He only apologized when I reached out to him to let him know how embarrassed my husband and I were. The food was very good, but the tardiness overshadowed it.

Great local eatery in Cromwell. I had never gone in considering it was a catering place and had no…read moreidea that they served breakfast and lunch sandwiches, heat and serve dishes, cold pasta salads etc., so I was pleasantly surprised after stopping in one day. Extremely friendly service by the owner and they make a mean burger and fries. It was huge and way better than anything you can get at the nearby McDonald's and Wendy's. I've also tried the Asian Beef wrap which was delicious as well as the breakfast sandwiches on hard rolls. I don't think you can go wrong here, and I'm happy to find somewhere I can get a fresh breakfast or lunch that tastes great and isn't fast food. I'm looking forward to trying way more items from the menu.

Went for karaoke on a Thursday (they have trivia beforehand!). The karaoke with DJ Mikey is so much…read morefun! I ordered the bone-in wings which were amazing! Compliments to the chef! And they make their own Bleu Cheese dressing that has HUGE chunks of Bleu Cheese in it! Yum! The service is fantastic, too! Shout out to Jocelyn, Liz, Kristen, Grace, and the others whose names I don't know (yet, lol)! Alex (I'm unsure of his title) is superb as well! And I cannot forget the people who work back of house... the unsung heroes/backbone of the hospitality industry... Busmen, Superb Cleaners of Dishes and Silverware and Floors and Such, and anyone else who has a hand in making Mulligan's such a happy, satisfying, safe, welcoming place. The owner seems to be a presence there also, which is very nice, and I saw him taking photos of the crowd enjoying themselves. They also have a dining room and another, more intimate bar area. Don't miss out on trying this place... Stop in! You will not regret it!

The place is charming. A huge improvement over the prior restaurant in the location. Good menu…read morevariety. We tried so far burgers, chicken sandwiches and a huge grinder. All decent. Service was good, the bar area was a bit loud on a Sunday. Band was too loud to talk over. All in all, will go back.

4.5: Food, service and price: awesome, which is really what matters. Atmosphere, location and baked…read moregoods: OK. These days it's hard to find a cafe that isn't overpriced and better than just average. But Toasted Oat hits the high points of quality of cook on the food, even if the ingredients may not all be top notch. They have breakfast sandwiches, bowls and scrambles, as well as regular sandwiches, salads and burritos. We enjoyed the regular breakfast sandwich with spinach and cheese (subbed the meat but wish the spinach had been cooked in - $7) and the breakfast scramble which included 2 eggs, 3 veggies, cheese, protein all mixed/cut up together, as well as hash brown (didn't exactly look homemade?) and toast ($11). Everything was served in to-go containers so the looks weren't the best but makes sense given the place and that most people probably don't dine in. You order at the counter and they bring you your food. Everything takes time to come out so you know it's done to order. They also have some coffee and tea. They had a few coffee cake items in a glass display but didn't look homemade either. It feels like a cafe should have more selection of pastries but again bother me. Service was friendly and patient. The actual location isn't that great visually either. There is one longer table and a few smaller ones, but it's not a big place and not decorated to impress (fine by me!) It is located in a small nondescript plaza with an Indian market. Small parking lot. Wish this small business well!

Toasted OAT Cafe in Canton has been here a long time. I'm not sure why I haven't stopped here…read morebefore. My brunch buddy and I had to make a last minute change of plans, so we landed at Toasted OAT today for breakfast. There are a few tables in a roped off section of the parking lot to eat outside. Inside, there's a long table in the middle, 3 smaller tables on the left, and a bar at the window. We had no problem getting a seat, but it seems like it's more of a take-and-go place than a destination to eat. There are a lot of customizations you can make to your food order, which is more easily done in their online ordering system--but there's a $1.95 service fee to use it. My friend and I made our decisions based off of that system but ordered at the counter. While there are a lot of breakfast and lunch options, there aren't many beverages. Coffee, hot chocolate, and tea are the mainstays for warm beverages, and all cold beverages other than cold brew coffee are prepackaged bottles in a cooler and run just short of $4. Every order, whether it's take-out or eat-in, is served in disposable packaging with disposable utensils. I ordered the Reuben bowl without eggs and a side waffle with syrup. Kind of love that I could get a side waffle. It took a while for the food to come out. It felt longer than it should have been for how few people were there, but I didn't time it. My waffle was cold. The tator tots in the Reuben bowl, however, were cooked perfectly, as were my friend's hash browns. Everything tasted great. If you're looking for the picturesque weekend brunch experience, this isn't it. But if you want a quick bite that's well made with quality ingredients and no-fuss beverages, you'll be very happy here. Even more so if you want to take it on the go.

Small Kitchen Big Taste recently catered the farm to table dinner at Boulder Knoll in Cheshire…read more They used the fresh vegetables provided and came up with a delicious and memorable menu! We are all still talking about the lovely dinner they whipped up. My husband who does not like vegetables, LOVED THE VEGETABLES!! I don't really like meat, but I LOVED THE CHICKEN over beautiful fresh squash. We couldn't get enough and went home very full and satisfied. The staff were so lovely, comfortable, generous and competent. Thankful for their time and talent.

Small Kitchen Big Taste was one of my caterers for our wedding (appetizers) and also in charge of…read morestaffing my backyard affair. Working with SKBT and Karen has been a joy from start to finish. From the moment we walked into our tasting to create our delicious menu, to last minute changes, to executing perfect food the day of, I want to relive this experience again and again. My guests raved about the menu, and some favorites included fun takes on cocktail meatballs, shrimp and grits, and chilled tomato soup shooters. The food was beautiful and displayed like it was in a magazine. Karen and her team were also in charge of staffing my event. This meant not only did they feed my guests, but bussed the tables, cleaned up trash, set up my pie display (Karen took it upon herself to clean out her stock of cake stands and create the most beautiful tables ever) and EVEN mop my bathroom trailer when it sprung a leak. As guests started to leave, SKBT cleaned every table and organized my decor. Best of all, Karen and her team were friendly and attentive the entire night. My bridal party had their own tray of appetizers waiting for them immediately following the ceremony, and all night the staff checked in on my husband and I (as well as my parents) to see how they could help. I eagerly look forward to having another event so I can hire this team again.

New England Pasta sells fresh cut pasta, ready to re-heat entrees, sides, soups, salads, etc. I was…read morein the area and picked up a few things to make at home over a few days. My favorite purchases were the fresh cut egg linguine and the Ritz-based stuffed cod. The fresh linguine cooks in a minute and the texture just hits different in the best possible way. The cod was nice and firm and the Ritz stuffing was crazy delicious. I also liked the Chicken Francaise. You can't really compare it to restaurant quality Francaise because it's specifically made to be re-heated and eaten later. With this in mind, I though that the small chicken pieces and lemon sauce were very solid. My other purchases included clam chowder and Tuna Mac Salad with peas. The Tuna Mac was pretty good. It wouldn't be in regular rotation for me, but I'd get it once in a while. The clam chowder was my least favorite, but I respect that New England Pasta seemed to go for something different. The texture was good and it had plenty of clams and potato. But it tasted like it had a little blue cheese flavor. I can't say for sure that they used blue cheese, but the chowder definitely had something different that gave it this vibe. For me, this flavor was a bit too assertive. I don't live near New England Pasta, but if I did, I would visit once in a while. Four Stars

This is the go to place for freshly made pasta. I don't need a lot of pasta but when I do it is…read moreremarkable the difference between the dry pasta you buy in the supermarket and buying fresh pasta. The peppercorn angel hair is fantastic. You will also find a variety of prepared foods and among my favorites is there a grilled giant shrimp that go very well with the pasta! They also offer an assortment of baked goods and among those that I've tried include some really spectacular oatmeal cookies.

My husband and I hired Stuf'd Food Truck for our wedding reception party and they delivered!…read more Communication with Rebecca was seamless with quick responses and excellent customer service. Rebecca's team parked right outside of our venue and served up our friends and family with good bites which added to the amazing time had by all- no complaints! Line moved quickly, we had 75-80 in attendance. They got the job done with ease!

The Stuf'd food truck was parked inside the Javits Center food court today during a trade show…read moreinwas attending for business. I liked that they offered a non meat or pork option. So I went with the Stuf'd Beyond Burger served up on a multi grain roll and topped with vegan fixins. A side of their house purple slaw came with it. Damn tasty and vegan friendly! Might have to get it again tomorrow.