Plan B

I've been hearing buzz about the burgers at this place called "Plan B" in West Hartford for some time. With this being my final week working in downtown Hartford, I'm glad I was able to get over and check them out. Went with a friend at lunch today, and they lived up to the hype.

Not going to do a full review or anything....but I had a burger with bleu cheese, carmalized onion and BBQ sauce. They ask you whether you want it with "some pink" or "no pink." I responded " "plenty of pink," and they obliged with a very rare burger. It was delicious.

The place is small but has the feel of an upscale restaurant, even though burgers are the featured food. I know a lot of you out there are burger fans, and if you're in the Hartford area I recommend that you check out Plan B. You won't regret it.

Also, for you beer fans, they have 12 beers on tap, including some local Connecticut brews, Hooker and Farmington River Blonde.

Competition Cooking Class

Went up to Maynard, Mass for the New England Barbecue Society competition BBQ class. This was a two day affair, but I only came up Saturday. I did a short talk on finding information about competition BBQ on the Internet, and teamed up with Mike Boisvert of Lakeside Smokers for the brisket prep demo. Overall, it was a fun day. Click the link below for pictures.

http://picasaweb.google.com/tedlorson/NEBSCompetitionBBQCLass#

New BBQ Toy

Picked up my new Cambro 300 yesterday. I've wanted one of these for a long time. I've been cruising Craigslist and Ebay for some time looking for a used one, but the right offer never popped up. It turns out it was less to buy it at Restaurant Depot than new from one of those Ebay "discounters" anyway. And new is always better.

I love BBQ toys. I looked long and hard at the larger Cambro 400 model, but in the end I felt it was just too large for me.

Tomorrow, I'll be up at the New England Barbecue Society cooking school. It's being held at the Maynard Rod and Gun Club in Maynard, Massachusetts. It's a two day class, but I will only be up there Saturday. I'm doing a short talk about competition BBQ on the Internet. I do have some insight here, as before I first competed I learned a ton about competition BBQ online. In fact, the first contest I cooked was the first contest I had ever even been at. We took 3rd place out of 21 teams at that event, and it wasn't luck, it was because I had absorbed so much about competing online.

NASCAR Tailgate Party 5/31

Hey you NASCAR fans out there, our tailgate party at the Dover International Speedway is approaching fast. On May 31st, Q Haven is cooking the tailgate party for TLG Travel's motorcoach trip for the Sprint Cup race in Dover, Delaware.

The bus picks up guests in Norwich and Waterford, CT, and has also added a stop in the Bridgeport area. There are still some spaces left on the bus.

Click HERE for more information.