Ever wonder what the Bryant Spoon team’s favorite hometown meal is? Well, here’s your chance to find out. We’ve compiled our team’s most mouthwatering native dishes into one post. So read up, and if you find yourself wanting to travel to our towns, then feel free to pay us a visit.
Alexa Parisi, Branford, CT
Photo courtesy of Alexa Parisi
“I’m most excited to come home to Saturday night steak dinners at my grandparents house, best steak you’ll ever have. But since I’m going to Italy the second week of my summer, I’m mostly excited for the authentic Italian cuisine I’ll be indulging in! Most importantly, the gelato that I’ve been craving since I left my first trip to Italy when I was 7.”
Jessica Heckman, Berlin, CT
Photo courtesy of Jessica Heckman
“I was most excited to come home and have my mom make me crepes. They are my absolute favorite and she uses my grandma’s secret recipe. I always eat the first one that comes of the pan because it is always soaked in oil and has the most flavor. Then I usually fill the rest with syrup, fruit and whipped cream.”
Haley Rudin, Biddeford, ME
Photo courtesy of Haley Rudin
“Coming home, I was definitely most excited to make my favorite breakfast, multigrain toast with avocado, smoked salmon, and an over easy egg with a drizzle of Sriracha. I know it’s a super simple meal, but there is nothing I miss more during the school year than making myself breakfast. We’re so limited at our dining hall so coming home to a fully stocked kitchen is actually heaven for me.”
Caitie Veech, Rumson, NJ
Photo courtesy of Caitie Veech
“I was definitely most excited to eat a pork roll sandwich. It’s a New Jersey delicacy; pork roll, egg, and cheese all on a bagel. My family gets it from a little deli in town, those are the best places to get them. I got home super late after my five hour drive home from school, so the next morning, I woke up and immediately went to the deli to get myself a pork roll sandwich, and I’ve never been happier. Nothing gets better than beach town food at the start of the summer.
Josh Mora, Burbank, CA
Photo courtesy of Josh Mora
“The Los Angeles food scene is as eccentric and diverse as the people in the county itself. The Valley area hosts a medley of foods, ranging from Armenian delicacies to Thai dishes and everything else in between. Coming home, one of the things I am looking forward to doing this summer is exploring the small “mom and pop” restaurants in Toluca Lake, a 10 minute drive away from home. Known as the neighborhood that spills into Burbank, the south side of the 818 has an immense food culture I have yet to tap into.”
Rebecca Carroll, Grafton, MA
Photo courtesy of Rebecca Carroll
“My mom is a great cook; she’s always whipping up new recipes and creative dinners for the family. Going from mediocre (at best) dining hall food to a delicious, home cooked meal in Worcester during breaks is one of my favorite things about being home – besides seeing my family, of course. I’m already starting to stress for when I move out because who’s going to make sure I’m well-fed? If I don’t start taking a page out of my mom’s (cook) book, I’m going to end up the epitome of a 20-something year old, eating ramen noodles directly out of the pot… but for the rest of my life.”
Dani Crepeau, Hopedale, MA
Photo by Dani Crepeau
“Coming home, I’m most excited for two things: Coffee Bean and my mom’s homemade stuffed grape leaves. The Little Coffee Bean is a favorite of just about everyone in my area, and the wait is so worth it. They have these delicious, fluffy, fresh bagels in just about every flavor (even chocolate chip, they’re amazing), and they just got olive and pimento cream cheese, which is my favorite, especially on an everything bagel (toasted, duh) and paired with a large iced Mocha Java. It puts Such-a-Bagel at school to shame. The second thing I’m most excited for is my mom’s stuffed grape leaves. I grew up eating them from my grandma, and my mom has kept up the tradition of making them; we even have a grapevine in my backyard to grow our own leaves. They take forever to roll, but they are so worth it.”
Hannah Kirby, Wilmington, MA
Photo courtesy of Hannah Kirby
“I’m most excited to come home to a kitchen I can meal prep in, but when my bikini competition is over, I would love to pig out. Here’s how I would eat my way through a day with my favorite food from home: Everything bagel with veggie cream cheese from Bagel World, my dad makes the best chicken cutlets with sauce and garlic bread on the side (everything is homemade), chicken pad thai from a small hole in the wall Thai place called The Mango, and for dessert, I would go to an ice cream place up the street called Dandelions for two scoops of chocolate chip ice cream, caramel, whipped cream, a cherry, and chocolate sprinkles. Boom there’s my day. Couldn’t choose just one thing.”
McKenna Reilly, Upton, MA
Photo courtesy of McKenna Reilly
“Maybe I’m a bit biased but mom is actually the best cook, she puts restaurants to shame. That being said, I look forward to anything she cooks but my absolute favorites (sorry can’t pick one) are her any of her Asian dishes. One of my favorite dishes is Laksa, a rice noodle dish served with coconut curry broth, chicken, and sometimes other meats, bean sprouts, onions, cilantro and basil. Her Korean BBQ is killer too.”
Esther Castellanos, Greenwich, CT
Photo courtesy of Esther Castellanos
“The food I look forward to the most when I come home is all of my mom’s cooking. I don’t mean to sound cliché, but it’s ridiculously delicious (especially since she went to cooking school in France). She can make anything from traditional Spanish food to homemade gnocchi, foie gras, and anything else you could really think of. The nicest part about this is that my mom loves cooking so while I feel bad asking her to make whatever delicious meal, she always reminds me that there’s nothing she’d rather be doing.”
Erin Davis, Marshfield, MA
Photo courtesy of Erin Davis
“I live in a beach town with undoubtedly the best seafood. Fortunately, Haddad’s, where I manage and hostess all summer is my absolute favorite restaurant. The fish tacos, my all time favorite, and spinach salad with goat cheese and seared scallops are two of my top choices. I also missed The Coffee Shack so so so much. It’s a little breakfast place right on the water that brews blueberry coffee, the best ever. On the rare occasion, I get a handmade coconut chocolate donut, because you know, you gotta treat yo-self. Other than that, I was pumped to get back into my kitchen to cook my own, healthy foods. I love to saute shrimp with kale, create my own smoothie bowls, and make overnight oats – the best quick breakfast solution. I love being home because it allows me to get creative in the kitchen (and on my parents’ dime ;-)).”
Nothing beats a home cooked meal, or a dinner from a family restaurant. We love working together at school, but coming home to the food we grew up with is an amazing feeling. We hope that our hometown faves make you want to come visit, but Salmo will always have a special place in our hearts.