Eat Drink and be Merry

Imagine finding a friendly eatery and gathering establishment where you can bring your family, feel comfortable: and enjoy great food at reasonable prices. {{more}} 744 Bar and Grill located at 744 Boston Post Road on the border of Orange and West Haven is that ideal location.

This restaurant has been in successful operation for 25 years, before being independently purchased by the new owner Carlyle Ciccone. Carlyle had worked for the previous owners for 15 years while wearing different hats.

Since Carlye has been the new owner there has been many changes to the esthetics of the dining area and bar. The dining area now has hardwood floors and matching faux wood blinds.. The ceiling has new black panels, with soft recessed lighting creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

We arrived about 5 p.m. and what a relief to be out after being shut in and stranded at home by the infamous Nemo snow storm. After being seated we were greeted by Kristen, who was friendly, and attentive. We learned she is Carlye’s wife.

She handed us the main menu, and the early bird dinner menu. If you order a full dinner before 6 p.m. the price is a remarkable $10.95 complete. Some of the listings on the Early Bird menu include baked scrod, pork chops, chicken parmesan, Delmonico steak, linguini with clams and many more tempting choices. For an addition $1 you can order soup or salad. The soups were chicken noodle and Rhode Island clam chowder, or your choice of Caesar or garden salad.

While we were looking over the menus, Kristen served a basket of hot crusty bread with butter pats, and a garlic spread. The main menu also had a large selection of dinners for pasta people, and fish lovers such as seafood aLa vodka a combination of shrimp and lobster meat in a pink cream sauce, served over your choice of pasta. 744 is recognized for its large piled high fried seafood platters of clam strips, shrimp, and jumbo sea scallops.

I ordered a glass of white zinfandel wine, and Robert ordered diet Coke. When the drinks came to the table we put in our appetizer order from the main menu, which was fried battered zucchini, served with their house marinara sauce.

We both ordered a bowl of soup which was so appreciated on this cold winter evening. Robert ordered the chicken noodle and I ordered the Rhode Island clam chowder. Robert’s early bird dinner was the boneless pork chops, my choice was salmon over rice oreganata.

Our appetizer came to the table first. The zucchini was sliced thin, deep fried, and crispy, served with their house dipping sauce which made the combination very tasty and flavorful. Our soups came to the table next, served piping hot; the chicken noodle was filled with carrots, celery, noodles, and lots of shredded chicken, seasoned to perfection.

My soup was also very hearty with lots of clams.

After finishing our soup dinner arrived. Robert had two large pork chops topped with mushrooms, served with a baked potato. The pork was moist and meaty cooked to perfection. It was so generous in size that Robert was unable to finish the second one, which was packed to bring home.

My salmon dinner was fork tender, seasoned delicately with bread crumbs, oil, garlic, and fresh parsley flakes, served over rice. The salmon was prepared just the way I suggested, guaranteed to delight any fish lover’s palate.

We decided to try the chocolate fudge cake for dessert which was shared between us. The cake was rich in taste, served with lots of whipped cream, moist, and generous in size. Their desserts are always more than enough for two and very satisfying.

We have always had a great experience with the friendly staff; this evening certainly was no exception.

For many years 744 certainly has had the evidence of success by serving affordable and delicious meals for the entire family. We hope that you will enjoy and share our favorite eateries, please come say hello to us if you see us dining in your favorite restaurant.

Two Guys are Vincent Farricelli and Robert Modena food aficionados, who regularly dine out and have agreed to share their dining experiences.