Three weeks ago, my Father, my aunt and myself ate lunch at the Gold Roc Diner located just off I-84 in West Hartford, Connecticut. Previously, my Father and I had eaten at the Gold Roc roughly eight to ten years earlier and we were curious as to how the food and service were now. My aunt had never eaten at this 24-hour diner before and she was looking forward to her first dining experience there.
One of the main reasons we went to the Gold Roc Diner when we did was because the West Hartford, Connecticut Hometown Buffet restaurant located across the street had abruptly closed several weeks earlier. Up until then, Hometown Buffet had been our regular dining spot, I even referred to it as our hangout. Now, we needed to find a new regular dining spot and the Gold Roc was the best overall local restaurant I could think of.
As soon as we pulled into the parking lot, I was glad to see that the place looked essentially the same as it did years ago.
When we walked into the restaurant, right away I noticed that the host or man sitting near the cash register was the same man who was manning the register almost a decade earlier. After I mentioned to him that I remembered him from years ago, he smiled and said that they had been there since 1995.
After we were seated, we were greeted by our waitress, who was a friendly and obviously veteran wait person. When we opened our menus, all three of us were amazed at how large and varied the food selection was. The interior of the Gold Roc features quite a few booths and a nice counter area with neon signs accentuating the fairly bright lighting.
Befitting a traditional-style diner restaurant, the menu at the Gold Roc offers breakfast at any time, sandwiches, pasta dishes, grilled items, burgers, seafood dishes, platters, American, Italian and Greek-style dinners, salads, scrumptious desserts and much more.
It was very hard for me to choose which dish to order, because the Gold Roc Diner’s menu features so many dishes that appeal to my appetite. As it turns out, I ordered the dish that I usually order at many restaurants, which is meatloaf.
To say I was pleased with the meatloaf dinner that I ordered would be an understatement. Not only were the meatloaf and accompanying mashed potatoes and side vegetable delicious but the portion sizes were some of the largest I’d ever seen anywhere.
The order of meatloaf from Gold Roc Diner contained three big slabs of tasty meatloaf and a huge mound of mashed potatoes along with a good amount of mushroom gravy that was loaded with pieces of fresh mushrooms. For a side vegetable, I chose butternut squash, which was also amply potioned and seasoned wonderfully.
To be honest, I was only able to consume roughly half of the meatloaf dinner while dining at the restaurant. The remainder, which I took home in styrofoam containers, was actually larger than the portion I ate at the diner. When I re-heated the leftovers the following evening, they tasted just as good as the original meal.
My Father ordered a roast beef dish, which was as generously portioned as my serving of meatloaf. A gigantic portion of sliced roast beef filled the platter on which it was served and the accompanying servings of mashed potatoes and vegetables were quite large.
For her lunch entree, my aunt chose the Gold Roc Diner’s lasagna. The very large portion was served in an almost bowl-like dish and it definitely looked appetizing. My aunt seemed somewhat surprised when she surveyed the portion of lasagna after she began eating it however.
The top of the portion of lasagna featured a wealth of lasagna noodles with tomato sauce and cheese like most traditional versions of the dish. Underneath the top layer of noodles, the lasagna didn’t look quite as traditional. When I glanced over at my aunt’s bowl of lasagna, the contents underneath appeared to be mostly ground beef, sauce and cheese without any real layers of noodles. She said the dish was quite tasty, though.
We were all too full to eat any dessert but I did happen to admire the selection of exquisite desserts that were on display in a glass case near the cash register area. Various types of cakes and pies were displayed and they all looked very appetizing.
All things considered, my recent dining experience at the Gold Roc Diner in West Hartford, Connecticut was excellent. The food was delicious and very generously portioned. A relaxed yet vibrant atmosphere and reasonable prices are offered at the Gold Roc Diner and I highly recommend eating there.
Sources :
Personal experience as a customer at the restaurant
