It has all the charm of a cozy neighborhood café with warm wood decor, glass cases of enticing offerings, a humming espresso machine, and an artistically crafted chalkboard menu on the wall. But this shop has a twist on the classic main street eatery concept. Here, chocolate is king.
6 A NOTE From The Editor
7 TROLIO'S MARKET Taste Of Italy Close To Home
12 S. PRESTLEY AND HELEN BLAKE Ambulatory Care Center
17 GO LOCAL PICKS Cool Stuff Just Outside Your Door
PHOTO BY CAMILA LUZ
Hello, Go Local readers!
In America, February has become synonymous with Valentine’s Day. In what is essentially a “for fun” holiday, the day is a reminder of the love in our lives and also gives us all a change of pace as we trudge through the short and cold days of the winter, even if it’s just for one date night.
While I love, love like anyone else, I think I love chocolate more? It’s tough to say.
As a young boy, I inherited a sweet tooth from my dad who showed me the treasures of good chocolate. While he would run the risk of sneaking me treats, little did he realize the chocolate-obsessed person he was creating.
My sweet tooth aside, it only made sense to be on the lookout for a chocolatier in the region who is bringing something unique and different to the scene in our area for this month’s Go Local. Ana Bandiera’s Chocolates in Northampton looks to be just that.
The love in the air during the Valentine’s Day season can also be stretched to the love we have for our families. Family is our first love, so to speak, even if the holiday is oriented around love for partners.
Just ask the Trolio family, of Trolio’s Market in Enfield, another business being featured in this month’s Go Local. The Trolio family recently opened the Italian market last summer but the brother and sister duo running it are well-equipped to do so after a lifetime of lessons and work under their parents who ran their own area restaurant for 30 years.
The siblings' parents came to America from Italy 50-plus years ago and so the new market serves as a good reminder of the importance of the lasting impacts of a loving and hard-working family.
There is also a grand spectacle that comes every February in our country and that is the Super Bowl. As of writing this note, my New England Patriots — coming off their first playoff win since Brady — are gearing up for a big Divisional Round matchup against the Houston Texans.
The six-time champs won their first big game when I had just turned 4 years old, and won their sixth title when I was 21 and a junior in college. Just writing this out is hilarious and I totally understand why we are so despised as spoiled fans in football stadiums around the country.
You may be wondering why this note from the editor has taken a turn into sports talk, but I promise I am about to attempt to stick the landing. We can either laugh about my foolish optimism (prediction: Pats win 23-17), or it will be a nice reflection point of this moment as the Patriots are gearing up for this year’s big game come February.
The third feature set in this month’s Go Local is focused on the new Trinity Health of New England S. Prestley and Helen Blake Ambulatory Care Center & Surgery Center. The new state-of-the-art center in Enfield marks a major milestone in how outpatient care is delivered in the region.
When watching the big game, you may see an injury or two occur. While most regular people will not always experience injuries of the same severity as seen during football, any injury is a good reminder of the importance of recovery from injury, which Trinity Health’s new center is equipped to handle for its clients.
February in our country is a good reminder of love, family and football, and we wish you a happy month ahead as we hit the home stretch of the winter season.
Best,
Trent Levakis, Editor
Chris Maza
EDITOR
Trent Levakis
CREATIVE
Beth Thurber, Manager
Susan Bartlett . Sophia Kelleher
Leigh Catchepaugh . Lorie Perry
ADVERTISING
Scott Greene, Manager
Jeanette Lee . Lisa Nolan
Matt Mahaney . Paul Poutre
Paula Dimauro . Evan Marcyoniak
Roxanne Miller-Longtin . Andy Shaw
Laura Tassistro . Shannon Spada
Carolyn Napolitan, Sales Assistant
Curtis Panlilio, Operations Director
ITROLIO'S MARKET
TASTE OF ITALY • CLOSE TO HOME ! MIASHA LEE
f you’re not ready to embark on a trip to Italy, you can stay local and have some good authentic Italian cuisine, just stop by Trolio’s Market on 323 Hazard Avenue in Enfield, CT where they offer a little bit of everything from grinders, paninis, salads & soups to imported cheeses, lasagna trays, chicken cutlets, eggplant parmesan and cannoli.
O wners Gino Trolio and Rita Mance are brother and sister who specialize in all homemade products and specially offer their father’s sausage recipe straight from Castelmauro, Italy. The same goes for their mother’s meatball and sauce recipe from Macchiagodena, Italy.
“Everything here is made from scratch with the finest ingredients,” said Trolio.
Mance added, “We have a passion for Italian cuisine because we grew up on it. We stay to true traditional style.” She went on to say, “When you come in, you’re going to feel like you’re at home. We love seeing people and talking with them.”
The children of two Italian immigrants, Mance and Trolio grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts. Every day they sat at the table for dinner, especially on Sundays, eating homemade pasta, meatballs and sauce, experienc-
ing first hand the treasures of Italian cuisine. The two got their start in the restaurant business thanks to their parents who owned Joy’s Restaurant in Ludlow serving breakfast, lunch, dinner and pizza. The siblings grew as workers in the dining industry through the family-owned small business, which was open for a total of 30 years. Trolio added Joy’s was an entire family affair as the extended family was involved in its daily operations.
The family would end up deciding to downsize to a smaller Italian market and eventually Trolio and Mance made their way to the Enfield community, continuing the family’s legacy in food service.
“ When my father came from Italy and started the restaurant, what he taught me was the only thing that really matters in this type of business or any business, is just making the customers happy. He really didn’t care about anything else. His focus was make everybody happy and everything will be fine,” added Trolio.
Since the grand opening of Trolio’s Market on June 29, 2025, Trolio and Mance say it has been very steady and busy.
Donna Anderson from Enfield, CT, said the first time
she went there, she knew she was going to be returning frequently. She’s a full-blooded Italian and loves the varieties of food. “The sausage is the best,” Anderson said. “I love the Italian atmosphere. Gino and Rita are just so friendly and wonderful.”
Nancy Swiatkiewicz, who’s also from Enfield, has been to Trolio’s Market several times and describes the space as a quaint little market with excellent food. Her favorite dishes are the Italian classic grinder, the meatball grinder and the homemade sweet sausage with garlic & Parmesan.
“Everything that I have tried has been fresh and flavorful,” Swiatkiewicz said. “Trolio’s Market stands out as they offer outstanding products and the owners, Gino and Rita, are very personable and always make you feel welcome.” She continued, “Trolio’s brings quality Italian food at reasonable prices, and you can always count on everything being delicious.”
Jodi Harmon from Stafford, CT, has become a patron of the market as well. She loves the comfortable deli style feeling inside and welcoming staff. Harmon is a vegetarian and got the veggie panini which she said was delicious. Then she ordered a meatball sandwich for her dad and who she added also had high praise for the meal. She ended up buying some pre-made meatballs to go for a future easy meal for him.
“I think being a small, owner-operated business is what makes them stand out,” Harmon said. “Talking directly to the person who is making your food, but who is also the person who is the decision maker on the business is great. They can hear the compliments/suggestions directly. And it all just feels more connected in small shops like Trolio’s.”
S he continued, “I think a good sandwich shop with togo foods as well is definitely perfect for that area of Enfield. I really appreciate supporting small, locally owned, owner-operated businesses.”
Going forward, Trolio and Mance are continuing to provide customers the taste and essence of Italy.
“The Trolio name has been around for 50 years,” said Trolio. “We have served many generations over the years. The smiles on the customers’ faces and the support of all of them coming in and enjoying themselves is the greatest reward.”
TROLIO’S MARKET IS OPEN EVERY DAY BUT ON TUESDAY. SUNDAYS FROM 8 A.M. TO 3 P.M., MONDAY, WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY FROM 9:30 A.M. TO 6 P.M. AND FRIDAY & SATURDAY FROM 8 A.M. TO 6 P.M. THEY HAVE ONLINE ORDERING AND CATERING. THEY ARE ALSO NOW ACCEPTING DELIVERY ORDERS THROUGH DOORDASH. FOR MORE INFORMATION, VISIT THEIR WEBSITE AT WWW.TROLIOSMARKET.COM. YOU CAN ALSO FOLLOW THEM ON FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM.
S. Prestley and Helen Blake Ambulatory Care Center
When the S. Prestley and Helen Blake Ambulatory Care Center opened on the Johnson Memorial Hospital campus in Enfield in 2025, it marked a major milestone in how outpatient care is delivered in the region. Designed with both patients and providers in mind, the new facility reflects a growing shift toward convenient, high-quality care outside of traditional hospital walls.
“ With its opening in 2025, the S. Prestley and Helen Blake Ambulatory Care Center is unique because it provided an opportunity for Trinity Health Of New England, in partnership with Johnson Memorial Hos-
pital, to design a state-of-the-art facility where the care environment matches the care experience,” said Robert Roose, MD, MPH, president of Mercy Medical Center, Johnson Memorial Hospital, and Saint Mary’s Hospital. “This beautiful new space complements the excellent care delivered by our physicians and providers.”
L ocated at 140 Hazard Ave., the 42,000-square-foot ambulatory access center consolidates advanced diagnostic imaging and outpatient surgical services into a single, easily accessible location. The facility brings together technology, thoughtful design, and expanded capacity to better serve patients throughout northern Connecticut
and Western Massachusetts.
The Ambulatory Surgery Center within the building is a significant upgrade from previous offerings, featuring four operating rooms, two procedure rooms, and 20 preand post-operative bays. Designed specifically for outpatient care, the center supports same-day surgeries as well as procedures such as endoscopies and colonoscopies in a setting optimized for efficiency and patient comfort.
In addition to surgical services, the center offers a full suite of diagnostic imaging, including CT scans, x-rays, mammography, bone density scans, and ultrasounds. Some of the imaging technology is new to the campus, allowing for faster diagnostics and improved care coordination.
“The key goals in designing and opening this facility were to provide a state-of-the-art facility that creates convenience and improved access to care — all in concert with a space that lends itself to delivering a great patient experience,” Roose said. “By offering outpatient surgical services outside of a traditional hospital setting, we can provide value to the community while delivering that same high-quality care at a lower cost to patients and insurers.”
The building’s design reflects that focus on experience. Natural light fills the interior through large windows and high ceilings, creating a welcoming atmosphere more akin to a modern wellness center than a traditional medical facility. Easy highway access near Interstate 91 and ample nearby parking further reduce stress for patients and families.
A s part of the expansion, Trinity Health Of New England has also broadened the range of services available on the Enfield campus. Some outpatient services that had previously been offered elsewhere in town are now consolidated within the ambulatory care center, simplifying care for patients who previously had to travel between locations.
“ We have enhanced our services at the new ambulatory care center by bringing other outpatient services that were available elsewhere in Enfield together in one location,” Roose said. “Our diagnostic services include a new CT scanner, and we provide some surgical services not previously offered, such as urology.”
That consolidation, combined with expanded capacity, has already translated into improved access for patients.
“ We have been able to improve patient access because we have more capacity for both surgical and imaging care — and that opens more available appointment times for these services,” Roose said. “With more operating rooms and more procedure rooms, we can provide care to more patients than we previously could.”
The ambulatory care center is also complemented by the recently expanded and renovated Karen Davis
Krzynowek Cancer Center, located on the same campus. The $6 million project added 5,500 square feet and unified Johnson Memorial Hospital’s outpatient cancer services — including radiation oncology, medical oncology, and physician offices — under one roof.
In addition to improved access to physician appointments, the cancer center features new medical oncology infusion bays designed with patient comfort in mind. The bays include privacy screening, personal televisions, and space for a family member or friend to remain with the patient during treatment.
B ehind the scenes, the ambulatory care center represents a broad collaboration across healthcare, government, and philanthropy.
“The success of this project is the result of a partnership among Johnson Memorial Hospital, Trinity Health Of New England, Trinity Health, our construction and capital management partners, the Town of Enfield, and our local physicians and surgeons who are our partners in delivering care,” Roose said.
Philanthropy played a particularly pivotal role. The project began with a landmark $10 million donation from longtime hospital supporters S. Prestley Blake and his wife Helen. Their gift — the largest single contribution dedicated specifically to Johnson Memorial Hospital — led to the center being named in their honor.
L ooking ahead, Roose said the ambulatory care center positions Trinity Health Of New England to continue evolving alongside community needs.
“ Trinity Health Of New England is committed to being our patients’ trusted health partner for life,” he said. “This commitment speaks to our core value of reverence, where we inherently honor the dignity of every person by creating welcoming spaces for clinical care. This project reflects a significant investment and thereby, a commitment to improving the health of our communities.”
Future opportunities may include new programs, expanded technology, and additional services, particularly in surgical and imaging care. But Roose emphasized that growth will always be guided by patient experience.
“The new ambulatory care center is a tangible example of our efforts to put our patients at the center of everything we do,” he said. “This facility allows us to better serve residents of northern Connecticut and western Massachusetts by improving access to excellent care in a convenient location to help us provide exceptional patient experience.”
THE S. PRESTLEY AND HELEN BLAKE AMBULATORY CARE CENTER IS OPEN MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY, 8 A.M. TO 4:30 P.M. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CENTER AND ITS OFFERINGS, VISIT TRINITYHEALTHOFNE.ORG.
VALENTINE'S WINE PAIRING DINNER
WORTHINGTON VINEYARDS & WINERY
359 MOUNTAIN RD SOMERS, CT
FEBRUARY 15 . 5 PM - 8 PM
Enjoy an enchanting night of delicious food expertly paired to the wines served with each course. Executive Chef Todd Alden has crafted a 3-course menu that will surely leave you satisfied as you experience the intricacies of Worthington's wine in a way you likely never have! Whether you are familiar with their selections or brand-new you will discover a depth of flavors rarely accomplished. Your significant other and your taste buds will thank you! Space is limited reserve now!
For more information visit: tinyurl.com/VALENTINES-PAIRING
RV, CAMPING AND OUTDOOR SHOW
SPRINGFIELD RV, CAMPING AND OUTDOOR SHOW
1305 MEMORIAL AVE WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA
FEBRUARY 13 - 16
Whether you are looking for your next RV, shopping for camping accessories, or scoping out new, exciting campgrounds or outdoor experiences, there's something for everyone. This show brings together over 200 exhibitors including leading RV dealers, campgrounds, and specialty products in 3 heated buildings, spanning over 270,000 square feet!
For more information visit: www.springfieldrvcampingshow.com
CONNECTICUT FLOWER & GARDEN SHOW
CONNECTICUT CONVENTION CENTER
100 COLUMBUS BLVD HARTFORD, CT
FEBRUARY 19 - 22
The colorful, fragrant show features acres of spacious gardens with the 2026 theme, “The Storybook Garden”, with creative and practical ideas for house, apartment and condo dwellers alike. Explore exhibits overflowing with fresh flowers, plants, herbs, bulbs, seeds, gardening books, garden equipment & much more. View beautifully landscaped gardens full of greenery. They also offer over 80 hours of seminars and demonstrations across a variety of topics.
For more information visit: www.ctflowershow.com
! DEBBIE GARDNER NATE BLAIS
CHOCOLATES CAFÉ AND BAKERY ANA BANDEIRA
It has all the charm of a cozy neighborhood café with warm wood decor, glass cases of enticing offerings, a humming espresso machine, and an artistically crafted chalkboard menu on the wall.
But this shop has a twist on the classic main street eatery concept. Here, chocolate is king.
Ana Bandeira Chocolates Café and Bakery, located at 48 Main St. in the busy downtown section of Northampton, Massachusetts, offers customers a true farm-to-table chocolate experience, crafting its confections, pastries and even some of its entrée offerings using cacao harvested at its fourth-generation family farm in Espírito Santo, Brazil.
The international enterprise — with chocolates crafted both in Brazil and Northampton — opened on the site of the former Patisserie Lenox in 2022.
“ We’re coming up on our fourth year in May,” co-owner Dave Haughey said, adding that when the “for sale” sign went up on the main street location back in 2022, Ana Bandeira Chocolates was just getting off the ground, and the location seemed a perfect launching spot for the
chocolate-and-café concept.
Today, Ana Bandeira Chocolates Café & Bakery entices with cases of hand-crafted-on-the-premises bonbons and chocolate bark, chocolate bars handcrafted in Brazil, and a daily assortment of delectable chocolate desserts and pastries.
“ We produce 35 to 40 pounds of chocolate here a week, and that’s only a fraction of what we use; it’s just to fill in the gaps,” Haughey said of the amount of raw chocolate and cacao nibs the modest café turns into pastries and confections on a daily basis.
The majority of the base chocolate is hand-crafted in Brazil at a facility and cafe operated by Haughey’s brother-in-law and partner, Alexandre Pontual. Both the finished chocolate and cocoa nibs are then exported to Northampton for use in their products.
The Northampton café also serves six breakfast offerings, including eggs Benedict and omelets, eight sandwiches, including the chocolate-inspired chicken mole torta, three salads, including a cacau-mango bowl including candid cocoa nibs, a daily assortment of café-
made soups, and a Brazilian beef-and-bean stew called feijoada. Both breakfast and lunch offerings are served until 3 p.m. daily.
The extensive drink menu includes coffee drinks such as café au lait, Brazilian Cappuccino, espresso, affogato –ice cream with a shot of espresso, hot tea and of course, café-crafted hot chocolate among its 10 offerings. All the coffee used in the café’s drinks is also imported from Brazil, Haughey added.
Haughey said the café bakes all its cookies and cakes on the premises, as well as most of its sandwich breads — including the popular Brazilian Pão de Queijo, a glutenfree cheese bread made from tapioca flour.
“It’s as ubiquitous as a grilled cheese in Brazil, you can buy them in a gas station,” Haughey said of the popular, savory pastry. Their Pastel de Natz, a Brazilian laminated pastry filled with egg custard, is another popular baked offering, he added. From tree to bar
But the dream of turning the fruits of his wife, Mariana’s, fourth-generation cacao farm into premium chocolate started long before Haughey ever turned the key in the front door of Ana Bandeira Chocolates.
“I think it’s because of my wife’s love of chocolate,” Haughey shared. “She was the first person in her family who said, ‘Let’s make chocolate out of our cacao’.”
But Haughey said it was 15 years from the time she broached her idea to the first time he and Mariana tried to craft the confection.
Pontual, he said, did make an attempt to turn the cacao pods into chocolate in Brazil about 10 years ago by putting some roasted nibs and sugar into a blender, but the end product wasn’t really what you would consider chocolate.
The turning point in his chocolate story was when, a few years later, Haughey said he found a small, affordable melanger and gave it to his wife as an anniversary present.
A melanger, Haughey explained, is a stone grinder that is required to process the roasted cacao nibs down to a powder so fine that there is no graininess and it develops a silky texture.
Armed with the melanger, Haughey said he and his wife started making their own chocolate at home. He also took a small melanger down to his brother-in-law in Brazil, who also started experimenting with chocolate-making. By 2020, Pontual was also making chocolate bars in Brazil, he said.
Haughey, who is a musician by trade, said he started taking some of the chocolate bars with him on tour around 2017, offering them for sale alongside merch postperformance. Those chocolate bars, he said, sold pretty well.
W hen COVID-19 shut the music business down, Haughey said he turned his efforts toward refining the family’s chocolate recipes.
“I’ve always cooked. I’ve always been a creative person. With COVID, I didn’t have as much work, so my outlet became chocolate,” Haughey shared.
He discovered an online resource called Bean to Bar, which offered instruction, advice, and a source of equipment to take the family chocolate-making to the next level.
A s the world opened, Haughey said he and Pontual began seeing advice of other chocolate makers, visiting a chocolatier in Belgium as well as consulting with other chocolate makers, such as Nestlé and Lindt, for insights into the art of chocolate.
“ With my brother-in-law, the company grew pretty quickly in the past five years,” Haughey said. “It went from making chocolate in my mother-in-law’s house, and we had one employee. In the third year, we went from three employees to 30 employees and opened both cafés here and in Brazil.”
The company name, Haughey said, is a recognition of the chocolate’s connection to his wife’s Brazilian family roots. Bandeira, he explained, is the nickname of his wife’s grandfather. Ana is his wife’s grandmother’s first name.
Today, all the bar chocolate sold by Ana Bandeira in its two cafés — Northampton and Brazil — and on the company website, anabandeirachocolates.com, is made in Brazil using locally sourced ingredients. The other products — bark and bonbons — are made in each location using cocoa from the family cacao farm.
“ We take care of the entire production of the chocolate,” Haughey said. “We plant the trees, harvest the cacao, we make the chocolate out of the cacao, and we export the chocolate and cocoa nibs from Brazil.”
It’s a family business, and a multi-national company all in one, he said.
“ We have all the problems of an international company and a small business,” Haughey explained. For Valentine’s Day — and beyond
With the busy holiday gifting season behind them, Haughey said Ana Bandeira was gearing up for the spring holidays, including Valentine’s Day, Easter and Mother’s Day.
For Valentine’s Day, he said the café would be molding a large hollow chocolate heart filled with bonbons. The bakery will also be crafting a heart-shaped cake sized to be shared by two people.
“ Valentine’s Day this year is a Saturday, it’s going to be especially busy,” Haughey said of the chocolate counter and the café in general. He’s expecting a good crowd to come in for dessert at lunch and dinnertime.
For Easter, the plan is to craft a giant cacao-shaped pod out of chocolate and again fill it with bonbons or other café-crafted chocolates.
“In Brazil, it’s common to have large chocolate eggs hanging from the ceiling of supermarkets at Easter,” Haughey said, adding that Lindt and Nestlé are among the chocolate makers that produce this holiday treat. The cacao pod is his iteration of this tradition for 2025.
“It will be the first year doing this here,” Haughey added.
For Mother’s Day, he said it’s the bonbons customers come in for. That, and they order from his specialty cake menu for the day.
A gain, he expects the café to be busy with people coming in for brunch that day.
A café — and so much more
Haughey credits his many hardworking employees, especially his manager, Rene St. Amand, for the continued success of the café and credits his staff for many of the menu ideas over the past four years. He is also grateful for the loyalty of employee Ash Bara, who has been with the café since the day it opened.
ANA BANDEIRA
CHOCOLATES CAFÉ AND BAKERY IS OPEN SEVEN DAYS
A WEEK. HOURS ARE MONDAY 8 A.M. TO 5 P.M., TUESDAY TO SATURDAY 8 A.M. TO 8:30 P.M. AND SUNDAY 9 A.M. TO 8:30 P.M. MANY EVENINGS, THE CAFÉ ALSO OFFERS MUSIC FROM 5-8:30 P.M., WITH A SCHEDULE OF ENTERTAINERS AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE ANABANDEIRACHOCOLATES.COM.
PHOTO BY CAMILA LUZ
Sparkle Up Some Romance
Breakfast in Bed French Toast with Maple Butter
Brioche bread
4 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
1/4 light cream
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
Butter, for cooking
Pinch of salt
Maple butter:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 tbsp maple syrup
Flaky salt
In a large mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and whisk until fully combined and set aside.
Add your brioche bread to a large baking dish and pour mixture, let sit in the fridge for at least 1 hour but up to overnight.
While that’s resting, add your softened butter to a bowl with maple syrup and flaky salt, whisk until combined and add to a dish to firm back up in the fridge.
Add regular butter to a pan over medium low heat and cook your French toast on both sides until golden brown. Serve with maple butter and syrup.
Perfect Valentine’s Day breakfast!
NATHAN BLAIS I’m a photographer from Springfield. I combined my love for cooking and photography and turned it into a career. Check out my instagram @nateblais!
LOCAL EINSTEIN
APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS ARE SENT EACH YEAR GLOBALLY?
[A] 500 million
[B] 1 billion
[C] 3 billion
[D] 5 billion
JEFFERSON CITY IS THE CAPITAL OF WHICH U.S. STATE?
[A] Kentucky
[B] Missouri
[C] Iowa
[D] Nevada
WHAT ITALIAN CITY IS THE SETTING FOR SHAKESPEARE’S “ROMEO & JULIET?”
[A] Venice
[B] Florence
[C] Verona
[D] Naples
IN WHICH U.S. STATE DO PEOPLE MARRY THE YOUNGEST?
[A] Arkansas
[B] Mississippi
[C] Wisconsin
[D] Utah
WHAT IS FEBRUARY’S BIRTHSTONE?
[A] Opal
[B] Garnet
[C] Amethyst
[D] Ruby
IN WHAT DISNEY ANIMATED FILM IS EARTH REFERRED TO AS “SECTION 17, AREA 51?”
[A] Treasure Planet
[B] Hercules
[C] Lilo & Stitch
[D] Atlantis
WHO IS THE MOST DECORATED OLYMPIAN OF ALL TIME?
[A] Michael Phelps (swimming)
[B] Lindsay Vonn (skiing)
[C] Usain Bolt (track & field)
[D] Natalie Coughlin (swimming)
WHO DESIGNED THE VIETNAM VETERANS MEMORIAL IN WASHINGTON, D.C.?
[A] Louis Bourgeois
[B] Frank Lloyd Wright
[C] Maya Lin
[D] Leoh Ming Pei
HOW FAST CAN A POLAR BEAR RUN?
[A] 20 mph
[B] 25 mph
[C] 30 mph
[D] 35 mph
The Final Countdown
7 Places To Go For A Romantic Date
BNAPOLI ITALIAN
185 ELM ST • WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA
WWW.BNAPOLIITALIAN.COM
bNapoli’s menu draws from both the verdant farming community of Western Mass, and the ocean-fresh bounty of the bay. They take full advantage of the best foods produced in New England, and that means they can offer seasonal vegetables straight from the farm, seafood caught the same day, and meats both farm-fresh and expertly cured.
CALICO
95 MAIN ST • EASTHAMPTON, MA
WWW.CALICOEASTHAMPTON.COM
Calico offers a variety of dishes inspired by cuisine from around the world. They are a small restaurant with an even smaller kitchen, which means that every day they make everything fresh. They cook with the seasons, using produce from local farms and other ingredients from local vendors.
THE MILL ON THE RIVER
989 ELLINGTON RD • SOUTH WINDSOR, CT
WWW.THEMILLONTHERIVER.COM
The Mill on the River features an exciting menu of creative, modern American cuisine and an extensive wine and bar menu. With a reputation of excellence for over thirty years, The Mill on the River is the perfect blend of traditional New England comfort and upscale dining elegance.
CASA BELLA
546 MAIN ST • HAMPDEN, MA
WWW.CASABELLARESTAURANT.NET
At Casa Bella every dish is crafted with care and a touch of amore! They take pride in serving authentic homemade cuisine that’s bursting with flavor and made from scratch. Known for its quality and consistency, Casa Bella has garnered a reputation for its flavorful dishes and warm atmosphere, appealing to both casual diners and Italian food enthusiasts alike.
FIGLIO
1366 MAIN ST • PALMER, MA
TINYURL.COM/FIGLIO
Figlio stands out as a charming Italian restaurant offering a delightful culinary experience. This eatery is a go-to spot for those craving authentic Italian flavors in a cozy setting. From the moment you step inside, you are greeted by the tantalizing aroma of freshly baked bread and simmering sauces, setting the stage for a memorable dining experience.
TOSCA
68 BRIDGE ST • SUFFIELD, CT
WWW.TOSCASUFFIELD.COM
Tosca is a contemporary restaurant that serves both old school and modern seasonally inspired Italian and French influenced cuisine. They have a creative menu dominated by a nice range of Italian dishes and seafood entrees. All desserts and pastas are freshly crafted. Offering craft seasonal cocktails, and new specials daily and weekly.
HOMESTEAD.
7 STRONG AVE • NORTHAMPTON, MA
WWW.EATHOMESTEAD.COM
Homestead. is a place to gather and be part of what makes restaurants so special. A hearth to congregate around with friends & family to share a meal and create lasting memories. They strive to create a comforting community oriented kitchen through their history and their passion. Delicious food, inventive cocktails, and a bright, spacious, and special place to dine.
