bars - Tuesdays at the 'Shoe

as Spring begins to creep in, it's time to check out the local ride-in spots around Southwestern CT. Located in the center of this sleepy bedroom town and across from the train station, the Horseshoe Cafe in Southport has been serving thirsty NYC commuters for decades. a cozy bar with a gaggle of tvs showing sports, a couple of dart boards and a pool table, the 'Shoe also boasts a decent menu of pub food. On Tuesday nights, the 'Shoe hosts a relatively mild ride-in. on a typical Tuesday night, you'll see between 10-25 bikes or more - mostly late-model, shiny, Japanese, Italian, German and British marques with an occasional vintage or antique group in attendance. an 'older' demographic as well. For this past Spring-like Tuesday night, I was the only two-wheeler. good, more room at the bar.

and, by the way, i didn't stick around for the Karaoke competition.

FIM approved.

the Horseshoe Cafe is located at 355 Pequot Avenue in Southport, CT

eats - the BEST pizza - Pepe's, New Haven, CT

on a beautiful, Sunny February day with temps in the upper 40s, 6 riders rolled up I95 for the best pizza in the known universe - Pepe's Pizzeria. 4 of the 6 riders had never been to Pepe's.

after meeting at the rest stop between exits 12-13 Northbound on I95, we headed up. the ride to New Haven is approx. 45 mins. in light traffic. what we didn't factor was a breakdown. our newest rider, Matt from NYC, on his first bike - a '67 Triumph 650, was the unlucky one. his engine encountered a catastrophic failure 5 exits into the ride. about a half hour later Matt secured towing for the bike back to my place and we resumed the ride with one less rider. did i mention we were getting hungry by then?

once we arrived, there is monitored, off-street parking and a great spot for bikes right in front. Pepe's is world famous and there is almost always a line - especially on fine weather weekends. if you catch the 'wave' of patrons just right, you can sail right in to a booth in under 15-20 mins. due to our breakdown, we caught the wrong wave. it took over 45 mins to be seated.

Pepe's has been serving pizza from a coal-fired oven since 1925. in recent years, Pepe's has expanded to several satellite locations in the Northeast in addition to the original location on Wooster Street.

the three pies the 5 guys enjoyed this day were the original tomato mozzarella, the sausage and roasted peppers and the white clam and bacon pies. as for beverages, Pepe's serves wine, bottled beer and tap beer - Sam Adams, Bud Light and Genesse. we opted for Genesse, 'natch. the newbies were very impressed and all mentioned the wait was worth it - and these guys were all grumbling that 'we don't wait in line'.

FIM approved.

Pepe's Pizzeria is located at 157 Wooster Street, New Haven, CT

eats - Colony Grill - Irish Pizza? - !!!

Stamford's own Colony Grill has been serving 'pizza and drinks' since 1935 and is considered the oldest continually run restaurant in the city of Stamford. Colony's specialty is ultra-thin crust pizza with variety of toppings. The most famous is their hot pepper oil pie and the 'stinger' pie, with a hot pepper atop each slice. At lunchtime, it's commonplace to see a line of take out with stacks of 4-10 pies per order. There is a dining area and a bar area. The best seats are at the bar, 'natch. There is off-street restaurant parking and bike parking in front on the sidewalk is permitted.

F I M approved.

Colony Grill is located at 172 Myrtle Avenue in Stamford, CT.