Restaurant Review
TA Connecticut Willington

This "Restaurant Review TA Connecticut Willington" is a review of the restaurant at the TA (TravelCenters of America) in Willington, CT, USA, based upon our own expectations of what a restaurant that caters to professional truck drivers of commercial motor vehicles should be like -- as well as our own preferences in foodstuffs.

This location is also called the Willington Travel Center. The restaurant's name is the Country Pride Restaurant.

Restaurant Review TA Connecticut Willington

Date: 7/25/2010

Location: TA (TravelCenters of America), Willington, CT, I-84, exit 71

Pros: Restaurant Review TA Connecticut Willington

• Mike chose to eat from the buffet. He selected two rounds of fried chicken. Along with his first helping of fried chicken, he got mashed potatoes and collard greens
• Vicki chose a menu item, a steak with a second steak for an additional charge, the second one of which she got "to go" for a meal in the truck. She requested butter and sour cream on the side for her baked potato.
• The salad bar had a nice, albeit small, selection of items. We both got lettuce, cherry tomatoes and shredded cheddar cheese. Vicki also got diced hard boiled egg and cucumbers. Mike also got croutons and salad dressing.
• Hot rolls were available, which Mike really liked. It was kind of funny because when Vicki asked Mike if he wanted a roll, he responded favorably, she got two (one for each of them), and he ate both! (Mike says he isn't a big "bread eater" but when the bread is good, he will enjoy eating every crumb.)
• We were greeted by a young man as we entered the restaurant.
• Our waitress, Jan, was friendly. She even came back to our table just a few minutes after having delivered Vicki's steaks to find out if they were cooked correctly.
• Mike said that there was a chocolate dessert on the hot bar. Of course, this was off-limits to Vicki who ate a menu item.
• Mike also got some dessert like bread dressing off the hot bar.

This photo shows our two salads and the two rolls from our dinner at the Country Pride Restaurant at the Willington Travel Center in Willington, CT.

On Mike's first trip to the hot bar at the Country Pride Restaurant at the Willington Travel Center in Willington, CT, he got fried chicken, mashed potatoes and collard greens.

Mike had to tap the sugar dispenser to get the sugar to flow into his glass of tea at the Country Pride Restaurant at the Willington Travel Center in Willington, CT.

This was Vicki's menu selection from the Country Pride Restaurant at the Willington Travel Center in Willington, CT: two steaks (one of which she got "to go"), a baked potato with butter and sour cream on the side, and Texas toast.

Cons: Restaurant Review TA Connecticut Willington

• Someone from the kitchen occasionally would yell, "Kyle!" -- obviously to get the attention of the young male waiter -- which was really irritating. There should be a better way to summon wait staff to the kitchen than by yelling.
• There was no cottage cheese on the salad bar.
• Mike said that the fried could have been a little juicier and been seasoned a little better.
• Both the sugar and the salt that were on the table were damp and clumpy and refused to flow freely because of high humidity. Vicki hailed Jan to let her know how to remedy the problem, at least as far as the salt shaker was concerned. Jan said that they had tried that but management told them not to do that any more.
• Mike said that the "sweet tea" could have been sweeter (hence his needing to add more sugar from the sugar dispenser).
• Vicki observed that the baked potato was a little dry.

Overall grade for this restaurant at this facility on a scale of A+ to F- (with A+ being the best, F- being the worst): B+