Springfield, Massachusetts Food (Red Rose Pizza, Luxe Burger Bar, Cafe Du Jour, Nadim's Mediterranean Restaurant, Theodore's BBQ, Sun Kim Bop, Downtown Farmers Market, and Student Prince)

I spent a week in Springfield, Massachusetts during a convention I attended in the city. Here's some of the food I ate:

Red Rose Pizza:

They had huge pies for reasonable prices. Their medium pie fed three people with leftovers. Their biggest pie could have probably fed ten people. I ate here twice. On my first visit I split a pie topped with pepperoni, sausage, bacon, and black olives. The pizza wasn't NY style, served in square slices with a medium thickness crust. The crust, cheese, sauce, and toppings were well proportioned and I was very pleased with the pizza.

On my second visit I started with a side salad. Exactly what I expected.

We ordered a pizza topped with pepperoni, sausage, and bell peppers on this visit. I don't know if it was a different cook, but this pie was disappointing. It was messy looking, had a bit of a cheese overload compared to the rest of the pie, and didn't hold itself together worst of all. Even after it cooled, the pie kept on falling apart.

So 50% good pizza depending on who's making it?

Luxe Burger Bar:

I had a build your own burger, topped with an egg, guacamole, onions, lettuce, and pickles. Can't say I was impressed. Toppings were very inconsistently spread (guacamole only made it to a quarter of the burger) and came served with much of the lettuce on the plate. I ordered Cheddar Tater Tots as my side which were initially forgotten, then were lukewarm when finally delivered to the table.

Some restaurants I ate at during this trip had multiple visits. Luxe Burger Bar did not earn that honor.

Café Du Jour:

This was a coffee shop across from my hotel. Came here for breakfast one morning and had a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant. I also noticed they served Lahmajoun (I believe - I initially learned this food as Turkish Pizza). I ordered one of those as well topped with sesame paste.

Came back and had spinach and feta another day. The sesame was better.

Nadim's Mediterranean Restaurant & Grill:

I had the Lebanese Stew. Big chunks of lamb, beans, and other veggies were cooked until tender in a tomato based broth. The stew was served with rice. It was delicious. A little on the expensive side, but still delicious.

Theodore's BBQ:

 This was another restaurant I visited twice. I had the brisket on my first meal here. The brisket was served over a slice of bread, topped with barbecue sauce. Beans, collards, coleslaw, and cornbread was served as sides.

I had the Texas Sausage on my second visit, served with the same sides.

Sun Kim Bop:

This was a fast food Korean restaurant. I had the Bibimbop. This rice bowl was topped with an egg, spicy pork, and various vegetables. It was a good portion, affordable, and delicious.

Springfield Central Downtown Farmers Market:

This was a small Friday morning farmers market. I bought a loaf of bread and blueberries.

Student Prince:

This was a German restaurant that looks like it's been around forever in a good way. I had the Wurstplatte, which came with a bratwurst, knackwurst, and a boar & cranberry sausage. The sausages were served over spatzle and sauerkraut. Of the three sausages, the boar & cranberry was the highlight.

This concludes my visit to Springfield. My overall impression was that the city has seen better days and seems to be in transition right now (MGM Casino is taking over several blocks of downtown). While the food options were a bit slim, there definitely were some highlight restaurants!