Short: Summit Rock Café!

(Click here to jump to the recommended song, Hot Dog by Buck Owens!)

Howdy, Rebels!

Welp, I can't pretend to live in "Vague New England Location" anymore. I do, in fact, live in Connecticut. You can collect your bet money now.

Just saying it for those who found me through the TV Tropes "Random Media" button.

And yeah. just as I thought I wouldn't have material for a while, if ever again, the inspiration came CASCADING over me like a tidal wave of creative influence.

Okay, maybe this hobby isn't so creative. But still.

Summit Rock Café is actually a part of Summit Studios in Manchester, Connecticut. 

Summit Studios, a music school, has been around since 1995 but moved to its current Manchester location in 2000. They opened their store, Summit Music Center, in 2012.

The café is a very recent addition to the business, having just opened in June 2022.

In fact, when looking up the café, all I found were news headlines about its opening. Every headline is the copy-paste title of "Summit Rock Café opens Monday in Manchester".

So basically... I GET TO BE THE FIRST TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING!

I FEEL SO ALIVE!

But now it's time for the perennial question: "Kat, how did you find this, anyway?"

My mom and I were on an errand in Manchester last Tuesday- figures that was the day after I decided I wouldn't have any more ideas for a while.

I don't know the city very well, but I somehow noticed a sign that had never been there before.

A café with a guitar on the sign? We had to go. It's not often I get to see music-themed restaurants that aren't Hard Rock Cafés. And I don't even see those very much.

When we entered Summit Rock, I felt a little... maybe "exposed" is the word.

The small size, coupled with the very-few-other-people, made me feel like I'd just walked into a place I wasn't supposed to be, with everybody staring and waiting for me to state my intention.

Which is... kinda accurate, now that I think about it.

There were other people, but their kids were students at the music school. My mom and I didn't have any official business there.

But Tom, the owner, welcomed us with open arms.

Tom is one of those people who seems legitimately interested in everything you have to say. I don't know where these people get the energy, but I believe they're called "extroverts" and I don't think they know either.

Tom plays the bass, and upon learning that this is one of many instruments I intend to learn in my lifetime (after electric guitar), he helpfully informed me that bass players "always get gigs" because of their rarity.

Greg, who works behind the counter, was also willing to strike up a conversation. He plays guitar, and according to Tom, can give you tips if you ask.

Greg told me he used to play an acoustic in the corner of the would-be café, to which I relayed a similar story of a guy I went to school with.

There aren't many things on the menu yet, but I think that's good for the size and possibly budget of the little restaurant.

Being a café, they offer a variety of coffees and teas, but there are also floats, milkshakes, smoothies and custom sodas.

As for food, there are hot dogs with optional cheese, chili or sauerkraut (an additional 50 cents each), nachos, Bavarian pretzels, mac n' cheese bites, and mozzarella sticks.

I got a berry smoothie, which is frozen mixed berries with either pineapple or plain-apple juice.

Pictured: Greg, making my smoothie.

Naturally, I chose pineapple juice. "I need things to be substantial," I said.

It may be simple, but it is real. And as I told Greg, "The world needs more real."

While sipping my smoothie, I reflected on the rock n' roll themed decorations. There are pictures of both students and famous musicians on the walls. I even like the way they wrote the menus, for some reason.

I thought, man. I can't believe I found a local place that not only serves food, but is music-themed, and the theme is justified because it's directly related to the location. This place is perfect for me! It's perfect for-

Wait.

My blog.

I have a blog.

Yeah, seriously. The day after I figured maybe I should take a break, because I didn't think I would have any ideas, and because I thought another project would get in the way...

I forgot I even had a blog.

Upon remembering that I actually am a food blogger, I ordered a chili-cheese dog.

I had to have actual food here. I had to know.

Would Sonic be jealous? Time to find out.

 

The café uses Bogner's hot dogs, which I learned from skimming one of the news articles. They don't make it obvious in the place itself, but they also mention the brand in some of their Facebook posts.

Bogner Quality Meats is a butcher shop based in Manchester, and it seems that their hot dogs are only available in beef and beef-pork.

I'm pleased with the hot dog itself. It's kinda smoky, which I always welcome, and I think it was less salty than most. I don't eat hot dogs often, so I don't have a great frame of reference.

The chili is good, but it seems to have some kind of thickener in it. That part, I don't like so much. Far from awful, though.

I don't know which of the ingredients they actually make at the café, but the chili at least could have been. Like, you could theoretically make a chili with that texture.

It's not the type of chili I would sit down and eat from a bowl, but I'm used to a chunkier type with lots of beans and diced tomatoes. And that kind wouldn't work for the hot dog format.

I have one main complaint about the hot dogs, but I'll admit it's a matter of preference: I'd prefer the bun to be toasted and the cheese to be melted, because that's how I do all my sandwiches.

Oh yeah, and a reminder that hot dogs are sandwiches.

The cheese was very-not-melted and placed under the hot dog instead of over the chili. 

Which I thought was... harmless, but weird. But harmless.

The bun, like any storebought hot dog bun, was also excessively bready and soft. Definitely forgivable, but toasting would have helped.

Next time I'm gonna get a chili-cheese pretzel dog, and I wanna have them toast it if they can. That might be my optimal Summit Rock Café hot dog experience.

And yeah, I know. I am ignoring the sauerkraut. But even I'm not gonna put sauerkraut on a chili cheese dog.

Before I left, I referred Tom and Greg to The Rebel Palate.

Tom seemed pretty excited about it. Which means he's probably going to see this post.

Which gives me anxiety about giving even mild criticism.

To say I like this place, though, is not just me trying to sound nice. I don't get the impression of amazing quality just yet, but I like to be fair. 

They just opened this part of their business, so there are things they'll probably expand on over time. What's there is perfectly good, and I'm sure it'll progress naturally. At least if it goes well.

I recognize that this is a more-or-less specialized business branching off into a seemingly unrelated thing, so there's no telling how this will go.

If you want to check out Summit Rock Café, they're at 421 Main Street, Manchester, Connecticut.

They are holding a grand opening on July 30th, which is this Saturday at the time this post goes up. It's part of their annual "Rockin' the Block" event, so there will be live music from four of their bands.

Summit- and I- encourage you to bring a chair, order something from the café, and watch the bands. I'm sure it'll be great.

Today's recommended song is "Hot Dog" by Buck Owens!

Remember to always keep an eye out for hidden gems, and stay sexy!