EAST LONGMEADOW – When I go out to eat, I’m notorious for getting the same thing. Nine times out of 10, I’ll order some form of glazed salmon with double veggies, or veggies and rice. It’s rare that I’ll step outside the proverbial box. I know what I like, and I often stick to it.

With that said, writing our Best Damn Sandwich column and the Best Damn Takeout column has made me try new things. That – and I’m shockingly bored from having the same food over and over again. Crazy, I know.

When my family and I decided that we would be getting Center Square Grill (CSG) for takeout, I was thrilled. CSG is an East Longmeadow favorite. Frequently, when the restaurant was fully-operational, I would go there for drinks after work with friends, or to lunch with my mom. Since I haven’t been able to go there for a sit-down meal in what feels like forever, there has been a giant, CSG sized hole in my heart. (Dramatic – yes – but if you’ve ever had their General Tso’s Cauliflower, moscow mules, and summer prosecco pop drinks – you probably get where I’m coming from.)

Short story time: In January, my family and I went out to dinner to a restaurant that we typically don’t go to as it’s 45 minutes away from home – a further drive than we usually like to take just for dinner. The menu was incredibly long, with tons of delicious offerings for everyone. I was between purchasing a seafood risotto, or their chicken pot pie. Again – both different choices than my usual – but both sounded delicious.

I purchased the risotto, which was great, but someone at the table next to us decided on the chicken pot pie. It was enormous, with an impressive looking crust, and I instantly regretted my decision.

Four months had passed, and I still wanted a chicken pot pie. Of course, one could argue that I should have made my own. However, multiple people in my house don’t care for chicken pot pie, and I’m not going to make an entire, family-sized chicken pot pie for myself, no matter how tempting that may be.

So – when I pulled out the CSG curbside menu, I was both stunned and overjoyed when I saw they offered a chicken pot pie. I was in the mood for comfort food.

The CSG chicken pot pie is a cast iron skillet pot pie with a butter puff pastry crust. The chicken pot pie will run you about $18 – well worth the cost, as it ended up being two meals for me. Dinner, and lunch the next day.

The CSG chicken pot pie had all of the typical additions that a pot pie does, peas, carrots, chicken, a creamy sauce, and more. I thought that there was a good ratio of chicken to vegetables, and I enjoyed the puff pastry crust as opposed to a traditional crust, as I sometimes find a traditional crust can be too thick and filling.

We also purchased General Tso’s Cauliflower, which consists of “hand breaded roasted cauliflower, flash fried and tossed in a tangy General Tso’s sauce and finished with crushed peanuts, green onion, and sesame seeds.”

This is my favorite offering on CSG’s menu – I cannot go to the restaurant without purchasing an order of the cauliflower. It’s a delicious alternative to a buffalo wing or chicken wing, and frankly, though we have tried to make our own version at home, they still haven’t compared to CSG’s version.

Center Square Grill is located at 84 Center Square in East Longmeadow. The restaurant can be reached at 525-0055.