It’s been a year since Max Hospitality officially took over the bar at Hartford’s Goodwin Hotel, but after a two-month renovation period in the fall, Bar Max now boasts a fresh look with a brand-new menu.
The Hartford-based restaurant group, with multiple eateries throughout Hartford County and western Massachusetts, expanded its territory in the capital city by partnering with the Goodwin Hotel in early 2024. Restaurateur Tyler Anderson, who had previously operated Terreno Restaurant and Bar Piña in the space, closed his concepts there as he moved on to new projects, including a culinary director role at Ore Hill & Swyft in Kent.
It was a natural fit, as the boutique hotel is right next door to its flagship Max Downtown, said Steven Abrams, Max Hospitality’s vice president, who is a partner in Max Downtown and the group’s other city restaurant, Max’s Trumbull Kitchen. But the owners decided not to launch another restaurant out of the Terreno space.
The former ON20 Restaurant, known for its soaring views of the Connecticut River and other area landmarks, has been fully renovated and reimagined, with even more stunning panoramic vistas of the capital city. The industrial-chic interior has an expansive bar, an open kitchen with gleaming stainless-steel appliances, private dining spaces and jaw-dropping glimpses of the sky from nearly every vantage point.
ON20, a celebrated white tablecloth establishment for many years, closed during the uncertainty of the pandemic in 2020, but two years ago, Hartford Steam Boiler’s leadership began reaching out to key people to start conversations about reopening the restaurant.
Fire by Forge is a Pan-American inspired restaurant that opened in spring of 2023 and has been receiving accolades ever since. Flavors, ingredients, cooking techniques, and even the wines and spirits are drawn from across the Americas, with a strong lean toward what is local, sustainable, and fresh.
Forge City Works serves the community but also provides hands-on job training in customer service, hospitality, and culinary arts for people who have barriers to employment.
Finding a cocktail in Connecticut is a whole experience. From cool bars to pubs to fine dining, there are countless places to enjoy a libation. A fun way to enjoy a relaxing environment and a curated cocktail is at one of the many speakeasies and speakeasy-style bars. While speakeasies are from the bygone era when alcohol was illegal, many local speakeasies incorporate a vibe of this elusive era (dark and seedy with a modern spin), along with secretive passwords-only entryways. Below, you’ll find a range of expertly crafted drinks - some of which are Prohibition-inspired - light bites, and a mysterious vibe with secret entryways that will have everyone in your party excited to venture into the unknown. Check out more about these 9 cool speakeasies below.
One of the most visually eye-candy-esque restaurants in CT, Terrain Cafe, has recently added a new bar to their ever-expanding dining space. For years, guests haven’t been able to get enough of this local seasonal menu under the helm of Chef Jes Bengston, and tables can often be tricky to score. But now, you don’t need a reservation to grab a seat at Terrain. Simply sidle up to their new walk-ins only bar (always my favorite seat in the house), and enjoy their brand new dedicated bar menu, created exclusively for those 13 seats. Don’t worry, you’ll still be able to order the full Terrain Café menu from your bar stool, but wait till you see what else only you can enjoy.
Let’s start with the bar itself. Just like everything else at Terrain, it’s sexy rustic chic. The thick white marble slab counter is bright and elegant by day, and vibey by night as the lights dim and those happy hour feels set in.
Parkville Market, a hub of international cuisine, has graced Hartford with four new vendors. Taiwan Night Market, the Taste of Portugal and KOJI2GO have opened, and we hear that Flor do Mar has launched since we visited with a completely gluten free menu, each adding new, exciting, flavorful dishes to an already highly tasty market.
Parkville opened during the height of the pandemic in May of 2020, starting with only five vendors, all take-out. Now, three years later, the market is vibrant.
“Now being at 21 vendors we’ve really rounded out the different, uniqueness to the food that we offer,” Matt Sousa, Vice President of Operations at Parkville said. “If we’re lacking something then we go out and try to find whatever it is.”
Are you suffering from restaurant sticker shock? Did you, on your last outing to a decent eatery, think about having the steak, then found out it cost $74 and ordered the $46 roasted chicken instead, and washed it down with the cheapest wine on the list at $18 a glass, which is more than you usually pay for an entire bottle at the corner packy?
Happy hour is here to help. While not as grand as a multi-course dinner-dinner, happy hour is a wonderful eating-out alternative, offering yummy fun in great locations for not much loot. You just have to get used to, you know, eating (and drinking) on, um, the early side.
The Hartford Yard Goats baseball season begins Thursday, April 6, 2023, with the first pitch against the Bowie Baysox scheduled for 7:10 p.m., but all who partake in the experience at Dunkin’ Park – as the stadium has been recently renamed – know that watching the game is just one element of the overall experience.
For West Hartford residents and others from throughout the area who enjoy the Yard Goats, a night at the Dunk includes a chance to sample some unique and perhaps not-all-that-healthy food items. And while this year’s menu of offerings is a bit less “extreme” than it has been in other years, there are many delicious must-try items.
“It’s definitely one of the more exciting years for food here at Dunkin’ Park,”
said Yard Goats President Tim Restall, who has a food and beverage background and looks forward to the annual reveal of the menu created by chef Joe Bartlett and his team.
“We’ve kind of drawn away from the crazy, crazy foods,” Bartlett said a sneak peek showcase event for reporters Monday. “We wanted to draw back to the ‘classic ballpark.'”
Chef Tyler Anderson and Hands On Hartford have launched a remarkable new restaurant concept just in time to dine out and give back this holiday season. Gather55 restaurant opened this Fall in Hartford with a monthly rotation of guest chefs who will serve up a “by-reservation-only” $42 prix fixe menu. Chef Tyler Anderson, who is handling the Chef programming kicked things off, followed by Chef Billy Grant of Restaurant Bricco in December, and then Emily Mingrone of Tavern on State in January. Each evening, approximately 20% of the tables are reserved for diners who can’t pay the full price. The goal is to create a place where everyone can celebrate and enjoy a delicious meal in a comfortable and caring environment.
If you appreciate good food, and you live in the state of Connecticut, you’ve likely spent some time at Chef Bill Taibe’s Japanese izakaya spot in Westport, Kawa Ni. This small cozy culinary gem, bathed in warm woods, vintage Japanese posters and that perfect restaurant buzz, has hosted many a night for sake bombs (gong ringing included), tofu pockets, chicken karaage, Szechuan pork dumplings and a bowl of spicy miso ramen just for good measure.
As a frequent Kawa Ni diner, the only downside of being a guest at this popular Japanese style pub is scoring a reservation. Sure, they welcome walk-ins, and their very friendly staff always does their best to find a way to seat you a seat at the bar, or up on the rooftop patio if the season is right. However, historically, if you had an urgent last minute crazing for their pork rib confit, landing a table without some advanced planning, wasn’t the easiest task.
How does Mystic do it? In such a small area, there’s a steady stream of creativity and passion, delectable food, and now, with The Port of Call, there’s a reason it has become my home away from home.
Dripping with history, the new two-in-one stop, is a complete experience. With a friendly Welcome from manager Nancy Hankins, your eyes, mind, and belly (not necessarily in that order), will be lit up and spun into a whir of pleasure when learning about the location’s past, the collaborations forged, not to mention the top notch drink and food offerings. Notice, I said drink then food….
The “Million Miles” Bar is front and center as you walk through the stately, yet otherwise, unassuming exterior. That’s because the drinks, or shall I say beverage program, is the first star on stage. Although we often enter a restaurant hungry, we are being not-so gently, happily hypnotized first by the drinks that will then be paired by knock-out plates honoring global ports. We’ve been conditioned to think about the food before deciding what drink to pair with it; The Port of Call is asking us to think in reverse: “Wet” your palates first, sailors. Helmed by Jade Ayala (who also rocks the booze next door at Oyster Club) and Sebastian Guerrero (of NYC’s Dante and Mother of Pearl), your drink will come with a “generous pour,” as my feller put it, and a side tale about the area’s notorious seafaring past.
Currently celebrating its 10th anniversary, Cora Cora Peruvian Restaurant and the Ludena family that own it, are finally getting the recognition they deserve. All of their hard work and dedication to serving traditional, authentic Peruvian food handed down through family recipes has helped not only them, but Connecticut also, gain recognition on the national food scene with not one, but two nominations by the James Beard Foundation. First for Outstanding Restaurant, and second for Best Chef: Northeast.
You might hear the name The Rockin Chicken (TRC) and think it’s yet another really good chicken-themed joint, like West Hartford’s Chicken Citizen & Donuts, Wethersfield’s El Pollo Guapo, Newington’s Rooster Co. or the Elm City’s Hot Haven Chicken. But you’ll see it’s actually so much more. Since TRC opened in June, 2016 on Franklin Avenue in Hartford, it has been my go-to for Peruvian food, long one of my favorite cuisines.
TRC is owned by Dr. Miguel A. Colán and his wife, Kate. The genial couple doesn’t just own the business but the building as well. For Miguel, a Hartford chiropractor, it was an almost-weekly family tradition growing up in Lima to visit pollerias a la brasa, popular local restaurants specializing in charcoal rotisserie chicken. TRC grew out of his desire to recreate that dining experience for Hartford-area restaurant-goers.
2020 has at least made carbs, especially of the bready sort, sexy again. So, for this, I am thankful. Many have proven that by turning their kitchens into mini-bakeries this year. My cousin in PA, a lawyer by day, has posted about 100 pics of golden crusted sourdough; my neighbor, a sound engineer for Broadway--sadly all too quiet-- has added to my...eh hem...curves, with his newfound bagel prowess. I keep thinking I should buy stock in King Arthur Flour, then I forget amidst my food coma. Anyway, yay us for taking such a horrible time and at least turning a piece of it into something productive and tasty.
BUT, none of us have anything on Chef Kim Huang Wood and the real masterpieces coming out of Le Banh Patisserie kitchen. Just one afternoon with her, watching as she orchestrates her kitchen and the magic that comes out of it, I understand the difference between our hobbies and those who emit greatness. But that greatness, those masterpieces, have come from devotion, and true hard work.
From October 19-25, 2020, you can enjoy a “Week of BBQ” Inspired Dishes and Drinks at Participating Hartford Area Restaurants….all for a good cause!
The Hartford Rib Off, Hartford’s largest charity BBQ event of the year, is revamping to a new format for 2020, to raise funds for the community while also supporting the hard-hit hospitality industry. COVID-19 has put a hold on large-scale public gatherings in 2020, leaving many non-profit events, like the Hartford Rib Off, without a means to raise funds. To adhere to safety protocols, this year’s Hartford Rib Off will take on a new format, where for one week, BBQ enthusiasts can enjoy BBQ inspired dishes and drinks at their favorite Hartford area restaurants, for one full week.
In full disclosure, I have worked with Chef Tyler Anderson. If you have worked in the restaurant industry in Connecticut you probably have too, in one way or another. If you have eaten in Connecticut, the same can still be said: you have worked to get a reservation at his Millwright’s, worked to pick out the perfect slice at his Square Peg and you have worked to get the best seat in the house at Anderson’s High George. But now, Tyler is bringing us all back to his most familiar ground, aptly titled Terreno - his latest venture, boasting Cal-Italian fare, in the space that formerly housed Restaurant Porrón.
Food & Wine writer, David Landsel, has spent 2 years traveling the United States, studying the American coffee culture. His list of nearly 100 of the most essential cafes, coffee shops, and espresso bars in the United States, includes one very special spot in the Nutmeg state, Story and Soil, located in Hartford CT. Congrats on making the cut, and check out the full article in Food & Wine.
Hartford Baking Company announces a new location in Glastonbury! It's expansion time! Hartford Baking Company is delighted to announce that they will be adding a third retail location in January of 2020. The new cafe will be located at 400 Hebron Ave. in Glastonbury, CT, and will have the same vibe, menu, and bread selection of the two current West Hartford locations.
Walking into Hartford Flavor Company is like walking into a place where all’s right with the world: it’s owned and operated by a smart woman, everything is natural, and it is as beautiful as a field of flowers should be.
Or, it’s like a laboratory-meets day spa-meets fully-stocked bar. Take your pick.
Anyway, I think you are getting my point. It is downright lovely and essential and all you think while touring around and talking to owner Lelaneia Dubay is, where have you been all my life?
