Filtering by Tag: Hartford County,Dining Guide

Hartford Baking Company Opens in West Hartford

Restaurant Bakery Breakfast Lunch Dessert Hartford County West Hartford Coffee Tea And Coffee

CTbites Team

Hartford Baking Company started small and local, with owner Scott Kluger’s mother baking scratch items for farmers’ markets.  As her scones caught on, so did the buzz, and Scott saw an opportunity.  Leaving a promising career on Wall Street, he returned to West Hartford and opened their first location on New Park Ave in 2010: offering artisanal bread, sandwiches, pastries, and a really excellent coffee program (more on that in a moment).

The new Hartford Baking Company location, on Farmington Avenue in West Hartford Center, has the same menu as New Park (which remains open) with a few exciting additions. Both locations are the perfect destination for fresh cake and seasonal catering orders, but West Hartford has expanded their offerings to include a vegan grain bowl, a gluten free breakfast burrito, and an authentic Cuban Sandwich.  Fresh is better: the scratch baking process which occurs every night in their large baking facility in Bloomfield translates into a carb mecca of stunning fresh breads and baked goods.  


Max Restaurants Opens Neapolitan-Influenced Savoy Pizzeria & Craft Bar in West Hartford

Restaurant Pizza West Hartford Hartford County Lunch

CTbites Team

Savoy Pizzeria & Craft Bar, the sleek, new, pizza-centered West Hartford establishment from Max Restaurant Group, is all about the flames.

“There is nothing that compares to cooking with fire,” says Dante Cistulli, chef and managing partner of the downtown restaurant, which opened in October. Two wood-fired pizza ovens form the heart and soul of Savoy’s kitchen. The Neapolitan-influenced pizza, the restaurant’s flagship food, is cooked for a short period of time in one oven at 850-900 degrees. Cooking at this extremely high temperature creates a crispy and ever-so-slight char on the outside and a soft and firm inside crust that artisan pizza lovers crave. The other oven provides the heat for the restaurant’s non-pizza items, giving each dish a unique, wood-smoked flavor.


King & I Thai Kitchen in Hartford and Manchester: A Family Affair

Restaurant Asian Hartford Hartford County Thai

Hope Simmons

Blink and you can easily miss the little white house as you drive down Park Street in Hartford’s Parkville section. So keep an eye out, because it’s home to a fine family business specializing in Thai and Lao dishes—generous portions, reasonably priced. And if you head east of the river, you’ll find the exact same menu and great food in Manchester.

There are many choices closer to home when it comes to Thai, but when the craving hits, I make tracks for King & I. It’s changed management over time, but the food remains just as delicious as it ever was. In fact, it’s amazingly consistent. How is that even possible?

The secret to their success starts in a tiny kitchen with their cook. Behind the scenes, the same woman has been busy stirring up deliciousness for the past 10 years. When the previous owner sold the restaurant four and a half years ago, Hongkham Munesaleum was already part of the kitchen. But now, with her husband, Lam, washing dishes, and his daughter Lilly, serving the front of the house (literally!), it’s all in the family.


Open House @ Thomas Hooker with NoRA Cupcake Truck

Road Trip Restaurant Bloomfield Hartford County Beer

Amy Kundrat

The Thomas Hooker Brewery (home to that refreshing summer seasonal, Watermelon Ale) has invited NoRA Cupcake Truck to their twice-monthly Friday Open House, July 6, 2012. The Brewery hosts these events on the 1st and 3rd Friday each month  from 5 to 8pm. $10 for pint glass, tasting, and tour (Portion of proceeds go to The Village For Families and Children).

Thomas Hooker Brewey is located at Tobey Road in Bloomfield, CT. For more information, visit hookerbeer.com.