J Restaurant|Bar

J Restaurant|Bar is a great place for lunch; can't wait to try it for dinner. Ate here today on the 5th week of my 8 week lunch tour.

Saw the descriptions of the Salmon BLT and the Filet Panino on their excellent website. I opted for the BLT and what a good choice that was. Their wording was: SALMON BLT Grilled Atlantic salmon, bacon, roasted tomatoes and mixed greens served with an herb aioli on toast [$14 ]. My wording was: YES; just go order one! The salmon was perfectly grilled and and the aioli was a treat [it was served on a nice roll not toast]. It came with good fries.

bloginfo: They have a nice wine special on certain nights and they are open after matinée for Theater Works and Hartford Stage on Sundays and have a theater offer, too.
blognote: The restaurant is in the space where Pizza Plus was located.

Max Amore

An invitation to help out with a gift card and my addition of a nice bottle of Montinore Pinot Gris made for a great evening out tonight. This was at Max Amore, my favorite restaurant in the Max Restaurant Group.

There was a $24.95 prix fixe menu that two of us couldn't pass up. A choice of two appetizers: Caprese Salad with yellow tomatoes [hers] and a Corn Chowder with Applewood Smoked Bacon [mine]. The other party had the Mussels Fra Diavolo [$9.95] and he shared them with us. All the appetizers were fine as was the wine [so poetic]. The bread basket was the usual good selection, the olives [my favorites] were delicious and the roasted garlic was lukewarm and not runny as I like.

The solo entrée [from the regular menu] was a special of Linguine with Clams and Sausage. We [of the prix fixe menu] both chose the Lobster Risotto which was rich and creamy with a good portion of lobster pieces.

Dessert choice was a Crème Brûlée [hers] and an Apricot Tart with Tahitian Vanilla Gelato. Three capuccinos ended a terrific meal.

el Comerío

Here it is week 4 of the ACC Tour. I am halfway through the tour today!

Went to Comerío on Park Street. This used to be one of our favorite Puerto Rican restaurants but hadn't been back for a long while. Welcome Home, Tomás!

I had Carne Frita [fried chunks of pork] which had a great crust, rind and lots of delicious meat. The rice was Arroz Amarillo con Gandules [yellow rice with pigeon peas] and a bowl of habichuelas [the beans one expects on rice] which were very tasty with some good pork floating around.

The above [two pieces came home for the soup I made] and a Pepsi One came to $9.50. Money well spent!

bloginfo: el Comerío is at 158 Park on the corner of Hudson, one block down from Main
blognote: don't even think about parking on the corner in front and running in to pick up something para llevar [to go] as it is a bus stop and they were ticketing like mad.

el Bajío

Week three of the ACC Tour [after class culinary tour] in Hartford ended up at el Bajío. I had heard that the individually ordered tacos were good as was the torta.

So we tried to try a chorizo torta but had to substitute a biftec one due to a chorizo shortage. The torta [$6] was good and the biftec had a great smoky barbecue taste. It was not as large as I was used to. The three tacos [$2.50 each]: pollo asado [chicken], el pastor [spicy beef] and carnitas [roast pork] were all a little dry. Everything got a lot better with some red [hot] and green [smoother] salsa were added. We each [2 of us] had a refresco [$2]; his was orange soda and mine cidral [a favorite apple soda in Mexico].

This is a nice, clean and colorful room. The telenovela in Spanish was raging and then the jukebox got going. So the air became colorful too.

bloginfo: el Bajío is located at 285 Franklin Avenue, Hartford, CT 860.296.2695
blognote: the tortas are much better at Iguanas Ranas in Middletown [check out that review]

Birthday Dinner @CVOC

I now live at Covenant Village of Cromwell and don't usually blog private meals but the Birthday Dinner tonight was awesome so I would like to share it with everyone [the review not the dinner].

The Fireside Lounge was very attractively decorated with custom made place cards and vases of yellow and white roses at each table. There were only 21 celebrants this evening with two hosts [me and another resident] and the Recreation Manager.

The evening started with Grace and then a sparking cider toast. The Shrimp Cocktail were already at the table and the generous serving of jumbo shrimp was delicious.

Honored guests [those with birthdays in June] were escorted to the buffet table where the hosts served:
Baby gingered Carrots, Cauliflower with curried bread crumbs, Baked Potato, Scalloped Potato with Gruyère, Baked Salmon with a dill sauce and a Steamship Round Roast Beef with a garlic & thyme crust expertly sliced at the buffet table.

After a rousing 'Happy Birthday' from the serving staff, Carrot Cake and coffee were served. The Recreation Manger then regaled the crowd with a birthday repartée.

bloginfo: Call 860.635.2690 and ask for Marketing if interested in hearing more about CVOC.
blognote: Larry Batter entertained at the piano in the main dining room for the birthday celebrants and entire resident community.

with a little help...

DIY entertaining  came to my cottage last night. The five of us that went to Puket Café started off here for some pre-dinner food and chatter. I needed help, so Lauren from La Piastra [pix at left], a purchase from Hurst Farm and a quick buy at Stop and Shop produced some good munchies [with a little help from my friends].

A dozen Lump Crab and Goat Cheese empanadas with some Ginger Dressing both from La Piastra were excellent. I even managed to make my oven work and with Lauren's directions [and her parchment paper] they were toasty and delicious. A frozen bag of 'Nature's Promise' Vegetable and Pork Potstickers from Stop and Shop turned out great. Two minutes in the microwave oven and one side seared in a hot pan; voilá. Some Tutukane [Grandpa's Hawaiian Style Salsa] from Hurst Farm added a kick. Cashews were on sale last week or so and provided a nice crunch to the spread. Some Pinot Grigio [and some non-politically correct Cabernet Sauvignon for two of us] completed my 'do-it-yourself' beginning to a great Thai meal at Puket Café.

bloginfo: Hurst Farm Country Store, 746 East St., Andover, CT 860.646.6536

blognote: The stove/oven is brand new, so I guess I have to start using it.

Puket Café

Wonderful meal here tonight at the Puket Café in Wethersfield. Great room and great service. The best thing about our visit [aside from the food] was that we were five adventurous diners.

So we had four main dishes:
Pad Thai with grilled shrimp [$14], Massaman Curry with crispy chicken [$15], Tamarind Duck [$16.95] and Shrimp Mango [$16.50] (pictured on the website menu). I can't choose which one I liked the most as everything was delicious and beautifully presented. But I guess my favorite for taste would be the Pad Thai and for taste/presentation the Shrimp Mango.

bloginfo: check out the website
blognote: This was a Filipino restaurant before but now is Thai. Park in rear.

Nutshell Café [@the bar]

Second week of the ACC Tour found me at the Nutshell Café on White Street. Not too near my teaching site on Alden Street but worth the drive in the rain. I have been hearing good things about this place; the chef had been at the Bull Pen Cafe but she is here now.

I opted for a lunch special of a half-grinder of Chouriça for $7.95. This was pure and simple good food. The bread was a Portuguese roll and it was filled with grilled onions, peppers and some great chouriço [actually a good portion of it]. This was served with an order of 'home-made chip fries.' Yes! Portuguese cuisine sure has its bread and its potatoes down to perfection.

Will definitely go back for the Bitoque.

bloginfo: no website

Nutshell Café is located at 229 White Street, Hartford, CT 860.956.2836

blognote: ACC Tour is the after class cuisine tour and will continue for 6 more weeks