For the next week and a half, from August 1st to August 14th, something very special is going on in Hartford. At 27 participating restaurants, you can get a three course meal (appetizer, main, and dessert) for only $23! The menus are special ones created just for the Taste of Hartford. You can check out most of the menus online. This is an especially good deal if the restaurant is expensive enough that it would normally cost you over $23 for a meal. Fine dining on the cheap!
Here are some of the participating restaurants:
Agave Grill: Mexican
Black Eyed Sally's: BBQ
Costa del Sol: Spanish
Coyote Flaco: Mexican (I've been here)
Feng Asian Bistro: Expensive! Asian Fusion
The Half Door: Irish Pub
O'Porto: Expensive! Portuguese (I really want to go here)
Tisane Euro-Asian Cafe: Great fusion dishes and exotic coffees and teas (I've been here and I will be reviewing it later)
So, who's up for it?
Showing posts with label In Season. Show all posts
Showing posts with label In Season. Show all posts
Thursday, August 4, 2011
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
In Season: The 2011 Connecticut Wine Festival
Sorry for the lack of posts for the past couple of days--I had a very busy but fun weekend with friends and I spent most of Sunday at the Connecticut Wine Festival in Goshen!
For $25 at the door, we got access to wine samples from wineries all across the state, as well as specialty food samples, entertainment, craft vendors, a wine appreciation class, and a commemorative wine glass and tote bag.
Here are some of the highlights from the day:
- Taylor Brooke Winery (Woodstock) had my favorite wine of the fair, a Summer Peach Riesling. Rieslings and Gewurztraminers are my favorite white wines because they are so fresh, light, and sweet--but not too sweet or too acidic. I can only describe this wine by saying that it tasted like summer!
- Hopkins Vineyard (Warren) was someplace Natalie and I had to visit, for obvious reasons. My favorite wine there was the Sachem's Picnic, a semi-sweet red with raspberry, blackberry, and plum flavors. The name is very apt, and I enjoyed that this wine was fruity and not as dry as red wine can often be.
- Land of Nod Winery (East Canaan) first caught my eye because of its fanciful name, but what really got my attention was their delighful 2009 Rose, which was refreshing and subtle after tasting the other stronger wines.
Of course, wine is best appreciated at the vineyards themselves, where you can enjoy stunning views, beautiful architecture (such as the entirely wood bathrooms at Cassidy Hill Vineyard in Coventry, where I also savored a sweet strawberry wine called Summer Breeze), and more personalized attention. However, the benefit of a wine festival is that you can taste a little bit of everything and determine which wineries you would like to visit.
In addition, we got a helpful lesson from wine expert Laureen Guerriero of Wine Time Uncorked in West Hartford. "Wine is art in a bottle," I remember her saying. "And your own taste is the standard." Basically, you like the wine you like and don't like the wine you don't like. It's all about you and your taste. Her motto is "Have fun and taste mindfully!" Part of tasting mindfully is knowing how to taste. Here's what I learned.
Follow the 5 "S's":
1. See: Tilt the glass at a 45 degree angle over a white sheet of paper and look for the clarity, intensity, and color of the wine.
2. Swirl to release the aroma.
3. Smell: Put your nose deep into the glass and try to discern the condition, intensity, and aroma of the wine. The aroma characteristics are fruit, floral, spice, vegetal, and oak.
Common aromas with whites: Citrus, pear, peach, tropical fruits, honeysuckle, cinnamon, and vanilla
Common aromas with reds: berry, black cherry, plum, rose petal, cloves, cedar, earth
4. Sip: The fun part! Try to determine what aromas you taste as well as smell. Also try to figure out the wine's sweetness, acidity, tannin (for reds only), and body (mouthfeel).
5. Summarize and savor: Give your opinion on the quality of the wine and think about food pairings. And, of course, enjoy it!
Finally, because this is a food blog, I have to mention a really cool food product at the fair. Peace Tree Desserts is an organic, sustainable bakery. Their vendor featured cajeta caramel, a high quality Mexican caramel sauce that came in flavors like cinnamon, apple jack, and curry. At $13-18 a jar, it's not cheap, but it is the best caramel I've ever tasted.
Next up: Taste of Hartford!
For $25 at the door, we got access to wine samples from wineries all across the state, as well as specialty food samples, entertainment, craft vendors, a wine appreciation class, and a commemorative wine glass and tote bag.
Here are some of the highlights from the day:
- Taylor Brooke Winery (Woodstock) had my favorite wine of the fair, a Summer Peach Riesling. Rieslings and Gewurztraminers are my favorite white wines because they are so fresh, light, and sweet--but not too sweet or too acidic. I can only describe this wine by saying that it tasted like summer!
- Hopkins Vineyard (Warren) was someplace Natalie and I had to visit, for obvious reasons. My favorite wine there was the Sachem's Picnic, a semi-sweet red with raspberry, blackberry, and plum flavors. The name is very apt, and I enjoyed that this wine was fruity and not as dry as red wine can often be.
- Land of Nod Winery (East Canaan) first caught my eye because of its fanciful name, but what really got my attention was their delighful 2009 Rose, which was refreshing and subtle after tasting the other stronger wines.
Of course, wine is best appreciated at the vineyards themselves, where you can enjoy stunning views, beautiful architecture (such as the entirely wood bathrooms at Cassidy Hill Vineyard in Coventry, where I also savored a sweet strawberry wine called Summer Breeze), and more personalized attention. However, the benefit of a wine festival is that you can taste a little bit of everything and determine which wineries you would like to visit.
In addition, we got a helpful lesson from wine expert Laureen Guerriero of Wine Time Uncorked in West Hartford. "Wine is art in a bottle," I remember her saying. "And your own taste is the standard." Basically, you like the wine you like and don't like the wine you don't like. It's all about you and your taste. Her motto is "Have fun and taste mindfully!" Part of tasting mindfully is knowing how to taste. Here's what I learned.
Follow the 5 "S's":
1. See: Tilt the glass at a 45 degree angle over a white sheet of paper and look for the clarity, intensity, and color of the wine.
2. Swirl to release the aroma.
3. Smell: Put your nose deep into the glass and try to discern the condition, intensity, and aroma of the wine. The aroma characteristics are fruit, floral, spice, vegetal, and oak.
Common aromas with whites: Citrus, pear, peach, tropical fruits, honeysuckle, cinnamon, and vanilla
Common aromas with reds: berry, black cherry, plum, rose petal, cloves, cedar, earth
4. Sip: The fun part! Try to determine what aromas you taste as well as smell. Also try to figure out the wine's sweetness, acidity, tannin (for reds only), and body (mouthfeel).
5. Summarize and savor: Give your opinion on the quality of the wine and think about food pairings. And, of course, enjoy it!
Finally, because this is a food blog, I have to mention a really cool food product at the fair. Peace Tree Desserts is an organic, sustainable bakery. Their vendor featured cajeta caramel, a high quality Mexican caramel sauce that came in flavors like cinnamon, apple jack, and curry. At $13-18 a jar, it's not cheap, but it is the best caramel I've ever tasted.
Next up: Taste of Hartford!
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
In Season: Coventry Regional Farmers' Market
Today I made a zucchini omelet for breakfast and a few nights ago had that quintessential summer treat, corn-on-the-cob, as part of my dinner. Both veggies were fresh from the Coventry Regional Farmers' Market. There's nothing that quite says "summer" to me like corn-on-the-cob. Everyone has their own method of eating it--mine is with butter but no salt, in a haphazard fashion instead of the straight "typewriter" across--and there's no better place to get summer corn than from local farms.
I am very fortunate that the biggest and best farmer's market in the state is right around the corner from me, in Coventry. Most famous as the birthplace of patriot and spy Nathan Hale, the market takes place in the fields of his historic family homestead. It takes place very Sunday from 11-2, but the event is so popular that you really need to get there by 11 if you want any produce to be left--and to avoid the sweltering heat.
The market kicked off the first week of June and continues until November 20th. Each Sunday has a different theme, like "Beet-Nic Bash" or "Old Fashioned Corn Roast."
In addition to local produce, there's baked goods, jams, crafts, pasta, free ice cream, and a whole host of food vendors. I've had Indian food from Wings Express and Mexican burritos from Agave Grill. What I like best, though, is that almost every vendor offers free samples!
My favorite sample came from Savor Cookies, which have the most...interesting flavors: lavender, coconut ginger, and cinnamon orange but also savory flavors like roasted leek and smoked red onion. If you don't think that a leek flavored cookie would be good, think again!
And, since this is a fair, make sure to try one of the many original kettle corn flavors from Keifer's Kettle Korn.
Random question of the week: How do you like your corn best? How do you pick the best one? Post your thoughts in the comments...
I am very fortunate that the biggest and best farmer's market in the state is right around the corner from me, in Coventry. Most famous as the birthplace of patriot and spy Nathan Hale, the market takes place in the fields of his historic family homestead. It takes place very Sunday from 11-2, but the event is so popular that you really need to get there by 11 if you want any produce to be left--and to avoid the sweltering heat.
The market kicked off the first week of June and continues until November 20th. Each Sunday has a different theme, like "Beet-Nic Bash" or "Old Fashioned Corn Roast."
In addition to local produce, there's baked goods, jams, crafts, pasta, free ice cream, and a whole host of food vendors. I've had Indian food from Wings Express and Mexican burritos from Agave Grill. What I like best, though, is that almost every vendor offers free samples!
My favorite sample came from Savor Cookies, which have the most...interesting flavors: lavender, coconut ginger, and cinnamon orange but also savory flavors like roasted leek and smoked red onion. If you don't think that a leek flavored cookie would be good, think again!
And, since this is a fair, make sure to try one of the many original kettle corn flavors from Keifer's Kettle Korn.
Random question of the week: How do you like your corn best? How do you pick the best one? Post your thoughts in the comments...
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