I'm no food diva- sure I love a fine dining experience. I enjoy white tablecloths- and the particularly high-end places that scrape the crumbs from your table between courses. But there is a time and a place for this sort of event.
Though I love a great restaurant, I am equally satisfied by a well made sandwich, burger, or just about anything from a greasy spoon diner. When I worked in Boston I frequented the street meat kabob purveyor, and enjoyed a couple visits to Clover- a vegetarian food truck. Cheap, hearty, and satisfying, I miss these lunch options more than I miss Barbara Lynch.
So when Gmonkey mobile, a sustainable & vegetarian food truck, began tweeting their presence in Hartford earlier this month, I knew I had to try it.
Overlooking the Mediterranean sea, nestled among 3 hills and their valleys, is the beautiful, old town of Safita, Syria. Only a few miles from the long island sound, nestled between Westport and Fairfield proper, is the beautiful, month old middle eastern restaurant, SAFITA. It is the "Tale" of two Safitas, both with their charm, beauty, and authenticity. And it is just this authenticity that Kheder Hassoun and his family bring to this brand new Middle Eastern restaurant, situated where the old Chat 'N Chew used to be. Tiny in size but big in hospitality, Safita, at 2217 Post Road in Fairfield is pulling in the crowds, night after night. This is middle eastern at its finest, with "Ummu" ("mother" in Arabic) Amal in the kitchen, cooking up all her own recipes from scratch. This ain't your roadside Shawarma.
Alicia Fidalgo is the voice behindThe Clean Plate Club blog. She shares her time between West Hartford & Boston.
On a chilly Sunday morning I recently had the pleasure of visiting Hartford Baking Company in West Hartford, CT. Located in a strip of shops on New Park Avenue, the bakery's interior juxtaposes the cozy comfort of a local bake-shop with urban-inspired industrial design.
Baked goods run the gamut from sweet to savory: muffins, sticky buns and scones, as well as beautiful crusty European-style bread.
