A Change of Eatery

I’ll be taking this show on the road tomorrow, heading up to Maine with some friends to enjoy Portland’s restaurant week, Fort Williams Park, jazz brunch, and whatever else jumps out at us. Jealous? Well, you don’t have to be!

Lucky for you, I’ve compiled a list of interesting events going on this weekend. It’s a big wonderful mishmosh of culture, history, and entertainment in Hartford.

Hartford Organic Farmers Market

The Growing Green Co-op
203 New Britain Ave., Hartford, CT

The Growing Green Co-op holds a year-round Saturday morning farmers market.

• March 6, 2010 10:00 a.m.

West Indian Film Series

Real Art Ways Theatre
56 Arbor Street, Hartford, CT

Held in conjunction with the exhibit “Rockstone and Bootheel.”

• March 7, 2010 2:00 p.m.

Cultural Center Exhibits

Charter Oak Cultural Center
21 Charter Oak Avenue, Hartford, CT

• March 6, 2010

En Foco: A Latin American Film Series

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
600 Main St., Hartford, CT

A film series celebrating Latin American film

• March 6, 2010

Gallery Talk: Pictures of Victorian Hartford

Connecticut Historical Society
1 Elizabeth St., Hartford, CT

• March 6, 2010 2:00 p.m

Jazz Brunch

The Russell at the Wadsworth Atheneum
600 Main St., Hartford, CT

• March 7, 2010 12:00 p.m.
• March 14, 2010 12:00 p.m.

Korean Cultural Day

Trinity College, Vernon Social Center
114 Vernon St., Hartford, CT

Kimchi Making, Korean Games and Calligraphy, Korean Food and Music, Korean Performances, Traditional Dance and Tae Kwon Do performance.

• March 6, 2010 9:30 a.m.

Martini Magic

Trumbull Kitchen
150 Trumbull St., Hartford, CT

Friday night is ladies night at Trumbull kitchen and that means martini magic, a cosmo, grapesicle or valentini for only $5.

• March 5, 2010
• March 12, 2010

Oscar Night America Party

Dish Bar & Grill
900 Main St., Hartford, CT

• March 7, 2010 7:00 p.m.

Sunday Night TrueGrass Bluegrass Series

Firebox Restaurant
539 Broad St., Hartford, CT

Firebox has added a new twist to Hartford’s nightlife scene: live bluegrass.

• March 7, 2010 5:00 p.m.

So get out there & enjoy the city.

Time to pass another recipe your way…

Cumin, cinnamon and citrus launch a flavor-filled sneak attack on black bean chili in this unique vegetarian dish. This recipe is ranked among the favorite meals in my apartment—it was love at first bite when my roommate made it over a year ago (and many times since then). Healthy, tasty & insanely easy.

(here’s a shot from the last time i made the chili)

Ingredients

For color & variety, toss in a can of chickpeas, corn, or any kind of beans your heart desires.

Preparation

Grate enough orange peel to measure 1 1/2 teaspoons. Juice oranges. Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté 5 minutes. Mix in garlic and spices. Add beans, tomatoes, and half of orange juice. Simmer over medium heat until heated through and flavors blend, stirring often, about 15 minutes. Mix in orange peel and remaining orange juice. Season to taste with hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Ladle chili into bowls. Top with sour cream and cilantro. Pass extra hot sauce alongside. (I also tend to toss a bunch of shredded cheese on top). Throw together some corn bread or beer bread for a delicious accompaniment!

30 min prep…4 servings (recipe adapted from bon appetit- 2008)

And I don’t want any snide comments from the peanut gallery about veggie chili not being “real” chili. You folks know who you are :)

I’ve been craving pancakes ever since Mardi Gras- when I learned that what I’d grown to know as Fat Tuesday is celebrated as Pancake Day in Ireland. Oh envy! Makes me wish I never left Galway.

I thought my pancake fixation would lose some steam after visiting Quaker Diner a few weeks ago, but the opposite has been true. So, naturally, when my friend Gregg suggested breakfast at Mo’s Midtown in Hartford, I happily agreed.

Oh. I should also let you know that I’ve relapsed into my pre-Lenten chocoholic condition. I really did try. But this is what happens when I receive a package of homemade cookies in the mail, chocolate covered peanut butter crackers to put in the freezer “until after Lent” and a mysterious plastic baggie filled with hot cocoa powder on my desk at work. I caved under the pressure. So it goes.

So, that said, chocolate chip pancakes it is!

Mo’s was packed but it didn’t take us too long to be seated. We arrived on the early (for me) side- around 9- and the line crept out the door in no time. It’s a cozy little diner on Whitney Street, just off Farmington Ave in Hartford.

I’ve never really considered the boundless possibilities for pancakes before coming to Mo’s. They offer everything from pineapple pancakes to cranberry, strawberry-raspberry, blueberry, apple walnut, chocolate chip, potato pancakes and more. AND- best part- you can order single pancakes. I know…living on the edge. I chose an apple walnut and a chocolate chip pancake, which were both amazing. Gregg almost opted for boring plain pancakes but luckily our waitress bullied him into changing his order. So there we were- enjoying our massive, plate-sized, strangely asymmetrical pancakes. It probably goes without saying that the chocolate chip pancakes were delicious.

If I used words like decadent to describe chocolate, I would say decadent.

2 pancakes were plenty- I couldn’t even finish.

Mo’s also has a bunch of omelet options & a whole selection of other breakfast items…honestly, I didn’t get that far into the menu.

Pay them a visit!

25 Whitney Street Hartford, CT 06105-2543 - (860) 236-7741

Well, February has come and gone and I’ve barely scratched the surface of the myriad breakfast eateries, coffee shops and bakeries I set out to discover. Lucky for me, this mission will continue for a long time.

Much of my weekend was spent gallivanting around Hartford, just the way I like it. Haitian Happy hour at La Paloma Sabanera, coffee at Jojo’s, some quick bites at Hook & Ladder, and a fantastic breakfast at Mo’s Midtown.

I’ll touch upon Jojo’s Coffee & Tea for a paragraph or two. What a great find. I ventured out with my roommate Beth on Saturday in hopes of finding a good cup of coffee and a place to get some reading done. Jojo’s exceeded my expectations. Not only did I drink some amazing coffee (they roast their own), but Beth had a cup of tea worth highlighting– a soothing honey lemon concoction with fresh ginger grated in. SO tasty. On the menu, Jojo’s provides a great tea selection (even bubble tea!), grilled paninis, espresso drinks, smoothies, baked goods and so on.

I’ll leave you with my two favorite excerpts from the website:

“We roast our own coffee at Jojo’s Coffee and Tea because we want to give our customers the freshest coffee possible… So how fresh are our beans?  They are so fresh, we have to slap them.”

“Just like dark roast, there is no flavored coffee at Jojo’s.  This is because we have no desire to play with flavor compounds and in our not so humble opinion a coffee shop should smell like, well, coffee, and not some farcical Southern Amaretto Banana Cinnamon Hazelnut Snickerdoodle amalgamation.”

Been here before? Chime in with your two cents :)

22 Pratt Street

Hartford, CT 06103

http://cafejojo.com/