You should never go hungry on Farmington Avenue. The corridor has
two dozen restaurants offering food for all tastes and budgets. Many
deliver to your door.
Chinese restaurants
and pizza shops
are plentiful. But no two pizza shops are alike. City Pizza offers
kosher meat toppings and specialty pizzas such as white clam
pizza or white pie with fresh mozzarella, Romano cheese, garlic,
parsley, oregano and olive oil. A-1 Pizza is a favorite in Asylum
Hill. Other pizza restaurants are Sgt. Pepperoni, Whitney and
Domino's.
The avenue’s four Chinese restaurants have
similar menus but each has their own recipe for preparing the same
dish. You’ll just have to experiment to find the flavor you
prefer.
But the avenue’s real culinary treasure is
the growing number of ethnic restaurants and watering holes, mostly
run by families and young entrepreneurs.
Two feature Spanish cuisine,
Monte Alban in the West End and Munchies in Asylum Hill. Both are
family run and offer large portions at moderate prices. Décor
is colorful and it’s helpful to know a little Spanish to interpret
the menu and order dishes. Monte Alban features Mexican food while
Munchies menu has Colombian cuisine.
On Monte Alban’s menu are seven varieties
of tacos, burritos, tamales, tostadas, enchiladas, quesadilla –
foods you’d expect at a traditional Mexican restaurant. But
diners should stray from the better known dishes and try the tortilla
soup, tilapia fish, pozole and house specialties.
Columbian restaurant Munchies offers hearty meat
dishes prepared in 24 different ways, often complemented with ice,
frijoles, yucca, papa and green plantains.
If you’re in the mood for sushi,
Ichiban’s is the place to go. The restaurant opened up a few
years back in a former Friendly Ice Cream Shop. Owner Sam Oh did
a remarkable job renovating the building by removing Friendly’s
signature red décor and converting the former soda fountain
seating into a prep area.
Island Cuisine, a West Indian
take-out restaurant in Asylum Hill, has authentic Jamaican dishes.
Run by three brothers and their sister, it does a brisk business
at lunch time as people are drawn to its affordable and delicious
luncheon specials. On the menu are oxtail, curry goat, jerk chicken,
escoveitch fish, callaloo, stew peas, totoes and gizzadas and more.
Irish pub food can be eaten
at the Half Door. It serves hearty portions of traditional Irish
foods – shepherds pie, Guinness lamb stew, cottage pie –
and a large assortment of sandwiches. The Half Door has over 100
varieties of beer; most of them are imported. The pub has live music
on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings, ranging from a one-man
balladeer of Irish tunes to a 7-piece rock band.
Another active night spot is Tisane’s
Tea and Coffee Bar. By day, this comfortably furnished coffee
house with fireplace, seems to attract people who linger. At night
Tisanes gets a livelier crowd. In warm weather their front patio
is packed into the wee hours of the morning. It has just expanded
its kitchen so it can have a menu beyond baked goods and sandwiches.
Also
adding to the West End night scene is Braza,
a Churrascaria (Brazilian steak house) restaurant where
14 different meats are served on skewers at your table. The
meats will keep coming until you say "enough!" Vegetarians
are offered a full salad bar including rice, beans and fish.
Some nights the restaurant has Latin music and dancing.
Mornings.
Where can you find eggs and a good cup of coffee? Mo's has been voted the best
breakfast spot in Greater Hartford so many times that people line up outside
the front door every weekend waiting for a seat to open up.
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LIST
OF LOCAL RESTAURANTS
Breakfast
& Lunch
Mo’s
Midtown, 25 Whitney St, 236-7741
Tisane
Tea & Coffee, 537 Farmington Ave, 523-5417
Pizza
A-1, 274 Farmington Ave, 525-6666
City Pizza, 498B Farmington Ave, 236-2616
Domino’s Pizza, 312 Farmington Ave,246-8333
Sgt Pepperoni, 495 Farmington Ave, 233-8888
Sisson Avenue Pizza, 487 Farmington Avenue
Vegas Boulevard, 233 Sisson Ave
Whitney Pizza & Grinder, 266 So. Whitney
St,
232-7860
Brazilian
Braza, 488 Farmington Ave, 882-1839
Chinese
China King, 259 Sisson Ave, 236-261
China House, 498A Farmington Ave, 523-5830
Peking Garden, 244 Farmington Ave, 724-3579
Number 1 China House, 260 Farmington Ave,
522-2026
Japanese
and Korean
Ichiban Japanese & Korean Restaurant
530 Farmington Ave,
236-5599
Irish
The Half Door, 270 Sisson Ave,
232-7827
Spanish
Monte Alban, 529 Farmington Ave, 523-7423
West
Indian (Jamaican)
Island Cuisine, 300 Farmington Ave, 525-3663
Rosie's, 248 Sisson Avenue
Ethiopian/Eritrean
Abyssinian
Restaurant, 231 Farmington Avenue,
Fast
Food
Burger King,
524 Farmington Avenue
Domino’s Pizza, 312 Farmington Ave,
246-8333
Kentucky Fried Chicken, 501 Farmington Ave,
232-9566
NY Chicken & Biscuits, 202 Farmington Ave, 548-1107
Subway Sandwiches & Salads, 471 Farmington
Ave, 232-5429
Taco Bell, 255 Farmington Ave, 247-3610
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