5 new CT restaurants to try this summer. Think taste, location, ambiance.
New restaurants are popping up in Greater Hartford and throughout Connecticut all the time and now can be an ideal time of year to check them out, while the kids are out of school and it’s sometimes just too hot to cook and clean.
Here’s a convenient list of five restaurants to try that are new on the dining scene.
The Chef’s Table at Little Dipper Farm in Brooklyn, Conn.
Customers at The Chef’s Table at Little Dipper Farm say the farm-to-table food is so “ridiculously good,” its worth the trip to Brooklyn, Conn. for those who don’t live in the area.
Chef/Owner Brian Paszko’s fare is made from mostly locally grown vegetables and farm-raised meat from the area. Most of his veggies and the eggs used in dishes such as homemade pasta and cakes are said to just “walk across the street” to his eatery at 499 Wolf Den Road from the growing areas of Little Dipper Farm.
Paszko, 33, opened the fine dining spot with a rustic ambiance and magnificent view in December.
The restaurant, open Thursday through Sunday from 4 to 9 p.m. has 42 seats inside and 24 on the patio.
The eatery is set in an historic, renovated post and beam barn from the 1840s.
“The food is high end, but at the end of the day I want you to feel comfortable,” Paszko said. “I want you to feel you’re sitting at a friend’s table and having a nice meal.”
The patio over looks a lake on the farm, pastures, other farm sites and that view, described as “magnificent” can be seen through the barn’s big windows.
Canterbury residents Matthew and Meredith Breault have become regulars.
“Everything we’ve had there has been absolutely excellent. It’s all amazing food,” Matthew Breault said.
Those who want to make it a day can visit the farm for one of it’s scheduled public programs festivals or even buy a reasonably priced farm membership for access to hiking trails, kayaking and other recreational activities.
Hungry Pot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot, Manchester
The hottest new eatery in Manchester is Hungry Pot Korean BBQ and Hot Pot, an all-you-can eat restaurant located at 194 Buckland Hills Drive at the Shoppes at Buckland Hills.
Manager Kevin Gong said people from the Hartford area were so excited to experience the fare that while it was preparing to open many made the hour-long drive to the recently opened Danbury restaurant just to try it.
Gong said part of the restaurant’s popularity is driven by the current day interest in Korean culture, including K-pop – the acronym for Korean popular music (think Gangnam Style) and K-drama – or popular Korean drama – available on online platforms.
Hot pot is a soup base of different varieties: spicy, miso, beef, chicken. Customers add other ingredients of their choice, including veggies and ramen.
Korean barbecue is beef, chicken, steak, pork seafood with all kinds of sauce choices, Gong said.
Gather55, Hartford
Gather55, a restaurant with a unique model that helps feed the needy is working hard to increase dinner business – and its not for want of a finer menu or chef.
The restaurant is located at 55 Bartholomew, off the beaten path.
The menu each month is created by popular chef Tyler Anderson using recipes from other acclaimed Connecticut chefs that are made by Gather55’s own chef.
Diners pay a fixed price for a three-course meal that currently costs $42. For an additional charge, diners can order wine.
The Gather55 Facebook page recently posted that the guest chef for summer is Jeff Lizotte from Present Company in Tariffville.
The post states, “He is well-known for his playful yet sophisticated food.”
The post describes his first course: “a roasted corn and mushroom toast with pickled red onion jam and a toasted sunflower seed streusel.”
An example of a past week’s menu offering is: roast squash, kale salad or pumpkin soup; crispy half-chicken, apple-mustard-glazed salmon or roasted mushrooms; butterscotch pudding for dessert.
In addition to getting a scrumptious meal at Gather55, guests are helping to underwrite free and reduced breakfast, lunch and some dinners for guests in need.
Flavors of Nawab Farmington, Farmington
Farmington residents have been asking for an Indian Restaurant and recently got their wish with the opening of Flavors of Nawab Farmington, 55 Mill St.
Neeraj Goyal, owner of the town’s Annpurna Indian Farmers’ Market, is part owner of the new restaurant that offers northern and southern Indian cuisine.
Goyal, who will manage the restaurant has three business partners. One of them, Mohammed Fayazubbin owns Flavors of Nawab in Ellington.
Goyal said there is a substantial Indian population in the area, and there was no Indian restaurant, but he expects people of all ethnicities will love the cuisine.
The menu is extensive and includes vegetarian, lamb, seafood and chicken entrees along with kebabs, desserts.
The 4,000-square-foot space has a dining room and patio, event room and large bar, he said.
Goyal said he loves “To see people enjoy eating, having fun.”
Red Room Cafe Sports Bar & Lounge, East Hartford
Red Room Cafe Sports Bar & Lounge opened less than two months ago, and already it’s built a strong following and reputation as a place where everybody knows your name.
The bar/eatery has also become known for it’s Soul Food Sundays and Latino-inspired food.
The bar/lounge is owned by Devona Hayes Diaz, 38 and her husband, Jose Diaz, 42, who have twin infants.
The lounge/eatery occupies the space at 1543 Main St. that was home for decades to Sully’s Prospect Cafe.
The two best friends who fell in love and then had a romantic courtship, had the opportunity to open the business when Devona retired early from her career as a Hartford 911 dispatcher.
In addition to televisions airing sports, there’s a Karaoke night on Mondays, DJs on Fridays and Saturdays, who play a variety of music, including Latin, Reggae, hip-hop, R& B and alternative rock, and Happy Hour Monday through Friday.
The couple has chefs and they mostly works front of house talking with guests and managing.
But on Soul Food Sundays Devona puts her southern Georgia roots to work in the kitchen cooking soul food, making it healthier by substituting for turkey for ham.
On Saturdays Jose lets his Puerto Rican and Peruvian heritage shine, cooking Latino-inspired dishes with a chef’s help.
In addition to specialty cocktails, the lounge always offers traditional bar food – sliders, fries, wings of various flavors, calamari, fried jalapenos as well as “chef’s specials,” all week, a way to let their staff be creative.