A well-dressed crowd of Connecticut foodies descended upon 960 Main Street Thursday night, ready to taste some of the best cuisine greater Hartford has to offer. Hartford's Taste of the Nation event, one of nearly 40 such fundraisers being hosted nationwide by the Share Our Strength organization this spring and summer, raised funds for efforts dedicated to ending childhood hunger.
For three hours, 960 Main was host to more than 50 restaurants, caterers and vendors serving up gourmet bites and beverages to an estimated 500 patrons. A La Carte was there to taste all (well, most) of it. Click here for photos of the event.
It's impossible to go to a food festival like this and not want to eat absolutely everything. Dizzying smells fill the air before you
even see what the chefs are cooking up for you. You'll start salivating
when you spy a row of perfectly plated canapes, bite-sized sliders or
irresistible chocolate desserts. A guest will inevitably walk by you
with a plate of something spectacular, and you'll spend the next twenty
minutes thinking nothing but "Must. Find. That."
The food ranged from beautifully-executed, high-end nibbles to equally satisfying comfort foods. Lobster showed up at several stations, including a lobster-and-tropical-fruit-studded guacamole by Besito, lobster salad on tiny brioche buns by ON20, a spring-pea blini with lobster pea salad and chive creme fraiche from La Tavola in Waterbury and a lobster dumpling with chive butter and roasted yellow pepper sauce from David Burke Prime Steakhouse.
The standout in this category, though, were lobster profiteroles
(pictured left), made by Kevin Cottle of The Country Club of Farmington. The shellfish was
mixed salad-style with mango, spring peas, cilantro and mascarpone and
served up on the citrus-scented pastry.
Cottle, runner-up on season 6 of the Fox reality show "Hell's Kitchen," topped the creation with a drizzle of mascarpone-based sauce blended with rice wine vinegar, peach puree and raspberry powder "for tartness," he explained.
There's no shortage of Italian eateries in central Connecticut, and these chefs made their ancestors proud with flavors of the old country. Peppercorn's Grill served up cheese-filled ravioli with a light, tangy orange-flavored sauce, and Carbone's brought Sicilian-style tuna meatballs in marinara. Restaurant Bricco spooned up homemade cavatelli pasta with spring mushrooms, fava beans and creme fraiche. Esca Restaurant and Wine Bar, a new addition to the Middletown dining scene, offered spinach and ricotta ravioli with braised fennel, tomatoes and capers. Salute, Piccolo Arancio and Rizzuto's did meatballs, gnocchi and prosciutto de parma, respectively.
Chefs from Joey Garlic's loaded diners' plates with a trifecta of
Italian delicacies: parmesan-dusted eggplant fries with marinara,
bruschetta with goat cheese and caponata and Italian ricotta doughnuts
with raspberry sauce and creme anglaise.
Among the haute cuisine, though, were some whimsical treats. Plan B Burger Bar dished out miniature cheeseburgers and chili dogs, the latter topped with a creamy cheddar sauce and chives. Lisa Cole Inspired Catering put a spin on childhood sweets, with "s'mores spoons" and coffee-flavored cotton candy. The Copper Beech Inn presented an epicurean take on the humble corn dog, made with suckling pig and topped with "aerated Chinese mustard" and black garlic ketchup. (Don't expect to find that at the Big E this fall.)
Pork rivaled lobster as one of the night's most popular ingredients,
starring in the Max Restaurant Group's steamed slow-roast pork buns
with curry peanut sauce; Barcelona's chorizo and fig stir-fry and
Dish's pork-belly sliders with house-made hot sauce. Craftsteak brought
pulled-pork sliders with piquillo peppers and smoked apple.
Not to be outdone, Black-Eyed Sally's served up their famed pulled pork sandwiches with caramelized onions.
Desserts were plentiful (for those who still had room in their stomachs, that is.) Huge trays of assorted cookies and pastries came courtesy of Mozzicato-de Pasquale Bakery. Bridgewater Chocolate displayed several varieties of their artisan candies. Diners also got a sneak preview of a dessert from Billy Grant's soon-to-open Bricco Trattoria in Glastonbury - a steamed lemon pudding with blackberry sauce.
ON20 picked up our nod for most inventive dessert presentation, for
their milk chocolate custard served in emptied brown eggshells and finished
with caramel foam and Maldon sea salt.
Lines formed quickly for fresh sushi rolls and tuna tacos expertly crafted by Feng Asian Bistro chefs. Across from the Feng table, a rep from Thomas Hooker Brewery poured samples of their summer seasonal Watermelon Ale. (Overheard: several exclamations of "Watermelon? Really?!")
Draft selections from City Steam and Stella Artois rounded out the beer offerings. The wine flowed, too, with 15 distributors' tables set up among the food stations. (Had to laugh at the "Sassy Bitch" line of Chilean whites and reds.)
Angela Pitrone, who co-chaired the event committee with restaurateur Billy Grant, said this year's Taste of the Nation Hartford had the most restaurant participation to date. The number of walk-in patrons was also "extremely high," she said.
"The Share our Strength Taste of the Nation event exceeded our sponsorship goal by over $5,000 this year," she said. "I would like to thank all of our chefs, wine, beer and liquor distributors, Marquee Events and Catering, volunteers and all of our sponsors for making the event such a success year after year."
If you missed last night's happening (or want to do it all over again) New Haven hosts its own Taste of the Nation event on May 19 with renowned guests Jacques Pepin and Faith Middleton.
(Photo credit: Nick Caito / ctnow.com)
The food ranged from beautifully-executed, high-end nibbles to equally satisfying comfort foods. Lobster showed up at several stations, including a lobster-and-tropical-fruit-studded guacamole by Besito, lobster salad on tiny brioche buns by ON20, a spring-pea blini with lobster pea salad and chive creme fraiche from La Tavola in Waterbury and a lobster dumpling with chive butter and roasted yellow pepper sauce from David Burke Prime Steakhouse.
The standout in this category, though, were lobster profiteroles
(pictured left), made by Kevin Cottle of The Country Club of Farmington. The shellfish was
mixed salad-style with mango, spring peas, cilantro and mascarpone and
served up on the citrus-scented pastry. Cottle, runner-up on season 6 of the Fox reality show "Hell's Kitchen," topped the creation with a drizzle of mascarpone-based sauce blended with rice wine vinegar, peach puree and raspberry powder "for tartness," he explained.
There's no shortage of Italian eateries in central Connecticut, and these chefs made their ancestors proud with flavors of the old country. Peppercorn's Grill served up cheese-filled ravioli with a light, tangy orange-flavored sauce, and Carbone's brought Sicilian-style tuna meatballs in marinara. Restaurant Bricco spooned up homemade cavatelli pasta with spring mushrooms, fava beans and creme fraiche. Esca Restaurant and Wine Bar, a new addition to the Middletown dining scene, offered spinach and ricotta ravioli with braised fennel, tomatoes and capers. Salute, Piccolo Arancio and Rizzuto's did meatballs, gnocchi and prosciutto de parma, respectively.
Chefs from Joey Garlic's loaded diners' plates with a trifecta of
Italian delicacies: parmesan-dusted eggplant fries with marinara,
bruschetta with goat cheese and caponata and Italian ricotta doughnuts
with raspberry sauce and creme anglaise. Among the haute cuisine, though, were some whimsical treats. Plan B Burger Bar dished out miniature cheeseburgers and chili dogs, the latter topped with a creamy cheddar sauce and chives. Lisa Cole Inspired Catering put a spin on childhood sweets, with "s'mores spoons" and coffee-flavored cotton candy. The Copper Beech Inn presented an epicurean take on the humble corn dog, made with suckling pig and topped with "aerated Chinese mustard" and black garlic ketchup. (Don't expect to find that at the Big E this fall.)
Pork rivaled lobster as one of the night's most popular ingredients,
starring in the Max Restaurant Group's steamed slow-roast pork buns
with curry peanut sauce; Barcelona's chorizo and fig stir-fry and
Dish's pork-belly sliders with house-made hot sauce. Craftsteak brought
pulled-pork sliders with piquillo peppers and smoked apple. Not to be outdone, Black-Eyed Sally's served up their famed pulled pork sandwiches with caramelized onions.
Desserts were plentiful (for those who still had room in their stomachs, that is.) Huge trays of assorted cookies and pastries came courtesy of Mozzicato-de Pasquale Bakery. Bridgewater Chocolate displayed several varieties of their artisan candies. Diners also got a sneak preview of a dessert from Billy Grant's soon-to-open Bricco Trattoria in Glastonbury - a steamed lemon pudding with blackberry sauce.
ON20 picked up our nod for most inventive dessert presentation, for
their milk chocolate custard served in emptied brown eggshells and finished
with caramel foam and Maldon sea salt. Lines formed quickly for fresh sushi rolls and tuna tacos expertly crafted by Feng Asian Bistro chefs. Across from the Feng table, a rep from Thomas Hooker Brewery poured samples of their summer seasonal Watermelon Ale. (Overheard: several exclamations of "Watermelon? Really?!")
Draft selections from City Steam and Stella Artois rounded out the beer offerings. The wine flowed, too, with 15 distributors' tables set up among the food stations. (Had to laugh at the "Sassy Bitch" line of Chilean whites and reds.)
Angela Pitrone, who co-chaired the event committee with restaurateur Billy Grant, said this year's Taste of the Nation Hartford had the most restaurant participation to date. The number of walk-in patrons was also "extremely high," she said.
"The Share our Strength Taste of the Nation event exceeded our sponsorship goal by over $5,000 this year," she said. "I would like to thank all of our chefs, wine, beer and liquor distributors, Marquee Events and Catering, volunteers and all of our sponsors for making the event such a success year after year."
If you missed last night's happening (or want to do it all over again) New Haven hosts its own Taste of the Nation event on May 19 with renowned guests Jacques Pepin and Faith Middleton.
(Photo credit: Nick Caito / ctnow.com)
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