The *new* Taste of hartford

[MadVlad]

This coming week is the Taste of Hartford, but I think it's different than it has been in prior years. This year, instead of having booths on Constitution Plaza, you have to visit the restaurants for special priced meals. Sounds pretty lame to me. I really liked the festival type atmosphere when it was on Constitution Plaza. It allowed me to sample things from wherever without having to spend $20.06 on a full meal and try just one. Way to screw up a good thing...

[Frankie811]

This coming week is the Taste of Hartford, but I think it's different than it has been in prior years. This year, instead of having booths on Constitution Plaza, you have to visit the restaurants for special priced meals. Sounds pretty lame to me. I really liked the festival type atmosphere when it was on Constitution Plaza. It allowed me to sample things from wherever without having to spend $20.06 on a full meal and try just one. Way to screw up a good thing...

We just had something similar here in Providence called restuarant week where selected eateries reduced their prices on lunch and dinner selections. http://www.restreview.com/pv_index.php We have the annual taste of RI which is held at the RI Convention Center, which includes vendor booths. Any reason as to why the Haftford event was changed this year? Money, logistics? Lack of support?

[MadVlad]

It didn't even happen last year, if memory serves. They site lack of support, but every year I would go, and it would be packed. How they can fit more people and get better support I have no idea, it was crawling with people...

[drc72]

I haven't been to the Taste of Hartford in Years. Sounds like it's being run under different management.

[mikel]

The Taste of Hartford on Constitution Plaza had gotten real crappy in recent years. There would only be a few vendors and it was real ripoff, yet people did keep showing up oddly enough. I think we need more events on the Plaza, though maybe with better themes than just overpriced food stands!

[runawayjim]

they shoudl change the name to restaurant week. a lot of cities have restaurant week where participating restaurants offer certain menu selections at certain prices. as frankie said, we had one in providene a couple weeks ago. $29.95 for a 3 course dinner (appetizer, entree, dessert, some places also had discounted drink selections) or $12.95 (or maybe $14.95, i don't remember) for lunch.

i went to one of the places for dinner and the entree alone was regularly about $25, so you did save money. it was a good way to try out a new restaurant. of course most of them only offered 2 selections for each course (some of the places offered more). the problem was that a lot of the restaurants offered similar entrees, which made it pointless to go to 2 of those places even if you wanted to try each of them. it was good going with my fiancee because we each ordered something different and tried the other. i hope more restaurants join in next year.

[Captain59]

IIRC, Richard Cohen--the man who owns Constitution Plaza and mucked up Front Street--kicked the Taste out of the Plaza because he wanted better events and a different feel for the area. One guess as to how many events have been on the Plaza since.

[MadVlad]

I'll guess, I'll guess..... ZERO!!!!!

[spatulashack]

IIRC, Richard Cohen--the man who owns Constitution Plaza and mucked up Front Street--kicked the Taste out of the Plaza because he wanted better events and a different feel for the area. One guess as to how many events have been on the Plaza since.

I work at Tisane in the West End and when I heard the news that this was going on IN the restaurants I was baffled. They changed it from a wonderful little festival to basically just a coupon that gives you discounts at restaurants.

[redbaron]

I work at Tisane in the West End and when I heard the news that this was going on IN the restaurants I was baffled. They changed it from a wonderful little festival to basically just a coupon that gives you discounts at restaurants.

I believe last year it was the taste of Greater Hartford and it was held in East Hartford..... None of Hartfords restaurants really participated in it, no Max, Carbones, or any of West Hartfords restaurants... Atleast this way they are participating in something...

Although they are more than happy to help out at the Sun Winefest...

[MadVlad]

Sorry, I think this is nonsense, the festival was nice, the "cheap" meals won't get anyone off their ass to go into the city....

[redbaron]

Sorry, I think this is nonsense, the festival was nice, the "cheap" meals won't get anyone off their ass to go into the city....

I totally agree, although the festival was never as good as it could have been http://www.tasteofhartford.com/home.html . Most of the restaurants weren't even from Hartford, just some lunch trucks from outside the city. If all the restaurant that are participating in the prix fixe meal thing the taste of Hartford would have been great. 20.06 meals is just a way to get people into the restaurants during a dead summer period for Hartford restuarants...

[jcrc]

I totally agree, although the festival was never as good as it could have been http://www.tasteofhartford.com/home.html . Most of the restaurants weren't even from Hartford, just some lunch trucks from outside the city. If all the restaurant that are participating in the prix fixe meal thing the taste of Hartford would have been great. 20.06 meals is just a way to get people into the restaurants during a dead summer period for Hartford restuarants...

Any reason why restaurants in Hartford did not participate?

[MadVlad]

Last time I went, some did and some didn't. You could always see places like Scott's there...

[Yankee.Peddler]

I think a Restaurant Week in Hartford might be better than the traditional Taste of Hartford. There are now several great restaurants scattered throughout the city. Done correctly, a Restaurant Week could bring significant numbers of suburbanites into the city's neighborhoods, potentially improving the city's negative image.

I know that the Taste of Hartford was a fun festival; I enjoyed going there, too. But how much of "revitalizing" Hartford can one actually experience from the sterilized isolated concrete bastion known as Constitution Plaza?

[ctman987]

It seems like a lot of places are having restaurant weeks. I was in Baltimore about 2 weeks ago and it was restaurant week. I ate at some of the participating restaurants because I did not know where to eat in the city....they were great restaurants but I didnt participate in the special offerings. This week and then for another week towards the end of the month will be restaurant week in Boston. Someone already talked about restaurant week in Providence.

I personally prefer to get people out onto someplace like Constitution Plaza where Hartford restaurants are the main showcase and people can walk around, talk, take in the city and enjoys its restaurants. Instead of Constitution Plaza Bushnell Park could have been a good place for a festival.

Who knows though this may draw people into the city. We will have to wait and see what the results of this week are with city restaurants/

[MadVlad]

Why not do both? Have a weeks festival "Get fat, Hartford!!!!", and have a bunch of booths on Constitution Plaza, AND have all the restaurants give discounts. It'll be like a big gluttonous party or something......

[drc72]

IIRC, Richard Cohen--the man who owns Constitution Plaza and mucked up Front Street--kicked the Taste out of the Plaza because he wanted better events and a different feel for the area. One guess as to how many events have been on the Plaza since.

Real Smart!!! Stopping a festival that brings a lot of people downtown.

[runawayjim]

Real Smart!!! Stopping a festival that brings a lot of people downtown.

i think the restaurant week idea, if advertised as a restaurant week and the restaurants have good deals and decent selections (and there's a good choice in restaurants), could be better as it gets people to where the restaurants are rather than all going to one place downtown.

try to do the taste of hartford thing as more of a taste of CT to get people to the city and experience all of CT.

[MadVlad]

i think the restaurant week idea, if advertised as a restaurant week and the restaurants have good deals and decent selections (and there's a good choice in restaurants), could be better as it gets people to where the restaurants are rather than all going to one place downtown.

try to do the taste of hartford thing as more of a taste of CT to get people to the city and experience all of CT.

Ugh, why make it the taste of CT? I'm not sure if a restaurant in Bridgport or Stamford or even New Haven would put a little tent in Hartford....

[Carter711]

Manchester has a 'taste of downtown' event as well in Sept., but instead of going into the restaurants themselves, you go into different retail shops downtown (clustered in a 3 or 4 block area). Inside each store they have a stand set up, where you can have a small dish. The idea is to get people to go inside downtown shops they wouldn't ordinarily go inside of, and with about 25 restaurants involved the $15 ticket is a steal. Although it was kind of strange eating Guiness stew in a bath fixture store

[runawayjim]

Manchester has a 'taste of downtown' event as well in Sept., but instead of going into the restaurants themselves, you go into different retail shops downtown (clustered in a 3 or 4 block area). Inside each store they have a stand set up, where you can have a small dish. The idea is to get people to go inside downtown shops they wouldn't ordinarily go inside of, and with about 25 restaurants involved the $15 ticket is a steal. Although it was kind of strange eating Guiness stew in a bath fixture store

that is really weird... for a minute, i thought you were talking about manchester, CT... but then i realized you meant NH. i didn't know where "downtown" manchester was in CT since it's mostly malls, strip mall, and big box retail.

[GHartford]

that is really weird... for a minute, i thought you were talking about manchester, CT... but then i realized you meant NH. i didn't know where "downtown" manchester was in CT since it's mostly malls, strip mall, and big box retail.

For the record, Manchester, CT has a beautiful (though underused and underappreciated) downtown. Small stores and a few quaint places to eat. Exit 3 off 384. Eventhough the Buckland area of which you speak is full of big box retail, it actually takes up only a small portion of Manchester. It is what everyone sees because 84 runs right through it- which of course is how and why it was developed in the first place. Manchester is way more than Buckland, though.

[HartfordTycoon]

For the record, Manchester, CT has a beautiful (though underused and underappreciated) downtown. Small stores and a few quaint places to eat. Exit 3 off 384. Eventhough the Buckland area of which you speak is full of big box retail, it actually takes up only a small portion of Manchester. It is what everyone sees because 84 runs right through it- which of course is how and why it was developed in the first place. Manchester is way more than Buckland, though.

I agree. Downtown Manchester has tons of potential and is very historic and charming. I really would like to see all of our town centers re-energized, possibly around new housing and mass transit.