Excellent Dinner at Max Downtown, Hartford (Kinda Long)
My husband and I decided to stop in Hartford for dinner on our way back from Southern Maine to NYC. We didn't have much expectations - I'd lived in Hartford for a year and while I wasn't quite the "chowbitch" that I am now (sorry, my favorite word of the night) I also didn't remember being impressed with much of the city's offerings. But it was starting to rain, and being on a motorcycle in the rain is no fun, so we decided anywhere warm with decent food would do.
A quick search led us to Max Downtown, and we actually had an excellent dinner, and I was impressed enough that I wanted to write about it on Chowhound. We ordered (we usually share everything) butternut squash soup, ricotta tortellini, duck and fig salad, creamed spinach gratin, and grilled lamb loin chops off CT Restaurant Week menu. Everything was delicious! There was not a single bad or even mediocre dish. I could eat that duck and fig salad everyday, literally. I mean, I really wish I could. Dressed just right with generous amounts of duck confit and grilled figs, brightly accented by pomegranate seeds and candied walnuts for added texture and slight sweetness - yes, it's a common salad, yes, you've seen it before, but it was among the best versions of it I've ever had. Ricotta tortellini could have been totally pedestrian, but topped with candied bacon, shaved apple, pumpkin seeds, pieces of butternut squash, covered with brown butter glaze (yes, I'm referring back to the menu) it was savory with just the right amount of sweetness and they were a hit for me. They knocked it out of the park with the lamb too - it was cooked perfectly (medium rare, natch) and went so well with accompanying carrots and brussels sprouts. Those roasted and slightly caramelized brussels sprouts were so delicious that I could have eaten a bowl of them on their own. And I usually hate vegetables. The creamed spinach too was better than what I've had at a number of well-known steakhouses in NYC and elsewhere - even without the decadent gruyere topping, it was tasty all on its own. My husband had a glass of St. Supery "Elu" (priced at $15, originally $30) to accompany it all. I just asked him what he thought of it, and he said "lot of wood, yet well-balanced and incredibly smooth" and declared it a very good wine and a great value.
All in all, it was an unexpectedly excellent dinner, and I wanted to share it with CT 'hounds and also thank you guys for implicitly pointing me in that direction. Without you guys, it would have been yet another trip to Hot Tomato's for "good enough" food, but certainly nothing like what we had at Max Downtown.
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We really enjoy Max Downtown. The Max Restaurant group does a good job overall between all their restaurants. We were just at Hot Tomato a couple of weeks ago and it was okay but nothing special. Max Downtown is probably our favorite restaurant downtown. On the wine, if you got a bottle of Elu for $15, it was a bargain. St. Supery Elu is one that we keep at home to share with special friends and have several vintage years in our basement.
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Max Downtown
City Place, 185 Asylum St., Hartford, CT 06103Hot Tomato's
1 Union Pl, Hartford, CT 06103›5 Replies-
re: jcanino
What other restaurants do they have and which one do you like? I'll have to remember for our next trip up North.
As for wine, it was for a glass - the restaurant had originally priced it at $30/glass. My husband thought while it wasn't quite worth the original price, at $15 it was a good deal. I don't drink so I really don't know much about wines - which vintage year is your favorite and how much do they go for in retail, approximately?
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re: uwsister
The Max Restaurant Group also has Max Amore and Max Fish in Glastonbury, Trumbull Kitchen in Hartford, Max A Mia in Avon and a few others. We enjoy max Downtown as well as Max Amore. As for the Elu, I have a couple of bottles of the 2001 which the winery sells for ~$90 but also enjoy the 2002 which they sell for ~$65. I also have some 2006 and 2007 sitting there as well.
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Trumbull Kitchen
150 Trumbull St., Hartford, CT 06103Max Restaurant Group
249 Pearl St Fl 2, Hartford, CT 06103Max Amore
140 Glastonbury Blvd Ste 2, Glastonbury, CT 06033Max Fish
110 Glastonbury Blvd, Glastonbury, CT 06033-
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re: jcanino
Trumbull Kitchen is also one of the Max's. It's on Trumbull St. in Hartford. It's a good place to take a group of people because the menu is varied. It's also a good place to go get a "small bite" if you are not in the mood for a big dinner.
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Trumbull Kitchen
150 Trumbull St., Hartford, CT 06103
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