#SALUTE HARTFORD SERIES#

The flavors clash, potatoes soak up almost every smidgen of sauce, and with every one of our attempts to cut the short ribs, they sink deeper into the mush. But a trendy presentation-serving the ribs atop a mountain of mashed potatoes flavored with goat cheese-plays the dish false. In a luscious sauce and tender enough to fall off the bone, they are served off the bone, So far, so traditional. The Rolling Stones' former Connecticut rehearsal site poised for 52-room hotel, despite opposition.1 seed in the NCAA Tournament? ESPN's bracketologist weighs in Can UConn women's basketball team make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament? 5 keys for the Huskies.CT ordered to pay $45 million to essential state employees.UConn women's basketball team in Seattle Region, will face Vermont in first round of NCAA Tournament.Nor'easter could bring up to foot of snow and soaking rain to CT, weather service says.UConn men's basketball team will face Iona in first round of NCAA Tournament, landing in West Region.Innovative or tried-and-true, at Salute it’s a matter of choice. Salute obliges with a well-made classic version of chicken Parmesan-crisply breaded, baked rather than sautéed, and served over linguine with house-made mozzarella and good old marinara sauce. On the other hand, authenticity is what’s wanted when old favorites are involved. Trendy is easy to poke fun at, but it has much to recommend it when the idea, ingredients and preparation come together as felicitously as they do here. Green beans with shallot butter and bacon? Check. Winners include a 10-ounce pork tenderloin that touches all the trendy bases. It’s abundance Italian-style, marvelous if you’re ravenous, mouthwatering even if you’re not.Įntrées, too, tend to fill the plate, and except for a surf and turf of filet mignon and lobster, they’re priced in the low 20s. Each ingredient holds its own-and there are a lot of ingredients: chicken, sausage, veal, fennel, red peppers, yellow peppers, mushrooms. We luck out with giobatto, a robust stew in a spicy broth ladled over tender fettucine noodles. What we get is a sprightly tangle of fresh arugula leaves, with tart, thinly sliced unsugared berries and tangy goat cheese. We order strawberry salad with some hesitation because it is sometimes too sweet. Blanketed with a velvety cream sauce scented with sage, it’s love at first bite. But the appetizer I like best, the one I’d return for any day, is the house-made ravioli with sweet-potato filling. Starters, gently priced, are generous and roam the civilized world for inspiration, from Italian bruschetta tricolore-with broccoli rabe, chicken, roasted tomato sauce and melted provolone on toasted bread topped with tomato tapenade-to photogenic Asian tuna tempura maki rolls wrapped in nori, lightly fried and served with ponzu sauce, spicy mayo and strips of addictive pickled ginger.įor diehard traditionalists there’s a golden oldie of a shrimp cocktail with horseradish sauce-fun for a change. As we all know, that’s not always the case. To her credit, when she doesn’t know something she runs to the kitchen to find out-and comes back promptly.

The lighting is pleasing and our waitress is bright, peppy, new but well- informed. But hey, isn’t that part of what makes it feel like a party? A classy party, the decor suggests-in Tuscany, perhaps, with a grapevine motif and a lot of stone and wood.

The noise level is sky-high, especially in the bar.

#SALUTE HARTFORD SERIES#

It’s easy to hide, given that the premises, a sleek redo of Dulce on Trumbull Street, consist of a series of small rooms opening onto one another, with nooks and alcoves that provide a bit of privacy without making you feel left out.

On a Friday night when we manage to slip in with the crowd, half of Hartford appears to be here, also. Key players like maître d’ Dale (“Daleo”) Kirshnitz are also on board. Take Salute in downtown Hartford, for example, its nexus the demise of Hot Tomato’s, its ownership, management and staff an A-team of that restaurant’s alumni and talented local professionals: co-owners Jimmy Cosgrove, who managed Hot Tomato’s in the ’90s Andy Rizzo, of Joey Garlic restaurant group fame and Dave Caudill, Hot Tomato’s chef for seven years. It’s beginning to look as if old restaurants (some of our favorites, anyway) never die, they just reinvent themselves and reopen with new owners and a fresh vision and energy that are hard to resist.

Salute hartford